- 2 days ago
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CreativityTranscript
01:54What's up?
01:55What's good?
01:55What's good?
01:56How do you hear me?
01:57How do you hear me?
01:58Can you hear me?
01:59Yeah.
02:00Can you hear me?
02:01Yeah.
02:01I can hear you.
02:02Yeah.
02:03It's so clear.
02:04For sure.
02:04For sure.
02:05For sure.
02:27For sure.
02:32For sure.
02:34For sure.
02:35So, man.
02:36So, man.
02:36Tell us, man.
02:37Your journey, man.
02:39Starting as a ghost rider.
02:42Oh, my journey as a ghost rider was pretty much, it was pretty dope.
02:48All I had to do was just, you know, sit down and actually just write, you know what I'm
02:54saying, bars here.
02:55You know, some, you know, it was the same thing I'm doing now, but for myself, you know what
03:03I'm saying?
03:03But, you know, some used it differently and I didn't really like that.
03:10You know what I'm saying?
03:10Yeah.
03:10So, I was like, you know what?
03:12Let me decide to do this for myself.
03:14See how it is.
03:15Yeah.
03:15And when I was introduced to the booth, man, I fell in love with doing it and I stopped
03:21doing all the ghost riding and shit for other people, man.
03:26I just stopped there.
03:28For sure.
03:29For sure.
03:29Yeah.
03:30For sure.
03:31So, by the way, was it your brother who introduced you to doing it yourself, like recording in the
03:39booth?
03:39Definitely.
03:40Definitely.
03:41Yeah.
03:41Um, he introduced me to the booth.
03:45Um, he took me there.
03:47Uh, he, uh, gave me some pointers and then I was like, um, all right, let's get, you know,
03:54let's try this.
03:55Let's try it.
03:56You know, cause I didn't know how I was going to do anyway.
03:58You know what I'm saying?
03:59But I, you know, I wrote, I wrote a lot and I always practiced it.
04:03So it wasn't like, it wasn't that hard, but the only part that was hard was the, uh,
04:08winding part, um, like the breathing part.
04:13You know what I'm saying?
04:13It was just like, damn, I didn't know it was like a lot of, a lot of breathing.
04:16You know, you had, you had to get your wind up.
04:18You know what I'm saying?
04:19When you're, you're performing on the microphone like that.
04:22And I was like, man, I didn't know it was this hard.
04:24He was like, yeah, man, it's this hard.
04:26And, um, the more you do it, the better you get and stuff like that, man.
04:31Yeah.
04:32That's how it happened.
04:33I fell in love with the booth.
04:34And I was like, man, I ain't gonna write no more for other people.
04:36I was like, you know what?
04:37I want to do it for myself.
04:39You know, we ended up doing a couple of joints together.
04:42Then he went separate ways.
04:43He did his thing and then I went and did my thing.
04:46And that's how it worked out.
04:48For sure.
04:49For sure, for sure.
04:50Definitely.
04:50For sure, for sure.
04:51So, so, so, um, how was it like, man, doing your first album?
04:57Was it True Words of Ghostwriter?
04:59Yeah, it was True Words of a Ghostwriter.
05:01Uh, just letting, um, people know that, um, you know, the Ghostwriter's coming out
05:07to do music for himself.
05:09And this is what it sounds like.
05:11And you can, if you listen to that whole album, um, you could tell I was a
05:16rookie.
05:17I mean, right away, you can tell, you know, you know, from the breathing to, uh, messing
05:21up in certain places, being off beat sometimes.
05:26Yeah.
05:26You know, it is just a rookie, such a rookie, rookie album, but such a good album too.
05:31You know what I'm saying?
05:32If you guys haven't listened to that joint, uh, to my, uh, True Words of a Ghostwriter,
05:36go check it out.
05:38Uh, it's still playing on, on all platforms, man.
05:41It's really dope.
05:41It's really dope.
05:42And it's, you know, it's like, it's like my baby steps.
05:45It's, you feel me?
05:46It's, um, it's great.
05:47That's why I don't get rid of it.
05:48For sure.
05:48I'll never, I'll never get rid of that album because it, it, it's, it's history.
05:53You know what I'm saying?
05:54It's something that I, you know, it's like growing up.
05:56You don't want to, that footage of growing up, you don't want to get rid of it.
05:59You know?
06:00For sure.
06:01For sure.
06:01For sure.
06:02For sure.
06:02For sure.
06:03For sure.
06:04I think it, was it the one that I was featured on the coast to coast what mixtape or something
06:08like that?
06:08Yeah.
06:09Coast to coast mixtape was a place where I was trying to get my music on.
06:14It was before Spotify playlists, it was before all that stuff, you know what I'm saying, before Spotify came out
06:22and had all these playlists and stuff like that, it was Coast to Coast that really was a place where
06:28I was like, man, I gotta get my songs on this place, I gotta get my songs here.
06:32So I always submitted to them, songs I did with my brother, I submitted, some I made, I made some,
06:40you know, some John Ortiz, you know, I made a couple good, good, good mixtapes, man, it was fun to
06:49do, and some I didn't, and, you know, I got turned down, and that's okay, you know what I'm saying,
06:55we'll get turned down, and I accept something that was good with that, man, but that was, it was crazy,
07:01that was crazy,
07:02because, you know, Coast to Coast was everywhere at that particular time, and I used them a lot to get
07:07my music out there, so that's why I was, a little buzzing from that, you know what I'm saying, I
07:12was just like, oh, let's go.
