00:00It's so great because I know what everybody thinks that I haven't had time to make a new show.
00:04It's completely different.
00:07I'm king of the town, you can take a look around.
00:10Jaddy Pinderay, Johnny Digger, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop.
00:14Out here in NDO hanging out with my boy T-Pain.
00:17Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
00:18This is what, weekend three of this for you?
00:20Weekend three. Yeah, man.
00:21Most people say, oh, weekend one, weekend two.
00:23Weekend three for T-Pain. This is three.
00:25This is, wow, man, I'm so proud of you.
00:27But you've been streaming the whole time, like, keeping people involved.
00:29So how has that been to, like, have people along for this journey with you?
00:32It's okay, man. You know what I'm saying?
00:33It's more frustrating than anything.
00:36Can't get in the pool as much as I want to.
00:38That's why I'm so ashy right now.
00:39I just got out the pool, so, you know, everything.
00:42I'm just ashy. I'm just made of all ashy.
00:44What's been the life?
00:45I mean, how is it to, like, kind of have people in your personal space?
00:48Because, like, some people, I don't know how many hours you do in sets,
00:51but, like, when you got a shower, use the bathroom, you need some private time.
00:54Like, how is it to be doing?
00:55I don't really have, like, personal time. You know what I mean?
00:57Like, I've grown up, like, I got signed when I was 18.
01:00So I don't even know what personal life is.
01:02Like, you know what I'm saying?
01:03So it's always been public.
01:05You know, going to the bathroom is pretty easy.
01:07Set the camera is just right above the nipple.
01:10And you can tell, like, hey, hold on for about 15 minutes.
01:15And they're chill with it.
01:16Yeah. Or just, you know, also, there's hundreds of thousands of other people streaming.
01:20You don't have to stay here for this.
01:22Go talk to them.
01:23Come back and see me.
01:24Come back and see me, yes.
01:25Doing both. You're doing both.
01:26And with these three weekends, I have to talk about even my festival journey with you,
01:29because, like, I'm from Georgia, by the way.
01:30Yeah, yeah.
01:31So I saw you, like, 20 years ago when I was in college performing.
01:33Do you remember that theme park in Valdosta?
01:35Oh, yeah. That was my first show.
01:36Oh, really? Are you kidding me?
01:37That was my very first solo show.
01:39I did not know that.
01:40That was my very first solo show.
01:41I was at that show, my friend.
01:42I was opening up for Brian McKnight.
01:43Yeah.
01:44Oh, my God. That's wild.
01:45Yeah.
01:46I didn't know that.
01:47I still got a DVD of that.
01:48That's crazy.
01:49But what I was thinking about when I saw you at Coachella was that, like, I saw you
01:53last year at the Celsius party.
01:55Yeah, yeah.
01:56And I was like, he was outside the Coachella last time pouring the parties, and now in the
02:01gates, and then now a stagecoach.
02:02So that journey for you, what's that been like, and what's it feel like to be out in
02:05the fields, in NDO, at the Empire Park?
02:07The thing is, I know I'm not, like, a person to try to, like, prove myself or anything like
02:12that.
02:13So I know, like, over the years, the officials at Coachella hadn't really been seeing anything
02:18I've been doing because I haven't been like, look at me.
02:21Check this out.
02:22Here's this show.
02:23Here's how great my show is.
02:24So, you know, when I got the offer to come do, you know, the things outside of Coachella,
02:28I knew that was them kind of testing to see, like, let's just see if he's entertaining
02:33at all.
02:34And then I just did it with another just me and a DJ.
02:36Dude, you were lit.
02:37Didn't even have a script.
02:38You were so lit.
02:39Yeah.
02:40And nothing.
02:41Right.
02:42Just like you said, just dancing and living your life.
02:43Because you got hits.
02:44Right.
02:45People don't always have hits to fall back on.
02:46You don't have hits.
02:47And then, you know, you can make your show longer.
02:49You know, because those were short shows that I did.
02:51So, you know, once they figured out, all right, maybe, let's see what he can do.
02:56And then they put me on the Heineken stage.
02:58And then I overflowed the Heineken stage.
03:00People were jumping fences.
03:02It was too many people to hold in that area.
03:04And that's when they had no choice.
03:06But, all right, put him on the main stage.
03:08He did it.
03:11And then from the main stage to now Stagecoach.
03:17So, tell me how you felt coming to this night.
03:20It's like two weekends of Coachella and now Stagecoach is giving you this whole new vibe.
03:23Yes.
03:24The country audience.
