Damson Idris, Baby, Hebru Brantley & Katelyn Ohashi

- Lisa, tell them about our new show. - We have a new podcast. It's called Don't Lie to Me. I'm Lexi Yuanu, we're two best friends, 22 years apart, but so close at heart. - And I'm Lisa Di Giulio, the old one, which means we have wildly different references, occasionally different opinions, and at this point in my 50s, I've lived it all. - Now in my 30s, being the founder of New Shoes, good taste is my business. - Listen on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. - Didn't catch the latest Roland Martin unfiltered podcast? - Here's what you missed. - People wake up and go, oh, dang, wait and hold up. They change all of that? - Yes. - It's real. - This is a wholesale attack. It is targeting black people in every federal agency. - It's raw. - White folks have never allowed that reckoning to last more than a decade. - Catch Roland Martin's daily commentary on the black information network. - And download Roland Martin unfiltered on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast. - Or wherever you get your podcasts. - The WNBA playoffs are here, and Good Game with Sarah Spain is the only daily podcast that'll keep you up to date on all the action. We'll make sure you're the smartest fan at the bar by bringing you interviews with some of the best minds in basketball, including your favorite coaches and players. - No one cares what we did last year if anything that's a bigger target on our back. - Wanna know what's really going on in the WNBA? We got you. Listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. - I've been hearing for decades that the markets can solve climate change. Today, we have more incentives for market solutions than ever, and emissions are rising. On this season of Drilled, Carbon Cowboys, the story of three market solutions, colliding in one multinational boondoggle. - You gotta get emotional, the guy is pregnant. They're with both of them again. They don't give a shit about it, you understand? - Listen on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. - I did a film with Liam Neeson, my first start act thing. This is what started it, and I was doing the take, and I was doing it the same every way. I didn't know, switch it up, right? So the director, he comes up to me, and he goes, "Damson, you are doing it the same every time. "When an actor does the take the same every time, "this makes me sad." (laughing) - On this episode of The Shop Uninterrupted, Maverick Carter and Paul Rivera are joined by Damson Idris. - You talk about the high chasing that all the time. You know, break by a brick or whatever, I'm chasing that feeling or whatever character I'm playing. And that, I mean, you'll be chasing it forever. - He brew brandly. - Black is the new black in the artwork, right? Like, they just figured out that we were dope. - Kate Leno Hashi. - You never really know when it's a ten or not because our sport's so subjective. - And the baby. - Four months after I was getting that per show. What I ended up getting right there, you know what I mean? I was blessed enough to have it, to have it work out that way. - Check it out. - Have you gotten the studio with some of the artists from the UK? - From the UK? No, I ain't got the studio with nobody in the UK. And I hit the UK quick, you know what I mean? Like, they gravitate towards hip hop, you know what I mean? Fastening from anybody. - What did you do when you went over to the UK? - I was on press run and then it was during the festival season. So, you know, they had like wire lists and we were rating and leads. Like, yeah, some forth, you know what I'm saying? - But I was just vibing very seriously. You know, it's a vibe. - But you never just go over. - Right around talking like y'all, that's what I mean. I can't, like, with my accent on, you know what I'm saying. But still, I love one of the places, you know what I mean? That's like one of my favorite things about this. - Out of everywhere you perform, like, where would you say the best energy is? Outside of the states. Like, you can say that it's fine, I can expect it. - You can say that it's fine, I can expect it. - That was crazy. - Yeah. - Like, it's kind of hard for me to, I just coming back from home, going, like. - What was that like? - Oh, ridiculous, bro. Ridiculous. It had been, but I don't know how many people was in that arena, you know what I mean? And I headlined it. I mean, I was, I was the only hip hop artist there. And they really know these songs, you know what I mean? - They're singing the songs? - Absolutely. - Wow. - Word for word. - Wow. - This stage, looking at all of those people, that exhilarating feeling. - For sure. - I'll never feel that. It's like, I remember seeing Braun run out to sickle mode with Drake and Drake, right? And he's like, he's jumping out of the show. - By the way, that feeling is literally a drug because of me. - It's called me. - When it happens, your brain releases. - No, absolutely. - Dopamine? - Absolutely. - And you probably feel yourself about how you respond to that, to the release. - It's literally a drug. - I will never get. - I will never be able to feel that. - You won't maybe be in the theater, maybe. - Absolutely not. - When you say LeBron went out on stage and they went crazy. - Well, I was calling on my rapper frowns. I was like, yo, can I come out? - I'm gonna run a stage of it. - Have you ever seen me perform it somewhere? - You in the neighborhood, I live in. - I know. - I will tell you, you said you've never felt that feeling. We have someone here who has felt that feeling. It's Caitlin here, right? - Delivered a 10 out of 10. - Perfect 10. - But by what you rehearsed, though, so it was a little different. You can't change. You know exactly what you're gonna do when you all got there. - But I do rehearse for the moments where I don't. - Right. - What's gonna happen? - If you gotta be able to adapt. - 'Cause I was still working on that routine like the day that I went on the floor. So I'm like, okay, worst case scenario is like, I just start free