 First played this beat for me. We was riding down, we was in like, we was like in Midtown Manhattan. Played the joint for me. I was like, we're going to studio right now. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? We out of here. Yeah. You know, he and his girl and all that. I'm like, look, I don't even want to play right now. Hey, let's go. Yeah. You know, because it was my song. But yeah, I remember I wrote I Need A Girl from 1 to 1. I don't want to know. I see a bunch of boom and them just did that over. I wrote that joint. I don't want to know. Check the beat of that song. Yeah. Yeah. Check the way. Yeah, I see it. The joint's come. That's another thing, because I ain't never really been in a conversation when people start talking about the publishers, and stuff. I always own my publishing. So I always had a good business with them. So you always, how did you know? So you and the one that, before Bad Boy, I was signing the album, probably didn't sign it. On a good deal. So you got the business passed back and learned all that. I learned the business before I got in it. So I didn't even speak anything. It ain't going to jump over the porch and be no freestyle. We all know what you're getting into. So it's a business. Let's add it. How about this? You know, it's a business. I was just about to say, here go the hook man right here. You can cook up one of these. This man here talented. I said, I already be like, I'll tell him. I don't even listen to you. I appreciate it. You know what I'm saying? Don't get me wrong. Like, you know, I fight, I fight, you know, it's not a struggle. Right. But sometimes I ain't gonna owe you. I'll sometimes be left like, I don't know what to do. So you don't want to get in the studio pair? No, no. No more? No, I live. No, I'm not. You done? It's a religious way of doing it. What? What's music saying? What? Well, the instrument is what's, you know, not permissible. Right? The voice is yours. The voice is given that. Right? So like spoken word poetry, stuff like that is permissible for muscles. Right? But it's the instruments. Mm. Yeah, because the instruments, you already know. It's harder to get that out than alcohol. You can piss alcohol out of your system, but you let it be the whole day, it's stuck. But I don't have so much stuff, dumb stuff stuck in my head just from Instagram. Yeah, it's stuck. It's stuck. It's grown. Yeah, it is. You can be going to the dentist and being elevated listening to some bull crap and like. So it's like with the sound waves, you got to break it down to me. Yeah. Is it something like the instruments, it's because it's being repetitive in your head and it's not worthy enough for you to consume? Well, it removes you from the remembrance of God. So what you've seen historically is people trying to incorporate that into religion. Right? Right? But we look at the essence of religion, whether it's, you know, during the time of Moses, during the time of Jesus, during the time of Prophet Muhammad. Jesus and his followers were in no band. So them calling people to the religion, they wasn't calling them to them using music or using any other means other than what was given to them, you know what I'm saying? They had a divine scripture and that's what they called the people to, what was legislated. So now when you start using alternatives, you know what I'm saying? Mm-hmm. Regardless of how popular it became in certain cultures, but it is an innovation, you know what I'm saying? So those are one of the things that, you know, in this line, we try to safeguard ourselves from anything that's an innovative act. Mm-hmm. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So it was a statement, you know, from the Prophet Muhammad he said, Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right. Right. Right. You know what I'm saying? We've called it up independence in all these terms that really we can't uphold. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. You know, we're speaking in all these terms that really we can't uphold. Right. And we're creatures of need. Right. Right. Yeah. You can now hold your bladder right now 24 hours, you got the peak. You got the gore, you got pay stop. Yep, yep, yep. You got to eat, you got, you know what I'm saying? We're creating. Stuff you got to do, you gotta breathe. So when people are faster for food, I'm glad you said that, we gotta eat. You gotta eat. But when it's time, it's like, All right, we going to do them 30 days. Yeah. You know, nothin' and then you just, fruiting water, what is that? Well, good, you lose, a lot of. I know you're gaining some, but you're losing. That's a very personal, um, active worship. Mm-hmm. You know what I'm saying? Because people can see you pray. Right. People can see you, you know, give charity. Right. No one can see you fast. Mm-hmm. Right. So that's actually more intimate. Mm-hmm. Right. That's between you and God. That's factual. I'm doing this and you know what I'm saying? That's factual. You don't want to see me. That's factual. That's factual. You slim anyway. It's like, damn. I mean, I want to do 143. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Can't nobody see you hungry? Yeah. We can see you the lost weight. Because I'm hungry. All the time. Unless you're just looking at people with day food. Yeah. You can attribute weight loss to a lot of things, especially the hood. Right. Right. Come on, man. You got that shit? Are you on that shit? Yeah. You know what? Fasted do help you mentally. It can let you know that you can't live without. And that's the thing. See, it increases your gratitude. Right. For small things. Right. And you need that every now and then. Right. You talk about, like, personal fans of this part of Ramadan. Well, Ramadan is actually the name of a month. Okay. In that month, every religious scripture was revealed. So even in the Qura'an, the Lord mentioned that fasting was prescribed for those before you. So that means that it was something that was prescribed in the Torah. It was something that was prescribed in the Gospel. Right. Right. Psalms. Yeah. You know, we acknowledge them. Even though we follow the Qura'an, but we acknowledge that there were books that were revealed prior to the Qura'an. Right. You know what I'm saying? So you'll never hear Muslims burning their bodies or doing nothing to disseminate anybody else's book. Yeah. It comes from the same God that we worship. Right. Yeah. So, you know, but yeah, it's just simplicity, man. Right. You know, we always, we always raise a confusion. Some point you just gotta get to a point where it's a little easier. I think I'm tired of being knocked out. I don't know shit. Yeah. Even though you ain't going to never know shit. Yeah. At that point, it's like, you're not, you know, you don't feel compelled to just want to go out and want to go learn some, you know, they try to make it learning like it's bad. You shouldn't wander or have knowledge of, you ain't got to follow it, but you can have knowledge of the fact. Yeah. You see what I'm saying? You ain't got to do me. But damn, y'all want people to just be talking around here and you don't even know who they are. That's the fact. Yeah. What they represent. Especially you frequent in a lot of different circles. Right. You know what I'm saying? And what we call for, you know, that's a vulnerability. Come on now. You know, I don't want to be a man. They're picky. But then, then, then, then we'll also be the free pick because they know we don't know nothing. Exactly. Or they may assume. Yeah. Assume. This brother ain't picked up a book. Yeah. And he don't know who we are. That's right. 2001. Right. Okay. So, you know, this joint became a hub. Yeah. Ooh, you can't add it. Get that. You can't add it. Right when it was. Geno club. Shark ball. Like, I was here when, you know. Wow, you're second grade. Yeah. Yeah. I was here when you couldn't, I mean, you couldn't get direction from nobody. You know what I'm saying? Oh. Like, yo, how you get this? I ain't from here, man. I'm from Detroit. I ain't from here. I ain't from here. I'm from Chicago. You know what I'm saying? Everybody, like, bark at it. Right. You know what I'm saying? I ain't meet real man. I think it's how I got locked up. Oh, yeah. You're a buck here. That's right. That's right. It was like, hi, Lou. Yeah. Yeah. Love the album. Yo, as soon as I was in the right shoe, that's why I met the real man. Yeah. Yeah. You can't. Yeah. I just came straight in. Yeah. I'm hanging on the phone. Hey, shall I fold up? Shall I get out? I'm like, oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? Those with the real man. Right. You know what I'm saying? Take us back. We can't see him act like you ain't that nigga. We can't see him act like you ain't that. I think people, fuck with Mace, but I don't think people understand, like, you was the suave nigga who I seen first. Yeah. You did what I said. Like, take us back. Like, how you get with Diddy and get on that scene, man? How you even get into the music? That's a good question. That's a good one. And that lead into what you were saying earlier. Exactly. Well, I used to write a diary. Right. You know what I'm saying? And how important is that? Well, for me, see, like, I was wild. Like, growing up, I was wild. I ain't gonna lie. Like, I got kicked out almost every school I went to. I had a very intense temper. Right. So in order to go to public school, I had to go to therapy. Like, four years. They wouldn't even allow me to go to public school. But academically, I was shocked. Right. I couldn't put me in special ed. So they was always using the behavior part. Yeah, but special ed wasn't just for people to behave it. You had to have a learning deficiency. Yeah. So you couldn't just put me in it because my behavior, because academically, I excelled. Oh, they tried to do that to me. Yeah. So the compromise was I had to go to City College. I was smart, though. Every Monday and Thursday for four years to get therapy. What did you do? Man, you talking about second grade, third grade, fourth grade. Like, really, I think it started maybe around, like, fourth grade. All the way up to, like, sixth, seventh grade. You know what I'm saying? But what happened is, what I derived from all those therapy sessions, I learned how to articulate certain things because I didn't know how to speak. You know what I'm saying? I didn't develop a voice to, like, later. You know what I'm saying? Like, people when you're, you know, proximity, I know. Yeah, you're told all the time. But it's like, I didn't have it for everybody. Right. You know what I'm saying? So I dealt with things a little different one way. Right. