Cam Newton with T.I.: Super Bowl Lessons on Failure, Fame and Fatherhood

This is expeditiously, I am too, T.I. have. [MUSIC] Uh-huh, now the following experience is not a test. The conversations and stories expressed on this podcast are meant to be an expression of purpose and truth. This show, properly entitled, expeditiously, is a free exchange of ideas and opinions. No judgment, no preconceived beliefs, no fear. You're encouraged to share your thoughts and ask any question as long as it's done with respect. And ask through true love and respect for others that we would change the world and speak truth to power. One sure the time. Now without further ado, this is Expeditiously, I'm T.I. Harris. Welcome to Expeditiously, I'm your host, T.I. Harris. Our guest today is a good partner, man. Good partner, man, but also an opponent. Yes, we've gone ahead to head on the spade table. But he's also an NFL MVP, heizm and trophy, one of three time pro bowl player, and his known as one of the most dynamic quarterbacks to ever play the game. Also an entrepreneur, podcast host, TV host, philanthropist, as well as a trend setter. A fashion forward trend setter, if I must say. In his first season, he was named offensive rickia of the year, and was the first rickia to throw over 4,000 yards in one season. I also the first to throw 400 yards in his NFL debut. His podcast, "Funky Friday's" with Cam Newton, interviews guest from our walks of life and allows them to share their stories in a light hearted safe space. He also recently became the co-host of BET's 106 in sports. He's known for his both fashion sense, honest outspokenness, and his confidence. Although his path to success was not a smooth one, he preserved and has become an example for everyone. Please welcome my good friend, Cam Newton, to expedition. What's happening, man? Welcome, man. What's the deal? I can't call him. Man, how do you feel in the day? Man, if I had your hand, I throw mine in. I had your legs, I showed Kukiki. I'm trying to do it. Come on, man. There's no stranger that you come from in the town, and you play high school ball on the south side. What was just, just to clarify, what was your high school? What's Lake? Winst Lake High School. Yes, sir. Yeah, you were tending it up out there, man. I always like to play homage, and a lot of people would say that this person went to my high school, but I would like to say, I went to Pac-Man High School. I was saying, as a person who I looked up to, growing up from Atlanta, and then, as you looked around, the city, my carols, Batman's. All right, you have so many different other figures that went to Doug, Mom, Loser, Loser, Loser, Loser. But those individuals were people that set the floor for where I wanted to be. God, you know what I'm saying, so. And you grew up in a football center family. Yes, sir. How did that shape what you became? No, it was all I knew. And I grew up in the church. So a lot of things I wasn't privy to growing up, but I still was curious. Exactly. I never spoke with you today in my life, but it was always around me. I never really had the opportunity to, like, the party, or go, I witnessed those things by the company that went to West Lake. Some would say, some sees West Lake's dynamic thing, like, oh, man, West Lake in the good community, right? But before they're there for the people in from Atlanta, before West Lake kind of got shrunk. Langston wasn't available. Certain schools wasn't available because you only had West Lake, Bannaker, and Kreetside. Those are the all southside schools, right? And we took them from Washington Roe. Kammerton Roe, Ben Hill, Boat Rock, and the bougie, you know, Nis around, West Lake School, too. So I was very hip or cultured, so to speak, and, you know, that always had me to be curious to what it was. Okay, well, I mean, I know, you know, I'm saying, you grew up, you know, you actually had a father around, and you grew up. What did that, how did that put you ahead of some of the other kids that you were playing against and that you was growing up with? I didn't think that it was an age until I grew up to be a man who feels and, like, my father is the most influential person in my life. Has always been, and my father has been a father to other young men, too, right? I think when you talk about philanthropic, you know, initiatives, giving back, I learned that from him, I learned that from my mom, I learned that from my grandmother, right? And now, when I give that, I don't care for it to be shown because it can give off a disingenuous type of feel to, you know, I use a game of football to attract children to the sport, but also attract them to understand that this game can really change your life, growing up, you know, in college part. East Point, Buckhead, Bankhead, Spurnum, East Atlanta, it don't matter, like, knowing that you can commit to something and really reap the benefits to change your whole bloodlines. A situation is something that I always prompt children or kids to kind of go to, you ain't got to rob, you ain't got to steal, you ain't got to really kill. If you have those clear visions of what you really want to do, boom. Now, I learned that you started as an athlete in baseball and basketball. I played it all. How did you end up with football going pro? I think growing up, you played whatever sport, whichever season it is. Yeah. And that's what I prompt my kids to do. It's like, what y'all in the house for? Go outside and get mustard, you know what I'm saying? Come back when, you know, we stood outside and played outside all day. So much so that we always had to get unanimous or cultural rule. Be back in the house before the sun light, before the street lights come on. Yeah, you can't say that now because not the kids, they in the house, when the sunlight is out, when the sunlight is down, when the street lights, they plan the game. They got the only phone and certain things like that, but we played the game too. But it's like we played the game when we got in the house, you know, we didn't stay in the house, we played the game. Correct. The times have changed. And for reasons that a lot of kids don't think that it's cool to just pop up at a park. I remember going to the park as early as 10 a.m. and staying and probably taking a lunch break was a bag of chips at the cornerstone, coming back just to finish playing like, that's how you learn how to compete. That's how you learn to stand up for yourself. Hey, I got this. Hey, now, bro, I had next, man, y'all that right now made boys men. That's right. You feel what I'm saying? And then when you had the opportunity to showcase your talent, if you wasn't good enough, but it gets, hey, man, come on, man, now we ain't about to let y'all a little boy play. So standing up for you, say this certain things that being outside kind of taught you naturally, James Davis, that's his name. And I forgot. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Keep doing it. You know, God, this libation. So yeah, man, it looks so. So I'm a big supporter of the version program because I don't believe in, you know, one mistake. You want to stay throwing the future of a young person's life away. Now, I know first time feelings, you know, they, they, they, they get breaks throughout their lives, if they're lucky, you know, and I found that you might not be sitting here today, if it went for what you went through 2008, can you tell us what lead to that opportunity for you to be in that diversion program. Man, listen, November 21, 2008 was really the day that I made that oath to myself. It's crazy that a person that I work alongside with on a day to day, she does all my vertical content that they happened here recently. And I told her I was like, yo, it's my resurrection day. And she was like, oh, you get yourself to God. And I was like, oh, it could mean that to some people, me, that's when God gave me a second chance. I was locked up or accused allegedly for still in a laptop. From where? University of Florida. But it's still in from a person I don't know allegedly. Okay. So that stolen laptop was in my door. And folks came, asked me questions instantly your spider senses. Oh, I know why you're here. You know what I'm saying? And I was embarrassed because coming from Atlanta, not a lot of people make it out. Not at the scale, the right way you feel I'm saying like, you will leave, rebrand yourself, come back and not you demand how you move. who, what you drive, who you around you, how much money you got out of the life. Well, as an athlete, do it the same. Like a lot of kids leave the city, going to the division on programs, I was the kid that was always good. You feelin' sayin' like I never lacked skill, wreck ball, one of the best, high school, one of the best, college, one of the best, pro, one of the best, like I never lacked that. But when I went to college, I always challenge kids to keep the main thing the main thing. What I mean by that is, so many times kids are no longer able to play their sport because they were distracted on trying to be or do something else that has nothing to do with their sport, right? I made a decision and I had that in my possession and I got punished for it. I spent two days in jail and it was like, yo, like I had time to talk to myself. I knew what you were doing, right? You feel me embarrassingly enough, like, vulnerable to crying and just, it's not crying of a fear, it's crying of a disappointment, right? And what's nuts is, I remember that day or those days because we, the University of Florida was playing the citadel. Well, also, the game that was playing that weekend was Michigan on Ohio State. The quarterback at the time was to rail prior for Ohio State and this was a person during that time was like a big deal, right? I said to myself, it's like, bro, here's a person who plays like the game similar to you. He playing, you locked up. What are we doing? So that oath came internally for me to just make that decision, like, bro, when I got out, my mother was there to greet me with tears and that oath also was, the next time there never will be a time in my life that my mother will crop tears of embarrassment. It will be tears of joy only. And the next time I see her cry was, was draft night. Hey, what are you saying? So, you know, those type of life lessons, but to your question, to your point, I'm a firm believer of second chances, but the individual has to understand that this is it. Right. And I'm saying, you know, everybody in your cheek giving you grace, right? With the idea of you still messing up your situation. How did your father respond to that? Man, I was the black sheep of my family. Still is. How so? I want to get the grain on a lot of different things where growing up in church, I was always taught right from wrong, but I just always didn't do right. We, none of us do, especially youngsters. None of us do. So, for me, that's what, that's what, that's what the grace of God is here for. Yes, sir. To say, the wicked, not the righteous. I'm trying to tell you, you know what I mean? So, if, if we be honest for people who knew me and knows my family dynamic, what they would assume for comparable reasons, I would be the king and your family dynamic. Publicly may have done some things that like, well, what the daddy gonna do? Hmm, there's always, you know, called out in school. My, my, I would run home early before practice just to see if my teacher left a message on the phone so I can delete the message to run back to school. You know, I was that child. I don't remember them that. Do you feel them saying so? I was, I was so difficult. But teacher used to tell me, I'm gonna call your mom. I'd be like, lady, if I phone, they don't want me. (laughing) But my girl, I knew that they called because they would have full-to-counting school on the caller ID. I don't