A Conversation With Russ in 2021 - Kyle Beats Podcast Episode 54

cause i always tell people like when i was trying to get on and i was just in the basement and when you're in the gym and no one's in the gym it's really easy to make shots yeah no one's watching when i was 17 18 19 all the way to 23 24 and i'm walking around like i'm [ __ ] just the most confident person in the world it's because there was no one to to [ __ ] say otherwise like how did you get past all those rough days just seeing you in like music videos that you're filming yourself like yeah why don't people get through that and how did you push through well because you know why because people want instant roi people want to go to the gym on saturday and have a six-pack by monday and if they don't they get discouraged and they're like well [ __ ] this i don't have any placements i don't want and i don't even care about [ __ ] that stuff no you don't want that you definitely want them no yeah i'm not i'm not against it but like you said it if draco's independent the music industry is over but well because yeah i i still is there a scenario for for all parties where like it makes sense for everyone like the producer the artist the we'll say the engineers the writers and all that [ __ ] to have a music industry and like have it not [ __ ] a bunch of people over i don't blame labels for doing bad deals because they're not bad deals to the labels like true you know what i'm saying like yeah if you knew everything you knew now right yeah you could go back in time would you still do that same deal all right russ welcome thanks for having me dude thanks for coming on dude this this is like this is a manifestation at its finest dude just like out of out of like all the people that i [ __ ] follow or you know i feel like you're just [ __ ] up there just just from the whole not only music but just like [ __ ] just like the the the belief system just like all the stuff you you believe in it's just like the same it's almost like the same [ __ ] sometimes like all the [ __ ] i knew i just figured out yeah but but you know what like after talking with you and hearing that element like i respect that so much because i think that i don't think enough people uh jump off the cliff enough and just say like [ __ ] it let me try picking up a video camera [ __ ] let me try being a dj let me try like you never know you know what i'm saying like and and i always i always say like in order to figure out what you really like you have to you have to just follow your curiosities like because some people are like well i don't know what my passion is it's like start with where you're curious you know what i'm saying and then just like go there so it was dope for you to to hear you say like you're just a curious person and you were just saying yes to everything because i think that's the wave like i'm super super for that for sure yeah i think i think what what gets me is i just get [ __ ] obsessed with things like i i find something bite down and i just can't [ __ ] let it go until it's until i figure it out or until i figure out i don't want to do it anymore insane um what first of all uh how did you find my youtube channel so i mean i'm sure i'm sure i'm not alone with people during this time of like 2 a.m and you're just on youtube just like scrolling on my phone on youtube yeah and i and i look like i go down the rabbit hole on youtube quick yeah it's like yeah it's like i think i definitely just kept seeing your drip [ __ ] thing mad times and then i was like what the [ __ ] is but you know what it worked because i was like all right what the [ __ ] is this drip plug it so i started clicking on your [ __ ] i could be completely wrong if that was the discovery point for me but regardless i just started what like binging all your [ __ ] videos and i [ __ ] with them heavy the beats were the beats were hard and it was just like it was i just bro since i was [ __ ] 13 14 when i first started making beats like that's always what i would do i would be on youtube watching people make beats you do you remember a guy named ryan tetter not the one from uh from one republic but it was just like this like this heavyset guy in his room just back in like oh six making the craziest beats on youtube and that's like i don't think i've actually ever even said this because it never really came up but that was really my introduction to seeing people make beats ever was like ryan tedder just this dude on youtube so i've always been a fan of watching people on youtube make beats and then like how you were doing it was just dope because you had like interesting videos to it and like you know we made a song in 30 minutes and we did it this is you know what i'm saying like the titles are stellar the titles are real great i remember you were talking with uh ilmine recently about um just like what's the come up because like dude like i don't have i make it well known like i say it on my video or not all my videos but i make it well known like i don't chase placements i don't have any placements i don't want and i don't even care about [ __ ] that stuff just because i just i mean that's you know it's not like like you know what like you definitely want them no yeah i'm not i'm not against it but like dude it's just like it's just like a waste of energy almost it seems like right now like okay like the [ __ ] i feel like the game for producers in the industry is just [ __ ] garbage like you guys did the math like three percent on a [ __ ] you know it's like crazy bro it's it's like if you just build a [ __ ] business and have multiple streams like i don't do any sponsorships i just like the drip plug-in thing like that [ __ ] made so much money and now like i partnered with a developer now we have like three developers working on two more plugins coming out and it's just like it's just it's just it's just like you know like producers are smart um about certain things like that and the thing that the thing that i can do that most producers can't do is you know be brave enough to like get in front of a [ __ ] camera and look like an idiot for two years until yeah yeah that third year you like figure out how to do it almost but people people love that man like people really i always you know i'm a big advocate for vulnerability and just like being down to like look stupid like you said for you know however long because the the consumer the regular person whatever you want to call them like they relate to that [ __ ] no one wants to just watch somebody who's just [ __ ] like you know there's no story there you know it's dope bro yeah but like that's the that's the thing that i dove into was like the marketing side and just like the building value to the point where it's like when you do the math on it's literally like the [ __ ] like i want to do the music stuff i have a you know i have my own music out where i [ __ ] rap and [ __ ] like i have two music videos that's hilarious awesome i have like so i love doing that [ __ ] right now though like i'm just making music like i'll just wake up and make a song and just see where it goes but um like the beats yeah the beats are way better than the songs right now but honestly bro that's how my [ __ ] was forever like yeah i'm always i always tell my boy like i just feel like we [ __ ] me included like god like i wasted so many fire fire beast like a lot of my best like a lot of my best samples and [ __ ] are from [ __ ] like 2011 and 2012 when we had just started rapping and it just we just weren't that good so it's like be crazy sample crazy song trash you know what i mean it's like [ __ ] but you know it's one of those things you stick with and if you love it then [ __ ] gets better over time it's just like repetition at that point but it's dope man i like just i i can like watching your videos is inspiring because i can tell it's coming from just such a pure place and just a free place of like i'm just down here making songs just making music you know what i'm saying there's no there's no stakes there's no stakes there's no like [ __ ] i gotta follow up this single and i gotta you know what i'm saying there's this is freedom dude like that's that's that's where i've that's like how i've made all my moves is just freedom you know like [ __ ] um there's a lot of like opportunities and little things that i don't even you know my my girlfriend does all my emails and stuff now and that's incredible brother that's awesome i have a whole [ __ ] dude i have a whole team dude like 10 people of like like i'm paying out salaries every single month for like all this [ __ ] incredible as you should but like we just delete all the sponsorship emails like i just [ __ ] tell it delete them and i've been doing that for a while now now why is that it's like the stuff we were talking about just like it's like the ownership thing goes back to the owner yeah yeah yeah it's like when you really when you really uh calculate it like long term seeing what i've done with this plug-in and like two like a month before we were launching the plug-in i was talking to a company about like a sponsorship like a monthly thing like four thousand dollars a month something at the time which i was like wait a lot smaller so it was like about like a decent amount and then just seeing what we don't the plug-in like our plug-in made a [ __ ] million dollars in like four months what just just from like this that's crazy [Music] let's make a plug-in that's crazy dog that is a [ __ ] crazy see that's what's so bro what's so ill about you is like you're an inspiration to producers on a level that's way more tangible than people who are getting placements because the average producer is not getting placements you feel me so but the fact that you've been able to from your own house and own room build up a fan base by consistency and quality and then find another avenue to bring in revenue that still has to do with music it's like bro what that's you're you're you're like real goals you know what i'm saying like because it's just it's tangible it's not it's hard like even though i wasn't like this i looked up to [ __ ] i always thought i could be scott storch and whatever and kanye west but the reality is it's like you know some kids maybe aren't going to be that don't want to be that want to just chill want to like you know what i'm saying and and your [ __ ] you're proving that bro like the placement it's not even chasing it it can come if it comes cool if not cool but you can own your [ __ ] and you can have a fan base and you can make millions of dollars just by [ __ ] being you that [ __ ] is hard bro that's inspiring as [ __ ] what i'm about to make a plugin are you kidding me i'm down dude a million in four months are you on something crack that's crazy well it's like this and like and after you made the plug-in there's no maintenance to it right like it's just like out in the world or is it like work afterwards so pretty much but like the first and like i mean it's the same thing with your music so you know you know the side of it but like you don't even do anything it's just you know it's just [ __ ] it gets delivered by itself it's but the first week you're fixing bugs like they're a [ __ ] we right it was a learning process of like bugs like but but like after that like it just flows but there's a lot of like are you are you partnered with like a youtube youtube company ads you just pay you you just pay i did it all myself i did all you paid crazy money for that it's like it's it's not even about like um it's just the whole package dude like it's not even it's not the ads it's not the plugin it's not the [ __ ] youtube like i had i just knew how to you know i study [ __ ] youtubers just as much as i study like i study youtubers i study [ __ ] you know like people who are running like