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. I learned to vent, so to say. Right. It started to suffice some of the anger issues. So I used to write in three forms. Like, I'd write it like I'd write it for a teacher. Then I would write it like I wrote it for, like, a nigga in jail. You know, you're like, yo, you're man. You know, you're man. That's just such a thing. Right. Right. And then I would write it in rhyme. You know what I'm saying? So by the time I went through that process, whatever was bothering me was over. I mean, you're doing this for four years. And you're doing three different... I did it after therapy. So you kept... But you was doing three different writing styles down there every day. Yeah. Yeah. And I concealed it from the people around me. So it's the kicker, right? One time, me and my man, I bought a car that was tagged up. Mm-hmm. But the dudes that did it did a sloppy job. You know, the car got like three serial numbers on it. Right. This one. Right. So I put a grand theft auto charge or whatever the case may be. And I left my notebook at the spot where I was getting money. You know what I'm saying? I left my joint in the spot. Right. So my man found the book and he came to bar me out, picked me up. And he started saying lines that sounded mad familiar. Right. Right. So I'm like, yo, where my book at? But you know, because it was a vulnerable moment. It's stuff in there. You don't need to be... Yeah. You know what I'm saying? It's like... It ain't gonna make me look sore for nothing. We ain't pulling it off. With his magic. Right. It's just like if anybody found out Tony Soprano was seeing a psychiatrist, he'd be at murder. Right. So it was the same type of mentality for me. Like, yo, dude, hold on. Where my book? Right. But it started discouraging me. He encouraged me. He was like, yo, I'm playing. Like, this is... You know? I'm like, all right, whatever. Man, it's my book. Right. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Everybody, after the fact, this is my book. You know what I'm saying? So that's what led me into this. I believe they don't actually read your shit, though. You locked up for some gangsta shit. This nigga had the house read. I ain't gonna lie. Diaries are on man. Interesting. I don't know how about six of them bitches. Yeah. I was on their mind. You know it, man. Fuck that book, shit. But you know what? It was relatable. Man, this is a little... It was stuff that me and him had experienced. For example, you know, we go get a whole joint. What? From the Dominicans. What? The eighth of it go back. And your mind, I want to go up there and kill all the Dominicans. Like, you know what I'm saying? I gotta get that out of my system. Right. So that's where the creative part came in. So it was like, it would be the first couple stages would be a reality. But the rhyme would be how I would have dealt with it. What you did wrong. Oh, yeah. You know what I'm saying? And that's really what everybody else was doing. And still to this day doing. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? They glorifying or dramatizing what they feel they would do. Probably do-do. They do. Whatever the case may be. It's just you articulating either emotion that's real. You know what I'm saying? An action that may have, you know, preceded the emotion. Whatever the case may be. Right. But that really was my reality. You know? So... Yeah, it turned into a career. Because I was a ghost writer first. I never wanted to be in a camera. Right. You know what I'm saying? Because I was scared. Because I was young. I toured with cocaine. I was everywhere. In different towns, you know what I'm saying? Going back to like 90. 91-92. You said you toured with cocaine. You heard. Like it was a ban. You heard? Yeah. Well, I mean... But no, I know what you mean. Yeah. I knew cocaine. Yeah. Yeah. I knew it, but... These are my nickel bags. Or not. Like, when we had the nickel bags in Harlem, that joint would go for $20 in another town. Right. So the story really... The story really cashed. No, New York, dude, we was everywhere. Yeah, right. We still didn't act anyway. Right, right. You know what I'm saying? And, you know, my crew, we was disciplined though. Because like, we ain't gonna do no local girls. You know, dude, probably... Yo, it's Abbrin here. And I know you wonder why I'm here. Because usually I'm all broke and plate. But they needed the MVP to come for the 85 South Team. It's Super Bowl Sunday. And you know what time it is. It's the biggest night in sports. And excitement is in the air. But why? Just watch when you can win big with prize picks. Forget the sidelines. Forget the halftime. Well, don't all the way forget the halftime show. 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Bring your own work. Bring a little joint from Hull. At least you know she family. Yeah, and she ride. It's out of town trip. It's like going to Spain. She ain't never been nowhere. Ball's different. You can't believe you asked her to go. You want me to go with you? Say that word again. They like that. New York niggas do get the hoes out of town fast. Just by y'all talking. When I used to ghost ride, the first person I would ghost ride was Shaq, just like 95. You talking about Shaq Diesel. Shaq Diesel. He was right when he was... Shaq food. No, not that book. Okay. Don't tell me you did. You did it. It was the one I think Kobe was on. Okay. Kobe was on the song for Shaq. Kobe rapped the song one time. I was trying to wrap it up. They would never let that shit go now. That shit crazy. He don't even got a copy of that. He had a long ass freestyle. He was 100 bars or something. If you don't. That shit ain't even... How dare you. Get the practice, you know what I'm saying? Put a suit on. Take it to the studio where you recorded this shit. You have to leave through hard times. Give me the computer. They take a hard drive and everything. That bitch was a Dunkin' Donuts. What studio? I used to write. Take the check straight to the dealer. The check? He's got a universal owner. Straight to the car dealer. And then cats. I left the street for music. I subjected myself to a career that... If I'ma get it this time, I'ma get my money. Those girls roll some shit for somebody and they ain't delivering it right. They say it's good when you do it. He's like... That ain't what I was saying. That ain't what I was saying. I'ma tell you to be honest with you I haven't experienced that because one, I never wrote on paper. That process that I did when I was younger enabled me to do songs without having to write. I created a format that we all learned in school. Right? It's a subject. I mean settings, body, conclusion. That's a song. Unless you freestyle because people understand when you format a song. That's why I said music business was a business. It wasn't something that I was loved, received, popular in my heart. Growing up, I always was received. I never had to forge an identity, change my hairstyle four or five times trying to find myself. I was always good. So it was like it was a study for me. How do you become effective? And find your niche is to understand what it is you do. I think a lot of people when you see people that used to freestyle I could take a line out the middle of your joint and put it at the top and it wouldn't alter the song. You would never know. They just punchlines. If you have a song that's flowing in a particular format if you take something out of it you alter the whole song. And that's the difference between songwriting and rapping. I felt like I was a song rapper. I never thought I was a rapper. I didn't have a manager with me like you kicked him on about your grandmother. I didn't have a something that had to wind up nigga with a girl. Small little nigga that kicked more than a rapper. Right. He only wanted a nigga to rap. That's enough. Don't give them niggas everything. Too much. They ain't know what you don't like. Perform the song more than the niggas. Put your pants on trees. Listen. Too much. What you doing? What you doing? We're saving it. You ain't never going to win a battle rap without the hype man. Facts. You need the hype man. I used to get on a lot of records. Even when I came down here and I did the promise remix. You have a later verse and you was too cool on that bitch cause you ain't a real late next time. You ever listen to some shit back like nah I need to just go a little bit. A little bit. So the one you did he was always rapping like you ain't giving fucking people like to the night like I know this shit good. You niggas got a listen. Facts. Like I can't even fuck with bitches. Yeah. Now we see how he wrote it so he already more confident in his shit cause he already know how to set this bitch up. When your verse came off you got the fuck on. As long as I need a girl talking about I need a girl cause nowadays it be I need a girl and they talking about spinning the block killing the opposite girl it's a chop. I'm about to put a dick on my ho I'm about to break my bitch down. Wait a minute you're about to put a dick on your ho Why? Is she okay with this? You watch it. That's a fact. I'm gonna take these pills right now. I need a girl but her 30. Her 30. Oh no bruh. That is crazy bruh. We in the weird time now. I ain't gonna hold you like you know when I look back and that's the thing with me it ain't just the music it's all inclusive so like a lot of times people think you could extract one thing and leave off the rest for me I can't have you so it's either all or nothing there's no way you could remove the base of something but you know still kind of indulge in things that come from that base cause we all know that I don't care what industry you in all these circles meet so that's why you see athletes getting in trouble that used to be taboo when I was coming in I was the only one corn rolls, tattoos and he ain't do nothing but when he was in high school high school shit happened and it's like that ain't got nothing to do with him he only did corn rolls and tattoos but he dug them out well he had the little case cause you know that actually if I remember it impeded him a year before he went to Georgia yeah Georgetown gave him a shot you know what I'm saying so it was Georgia time man that's real time for some reason I still believe he played the data he was cold I still believe he could play by 2-3 more seasons that nigga cold I know everybody got there Jordan but he was my Jordan I'm 31 I ain't get a chance to see Jordan until he got with the Wizards and that was another Jordan so this aside this aside he was still putting up 20 but it was like it's funny you say that because for any that nigga time cause if you think of like any inner city kid that's a fact like what you said you know what I'm saying like