like, man, how in the world did you delete a message? Like, that was before I even was tech savvy, you know? Right. I tried to pull the phone out of the socket just so it won't go through. But needless to say, my father was very intricate in disciplining me, but also teaching me values of being a man. You feel me? But you know what I do? That shortpeak, that short story that you just said. You know, regardless of how that outcome turned out, what it said to me is your father made you care, made you care about the outcome of your behavior or what you were in school. And now they, the kids don't even care. You feel him? So that's, I think-- No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, they care. They just don't fear what is to come from actions. I always was fearful. Like, I'm a car, your mama can't. Cool, car, my mama, don't car my dad. Well, you caught my dad and said, man, we're going to have some issues, you feel what I'm saying? Those are the type of games that I played, you know, with my teachers and all my teachers knew one thing, but I never disrespected them. I just love people. Hate it, school, I love people. I love the interactions that you had in the hallways, the lunch, the recess, and all those things. I was the fun guy, you feel me? But why don't you think schools recognize those skills in young people and cultivate those instead of just drilling the mundane, the conventional approach to education? I don't think that the traditional school dynamic is for everybody. Well, I think school is there to really-- to breed followers. I think it's there to condition young kids to become human-being adults that will join the workforce and fall in line with the systems that have been set in place. If you're someone that is a leader, someone that looks to blaze a trail and do things differently than they've ever been done before, and can lead the rest of these kids away from that system, they shun you. I think-- and you're right-- to that point. I think everything about traditional K-12 school is a system for people to just fall in line. There's nothing about the K-12 school system. Teachers, independence, or real Excel. Some will say, well, what about the magnum cum laude's or the people who excel in higher learning? And I said, well, to that, how many magnum cum laude individuals can use that on their resume? And it can't-- people can't in the matters. You see what I'm saying? If somebody were to want to work with you and you look at their resume and they say, oh, you're a magnum cum laude, and then you start to be around this person and you observe this person. This person lacks social skills. This person lacks hospitality. This person lacks the inability to figure it out or they don't have that hustler's drive or-- they watch in the caucus. It's 4.45 to-- like, I get off at 5. Like, y'all about to go somewhere else? No, I got to go. That right there will not have you excel in this dynamic of life that we live in. And I'm not shunning it. It's not for everybody. That's what-- that's my statement. I don't think that that traditional school system is built for individuals that especially were like me, were free thinkers. It's like, my children have taught me this. But why is a valid question? Just because I said so. It's not a valid answer. And we grew up on those types of metrics and guidelines. It's like, well, man, but why do we got to do it? Because I said so. Never say anything or other than anything from that. But now that you-- I want to explain to my children certain things. And I don't think that it's rebelliousness. It's just understanding that they desire. And you think-- and we want to teach our children to challenge everything. Yeah. We want to teach them. But I think, you know, we're beginning to teach, challenge everything but us. Yeah. Do as I say. No, not as I do, yeah. So that's kind of one of the biggest-- it's one of the biggest battles I had with Dominic as well as King, where they were like, yo, this school, what is school for? What am I using? How am I going to use this? And Dominic was the most adamant about King at the-- I believe I'm not, you know, I want to put none on them to don't fit. But I believe King kind of just said, OK, I ain't getting the word with him. I'm just going to pay somebody to do my work. That would think happened. But figuring it out just as well. I did feel I'm saying it was-- Well, works for you ain't going to work for him or me. You did what I was saying. Let me ask you to graduate. He's de-aggressive. I asked from a parents perspective who publicly has shown the family dynamic with a blended family. How do you make that work with the differences in your children? Well, honestly, it is easier for me because it's different as they are. They all are a reflection of-- of different parts of my personality. So they just tap into different parts of me. I can see when they become recluse or when they, you know, when they just kind of don't want to talk about it no more or when they're standoff issue, when they, you know, whatever the dynamic is, they're experiencing or that I'm witnessing them experience. I know what part of me that is. And I know whatever it is they're doing, it kind of comes from me. So I just tap into what that is and it's an instant ability to relate, you know? So I just try to meet them where they are and try to speak to them. First of all, sharing with them how I've been in similar situations and have felt similarly before and why I understand why they me feel like that. But I also wanna let them know why it's important, why it's important to not give up and just leave it there to overcome whatever it is they're feeling because it's a greater feeling on the other side. Yeah, I mean, that's kind of high. I try and do it. And also, man, I also just wanna let them know it seems like this is the most important thing to you right now, but this too shall pass. You're gonna evolve beyond this and get to a place where this will be a blip on the radar. And when you do, I don't want you to handle yourself in such a way where you've made such a big deal of that something that won't be a big deal later on. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, that would have tried to be most of it. Well, listen, I don't allow other people's judgment or rational thoughts to impact what I do, mm-hmm. So, for you and yo household, no matter how young, no matter how old they are, bro, I commend each and every parent because now we're living in a day and age, dog, dead. We're losing more children than having children present to really what's going on. We got social media, but people on social media ain't social. Like, it's so crazy, right? Like, folks, like I always tease my boys. It's like, boy, y'all niggas gotta get, y'all gotta get in. Like on time, I can't y'all put it together, girl. They don't talk, they can't talk to girls. Yeah. Like, you know, young people don't talk to girls, you know what I'm saying? They just stand around girls and see what happened. You see what happened, see what happened. You know, they reach up for rich, like, no, I don't need, you know what I'm saying? They're like, man, I get 'em coming out there, coming out the house as I'm taking them to school, but we're gonna put some chapstick on us. Niggas, you, man, don't put some deodorant on. My head, I'm gonna put some of that, you know what I'm saying? It smells good. I don't like those type of dynamics that even some parents don't even welcome, you know, as a way to really tap in with their children. It's needed, it's essential. Because your children are curious. And even though we may think we have all the answers, your children can also be your greatest teacher. Right. They keep you here, my children keep me young. Man, what's going on? Six, seven, six, seven, well, what in the hell are they? They do so many things that, you know, it's amazing, but I always try to find ways to relate, but above all, I always try to make myself available, right? Because they go through so, that's right. And, yeah. You know what, speaking of social media, social media, it dawned on me like as much of a benefit it has been for so many people to promote themselves and their products and their lifestyle, whatever it is, they got going on. It's been, it's been beneficial that way, but it's also been extremely counterproductive. And I say, because social media has given the worst people in the world, access to the best people in the world. The worst people in the world, just think about it. The worst people in the world now have access to the best people in the world. I don't think that that's a problem. I do. Because eventually, two people cannot meet and engage and spend time and have access to one another. Unlimited access to one another. Without one being affected in some way, there must be an effect. How would you expect, how would you prefer it to be? Well, I mean, to be honest with you, I can't say how I would prefer it to be, aside from just saying, back to the way it was. But what like, explain that, because for some people, they may not understand what I said back to the way it was. You know, we had, when we had to actually earn the access to the people that we spent time around. That all we wanted to be around. We wanted to be around, that we wanted to engage with, that we wanted to get information from. We couldn't just have an opinion about a person that we didn't know and just have a meaningless opinion flow. Because what that does is, that could take a person off the path of greatness. If a person is on a path of greatness and the worst people in the world have access to them, and can bombard them with a bunch of negativity, that could take that person off that path of greatness. Whether it's, I'm gonna step off this path just to address you. Or whether it's, I'm gonna step off this path because I no longer believe in what I'm doing anymore. Or whether it's, I'm gonna step off this path because I wanna, instead of doing this, I think now if I do that, I'll get a difference. - I'm gonna tell you why I agree or disagree with you. It's because I think we're too soft. I think we run away from challenges. I think we will prefer the role of comfort rather than some type of contentiousness or bumpiness. Bumpiness will shape character for my children or even the people who are around me the most. If you are responding to a person who leaves a comment under your social media handle, and it affects you that much to where you have to respond. - Okay. - Day one. - Now what does that say about you? - Understood. - So if I'm in this dynamic and I'm starting to see, a lot of times people are not, they don't go through the ringer. So they can easily be distracted, affected, and sway. And what does that really say about your vision that you had set forth for yourself? Now you're absolutely correct once you have made it to a point where you or I, where we are. I'm talking about when they're still in the incubator, when they were there meeting metamorphosis, before they made it to the point where they can be completely certain about what they are and what they mean to the world. They have so much outside input that they can't help but to feed into before, like when it was, you know, you ain't that well, I'm probably older than you than one would, than I would like to consider. But all we had to worry about was the kids in our school and the people we lived right there. We had to ignore them, you know what I'm saying? - But they could be toxic, they could be very thrilling. And I'm telling you, get around the wrong bag. It don't matter if it's virtual or in person. If you got around a bad batch of people or person, that thing, that source could really die. Hey, man, what you doing there we can, nah, man, pull up. Man, you pull up and you find yourself in a situation like, man, what are