Rap Radar: Nipsey Hussle [The Marathon Continues, Being Independent, Making New Music & More]

year to check out more episodes at evaporator podcast what they got to do betta easy signup at title comm backslash on air for your three-month complimentary membership I mean you'll get access to over 48 million songs tons of videos exclusive concert live streams are so much more Mia what's that just can't be like title comm backslash on there yeah yeah right brain our podcast Elliot will see that beat out what's up baby I'm feeling like cutoff khakis fridge of Brady's house for you to talk to special individuals well you know it's just that Malibu over yep and we writing them in the pit met with nip hustle what's up baby yeah we don't crashing on Slauson oh no rap radar podcast I must have done something right man so we got to bring our business to your business is booming this is booming man yo you move even while he's trying to set up for the interview man people come here yeah we was taught my tourism a little earlier yeah I mean a lot like artists and everybody know they coming here and supporting hustle know so so you know I mean that happens just naturally around the clock we just happen to be here yeah for this this one it's almost like fellow artists feel like they gotta Kuenn they come to LA they pay their respects um wants to see what this is about and yeah fortune to a degree and then also want to come check it out in project curious because they seen the grand opening or heard that we have a store with you and me probably combination and everything trying to support curiosity and II and also being from out of town you want to come to LA the other LA aside from like Hollywood and you mean yeah baby zero we don't Christian on Slauson that his marathon store in the Crenshaw district you know that fat burgers looking nice next door oh yeah yeah definitely that's you - yeah we we involved in that yeah yeah you say you're trying to buy the whole block literally right eventually that'll be to go you know we're gonna get to the music returning me that's why we're here we're excited but like what is it what is this why is this store so important to you me a lot of business moves like what's so important about this foundation in this store um but it's we're really the NIP hustle story as far as doing music started just far as me like selling my mixtapes out the trunk in that parking lot you know even before the music just hustling out the parking lot and then making my transition to selling my music you know what I mean tomorrow to my clientele you know you know becoming known as an artist just a young up-and-coming street artist and you know all of the levels that we went up and just all the transition since then so it's a story connected to the space even before the store just the actual geography the parking lot you know and uh you know we've been on many levels in this parking lot it always been a pull up at eight o'clock leave ten it just been for different reasons you know mmm since I was probably like 14 what is hustle acumen come from because it's like your very business minded you know obviously just your name but like was it ingrained to you as a child or oh yeah you know my brother was always a hustler you know what I mean so I as a little brother you gonna do what your big brother do and then also just being on in a situation where we needed to kind of like compensate you know I'm and make up for like you know I mean things that we felt we should add that we didn't you know no but stresses obviously like before like you would say like you young cat you see with the Cuban link chain and stuff yeah I obviously used living life on the street and doing the street things black well I never really realized why rat why was rap you take your calling like while I was the music what drew you to the music that you felt like you could be a hip hop artist man um you know I thought I was gonna be like Kris Kross bro really I thought I was gonna be like like a young artist song when I was a little kid I was rapping when I was little you know I mean like and that was I thought I could get you know notice that's like a 12 year old 11 year old little kid and I got frustrated when I didn't get you know I mean it starting to bow-wow and I was like no disrespect about but just being a young artist um yeah that got noticed as a young agent Gaad he was bold you would just step out Spit for everybody I was nobody okay in my mind I'm like somebody should notice that I'm breakfast when I was writing raps and like you know just um I guess when I was probably eight nine my goal was that about I'm 1213 I'll be signed and cracking as a little kid or anything when I wasn't I like fun grabbed me I'm saying I'm but I'm gonna just say hustle but I'm about to explore um more realistic pursuits you know the music was the first dream when that young age drew either go to the other side and yeah but just when I started trying to put it together like how do you rap all you gotta get a studio you got how much the studio equipment and [ __ ] is expensive like I used to go to my homie Jermaine house across the street and we built a studio in the backyard with no equipment riches be clearing the dirt like you know saying sweeping the backyard up like we gonna build it right here and then the artist should be like 8 feet this way you know I'm saying but just like realizing damn is sweet we don't have the capacity to do this you know I mean we don't have to get money to do this we can't just wing it off a dream you know what I mean and then going into the field and seeing what you know that was about drew me further and further for music and kind of like what made me question like even if that was something that to go back into and even if it was possible you know right he started engineering your own music was like out of necessity right yeah once I got into it him like ran my little check ups where I could invest and buy some equipment um yeah I started engineering myself because I have an engineer and I really we wasn't having salaries to pay engineers like that so you know I had to learn how to record and so um I used to run from the mic back to the console press record on the Pro Tools run back to the mic let my little verse I'm running back stop it but it made me record a certain way too because it was like you know I'll be really focused on getting the take right because I only feel like keep doing this [ __ ] over no there's a lot of text and then it's different when you got to stop at yourself you take your mind out of creative mode and you kind of get in um like mechanical mode you listening to yourself yeah in your song yeah and then you just doing rewind and play back that type of thought process different than like fishing for words and trying to like tap into old cadence it's a I'm part of the brain so it kind of conflict doing both so I was I was just like try to not focus on the record part had like a real set up process where I was like a 3-button thing and try to state something to the delivery of the lyrics and the delivery of the mark instead of like you career really began like oh wait all right yeah I would say about oh wait like I got acknowledged in awake by the music industry yeah but now that we're finally here yeah victory lap like how does it feel man Oh I feel great funny to get an album oh I feel like I never made a project and thought this is a mixtape I always went into it is this is album I'm working on concept today like the album but when it really became time to okay this one's gonna get released on a mainstream retail level my challenge was to make it a step up so that you could hear the difference between my mixtape altitude just musically and in my album out the tool so you know that was a challenge for me and I think I did that thinking people hear the album they're gonna be like yet his album hustle clearly this is the dista not stuff more polished in just everything on a different level without without going outside of what I do just like more attention to everything you know I mean and be more critical on each each part of the whole product you know from the mix from actual binder like I went to hit-boy house and I recorded a verse for him when I first came off the Crenshaw tour and I like how my voice sounds so much I'm like well what mike is that and then I'm liking what preamp is that and what vocal changes it completely write everything down hmm and he gave it to me I went out and bought the same vocal change for this out one cuz I'm like that's how I my voice is saying what was it about it just it just a little cutting it was cutting it was cutting through the music the way I like to hear you know I'm saying I don't like the vocal to be muffled your flow kind of cuts through like yeah this is Colorado yeah and if it's not mixed in that in that direction of being sharp and like you know even when I'm in a performance if I'm gonna concert to some I got it I got to cut the lows and cut the UM cut the bass island raise the mids on it so that it cut through and it'll penetrate yes so just that mic it seemed like it's the best fit you know me you know go ahead don't say being that we've been waiting for this album for so long like have you been sitting on material like did you switch up the project or well you know what um some of the records are tucked you know well actually all of you know the way that I picked the songs for the album as I recorded the ones I felt was really incredible songs I was just great records in terms of not and I like you know in a fragmented way where like the verse is so tight that I got to keep because his verses fire or at this Beach is dope what I did hook you know I mean not an entire song is a great song in terms of what makes a song great you know I mean it's different to look at it from trying to make a great song and just trying to make a dope hip-hop moment or like a dope verse you know yeah so some of you saying that Leo gave you some advice with that like he hates