flowing. - I'm going. - Wow, really? And can you see the crowd when you're tumbling, flipping? - 100%. - Oh, there you go. - And that's something like, I haven't been able to recreate that feeling ever since it is a drug, right? So like, I'm there and I love feeling the energy's crowd, like the crowd's energy. And so it kind of gives me life, for sure. And that's how, like the routine that went viral, I could feel everyone zoned in. Not a single other person was going during the meet and everyone was just like captivated and I, when it was silent, it was silent. And when it was loud, it was loud. - And you heard it during the routine? - During the routine, yeah. - It's also interesting 'cause the baby, I'd imagine for you, you feed off that energy and you're giving it back. - If you ever been out of show and you know, this ain't going right, right? We had Jada, Jada Kiss on the show one time and we asked him if he's ever bombed out of show, whether it's him or it's just not connecting. - Yeah. - He goes, yeah, he goes, I look at my DJ, he goes, just run the records and let's go. - Oh look, get me out of here, get me out of here. - We out of here. - We out of here. - Yeah, but so, I mean, you know, if we're gonna compare it to sports, we all didn't have to bank it. - Of course you're gonna have to get me out of here. - And at the end of the day, like you should have in the different markets, you know, there are fans of different people that I've never felt entitled to the audience receiving me performing my performance a certain way. You know what I mean? - Wow. - I approach it. That's what more of a rehearse performance would be because you know, you expect in this, but it's also, you know, it's good to rehearse, but for like artists like me, who just prefer to connect with the fans. Of course, I know the songs that I'm gonna do, but a lot of times, like I do this often, like I make adjustments right there on the spot. - Wow. - But with the crowd looks like, oh, see it. Okay, boom. Let me look at the aesthetic in here. Let me see what's going on. - You're like having to prove yourself. - Yeah. - This song, this song, like I know. - And the same question, do you, can you feel it early? Like, oh, I fucked this one up, but I gotta finish the routine. - Yeah. Like, okay, actually, I just posted something on TikTok. You know the trend that's like dumb ways to die? And one of mine was like, my foot comes off the end of the beam, and I'm doing a double back. And I'm just like, in the air like, all right? Here we go. And everything goes in slow motion, because everything's always past, and it's just like this. - And you know what's bad. - And you're like, okay, anything, yeah, yeah. And I landed right on my head, I fractured my sternum, and someone was like, commented, like, why'd you keep going? Like, you all know when you messed up, why would you keep going like, imagine, if you have the momentum in the power for a double, and you mess up, if you stop. - Oh, you're done. - You gotta go. - You do anything. - You gotta go. - You just have to go for it. - I couldn't even do a roly-poly. (laughing) - Still working on my cartwheel, you know. - It's like me. - Get it one day. - One day. - I like the roundup. I'm still trying to get that roundup in, and it's cartwheel to the roundup. - I do want to ask her, when you landed the 10 that you know it was a 10. - You never really know when it's a 10 or not, because our sport's so subjective, so it's like, okay, it could have been a 10, but one judge could just be having it a day. - But you know of you nailed it. - In your head. - Like, that's the best I could do. - Did you know that? - Yeah, yeah, I knew I did good. Yeah, so when it flashed, I mean, also, not just saying anything, but like, it was probably my 4-10 of this, like, my career, so it was-- - Talk to shit. - No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. - So it was like, it wasn't the most exciting thing, but it felt good, because that was my first time competing, like, my split double-lay, and being on podiums always a little bit funner, 'cause it's like, you have the bounce of the floor, and it was four people, instead of two, it's typically just two teams against each other, but there were more teams, more crowd, it was fun. It was a good thing. - Do you know when you're doing acts, I mean, it takes like, before the director says, like, that's the one, like, that works. That's the take, are you-- Always isn't the director, like, do it again, do it again. - I always think I'm the worst actor in the world. - No matter what. It's actually, I have a bad habit, so I develop this thing on set, where someone on the set, and the crew, I don't care who it is, Croftie, the grips, the director. Someone has to tell me, "Yo, you killed it." - Really? - Quietly, for me to be able to sleep at night. - Wow. - That's, 'cause he-- - Sure. - Well, it's insecurity, right? - Sure. - It's insecurity, and they say let it go, [BLANK_AUDIO] If I know that I didn't hit the way I wanted to, it's a feeling. I don't really rehearse or anything like that. I work off the act though. - But do you have times where like you might have that feeling like I did that shit, right? And then you watch the show and you're like, that's not the one. - It killed me. (laughing) - Fire the guy, fire the guy, I'm fucking in there, the fuck me. - No, I'll give you an example. On the show, I never forget. I had landed as part, right? And I'm so excited on my man back to the goats, right? And then Snowfall, like, oh, you ain't doing that film, 'cause it's COVID and it can't. It clashes, right? So I was mad. So the next day, I got a shoot to scene where I'm screaming at Louie and Jerome in the ball with the cane. - So you're really mad, fuck off. - So I'm coming in, I'm like, nobody come to me, you know? And boom, the whole crew, they were like, and you talk about that high, chasing that all the time. - Not for sure. - Break by a break or whatever, I'm chasing that feeling with whatever character I'm playing. So now I'm just out of place where I'm just, I'm learning to just let go. Just do it, go home, call my mom, come back to life, get out of character's head. - Do you use that insecurity as like, is that what helps motivate you and push you? 