my head? Man, then what we doing? We about to rob somebody, we about to do that. We about to do that. Man, man, shut up, you like, all right, I'll do that. All right, that's the same situation to where not virtual, they're being affected, they're being bullied, and I'm not condoning none of that. It's always been here. - But you know the bully and I, how we overcame the bully in eye time was just stand up to him, hit him in the mouth, and you know what I mean? - And hope he don't hit you back. - Oh, throw him back. - I mean, you know what I'm saying? - He just let him know that he was in a fight too. - For sure. - You know what I'm saying? Now, you can't hit the people in the mouth. - No, no, no. - You feel what I'm saying? They're not there presently for you to hit him in the mouth, so they just kind of linger around, effecting these children emotionally, mentally, which probably will have more adverse effect on them in the long run than the physical abuse would have. Who's to say? - No one. - That's why we were part of it. - You can't say. (laughing) I was like, both are bad. But when you start to realize it's like, all right, 'cause something that's been on my timeline, mentally, that's been in my zeitgeist, okay, sort of speak. And it's about parenting, ooh. How I was raised, it's come true. completely different than how I can raise my children. - Okay. - Point being. If I decide to punish my children in a more corporal way, and there's any type of signs, bruises, scratches, that person, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, so or so. What happened to you? - Oh, last night, I dropped a fork in my parents instead of doing that. Or I talked back, or you called my mama. And my mama, blah, blah, blah to me. Now you do that today, the mama. I don't know where they got it in other states. - They got it. - The defects. - They got it. - They're coming to get you. I mean, I've seen someone on social media, bro, where I've seen a parent punish her child. How? What a bill. - Okay. - And I'm looking, I'm like, she got locked up, lost her job, lost everything. - Was there a strength during this punishment? - I will say as leases are possible because I wouldn't want somebody to take what I say and to say I feel that she was right or to feel that she was wrong. - Okay. - So it's something that you had to endure as a child. - I went through what I said, and I turned out like this. - That's right. Okay, I got you. And what I believe in is if you do not invest in your children and you allow an app or a tablet to invest in your children, that's the virtual side. Hey, if you don't invest in your children, that person, that place or that thing, which is a noun, will have lasting impact on your children. What do you mean? If you don't know what your daughter doing, big dog, you can't get mad at she don't pop up. So for me, how we tap into our children matters? And how you do it in your household? Sometimes some kids would do certain things that you would have to say like, hey, they ain't no way in the world that somebody is disciplining them. And they wait that they need to. And I'm not saying that per thing, you need to use any type of things to discipline because everybody has to be parent to parent. You know how you need to discipline your child? Every parent knows what it takes to get through to your child. But a certain parents aren't doing that, right? And I'm not saying using bodily harm. Some parents are not even checking in, right? And their children are checked out, right? It's like, hey, man, my household, my children already know if you close a dog, we don't close those around here, unless you are in the restroom and you answer for privacy. And even that has a timetable. I'm looking at that dog get closed. You probably got five to eight minutes. What you doing in there? Hey, uh-uh. Well, open up this dog. You fit, that's how I was raised. But that's the in the room with it. And I get, I get, I say this. If you keep locking this dog in the famous words of my dad, I'm gonna take the home dog down. (laughing) I will unscrew every screw and take it off. And you get to be hard for you. Ain't that wrong with it? - For sure. - Because that is the rights of a home. - Y'all trying to take it, I'm trying to take it. - For sure. - That's the rights of a home. Now, I've heard you say before that hidden rock bottom helped you turn your life around. - For sure. - What advice would you have for kids who feel like they're hidden rock bottom? - What you, what you call it? A spectacle on a grand scheme of things. Like even in that situation where I told you when I was incarcerated. - Is that, is that your rock bottom? - One of them. - Okay. - As you know in life. - Yeah, it was a blow. - You can find a new body. - Yeah, a new body. He said that. - You can't get no worse than this. - What's through me? - And then you guys say, you know what it is. - What? (laughing) - You think this, you think this one. - No, do you worry about a bit, bro? - Why did you? - Hold my bill. - Hold my mind. (laughing) - My libation. - Hold my bills. - But it's one of them things that even in that dynamic, humans, not just children or adults, you have to realize your biggest scar can end up being your biggest star. And what is, it's no, it's no losses. It's like what is this situation trying to teach me? If it ain't me, being around these people, being on these type of, in these situations, whatever. I have to learn something or I'm being taught this. No matter how low it is. And if you learn it, it's not as bad as you're making this thing. I used to have a coach, man, that told me no matter what it is, it trends like there's so many different facets of life. It's not as bad as you make it seem, and it's not always as good as you make it seem. - Right. - To stay even cute. - That's right. - And to take yourself out of that situation. Like, man, not a lost everything. What you lost? Your car? It's okay, bro. You're figuring out, hey man, I don't lost my house. Yeah, that's tough, but we can figure this out. - Yeah. - And as long as you got the heart or the desire to keep going, you'll realize that maybe you didn't even need that for your new mountain that you potentially climb and get to the top of. Man, that's real. And you talked about the experience that you had in Florida and just me being a fan. I know that that inevitably led you to making it to become a warrior. - Yeah. - How did that change your career and impact you? - Well, my journey was different. Like, for Albrew, I couldn't just transfer Florida and then transfer to Albrew. We didn't have a luxury of having a transfer portal as athletes have today. - Oh, it changed. - It never would. It wasn't even a fall. - No, I was saying what I was saying is, so the way what you had to endure, it's different. - It's completely different. - It's like, if I go to Clark, I can transfer to more house and play next year. - If I'm at Albrew, I can transfer to Alabama and play next year. If I'm at Georgia, I can go to Georgia Tech and play next year. Well, when I was three years, all right. - So by the same time, they introduced the NIL. - Yes. - Okay guys. - The transfer portal is a real game changer. And I do believe that this is in the best interest of the players to a degree. But as everything, if taking advantage of the right way, it's a good thing, but taking advantage of in the wrong way can become a crutch. But for me, in my situation, I had to go to junior college, okay. And when I'd even too much knowing everything about junior college, you know the typical stereotype about an athlete in junior college either you wasn't good enough or you did something bad to be in this situation. - Right. - I was a little bit above that in some type of dynamic. And who was the quarterback when you was in Florida? - T-bone. - T-bone. - So T-bone would keep you from playing. Some would say. But I could tell my kids that I was backing up arguably one of the best, if not the best to some people's eyes. College player of all time. - Mm, mm, mm, okay. - You may not agree? - I mean, you may agree. - This is what I'm saying. I don't have enough research on T-bone. To be able to say. - I do. - Okay. - And that's why I used that. - Did you play as practice with him? - I did. - I was around T-bone every day for two years. - Okay. - So your experience with him and you sharing that with me, it definitely enlightens me more than my first hand. - His impact, his impact as a college athlete hit a stratosphere. Not a lot of athletes can eat a scratch. And that's why I say, arguably, because some could argue that he's not in some could argue that he is. I've never really seen a player at that age, or even experience the type of aura that came with a college athlete. Every, it wasn't no secret where he was because everywhere he was, it was a big deal. - Yeah. - Oh, yeah. And so when you became a warrior, you took that with you. You went to argue and you took that. - I would have been a fool not to. - Okay. - You see what I'm saying? And those are the things that are even challenged. Anybody going through something where you're at a job, and you have to leave a job to me. Man, learn, like take what tip has done. Take what cam has done. You may not even mimic it, but take it and put it your own spin. - And if you learn what not to do. - Exactly. - So that for me, I would have been a fool. I had the ability to be around so many skillful athletes, especially at a young age. I graduated high school early. I earned a semester, okay, I got it. And I went to Gainesville, Florida, where the University of Florida was. And I was 17 years old in college, food. And right before my birth, I was experiencing so much. And then that was the first time I was around Caucasians on a regular basis that we were in some way shaped form equal, food. Being in Atlanta, on the south side of Atlanta, the only time you experience, or you come into contact with a Caucasian, it's because that Caucasian is in a senior position, a teacher, a coach, an officer. So now I'm walking around white people as teammates. I don't know how to interact with white people. 17 years old, 17 years of my life, I never came in contact. It was weird. So it'd be crazy to me when people be saying, this person is racist, or this, that person just don't know because when you really talk to people, and you start to say, what was the first time you came in the contact on a regular basis with a person that didn't match your gender, your race, your ethnicity, your religion, all in the delta pot. And you will be shocked at what you find. I bet the fact I will ask you what, the same thing. When was the first time? And what age, when you was around differences outside of African-American? I went to the middle school, and it was a bunch of others there. You had two, three white people, and you had a handful of others. Well, how old, middle school, that's 13? 