Jordan was by far the goat I don't even get in those arguments with people I remember I remember when nigga grown man used to go home and go in the house and watch this shit every boys game on TV so I got a question though who impact was bigger on the culture Mike use a lot of Mike niggas was trying to look like Mike niggas was shaving their head to look like Mike niggas was shaving their head to look like Mike not to get brady to be like sometimes I dream I'm talking about culture I'm talking about culture and image yeah I'm talking about culture and image okay now everybody look at their feet exactly that's exactly what I was about to say that's all I was saying okay look you thought about him this morning this is what I'm saying you couldn't be Mike niggas said be like Mike but you knew you couldn't be like Mike you knew you couldn't jump like that listen let me finish when you saw AI you was like damn this nigga smaller than everybody more people identified he spoke for the hood more people identified with him more people wanted to show up dressed like AI he spoke for the hood outside of the J's what you doing with your outfit outside the J's you wearing big shirts nah I'm gonna tell you this if you go back to the like Mike commercial right it was kids in every sport athletes in every sport so to be like Mike was to be the best at whatever it is this is commercial campaign this is all this AI had a game Saturday he was AI the whole time but after the game him and his partner went to the club guess what he put on come on man that's all I'm fucking saying that's all I'm fucking saying that's all I'm saying so Michael Jordan had people shaving their head let me tell you we been talking about marketing and campaign Gatorade, Nike if they get behind you that shit go crazy but I'm talking about niggas we knew we just wasn't good niggas you got a point we ain't leading though I don't know but first of all y'all just said it y'all just said it literally all lesbians 60% of lesbians look like AI we was eating see-through bread am I right? with milk it was more motherfuckers getting brain when AI came along I was talking about culture AI is an image I'm gonna tell you one thing that came with AI the baggy shorts Jordan got fined every game for wearing bigger shorts he wasn't wearing the joints like magic and burn them back in the day so he started with them he started changing they didn't have no big cool hey look they came in no business from from 86 he probably had it hey look niggas were playing the boy shorts niggas supposed to be wearing these now why you see them on the move all the time we was just talking about you know bagging the day phrase and all of them like but you know that's what I'm saying like I don't like to get in those conversations because all of them impacted the culture all of them inspired young people that want to be better definitely AI made people feel comfortable with who they were because you gotta think Jordan was in the political NBA exactly but he still broke the mold he still broke a lot of shit but when you hey man don't even worry about it so February is here don't go down bad doing the love making money that's right you gotta make love all month so make sure your tool is ready for the occasion and go holler at them good folks over there bluetooth.com they can definitely get you right the process is so easy just go to bluetooth.com and then they gonna make you consult with 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bluetooth.com for sponsoring this podcast kids being able to identify you didn't want to watch the game on tv no more you wanted to go to the game you know what I'm saying we caught the game on tv to watch all those other legends but ai made you want to go you know why because if he was accepted on the court then we accepted it in the arena we can come up in here with this with tax and all that we don't feel a lot of place one thing that don't get enough credit in my opinion is for she Wallace with the patch I think a plague and motherfucking high top air force warms literally the heaviest tennis shoe that is not built to be clean fucking fast first of all he said he ain't never seen Jordan please he came in the town like he was going through some personal stuff oh that's a personal shit my man my man it should be first of all shout out to Rashid yo keep playing with Rashid yo Rashid Rashid said his air force ones had orthotics in it so they not just regular like that's what I thought too but I seen him also say he was not bullshit worries all the options of shoes to play in he chose air force one that's what he saw his OG's play here and that's from where he was from he got fine for that shit every game they didn't play in that they're not qualified who was that that played in the Prada World Cup you can slide on bruh he left his shoes and that nigga was out there some high top Prada yeah bruh it was the Gilbert Arenas it was either Gilbert or the other boy that ran with him yeah see that credit there's so many famous people from Harlem what was what is that like because when you think about it all the people that came from your area you walk outside it's renaissance it's renaissance to be consistent street and mace and all the movies they even go back further than that me growing up I was immersed in Harlem the underworld going all the way back my grandfather you know Raheem Ola he passed away with 96 he was tied with Bumpy Johnson your grandfather my mother going from Bumpy to Nikki Barnes me being around Rich Poe I came from that you know what I'm saying so when I look at through my lens I see those unofficial mayors and governors of the city not the figureheads not the people that you know you know wave the banner you know what I'm saying or glorify the people we see the people that I saw was the people who really made a shape yeah and everything that was intertwined those generations was you know the renaissance jazz music some of the most prolific activists so in Harlem that big technically Harlem is like 155th to 110th street then you got Spanish Harlem on the east side but from 155th to 110th street you talking about not even really 40 blocks not counting like the avenues you know what I'm saying Lennox Avenue Fifth Avenue whatever we have to Broadway whatever case may be but there's a very we were individuals you know what I'm saying like Brooklyn was known for rolling in clicks and stuff like that but Harlem was like everybody is trying to be that guy and they own a special way and that's the characteristic that everybody had whether they had money or didn't have money you got some of the most you know flamboyant you know just you know illuminated figures that might not have nothing you know what I'm saying when you look at the Harlem Shake that came from a dude named Cisco we used to drink Cisco you know what I'm saying I'll be a dollar I'll be hit the shake it's phenomenal but that was somebody who was a pillar of our community you know what I'm saying yeah so Harlem got fly bulbs yeah absolutely hold up but let me tell you something let me tell you something this is another misconception of some of the younger generations y'all came in and that's all you saw what? what we saw? the bomb that's all you saw I came up that was somebody who used to walk around with suitcases handcuffed to his hand or that was somebody who used to come around had the Rolls Royce you know what I'm saying how the last we heard growing up as a jail you better see it as the truth I had two Rolls Royce I had two Rolls Royce come through this motherfucker I ain't gonna say y'all but your generation he lying he ain't had shit you ain't got shit left I'm gonna come through him and be like real for real be easy he was once upon a time one of them dudes and that's what I'm saying I was functioning in my neighborhood when the crack epidemic came through you know what I'm saying because my malls and my pops in the 1970s that was all heron so when you look at every new extremity or epidemic that comes some people survive it some people don't they ain't never been this many people smoke weed like when I was growing up it wasn't not weed smoking they might want smoking no weed you know what I'm saying when I grew up people was publicly sniffing cocaine in the street and it was acceptable you wasn't looked at as like you got an issue cause you talking about something that was considered an expensive hot that's what I'm talking about so you wanted to I wanted dudes that were getting money in the street smoking which was crack and weed you know what I'm saying dudes that were smoking they had money they didn't know that junk was gonna take the money they didn't know it was gonna go from a blood filled with crack to a pipe you know what I'm saying they wasn't cracking that much you know what I'm saying well it was free bait hey shit let's get some more tomorrow niggas let's get some more tomorrow everybody let's get some more tomorrow that's what I'm saying I grew up at a certain level of woods back then that's what I'm saying like Harlem you know depending on which side of it you was on you know could have been the greatest education you ever received or could have been the greatest detriment you know for me it was the greatest education you know cause when you look in general cause like most of my family from Richmond, Virginia so when I used to go down near it was always like a culture shock for me cause I remember one time I was standing out there with my cousins just to give you an example and they just hit kinda man and just everybody just disappeared once they looked for the man the police rolled up so I mean in New York it was a different thing we ain't care about, we're gonna start no police, police coming through like I get off the block man and put that out and they always coming over here they taking our time they said the man in like 17 different directions you know what I'm saying so it was different from how my family that was in the south versus New York and then like we got little Italy town so like you ain't need a passport we was exposed to so much stuff you know once you cross on 10th street chocolate city it's black, you know white people didn't come out way, they didn't come no way near you know what I'm saying and you had areas where wherever the predominant race was they had the upper hand so like you got a Spanish girl living in Spanish Harlem, you gotta be careful you know I used to like meet me at the train station so I ain't gonna be there why can't you walk over there? nah I mean that's their stuff but then you got neutral spots nobody owned 42nd street nobody owned 34th street on 25th street was our 42nd street that's the middle of Harlem 25th up is Uptown 