- I Gotta first commend you, man,
I got to take off my glasses for this
but I got to commend you for this man
because you'd say, the last album
and if this is so, this is a
mother fucking swan song, bro.
It's a fire album, front to back.
- So you heard it?
- I did.
I did my homework, man.
I did my homework.
I got to ask you a question.
- Yeah.
- On dad bod I think you said like,
I think you can tell
me more about diapers.
the the modern day rappers and exipis.
Tell me about your diaper technique, man.
How does it work, man?
Well, you always...
Well, there's two kinds of diapers,
is your standard diaper
and then there's the diaper
that lets if there's pee in the diaper.
- Okay.
- But you have a standard diaper,
you have to just path the front of it
and if it's feels kind of thick,
then that you got to change the diaper.
And then you put them on the station.
And then there's the wet
wipes and you handled it.
Yeah, I mean, I've literally
had shit all over me, so.
(laughs)
It's like really dope though.
It's like 'cause I stepped to the booth
and I know exactly what to do I stepped
to my child and I'm like, oh shit,
- you know you're a diaper
so bought them for 40 bucks.
- Yeah, probably not as good
as mom but I'm pretty good.
- And listen that's dope bro.
And again man,
I want to congratulate you
all fatherhood man the family.
It's so dope man and I'm curious
because I've been talking a
lot of MC during this pandemic.
Obviously, what you call
in this album your last.
How much did the pandemic along
with fatherhood play into
that role of you wanting
to step back from raping?
- Well, I was already going
to take this year off.
So like what you have to
understand with me is a year off,
or time away for me just means time like
really not touring or traveling.
That's what I perceived to be time off,
'cause I'm working on film and
TV shows and carts in books
and autobiographies in my artists
and my labels and all
these this different stuff.
So the pandemic really
didn't have anything
to do with me.
Retiring, I think it made it a lot easier,
Like, my manager was like,
yo, it's crazy that you
decided to take this year off,
'cause last year, like
a year and a half ago,
or this time last year,
is when I was like,
yo, after the tour after all this,
like I'm off, 'cause
I'm gonna have my baby
and I wanna be there for that,
and so it just kind of
worked out perfectly.
I just wanted to retire
'cause I'm just over it man,
Like, and not even in,
like a negative way,
I'm just over it, I'm just over it.
Like, I love I love music,
and I'm gonna continue to
like make music on my own.
I don't know, I just can't not make music.
It's a journal for me.
It's how I express myself.
It's how I heal.
But, I mean, yeah, no,
that's awesome logic,
Like, I'm just not I'm stepping
away and the thing is too
I'm not trying to make
it this big show like,
Oh my God because it's not that deep.
You either believe me or you don't
and I don't give a shit.
- Yeah.
- I mean, it's just like I'm
over here doing my thing.
- Bro was crazy because
every time I saw you, man,
you always had this passion for hip hop.
Like some guys, it's just a show
but you live, eat, breathe, hip hop,
and even just listening to hit my line.
Like the fans man, is
one thing like for you
to just say goodbye to the
game of fans who even said it.
You're addicted to the arena's the fans,
talk to them about like
this departure as far
'cause you're a superhero
for a lot of kids man.
- Well, that's very sweet of you to say,
and I'll still do the best
that I can I guess to be that
'cause I just see myself as a no.
You know what I mean
but the cool thing here is if anything
is gonna connect me and my
fans now more than ever,
because I'm not like
painstakingly in the studio,
like every little thing has to be perfect
and all this other stuff
or thinking about the people who love it
or won't like it or this or that or this.
Now I can just be on
Twitch stream with my fans
have conversations with my fans
play video games with my
fans make beats for my fans,
there's some weird stuff
that like to do giveaways.
I want to make beats for
up and coming rappers
on the spot and give it to them for free.
And if they take it,
don't charge them and
don't even take publishing
and be like, here you go.
- Wow.
I wanna connect with my fans
in a way that I haven't
been able to in a long time,
because social media itself is so toxic.
