Hustlers Don't Stop with 6LACK

what the fuck is up y'all welcome to my favorite lyrics podcast we talk about music lyrics except when we talk about other stuff today we got a very special guest um we've been trying to focus on getting more artists in and uh this next guy has been in the game for for a good little minute yeah making good music for for for quite some time about a decade and i you know what i'm saying and also i gotta make it i gotta make an admission because i was saying his name wrong for at least a smooth five to seven years yeah you know and and today i'm gonna say it correctly he's got an album coming out on may 22nd called love is the new gangster y'all welcome to the show black appreciate it brother thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you yeah man that really is real i really was saying i was saying it wrong for quite some time that's common it comes with the territory when i created the name in middle school it was before social media like grew to everyone being a comedian and it was just like normal to be like yeah but it's spelled like this and folks just be like okay now we have the part where they're like but why sure and actually yeah i'm not gonna say it that way you're not going like that's that's the energy now oh that's other people like i'm not gonna say like i know you told me correctly but nah i'm still not doing it yeah i'm not gonna do that to you today it's all good you know what i'm saying i'm yeah i'm not here to do that uh i was just i was hearing your explanation where you were talking about it we were talking about like the the the connotation of all the sixes yeah in your life and you're you got a daughter named six yeah daughter named six i was born in the sixth month of the year grew up in zone six in atlanta six is my favorite number life path number if you're into numerology uh so it was just like always popping up in my life in different ways so i just kind of took the hint kept it you know near and dear to me uh black was my uniform growing up when i would just go outside i would throw in all black and i just kind of put it together and it stuck was the was the forces black as well the forces were not black because i am not that type of guy because it's like because that's always because it's like even when i have my era of getting in trouble yeah that was like a line i wasn't willing to cross okay i got you so you was like because there's there's two ways you could do it it's all black white forces and then it's all black black force i was i was more all black white forces and like i remember picking up the black forces one day in footlocker and i just thought about what my life might have been if i committed you was just you was imagining the ways in which you could have went left i don't think i should you know as you know as crazy as i really i did have the black forces even though i know that's not my that's not what i did i did have the black forces even though i know that's not my that's not my energy that's not what i'm bringing to the table yeah i i picked them up i picked them up and was just going to school that was before we really knew we didn't know where where they could take you you know what i'm saying i feel like that came later yeah i feel like it was a time where forces were just so everywhere yeah that it was like yeah i had i had a white parent i had a black pair yeah and then one year one year my dad was like no we not we're not about to spend whatever it costs for the forces so i had the uh i had the iversons that looked like forces do you remember i think i remember when this was going on i remember when the iversons were a thing so yeah they tried to make iversons that looked like forces and guess what they were worse they were they were they were worse shout out to ai if ai if you're listening we know that you are i'm sorry to disrespect your sneaker but but i got disrespected for wearing the sneaker quite a bit i can see that that was such a such a nasty vicious time you really couldn't be coming with nothing that was like similar but not the same and our kids wasn't playing by brands you know i was getting i was getting tore up um black you you from atlanta you rep atlanta really really heavy tell me about like young black wars what you was listening to and you know kind of what the sounds were around atlanta at that time it was forever changing because atlanta's just forever been changing so i had my outcast goodie mob era of course i had my t.i gz luda gucci era i had my snap music era with d4l and franchise boys and then we had a bunch of like acronym clicks that were okay so sob and uh it was just it was a whole bunch of different just letter clicks that were making dance music okay uh that kind of changed into like futuristic music like young la and young dro and travis porter and then that turned into trap music and i like i listened to all of it throughout the whole entire thing like my maybe 15 age 15 until 21 was just me in teen clubs regular clubs and like having atlanta music just be the soundtrack to my life i really i i envy what y'all have going on we just had we just had the homie rob hayes was also from atlanta and he was talking about like he's basically talking about when he was growing up he thought like so many people made it from atlanta that he just assumed that every artist on the radio was from atlanta yeah because he was just like yeah like everybody that i see like they'd be around so like it's always been buzzing you know what i mean so he was like for years he just thought everybody was also from there too yeah that it feels like it's like i grew up in texas and i feel like i like you know i do comedy and i work on tv but like for me it didn't feel possible for a long time um not even that i wanted to do it and i felt like i couldn't it legit like didn't occur to me right that like i could do it because nobody around me was doing it did you feel like because you saw so many people making it did you feel like you always had that opportunity in atlanta yeah but it was it was like a little bit split like half of it was just like knowing myself and knowing what i felt capable of and knowing that if i put in a certain amount of practice then i can do whatever i want um but then yeah the other half was growing up in like the social media era where you're able to see everything happening for everybody all at once so i was able to see like the rise the the peak the fall of like so many folks that were around me and learning like what to do what not to do um how to conduct myself on social media what to say when it's time to shut up i was just kind of being a student and uh yeah like being in atlanta definitely showed me that it's possible you really just again have to put in that practice you connect that with what you see which is the gates are open like the gates are open like the gates are open the gates are open like if the quality is good then you'll be fine and i'm curious about that you were talking about like seeing different people's arcs and learning like what to do and what not to do what did you learn not to do that you that you saw other people doing oh let me think some of let me just let me go back in time real quick um i think like one thing as an artist like to it's it's cool and it's safe to have certain conversations with your friends and your family but you shouldn't necessarily be like commenting on another artist you know their business or what they're going through or even giving like full reviews of somebody else's art you know music or breakdowns online because you're just setting yourself up for something that could go left so it's just like those are private conversations that you have with your friends in a group chat whether it's an award show whether it's an album that you don't like like you don't have to necessarily