Slim Thug On Owning Masters, Real Estate, Building Wealth & More | Assets Over Liabilities

don't just sell yourself out out the gate find out who you is get you some self value and know who you is before you want to put yourself up for sale and that ain't even I mean everything off your art you should off top to me as a man I want to own myself before I want to own my cars I want to own my art I'm 20 years in the game bro like you know I just seen a out come and go and this dudes then went platinum way more times you know what I'm saying and still not like [Music] mey the boss welcome to boss what's up my brother my [Music] brother welcome to the aist the boss light Resort The World is Yours The World is Yours feel man how's everything it's good man I can't complain man I'm having a good time just got out vacation just just living see World traveler I'm just trying to you know live and not exist that's it somebody say you've earned your legion right right right exactly n man so much to talk about I wanna I want to talk about I want to start with the music yeah because I feel like in Houston we just had a conversation off camera Texas you said it's like his own country right and you guys were able to to be Superstars and be you know millionaires before we even heard about you outside of Texas right and even now you were tell me it's still like you could sustain just in Texas on the independent level going to tours and different little uh shows and different areas so talk about the experience growing up in Houston Independence and what's the vibe like as far as Texas for people that don't know oh man Texas is is a z world like I say is his own country you got Houston you got Dallas you got Austin San Antonio so you got Fort where you got these big cities and then you got um all the small towns that's in between you know what I'm saying it's a whole lot of land all the way to El Paso you know in the mid mid middle of Texas all that so how we came up was putting into really started through I would give the credit to like uh the J princes and the um you know they pioneer of you know the Ghetto Boys it was independent you know they the ones who show Houston that we can be rappers or whatever so they started out independent and gave us the idea that this could happen you know what I'm saying so after them it was a lot of other independent labels formed and then we had the DJ Screw and this is mixtape culture right here chopped and screw so you from New York y'all like what is that y'all was looking at us crazy Pacific Ser back in the day right exactly I was saying so but think about that in that time frame like back in the 90s y'all would try to hear you know so so a lot of y'all wasn't even listening to that type of sound you know to even hear if you like that artist or not and that's what it I grew up in I did the swisser high where they did The Cho and screw music like in the early 90s but that had his own wave his own following underground throughout Texas throughout really the whole world as you can see you know what I'm saying but uh it was just something that that spread through you know colleges military you know you got Colleen you know so the Underground Market just spread and it just turned into something where we can really live good off of man you know what I'm saying I just I so basically being in New York as a young rapper a lot of artists might say man I want to sign a record deal Universal you know in Houston that ain't necessarily your mind frame you like let me put out this independent project and get me sell 100,000 of these and that's really a million you know what I'm saying then you can eat from Houston to Louisiana it's all the same you know what I'm saying forever so for the entertainment standpoint there was the influences but from the business standpoint was J Prince was you know swab house are these guys telling you the business of the music right so obviously we know we got to put out these albums we got to create our own audience we have to you know create a demand for ourselves but what about the business structure cuz I know even owning the music owning your master these things were important to y'all from the start it was important to me like honestly I don't know about like I didn't I learned I did my own thing you know what I'm saying and how I learned my value was I got with swisser house in 1998 they did The Cho and screw music I was doing freestyles like y'all do the mixtapes or whatever we would sell the mixtapes like this how I started I was 17 in high school I did a freestyle on a mixtape and we put it out it's called Uh swisser 98 I think it is so it was my first one I'm in high school I'm selling tapes and CDs out my backpack you know what I'm saying this the first time I'm ever able to make money and not be going to jail you know what I'm saying so it's like I'm excited about it I'm taking it serious I'm making money though hand it ain't like I'm begging people like it ain't like hey man listen to my mixtape they asking me for it you know what I'm saying so it's like immediately I started to see self value now shows I'm doing shows in Louisiana I'm still in high school I'm uh I'm selling them hand in hand at first next thing you know we hit the road we it's phone books at this time City to City we go to East City and Austin we get the phone book every music store we drop 10 CDs on them you know 20 whatever it is this our phone number call us if you need some more you know what I'm saying did this all the way throughout Texas and just kept doing it and built a a market you know what I'm saying have cers man we need more we need more so we just kept dropping mixtapes every month and we would sell them to these different stores I even opened up my own store you know around 1819 and we just really like you know CDs was going wholesale uh you can sell them wholesale for eight tapes was going five so through that I'm getting money and now I know how much I'm worth you know what I'm saying so I don't so now eventually I get calls for major labels and they calling me they like man we want to sign you we got 250,000 for you two projects but I I'm like nah we getting that out here like we we know we worth now you can't tell us like oh you worth this you sign this much we already know we making out here we see the money I'm already living the life you know what I'm saying so it's like I'm not even excited about that that's not what I want to do I want to get the money I don't want to be famous you know what I'm saying so they would keep flying me out like coming you know Universal you know everybody but it was just like man the market was so big but eventually it was a lot of mom and pop stores back then so he was able to eat like that Best Buy came through with the $9.99 smoked it up smoked the whole thing out ended it ended all like you know Mom and Pop story so for a minute we was able to eat through Best Buy with it but you know at the end of the day it just got too tricky you know what I'm saying but at the end of the day we stopped doing the chopped and screw music so much even though it still I still just chopped and screw my new project I just did because it's still a culture out there still a fan base I'm just saying that was very prosperous and that's what showed me what my value was that time but after that we just continued through it out man I just keep putting out projects independent and and I have a fan base now you know worldwide basically from just doing what I do how has it changed like so when you guys first started the CD you sell it for $10 it might take cost a dollar to make it and it's a $9 profit that's easy to understand everybody knows Masterpiece on C's out his trunk you guys go going to different colleges and different we that all right but then when it transition and nobody's buying CDs anymore ex then it BEC streaming and then you're not getting $10 you're getting 99 C how does that change for Independent Artists I mean we still getting more than the people on record labels though you know what I'm