Vegas Circle

Blackballed but never broken: Dula-Mite’s real Las Vegas story

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Forget everything you thought you knew about making it in music. Abdullah "Dulamite" Franklin pulls back the curtain on an industry built on smoke and mirrors, revealing why artists with millions of streams can still be broke while those you've never heard of are quietly building empires.

"A billion streams on Spotify equals fourteen thousand dollars," Franklin explains, cutting through the fantasy that streaming success equals financial freedom. As a rapper, songwriter, and entrepreneur who's written for some of the biggest names in music (though NDAs prevent him from naming most), he's navigated both the spotlight and the shadows of an industry that often exploits creative talent.

Growing up as a Sunni Muslim in Las Vegas shaped Franklin's perspective as "an acquired taste" – someone unwilling to compromise authenticity for acceptance. From watching his brother get lyrically "murdered" in a neighborhood battle that inspired his own rap career, to facing religious stereotypes and industry blackballing after an altercation with a well-connected artist, his path has been anything but conventional.

What sets Franklin apart is his business acumen. While many artists chase streams and social media followers, he's built a direct-to-consumer model that puts him in control of his data and dollars. "If somebody buys my album for $1, I got the 1,500 streams," he explains, but more importantly, "I know exactly who bought it, what city they're in. I get their email address, their phone number." This intelligence has allowed him to tour strategically in cities where his true fans live, not where streaming algorithms suggest.

Beyond music, Franklin has diversified into beverage brands, clothing, and acting – embodying his "renaissance man" approach to creative entrepreneurship. His parting wisdom? "Let God be God, you do the rest" and "The decisions you make determine your destiny." For anyone looking to build something meaningful in a world of fleeting viral moments, this conversation is essential listening.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Vegas Circle Podcast with your hosts, paki and Chris. We are people who are passionate about business, success and culture, and this is our platform to showcase people in our city who are making it happen. And today's guest is just that man. We got the good brother who I would call the true renaissance creative rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, who just dropped a new powerful album I just got a chance to listen to yesterday. Man, put some money in your pocket too, man by the way I appreciate that, but we're gonna get into that.

Speaker 1:

Uh, so let's welcome to the circle. Man, artist, songwriter, entrepreneur, mr doulamite, better known as penn franklin. This was way overdue, man, yeah this was. This was way overdue. Yes sir so but let's jump right in, man. So new album out. Now got a chance to check it out. Don't let me mess it up aat. Being real is a new fate, yep.

Speaker 2:

And acquired taste volume two.

Speaker 1:

That's exactly what I wanted to ask you what did it mean An acquired taste?

Speaker 2:

I'm an acquired taste, okay, and the reason why I call myself an acquired taste? Many reasons Accountability, right, so outspoken. So I'm one of those people that don't mind telling his truth. But my my telling my truth is well thought out. I don't just, I don't think. I think before I speak, but sometimes people don't like those types of people that can yes, ain't a yes, man, right and you can articulate how you feel.

Speaker 2:

But also with the music thing, people had this thing where if you're a rapper, you had to be a gangster. That's not where hip-hop came from. If you look at the people that are the top artists right now, they. I'm from the hood. I just didn't become a product of my environment. I didn't want to be a blood, I didn't want to be a crip. I didn't want to be a vice lord, I didn't want to be a gd. I love what you're saying. Right now you're're changing the whole setup. Yeah, I'm from the hood, but I didn't want to be a corner boy. So Kendrick Lamar is from the hood. He's a good kid from a mad city. That's the definition of me.

Speaker 2:

So when it comes to the Las Vegas scene, I'm an acquired taste, because a lot of the people I call it selective outrage and they're selective about who they like. I'm from the east side of Las Vegas too, so we're looked at differently than what west Las Vegas and north Las Vegas is looked at, because it's more multicultural A lot of Latinos, a lot of Filipinos, so it's a bigger area. West Las Vegas and north town looked at us like we were the dirty kids and we were. I'm from 28th Street. I come from poverty, so I know I'm an acquired taste because I represent all those things. So if they're going to say it about me, why not? I don't mind being that shit, yeah.

Speaker 1:

That's real. The two tracks on the album I think I'm I'm feeling the most. I'm going to listen to it more Cause I like it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you a lyricist man, Thank you, and that's what I love about it. Is you actually saying something? Yeah, I appreciate it. Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis was my and I texted you this too. Yeah, you did. Judas the Kiss 2. Judas Kiss 2, yep. And then what I also like, man, is you tweaked it up and put like Black Mamba in there. Is that your style? That you've always done is putting the art and motivation and just kind of keeping you hooked.

Speaker 2:

I like doing concept albums Okay, but everything in those interludes represented me. So, like in the beginning, it was saying I don't like going out to the club, I don't want to go to the club. Yep, if I'm going to go to the club, I want to get paid for it. If I'm going to go to the club, I don't want to stand in the line, I want to be on the flyer. This is stuff I had to learn. So you get treated differently when you're that. So I want it to be a purpose on why I'm going to party. So while people was going to the club, I was in the studio. When people was going to the club, kobe was in the gym. So a lot of that stuff represents who I am as a person, is that I'm trying to get it. So, while I'm trying to get it, when I do go, have fun, I want it to be great fun. I don't want to go to Dre's, I want to go to Puerto Rico.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. You speak of our language brother.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I don't want to go to the Bellagio. I know what the Bellagio represents, so why not go to the real country? I don't want to go to the Paris, not the casino. I want to go to Paris, France.

Speaker 1:

So is that because you grew up here and you because I feel, like Vegas, you get spoiled, like we got everything here. So, like growing up here, you have it in your backyard. You know what I'm saying? It's a different. I didn't.

Speaker 2:

OK, locals don't really care about the strip. Ok, you go don't really care about the strip. Okay, you go to new york. They don't care about that. Time square good point so people that's in california, disneyland, knott's berry farm, all of that shit is just normal shit that's true, that's true it's like la and vegas have something different.

Speaker 2:

Vegas people like to go to cali because we need to be around the water, because we're in a spaghetti bowl. I agree, la, come here so they can party. We can party anytime we want. We don't have to do it on the street. We have hookah clubs next to the jack-in-the-box. So for me, I just we were poor, I was in a poor neighborhood. The reason I wanted to do hip-hop I wanted to get out of my circumstance and I wanted to see the world um I don't want to go to the strip to see the world, I want to see the real.

Speaker 2:

I want to see the real Statue of Liberty, not the one at the New York, new York. So that was, that was my thing, did somebody?

Speaker 1:

teach you that, and the reason why I'm going to have a follow-up question on that is because I learned that too when I started having kids. Yeah, Like I remember when I was 21 years old or maybe 20 years old and I'll never remember. I always remember this business owner saying to me don't buy your stuff, your kids, material stuff, like take them on experiences. And once you take them out as soon as you can take them out of the country it's going to change the whole mindset about life, and it seems like you did something similar to that.

Speaker 2:

Well, when I was a kid, you know Judas 2 on the album. That's real.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I was listening to it. You could tell that really happened.

Speaker 2:

Like I don't have a great relationship with my parents. Okay, like I haven't talked to my pops probably almost 20 years and then me and my mom we don't really talk. So growing up I grew up in an abusive household. I saw you know I'm not putting them on blast, it's already in the music I saw my dad do crazy shit. I saw my mom accept crazy shit. So I didn't travel, we didn't go anywhere, stayed in vegas, it was. They went places. I didn't got you. Like. My mom traveled for work. When my dad wanted to meet up with one of his girls on the side from my mom, he would go travel, me and my brother.

Speaker 3:

We didn't go anywhere got you.