'Cause insecurity is very dangerous. We all have it, right? It's how you manage it and how you let it come and go. So you have to either channel it or control it somehow in some way. How do you use it? - I caught on. I did a film with Liam Neeson, my first star acting, this is what started it. And I was doing the take and I was doing it the same every way I didn't know, switch it up, right? So the director, he comes up to me and he goes, "Damson, you are doing it the same every time. "When an actor does the take the same every time, "this makes me sad." (laughing) - And it walks away, and when we wrap, when we finish the movie, like he goes, "So, did you have fun?" (laughing) And I'm like, "Oh, my career's old." - No, you fucking torture me, oh, no torture me. - All right, so that trauma always stays with you. And they say it doesn't matter how big you get, you're always trying to prove yourself, you're always trying to train, you're always trying to get better. I find now I kind of need to audition to not only prove to everyone that I could do the job, but prove to myself that I could do the job. But as you get bigger, I'm in this place now where people are like, "Yo, come do this." - Automatic. - You know? - So the nerves are there, I'm walking on. People are like, "Yo, damson, the interest is in this." I walk on set first day, I'm like. (laughing) - So I'm blown, so I'm petrified. - I'm blown away to hear this, right? It's like, I hear you, an accomplished actor, successful, massive hit show. You, perfect tens, this is a plural. You sold out shows, just came back from, you know, doing the festival thing. I'm interested in you as an artist. Do you still feel, even with all your success, you're trying to prove yourself? - All the time. - All the time. I think, you know, especially now, like, black is the new black in the art world, right? And, you know, it was a while where-- - I wish it were the way it was a little longer, so I could buy some more shit. (laughing) - Fucking price. - Right, right. - It's definitely up. But, you know, there was a while where like, I was able to occupy a space sort of to myself, right? And now, it's really real, right? It's like the new league of folks that are coming in, where it's like, I really have to be hypocritical about everything I do, right? And what I'm saying. And to just make sure, like, there's a lot of artists that make art for art's sake. They just make shit, right? Like, I'm gonna make a pretty picture. It has no substance behind it. And for me, it's important that no matter what I do, it says something, right? 'Cause it has to, you know, it has to hit here, like, and so, yeah, it's always that thing of like me trying to outdo my last, you know? But I don't get the feeling of like, there is no audience until it's a show. - The instant gratification, right? - 'Cause there's no instant gratification, you know? - The initials back can be like, I did that. - No, you know, it's actually the opposite. It's like, fuck. - I fucked that up. - Wow. - That's just sucks, right? Or like, I need to do better. This is why, again, like, you come to my studio, there's 27 paintings, and I only needed to do too, right? Like, because it just comes from that place of like, obsessiveness and overworking and like, you know what, I'm trying to get the end of 25 of it. - Actually, I'm comfortable. Art kind of happened accidentally. I was always creative. I was always the dude that was tasked with making shit. And like, you know, it wasn't until me doing the shit, like being scared to kind of, you know, at the time, man, you can't pronounce yourself as a creative, as a visual artist from a black community in a lot of ways, because you look down upon, and there's words thrown at you, right? It's like, it wasn't as socially accepted as it is now. And so, for me, it was like a thing that I always hid, and it wasn't until like, like, DJ Drama was my homie. And, you know, we went to school together, and Drama was selling his mix tapes on the promenade, while I'm selling t-shirts that I've hand-painted and stuff like that. And Drama was like the first person, you know, that I knew within my circle that actually started making a little coin and bought the first painting I ever made. - Did you consider yourself an artist, or define yourself as an artist, up to that point? - No, no, 'cause I didn't know what that was. I didn't know what that meant. Yet, you know what I mean? Like, I had an understanding of a history of art, but it was very small. It was like, you know, that pinhole view. I grew up in Chicago, so seeing the Carrie James', right? The knit caves and all of those guys start to rise up, at a point. I did, that was my only view into black art in that way. Other than that, it was like the sit that you get right off the interstate, where dudes are selling, like, you know, the capa and, you know, the artwork where the black man's holding up a black woman and it's strong, right? That was, that's it. - I can see that image of my head right now. - That was, that's all, those two versions were all I really knew other than like, again, the Basquiat, the Picasso. And so, yeah, it wasn't, I didn't think I could make it as an artist. It was just like, I was making shirts. You know, I was doing the things that were like, a cultural norm. I was selling to a lot of the rappers who were their stylists were coming to me, hey, such and such needs, a shirt or a hat for the shoot for the source or the vibe or blah, blah. So, I was doing those things right then and there, but there was never in my mind a way forward, for real, for real, as somebody that was going to be able to go around the world with this shit. - Bro, what was that for you, baby? What was the moment? What was the, what was the, the first thing I know, it was shit, when I heard it was shit, I was like, I don't know who the fuck this dude was. - Shit, that's hard. - That moment for me, man. - Like, when you heard it's shit in the studio, did you know it was a one or did you-- - Yeah, I knew shit. - When you played it for somebody. - It's interesting that you bring up shit. 