saying so it's not the same but at the same time the audience is bigger you know but I don't even know how to who came up with this it seemed like it look like to me like that's what they knew you know like these people know 10 years ahead of time what's going to happen to me you know so they seen that through social media we will be able to have our own power in our own hands and now they breaking it down to charge us for it you know through this way or you know you got uh different ways that now we we all on record labels basically they figured a way to put us out on the record label deal and they just charging giving us whatever they want to give us you know off of Records you know what I'm saying so that's first we was able to do the uh you know it wasn't streaming it was you can sell it on iTunes say you know it would still get you 99 cent now they just come up with some you know I don't even know what we don't even know it just came up with some stuff you part of subscription payments exactly you part of subscription we don't even know if how much how much they uh owe us or nothing you know so that's a big problem with our artists not just Independent Artists you know we just got to figure that out because they just kind of got us with that one did did that business structure impact the Outlook or the genre of music that music that was coming from Houston cuz for a certain segment like when we were growing up it was you it was Mike Jones Paul W Kiki and then that kind of slowed down when that transition in business structure changed and then you don't see as many artists coming from Houston and then you get a Travis Scott and now that becomes almost to a generation what Houston sound is so did the business infl influence how the artists was starting to put themselves out to the audence I think I think the people who was doing it back then who you nameing everybody is still getting money everybody ain't they we just not on TV it ain't no this is not an industry City it's like it ain't nobody coming out here a lot you know to give these guys no Spotlight but Mike Jones is doing shows every weekend uh Paul W is up big right now with Mexican OT and everything like no telling what he getting a week for shows he sold I know he doing at least two to three a week so just imagine like everybody still getting money it's just like we just don't have we not we ain't Atlanta the Atlanta this industry ain't out here it's us doing it ourselves so everybody eating good anybody you nameing like you know everybody I'm saying in that sense yes I'm just what's the next Generation right so like I feel like BX the plug he's from Dallas he's very reminiscent of that old school authentic Houston sound that you guys used to put out right I mean yeah I definitely like the song he got I definitely like BX he dope but I think music in Dallas though I'm saying he's Dallas but he still reminds me of right he got sound yeah it's a lot of it's a lot of new rappers right now fast L Propane like right now are like getting a lot of money like same way you know same Houston thing like I say but it's just like we not industry but then if you think about it it is a few came out you think about Megan you know what I'm saying you know so K the man it's a few of them out here popping out getting deals and doing a lot but at the same time even how we was underground it's still a underground scene right now that's thriving you know we got be king uh it's a lot of Houston artists to be king it's a lot of Houston artists like be king the number one D in the club bro it's like I could imagine it's crazy he State book you know so like it's a lot of people who still get money from our era and after us you know what I'm saying it's a guy named OTB fast landan you I'm talking about he just dropped something other day and I looked on his Instagram the whole place sold out he probably ring a bigger crowd than me on the North side right now you know what I'm saying but the world don't know him like that you know what I'm saying but at the same time he's still getting money and and a big dude right now so we put something on our Instagram page that got a lot of traction we interview Simba shout out to him and he said that he didn't mind um not owning his Masters pretty much I'm paraphrasing but like you know it was a sacrifice that he's willing to take to you know have more notoriety and he wasn't really tripping on on his Masters you commented on that and um you had your own opinion on that right so what's what's your take on that it ain't you know my thing is this I'm an advocate for being independent I live I'm living my you in my house y'all don't see me on TV doing no raps you ain't probably hear no slump Thug I dropped some the other day and it's like the streets love I'm making money off it I get a check every single month off catalog from the mixtes I'm telling you I was rapping on all the way until right now the new projects I put out right now is still good money I'm making great money you know what I'm saying Ming a lot of rappers on record deals they not living like me keeping it real like a lot of them ain't living like me I know it I see them you know what I'm saying and it's temporary with a lot of them you know they they have their times when the the record label dumping that money on them and you selling out shows but that we out fast you know what I'm saying I'm 20 years in the game bro like you know I just seen them all come and go and it's dudes that went platinum way more times you know what I'm saying and still not living like me but the idea is like I told you you from New York y'all mind frame is man here check out my demo of major label sign me make me hot when really it should be man let me put out my project grow me a fan base grow me a following see how find my value before I even sell myself it should be considered selling out you know what I'm saying at this point for other people to get so much out of us without you know us making the most you know what I'm saying like and that's how I move with that type of uh Integrity so I don't want people saying the telling these kids man yeah don't worry about the Masters they don't mean nothing that sound crazy when I'm living like this and a lot of rappers ain't living like this you know no don't don't just sell yourself out out the gate find out who you is get you some self value and know who you is before you want to put yourself up for sale and that ain't even I mean everything out your art you should out top to me as a man I want to own myself I want if the cars you can I before I want to own my cars I want to own my art I want to own myself that's my integrity that's my mind frame and and when I move around and and have all the stuff I have it ain't cuz I sold nothing to have it it's because I I own my my stuff and this is what I'm buying out for owning my property you know what I'm saying saying so that's the mind frame I move with so when artists be like man just sell your Masters and do the and you know I don't think that's something you should tell the kids you know what I'm saying I think I think people should own themselves you was on a label at one point major label at one point right did you own your Masters then that was a partnership deal with uh for real now I didn't own my masters right then okay and that's what I'm saying that's the difference of it like I seen how that went and that was a the greatest experience ever like I'm not don't get it confused like I'm telling artists don't get with major labels and don't mess with them or you know whatever way is your way you might not even be organized to be able to run an independent label so if you need that help then take it but I'm just saying everybody shouldn't think out the gate hey man my option is to just sell my masters you know that's what everybody complain about when you talk about Michael Jackson or anybody who later in the game what they always say man well they don't they took my masters and this and I don't get this out of this everybody should be able to