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00:00One on five, one on Bounce, Detroit.
00:01Still back, hip-hop and R&B.
00:02It's your boy Showtime, the czar.
00:04Got a special guest in studio with me, man.
00:06This guy stays working in and out of the state all the time, man.
00:10My guy Rod Thomas is back.
00:11What up, though?
00:12What's the deal?
00:12What's up?
00:13What's up?
00:13What's up, Detroit?
00:14Welcome back to the show, man.
00:16You've been grinding, man, since the last time I saw you.
00:19Yeah, for sure, man.
00:20For sure, man.
00:20You was out in Philly.
00:21First of all, let me back up.
00:23Happy New Year, first of all.
00:24I'll just jump right into the interview.
00:25Happy New Year.
00:26Happy New Year to you.
00:27And happy belated birthday, too.
00:28Appreciate it, appreciate it.
00:29I'll say happy birthday to your daughter, man.
00:30Capricorn's all around.
00:31Did you say your dad or your grandfather was a Capricorn, too, man?
00:34My step-pops.
00:35Man, Capricorn's all around, man.
00:37So you got the vibe, man.
00:39You know what I'm saying?
00:40How did your daughter turn, bro?
00:41She turned seven yesterday, man.
00:42Okay, well, shout out to that young queen right there, man.
00:44Happy birthday to her.
00:45I want to talk about you ending up 2025.
00:49Okay.
00:49Okay, you was in Philly.
00:51Yeah, for sure.
00:52Talk about that show you was involved in.
00:54So I was out in Philly.
00:58I was on a performance I had with some of the Philly legends.
01:03That's what it was titled, Philly Legends.
01:05It was called Legends, you know what I'm saying, itself.
01:08But some of the people who performed was Benny Siegel,
01:12Enes, Cassidy.
01:14Man, it was so many.
01:15I saw Reed Dollars was on there.
01:16Reed Dollars.
01:16Yeah.
01:17You know what I'm saying?
01:17And you know yours truly.
01:19Yeah.
01:19You know what I'm saying?
01:20Came all the way from Detroit.
01:21Did my thing.
01:22What was that like being in Philly, man?
01:23What's the, I guess, cultural differences between Detroit and Philly if there are any?
01:30A lot of people out there, they supportive.
01:33I'm not saying that we don't get it in our city,
01:35but a lot of people out there, they real supportive.
01:39Shout out to Freeway.
01:40You know what I'm saying?
01:41Shout out to Freeway, too.
01:42And my dog, Kev.
01:43Nice.
01:44And Big Sev and Twan that's out there.
01:49You know, those are all the people who, you know,
01:50who I tap in with out there in Philly.
01:52They show nothing but love, bro.
01:54But the love is always there, bro.
01:56They real supportive, like I said, man.
01:58I see why, like, going there back and forth,
02:00I see why artists from Philly blow up so big because everybody's so supportive.
02:05Nice.
02:05You ran into Benny Siegel and Freeway.
02:08Yeah.
02:08Two hip-hop legends, if you will.
02:10Yeah.
02:11What advice did they give you, if any?
02:14So, I ran to them on two different events.
02:17Okay.
02:18Because I go to Philly quite often.
02:20Shout out to Rachel Washington, too, out there in Philly.
02:23But the advice they gave me was to stay focused and stay true to myself.
02:28Is there music coming from y'all, too?
02:30I saw you kind of hint at it, but I ain't want to.
02:32Hey, man.
02:33Look, all I'm going to say is.
02:34Or y'all three, I should say.
02:35Not collectively, but just in general.
02:37Like, do you have some stuff in the works with them or thought about it?
02:41Can you talk about it?
02:42All I'm going to say is, it's an album coming soon, man.
02:46It's an album coming soon.
02:47That's all I can say.
02:48But we cooking up, though.
02:50We definitely, yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:51Album coming soon on that.
02:53You were featured on Artists We Got Our Eyes On in Detroit, right?
02:58You were one of the names that were on there, man.
03:00Talk about that.
03:00What does that mean to you as someone who the city is watching and they're saying, like,
03:05this guy is up next?
03:06Okay.
03:07So it means a lot to me.
03:09And it came as a shocker, to be honest.
03:13Oh, you said that?
03:14I got a call from somebody like, hey, man, you're kind of going viral right now.
03:20And I'm like, me?
03:20I'm like, all right, how?
03:21Like, what you talking about?
03:22They was like, man, you was featured on Michigan 2026, Artists To Keep Their Eyes On.
03:28Yep.
03:28I'm like, dang.
03:29Then I looked at the lineup.
03:30It was some big names on there.