17, six, seven, eight, but I didn't play those sports. Yeah. This is just in school and class and whatnot. Now, the others, they didn't socialize with us much. And they were often the butt of jokes and people would pick on them, not by myself. Man, lead them alone, type sheep, you know what I'm saying. And it wasn't until I went to Riverdale. Now, when I went to Riverdale, this was eighth grade. I went to Riverdale, eighth grade. Now, that put me around a lot. Different. More others. Yeah. More others and more Europeans. And, but it didn't feel the same because we still had our community. So it was probably like, let's just say, 45% black, 35% white, and maybe, you know, 20% of us, you know what I'm saying. Well, I was 100% black. From elementary school, middle school, high school. All I knew was black, well, the word nigger was so loosely used that it was almost a part of people vocabulary vernacular. Even the teachers would turn around niggers. And look, right here, it was, it wasn't needing nothing to be embarrassed about. Now, when I went to, I don't think people outside of my community understand how-- Your screw had loosely reused the word nigger. Bruh. Like nigger is so much like, it's one of the things. But when I go to the next level, I had a strength coach. I forgot coach Nick. And I didn't know no bad. I'm a nigger from Atlanta. You're feeling it, shouting, capping, and popping up. I exuded Atlanta. Well, you dressed here, friend, bruh. Like, what the hell are you from? I mean, I nigger from Atlanta, dude. Well, you're not skating all the time. But you ate to your nigger, man, I did. You know what I mean? But what it taught me was having more of an open, eye to certain things. Coach Mick told us we was in that weight run one day, one day. And he said, you never want to use words that other people around you cannot use. And it says that, no. Because as a Caucasian man, he's giving me insight that I didn't necessarily know that how does it make the white man feel when a bunch of African Americans saying, hey, nigger, hey, man, come here real quick. And some will say, why should we care what they feel? But in a professional sense, you've done deals all the time. Of course, have you ever used that vernacular in that type of dynamic while you're dealing with the others? Absolutely. OK, absolutely. Now, I'm not saying that it was to my advantage or whether it was to my detriment. But what I will say, there is a freedom in being able to live, and speak, and behave as you are, without worrying about how it impacts others. Can I make that right? Because nobody's doing that for us. They're not. You feel? But we also have to play by rules that are different than others, to what I would say is this. I was considered a franchise quarterback. Yes, you are. You being a musical artist. There's a lifestyle that is kind of OK. That's T.I. Yeah. This is true. That's male. Yeah. That's T.I. That's true. Ain't it those words? Man, he got a plethora of. Yeah. That's T.I. That's right. Well, for Ken Newton, if I'm trying to get drafted, and I smell the third type of way, this is true. And I'm talking the third type of way. We about to get this person potentially $30 million. This is going to be the person in the forefront representing our franchise. So someone say, ah, that nigga Kuhn, and he's switching up. It's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Now, you don't understand what's at stake here. You're doing what's necessary. You're doing what's necessary to secure the opportunities. Yes, sir. Yeah. And it's important for you to gain that opportunity. Because now, if you do right by that opportunity, you can open up the doors for everybody to say niggas, as much as they want. [LAUGHTER] You think this-- Tell me how do you feel like-- because what you're explaining is a dichotomy, a dichotomy. You having the upbringing of being around a black people in a black community, how it shaped you, and the lessons you've learned from it, and then placing yourself in the midst of a community where you had to alter that and kind of spoon feed that as they could understand or be comfortable with it. Were you ever-- did you ever get tired of doing that? Did that become a challenge within itself? Yes, it did. Hence the while I have grew my hair out now. Because it's not a measure of rebelliousness or being an outlaw. It's more or less being relatable to the people that's from where I'm from. And also a freedom. A freedom that you don't have to check those boxes anymore. But to encourage others that, hey, you can still be cultured. And understand what you need to cut the volume up. And it's acceptable. And sometimes not cutting it off. But just, hey, tune it down. So you can secure something. That's right. Because even though you may say they don't have to do it, they do do it. They don't always have those conversations around you. That's right. That don't mean that they're not having them. So we all play in the game. You just got to understand the rules of the game and play it to your advantage. Yeah. Do you think you could play it now? I know I can. You could play right now. Bro, I said it before. I don't think you can say it. It ain't 32 quarterbacks that I feel confident and saying that like, bro, all 32 better than you. With the right, like, all I was asked when I got a call to see, like, hey, would you consider being a backup? I said, for who? I don't need to say for who? And then when they told me who, I was like, bro, I'm a competitor. I'm better than him, basically. I know I'm better. Just allow us to compete. I know, like, physically, you were in shape and you could probably run it and you could probably take the heat, so what had you? Well, is your accuracy throwing the footballs out? I know, I've got to say that about a minute. I'm just asking the question. I'm saying it about a human being who has not been thrown the football on Sunday for how many years now? That's my question. Let me deflect real quick. If you were talking to Matt Ryan. I would have asked Kurt Cuzin's the same old fucking day. (laughing) Hey, listen, 'cause I'm telling you, both of my businesses is in close proximity, other dome. And it's very, it's impacted by what Kurt Cuzin's does. So nowadays, I'd be really rooting for Kurt Co. You said do something because when. And dogs don't find his loose. It affects my business, see everybody go home. They all like no, I wanna see a play out game, bro. I won't broke, man, listen. Where Julio Jones, Matt Ryan, Roddy White, he had a lemma like she would judge. I hated y'all because we was in a division, that she would judge. 'Cause what people did know in 2015, that was Carolina's year. Well, 2016, that was the Falcons year. And it was like everything that we did, the Falcons kind of dealt with them. We had, we went 15 to one, lost to the Falcons, which I'll, but how do I lose it? Round 'em, out of all teams. (laughs) They fought. You said that from being somebody from Atlanta. You had, I hated Atlanta. (laughs) But it was the Warriors mentality, though. You know what I'm talking about? If you were a rapper and it wasn't the hate as malicious, it was competitive. It kind of like when Tupal had to go against, had to go to, but he was really from the bro. Hell, a lot of people don't know that. But yes, it's the same way show competitive drive trains you to hate the absurdity. But it was always respect, right? So when we had that 2015 year, what sort of Super Bowl, I was, I don't matter if that, I was in the hospital, my daughter, Sovereign Dior, Canvella was born, the day that the, but the Falcons played the Patriots. Mm, and what P. My Hospital was. Mm, everybody was exciting. Mm, and I was like, well, Super Bowl, super Bowl, bro. Did we have to talk about this? - We don't. (laughs) - Because it was, 'cause I was in Houston. It was a battle. I was in the action. I was in the field, 'cause I was praying. And it was like, God said, no, don't worry about it. I got you, bro. I said, bro, 28 to 3. Wait, I never let it down. 'Cause I still went to the same spot. I'm from the south side, and all of these don't always come back, you know, come see family, whatever. And they would always give me flat. Yeah, how about you know what I'm saying? Who they, obviously, with New Orleans and then. Persians, rise up, rise up, sit your way down. (laughs) And in that hospital room, my daughter was just born. I was sitting myself from, I can now stay in the file, 'cause winning a Super Bowl was for me. - Man, what? - And then insert time, Brady. - In the movie, when he was on the bench. - And my play, I hit that buffalo out when he's butted. (laughs) - And he handed that for me. - Yeah, man, God, so you were to blame. - No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. - Cheers. - Cheers. - Cheers when I pressed the button. The button came back and said, "There's thousands of people "that I've already pressed the button before you." - So I was like, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey." - Well, all that disappointment aside, your podcast, "Funky Friday" with "CAM News" doing great, congratulations. - Thank you. - How do you decide what gets to invite you? - You know what's crazy? I was inviting any and everybody because I needed the reps. And I wanted to show that it was more to me than football. So these type of dynamics and dialogues, I feel extremely comfortable with having. I didn't think people took me serious enough to be able to stand or sit, need a knee across from a person for hours at a time, having a very impactful conversation. And now today, it's a destination spot for so many people, absolutely. What I hate about it is, I want my platform to be an unveiling of an individual that they may not have known. And sometimes, they come on my platform and they steal something or they want people to know, "Hey, I got a book. Hey, I got an album. Hey, I'm doing this." And I'm like, "Man, look at that." Okay, we could do that, but what about this that happened because I need to understand what I want to know about TIP, the father, the TIP, the business man. The conversation has to care. It had been, and sometimes the platform is impacted because people don't lean into really what's being asked. So even though we will highlight projects, the intentions for a person now comes, I want to highlight this rather than saying, "Hey, let's just have an intellectual conversation." - Yeah, so that was a moment. Man, I've been on your show, bro. I've been on your show, and I've had a job myself. - Yes. - And I think that you have embraced the challenges that come with being, I guess, from lack of better words of journalists, a member of the media. - Yeah, a member of the media, which we are essential workers. That's how I can get at my house and move around with no traffic and during the pandemic, you know what I'm saying? 'Cause we are essential workers. And I saw an episode of your podcast, where you were interviewing with a gentleman, and you were prompting him to do something, and then he was like, "No, I can't do that." Because that's a sign for some kind of-- - The mark of the beast. - Yeah, and I looked, and I was taking the back, and I had perplexed. - Yeah, but at the same time, I was drawn in. I was intrigued. And my question to you, how did you feel in that moment? And second question, did you know that this was the mark of the beast before? - First off, the individual is Jason Wilson. - Jason Wilson. And he's a good brother. He is. I hate what happened because it now shifted the narrative, or distracted the narrative, to make people think something that was absolutely natural. - Right. - I just told you, I come from church. - Right. - I'm dipped in the blood. - I know. - Would you why, as how you feel? - That's what I felt disappointed. Because even then, if it doesn't question my religion, or my sexuality, I didn't have the right to say, "Hold on, hold on, tell me what you got to do with him." If you explain it, and your intentions match, what I'm willing to do, I will do it. When I told him, and I explained to him, he was very versed with what he knew, or he thought it to be, but I'm saying, this is not my intentions, I understand. And now you have something being, the narrative being manipulated in people's minds, especially given the climate of being a successful individual in this work. - That's the little minority. - Oh, that's the devil. He a devil worshipper. Look at his hair. Look at that. - Bro, what did the hell have to do with that? - I'm saying a lot of devil. - I've seen a lot of, you know, comparisons to devil, I've never seen that. - You would be surprised. - Because some would say, it's horns. - Bro, it's so crazy to think that individuals will go to that extreme to prove a point. And