eat forever off of the music they create and that's how it should be it ain't never but we just train off of man the other rappers we've seen before that's how they did it so we got to do it like this but where where are they at in the long run crying about crying to puffy and all them about man I ain't got you know what I'm saying like it shouldn't be like that bro you know what I'm saying you should have your and that's what I'm saying like that's why you should have the Integrity man let me at least try to find myself value cuz in what other business does that make sense man when do you give me a loan you ain't even give the money you giv me ain't even my money it's a loan you giving me I got to pay you back before I get my money back and I give you my business you own my business it's crazy if you put that in any other business perspective you know what I'm saying but it's just something that we always did and what we've been mad at people since big red mtown back in day he messed up with me he you know what I'm saying so you been on both end of the spectrum right you sound it you saw the the inner workings of how that went and you've been independent I wonder at any point do you feel like your story hasn't been glor glorified in a sense because it seems like a threat whereas if the music industry and artist feel like that were doing what you did I definitely feel like that I definitely feel blackballed at sometimes bro like cuz I know what I'm doing look at it bro it's I'm living the life bro I'm not it's it's it's from the music and then it seemed like people be trying to say it's the real estate the real estate moves I made wasn't really about money it was just about let me do something for the hood you know like so it ain't it's the music man it's the music real estate that got me living like this and it seemed like nobody want nobody even the people I work with you know like I go through a Distribution Company they don't do nothing for me I don't even talk to them people and I know a lot of them people is there because they see the lifestyle I live they like oh slim getting it like this let me do it I know it cuz they told me they be like man I'm over here because I seen you you know they don't they don't try to glorify me cuz my word is what be a boss man don't get them you know you get your 90 man you get your 90% bro you do it you know understand they don't want nobody to hear that bro they don't want nobody to hear you they shouldn't be getting Ming us out for our stuff bro like you know and I know that message is getting quieted but you know at the end of the day I don't knock like I say I'm not against whatever you figure out for yourself you know whatever going to get you and your family together like I love it all I listen to everybody but at the end of the day if we all thought like me I'm Slim Thug bro you ain't even hearing my song what if it was a a drake moving like this or something like if any of them dudes young Dolph was a dude who was moving like this bro and you see how he was living you know what I'm saying and that's what I was like that's that's why I like a young do for nipy hustle you know because they was they was speaking that independent word you know what I'm saying cuz it's really like that's the way it's supposed to be real life bro so talk about um live shows performances how important is that I heard offset talking about how it's getting harder for rappers to do like festivals and to book shows I know but you still eating off the shows so I never do a festival bro rarely if it's out here you know and it's some yeah I do them out here but I'm not on the road doing festivals I'm doing shows in Texas all through Texas you know out of you know sometimes out of town but this this is whole own country bro like I'm always booked out here always that's why I can't leave you know what I'm saying I always got something to do out here this is a fast Financial fact sponsored by Xfinity this week's fact money invested or saved in accounts that earn compound interest can grow significantly over time the earlier you start saving the more money can grow utilize tax advantage accounts like IAS and 401ks for retirement savings contribution to these accounts can grow tax deferred or taxfree allowing your money to compound more efficiently assets over liabilities is presented by Xfinity what's the what's the key to that long cuz a lot of artists can't keep themselves booked on the road how do you how are you managing to keep yourself booked doing show it's a couple things right now for me at least you know I got some classic steel tipping is a a Texas staple we probably going to eat forever that's an American know what I'm saying so it's like you know I got and then through I got a lot of both Sid I got number one songs with Beyonce I got stuff I did I throughout my career out here that's even if y'all don't know like about it you know like the Texans uh uh the the game anthem is my song Texas you know all that type of stuff that y'all don't even know about so it's like I stay active I just dropped the project uh on my birthday September the 8th mid life crisis they loving it bro it's like so that's how stay you know going for me because I stay active you know but I ain't I ain't so much of a promoter like if I was a marketing King I really be eating BBE you know what I'm saying but I just you know I don't spend too much bro I don't that's how I move you know I don't spend too much like I can go to for like some take K beats or something you know but I you know I know who I am and I just do my stuff you know at my own level make it a good business deal for me I'm 43 I don't need to be keeping up with time times I need to be making my own ways and working with culture my people yeah are you opposed to doing festivals cu the way you said it was almost like I don't need to because enough dollars make sense I can like enough dollars here ra I'm not oppos I'm not opposed to doing festival at all like like I say it's that age you know we you know it's the still tipping it would have been like 20 years they you know they gonna have us on all that and I'm down with it I'm down with all that I'm just saying that ain't how I got here I been I got here like chill in circuit you know what I'm saying clubs you know all that bro like whatever you know out here is always some money that's crazy we just put a post on Instagram just now about Tyler Perry talking about how he funded uh his Studio from the Chillin circuit the Chillin circuit he was like a lot of people look down on that um exactly but he was like that was the reason for his success going to clubs and he was doing the the um live uh plays exactly he was doing like 500 theater 3,000 theaters in Louisiana and Texas what I'm saying Alabama it's the same thing it's the same exact thing but it's just through music and it's them same places bro the same different local markets you got all these different small towns in between these big cities it's a it's his own country and Louisiana is we we family is like it go all the way in Louisiana and further now now that still tipping and took it further me working with for real even took it further and that was my plan and goal anyway to spread it even bigger you know and then once I could got out once I got out of that situation I was good but that was a beautiful situation too don't let me don't I don't want people to think that I talk down that me and for real situation was the most the best situation I ever did with making an album it was I was in the big Studio he was you know I was with uh for real we making you know great music I was I enjoyed that so I didn't look I don't look down on people who get record deals I just don't want you to not learn your self value but 21 Savage has has the right deal yeah you know what I'm saying so he he own his master he you know getting the most of his bread that's why it ain't offer to everybody are you not that good of a rapper or what's going on like you know that's what it should be is what I'm saying but