03:32You know what I'm saying?
03:32You had Sauter Baby, Skiller Baby, Kurtz Dollar, Eastside YJ, D-Nail, YB, Set Trends.
03:41You know what I'm saying?
03:42There was a lot of guys on there.
03:43Nice little lineup.
03:43And your name was on there.
03:45My name was on there.
03:46And as crazy as I've been doing music for a while, but I've been going the hardest I've
03:50ever been within the last year and a half.
03:52How do you think that is, man?
03:53What was the, I guess, battery that got put in your back that you was like, okay?
03:58I'm going to say shout-outs to Big Hurt.
04:01You know what I'm saying?
04:01Big Hurt, legendary Big Hurt.
04:03He tapped in with me.
04:05He was like, hey, man, what's going on?
04:07What you doing with the track that we did together?
04:09And I'm like, I ain't really.
04:10He's like, man, you should get back to it.
04:12And at that time, I kind of was dealing with the loss of relatives, so I wasn't even motivated
04:16to be.
04:17But the fact that I was just like, you know, that call was more so like, man, get it together.
04:22Shake out of it, whatever you're going through.
04:24So I was like, all right, if I'm going to do it again, I'm going to just give my all and
04:28not hold up.
04:28Big Hurt reaching out to you, man.
04:32How does that affect you as an artist, man?
04:35Because somebody like that, they don't have to, but they was like, you know what I'm saying?
04:37Hey, man, they motivated you to get back into it.
04:39What does that mean to you as an artist?
04:40Uh, I mean, a lot, bro, because I know he don't really, you know, you know, kick it with
04:47too many people.
04:48The fact that, you know, he even considered even, you know, tapping in with me like that.
04:52Not saying tapping in, but, you know, reaching out to me.
04:54Right, right.
04:55In regards to that, that was huge, bro.
04:57So, especially by him being a hip hop Detroit icon, you know what I'm saying, lyrical, you
05:01know what I'm saying, hands down.
05:03And decided to come, you know what I'm saying, just let you know.
05:05I mean, just to say, like, you know what I'm saying, you got it.
05:08Like, don't give up on yourself.
05:09Because the track that we did, you know, he told me, he said, man, that's, you know,
05:12that's a nice track.
05:13You got to do something with it.
05:14Talk about it.
05:15How did that track come together, man?
05:16And when can we expect you to drop that?
05:19The track came together, we knew some mutual people.
05:24Okay.
05:24And then we just ran to each other in person.
05:26And then everything else was just a conversation.
05:29We hit the studio together.
05:30It wasn't like, no, I sent them an email or whatever.
05:34We was in the studio together.
05:35Like, we built the chemistry on it.
05:37And, man, we put it together.
05:39Does that matter to you as an artist, being in the studio?
05:42Because you can feel a different vibe as opposed to through an email, man.
05:44Yeah, because it's like, to me, I feel like when you're in the studio
05:47and you putting a feature together with an artist, that makes it more organic.
05:51Your ideas can bounce off of each other.
05:53And that's way different from somebody like, hey, I got a track.
05:56And they be like, I'll send you over my, you know, email or whatever.
05:59It's kind of like.
06:00Do you prefer it that way to be in studio?
06:01Or is it just like.
06:03I feel like, you know, the chemistry can be built better for the track
06:07when you're in the studio together.
06:09You can bounce off more ideas.
06:10Got you.
06:11You know what I'm saying?
06:11You're also always active in the community, man.
06:15Talk about the importance of staying active in the community,
06:18talking, you know, to the kids, to the youth, and all that good stuff.
06:22Yeah.
06:22So recently I was at King High School.
06:24Yep.
06:24Saw that.
06:24And I was speaking to the children there.
06:27And I also did a performance there.
06:28That's very important to me, man.
06:31Because I had times for myself to like, my transition with rap.
06:35I used to rap like gangster hip-hop.
06:37And I switched to the world with Positive Lane.
06:39Mm-hmm.
06:40Man, it's so, like, crucial, like, looking at how the neighborhoods is.
06:47And it's like, the kids don't really have mentors.
06:49Right.
06:50You got what I'm saying?
06:50Yeah, yeah.
06:51So when I know, like, when I was coming up, it was people coming to my schools.
06:54It was people trying to tell me right from wrong.
06:56Mm-hmm.
06:56I listened to it most of the time, but most of the time I wasn't listening.
06:59But I see the result of me not listening, I paid for it.
07:02You got what I'm saying?
07:03Right, right.
07:03So when I go to these schools or if I'm doing anything in the community,
07:07I always let kids know that they are important.