you can make it, it's almost like a conspiracy theory. You can make somebody think that, "Hey, man, hold on." He has been doing that for a long time, bro, what do you mean? - Yeah, I couldn't even remember, did I do it? - You would have definitely did. - I did it. - But it was a sign of love. - I reviewed these. - Look, you hear me. That was the, I reviewed it. - But here, but here it is, under my feet, yelzable. - Yes. - You hear me? - But here it is, here it is stuff. My intentions was, this is the universal sign of love. - I'm a lover. - Okay, I think for us in this, in this realm, even as black people, if we loved, like we hated, what would that look like? - Yeah. - So every signature on this Instagram, every signature under my emails, it's always one love. - Now, let me ask you this, is that the only sign of love? - It's one of the signs of love. - Okay, now, since you have experienced it and learned it, did you change what you have done? - Absolutely not. - You haven't changed. - Because that's still my intentions. Anytime I pose for people, it's love. It's not, and he corrected it because he made content, because it was getting so noisy, where it's like, where, explain this, and he explained. Well, the mark of the beast is not including the thumb. And that's how I'm like, man. - Well, to be honest with you, if you do it without a clue in the thumb, let's say-- - That's Houston, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's the sign for you. - So everybody use the devil. - And walk along. - The long, hook 'em home by sook. So bro, it's like, what's your intentions though? And if I'm talking to you as a man, and you tell me your intentions is this, that's what it is. But I respected him and said, hey bro, I don't, I don't want you to be uncomfortable, but you know, if my intent isn't to harm, suppress, degrade, or disrespect, what we talk about. And we've had conversations-- - Out of you spoken-- - You spoken so much. - Yeah, multiple times. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Where does he stand on the matter now? - We've never talked about it. I steer respect to him. - I see he's a stand up, you know? - No for sure, but I didn't have him in my show. He's a stand up and I would make that happen. I would do my part in making that connection happen. And that's just the type of person that I am. But what I'm saying is I just hate that it could have been silenced or suppressed by him just saying, I know Kim is not a devil worshiper. Let's just put that out there. If that comes from the person who also was concerned, now you have an audience of people that you can see or may not see, that now understands, or anyone with the spirit of discernment will be able to ascertain whether or not they're around someone that has a deem worshiping spirit. - But, but I know though. - Well, the only way I feel you may be confused is if, and I see this a lot. A lot of people who grow up with very, very, how can you say, modest, modest leans, a lot of people who have been at a point where they have been to have nights for a long time. And they look out and they see a lot of people who have, a lot of those people who have, they figure out ways to say, okay, these people have, and because the only reason they have, and I don't, it got to be because they're doing these things that I'm not willing to do. Now, sometimes they may be correct. There may be instances and examples where they can put to, where they will say, this is an example of why I'm not where they are. There are exceptions to every room, you know what I mean? I think that that spirit of discernment must kick in for you to exercise where the exception exists. And I'm not saying that was his circumstances. I'm just saying in my experiences, I've seen where people have allowed their circumstances to, I guess, determine or cause them to determine why other people are in greater positions than they are. That's, that's a fact, but what I would say to that is this, my mother, who is my earthly angel, she would always say, she would pray over us before we go to school. - God, mama, I gotta, I gotta go. - And she would say some favor, ain't fair. You are living the blessings that people pray over you and for you. Don't take that lightly. So, even though a person may not ever see me talk to my heavily father, that don't mean that they have it, it's real. And certain times, as you know, being in this limelight, or being in the industry, it's easy to kind of get drawn away. And you start to say, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm doing a lot. I ain't doing that. Like, it's been time, like, man, bro, son. Look at y'all, I gotta go, okay, well, what is this? And I'm, I'm the guy that will respect for you. I'm cool with being around family. Like, I'm cool with just, just doing the normal stuff and people see it and it's like, me, what's, what's you doing in the publics? And I'll flip it on them. - I get that. - What you doing? - I get that at the gas station and like, no. People think, I, celebrities are supposed to pump gas. - Mm. - They think that we just, you know, - Let me ask you. - I think she just get filled up on us. - Right. - What's the biggest misconception of tipped? - Oh, the biggest misconception. I think that I don't smile, that I don't laugh, that, you know, that I'm always serious. I think it's a lot of them, bro. I think that people kind of, they, they receive us in a way that they kind of put us in a box. It's kind of as they are introduced to us, for instance, for you, it will be a football player. Some will receive you as a football player to put you in that box. - All you can do is football, you do football. When you, if you get to stepping out and for lack of better word, for lack of a better example, if you chose to, I don't know, and be a model, or if you chose to be an actor, where acting kind of goes to football. If you chose to do something outside of the scope, - The normal expectations of a football player. - Then they would be like, man, I don't know, you're good at football, but can you do this? Like me with comedy. It's almost like, man, what I'm good at is a nut. How do you get good at something if you don't do it? - You don't do it, but why are you the determining factor of whether or not I should choose to explore it? You can't tell me what the fuck to do. You, all you could do is observe what I choose to do. And I think that that to me is, and a lot of people get stuck in that part. 'Cause a lot of people become fearful of what others will, what their comments will be. And I think that people like us are the ones that break the mold and say, man, we gonna do it the fuck. We wanna do a lot of the stuff how you feel. So I think that's why people like you are important. I also want to speak about the, you've been very, very hands-on in the community and building and shaping opportunities for young people in sports. There was a 7-0-7 tournament that Canada took a left turn all the way up. (laughing) - God! - Man, can you talk to us about what happened there and what provisions have been put in place to prevent it from happening here? - Well, bro, what people didn't know, those were grown there. And what people didn't know, I knew exactly who it was. - You did. - Like, they helped me in my 7-0-7 program. And that type of dynamic, I'm happy that nothing else came from that because where we're from, that's just the beginning, right? Not the end, right? And I'm grateful that nothing else came from that. I wish Steph and T.J. nothing but success. I always wish the success. I think what happened that specific day was, alpha man. You know, coming to a disagreement, right? And it just, it's all like keeping the bowl of noodles on the stone too long. - Yeah. - The pie pie baller, with ballin' on it. And since then, we've spoken and it's been nothing but love and respect. - What caused it to get to that point? - Well, they decided to start their own 7-0-7 program. And, well, I'm a football player, I'm a troll. And we playing space. I'm gonna tell you something about yourself just to get you to throw that nine of space rather than that jack of space. - I have experienced it. - So I need to let my 10 walk. So I'm literally gonna tell you to get in your head and take you at your door. - Brother, I got my PhD in smack talk. - Yes, me, I'm. - So when I'm seeing certain things happen, I wasn't even playing, but I knew I would have to play them. - Right. - And one thing-- - When you say you weren't playing, you mean you're-- - My team wasn't playing. I would just observe and just throw them. - Yeah. - They said certain things, I said certain things. And then one thing led to the other and it was like a "I" bit. And what happens when two cobras, or two lions meet, somebody gonna blink. - Right. - Somebody gonna flinch. - But from that dynamic, it told me and it was a reminder there. - But it was more than one, it was more than one that blink. - It was, we was blinking. - Yeah, it was more than, it was about full, full blinking. - Yeah. - You counted full? - I counted full. - I counted full. - But, you know, I don't know. - Yeah, we ain't got to do that. We ain't got to do that. - We blinked. - And it was over. But the reality of it, it was this. I could have been better in a dynamic because I - I understand. - Did y'all talk with the kids after? - No, damn. I talked, not together. - Okay. - I think now looking back, I wish as me and it would have been like, A, now I need, come on. 'Cause whatever is going to be, cut that phone, A, let's go back in this room. Whatever hole happened in that room, what happened in that room? - Right. - But what we need that room, it's gonna be left in that room. - So we don't live in that, in that age where that is still possible. - True. - Sometimes, right. - Because I got plenty of questions for me as an observer to you. But to that point, it's still not to negate what good that they did, or they do with their platform. - Definitely not. - So they've impacted youth members in football the same way as I, right? - And who am I to tell anybody to say, oh man, I haven't known, bro. We are both passionate, all of us, all parties are passionate about what they do. And it led to that embarrassingly admitted. But I'm grateful that nobody was hurt. And you got past it, got past it. Now the thing is for them, they still are doing and making the impact in the community and whether they want to believe it or not. I directed people to them. Because I don't, you don't need to know that I did it. Just understand I don't have nothing but love for you, bro. Even if it ain't, if it's not with me. - Have y'all teams ever played? - Yes. - Y'all teams ever played this. - They won. - Yeah, they won. - They were, they were, but they was, the dynamic is this. - It's almost like they got shaking in the dance we gave. - It was respectful, bro. It was just one of those dynamics that it's all in sport. - It's like a free accident. - It was a blink. - Okay, cool. - Can I ask my question? Go ahead. - What do you think about the state of music right now? - What do I think about state of music? - More specifically in Atlanta. - I think that the state of music in Atlanta is experiencing the best of times and the worst of times. - What's the, what makes it the best? - I mean, it makes it the best that people are evolving and free to explore the height of their creativity, you know what I mean. And they have the technology and they collaborate together. And see back when I feel like when I was doing it, it was only one of us at the top of the time. - Hmm. - Like when I was on top, Kilomite wasn't necessarily a musician and he was a, uh, during that time I would say, 'cause you was a part of my high school dynamic. It was T.I. G. Z. Gucci, right? That run right there, you underground, you had the shawty lows, the