billion dollar businesses and like that that's like the the [ __ ] i'm kind of looking at but at the same time you know i [ __ ] music is kind of like the core still so it's like i can't i can't stop [ __ ] making music and you know that that that's gonna be part of it but you know i i've just been i started off selling beats and making like you know start off by just paying rent and then eventually making a thousand dollars a week just [ __ ] dming people on instagram like this is like 2016 this is like i was using like you know [ __ ] bots and [ __ ] to like contact me flying like but all that guy oh fire all that got shut down like um quickly but and then the youtube producer space kind of started to to blow up but yeah yeah it's it's just like you know the music thing has always been something that i want to do but i want to just do it myself you know what i mean i want to like my next thing my next thing is going to be like you know we have the plugins flowing i'm trying to have everything flowing like i can edit my own videos probably better than [ __ ] a lot of videographers that's what i was gonna ask man like that's the thing that like when i watch even when i just watch people's like [ __ ] tick tocks or like let alone youtube videos i'm like this is incredible editing is it that like is it mad hard and time consuming or am i just [ __ ] just not i'm ignorant to what goes into it it's pretty time consuming but like i was doing yeah i was doing music i think too you you talked about this too like how much not to cut you off but how much time would you say it takes to edit your average youtube video for you so i got to the point where i was doing it in [ __ ] three hours but like that's just because it you know that's insane like a 12-minute like that's it's kind of like an insane thing where i got into a rhythm um but you know like i i have an editor now for the past like month or so but it's not because i can't [ __ ] edit them it's because i know like if i want to continue to grow i can't be [ __ ] spending days editing videos and [ __ ] yeah you got to delegate a task elsewhere yeah yeah access well yeah it's it's an insane like uh i don't know it's an insane thing and i i want to like have other like i'll make songs with artists and stuff like that but i just want to put it out it's the [ __ ] you were talking about like the numbers game like i want to put out a [ __ ] ton of my own music that's all all me and a [ __ ] ton of just like if i'm making music for other people just for fun i'll just put it on my own like kind of similar to like internet money but like more like surrounding kyle beats yeah yeah i really like what [ __ ] tat taz did and all that bro that's why so it's crazy like i went on a rabbit hole [ __ ] binge watching of both your [ __ ] around the same time i was like man these people are [ __ ] crazy like i just like like man y'all are just i just love that [ __ ] bro i love it yeah yeah that's how i started like um i've told the story before but that's how i started going full-on focusing on beats is because this dude taz in like 2015 was just like doing vlogs this is when like the daily vlog thing was blowing up casey neistat and all those people like logan paul and [ __ ] and he was posting like daily vlogs and he'd be showing his [ __ ] paypal he'd be just scrolling through his paypal statements of like oh i made three grand this weekend and i was like what the [ __ ] like crazy because i cuz i was making beats you know for like the past three years in college and [ __ ] and like nothing that's that's the beauty of it all i think you said this a while ago was like um you know it took it almost took you so long so what by the time you blew up you were like you were almost like ready for it you're prepared yeah yeah well because you have gone through such like you go through so much along the way of like figuring out what doesn't work figuring out what does work and just getting getting your mind right just figuring [ __ ] out that by the time it takes you it could take you 10 years just to get to the starting line it feels like then like now you're ready to run the race you know yeah yeah so i would love to do that and like i would i would love to [ __ ] ever since i felt what it feels like to [ __ ] even just openers djing in front of 2000 people that [ __ ] energy was insane so i was like i can't imagine what the [ __ ] it would feel like to be to have all this be [ __ ] mine and just go out in my own show so why not why not bro yeah i mean it's gonna happen it's just like um it's just managing it all in the in the in the right way because you know [ __ ] it's it's good to have like the financial freedom to just do whatever [ __ ] you want to hell yeah hell yeah yeah what what do you think it is that like you know makes people not [ __ ] makes people chase the quick the quick bags or just make people not i always wonder what the [ __ ] makes people like how did you get past all those rough days like i was looking back through all your [ __ ] yesterday and just just seeing you in like music videos that you're filming yourself like yeah because i've kind of been there where it's like nothing's [ __ ] working like why don't people get through that and how did you push through well because you know why because people want instant roi you know what i'm saying like people want people want to go to the it's the same reason why right now all the gyms are [ __ ] packed because it's january and by february there'll be less in march because people want to go to the gym on saturday and have a six-pack by monday and if they don't they get discouraged and they're like well [ __ ] this so it's the same thing with like anything in life it's like i had a lot of friends who put out one song and then we're like it didn't blow up i'm off this or they put out one project and it was like nope didn't blow up i'm off this in the problem the root of that problem is attachment to results and when you're attached to the results you're you know you're [ __ ] up um the management of your own expectations because you're getting too attached to the outcome of something instead of just doing it because you love doing it and whatever happens is whatever happens but that's not what you were doing for that's why you know i'm very big on like the love of the game over the points and i think a lot of people are playing for the points you know what i'm saying and and so if you put out a song or you put out a video and it only gets a thousand views or whatever it gets a number that you you know that was not what you wanted you're gonna get discouraged and you're gonna be like well [ __ ] this then and you know all these negative thoughts and it's like is that what you were doing it for like because i i remember for me i would put out a song and this is man this is back in 2012 2011 2013. this is before like spotify and apple and all that [ __ ] and we were just like this [ __ ] was on mediafire you know what i'm saying and so it was like the landscape it was like non-existent bro it was like how many downloads did you get yeah i remember i remember getting a thousand downloads on like one of my songs called goodbye and i was like i [ __ ] told y'all [ __ ] you like i thought it was the craziest [ __ ] but it's like i say that to say no matter what the numbers were for me i thought all my numbers were ill because it was just exciting to see anybody listening to the [ __ ] and i wasn't even doing it for that i was doing it because i love to do it so i think a lot of people don't get through the rough days because they're attached to the results because those rough days are like [ __ ] isn't even working i'm getting [ __ ] 20 plays on my song like this is some [ __ ] and then they stop and it's like i don't know it's just do you think a lot of that my bad do you think a lot do you think a lot of that is because of um other people's i feel like a lot of people are concerned about you know what other people are thinking of them yeah and how it looks to their family and their close friends and all that stuff yeah for sure that's why it's it's hard bro at the beginning because yeah you're spot on a lot of times it's embarrassing you know what i'm saying like yeah you know because it's like i remember being [ __ ] but i was like yeah i was gonna say did you did you have that at all like when you were [ __ ] just putting out albums being a rapper and [ __ ] and not having yeah but you know what you know what i did a good job at was um minimizing the chatter and minimizing the sources of chatter so yeah after i graduated high school i like i didn't talk to anyone i graduated with anyone i even went to school with except for my boy boogas who that's like we locked in and created diamond and and did this [ __ ] from the time like i've known him since i was 12 but we started this when we were 17 he had the studio equipment in his parents house and it started in my parents house then we went to his [ __ ] and like that's it it was just me and him kicking it every day for a decade you know what i'm saying so like and he was the most excuse me the most supportive person in the world and he was rapping for us before i was and he's just like putting me on the books and all like he was just the most supportive person you could have and there was never any hesitance or any doubt in his mind or any like hating bone any of that so i did a good job at minimizing the chatter because there was not we were delusional yeah we were delusional because it was literally just me and him sitting in his parents basement making these songs and we didn't have anyone around we wouldn't allow anyone around let alone anyone that could potentially be like y'all a tripping like what are you even doing the only people who were around was family and there was definitely moments of like you know i could tell you know maybe my mom and dad were like uh not that they didn't believe but that they thought i should be doing things differently or whatever but for the most part man like i just had such a i just had such a fire and such a like point to prove to myself that i was right and that i am good enough and all these things and like i said and bugis was the only other person in the [ __ ] with me and the only other person like around so it wasn't hard to become very delusional with the confidence because no one was around that was saying you can't do it you can't do it because we cut off all those people after high school so people were making fun of me in high school for it like for sure where it was like i remember like the you know those friends in school that you had that you didn't see outside of school you just saw them in school yeah like those type of kids that would be like also what you're going to be like what are you trying to be like a producer or something did it you know what i'm saying just [ __ ] like that and it's like okay [ __ ] y'all like suck my dick you know what i'm saying like yeah so after i graduated i just i i cut those people off and that wasn't even really an issue for me because you know i we moved around a lot and i didn't move to atlanta until i was going into eighth grade so it's like i knew those kids for 10 years or some [ __ ] yeah it wasn't it wasn't that difficult for me to cut off that that's something that i that's something that i just did just without even knowing was i always just liked doing my own thing so i [ __ ] i have so many friends i know so many people but i just liked going into my own [ __ ] world and there wasn't anyone else that was interested in like the [ __ ] i'm interested in just blasting beats and [ __ ] i was like a [ __ ] i was like a college soccer player and [ __ ] like i was just playing soccer my whole life and yeah that was kind of it and then so you were so you were just like locked in