Speaker 2:

So for me I was like, nah, fuck that I gotta. I gotta see the world once I'm old enough to get out of here. Happen yeah so that's why I said rapping was for me to get out of my circumstances. Got you.

Speaker 1:

When did you start getting like? When did you get into music?

Speaker 2:

My first talent show. I was seven Damn Okay Me and my brother, and my brother wanted to be a choreographer.

Speaker 3:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

So my brother is the one that got me in hip hop. So my brother overhead tapes, cds. Is he older than you or younger than you? I'm the youngest, okay. So my brother doing routines at MC Hammer, I'm right there with him.

Speaker 3:

That's what's up.

Speaker 2:

Okay, bobby Brown. I'm a little, but he listening to Bobby Brown, but he was a choreographer so he was teaching you all this stuff. Yeah, he was teaching me how to dance. And then, with the music, my brother decided he wanted to rap, but he was trash. He ended up battling this dude in the neighborhood and got killed. What I saw from that was the reaction of the people, especially the girls, oh, getting murdered.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, girls was all over, the dude that killed my brother.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so initially I wanted to learn how to rap so I could beat that dude. What's?

Speaker 1:

y'all's difference in age.

Speaker 2:

My brother got me by six, seven years. Okay, yes, it's a big gap, it's a big gap, but dude killed him and I was like, nah, I got to get some get back from my brother. Okay, ended up getting the get back. Yeah, and I mean, it's just addictive, when you love doing something, 100% yeah them endorphins kick in, man.

Speaker 1:

You see that, like we were talking about sports, right, them endorphins of hooping, like you were talking about, and sports, all that. It's a drug, man, and I don't know if we'll have enough time to get into social media, because that's another drug too. That's another drug, but let's talk a little bit about your upbringing then. So, being Muslim, we were talking about it on the phone a little bit man.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Let's jump into that man, because Sun yeah, sunni Muslim, sunni Muslim, yeah, you've always been practiced that way. Did you convert? I'm the only one that was born into it Interesting, so my dad was in the army and I wish Chris was here for that man too. Like I was telling you, Chris, I was sick, but Chris' family is a lot of Muslim in Michigan, in the Detroit area, so I'm sorry.

Speaker 2:

No, no, no, no, you're fine out here. You get treated differently, like how? So though I'm finna, break it down for you. So my mom and dad, my pops, was in the army, okay, him and my mom was together and they were kind of soul searching. So my brother, he got to celebrate Christmas and all of that stuff. So of course he do some soul searching. So they was like, okay, islam. They was like, okay, islam might be it. So by the time she was pregnant with me, they were converting. So Abdullah is not my original birth name. Okay, so you changed it. They legally changed my name when I was three months old. Okay, so I was Marquise for three months, interesting. And then it was legally changed to Abdullah when I was three months old.

Speaker 3:

Wow Okay.

Speaker 1:

Your parents changed it. My parents changed it Because they were in the middle of converting.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, they changed their names. They changed my brother's name and then they changed mine. So, marquis, I don't even know who that is, wow. And you said three months old. Three months old, I was a baby, and so I've been Abdullah the whole time, growing up as the only Muslim family, of course, in the United States. If you're black and you're Muslim, what's the first thing I said to you on the?

Speaker 1:

phone. Be my brother. That's exactly what I thought, right, everybody think you in the nation of Islam and all that stuff, and so that was a struggle, because kids have jokes. Of course we are.

Speaker 2:

Everybody's a porkologist and know all the pork shit and all of that stuff. And it everybody's a porkologist and know all the pork shit and all of that stuff. And it was funny. A lot of the gangsters that grew up in my neighborhood they used to make those jokes. Of course someone went to prison and then some of them didn't, but some of them converted to islam and then not nation of islam, they actually converted to be sunnis oh, sunni, okay, yeah, to be sunni so that that became funny.

Speaker 2:

But for me it was. It's just always been, it's just normal.

Speaker 3:

It's just a matter of everything. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

But I didn't want to be the kid that said oh, I'm Muslim because of my parents. That's a big statement. Yeah, because you know some kids, my dad's a pastor, so I'm that. Well, did you look into any of this shit? And once I looked into it I was like nah, islam kind of makes more sense for me.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, okay, that's awesome man, that's deep man, because I think the first thing I said to you over the phone, I told you my godmother, luanza, live across the street from from farrakhan. That's why I laughed. So when I, when I was, when I was seeing it, the first thing you do is correct me like no, I'm not, and it's amazing how that's what you think a lot of people think that, yeah, that's what I grew up seeing.

Speaker 2:

I get disrespected a lot too. Because is that disrespect though? No, no, no what I mean by that is that a lot of people think they can speak on muslims. Crazy, okay, okay, because people do. Okay, if you speak, you say anything about a jewish person, oh my god. If a muslim says anything about christianity, oh my god but we get left, but we get all the jokes.

Speaker 2:

That's why terrorists, y'all you pork. Oh, don't eat starbursts, it's pork in that. Oh, like some dude made a joke, call me mr allah akbar, and I was sitting. I'm like yo, that's wild, disrespectful dog, because like this is religion, like you don't religion.

Speaker 2:

Family that stuff that's off limits you can talk about my music all you want, say doula, suck, that's fine. But like religion and you know family and stuff, kids, stuff like that, that's off limits and some people don't know the limits on leaving religion where it is. But, like I said, I let God sort that out, that ain't for me to sort out.

Speaker 1:

That's good man. I wish we could have got it too, because Chris will have a different perspective on it too. But writing music, so I know you've written for a lot of people, A lot of people. Yeah, Was it Trey Songz or Timmy? How many people have you? You've been in the lab with a lot of folks, man. So let me step back for one second. Writing is hard. I almost fucked it up. I can't even imagine I almost fucked it up.

Speaker 2:

How? So? All right Mind, if I give you a story. Of course, yeah, I'm not going to name the people's names, so they'll be like Artist A, artist B, producer A, producer B. So Houston, texas, swisher House is popping. Okay, so I'm opening for Mike Jones, paul Wall, slim Thug in Houston. We backstage chilling. Artist A walks in with Artist B.

Speaker 1:

They just did an album together. I'm going to be able to put this together. Man, I'm trying to figure out who it is.

Speaker 2:

I'll mess with you they got their security guards, but the people that they connected to are powerful. I'm not thinking about that at the time, but it ended up being a great lesson for me after everything that happened, right. So we back there. And a great lesson for me after everything that happened, right. So we back there. And my manager at that time was like yo, let's go say what up to artist a, artist b, so me and my boys go over there. So everybody put their hand out, was shaking their hand. Artist b was cool as shit, shook my hand and everything.

Speaker 2:

Artist a shook everybody's hand, but mine on purpose, on purpose, left me hanging like this. I said damn dog, you just gonna leave me hanging. Man, who's this motherfucker man, I don't want to shake your goddamn hand. I felt like shaking. I didn't feel like shaking all these damn hands. Then go on. I said word, I walk off. There was a whole thing of water bottles. I started flinging them over there. I'm trying to hit this motherfucker with water bottles Dumbest shit I ever did After I thought of water bottles. It's about to be a fight. I still got to go on stage. I go on stage and do a five-minute freestyle dissing this motherfucker. He almost died. I'm saying he about to die? Stupid yeah Little do. I'm saying he about to die, stupid yeah Little do I know. Duh, he has a CEO and that CEO's dad was in the music business too.

Speaker 3:

J Prince somebody, so he didn't blackballed, you were blackballed.

Speaker 2:

I got blackballed instantly. Oh wow, because I started getting writing opportunities. When you get writing opportunities, people find out who's behind certain stuff when you present the demo track. After they hear the demo track, they look at who's involved. Nah, we ain't messing with him, we ain't messing with him. Y'all got to figure that out.

