Russ on His Music, Book, People's Opinions & His Influences

big boy hey boys it's been a long time coming right here man this dude walked in here difficult ha ha he went where he I was like man put the headphones on he said [ __ ] you big remember he pointed yeah maybe neither like man I put my finger right in your chest now like you know huh don't wear no rust you good I'm good first start welcome to the neighborhood man and I would have to say man we've been trying to do this for a while yeah and feel good to have you in here bro and I'm gonna tell you just straight-up I enjoy what you do and when I say I enjoy what you do hard work yeah you don't know see ya and and not disrespect to anybody else but there's a lot of melanin there's a lot of people that don't care about not even the craft just care about don't care about what they put now I agree you know the same but you are different and I mean different than saying like sometimes you work a little too hard yeah do you know what I'm saying but but where did that come from where you make sure like when you because you gotta think writer/producer yeah engineer your own security sous-chef you do your own writer contracts an author author and add to it man yeah has that always been in you to grind as such I never looked at it like work you know and I know it's like a cliche thing but I never really did I just I love the game I love the aspect of playing you know I always I always believe that there's people in the NBA who will play for free yeah yeah Kobe strikes me as someone who played for free I grant it like yeah like you could tell the ones who are only playing for the money because then they get the money and they stop trying a lot of people get rich and stop trying yes you know so with me I just love to make songs I love the aspect of getting better I love the idea that right now we could walk out and there's a sample plane on your whatever and I'm like y'all I'm about to go home right now and make something like tonight I can make a song that changes my entire life and in his life it makes the world better like that idea that possibility is what keeps me how did you not get caught up in the clutter weird weird now I feel like he's your soul is so I was never doing it for that yeah so like I always sometimes it's funny cuz I'll be like sitting with you know my I'm like man sometimes I began writer's block like it was easier to write when I was broke and like trying to come up there's everything in my life cuz my music I make sure that it's autobiographical that's like right I do it for that from II for therapy whatever but when you're on the come-up everything in your life is relatable then when you get on yeah you're still talking to it's like what what am i so that's here it's like my real life is no longer relatable now and it's like it's funny because hip-hop is though you know there is the braggadocious side of it and I guess I never like when I get writer's block and I'm like oh I could just talk about the low-hanging fruit today which is like super fly but it's like I guess that was never a value to me I never valued like oh I'll rap about going on a private jet or whatever but it's not like I'm not making the whole song and like I'm on and you're not and I'm better than you it's like yeah it's like it's cool like I have those moments but it's like I don't value that I value like you know I value real messages but that's that's life also though you know saying there's times when you know you're happy you're sad you're learning you're teaching you don't and and and that's like so at one point you talk about getting at a female the next point is you know something deep the next time you want I think that's that that's a great balance where other people go straight at it that's why I'm I'm I'm super happy with this best honor song just because I'm glad to get it out of the way early even though I have songs in the past like I got a song called a whole love SoundCloud not like I've talked about you know women and sexual stuff before but I'm glad that this one is going big just in case any my fans were like hey you don't want to be that artist we're like you and the strip club is weird right yeah yeah yeah this is off-brand but you know what I caught it - Russell called that have fun I'm calling it the enough it's like there there's a lot of people that don't have to deal with the enough yeah and I think you understand how you gotta be hip-hop enough Street enough corporate enough this enough you don't I'm saying how do you deal with those eating else when you can't be still in the strip club but you can't play you and you like okay well you know what it is it's just I pride myself on the fact that I built my fan base off of being me yeah so I don't have to wake up and talk a certain way or dress a certain way or act a certain way my whole fan base loves me because I'm giving you me why not sleep on him you know some people be like man they'll be here anyway it seemed like you continuously with like challenge some people like oh I made it yeah I could put the mic up here sing it out I'm fine that's called being jaded and ungrateful mmm - you know my fans aren't going anywhere because it's like a relationship right how do you expect your girl to still [ __ ] with you you haven't caught on e yeah they yeah you I look at it like this these artists right these fans are all up for the taking mm-hmm if you're neglecting the relationship I'm gonna swoop in and take her out yeah somebody you haven't talked to in a year yeah I've been doing that I need be like got your beer be happy you know it's like i nurtured the relationship no I pay attention to it I'd like feed the relations do you make yeah I feel like Gucci said this in an interview recently which I I've said and I love what he said where it's if if it's your favorite artist the more music the better mm-hmm like Drake's my favorite artist I'm not about to complain the Drake is like I'm putting out a song a week for three right that's too much yeah no one the only people who feel like yo what about oversaturating you're not a fan right I don't care about you do you know what's wild about that man is you a fan you wouldn't care with him - how much you do work you don't know saying like it like on your light day is better than somebody's heaviest day I got to go bro otherwise I feel like I'm not doing and it's not filler stuff you don't know saying there's nowhere you like okay you released a certain amount of albums like like those are heart blood sweat tears non mailed in so I know that the audience we gotta trust you because I don't think that you a service poison no because I have to love it there's not someone else's experiences it's not someone else's ideas and like it's really from my it's an extension of me you know my music is I take it super personally you know because it's like my child it's an extension of me it's my real name on it you know I'm not hiding behind like an alias so which one is your most revealing song most revealing probably like I put out this little EP called just in case December of last year the end and I it was like three of the saddest depressing songs I've done but that's how it was really feeling yeah I needed to do it get it off my chest so one of those songs nobody knows actually ended up he's going nuts like in the Philippines has somebody came back to you when you had that feeling right nobody knows when somebody came back to you and had that same feeling like fans yeah yeah and that's what like I've learned that early on and then you you realize that it's just so much bigger than me I have a line I think on my album or I say I'm talking people off the ledge this is bigger than me you know it's like yeah I'm saving myself right by making songs like that but I also understand that this person was ready to commit suicide and then I put out this song so that's why when people try to tell me don't put out this song I'm like y'all are buggin y'all are looking