03:25What are you bringing to the stage?
03:26It's so great because I know everybody thinks that I haven't had time to make a new show.
03:31It's completely different.
03:34I love that.
03:35I'm talking about whole new set, whole new set list.
03:38You know, we switched up dancers.
03:40We switched up bands.
03:41Like, everything is different.
03:43Brand new wardrobe.
03:45I know that seemed like a lot that I did on Coachella.
03:48But I still had time to make a whole new stage and new set list.
03:52Like, even the songs are in a different order and everything.
03:54Wow.
03:55This has been a long three weeks for you.
03:56Yeah.
03:57You know, we work, man.
03:58You know, I have a company called Nappy Boy Live.
04:01And basically, it's a service.
04:02You know, when people started saying that I have a really good show, I started telling people how I do it.
04:07And then I was like, well, why don't I just do that for other people?
04:10With everything that I do for my show, we have that service for everybody else.
04:15I love it, man.
04:16Yes, sir.
04:17And then, I mean, what do you feel about like how the country community has embraced you?
04:20You are performing at Morgan Wallace Festival as well.
04:22Yes.
04:23Yes.
04:24That's going to be awesome.
04:25I think the country scene kind of embraces me because most of my style is country.
04:32Like, a lot of the things that I do, even my harmonies, the way I write songs, a lot of that came from, like, it was like three years of all I listened to was country music.
04:41This was before I got signed.
04:42This was before anybody knew who I was.
04:44So, even the harmonies on my first song, I'm Sprung.
04:47That all came from country music.
04:53So, it's a familiarity.
04:54Yeah, we know Georgia boys.
04:56You know what I'm saying?
04:57Yeah, you know what I'm saying?
04:58So, we super country in that sense already.
05:00So, again, it's a familiarity and it just, it's a nostalgic kind of organic feel that's already in my music.
05:10So, it's like, yeah, you know, he rocked with us.
05:12And also, you know, I ain't a gangster, so that helps.
05:15That helps.
05:16I'm done with you.
05:17He said I'm not a gangster.
05:19No, and I mean, also, I feel like you've been very honest about, like, what you went through as a songwriter.
05:23Absolutely.
05:24And, like, feeling, like, not accepted.
05:26Right, right, right.
05:27Not feeling respected for your talent, your voice, your songwriting skills.
05:29Yeah.
05:30I mean, has that changed now that you've, like, felt a little bit more embraced with all the collaborations and things?
05:35Yeah, it hasn't changed.
05:37I think I realized I was looking for the wrong people to accept me.
05:42I think I was looking for the wrong validation.
05:45I came up in this game just like, you know, these people got to mess with you or you ain't doing it.
05:51Or these people got to mess with you or, man, you get the attention of these people.
05:55Somebody that had your back, Kesha.
05:56Absolutely.
05:57Man, the new song is a bop, by the way.
05:58Thank you, I appreciate it.
05:59It's so, so good.
06:00It's just, like, classic, you know, that good music we've been listening for.
06:02Absolutely.
06:03When you have a track like that, how do you feel about, like, how people have kind of, like, embraced, again, hip-hop.
06:08Yeah.
06:09Us black people.
06:10With the country music space.
06:11You got Shaboozy.
06:12Mm-hmm.
06:13You know, Beyonce.
06:14Post Malone is even hip-hop kind of going country.
06:15How do you feel about, like, the way the genre shifted in that way?
06:18I think it's a step forward.
06:20I think, you know, music industry-wise and genre bending, you know, it's always been a thing, right?
06:27It's breaking...
06:28Big extra plug doing a country song is crazy.
06:31Breaking through now.
06:32You know what I'm saying?
06:33It's like the zombie apocalypse.
06:34Once they get through that first door, we got a problem.
06:37Because the rest of them coming.
06:38The rest of them is coming.
06:40Now you got the big bloaters coming, you know what I'm saying?
06:42You know what I'm saying?
06:43So, you know...
06:44I was just watching Last of Us.
06:45I'm sorry.
06:46But no, man.
06:49Like, you know, once Beyonce breaks in, like, the door is off the hinges now.
06:55It's not even...
06:56You can't even close it now.
06:57It's wide open.
06:58We are here.
06:59Right.
07:00What are you going to do?
07:01Yeah.
07:02You can't protect the fort with a sliding glass door.
07:04I love that.
07:05And then we're not getting here.
07:07I mean, listen.
07:08And you...
07:09We're talking about how you're, like, an entrepreneur.
07:10You keep grinding.
07:11Yeah.