good records because it should be the greater terrible like write good records confute or confusing right yeah he was just like um that's what's wrong with the industry is the good records because they they they clouding everything and they they clogging the space and they're hard to tell the difference between like you don't know when you hear a good record you like it's good qualities in it but it's not great so he was like you know it's he's a garbage or should be great records get him out the way you know you should only aim to make great records this whole [ __ ] is about the great records and those are the records that should get a chance it's funny when you just drop rap [ __ ] at first I was like okay this is cool but then the more I listen to it - mom this is good the more I'm like you know I'm beat out the same reaction right why was that the first statement you feel the right song to put out I just feel like this is about what I've learned in this image is that it's about distinguishing yourself it's about even in life it's about the unique things about you you know I'm saying not to blend in not the common denominators that's nothing that's what it's about it's about expressing the unique qualities of what you are and who you are and actually being loud with it you know I'm saying whoa with it yeah with the unique elements of who you are that's what doesn't make a person dope when you come across in me like them you know this is a unique and like this is a unique flavor this is a different frequency and that's how you kind of know they being honest because everybody's different you know I'm saying it so if they if they are operating in like a tight or like a mole it's because they're not expressing the unique [ __ ] about them so I think as a brand you know I mean to come out on my first record and say this was different about me these are the things that's different about me I do own all the rights to all my raps you know and that's distinguishing that's what separating it you know me and so I thought that would be the statement to make coming out first you know even the hustle in the house I reckon used to own as well the rights to that well retroactively you know we got him back after after we got out the epic deal yeah yeah I'm saying so you know once once the epic release it was a cooling-off period that you know me that was involved and I was like three years out to the deal yeah so outside of that you know I mean the bullets one two three Marathon TMC Crenshaw mailbox money you know what I saw indie catalog oh wow yeah I mean that's thing you become this poster child of independence and now due to deal with Atlantic it obviously you're gonna get some criticism just because people will be like what's going on like this the guy that said [ __ ] the middleman right but you've also said this is a very strategic partnership right can you explain what makes this different um I mean just first off just the terms you know I'm saying and just you know part of the agreement was I ain't announced the details of the terms and so I'm gonna keep my word on that part but okay just you know the terms of it is what I was working for yeah I mean he had so and waited years to get it right Anthony you know and I think that the the moment that we did it is the moment that it was deserved I don't think that even before you know I mean what I was asking for I think we still had work to do to demand that type of deal and that once we finish the album have victory lap done you know I'm saying got to going there really really like play them all out yeah let him learn what the next move is gonna be that it makes sense and also you were saying like Atlanta gets some criticism like you can you talk about with that label your view of that label because on one end I've heard you say where they've empowered people like ti Grand Hustle II type things but then you also hear about the Lupe Fiasco's that didn't go well and the idea that they're sort of the pioneers of this 360 deal like yeah he talked about what your view of them was because you said that's place you if you thought about going someplace you were most attracted to that label right yeah I mean it's a lot of reasons but to answer the first question um you know Julie came from Def Jam cars II came from Def Jam and it's Julie Greenwald yeah my cousin you know I'm saying and Craig was a label owner great um big big beat you know he did a joint venture with Atlantic and that's that's how he entered into the major label system he became chairman of Atlantic you know saying but he come from an indie entrepreneurial you know ground-up radical against the grain even the type of music that big beat records made was untraditional at the time know about that BB category starts on the executives in like the options who have to go be in business with as I was yeah building the leverage and you know they they just the authentic execs and the authentic um you know hip-hop um from that side of the other history yeah you know just from from that role that gets play in terms of just the the major label administration you know I feel like they lived up to their legend I don't think that they day they [ __ ] was like industry fluff I'm saying just like unnecessary praise they they done radical [ __ ] you know I'm saying even like Rockefeller out a joint venture I dug Jim Craig I mean when Kaiser and Julie was there Irving them had a joint venture Rough Riders and them had a joint venture you know I'm saying so glue the DCP Lilian DTP you know what shocker and then Jason Gina and TR I had a joint venture with Julie and Kaiser at Atlantic you know and so I even knew that you know I could I could point to those deals and be like you know y'all y'all do these situations you know these things happen and y'all y'all have been successful under these terms before I mean but I also seem like you said that you you don't you never really wanted to be looked at it's just underground like how does this deal help you get put more in the mainstream is about like getting you on a radio like what things do you expect them to deliver on which also justify what his deal is right I mean yeah I just I just think that the type of music we make and the type of message and the type of thing that this is should be consumed on the highest level you know I mean and I don't with no vanity of no arrogance but I just felt like it deserves to be you know doing Stadium tours and you know I mean top and billboard but by no means does the ambition to do those things change the business strategy and I'm saying so we was always gonna have to force the hand to get to that level we wasn't going fold to get there you know so I think that's the resistance everybody felt you know me as independent is there like a glass ceiling that you could go so far when it comes to what not I don't think so we seen tec-9 go to a level we seen chance obviously recently take this thing to way next level interviewers to just think about Indy selling his is way above Indy selling but I also know that what you're really just doing is you building an infrastructure you building an enterprise around your art so however you go about doing that you're gonna have to do that to take it to the next level and so that's what it's about just what is the most strategic way to build your administration in the enterprise around the music and you know everybody said is different right the the most valuable thing obviously in this age is ownership because streaming booming you know I'm saying and um you know being involved in that you know what I mean and not and not just being not not missing that you know I'm saying so I think that's why we stress Indy and why um it's important to really really leverage a situation that you don't miss that because I think it's going to be bigger than what happening with the city this before I'll be here it's crazy how you get the crash or thing you know with the radical thing of selling you know 100 dollars a CD right this is more so before the streaming era really kicked in right value is so right I've you're just the type of game is really more about streaming in a sense I mean well I just paid attention to my tone core you know I mean I've seen the back in and what was it used to be iTunes like iTunes was the main source and then you have Rhapsody in these other strings so when you look at your monthly statement you'd be like cool we made 50 bands on iTunes or you know 7 bands on this platform 3 bands over here now it's of course I thought I told Rob for like people ain't buying it as much as you'll see your Spotify going crazy and you'll see yo-yo Apple music going crazy yep all of them and so you know I just I'm like damn you know I heard people complaining about streaming but I think that's because the deal that most artists have what they label happen before a streaming kicked in yeah so it's undetermined so it might be some statutory laws that they labels got to follow but outside of that it's not really a defined agreement so I think far as the label whoever doing business with the streaming platforms are they loving it I'm loving it for my indie stuff right that's the best thing happen with streaming because it's like a classic album now becomes way more valuable because how many how many times you've listened to the tour classy you're the way you'd have to buy the CD six or seven times I'll have loser yeah yeah you streaming this album and think about how many times Elliott my extremist favorite album over the course of your life yeah it's gonna it's gonna end up making more than that 10 dollars that you would have spent or maybe that fit 2530 dollars you bought three times because you lose it or break it to something as a CD but when when the album is getting strained you just got it on your playlist and when you in that mood you play it and that's another consumption another consumption so that if you make a classic piece of music streaming making it I think is gonna be worth way more because you're not