See Buddy

After finding comfort with conversing with microphones on, the decision was made to expand the conversation beyond ourselves. With TK's injury, his older brother, See Buddy stepped in for support and conversation.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02: 0:00

Y'all know what's going on, man. It's DJ Trouble Kid. The poster boy, you know the boy. You know what I'm saying? We live and direct. You know what I'm saying? Marquette Wizard, man, what we doing? Shit, we here, man. Family business every day. That's all we know, man. Family business. Family business over everything, man. Y'all know what's going on, man. We here. We live and direct. We at an undisclosed location, allegedly. You know what I'm saying?

UNKNOWN: 0:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 0:25

Allegedly. You dig what I'm saying? We live and direct. You dig what I'm saying? We got a very special guest in the building, man. This is the first guest, the very, very first guest of the unnamed podcast, because that's the name we're going with for the time being. We're going to figure it out. We're figuring it out. That's going to be the name. The Figuring It Out Podcast, brothers. But nah, you know, we... I'm very honored to introduce this next guest. You know, he has the honor of being the oldest sibling. He has the honor of being my older sibling. You know what I'm saying? Nah, but in all seriousness, man, I have the honor of introducing my older brother, man. My big brother C-Buddy is here, man. I'm happy about this, man. I'm really, really happy about this because... Hold on, nigga. I'm still introducing you, man. You know what I'm saying? Because I don't think I've ever really had the opportunity to just really sit and connect with my brother and really kind of just cross platforms, for real. You dig what I'm saying? I think we've had... Like, we've been in the same space supporting one another, but I don't think we've ever really took time to, like, sit down and co-create, man. So this is dope because this is, like, one of the, you know, the first of many to come. You know what I'm saying? And to even be here, like, for us to be here together doing this together, I think this is one of the first of many experiences of us having this. You know what I'm saying? But see, buddy, man, what we doing, man? Yo.

UNKNOWN: 2:10

I don't even know, bro.

SPEAKER_02: 2:12

What are you doing? What's up, man? What's up, man? It's good to see you, man. You know, and this is a very exciting time, man. You know, for those that don't know, man, I called my big brother when I had an injury at work, man. And I asked him to just come through and help me around the crib and whatnot, man. And he pulled up immediately. You dig what I'm saying? He came through, no questions asked, you know. It kind of scared me because he showed up with a smile on his face. Like, that man was so geeked. Like, when he got to the door, I was like, he was, like, real excited about helping. I'm like, hey, man, like, I, you know, that really, it threw me off, but it changed my mood immediately. You feel what I'm saying? Like, and I really just want to say I appreciate that, bro. Always bringing a good energy, man. But let me ask you this, right? This is a throwback question. We're going to start them off with something light, right? Because we're going to dive into some deep questions, you know, as we progress throughout this episode, right? But let me start with this. Everybody in the street's been wondering this. When I say everybody, I mean everybody. I mean Beyonce, mama. You know what I'm saying? Shut up, Ms. Nose. You dig what I mean? I don't know you personally, but... Much love to you, but nah, man. Pancakes or waffles, man. Pancakes or waffles.

SPEAKER_00: 3:46

Damn, that's a difficult question. That's real as fuck right now.

SPEAKER_02: 3:50

That's difficult? I like both of them equally, bro.

SPEAKER_00: 3:52

I can't... Nah. Hey, yo, no, we about to do it. No, no, no, you got to listen. We about to do it like drink champs. You got to pick one and you got to drink real quick.

SPEAKER_02: 3:59

What if I like both of them? That's

SPEAKER_00: 4:03

what happens. That's when... All right, exactly, exactly. So on Drink Champs, you have to pick one. If you can't decide and you say both, you have to drink.

SPEAKER_02: 4:14

I like

SPEAKER_00: 4:19

waffles better. I like waffles better. Like, they're crispy. Like, the way, like, you know, when you put the syrup all over them, like, you know, they soak it in really good. It has little crevices to actually soak in the syrup versus a pancake, which is flat as fuck, and that shit just glides off the side. Like, I need that shit all over, man. Like, come

SPEAKER_02: 4:48

on. Well, have you ever had, like, pancakes made with cinnamon in them and peanut butter mixed with it?