step out there and share every single thing so i would see people overshare yeah just out of you know the heat of passion and i don't think that social media was like designed for that specific emotion i hear what you saying well it i think in a sense it was designed for that emotion in the sense that like that's like people love people love the mess yeah you don't know for sure people love the like messy but like ultimately like you said i do feel like nine times out of two like it's made for that but there are consequences so that's that's the only like trade-off is like yes it's made for it they set it up in a way to just make you want to be like walking down the street eating chips in the house on the couch and then that just kind of graduates to you ugly i don't like you either and then it just continues to just get more and more extreme to where it's at right now to where it's like okay and speaking of which i just saw you literally just tweeted something today kind of about this era of what's going on that it's like i just want to read it for the people just because i i liked it a lot and it's the thing that i think about uh you said to every artist and person out there your life and career will hardly just be vertical the purpose of art goes beyond charts and sales and analytics and algorithms it has to be natural and ups in there oh it has natural ups and downs and the best thing you can do is to create things that are honest so that you never have to look back and have regrets every day you're breathing you get an opportunity to reintroduce yourself and put something meaningful out into the world do the work have fun doing it everything else a bonus yeah that really thank you bro that really hit home for me i hit that man i like you like yeah i was spitting on that no that one been in the drafts for a minute yeah yeah today i was just feeling it i'm just like i kind of have seen a couple of other artists in the last few weeks just you know either talk about just not feeling good about the algorithm or being boxed out so it's been popping up in conversations and we talk about it regularly just in studio sessions all the time like we know what we're up against we know it's not the same as you know 2016 and before where you could just be like album out now and all your folks will see it yeah and and you know it would do its thing like now you kind of have to play a game where you have to figure out a specific way to get people get an audience back uh so yeah i know it's not fun i know it's discouraging uh and i'm trying my best to just like tap everybody else around me and remind them like i know it can suck to you know again have those peaks and like have to deal with like the ups and downs of it but it just is what it is it's nothing you can do but like look at it accept it figure out you know how you want to adjust to it and just make that's cool make that's cool that might be the name of the episode yeah i mean that's all that's all you really can do at the end of the day yeah also it's like i mean i feel like i i became aware you yeah like you said probably about 2016 20 2017 the album with the bear on it yeah i remembered learning you had a real bear in the yeah in this i just saw a bear like last week damn was he like what happened it was a grizzly bear i think it's called a kodiak bear they're like kind of bigger than regular grizzlies where was this oregon uh i forgot what city in oregon but it was like some some middle of nowhere yeah city in oregon and we were shooting for some promo content for a tour so second time in life that i risked my life the bear is back yeah the bear is back um and I'll show you the video when we get off too, but yeah, we recorded a little promo video, so since it's been 10 years, we just wanted to call back to the first thing that people saw when they got the music. Rob Markman: What do you think in the 10 years, because obviously you came out with a boom when "Problems" came out. I feel like it was. I'd imagine it was a lot of exciting- Rob Markman: Yep. It was crazy time. Shit going on at that- Rob Markman: Crazy time. At that time. How does it feel? What kind of lessons do you feel like you've learned 10 years in from that point to now, in terms of the way that you. Is there anything you wish that you could go back and tell Black from 2016 about how you would approach things? Rob Markman: I think it would be more in the realm of my personal life, and it would just be whatever you're going through, just figure out a way to continue to express it, and say it out loud, and share it with the people who care about you, because otherwise you're going to complicate your life way more than you have to, and that was the hard lesson for me in the last 10 years. Just getting out of my head, and truly relying on the folks that are there for me, and just being more honest about things. It's easy to just be like, "I'm cool. Everything's fine. I got it under control. Nothing to worry about. I'm not stressed. I'm not depressed," and just to have that hard exterior, just to be the provider, or to be the protector. But yeah, I would just say, "Be honest. Just be honest." I was a liar. Rob Markman: My homie Jordan Temple, shout out to Jordan. He's a comedian. He made a shit about how he'll be really going through it sometimes, because he's a black man. He has access to so many words that make it sound like it's nothing really going on. You know what I'm saying? He'll really be like, "Really going through it," and then he'll be like, "Nah, I was just tripping." It's like, "No, but I wasn't tripping. I was having a mental breakdown." Yeah, you can dress it up all you want. It is what it is. It is what it is. Rob Markman: I was tripping. I was bugging it. It was like, "Oh, no. Actually, it's like-" My heart is broke. Rob Markman: Yeah. Actually, I'm going through it in kind of a fucked up way. Yeah. Rob Markman: That's what's up, man. I mean, also, I've known of you, I've been a fan of your stuff since I heard that first song in 2016, but then in addition to that, I feel like you've collabed with so many artists that I'm a fan of as well, which makes me feel like musically we might be in a similar zone. Sure. Rob Markman: You got a joint with Isaiah Rashad and SZA. Yeah, of course. Rob Markman: Isaiah Rashad is one of my favorite artists. Loves it. Rob Markman: Just overall. He just put the new project together. Just put the new project out. You also, you probably don't know this, Future is probably the number one artist that we talk about on this podcast. He's like- It makes sense. That's that guy. Rob Markman: He's really the star of the show. Can you tell me about, you've also worked with Future, can you tell me about working with him? Yeah. I mean, Future in every sense when it comes to music to me is like Gandalf, he's like a wizard. Rob Markman: Yes. He says wizard sometimes in his ad-libs, he knows who he is, so I think we kind of take his ability for granted because sometimes it's under the guise of club music or being on drugs, but at the end of the day, musically, he does something that not a lot of people can do. He is amazing with melody choice. He's amazing with his cadences. He's amazing with just the way that he articulates any situation that he's in. It could be the most simplest scene, but he knows how to set it up in a way to where you see what he's saying or you feel what he's saying, and yeah, it's a special talent. Rob Markman: I couldn't agree with you more. That man's a work. Modern day poet. Rob Markman: Literally, here's a joint where he's saying, "I serve the base," he says, "I inhale the love on a bad day." Come on, man. Rob Markman: "I'm baptized inside a purple activist." Come on. He's like, people don't really. I mean, I'm preaching at the choir clearly, but I'm really. I'm always rooting for him to