So by allowing me to now
jump on Twitch, right?
Where it's you have to
pay to be able to comment,
it's not about the money.
It's about the fact that if
you really genuinely care,
you will pay so that we
can engage with each other,
taking out certain negative keywords,
that so that it's a safe space.
I mean, to me now where we are
within the age of streaming,
it's like a gift and a curse.
It's amazing because think
about how many hip hop heads
are gonna listen to my album
and then probably also listen
to like whoever's dropping on Friday,
just because they can,
because they pay 1299 or
whatever it is a month
to be able to do so regardless
of whatever their subscription
based streaming services.
But for me, it's about like
when people used to get
on the bus and two buses and
ride all the way to the store
and wait in line and pick up a CD,
like they actually cared.
To do that, so for me,
that's how I feel regarding Twitch
because if you really care
you're not gonna come there
just to hate, you're going to pay so that
we can talk to each other.
- Shout out to Twitch
man, and like to tell you,
you're able to make with them to man,
it's crazy because the
true talking about like
social media it can be
it can be a good place.
It could be a toxic place,
and you have a song on the
album called dark place.
- Yeah.
- I'm curious man,
like how were you able to
get over certain aspects
of your celebrity And
out of that dark space
to that and I saw you said like,
You caught yourself,
I've done it before you caught
yourself googling yourself.
- Yeah.
When you do that, you see some bullshit.
- A dark place wasn't
supposed to be on this album.
It was a song that I wrote when this album
was done and I just wrote the song.
And it was actually on
another instrumental
by another artist that
I won't really get into.
It was like on some mixtape shit like true
to form Wayne type.
And I wrote the song and I
just wrote it from my heart.
And I wrote it in a way
that I didn't really care.
Because, I talk about being rich
but still battling anxiety and depression.
I talk about my race, which has
been a joke on the internet.
I talked about all these things
that I wanted to talk about to heal,
and then I was like, but
I'm not gonna put this out.
And then, and then people
heard it, and we're like,
yo, this has to go on the album.
And I'm like, no,
and it's this whole thing
and blah, blah, blah.
And then so we had...
so I called my buddy Toro Imwon he like,
helped me reproduce out
that and it worked, man,
but I don't know I think it was just
because I was in my head like,
nobody's ever gonna hear this ever
in a million years is why it was so good,
and then my team and my friends
and people I respect and
mentors no ID being like,
this has to go on the album.
Like this is too good
not to put on the album.
And yeah and it's the first
song I've ever made in my entire life
where it's like a downer
song like sad song
and doesn't end like,
but it'll be all right,
it doesn't end like,
and I think that's why it's so perfect
because the last line is it's okay
to be sad sometimes entire to shit.
It's okay to feel that way.
And I think that's another like Kid Cudi,
I would listen to his music and still do
and sometimes it isn't
always like, the momentous,
everything's gonna be okay.
It's really like, I'm sad.
I'm going through it.
Here's a song like.
- yeah, I think it's kind
of crazy what you're saying,
especially with the album
being titled No Crusher.
So when you have a dark space in there,
you're kind of like,
huh,mmh, that's an interesting
switch on the album
and with me saying that
debut album under pressure,
mind state as a man of the
artists can you compare
those days being under pressure?
Trying to make it from the mixtape grind
to now feeling no pressure as a rapper.
'couse you got the accolades?
- Yes, I think this is
the only album I ever made
where I realized I wasn't
up and coming anymore.
My whole career I've felt up
and coming every every album,
every mixtape all the
way to my previous album.
Even though that album was more
I was just kind of having
fun, you know what I mean?
But I always felt like I was up and coming
I always compared myself to everyone else
and all this other deep inside I did.
And with this album,
I just wasn't I wasn't on the internet,
I didn't listen to any rap
unless it was like classic shit.
I Just I listened to like
Mack DeMarco and Toro Imwon.
Just I listen to a lot of indie music
and classic 70s and soul and Al Green
and shit like that Marvin
Gaye and stuff like
that's what I'm on.