'Cause that, okay, so that goes to, this one I knew it was my moment, 'cause this is what even inspired me to make shit. I gotta take the shades off of this one. 'Cause a matter of the fact, let me switch these. - Oh fuck, it was a dude. - Oh my god, that was a name, man. - Oh, it's time, man. - Let's check this out. - I'm gonna be switching these, based on the, you know, the questions. This is a colorful question. This is a colorful, I'm gonna put the leg up, look. So now I sure look like all jokes aside. Like, I had already inked the deal in with NSCO. So once you ink the deal in, you know, the check is not coming. It's not coming yet, it's corporate world. This one I, you know, found things out. I found this out in this moment. It took about 30 days or whatever. I thought inked the deal in. I started working on the first project ended up being baby on baby, where I got the LA hat on, the pose they made me do for a year straight in 2019, everywhere I go to, like, do this. - That was the old connoisseur. - I mean, there's kids. - That's the two years old. - The baby, no, don't do that. But yeah, so I got a text message either from a lawyer or a manager at the time saying that the money should be in the account. The check should have cleared. I make my driver. We on the way here. I saw Bank of America 18. I'm out of Bank of America account at the time. - I tell him, "Polover, I go in and I just check balance." And then I see it, and I'm like, "Oh, shit." You know, they let you print it or just whatever. I hit print and I don't take this shit with me. I printed it, I printed it right. I see the balance on her, but I print it. I go hop back in the truck and come on, let's go to studio, we go. I sign my phone, like, on the phone, and I see the, you know, and the initial deal was only six figures. Like, I ended up, you know. - This is your advance. - Exactly, I ended up, maybe, I don't know. Maybe four months after I was getting that per show. - Of course. - What I ended up getting right there, you know what I mean? I was blessed enough to have it. I haven't worked out that way, but I checked the account balance, right? So we go in. I have my god Jetson, who produced the song, "Shut." He met us at the studio, and this is the first song that I do that day. If you check out, you know, the words of the hook of the song is, "I just signed a deal, I'm on." - Yeah, of course. - That was my footage, yeah. I was up now, yeah, yeah, no, I'm in there. - Let's say I'm gonna give you a chill, then. - Yeah, so, you know what I'm saying? - Stop feeling, we're hooking, so. - That's what it was. I just popped my shit for two minutes, and have a minute seconds, that song is. I literally would just, you know, when I say, "Don't make me go hit the bank," and check out 100, to show you my pockets was different the day before. I couldn't have went to the bank. Check out 100. Second, I can talk to this shit, I talk to you, you know what I mean? But when I look at, you know, what I was blessed enough to be able to accomplish within the year of 2019, alone, you know what I mean, like, absolutely. Like, these things, as artists, as a rapper or like, you know, these people will give their hand to give you these things. - Cover the billboard, cover the XXL, SNL, I didn't know. all that shit, Jimmy Fallon, two, three times. Like, I didn't even, I wasn't even familiar with how large SNL was. - Was it too new to you to even appreciate the magnitude of it? - Was anybody going like, "Dog, you doing SNL?" - That's exactly what I was saying. - SNL really changed my brother. He's really more of a brother than anything, but it's a direct up a lot of my videos. James Rico from The Real Ghosts. He's like, "Bro, this is SNL." Like, I don't think you understand that. - Bro, that's really, he said, "Bro." He, like, he, like, the only rapper that is ace, I don't even think a rapper has ever even been on SNL. Like, not the mention like a rapper of, like, you know what I mean? - Well, nobody. - Look it up on the spot. - He said Kanye. - Kanye, Snoop. - Snoop and Kanye. - Snoop had the biggest moment ever. Remember Snoop were the time he helped figure. I was a kid. I remember that as a kid. And, but not, not like you were in year one. You were, no rapper has hit SNL, like, without five, six hours. - You get what I'm, this is my, this is my brookie year. You know what I'm saying? I didn't even have a, I had one album out there. Counting his album, the initial project, that job. There wasn't even an album. Then I dropped the follow-up project, Kirk. Later on, yeah, that was dedicated to my father. I think I didn't, I wasn't able to, you know, appreciate, you know, like my accomplishments and my blessings early on just, 'cause the amount of, like, real life shit I was going through at the same time. - As an actor, is it hard to not take what you're dealing with personally to work to the set? Like, you gotta, 'cause you're playing a character, right? But just, you're a human who's going through shit. Is it, sometimes hard to separate the two? - It's damn near and powerful. - For me, yeah. But that's just my process. Like, I, whatever's happening in my life, if it could service today, channel it, I bring it. Like, I bring that energy in. And as long as it's not affecting anyone and it's not ruining anyone else's day, I could use it, you know. But sometimes you do need to, you know, for sure. - Come out of that. - For sure. - And it's not easy. The other way to show, Snowfall, which is fantastic, is the show about a very specific time and actually a place. But the time is what we all know as Americans, the crack epidemic, or I lived through it, right? My dad sold crack and went to the feds for it. And I know it very well. It was bad, but there was all these other things that happened around it that the show portrays. But