SPEAKER_00: 4:54

I mean, you could do that with waffles too, man. You could put it in the batter,

SPEAKER_02: 4:58

man.

SPEAKER_00: 5:00

It's the same shit. You just sound like you like pancakes. You just say pancakes, man.

SPEAKER_02: 5:05

No, I really can't choose.

SPEAKER_00: 5:05

So you want a drink is what you want to do?

SPEAKER_02: 5:07

No, I like both of them. You got a drink. All right. You're the one that's choosing between a waffle and a pancake. Fair enough, man. My man changed the whole game. Like, he really can't.

SPEAKER_00: 5:19

Because I accepted it, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 5:21

And you took it.

SPEAKER_00: 5:23

Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_02: 5:24

All right. On the chin, man. I'm going to come right on now and just say pancakes. I'm going to go ahead and just say pancakes for the record. For DJ Trouble Kid, I'm going with pancakes, baby.

SPEAKER_00: 5:36

You had a drink too then.

SPEAKER_02: 5:38

Nah.

SPEAKER_00: 5:39

Nah, he picked.

SPEAKER_02: 5:40

What are you doing? Nah, I picked. Nah, I got to go with pancakes and let me break down because there's really levels to this. I need to know, actually. Yeah, man. Like, the reason why I say this is And this has always been the difference, the deal breaker for me. The butter application, man. Like, let's talk about it, bro. You ever try putting butter on a fucking waffle? Have you ever took a butter knife and tried putting butter on a waffle?

SPEAKER_00: 6:10

This is the only thing that I would give you over the waffles that pancakes have. Because the syrup glides over the surface, the butter does the same. No, it don't, man. This

SPEAKER_02: 6:21

is beautiful. This is beautiful. Yeah. But let me ask you this. Let me ask you this, right? You can't be this. You just got to be that person that choose both, right?

UNKNOWN: 6:39

Yep.

SPEAKER_02: 6:39

All right. I got to let both of y'all go.

SPEAKER_01: 6:49

All

SPEAKER_02: 6:50

right. You're going to be fucked up. You're going to be fucked up walking in. But check it out. Look. Nah, but look. With the pancakes, we're going to break this down too, right? With the pancakes, it's like this too. Because check it out. The pancakes... You can stack more pancakes than you can stack waffles. Nah, it's not. It depends on how thin the pancake is, though. But think about it. You can enjoy a thin pancake. You can't enjoy a

SPEAKER_00: 7:30

thin waffle. Exactly. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02: 7:46

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00: 7:47

The

SPEAKER_02: 7:48

only... The only spot that got reasonable... Three waffles? Nah, bro. I'm not getting three waffles. If you can get four... Nah. Every circle... Every circle... Every waffle ain't a circle or a square either. You dig me? You dig what I'm saying? But nah, you smooth. But nah. All right, we right there. So we got that out the way. Darker light liquor. Which one?

UNKNOWN: 8:30

I do crazy shit.

SPEAKER_02: 8:32

I believe him. I believe him, too. I believe him. I be mixing Jameson with vodka. Oh, that's not good. You know something? It works out fine.

SPEAKER_00: 8:44

It works out really well. Yeah, you say that.

SPEAKER_02: 8:47

Hey, no, I ain't going to lie. One night. You say that. Hey, let's keep. Hey, you know something? We're going to keep that story to yourself right now. Let's keep that story. Let's go. We're going to protect you. We're going to protect you in advance. I'm going to say it.

SPEAKER_00: 9:01

Let me say it. All right. One night. We have to, no, you're right, we have

SPEAKER_02: 9:03

to.

SPEAKER_00: 9:07

We gotta be DJ Vlad

SPEAKER_02: 9:08

right now.

SPEAKER_00: 9:21

I feel like we've all, I'm not even exaggerating this. whether it's been in high school, college, if you never went to any of those things, I know we've all had that moment in the toilet, man. And not to be weird and say it like that, but we've all had that moment. We've all had that moment, man. Hey.