past of Troy's, the OGs, the past of Troy came before us, yet, but even before that dynamic, you had goodie mom, you had dungeon family, but like future wasn't even a thing, not a high school, not my experience. - He wasn't bloody war, because you know that's become way lookers. - Yes. - But the, I just, oh, in some way. That wasn't even thought of, like that was during the time Wayne was mixed tape Wayne, and that, the body of music, it was a mixed tape era, right? So when I graduated high school in '07, so music sound different, it was trap music, and that trap sound was being celebrated, and it was a newness in the industry, right, to educate people, but go ahead. - Now I think that, um, when we get into that era, in comparison to right now, when you look at thug and savage and little baby, like how they kind of created their own realm, they have like a, they got it. I mean, this is a fucking subsidiary of them, and they personally support each other, you know what I mean? And it's genuine, that didn't exist back when I, you know, was having my moment. The motherfuckers who was around me, was the motherfuckers who I was selling don't mean. So I, but now, the good part about that, we were able to come up together and come from doing, when we were doing, and make it into doing something positive. So I think those are the differences, and then and now. - I think, I think history team seems to repeat itself because for educational purposes, I will mention, I was from the Atlanta that Gucci and GZ, it wasn't safe to be in the same place if they were together or around. When T.I. and Shaughty Lowe, it was not, when, look, and we were different, but this is what I'm saying. Lowe was a little different, like we never, I mean, we, I'm gonna tell you the story. - Okay, so that, and you can probably find footage of this, Shaughty Lowe and I, yeah, yeah, long little Lowe, King of Bank here, we were in a award show, I think we're called the Dirty Awards. We were both there, we both performed. I believe we both were nominated and we both won. Something happened during a performance where a fight broke out, right? There was a fight broke out, they shut the award show down, and there was our people and their people. - Against each other, against each other, yes. - Fight, fight, fight. So they removed me, put me in a safe place. Obviously, they removed, you know, put them in a safe place. What do you know, we end up in the same place that they say? - They put us right next to each other. - What you doing? - Yeah, which is why I people like the 10th and the home in Riverfuckle, half mainly in Dublin. - Yeah, everybody blinking. - And, and, and we sitting there having a conversation about who we thought would come out on top. - You know, I'm telling you, the guys aren't as true, but you was like, you know, I mean, of course, we speaking, like me and you, yes, just like this. Like, man, shit, man, I guess, I'ma go to the club, y'all go to the hospital, huh? Like, that type of shit, you know what I mean? Like, man, I hope you don't have to go take no pictures when y'all leave, huh? You know, that type of shit, man. - Right. - But we were, we were doing it with like, you know, their talking shit to one another. And, low is the, the, the, the most respectable opponent. I think I have ever had in, you know, in this shit. We've talked on the phone several times. We became neighbors later on after everything has subsided and, and, you know, that shit didn't. It wasn't that serious for he and that. - Okay. - I feel like, for him, he wanted, it was about him being acknowledged when he thought that I didn't, but what he didn't know, I was really remaining true to my roots as an MC. - Yes, sir. - And they reached out for me to do something with, I think, D for well, when as an MC, the skill set didn't reach a bar that I felt like was appropriate for me to be involved with. Now, hindsight, what I should have considered is the cultural impact of what they were doing. Outside of Jess, the lyricism and the skill set of it all. But that's neither here nor there. Because we also, Lo and I have, and we have an experience where when he was doing what he were doing before he became Charler Lo. And I was doing what I was doing before I became T.I. He was the big though, and I approached him. And he, much to his ability to do, uses discernment and would like, "You ain't ready yet." "Um." He didn't remember that. And I accepted that, and I went on about my being, you know what I'm saying? And became T.I. So when we met again, he didn't know I was the same person. - Did you ever had a conversation with him? - Man, we hinted towards it. I would-- - But you never really liked it. - Not a specific, I didn't specifically tell him that you were the same one that told me to get my weight up whenever I rode off on my bicycle. - But this was, this was rubber band, man. - When? A trouble, man. - No, I didn't. - When? - T.I. - When? - Or tip. Like, I'm trying to, 'cause you don't have-- You don't have been in the game for so long. - This is what I'm talking about. I'm talking 98. - Say less. - I'm talking 98. - This is way before I ever got a record deal or anything. This is back when I was on South Grand Bank here, you know, buying an ounce of the time and trying to make my way before I even knew where a studio was, for sure. And Lowe was demanding already, you know what I mean? He would call those at the time. He would demand already. And I pulled up on him, he would gamble. And I pulled up on him, trying to really try to get put on. And I said the same thing to every line of negotiate when he trying to get, you know, he trying to get you to do something. I was like, "Shit, man, fuck with me." They're the whole fuck. Fuck with me. And you know, he was like, "Shit, what you doing?" I was like, "Man, shit, what I'm doing about an ounce or two under baby or some." And they could say, "She and Charlotte, get your weight up." You know what I mean? Proceeding. And I looked and I'm like, "Mm." And I just got back on my bike and rolled off. You feel them? And then when Clay brought the record to me, now true enough, I felt how I felt about the record. But when I found out that that was the same person told me to get my weight up, I didn't hesitate to tell him the same thing. And that's what led to, you know what I mean? That would lead to the whole-- - The circle of fuck. - In the first place. But I mean, you know what I'm saying? I could, but praise God that he said what he said when he did. 'Cause if he would have did what I asked him to do, I probably wouldn't be sitting before you today in the position that I mean. - I'd let it now. - Did you ever draw the fraternity or something while you was in college? - I did, which one? - Me, five me. - Ah, that's the one I mean. - You're gonna say it. - That's the one you're being. - Me, five me. - Me, five me. - How we know is us. - On incorporate. - You did what I was saying? - Nothing over, nothing under, nothing in between. - I understand that. - Ask this question from the people who know about certain situations. But don't know the intricacies or the details of the situation. - Sure. I'm young enough to understand or old enough to understand. There was a beef between T.I. and Lil' Flip. - I mean, I guess. Man of the anniversary, that was the situation that had transpired while I was incarcerated. So when I made the determination or made the decision to come myself to King of the South, that ruffled some feathers of some of my peers. However, all of my predecessors and people who could actually have a reason to be offended, were not offended for whatever reason. I don't know why. Because what my peers didn't know is that I had taken the time to go to each of my predecessors that I had access to and asked them for lack of better words for their blessings. For me to call myself the King of the South, whether it was big boy, I'd drink from Alcairn, whether it was Kujo, T.M.O. Guil, C.L.O. from Guatemala, whether it was eight-bought MJG, whether it was a Bunby who proxied Pimp C's decision or his comment from he was in prison at the time, but a scoff face, like all these people, I went and asked because I cared about their opinion. I didn't just go and blindly say, oh my God, I'm myself the King of the South, but I haven't any kind of advice being given from the people. - No counsel. No counsel who are from people that I grew up respecting and listening to. That's what they, nobody ever asked me how I came about to making this decision. So they just let their emotions carry them away into making decisions that came back to not eat the best decisions for them. And they went and said things while I was going through a very tough time in my life, I was in prison, you know. Well, I was in county jail, am I? - But the reality of pretty much everything with your career, right? You've always navigated to rise above. - Mm, you know what I'm saying? You still here. - I had no choice. - You didn't have a choice. - No, man, I nodded my eyes. I didn't see no other option. I feel like when you say rise above, you see the rise above a file below. But, and I was asking your son, Demani, this. I was like, bro, do you really know who your dad is? 'Cause like, to me, when we first-- - He knows me his day. - That's that's actually what I was trying to educate him when he came on Fenty Friday as I am a fan of him and just trying to say like, bro, I admit everything is a homage when I'm in people's presence that I respected and I looked up to, like what? And when you listen to a person for years and you start saying like, yo, like, that's how certain people kind of treat you. It's like, bro, when you hop, like, when you drop papertrails, I was in college. Everybody was bumpin' papertrails. Everybody was bumpin' king. Everybody was bumpin' PSC was happening. Like, all these different things, your success impacted me because I was from, where you was from, you know what I'm saying? And directly, you helped me. So, in the state of music right now, beefs aren't no new thing in no city. And the state of, in my era, they weren't a new thing. But it's still not a new thing now, not. When you see a dynamic of gunna, the savage future, it's so many, like, all said, what's future coming in it? Bro, I've just seen this today. I don't know, savage and future was basically. I didn't know that either. I didn't know I did. - Am I true? - For real? I ain't know that either. - Me neither. Man, bro, I'm telling you, the zeitgeist, it'd be like, nigga, I'm going to expeditiously. So, let me, come, cams, three it with all my information. - I don't even think, I would have to see that. I have to, I have to, 'cause I've been around. - No, they squashed it though. They squashed it publicly. Well, that was fast. - That's what I'm saying. I did not know. I was like, what the hell? - But, but, but, it was this though. It was like, when you see those things happen, I didn't necessarily know that it wasn't this. - You see that why I stay off social media. I don't mean deal with it too. I don't mean deal with it because when you get the news, the news will get to you and you'll be all kind of consumed with it and before you know it, it's gone. - It's gone. - But, where we are in Atlanta, I'm also old enough to understand what it's be for disagreements. My partner two-chains, Him and Ludicrous. When you start to see Rolo and I don't know who it may be. It's so many different, there I say characters or people that are involved with disagreements. You got YFN Lucci and it's so much, and it's like, yo bro, why can't we all collaborate to working together rather than having differences. - Well, I think it would have to depend on whether that our principles are aligned. But as an OG, you have the power. - No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I'm not