25th down is downtown but it's small but we even got a central location that's neutral then everybody would come to 125th street and shop and do whatever you know what I'm saying but one block over 26, 27 we got St. Nick projects for APL whole different situations so that's what I'm saying growing up and seeing those transitions it had it impacted me a lot because one I grew up scared of dolphins you know what I mean dolphins don't sell their guns back here they sell everything but the dolphins a lot of them used to be the killers from the 70s hold on man and for me break that down we talked about the difference between dolphins and crackers and I was growing up so the difference is you said the dolphins dolphins never sold their guns so if they was using them joints in the 70s they still had them and what their addiction was considered was a necessity because they get sick and they'll come through and probably ask for a single bag don't give it to them he might come back and you lose more than what you could have gave you know what I'm saying I had friends that used to you know and I never was into it so it was like nah they're hiding you know what I'm saying back then that was an expensive joy ride it was somebody OD'ing off of that stuff and you finished but I do like such and such come through give them too it was a certain level of respect I grew up knowing that these men and women who were suffering from this transition they were somebody before that he was the hit man before washing up like everything now he messed up but he still got integrity he still got honor and he still got that thing you know what I'm saying the ones that fell victim to crack was a different situation some of them was even functioning still you know they just had an addiction some of them still got their skills from the mechanics from the meaning stuff from the grade themselves because you got something that was all out like whatever like do the minutes he's out of pocket you want no cheeseburger what about some cheeseburger give him three give him three you know what I mean that was a real G he wanted it on the set he wanted it on the set I got cheeseburger this is a new set this is my alley this is my alley and nobody gonna move me yeah man like I said for me that shit craze it means a lot like I said real time real area this is the best Harlem Breakdown even with like the music see the music was an escape we was gonna make it to the league we was gonna make it in the entertainment business if that don't work we always got a home in the street you know and people to understand like when I look at this generation look how many options they got they last resort ain't the street the last resort I could just sit in front of the camera 30 seconds at a time make a fool of myself and make millions of dollars that's the last resort our last resort was the street you mean a young kid could literally just set him up a camera start a little tutorial whatever it is it can be different it be a star you know what I'm saying it's not like there's an industry that determines who's hot and who's not anymore you got all the access everything you need to excel in any field and I came home like at the tail end of COVID like entrepreneurship it's like almost I'm gonna be honest with you all y'all was in prison COVID everybody was in prison I'm gonna explain myself because Nick and that look just like you Nick you was there you was there I mean now I tell y'all ten they always say I watch you in and out boy you did my whole bed y'all like damn but see the point is this when you're in prison you got minimal resource minimal nutrition but dudes just looking like action figures and they finding ways to make a worse situation comfortable that ingenuity is being overlooked in warehouse people don't know that these men exist you know what I'm saying because they're in prison now with COVID y'all was subjected to certain environment certain conditions that people became created you seen videos of people building gyms in any garage it was crazy that's like being in prison I think people did all the shit that they was gonna do but they never had time to do the longer that shit went on people started building all kinds of shit making little clubs and gyms but I don't think a lot of people knew that they could until the survival aspect kicked in I want them to have one more quarantine I do give me about four more months of that shit I mean you can live like quarantine you just gotta come outside why we got this stuff I want to go to y'all go in the house shut it down no food, fuck that grocery store I don't want nobody out there I don't want nobody out there you want even for days motherfucker but y'all mean it birthed a lot of entrepreneurs you know what I'm saying how many people had the same Pakistani sweatsuit connect people putting out their own overlines you know what I'm saying oh my goodness we're going crazy shop if I go stupid you know what I'm saying when those things make me hopeful for this generation if they focus more they understand it but you gotta focus more on this aspect and not look for the late you know what it is Tuto we come from a generation before that I got the ass ended but it was like a long like me jumping in the street because I wanted to in my environment but the way my parents and all of them they're they're elders so they come from that structure so like you said how you feel like they scared of a crap fiend so I understand why my mom was like I don't want you to smoke weed cause that shit got them cracking and fuck that you can't come back but I would have to tell her that they don't understand that I know that you've trained me to acknowledge that but I'm gonna smoke some weed but that crap that shit went but it was like you know what the seek for wanting knowledge we want to go get that the new day generation is whatever put it in front of they believe it and the media gots to be real because they said they don't understand that that's some bullshit that headline is a distraction they're like that shit real we all know that I'm gonna wait I'm gonna go see my own headline cause that's a distraction you gotta get your own information you gotta get your own information you know what J.O.N you ain't played me no pimpin we ain't ain't got plans we gotta actually start this come on man it's like we ain't gotta restart but we at least gotta catch the people I've always been going on for the last 37 minutes I count it I think we on 58 we right in there we gonna be wrapping it up in a minute but nah man we had to reset the tone y'all was getting too heavy cause we hit it on now man cause I told you that's all we what's all we doing this year ain't on this platform it's just bringing real ghetto legends through here and today we got a real one with it we got a real legend all the way from Harlem had a hell of a run had a hell of a run in the music industry I ain't even just gonna say where it's in the whole industry then had 22 different lives still running cold brother none other than Lone yeah sir skate all of them is very cool now me and Clayton we wear hip hop heads we love rap music the culture all of that I argue people all the time that one of the best rap names in the whole group whole rap industry is Blinky Blink Blinky Blink you was in a group with Blinky Blink man then we talked about Blinky that's the coldest rap name Blink that's my man Blink Blink was in high school together Blink got that name from Blinking oh so he actually Blink a lot yeah he's Blink a lot Blink came from a crew called BBO Best Boilers Out you know what I'm saying it was different factions in Harlem when we caught the rap bug because you know historically the only real Harlem rapper that made it was Curtis Blow Cool Mo D yeah you know what I'm saying Curtis Blow was like they called him Curtis Blow that's what I'm saying it wasn't no pause after that you know what I'm saying you know what I'm saying Cool Mo D was from off the hill Sugar Hill so we were known for having Brucie B we had DJs and we were the promotional vehicle for HIPHOP when the dudes showed up in the furs and all of that it was the Harlem dudes you know what I'm saying but the classical Adidas shell told that was Queens that was something that was rooted in the Bronx Queens Brooklyn and stuff like that but when it came to Harlem we was about money so we was the avianz around all of this when we came through you knew a Harlem dude was in the building because our knack for style you know what I'm saying y'all could mesh it down well y'all known for fashion y'all known for getting money and this is what I've always heard just from listening to New York hip hop you know what I'm saying so you said Ben came from that then go back and you just show how far we had all the hustles when you think about horse betting and the numbers game this was all track betting they was just coordinating with the actual horse races those numbers that came in that people in the street was playing so it was like hustling it would be the time that the horse came in and that call comes from the track to the number runners in Harlem no facetime, no quick text none of that so they literally created a whole industry from something that was legalized and they made an illegal business even for myself I'm talking about like 8 years old I have about 5, 6 different hustles you know what I'm saying I pack bags in the supermarket I used to actually have 3 different registers I'll just take fiends off the street and put them in different lanes and make sure my tip box keep all my tip box by you he don't get none of that he already owe money for some money I pack it pay off something and I'm in one lane I pack it and watch it yeah you know I'm packing bags I'm packing bags I'm packing bags and watching him then when the supermarket closed you know we turned the self service pump into full service I was pumping gas getting tips I had a car wash a getty gas station across the street it's just set up out there because you go through the machine but I did detail it you know what I'm saying I'm doing tires and all I used to go across the street to the Bronx and buy my air fresheners for 50 cents selling for a dollar in Harlem I had a paper ride on Sunday I was bagging up coke for my cousins I was a kid and it started white boys in school I had a little bed in there with the kids I had a limited set I had a limited set I had a limited set that wasn't that didn't qualify that didn't qualify for a Harlem Husker that's not the first portfolio I had a book bag full of G.I. Joe's and Transformers I used to steal from white boys and sell it at the train station to all the black kids I never was in my neighborhood I never really was