at this [ __ ] from some weird like the additional machinery type of thing I'm like yo this music music is the healer you feel me like these songs need to get out [ __ ] me these songs need to get out on the off chance that they help somebody do you feel like I could be I could have it nuts cut you up no promise on my computer right now then I'm sleeping on ya that the world may literally save somebody's life like I'm tripping is that it is that something that is a responsibility it's an absolute responsibility and I don't like the people that try and shun away or hide away from the fact that you are role models right is what it is like whether or not like oh I didn't sign up to be a role model it's like cool but you did right indirectly you did you're in the spotlight you have a platform you reach millions of people by default that's what comes with the dinner you're a robot yeah period why do you think people hate the greatness and I'll call it the greatness because I don't think you could really front on somebody that put so much in and then you get somebody from a far yeah that it data saved some of the most craziest things you know I think it's I think it's a matter of everyone wants me to just shut up and dribble hmm you know mm-hmm that's what it is why because no one likes everyone loves when I loser believes in themselves cuz we all believe in you too yeah yeah yeah ii win relax yeah we understand you're winning now it's like but wait a second I thought you ever see people who are like yo I can't wait for you to make it I believe that you didn't and then when you make it they're like you think you're better than us y'all are talk that's a toxic relationship so the reality is that if I was losing and doing all the same talking I've been doing okay right I didn't even make it wouldn't even make the news and some people love that too you know think that this is the [ __ ] Patriots and I'm reminding you that there's rings involved yeah is that a bet is that a bad thing to champion yourself no because I'm not waiting for you oh yeah because it won't come the reality is like like you to even make it to this point a lot of people have a misconstruction confidence you really believed in yourself I'm Sicilian my dad is from New Jersey big eyes [ __ ] talking to time my best friend's are Nigeria is like my other best friends are from the south side of Atlanta like if you got thin skin if you can't talk [ __ ] to each other and and [ __ ] with yourself like we're gonna rip you apart so this doesn't bother you any you don't I'm saying like I need is missing I never was bothered by the like it was like come on it's like I got a heavyweight friend right and he always says like you can't call me fat been found my whole life yeah something new like people calling me like arrogant in an [ __ ] is like y'all understand like high school I got voted most likely to make it yeah it's like and you're gonna not telling me anything that I don't already know about myself like don't care already accepted it didn't matter didn't affect [ __ ] I'm winning in a big town everybody hurts imagem more so my whole life like I don't you really that's what you're gonna use against me and people want to penetrate that though when and when they see that it just roll off of you is what's the next game I'm saying misery it was behind a way to break you till yeah well the only [ __ ] that bothers me is when people create lies stories that are lies that end up affecting fans that I've busted my ass to get and I've watched certain fans yeah I can't believe you said this it's like I literally did it right you know because sometimes man the withdrawal can come faster than the deposit like you could put so much in and somebody can say or do something a negative you notice and especially if it's something that's made up and we can't control a lot of these you can you know what I'm saying it's a the the feeling of hopelessness is what starts to [ __ ] what you had a little bit when you realize that if this if something fake comes out about you you have two options like three it's you say nothing which means it's tria but if you say something well it's definitely true then yeah so you're just you sit here is so [ __ ] helpless and you're like I can't I can't believe how stupid as much as you put in and either as help as bad as you want it it has there been times when you wanted to walk away from it not from the music but just because everything oh yeah I would never stop making music like I make music before all of this not gonna I would play for free yeah you know I make music because I need to make music but walking away from like you know I'm done tour I'm done doing interview I wouldn't even be done torn like are you still on this two more albums and I'm done after you you said that sometimes we try to glue you to something - yeah but it's like glue me to that that's beautiful cuz you know what at least I'm not I'm not scared to like express my truth and it end up not being how I feel today like you can't even judge me off five minutes ago I'm a new person you feel me cuz like ten minutes ago right you got one person and then within that ten minutes you might have some groundbreaking conversation with someone that years your whole outlook so you got to take me out of face value take me for what I am today hold me to it today but tomorrow wake up and I'm like how important is it for you to be so hands-on you know the important begin it's because at that point I want to make sure that if we lose it's because I took the last shot I don't want I'll be damned if somebody lands yeah just because like this is it's my name on is my careers my family my life my like you know I'm saying this is this is my music my [ __ ] I'm not having people writing like you know this is my [ __ ] so if I'm a fail I wanted to be on my own age so that I can at least be like damn you know what I cool that one's on me cuz I've seen just in the throughout the business - man we're being in radio so long yeah I've been around people that give them the blood sweat and tears you're in the studio you working working and probably not even as much as you are sure and then they say okay well I got the album and then they hand it to somebody else that's like okay will you do your job now yeah you just see it just dissipate you just see you just see it fall apart like a confidence and it's a fear-based action you know that I was just talking about how you know it's just love and fear and that's a fear-based emotion like any any sort of like relinquishing responsibility over your career to someone else I feel like it's a fear-based thing now people could say well what if they're just better at this but it's like yeah but you shouldn't you shouldn't feel so insecure in your own decision I'm just talking about handing it to when when it was the label you know them taking the last shot right yeah you know those things like man I gave you every idea but all the way down you know saying four quarters you delay yeah yeah it was and you blew it you know you know that's when you cut them when did you know that you wanted to kind of play with with the major game a little bit because you're doing so much on your own well I looked around you got understand - right so 2016 it was even a different game than it is now extreme rap caviar was not a thing you know streaming was not a thing radio was still you know it was like I was looking around at all my favorite artists and I'm like yo all y'all on the radio mm-hmm you know oh this is like right before channel right when chance happens to like it wasn't the independent thing was not a real thing I was doing it but I was still looking around like I got a level the plane right that's all I was looking just I knew that this yeah I got this a little bit of exception play - I understand that a lot of times perception is reality so when you see your favorite or who's on the come-up finally get the deal it elevates it in your head just like when you