07:09Mm-hmm.
07:10When I look at them, I see my kids, my nieces, my nephews.
07:12But the main thing I tell all the children I speak to is,
07:16you're going to be a kid once, you're going to be an adult forever.
07:18Ooh.
07:19You know what I'm saying?
07:20So that's just the reality of the situation.
07:23You're going to be a kid once, but you're going to be an adult forever.
07:25So just, you know, watch how you make the decisions you make.
07:29You talked about the importance of mentorship.
07:32You think, and you say that they don't have it as much.
07:34Why do you think that is, man?
07:35Is it like, because you hear the word YN, they try to stare away from them,
07:39like, ah, I'm going to let that, I'm not going to mess with that.
07:41Um, yeah, it's like, to me, you know, this is just my personal opinion.
07:46I feel like when I was coming up, it was like a lot of, um, um,
07:51if you was doing wrong, but you was a good person,
07:54the neighborhood shagged away from that.
07:57Hey, hey, don't be doing what we doing, go to school type of thing, right?
07:59I feel like the blockage came from when, um, you know, you know,
08:05you know how to, you know how to, you know, streets navigate or whatever they say,
08:08whatever you into, you know, don't indulge yourself type of thing.
08:12And I feel like once people started indulging with whatever they was doing,
08:16they threw off the mindset and they started caring less about what was taking place.
08:20Do you want to do more programs involving kids?
08:23Man, cause like I said, bro, you going to talk to them.
08:25People don't want to talk to kids nowadays, man.
08:28So would you like to do more of that?
08:30Man, absolutely.
08:31Number one, I'm a father first.
08:33Right.
08:33You got what I'm saying?
08:34I got four beautiful children, uh, two girls, two boys.
08:38I got a lot of nieces and nephews, little cousins, and I'm hands on with all of them.
08:42Nice.
08:42So when I see kids in the neighborhood or kids at these schools,
08:46I keep myself in the mind frame of when I went to prison, I know the damage that when,
08:52well, I'm going to say this.
08:53I wanted to stop the cycle.
08:55My father was in prison.
08:56I know the pain that it caused me.
08:59So when I went to prison, I had to reflect, like, that's the pain I'm causing my children.
09:03So when I see other kids and stuff like that, I know that they got mothers in prison,
09:06fathers in prison, uncles, people who they care about.
09:09So I just try to let them know, like, you still important.
09:12Hey, look, the thoughts that you have, I had those thoughts before too.
09:15So, you know, just know somebody got your back and they rooting for you.
09:19Does having four kids affect the type of music you make, man?
09:22Uh, no.
09:23Cause you said you switched it up from the gangster rap to the...
09:25But I, I know sometimes you can make that type of music, but that doesn't necessarily
09:30affect who you are anymore.
09:31It's just the reality that you live.
09:32So with that, it was like, when I was making that type of music from that perspective,
09:37uh, my youngest three wasn't born.
09:41You got what I'm saying?
09:41Mm-hmm.
09:41My, my, my oldest was, but then it was like the older that they got, it was like, I just
09:46switched it all the way up because I was like, I'm, I'm a role model.
09:49You know what I'm saying?
09:50Like to your children or your nieces and nephews, you a Superman to them.
09:54Yeah.
09:54If anybody bothered them, they go be like, I'm going to get my uncle.
09:56I'm going to get my...
09:57So they think you, um, be, you know what I'm saying?
09:59You can beat the whole world up.
10:00So I was like, let me just go ahead and put it in that perspective for everything that
10:04I do.
10:04Cause what you put out there, you would get it back.
10:06So, you know what I'm saying?
10:07Right, right.
10:08You were, you got a show coming up this Sunday, man.
10:10Let's talk about that for a second, man.
10:11Oh yeah.
10:12Yeah.
10:12Okay.
10:12So the show that's coming up this Sunday is, uh, it's going to be a, uh, it's, it's,
10:16it's, uh, put together, uh, AIA, um, um, and it's a collective of artists from all
10:24over California, Canada, um, Chicago, Ohio, Detroit, you know what I'm saying?
10:30Something everywhere.
10:31So that's dope.
10:33That's pretty dope.
10:34They give, uh, artists opportunity to come perform, do their thing.
10:37It's going to be dope.
10:38That's this Sunday too.
10:39Club society.
10:40I see you working, man.
10:42I'm going to come back to the, to the event real quick, but I want to, cause you mentioned
10:45that it was artists from all over.
10:48Yup.
10:49I see you working with a lot of artists all the time, man, from all over the place,
10:53man.
10:53Howard, what does that do for you?