Speaker 1:

Wow, what year is this, because Y'all got to figure that out. What year is this?

Speaker 2:

Because Mike Jones and them was fire. Swisher House then was popping. So we talking about between 05, 07. I'm a young, I'm a pup, stupid, though I got blackballed for a good 10 years, and that's where I told you on the phone when I text you that's when the NDAs came in.

Speaker 3:

Okay.

Speaker 1:

Oh, because, oh, I got where you're going with that, okay. Okay, let's jump into that. Then let's go ahead and fast forward a little bit on the. So you sign NDAs because of this reason, because you don't want them to know who you were.

Speaker 2:

That's one of the reasons. Okay, so one reason get paid. What three reasons one get paid? Well, three reasons One get paid. I'm broke. I need these opportunities. I'm in a small market. As an artist I got to make some money. Write for these guys, get paid up front, but your name's not going to be in the credits.

Speaker 1:

Is that good? Oh, because you're blackballed. You got to come up with some way.

Speaker 2:

NDAs is basically ghostwriting. Yeah, it is. So what is ghostwriting? Yep, your name's not going to be in the credits. You can't even speak on it, like I can't even tell you all of the artists that I've been involved with that. You know, I didn't even have to meet them, but I'm involved with the writing of something, even if it's three lines in a song. I can't even speak on it because because of the non-disclosure agreements. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got paid, but some of those songs ended up being big where I could have got more. There were some songs that didn't do too well, yeah, and then there's some songs that didn't even make the albums. Are you allowed to say it now or you still can't say nothing?

Speaker 1:

I still can't say nothing, okay.

Speaker 2:

Only on the ones that you know I put in the thing. Yeah, yeah, I'm still just about to. I'm only getting my name in those credits around like 2027. Okay, because of my entertainment lawyer, you know, kind of helped me with some of that stuff.

Speaker 1:

The other thing is, people don't understand what urban splits and pop splits are. I'm understanding there's 50-50 for urban right Writer to who drops the beat, but pop don't do that.

Speaker 2:

Pop is dispersed with everybody. Yeah, okay. So, like hypothetically, if it's a Madonna song, madonna can have 13 people just writing to producers. We're talking about the engineer, all of that stuff. It's probably getting broken down in between 20 people.

Speaker 1:

That's horrible. That's not a lot of money. Yeah, I was going to say that's horrible.

Speaker 2:

But the 20 people, that's horrible, that's not a lot of money. Yeah, I was gonna say that's horrible. But the artists sometimes, if they wrote their song too, you know, the artist is kind of good in that situation. But writers people understand writers. We don't get paid a lot of dough. It's not a lot of money. You're writing unless you save your money, got it okay, so that's. Another thing was the urban splits and the pop splits, and then the last thing was it was just I was broke. I was an underground artist. As an artist, I'm getting opportunities. Fuck it. I made this bed and until I'm able to clean this room up, I'm signing these NDAs. But yeah, I've been involved in a lot of songs that people dance to at the club or singing when they're doing their hair, and I can't even speak on it.

Speaker 1:

Can you say anything that you've done with Trey Songz and stuff like that? Or you have to do NDA with him.

Speaker 2:

It's a very popular song. Okay, that one would be resolved, like I said, in 27, but it's a very popular song that people was dancing to in the club. That was the first one that I said. I got to get mine on that one so but yeah, blessed at the end of the day, though blessed to be able to still have a career. You just had to stay quiet about it. What's the biggest?

Speaker 1:

lesson you think you've learned just for for ghostwriting and doing things like that. That maybe has helped you in your music.

Speaker 2:

Maybe it's helped you in your music like being able to see maybe the process, the biggest lesson I learned, period in the music industry. Somebody that's triple platinum is broke. Everybody see these stars. It's the people behind the scenes. That's why I don't mind being behind. I don't need to be in front of the camera If I'm never in front of the camera.

Speaker 1:

Why do you say that they're broke? Because people say that all the time and I don't know the ins and outs like you do. Why do you say that they're broke? Is it because of what they take up front the payback, whatever deal that they?

Speaker 2:

do? They don't realize it. Especially early on you got to remember what they were getting before. 360s Was horrible. They was getting paid more.

Speaker 1:

The 360s were paying more. No Before 360s artists was getting more, but it was a loan, exactly, a lot of them didn't like.

Speaker 2:

People are like yo 50 got signed for a million. No, that was a million dollar loan that you had to pay back. Yeah, what you do with that loan, that's something else. You know what I'm saying. So a lot like I saw an interview with Scarlett, that's with Swiss.

Speaker 1:

Beats.

Speaker 2:

Never heard of them. Yeah, yeah, she's got to do the song with Mary J Blige, right? Yeah, I love the fire song. She didn't know that her advance was a loan and Adam 22,. Or it was Vlad or Adam 22, it was Vlad. Okay, vlad had to break down to her that no, that's a loan, that's not an action, did she? Find that on the podcast. She didn't know, and a lot of artists don't know, that people see these chains, they're in it I've heard that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I've heard that plenty of times man, I've seen so many people that were heroes and once I got around them I was like I didn't look down on them, but I'm like nah, the shit that people think yeah it ain't, it ain't what they think it is like a lot of them I don't even want to say broke okay, it's some that are broke, and them I don't even want to say broke, okay, it's some that are broke.

Speaker 2:

And then it's some that are trying to make it look like they live lavish, but they're just middle class, like us.

Speaker 1:

So, how, like there's so many rabbit holes we could go into on this, but like everything has changed right, obviously CDs before. Now you have your way of doing business.

Speaker 2:

It hasn't changed. That's the thing.

Speaker 1:

Okay, okay, so correct me. So how has it not changed? Because the streaming is way different. I'll break it down for you, okay.

Speaker 2:

I'm not educated on this. No, I'm finna. Break it down. People don't think about this. Okay, cds were sold between $9 and 99 cents to maybe 1999. Back in the day, right Artists would get maybe a nickel, and if you were in a group, 15 cents off of each record, and then yep, okay. Right, we can even use like TLC and Tony Braxton as an example. Right, they were killing it, they're killing it, they're selling, they're selling 8 million records.

Speaker 1:

But they also go on tour, but that's where the money's made, right On tour. But check it out.

Speaker 2:

The music videos cost more. The Waterfalls video for TLC was a million dollars. The stuff that they got to pay everybody on the tour, even the money from the merchandise, was being paid for the production because, like all of the, the pyro and all that stuff, all of that shit costs. So once that was paid back, the label was paid back, get you paying everybody back. That's the loan. Artists are the last ones to get paid.

Speaker 2:

So now you break it down to streaming. It's no different artists. Let's do an indie artist. They go on spotify. Who do you sign up with? Distro? Kid, tune core, either way, you're paying a yearly fee to have your album on this site, right? So let's say, tune core used to be.

Speaker 2:

I think they lowered the price, but in the beginning it was 49.9999 a year. Okay, okay, okay. So $50. You put your album on there. Streams are less than a penny. So now people buy bots, like what we were talking about on the phone. Okay, yeah. So people don't realize that a million streams on Spotify is only $1,500. But it's not $1,500 upfront, it's dispersed month by month. Get what I'm saying. Now let's really break it down. Artists buy streams, so there are people that would say, 500,000 streams on this song, $999. They paid a $999 for those. Then, I remember, at the end of the year they will put up the stuff. Yeah, I got 687,000 streams. So why didn't Spotify sing you a plaque? Your music videos cost, studio time costs the album cover, the photo shoot. We can keep going.

Speaker 1:

Clothes, gas models everything costs everything's a budget how are you making money? So how do they? How do they make?