07:16But, you know, then Spotify and everything else started kicking in, things changed, and then I was just like, doing
07:23that instead, and I stopped messing with the Coast to Coast, I don't even know if they're still doing that,
07:27they probably, probably are, but, you know.
07:31For sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, so, so, so, so, I mean, I mean, you, you see it
07:37as, like, it was a rookie album, but I think, like, for it to be, like, um, your music to
07:45be on the same platform with, with, uh, Ray J and, and, and, uh, John Ortiz, don't you think, like,
07:51that's, like, a high level?
07:53Um, I didn't think of it, like, it was a high level, because at, at the time, John Ortiz was
08:00breaking that ceiling, you know what I'm saying, he was just, like, getting into that ceiling, and I was, I
08:05was, I was, like, way, way, way better than that.
08:07Um, even though I was on the same caliber of making mistakes and stuff like that with me, um, I,
08:15I didn't really see it like that, because I, you know what, to tell you the truth, I don't compare
08:19myself to, to, to, to a lot of rappers, to none of them, to none of them.
08:37Um, when I did last year, I'm trying to tell you what I did two weeks ago, I'm saying, man,
08:42I did the song two weeks ago, let's see if I can do a better track this week, or maybe
08:46next month I've gotten a different track, you know, I'm trying to do better than the last one.
08:50I'm always competing with myself, um, and I'm always comparing to my own self.
08:55If I'm comparing any MC or any rappers to myself, man, that keeps me humble, for one, that keeps me,
09:03you know, in my own mind, uh, it keeps me, like, comfortable.
09:08And it keeps me understanding that it is, it comes to, you know, competitive and smart and stuff like that,
09:14but I don't compete with them.
09:16So, maybe that's not competing with me, but I don't even see it, because I don't even see it that
09:21way, you know, I'm just trying to, you know, for the culture, man, you know what I'm saying?
09:25Yeah.
09:26Yeah, yeah.
09:27For sure, for sure, for sure, for sure.
09:29But, but, but who would you say were, like, um, the MCs that you, that inspired you to rap back
09:35in the day?
09:37Yeah.
09:37Back in the day, um, inspiration was, was definitely there, man.
09:42It was, uh, a lot of Big L, uh, from Big L to Big Pun to, um, 50 Cent.
09:51There's a lot of people that influenced me to write, um, even battle rap, you know what I'm saying?
09:57I even took it for some battle raps and shit, uh, back then, you know what I'm saying?
10:01And I was just, like, looking and seeing how skillful people were, and I'm like, wow, man, I can't believe,
10:07like, there's people doing things like this, and it's just crazy, man.
10:12And I always wanted to do stuff like that, so I was always a writer when I was a kid.
10:17I wrote, like, you know, poetry when I was younger and stuff like that, but it was never music.
10:22But then stuff like that really inspired me.
10:25I was like, man, let's see if I can, I can do stuff like that, you know what I'm saying?
10:29And I started writing, and I started doing it, and people started liking it, you know what I'm saying?
10:34And I'm like, oh, shit, man, I got a niche for this.
10:37I've always been a hip-hop head since DJ Molly Moore back in the day.
10:40I'm an older head.
10:42Yeah, yeah.
10:43You know what I'm saying?
10:43I started writing before I even started rapping.
10:46And I started DJing before I even started writing.
10:49And I started breakdancing before I even started, you know, DJing and stuff like that.
10:53And so everything was all, like, all the stuff in hip-hop, I practically did it all, you know what
11:00I'm saying?
11:01From breakdancing, tagging on buildings and stuff like that with graffiti and stuff.
11:06From that, you know, what else did I do?
11:10I did DJing, and then I started doing writing, and then I started rapping and stuff like that.
11:14So, you know, a lot of hip-hop there, you know what I'm saying, surrounding me.
11:19For sure, for sure.
11:19Yeah, man.
11:20It was great.
11:21Amazing.
11:22That's amazing.
11:23So, your project, the EP Reflections, was it after the first album?
11:32Reflections was, my EP was a second project of mine.
11:39True Words of a Ghostwriter was my first album ever.
11:44But Reflections was a different route.
11:47I was trying to show a different side of me, even though I still kept hitting people with the
11:52bars, but it was just different, but it was just different, musically.
11:55If you listen to the two, it's like night and day.
11:59You know what I'm saying?
11:59Even if you listen to my stuff now, you know, it's more like punches, punches, punches, punches,
12:05punches, punches, right?
12:06But this album is, the EP Reflections, man, it's just totally different.
12:12Like, it's just a different vibe, different sound, different way of writing.
12:19Um, it was, it just took me to another place of my artistry.
12:24And that's why, you know, I love the album so much, that EP.
12:27I mean, I love that EP so much, because even though it was slept on, and it was slept on
12:33because, not because people disliked it, because I didn't do my job as an artist to push it the
12:41way I was supposed to, the way I was supposed to push it, I didn't do, I didn't do a
12:45good
12:45job at it.
12:46But, at the end of the day, it's still a good project.
12:48Yeah, man.
12:50I mean, you're mentioning that, um, it was a challenge for you to push it.