here. - Let me see this one, let me see this one. - Let me see this one. - I don't have that kind of feeling. - But I'm saying, if you were to say so, you can counsel individuals. - If they are willing to be counseled, if they are open to certain counsel, but at the same time, I can't suggest for someone to do something that I would not do. - And what would you do? - I would not put myself in a collaboration with someone who's principles don't align with men. Now you have a way of words. Can you put that in layman's terms for me? - I mean, man, you know what I'm saying? We have integrity as men. We have moral standards and we have principles. And we may have something in common, for instance. We may, I don't know, we may use it. Yeah, we may use it, but we can make music just as well individually as we can and collectively. If I choose to make music, which you collectively I want to make music with somebody who aligned with my principles. I don't want to step aside my principles just to make music because I could make music on my own keeping my principles intact. Understood. And that don't mean that I mean this person no home, but that don't mean that I, you know what I mean? It just might not want to do that. What's different in the state of how things are with the connection with the culture of streets and music that didn't take place when you was making a name for yourself that you see now in a slide. That would have never happened during this time or vice versa. I don't know. I don't know if I could say it would have never happened. I could say it never happened. But if it was given the opportunity to happen, it may have happened. Sometimes the reason things ain't happened yet is because opportunity has never presented itself. So it's a lot of happened in that one. But collaborating or doing music with a quote-on-quote snitch. I'm innocent. I just want to know. I'm curious. I mean, I think that's it's, it's, it's stick is you ever seen what you catch a rat with? Why are you trying to get that out? I don't know. And she's thinking. And if you touch it, it's stick to you. It's the end end. So, okay, it's for you. So you don't operate in that. I ain't, but I hit on the platinum because I am, I'm, I'm, I am now graduated to wear. I'm a text. I said, how would you counsel gunna? Huh? How would I counsel gunna? He don't need my counsel. I don't think I think he, he, first of all, he would have to get to a place where he feels he needs counseling. Okay. He don't, we are assuming that he is in a place that he isn't happy. No, no, no, no. Okay, let's, let's, I'm going to speak as a fan or as, as an observer to what I think is something. Gunna has put out a great deal of successful intriguing music over the last three years. He has. Right? Mm-hmm. It has performed well. Yeah. It has been. And he's also gotten his life in or correct. What seems to be, it seems to be. And from the next act, he's marketed in a way where we're not used to a rapper, let alone him, a rapper being marketed. His lifestyle. Fitness. It's, it's meditation. It's, it's a group which I commend. Right. He even me celebrate that, me saying that he's also the topic of conversation for any person to say what was done or what we assumed what was done is breaching the code of ethics. It was less than savory. So, but I don't think it was intentional with whether it was intentional or not. That's where I, that's what I mean by counsel. And that dynamic, it's a great, that, that, that is a line that he didn't, I don't think he intended, I don't think he did what he did with the intention of slamming somebody. So now this, this is what I'm asking, this is what I'm asking and tell me if I'm leaning it, but I intentions don't matter. It's what, as I actions, what happens. Correct. So now knowing that, do you see where it's like, yo, you know what, bro, I want to make everything right or trying to be out of which. I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm going to be out with straight, making it to the point of business and interaction and the point of success that all of us are intending to go to. We all going to deal with a schnitch or rat or a sucker or a fuck nigga or a list and savory carrot. Do we all going to deal with him on that rise? So if you say this is my stop when you get, okay, well, I got to deal with this motherfucker. So I'm going to stop it right here. That don't help the rest of the people that you're trying to help. Whoever that is, like in your, in your family. Now, I'm not going to do anything that I feel like is going to be. How could I say detrimental to anything I got going on, anything people around me got going on, anything that I think decisions kind of have to change with the circumstances. If your circumstances are different for instance, funny selling no dope. I ain't doing no dirty. I ain't got no drugs to say. And I ain't in that life. No more. But I still carry the lessons from what I did. So what I'm moving upon is the lessons and the things that I took from me with their life. But, presently, I'm a tax paying citizen. You hear me? So I can sit down with whoever it is. I don't give a damn sandwich a bull. I can sit down with you doing interviews with you. I'm not in the mud. It doesn't affect me in my life right now. And I think that transition is what everyone is having. A difficulty separating from themselves. I had a conversation with Luchin. And I think the specifics of my curiosity came when, yes, everybody knows what I'm talking about. But a voice being on record by saying certain things. But I would say this. What have gone on wakes up? Because he hasn't spoke. He hasn't, he hasn't, he's used to his advantage. He has made music popped out places. But without talking about what people really want to know. If he were to say, you know what? I'm going to come on expeditiously. Oh, I want to come on fucking Friday. Well, welcome him. And how would that counseling situation be? Well, I've spoken the good. Okay. I've spoken to him. But first of all, when the indictment came down, he called me and asked me for a suggestion of what lawyer. He should, you know, and I gave him my lawyer. He could not go to brass to you. He could not go. I don't believe that Drew Fendley. He couldn't go. So I introduced him to my attorney, which is Steve say that. And I introduced him to my attorney. They started talking on him. And that's when he turned the selfie in a day or two later. And the next time I talk to him, I believe, is, well, I ain't talking to him. I think I talked to my attorney. And he told me that there was some on the table for going to come home. And I was like, well, can you tell me? He's like, you can tell me about it. And gonna come talk to me. And but he had to make a decision. And I was like, well, well, well, you know, and I was interested. But I couldn't know any real details. And if you would have known the details. And the details was what ended up happening. Had I known that he would have had two verbally and signed to the same questions that were written. I would have just made sure that he knew. If you agreed to this, you will be met with adverse opinion. People will see you as something you don't want to be seen as. And I feel like, did you have my personal opinion or what I know of him? And because I've known him since he was like, they're not a teenager. I feel like if I would have, not just me, anybody would have been able to advise him and tell him. He wouldn't have did it. I don't think he would have did it. And I told my attorney the same thing. And he don't understand. He don't come from home. He comes from absolutely not. So he don't say, what's the big deal? You're coming home. You're coming home. They can't use it against your friend in court and it ain't is submissible. So why does it matter? It's a win, win. That's how the, and I can't argue with him, sitting in his seat. I have to, I say, okay. And I broke it down to him this way. I say, where, Steve? You didn't call him a nigger. did you? Nah, I did. But I said, well, first of all, you got to understand the origins of police, police, the concept of police men and policing came from when people had to capture, return slaves to plantations and slave owners. So that means the first snitches were people who tobed on slaves that were running for their freedom. And I had to remind them, I said, also, it is a scientific fact that trauma is passed down through DNA. So if there was a slave that had ran away and had been told on by someone who was his buddy who he stood next to in the fields, and when he was captured, beat, and brought back and found out the reason he was cold was because of his friend that was now in the house and not in the field because of the information he provided that pain that betrayal would be passed down generationally through the semen by way of his DNA. So his son, his grandson, his granddaughter, his great-grandson would all be snitches. They would feel the impact of him being snitched on. So much to there, like they don't even know why when they hear about somebody being told, they just have an adverse reaction to it. See, and that is the reason why did she impact us in such a way while we just can't let it go. That's why white folk don't give a damn about who they tell them. They tell me. He did it. He did it. He told me to do it. I didn't want to do it. I started to, but I didn't, but he did it. Like that's why it doesn't impact other ethnicities the way it does us because one, policemen started capturing and returning slaves. Two, trauma is passed down through DNA generationally. That's why we still hear talking about why it's so important to not telling people. That's what I shared with us to say now. He was like, man, I never thought about it that way, and I had no idea. Do you think, or do you think it's worth the engana rekindling that relationship? It's always worth sitting down having the conversation figuring out why this relationship might have gotten off track. That conversation, if that conversation can put it back on track, it's always worth that conversation. Even if that conversation is not successful, it's worth having that conversation because you never know what can come out of that conversation. It's always worth it. It ain't never a time where you shouldn't sit down and say, okay, what did we go wrong? How can we do better? Still sharp and still. There may be some going to know that though it don't, and vice versa. There may be something that though it can offer that gonna can't advise versa. It's always worthwhile to sit down and hear what anybody got to say. As long as they have not been overtly disrespectful, and if everybody is willing to sit down with an open mind, it's always valuable. That's how I feel. And at this age, I didn't always hear that. How long have you felt? When did it hit you? I had gotten out of prison. Going to prison shaped and molding me into a man that I can't even describe to you. I stopped caring about so much shit. I just stopped. I didn't give a damn about it. It just didn't matter to me no more. I just didn't. I think those things have led to the epiphanies that have led to me being the man that I have become today because people walk around caring about all the wrong shit in my experience. Can I ask you a question? Can you tell me how you define mental toughness today compared to earlier? You know, it's this analogy in sports that who you play. It's like, y'all want to championship, but who you play? Okay. Now to translate that into real life is you successful. But what you went through? What have you been tested about? What did you have to play against to get successful? Right. And with that comes a sense of mental toughness that at some times your biggest enemy may be internally. So going through what I went through on the field was not the biggest