get even more recognition, and he has an incredible career already. Yeah. Rob Markman: I think he should be mentioned in whatever top artists you want to talk about. Yeah, yeah. Rob Markman: I think he should be in that conversation. When folks talk about Atlanta too, I mean, obviously artists in general, but I think when you talk about Atlanta, he's right at the top, top three. Rob Markman: Who else is in that top three for you? I know it's such a controversial thing because of the amount of albums he's put out, but everybody knows Three Stacks is just like, he's something different. Rob Markman: Yeah. And when you're something different, I don't care if it's one album, I don't care if it's a dual album, I don't care if it's just guest verses. Like, he's number one for me, for sure. And then, I mean, honestly, at this point, I think Future is like, he the one or the two. It's not really. Like when you think of consistency, when you think of, like I said, he's not new to music. There's musicality in everything that he does, so I do feel like he's put up a longer run than most of our favorite folks. Rob Markman: And also, I mean, speaking of Atlanta legends, somebody else that's also like. Actually, kind of one of the reasons why this podcast exists, because I kind of just wanted to talk about music lyrics that I thought were funny, and somebody that you actually have on a new project. Of course. Rob Markman: 2 Chainz. Yeah. Rob Markman: Come on. 2 Chainz is underrated, for sure. Speak on it. Yeah. I think with that song, "Sunday Again," I wanted to put him in a space that other folks might not be too familiar with hearing him in, and I just felt like if I could describe what he felt like for that song, it's literally like a glass ceiling. It's like a glass of whiskey just sitting on the table. The scene was already set, and I wanted his voice to do something, whereas we're not in the club this time, and nobody's on the handstand, nothing crazy is happening. We are at the crib. It's Sunday. The vibes are set. The candles are lit. What is your perspective on this moment? And I think he just did exactly what he needed to do, and yeah, Chainz is another one. 2 Chainz: I love him so much. Yes, sir. He's also just. I always say with rappers, I think there's a fine line between the two. Between being funny and being a joke, and I feel like Chainz is like, he's perfectly on the right side of it, whereas he be saying shit that's so, so, so funny to me, but he's not like a joke. 2 Chainz: No, for sure. When I got his verse back, for sure, there's always a moment where you just kind of laugh, and you're just like, "He had to say it. He had to do it." You know what I mean? 2 Chainz: Yeah. I'm being all intricate and intimate on the song, and then he's just like, "I want to bust all in it," and I'm just like, "Yeah." There you go. 2 Chainz: Yeah. There's the moment. There's the moment. 2 Chainz: You know what I mean? He's. yeah, just kind of one-on-one. Yeah, for sure. 2 Chainz: One-on-one. That's 2 Chainz. If you're listening, we know that you are. Yes, sir. Go. 2 Chainz: We love you. Yes, sir. Hey. Hey, you. You listening to the pod right now. Are you a member of my yet-to-be-titled fan base, which is a thing we're working on, genuinely? We're in the lab trying to get to the bottom of that. Do you live in New York City? Well, guess what? We've got good news for you. We are doing our first-ever New York City live show on June 29th. It's going to be at Littlefield. It's going to be a good-ass time, and I'm going to expect to see you there. If I don't see you there, I don't know what I'm going to do, but it's going to make me sad, and that's not what you want to do, right? So go ahead and buy tickets. The link is in the description bio, and it is also on the My Favorite Lyrics Instagram and wherever you find links. That's where the link's going to be, so go ahead and tap in, and we're going to have some very special guests. It's going to be a good time. Bye, baby. Later. Rob Markman: I was thinking about this, thinking about 2 Chainz, and thinking about that line of being funny versus being a joking artist. Are there any funny R&B artists? Rob Markman: Funny R&B artists, that's a good question. Like on wax, or just in life? On wax, because I was trying to think, because there's so many rappers that really will make you laugh every now and again on a bar. I was like, is anybody. T-Pain is funny and real. Rob Markman: T-Pain is funny. T-Pain is funny. Rob Markman: He's funny in real life. T- He can be funny on songs sometimes. I'm trying to recall something. Rob Markman: Yeah. T- I feel like he has to have some moments in there where his funniness crept over into his songs. Rob Markman: You would think. T- Has to be. Has to be. I'm going to circle back on that one. Rob Markman: Yeah. Let's think about. T- Him specifically. Rob Markman: Collectively as a room, let's try to think about if we could think of any funny R&B artists. T- Yeah. Funny R&B artists. Rob Markman: It's hard because y'all got to be sexy on the track. T- Yeah. Rob Markman: It's challenging to make a sexy love track and also be. T- Yeah. Yeah. We're hiding our humor. Rob Markman: You know what I mean? T- For sure, dude. Rob Markman: Yeah. It's tough to. T- Hmm. I'm going to think on that. Duran Bernard is funny in real life. Rob Markman: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My homie Norrie Davis, who has also been on this, he opened for Duran. T- Okay. Fire. Rob Markman: I got to peep. I don't know if I know his stuff way too much, but I got to check it out. T- Funny in real life. I'm assuming there has to be maybe something in his music, too, that's in there, because you can't be that funny and then not just spill over. T- You saw the recent video where he was performing at Blue Note in LA, and somebody was sleeping in the front row at the table, and he was mid-song, and then he just leaned in and just hit the loudest note in their ear. It's a crazy video. Rob Markman: Just jolted them straight up. T- Yeah. Literally full wind, everything, woke them up out of their seat. He was like, "Yeah, you in the front. You sleep. You got to be ready." Rob Markman: I've seen that happen doing a stand-up show before. One time there was a man who was at least 117 years old. He was a very old man, and we were in a very old white town. The show was going good. People were laughing, whatever. It was fun. I just look over, and this old man is just. T- Yeah. It's always that. Rob Markman: Just lean back, just head down, like he was at his house. I had to debate. I was like, "Do I wake this man up, or do I leave him alone?" He's lived a long life. T- You got to know. Rob Markman: He's lived a long. I got to let him rock. When he woke up, I did have some shit to say to him. T- Okay. All right. Rob Markman: When he woke up, I did. I said, "Sir, you couldn't wait. I'm only up here for 20 minutes." T- You know. Rob Markman: "You couldn't just give me this? I don't have much, sir." T- At this. I'll put it this way. feel like at the age I'm at right now it's still dangerous you never know like 100 and something I'm definitely going I shouldn't be outside actually yeah I should be at home in bed what have you ever seen anything like that at a show before yeah I'm trying to recall definitely though there have been moments where folks have have done their thing there might have been moments where even I dozed off but like on like from the stage no not like on the stage just watching somebody else's show oh and just like I had a long day or a long week or something but yeah there had to have been a moment where I had to wake somebody up but it happened so like if I see it I'm calling it out immediately I'm not like anyway you know you poor you nigga wake your ass up yeah yeah let's laugh let's laugh at him hey hey hey hey