and like I say everybody some people might me need more help than the next person and that's cool too or if you young you might want to shoot to the stars and want to be with the best artists and the best producers so I don't knock nobody ways but I'm just telling you I advocate the independent way you know because that's the way I went so you talked about real estate that's something that um you have become an investor in real estate you got a lot of different things we going to talk about it but how'd you get started in real estate what was your start man uh jumping out there man me and my homeboy uh Troy my homeboy Troy green uh who who I still be working with to this day with the real estate we just went to the auction and just bought some property like you didn't know what you was doing we didn't know what we was doing just went in there like man we got to do this we had a couple racks right we buy all these cars make it make sense so we went in there and just bought some property man and then it wasn't nothing that it ain't no success story I took my H I went over there it wasn't even a house on on I bought a house it wasn't even the house on the land when I got there so you know but that's what opened our eyes to it and then uh he kept he kept up with his and actually it it it turned into something but uh really what happened was we was just giving back in the hood like Thanksgiving stuff like that Christmas giving that to toys just me and my partners just giving out giving back right so then uh the the city gave me a date the 979 the box out here is a radio station they was like man slim be giving back in the community why he ain't got his own day so they you know campaign for me to have my own day I end up getting it so I teamed up with the city of Houston like what more can we do you know to make it make sense uh and they had put us on to the Laura Lots you know a Laura lot is where you can is like abandoned land might have junk on it trash on it or whatever you clean it out they'll give it to you for a little nothing but you got to build a low income home so we kind of found a whole empty block and we just built the whole you know uh neighborhood and our old neighborhood kind of like just to do some you know what I'm saying that's how we got into that but like I say we do flips we got a few properties and stuff like that but real estate is more of my partners than you know getting into that than me you know what I'm saying I was doing music all the time so so the opportunity presented itself and you created business around it right so we got the lot now what do we do so this is how Boss Life construction comes about that's how it came about it was just that idea we we uh guy with JG Holland is is a guy who we've been knowing since we was kids who always been advance and he a little older than us so he got a whole he he actually redid this house so we just got with him teamed up with him and uh he gave us the game and then through that we also did a a couple more things we um had gave a few scholarships out for trade schools like for kids who if you go to learn how to well you learn how to you know um do Roofing and build houses you know we gave a few trade scholarships after that like I said it was more of a you know GE back thing than it was a get money thing for us we do a few now but we ain't really like no gurus in it I ain't going lie yeah so the that's the toring let's put these two together you got the toring and you got real estate now the toring most of that money is paid in cash right so when you're trying to get real estate it's tough to prove income if you're not having this money put into the bank and showing that you have proof of a certain amount of money to even qualify for it what was that process like for you are these things that you knew prior or is it something you had to learn during the process man I always had a a catalog check you know what I'm saying so that's my income every month you know what I'm saying so I never had no issue with that like you know uh and then we had I had stores back in the day kind of stuff so it's like I ain't never really had no issue with that but now the cash we uh I buy a car with it or something you know what I'm saying like I ain't really I get a the real estate I did was through you know um we did that through the bank through uh me and my partners it was like three of us got together and actually is one of my friends Corey who who extended now he we started with that block he has town homes and everything he take it to a whole new level out there so it's like he put a whole whole new block together after our block and that's that's in your old neighborhood same spot yeah it's all over there like he see he got Burns barbecue that's a worldwide you know Anthony Bain came down and we did a show up there at Burns so he just extended on our project and and made it even bigger he got town houses and and um all kind of stuff up still Boss Life construction though but it's beautiful over there so how important is that to have like different businesses and different your name on different things as opposed to just being known for just music you can't just do one thing you got to have multiple uh incomes you know so we do the clothing you know we got the uh hog light brand um you know we do the real estate we do the the the the Instagram promotions you know all that shows you know all kind I got deals with Checkers the Texans you know a lot of you know those deals like that so man it's just been you know you know a lot of different checks coming a lot of different ways I feel like a lot of artists also going back to this touring situation they don't understand the the benefit of being professional and it's like they might burn a lot of bridges with promoters and that stops them from getting booked or they don't do shows because they're like I'm not taking one thing I learned about Ross is that he picks up bags he'll get small bags a little bit like I've seen him do stuff and I'm like like I get it though like he always picking up a bag like a bag is a bag a bag you know but but I mean yeah that's that's what the that's what it is there's all kind of ways to get there like it's you in Texas bro you know no telling where it's coming from man you know what I'm saying like I said you might be doing a Kena you know what I'm saying but the car right that bag you know still you know what I'm saying still tiing let's give it to him three and we as you getting these bags right you've been doing this a long time did you always have Financial discipline right I'm cheap bro everybody know it you you always been Frugal so I'm counting the money I'm making sure I know where the money's going at all times every time I get $1,000 it got to be put up I don't want to see it it's over like I a I move like and that's how I always been and um everybody know that about me like even now like I be in a Rolls-Royce but no section at the club I just be posted up I'm sure y'all see me just these are fact exactly facts I'm not in there popping bottles I'm in there at the bar with you I'm at the bar post it up I always been like that before I before still Tippy came out I was like that I never changed they used to be like man you be going to the club too much man I don't I'm going continue to be me man and it worked for me you know so it's cool but I always been a Frugal guy I ain't never been no dude who careless with the money and when I spend money I got to see it like I I'll buy a car because I can sell that car if I need to or something you know I'll buy something I can see but me making it rain me popping bottles stuff I you know just burning money like that uh private planes nah I'm good just to get somewhere I'm good nah I'm good you where do that where does that come from that's just growing up that was instilled I'm from the outside man like we ain't have much growing up so you know we appreciate what we got we don't want to go back you know what I'm saying and we seen people make the mistakes like how could you