see billboard billboards do nothing for anybody bill was on vanity plays yeah billboards don't sell tickets bill boys don't sell albums book billboards self-perception and oh yeah I saw a billboard you made it for us I got a chance to glance out your book it's all in your head what made you put how did you get that book hey dude I walked in this morning and it was here hey man no it was sittin right here the publisher probably yeah the publishers a tenner we already talked to them not look and it had the publishers note in there oh yeah but you know what today yeah but they usually do send it out though to media so hey man and what we do because usually what I like to do I literally got it this morning but you know what that is what I'm see but like I'm here I wrote that [ __ ] but also I see that you make it sure yeah that what you create yeah so I'm not leavin pop this open none till well I did I did I I love what you put in there but I want you to tell people what really inspired you and what what was so important for you to put this all in the book for people to have access to it right so I was like the even the title it's on your head has been something I've been thinking about for like several years like you can go find old tweet so I'm like I'm gonna write a book on it on your head just cuz I feel like it starts and ends with you mm-hmm you know a lot of people so it's a self-help book comes out November 12th unless you work at the station that came out this it's a cell phone book because that helped me you know I read books like The Alchemist in seven says by Deepak Chopra books you know in like those help me that armed me mentally so I was like man I feel like I've picked up some gems and like I know something and let me try and put it all into a book just to help because I feel like that book is gonna be bigger than any song and at the end of the day in order to listen to my songs you gotta like the melodies the beads this that is just words and that's a belief system have you been having this conversation not just with yourself but you know that sometimes when you have a conversation with someone yeah and is how I talk to somebody in Chicago I talk to somebody in Detroit I talked to one of the homies in this like damn I don't have a chance to talk to everybody right that's my belief system in a bookie and I'm saying so it's like all the like yo you know I get dm's every day like yo what's your advice on this it's like yo here's a portable and when I'll be like when I'm dead right that is gonna be it we always talk about man like I wish cuz I see they're doing like an Ipsy book yeah but imagine if nipsey roadie wrote down his belief systems in a book it would be it would maybe be bigger than the music because it's so because you know his brain it would have so much substance and meanness like I just want is important to to write it to give watch cuz if you still live in it you know what I'm saying yeah so that means once you learn more when I try to operate like I'm about to die that's how I try to operate you know I'm saying I try to literally move like yo this has to come out now why because it's not promised and when your number is called your number is called you know and so I'm just like that [ __ ] needs to be in the world before I'm not here you know like that's my whole thing I'm trying to get out as much as a man and it's not like you call it on cuz its we all know everybody in this room yeah he's gonna be and it's not like you invited or don't put that in the air because even like I was good with puck and when POC pass people's like how do you have all these songs how did he do all this huh but pop worked like possibly it wasn't a tomorrow yeah you know what I'm saying hey because I can tell you a man come back and do the show you know around Christmas and in your heart and mind we want to write but they ain't no guarantee do it right and then if you didn't write and not God willing nothing's gonna happen to you or me or Christmas when we have our our next show but but if you didn't write this yeah and take the advantage of it it was like well when do you do that right you know you're not gonna throw it down from heaven exactly and I always believe I talked about in the book too but people always you ask anyone like the end goal and like the biggest aspirations it's always you know in the future I see myself owning it is in the future it never comes late you put everyone puts things off it's like to me right it's almost like bills you know people put off bills until they knock on your door and say there's a lien on your house or whatever and like now we're taking flip they're switching it's alright there's no water and then you start moving with a sense of urgency it's the same thing though people put off life you know because if you if you tell somebody you're gonna die tomorrow it would all of a sudden value their life in time much more just like bills I'll put it off put it off put it off but when they come knock on the door and only when your water's off then you start moving correctly that's how you should have been moving regardless so I try and just keep that in my head like I'm not putting off my life I'm doing this [ __ ] now I'm alive now I'm healthy now I'm young now I'm doing everything how do you know that in your 20s young now you don't know saying because some people look at that in the rearview mirror as opposed to the windshield like you're a windshield guy yeah for sure because I know that I know that I what I do now is is the setup for the for the future you know like I can tell you you show me a 30 year old I can tell you if they were on some [ __ ] in their 20s or not is where are you at right now you know like you know I don't need your little [ __ ] life story you're not doing [ __ ] because somewhere along the line you maybe weren't doing what the [ __ ] you're supposed to do now that's generalizing in a little judgmental but for the most part it's like I know my 30s are gonna be a reflection of what I do with my 20 Airmen and that's what I tell people man you gotta put the work in then you pay like you if you work two weeks yeah you get paid for the last two weeks right you know those things always yeah so what you put in what you do today determines how you eat tomorrow 100% 100% I know that obviously you do a lot of the stuff on your own but you do work with some people sometimes like Scott Storch yeah but also Meek Mill and meek Mill invited you to the studio and yeah he spoke so highly of you what is that a low relationship like and how did it start yeah we've only been in the studio once we didn't we didn't make anything but oh god I've always respected meek and his persistence in just the hustle you know and just the truth he gives and yeah I saw that clip too okay it was amazing just because I always admire people who who are willing to say the truth regardless of the ramifications mm-hmm and Micah's fire Mika's fire and I feel like Micah's finally getting his flowers you know is it hard in this industry though to see like there at one point you were trying to you know make it in and you were trying to you know get people to hear your music and now you're here and you talk a little bit about it with zoo and how you're like the belly of this beast is super crazy now a year removed from Zoo how do you feel about the industry now and the people that you mean I had a really insane conversation like a year ago or something with John Mayer who's maybe the smartest person I've ever met I was short like his texts are like straight out of [ __ ] spiritual self-help book mmm but like with humor and just wit like they're just the most insane and he's doing them fast it's like how you type in there like such profound things but I asked him something along the lines of like how do you adjust to this like when do you because I still feel like you know I keep a foot in regular world like I'm still almost hanging on mmm - not being famous or whatever the hell and