SPEAKER_02: 9:40

No, look, check it out. Check it out. I got a story time for y'all, right? So right before COVID happened, Like right before the pandemic happened, it was like a moment on my campus where we just realized that like, yo, we about to go home. So it was like, all right, some of us is not going to class tomorrow. Some of us is probably going to leave tonight, today. But the campus just became like a legit party house. Like it just became like, bro, it was just... Like, motherfuckers was just drinking and doing, like, because now y'all got to understand, it was like, it was like literally, it was like St. Patrick's Day, but like on campus, like, but it's also like this sadness because we don't know what the hell is coming, right? But this, at this point in a semester, I'm in my senior, this is my senior year, right? I'm like, nah, man, I'm not going out. I'm not doing any of that because I'm trying to wait until I graduate. And then I'm trying to hold it in and shit, man, right? COVID. It's all this shit is happening, right? Like, all the news is out breaking, like, ah, shit, we about to go home. Check it. Bro, I went to, bro, I had a night, bro. I just did not stop drinking. So I get to my home, girl. We all know Danielle, right? Shout out to Danielle, bro. Danielle is by far like... Danielle, for those of y'all that don't know, Danielle is my play sister. You know what I'm saying? That's my posse sister. She is one of my closest friends, man. So I go to her dorm on campus. And at the time, she's dorming with another one of our home girls, Amber. And they over there drinking. So this is like a night where I decide, no, no, no, no, no. They're playing Uno for shots. How did that shit work? I don't know. All I remember was storing up in her bathroom, and I shit y'all not, bro, I tried cleaning that shit up with toilet paper. Yeah, nah, nigga, it was terrible, like, because I actually cleaned it up with the toilet paper. How much toilet paper did you use? Man, I don't know. Nah, bro. But the wild part about it was... The wild part about it was... They like knocking on the... Everybody's just knocking on the door like, yo, you good? I'm like, yeah, I'm taking a shit.

SPEAKER_01: 12:54

I'm just taking a shit. All the time. I'm in, bro. I'm literally in the... Yo. I'm like...

SPEAKER_02: 13:17

Yo. And the wild part about it is, bro... This is when I felt... I didn't feel bad when I walked out. I didn't feel bad when I walked out. It didn't hit me when I walked out, bro. It hit me when she gave me a ride home. I was like, oh, my God, bro, this is terrible. So I puked in her bathroom, cleaned it up with toilet paper, and then she gives me a ride home. So as we're approaching my dorm, I politely tell her, I say, hey, sis... Hey, y'all know when I was in there a long time, right? She said, what's up, bro? Yeah, man, I threw up in your shit, man. And I cleaned it up, man. I cleaned it up with some toilet paper. Man, Dayell is one of the kindest people I've ever met in my life, G. I had one of my big brothers one time, boy, I got drunk, and he said, when you, he said, put both your feet on the ground and you won't sit, and you won't spin. Like, you know that spinning feeling? Wait, what? Pause.

SPEAKER_01: 14:28

Pause, nigga.

SPEAKER_02: 14:29

Pause, pause, pause. Wait, hold on. Put your feet on the ground and you won't spin. Why was your feet off the ground? Right, right, right, right. Bro, as

SPEAKER_00: 14:48

y'all was talking about this, bro, I'm literally thinking about a moment.

SPEAKER_02: 14:53

What

SPEAKER_00: 14:54

moment? A moment where I projectile vomited, bro. All over somebody's wall, bro. Yo, y'all know that I worked at a place, man, fuck the clock tower, but I worked at a place called the clock tower, bro. Yo, bro, the clock tower, hey, shout out the clock tower, but fuck the clock tower, bro. No, but no, but that's some real shit. Yo, the clock tower was dope. Yo, it offered me an opportunity, like, you know, like just to make some money and shit, you know, for the summer and shit like that. I was able to get some shit to like build a little home studio, shit like that, whatever. So shout out to them. But at the same time, you know, working at places, yo, it is what it is. Sometimes you be dealing with people, shit like that. Shit is, it is what it is. But yo, that moment was like a culmination of every year at the clock tower built into one moment of exactly what it meant to be there. Like, bro, I swear to you, it was just like, I wasn't present, mind you, because I blacked the fuck out. But it's like, yo, I heard stories, man. I heard stories how

SPEAKER_02: 16:01

crazy it was.