you didn't grow up here. How did you know, how did you tap into that? Did you know about it before you came in? - Oh, shit. - He didn't even want to run into that. - Shit, I'm like, what's the number? - No, you know, I'm from Peckham. - Of course. - Right. So anyone around the world who knows about Peckham knows what it is. And there's a lot of themes correlate with the show. Single fathers, police brutality, racism, drugs, violence. Right, outside my house. So I was able to connect in that way. And I got family, you know, so it's a different. I was in a normally, I was a unicorn in that sense where it is a transformation if you talk about accents and, you know, I'm not like a guy from LA, you know? So I have to dig into that. - Yeah, that's my point. How did you get into that part of it? - It's singleton, man. It's singleton, it's movies, you know. He's a decent earlier, it's like in the UK. We really are about that life when it comes to the American culture. Like, I was learning about Malcolm X and Martin Luther King in school, I went learning about the guy in the UK that was the politician. I knew about that stuff when I was growing up. I said the other day I was watching Deaf Jam comedy when I was seven years old. And my favorite movie was Bad Boys, when I was five. Like, it's, we grow up climatized to the culture. American culture, African culture, and UK culture. So I was able to connect in that way, but when I'm really here, you know, like I told you earlier, I've been in the States since 2015. You know, I was 23 years old. So, you won now, you lived the majority of your adult life in the US, you're going to climatize to the themes that, "Hey, I was on Skid Row, March and during Floyd, you know?" And then I'm running back to London, March and in High Park. So, all of that stuff feeds the character, feeds the themes of the show. Do you think it's got the critical acclaim? It deserves A and B, are you a little pissed now? It's the final season, and you didn't get that, the show didn't. I piss, man, I'm going to be doing this till I'm 100 years old, you know? And accolades don't mean anything, man. When someone hits me on social media and says, "Hey, I've just lost my father, and thank you for giving us 60 hours on a couch, you know, watching you perform." A lot of my memories with my dad, you were performing in them. That's the accolade for me. When I'm, when guys from jail are like, "Yo!" Anyone switches the channel with snowfuls on its own. It's going down, right? You know, that's the accolade. The impact, man. It's true, like it's the people, it's the connection with the people. When I walk on the street, or an article came out today, "Dampson Idris is your favorite celebrity's favorite celebrity." It's like, you know, I'm getting love from the goats, you know? Before I, when I used to go to the club and they were like, "Yo, line up and give us $50 a day before, I was skating, we'll be on set." Right. You know, so, those that know, no. And I was looking at Wood Harris, the most good friends of Idris, and you know the why it didn't receive any love. You know, it's the writer's show though, you're right. You know, these things happen, but in a hundred years, you know, who they're going to be talking about. They're going to be talking, frankly, saying, "I promise you." For sure. What was your moment? You know my moment, you were there for that moment. That was probably the biggest moment. Well, the co-creasers show delivered his moment, that's a fact. Yeah. One day, in Miami, why was it, why was it, was it about? So, hold on. You just, Randy just brought you the show up. But that morning, we had brunch and-- So, how long ago was this? This was, what was it? Brown was planning, Brown was planning, Miami. 2013. Yeah. I'll tell my side of the story to this show. 2013, me and Randy, who co-created this show with him, are having lunch with Jay-Z. We have a lunch. Jay was in, I don't know why he was in town. Whatever, it was Miami. Everybody goes to Miami. But it was the end of Basel, too. It was the end of Basel. That's what it was. We were giving him the time for Basel here, running the crib. So, we're having lunch in the back, in the patio. And Randy says, yo, I got this-- I know there's no kid who's a dope ass artist. He's going to come by and gift you a painting, Jay. He's like, Randy's like, I'm going to give it to you as a gift. The only thing I ask him, the artist, come by and meet you. Jay was like, cool, tell him to come through. And he came through. I had no idea who he was. I had just started collecting art, a small collection. And he brought him through. It was a gigantic painting. And he had the painting, I don't know, that we looked at it. We were like, damn, that's dope. Jay was like, appreciate it. I think you stuck around. We finished lunch. And that's my point of view to start it. I think it's in Jay's office right now. What did that moment mean to you? I mean, it was everything. Like, the other version, it's three sides, right? At brunch, Randy knew how much of a Jay-Z fan I was. And Jay, at the time, again, was buying work. And one of his dealers, I knew, just being part of the art world. And so, Randy was like, man, you're boys in town. And I'm like, man, joking. I'm telling him I'm fucking a biopanit. I'm like, telling them biopanit, shit, let's go. And I had this huge painting at the fair. And so, he texted him. He was like, Jay hit back and was like, cool, what is it? And then, I was like, you know, that and I got nervous. I was like, oh, shit. He was like, oh, shit, he was funny, okay? And so, we sent him an image. Jay was like, dope, like, running. And so, I'm like, shit. And so, now, I got to figure out the last day of Basel. I got to figure out how to get this painting from the fair to Jay's career. Before his selfs. And also, I got to leave, it's Sunday night. I got to leave that night. The next day, my sister has the Scoliosis surgery. I'm her guardian, right? So, I'm on a clock. I had no idea about a little bit. Basel, last day, there's no trucks in Miami to rent. Everybody's