he just responded with the most simple profile [ __ ] he said take your jacket off he's just saying if you're here settle in yeah yeah you here take your jacket you know it's just I don't know it's just super like made sense and effective hey man how much did that make me sorry boy like it's like like that was really like you hear how it's like yeah cuz you visualize that and then you internalize it emotionally you're like yeah you just feel like hey my [ __ ] collaborations you are on Twitter doing a QA and somebody asks you what's your dream collaboration and you said Drake why Drake Drake is the goat of vocal execution you can say whatever you want about writing about whatever that's another one that like give people their [ __ ] flowers yeah man you're gonna sit here and act like Drake is not fired I don't care what y'all are talking about with writing whatever if you think that he hasn't written XYZ then cool but it's like vocal execution and just he doesn't miss talented he doesn't miss you know how hard that is to not miss you said you had a joint firm you still have it or something do you have something that was firm to 90 million I move around with so much like Swiss random he texts me I was just in New York so it's be sex me he goes goes yo you know I'm doing so I don't wanna expose he was like I'm doing some things that he's like I'm doing some things can you pull up as I brought up pull up right now yeah you yes and a pin yeah so I pull up to this house and just like like I always have a ton of music on me for everyone I got music for name artists I got it have you always been that much in love with music I know I said it earlier yes and I think a lot of people think that you know I've met people and then become good friends with them where they say yo at first I thought you were just like bullshitting and gassy just full of [ __ ] because I'm really like that's the misconception I'm everyone's biggest cheerleader like I really be going hard like ask any anybody that I work with beer anyone like I genuinely if I'm working with you because I genuinely think you're amazing and I'm spending the whole time telling you you're amazing cuz I'm really like I'm in awe Jun I'm a I'm always trying to remain a fan I'm never too cool to not be a fan is there any is there anyone early on that you were like man this is who I rock with my if they wrote the book you read the book if they find out Kanye Kanye Kanye's in it like that's another one that people need to relax with and I understand with the platform like certain things he says that's fine but y'all need to operate at a beneath the surface level you don't have to like what he's saying service value right Trump this whatever that's surface level [ __ ] but you need to embed a respect and want to see more than yourself is the fearlessness Mario a lot of y'all most of y'all can't get up in a room full of 20 classmates and say how you feel mmm-hmm without mmm-hmm right Kanye gets up in front of the world and says how he feels time and time again shut up you feel me shut have you seen my recent interview and that that's my guy and one thing you have to do you gotta let Kanye talk I said you know what I'm saying you gotta let him talk and then there's times where it's like okay are you going skip with the rope are you gonna play double dutch what you gonna hang yourself with yeah and whatever he choose to do with that rope that's why I wasn't combative and everything was great and who would still be there yeah we would still be there and I love when I never had a lot of the conversations yeah because we weren't built on that and and Kanye's in a position now where he's talking or he's in the two things that we don't supposed to have conversations about you know that take some religion there is yeah you know that's why you gotta respect you don't have to like his views on politics I don't use on valeri doesn't matter it doesn't matter hmm I'm a beneath the surface person he respect beneath the surface and the fact that he is still being this fearless is almost insane to me because I look at my my life and there's I got a line on my album to I say something like sometimes I think if I was quiet how much bigger I'd be you know but then I'm living for you or not living for me so it's like I'm even noticed that this stays I am but then I'm like nah [ __ ] that because it's like then I'm not even living my truth then I'm Linda y'all so you ever think it would be easier and easier is not what you need but damn it'd be so easy if I said hell yeah be easier but it just wouldn't be as real nobody has true and it wouldn't be you and it wouldn't be me more importantly ya wouldn't be me so that's why like I beneath the surface level Kanye to me is just the epitome of fearlessness if you take anything from him I would say take that his fearlessness to make 808 and heartbreaks talented it's just like people get too caught up in surface level [ __ ] you know and you missed the home meet you missed the substance that's what this book is about - like this is messages it's substance like I look at Kanye and I see the Trump thing and I'm like I disagree but I respect the fearlessness even if they're fearless Lee Sang the wrong thing quote-unquote but you have God you said it you said it y'all don't have he ain't showed up the balls that tell the [ __ ] dude you're [ __ ] with that he's a bum yeah what are y'all talking about you got the nerve to talk about Kanye y'all can't even tell you dude they easily losing no don't want me I won't even talk to me what are you doing today [ __ ] me and Kanye it sounds like it hey man let me see if I can put it together for Olli [ __ ] let me see if I can sing together for real let me tell you our song if we get that on video you'll see the real 7 the [ __ ] out and you have those moments when you look back and you're like man I should have been so much cooler I met Jay Cole at his forum show I was there well you remember yeah yes so like I'm cool with Boz I'm cool with a lot of hard-hitting cars so I pull out you were right yeah I'm right there like and I hate to be that do but I remember like tapping bars like probably like can you can I meet Jay Cole Rowe was 17 like you know I'm saying it's crazy being a fan or what I met Jay Cole I remember just going so hard like bro I'm doing the [ __ ] shrine to like I love everything he was just hella cool he was like you must be doing something I'm like [ __ ] I should know what it's like you know but like I look back I'm like nah that's real because when you see DMX meet Rakim if you have seen that video go watch it put it like this anyone who feels too cool to fan out I think on record we could say DMX is all you believe the coolest person in the world definitely DMX was not too cool to meet Rakim his idol yeah he makes me some starts rapping office so you know I'm saying and it's like yo I saw that video I was like listen if DMX is not too cool right yeah man and I can't be have you have you seen the next great yet like somebody that came up to you and we probably even know him yet but there's probably somebody that came up to you that talked to you the way that you talk to Cole yeah but then I didn't even know it's like when Jason Tatum met LeBron right like [ __ ] like that weird you're an NBA player mean the 11 euros at the end right and you have no idea but you you've been a fan of music and I think that's why you take care of it and I take it really serious and I understand the people who are like oh you know lighten up or whatever it's like in my regular life off camera like I'm the biggest the biggest and most likely to make a teacher retire like oh yeah I've been a [ __ ] talking [ __ ] around clown since I was [ __ ] yeah we only get a fraction it's like episode but do you ever feel bad sometimes like I just feel like I use I'm aware of the platform and I and I tribute that to thank God I didn't blow up at 19 mm-hmm you know I'm proud the best thing that never happened to me was