ever owning it you just can so many yeah you know I mean so I thought it's interesting about your business acumen I remember on the record huh for everyone so fly [ __ ] you said you 360 to yourself and you exercise control yeah yeah like you know 360 myself put put businesses in other categories that was driven by the music like the clothing and like um the agency and you know if we was getting marketing feedback positive feedback for marketing decisions well we should be able to leverage that to offer marketing services as a company you know I'm saying it's so yeah just building businesses around the music thing just like traditionally a label will monetize around you you know exercise control though I mean that's kind of like a visceral statement but I meant like stand at the register you know I'm saying like or set the price mm-hmm you know I mean or count the dough myself I mean it literally that but as far as by saying exercise control like put my hands on the steering wheel you know but then again on the no pressure project I remember you said like you know you when you got your first seven figures you admit it to splurging out yeah for sure just being honest you know I mean I think and that that's a mile splurge you know saying you mean like you go Jerry shopping you go car shopping you don't saying you're gonna go you might up yo-yo restaurant to a no booze but just like upgrade your lifestyle a little bit but I think that I think dim dim dim type of lines is like let you know nipping in line to you because I get all type of all you a great businessman and all these things but you know to point out I did splurge you know say [ __ ] off some dough you know someone's made of what businessman Walker you break down like how did you become such a good businessman like what was it out of necessity like what are some of the lessons you learned and why is it so important to have some different platforms to express I mean I think I think the best I said I have is I'm a grinder you know I mean I'm dedicated to the lifestyle of going hard every day and I've been in since I was a teenager so that's him I just we was raised to be grinders I swooped I will be identify with and then I get a lot of credit for my team they give net barter credit cuz I'm the face but my team different to like if you put a camera on the team you'll see what's going on it's not a regular the homies sitting around it smoke weed and catch the groupies out the show that ain't the type of team my god it's different you seems like your brother black Salmons played a really integral role in to the growth of who you are like yeah when you first heard in the record that you guys put your money together to start the store yeah the show I used to have a Lincoln when I was 19 I had a white Lincoln on our penis you know I'm saying you know then was like name-brand rims the Cutlass 9 I was after the colors so um you know that was like um a famous la car you know that white Lincoln on how penis I was you know do LA in that car so everybody would try to buy it all as all the [ __ ] I was having work and having we was trying to buy that car and I was the only [ __ ] without penis in her life and my homeboy hump had to our penis on his Monte Carlo but [ __ ] ain't have our penis like that that was like the BMW rims with the lock and key on him he couldn't even get to the loves without unlocking it was just some like teenage ball of [ __ ] and everybody's just trying to buy that car from me and I was getting girls I was turned up yeah you know you know I had just reached a level in my grind where I'm like I was sitting that parking lot leaning on my Lincoln and I'm like yeah man you know I have reached my little adolescent dream that I had for myself you know like 10 I'm I'm right here you know I'm at that level I was trying to get that far just being a teenager how I saw myself I was there and I'm like you know I could either go to my next level with this and I was like um fully fully pursue what I had my hands in at that time or I'm like or I could [ __ ] with what I've been an itch to do which was the music and at that time you know I felt like a star because I was like my charisma was on 10 I was balling for the first time I had thousands in my pocket for the first time I knew how to get money out the streets you know I was like had a reputation so I was like you know I'm a star my mind this I like you feel me I felt like you know I don't got to change up to be a successful rapper I didn't either camera me you know I'm saying it just you know I just need to talk about what's going on I don't have to like put no scoops on her to come up with no persona no [ __ ] like that is done yeah and so I'm like this is probably not gonna be too hard if I really [ __ ] with the music and I'm like [ __ ] that I called d-mac one of one of my his son work here at the shop - that's the song right there and I called DMACC DMACC was been trying to buy the car from me he like man I'm like um you still want this car bro he like yep he pulled up right here in a lowrider they would have with a ruffs bag with racks in and gave me the cash I gave him the key and you know went to uh I hit my brother like I might go buy some equipment and he like how much you got and I told you when I got here I got him a match I'm gonna meet you up to it so you know the amount I had he put that with me and we just bought all the equipment I was wrapping since today right was your gold I thinking you were gonna get a record deal and I was gonna change your life like back then yeah imma take some I swear I read some article about us antenna he was getting 15,000 - OH I'm like [ __ ] that I was my goal mama get 15,000 I'm gonna go Indian sell 50,000 units if I get eight dollars a CD y'all be in the ballpark of a half a million off my off my own lips these math is real cool mathematics you know I have no paranoia that came with that hustle you ain't hear helicopters at night and think there was about to kick your durian you ain't even had to had a paranoia that go with every other house so that we was involved in yeah so I'm like yeah that's good man so I ain't thinking about getting started going platinum I was thinking about I could do 50,000 Andy mm-hm and I could get 15,000 - oh yeah that's cracking but was it hard to go legit and yet yeah spot still gets raided by the police and things like that yeah definitely I ain't expect that I was the monkey wrench in the game I ain't expect because I was committed I was sincere with I was an artist every day even my my my commitment was influencing my homies to where I was coming to the studio and just taking it serious and being like [ __ ] that how much to just sit here all day with chewing we going broke but [ __ ] you we gonna make music you know it I mean Jay stone used to drive to the hood and sell smokers fake work so he could buy some weed for the studio and that's like against the cold you know I mean to selling smoking some fake drugs but that's how committed he was to the music you know me and you know it was - it was to avoid spending time outside the studio because we knew he can hit the block and get though but we was trying to avoid breaking the concentration we was in a vibe we had like a momentum going musically so when the police came already to that spot he had I was a thousand monkey rings I [ __ ] me up and you know I like backpedal and ended up back you know in the grind you know you know I said it on the crew show I'm like one of my homies Tony Botti seen me back out there on the Block we used to have a block in the hood it was like 50 low homies outside selling work all day and it was that booming that it'll be 50 [ __ ] come outside with 30 or 40 rocks and everybody gets a cycle off by like two o'clock and when I went back out there bode like man yo [ __ ] flopped bro back out here on the block your album fly and I said hit me in the heart I even think my [ __ ] flopped but when he told me I'm like my [ __ ] dead flop cuz I am back out here swallowing dope when the police hop out and you know that was a rough time for sure I was like I kind of like I was frustrated with just the return on my energy I'm like I gave a lot of sincere energy to the to the positivity and I ain't feel like where did it go you know saying you know how'd you get it back man you know people came into my life at that time that day they had they had seen my commitment to the music before the raid happened people try to you know provide a creative space again because we was really really really locked in and it was it was like something that the whole area knew cuz you know me and that me and the crew of artists that or the crew of my friends I was doing music with me you know before the music we was out in the field every day so for us to be gone from the front line and into the studio they felt that so every time we lead the student would come back and play music to the homies and everybody was like damn alright it was turning into something it was becoming some area but I was conscious of so then when they just roughly stopped because of the REA other people like jaws reached out and he did his best to put me in the studio and got some equipment set up Johnny shapes at that time was was you know trying to help me book studios but you know I'm an artist that I got to be able to I'm like OCD a little bit to where I got to create my space I had to create my creative space you know I mean to where I can I can work out a big studio but I need it for a month I need I can't just come you know at that time I hadn't reached a level of discipline to where I could just walk in the room and just no matter what the environment is I could just be creatively averse ya know say what about even here you know cuz I so recently like maybe like a year ago I saw the cops raided this place yeah they do that when they want to they try you know I'm saying it come through it seems like you're targeted or something like what is this this corner is known for something else than what