solo you didn't even have you didn't even even have that like one great friend who was also doing what you were doing typing yeah but it wasn't it wasn't music it was kind of just like you know like i i was just a dreamer dude like i walked into a room with my friends and i would just have this [ __ ] idea let's let's let's like imagine if we did this and this and that like yeah i just didn't want to fit inside the [ __ ] regular ways right i was always attracted to like doing more like i'm going to be rich like i used to say like yeah yeah i'm not going to work for anyone like i was ah i couldn't hold a job for like 24 seconds like it hit me i just i just couldn't i just couldn't do all that [ __ ] and i don't think i was you know you we were talking about my my schedule where i wake up early i run i've been working out twice a day recently but like anyone who knew me anyone who knew me growing up like i didn't have a very good like work ethic at all like i was [ __ ] sleeping the whole day lazy as [ __ ] but like i was just a i was just a dreamer and now i'm at the point you know when you get older you're just like kind of more aware the older you get yes know life a little bit more uh i feel like i'm just aware now and i i know like if i don't do these things and get the things like it's like happiness without fulfillment is failure you ever heard that quote wow that's so true though happiness without fulfillment is called failure and it's just like it's so true because if i don't you know do the things that i know i want to do then it's just like the [ __ ] am i doing yeah i feel the same way bro i always tell people like my whole my whole mission is like i'm trying to get out every idea i got while i'm here i don't give a [ __ ] what did it like i'm trying to do everything because it's why the [ __ ] not bro why the [ __ ] not so i relate to that a lot man that's real that's real but yeah i mean it was you know me and my dad would get into it about music and [ __ ] and you know he thought i should be doing things different or whatever it was so like there was definitely those conversations but for the most part it was just like me and bugis in our own little world in his parents basement just making these songs cranking them out i mean i was putting out [ __ ] you know uh three or four mixtapes a year that i was producing all of it and you know i didn't know anyone so it's like we were just going hard you know what i mean yeah and that's what it was i think like the reps too dude reps are so [ __ ] underrated like a lot of people will comment like what am i doing with all these beats especially like the years before all like two years ago like i'm just making beats every day what am i doing with them i'm not sending i'm not doing anything with them but yeah as as time went by you don't realize how valuable like the reps are like you learn one that's so little that's so true that's crazy you learn one new little thing every time you do something like even if you don't realize it that's crazy because i like so i've been i've been like training uh three times a week or like three to five depending on like whatever but with um like fighting and [ __ ] you know what i mean and it's funny because like the trainer just be saying the same [ __ ] like all it is is reps like he's like the only difference between me and you is a couple thousand punches yeah you know and it's so true like but i never really put it i never translated it to production but it's like you're so spot on because it's true it's like all the beats i got so many beats every producer has so many beats that you're just sitting on and you're like damn what the [ __ ] was the point and it's like the point was that you put in the work and you you got the right you know what i'm saying so yeah i think i think that's the thing that people don't understand but like you said it's it's a shame that um you can't you can't it's hard to possess the wisdom of a 28 year old when you're 18. yeah you know what i'm saying and so many people like hindsight's 20 20 like you'll hear older people than 28 40 year olds 50 years be like if i knew what i knew now back when i was 28 it would be different so that's why i think the [ __ ] you have to rely on is the love for it and and the and just the confidence in yourself you gotta like you gotta at least just get to the next point that's my whole thing and that was always my whole [ __ ] is just like man i just gotta make sure i keep going so i at least give myself the opportunity to be better and the opportunity to learn and be like damn i'm gonna do [ __ ] so much differently now but i'm so glad i got to this point where i can be aware enough to be like i'm not gonna do it i was doing it two years ago like i was tripping you know what i'm saying like but you gotta get to that next level a lot of people just stop and they don't even know what could have happened you know what what do you think you're like what's your what's your what's your goal right now like what's your thing that you're looking at you're big you're kind of like being next two years domination bro pure domination i'm so [ __ ] competitive i'm so competitive i can't even lie like i sit here and say the love of the game for sure i'd like i'd do it for the love of the game but i also want to [ __ ] dominate everything i want to be i want to have the most plaques i want to have the biggest shows i want to have the most money i want to have i want it all you know what i'm saying like yeah i really do you know what i mean but i'm not willing to compromise my integrity to get it so that's the thing that uh you know makes it tricky because i could have [ __ ] sold out a long time ago you know what i'm saying but i refuse like i want all these things like i want to go get you know four number ones at radio this year i want to go get a diamond song i want to go sell out you know madison square garden i want a grammy i want you know [ __ ] like that but i'm not willing to compromise my integrity to get these things i only can do it on my terms and i think that's why for me it may be um my [ __ ] since i got on has maybe been slower the the i mean all my [ __ ] has been slow some people think it happened mad fast it didn't happen fast it took me mad long so my [ __ ] has always been slower like even with my songs i'll put out a song and i know not to even really give a [ __ ] about what it's doing in the first couple months because my songs are always like these slow burns where like six months later that [ __ ] is doing something or six years like my biggest song in 2020 was a song that came out six years prior you feel me so um my whole thing is just like i just gotta get there my way you know that's it yeah yeah you were talking you were talking a lot about like how you know [ __ ] spotify is like the thing now spotify is like radio now and you know when you're assigned to a label the label can get told no that's what you've been talking about a lot lately right right so like would you you know is is there a scenario where you would ever assign to a label again or do you think that they're completely dead or what do you think for me from my situation where i'm at no it makes no sense to go with the label just because let's look at let's look at what a label offers radio but i got that now all radio is for the people watching that are going to see this [ __ ] radio is having the right person and money like when once you have the right person working your [ __ ] like you hire the right radio promoter and you have enough money to fund that and obviously the right song it's a wrap you know what i'm saying so once i cracked that code now that should i just put out with little babies the most most added song at radio that [ __ ] i didn't even i didn't have too many of those moments even when i was with a label you feel me so so radio debunked as far as like oh you need a label to do it uh they offer playlisting but they can't like we said like playlisting it's it's up in the air because no label owns spotify no label owns apple music so the best they can do is they pitch that's what they do and you got to think right if you're if you're atlantic if you're epic if you're any of these labels and kyle beats assigned to epic records and you got a song out that you think is fire and should be in rap caviar it's like cool epic is gonna go to rap caviar but at the same time they have 20 other artists that want the same [ __ ] so maybe you're not the priority because yo 21 savage is over there and he just dropped a song whatever it is you know what i'm saying so it gets tough when uh you know number one there's a lot of there's a lot of other artists that maybe the priority is and and like i said at the end of the day a label can get told no spotify can just be like no we're not gonna we're not gonna put you in this playlist and and that's just how it goes so you know who is the [ __ ] like when you go to spotify what the [ __ ] does that even mean like who do you hit up it's just like i called that carl terry i'm sorry for putting you on blast we're gonna hit you up crazy now but people already be hitting him up contrary is a really solid dude but he he's a taste maker over there and he's dope uh before him it was too mubasa tuma is actually the one who uh created rap caviar um like the name and [ __ ] and so you know like i said at the end of the day all this [ __ ] is it's people you feel me like behind everything is a human being that's it like behind everything you see is a human being but carl's dope calls dope um you know apple music for like rap it's like ebro and [ __ ] and shout out to my guy dj reflex and you know but once again it's like just because i know those people doesn't mean that my [ __ ] is guaranteed in playlists i put out you know i put out how many songs last year 20 30 i think one god in rap caviar or some [ __ ] like that and i'm not mad at that because at the end of the day i'm not entitled to being rap caviar that's not my [ __ ] i don't own spotify i don't own rap caviar so i can't sit here and stomp my feet that's why when i see artists that are like uh they just come off entitled like they think they're old certain things and this it's like i don't feel like i'm old anything that isn't mine you know what i'm saying like spotify at the end of the day is their own company and if they want to put you in their playlist that's on them and if they don't then that's too bad for you but um you know my only my only thing when i the issues i would have was when was when you would get told certain things and this had nothing to do with spotify apple when you would get told certain things from labels like oh it's really a database type of decision actually no it's just an editorial based decision which means like it's just do they [ __ ] with you or not and you can never really get a straight answer my thing was just like just keep it real if if it's like you need this amount of plays to get in to get in the playlist then cool make it that but don't tell me that you need this amount of plays to get in the playlist and then you get that amount of plays and then you're still not in the playlist now i'm confused because now you [ __ ] up my expectations just tell me that it really comes down to do they [ __ ] with you or not is that simple do they like the song yes or no you know so what would be like if you could choose [ __ ] i mean what even is radio and like [ __ ] car radios and [ __ ] like what radio is still that's what's yeah bro that's what's so crazy radio is still so big like it's wild i used to think that too i was like who the [ __ ] listens to me but yeah but like bro so many it's like is it like older people maybe or like it's older people and it's just like i know it's hard to believe for people like us but there's people who don't really