blowing up when I wanted to blow up 17 at 19 20 not even 21 23 is when I made my first million and got on and what it's like thank God cuz y'all would've got eight years like I'd be telling people you think this is bad go look in my tweets from when I was 19 saying in all-caps million dollars a [ __ ] beat [ __ ] y'all it's like yo I was worse when I was broke you feel me you gotta understand because I had to hike myself up yeah man I had I was my only believer so I had to overcome and say go hard that's what made this all happen then once it happened I was like wow I'm so being confident people like yo you only cocky because you got on all my y'all have no [ __ ] clue sorry but you talked about how important that is and I'm yeah you put that in your book be care people don't understand that a lot of people don't know a lot of people go their whole lives you're understanding the importance be and the value of believing in yourself first like I said no one's gonna believe in you if you don't believe in yourself first like that's what you have to start that's the whole chicken that pisses people off yeah they don't like it when I do so majority of people don't believe in themselves at all so they get offended when they see you believe in yourself that's the realest right there that's too scared to go after their own dream so they're offended when they see you going after yours yeah a mirror for what they wish they had [ __ ] them miserable trash from the book nice it's true because I realized a long time ago that my confidence is a mirror for those who don't have it my success is the same thing and that's how it works like my success I think I said it in a song called sore losers something along the lines of like my success is a reflection of what you don't have mm-hmm but I shouldn't offend you it should inspire you to go get it but whether you take it as inspiration or offensive is your choice nothing to do with me everybody LP Pillai say man don't apologize for the things that you have and especially when you put the work in you no no see any these people like I tell people man people think things are a buffet it's really an entree because people want to go and say oh you know what I want that chain I want I want the car I want this but they don't want everything that come with it like everything that I have yeah you gotta have a deceased mother you gotta have a deceased brother you have to been homeless you you got ahead of everything well you know what happens being a celebrity what do you see you see be you don't see a mm-hmm I see be you see the success you see the end result you don't see what it took it's like everyone wants the car everyone wants oh man I can't wait to be on and get a million dollars is like yeah but you can't even work for free for a couple areas so you don't want you think you want B but if I told you that in order to get to here you gotta want it now I wanted I wanted to eat [ __ ] for [ __ ] 10 years I liked it yeah I liked feeling like y'all muhfuckas out using y'all are sleepin like I liked it I thrived off of it you know and it's crazy because I tell people and I can tell with you also Rus that you did the outliers you get the $10,000 yeah you don't say yeah and I think that's why there's a lot of tuition paid into the school of experience yes and that's such a so far yeah and it's so called such a young age what's the next five gonna look like the next what the next ten gonna look like I'm a billionaire by 35 that's a fact get it that's a fact like and I'm not just I'm not just saying that like I'm gonna just stumble on it I got shade in the pie lining and [ __ ] they're like the money but it's a matter of like I see things through I don't like I see the play all the way through you know how like in football basketball don't quit on the play I don't quit on the play too many people quit on the play it's a broken play man they got a fucked-up life or whatever until they quit on the play you don't see it all the way through what if somebody flea flickers and fumbles in here man you know I'm saying like he'll a lot on the vine don't quit on the play we kill a lot on the vine I just want to leave a lot of [ __ ] yes on the [ __ ] table it's like yo y'all are tripping but even early on man not even early on but just when I say tuition or to the school of experience like to not just the production and making the music but also owning the music yeah what the merch look like yeah taking the money and invested in in yourself I mean bro we do radio yeah and we could do somebody's concert give away tickets every hour for six weeks yeah it won't have the crowds you had at the Staples Center yeah you know what I'm saying right like those kind of fearless moves in yourself we want to bet on football games who gonna do this on Sunday bet on yourself but see I talked about this in the book too I said the world doesn't reward talent or hard work the world rewards whoever bets on themselves the most that's it because I was never the best at any of this [ __ ] and I'm still not I'm not the best guitar player piano players rapper singer producer I'm the best me you're gonna find mm-hmm you know I'm saying that's it I say and I'm a bet on myself every time that's even why I like the philosophy of never doing openers you know why because I'm thinking long-term I'm thinking touring history I don't want to do LA and every time I've done that late with six artists cuz then guess what I don't really know my draw right you know cuz you get these artists where that's on Pearl ice how long [ __ ] openers right huh and then when they go to and they've been in 6,000 cabs or maybe even arenas as openers with four other pop in ours but then when they come time to do their own headlining show they can't sell 500 tickets how did you learn that by running directly at it by saying [ __ ] I'll do 50 tickets right right right and now do not be afraid of the number then things not probably all the way down my Instagram and go find the very first show I did as far as a tour and it's Glasgow Scotland a basement of a bar I'm walking in the bar and going downstairs and it's like 49 kids but but did you think that it was like you know Tumwater Seattle with 50 kids but I like that you talked about the fact that there isn't one direct road to success because nowadays everyone thinks that you still have to be but I want about here I want to touch on that yeah especially that's who I want to touch on the fact that I think the a misconception was me is I'm telling people that you have to do it my way mm-hmm no I'm just simply providing an alternative like there's a whole lot of ways to not do it there's a whole lot of ways to do it but a lot of people are stingy with success because people have crab in a barrel mentality yeah very scarcity mindset meaning like give me my candy it's like relax you have no faith in your hunting and gathering skills hmm he knows and now you don't you feel like you give me food you can't go get some more yeah you know saying so I'm not stingy with my success because I know what's up with me you know I'm saying I believe in me but yeah the hometown [ __ ] is dead you like the internet made it so that Belgium is my home too yeah yeah veneer sort of so ever was in Belgium for what reason why tell me exactly you're the first radio station that played your song was yeah no Missy hello I'm from Seattle either so it doesn't all that [ __ ] is dead put your music on Jake wazzle old old old interview where he said put your music on the internet and if it's good enough your fanbase will sniff you out and that's how it works a lot of you need to come to terms with you just not that good right so what's the line between we go with that that is so real it really is just the truth there man now here's the [ __ ] thing though here's the [ __ ] walking contradiction I am I talk about in my book too if the 14 yo of me came up to 27 year old me now and said let me play these beats I would literally be in my