nudge him real quick literally let's point and laugh what's uh for you know I know you're you're you're gonna go on tour later this year correct yep fall time yeah in the fall for for the for those people who are listening who maybe haven't been to one of your shows what's a what's a black show like uh uh honestly I feel like if you haven't been then it would be a surprising experience okay because I know a lot of the music is more like slow and like calm but the show energy is like it's up so okay you know we we bring it down when we need to for certain songs but for the most part I understand just keeping everyone's attention and making sure there's crowd participation and I'm working the stage moving back and forth so it's a pretty high energy show for R&B show okay yeah that's not yeah it's not yeah we're not we're not in there sleeping we're not in there like it's not that's one thing we're not gonna do yeah yeah if you are then you are truly missing out because again like I I'm not standing still yeah uh trying to be like too suave or anything it's just again once I cut my hair I felt like I became a different performer and that just kind of helped me shed any little bit of insecurities that I had left and I could truly just like look up and make eye contact and like I was just a different guy once I cut it wait speak on I'm curious I'm curious about that I'm curious because when I yeah when I when I first became aware you had like the hair looked cool I liked it I had the free form yeah and I just felt like that hair had a bunch of energy tied up into it like a lot of the traumatic stuff that I went through in a bad relationships and just like just growing up in general just felt like it was with me so when I made that first album I felt like I just kind of settled more into that character or just like whatever that move was and I would just look at some of my performance videos and notice like I'm looking at the ground my hair is falling over my face I'm still like shy or like insecure or hiding and this is the moment where my life is changing and my shows will determine who comes to my shows in the future so uh I knew I needed to make a change for for maybe about a year and then yeah once everybody got used to who I was like as soon as I feel like folks got hit was the moment I was like all right let's chop it off I like that it's almost like a real like uh like you didn't want to give yourself somewhere to hide yeah it was a release like it felt like a weight off my shoulder I officially started looking up I officially could see what was going on in the crowd I got LASIK too so like my vision so you could actually it was all like everything worked at the perfect time hair was gone eyes were great and I just started like working the stage in a different way it was like that that monochromatic kind of dimmed version of myself had just been put to rest and I was like let's just have a fun show so that's I love it yes sir thank you who um I'm always curious with music artists about this who's the first concert that you ever went to go see first concert that I ever went to go see on my own Wiz Khalifa cushion orange juice in Tallahassee yeah man completely by myself wait in Tallahassee okay yep I think I might have like it probably took the bus no friends no like just me I have about 30 something dollars to get get myself a ticket and I remember just being in the crowd full of folks I did not know everybody's smoking weed uh and cushion orange juice was huge at the time yeah but it's crazy when you look back at it because it's as big as it was uh the venue was probably like maximum like a thousand people and you would think like the way that I listened to this album in the moment that he's having online it just seems like he's a superstar yeah and then you go and you realize wait I was at an intimate Wiz Khalifa show that might have been the last project that he had where it was that chill yeah because that was probably a year or two before like black and yellow black and yellow it was over it was literally over shout out to Wiz Wiz is somebody who I was like really heavy on for like yes for for a time probably from like probably like 09 to like 2012. I was heavy in the Wiz we all were you know what I'm saying same time yeah like my whole school is a whole bunch of Wiz clones yeah camo shorts Chucks snap back he had he had getting the little blonde patch yep yeah a little blonde patch and I'm sure a lot of people look back and they said I wish I wish I didn't do that but no no Wiz was a trendsetter like shout out to Wiz he's also super underappreciated and uh yeah I mean just a great shout out shout out currency I was like really same yeah I I met I went to a currency show in like 2010 and I I met him me and my homies had like a little box we kept all our weed in yeah and uh he like he like signed the box and then he like smelled it he was like hey that smells good he was like meet me back outside in like 20 minutes so we got to smoke with I got to smoke with currency when I was like 19. that's fire yeah yeah yeah shout out to him I just was listening to uh here's a joint with uh Alchemist with Alchemist and Larry June that I hadn't tapped back into currency in a minute because he puts out like eight albums a year so like I was like I was like I got responsibilities currency I can't be it's too much for me it's just too it's just too much going on uh but I just I tapped back in for that project and I was like he still got it yeah he's cool he still got it he's still just wrapping his ass off yeah I don't think his style will ever go out of style I I like that and I feel like that leads me to like a question that I think about like in just in terms of your artistry and like what you see for yourself because I feel like in music I feel like there's um you know obviously there's a lot of people about it you know I think there are certain people who I heard currency talking about like him and Wiz and currency was just like yeah like I always kind of just wanted to do basically what I'm doing now I wanted to like I got my fan base I want to serve that fan base keep putting out stuff for them I want to buy my cars I want to live like and I want to live like a relatively normal life yeah he was like Wiz wanted to be a superstar he wanted to like play arenas and like be on the radio and like you know we just we both successful we just wanted different stuff yeah you land with like I think I think I have a sense of it but where do you land with like your like aspirations and where you want to be um honestly I have seasons like I do feel like at the root of it I only care about the folks who respect my journey and can like hear what I'm talking about in my music and understand my growth and know that this isn't always for radio and it isn't always for charts and it isn't always for sales like this is something that I do to help myself and to also help other people so on one hand like that's kind of where I rest but I'm also a fan and I'm also a like a consumer and I'm also a competitor like I come from battle rap like I I know what it is to have a season where I'm just like actually I'm I'm better than these like or you know I I want to show a flex a different muscle or do a different thing or maybe I do want to like get a nomination at this award show so I have seasons where it just kind of switches and I can get in a mode to where I want to produce in a different way so it rests with my score for sure but then I'll have moments where you know the ego just kind of flare up and you're just like I want to do a little more it kind of has it has to you know like I feel like that's part of all of our journeys yeah just a little bit is enough just a little bit of ego not too much it just can't take over your whole yeah just a little bit to keep you sharp and to keep