listen to music like that they're just like a casual music listener and like the only artists they really hear are just whatever's on the radio yeah you know what i'm saying like it's crazy to think because i i know you're not like that i'm not like that so it's wild like none of my friends are like that but it's a real community of people that are just like yeah i'm not like i'm not scouring the blocks to figure out who's the next you know i'm saying i'm not on pigeons and planes to figure out who's up next like [ __ ] are just riding around the car to whatever the hip-hop station is that's insane so it's a big it's a it's a really really big community and you can tell by the shazams shazams is like what radio [ __ ] moves off of damn dear nowadays like how your song is shazaming in the market has a big role in yeah if you continue to get spins so but shazams shazams is a real thing though because when you when you go see a song has a million shazams it's like damn that's that's when you can see that radio did some [ __ ] because you're like whoa so a million times someone was like what song is this that's because it was getting played in mad times you know what i mean like all my songs i got on radio are the ones that have two million shazams a million shazams the ones that weren't on radio don't have don't have that you know yeah so it's almost just about [ __ ] swarming everywhere omnipresence is the name of the game like i'm just trying to be everywhere at all times 24 [ __ ] seven you know what i mean like like ideally i want to flip through the tv for anyone who watches tv anymore and in every commercial and every show it's my music yeah i'm saying like just like pure omnipresence are you like i think i heard you talking about doing doing tick tock [ __ ] like like like do but like do you have gains and [ __ ] do you like um you know have you ever like took the time to get like to to like [ __ ] get familiar with the actual platform and like just kind of figure it out a little bit yeah i mean the my my thing with tick tock like i'm definitely on there a lot more than i used to be uh yeah i've like i've seen what works and learned what works it just doesn't match my uh it doesn't match it doesn't match me per se you know as like a creator yeah i haven't figured out how i haven't figured out and not [ __ ] because i'm not doing dances i'm not doing [ __ ] uh certain things because so much [ __ ] on there is so cringey and i'm just like so like what yeah and i don't want and i don't want to be on there being a motivational speaker with the subtitles and the [ __ ] yeah what i'm saying this is like this i don't know this is like the [ __ ] i'm [ __ ] constantly [ __ ] on and just because like you know there's no there's there's been no producers that are doing what i'm doing like there's a few you know this there's a there's a youtube producer niche that like started like 20 like three years ago and there's people you know i'm one of the people getting more views and a couple other people like simon cerveta internet money and like getting a hundred thousand views of video type of thing so yeah you're almost like i've been one of the people that i've just been spearheading since it got started where there's like a community now for the past like three years on youtube so it's like a constant game of like okay how can i just like think of what people have not done yet and like spin it in my own way and that was my that was my first thing on tick tock too it's like i was making tick-tock content i was taking what's the most popular [ __ ] song i'm gonna flip it and make it a remix and like that's hard that's what i was working that sounds like it would work yeah it was but it was just like it just i just wasn't authentic for me i was like it wasn't you yeah yeah yeah it wasn't yeah so so what i started doing as my youtube videos got better i would clip my videos in ways that made sense for tick tock and because they were just entertaining clips like i did it for like a little bit and then one of them just went [ __ ] just got like a million views so now like it's just like some [ __ ] garyvee type [ __ ] like someone just clips them all all the good parts and i just post the good ones and most of the time this is another incentive just like a sign of telling me that i need to [ __ ] make keep making music it's just like a lot of the time it's when i have an artist here just [ __ ] with me recording [ __ ] and then he records some [ __ ] and i build the beat around it even more and it's like those little moments of like magic just go people just [ __ ] love that [ __ ] yeah bro no that that whole behind the scenes thing is the way but it's like that's what i'm saying like we're just we're obsessive people because it's like wait new platform how do i dominate it it's like so ridiculous it's so ridiculous but it's like yeah i mean the tick tock thing i just be [ __ ] using it like instagram because i'm like you know what i'm not fully tapped in yet i haven't fully committed to like yeah but you got a platform though where you could do [ __ ] anything and get views like i don't tic talk i'd be posting random [ __ ] sometimes i should be doing nothing i'm like whatever but i also don't use it like that so there's only like 300 000 followers or some [ __ ] like that but yeah i don't know like at the end of the day it's like take tacos tick tock is such a random thing because i've done tic i always tell people this like i've done tick tock campaigns where i you know you put money behind it you do this influencers etc and the song does nothing and then the sh the songs online that go viral on tick tock are just these random like i didn't spend a dime they're just like random i'm like how the [ __ ] yeah like like psycho part two one of my songs has like three million videos made to it on tick tock because some person in the world took uh i guess one of my performances when i'm like three two one she got me going so and i like and that sound has like two million views i'm like what the [ __ ] like i didn't even that's why that's why it's a testament to just showing up just show up just put the music out and in today's day and age if the [ __ ] is good enough and it's out for long enough someone's gonna sniff it out something's gonna happen a fan base is gonna emerge just show up you know um do you think there's a scenario in the music industry that would uh like makes sense do you think you know you said it if draco's independent the music industry is over but well because yeah i i still is there a scenario for for all parties where like you know like it makes sense for everyone like the producer the artist the we'll say the engineers the writers and all that [ __ ] or is it just kyle people are just gonna what to go to go independent no just like to to to have a music industry and like have it not [ __ ] a bunch of people over you know like there's only us a handful small percentage of people who are you know actually doing good deals and yeah taking those as almost as investments and then blowing up and then you know doing i think i think as long as the music industry is a business as far as the labels which it always will be that's when you're gonna get bad deals because it's a business so i don't blame labels for doing bad deals because they're not bad deals to the labels like true you know what i'm saying like that's the that's the thing no one wants to talk about is like it's only a bad deal for you because you signed but like to them it's a great deal that's business though you don't say you didn't have to sign it that's business so it's like as long as it's that it's just going to be bad deals for artists but my thing is um artists don't need a label i think most artists are running after labels for the check art labels are banks you know what i'm saying they're literally just banks and they're loaning you your money and i think producers are underpaid i think um i think artists get in [ __ ] deals i think labels make billions of dollars a year and they don't tour they don't sell merch they do not so it's like that should just tell you that there's a ton of money in owning music it's just a matter of who owns it that's why i do think like yeah if drake went independent if a kendrick was independent if a j cole was it's like yeah because drake and those type of artists are at the level where if drake two knight posts a link for his album that is all the promo that's needed yeah just like you know what i'm saying people will find it it's it's it's [ __ ] it's 49.99 on tunecore to distribute your album to all the stores drake could literally spend 49 on an album and probably make back like 10 million a week on a 50 investment you know and then you pray the producers or whatever but it's like still it's just you know and like i said radio all that [ __ ] you know it just comes down to like a mentality though i think like for me and you know for what you've said about yourself like you like owning your [ __ ] you like doing it yourself and so do i it's like a label is nice because you get to play with other people's money even though it's really yours and you end up having to pay it back anyway but they front the money and that's nice because who wants to come out of pocket 100 grand for this and uh but it's like for me i'd rather come out of pocket a hundred grand for a video 120 at radio whatever it is because at least i'm betting on the [ __ ] that i want to bet on when you're with the label sometimes it's like they're not gonna they're not gonna approve a hundred thousand dollar video for song number seven on the album that isn't even streaming well you just want to do it because you're an artist they're gonna approve a hundred thousand for the single and it's like yeah but can't we do this [ __ ] too and it's like nah you know so at the end of the day i'd rather just be in complete control of what i bet on you know so why do you think you why do you think you like um give so many so much support and so much help towards especially artists specifically yeah but just people just to you know why do you think you make such an effort to give out the information you you put out a book yeah and all these videos and everything i because i genuinely genuinely like to see people uh live up to their fullest potential i genuinely do i've always been like that you can ask people from [ __ ] eight years ago that knew me just locally it's like i've just always been like that i've never had a jealous bone in my body uh i don't know i'm just people i would meet you know i remember being in college at like valdosta state uh and there was just there was this dude singing in the lobby with this other kid playing the guitar and i was just like you're [ __ ] incredible and you got to come back to like boogie's house and make songs and [ __ ] like and i was just always keep in mind i'm an i'm a producer trying to be an artist trying to make it too but i was always the first one to invite other artists into the group to make their [ __ ] i wasn't like i gotta focus on me [ __ ] y'all it's like i was i was just like i'm i've always been people's like biggest cheerleaders just because i get a kick i get a kick out of um seeing somebody go from like doubting themselves and thinking something isn't real to seeing their like dreams come true that [ __ ] to me is so fire and so you know and it's a big pet peeve of mine to see somebody with potential who doesn't have confidence it's like it bothers me so i'm always trying to believe in someone for them until you ever like my bad did you ever like [ __ ] look at like what people did you look at from a almost like motivational standpoint did you read any books or what what did you like at for all this um yeah so the [ __ ] that i read was really important it was um that's really what did it