head are [ __ ] terrible this is never gonna work okay this is ever gonna work but I would tell you you just keep going you didn't give up the thing is the caveat right the 14 year old me would have never asked it 20-7 me to listen to mm-hmm because he would have thought how much it is fire [ __ ] yeah that's the trick so it's a it's a it's a juggling act you know I can't ever tell somebody you're never gonna make it cuz if you go back to listen to my beats at 14 you could find them on YouTube Garage Band beats terrible the fact that that kid ended up being this but where they terrible van yes dude you would please for people saying I thought they were insane yeah I thought they weren't saying like oh that's the evolution to games even now you'll probably look back at something to be like ah we told you you know but what's funny is that it's all people would think that you know when I made the beat at 14 that's terrible that has you know one instrument is like terrible right I felt as much joy with that is the same amount of joy as I feel making my songs now mm-hmm it's no different because if it really was like scaled correctly I would just be having heart attacks constantly you know I'm saying because if I was if this was the like barometer of happiness right all the time that's the [ __ ] it's like the the hedonic treadmill where you're homeostasis of happiness returns to the [ __ ] you know I'm saying your happiness always kind of stays here you get spikes oh [ __ ] Staples Center and then you just write oh [ __ ] couple million dollars it's all the same [ __ ] do you do you constantly get there too and do you constantly get that where you walk into the Staples Center yeah you see that's always insane but think about it insane but I would be lying I would be lying if I said I felt thirteen thousand times more joy than I did doing my first sort of ride people I'd be like it's all relative it's where you're at when you first make a thousand dollars a thousand fears like a million yeah you know I'm saying now I'm at the point where a million doesn't even really make a difference to me you know I'm saying like where you get sent a million and you feel somewhat on jaded but jaded but I take it as well I'm just ready for bigger thing yeah you know so hey and you probably just know it's there too it's not like it's a it's a it's a luxury stability thing like you know everybody here like man we would like that too mm-hmm everyone in here has money right now that if some seven years ago you would have been like oh yeah and then everybody you got some money there's somebody else be like hey I'll take that I would definitely take that Oh what about when you got the cosine Oh from reading I mean listen that was did you wake up to that I was get I woke up hard I call my mom right now and she would tell you the exact story me my mom we're getting a manicure dope hello get a manicure she's doing like my left hand so I'm on my phone my right and I see in my comment section I had to snip it up at this point just to snip it of like me and the purple shirt and I see someone commented Rihanna like that does make any sense all right and so I click on Rihanna's profile and it has the follow back I was like all right I like hold the [ __ ] up we see you weren't even following her I wasn't I was just like I was living my life living my life so I instantly I was he follow yeah and it's like which is so real that she even chose to follow yeah yeah you know I'm saying because you know a lot of us are like I'm not following you unless you're following me so I follow it then I go to look at the likes and she liked it and I was like yo this manicure has to hurry the time there was like a fan who just walked in like delivering something and I you know like get a picture of me on like I but like I gotta go homey screen right so you know saying it was real like it was super random and then go that bikini right it was like a cover-up but yeah she's out and it's crazy because we did our news on that as far as like it was all the pregnancy rumors the pregnancy rumors yeah did she stepped out like pink no I think that I took it as that's one of the coolest people in the world because I say that because for you to step out and ignore it she probably doesn't even know what the [ __ ] is going on with the internet or whatever it is but just for you to have a platform that big and just be like yeah this is my favorite song once again it's the fearlessness I respect you know and we always talk about it it's almost like her coming up in the party and breaking the ice hmm you know that's a cool ass chick you know I'm saying like that takes a lot of that's like I disrespected fearlessness and the fact that she was just like yeah I'm gonna support it and like did all that like that [ __ ] is hella cool to me you never know she might horns you for this album hollow but it's like what it what it taught me is that uh or what it reminded me of is that you have no clue what's gonna happen my mom always has his mantra that she tells my mom's a life coach and like a energy healer and just the whole that makes sense yeah she's amazing yeah I mean you could be your client but she always tells me what if it could turn out better than you can imagine in any situation and I feel like when you go into any situation you say that out loud it usually turns out better and you know if you would have told me when I put out the song that you know in three days two days Rihanna's gonna post it I would have been like that's one of those far-fetched ridiculous ideas that wasn't like it was such an insane idea it's not even on my radar of imagination mm-hmm but it's one of that's why you gotta just you got to show up a lot of people don't show up I'm saying show up because you never know what's gonna come from know at least show up to work at least show up to the game you never know yeah so it's a testament to showing up do you feel like music and it's probably too early to ask you this but do you feel like music is a no disrespect this stepping-stone to something else yeah okay and not disrespect I wouldn't say stepping-stone I would say yeah I know here's a lack of a better word yeah yeah for sure some of them like it with magic Johnson Magic Johnson's not not eating or doing the things they did just just off the bass yeah you know Sam or if you look at jay-z jay-z not waiting for world tea checks to get me so you figure the introduction yeah yeah a trampoline for sure yeah because it seemed like there's so much more yeah and not more than oh you're only doing a little but there's so many other I ain't 100% I got yeah like the book yeah because five years ago now that I'm building that uh is gonna just change the entire music what is it I'm about showing not telling so you know when the MA when I count your failures - oh yeah well what did Jason Cooper hate scream out my fairies and whispered my accomplishments hmm oh that was Drake this theater you know everyone I told him that I think like with me you know a lot of the interviews this year and just interviews I've done in general where like I'm trying to tell y'all advice and tell y'all what to do I was like you know what I've been trying to tell you how this whole song a week thing is the wave and like you end up just some throw everything at the wall and something most thick and it was best on earth that was just a product of me being like you know what I know how to like blow up again the misconception is that once you blow up oh that's it you have to keep blowing up mm-hmm like you can't tell me that Drake didn't blow up again office started from the bottom right blew up again with hotline bling in one dance and blew up again what God's plan you know I'm saying like you continually blow up so I was like okay I know how to blow up it's a song a week so I put out free and crown and all these like songs best on earth was just week six right right right right there was nothing special about but in fact it was not