Speaker 2:

exactly the smoke and mirrors. Basically, a billion streams now on spotify equals fourteen thousand dollars are you serious?

Speaker 1:

so that's why what snoop I think snoop was was big on that right. He was talking about think making I don't even know forty thousand dollars or whatever we got like forty thousand dollars off of a couple songs that he did.

Speaker 2:

And that's real, that's normal shit so how do we change that?

Speaker 1:

like, how does that? How does that change? Is it going with what you're doing with like even, and things like that's?

Speaker 2:

the bigger question how do you make money? Now, right, okay, and that's where I was at. Okay, I said, well, fuck, how in the hell do I make money off of this shit? There's people like Ryan Leslie.

Speaker 1:

It's a genius Superphone. I love Ryan Leslie.

Speaker 2:

There's people like Nipsey Hussle.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, there's LaRussell.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, Shout out to Mag and Selena at even they hit up LaRussell. Larussell was already starting the blueprint on. Okay, what the fuck can I do to make money? Because I'm working at a call center and I'm not making money off the music. I know the feeling. I worked at five call centers while doing this. So you ask how do you make tours? What do they sell at tours? Merch?

Speaker 1:

yeah, merch, that's what the money is money's in the merch, okay.

Speaker 2:

Money's in the tours, right. How do you do that? You gotta reach the people, right? We used to listen. If you buy something it's like an album what are you gonna do? You're actually gonna listen to this shit, but if you go to spotify, you go to playlists. Direct-to-consumer makes people not only listen to the music, they can become fans. They actually get excited about what you're doing. Next, as the artist, you're getting paid, so you don't have to worry about the Spotify shit. You're already getting paid up front. Think $1 equals 1,500 streams. So if somebody buys my album for $1, I got the 1,500 streams. Artists aren't making money off of the streams. You have to become like. You asked me the one time what am I? I said I'm a renaissance man. People buy my shit. You get merch, but you got to pay for the merch. But what do I do with that money? That allows me to save the money. It also allows me to see who's buying it. What city are they in? Oh, all the analytics you know exactly, I have the exact analytics.

Speaker 2:

Streaming doesn't give you the exact analytics.

Speaker 1:

It is a phoenix or spotify runs, and apple and all of them own those analytics, not a calf but so do the record labels.

Speaker 2:

Oh, good point. The record labels now have bought into those streaming services. I know exactly who bought it, what city they in. I get their email address, their phone number when I dropped the album you can talk to them yeah.

Speaker 2:

Well, volume one I had more sales in Nashville and I had more sales in Atlanta and I had more sales in Miami than I did in Las Vegas. I took my ass to Atlanta and I took my ass to Nashville. When I dropped the album, got interviewed and I found out damn, my shit is reaching something. But if you look at the analytics on Spotify, it's going to say Phoenix, no, remember, you bought the streams, so you don't even know where your analytics are coming from. So it's just really a case of even if you put your album on a streaming site, you got to create a website and start selling yourself. You can't rely, but some people want to be popular. Some people don't care about the money. Some people will listen to people that don't know shit about the music industry.

Speaker 1:

Or get just taken advantage of.

Speaker 2:

I know podcasts that will sit there and say artists need to invest their money into their music and be shooting their podcast from a garage. Well, are you using your money to invest in your podcast Me? I can't speak for everybody. I ain't listening to this nigga.

Speaker 1:

That's so funny. You say that Chris and I reinvest everything. Look at this. I'm going to be honest with you we reinvest everything, yeah.

Speaker 2:

And this is just the beginning, and I'm not dogging those people. No, no, no.

Speaker 1:

But what you're saying is you're being honest, yeah is you're being honest. Yeah, you're being honest, and some people be in that garage for six years.

Speaker 2:

You mean to tell me in six years you and your partners ain't made it to where y'all got a building and you got the logos and you trademark stuff and all it's a business, everything they so busy trying to be popular it's not realizing you're a business, you're a brand.

Speaker 1:

That's where everything changed for me so let me I want to back up just for one second man, because so who is making money? Is it they have? There has to be a way that they're making money, or is it just a facade or like what it's? You know what I'm saying?

Speaker 2:

I got a three-word answer. Okay, ask me that question again how are these fellas making? No, ask me who is making. Who's making money? The smart niggas? The smart niggas. The smart niggas is any color, man and woman. That's what I call them, the smart niggas. Larussell getting dough. Larussell got to deal with Crocs.

Speaker 1:

I love LaRussell, I told you on the phone. I love him.

Speaker 3:

I just love what he did with his backyard.

Speaker 2:

You don't hear him on the radio. He's not even on XM radio Him and Russ.

Speaker 1:

Russ is getting that chicken.

Speaker 2:

Just hustling, but he comes from the school of Russ as well too.

Speaker 3:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

But what I like about Russ is Russ' dad was in the music industry. I heard that, yeah, russ took that— he's a Jersey cat, right.

Speaker 1:

East Coast cat.

Speaker 2:

yeah, I think he's an East Coast cat, but he took the information at East Coast, but he took the information. Some people you know people like the gatekeep. Russ is not a gatekeeper. Oh, I like that. Yeah, russ is like nah, I'm going to give people game. If I was giving the game in my household, I'm going to give it to people. I'm not a gatekeeper. You know what it is too. Though. Everybody has a definition of success. I agree, I agree with you 100%. Yeah, my definition shit my son is good.

Speaker 1:

You with me. We solid on that, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Roof over my head, yeah, car, yeah, refrigerator filled up. Nice shoes, nice clothes, passport stamp Can leave whenever I want. Yeah, how old is your son? Yeah, he is 13. We got the same birthday. Okay, that's what's up. Okay, so that's success to me. And then, as I grow, then cool. But I make music and I do something that a lot of people don't do with their music. What is that? I make money off of it.

Speaker 1:

So it's somebody like, for example, I feel like a Beyonce. Let's say and the only reason I'm saying that is because she's a mega star. Yeah, mega star, when you write for like a Beyonce, let's step back for one second, don't? Folks do not make any money off writing for Beyonce Not a lot of them. Why so she keeps?

Speaker 2:

everything or the ladies keep everything. No, she don't keep everything, but it just depends on how many writers are on the song. Okay, like, if you look at the credits for like Cowboy Carter, there's a lot more writers on that On a few songs.

Speaker 3:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

But Raphael Sadiq made a lot of money off of that. Oh, because Raphael Sadiq not only helped produce on there, he damn near wrote on damn near every single song.

Speaker 3:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

So also sometimes— On.

Speaker 1:

Cowboy Carter.

Speaker 2:

On Cowboy Carter. On Cowboy Carter.

Speaker 1:

Oh.

Speaker 2:

I didn't know that, okay. Like Eric Bellinger makes a lot of money. I know that name Okay, because not only can he do production, he writes too. So there's some people that make Leon Thomas. It's fire. I like that brother a lot.

Speaker 1:

But he was writing for people. But he's been doing it for a minute, right A long time. Yeah, kanye, and all that.

Speaker 2:

We can keep going. Bryson Tiller, yep fire Dream. Sean Garrett. I have a whole list of some of my favorite writers that I'm like, yeah, they get that chicken, but then it's the— Is it because they brokered the right deal?

Speaker 1:

Is that what it is? You have to broker the right deal and have the right licensing for that particular song and cuts and all that stuff. It's networking.