rented them. So, to get this shit out, yeah. These dudes, they're, you know, just, it's Miami life. We chilling, we going to parties. I'm nervous. I'm like, it helped me. Like, I gotta get this painting. So, I end up just saying, fuck it. I go to the fair. I take the painting off the wall. You yourself. Me myself. The gallery's looking at me. The gallery's like, yo, what the fuck are you doing, man? And I'm like, yo, don't worry about it. Don't worry about it. Security comes, I'm, they think his performance are everybody's confused. I'm poppin' a staple because it's adorable. I'm poppin' staples out of the back of the fucking painting. And everybody, and the security's looking at the gallery. It's like, yo, should I rest this thing? I'm like, what's happening? I'll roll it up. I put it on my back. Randy picks me up. Randy's in there. Cut to me and Jay Chillin's room. Yeah, I like cut to you, yeah. I like cut to you, yeah. For Moses and like. Yo, what time does he need the video? Brady pulls up in a two-seater bins. The painting is huge. Huge. I have to stick it out. It's hanging out to the little back. We'll try and go in there, right? We drive it over there. I'm nervous, just hell, first person. I see it in the house. It's a baby mama bins. OK, OK, but still. I'm sorry, that's hilarious. The painting is longer than the car. Yeah, it's huge. The painting is longer than the car lights. First person I see in the house is B. And she's in the kitchen just chillin' Edenous Out. That threw you up. Bruh. Come on. Come on. So now I'm tightening it up. We didn't know each other, but I knew of, you know, obviously, you know, the whole squad. The only person I had met was Randy and Rich at the time. So, we get out there, again, it's Jay. Jay, they don't have no shoes on. Jay's a hoe. He's a hoe. He's super comfortable. We're at the pool, we're at the pool. Yep. And so, he's like, you know, we talked for a minute and I kind of tell him the inspiration behind the piece. He's like, "Yo, that shit is dope." He's like, "You are molded." And the only thing I'm thinking of, I'm like, it's a dope piece. But how's he gonna roll that back up by himself? I was like, "Pimself." I mean, I'm not helping. Not my problem. I can't get another person. It's gonna be interesting. I'm gonna watch this shit. But Jay was like, you know, the shit was dope. And so, I think it was, he was having a dinner at Soho that night. Something. Yeah, and then he invited me. And I couldn't go. Whoa. Because I had to, I literally had to be back for the surgery. And, you know, after that moment happened, that next day I'm sitting in the waiting room, waiting for my sister to come out, making sure she was all good. And every fucking, like, news article-- How did this find out? Dude, I have no idea. I posted a picture just of me, Jay. Yeah, you guys have a picture. He was like, "Yeah." Yeah. He was like, "Don't take a picture of my feet though." That was the only thing. But I just posted a pic. And then-- With the art piece, too? No, no, no, no, no. It was just us. Just chilling at the house. And I don't-- but when I got on the plane, I'm running for the plane. When I get on the plane, I guess the dealer had said, "I don't know. I really don't know." Because I hadn't even had time to even process what just happened. And when I got on the plane, it was hella people from Chicago. And it was like, "Yo, that's dope, man." And I thought they were just remarking on the fact that I met Jay. And then somebody had said to me, "We went to bathroom." Like, "Yo, man, Jay got one of your pieces." That means everything. Thought it at all. And it was just the moment. Did you realize the magnitude of that moment and the moment of what it could mean for your career? Like someone like Jay haven't worked on it? Not in that moment. I know what it meant to me. Because what he has laid out inspired me to even just do this. And also his trajectory of being very non-traditional. And that's my trajectory in the art world in a lot of ways. So that inspired me. But it wasn't until days coming where I started to realize what this means for my career. Right? For sure. And what's like the dream role for you? Honestly, I just want to work with my friends, man. You know? Colloyo who's been on the show, Idris. There's so many people I admire that Tisha Wright, you know. I just want to work with people who are at the crib with me every day. Because I'd rather make a bad movie with people I love than a great movie with people I can't stand. Absolutely. You know, I just, I'm all about good vibes these days. Even with social media, like, I think something's in the air, like everyone's miserable. Yeah. They say different, man. You know, like if someone that looks like you don't want to tear you. Yeah. Yeah. That doesn't matter. You can take over. I'm only like, preach. Yeah. We talk about that a little bit, right? It's like, yeah. Social media. We still care. You suck. Everything you've done in your life does not matter. And you kind of blew up on social media, obviously. I mean, do you still care? You want that? You look at it and go, what are people saying about what I'm doing? Well, it's interesting because that was also how I made most of my living, right? Right. It wasn't to the point where we had NIL. It was like something I feel like I had to care about, right? Like I have to make sure I'm posting the right things. I have the right engagement, which is hard because what the fuck do people want to see online? I have no idea. So never in the game. Yeah. Because you know what? The world is unpredictable. So I just sat there like, you know, I used to not care. And then all of a sudden I was caring. And then it was like that my engagement started falling. And now I'm just like, you know what? I'm just going to post what makes me happy and whatever it is. But it is interesting when you get a negative comment. That way is so much heavier than when you get a thousand positive comments. Right. So it's like, I like the influx of comments because you don't get wrapped up in it. Because you're