And that's what I was on more than ever
with this album I think
with my first album
I was trying to do everything that I could
to be relevant be liked,
have people care about me.
And with this album, it's kind of like
I don't give a fuck if you like me
or not like this is what it
is and I must be at a place
of success if you don't like me
and you're still listening to this album.
So I was like, coming
to the conclusion that
people who love me will love
me people who don't won't,
so just make this from from my heart.
But yeah, it was painstaking dog like
but in a good way like every
bar like you don't understand.
I haven't not even in my
whole career Have I been like
every bar has to be just crazy.
Every beat every line every that
like I went in like you.
- Your pen your focus was just
on a whole different level.
I was wondering if it's
because the additional no ID
hadn't been heavily involved in this one
and just wanna be your smart focus
'cause the pen was
different this time around.
- I think it was a lot of things,
yeah, It was like,
no ID and me and six in
the studio making beats
and knowing that this was
going to be my farewell,
because I had this I had this album
that I wanted to do for a
long time called ultra 85,
which I was kind of like,
to ease the fans with.
And then I realized I don't want to do it.
This is that like, this album,
no pressure is that album,
that album that all the
fans have been waiting for,
and I've been trolling
them for, it's this album.
And just kind of minus the
conclusion of Thomas and Kai,
the characters that I created
from the incredible true story.
So it's really it's very much,
so this is it, man.
I don't know how to explain it.
I just I mean,
I wrote for the first time
in 15 years on pen and paper.
I wasn't in my phone,
I would I would like write a bar,
two bars, four lines, stop,
go do some shit come back two days later
write another two lines.
Sometimes I'd go four pages in
a row and it would just flow.
But yeah, on a lot of albums
I've done even my first albums
and stuff I would just write
on my phone do it really quick,
rap it, do it, package it,
there it is, that's what it is.
This I've never dived so
deep into myself into the art
and it's also like a...
It's love and respect to hip hop,
when you listen to the samples that
'cause now hip hop is,
in it's 40 plus years at
a place where it's like,
hip hop itself can be sample,
and you have these on GP for
growing pains for sampling,
elevators by outcasts,
and like they had to clear
they had to sign off on that.
So to know that I created something
that they felt proud of letting me do,
or the conversations I
had with Erykah Badu are,
like so many different people
and like it's like a love letter to rap.
You know What I mean?
Like this whole album is I'm sorry
and I'm talking a lot this.
- No, no, no, you Good.
- It's really like, I love you hip hop.
And I know you love me
and I've appreciated our time together.
But I know what's more important
and like hip hop has been
the most important thing
in my life since I was a kid.
So for me to say it's not
anymore, is a big deal.
So I had to put because my son
and my family's my main focus,
I had to give it give
everything I possibly could
to know I could proudly step away
and that's what I'm doing.
- Wow, Man, that's really
what you saying that
because again, your
mindset is elevated versus
your first album versus the
previous album we spoke before.
And just hearing you do
a growing pain for it,
doing you still it's so cool too,
like, what was that like?
Kind of read jumping on that beat again
like five plus six plus like--
- let me tell you this first of all dog,
that beat is not the same beat.
Here's why, the original beat
was in interpolation, right?
Or a replay, originally of that sample,
because we couldn't find the
person who owned the sample.
So I had to like,
we play it and do kind of
like my own version of it.
This version if you
play them back to back,
you will hear this opera
singer and all this stuff
from back in like the 50s and 60s.
I just hunt down this
dude, he's French, man.
Meldon, I'd hunt him down.
We had to get lawyers who
spoke French and English
to communicate, bro, I
had to pay a lot of money.
I'm making no money on this album though,
The sample--
Bro, It's crazy.
So but yeah, it was so funny to man.
It's something that I always wanted to do.
So this version of soul
food is like the version
because what you're
getting is the original
actual sample that we have and stuff,
so the quality so much better
this time around the writing like,
I mean, dude, just the amount
of bars and I'm so excited
to do breakdowns I'm gonna
actually announce soon
so you kind of low key having exclusive
that I'm gonna do an eat
instruction of this final album
on Twitch and go through
every single song,
every lyric every meaning everything.