12:56Um, what do you think, like, uh, independent artists missed when it comes to marketing their,
13:02their, their, their, their, their music?
13:04Oh, just...
13:05Are there certain mistakes that we make?
13:06Yeah, just understanding that, that, understanding that not everybody's going to like your music.
13:11That's one.
13:12Yeah.
13:12You got to understand that.
13:13And then, you get an understanding that there are people that do like your music.
13:17So, instead of concentrating on pushing your record to everyone, um, my advice is to people,
13:25to artists out there, is to push it to the people that you know like it, or in that category.
13:32You know what I'm saying?
13:33The targeted audience is always the best audience.
13:36If you put your music in front of the right people, they will listen to it.
13:40Like, it's just like having TVs in, in one place and people are looking for TVs, guess
13:46what?
13:46They're going to buy your TVs in that place.
13:48You feel me?
13:49It's just going to happen.
13:51You know what I'm saying?
13:51So, my, my advice is make, make a lot of music.
13:56Keep pushing your music, but push it and put it in front of the right target, right audience,
14:01and it's, it's going to be hard for you to fail.
14:04Basically.
14:04So, that's my advice.
14:06Um, I didn't know that, I didn't know that then, but I know that now.
14:10So, now, I, I'm a boom-bap artist.
14:13I, uh, I split in the bars, and I'm, I'm more lyrical than anything.
14:17Yeah.
14:18And so, I put it in front of people that love that stuff.
14:20So, that's why, um, I, I have become a little more successful than others in the sense of
14:26maybe streaming and income and stuff like that, because I'm not worrying about credibility.
14:35You know, I'm just worrying about what I can do for the people that love my music, for them only.
14:41You understand what I'm saying?
14:42So, that's basically how I do it.
14:44Amazing.
14:45Yeah.
14:46Yeah.
14:46So, so, um, your, your, your project with, um, King Virtue, was it after Reflections also?
14:56Yeah, um, that one, that one was, well, you know, he, he contacted me one time, uh, it
15:05was, I think it was through Twitter, and he was like, you know, he gave me kudos, installed
15:12the, appreciate the lyricism I bring to the table for the culture and everything, and he
15:17wanted to work, he wanted to work with me.
15:18And I was like, yeah, let's, let's, let's do it, man.
15:21And we came up, and we actually created this project together.
15:26And I, and I'm, I'm not saying, he said, yo, I got a beat here, or he'll, he'll throw
15:30me a beat.
15:31It wasn't like that.
15:31It wasn't like the rest of, of other producers.
15:34It wasn't, it was never like that.
15:36It was like, on, on a phone call.
15:38You know, we were on the phone together.
15:39Hey, how about if I do this?
15:40How about if I do this?
15:41Let me, uh, check this out.
15:43Oh, and I'd be like, oh, how about if I take this out?
15:45What do you think?
15:46Uh, let's see.
15:47I think, yeah, this has a little better.
15:48It gives me a little bit more, more vibe.
15:50So we're building together a type of chemistry to create this album.
15:55This, uh, this new piece of album.
15:57You know what I'm saying?
15:58Looking forward to shit.
15:59So, and it was, it was totally different, um, um, and as a concern, we both are pushing
16:06it the right way.
16:07We're putting it in front of the right people.
16:09That's why it's got big numbers.
16:10So, you know what I'm saying?
16:11That's why I was hitting at a million streams around.
16:14Uh-huh, um, so, you know, we're doing what we're supposed to do.
16:18You know what I'm saying?
16:18It's not like ignoring, uh, uh, or anything like that.
16:22You know what I'm saying?
16:22So it's really, really becoming successful, um, in the streaming world and stuff like that.
16:28Yeah.
16:31For sure, for sure, for sure.
16:32So, but, but do you think, like, um, that, that, that stuff is missing, like, um, the,
16:38the, the, the, the collaborations with, um, MCs and, and, and producers?
16:44Because, you know, um, back in the day, it was so popular.
16:46Like, even when you had, like, uh, uh, gangsta, you know, DJ Premier and Guru doing that stuff.
16:52Well, um, I think, I think, uh, the collaborations is cool, but I think the collaborations only should
16:59happen when both MCs are actually pushing the record against me or making money together.
17:06And you, you are doing collaborations and one is falling off and the record's not going anywhere.
17:11Then it's a bogus collaboration because what are you doing it for?
17:16You know what I'm saying?
17:17If I'm going to do it, let's say me and you, let's say you're an artist, I'm an artist,
17:20and we do a record together, we both push at the same potential.
17:24You understand what I'm saying?
17:25And we get that to a further place and we can win and we can make money off of it.
17:29But if I'm pushing by myself, then only one rapper is actually just laying back and collecting the royalties.
17:37And that's not fair for the person that's pushing it.
17:39It's not fair.
17:40So collaboration within artists, I think it should only happen when it's beneficial for the both.
17:47You understand what I'm saying?
17:49I think the more important place to put your music is like the old days, the DJs.
17:56Get your music to the DJs.
17:58Let them break your record before it drops.
18:02Let them break it.
18:03You don't know where these guys will be going, DJing stuff, spinning records, scratching, and doing all this stuff.
18:09Maybe it's your record.
18:11You know what I'm saying?
18:12Just get your music to the DJs and let them break your records.