feel if you KN you spending this money on these private planes and you got to go back to the hood one day like you know what I'm saying like nah I a I ain't making no mistakes I ain't it don't matter I can I can just to get somewhere it's cool to me you know what I'm saying but like I don't knock it like I love like you know but I'm just saying for me I'm just too Frugal to move like that like I'm cheating unless when it comes to cars but even with cars I can sell my cars for you know cuz they collect us they're not just I ain't buying nothing that I can't get off of I ain't never had to or wanted to but I'm just saying everything it's it ain't even about selling it it's just about I got whatever I spend my money on I got to see it I can't just you know it can't just disappear like that yeah and you're not just buying any car right when we talk about assets we talking about these things are appreciating over time so that passion for cars you talked to us all C you said you know music is a passion but the first love was Cars Cars yeah that's really like so I mean is that just something that is a is a Texas thing is it a sell thing how does your passion come for cars and then when when did you start deciding that all right I'm not going to buy I'm going to actually buy some Collectibles yeah man really it's just uh I would say since I was like 12 I just had a love for cars and music and they just came they was like equally the same to me I would work on my cars hours on hours I work on my music hours on hours man and um really it just got to a point where I just came up with a decision I wanted to um collect them and I just said I wanted to get my favorite car of each decade you know what I'm saying and um I did a lot of custom cars you know that I could probably get off of or probably worth a lot of money you know what I'm saying but I ain't never buy them with the intention to sell them like you know the newer cars I swap them out but the older I just keep them you know I'm really trying to complete my collection so you got a what how are you doing today is it 40s 50s 60s 50s I don't up I got a car for every decade like I got well really I got a few some on some of them I might have had to get more than one I got a 56 L Dorado 57 belir 59 Cadillac for the 50s I got a 64 Lincoln I got a 74 Caprice a 75 El Dorado uh for the 70s for the 80s I got a 87 Monte Carlo for the 90s I got a 95 imp paa and a a 95 B I mean 96 and paa 95 bin yeah so I just I'm missing a 2000 a 2010 car right now so it's eating me up what's the 2000's one I I want that drop head man I want that drop head man I just feel like that was the one of that that 10 that 2000 to 2010 but that's why I ain't got it though cuz it's how I'm too FR bro I spent too much on cars this year so yeah man but I I don't do too much that's um also Texas culture Texas C and you guys I feel like when so you're not the first artist from Houston to make it mainstream obviously you know Scarface but I feel like that style of rap was a little different when y'all came out was still tipping I felt like that was like the culture of Houston like you know I could just I had never been to Houston before but I could close my eyes and imagine what Houston felt like right from the cars and the swinging and you told us still tipping on all that type stuff so yeah like I think that's important for people to understand too is it's not just a hobby it's actually part of Houston culture right like every Sunday y used to do the thing with the cars and right MLK on Sunday man Houston culture is so big and so like even now look at everybody sipping sering you know that all come from Houston and a lot of kids don't know that a lot of kids think you know Lil way probably you know C but you know like I say but first of all let's say this it's DJ Screw who uh started the thing Don Kiki uh Fat Pat man so many in the Su passed away man that put on for that culture man and it's sad cuz they don't get to see uh the screwed up clear yeah man even Big Pokey just passed away man so many people but how do you feel about that Legacy cuz I mean it is synonymous with Houston but it's it's been very detrimental even ASAP yams a lot of rappers from all over different parts of the country have died as a result of scissor um so you being in the culture and seeing it I'm sure as a kid what's your thoughts on on that Legacy it was some people who probably uh associated with that but now a lot of them uh who passed it ain't have nothing to do with that like in the Su it was just different stuff you know like um I think poke had a heart attack is like stuff like that and you know but uh yeah man on the cool a lot of people in Houston being stop sipping like we already seen the effects of it a long time ago you know and now it's new to the world and then too the stuff that they sipping now ain't what we was sipping you know it was something different but we had activist so we don't look at what people sipping well I don't you know back in my day so uh actually I got a movie we just did called Double Cup we dropping that kind of we was trying to capture the culture of Houston and kind of explain you know how that was you know through that generation but but yeah I definitely ain't sipping on no serve and ain't you know doing none of that no more it did come the culture came from Houston you know but a lot of people seen the effects of it and don't be sipping but it's a lot of youngsters who still do it though you know so when you when you saw the effects because it was even change in you professionally or even on a personal level we started to see you become more health conscious was it because you saw the effects or was just something in turn it wasn't just that like me I never been just no crazy Ser head anyway you know I never wouldn't just own it like that anyway but uh I like I have seen a effect back then to know not to play with it you know like I'm uh DJ Screw came out in early 90s I came out like 98 you know so we already kind of seen you know a lot of people go through you know just in the hood go through a lot of stuff on that drink and the health you know that the Toller the take on you so I already knew better back then I like sip but it was other you know rappers that was really sipping you know what I'm saying but n it's it's it's something you want to stay away from you know what I'm saying a nothing that's G long term it ain't good for you so you wrote a book how to survive a recession right so it's interesting title because you know a lot of people say that we in a recession now the government hasn't officially announced that we're in a recession but a lot of people are struggling it's hard times for a lot of people so right what inspired that book and how do you survive a recession I believe my Frugal ways inspired the book like people just knew of me being somebody who you know hold on the money like you know know what I'm saying but yeah it's just like I say man the same mind frame of man you get $1,000 do put it away like you and and you got to always think like that and just live off the extra you know until you get that next one you know that's surviving the recession just you know having that mindset of not uh freely throwing away money on designer clothes and stuff like that you know like makes everything Mak sense you know that's when you survive in a recession but a lot of kids man robbing people just to go buy go shopping like you know what I'm saying like it don't make sense so it's like man I don't know what to say about today so for like every dollar because you have jewelry obviously so for every dollar that you put up what's the ratio I'mma put 10,000 up before I spend a th000 I'm like cash is I don't even keep cash no more bro like I don't even I don't I just don't be around here spending money bro like I every day when do you know when to spend money cuz like you spend money J jury I'm a rapper so I would tell you okay I bought I went crazy this year I went crazy this year I went about a few watches a few chains I haven't