So you understand like I got a line
where I say one of my favorites
is like reading Nostradamus at 90 degrees,
you better believe I know how
to turn a profit with ease.
So to break that down,
what I'm talking about is how
I can monetarily make a profit,
but Nostradamus was a prophet,
who foresaw the future.
So if I'm reading his books at 90 degrees,
I'm easily turning a profit
or diacritical lifestyle
I'm always overseas
is the following line.
I had to look up what a
diacritical character is,
a diacritical characters
a little squiggly line
over certain accent
letters like in Spanish,
You know what I mean?
Like, or France like or French
like francais or there's
so that there's that little character.
So it's like diacritical lifestyle.
I'm always overseas,
but I'm talking about being
overseas and doing my thing,
but I'm also talking about.
So it's just like little
tiny things like that,
that go the extra mile for
me to open up an English book
and understand at 30 years old,
what forms of grammar are just so
that I can create a punch
line I've never done before,
You know what I mean?
I think--
- That's awesome.
- Yeah.
- No, no, that's awesome.
I was gonna say, like,
proven that you're still
a lyrical technician
while weaving in stores is dope like,
and you said something,
It's just super simple.
But to me, it kind of still hit hard.
I forget that song was
but you said something to the effect,
Like, you felt like
hip hop taught you more
than your mom and dad.
And when you say something like that,
I'm wondering because we
know what hip hop taught you
what Would you say you make
a talk from your family
from your mom that you keep with you
as you're raising your family?
- I mean, honestly,
it's all the things of what not to do.
And that's not me trying to like,
talk about my mother or even
my dad in a negative way,
but it's just so true,
like it was all the things
they did that I was like,
okay, this is what you don't do.
Being on drugs and alcohol
or hitting your kids
or leaving them alone by
themselves at 10 years old
for a week and a half
while you go hang out
with your friends or
like things like that,
like, that's what I took
and even though it's it kind of sucks
that it's negative stuff.
I'm just happy that I had learned
that at a young age and understood that
and continue to carry that with me
so it's yeah, man.
It's been it's been a pretty
gnarly journey, I love it.
- It really has man and like, again,
I want to go back to hit my lawn
because you mentioned that God references,
you talking to God, you talking to God,
What was the last
conversation you had with God?
Where like, you just needed
him in more ways than one
or like even then What's your
relationship with him today?
- Well, yeah, okay,
so I am not a religious
man but I do believe
in a creator I believe in
something bigger than myself
and whether you want to call
that atoms and particles
that created this big bang
or whatever the case may be,
I definitely don't think
God's a fucking white dude
with a beard sitting on
a cloud for for sure,
I'm saying but I respect others
I respect their religions.
I don't know I can't say
what is and what isn't.
I just kind of am open minded
in that regard but yeah,
my relationship with God is a positive one
because I know that I am not this
all knowing all powerful
being and this and that,
like I'm so my new in the grand
scheme and yet also so grand
because we're all connected
and, like Neil deGrasse Tyson said
there are the atoms in my body are,
the same atoms from
the stars that exploded
to create our universe,
like It's in many ways
we're all connected.
So not to sound like super
hippie or anything, man.
- Not at all, Not at all.
- Last time I needed God,
I mean, I remember
having really big moments
in my mind just before my son was born,
wanting him to be healthy,
and his mom to be healthy.
So I think that was a big one.
- That's dope, that's dope.
I gotta ask you this man,
because I feel like and I'm glad you're
in a positive place with this
for as trying to grapple the social media
as far as trying to grapple criticism.
If you look at the stats,
and I know you hate the stats,
but I'm gonna bring you the stats.
You got you got number ones.
We know we know what you've done.
We know the one 800
number we know everybody
was number one, we know your stats.
But I have been in like
talks with editors,
different people in the industry
and they still feel conflicted
on you as an MC as far as
your contribution to hip hop.