18:16You understand what I'm saying?
18:17Collaborations are cool.
18:18I'm not saying stay away from it.
18:21I'm not saying don't do it.
18:23You know what I'm saying?
18:24I think you should do it.
18:26But do it with the people that are working hard.
18:29Like, do it with an artist that is working.
18:32You see him out there.
18:33He's putting in work.
18:34He's doing shows.
18:35He's pushing his record.
18:36He's throwing stuff at people's faces.
18:39That's the emcee.
18:40That's the rapper you want to work with.
18:42He's active.
18:43People are paying attention.
18:45You're active.
18:46People are paying attention.
18:48So if you put two people that are doing the same thing and going hard at it, guess what's going
18:52to happen?
18:53You're going to go places with that record.
18:56You feel me?
18:56So that's my advice.
18:57Sure.
18:58Sure.
18:59Sure.
18:59Sure.
19:01Plus, I mean, you're also part of the Gold Squad crew.
19:06If I remember, is it also Keith and you?
19:12Yeah.
19:13The Gold Squad was a collective of emcees, producers, engineers, videographers.
19:22You name it.
19:23Podcasters, radio show hosts.
19:26We had it all.
19:27You know, we had it all.
19:28You know what I'm saying?
19:30But like all good things, everything goes separate.
19:33People go separate ways.
19:35We did.
19:36We did.
19:36We were a Gold Squad.
19:37And I think to this day, you know, at heart, we still will be a Gold Squad.
19:41You know what I'm saying?
19:42But we went separate ways.
19:44We branched out.
19:46We're doing different things.
19:47And, you know, who knows?
19:49Will we ever get back together?
19:52Only time will still.
19:53Will we start collabing together, doing things together?
19:58Time will also tell.
19:59You know what I'm saying?
20:00It's not that we're not messing with each other.
20:04We're just trying out new things and branching out, doing things, and seeing where we can go individually.
20:10And, you know, maybe bringing that back and pushing forward after that, after we get more and more of a
20:17recognition of being a solo artist.
20:21You know what I'm saying?
20:22Not as a group, but as a collective.
20:24Yeah, man.
20:24I was part of the Gold Squad, man.
20:26It was an amazing, amazing group.
20:29I think it was one of the best groups out there at the time.
20:34I think it was a couple months back.
20:36It wasn't so long ago.
20:37You know what I'm saying?
20:38We were really, like, top.
20:40You know what I'm saying?
20:41We did our thing.
20:43Yeah, man.
20:43Salute to all the ex-goats out there, man.
20:46You know what I'm saying?
20:48For sure.
20:49Yeah, man.
20:50Anytime y'all want to collab and stuff like that, y'all already know y'all got my number anyway.
20:54They have my number.
20:55They know what the deal is, man.
20:57Definitely.
20:57You know what?
20:58Definitely.
20:59I'm going to pass the message around.
21:02Because I remember, I think it was Keith or Mike Hoffa who introduced me to your stuff.
21:13Yeah, man.
21:13And I was like, oh, this is amazing.
21:15Yeah, Salute to y'all, Keith Banger and Mike Hoffa for introducing me, man.
21:19Which it does to me.
21:20For sure.
21:21For sure.
21:21For sure.
21:21For sure.
21:22For sure.
21:22Anytime we get, like, a connection or we need to plug one another, we will.
21:30You know what I'm saying?
21:31Like, yo, check this out.
21:31I think this is good for you.
21:32Yo, check this out.
21:33I think you would fit good here.
21:35Hey, guess what?
21:36Guess who's doing this?
21:37Guess who's doing that?
21:38You know, we help each other out.
21:40And that was the whole part of Ghost Squad.
21:42Like, actually sharing information and making sure we plug each other in so we can all win.
21:49Do you understand what I'm saying?
21:51Yeah.
21:52Plus, I saw a lot of you guys doing a lot of features with each other and working with each
21:58other.
21:58I was like, man, that's amazing.
22:01Yeah.
22:01So, what do you think is it that makes you guys become so consistent in doing that?
22:07The love for it, culture, understanding that, you know what, everything starts at the bottom and foundation is at the
22:17bottom.
22:17So, we have to hold it together for the culture.
22:20You know, without the underground, how can hip-hop, you know what I'm saying, sustain anything brutal?
22:30You understand what I'm saying?
22:31It's just like foundation is foundation, right?
22:34So, if the foundation of your house is good, it's not going to fall.
22:38So, as long as we do that, I think for the culture, that's what means the most.
22:45You know what I'm saying?
22:46We love to do it.
22:48We just love to do it.
22:50We can't live without it, man.
22:52That's the truth.
22:53There's no way to live without it, man.
22:55It's just like there'll be so many people depressed, you know what I'm saying, if it wasn't for music.
23:00It's crazy, it's crazy, but yeah, we're doing something for that, man.
23:04We do it because we love it, and yeah, man, any little day we get out of it, and whether
23:09it's financially, whether it's not financially, it doesn't matter.
23:13I mean, as long as we get to do it, and we love to do it, you know?
23:18For sure, for sure, for sure.
23:19Speaking about, you know, people out there being depressed, you did go for, like, for mental health and...
23:28Yeah, it was a full blast thing.
23:33I think so soon was the corporate in and finding that out, and then he introduced it, and then we
23:40all got involved with it,
23:42because we understand that mental health is a real thing.