bought no jury since back in 2007 or 2008 before that you know what I'm saying that long ago I bought these earrings these eight eight care earrings in 03 02 so it's like that's what I'm saying this what this bracelet comes from 2007 like but this is quality jewry like I ain't buying no bull you know what I'm saying so I don't have to keep buying new jewry all the time I got a lock that I had since I was like 21 you know that's what I'm saying like the stuff I spend my money on is going to be the right stuff you know what I'm saying and it's going to last so I don't have to do it a lot you know so but yeah I probably ain't G to spend no money on jury for another 10 years I got this Astros ring I had to get that you know yeah this that's from them though yeah so we good they gave that to you yeah look I got my name on it you know we from yeah I know y bu that that's why I yeah yeah but but yeah man really like you don't have to do the most all the time man you know and I hate that our culture think that man you know the things we our money habits is just so poor man we give it right back we buying designer clothes man you ain't need that shirt get a pair of shoes all right I know you ain't trying to hear it it's a sung glasses or something bro you don't need $1,000 shirt bro what club you going to it Ain even the host tonight man Cal down put on a t-shirt this week you know we're telling that to the youth with your father too right how you your dad yeah I saw the watch Dad I saw I seen the CH dad my kids I don't play with the I'm a rapper bro you ain't did why would you have a rapper watch You Can't Rap you have a rapper watch no you ain't me you ain't supposed to have this kid like you get what you work for man I'm tough love hard work man that's all I so they do they drrive your cars no drive my car I get my I let my brother uh the other day uh my son man he tried to be slick he 18 hey I want to take the mayack no I got him a Bronco though I got him his own Bronco but n that's you not my brother took them to homecoming in it but N I ain't going to let them kids lose some mind they don't care bro like you know like I tell them like I had try to I had all the little Jordans I was like man I'm going sit down with him let's see him teach them hard work clean the shoes with he as soon as I turned my back they was gone man so I know you ain't okay you don't want to work hard for this stuff you ain't going to happen kid straight like that what's that like as a father in this industry and watching them do something that potentially is not going to be the career path I love it man my son uh he's uh my son Kobe he playing baseball and he love it man you can tell he really love it he spent all his time working out it training for it I'm getting calls from real baseball players like about my son that's that's what I love to see man you know he making his own wave and that's what it's about man and that's what I Tred to teach them you know since since a young age man you ain't I'm a rapper what you going to do you can't just just trying to live out somebody else or not saying that they was or nothing but I'm just saying like you got to come up with your own dreams and Chase your own dreams out here in this world a nothing should be handed to you nobody should even think like that like man I want somebody to give me something everybody should want to chase their own dreams and have the most for themselves and shouldn't be just waiting on anybody to give them nothing you know what I'm saying so we talked about something briefly but I want to just go back to for minut the affordable housing thing he talk about that a little bit more like uh I know you said that it was a block and then you had to put the can you just explain that a little B we we had the deal like we having the Lord like we got those from the city you know like you know it was like I say abandoned lot abandoned property like and they was just together so uh like a vacant lot vacant lot trash on it maybe trees nobody ain't you know doing nothing so we just found uh a block that was you know some Lots together cuz we was like what can we what we just was trying to do something to make it make sense for them giving me my day or whatever so we came up with the boss light construction we built that whole block it's like 10 houses uh five on each side and they was our low income home home so it was like we hit a bank roll on or nothing like that but that's the deal though to build on a lower lot it had to be a low income home so you own you own the properties and then you just rent them out no we gave we sold sold them yeah we sold them yeah so do do you know the people that you sold them to we met them met a couple of them uh it was one lady who worked at the library out there we meet them we go over there and holl at them every how sure they were appreciative yeah yeah we not only that we gave away a house for Hurricane Harvey uh with Justin the lawyer we got with him and gave away a we fixed it up and just gave it away to a family you know who lost their house in Hurricane Harvey so the real estate stuff we was doing initially was just like on some Gil back type stuff now my friend Troy green and Cory um Crawford he they really taking it to the next level they keeping like I say he got the um town homes and everything so they still got the Boss Life construction going was there a vision to scale it outside of not just the north side of Houston but I mean as far as the landscape Houston one of the the largest cities in America is there a vision to say we can actually turn this to a business we can scale it outside of the north North definitely could but we really wasn't thinking like that we really was just thinking to do it over there in our old hood like I said it wasn't really about oh I'm F to just you know be a real estate Guru and and get this bread like that wasn't the vision on that it was just like let's um build up our hood you know what I'm saying like clean up our hood you know make it somewhat nice over here so that's that was the Vision over there but you know that's the land We Knew Too Houston a big city but we just knew that area so we rather work over there yeah those are important things especially in real estate right people look like where should I invest well where do you know best right probably the neighborhood you grew up in I think the first time well maybe the second time we met when we were doing a show in Houston the first thing you told us was like I'm into this real estate thing you were listening to the to some of the information and applying it I wonder now as you're doing it the people from the neighborhood or the people that you grew up around are they they turning up the whole neighborhood new now like it's like a bunch of different people build houses all around where we had started like and and there's so many people like say that yeah man we seen yall we start doing that a lot of my rap homeboys everybody man so we really got a lot of people involved you know seeing us make those moves over there so that was definitely a blessing and JG Hollands like he taking it to a whole new levels like he like really he building real neighborhoods right now so it's it's it's getting crazy yeah so um let's talk about collaborations I know you worked with the Texans right right um so talk about that is it the theme song it's like really I had did a song for the Texans back in the day when Andre Johnson was playing yeah so cuz I know D you oilist fan I'm definitely o I'm all Houston everything you a go to Tennessee though with them no I Ain go to ten I Ain never Houston everything Houston bro every who from Houston whatever I'm rooting for them everybody I'm down with him so it's like yeah with the Texans um I had did a song when Andre Johnson was playing and it's still to this day that was like 200 what 14 12 something like and it's still to this day like it's they song right now that's what I mean like y'all don't know what I got going on but this type of stuff these type of collabs