test for me. What was? I don't know if it was one specifically, but it was just at well, it always changes. Right. Because at one point it was like, man, I just want to make it. Once you make it, it's like, okay, now what's now your biggest test? And at one point it was even harder to do the second achievement, but people do it. It's sustained success. Because to be able to say, hey, y'all like, I can't have had one good year, but I'm like, I don't believe it. But this is what? You got an illustrious career, illustrious. Yeah. But I would ask, how do you feel about that career having that warrant a Super Bowl? I don't need no Super Bowl. Okay. Because now I would say, your favorite quarterback, and I'm talking to you, but I'm talking to the audience, your favorite quarterback don't got my resume. They may have something in their resume that I may not have. But I can also say, I got some in my resume that they don't have. What are they favorite quarterback of time, Brady? He don't got no high as me. He don't got no national championship. Okay. Papi. He won the first pick of the drive. Papi key. But I won't say the Super Bowl. Yeah. I want to be the least unanimous go and where I'm at, I'm at peace. That's right. And I think sometimes people get so called into, it's almost, it turns into greed. It's like, because even ego, ego, it's like, what else do you have to prove? Because I would even question Brady, a person who I have so much admiration for. What do you have to prove? And was it all worth it? Not to get personal, but it's like for me, nobody's perfect. No. When, when Brady went on his run, he knew he had to sacrifice things. When I was coming up and playing the game, just like when you were being the best artist, the best movie star that you possibly had to sacrifice certain things. And at some point in those dark times, shiny times, alone times, is it all worth it? That's what you ask yourself. And when you say, yeah, it is worth it. Then that's where you could be at peace. So no matter what somebody else may say in question, like, I'll play you only had one. It's like wrong from Atlanta, Georgia, bro. And they know a lot of folks that can say that they, me being able to go to my mama's house is success to me. My mother will never have to work. She hasn't worked for as long as I could remember. And that's success. Yeah. That's real. And that's like I've had you success as being able to go back to my neighborhood, being able to go back to the same place I grew up on. I can go back, I can walk around, man, I don't need no security. I feel safe. I feel in my, and even in that dynamic, somebody even say not to not to names. Success could also look like an example that you said. I can go back to Mahu and even go to somebody else's hood. But they can come to Mahu. I see what you're saying. So it's so I don't know who you tell them that but I see what you want to say. Well, man, I figured out what you said. So those type of dynamics is where you have to be very comfortable who you are and understand that you can't let a person sway or the try to shadow or shade your accomplishments knowing that, hey, bro, that person's great. That person's great. Right. I'm great and not being delusional to admit that, yo, there are some things in his resume that I won it, but I didn't necessarily get and I feel extremely confident that where the he or she has some things that I don't did that they can't compare to. So how did becoming a father change your view of success and sacrifice? The day I became a biological father changed because now individuals who I feel obligated to no longer was the primary obligation. Okay. That's for family members. Right. That's close friends, love or whatever. Right. When I had my first biological child, even though I felt the responsibility to. Then when you say biological child, you say that in the sense of like, you've had the responsibility of father who had fought before this. Yes. Okay. But it didn't click. It was like, yo, I'm still building a relationship with the child just like I'm building a relationship with the mother. It's it's working in tandem. I took the responsibility. But as far as the full responsibility to say, no, no, no, no, no, it's my job. It always happened indirectly because of who I am and how I was raised. But when you go through that process of seeing yours in and I can't say that because you can't tell her that she not mine and I never played the step there. Never did. And I don't step there. No. But that's why. But for me, when I had that dynamic that I've seen for myself, it even brought me closer to understanding her the bonus baby. And my desire to want to take care of everybody kind of shifted. It was like, no, no, no, no. I got these kids now. Right. That my bonus child always gave me respect as daddy, daddy, daddy. When she first said I was, I did not tell her to say it was to her son of giving me respect. Is that I'm acknowledging you as the father figure. Right. I'm saying now when I had my first biological child, it now put it to fruition. What she was saying. And now I feel even more obligate. Oh, I get it. So you'll partner that with like a full witness. Right. Hey, hey, hey, hey, rock with me, bro, like those conversations wasn't you got to take a back seat all the way rolls of parts respectfully. I don't know. I should say she actually said before that. That's cool. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Actually, I said, but I give what you say. I give what you say. Now, now you and I often get ourselves in hot water alive because we have how do we say some some some some alternative views when it come to relationships and how relationship with like when will cam Newton like conform to society's expectations of a man with a woman. Oh, we'll hear him. I'm there. Like what do you dare? Okay, say this. Is it like I like where we are. Hey, man. Hey, man. Hey, man. I don't know what the moment's saying. But where? I'm gonna say like this. Okay. Is the objective to be married or is it to be happy? Because just because you married don't mean you happy, right? And just because you happy don't mean that you marry. That's right. And you said a lot of pontifications and society conform. Yeah. I don't want to get us that won't get us in the hot water. That's cool. But isn't because of what the expectation is. Man, let me tell you what other people would raise. That's that's what their expectation of us. Let me tell you something, bro. And I give you a personal experience with you. I judge a man on two principles. How his children act and how his woman act without him around. The experience came by way one of your wife's friends was getting her hair done. They was just walking down the street of one of my restaurants, right? And they pulled up and they're like, oh, that's came. Let's go and hear Cooper. And I know you knew you and knew of you and knew of who she was. Whether I was judging the situation or not, I think I got to even more find respect for you by how she carried herself in your absence. So don't tell me that you were a real nigga or you were real when you weren't in the presence of your children or your woman. And she or they act a certain type of way. We was playing space. And I was like, yo, like this is dope. Like I'm playing space and tiny in the book. You call she didn't do that. I call her bad. You call she answered. Hey, I'm here with can say what's up. Matter of fact, man, we need to run it back. We're helping those type of dynamics is telling me everything I need to know about you. So when I see men with a marry or not, right? I look at your woman and how she acts. And I look at your children and how they act. You can have all the money in the world, bro. That's real. But if your children don't respect others or even you, they can't respect you if they disrespecting others. That's real. If you would have never played football, what do you think you would have done? Daycare center. You would have ran a daycare center. A daycare center. You did. I can hear the comments now. Now you got a daycare center. Oh, so you do have a daycare center now. Yeah, every every time I go home. What's that? I would tell me all of the other. What are the other businesses that you have right now, outside of your your athletic. So production company. Okay. So we got fourth and one. We got Funky Friday, and anything that you may see can move in any capacity. YouTube, Facebook, X, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat. Ever done scripting? No, having. Interesting. It has to make sense with an S and a C. Why are you here? I'll try to see. Okay. And what else you get? So I got, you know, in the hospitality business with restaurants. No, man, I'm in the process of opening my third in the spring of 26. I got fellowship. My brother and his partners are running social three or nine or three or four. Three or nine social. Yeah. So yeah, my brother is running, you know, with his partners, a three or nine social. The end zone will be opening in 2000, spring of 2026. Mexica hats. What did the hats come from? Montana and L.A. You know, where you know, did you start saying I want to have the monopoly man hat, or did you just, oh, it is. I just want to learn it. You can keep the monopoly. Oh, I want my money. I just want all to get out of jail free cars. That's right. Yeah. But no, it originated from being in that lemon. And everybody used to wear leads, new arrowheads. And then all of someone like I was the dude, the eclectic person that I don't like looking like everybody. Yeah. I mean, you know, one of my partners with all the man, then Jay's about to come out. And then we used to turn like, well, you freshen him. Well, look at the day where you got them. You got him a lamb, well, you got to pay no, you got to spank you. I ain't never had that money to be able to do that. But everybody will wear the Atlanta braids hat. You feelin' the same hands to yourself and your style. But when you start to grow, when you start to realize, like grown, growin' the hair, bro, I'm tryin' to get in the club and they take 'em to hats away. But they ain't takin' these for doors away. Mm. And I'm starting to say, like, uh, uh, a passion ended up being profit for me. I got it. So, I went out to LA and I was buying so many for door-of-customer hats that me and my mill-neur-hatter was, we built the relationship and we just opened our own business. And, you know, the grace of God, we, we hear the, um, and from the philanthropy side, bro. Uh, we have C1N, which is a all-starting event, the events company as well, too. We throw football events that we just give platforms for kids, man. Uh, yeah. Uh, man. Uh, so, so, first of all, congratulations on everything you've done. Mm-hmm. All you've overcome, and everything it took for you to make it to the point where you made it here today. We appreciate you, bless her. You're a stand-up dude. You've always been a man of respect in my eyes. Yeah, I mean, and you've always been a fierce competitor every time I've seen you on the field. So, ain't no but some love. Mm-hmm. You feel appreciate it. Uh, there's a segment of Expedition. Mm-hmm. Uh, it's called the Word of the Day. And the Word of the Day, it gives a word that describes the conversation Mm-hmm. or the gist of the day, expeditiously. And the Word of the Day today is inexpeunable. inexpeunable. The definition of inexpeunable is too powerful to be defeated or overcome. Mm-hmm. And I will use it in a sentence. I will say, Cam knew, regardless of his challenges has proved himself to be inexpeunable in his career. Can you tell me the origin? I cannot. But I welcome you. I welcome you to chat G-B-T-A-I-A-I. You can Google yourself to death. It's Google. A-I-M-I-T-I-A. A-I-A-I-A. Hey man. Long story short. Thank you so much. Thank you man. This has been expeditiously.