23:46Suicide also is a real thing, so we say, you know what, we need to contribute, and we need to
23:51do this, you know what I'm saying, just for the cause, you know what I'm saying?
23:55And we did that, and some of the girl squad, ex-girl squad members are still doing it, you know
24:02what I'm saying, for mental health and stuff like that, suicide prevention, because it's really, really important.
24:07Even celebrities go through that, even celebrities go through that, no matter how much money they got.
24:12So, you know, to stick with that and do that for a living, sacrifice finances, because it's not cheap, you
24:21know?
24:21You got to pay for a lot of stuff, you know, housing, like, if you're doing a five-day tour,
24:26you need a place to stay, you need a place to sit and lay your head, you need to eat,
24:31you know what I'm saying?
24:32You need gas money, because you're using your own vehicle.
24:34It's not like, we got a record company that has a tour bus for us, and it's touring us all
24:40over the place, we don't have to worry about that, but that wasn't the case.
24:44You know, we got to take care of ourselves, and we have to take off out of work.
24:49You know, some of us do have a nine-to-five, you know, it's blue-collar, you know what I'm
24:52saying?
24:53It's that blue-collar rap, you know what I'm saying?
24:54That's like, it's nine-to-five and then music, you know what I'm saying?
24:59So we have to take care of being absent from there, and then making up that money later just to
25:05fulfill this full blasting for mental health and suicide prevention.
25:10It's that important that it made us to take off and forget about our regular lives to actually do that.
25:18And it was a lot of fun doing it, man.
25:20You know, being together under the roof, same roof, sleeping under the same roof, traveling together, you know, taking it,
25:29having fun, you know what I'm saying?
25:31It was great, it was great, man.
25:33That summer was so good, it was so good, man.
25:35Yeah, man.
25:36For sure, for sure.
25:37So how do you handle, like, your time with family and everything?
25:43Because it seems like you guys are always, like, busy and stuff like that.
25:46No, man, it's like this phone is stuck to my hand all given times.
25:51As long as your significant other understands your point, understands, listen, I'm an artist, this is what I do.
26:04I'm always, listen, I'm always going to be on my phone, not because I don't want to be attentive to
26:09what's going on with the family,
26:10family time, or nine to five, whatever the case may be, but this is what I must do.
26:16This is what I do for a living.
26:18I did it before you, and I'll probably do it after you.
26:22You know, I'm not trying to be disrespectful.
26:24I'm not trying to be a person that doesn't want to pay attention to you or to anybody else.
26:30But I need this phone to be stuck to me because this is what I do, and I'm an independent
26:38artist,
26:39and independent artists do not have the luxury to go ahead and have other people do it for them.
26:45So we have to do it for ourselves so it's more time-consuming, and, you know, that's what it is.
26:51You know what I'm saying?
26:51As long as you become, you know, real, you be real with the person and your family,
26:57whatever the case may be, they should be able to understand who you are
27:01and what you do for your second part of your life, and that's music.
27:06You know what I'm saying?
27:07It's just, that's what we got to do.
27:09We juggle shit, man.
27:09We have to do it.
27:11You know?
27:12I don't sleep.
27:13For sure, for sure.
27:13I don't sleep.
27:14I'm going to tell you.
27:14I don't sleep.
27:15True that.
27:16True that.
27:17Because, you know, I even saw you on the Grime World side.
27:21I was like, man, that's like the people that are, the artists that are there
27:27are really top-tier artists that you can find in the underground.
27:31How was that like?
27:32Oh, that was amazing.
27:33The pressure.
27:34The whole atmosphere was incredible.
27:37It was crazy because when you go there, you see all these artists,
27:41and, like, you know, you see them on social media.
27:44You never see them in person.
27:46So, when you're there, you're in person.
27:47They're just like regular people, man.
27:49They're all like regular people, man.
27:51You know what I'm saying?
27:53And we're all there.
27:55We're chopping it up.
27:56There's a lot of artists being together, talking, having a good time.
28:01When it's time, you know, to take care of business, we go up there,
28:03we take care of business, and, you know, man, it's just a lot of fun
28:07having a lot of artists together.
28:09You understand what I'm saying?
28:10But, man, man, it's great.
28:14For sure.
28:14It was him so, man.
28:15You've got to come out to one of those Rhymo ciphers.
28:21If you're out here, you know what I'm saying, maybe, you know,
28:24you can go ahead and attend.
28:26And just see for yourself.
28:27It's a different animal.
28:29You're going to love that.
28:30For sure.
28:31For sure.
28:32Because one of my brothers here, a DJ, I'm sure you maybe must have heard
28:40of him, Malefactor.
28:41He did one of the instrumentals for the Rhymo cipher.
28:45Nice.
28:46Nice.
28:46Yeah.
28:47Yeah.
28:47Yeah.
28:47So, like, I could tell, I mean, just him posting it and everything,
28:53like, the work ethic on that platform.
28:57It's amazing what you guys are doing there.
28:59Yeah.
28:59It's serious, man.
29:00Serious stuff.
29:02Just because it's not our bread and butter, a nine-to-fives.
29:05Some of us, it is a nine-to-fives.
29:07There's some artists there that that's all they do is music and try to, like,
29:11don't even have a nine-to-five.