having our own world out here is still you know we still able to do things we just never been a a um industry city where the whole World seeing what we had going what do you think could we talked to Pusher T and he was like he's working on Virginia kind of you said the same thing like there's a lot of talent that come out of Virginia from Perell to Clips to um Timberland to Missy they not an industry City so everybody always had to go to La you guys didn't have to go to LA or New York you was able to but it's still kind of the same problem how do you think that can Houston ever become Atlanta like I think Houston is Atlanta as far as like everybody coming here want to visit come party here do all that industry-wise I don't know like I ain't never it ain't never happened before you know I don't know why but uh it ain't happened out here you know it's in Atlanta you know what I'm saying but at the end of the day it's still a Megan the stallion it's still Li lizo it's still you know Travis Scott the biggest you know what I'm saying these are the biggest you know so TR too I'm partly responsible for we about we Beyonce obviously exactly Beyonce the queen she's the that's what I'm saying like come on so can we complain like you know so you know that's how I look at it like we we really it seemed like we well we what what we do is underground but what I always did was underground and it always been prosperous for me you know what I'm saying so I just stayed at it I still do it you know I still I don't look to make albums to cater to the whole world I cater to my culture and my fan base and it ain't let me down yet you know what I'm saying so and we got Toby shout out to him we just Toby look what he did look what he did you see what I'm saying like so can we complain Toby might be from the world at this point right to exactly shout out to but I feel like the artists like even to Beyonce she they they Incorporated you like they always Incorporated the core element of Houston like nothing like it was like yeah that's she always repping yeah yeah she always repping and then um I love when they come to the city uh I get to kick it with you know ho yeah yeah Tre was out there everybody was out there man that's always amazing that we get to you know you know big as she is they still show us that love so it's like it ain't no we winning we still doing our thing out here we still getting our money like I said a lot of artists ain't living like us after These Years bro but if they just continue to do it like I'll be mad at a lot of artists that don't continue to put out music I don't want toar how these youngsters all the time like I can listen to a little of them but you know I feel like if a lot of the artists who are from my era not even from my city like just you know my age or older if they just continue to do the music but they just so used to doing it with a major they don't even know how to do it without them a lot of time you know what I'm saying but if they continue to put out music people will continue to support and that's how it's supposed to be yeah you used the word earlier a few times you said I'm a rapper I'm a rapper but anytime I think of Slim Thug I always think boss right for sure it's Boss Life boss of all boss the boss I never think rapper and so I wonder Looking Back Now or even looking ahead when you think about your legacy your future do you think the boss moves that you made in the music industry and outside of it will will be your legacy or will it be my catalog and some of the influence that I've had from the words I've said it's all that man it's all that but it's definitely led by the B everybody look at me and know me from being independent and doing it the boss way man so you know like I definitely get that feedback you know the man you it it outside of music you know just people coming up to me man you made me start my business you know by because I I I I pound that in they head hey man listen bro you gotta be a boss you got to own your own stand on own too you know try it you know learn self value you know before you get to trying to sell yourself to somebody you know like just think about it it's so many it's so many things that you could do on your own Turkey Leg Hood look how big of a deal that is Tri Burgers you know what I'm saying there so much there so many different things you can do in the culture but what do we own nothing we all just we just let it's so many different things people can come up with that they can win off of but it's just like they think oh we got to do it through this way or that way you know when you think independent you come up with them million dollar licks bro and and that's how it go if you just applied yourself like that more people thought like that it'll be a lot more money for us so you had a couple endorsement dealing on Metro PC PS and um Dodge so what was the deal with that ah man like those type of deals come constantly because you got to understand like I got a big following and I'm the Texas Market you know what I'm saying it's a big market so a lot of the times by me having a big social media following and you know being the dude out here in Texas I get a lot of those people who want to team up with with me and do collabs and I'm here for it you know I get the benefit off of that too that's another way of uh income shout out Checkers you know slap Woods gas guards you know all that you know what I'm saying so yeah yeah but uh that's different ways to get paid man and and you know like uh it's that's that's one of the most important things is having you more than one income you know cuz you you got to do more than one thing cuz it could dry up like I said we had to go through the uh CDs to the I mean the tapes that went to CDs and then from the CDs to the what was it called when you just had iTunes you know I guess the downloads and then now it's streaming now hopefully we can get some kind of uh writer strike on this and figure out you know they give us some real answers about what these streaming really work man because these people just eating off us how how you feel about that I know um one of our partners Ian here mentioned that like he feels like musicians should go on a strike the same way that you know actors and writers went on a strike in H I think there has never been well there's no Union first of all so you can't go stri there no Union um that's a problem but yeah how do you feel about like musicians and writers music writers banding together that's what that's the only way it's going to work bro that's what need to happen but like I but after just how how much like even with the writer strike look how them people was disrespecting them people people like man we going to they going to starve before I have to come run back you know what I'm saying like why would you want to work for people who think about who talk like that man like come on people don't love you like that man same thing in the music business through the way they pay us through the way they treat us you know I'm saying you have to understand that they and then for them to not be in the culture they not really in the streets with it or doing it and getting the most of us it just ain't going to never sit right with me and I'll never be cool with it you know what I'm saying but I definitely think it need to be a a b some type of strike where we can get that streaming we can get some real answers about what it is and what it ain't you know what I'm saying because they just kind of giving us whatever they want to give us and everybody just accepting it rappers can't act like oh we ain't getting no money you know that's going to mess up their image you know what I'm saying so we got to figure out something before we go man we got to talk about midlife crisis midlife crisis I just want to know about the title talk to me about the title and let's talk about you know after that I mean you T something very important and we talk to people work hard work hard but then also have a reset talk about the crisis the midlife crisis title