uh was the alchemist by paulo cuello i read seven spiritual laws and success by deepak chopra which i love like so so useful um uh magic ladder to success by napoleon hill i haven't read any of those oh man you what you would have to get on those are you bro your life is going to change your life is for real i read those when i was 17 and my life changed forever like forever bro because yeah i don't know just you just realize a lot of [ __ ] and so for me before those books i was still a big believer in people but after those like i don't know i was just so sure of my journey and my vision that i didn't feel like put it like this if like confidence and belief i think i talked about this in my book but if confidence and belief is like a cup and everyone has their own cup of confidence and some people has no liquid in it no confidence in it some people's [ __ ] is overflowing like my [ __ ] was just always overflowing and constantly refilling itself that i knew i could hand some out and never feel empty and so i was always and still am just like let me believe in you for you if i if it's like if you don't believe in you i got you don't even trust that that [ __ ] almost means more energy when i do that for people yeah like well well you know you have you heard the quote the quickest way to get what you want is by helping someone else get with you yeah yeah yeah it's real it's so true i i like i'll figure some [ __ ] out like i'll help someone you know i was helping my my videographer was here today and i was helping him just like [ __ ] do some ad [ __ ] he like wants to run ads for his cold and clothing brand and [ __ ] and i was just looking through it and like we were just looking at it for 20 minutes and then after i was like walking to the kitchen and i just like realized some [ __ ] that i finally it finally took to this moment to connect some random [ __ ] thing that i should be doing just from helping him out just i don't even remember where it was but it's just that's how it works bro because that like that's really that's really powerful [ __ ] to give to give without wanting anything in return is the real definition of giving so whether it's giving somebody advice giving somebody support like but that's one of the deepak sopra things and it just i'm pretty sure from that book where it just talks about um everyone you meet you should be giving them something and sometimes that could just be a compliment or just good energy you know but just like bro cause that's that keeps the blessings coming your way it's like people who are stingy with their energy are not ever trying to show love to people never trying to [ __ ] with people they're miserable losers their life sucks they're miserable they don't got [ __ ] going on for them because they're just like they're selfish people with their energy with the love like it's you can't block that energy like if you're getting blessings and your [ __ ] is flowing share that [ __ ] back give that positive energy give the love give the compliments get like you know that's just that's just how i move so i've always just been i've always been on that bro i get a kick out of seeing people [ __ ] win to be honest like and there's a lot of artists and a lot of producers who can who can um you know who can back that up man i'd be i'd be going too hard sometimes we were like all right chill i get it like you [ __ ] me you know what i'm saying but yeah man um do you feel like you can just [ __ ] write anything down and if you want it you just feel like you're you're gonna get it you just have to [ __ ] like time has to catch up almost yeah i've always yeah but but as of late um after like after like the fame hit and like mass negativity hit it definitely [ __ ] in my head a lot like i think subconsciously i like the world started to get to me because the world wanted me to not like myself there was a big part of the world that didn't want me to like myself and was giving me all these reasons not to like myself and trying to convince me to not like myself and it was working because i was feeding into it you know what i'm saying and um it got to a point like i got into definitely dark mental places where because i always tell people like when i was trying to get on and i was just in the basement and when you're in the gym and no one's in the gym it's really easy to make shots yeah no one's watching like it's maddie like when i was 17 18 19 all the way to 23 24 and i'm walking around like i'm [ __ ] just the most confident person in the world it's because there was no one to to [ __ ] say otherwise you know what i'm saying because i was in my own world i had no fans it was i had no fans so definitely no haters no you know what i'm saying but as soon as okay now the arena's full and you got to make the shot and people are booing and they're reminding you about your last game and how you [ __ ] this up it's like damn this is a little bit trickier to hit this free throw you know what i'm saying so it started to [ __ ] with my head yeah it's so funny you said that because like [ __ ] when you you texted me or you hit me up you dm me um and you were like you know complimenting me or whatever the [ __ ] you said you were like yeah on on what i was doing and yeah like saying oh uh whatever [ __ ] gave me a compliment about my beats or whatever and it's funny because dude i get [ __ ] comments all day just from random kids saying that [ __ ] i make horrible beats but it's funny because like you know i don't really give a [ __ ] i'll just you know i don't really give a [ __ ] at all but like it's just funny when that happened how it's just funny to make the connection of like okay russ is [ __ ] telling me what i'm doing is sick and my beats are dope and i'm like i'm good at fl studio and then this [ __ ] 13 year old kid from nebraska tell me i'm way overrated and when you go if you if you like dive into it and go to their channel it's just like you know the worst [ __ ] beats of all yeah every time bro anyone any dude who's ever hated on me as a soundcloud link in his bio in the worst songs ever and it's like and i can and i'm not even going to hate on them because it's like i was there too at some point and and honestly the comments about my music never bothered me like because you can't convince me that my [ __ ] isn't hard i've i have already crossed that point you know what i'm saying like i crossed that point of no return 10 years ago yeah kill me it's more so like when people would make [ __ ] up about me and lies and like assassinations on my character and just integrity of my come up just [ __ ] like that [ __ ] that i couldn't do anything about i was like man this is crazy because if i come out here and try to defend the [ __ ] it must be true and if i don't say anything it must be true it's like god damn bro i want to slap the [ __ ] out of y'all you know what i'm saying so that that that's what [ __ ] with my head but um the answer to all questions is gratitude and that's what i've been on like the past [ __ ] i don't know man past six months seven months i've been trying to tap back into that and just like journaling again and [ __ ] like that just just just keeping a gratitude journal and and every day just simple [ __ ] bro uh you know grateful for the water i'm drinking that i have water that the air works that i'm you know that i'm free that my family's healthy and you know what i mean and i don't know it's just like staying in the present moment because i'm reading this new book this not a new book but a new book for me called the power of now uh yeah it just talks about how bro it's so crazy it talks about um how like 90 of people's thoughts are destructive because they're either based in the future or the past and it's so true it's like for the past three years i spent all my [ __ ] time [ __ ] three years [ __ ] longer than that i spent so much time either thinking about what i could have done differently or worried about the outcome of the potential outcome of what i'm currently doing or or the outcome like an outcome that i want it's like i was just never here and i was telling my manager the other day i was like bro i can't believe it's been five years since 2016. because 2016 to me feels like it was yesterday because that's when everything started like popping off me and i was like i can't believe it's been five years and i was like you know what's crazy is that when you're not present it's as if your life didn't even happen to you because you weren't even there for it and that's and that's what [ __ ] woke me the [ __ ] up like a couple weeks ago i was like i refuse to let the next five years go by as fast as they did as the last five years simply because i'm gonna be more present they went by so fast because i wasn't even there for it that's why when i look back and it just feels like a blur and it feels like damn that happened to me did it it's like because i wasn't there for it i was always thinking of the next moment in the next level and how do i get next i robbed myself at the present moment i'm done with that [ __ ] bro i try to just stay right here right now if whatever's going on over there isn't real like yeah it's just not real that's like attack like the results aren't real the outcome isn't real the past isn't real none of that [ __ ] is real none of that [ __ ] matters yeah it's definitely it's definitely a balance dude like [ __ ] i was just talking about this like today yeah but like i think i realized that like when my mom passed after three years of cancer every single [ __ ] day me and my sister like i told you i was editing videos in three hours that's because i had no [ __ ] choice i had this yeah you know what i'm saying like i was posting videos every other day and from like my sister would go to work at 2 30 and then i'd be with my mom from 2 30 to like 1am and then the night nurse would come i'd wake up and [ __ ] do all the [ __ ] but um yeah what the [ __ ] was i saying you said it was a balance oh yeah so after all that [ __ ] was over you know and like i [ __ ] was living with my sister it was like what the [ __ ] just happened like i never lost anyone before and it was my mom and then three months later we moved here moved to california got a house [ __ ] plugin came out and all this [ __ ] and once i got to this house i was moving every year for like 10 years straight to florida to [ __ ] yeah back home and then out to you know i started like an app at one point like we got like an investment to do an app in like 2014 or something like right before i started doing the music [ __ ] like the touring [ __ ] and then before that was college so i finally got here and i finally had a place without roommates and i just had a [ __ ] house and i was just like i had to come to i don't know i was thinking a lot about on my mom's like quote thing at her funeral it's one of the lines on there was like tasks left undone must stay that way and we picked out the quote but it was just perfect one of the lines tasks left undone must stay that way and it was just like it's crazy because like you know your whole life growing up it's just like you know we gotta do this to the house my mom went to college when she was 40 and like it was it was always just like this has to be done and you know what i'm saying it was always just the next thing so you developed that mentality and then when she passed it was like well so was you know damn like she didn't accomplish all she wanted to do because we wanted to do a deck here like we yeah she wanted to like finish the kitchen and she wanted to do this but it's like that [ __ ] process was her life you know what i mean that process yeah chasing that next thing was her life and it's almost like i really i had a weird realization um of just like dude you can't lose either you have to figure out how to learn how