things fun and exciting so yeah and you you mentioned your history with with battle rap and I'm glad I'm glad you brought that up because I was curious about it yeah I saw I saw that video that you posted of you battle rapping in front of uh young thug yeah yeah tell me about tell me about your battle rap history you might be the first battle rapper we've ever had on the show oh yeah I was heavy on Cassidy at one point in my life that led me down the rabbit hole of read dollars loaded Lux um me when he was like he was going crazy um but I mean I was like heavy in the bar rap Jadakiss Jewels fabulous like I had my era where that was my thing so if you consume that on a regular basis you become that it's just like put my hat to the back Cockney to the side I was like I was I was feeling it in a different way and I rap so it was very easy to just like make that my hobby and then eventually like make that my my skill set like my serious skill set and it just taught me to be ready like more than anything even though I was young you would just never know if you sitting down eating breakfast somebody tap you they like yo so-and-so want to battle you right now you got to mentally be like you know prepare for it um so I used to write a lot um and my the way that my memorization and my brain was working around that time I think was just super beneficial to the music I make today because I took all of those skills and all of that vocabulary and all those metaphors and I just compressed it into like singer-songwriter I see and do you I mean I feel like you do you consider yourself a rapper so yeah yeah yeah rapper first um I just tricked everybody and you know and taught myself how to sing I started messing around with melody a little more around 2011. okay uh by 2014 I felt like I had a really nice grip on it and yeah by 2016 when everybody heard me that was the moment when I decided I'm like okay I I know enough of what I'm doing now to be a an R&B artist like I think also I was more drawn to melodic music and R&B music like that more of what I was listening to on a regular as I got older. And also when I was younger, my mom was just playing music in the car. So, yeah, I just resonated with it more at the end of the day. Like, the battle rap thing was an era, and I just kind of grew into something else. Would you battle rap present day? Never. If somebody stepped up to you and they said it's. You got it. Never. I got two kids. My brain capacity and bandwidth is at its max. So, battle rap, I don't have the ability. That's not your spirit no more? No, I need just me, a beat, and time to write. And I can freestyle in my own time, and still, a lot of my tracks are, in some sense, freestop. But not to diss anybody or nothing. That's a lot of brain power. You know, I never. Obviously, I don't rap at all, but I really couldn't battle rap because sometimes while watching it, I'd be like, bro, these niggas are being so mean. Like, spit flying in your face, too. Just, like, poking your chest. Taking your hat off? Bro, I don't even. If a nigga takes my hat off. Bro, putting an imaginary gun in your face. I don't like it. It's a lot, bro. I don't like it. I can't. Yeah, yeah. These niggas are being so rude, dog. We can't just hang out. I'd ruin a battle. I'd be like, I got anxiety, bro. You gotta chill with that. Gotta chill. So, they be saying truly the foulest shit. They be talking about your fucking baby mom and the house that you live in. You can't take that back. You can't take that back, bro. Like, bro, I'm doing the best I can. Yeah, that's it. I'm doing the best I. I'm working double shifts. I'm working double shifts just trying to, you know, creatively express myself. I do feel like it is impressive, though, when you see somebody, like, getting roasted in that way and then the person on the other side is just like, yeah, that was pretty hard. That was pretty hard. Yeah, you got me. Yeah, my shoes is leaning to the left. That's true. You got me on that. My shoes is leaning to the left. I do have a stain on my shoulder. That's right. Or something super serious. Like, I did get shot that day when I was in that neighborhood. In the wrong place. It's like, man, bro, that was a traumatic experience for me. Just being joked about. But, hey, to each his own. Sometimes in my algorithm, I'll get recommended this white guy battle rapper. Do you know who I'm talking about? Have you ever seen this guy? I don't know. Has anybody ever seen this white boy battle rapper? That's crazy. That's crazy. That is wild. Hold on. Let me. Hold on. I wonder who. I'm typing in white boy battle rapper into Google. Popped up immediately. First result. His name is Anderson Burris. He be. I mean, honestly, he's pretty good, but it's. I will say, like, as much as I can appreciate the art form, when he started popping up, I was like, I gotta do something different about my algorithm. I can't just. I go like some other things. Not interested in this post. Yeah, I gotta start doing something different. I got white boy battle rappers, and this whole thing is. His whole thing is being like, I'm about to gentrify your block. He's doing that, and it's clever. At some point, it's. Because I wanted to dislike it, and then I was like, I don't know. It's hard. He's actually pretty talented. He's actually pretty good at battle rap. I don't want to see it, but he doing his thing. I get it. Anderson Burris, if you're listening, I'm sorry about what I'm saying about your art, but also, like, you know, keep fighting. It seems like it's going well for you. Black, you brought some lyrics to us. You brought some lyrics to us that you wanted to talk about. I mean, you got some classic artists. You got some classic artists. These are all artists that I know and love very well. Shout out to them before I say what I said. Shout out to them. Shout out to them. You know, I'll go ahead and highlight your lyrics here. You know, let's. We can talk about any of them that you want to. Okay. Just lyrics that just raise my antenna in life as I was growing up. First, Lil Wayne. That's at the top of my list. I remember just vibing out to either a mixtape or something on YouTube or something on one of those illegal downloading websites. R.I.P. And I'm just deep in the song and then I hear, and I am these shit and they just poop stains. And I was like, I was like, I don't know if I want to say that part. Like, I get it, but, you know, I understand the metaphor for sure. But I was like, I don't like the word poop. And raps. It's not really, you know, it's not. And Wayne got a lot of poop bars. Wayne got a lot of poop bars. He goes, he goes in there and he's in a poop bag. You know who else got a lot of poop bars? Who? Ice Spice. Yeah. The whole song called you, Think You The Shit. So, yeah, poop bars are not my favorite. That's like a road. I'm just, I'm not a fan of poop bars. But I love Lil Wayne, one of the best rappers. One of the, one of my favorite people to ever hear rap, or like to listen to rap. But they're going to clip this and now I hate Lil Wayne and it's alright. It's alright. No, yeah, I guess that. People get sensitive about Wayne online, rightfully so, because that's our guy. Because he's like, because he's a legend and I feel like people are. I don't know. It's, it's, Wayne's one of those interesting artists where it's like he I feel like he's put out so much good music, but I feel like because like the era switched, I feel like so much of his like incredible music got like lost to the sands of time. For sure. You know what I mean? Where it's like, I have a homegirl who like is I think she's also from Atlanta, but I have a homegirl who like, she's a little bit. younger than us. Yeah. And like, she was like, oh, I like the first Wayne that I remember hearing was like, "How to Love." Yeah. And I was like, oh, that's like, yeah, that's