just like, honestly, I'm not even going to waste my time. And it's hard not to respond. You got to be sure. You got to make it. It's so hard. It's so hard. I'm not getting wrapped up in it. It's so hard not to respond. It's the hard thing. Have you ever responded a lot? I haven't, I haven't like destroyed someone's life. Like this time is where I write out. Right. I'm like, yo, I just went on your page. What a sentence. Yeah. Like, I wrote all of it, right? And then I'm like, all right, I got half of it out. You know? I don't need to put that energy out there. I'm going to focus on the people who actually show me love. If a thousand people are showing you love in one person is saying something negative for cloud. You can't respond to a thousand people. Hey, if you're feeling bad, just shout out. Yo, thank you to everyone who's loving me right now. Appreciate you guys. No, no. That one person who's giving you negativity is going to be like, damn. I didn't get a, you know? Because that's what they want to do. They want to get you. They want to, they want to go at your character. It was interesting because you two are in the business. You two are also, well, you need people to like the thing that you, meaning, meaning like, if you, if you're an athlete, right? Like, like him, love him, hate him. He's still going to get these damn balls in that bathroom. He's going to get these 30s. Jason, take him, get 35 points. He can get paid. I'm going to give them how we feel. You feel. Yeah. You guys are not the same way. You need people to watch the show. You need people to like, got to stay in it. There's a different thing. There's still good ones. That's the thing. Even out of spite. That's the crazy thing. There's still going to watch it. And that's why I'm like, oh, you're just, you're just bored. You just genuinely want to stand out. I'm, quote, and Jack Hollow has. Yeah. People want to say something negative. So they stand out because you're getting so much love. Like, that is script. If you could, if you could go back, by the way, when you had that sparring match with cancel culture, at the beginning, you had a certain vigor in that. It was more than sparring. It was a heavyweight fight. Oh, man. I got knocked the fuck out. That's not me. That's not me. But no, it's not my question. And then I noticed you did kind of, you chilled and faded away. Had to. If you could go back now, would you do, the beginning of it, would you deal with it differently? Absolutely. Absolutely. That's something I came out, out my own mouth and said, you know what I mean? Like, as of late, not even as of late. Like, you know, like, I would have maybe handled it the way here. I would apologize, but I didn't mean to a pilot. Like, I'm this type of person. Like, I'm going to fight to the truth and nail. Like, you know what I mean? About my character and my intentions. That's something I'll never let. Like, I'm not going to let you. I'm not a bad person. Like a player. When I'm saying, yeah, my character, that's something I can't. Like, I'm unfaltering on that. You know, like I say, you almost got to make it your business to not let that shit get to you. Because once it gets to you, it's almost like, you know, it's a non-stop game of figuring this shit out. That's what we have to do anyways. To market ourselves. To make ourselves worth something. And, you know, if you look back on, like, I was the most, you know, and I hope this shit don't sound like I'm too in my own horn. At the time, I'm looking at it like this. But I was like the most marketable artist in the world. Like, when that shit happened, bro, I had my own meal with Burger King. Like, a lot of the things, like, I see, like, my peers, like, doing now, which I love to see it. Like, I love to see the shit. Like, these are, like, things that, like, I was blessed and fortunate enough to be able to, like, accomplish, like, my first year as a mainstream. Like, I had a meal at Burger King. And I shopped at commercial. I still got the behind the scenes. Like, I had so much going on, bro. Like, you have no idea. Like, I had so much going on. But it's, you know, at the end of the day, like, if you become wrapped up in the negative shit, we're so conditioned to rolling with the punches with social media or whatever it is, whatever room we come into. Okay, we know we got to adapt. Whatever space that we're in, we know we got to adapt. Whatever business it is, whatever game we're playing, we got to adapt. You know, and that's who's going to excel. Like, that's just how the world is. The people don't adapt, though. And that's the problem. No, they don't. I was having a conversation with someone who's going through it online right now. Right now. Right now. I'm definitely not going to tell you. And we were told. Well, they're going through it online. It's kind of public. Well, there we go. But we were talking about the concept of repercussions, right? And the people get no repercussions for what they do online. You know, they could still go to their job. They could still go home to their families. Nothing happens. If I say one thing, bro. One thing. Be careful. My life. Hey. You're still upset, yes. Be careful. You know, and it's, I've sat down in rums of people who were doing great things. And I've said publicly to them, like, hey, yo. Should all of us just come offline and disappear? What's going to happen to the internet if that happens? What are these people going to talk about? If I'm gone. If all of us are gone. No Instagram. No, nothing. Only time you see me is in this chair or if a pack caught me. What's going to happen there? You know, our existence is some people's livelihood. That's what I quote you had that you said. You never had as many fights as you've had as a rapper, and your entire life pre-being a rapper. No, you're like, sure. That's the truth. That's the truth. That people think I got a lot of life, right? You're going to fight here. No, I know. No, I know. No one is a fighter. I don't want to get hit. I don't want to hit you. I don't want to have my damn hand. No, I do