and the reset that you took right after releasing the project oh man it ain't really a crisis man it's really just I just like I like to play on my age you know what I'm saying and let people know like I don't I'm not rapping for uh teenagers or nothing like that I'm talking to people my age through my music this my fan base that grew up with me you know I'm still rapping for them and uh I meet them constantly out in the streets I talk to them daily through social media through you know just coming outside man I do shows a lot and really I'm just on that album I'm just speaking on what it is where I'm at at 43 what life's like you know the you know losing loved ones you know things you deal with you know when you get to your 40s you know what I'm saying you getting older health is important I'm just motivating people to get to the money everything like through music you know and you know I get a lot of good feedback and a lot of support out here in these areas so it keep me motivated to keep doing it so let's talk about that maturity in music because that's something a lot of artists struggle with with as they grow they they're trying to remain culturally relevant and they feel the only way to remain culturally relevant is to still talk to young people but now you look crazy cuz it's like you're not young like you know what I'm saying so it's like talk about that like a lot of artists struggle with that how has that been for you as far as coming out you know when you were young and now being in your 40s you know being a family man and stuff like that like do you ever struggle with that or do you just stay in your lane man I stay I got my I call my own myself big way stay I Stay in My Own Lane man I don't try to sound like nobody do like no I try to be different actually you know but uh my thing is is uh I I always is more than like you hear rappers some rappers think the tricky rap is what make them the best rapper in the world like I believe me being the realest like telling the truth about my real life saying what I'm really going through saying really talking about what I have I believe that make you the best that's what I look that's the category I want to be put in you see what I'm saying so I can't live a fake life through my music I got to keep it real like that's what I stand on you know you know what I'm saying like being 100% in music I'm not on here in my music time I shoot nobody up CU I ain't shoo nobody you know what I'm saying I'm talking about real life bro like what's going on right now you know and that's what I always stood on and I just try to stay with that same you know perspective through my music and just keep represen like that man and you know I'm not I'm on here you know talking about God everything real life like everything I'm not no trying to play tough I'm just being a real man you know and telling the the people the real cuz they don't get it enough man there so many serial killers and all kind of stuff through this music you know I just try to deliver a real message a real motivating positive message you know what I'm saying and I get a lot of good feedback that made me want to keep going you know through that music do you ever see a age of that's another thing hip-hop is so young that we still we breaking barriers right you ever see a age of like retirement or is that not even something that you've been thinking about it's it's not even nothing I'm thinking about I feel so young man like I feel so young and then you know I look at guys even like Nas like he continuing to do his thing people looking forward to them projects bro I feel like everybody should be doing this like it's I want to hear n new album I want to hear Scarface new album I want to hear a lot of Jay-Z I told them I want to hear that man like we don't want to hear the youngsters all the time cuz we getting older but you got to understand we rap was our whole life we don't want to hear we used to listening the rap so why would y'all stop why would we stop yeah we got to grow with the music you got to grow with the music man keep it going keep that message going for the person who getting older with you you know what I'm saying I still want to hear what Jay-Z say about what's next yeah you know what I'm saying in my way Steve right I love that exactly Paul my brother it it's been real the hospitality has been real Southern Hospitality at that youve been a blessing to this industry a blessing to the culture and we thank you for running to each other all the time we going there we always in the right place cuz we always where you at thank y for coming through the highs man I appreciate y'all coming to the city holl at me man that's love bro I really appreciate that my brother my brothers I'mma do this even though I'm from New York he has that Ash ring [Music] on Alli is a leading digital Financial Service Company and the nation's largest o digital Bank Ali is proud to support creators and music because they understand the economic freedom that hip hop has provided black musicians entertainers and entrepreneurs with that being said we had the opportunity to reach out to a local business and dope entrepreneur while we were in Houston shooting with Slim Thug we would like to officially and financially honor the hustle of mo better Bru mo better Bru is a nationally recognized vegan restaurant and vinyl shop they veganized popular southern brunch dishes by their co-founder and executive chef Courtney Lindsay they include a vinyl shop curated by Flash Gordon Parks in their restaurant to infuse the co-founders musical Roots as a former DJ into the business mo better bruise offers an experience many have traveled near and far to partake in celebrities such as tabi the brown lizo Nene Leaks Slim Thug and many others have visited in the past year they have been named one of Houston's 21 essential brunch spots by houstonia magazine they've also been recognized by the Houston Chronicle eater magazine veg World magazine and many others let's actually hear from the co-owner and executive chef Courtney Lindsay himself Chef Courtney pleasure to meet you how's it going a it's just a pleasure to meet y'all too man it's going great going great can't complain pleasure to have you let's jump right into it we would like to ask you two questions about your perspective to entrepreneurship we know the Journey of Entrepreneurship is a team effort how did you find allies in building your business man now that's one of the most important things like really building a team and then building that team early enough to where you don't have to suffer as much or as long as you would in just traditional business because it's going to be some hard times uh but honestly just keeping the people that I love and that supported me from day one close my wife uh my aunt uh I employ family members uh and just and people that's just been down for exactly what we doing you know that's spreading great food uh you know doing it for the culture and uh putting on for Houston what Financial advice would you give to someone at the early stages of building a business oh man the financial advice that I would give some someone at the early stag of building a business is to make sure that you have enough funds because you I mean never fails it's always going to be a slow period a slow season a rainy day and sometime the Rainy Days end up being flooded days so I would say to make sure that you have enough funds to operate at least uh four to 6 months if possible just to make sure that you can keep your head above water when that water comes there you have it ladies and gentlemen financially honor the hustle presented by [Music] Allah [Music] oh [Music] a [Music] a

Channel: REVOLT

Views: 293,458

Keywords: Slim Thug, Still Tipping, Texas hip hop, Houston, independence, masters, ownership, real estate, investments, financial discipline, parenting, frugality, assets, passive income, appreciation, cars, collectibles

Id: nNMohgfB7BU

Length: 64min 15sec (3855 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 15 2023