we doing on this corner so it's a transition and it's a learning curve that the police even going through to really accept that some people from over here are doing legitimate business taxes in like doing everything by the book that's why you know even though the damn parking even to this day I'll park right there where I'm at they jumped out on me to crash police photos ago and hop tell him to give me your ID and I'm telling you're not gonna find none on me every time y'all y'all been doing this for how long but you're not gonna find none on me and he took my ID around my [ __ ] and he let me go but I don't take it that personal because they they they're getting educated also they should the police still getting educated so who we are we were all real intentions oh yeah right but [ __ ] I mean you're obviously making great moves I mean I remember on Slauson boy - you talked about reaching your goal only having to rearrange your list yeah like where's the list at now these days man I was talking to the homie the other night and I was just like we we was talking on some way I'll go and then somebody had said something like to the point of like that's too far like yeah that's to me and I'm just like man now don't say that because every time I write a list when we get to the end of it I'll be like damn I should have I should have put some more scoops on it I should I should have you know swung a little further for the for the for the fence so um damn I lost track of the questions I say about your goals all right now it's like damn you know I got a real specific list but here's just about how I wanna map out these next projects I said that's what I wrote down and what I've been struggling into my team about how I want to go into the next since like victory lab closes out of trilogy which is the marathon trilogy just to be creative with the next moves or what I want to do I got it I got a clear-cut vision of how I wanted to go right so that's kind of I just got a music list I do I do I got all type of goals financial business they don't autopilot everything set in stone that's been written down for a while the music and the career and the creative goals kind of like refreshing more frequently you know what was the concept behind the rap [ __ ] video because you hit different cities on that to excite asides where that came out yeah I love the way it came out yeah Chucky's well he is he go by um directing on the sérgio and you know my brother put together the treatment for that and it was just about you know two things like I just wanted to introduce certain energy to the campaign early and also I wanted to UM I feel like make a record that I feel like you know I love when I hear records that only the artist himself could've made you know when you hear sorry like a snoop record you like that only the only Snoop Dogg could make that song or only Jay could make this type record like I think like the single volume three that first single I primo produce what's the name that million not value of item three crime three prone so ghetto so ghetto right I think that's a song only jay-z can make you know I'm saying that's like I look at like rap [ __ ] like a song like that or like um DMX um Rough Rider anthem or something you know I'm saying or like sweet mr. records yeah just like just like even again not to keep quoting me or but I heard him say this in one of y'all or wondering one of the interview he did was like you know every artist bleed a record of certain record if you cut a artist they leave record yeah nice we told nori yeah you know I'm saying yeah and so that's real I took heed to that - that's a real way of looking at it yeah you're not saying dude I would say you test on that a lot though you always kind of want to make sure you why is it still so important you think to differentiate yourself from but you better throughout your whole career even under no pressure project released none of this yeah like that was one of my favorite joints on there but like you still making that distinguish this thing I just want to be clear I see it you know like that's just that's a violation don't blend in be you know stay in your lane is no traffic in your life you know I'm saying it's like you know it it discredit the sacrifices that it take you know I'm saying and it discredit the struggle to just you know plop yourself in the ranks with [ __ ] joining the ranks with I'm saying and I say none specific but I just think that in general you know I mean we ain't we ain't equal because we make a dope record we ain't--we ain't peers because yeah I'm saying we got a record deal or we in the rap game or we ought to party we ain't no this [ __ ] is different I'm saying and I don't know arrogant [ __ ] just like you know let's let's just be honest and let's let's deal with each other in reality because I don't blend in just because you went to the studio and figured out the beat and got a cool caters I don't necessarily agree with [ __ ] because of the songs they make I agree with you because how you living how you moving like just what you believe in so but you get hyper but giving your character you do have high-profile friendships and relationships like yeah why do you white like someone even like LeBron like I was always showing you a lot of support yeah how did how did that develop you think man I think just everybody's conscious of we all in the same generation so whether we meet each other personally we all exist in the same realm of influence you know I'm saying someone somebody do something great we influenced by or affected by it or inspired by it you know so I think like I don't remember even having me in LeBron LinkedIn probably was caring civil you know you know Bryan Brown a hip-hop head truthfully and Brian from the hood he come from I struggle so I think anybody that is a hip-hop head and you come from a struggle nip hustle is gonna be one of your favorite narratives and one of your favourite approaches to hip-hop you know I'm saying so I think that you know he fit who I'm speaking to and also he's somebody that you know to the to the other elements of what's in the music like he's been on a marathon and he raised his own personal standards and clearly challenged himself to be better than his his environment expected him to be so yeah I think he relied on him levels and that's my perspective owner I never asked him but that's what I think right yes also used a lot of times people huge debuts a lot of music he has like blue lace is too yeah that's a record that's on the album one I'm one of my favorite records on the album and you know he won his first championship they got they got a footage they got a YouTube clip of him on in the locker room with some headphones on and when he take him off you could hear was playing and blue lace is one is playing in his game six before he'd go out he's getting dressed he ain't talking reporters no he just locked in and so I just you know when I was finishing my album I'm like you know what I was just thinking about as a fan of hip-hop what makes albums dope like when may Islands dope I'm like you know I love him swim songs switch up halfway through the song I remember he ran out on I was like that's tight I remember having hidden tracks and being like that's dope I remember [ __ ] making part tools like New York state of mind - I am you know I'm saying I look forward to hearing that when I seen it you know yeah yeah or like a lot of artists did it but it's like classic hip-hop [ __ ] to me so I'm like yeah I'm gonna go make a blue license to an album and when I made it end up being one of my favorite records and then I just remembered how LeBron gravitated to blue license one slice any part - and he blasted about on IG Wow close enough to it yeah you know I was gonna bring a laptop and press play no aspects that I'll be trying to keep secret but I see you so excited about it you put doing listeners and stuff obviously trying to sneak a little clip on I seen a review and I'm like oh she got to take that down way too much Wow yeah but honestly that was that was um part of the part of promo was to play for DJ's just so they could you know start to convo and just hear what's coming and I trusted people I just asked him y'all Don don't work against me y'all was invited because we got love here yeah it's turning up into like your plan or something yeah and we respect y'all opinion so don't use that against me that we thought of y'all and included y'all don't work against me but your fans but your fan base is so rabid like even like some stuff you may share on IG stories your homie share yeah maybe ripping that and that lives online yeah for sure I mean that's good that I mean I people hungry for the music and I ain't mad at that I think that create the story also it's like a legend I'm in Park had like Makaveli three Michael ready for my Cavelli five makaveli six and you're gonna get him at this loss and swab me and I assume that all them songs I recorded in the process of making Michael Valley or making something but yeah it created a legend around his album yeah how many of those songs yeah you know I mean so that's dope I ain't mad at that we gonna pop us or something I think I saw a Steve Lobel the other night you said something about him that he at first one of your first breaks was you being with the PAC's life project yeah yeah him and his big drawers put that together and LT Hutton um yeah and I was basically I think LT was like the main producer on the album and he put who did the POC movie - yeah exactly exactly he got a good relationship with with a family and so basically um he just was like I know Nick grinding I didn't really had a resume at that time to justify it but he gave me a shot and a lot I was based on the relationship you had with drawers and Steve but then a lot of that also he was just you know seeing us grinding in was just being a real [ __ ] and giving me a shot yeah let's go yeah we talked about the impact of your bullets ain't got no name series you know