gonna come out it was like so much [ __ ] behind the scenes I was like fine I'll put it out whatever I was a throwaway song you know and it made me realize like this is the first time in my career that I've had a cliche moment where it's like I didn't think it was gonna do yeah it's the other song I have with the plaque I was like yeah I know and that's the whole was written but it's set and it sounds so cliche I was written but no no it's true that was one of those moments where it was just supposed to go like you know what I enjoy about you too man is that you showed up and when I say you showed up because you and what I want to get into man is just what's going on on it on the Internet yeah usually people you'll see people that say don't ask me that oh I can't do no radio right now you know Sam but but you showed up yeah you know saying what what's going on with you and Guam uh it's someone who I have no idea who they are I've never had an interaction with them in my entire life right how does this happen well yeah what I don't know you you don't see yeah well that's why I'm saying because because mentioning the name Russ in a negative light has turned into social media currency it's just the reality mm-hmm like you say you talk about me in a negative light you'll get more retweets I just really what it comes down to and so I get that that's cool but you have to understand that there's consequences for that so I've never had an interaction with him in my entire life you're a grown-ass man you chose to mint you chose to mention my name in a song on wax in a negative silly stupid light it's all that happen like people always like to skip to chapter twos and threes and say well why did you react like David no no stop go to chapter one mm-hmm why did you mention this strangers name in the first place cloud chasing not dick writing [ __ ] that's it because if we've never had an interaction why are you thinking about me why right never I don't even know you like what are you doing so whatever happens after that is on you yeah that's it that's right if people are like oh well you could have ignored him it didn't how could I ignore me how could I ignore me because I promise you've never seen any video of anything in me just pulling up on random people like yo what's up right never it's like okay cool you don't want to start minding my business I'm gonna stop minding yours when the first time y'all saw each other that that fast and there's there's also army on site too my thing is like man I I don't have to introduce myself channel it that we're about to get down I don't you know and I don't know about if somebody felt sucker-punched I don't know homie I don't I'm just listen you ain't listen you see me walking up we have no interaction you know what you said in your song if you don't know what's going on that's your fault yeah like I [ __ ] snuck around I'm looking you dead in your face and you start moving I'm thinking you're about to swing I should wait yeah okay my name is like it's really simple work like retro actively don't mention my name ignore me and I'll ignore y'all I don't like mostly oh I don't care Bray damn yeah and it's not like you well don't get it wait there for that no it's like leave me alone you feel me just leave me alone like I'm on my business I live in Atlanta I'm not out here being a weirdo were y'all like leave me alone feel me I don't talk about y'all don't mention y'all his name like I'll give a [ __ ] about y'all we're not even in the same venue we're not in the same league leave me alone I'll leave y'all alone and so I tell people as well man I'm like I'm not offensive but my seat fence is immaculate and you're not gonna disrespect me and just think it's some cute [ __ ] to do and think there's no consequence because at the end of the day I'm fed up stop talking about me I'm saying I mentioned in my name doesn't 100% I appreciate the song a week but I want to know another album yeah when is it coming super soon sorry what's super soon uh 2020 okay after the tour before that's because I know you said you're gonna go out on tour right before the tour okay yeah the album's insane it's like me Boy Wonder your mind just like it's really do I love it yeah I love what you got so far along I've heard what you working on oh I've always been good with neighborhood nip Nipsey Hussle yeah I see that nipsey touched you as well yeah you know what I'm saying here and we sometimes but you know what and you probably feel the same way Russ like nip felt special yeah in any way in life nip felt special yeah yeah no aura yes ma'am what what was your relationship like with Nipsey Hussle and why did you care yeah so when I was 17 freshman year college and I was still like I knew I wanted to do music but it was like you know I was like at the infant stages even exploring that path so I've been making be since I was 14 I'm 17 sitting in college in my dorm room and that's when I heard the marathon I think it came out December of that year December 2010 is when it came out and the marathon just completely did it for me like the whole what it's really about it's a marathon not a sprint yes man [ __ ] he was talking about the game he was giving it was crazy so me and boogies my best friend we came to LA when we were 18 and we went to the shop you know and I you said I suck I forget how I had his brother Sam's number but I used to be blown up as when I was 18 I got so many B's finit like if you go on my Twitter the amount of tweets I have hidden if see trying to get him beaten since like 2011 I think I deleted some yeah so like it really resonated with me the message the marathon the whole thing just the fact that he had his shop I'm already like he had a shop early you know and so I was always a huge fan always a huge fan and then when I got the pleasure to even have a conversation with him and then meet him I was like man this is just the [ __ ] this is the one and I've been to as the one you know I'm saying so I was glad to see that he got his flowers you know for like for a second he got his flowers like that album victory yeah it's like but you know we've had conversations that I didn't share with the world I won't ever share with the world because none of y'all's [ __ ] business I know so but you know there's really dopey he reached out in a time that I was going through some [ __ ] and he liked to get the words of encouragement and motivation that he gave me during the certain time he did it's [ __ ] everything do you know what was what what's a lot about that to Russ's so many people got special moments yeah and I remember when when it passed on I saw so many pictures of nip with other people yeah and I'm talking about man I was like this dude stopped slow down and it look like he took a picture with everyone and everybody and you should see I mean he sat in that chair yeah we came this close to I feel like having the most classics on all time so I have an old tweet from like 2012 say man Nicky and Rick Ross finally on a song I was trying to put that one together but next time is gonna be over one of my beats right so on zoo there's a song called last forever that I produced with Rick Ross not with Rick Ross River crosses on it and I was always trying to get nipsey on it so when I saw an Ipsy at the 40/40 club I don't know when it was and I was like yo I got this song he was like cool I'm gonna get it to you I'm just better go on tour I'm gonna get it to you uh and by the time he got back from tour I had to turn in the album so I had to so then I put snoop on it which is looking insane but I was like man mean if she and Ross almost had the song I just hope this lasts forever I just feel like it would have been [ __ ] classy but I love something for that to his lips a realist yeah on the first in two days yeah hey man yeah you did I was like how is this [ __ ] close to just do it like man that would have been something I'd like nip see to me is one of the greatest minds this world in this industry