29:12And just, that's what they do.
29:13And they hustle that all day long.
29:15And I understand it because I also, you know, hustle that shit all day long, too.
29:23And I have a nine-to-five.
29:25You feel me?
29:26And it's difficult.
29:27It's that difficult for me.
29:29And I could just imagine how difficult it is for them.
29:31Because you've got to understand one thing.
29:33If you don't have fans, if you don't generate fans, then you're heading to a dead end, buddy.
29:40You know what I'm saying?
29:40It's like, you've got to, you've got to, the only people listening to your stuff is the people that really
29:45like your stuff.
29:46People buying your merch is your fans.
29:48Not, not, not your loved ones, you know, not your family members.
29:52It's the people that really, really love your shit.
29:55You know what I'm saying?
29:56For sure.
29:57So, yeah, man.
29:58For sure, for sure.
29:58You've got to come out and check them out, man.
30:01Definitely.
30:02I really, I really should come.
30:05Yeah, man.
30:05I should speak to Keith.
30:06Plan that shit.
30:07Plan that shit.
30:08Come down and, you know, attend.
30:09Look at it.
30:11It's the experience that shit.
30:13You know what, man?
30:14It's the greatest thing ever, man.
30:15For real.
30:17For sure, for sure.
30:18So, so, I mean, I also saw, like, your performances where you've, like, you've, you've opened for, for Yangtze, Pequan,
30:28you know, Afro.
30:29Oh, yeah.
30:29Yeah, man.
30:30Those are, like, those are dope artists.
30:32Like, how was that like?
30:34Oh, it was incredible.
30:35It was incredible, man.
30:36Just to be on the stage with them.
30:40Just to see, just to know that, oh, my God, you know what?
30:43I do belong up here.
30:44You know what I'm saying?
30:45This is great.
30:46The atmosphere is crazy.
30:48People are more humble than you think.
30:51You know what I'm saying?
30:51Everybody has that, that, that hip-hop love.
30:56You know what I'm saying?
30:56There's nothing like it.
30:57You know what I'm saying?
30:58Yeah.
30:58You know, no one's jealous of one another.
31:01No one's, you know, no one's beating each other up or stuff like that, man.
31:05It's just all culture, man.
31:06Yeah, it's beautiful, man.
31:08It's not, it's not like what people think.
31:10You feel me?
31:10Yeah.
31:11You know?
31:12But yeah, man, it was, it was a great feeling, man.
31:15Being up there and performing it in front of people and doing what you love to do, man.
31:20It's just beautiful.
31:21You know what I'm saying?
31:22For sure, for sure, for sure, for sure.
31:25But do you, do you find it challenging, like, because it's not just you performing for yourself,
31:33now you're being placed in the position where you're opening for other people.
31:37Do you find it like it's different experiences?
31:42Yeah, I mean, it's different because, you know, it's, it's a crowd.
31:48You know what I'm saying?
31:49Yeah.
31:49Um, it's, it's some, you got artists in there.
31:54You got people that are looking for other artists, are there for other artists, and
31:58you want to press, impress them, too.
32:00Maybe one of them could become one of your, you know, one of your fans and stuff like that.
32:05You know what I'm saying?
32:06It's, it's, it's, it's, it's your opportunity is there, you know?
32:09And you got to take advantage of the opportunity and perform how you perform.
32:13You know what I'm saying?
32:14Like, you got to do it.
32:16It's, it's no different than doing a video.
32:18You know what I'm saying?
32:19You know, it's, it's no different.
32:21You know, you got the camera in front of you, yeah.
32:23But then here, you just got people in front of you.
32:26You know what I'm saying?
32:27You know, it's, it's nerve-wracking in the, in the beginning.
32:29Like, you get nervous.
32:30You know what I'm saying?
32:31Like, everybody gets nervous.
32:33You know what I'm saying?
32:33But when you get out there, you start, when you start hearing the beat and everything,
32:37you start warming up.
32:38It just feels good.
32:40You know what I'm saying?
32:41It's just crazy, man.
32:42I love this.
32:43For sure.
32:44I love that.
32:46For sure.
32:47So, so, so, so, are there, are there any, like, any upcoming albums that you're working
32:52on now?
32:53Yeah.
32:54I'm working on, well, I finished the project with K-Banger.
32:58It's called The Statement.
33:00It's an EP.
33:01It will be dropping, I think, in July.
33:05It will be dropping in July.
33:08We got some videos already made for it.
33:12Like, we got a, one is already out, Feed Off Me.
33:15It's already out on YouTube.
33:19We have a video for Amen.
33:23We have a video for Celebrated.
33:25That's another one that's on the EP.
33:27And we're going to be working on some other videos for the, hopefully we get a lot of videos
33:33done for that project.
33:34I'm trying to get a video.
33:35I think, I think, I think I should, I should interview you guys then.
33:40For both of you.
33:42For when, after you guys.
33:44Oh, for the, for the EP.
33:46Yeah, yeah, yeah.
33:47Yeah, for the EP, yeah.
33:48Hell yeah, that'll be great.
33:50That'll be great, actually.
33:51Yeah, man.
33:52We can do that.
33:52Yeah, so we're working on that EP.
33:54It comes out in July.
33:55I got, I got a song coming out this May 13th.
34:00Yeah, yeah, yeah.