Speaker 2:

Okay, okay for that particular song and cuts and all that stuff. It's networking. Okay, networking and building relationships Like Dream's godfather for one of his kids is Hov, that makes a lot of sense. So if you build those relationships it's like some people don't think about this. When I leave this podcast, you'll be getting text messages from me just checking on you has nothing to do about the podcast.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, relationships, oh man, you'll be getting text messages from me just checking on you has nothing to do about the podcast Relationships. Yeah, oh man, what you up to Want to meet up for dinner, it don't matter if it's Applebee's, that's what you support, you get it. You build those relationships because it's bigger than what people think it is, because, like, if I get an opportunity, say I'm doing a movie and they need a spot for a podcast and they need people Holla at my man. Yeah, yeah, you build those relationships. People don't think about that stuff. People just they use you. Like some of the Vegas artists will come in here and do this podcast and you'll never hear from them again. That's wild, yeah, but that's what people do. It's about what your intentions is with this shit. My intentions is with this shit, my intentions?

Speaker 1:

is to be a brand. We on the same, we literally on the same plane. Let's talk about the Vegas artists. Man, we'll jump into that man. So why don't we support the Vegas artists like a lot of other markets? I know we talked a little bit about it over the phone.

Speaker 3:

We actually do?

Speaker 1:

How so? Or why haven't they blown up? They have.

Speaker 2:

Okay, do how. So why, or why haven't they blown up? Or they have? Okay it. Just what am I missing then? People want it to be like new york and atlanta. We're not big like them. Okay, neo, and I get it. Let me say this here's the con neo's from vegas. He doesn't be like I'm from vegas, but when he got his residency here, when he posted about it, he said I'm a kid from vegas and I'm doing a residency here. This is a dream come true. Yeah, he's not a gangster rapper, or I mean you know, I'm a hell of a musician.

Speaker 1:

I mean, he's a fucking.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, one of the best songwriters of all time period.

Speaker 1:

I think he wrote for beyonce too. Right bro, for everybody. One of her biggest hits is written by him.

Speaker 2:

I was gonna say, yeah, yeah, so he wrote. I think he wrote for mario. You should let me love you. That's neo yeah neo. Imagine dragon. He's killing it, the killers killing it, fucking baby keen dizzy. Right, we can even go to athletes, steven jackson that's my man.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, steven, my man andre agassi. Yeah, marcus banks like we. Those all been all guests except for andre agassi, but everybody else has been on the show, which everybody wants to be like oh, you got a red day.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, bro, we even second tier, right jazz laser is writing hits I know that name too.

Speaker 1:

What is it? Who's?

Speaker 2:

jazz laser. Jazz laser is with the production group the audibles, but he's an artist too, he got. Oh, okay, okay, okay, he got a record deal with Murder Inc before Irv passed away and he got out of the deal because Irv got sick. Yes, but Jazz Lazer has written for Summer Walker, oh wow, and numerous other people, yep Making moves. He even wrote for Justin Bieber.

Speaker 3:

Okay okay, Justin Bieber Okay Okay.

Speaker 2:

Pooh Bear, molly Mall, that hosts all of them. That's out here, all from Las Vegas. They're not from Vegas, but they brutes. But Lazer is from Vegas, okay, but like you know, he's networking, creating relationships Molly Mall, pooh Bear, the Audibles, jazz Newton. He understood the mission.

Speaker 3:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

P-Fire, another rapper from Vegas.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I just came on to P-Fire. I think he's friends with my guy. He doing something with French Montana Hype man for French. Yeah, he's my friend, he's my man in Real House. I don't know him but Puerto Rican cat, I think. Yeah, I think he Puerto Rican, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

P-Fire Wes Khalifa, french Montana Fire. If he a hype man for the rest of his life, this motherfucker is traveling seeing the world.

Speaker 1:

I saw him at the gym.

Speaker 2:

Dude, I'm proud of you. So, like I said, people got to think about what do you think is success? Our Beyonce is going to come, our Jay-Z is going to come, but there are people that are doing stuff in this industry. Some people don't want to be in the limelight. I got a friend that said I just started to think that Vegas is just going to have riders, so what have we do? Vegas has written some of the biggest hits. Some people be out of touch when they speak about certain shit that they just don't know. Well, you know, this is a transient town and you got to do blah, blah, blah. Shut up, you don't know. You talking from 2008, my nigga it's a whole different game.

Speaker 2:

Now Reezy I'm bringing up, I'm just saying Reezy produced for everybody. Shout out to Reezy. I don't even know who Reezy is. I ain't no front. Yeah, euros. Okay, he wrote, I think, one or two songs on Bryson Tiller's new album. Okay, incredible artist man.

Speaker 1:

I can keep going see, that's what I love about and that's why I told you before is like that's why we wanted to build vegas circles, because we really wanted to put the spotlight on people that are super talented and are really the ones building the city, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1:

So that's excellent that you mentioned in that. Let's talk about the black balling. We talked a little bit about 40-40 on the phone, but I want to go in that lane real quick. What happened? Right? So you were mentioning about a lot of artists basically getting blackballed because they couldn't perform at specific clubs, lounges, things along those lines. But in your perspective, what happened? We?

Speaker 2:

used to have a lot of different. Like you know how, in 8 Mile they had the shelter. Vegas had a lot of spots where local artists was doing stuff, where we were opening for people at these spots. Now, what year was this?

Speaker 1:

because I moved to 07.

Speaker 2:

So what, even around that time, okay okay, even around that time it was around 2013, 2012, maybe I could have the year wrong, but it was around that time. It just kind of got shut down. Okay, the the Beauty Bar I'm talking about Beauty Bar sounds familiar. Okay, the Beauty Bar downtown. The Bunk House, daddy Mac's Inn, green Valley Damn, there's so many. If we want to really take it to the 90s, the Cooler Lounge Okay, there was a lot of places where.

Speaker 2:

But, like even me, I got to perform on the strip. I performed when crown nightclub was was here. Okay, I remember crown. Okay, I performed opening night at crown nightclub. Okay, talking about 1500 people, e40 and everybody in the building performing for these motherfuckers. And then there was a situation where a local rapper killed a few cops. He got ambushed, he did what he did. Next thing, you know, a month later, the sheriff at that time was on the cover of the las vegas weekly. He was like nah, fuck, hip-hop in vegas ever since then. Yeah, big sean can go to dray's, gucci can go to Dre's we not performing at Dre's, they not putting us on the strip. And then every time there's a place out here that's outside of the strip that I have artists come through. Suddenly, six months to a year later, that liquor license is pulled. Oh, they didn't have their liquor license, it wasn't proper, so it got pulled. So that's why I say people got to get out of the spaghetti bowl, leave the city.

Speaker 2:

Landlord, the landlord Vegas legend still is. He's on my Mount Rushmore. Got the fuck out of Vegas. He signed a grind heart with Starlito and Don Tripp. When he goes down south, they know who the fuck he is. He's already looked at like a hero out here. They love landlord out here. But landlord understood the mission. He was signed to floyd mayweather for a minute too, okay, but he understood the mission leave vegas.

Speaker 2:

Jay cole was in north carolina. He left north carolina am. I see you. Waka flaka was in ohio. He left. You gotta leave your city.

Speaker 1:

That's interesting. You say that because I did the same. That's funny.

Speaker 2:

You say that If I got signed tomorrow and I became like this big star. I'm moving out of Vegas. I feel like I would probably get killed.

Speaker 3:

Really.

Speaker 2:

Your hometown is either gonna really really support you, but you're gonna have somebody that's hating on you. Haters are dangerous. They're great, but they're dangerous. Some of them are really dangerous because of their mouth.

Speaker 1:

Especially because, like with the Nipsey situation and so many things that could happen, you never know, yeah, yep, yep.

Speaker 2:

But also, too, there's going to be people that are jealous of your success. Get the fuck out of your city, but regardless, you have to leave, no matter what New York, new York artists go down South.