into no robbing no black people not to say it's cool to rob white people I'm just saying at that time but you rob somebody then you have to see them you go rob them then you have to see them but that wasn't can I give you G.I. Joe please we heard it with you I remember the first time that the whole idea of this store it was a white boy he um I was sleeping class he bumped me I don't care who you are you ain't gotta be tough you're asleep you might not need to fight but you you're willing to fight I'm talking about me that's my forte so I told him like yo I just gonna beat you up and just the tremors but I'm more scheduled I'm watching the clock we watching the clock for two different reasons you trying to figure out there's only one door to go out how fast can I get to that beat no question and I might ask to go to the bathroom right before class so I remember getting close to three o'clock he offered me five hours and light bulb just went off like that was easy but you know what tomorrow bring me ten alright and it's just kept snowballing but look my eye got big I'm like what else I'm talking about it was an Australian kid I never forget his name I don't know what his life turned out to be I don't know if I might I'm looking for those so I found him I watched 85 South Shore didn't I see and this is the incredible gangsta and I'm saying just for the record this ain't me glorifying sometimes I reminisce on this stuff just the increase the gratitude of when I met in my life but as a kid this was Harlem this was like this was New York generally I would just say that we was exclusive but for Harlem kid it was always how you get to that dollar and also at a time when cause I don't think anybody after 2000 understand the generation when people was outside yeah oh yeah the in the house shit you're missing if you're in the house outside of New York different but still it's out there's so many people young as shit like even when I would go visit New York I'd be like yo who is this little nigga riding the train yeah with his little brother like how is this nigga got a baby with him yeah and they going in the store ordering shit and I'm like everything outside like you have to go outside in order to do something second grade I'm talking about yeah fourth grade I was going to school all the way on 92nd Street I don't know if you seen my interview with tip tip end up going to the school I used to go to on Harlem years after it's father he's father's father I didn't really know that I know tip for a long time but in the interview it came out he started saying a lot of stuff and I was like how you know and then I don't know me I say yo we had an elementary school reunion that's how bad we was in the high school reunion we had an elementary school reunion I swear by law like everybody it was there was instrumental in some type of calm foolery that exceeded our ages you know what I'm saying a lot of them didn't make it my little dude named Edgar he might have been about every bit of 10, 11 years old one of the biggest drug dealers in that area you know what I'm saying I'm talking about the biggest he was a kid now I don't know if he heard it from his pops but he was that dude he died in the street like anybody that he had murdered young you know my man Melvin he was in the big apple circus he had AIDS jumped out of the window killed it so like we kids though and I weighed downtown I'm not even in Harlem I'm downtown going to school by myself getting on the train you know what I'm saying like you said we was bred like that you know what I'm saying so hustle I don't know if this generation understands the difference from the grit that comes with how we had the hustle versus all the things that's accessible for a kid to hustle today there's a lot of access there's a lot of things that do most of the lifting for you you know and that's a beautiful thing you know what I'm saying and like I said like I was saying earlier I would just hope that they pay more attention to focus more on those things because people endure it a lot for that to be accessible to this generation just the thing when I come from the generation that I know and watch and hear the conversations of damn the niggas did that like you said the J when you saying that I know for a fact we'd never be little to crack it because all of them niggas were 8-F each the rules was niggas not only that they know everything you disrespect him he may be the nigga that do it you feel what I'm saying so it's like I understand that so the new generation when I say it's too much access where they can't decipher what's real and what ain't we have to experience to know that you have to be nurtured to an extent to like you said disseminate what's being fed to you through social media mass media whatever the case may be but the education that we receive growing up came from mentorship somebody put you under their deodorant you know what I'm saying it showed you the gang game you know what I'm saying but also you had those who showed you enough to benefit them and I grew up watching a lot of dudes who felt victim to that and never grew never evolved never knew anything other than subjecting themselves to what they was taught by somebody who was misleading because I believe that there's two types of leaders in this world those that lead and those that mislead you're still a leader so whether you lead in the plan piety and righteousness or something that's upright then that would be more of a praiseworthy leader but if you lead in somebody who was gradual destruction you know what I'm saying you're going to be held accountable for your flock so like I said growth is something that's important for everybody because the remains stagnated is there's no growth in that there's no evolution you become a one trick pony you only got one thing you know and just coming from the generation I came from I wouldn't change it for nothing you know what I'm saying I wouldn't change it for nothing and there's a lot of things that's missing in this generation from you know the family aspect I know we hate it all the time to the point where it might be a cliche but the reality of it is that fatherless homes you know what I'm saying or some male figure period you know what I'm saying that's going to nurture and cultivate you to be a man that's missing you know what I'm saying and I just came from a place with a lot of solid dudes being warehouse dudes that wanted to do the right thing but they were doing the right thing because they had the right intentions even though the actions didn't line up but they might not never get a chance they got 20, 30 years some got life synthesis the kids is growing up out here being raised by the mother her four or five different boyfriends all kinds of trauma that in the sad part about our culture and it's something that we definitely got to try to fix and normalize and stuff that's not normal you know what I'm saying just because it's become repetitive in our culture anybody that step outside of it and look at it you'll see this is not normal you know what I'm saying this tradition that we keep holding on to it's not normal you know what I'm saying we only contribute it to our own demise we desensitize it exactly I love my people I do love the culture it does a lot for me but where I evolved to is where I would want to see my culture evolve because when you look at it I mean it's crazy we talk about people who fell victim to drug abuse and all of the things because of all the transitions but if you think about let's say for example illegal immigrants that come to the country no matter where they come from but let's say in particular in Mexico we got too good to cut grass right they was out there cutting that grass that turned into landscaping businesses all over the United States they sitting over at Home Depot by the jumping anybody pick up they go do some construction that turned into construction companies you know what I'm saying we got too good for these things and they ain't got a part to piss in but one day they'll throw it out but these type of gigs is not suitable for us anymore because my ancestor did it my grandfather did that for 40 years but he sustained you with that and if need be you got to do the same for you and yours you got to go do it you know what I'm saying because gambling with your freedom only contributes to the repetitive cycle of recidivism people going to prison and coming back you know what I'm saying all kinds of detriments so you know I just wanted to tell y'all I always try to establish giving people the flowers you know I love it in Maya which I do for the culture you know what I'm saying because I came home to the whole podcast so I don't know how you would call it but it's a lot of podcasts but everybody don't carry it the same and I'm not here to pass any judgment on anybody if it's for the money get your money if it's for the culture then stand on that don't use the culture you know what I'm saying under the guys that you for the culture but you really for the money you know and what I think that y'all do you know genuinely I know it's for the culture you know what I'm saying you know what you know what you know what you know what I mean that mean a lot because I think that's just who we are individually it come together because there's a lot of ways you can go to like you said you can do it for the money but it's gonna show the money is gonna come that's the whole thing I was bred to understand that the hustle breeds money you just gotta hustle you know what I'm saying that's not a bad thing that's not something that should be a turn off you tell a kid now you know what I'm saying if you stand in front of a quick trip sell these oranges for me man I'll come back in like five hours and give you you know what I'm saying X, Y, Z what you done man you cheated you know what I'm saying who I look like you orange man hey look the whole concept of the incentive just left a mind the incentive was what are you supposed to get for doing this you know what I'm saying but orange that's it you worry about what you gotta do you worry about what you wanna get the whole sentence they go straight to the end the reward you definitely reward that's too much that's crazy you know what I'm saying then they want something up front facts even in this land they teach you that you pay a man before the sweat on the brow dry that means the work is first but you pay him before the sweat dry you pay him as soon as you you gotta pay him as soon as you say you gotta pay him I forgot you you know this is why I don't I ain't know you gonna do it that fast you can't wait for Friday you come back I gotta pay you can you work until Friday don't wipe that sweat I'll be