SPEAKER_00: 16:14

Some shit, bro.

SPEAKER_02: 16:16

Yo, bro,

SPEAKER_00: 16:36

because it's like, will you be working in the kitchen, bro? It's like, all right, we're going to close at 9, right? We do last call 15 minutes before 9. 815, 10 fucking tables walk in, bro. You're just like, oh yeah, they're all four tops, man. Some of them got kids and this and that, whatever. And they're just like, man, we gotta stay open, bro. And I'm just like, fuck that. I'm trying to go home. Like, what the fuck? But anyway, it's like, yo, you gotta do it, man. It's like, yo, it's like, man. Oh,

SPEAKER_02: 17:08

check this out, though. I never talked about this story, man. When I was in the military, fucking, um... We had a Command Sign Major's truck that was fucking, like, it was disactive. I forget what we called it, but it didn't work. And it was just a truck, no, I think it was a transmission that needed to be replaced, and the rear truck, the transfer or something needed to be replaced. And fucking, man, we stay and we stay. It's the Command Sign Major. It's like the boss of the bosses. Like, you gotta get this nigga's shit fixed, bro. Like, it's this truck. Man, we woke up at 6.30 that day in the morning. No, I woke up at around 6 in the morning. Some people wake up earlier. Made it to P.G. by 6.30, went to work at 9 o'clock. I didn't go home until like 5 in the morning. Then we got like three hours of sleep and went back to work at like 9 o'clock that day. And it was just like, it wasn't, we didn't have to stay, but it was like, we took it, like, it's the Command Sound Major's truck, and we got to get this shit fixed. Bro, we were doing this shit the whole time, and then fucking the truck, this is, it gets funny here, though, but the truck still didn't fucking work.

SPEAKER_00: 18:23

How long y'all been working on the truck for?

SPEAKER_02: 18:25

Just about, like, the whole day. That whole day. Okay, okay. That whole day. All right. But the reason the truck didn't work, right, because I'm about to share something very embarrassing. They was like, Taylor, why don't the church work? And I was like, yo, we did everything. Later on, we found out, I was like, they said, bro, did you put transmission fluid in the transmission? I was like, oh, that's what I forgot.

SPEAKER_00: 18:50

Bro. Bro.

SPEAKER_02: 18:52

Bro. I'm telling you, like, it didn't work after that, but it was just like, bro, I have to live that moment down forever. The whole point of that is, like...

SPEAKER_00: 19:02

I feel you, though, man, because it's like y'all was talking about, like, no, but, like, you said it was his truck, right? Like, y'all worked on his truck, and, like, it was like, you know, like, y'all, like, respected him. Like, y'all, like, stayed up, and y'all did that shit, and, like, I feel you, though, on, like, that little thing at the end. But, hey, yo, like, you made it work, though. You know what I mean? This shit came through with that. What

SPEAKER_02: 19:24

I'm happy about from that experience is that When I got out of the military, like, people are like, I didn't have a job. Like, you know I had a job. You know I had two jobs. I worked with you at the clock tower, then we went to go work at, um, Mahoney's for a

SPEAKER_03: 19:37

minute. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 19:39

You know, like, that day. I had, like, and then on top of two jobs, on top of that two jobs, I worked at the, um, fucking, um, the, the, this fucking thing, bro. The tip service.

UNKNOWN: 19:55

What?

SPEAKER_02: 19:56

I was working there. I had three jobs. I worked at the car, car for a while. But how did they look at me? Where did I, how was they view on me, bro? Tell, bro, about, you never told, bro.

SPEAKER_00: 20:05

I felt, well, man, like, see, this is where shit get complicated, man, because it's like, Lenny motherfucking be fucking talking and he just be, like, saying shit, like, loud as fuck. You know what I mean? And, like, his opinions on shit and this and that or whatever. I'm just like, all right, whatever, this and that. I'm just

SPEAKER_02: 20:22

saying, was I not one of the best distractions y'all ever had?