yeah this guy loves volume to volume - I heard about mercy every time I seen it I'll remind them and tell them how much of it glad crazy to evaporate out man that's big it's a classic man and if you don't think so you know kill yourself lead I said that man in reception volume 2 got the best reception I was I felt every reception titan-1 was like it's some potential here yeah - I was listening one in the way you sound dumb young yeah I was like you know probably a lot of them songs oh yes so right you I feel like I'm like to me all right he got a lane he found the length from the voice that you build on yeah yeah yeah like I had never been to LA prior to that project coming out and I felt like I was transported to like what I thought la sounded like it looked like it felt like it was captured in that project right and I was done at the realest time in my life you know I'm saying him songs it wasn't I never been that in the crock-pot while I was making music after that I became a rapper so at that time I was you know it was it was the most critical so it was a lot of that in the music it was like everything was going on you know I'm saying so but I was bleeding into the music another one foot in one foot out yeah you know I'm saying it also like I don't know if he's gonna really work I'm like anything can happen right now it's a lot in the air so the urgency was different to when I did make it to the studio it was passionate I was bleeding from what went on outside of the studio in volume 3 I guess was like your victory lap in a sense like if item 3 was I didn't want to make another bullet saying all night next day I want to make the album and like hustle way was for the album you know I'm saying um a couple of other records like rap music I got a song inviting through car rap music I was for the album um certain records that ended up on volume three I had talked specifically for the album but I just was like you know if we're not putting an album out my fans I'm saying that we built a fanbase taiwan music so we gotta keep feeding so I ended up compiling that you know me and it's great records on there yeah I mean but I I don't think that all the way through I could listen to the whole project consisting all the way through now it's it's a it's a moments on there that I was like album moments like if you really listen to rap music yeah listen to what I'm saying and go go tap into like the story or what I'm saying that's a great record and like hustle ways a great record to me you know turning point almost assess up corner to the product to pay movement and then the Crenshaw well value 3 came before the marathon the first marathon so volume 3 was into the bullet thing on her name era and we um the next project after that was the marathon and that kind of kicked off a different that from there at my career you know what was quick when did you first come without their product paper why was that the right move with the Crenshaw project well if you listen if you listen the TMC on the last song I was like and one of the lyrics was like oh they telling me they believe and I got style days and if I and when I do drop her album they'll be proud to pay you know I'm saying so that was a lyric come on and that was actually observation on me I said they telling me they believe and I got style for days and when I do drop her album they'll be proud to pay because I was late on the album and I got got postponed and I was back on mixtape run so I was like when he'd finally do have him you know it's a ton of people that I went over already and they're gonna stand up and they're gonna be proud to pay for the album when I do give them you know directors and say go to the store on this date I'm saying you know stand up so when I was thinking that was dowsing marathon key teams I was like 11 and so Crenshaw came out Oh 13 yeah but just the words proud to pay stuck was filled out yeah because I was an original contribution now some I came up with I never heard that in hip hop before I never heard you people people might run backward Glock like back in the back you know in order to like DZ's bronzer we shared people have said that before but I never heard nobody say proud to pay and I said literation that's Pete - Pete I had some poetic value you know I'm saying so I'm like man it's just ringing to me it stands out and so um you know when I was thinking about rolling out the music for Crenshaw I was thinking about a lot of things man I was liking it I had just you know the situation with MMG was like public that there was a offer or there was a convo you know over there yeah so I was like you know that was the biggest thing going Oh 12 for it's like rap music just a movement you know I'm saying then Ross had in the meek and wild a and you know styling and everybody but didn't have to West Coast guy right right but even outside of that part of it it was just it was easy like it was you know it easy car like knit that's where that's the big hottest way yeah so as from a fan perspective I think that everybody was like that'd be a big move out of the epoch right and when it didn't happen I'm like whatever move I do it can't just be just a frisbee throw some music's gotta feel there was a lot of attention on expecting the MMD deal or expecting to go and do epic ass announcement even Ross including me on the self-made two and all that and just us like just locking in and building the relationship and just having a convo about what we could do it was becoming known everybody was kind of like was on blogs and it was just like that's the direction it's gonna go and someone I didn't happen it was like the next move got to be something it's just got to make sense it can't look like that was a bad move and at the end of the day whatever it would have been a great move still you know I'm saying I only bring this up just for clarity on yeah citizen making process on ones and the story to be like no exhibit down MMG that's garbage and that's wack to even promote that as a story I don't the story the story was just that you know that was the thought process in me thinking about how to roll out Crenshaw yeah you don't saying and why didn't it work out we're not foot the main reason was just that you know we had committed to doing it a certain way in my team internally and I think that it had been selfish for me I'd have been in a great position as Nick yeah I'm saying but I had to I'd had to build my team valuing around to just because you know MMG and the deal would have got credit for taking it to whatever level that the next music took me to rightfully so you know I'm saying and I felt like I had committed that to my team that whether it happened and not we was gonna try to try to do that together mhm so that's really where I felt like you might kind of step out on yeah you know other than I did the offer Rose egg put on the table was epic you know I'm saying it was it was it was the best offer I've received us for you know I'm saying and it was it was it was being in business with a special assistant might i I don't know what he doing it and also just like deal with leadership the right way no Sam so it was never know like oh yeah I'm to this to be over there it wasn't nothing that it was just I committed to a way of doing it with the team yeah I felt like I will be abandoned in that commitment you know not felt like we were on ground floor with the Crenshaw lawyer putting a post together and effing and even a language of what you say that language I mean we sent it to jay-z he read it and that attracted him to it like based on the words he I wrote about explaining why you were doing this project and right you know people could look at it like why this guy selling on how do you see these for this amount hundred dollars like why does this make sense right you know what was that what was that feedback for you like when you first put it out there I mean just so everybody watching know what happened I beat out on Mike can you post a link on your website and rap radar you know he's like bro we don't post links you know because it felt it felt more so like an ad he liked every wrong with me like nah we ain't gonna do that but if you write something about it about why he charging 100 for clarity I'll post that so my are that's fair you know I'm saying that's actually the better move you know I mean I just typed up something in a text you know I send it I sent it to him in the text and then beat I posted it y'all posted it and then you know I got at the end from you and you were just like you know whole read the statement and you know wanted to just support you know so yeah I was the count doing you know again grab radio I came to the post that went up on rap read the words you choke with your words for sure you know and then he copped what he copped 100 yeah yeah what do I get a thousand honey honey yeah a hundred I was Iggy exactly uh yeah man you know he was on tour at the time I think he just hit me up like what is this I want to support dude how do I do it yeah boom yeah I was big man and even like the despite the space we did the pop-up shop yeah and I was impressive sittin in here thank you but the the dude I owned it called in and he was like yeah bro home I just got a call from Rob Dyson you know jay-z and just said Tim banner people to buy the product yeah well I think I think that whether or not that was the was the thing I did it other people did come after Jillian was like I want to support also I respect what you're doing so I don't want to be like they follow that too you know yeah somebody but that he was first to support for sure you know I'm saying at high levels you know how influential J is so his moves definitely influenced everybody how much did you end up selling ultimately man bro we did we read up for tour we sold a thousand the first day and then the thousand dollars yeah I mean look at the way we rolled it out in the way we engage with our fans totally different you know my main thing was just like its value outside of this