Speaker 1:

They stay in Miami, they stay in Miami, they do all that shit.

Speaker 2:

So the sheriff to me just created opportunities where motherfuckers had to leave the city. We already knew LA cats wasn't going to fuck with us.

Speaker 1:

But why is that, though, y'all too close?

Speaker 2:

Y'all like cousins. They fuck with me. You got gotta prove you can rap. Okay, I was the second artist that was on homegrown radio. Dizzy.

Speaker 1:

Dizzy was the first that's what's up, okay you gotta your resume is serious, man, your resume is serious I don't say that because they'll say that it's not I like that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, but to all a day keep talking shit. I like it, but yeah, it's just. God has blessed me to be able to where. If people talk to me, I'm an open book. I ain't gatekeeping. It's up to you what you're going to take from the information that you get when we talk. But I have no reason to gatekeep. I'm going to hold myself accountable. I know where I fucked up. I pay attention to this business and I still got shit. I need to learn about this business.

Speaker 2:

I could have said something during this conversation that somebody else would hear and be like that ain't all the way right, but he's close, but at least I'm close. But Vegas definitely was on the strip. They was not having that shit. So advice to artists if you're listening or you're watching this, get the fuck out of the city. There's an artist out here that took that lesson and I'm so proud of him Tay Banz. Tay Banz just went on his first tour with Steven Joseph, who signed with Eric Bellinger's new label. He gets it. There's artists like East God Selly that's starting to get it. I can keep going. Lit Sox shout out to him. He just got a deal. He was on the episode of canaan and he was on the sound his song went viral.

Speaker 2:

He just got a record deal. Even tiktok is behind him.

Speaker 1:

So those people that were saying that there's no shit so let me ask you this right like vegas is next. So and I love you saying that because I love vegas Is it better to be independent, then, or do you sign to a label?

Speaker 2:

That's a great question. This is how I break it down to you. Russell should be independent. Sexy Red needs a record deal. Why? Because they just put the fuel, put the gas on her. I'll do another example. See if you catch it. Russ can stay independent. Ply is needed a record deal.

Speaker 1:

So you're saying they're not talented? I'm kidding, because Lil Russell's super talented to me Cardi B and Nicki.

Speaker 2:

Nicki can be independent because Nicki has been on songs with men and killed them. Nicki loves hip hop. Cardi loves money.

Speaker 1:

Big difference, it's a huge difference.

Speaker 2:

I follow you. Nicki knows the money's going to come because of her talent. Look at her right. Her surgeries went great. Nicki's a bad motherfucker. Everybody took the blueprint from Nicki but Nicki could wrap her ass off and she made timeless music. The writers behind Cardi is making pretty. She made timeless music. The writers behind cardi is making pretty, really good timeless music. But it was about a 10-year gap between each album so she wouldn't. It's a different it's a different type of love she was a brand.

Speaker 2:

Cardi became a brand and focused more on the brand. The music kind of fell in the back. I follow you. You, Nicki, was like nigga I want to be the best female rapper of all time. It's the difference in the music.

Speaker 1:

She was trying to be better than Wayne and Drake and all that Exactly, literally, trying to compete, really competing with them.

Speaker 2:

If you look at Sexy Red people like her. They'll be hot for this long and then they fizzle out. She has to keep doing what she's doing until the next sexy red comes. Her job is to, within a two to four-year period, see how many songs I can make, so that way I can always go on tour, even if it's clubs when things fizzle out. She needs the machine behind her. Larussell don't need no machine behind him, he's the machine. He is the machine. Straight the machine, straight up machine. So that's what I mean. So it depends on what type of artist you are. If you make timeless music, your personality is timeless. You're not chasing clout, you're not worried about the social media stuff. You're just really an authentic artist and you make great music and brands love you and all that stuff, not temporary brands. They really love you. You're good. Yeah, I love that.

Speaker 3:

People forget kendrick got rebox that's a very good point, yeah drake is timeless.

Speaker 2:

We can go. Yes, there's a lot some people ain't timeless. Yeah, so if you're a timeless artist, you can have a a machine one album and go independent the next album. If you're not timeless, you need that machine behind you.

Speaker 1:

So where do we go with music? Where do you think music goes? We got AI, we got all, because you said it's the same as far as streaming, how we were getting paid from CDs and things like that. Where do we go next? What do you think is the next thing that's coming up, maybe in the next five years or so?

Speaker 2:

it's only going to come back when they start caring about talent.

Speaker 2:

I love that you're saying that they don't care about talent. No more. I'll give an example. I'm actually going to put them on blast because I don't care, because they was put on blast that they was doing shady business. I went to Atlanta to meet up a few years ago with Authentic Empire. It was an upcoming indie label in Atlanta, had a meeting with them. They did not care about my music. All they cared about. When I met her with that A&R. So yeah, yeah, yeah, the music is playing. I'm sitting there looking at them. I'm like this is when I knew I needed to go indie 100%. I'm just looking at them. Yeah, so you don't be on TikTok that much. Huh, I said no, yeah, your IG followers are cool. But yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I said what about the music? Yeah, it's cool. I said, oh, I get it, they don't care about it. He said he looked up, you don't want to do work, I get it. And I walked out.

Speaker 1:

Because when you say work, help you build the artist, get it out. That's what they used to do.

Speaker 2:

Yes, People don't realize. Aretha Franklin had dropped about four to five albums before she actually had her first hit. Janet Jackson's first two albums didn't hit, so they got Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Bobby Brown's first album didn't go well. That's a good point. Yeah, Reasonable Doubt just went platinum. You know what I'm saying 20 years later.

Speaker 1:

whatever 20 years later it went gold.

Speaker 2:

Going gold wasn't good in 96 and stuff. So they got to develop as artists. That's why they're still around. That's why some of the best music are coming from 40 and 50-year-olds. They don't develop artists. I'm like, ah, y'all not trying to mold this so it can get to the masses. You want the work already done. Well, when they ready to do the work again and actually go to open mics to see that there's actually actual singers and not letting the rapper sing their own hooks, that's when the music industry will come back alive. Do you still love it then? Do you still enjoy doing it?

Speaker 1:

Hell yeah, I love it.

Speaker 2:

Okay, my goal is whether it happens or not. I don't care, but that's my ambition as a rapper. When I'm done, I want people to be talking about me in top 20 west coast not vegas, west coast or just be in the conversation. That's what's up. Yeah, even in vegas they don't realize they're putting me in the conversation, but I'm in the conversation.

Speaker 1:

That's like whether it's good or bad, yeah, you're talking about it I think that's what floyd did so well, man it People pay to see what the loos and these yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, music is subjective.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it is, everybody got their favorites.

Speaker 2:

So I get it If I suck at least you're talking about it.

Speaker 1:

I get it. I get it, man. I just want to transition one second about being non-accessible. I just want you to finish up on that side. Why do you say you're non-accessible? What does that mean to you?

Speaker 2:

I can give access to you because I feel comfortable giving access to you. That's fair. We're here and you're spotlighting me as an artist. You didn't ask me anything to go viral. We're actually having a conversation. In the past, I've Clickbait it's all clickbait. Well, you could just Like how we talked before the interview, right, yeah, yeah, clickbait, it's all clickbait. Well, you could just like how we talked before the interview, right? Yeah, you could have been taking information from me and flip it and try to make it negative to see if it'll go you know where you're going.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I've talked to people where I remember this jason lee was cool with hollywood unlock and all that stuff.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, he was cool with Lyrica and I forgot her husband's name. He was the blonde-haired guy that was the producer. They were cool. He saw Homeboy out on a date. He saw him on a date, talked to him on the phone while he was on the date. I said while While he was on the date right, puts it out that he's cheating on Lyrica. He puts it out. He's cheating on Lyrica. He puts it out. Jason Lee does Homie's like what the fuck? We was just on the phone. Why would you do that? He said anytime you talk to me, whether we're friends or not, I'm still doing my job. So it's all business. It's all business. He didn't know how to turn off Hollywood on live. I've had conversations with people and I call it what it is. I've had conversations with people and I call it what it is Barbershop conversations. If we having a conversation about a local rappers and I'd be like man MC such as such, I think he trash. He not really my style. It's barbershop talk.