10:54Does, is that an inspiration to you, man, to keep working?
10:56Cause the styles is different.
10:57Yeah.
10:58You know what I'm saying?
10:58So it's like trying to combine that with how you do as a rapper.
11:02Is that difficult?
11:03Is that, you know, a challenge to you?
11:05Do you like that?
11:06We'll talk about that for a minute.
11:06All right.
11:07Um, I, I really just, just move off the vibe of the, of the individual.
11:11Cause I love music hands down.
11:13Right.
11:14So, so if, if I run across a person, they might make jazz music.
11:18I love music.
11:19So I love jazz music.
11:20So I can relate to the way that they made the song or whatever.
11:23Yada, yada.
11:24I just, I'm just not easily moved by people who be super arrogant or they feel like they
11:30better than the next, when all of us is, you know what I'm saying?
11:32Equally the same.
11:34Performing in the city again.
11:35Yeah.
11:35Yep.
11:36For sure.
11:36Let's talk about that, man.
11:37What is that like performing in the city, performing in front of people?
11:40You know what I'm saying?
11:41They just probably have seen you perform or never seen, seen you perform and talk about
11:44that.
11:45Um, so I'm glad you said that last part.
11:48Every time when I do go perform, um, I always, whether I see people in the crowd that recognize
11:53me or not, I always perform like it's my first time because for some people, that's
11:57their first impression that they're getting.
11:59And I was taught you can't get a second chance to make a first impression.
12:01That's a fact.
12:02So I always just do it that way.
12:04And what's crazy, the last time I performed at that spot, man, it was a guy that was there.
12:09They had drums on the set and I was like, Hey, who know how to play these drums?
12:12Went live just like that.
12:13I ain't even know this guy.
12:14He ain't know me.
12:15And we just created history right then and there on the spot.
12:17That's nice, man.
12:18That's fire.
12:19But that's just Sunday.
12:20Then on the 23rd, um, I'm going to be out there in New York for the pre-Grammys, man.
12:24You know what I'm saying, man?
12:25You always move it around.
12:26What, uh, what made you want to go to the, the pre, I mean, it's the Grammys, but what
12:29made you want to go to New York?
12:29Uh, the pre-Grammys, you know what I'm saying?
12:31My sister, uh, Mysterious, AKA Misty Blocko.
12:34So she was, um, you know, she, she, it wasn't, she, you know, she used to, uh, rap with,
12:39you know what I'm saying?
12:40Diddy and everybody.
12:41She, uh, um, now signed with, with Rick Ross.
12:45Nice.
12:46That's fire.
12:46And she a staff, staff records member.
12:48You know what I'm saying?
12:49So she was, you know, me, her and a, and a, uh, group of, you know what I'm saying?
12:54Guys, staff records, shout out to Nugget, you know what I'm saying?
12:56The staff records, but everything that she doing with her success, she always reach out
13:01to us and be like, Hey, look, we got this going on.
13:03Like, you know what I'm saying?
13:04We got this going on.
13:05So she like, Hey, let's go pre-Grammys.
13:08Let's go.
13:08So is Grammys a thing for you, like an ultimate goal, bro?
13:11A lot of artists, they don't really care about that, the accolade, man.
13:14So is that a, something that you would like to have one day?
13:17So for me, I'm, I'm motivated by, you know, uh, the people who look up to me in a sense.
13:24Got you.
13:24So if, if me going to the pre-Grammys or anywhere, as long as my voice being heard in a positive
13:29perspective, you got what I'm saying?
13:31Cause I ain't motivated by the money aspect.
13:33I'm motivated by, you know what I'm saying?
13:35The, the people who I can reach with my voice, you know what I'm saying?
13:38Right.
13:38Why, why doesn't money motivate you, man?
13:40I mean, coming from, you know, from prison to doing what you're doing now, most people
13:44would be money.
13:45So the thing with that is, man, money can come and go.
13:49You got what I'm saying?
13:50Like, like, um, it don't move me because I had, you know, I had large, large amounts
13:58of money before and I was still not happy.
14:01You know what I'm saying?
14:02So it don't.
14:03I think that was, bro.
14:05It's, it's the mindset that you have.
14:07Like once you, once you, once you create a good space in your mindset, you rich with
14:12that.
14:12You got what I'm saying?
14:13And then I don't value money, so it always come to me anyway.
14:17It's something that I don't really, you know what I'm saying?
14:18Right, right.
14:19As long as my kids is good, I'm good.
14:21You know what I'm saying?
14:22Ain't nobody around me starving.
14:23Ain't nobody around me, you know what I'm saying?
14:25Got to do nothing outside of it.