07:12First of all, as my good friend Megan Trainor has told you, rhyming Wisconsin is probably
07:18the best thing you ever did.
07:19I appreciate it.
07:20I appreciate it.
07:21Me and her both feel very strong about that.
07:22But you got the festival coming up.
07:23I got the festival coming up.
07:24So, tell me about Wisconsin and why you want to start this.
07:25It just keeps getting bigger and bigger, man.
07:27It's just something...
07:28It started out as just like a party we were having.
07:30You know what I mean?
07:31It was like a college-themed kind of pep rally kind of party kind of thing.
07:34But it just kept getting bigger and bigger.
07:36And we took it to actually, you know, to Wisconsin.
07:39Sorry, everybody else.
07:41We actually took it to Milwaukee.
07:44And it started, you know, getting to bigger venues.
07:47And then we got into the rave.
07:48And it just started as like a stop on the tour.
07:52And then, you know, it was the last stop on the first tour.
07:55And then it was the first stop on the next tour.
07:58And then we just kept going back and forth.
08:00And now it's turned into this...
08:03It's a holiday now.
08:04You know what I mean?
08:05It's turned into, you know, we got T-Pain Day out there.
08:08And that's flourishing.
08:09We got the key to the city.
08:11The people love us.
08:12Well, some of them do.
08:13Some of them do.
08:14There's going to be a story coming up.
08:16It's going to be a story pretty soon that I can't talk about yet.
08:19But...
08:20Stay tuned.
08:21The Billboard exclusive.
08:22Boy.
08:23I'm going to flame y'all asses when I get this contract signed.
08:27Okay.
08:28But, you know, other than that, no, it's just been great, man.
08:30People love it.
08:31You know what I mean?
08:32The people come from outside of Wisconsin to come there.
08:35And this year, the lineup is incredible.
08:37I mean, come on.
08:38Did you pick some incredible people?
08:39Glorilla.
08:40Yeah.
08:41Yeah.
08:42How did you get her on it?
08:43How do you feel about her glow up?
08:44Most of these people are returning favors.
08:47Glow old.
08:48Yeah.
08:49For me, for stuff, you know, I do a lot of stuff, man.
08:52And again, right now, like, music is like a hobby for me.
08:55It's, you know, I'm doing a lot of stuff for free.
08:58I'm just showing up for people in different places.
09:00Like, you know, if I'm around the city, like, yeah, I'll stop by your show.
09:04I'll come out and blah, blah, blah.
09:05I love that.
09:06You know, and things like that kind of accumulate.
09:07It's a community vibe.
09:08It's a community vibe.
09:09It's a community vibe.
09:10And those things accumulate.
09:11And it's just like, hey, I just got one thing I need you to do.
09:1430 minutes.
09:15Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
09:16Just come on through.
09:17And I love that you got NLE involved, too.
09:19Yeah.
09:20He's such a young guy.
09:21And he's had, like, such a blow up and stuff with, like, being honest about himself
09:23and his community.
09:24Yes.
09:25Man, that's a thing that I wish that people would have let me do.
09:29I think this whole resurgence was cool.
09:32Like, you know what I mean?
09:33I would have loved to have the support and everything from the first time.
09:37You know what I mean?
09:38I've realized this time around, every time I show up somewhere, it doesn't have to be
09:43music related.
09:44Yeah.
09:45You know what I mean?
09:46I can be drifting cars.
09:47You know what I'm saying?
09:48We can be gaming.
09:49We can be doing the stuff that I actually enjoy doing instead of sweating my ass off for
09:5330 minutes, 60 minutes at a time.
09:55And the hot sun.
09:56Right.
09:57Because I know it was hot up there, my brother.
09:58Oh, my God.
09:59It was so hot.
10:00You see the second week.
10:01Shabuzzi both looked like y'all was like, it's so damn hot up here.
10:04The second week, jacket didn't have any sleeves.
10:06Turned those pants into shorts.
10:08Boy, my style was on it.
10:09Shout out to Seth.
10:10Thank you, brother.
10:11That was quick as hell.
10:12Man, I can't wait to see what you're going to do as stagecoach, man.
10:14That's going to be good, man.
10:15We really appreciate you sitting down with Bill Boyd.
10:16As you said, everybody want to be liked, man.
10:18We all just want to be liked.
10:19That's it.
10:20You're liked, man.
10:21You know, I appreciate it.
10:23Thank you, man.
10:24Yeah, yeah.
10:25Booyah!
10:26Let's go!
10:27Crack it, John!
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