right back you keep that sweat on your face don't wipe it as soon as you say I gotta wait until we're all the way through I'll be right back before I leave yeah yeah that's real that's real though if you like that though no cap but we gotta do that as a culture I think once we start worrying about what the next man is doing and can we put limitations on people of skin color to be like you don't hold the mother fucking blueprint or what it look like to be successful for me nigga and it's like what the white man do or the other ethnicity do what y'all think it is entitlement nah I'ma say this man niggas just don't like seeing niggas win it man for us it's really been a mental and physical job done to us we carry a lot of trauma a lot of trauma and it became normal you know what I'm saying cats in the streets looking forward to I got 10 in me you know what I'm saying they hustling knowing that I could do 10 I'm prepared to get y'all 10 and this joy ride is over and y'all catch me some weird slip and whatever the case may be I got 10 that's crazy that's crazy stupid you know what I'm saying and I'm not saying this to glorify anything a lot of my witness but it took me to be 36 years old to go to prison when I left everything alone 2008 when I became Muslim was the last day I smoked the last day I drank the last day I listened to music when I say that I mean I don't press play you know what I'm saying so with that being said I abstained from everything because that's just always been my nature it's all enough and I don't believe in straddling I believe boys is confused men make decisions, men stand on decisions even if it's against them we have to live by the truth even if the truth is not my friend at this moment I'm still gonna stand it because it's the truth right so my conspiracy was really revolved around ghost dope which is dope that don't exist and hearsay and it came from a simple introduction DC was good well I got each other numb and y'all straight but because of my prior criminal history and these dudes not wanting to stand on you know in choices cause to start with that principle follow but we in a game of choices you know what I'm saying so with that being said they threw me into their conspiracy like what my prior is and in front of a jewelry of your peers there's no way you can't say that this is not my career you know what I'm saying so the deck was stacked so I got another prior case I do too the war on drugs and I just for people too cause we talked about it no it's not on there but it's on another platform they supported the ghost dope so basically they entered into agreement with the authorities or whatever and they implicated you in the shit or whatever even though they never found no shit never had no video footage no shit but because they entered into this deal with the government and they but that's because these people didn't stand on their shit and went in a deal and said yeah we got caught but he did it too they'll even put a fake timeline of when these shit started they'll put it in one cell though if it wasn't for you February 2007 and that's what I'm saying at the time I was living in Egypt I was living in Egypt I was studying at the university out there I was learning how to read, write, speak, Arabic I was immersed in my religion you know what I'm saying and I was giving talks around the world to the youth and I was on my way to go to South Arabia I just made Hajj came back to Egypt stopped to get my family to gifts and I jumped on a plane to go to Belgium to speak at the university and the poll grabbed me and told me I had an indictment in the eastern district of North Carolina in the city of Durham and I've never been there you know what I'm saying passport got missing so the timeline that you're talking about I can't even argue that I don't have tangible evidence no more to say where I was when I was dead that was my best defense so it was just a lot of details that you know cause I'm working on a six part doc series my whole life I'm gonna break down a lot of stuff but the thing is you know I'm 36 years old at the time I'm far removed from you changed your life you made that decision how you was gonna make it that's what I said I'm a firm believer of a man making a choice and standing on it cause that's the principle it's not about the street cold the street at this it's about man time you made that choice you made that choice you got to stand on your choice you can't make your choice mine I didn't choose what you chose so you can't subject me to your choice that's just real I nothing to do that's the problem with I think this generation they try to incorporate everything with the street when quite frankly I don't even think they understand the street not the streets I know you know what I'm saying I say that much the streets that exist today I can't even tell you I don't even know what that is you know what I'm saying I don't even know what that is but my point was that you know it's so easy for these people to damage young black lives black and brown lives I don't even want to leave out brown people as well cause they're suffering as well but it's like you know that experience really cause I know on the outside looking at it it was just like imagine like that probably a lot of people believed it like man man puffy don't take care of nobody loon out here selling everyone way out you know what I'm saying I'm almost certain yeah cause I mean I anticipate that you know what I'm saying cause anybody that's I don't even want to say the shadow but any major you know figure you coming up under you gotta work your way out of that from underneath that umbrella that's where you'll remain as long as that umbrella is standing that's where you'll remain under it you gotta work your way out so I'm pretty sure it was a whole bunch of ways it was perceived but that was the real reality is that man you were 36 at the time you gotta go to prison so the point I'm trying to make is when I was you know in the street I came from a generation that wanted to get away we wanted to get away we wasn't trying to glorify getting caught we weren't trying to like you know what I'm saying we weren't trying to get caught you know what I mean I tell you know we used to be telling people we was like exchange students basketball team like we coming up with all kinds of stuff even in Harlem tell the girl I do construction you know what I'm saying because once your father find out who I am and what I'm doing this love affair is over you know what I'm saying so it was better than us to try to go through painstaking efforts to not let that define who we really want to be in life we really want to be somebody and I think even in my generation in the music business we tried to show that nobody's like you seen Snooper Ferella in Brazil take a passport to get there anybody could drive to Myrtle Beach we was trying to show you waterfalls yachts we was trying to show you what they say you know black excellence you know and there was nothing wrong with that because I think as a generation there are many people who absorb that and learn from that and strive to achieve that so I ain't gonna lie I'm in a barbershop from time I'll catch you when there's some of the stuff that you know out on the radio and I'll be baffled baffled I mean even when I was in prison barbershop the same he done made some fake speakers he got the joint band well that's a little such and such you know next time in the barbershop who that? it's a different dude then at the while I was like how many lives I was just confused I was like what's going on you know even like in my block not to get too in depth but we figured out how to watch everything y'all was watching I'm gonna say that easy when I used to go work out I used to let the young boys hold my joint they do them we just trying to be fit everybody just breaking up everybody's bed next month go by we don't watch the whole game with the roms just breaking the bed time goes by everything break down everything we didn't know what I was saying you pulling kids talking about you seen Black Panther you remember the scene the kids in the front keep you kind of like on the outside you know what I'm saying so this was with came with me my bed was I was in bed like into the world like nah I still get to study I still get to do some things I still have a little leisure so what I was saying was I used to come in from working out and the kids was watching like World Star and all that so you know you need headphones to hear the TV TV ain't like blasting like that you gotta have your headphones and where the TV is playing I was like why is it like 17 kids with no shirt on with a salt rifle standing in front of a trap house with a rave like the messaging was just confusing I didn't have to listen I didn't put my headphones to listen to I didn't care I was just looking at the message because I know what we was trying to show you you ain't have to you know you ain't gotta you gotta hear the words to beautiful like when you look at brother you just see it you see a bunch of Brazilian that's that's it that's it so I'm looking at the messaging and I'm confused I'm like yo they auditioning for prison you know what's the likelihood they zoom in on a serial number on one of them you need to go and talk about that that didn't happen a lot of time that's what I'm saying I'm thinking I'm thinking like this in prison I'm trying to go home you know what I'm saying they try to come in why you want to be in a place where nothing but men that's fucking good you understand because I'm looking that you got all the means to enjoy everything everything else but you want to be in here with men you know what I'm saying glorifying something that really don't suit you because when I grew up and you had feds in your life you were doing something you know what I'm saying for the feds to look at you in the 80's you had to be doing something you know what I'm saying what they've done is utilize you know federal authority to give a young kid a kingpin charge that never had $10,000 in one setting niggas crazy niggas is crazy man niggas is fucking insane I'm talking about all his stuff just throwing rocks at them in the tension just throw it in the joy box all his stuff everything y'all he got a baby shoe box he got a baby shoe box he got a baby shoe box he got a baby shoe box he got a baby shoe box he got a leadership role you know what I'm saying and then he's in the prison system glorifying that yeah yeah they got me I'll be back in a minute bro 30 years is not a minute 30 minutes I ain't gonna lie man I can go on and on I experienced some things that made me so fearful for this generation the ignorance you know what I'm saying the level