What would you say is
your legacy in hip hop
when it's all said and done,
especially with this being your last?
- I mean, I give it to folks
about what those dumbest
people have to say.
And I would say and the
reason why I say that
is because those are the people
that made me feel bad about myself.
Those are the people myself at times, dog,
those are the people who made me depressed
and told me I'm not good enough,
I'll never be good
enough, you don't belong.
Because I'm a white, passing, corny.
I like I like sci-fi,
and all of a sudden get
in my rap for good enough
and better, whatever the case may be,
but that's who I am.
I was just talking to
my system about this,
I would rather be
perceived as corny or this
or that or whatever the
case may be then peddling
and actually being, quote to quote,
authentic to the life I grew up in,
selling drugs, cooking,
crack, shooting guns,
being around motherfuck like,
that's not what I represented.
So those same fuckboys
who say shit like that,
they don't even know what
they're talking about
when you have people like
the resisting in Praise and Killer Mike
so but that's what I'm saying
is I sit back and I go those
are the people who would
like anybody who could try
to say what they're saying.
It just doesn't make any...
It's literally doesn't make any sense.
Yeah, I got number ones, I got this,
I got whatever the case may be,
but I also have sold out arenas.
I also have made an
impact in this culture,
to be able to have a queen
like Erykah Badu on speed dial,
and she shows me Love is like,
I can't fucking believe
that can't fathom that,
like she's such...
She's just the epitome of music and soul
and hip hop and to--
- She don't do that to everybody,
- That's what I'm saying man,
when you got people like that,
like real spitters and real MCs,
like showing you love,
it don't matter what some
writer or fucking editor says,
'cause that writer editor
wishes they could fucking rap,
You know what I mean?
So, but I understand
that, and I know that,
so that's why I just shut the fuck up,
and I don't care.
But I mean, if you bring it up,
I may answer your you know what I mean?
- I had to because am legit had
this conversation with with them this week
and I was like about your lyrical skill,
you being a technician
and of course they try to come back
and be like yoh, but what has he done?
So that's why I had to bring it
to your forefront because you're my guy.
- Yeah.
- You know what I Mean?
But I want to do this
on a positive note man,
I feel like you've been such a burden
you going hard with the pen this album,
what would you say was your favorite 16
that just encapsulates where
you are right now in your life.
- Probably the last verse on heard him say
I don't even remember the whole thing
but I've been battling
with my demons I'm coward
when I see him I'm powerless,
I can't beat them.
But deep down I feel
like I need them power
is freedom you can feed them
but can't lead them cry smile in my face,
but I'm dying under the surface.
What is my purpose?
I'm feeling worthless.
Tell me what worth is.
My flaws I happily greet them
in secret Some shit something
I defeat enemies I defeat them
I know somebody's gonna relate
to this if keeping it real
is to send you going
you better pray for this
'cause I wanted shit all my
life till I finally got it
and realize there's so much more
to life shout out to those
editors whatever you say,
and realize it's so what
a life I used to dream
I become the fucking
man I am stacking money
and read on my son Sam I am.
Love life can't tell you
how much of a fan I am
this is grown folk music
if you did not know
30 something I rap about no
dumb shit whoa Bobby boy.
He ain't no kid no mo now if you feel
how I'm feeling like a motherfucker now.
To me that is just it
just defines where I am
where I've come where I've come from,
and not allowing that critique
and those those things
of people telling me I'm not good enough
to weigh on me anymore
because I've always been good enough.
I'm a guy who likes to rap.
I do it well,
if I'm not your personal
preference, that's fine,
but to like ignorantly talk shit,
I put all that out of my out of my head,
and I'm always keeping it
with it's always been peace,
love and positivity.
And if you say that hasn't been
an impact on hip hop, cool.
I know what I've done,
and I'm so happy to have my fans
and have my paradise my
bubble that I've created.
And that's all that matters.
- I appreciate that 100% Actually,
I got one more before I let you go.