traditional mold mm-hmm no matter what's the validation of the day this is a fact in life that you know I just liquidated a hundred thousand and one night I ain't robbed nobody nobody feels cheated everybody's a fair volume and the music good and and I gave it away free to everybody who wasn't tuned in this is good business it's not ain't nothin bad about this so now like thousand the first day so he can't be that arrests are trying to get yours we did pop-up shops in every city on the tour we didn't have any styles in Brooklyn we didn't want to Chicago I was there for anyone yeah we did one in every major city on tour and you know it was real love people's coming in like hustlers pulling out 25 like like give me give me ten of them give me ten I said I was like a statement almost yeah it was like a you know like salute almost you know me and so we ran through boxes broke a can anyone do that yeah I think so mmm I think yeah I'm not special you know I'm saying I think that it gotta be done away but I don't even think selling a CD for $100 is what the valuable thing is I think that the valuable thing is to be creative with how you monetize the connection mmm that the music created yeah because we get we got trained by traditional how to monetize the connection but you know there's other people participating in that transaction that didn't have nothing to do it how the connection was made hmm you feel me Adele wrote them so knows the producer made that music the people was going through something that that music spokes it in mmm-hmm iTunes took 33 percent you know I'm saying and so she said WWE 21 com you know she would have mobilized everybody to her own space and been 33 percent of not to say they did anything wrong I'm just and the connection was made outside of certain parts of this transaction yeah but you gotta be bold enough also to do that right self out there yeah and you know I had the benefit of not having the pressure of being ten times platinum or me and not being you know just consistently mainstream successful to where I got to live up to a certain sales history I'm still developing you know emerging I don't got a sales history commercially I got an indie sales history but you know I didn't had a weight of my own success as much as a person like Adele that somebody might have had or like anybody at that level I was thinking about yeah to influence their decisions and just refrain from being sold outside the box you know me then the audacity of you to charge a thousand dollars for two crazy with that $1,000 buddy so did you think before we get there or did you think crenshaw success with then at that point give you that leverage to get the proper record deal well um it was that your goal like how do we get to mailbox money like the success of Crenshaw leads to what in your mind man just it was a lot of ways to think about that you know like what did we do next do we go it's just the moments ago you know sit back down in the leverage of situations my main mental exercise while I was on tour was just um what's the next move yeah I mean I knew that was going back in the studio quick but I knew I'm like you you you your value goes up the more you don't sit down at the table you just work so you weren't answering the phone calls are coming right I feel like you know that I was like you don't get it cheap because I'm gonna rhythm right now just keep working and so um yeah I just I just wanted to just utilize all the new resources was getting off to Crenshaw success to just build the next which was the store in the studio we built and um you know he just went and bought our own studio for equipment so he had to go in the big spaces no more they just recorded new music and he felt the most empowered in that sense a hundred percent and I was just on a high because you know we was we was it's hard to gauge it on a level of like I don't know like one of the hot is in the it's hard to get but we was very relevant off of a move that nobody was involved in but us yeah and I'm recommending confidence you know I'm saying and gave me a ton of you know bonus for the next move you know because I'm like we know disrespecting is nothing about to say none of the company's nothing but it just felt like maybe we ain't we need talk to nobody at Target nobody at Best Buy we ain't talked nobody at radio and kiss nobody asked me take no means we was in the studio came up with an idea and hit the block and that's what I'm familiar with I'm comfortable with that I'm familiar with the finesse and the kissing ass and then everybody played cool and that can influence the performances I don't know how that game go I know that if you go hard and your products solid you got the advantage and so that gave me like it reminded me of that economy you know I'm saying so I was really really comfortable doing that and so I just really just spent the next year to like build a night yeah and I wasn't in the rush to go into the next agreement or I knew that the next thing to do is job music and I had a ton of ideas and I had a ton of things to talk about so mailbox money was that statement at the Crenshaw and I'm proud of that you know even a narrative it and just the skits and I look what I was trying to say and like the message I was trying to get to like just people you know I mean it's like the hi I was on at the Crenshaw I worked I'm like you know we should we should we should all think like outside the box right now we should all be aware that we empowered and we're gonna do radical [ __ ] right now you know so that was my next thing I wanted to say and after that I wanted to do victory lap I wanted to go into victory lap I want a lot of songs on mailbox money was for victory like you know or was made with the intention like be here for a while overtime you know a status symbol kill a lot in my mail and then myself being for victory man yeah I forgot where he was going with you know just the money the bonus so that you did roll out mailbox money with a thousand oh yeah with a thousand dollar price tag but then everything was free to but the proud to pay part yeah because it's that because that's your brand that's yeah that's my retail thing I'm doing because see this what I learned everybody's room trying to a different retail to kiss on music she might have Spotify we all got title you know because just based on where we exist we're gonna we're gonna support title we're gonna you know I'm saying we're gonna have a title subscription and you know some other people might be trying to I or Apple music but I'm trying to see how many people are trains are proud to pay no you know I mean because every power that core yes and give them you know iTunes has a Administration in the model and in a strategy they got editors choice and top picks in top 10 in John that's the strategy of how people want to experience music even title you know they got the video section and they got TV shows and podcasts and they got a different curated experience you know I mean so as proud to pay as a way to consume the music you know as a super friend I'm looking at it like that you know what I mean like we're gonna train people that are connected to that degree to exist in this model and to support and in this way and everybody's by choice now how's the tagline it's by choice and by force because if you're not willing to it's all good I still want you to experience the music even if you want it for free because what I as a fan of music the way I'd tap in if you unless you won me over already I'm gonna probably get the bull a I'm a product download the free one you know I'm a listen and right there's a meritocracy see if your music is good you're gonna have me and if it ain't you not that's it that's pure that's honest that's that's what I think streaming and bootlegging created for artists made the the the dynamic like you know you get rewarded for good shape ya know bait and switch you can't you can't put the music behind the wall and make the artists buy it first we're gonna hear the music soon as it dropped row so if it's garbage no matter how tight the singer is we're gonna know the first day yeah I'm saying it's available nobody's gonna buy it where it's like a lot of times I bought an album cuz I just wanted to get to the rest of the music and they tricked me it was trash so the disappointment yes so being a fan right a disappointment and I bring that up to say this it's a reciprocation when I buy I listen to it free I do i consuming for free guarantee unless you already won me over very few I said it's the core artist that got me every time I drop my support outside of that I'm a bootleg you first broke I'm going to and if the music fire I'm a double back and I'm gonna support you so what does it say for someone who look like you said about 60 people have bought the thousand dollar version of it like what what is that statement for someone to spend $1000 or something that they could get for free I think that it's it's a reciprocation it's them saying what I'm getting is worth this or more what I'm getting out of this and what do we live for you know I'm saying what's more important to us you know I mean everybody is driven by what fuel you know I'm saying we driven by inspiration that's what we are driven by you know I'm saying so the money will pay for inspiration people pay for drugs to be inspired to be stimulated people pay for experiences you know I mean to be inspired so if you could put that in the bottle and you know the the strategy behind your creativity is not getting through institutions parameters like the radio or you know this type of format is to inspire mm-hmm if you create a it change between you and your fans like that we simplify everything you know I'm saying and I think that's what I'm trying to go and that's what the proud to paid thing is we're even on the album I ain't got no intentions on the album my [ __ ] is just I'm trying to think in moments that inspire you want every song and that you know you want to experience over and over