14:27You know what I'm saying?
14:27Mm-hmm.
14:28I'm good, bro.
14:29I'm never motivated about no money.
14:31Nice.
14:31Now, something I seen you do that, um, I wonder if you want to do more with, uh, what's
14:37his name?
14:37Reggie Bebe from, yeah, he did some skits, man.
14:40Yeah, man.
14:41We're going to see Rod Thomas do a little bit more acting in 2026, man.
14:44Look, man, shout out to D-Nell, YB-Centriz, and Eastside YJ.
14:49Hey, man, hey, look.
14:51That'll be dope.
14:52That'll be dope.
14:52Yeah, yeah.
14:53I thought that was pretty good, bro.
14:54That'll be dope.
14:55It felt very natural.
14:56Because Reggie, he came all the way from Chicago.
14:58Yeah, he came all the way from Chicago.
14:59Yeah, for sure.
15:00For sure.
15:00What was it like, you know, doing this skit?
15:02Was that your first time ever acting, or, like, what was that, man?
15:05Uh...
15:05And then, y'all got no scripts, right?
15:06It's just off the top of the head.
15:08Yeah, yeah, we was freestyling.
15:09Ah!
15:09Um, but, uh, no, that was, like, uh, the movie aspect.
15:14Like, I've been in some short films, you know what I'm saying, here and there.
15:17But the comedy part, I never really, you know what I'm saying.
15:20Then, uh, my dog Frog, uh, you know, he shoot movies, too.
15:25Uh, he got a couple of them coming out right now that he working on, you know what I'm saying.
15:29Actually, you got them, you know what I'm saying, give a little...
15:33Come on, come on to the mic real quick, bro.
15:34Yeah, come on, come on to the mic, come on to the mic real quick.
15:36Tell the people your name real quick, bro.
15:37Yeah, my name Frog, that's figures, man.
15:40Okay.
15:40Yeah, like, uh, Rob was saying, man, we, uh, got a couple new series, uh, coming out.
15:46A couple, uh, new movies coming out.
15:48Shout out to my boy, uh, Fig Panamera.
15:50JT the Bigger Figure was just here.
15:52We linked up.
15:53Uh, we got a new, uh, series coming out called Back Doors and Chalk Lines.
15:58Y'all can go, uh, check it out on, on Instagram, on Frog F Figures on Instagram,
16:04and JT the Bigger Figure on Instagram.
16:06Uh, go, uh, download it on, uh, Trap Flicks.
16:10Rod, you into all those projects, too?
16:12Doing some acting, man?
16:12Yeah, man, you already know.
16:14You're in your acting bag.
16:15All right, man.
16:15Hey, look, man.
16:16Get my dog in there.
16:17Nice, nice.
16:18Yep, yep.
16:18All right, last thing I want to ask you, man.
16:20Yep.
16:20New album, new project.
16:21When can we expect it?
16:22What's the time frame, bro?
16:24Like, what's going on?
16:25Okay, so, new project I got going on is, um, uh, the idea came from, you know what I'm
16:32saying, my big homie Nug, uh, we was, we was having a conversation about something and
16:38and we was talking about a quarter and, you know, a quarter got the face and then it got
16:42the, the backside.
16:43So, he was like, man, with everything you've been through with your life, going from this
16:46to that, two sides of every story.
16:49Damn.
16:49You know what I'm saying?
16:50That's hard.
16:50So, shout out to Nug.
16:51We got Nug in the building.
16:52Hey, Nug, when the project dropping?
16:54Yeah, the project coming out in March along with everything else, the mixtapes, the, the
16:59movies, the videos and everything we doing.
17:02We shooting for March because we trying to buy ourself a little time.
17:04But we will be in New York at the pre-grabbing award doing it with Misty Blanco and shout
17:09out to Showtime.
17:10I'm out.
17:11All right, well, Rod, man, you know my love when you come through, bro, because you always
17:15doing something, man.
17:16You stay doing positive things in the community for the kids.
17:19You stay dropping positive music.
17:20Yeah.
17:20Um, so, you know, it's always love here, man.
17:23Man, I appreciate, I appreciate you always having me, bro.
17:25Listen, all that acting y'all doing, come, you know what I'm saying?
17:28Yeah, you say you need to see.
17:29Yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:29What's up with it?
17:30Yeah, you need to see.
17:31Yeah.
17:32All right, say less.
17:33All right.
17:33No, I got you.
17:36Dang, dang, nothing but a word.
17:37All right.
17:38Uh, Rod Thomas, man, it's 105 on the bounce.
17:40Peace.
17:41All right, we out.
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