SPEAKER_00: 20:24

Oh, no, y'all was cool. You was cool. No, you was cool. No, it was cool. No, because we've had other ones. I ain't even going to hold you. What? What is it? No, we looking at the game right now. What's the score? I got to see.

SPEAKER_02: 20:40

I said it would be a three-point. It would be a three-point game. But you said it would go to

SPEAKER_00: 20:47

30, though. Yeah, I'd be wrong a lot.

SPEAKER_02: 20:49

I didn't think it was going to

SPEAKER_00: 20:51

get that high. I'd be wrong. What is it, though? It's 30-27. 30, 27? No fucking way. Oh, I should have fucking banged. Fuck! Fuck, man! I could've got a 50-point... Oh, man. I'm telling you. No, man. I've been... I've been... Yo. No, I've been... I've been fucking with the FanDuel, though, man. Yo. No, to be real, though, like, I've been fucking with the FanDuel, bro. Like, yo, once you get hot, if you hit that shit twice in a row, it's like, yo, but, hey, that was a good prediction, man. So that should be be random as fuck, though. That's the thing. Like, when you be doing that shit, like, like, look, my homie, uh, shout out my homie Ignacio from Frost. Um, he was the one, there was this shit called Don Pigs, and he just be having, like, different pigs.

SPEAKER_02: 21:47

Excuse me, it's 28.

SPEAKER_00: 21:48

But, shit, that shit's still over fucking 50. But, nah, he be having, like, the pics and shit for FanDuel. Like, but, man, like, once you be hitting, man, like, yo, like, once you get a streak on, it's like, man, it's the same shit. Like, there's this other dude.

UNKNOWN: 22:02

Um...

SPEAKER_00: 22:03

His name is Shu to the Woo on Instagram. He be going to the casino, like Rivers and shit like that, and they be playing Baccarat. And if you know about Baccarat, that's like a fucking game where it's like, it's a lot about like patterns and shit like that. Like once you recognize there's like, you could either bet on banker, player, or a tie. And it's like, whenever you be going through that shit, like it'll be a pattern. It'll be like banker, banker, banker. Then it'll be like player, player, player, Like in threes, you know? And then maybe it'll even out like with something else just one time. Then it'll be another pattern and it's like...

SPEAKER_02: 22:42

You know what this shit reminds me

SPEAKER_00: 22:43

of?

SPEAKER_02: 22:44

You know, back then, I used to score really high when I, not even back then, like still now, I score really high on IQ tests, and I was like, yo, these IQ tests are fucking garbage, bro. Like, all it is is noticing a fucking pattern in between shit and then picking what's next. So I was like, this is garbage. And they're like, oh, he scores so high. My mom's like, he scores so high in this and that. And I'm like, no, man, this isn't like a real test about, like, intelligence. Like, intelligence, the definition of intelligence is learning...

UNKNOWN: 23:13

crowd and being able to learn the application and being able to apply it effectively. See me, I'm slow. I'm not gonna lie to you, I'm slow as fuck. It takes me a while to learn something. But once I learn it, oh, my God.

SPEAKER_02: 23:28

Like, I'm as efficient or more efficient than the person that learned it on the first day, and that's what they all had mistaken about me. And I'm like, these IQ tests don't measure intelligence. They measure stupidity

SPEAKER_00: 23:39

or some bullshit to me. No, like, no, I just wanted to say exactly about that shit. Like, the IQ test, like, the ACT, certain shit, like, you could be good at test-taking. It has to involve, like, certain decision-making, also multiple choice, like, just, like, picking the odd one out or whatever. And you could be a good test taker is the point. You know what I mean? But it's like a lot of those things might not be an accurate depiction of actual intelligence like you're talking about.

SPEAKER_02: 24:09

Yeah. Cause some of y'all some smart ass weirdos. I'm gonna say that shit for what it is, man. Let's keep it tall though, man. Cause let's keep it tall, bro. We all met some smart, some like real intelligent, awkward ass people.