not the best introduction to like what he can do. And I sent her, what was that? I sent her the song, the Jay-Z song that he did off of the Drought 3, "Show Me What You Got." Yeah, one of the best verses ever. And she was like, oh, like, I didn't, I didn't know he even could do that. And I feel like younger people are only going to know him for like his like radio songs. Which like, in my opinion, is not the best Wayne that you could get. No, you had to be there. Mixtape Wayne. You had to be. Early Carter Wayne. And yeah, I mean, I love Wayne to death. And I feel like the only thing as a fan that I want from Wayne is maybe just a moment with a specific producer and to just lock in and to like have something that is constructed in a way that's just intentional. Like the same way that, you know, Timbo could be with Aaliyah for an album. Like, get with somebody who you really trust and really love and like work together to create, you know, something special. Who do you, who would you like to see him be with? I think that Wayne and Alchemist could be cool. I think that Wayne and No I.D. could be really cool. That'd be hard. I mean, at this point, there's so many great producers. Like, he could link up with anybody who is just like at the top of their game right now. And I think it takes two leaders to be in the room to get like a really, really great product. So. Okay, can I suggest something that I feel like could kind of go crazy? Wayne Project all Tyler the Creator beats. That would be lit too. I feel like, yeah. A little 10 piece. Just like a little, maybe a little EP. It don't even got to be anything crazy. It could be four or six songs. I just feel like when those two link up together, it's always like, they got a real special chemistry. I feel like I've heard them kind of go crazy together a few times. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. Anyway, continue on. Alright, next is going to be from my brother Young Thug. Okay. Digits, the highly debated line, "Hustlers don't stop, they keep going." But often mistaken as, "Horses don't stop, they keep going." Both are true. So I'm not, I'm not too mad at that one. Wait, now I got to put, I got to put it on real quick. Yeah. I got to put it on real quick just to, just to revisit for, for the room, so that we could all. Yeah, and I know him. So for me to mistake it as horses, I'm like, damn, we all, we all heard horses. Tell me about how long have you known Thug, because I know I saw you rapping in front of him. That was. Yeah, that was our first encounter probably like 2010 or somewhere around there. Okay. And then when things just kind of happened for both of us in our career, we ended up meeting up years later, maybe 2018 or 2019. And he was just like the one I would pull up to, because his studio wasn't too far from my crib. And sometimes it would just be to kick it. Sometimes we would make music. Sometimes we would share stories. Sometimes they'd be playing video games. Sometimes we would get ridiculously high. And yeah, I just like to check in on him. I felt like I was a different type of friend to have around during that time. So I just feel like if I can come around and offer any type of advice or just a different type of energy in general in the room, like I just want to be around folks who I appreciate. So yeah, we linked up around there. We made a whole vault of songs. So y'all got a bunch of like. We got a whole bunch of demos that have never come out. Do you think the world might ever see them? Um, possibly. You never know. I think "Ash and the Blunt," the one on my album right now, is like that was the one that I, more than anything, I'm like this one has to be out. Like everything else, you know, I'm cool with. But this one, people need to be able to officially listen to. You know who did that to my lyrics? Who's that? LeBron James. What do you mean? What did LeBron do? I got a song called "Stay Down" with Durk and Thug. And he posted a video listening to it with his shades on. He had a little drink in his hand and he just sang my whole part wrong. I said, "Hoppin' out the car, no photos, baby." And LeBron was just like, "Yabba-dabba-dabba-do-do, baby." I'm like, you saw, you did that, saw it, and posted it, and didn't check. Because it's like he didn't have to post that. he said y'all gotta y'all gotta go and find this video cause it's like it's funny it's funny in so many ways it's funny cause he does just say yabba dabba doodah baby but it's also it's also funny cause it's like he feels so good about himself he looks content he's so pleased with himself when he does it he's got a big glass of wine in his hand and a do-rag on he looks like he's having a really nice day he looks he did the little head nod he goes yabba dabba doodah baby then he leans like he leans in like yeah yeah like yeah I'm having a good day y'all better y'all better quit playing that's a classic video man LeBron if you're listening we know that you are we gotta we gotta get you the correct lyrics we got black right here I don't know y'all probably got somebody in common let's bridge this gap yeah we avoided that we spoke but we avoided that oh yeah you I left that out I left that out that would've been the first thing I wanted to talk to him about that it was on Instagram DMs I didn't wanna just I was just like just nice to meet you thank you thank you for appreciating the music yeah yeah yeah oh he hit you kind of being like it was one of those types of things to where either he sent a message first or posted something with my music and then yeah response got you that's what's up classic video classic video alright I uh yeah I really I really like LeBron's uh LeBron's internet like present day internet presence is very funny to me funniest NBA player of all time but I think I also think LeBron's he's really funny in the way where it's like oh you're not trying to be funny you just kind of are it's funny now like now cause I've known about you know LeBron I grew up with LeBron I've known him like you know he like started popping off when I was in like 5th or 6th grade or something like that and it's funny now to see him have been in the league so long that I'm just like oh this is just somebody's dad he's like he's doing dad stuff you know what I'm saying he don't really know the words to the current lyrics but he still wants to feel like he's in on it so he's saying yeah and it is what it is at that point those are the lyrics that's it shout out shout out to LeBron there's also there's a very funny video of him dancing to a Baby Keem song in the gym I can see that I think I remember that one yeah and he also doesn't know the words so he kind of starts and then after a little bit he just starts going oh yeah yeah yeah he goes yeah I think there's another one too that might be like Tee Grizzley or something it was somebody from Detroit it felt like and then he hit like a boom boom boom boom in the middle of it and I was just like I was like yeah this is his thing like if he had a social media campaign manager they would be like do more of that it's working yeah alright LeBron post some more song stuff get it wrong post some more song stuff get it wrong shout out shout out shout out LeBron for real are you a Hoop fan yeah love love love yeah yeah who's your team Lakers oh interesting yeah been a Laker since I was a baby interesting Kobe Bryant how did oh Kobe Kobe Bryant can I tell you as a Spurs fan I have always hated the Lakers more than anything that makes sense I've always hated the Celtics oh yeah Spurs I never cared about they were always boring to me okay well that's not you didn't have to say that you didn't have to say that right here I thought we built up a rapport nah I thought we understood each other I thought we were connecting we were talking about music and the creative struggle you just