Speaker 1:

I'm thinking it's an opinion.

Speaker 2:

I'm thinking I'm in a comfort zone to do that, because we talking like we partners.

Speaker 1:

They like they go back and tell the motherfucker and now I'm a hater.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they stirring up the pot and they watching from a distance seeing it. Oh you messy, that's gossip, all of that stuff. So when I meet people I can determine nah, you ain't my cup of tea. Like people speak on me and don't even know me. I saw one person say, as a man, how you know as a man, I don't even know you, you just know of me. You don't know what I am as a man. How can you speak on me? As a man, you can talk about the music, all you want. You're not going to get to know the man. People know I got a son. They'll never know about my son unless you in my circle people don't even know where I live.

Speaker 3:

I don't, I just I don't, I don't fuck with everybody.

Speaker 2:

I get it. Social media has definitely made it that way, where you can't fuck with everybody you show what you want.

Speaker 1:

It's a highlight reel, but you show what you want to show. I show what I want.

Speaker 2:

I don't put nothing personal on my on my social media. I don't even want if they could talk about my religion, I'm not even giving them a say. I was married I'm not married but if I was married, I'm not giving you the opportunity to go on her dms to look her up. None of that stuff, because that's me, that's, that's your bubble.

Speaker 1:

That's my shit. I get it, I ain going to let nobody infiltrate.

Speaker 2:

That I get it. But non-accessible too in business is you have to be careful who you do business with, especially as a songwriter. You do a song with somebody and that person is in a production company where the CEO doesn't have good relationships with radio and they see your name on them credits. That fucks you up, so you have to become not accessible to nah. I look that nigga up. I can't fuck with him, so you just gotta realize due diligence.

Speaker 2:

You gotta do the right relationships, networking I, you have to understand being smart as a person and being smart as the brand and being able to separate them. You can't be your persona all the time. At the end of the day, it's WWE. Hulk Hogan is not Hulk Hogan. Hulk Hogan's a brand.

Speaker 1:

Right, the Rock is the.

Speaker 2:

Wayne Johnson. I understand the difference. I didn't. At first. I was always acting like duke of my. I was fucking up relationships. I'm an mc. You're not better than me. They're like I don't give a fuck. You trying to make money, yeah so yeah, that's what I did, so I make myself non-accessible to a lot of people that's what's up, yeah, so I think it's also good for this too, man.

Speaker 1:

It's peaceful, it's good for that you know what I mean.

Speaker 2:

So people try to put me in gossip. I'd be like I don't talk to nobody, so y'all had that.

Speaker 1:

It's crazy because we, chris and I, we laugh about this all the time. Man, we always say that he always makes fun of me because he says I always say everybody's good people and he says they're bad people till they show themselves. Right, but I'm big on energy, right, so I'm big on energy, so I'm always about bring that right energy, and it's gonna come back full circle. Absolutely, you know I'm saying so, but I get it because my circle's small too, man. I mean, when you see me, I'm, I'm always just with my wife.

Speaker 2:

Man, my kids might sound crazy when I see this, but I was in a club one time and it's gonna sound crazy, but I think people that believe in energy and spirituality will understand this. I'm seeing beautiful women, but when they looked up, I could see a skull. Oh shit, your spirit ain't right. I'm cool and I could look at people and be like, oh shit, something ain't right with them.

Speaker 1:

You know we can go a long long list on that. It's something my father had said a bit. But I do want to ask you about business advice or just life advice in general, man. Just you know, being an artist, entrepreneur, I know you have other businesses that you're involved with too, man, but what's made the biggest impact that's helped your life, or for our listeners, that you can leave them a nugget on?

Speaker 2:

I live by certain quotes, but the number one quote that I go by. Well, two quotes that I go by. Let God be God, you do the rest. The number one quote that I go by. Well, two quotes that I go by. Let God be God, you do the rest.

Speaker 1:

Let God be God. You do the rest.

Speaker 2:

Yes, Love that A lot of people only pray to God when there's bad stuff going on. Did you thank this motherfucker for waking you up? Brushing your teeth? Yeah. How about the fact that you woke up peacefully? Yeah, some people be in bad relationships. I've had them. Your kid went to school and came home and didn't have a bully fuck with him. Thank you, god. You know people only thank God when it's convenient for when you need them.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah. So, and then the other thing with the let God be God too, though, is God already wrote your book, your chapters are already written. You got to do the work. Yeah, walk through it. Yeah, if you don't do the work, if you don't do the work, that book can change and them chapters can evaporate and turn into something else. The other one is, which goes with the first quote the decisions you make determine your destiny. Do the research. If you want to be a doctor, you got to go to school for the shit. Well, if you want to be in the music industry, learn about this shit, and there's a lot in the music industry changes every two years. Ai, that shit is serious. We about to have cartoons winning Grammys. Better understand what's about to go on. Do you want to be part of that, trying to fight that, or do you want to create your own brand?

Speaker 3:

I love it yeah that's true.

Speaker 1:

That's very true.

Speaker 3:

Speaking of brand.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I know you're gonna ask a question. I came bearing gifts. Yes, speak on it. Yeah, all right. So this is for you and chris. One partnered up with a chef, eddie g. Okay, he created his own barbecue and seasoning called griffs his name after his dad. That's what's up. So all of these recipes were his father's, okay, and as he became a chef, he turned it into a product. Father passed away, so it was dedicated to him. So this is the all-purpose seasoning and this is all the different barbecue sauce. See some jerk over there, man.

Speaker 2:

Yeah so anybody that's watching. You can go to Griff's BBQSaucecom, that's bar grips bbq saucecom.

Speaker 3:

That's what's up. Okay, and it doesn't cost a lot, but it's delicious, so this is for y'all.

Speaker 2:

Okay, I appreciate that man. I also partnered with demon time rum okay their website is drink, drink demon rumcom. Okay, so they're in lee's liquor, okay, okay, all of that stuff. Okay, that's actually my first partnership. Okay, networking, yeah me people came to a listener party. He's like I gotta fuck with you, yeah, so this is for you as well too. Appreciate that man delicious, and then I actually own this one so exquisite.

Speaker 1:

This is actually the prototype you know you're gonna make my kids, my kids gonna be all over that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I'm actually building the website for that right now. Okay, so that's actually like the prototype. I'm actually getting bottles made so they can look official, so I can put them in stores. So that might take a year, but at least people can taste the shit. So it's called Exquisite Sensations. Right now it's pink lemonade original lemonade. I got a fruit punch coming. I'm working on some other flavors.

Speaker 3:

I came up with the recipes.

Speaker 2:

That's what's up. The science went to the scientists and all that stuff. Oh, you were real with it. Oh yeah, there's no calories, zero calories in this shit.

Speaker 3:

Get out of here.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, okay, probiotics in it. Okay, so it's actually not only good, but it's good for you. Oh, you're speaking my language. Okay, hats, what they call them, a Pooh Shiesty mask. Okay, all of that stuff you asked about the logo.

Speaker 1:

That's what I wanted to know. I see the king in the seat when.