again I ain't even thinking in the other mindset I don't want to I don't want to be poison influence about that even though I'm in a partnership with a major label we don't have to and I think that's why I took so long also so that we could gamble on my hunches you know because I got a proven track record that my hunches have been successful at times you know I'm saying how hard was it to hammer down I guess we have there's gonna be 16 tracks and the font of this final version oh yeah 16 yeah yeah you said a lot of songs been swapped out through the years like so why was this 16 what was that process like really finalizing man how did you not go crazy I'd be a go crazy in the process of making victory laughs did I just was an artist so I ain't restraint my name hold back and in keep my business program in tack or my business bedtime for my business wake up time on my business daily programs are the same clothes in the sky and I just turned into a pure artist you know I mean and that dry how to make you crazy you know sense what our artist turned crazy because they type out of the world they don't live by no structure you know I'm saying that's not healthy you know me as this is not even a son own structure the art don't structure to plant some structure you got to get a plan to start an hour of Sun or they gonna die because they need program so when you just commit to an artistic pursuit for three years just get lost then you get lost in it you know I'm saying and but this is what I told that landing that's what I told everybody that's what it's all for it's what the whole [ __ ] is built for it's for you to be able to do that at a moment when people care you know I'm saying it not be so much of a celebrity or so much of a like invested in your success that you're scared to do that and that's what I'm proud of most as I'm coming back to reality and I'm back saying again and I'm back in life we're going to sleep at midnight waking up at 6:00 working out a day eating regular again not smoking a pound of weed every day to force the creativity out I'm proud of that that's like you know that's tested that's the radical exercise that took place on this project was like you know diving musically and make the music or make the energy and the intention of what um the potential of the energy and the put in and the intention that I possess put that into the music you know and to answer the questions how to narrow it down to 16 songs you know I just it had to dis hi Lane - you know I Maggie an example alright I got beat out you you a little more familiar with my lyrics like alright so on you see us off crash alright you very that's alright can you describe this moment of the song you like that's the moment right there that's the climax of the song like if they put me on the spot alright [ __ ] on the man [ __ ] on a man that's the climax of the record right so you can identify moments in every song where I record climaxes wow you could you can identify any even if you got a great record you know you can you can say right now the moment that the record climaxes all of us know because we experienced it so I listened to my songs and if it didn't have a moment like that it wasn't a great record we had to we had to remove it yes so you know every one of the songs in the album like to me rap [ __ ] jiggy with Tyrolean events [ __ ] that's the climax of the record to me because it's like you know I got a vest on in a rodeo and it's speaking to a era of J being independent and to me this is just in terms of my perception of the record that's like the the climax of rap [ __ ] when when like if he was on the fence about whether you liked the song or not when you hear that line and just the energy of how it came off and so you know on blue laces - I can identify the moment on the first song on the album Phi the moment y'all saying rap [ __ ] track to his master was track 1 so there's so much intent in the art yeah you almost like you almost a live show you know the part you like you almost creating with this level of extra level of intent yeah my instincts now I'm not as I'm making it I might I might my intention is to be pure and it just begun you know like water you know I mean be be honest and whatever the feeling is don't restrict it said when I'm picking my songs I'm being very intentional you know though did the the standard I'm holding the songs towards where I'm you know being real critical and being very very calculated on what I'm trying to create with the choices of the songs when I'm making them I'm just going in and then you know it brought me to a space where I was kind of shooting or I was hitting my bull's-eyed more frequently just because I was exercising I was just in there every day working and starting song soon as they done you know that fourth album other songs you got to let them mature you said you could tell you cuz sometimes turn a good record it took great one yeah a few more working to it like something is missing it man I'm it was one song you had we started in 2013 yeah I'm like that yep honestly man I would let even set a feature right here this is the rye bread or pocket oh no this this record got you know a very actually if we guessed we get the good now so basically one of the songs they got you know a very important feature on it I had to hook it says Oh 13 probably for real you know I mean and I did the hook and I know that this message that I'm expressing or this group of words belongs on a victory lap you know I'm sayin I ain't write the verses yet I'm just like this structure for I did his hook belongs on the album convict so you didn't even attempt in 2013 the right to it I did actually wrote three verses in the first one made it - got scratched yeah I'm saying and I just kept it first verse in the hook in the cut and I put our project since then mailbox money came out Slauson boy - came out no pressure came out that one stayed in the cut and you know all my music team that ran for 1500 more it's my kinky Foley everybody seems like you're sleeping on that record bro I'm not sleeping on it I'm just waiting till I'm in the right energy to write the rest of the song cuz I know what it is I'm just not there right now to write it and they snuck the record and sent it to the artist that ended up featuring on oh they did it behind you back and tell me yeah and I just emailed it and then you know I'm at the park premiere with my momma in my granny seen that verse back [ __ ] coming back and said fire like yeah like it's caught any say the name of the song and I'm like not anything when I said that's the one you [ __ ] when she wrote a verse - dope but I wasn't my strategy of nothing yes it was just a combination of people making that record meet his destiny you know I'm saying and then when he liked his verse I went back in the day my third verse and so was right with you yeah yeah and even an averse to the it's like a conversation to me mmm it's like a you know if artist was talking to the artist he's featured on the song with him so I reacted a little bit to what we said so where it's just a dope record that it was a reason I couldn't write it you know I'm saying for three years I could have I wrote three verses but it wasn't this song I think that suppose interest I hear you also describe the record that it's a collection of stories that kind of define you yeah you put out so much music like how does that still how is this still so much you think that manly hasn't been expressed it's it's just it's just a lot of things that happen you know I'm saying like if you were to set out like I'm become whatever we described me as I don't want to be the one to describe what I'm doing but if we say from from a young teenager like 14 13 and like imma set out to do this describe that distance and think about all the things that would happen and then obstacles and setbacks yeah and air of like I just seen the stat the other day that showed the murders in LA on Instagram and I put it on my grand because from the year 2000 I was 15 to like 2010 I was 25 that was the highest murder rate was in LA history in in in the generation in our air like you know I'm saying or if you look at the scale went down like I show you the status so we ain't know that I was going on we just felt it you know I'm saying we felt it outside it was thousands of murders in LA every year you know I'm saying so to do to do what we did in that environment to you know he wasn't removed we wasn't like I'm removed a little now cuz I'm successful and I got places to go but I wasn't removed in between making projects and going to the studio I was right here so all of that took place so it's a lot of stories I'll be tripping [ __ ] to come home from jail and we get to talking up like but I forgot about that wow we almost did life together bro you right I did not forgotten yeah I'm saying I remember that shot a lot of [ __ ] ah I don't want to be occupied on that all day I want to be I want to think about where we had it I don't want to reminisce about all of the [ __ ] all the time because I said it's a little dark you know I'm saying and it's like it have you in a defensive state of mind like this is the world and this how it is and you know it's a choice you can you could participate in any one of the frequencies you know and what do you look for in production you have a mindset of what you're looking for do you come in open mind you like what's when this one-off victory lap you know I told my kinky that's who produced Crenshaw and also produced a lot of mailbox money okay and 1500 as well I just told him like you know where I'm going and where I'm at right now I want a soundtrack for it you know I want to soundtrack for my penthouse I want a soundtrack for my mag back I want to soundtrack for my office space to just I wanna I want the way I feel and think when I'm when I walk in here and hop in my car and wake up in my spot and look out the window like I wanna I want the music to express the way I feel I wanted to be like all right not the specific