say that about mine I just said boring okay that ain't the worst it could be better it could be better yeah I guess it could they could be murderers like I can't you know it's like yeah it's but the Spurs the Spurs are lit now obviously the Spurs are really good now they've always been lit yeah we was always we always been good some people just didn't they couldn't appreciate it Tim Duncan was just so fundamental that I was just like I feel like I'm watching somebody like three count like just one two three here's what I'll say is I think if Tim Duncan just changed his wardrobe slightly I think he could have been remembered very differently yeah you know what I'm saying if he just would have put a throwback jersey on and a do-rag I feel like nah but he's he's goat status too obviously but yeah if he would have got a fit off I would have been like that's part of it is I feel like our Spurs we had him and David Robinson and they both was just wearing like clothes that were accessible to everybody yeah fits wasn't nah the fits was nasty he really did my man Timmy did accept the MVP award with some long denim shorts on and some sandals and and I and I couldn't defend that couldn't tell he's happy with himself and then then we got Kawhi who like doesn't who nobody knows anything about despite the fact that he's like that laugh we gotta we gotta we got a strange history with superstars I'll give you that see see no I'll give you that I'll take back the word boring I'm gonna say just interesting from afar wait and also I like that rebranding of boring I like it's just nah you're not boring you're just you're interesting from a distance yeah I'll just stay up you're just you're an enigma that's what it is yeah that's why and then you you got one more bar that you that you brought to us that I feel like we we gotta discuss this is from my favorite song by him oh yeah yeah I think we all kind of found out that we were singing this one wrong T-Pain buy you a drink I'm gonna buy you a drink and then I'm gonna take you home with me not ooh wee just and then I never heard and then I tried to listen to it on the way here and like find it some more but yeah apparently he says the words are and then not ooh wee I'm gonna take you home with me like that's not true we made that up that's we didn't we yabba dabba do that one apparently apparently bro that's not she says it's and then hold on somewhere in there hiding is the word then you know what you might be the first person to be a guest on this show and do this which is like cause a lot of times people just bring like really silly lyrics and the lyrics you brought I was looking at them I was like oh yeah these are straightforward like I like all these songs like I fuck with it but you're actually like you gotta break it down yeah got to you're actually doing something different which you've been like oh actually y'all haven't understood this you're actually you're bringing in bars for clarification exactly hold on there's some conspiracies out there that need to be cleared up and wait and how did you learn that he was saying and then have you heard has he talked about this yeah I think there was a video of him or a tweet of him correcting folks and just saying actually it's and then it's a then and there we were just kids we was like ooh wee it just felt good yo this is fucking me up I've probably heard this song a thousand times maybe more than that in my life and I never noticed that until right now yeah life is a lie don't kids don't listen to what they telling you you gotta read you gotta read in between the lines for yourself sometimes you think it's ooh wee and it's actually and then and you gotta you know what I'm saying the media mainstream media not telling you that yeah you gotta grow up it's time to grow up damn that's really yeah that's really I don't know I did not know that I did not know that have you ever come across T-Pain yeah I love T-Pain he came out at my last show in Atlanta and it was probably my most favorite guest okay that I've ever done at a show so I had my state farm and arena homecoming show in Atlanta and it was at the end of my tour and I just felt so good I'm like I hate T-Pain I'm just like look I'm doing a show I'm bringing out a couple folks from the city and obviously he's not from Atlanta but he lives in Atlanta and I think he might live there too he lives in Atlanta and I think it's just been a second home to him so yeah I was just like if you want to come out do a couple songs like please he pulled up obviously and I was side stage like it wasn't my show I'm in the back like he did buy you a drink he did did you do Bartender I think he did Bartender I think Bartender was my actual favorite he did I'm Sprung yeah um he did In Love With A Stripper I think I can't remember if he did In Love With A Stripper but I know he did like the everybody hands go up he did a little bit it was like a nice medley to where you got the old you got the middle you got the new and it was just super fun bro it was like the most fun moment of that tour for me because I just got to sit back and just be a fan so that is really cool is there anybody that you haven't seen live that you still feel like you want to hmm and also I want to know what the best live concert experiences that you've seen that hasn't been one of your shows has been okay someone that I haven't been to that I want to see that's a really good one maybe Sade that would be like a nice pleasant experience like I wouldn't be burnt out by the end of it feeling like I was in a mosh pit like I want something that can just be memorable and be easy so I feel like Sade would be very beautiful experience to see I feel the exact same way I wish I would have seen Michael yeah that yeah that's at the top of anyone's list whoever did for sure yeah I also think like any of those artists like they all got really big in the you know in the 80s they got really big in the 80s and I feel like there was a different type of mystique so it was like there was nowhere really you would see them on like TV and like in magazines and that was it and that was the only time you could ever see them so I feel like there was a different type of mystique of like oh I it's the only time I could see this performance I gotta go all out you know what I'm saying and I feel like Sade is another one of those for me that was something that was like on in my house a lot when I was a kid and it just it's just music that like reminds me of growing up and it just like makes me happy and also she she never tours she like she don't really go nowhere I forget she like lives on an island somewhere yeah too bad for us but great for her yeah I mean she seems like she's living an incredible life but I wanted to do one more Sade if you're listening we know that you are just give us give us one more so I'll pay whatever it costs whatever the seats cost I'll be there front and center and I'll I'll be, I'm gonna have linen pants on and some sandals. 