SPEAKER_00: 24:24

And it's

SPEAKER_02: 24:26

like, and it's just, and it's, and it's not to, to, to, to like say it in a judgmental way, but it's more so like some people genuinely don't know how to converse. Like they, it's just like, Some people are just obsessed with having that level of intelligence. Like, nigga, I'm smarter than you.

SPEAKER_01: 24:47

Nigga,

SPEAKER_02: 24:49

I'm smarter than you. I don't care. Wait, hold on, hold on. Let me pause y'all real quick. Because y'all just, I feel like I just struck a nerve when I said that. Because I was joking. But y'all got some PTSD behind this. All right, it's story time. It's story time. It's story time. Who wants to go first? They both, yeah, they both asked each other first. So, man, I'm chilling with one of my guys, man. I call him my big bro, and he's like, he tells me, he says, you don't know everything.

UNKNOWN: 25:29

And I'm like, I'm like, oh, my God. I'm like, no, I don't know everything, but you're supposed to be versatile. You're supposed to know a little bit of something about a lot of things, or mostly everything.

SPEAKER_02: 25:37

You're supposed to know a little bit of something about everything, but not everything. That's the vibe. Like, some of the bride basics. And he's like, so tell me about this. And I'm like, I know about that but i don't know i've heard about that but i know this to that about that but i'm not sure so he's just like you don't know everything i'm like no but you don't know about that either so like oh my god i felt like One of those, I don't know why I say ego, I get a big ego, but like, one of those things like...

SPEAKER_00: 26:07

Well, I feel like, yeah, you could say that. I mean, sometimes... Is

SPEAKER_02: 26:10

it a big ego, like what

SPEAKER_00: 26:11

you feel like? Yeah, that is, because it's like, you feel like, oh, like, you know everything there is to know. But to be real, like, I don't, like, you have to be able to accept that, like, you don't know, I don't know shit. You know what I mean? You have to be able to say that. And it's like, yeah, exactly. Like, you have to be able to acknowledge that because then you're not capable, you're not, like, putting yourself... in a position to learn more. Oh,

SPEAKER_02: 26:33

gotcha. But no, where I was coming from more so is just like, I can admit that I don't know everything about, I don't know everything about everything, but I've heard something about a lot of things.

SPEAKER_00: 26:45

Well, yeah, of course. Yeah,

SPEAKER_02: 26:46

yeah. So it's just like when you, when I'm sitting here and I'm saying, I have to, he's like most of like trying to humble me and it's just like, it's one of those individuals where you're around just like, It's

SPEAKER_00: 26:56

like, do they always, they always try to think that they just, like, know more than you about something?

SPEAKER_02: 27:01

Yes, not even that. I don't care if you know more than me. I

SPEAKER_00: 27:03

look forward to it. No, but acting like they know versus them actually knowing.

SPEAKER_02: 27:08

Yeah, more so that. More total type of that. You know, and I look forward, like, if I meet somebody and I don't know something about this, I'm like, and they know, and I'm like, oh, like, the one thing, man, I love one of my battle buddies when I was in the military. His name was Kermit. Man, I was so fucking thrilled. This guy graduated. Check this out, bro. This nigga graduated with a master's in... I want to say a master's, but a master's in computer science and technology and some shit. So he knows how to set code.

SPEAKER_00: 27:39

Like making websites and all that.

SPEAKER_02: 27:41

And plus more. So fucking... You know what I'm saying? I'm just like, man, zeros and... From the broad basis of zeros and ones. And we're talking about a lot more and fucking... I was, like, it was an honor for me to be in that, like, to sit there and learn from him. But what was I?

SPEAKER_00: 28:03

No, it's crazy when you see that. No,

SPEAKER_02: 28:05

no, that's what I'm saying. It was crazy for me to be in that, like, atmosphere to learn. But when I see other people that just, like, how could you not want to know, like, how could you not be hungry for information? Because I don't know if you ever been there, but I got to this point where I, like, I kind of, kind of, like, moved to a phase, like, I want to know as much as I can. Like, I just want to learn something every day.