of ignorance in the midst of dealing with something that could be a detriment for your entire life I didn't come from that I don't even know how to identify with that I don't see enough of fly about it it's suicidal yeah you was in there I'm sure you've seen a lot of young dudes in there it's never good now I'm hanging with dudes I'm with the Muslims nobody did tell me I was always in some position of leadership when it came to the Muslims whether I was the man whether I was the Sharif I had a security for the Muslims whatever I was always dealing with the politics of those who understood we need this to govern ourselves so this joint don't go up in flames you know what I mean the young generation coming they don't get this stuff and every now and then you got an old dude telling them like hey listen Sharif for real I done did your time twice try to go home you know what I'm saying I was always trying to school these young boys before I went before I got my sentence I was in the county jail one time I overheard these two young kids you know what I'm saying they get lawyer visits they both go see their lawyers the one young kid now in fact one was still in the block one kid went to go see his lawyer he come back in the block stacking Swiss in his fingers up hey hold me down I'm good so I'm like mind my business but then like you know I was doing house details I was never in my cell I'm always out you know what I'm saying I'm having my way but I overheard them talking you know what I'm saying my lawyer told me if I take the scale the long story short I think they found some drugs in a scale in a common area the lawyer just convinced him to take the scale which is paraphernalia he said yeah I'll take that I'm gonna get no probation I'm good another kid like I know I'm good that's when she ended up drinking being an elder the obligation comes in I said look man look I don't want to get in your business I don't get on nobody's case I don't care about it I'm not a little I'm not no jail lawyer none of that but you just told on him he said what you mean I don't do all that I said you did and you took a plea and took a charge you did you just said this joint was in the common area that means don't belong to nobody that's what you pulled to say that's what you pulled to say until they run out of steam no matter how long you gotta sit in here you know and I'm not teaching criminality trust me but I hate to see young kids immersed in a lifestyle where they haven't educated themselves on the consequences you know what I'm saying because like I said go back to choice so he like what you mean I said look if you took the scale then who did the drugs belong to so they looking at each other and I'm like don't be mad at your man because you know this whole phase changed from it changed from being shocked to like you did tell him I said look just call your lawyer go back tell him you that's how it went and I just said to say not to digress but it's like like I said I could go on it's like a lot of things that I've learned you know what I'm saying I've learned about where we going as a people and that was the whole subject we were talking about was like how do we evolve how do we escape this normalization of things that's not normal how do we stop desensitizing ourselves the things that actually matter how do we better ourselves because in the Quran Allah says save yourself and save your family right so this is a permissible form of selfishness you know what I'm saying we created contingency that we don't allow each other to be about self you suck how important to help you if I ain't helping I ain't even got a boat you know what I'm saying and why I got to help you first you know I got a mother that's sick I got a daughter you know what I'm saying you know I got all these things so for you to hold that over my head you know what I'm saying you come first some should be telling me about the company I'm keeping you definitely can't be my homeboy all these terms we're using because you want me to subject myself to your welfare right and just disregard the welfare of the people that I'm entrusted with you can't possibly be a friend of mine you know what I'm saying right so you know it's just that's what I think it has to start with first and foremost understanding that there's a creator that heaven's on earth I understood free from need, free from deficiency free from flaw goes back to us being you know creatures of need you know what I'm saying we're deficient we created deficient we created in the state of need and our needs and refuge should always be sought in the one that's free from them that becomes your base that's your foundation not anything that contradicts that common sense to tell you it's not the right thing you don't have to get school once you learn that once you learn your purpose of why you was created you was created solely for the purpose the worship the one that created you that's the greatest relationship for any human being to have because you can't implement nothing consistent or you know what I'm saying you know consistent with good if you don't have that foundation we'll find ourselves worshiping other things that have no value they can't harm you or can't benefit you you know that's pretty much where I've came in my life and just to give you another bouquet you know watching what you've endured you know with your family and you know seeing how you implement patience and just to resolve you know what I'm saying to endure something that nothing could prepare you for nothing could prepare you for death you know Allah says in the Qur'an He says kulu nefs in that it could tell the mold verily every soul would taste death so it's inevitable we know that that's why we live a certain way but still what's inevitable but still when they come as human beings it's something that you endure and it's not an easy thing you know what I'm saying I just literally came from a funeral this weekend and my pop spas you know what I'm saying I came home my grandmother she stayed for cancer she was able to hold on until I came home my grandfather he couldn't make it I literally had to go in the shower and we didn't cry a bunch in front of convicts you know what I'm saying but I had to go in the shower there's one on me anyway you can't tell them you know what I'm saying you cry but those ways that we cope with adversity really defines what kind of man you are I say that to say bro appreciate it bro a red breed for this generation it takes a lot and basically what you said is really the only way because if you don't have that foundation you'll be lost and to pick it back off of what you were saying I was just thinking like okay you's already making that transition that 36 we are considered grown grown you're done I already know what I'm doing I'm just focusing on my religion and being one with the high power now you got to go to prison how is your mind state and understanding saying okay you was already preparing me to be I gotta go somewhere anyway but you was preparing me earlier to take this role so I'm not going to tear or decipher my journey I'm going to continue even in here well part of my faith is to accept a lot of divine decree pre-ordainment can't change it you don't have the capacity to change what's already written for you so you accepted the good and the bad of it we attribute all of that to Allah the good, the bad, everything that's something that you give a share to a creation like devil or whoever shaytan it's another creature in need he doesn't have the power to determine life, death you know prosperity, adversity he doesn't have that power so with that relationship comes acceptance of anything and everything that's pre-ordained so like I said all of the things that I did I shouldn't want to prison for once again I didn't plan this I survived all of those things but now here I am on a whole different path and then I go to prison but what I was able to acquire prior to going to prison that's what helped me navigate had I did a bit as long that would have been a different bit I promise you it would have been a whole different bit as a mere it was a beautiful bit it gave me time to see what you do with it I was in effect so I started my first six months I was in Belgium I was in a third of a prison in Belgium fighting my extradition I went all the way to Supreme Court in Belgium fighting my extradition because they were trying to use that situation to push me in a situation to fold and they were trying to let me to accept you know an extradition that would enable them to take anything outside of the instant offense and use it against me so meaning if I wasn't paying attention or understood the circumstances around my case and just hasten because you know I'm out here, they speak Dutch they speak French I'm the life of Arabic and most of the inmates there were the CEOs so I was able to find solace and speak Arabic but just the conditions you're away from your family I left my wife and my kids in Egypt I'm over here in the capital of Europe that's a lot the average dude and a black man the average dude under lesser circumstances like a beach chair when they get cold so like I said accepting that that was the case it enabled me to just try to benefit not sit here lose my headline, worry about something I can't change you know what I'm saying and because of that extensive life I tell you I never got a chance to pull over in part I've always been running on-girl gunning since 84-85 you know what I'm saying so that was the first time I was able to pull over and actually park and reset and you know take the count a lot of things that transpired in my life and how it all came to this point and how it makes sense and what I need to do moving forward so I had a plan you know a lot of dudes in here is doing alone two days so I had to say whatever they came in prison on they leave on that same thing I mean 10, 15, 20 years in the middle don't even count you just did alone two days you know what I'm saying I did a bid that was beneficial I came home you know people still got on my marbles I'm straight and institutionalized and nothing like that I used to switch stuff up just on purpose you know what I'm going to put conditioning first then the shampoo anytime I found myself doing something to it I'm going to switch up on purpose I'm going to put pants on I'm going to put pants on because you'll find yourself when it become an abituan when you just literally talking to somebody you're like yeah man hold up man that just became too fluent right I know y'all heard stories of dudes that come home burnt out they don't ever come out of like institutionalized I'm talking about dudes getting in the shower and they house with shoes on