to be in the moment but you also can't lose the [ __ ] chasing thing because i see some people that i follow just randomly on instagram who have some success here or whatever and then they get so [ __ ] one with the earth that they can't chase after anything because they have to enjoy the moment right now whereas like if you play grand theft auto or you play some [ __ ] video game yeah once you beat the game there's no missions left and you're just running around doing nothing you know what i mean so it's like right i don't know i just thought that was like a moment when i moved here after all that [ __ ] madness that went off for years that i was but see that that thing that you're talking about the the need to always have a chase the [ __ ] that i'm starting to realize is that i think there's a real power in chasing the present moment i think that is actually the thing that is always slipping away from us yeah is the present moment because if i chase there's like a quote something along the lines of like the best way to prepare for the future is act like it's not coming or some [ __ ] you know what i'm saying and it's basically because it's like if i'm chasing after being as present as i can be i know from a music standpoint it's going to be the most pure [ __ ] ever because i'm not thinking about is this gonna work what's it gonna i'm just making [ __ ] if i can tap into the purity of the present moment to its fullest and i chase after the present moment i know my future is gonna be lit because i took advantage of today the future is just a [ __ ] reaction to what you did today you know what i'm saying so it's like i i'm starting to kind of think like man maybe what the [ __ ] we've all been chasing or what we all should be chasing is the present moment because otherwise the chase never ends and you never feel content you never feel satisfied because there's always something else to be done okay i went platinum i want to be double platinum you made a million on the drip plug-in okay but i want to make two million i want to make another plug-in i want to do 10 you know what it's like yeah and it's like and it's like it never stops you know what i'm saying my dad told me when i was 15. like he said you have a problem of being content it's going to be a problem when you get older he said you're going to be the person who has 20 grammys and is and is pissed off that you don't have 21. and he's so and he's so right and it's like you know it's a balance between ambition and gratitude yeah you know and it's tricky it's super tricky i've been trying to like i'm that's what i've been doing the past like month or so is really trying to figure out that balance because you know i want to just make sure i'm dominating the present moment and making the most out of it and i feel like if i do that everything i really want will come when it's supposed to come you know do you think the pandemic has [ __ ] helped everything you're doing like and you were talking about how you would have been for me yeah touring half the year if it wasn't for this yeah yeah but honestly um 2020 was 2020 was like dare i say the best year of my life uh even though so much [ __ ] up [ __ ] happened but it was the reset that i needed yeah and it's the first year of my life that i really took time to look at myself and modify and upgrade myself and so yeah man the pandemic was so necessary for me because it sat my eyes down and was like nah figure your [ __ ] out yeah you know what i'm saying so yeah yeah that that's that's the [ __ ] i think about that was just like you know when you when you have like like [ __ ] what did i i did a video with internet money and i did a few videos of internet money but i saw i saw when you pulled up to the house with the cody and [ __ ] i watched all your [ __ ] bro i'm a nut that's crazy that's insane [ __ ] you know [ __ ] one of the comments was like oh damn kyle's about to get a placement now you know i mean like that that's what's gonna come from all this is we did the best video ever you know i mean like made some sick [ __ ] content made a cool video and like it was just a lot of dope moments and now now i'm gonna get a placement and get three percent of some random [ __ ] song it's just like i just think of being in my i just think of being here thinking and building you know let me ask you a question are you worried about because this is a because i can relate to this are you worried that if you get a placement it's almost worried of success in a sense uh i like someone who's going to rob my [ __ ] is that yours no no are you worried that if you get a placement i'll get through that your fan base and your core will actually look at it as selling out no dude they would [ __ ] they would be like super ecstatic i think some of them you know some of them might be like [ __ ] he's gonna stop posting videos now and he's gonna you know right would they look at it like because what i've noticed uh there's a there's always a large group of fans that don't like change they want you to be that thing they fell in love with forever they want no growth they want you to be that thing forever you know if i was gonna guess dude i feel like a lot of them would be like damn carla finally [ __ ] made it yeah i would hope so too because it seems like you're the it doesn't feel like you know you know what it is though dude it's like it's like you know i didn't tell you the whole [ __ ] story because i [ __ ] said it a million times to my followers but it's like i did i was college soccer player [ __ ] actually i started making beats in fl studio because my apartment got robbed at school so my mom got me like a 200 laptop um started making beats fl studio the demo and then whatever started an app a few years later because i was like just interested in [ __ ] website and then i met up with this kid cam meekins through that [ __ ] and damn meekins holy [ __ ] i remember watching his videos years ago yeah the white dude who'd be rapping he was from north somewhere north up north right he's from massachusetts from boston wow okay so he he he like was gonna he was gonna invest in [ __ ] in the app type of thing like he was interested in partnering because we went on like a college tour this is like when instagram was blowing up anyways so i did all that [ __ ] with him and we were going on tours and the first time i went on tour it was like the [ __ ] i'm this is it i [ __ ] made it i [ __ ] did everything and i can quit right now like right and and like we did a lot of cool [ __ ] we also did a lot of shows with you know where people wouldn't even show up four people were there type of thing yeah so it was a lot of just like i couldn't even use a mic the first time i went on the stage i was like terrified so wow so i was just djing press and play and all this [ __ ] but after all those moments of just like becoming comfortable in that environment for like two three years you know we're we're backstage at the coolest [ __ ] ever like [ __ ] g-eazy was performing and cam knew him so we were backstage and it was like i'm [ __ ] late like look at me i'm i'm crazy i kind of and then and then that added on to like the the app thing where we got like a hundred thousand dollar investment these people are worth like hundreds of millions of dollars we're having meetings with them it was like these weird things were like i kind of half got a fake record deal with the app thing yeah yeah because it was just a horrible you know they were [ __ ] us over if that took off and then i kind of got to see the backstage like i'm lit life a lot of like these djs just kind of live like this and they just wait for the next tour once the last one ends yeah and it was just like this realization of like this is i do not want to do this i just want to be in control of my life that's crazy to have that level of awareness when when that much of a tornado is going on yeah i understand like i didn't hate it i loved like when we had a good show and it was lit that that part was fun but 99 of it is not that is like other [ __ ] that i was not interested people don't know that though people think that just like touring is just like [ __ ] this is like arena's [ __ ] and money it's like it's like bruh that's two hours yeah just like hey yeah that must be a lot dude like you were talking about your vocals are getting [ __ ] up yeah my yeah well because i don't know what the [ __ ] i'm doing like i don't i don't i don't know how to sing i don't know i don't do vocal warm-ups and vocal cooldowns and i should but that's why like you know i probably needed to break because my [ __ ] was [ __ ] up like at the top of 2020 my [ __ ] was [ __ ] up the doc the vocal uh doctor told me if i was gonna keep going at that pace i was gonna blow my [ __ ] out by the end of the year so probably for the best i thought it didn't happen for me you know yeah here's a here's a good question i have if you if you knew everything you knew now right yeah and it was 2 000 you signed the columbia deal in 2016 right the 50 50 deal if you knew everything you knew now you could go back in time would you still do that same deal yeah and i'll tell you why um one off just the sheer principle that i believe that everyone's journey is their journey and for me when i'm living my truth which i was and when you're living your truth what's supposed to happen happens and that's and that was supposed to happen that was a necessary bullet point in the journey and you know for whatever it's worth i learned a lot about the music business i learned um i learned a lot about the music business and i met some i met some people that introduced me to some people that introduced me to some people that i work with today type of [ __ ] so uh yeah i mean i i don't blame myself for signing back in 2016. like at the end of the day apple music came out in 2015. spotify was not even lit like that so there was no way to really be able to tell like that you know that [ __ ] was gonna go [ __ ] through the roof i was getting with them because at that time it was like man i need to level the playing field you know every other artist i look up to drake's and all these they they got labels and i was like my whole thing was i wanted to get on the radio i wanted to just go next level so i was like oh well next level i'll go [ __ ] with the label so i don't blame myself and yeah if i knew what i knew now i mean yeah it's easy to be like no i wouldn't do the deal i'd wait it out i'd invest in bitcoin and spotify so it's like yeah you know what i'm saying it's like whatever bro my friend told me to invest in bitcoin and like i don't do [ __ ] like that either if you can't tell like i [ __ ] just stick to what i'm good at but like he told me i like 41 000. like dude you should invest in bitcoin if you haven't already and like i just pretended like i did and it dropped to like 31 the next day and i was like dude you [ __ ] lost me 10 grand i bought one bitcoin just cuz like you know he i don't think it's just like talk it's just something he didn't expect like it was just like people were just talking about that [ __ ] i [ __ ] i bought in that bitcoin when it was like not that early but i bought in my manager convinced me like four or five years ago that's crazy yeah what like what like [ __ ] what like [ __ ] are you thinking about um you know like looking at people like jay-z or kanye or whatever like what other [ __ ] are you looking at in the future to like build on because you already have the [ __ ] music thing down i know you're [ __ ] doubling down you want grammys and all this [ __ ] but like what other you know avenues are you looking at building businesses or yeah so um i'm trying to expand into the uh i think the cannabis industry is like a super interesting industry and i like that jay-z made that move i think i think