of a [ __ ] from the streets coming and being successful but just a pursuit you know I'm saying a long-distance pursuit and at the end of it you know embracing your victory that's how I want the music to sound you know I mean and whatever that feels like for my producers and so you know they weren't real like royal in like um so for like you know it's aggressive and it's strong but it's also like you know like I don't know the word for like royal you know like single Tori you know I'm saying yeah so in his real musical I never been this musical we might with the production like I'm one of the records a producer named SAP produced and at the beginning of the straight sampling drums with a crazy sample that I sell it was like the Arctic Monkeys sample and it was just I never heard the song but the way the sample sound it was crazy and I did not I don't have the same doubt done the murder B record you know it was the same session so rods we finished that we done this record and I just went in again I was just in the mode and I just got off we ain't right to record nothing I just went in and when it was done it was a you know I'm gonna tell how long I've been recording this week me and yg had a concert the next day in New York I don't know not the Best Buy Theater you remember yeah doesn't mean your guide to do to cover the respect magazine together so just for time frame yeah and we was all in New York listening to the record that I just like dishing this is but it was just a sampling of drums and was listening to grinding on my life and so we knew these records was going into the victory lap sound like we this is where the album was starting to like we could hear songs you know I got back to LA and we're back in the studio I was listening to the song and one of my keyboard players I [ __ ] with his name is Amir he produced four big shiny co-produced like two or three of the last big shot records he a young dude for Philly he crazy dog he on tour with Big Sean and he's he's just crazy musician and producer and jazz artist and he came and heard the record he like bro let me [ __ ] with this and he liked my music guru that I tapped into young do a younger than me but he just musically he heard the way out here like a hip-hop person but he's a musician so he he don't go straight jazz festival on when he played he'd keep it wrapped you know I'm saying and so he on he like let me [ __ ] with it and he opened it up rearrange it chopped it up added music to it and it Stacy Barse was there you know and she's a crazy songwriter artists and vocalists and she heard what he was doing and she started adding vocals to it and the song just turned into like a completely different record you know the the whole frequency of the records is rose and that became you know the foundation for what we want to do in the rest of the album just like you know make a dope rap record then listen back and see where we could take it to the next level musically without without when people do that sometime they go too far and they lose the like the the wrongness of it it don't be it don't knock you know me Street no more just be overly musical so I think that that became the balance we was trying to hang me for like make it bang and then make it musically next level and then like my songwriting and lyrics be just raw and cut through in the middle frequency you know I'm saying like the drums and the bottle to be heavy at the music be colorful and that my vocals say right in the middle how do you stay patient man when I get in this album until I mean it's fitting because it's LA all-star weekend yeah yeah why was that decision the right decision and how do you stay patient man I was a Julie car in the meeting and you know we like this year let's go we ready of course let's get it you know and everybody can but consider this all-star weekend's in a late next year yeah but even a mailbox when you talk about things like estate lawyer you talk about like metric of success you know with victory lap coming out what is the metric of success for you at this point man are you inspired by it you know saying it doesn't inspire you if it does we good to go you know I'm saying we I know how to make millions no disrespect no flex outside of the record deal outside of a radio single outside of the whole [ __ ] that this has the potential to bring us into you're saying so what any like like if you don't it's all over no I mean if it don't inspire you I'm gonna feel like I feel if it don't like blow you away musically I'm gonna feel like I feel you know I'm saying if it don't like you know um reset the standard or like you know like street rapping like rap music you know I'm saying like you know just rapping you know you could I feel like to rap and make a commercial seek a second successfully commercial product off hip-hop you know I'm saying not know none of the other [ __ ] it's not hip-hop you know I'm saying global everybody's inspired by the culture everybody's participating in it so that's my gamble that we could base it on the laws of this and in the tradition of this and it modernized it in my way but it's if you like hip-hop your letters out sound won't be compromised if you like rap you'll [ __ ] with this album is for rap fans it's for hip-hop fans you know I'm saying and you know I believe that that's the whole world at this point I believe and this is my gamble myself when I came in I was like [ __ ] you should tell me don't put rolling sixties in your music don't rap about the hood cuz it's goin pigeonhole you it's gonna it's gonna restrict you but my my theory was alright I'm from right here I'm from 60th Street since 1992 and from 5th Ave since 85 and seen the crunch on Slauson since the middle of the rest of the time and I'm from right here I'm from the rollin 60s the rollin 60s is important to LA right if you from LA you could say yes you'll know that I'll a important to California right right California important to America right America important to the globe right and so I'm global I could keep it all the way me I ain't got a tank nothing I don't had to change the story be delicate I could be unapologetic ain't got a pill it back none because what I just said and so I feel like right now on another level with hip-hop you know hip-hop the highest strange era the most influential women in the world deal with what who are they involved in but married to it by whatever hip-hop artist no no disrespect not in the disrespectful weapons from an analytical point of view you know I'm saying like a scientific point of view hip-hop is the most influential frequency right yeah you know I'm saying so that if there was a product that was the the highest representation of hip-hop yeah you know I'm saying I believe how to be the most successful product and so that's what I tried to do it with victory that you're saying that's crazy well we go one bittersweet element I know you lost your partner fats like yeah how you dealing with that situation oh man I you know that caught me off guard completely I didn't expect that at all and the timing was crazy you know I'm saying we've been sitting on everything we've been just holding our punches just to do it all at once and here I'm saying we've been all anticipating the moment that we get to enjoy and it's it's a little [ __ ] up so it's really [ __ ] up that my partner in my homeboy you know I'm saying ain't on this side of the other dimension to experience it with us if you know benefit from it and you know from like I don't wanna go too deep into it I get emotional not for respect like his kids like he's kids to be proud of him ya know but you already got that you already got the victory lap of Felina party planned out man help me and be that invited the 2018 but you know that weekend is something we're gonna deliver tons of events around and I was talking to yesterday out there we got to do something together you know saying we got a concert at the Palladium mm-hmm we got it we got a lock-in for that weekend for sure and how did the proud to pay this there's still gonna be activated on the album project but you also got a book coming too right that's the product that's the proud to book and you know I'm saying it's a we just announced a link and that's gonna be something that's gonna be dope to unfold to because it's a it's a combination textures that if you if you ever connected to nip you're gonna appreciate like you know handwritten lyrics to certain songs and you get to see where I was gonna go with the lyrics and I scratched it out on the handle yeah it's a whole eight bars that I might have scratched out in there you know when elsewhere with it and other songs that you never heard that's just verses and it's like words from me and then also um just pictures I followed the whole movement for the last ten years and then um it's another element to that I don't want to fully fully reveal when people get the book and see it just kind of secrets like peace of the movement you know I mean like the marathon is I did I it first was expressed on music and then obviously through clothes with the marathon clothing it's an idea that you know if you really think about the metaphor of the marathon when you look at it as like life yeah it's about endurance it's about preparedness about mentally breaking through your barriers that tell you I can't keep going where you know you're more capable of what you don't you more capable than you think you are and then you can't just serve so you know a book where that idea is expressed in a book format you know that's what the book is you know so I'm screwed gotta be some dope yeah you never stopping that meant thank y'all my appreciation supportive since they want to soul of thank you absolutely and the Apostle man yes sir last one of the year right I like your lyrics references

Channel: TIDAL

Views: 4,748,501

Keywords: Music, podcast, TIDAL On Air, Rap Radar, Nipsey Hussle

Id: GVCNREwfGuM

Length: 84min 1sec (5041 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 01 2018