SPEAKER_00: 28:30

Well, you want to grow, bro. Exactly. You know what I mean? Like, some people aren't in that, like, I don't know. I can't really speak for people, bro, but it's, like, some people just, like, like things the way that they are. They like the routine that they're already in, and they don't want to change that because that's what they're comfortable with. That's all that they know.

SPEAKER_02: 28:47

And that's why I feel like when my big homie was more so, like, I'm like, yo, no, like, I can, I don't know everything, but I know a little bit of something about a lot of stuff, and he's just like, and I will try to tell him certain things, or try to be like, hey, you know, kind of, I know this about that, he'll be like, how do you know? And I'll be like, well, we can Google it. Bro, I'm telling you, people hate when

SPEAKER_00: 29:11

I say... Like just being super confrontational about shit. Bro, it

SPEAKER_02: 29:14

would get there, and I'd be like, people will hate when I say Google it. Like, I'm not talking out my ass. Like, Google this shit. Bro, we had Googled something, and bro, what was... I don't know, we Googled one thing. What was the first thing we Googled? I don't know, we Googled something. And he was just like, well, you was right about that, but, like, you know that about this and this

SPEAKER_00: 29:37

and that. Always skeptical, skeptical, even though you showed it to them already. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 29:44

But I love being around people like that, too, though, because it humbles me because it feels like you, like, you know, I try to reach everybody I can. It's like, man, if I can reach this person in a way just to, like, show them, like, bro, like... I feel like sometimes when you're in a room where you shine too bright, when people, they look at it, it's in like a, um, they don't get, like, I want people to understand too, like, when you shine too bright, you might receive it as hate, but it's more so them being scared of their own light, or wanting to be like, how can I do that?

SPEAKER_00: 30:15

Well, I think it comes from, like, an insecurity of just, like, thinking that you're not good enough or whatever, and then it becomes a comparison game and shit like that, but it's like, that's not even the way that it should be going, like, you know, everyone, like, is unique in their own way type shit. And

SPEAKER_02: 30:28

I have to be cautious today, because we all know we grew up in a household where it was like, my mom had us like, you know, doing cursive like at four years old, bro. Like, my mom had us like doing like these like books or what, I don't know what, like what was those books, bro? Like with the math, it was math, English, and writing or whatever. So my, like we were young, we're at a young age like having to like expand. Like my mom wasn't gonna bullshit with us. So when you come from a household like that, it's just like... I actually won't expand on it because I think we should shed light on the other angle of it as well because I think the beauty of ignorance is education.

SPEAKER_01: 31:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 31:27

I say that to say, like, sometimes I think it's about perspective. Like, I think these days I'm less concerned with a person not understanding me. I'm more concerned with why they don't understand me. You feel me? Ooh, that's nice. Yeah, because I think... A lot of the time, like, I spent a lot of the time focused on the problem at hand. And I never spent time, like... I feel like it's hard to take ownership sometimes when you just focus on the problem. And how to make the problem disappear for me is understand... Like, I need to understand why the problem came about in the first place. You know what I'm saying? But I also need to be amongst people that... Like, where we understand, like, we're trying to figure this out together actively. So I think that's just the thing is, like, everybody's understanding is very different. You know what I mean? And it's like, I think the same way, like, as I was hearing y'all talk about just, you know, somebody being boastful with information, I thought to myself, I'm like... What if people, what if you have people that are like so gifted with information the same way you got people that are gifted with athletic abilities? Where, hear me out, where it's like, you know how it's like, for example, like, if I'm Michael Jordan, I'm going to talk shit on a basketball court, right? But what if you're just one of these really intelligent niggas? Like, I'm going to talk shit where I can talk shit at. You're like Steve Jobs. You see what I'm saying? And it's like, so the biggest, like, because one of the biggest things I've been finding is, right, like, because I'm going to flat out say it, like, I was a person, I never grew up, my mom, like, you, like, my mom, like, as my brother is describing, like, and I want to be very clear on this, like, my mom was a strict parent, but she was strict for all the right reasons. You know what I mean? Like, my mom at times was also a single parent. So she had to be strict in a lot of ways. You know what I mean? Yeah, you know what I'm saying? And even there's been moments where she did have help and she still would have to be the more dominant person because the other male probably wouldn't be as... Uh, superior, so to