'Cause that feels like the right time type of attire. I'm there. You know? I'm there. I'm going to be over there. I'm there. Yeah, those are folks I haven't been to that I want to see. And then shows that I've been to that have been amazing that aren't mine, Don Tolliver. Oh, shit, yeah. For sure. One of the best live shows happening right now. I'm going to go see him tomorrow in Atlanta, too. Oh, where? Yeah, I saw the last tour, which was Hearthstone Psycho. All right, yeah. Shout out, shout out Don Tolliver. Don is a great show. Another Texas boy. Great show. Like, just, it's a lot going on. It feels like you're at a carnival, at a party, at, it just feels like everything happening at once, but in the best way. Like, the pyro, his stage presence, his vocals. The last tour, they had, like, a metal cage that was like a sphere, and they had dirt bikes riding around on the inside. Damn. I didn't even understand how that worked. It was crazy. So, I know this tour will be fun. So, Don has a great show. Shout out Don Tolliver. Has, yeah. I really, I. I'm not a strip club guy at all. I don't, that's not my journey, but somehow I keep ending up in there, which makes it sound like I do like strip clubs. You might need to admit. That makes it sound like I am a strip club guy, but really what's happening is my home girl, Punky, Punky's always judging strip club competitions. Okay. And she's always, like, hitting us up to be a part of it. Okay. And I ended up at a, I was truly at a strip club with Punky, like, literally, like, a week ago. And one of those, it was like a, it's like. Ten different girls, like, competing or whatever. One of them danced to this Don Tolliver song. And you ever, like, just hear a song in the perfect moment for the thing that's happening? I get why this was made. And I don't even think of Don as being, like, a strip club artist. And in that moment, she was dancing to the Don Tolliver joint, and I was like, this shit is perfect. It's the greatest song ever. I really, I was like, I got to download this tonight. Yeah. All of a sudden, I like strip clubs again. Now you hear what he's saying, though. Shout out to you, Poppin' It. Come on. Yeah, I guess it makes sense when you hear it, but I guess, I don't know. I don't think of him in that way, but yeah, that shit was, that was perfect. Great show. Before we get you out of here, Black, we're going to listen to a voicemail real quick. So if you grab these headphones. Hi, big fan of the pod. My name is B. I'm calling with two lyrics. The first is Petey Pablo's Freak-A-Leak. It's where he says, I need a girl I can freak with and want to try shit. And he's scared of a big dick. And let her get her pussy licked by another bitch. Because I ain't drunk enough to do that shit. That was 2004. Then we get to Lil Wayne Pussy Monster, where he's like, girl, you cold. Let me suck out your flu. That was 2008. But really, I bring you two lyrics because I have a question. Where, what is the history of pussy eating and rap music? What happened in that last Bush presidency that like changed the way that we think about and talk about eating pussy in the public forum? Really, I just want some history context. So yeah, thank you, Gavin, big fan. Hopefully you and the esteemed guests can help me out because I just, I just want to know. Thank you. Bye. Damn. Wow. She's asking a tough question. What? God damn. This is, I'll say, you know, you, you, you don't know this, but like most of the time people might just be like, they might just say the Petey Pablo line and be like, I just thought it was, it was funny he said that. She is specifically, she brought up two different examples and it's just like, all right, can you tell us the history? The history of pussy eating from this administration and how it changed from the Obama years to where we are present day. Oh my God. That's, um, I forget what she said her name was, B or B's. Yeah, something like that. We might have to, we might have to break out at like a half an episode just to talk about this specific thing. I need some research. You know, I do feel like just generally speaking, I do feel like it used to, you know, when, when, when Freak-A-Leek was coming out, I was not, I was not doing any sexual, I was a full virgin. Cause I was, cause I was like 12. So it's like, I didn't really have none of this going on. I just was kind of listening and, and knowing the bars. But, um, it's, it does seem like there was a shift. It does seem like, it does feel like there was a long period of time where like rappers from that era were like, I don't, honestly, Wayne might be the, he might be the catalyst. It might've, it could be somewhere in the Uncle Luke. Oh, was he talking about that? For sure. Uncle Luke was saying, you were saying he ate it? Yeah, Miami was on some, they were on some freak shit. Yeah, Trick Daddy, Uncle Luke. Um, yeah, I don't know. There has to be a moment, but that was like a half an era before us. Yeah. We just missed it. Like I heard it, but I knew not to say it. Oh, like Uncle Luke and all that? Yeah. Oh yeah. That was like, I was getting played. My older brother's 12 years older than me. So like, that was like his generation, but I wasn't really outside even as a kid when like that was popping like that. But I feel like, I feel like for our generation, for people like our age, I feel like Wayne was a, he's always been a, he's always, he's, he's been down to go down. And I feel like he's been. People were saying in Pussy Monster at school, like it was appropriate, bro. Yeah, of course. It was, it was bad. Of course. Wayne's got quite a bit of pussy eating bars. Girl, you cold. Hey Wayne, I'm just going to say, I don't like that one. That one didn't work for, that one didn't work for me. I don't like the imagery that it brings up in my mind. I'm glad that y'all having a good time, but don't, don't get the flu from the pussy. That's not, who's, who wins there? I guess her, but it's like, he's also talking about the pussy like it's a snake bite. You know, he's talking about it like it's a snake bite and you're in the jungle and he's like, all right, there's only one way to solve this. Yep. You know, what is, what a special mind. What a special mind and a special artist. Yes sir, yes sir. Shout out, shout out Wayne. I, I'm a, I'm a huge fan of you, but I didn't like how that one made me feel. I'll just say that. Also, Danny Brown has a whole song about eating pussy and that was the first time that I'd ever heard. That might be my favorite Danny Brown song. It's literally a song just called I Will. And he's just. I will. I will. He's just about, he's just being like, that guy doesn't eat pussy. Guess who does? Danny Brown. Damn, you freaked out. You freaked out. All right. Anyway, Black, you got the, you got the album coming out. Tell the, tell the people about it before we get out of here. Oh yeah. Love is the New Gangsta, May 22nd. Concept isn't really something that's brand new under the sun. Just cool to remind folks that love is the coolest thing that you could promote. It's the coolest game that you could be a part of. It's the coolest thing that you could rep. And it's not just. It's just, you know, romantic love. It's love for your family, love for what you do. And just keeping love like at the base of your life. I think it's just the most beneficial thing that we could ever keep at the front of our brains. So yeah, I'm just in that era right now where I just want to continue to push love. And this new album is me talking through the ups and downs of it. But how, regardless of how it might feel sometimes, like I still choose it every day. That's beautiful. That's a beautiful way to get out. Yeah, right after pussy just. They go hand in hand. You know, I think, you know, there's like you said, it's a lot of types of love. Y'all, y'all be sure to go check the album out whenever that comes out. It comes out on May 22nd. So y'all be sure to go peep. And Black, appreciate you pulling up, man. Thank you, brother. Appreciate it. Bye, y'all. My Favorite Lyrics is a production by Disco Nap. If you guys like what you hear, leave a review and tell a homie about the show. And make sure to follow us at My Favorite Lyrics Pod on all social platforms, except for Discord. For Twitter, we offer that. You can learn more about this week's guest and the My Favorite Lyrics team by checking out the show's notes. And thank you to the guys that made this show happen. Executive producer, Lauren Mandel. Producer, Carmen Kerrigan. Our editor, Nicole Lyons. Fringe Podcast, who engineered this episode. And yeah, you can listen to My Favorite Lyrics on Spotify. And with Spotify Premium, you get no ad breaks. Check us out on there.