that makes it so that when other rappers get into the cannabis industry it won't look so uh just have a pothead and here's my weed i know yeah i know what you're saying yeah you know like jay-z getting into it and making it like because it's jay-z it's bot it's bossy you know what i'm saying yeah so so yeah i like that a lot i like i like um i was telling little baby this when we were shooting the video i was like bro anything you naturally do sell it yeah that like that's what i'm on you know what i'm saying like i have [ __ ] my hair is my hair every day so naturally people oh every fans for the past four years five years what's the hair care routine drop the haircut it's like they asked it so often that i was like okay well i'm not gonna give you what i use because the company that i use isn't mine what i am going to do is make my own and make sure and make sure that the products work in that it's incredible xyz um and then and then i'll give you all the hair care routine but it's gonna be my [ __ ] you know what i'm saying so i don't know just like anything anything i start to naturally do i just want to [ __ ] i want to create my own version of it because like you said at this point the music is down pack now i'm just having fun like for real now i'm just like why not bro like like why not write a book why not [ __ ] sell wine why not [ __ ] you know who [ __ ] knows bro like maybe i'll maybe i'll [ __ ] enter into a chess tournament i don't even know i've been binging chess so much like wow i just got a [ __ ] chessboard actually so did i so did i that's hilarious i love chess i love chess like i don't know bro you know what i'm saying like yeah i try to just keep [ __ ] natural you know like whatever i naturally like to do then i'll get into but you're not gonna see me just like in a commercial for like a twix bar or something dude i really i realized that as i was like you know making that [ __ ] transition of i was about to do like a sponsorship because i wanted to try to you know make more money i was looking at marketing stuff i i wanted to get the [ __ ] out of my rent i was in whatever and i was gonna do like this four thousand dollar sponsorship and then i was putting out this plug-in thinking like you know [ __ ] i i didn't didn't think much of it i thought i was gonna do like a like a couple you know like 10 grand or something and like crazy in one day it made 100 grand that same day in one day one day made do like that i don't know how much that's next cut out or not that's next level [ __ ] boy it's like i [ __ ] produced god's plan for drake and collected all the royalties today and i and i just played and three days later it's a thing of the past and i'm working on the next thing so that's like the freedom [ __ ] that that let's see because you're selling you're selling what you do like you naturally make beats so it makes sense like all right i'll give you a plug-in all right here's a kit you know like that makes sense and that's why people are going to buy this [ __ ] because i always tell like you know i think a lot of instagram influencers have a prop i have a problem with this and they struggle with this where uh they blow up for their beauty and then they try and pivot you know and they're like check out my song and it's it's a it's a it's a hard transition because people didn't fall in love with you for that like every single one of your followers is there because of your beauty right you just now at a million followers said listen to my song and you might think because you have a million followers it's gonna work but it's like it's not that easy because your audience hasn't been trained to give a [ __ ] about your music they've been trained to give a [ __ ] about your beauty so same [ __ ] with like with what you're doing because your audience solely gives a [ __ ] about you and your music that's why someone with how many subscribers you have four hundred thousand right four hundred people before 450 000 subscribers followers but can make a million on a plug-in that's because every single one of those subscribers is interested in music so when that person puts out something music related it's gonna work just like if you do the math too like it's not that much like a couple thousand people buy something at 50 bucks do the math that's that's six figures right there literally i mean literally so it's like yeah but it's like it it's it's it's creating an audience off your authenticity off of your true passion and then monetizing it and it's not hard at that point it becomes tricky if you get famous for something that's not even you and then you start trying to go sell something else well i thought this was you and it's like no that wasn't me i was finding myself this is actually me it's like well i don't know what to [ __ ] believe that yeah it's just yeah it that's why it's like some of the [ __ ] you know like sometimes it's it's not your time to [ __ ] blow up or you know what i mean like you don't you don't want to blow up for first for certain things like at all oh yeah you know what i mean oh yeah you really don't you want to you want to make sure that when the when all eyes are on you they're on you like the real you not the [ __ ] not some other not some underdeveloped version of you you know because then like i said you're gonna have you're gonna have a hard time trying to make that transition to like get people to buy into your real self when we thought this was it so i mean you know like i said you having 450 000 subscribers but can make 100 000 in a day it's kind of crazy it's really wild it's like yeah when you do the math it doesn't take that many people to make a hundred thousand dollars but at the end of the day to turn to make way more money than you have followers is the wave yeah because a lot of people alive you said that dude i was like [ __ ] i like it like just because like you because i think you said have more money than followers or whatever yeah but a lot of people are the opposite a lot of people have the opportunity there's a lot of rappers and a lot of just artists and whatever who might have 10 million followers but it's like did you make 10 million dollars this year yeah if you didn't make 10 million dollars this year but you have 10 million followers what does that even mean that means that that means that they're not laughing with you they're laughing at you you feel me like what is that then i think it goes i think it just goes back to the perception thing like people would rather what's this what's the thing would you rather have would you rather have everyone think you [ __ ] the goat or actually [ __ ] a goat you've heard that it's like this you've never heard that explain actually like both of those options were terrible so yeah it's like would you rather would you rather [ __ ] a goat or have everyone think you [ __ ] the goat neither what is why can't i say that it's just like it's just like a saying where it's like it's like the same [ __ ] it's like a lot of people would rather people think that they're [ __ ] you know doing something then actually do something oh okay i got it [ __ ] the go thing is just rough to use as an analogy is crazy but i thought you might have heard of that dude no but i get it yeah no a lot of people would rather look rich than be rich [Music] but then you know because then once there's eyes on you you get into that whole game of having to keep up appearances and you gotta now you gotta like if you're one of those artists who your whole [ __ ] was always in designer always with chains always in some crazy car and basically you're just selling money you're selling a lifestyle if you were to go broke which a lot of them did in 2020 [ __ ] is looking crazy right now because you can't come on the gram in just pajamas and looking crazy and whatever because you made it so that you made it so that your character of of what you like that is this overly opulent appearance and just wealth and luxury and it's a shame because you can't even keep it real yeah you've built your brand to the point where you can't keep it real if you are broke you know what i'm saying i was just watching then you then you go then you go broker trying to appear rich when you are broke it's like crazy it's [ __ ] i was just watching the video of you uh and rap uh whatever the [ __ ] it was some title thing of you driving the 97 nissan oh yeah you still have that car yeah hell yeah yeah yeah did i drive up yeah i drive a my my car is [ __ ] newer i guess but i drive a 2010 toyota corolla and i just don't i just don't [ __ ] go anywhere so i just like you get coffee every morning according to your videos yeah those are older ones those are all the ones oh yeah you don't drink coffee anymore no i make coffee so that's dude i have the best coffee that makes so much more sense why were you driving every day to get coffee just to get out of the house or you didn't know you didn't know how to make coffee yet uh once i got one of those like chemex things where it's like uh you know i'm talking about it's like a drip no i don't because let me tell you something right let me tell you something you don't drink coffee right at all wow i've had i've had maybe three cups of coffee in my life dude that's insane dude you did not you seem like someone who's always drinking coffee dude all so my manager is a crackhead my mom is a crackhead you know what i'm saying with the coffee they're like they like my mom you can't talk to my mom until she's had coffee yeah you know i'm saying she's one of those like my manager milan like milan will have three or four cups of coffee a day it's like crazy and it's like it's wild because i'm like i'm like what would y'all do if you had to wake up and [ __ ] power through with no coffee you know what i'm saying but yeah everyone everyone needs their [ __ ] kick i think i'm just [ __ ] naturally turnt you know what you're saying like i i always make it a point to like do my whole [ __ ] morning before i do that like i'm already awake oh really i don't know do you like the taste the coffee dude i drink it black but it's like an acquired taste dude it's like do you like the taste of tequila you know what i mean but it's like uh but you would drink it but anything i drink is to get drunk i'm like otherwise what am i doing yeah but that's you don't like the taste of wine right no but because i'm not drinking it for the taste it doesn't bother me because i'm like yeah well i'm trying to get from a to b oh so you that's what i'm saying so it's just like you're drinking it to get to point b yeah but when you so when you have that first sip of wine right you [ __ ] have that first sip of wine you're not drunk yet but you feel good after that just the first sip you're just cause you know you're closer to your destination yeah but it's so nice it's like the same it's like the same [ __ ] you it just it's like your brain just remembers the taste it's kind of [ __ ] up how productive you were [ __ ] yeah yeah yeah you drank it but the few times i drank coffee i was getting i can't i was like i was like i was like and what [ __ ] me up was the crash i was like how do y'all do this this is crazy yeah like and then i understand the people who drink numerous cups a day because you drink that one at eight in the morning but then by [ __ ] 12 or one you're [ __ ] sucking wind and then you gotta have another one and then you have an espresso and then it's like repeats how many cups of coffee do you drink a day let's be honest keep it real [Laughter] nah dude i like i'll make like i'd say most days because i'll do like i'll fill the whole [ __ ] up with ice and then do a half a cup and drink it black so it's not like when you have like cream and like caramel [ __ ] all this crazy [ __ ] people just suck them down because it tastes like it just tastes like