34:00It's called They Thought by me.
34:03Vince Vega from France.
34:05Yeah.
34:05And Ja Eyes from France as well.
34:08We, you know, he's, he's talking his shit in France.
34:11I'm talking my shit in English.
34:13Yeah, yeah.
34:13And it's hip-hop, man.
34:14Wow.
34:14We're doing the hip-hop.
34:15Wow, we're tearing it up.
34:17It's coming out this May 13th in a couple days.
34:20Yeah.
34:21I don't know what I'm releasing next month in June.
34:25I'm releasing something, but I got like two songs that I don't know which one I'm going
34:28to release, but, you know, I'm going to release it.
34:30And then I got the EP in July.
34:32And then I'm going to push that EP for like three months, man.
34:35I'm not going to, I'm going to be doing that shit for three months.
34:38I'm working on another record.
34:39It's probably October.
34:41You know what I'm saying?
34:42But that's about it.
34:43So far, you know, I'm not doing anything outrageous.
34:48Yeah.
34:48You know what I'm saying?
34:49But so far, so good.
34:51Yeah.
34:51So far, so good.
34:52And then maybe do some performances with K-Bender.
34:55We'll let you know when that hits the surface.
34:59Yeah, for sure, for sure.
35:00Yeah, man.
35:01Because I keep asking rappers to send me the flyers for the events, you know, so that there
35:11are fans who might be actually on our platform to see it, you know.
35:16So that the reach out is much more, I guess.
35:22You got to expand.
35:23You got to expand.
35:24You know, United States is not the only hip-hop spot.
35:27You know, you got South Africa, where you're at.
35:30Yeah.
35:30We got France, you know what I'm saying?
35:33We got a lot of places overseas, man.
35:36Romania is another place, you know.
35:37A lot of hip-hop fans.
35:39I mean, try to get your music everywhere.
35:41It starts with the DJs, you know what I'm saying?
35:43It starts with interviews like this, you know what I'm saying?
35:48Getting your music out, getting your name out there.
35:50The more you do it, the more better it is for you as an artist.
35:54Because you're independent, you know.
35:56You don't got people, a record company behind you doing the work for you.
36:00You have to do it for yourself, you know what I'm saying?
36:02And you just got to do it.
36:04You can't be lazy about it, but you got to do it.
36:06You show up.
36:07For sure, for sure.
36:08Yeah, because the challenge that I'm having is, like, you know, I don't know, like,
36:14like, what is it that we're missing as podcasters in the hip-hop movement,
36:21like, that we have to do to, you know, help.
36:28To catch wave, to catch wave.
36:30Yeah, to catch wave, you know what I'm saying?
36:32Yeah.
36:33Because, like.
36:34You got to catch wave.
36:35All right, so that phrase right there alone should give you an idea.
36:40You know, you look at a surfboard.
36:43And he's getting on his surfboard, and he's paddling, paddling.
36:48And what he's waiting for.
36:49He's waiting for that right wave.
36:51Yeah.
36:51So he can ride it, right?
36:52So that's the same thing you got to do.
36:54You got to podcasting, whatever the podcasting is about, whatever you're doing,
37:00you got to get it in.
37:00Like, everybody else got to get it in front of the right people.
37:03So if you put in your podcast in front of whatever this is, right?
37:07Like, this is podcast.
37:08This is interview, right?
37:09So we're doing a podcast interview.
37:11And if we don't put it in front of the right people that like this kind of stuff,
37:14we're not going to get no traction.
37:16You understand what I'm saying?
37:17You're doing the right thing because, you know, you got me on here.
37:20You got you on here.
37:22And we have a lot of artists, hip-hop artists that love the same shit,
37:25that love to do this stuff, right?
37:26So you got them that, you know, you got artists that want to get on
37:30and get an interview.
37:32And your only choice right now is to try to find out other podcasters
37:38that are doing the same thing as you and seeing their audience,
37:43seeing their reaction.
37:44That takes you to go in there, take a little look, see who's conversating,
37:49see who's engaging.
37:50And those people that are talking about it, engaging who's in that room,
37:54those are the people that you should be contacting.
37:56Hey, I saw that you was looking at this podcast, whatever it is.
38:02I also like that podcast, you know.
38:05But I also do a podcast that's similar to them.
38:07You should come check out what I'm doing also.
38:10You might like it.
38:11So they might just say, you know what?
38:13I don't have to stay stuck with this guy.
38:15I can also go to him, you know, hip-hop,
38:18and I can go to Hip-Hop Nation and check out what he's talking about,
38:22who he has on there, who knows.
38:23You might have, like, a Joel Ortiz or somebody else up there,
38:26you know, like a Royce the 5'9 on your show.
38:30So maybe they could tune in.
38:32You know, they could tune into that.
38:33But that's the people that you've got to target.
38:36But in order for you to target those people,
38:39you've got to target the podcasters that are doing the same thing you're doing
38:44and see if you can get and borrow some viewers from them to come to yours.
38:49And that's how you start.
38:50You understand what I'm saying?
38:51That's my advice to you.
38:53Thanks, thanks.
38:54Because I've been battling with that, you know,
38:58because, like, I do have artists here at home who are hip-hop artists,
39:03so, like, I'm managing them, you know.
39:05And I've always asked myself, like,
39:07like, am I doing the right thing when it comes to making them network?