Speaker 2:

I first came up in the mixtape circuit it was the TI shit. I got influenced by TI, I can't lie. He called himself King of the South, so I called myself the certified King of Las Vegas.

Speaker 3:

That's what's up.

Speaker 2:

Okay, oh, I thought it was, but it ruffled some feathers right, it wasn't to say I was better than anybody, it was to ruffle feathers. But number two, to be in a conversation to where now people either say he ain't the King Anytime they bring up the word King, my name pops up. So, whether it's good or bad, that means I made an impact. That's powerful. But I drew that. Oh, you drew this. Yeah, okay, and so all of my shirts is to be. We have different type of stick figures, because I was like what can I do? That's different, but you can make a stick figure, look cool. So this is the main logo for Fresh Academy Cloths. So, yeah, I got you all the shirts. And then also, too, if you buy the album, you can purchase, get the whole setup. You can get the whole setup as well too.

Speaker 1:

Mention that too. Your album is on Even yeah, Evenbiz. Okay, I wasn't familiar with Even until you sent me the link. To be honest with you, that's also partly owned by la russell and that's why you mentioned that.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so I actually pulled something off with that. When they first started, you got to be accepted by them, and so when I got accepted I put an acquired taste value one up. I just wanted to see how I would do. I only did one music video, didn't do any interviews, nothing, barely did any marketing. I just wanted to see how many I could sell. Ended up selling the first week 129 albums. I got hit up by the CEO. He bought one. When he heard the album, we started conversating. Next thing, you know, I became a partner.

Speaker 2:

Oh, so you're a partner even so, when you go to the artist page, they got J Cole on there.

Speaker 3:

Kevin.

Speaker 2:

Gates, because all of them partnered with even too, as you scroll down my picture is right next to Damian Lillard.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that's what's up.

Speaker 2:

Damian.

Speaker 3:

Lillard is on Even Two. That's what's up my picture like this Okay, congrats, man.

Speaker 1:

Salute to that man. I didn't know that Okay.

Speaker 2:

I don't want to put my albums on the streaming sites. I'll put maybe one to three singles, okay, but it's a pay as you want. Model, pay what you want, a minimum, a dollar. Love that which like I say equals the 1500 streams, so the whole album. You gotta buy it. But if you want to just hear singles, you go to the streaming sites if you want to do that, but that's how I make my money, that's what's up. So yeah, man, congr, yeah man congrats, man.

Speaker 1:

I'm learning something from this man. I'm learning something for this. I can't leave out what I asked you about Vegas food man, cause I always I'm a big foodie man. I love food. So what's your favorite restaurant in Vegas?

Speaker 2:

being being a local, I mean like mom and pop's joint okay to me of all time that's not around and it pisses me off was hamburger heaven hamburger heaven if you from vegas was that all 15 no, it was on the west side. Okay, okay, okay, it was, um, damn, it was a street. It was okay, listen to me. Okay, if you from vegas, okay, I'm definitely grew up here okay, you know what hamburger heaven was.

Speaker 2:

When did it go out of business? Yeah, when I was, probably, when I turned about like 14, 15 years old. Okay, I'm upset about but to this day. It's the best hamburger I ever had.

Speaker 3:

Okay Hamburgers matter of fact, okay.

Speaker 2:

Because they make it right there. They made it right there. Okay, remember that skit on In Living Color when Tommy Davidson would come to the window. Hamburger, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3:

That was hamburger heaven. Oh, get out of here. It was just like that.

Speaker 2:

Okay, they're making the hamburgers at best fucking cakes. Okay, I'm talking about the best caramel cake I've ever had. Chocolate cake hamburger heaven, fire hands down. Okay, I don't mention nobody else until them, of course, grits, grits cafe, or grits on the west side, I don't know if it's, I think it's grits cafe yeah, grits is delicious.

Speaker 1:

Um, it's Grits Cafe. Yeah, grits Cafe, but we all just call it.

Speaker 2:

Grits. Yeah, Grits is delicious. It's this African joint Cali.

Speaker 1:

Bash my man. That's my favorite. Ole, that's my favorite restaurant.

Speaker 2:

That's my favorite. Yeah, I go to Ole.

Speaker 1:

Ole, shout out to Ole, I talk about her show. She is fire. She sat next to me. She's like you ever top five restaurant. I go to all of them.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, they ate African food. I said nah.

Speaker 1:

She sat there with me and said they're the same palate, yeah, yeah and Nene, so I could tell you the whole story. I know them really well.

Speaker 2:

They're great people. That's my favorite. Right now they fire at Calabash.

Speaker 1:

I'm glad you said that, man. What else is up?

Speaker 2:

for you, man. Let me say this man, God is so amazing. I don't care what your belief says, man, you got to. God is amazing. I'm working on, I'm shooting a few more videos for this album. I'm actually already working on volume three. Okay, as far as, like the recording part, the money that I'm getting for all of the sales, I'm putting it towards, my goal is, in 2027, to be able to go to have my own 10 city tour. Okay, take like another vegas artist with me, no matter if it's bismarck north dakota. Okay, get the building, have a concert. That's the goal. Okay, but as far as what's coming up in january, I'll be. I'm actually filming a private concert okay here in vegas.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's okay, you'll be there, it's gonna be a full production okay and everything, so I'm doing that. In january I'm actually starring on a new dramedy okay we're actually on the third episode. Okay, it's called. It's untitled. They have a name for it is this the one?

Speaker 1:

I saw some video. Was it like berries or something like that? You were doing some video and recording, okay he told me to take it down.

Speaker 2:

The director called me Okay.

Speaker 3:

I said it those are my guys over there.

Speaker 2:

So, I know Barry just got married.

Speaker 1:

So I love him so shout out to CJ and all of them Sorry if I wasn't supposed to say that, my bad. No, you're fine.

Speaker 2:

They casted me for the show, so I want to say the title. But shout out to cj and joseph adu for actually putting it together, the alley-oop for to get me on there, because I did the doritos commercial because of them. Okay, congrats, man so acting. Shout out to oba, my man, oba ashward. Okay, he, I got a song that's gonna be the title track for an independent movie called chances, so I got that coming up. Got a couple more auditions for some movies. Okay, I got a podcast coming out next year.

Speaker 1:

I'm tired you overdue for that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, what you?

Speaker 2:

gonna call that. I already got it. It's called the Shit you Scared to Say.

Speaker 1:

I can see you're gonna hit a home run with that. Yeah, so it's not gonna be a hip-hop podcast.

Speaker 2:

It's like this different guests all walks a lot of stuff, yeah um, using my relationships and talking about them. That's what's up. What else I got new flavors coming out. The website will be coming out. Freshacademycom is coming in january. Damn about working man oh last thing I'll be. If you know it on YouTube, it's called For Shooters Only.

Speaker 3:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

Next year. I'm actually it's like a mic drop for like like 2 Chainz and Neo just did it.

Speaker 3:

Oh, okay, okay, I'm not familiar with this.

Speaker 2:

They actually contacted me today. Okay, in my email. And yeah, they want me to do that in Atlanta.

Speaker 1:

That's what's up, man. So yeah, that's what's up, man. So yeah, thanks man. What's the social handles man, people can reach out to you on?

Speaker 2:

man, everything is D-U-L-A-M-I-T-E on everything. That's what's up, man.

Speaker 1:

Well, I support what you're doing. Man Check us out at thevegascirclecom. Man Support this brother, man Hustling.

Speaker 2:

So, thank you, brother, aren't doing shit. Yeah, it means that you in the cave and you haven't tried to see, because we have tons of people making moves.

Speaker 1:

We're going to keep spotlighting. Yes, man, appreciate you, brother. Thank you, man, that was good stuff.