sugar but like i'll drink it black so it's just like you're just it's like tea you're like sipping on it almost yeah so so you sip on it all day or you have an afternoon coffee at night coffee like i'll wake up do my whole morning have a coffee and then have like another one at like noon and just like that gets you to 8 pm and then you're like out you're like [ __ ] yeah yeah brother you're such an adult and i'm so proud of you i'm doing my friend dude [ __ ] what are you like what what's your like do you try to eat healthy and [ __ ] and like how do you because you i feel like we're similar in a way where you're just in your zone at home yeah making music and doing your thing like so i have a good situation here because my brother is a certified nutritionist and personal trainer so and i got a gym in my house like a crazy gym yeah one in my [ __ ] garage yeah so i work out it's usually at best six days a week but sometimes i miss a day or two so four to six days a week and he has me on these meal prep things for the past like two years or some [ __ ] i'm just not that diligent and discipline with them like i might have i might have one of those meal preps and then i'll order uber eats or i'll have two of them you know what i'm saying so but i always tell them like for them you know i'm healthier than 99 of americans that's for sure yeah i think what it was for me was when i started learning about the foods and like how and the workouts and the stretching and the running like how it helps your body like once you learn about it it's hard to like go back it's hard to like not because you just your brain just [ __ ] feels like you're doing good [ __ ] i i love the running though dude the run that running changed my life i used to i can't i can't believe you can do that run it yeah see obviously listen to do you ever heard of david goggins no oh my god dude he's like that that's why i started like running he was on the joe rogan podcast and he's like this dude who had like a [ __ ] up childhood just like a disastrous childhood and then he ended up being like 300 pounds and then he went he was trying to get into the navy and then he like failed the navy he like barely got in he like lost 100 pounds to get into the navy and then he kept failing and kept failing over and over and went through like three hell weeks and all this [ __ ] he just has this insane story and he basically learned how to he was just so he was afraid of his own shadow which like dude i i was [ __ ] as similar maybe not in the same way but like i was in high school dude like i was people were not [ __ ] people have no idea who i am almost like yeah same that same that they just don't even know that i have a personality like they don't even know i exist some of them so it's like it's like this thing where he just started callousing his mind by running and like he runs like 100 mile races and [ __ ] now where he just every morning he he does like 100 mile weeks and he'll do like 100 mile races but you don't understand until like you you you run and you do it enough to where you hit this [ __ ] wall and then you keep you keep going past it and then you get to the point where you run the four miles and you do it or you run the 10 miles and then it's just like that feeling of accomplishment is like insane and just like the meditation that comes with it is like i don't know it's like you're like it's crazy bro you say that because i was i that was the one thing i could never running to me was so mundane but my mom has been running [ __ ] you know five to ten miles a week since i was [ __ ] sit forever she's a [ __ ] stick you know what i'm saying and i don't like she's she's also super super disciplined like goes to jazzercise yoga runs fight like just always been very very health oriented but i never understood how she could run every morning five miles type of [ __ ] like you know what i'm saying like because i yeah i don't know just it seems mundane to me but i i could see what you're saying i can see what's mental dude it's just mental yeah just get it's just getting over the walls and it taught me because like i was saying earlier like i was not a [ __ ] not a hard worker but you were a soccer player so your conditioning had to be crazy at all times anyway like yeah you must have been running anyway back then yeah but like it's different like i could run on the field and then like if it's like it's like like you said it's mundane it's a mental test dude like i was physically incapable but like your brain your brain is yelling at you to stop it's like some [ __ ] like in music or whatever you want to do in life there's always things that you don't want to do that come with it and it's just like it helps just the thought of that the thought of like being able to break down those walls and just get to just finish those things that you need to do that you don't want to do did you did you drop were you doing it to drop weight or were you doing it to get in better shape or were you doing it to mentally challenge yourself or a combination of all things i was just doing it because i thought it would be i you can't think like that at the start though i couldn't think like oh this is a mental challenge because the first time back doing it it was [ __ ] horrible like i was listening to the joe rogan podcast and i was like i'm going to run i'm going to start running and then you run like a half a mile and you're like [ __ ] this you just stop like is that what you did so you just stopped and went back i stopped and just like was like i'm going to take a break that was it's cold out i was in boston and then but six months later i was doing that [ __ ] run every morning but like wait like four miles and now my run is insane because it's like hills and [ __ ] because i'm in california so it's like all [ __ ] hills and dirts and crazy [ __ ] like that so crazy incredible bro maybe i start running holy [ __ ] dude i'd recommend it dude i bring everyone that comes here like anyone i do a video with that visits me like we have a guest room like a producer or whatever that just comes and films with me and make me makes music every every morning if they stay over i make them come on the run with me like a three mile right i have videos of them like with me like just [ __ ] dude some of them are like pissed because i would be definitely pissed but like also i'd be kind of into it to be honest that's funny bro fart how much yeah am i am i like holding you up dude or like how much how much yeah well i mean i think i think i think we oh we crushed our thirties yeah right yeah so that's that's good okay cool send me a pack of beats too bro yeah i was gonna say it dude the only placement i'll get right now is is a is a placement on one of your songs dude yeah well my [ __ ] is just so easy because like we can make it tonight and drop it you know dude we should do something more like [ __ ] i don't know be dope if we could [ __ ] do something i know it's a pandemic and [ __ ] but oh like content wise yeah like film something like i don't know [ __ ] send me some of your vocals or like [ __ ] do a video together or something yeah maybe on the sending vocals just because i'm a nut about my [ __ ] please yeah yeah we could yeah we could figure something out but yeah in the meantime send me a packet beast bro and this conversation was epic i think this is gonna i think this is really really dope bro yeah i'm a clip you can't see here but it looks [ __ ] fire on my on my thing the thing i'm recording sick so um [ __ ] and when is this going to come out asap like we're going to get on it right away awesome i'll give you a bunch of clips and [ __ ] if you want to post them for [ __ ] oh yeah hell yeah [ __ ] clips i was gonna i was gonna ask you to i did i did a video a while ago because i found like i found like a beat that you posted on youtube like 13 years ago oh man i left them up for a reason though yeah that's why i [ __ ] kept all my dms to you because i had 100 [ __ ] dms to you and i was like it's fine he'll he'll appreciate the persistence absolutely but i was going to ask you how you came up with the name dj ripley oh well the worst oh my god i can't believe that you can't figure it out because i was just this little white kid in high school in 2006 making beats and ripley believe it or not was like oh yeah so it was like believe it or not i'm making beats it's the worst [ __ ] ever bro but it was like i remember being in [ __ ] high schools like just thinking that those beats were the [ __ ] yeah dude i was just you couldn't tell me any different like you couldn't tell me any different like even if you go back and look at some of those if you look at like the videos that were because it was like me and my friend at the time and like just like it's [ __ ] on imovie like being like wait for this part right here oh my [ __ ] god did you but i was like 15. you know what i'm saying yeah the funniest part was like all the comments you left to like everyone that's what i'm saying yeah that but like that should that's what i try and tell people is like if y'all think i'm a cocky [ __ ] now i was worse way back then like this is me very calmed down i was a maniac when i was like no when i was nothing i was way worse that was amazing all right cool well just just yeah send me the pack and just keep me posted on everything bro i appreciate it that was sick so thanks for coming through dude [ __ ] absolutely appreciate it i know everyone's gonna [ __ ] appreciate it and [ __ ] yeah i feel like this is [ __ ] manifestation oh dude by the way i gotta tell you one more thing [ __ ] sorry go ahead [ __ ] uh so you my mom passed away on this is a crazy [ __ ] thing that happened my mom passed away on january 19 2020 right you know just at the end of her cancer and um so you texted me that morning and so the morning it happened right she she passed away at 12 30 eastern time which is 9 30 western time and [ __ ] i was telling vanessa my girlfriend i was like i was like something crazy because we were just we left a couple balloons and stuff like these red balloons we used to always do and like just like we had her wine that she always used to drink for at night and then like so i was like something's gonna happen like it was cloudy so i was like dude the sun i was like the sun's gonna come up right at 9 30 or something i was like something something's crazy is going to happen and then you [ __ ] text me at 9 24. y'all yo let's do the podcast and i'm just sitting here like with the [ __ ] balloon like waiting for that and i was like are you [ __ ] kidding because you haven't you didn't answer me in like a month and uh yeah my phone i was [ __ ] yeah yeah i don't really care but like it was just like yeah it was just like crazy that like [ __ ] it wasn't just like yo what's up it was like you know let's do the podcast like it was just like it's just like that's [ __ ] crazy bro but that's how [ __ ] goes that's how yeah like that's that's how it goes man that's crazy bro it was a moment because dude you i [ __ ] follow you more than like it it doesn't matter if it was [ __ ] like drake could have [ __ ] hit me up it's just the fact that i followed the whole like movement that you're doing well yeah like i appreciate it bro that was super cool to find out for me because i was binging your [ __ ] without knowing you were a fan of mine yeah so i was just like binging you know and then when i went then when i went to dmu and i was like oh this was just super obviously meant to be because he's been saying hell yeah man i'm [ __ ] proud of you bro send me a pack of beats we're gonna make a song

Channel: Kyle Beats Podcast

Views: 132,955

Keywords: russ, interview, kyle beats, podcast

Id: YK71SonmpYw

Length: 105min 29sec (6329 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 30 2021