39:12But listening to what you're saying,
39:14now it gives me, like, a clear idea, like, what I have to do.
39:21Exactly.
39:21Because if you just concentrate on artists,
39:23let's say you just concentrate on artists and just keep putting artists
39:26and you keep doing this over and over, right?
39:29Yeah, yeah.
39:29It's not going to get you anywhere because it's just artists, right?
39:33Yeah.
39:33Now, if you tap into people that love podcasting,
39:37in order for you to do that,
39:38you've got to go into other people's podcasting
39:41and they may have more viewers than you.
39:44But that doesn't mean nothing.
39:45You're not comparing yourself to them.
39:47All you're doing is seeing who is paying attention,
39:50who is chatting it up in the chat box in the bottom,
39:53who's talking about it, who's being engaged.
39:55Those are the people you start writing.
39:57Either you write it down or screen record, whatever you think.
40:00I see this guy.
40:01And you contact him.
40:02Hey, I see that you like this podcast by Joe Schmo.
40:06And I got a similar podcast.
40:09Come over to mine.
40:10You might like mine as well.
40:11And then they come over.
40:12They start seeing what you're doing.
40:13They start liking it.
40:14They start telling their friends.
40:16And then all of a sudden, you're borrowing viewers.
40:19You know what I'm saying?
40:20When they're not doing podcasts, you're doing yours.
40:22So they're coming to you.
40:24You know what I'm saying?
40:24And they're going to that.
40:25You know, it's just that's how you got to do it.
40:27You got to borrow a little bit.
40:28You know what I'm saying?
40:29You got to borrow a little bit.
40:30That's amazing.
40:32But before you leave us, my brother, please let the family know where they can reach you
40:38in terms of your social media platforms and maybe even an email address, you know, for those
40:46who want to contact you for work.
40:49Yeah, yeah, definitely.
40:51If anybody want to contact me, you can go ahead and hit me up at truewordsmusic.com.
40:58That's my website.
40:59I have everything there you need.
41:01Whether you want to buy merch, you want to buy music, or you want to just listen to music.
41:05I have my videos up there, my content up there.
41:09You can contact me through there.
41:11Or you can go ahead and hit me up on social media, on Instagram, at truewords, T-R-U-W
41:19-E-R-D-Z.
41:22Also, on Twitter, you can contact me, you can contact me there, at truewords, also, at truewords, that's T-R
41:29-U-W-E-R-D-Z, with a Z.
41:32Not an S, Z.
41:35If you put an S, you might catch somebody else.
41:37You know what I'm saying?
41:41Yeah, yeah, yeah.
41:42So, go ahead and contact me, man.
41:44We can chop it up.
41:45I'm not a stubborn guy.
41:46I'm not a stuck-up artist.
41:48I'm always wanting to talk back to people and talk with people, chop it up, and stuff like that, man.
41:53And yeah, man, hit me up through the DMs.
41:55It doesn't matter where you hit me up, but make sure you visit my website.
41:59That's the most place I spend my time at.
42:03You can contact me through there, man.
42:05That's truewordsmusic.com.
42:09Truewordsmusic.com.
42:11Yeah, I think I should share the link probably later, then, so that they'll probably remember it.
42:20Because I heard you mention something about merchandise.
42:24Yeah, I got merch up there.
42:26It's a bar head merch.
42:27For sure.
42:30For sure.
42:30Yeah, it's for those who like bars and stuff like that, man.
42:34You feel me?
42:35Yeah, yeah.
42:35For sure.
42:36For sure.
42:37For sure.
42:37So, we're definitely going to check it out.
42:40Man, I'm looking forward to it, man.
42:43Hearing the project with Keith.
42:46Yeah, man.
42:47He's also amazing.
42:48I can't stop listening to it, Joe.
42:50I'm going to tell you, Joe.
42:50I'm not even lying, man.
42:53I'm listening to this shit every day, man.
42:56It's crazy.
42:57It's so good.
42:58It's so good, man.
42:59You got to listen to it, man.
43:00I can't wait for it, man.
43:03So, yeah, man.
43:04Definitely, we got to do an interview with you guys.
43:09Definitely.
43:09You know.
43:10Yeah, I still even owe Mike an interview as well.
43:17Yeah.
43:17I also owe him an interview.
43:19Get him off, man.
43:21Get him off.
43:32So, definitely.
43:34Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
43:35My brother, I appreciate you.
43:37Salute to you.
43:38Salute, brother.
43:40Salute to everybody that tapped in, too, man.
43:42I appreciate y'all for tapping in.
43:44Appreciate y'all, man.
43:44For sure.
43:45For sure.
43:45For sure.
43:46That's love right there.
43:46Thanks, man.
43:48Shout out.
43:48Shout out.
43:49Peace.
43:49Peace.
43:50Much love.
43:50Much love.
43:51Peace.
44:04That's freezing.
44:12Hey, guys.
44:14I'm going to show you if I'm alive, if you still see me.
44:19Shout out to everyone that was watching.
44:26Yeah.
44:41Yeah.
44:43Yeah.
44:44Yeah.
44:45Yeah.
44:46Yeah.
44:47Yeah.
44:51Yeah.
44:59Yeah.
45:08Yeah.
45:10Yeah.
45:12Yeah.
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