Listen, I don't want to
perturb you with that with
that out of the three because I know--
- No, no, no, no, it's a great,
I'm glad you brought it up
because it's like something I've let go.
- Yeah.
- Then my response to that
is the confidence I've never heard.
- So when it comes to brush it off
verse it had and the rest of it.
- Take that and I'd be like, Well,
if only they would just listen
and if they could really understand that
and I'm just like.
- Yeah.
- It don't matter.
- And I love that newfound
confidence you got,
I wanted to talk to you about this man.
At the end of the day,
People gonna say what they
want to say you're a black man.
- Yeah.
- And you have a kid now, and I'm curious,
because I know you have struggled
with identity coming
up with being biracial.
How do you prepare to raise your son,
as far as not having to deal
with those same issues you had?
Growing up?
- I never had those
issues until I got to rap.
First and foremost,
anybody that I had ever met
in my entire life respected
me as a black and white man,
there was never an issue
because it ain't that deep.
It's just not.
It's like, that's your boy.
And race in general.
It's like, it's not in personal circles.
It's not that it's not that deep,
like you got.
You got Hispanic friends,
you got brown friends got Asian friends,
we all just are people.
You know what I mean?
And sure, in high school,
people might make jokes like,
oh, white boy, this or that.
But then when they
actually know who you are,
they're like, Oh, I mean, well,
he's not white, He looks white.
So we'll make fun of them for that.
But like, what I mean, besides,
it's like a respecting, hip
hop was the place that was...
Hip hop was the most
beautiful thing to me,
and then it became the thing
that actually made me the most
depressed and the most sad
because of all the negativity
that is kind of on the
surface of mainstream hip hop.
The actual hip hop itself
is extremely beautiful,
kind of the side that isn't
necessarily seen on television
and on the radio, the true culture.
Hip Hop is a culture
of acceptance of unity
of cipher of bringing everyone
in the Cypher regardless
of your your your color,
creed, sexual orientation,
we're all just rapping and
we're doing our things.
And when we're in that cipher,
we are one and we are infinite.
So when it comes to race,
and my child he's gonna know all
about his heritage as
a little 25% black ass
is gonna know all about comes
from his ancestors and he's gonna know,
all his uncle's full
of answer full of color
and his family is full of color,
and he's going to know that
and he's going to
respect it and that's it.
You know What I mean?
So I think I'm excited to just teach them
all about life and human
beings first and foremost,
and it's gonna be a really great ride.
- Listen, brother Bob,
I'm gonna call you, brother Bob man.
I gotta thank you man, for your time
you even extended this interview,
because if this is our last night,
I would wanna to go on a super high note.
And I wanna, again,
thank you for everything
you've done to the culture.
I know, I appreciate it.
- Thank you.
- I know I appreciate
you emceeing this album.
I'm gonna probably when
I get off the phone,
I'm gonna go play that sway
in the morning freestyle,
when you got on the format, the AZ joint.
So, I appreciate
everything you've done man.
And I'm glad I'm happy, you're happy.
- Yeah, I'm pretty happy.
it's cool, and yeah, of course,
I had to extend this one specifically,
just like yeah,
I mean, that first interview
we did was super cool and all
but this is just way this is deeper.
You know What I mean?
And I appreciate you and
I thank you for being kind
and keeping it 100 and
asking real Questions
and bringing real shit up.
But at the same time, like,
journalism is dead man,
there's a lot of motherfuckers
who it's just like,
it's almost like a
YouTube review nowadays,
brothers like yourself that
really take the time and they care.
Like that's a big, big deal.
I see a lot of different
artists that I love and respect
get shit on because you have writers
who don't even like them writing
and reviewing their album.
It's like why would you
even pick that person to do?
So I appreciate that.
They did send a brother
that is open minded
and enjoys the music.
So thank you very much.
I hope you continue to enjoy the album.
I just want to thank you
for just rocking with me
being with me and I'm sure
we'll we'll see each other
and speak in the future.
Thank you.
- Brother Bob man, keep
loving father Tiffany man.
Thank you.