is ever seen you know and the fact that it hasn't stopped that's how you know it's about planting the seeds there's this quote that I love which something along the lines are like you're not gonna taste the fruit of the seeds you planted a mmm you know you won't taste the fruit today of decision planning right so just the fact that it really is a marathon is real life like that's a real thing going on Nipsey is no longer here but the marriage is still running Marian that's the realest message I've like ever seen and you know with nip to man people had great conversations about nip in life not posthumous posthumous of course but in life and I always say that character is what's being said about you when you're not in the room yeah and when he's when he wasn't in the room yeah people just you know it was almost like dude float you can't have something not and you better not even when I saw him in the 40/40 club I was like there was a low yeah yeah you know it was one of those things where there was no flashes but I felt like there was a flash yeah man around him you know I'm saying I recognized it then yeah not looking back like and then I like I gave Nicky's flowers proud of saying yeah I gave thank yous flowers while I was while he was here yeah man I was rocking the merch when I was 18 you know I'm saying like I gave him his flower so I'm proud of that I'm glad that he's getting and he got some of the flowers while he was here but that's a [ __ ] legend he's in my top five and he always was who else citizens Oh M Jake Kanye nipsey and then it's like a toss-up like Jay Cole is in there but then it's like Wayne jay-z but I was too young for jay-z though you know so it's like for me I grew up 17 and it was Jay Cole Dre gear Hendrick nipsey and I love Kendrick out Kendricks in my top ten but just like you know I'm talking about what like resonates with me this is not there's not who I think the best is it's just my favorite yeah I would say Cole nipsey Eminem Drake Kanye if you know why why do we like you you you pay attention to that though - yeah and and you recognize those before you you know we don't see a lot of that now yeah you don't I'm saying like we see in people kind of like I said a pissing on plaque state telling you they only been rapping for 10 years 10 months and it's like a robbery to you you don't know saying like you took the time fan first and by the people that you're talking about that was kind of either a forefather or you know saying like yeah you studied it yeah can you grab something from from I feel like I feel like the industry especially the people the powers-that-be need to look at themselves if you have an issue with any stupid clown ass rapper right now you need to look back at the clown rappers you let be here 10 years ago hmm like these are the kids of the clown's yeah I'm saying the clowns had kids right right I didn't now rappers like you could tell I'm a child of not clown [ __ ] as far as like musically you could tell I listen to you know I didn't grow up [ __ ] with I'm not gonna say name's Brian rappers you could tell you could hear you can hear other rappers in my peer group that it's like there's no way for us what was in your house what was in your house that brought you today you know there's somebody it's usually it's either an older brother one of the homies something in school yeah what brought you really where where it started was my grandfather was always playing music 14 like him and his brother would sing and he passed away now but he taught me guitar my dad's always been really musical my mom's grandmother musical but and so they were big music fans they would have on you know Earth Wind and Fire season Mamas and Papas and just dance around and you know I'm saying Luther Vandross and just so music was in the house you feel me and then at eight or nine whenever that was like g-unit and Eminem came through for me that was a rap rap I was right in [ __ ] and raps in my notebook at seven saying I was from Queens you be 50 cent when I met 50 I [ __ ] [ __ ] about you may get rich or die tryin I try and stop talking do the trick you out that you're like the so called peer now there's no M appear risin so you see one man first in yeah what what I'll never get it [ __ ] up man the [ __ ] out you did yeah as I bro you the but what's so bizarre is that I was so calm the cold was like man you're the reason why rap you know but I like I was it was funny to be in the fan shoes cuz I've had you know I didn't greet every night were there like you're the reason why and I was like I'm being that guy but with somebody tell you that real no you hear them now I really do though now after meeting like those people you know I'm like not really get it yeah Russ definitely we got to do it again though bro yeah for sure yeah because you really sharpened me up today you know steel sharpens again right literally just and I just wanted to know like because you see people yeah you see what they do and I'm telling you man like I look at life and I know we got to talk about this there's albums there's books but there's people that want to hear how did this start there's somebody out there when we say how big the world is sure there's somebody out there that that listens to the story and Daniel when I so-called interview or conversations I'm really intrigued yeah off of the conversation you know what I'm saying like I want to know these things and if somebody's listening maybe they want they got it you don't know saying but I thank you for your time bro yeah that's the one thing we can't get back so people like and you know a lot of people they harp on understanding the value of a dollar and it's like I pride myself on knowing the value of a minute mm-hmm like that's why I don't play with my time and a lot of times doesn't work with women because they don't understand but I'm like look you know I know that in 45 minutes I made what they want 45 minutes fill me so I'm on the phone with you for 45 minutes right yeah damn you you should appreciate it only only because I appreciate just like you should appreciate your own like you know what I could do with my PA like doing it's like oh we you don't call me it's like are you [ __ ] insane you know I'm saying like I understand the value of a minute time is the most prized possession we have I'm glad you say that yeah but it's like if a lot of people [ __ ] with people who don't understand the value of a minute which is why they do that [ __ ] Starbucks or whatever no offense if you're gonna Starbucks you my understand she used to work at Starbucks certain people that you date or whatever may just like the idea yeah let's just be laid up for days I think because they don't understand the value of a minute because they have nothing in their life that they're trying to apply their time to I've never been like that I understand the value of my time in a minute so you're damn you damn we know I was on my way home today to my wife and two kids when you enough time with my with my minute fill you I was going to like two o'clock you know to Z or not I'm Claire we have that's we needed this man I appreciate your time but I that's the really [ __ ] to tell somebody I appreciate your time yeah man well I mean it when you understand it that's the really should tell somebody really give a [ __ ] about your words yeah your words could be fake but you being right here with me you can't fake your body in my presence of your time so like I say bro I appreciate your time thank you oh god when we do this again absolutely there it is we make the time it's supposed to be we make kind of rust in the neighborhood big boy [Music]

Channel: BigBoyTV

Views: 168,643

Rating: 4.8458529 out of 5

Keywords: BigBoyTV, Big Boy TV, Hip Hop, Big Boys Neighborhood, Interview, Full Interview, Radio Big Boy, Big Boy DJ, Real 92.3, Real 923, Big Boy Radio, Big Boy YouTube

Id: RJtLDUyvXxw

Length: 64min 32sec (3872 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 04 2019