keeping all the fucking hygiene right there on the shelf I had a dude tell me a personal nice thing I had a dude tell me his nephew came home from doing that he was the old Tommy and Joe said yeah man it's a girl with to use the bathroom it was like man what a tissue at because you can have your own roll of tissue you can have your own roll of tissue with you he just took the roll of tissue out of the bathroom the girl sitting in the bathroom man she didn't she's wild with those she came home give me a little help you can have a little fuck he got the tissue he took the tissue in the bathroom you gotta do a stand up for countdown man countdown what's wrong with you that's crazy 4 o'clock 4 o'clock you getting up in the morning 4 o'clock you eating you know what I'm saying it's just like I'm gonna tell you 4 o'clock just to see you there what you putting in at 10 o'clock I can't escape this I'm gone especially in the hole though I did over a year in the hole which hole is 2 different type of hole it's a hole where you can do time but you can't do time like dark no lights, dark I mean they turn them off at a certain point you just light them to the door they ain't about to hold from the movies yeah nah when you really bad no broken, when you really bad bad they got a place for your bad ass nah it's a hole I know it's a hole but I'm still like it's a, I done been to the hole too didn't think I did time, so my shit ain't talking no, no, no, no but county is worse county definitely when you ain't got shit going on so what you get an hour county is gladiator that's why I'm trying to tell you we got the worst county in the planet I don't kill nobody to say rocket salad that's not a county it's over 8000 I've been to rice street but I ain't about no problems in rice street as a matter of fact I did, I did, I did I had push 1, 2 years together you probably was an east side nigga trying yo, New York actually his brother was somebody nigga did his brother was somebody in the street I knew him though, but dude was just going overboard and it's like I don't really bother but I don't really care about your brother pop that's how the Latin nigga want to see oh boy okay, New York he ain't lying but see like dude we got him ahead, I ain't do y'all go over there you go ahead cause like in the county you ain't getting no time or nothing yet even if you like to take over on the police it ain't like you just going it's nothing that's going to be added on that's why I respect rules to today but don't get me wrong I would never discourage what you experience cause any, I mean a day away from your family against your will that's a lot facts, facts it was broken up about this six months in Belgium 24 hours 23 hours locked down you get one hour wreck you know what I'm saying it was different what you do you just try to sleep it I just read and that's what I wanted to get to a point and I'm not an expert on mental illness that's what everybody know but as a Muslim I live in my heart I don't live in my head and I tell you why that makes sense right cause your brain you can absorb a lot of stuff right but just like any type of hardware or hard drive if you overload it what happens to it it just do shit right or to run slow when you're doing overload it don't run at the same capacity or speed you don't use all the gigabytes you're trying to process too much that's what you know processes things so trying to process a lot of things that you sponged up it can become difficult but the heart it has a filter you know what I'm saying you can't have two things that contradict yourself residing the heart at the same time it's impossible it's impossible you know what I'm saying so that means that if you allow if your heart is righteous anything they contradict that you're going to reject it you can't reside at the same time you can store anything up here you know what I'm saying and trying to make sense of it sometime it can drive you crazy you know what I'm saying but if you live here this will definitely act as a criteria you know differentiate between what's correct and what's not and this is a favor from your lord he gave you this for a reason you know what I'm saying because you could be brain dead and still live right but if this stop shows over so people would misinterpret with the real engineers the engineers ain't your brain everybody's brain you're not that joint can stop working and you can still live you could be a vegetable and still live but when your heart stopped beating the show is over you can't keep your brain running the heart dead you know what I'm saying so this is the real engine you know what I'm saying you purify this everything else will follow you know what I mean trying to clean this is impossible I'll be trying to tell people that too though this is going to make sense for this the heart is right you know your thought process of being you know you can tell with your heart you said it in a more articulate way because I always say lead by the spirit because if I'm gonna fuck one of my mental bitch you don't want to know what's up here it's too much for me bitch it's too much for you this is why I'm so grateful and I walk graciously and I'm glad God deteriorated my life and made me go this way because mentally I know okay what's the spirit what's not so when that comes I'm like oh that's just something my brain doesn't consume from seeing so much of this shit and what the media doesn't see it don't workin with my heart okay that thought that's part of my heart that's my thought so when we was talking earlier on a couple episodes about mental illness and all that I can understand I'm infatated because a lot of people swear that whatever they thinking it's them yeah they can't say they're like I'm thinking it I'm like but you you don't give that too much energy that you then broaden that particular thought and it's not even you just because you're thinking it don't mean it's your thought yeah well you gotta understand also a lot of people will stimulate it out here too because I mean I ain't on life you smoke but that would definitely stimulate you know so like I would tell you this this is why intoxicants are not permissible in this land in arabic it's called hamad hamad is any intoxicant anything that makes the thought process fluctuate is an intoxicant even over the counter medicine can do it anything that makes the thought fluctuate that's an intoxicant you know what I'm saying so now not to you know because I ain't gonna quit so it don't matter what I tell you anyway I'm just saying yeah I'm just saying like even for me like back then you know that's what it did it had me constant deep thought right right sometimes the time will go by and I ain't realize I was thinking that long you know what I'm saying I was just you know I should have been moving like I should have been busting the move by now but 30 solid yeah I'm just going you know what I'm saying the next time you look up you're like man I might have over thought this sometimes you gotta snap out of it like come on fool you can over think shit and not do shit sometimes you gotta react you gotta do but if one wants to become one with the high power this is not a relationship that just comes easy it's work it's work and if you work maintaining it obtaining it is easy but sustaining it is a trial because you know your desires is what you at war with every day every day you the flesh is getting in there every time with your desires so now if your desires should take obedience you know what I'm saying you gotta make a choice I'm going with obedience every time you gotta remove and that's called self-governance you know what I'm saying we need that we gotta create it and know what's better than we know ourselves we keep trying to figure this stuff out we all think that our issues are exclusive nobody's going through this but me you're the only person in the whole world you know what I'm saying you know what I'm saying but yeah man we can do this forever like I said I'm excited not just to do the show with y'all be a part of the family a lot of people don't know we're going to take this opportunity to let them know perspective podcast will be distributed through 85 let's go you gotta hear first I'm working let's go and I wanted to conclude it with why because it's important because people look at like they're going to come with their own determination why and just to be honest it was a lot of opportunities just because of the nature of what I'm trying to do it's beautiful that it doesn't conflict I mean y'all got the flagship show you know what I'm saying it doesn't conflict with anything and that's important you don't want to be on a hamster wheel that was one reason but ultimately like I said what I saw and what y'all were doing and how y'all built this from the ground up I've even heard stories of y'all alluding certain situations that probably wouldn't have been to your benefit but shows me how much passion you have for what you built and so so it's not about sacrificing your integrity in all of those things to win and this is why y'all enjoy yourself like people look at this show people look at y'all and say this might be the easiest money y'all could y'all ever made in y'all lives cause it's like to come out and just be yourself we can do it, we can do it the content part they don't see that they don't understand the business part the business part or building it do that delay gratification saying no in the beginning so you can get what you want in the long process and that was one of my reasons because I know that y'all run a tight ship and we also run it together it's a unit where it's like we all came in and said look we don't know everything but we're willing to learn from each other and even if you may not feel some type of way but if the selected group is saying let's run it I'm going to run it like I agreed because I did agree if they said run it that's it that's it you see what I'm saying and it always works in my best favor bro you feel me we don't look at it so I thing or me, me, me thing and out of everything I'm in everything I don't work on my only situation is like that and I get to take what I learned from over here and go to other places and be like if the energy ain't like how it is here I already know what this is I'm an employee it's just work I could make it look like fun but it's work over here now let's take the work and the business from over there gotta get you to sign the table somewhere over here we got legends on the table and we got you of course we got you some dope ass 85 south accessories and merchandise yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah we got a trend here don't let it be real get old legends let's get a play