not, like I do not like the fight. Like, cut it in the box, bro. You need to hold the fuck out of there. You should get on the mile every day. Five miles every morning. No, bro. Like, go out there and get hit the right way. My ass's going to bed. Like, man, I'm good. I do not like the fight. Absolutely, though, man. And, you know, like I said, like, the amount of real life shit I was going through at the same time, like, so going back to, like, when Sugar dropped that entire project, baby on baby, like, I got a random call in the morning, maybe, like, two weeks, like, a week out there drops as soon as it goes. The number one on Apple Music charts and this chart and that chart, which is, that's the Grammy coming from what I come from. Like, this is like, damn, you know what I mean? I get a random phone call from my little brother. My father gets found. He got found dead. He died in the sleep. From my heart condition. Um, my oldest brother, my mom, she got three sons. I'm the baby, literally. I got two older brothers that I was raised with. Single mother. But his brother, he commits suicide. So this is every year. This is every year, you know what I mean? Every, every success, every successful year of my life. I've been working towards this shit for years, you know what I mean? The second it gets there, boom, okay. Hit it with this, you know what I mean? With my pops, boom, my brother. These are my, these are the only, I lost them there. Every man I looked up to, you know what I'm saying? Like, I literally became the one, like, right there. I'm like, you know what I mean? In real time. And this is why I'm still having the, you know, I'm not an artist who, my fans didn't buy into me for pain or for this. I made people feel good. That was mine. How does it go? Energy. So how is this going to affect your music going forward? You saw it. You literally, if you think back, if you think back how my music was, and this is, you know, and this would be interesting when people see this because it'll put into perspective. I'm not one to that part of my heart. I don't wear it on my sleeve because it's too personal to me. I understand it. You know what comes with this business and shit. And I don't expect for anybody. I don't feel entitled for anybody to treat it as, you know, personal to them as it is to me. You're a pain. Yeah. This is my pain. You don't got nothing to do with me. Are you better today? Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. Like, that's, it was a blessing. And, you know, a lot of it. That's cliche for me to call. Like, something I've been through. A blessing in disguise. Like, that was nothing sort of a blessing. But that's the goal. You know? Like, we stand on the shoulders of giants. You know, and they say, you know, there's no superstars today. It's because the people keep trying to shoot us down when we're on the rise. Let's get there, you know? And we will never reach those places if the people don't stop clapping. You cannot do this alone. It shows you need rooms like this. You do that in our world, by the way, do other black artists do this? You know, it's crazy, man, because artists are insular people. Of course. You know, it's very rare you find those that are genuine enough to have those experiences. It is a little bit, right? It's like, I've met artists that I look up to. And it's very rare where they all accept me, right? And, especially, like, if they see, you know, my star is rising. It was fine when I was the little guy. Oh, hey, you know, hey. Hey, look. Come here. It's okay. I get you a little bit of a pit. But now, the conversation changes, and like, the reach out. Because I'll still reach out. You know, hey, I'm in LA or I'm New York. I'm such and such. And there's no response. So the response comes later. I'm already back on the plane. It's that type of vibe. So it's weird in that space. I mean, I do have a few artists that are sort of my elders in that way that will pick up the phone if I need to or, you know, have that conversation. But it's very, very rare. I feel the same way. You know, because gymnastics is so individualized, it's like, and I think we're all so competitive with each other. Yeah. Even if you're on the same team. And you don't collaborate. Exactly. Like, you know, like, even like, you know, other actors, actors, actually, they love you. Of course. That would meet, you know, other music. Like, they have opportunity. There is opportunity somewhere along the lines of them giving you their support or this or that. So that's the fact of the play. But I mean, I know for, you know, like, other, you know what I mean? Like, other professions they gotta be. They can only be one person at the top. Yeah. Exactly. So we always say it starts with us. That's why these rules are important. Let's continue to uplift each other's support. No, sure. Baby, it's good to have you back, brother. No, I appreciate it. Yeah, man. We have a back and a healthy space. No, absolutely. I can hear the growth of this voice. Now I don't even know. I went to school for film. I wanted to be like the taller handsome Spike Lee. Yeah, that's fine. Listen, I love Spike. But I went, I went to the park. I love Spike to you, Debbie. Look back. All right. Thank you, Robert. For sure. Thanks for listening to The Shop Uninterrupted. Make sure to subscribe, rate, and review wherever you're listening to the show. For full video episodes, check out Uninterrupted's YouTube channel. And for weekly show updates, follow The Shop Uninterrupted on Social Media. Lisa, tell them about our new show. We have a new podcast. I'm Lexi Iwanyu, we're two best friends, 22 years apart, but so close at heart. And I'm Lisa Di Giulio, the old one, which means we have wildly different references, occasionally different opinions. And at this point in my 50s, I've lived it all. Now in my 30s, being the founder of New Shoes, good taste is my business. Listen on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Didn't catch the latest Roland Martin unfiltered podcast? 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