SPEAKER_00: 33:59

speak. So... Nah, because

SPEAKER_02: 34:02

it's not even just that, but it's just my mom is one of those zero-tolerant kind of people. And... So it's like, you gotta do your best job, you gotta do the best of your capabilities to try to instill in two young men, like, you know, what a man's supposed to be putting there, and you gotta do it as a woman, so how do I supposed to do that, you know? And if you don't know how to do that, then you, you know, as a woman, and it's like, I feel like a woman, I'm not trying to sound like, what's his name, but I feel like, as a woman, like, I grew up and I was like, it's certain shit that, like, women couldn't teach me that a man taught Nah, and I definitely, I would definitely have to agree with that, right? So, but again, you also got to look at it too, whereas like we were fortunate in that situation.

SPEAKER_01: 35:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 35:03

Because everybody is not blessed with the network of men. And that's something I realized the older I got, right? Like, We sitting in, you know, we sitting in an undisclosed location. We know where we at, right? And I just want to give a special shout out to that individual because they believed in this vision. You know, when we first came to this location, I remember disclosing, like, the vision that I have for this, and that person really believed in this. And, you know... At a later time, we'll probably disclose this location and really kind of speak to it more, but we still kind of figuring out how we want to go about disclosing these things because we do respect where we are at the same time. But with all of that being said, I think it's just a certain level of respect you just got to have for all the respected players in it all. You know what I'm saying? And I just think with all that being said, it's just... I think that's just the importance of knowing the role you play. You know what I mean? And just everything you do in life. Beyond pushing to be the best, it's just knowing the role you play. Because how can you be the best if you don't know the role you play? You just pushing it. You just aiming to just be great. But how are you training to be great? You know, I remember when I heard J. Cole break down... And this is going to bring me to an interesting debate we was having earlier. You know, shout out to J. Cole and the whole Dreamville family, man. But I would say J. Cole was speaking upon, when he was talking about, I want to say this was right around, I want to say this was in the off-season documentary. The off-season is the most recent album he dropped, correct?

SPEAKER_01: 37:05

Yeah,

SPEAKER_02: 37:06

yeah, yeah. The offseason, right? But in this documentary, he was talking about how he kind of reached a point where, and I could be paraphrasing this and kind of getting this wrong too, but he was just kind of talking about he got to a point and a place where he realized, like, he had to continue, like, he had to get better. Like, he had to continue training better. In order for him to be better at rapping, he had to put in a level of work that he wasn't putting in with basketball. Like, he... Exactly, but what I'm saying is, with that is this, right? Like... I think it's just highly important to understand, like... A part of knowing yourself is knowing what you're... Again, you have to know your lane. You got to know your lane. You got to be around people that are willing to tell you, that know you enough to help express, like, nah, man, you're not you right now. Or you venturing outside of that. So I just wanted to bring... I wanted to shed light from that because this is one of the biggest artists... to date, so to speak, right? Shedding light from his personal experience. We was talking about he was in a house party in Queens, and he had a moment where he just had to kind of leave because he just was feeling lost. But I say that to say sometimes, man, people can portray these confident, egotistical personas because... A lot of time, it's really rooted in insecurity, man. Like, it's rooted in... But before you go to insecurity, what I wanted to say was that on that process, with that process to becoming great or to becoming who you want to be, I was a shorty, and I was watching this commercial with Blake Griffin, and Blake Griffin was like, you got to learn to fall in love with the process, you gotta learn to fall in love with the process. Like, fall in love with that process to becoming great. Fall in love with the process of putting in the hard work. Fall in love with the process, so it's just like, and when I took that in as a trainee, it was like, it made me learn to fall in love with putting in hard work where it needs to be put

SPEAKER_00: 39:46

in. You

SPEAKER_02: 39:46

know what I'm saying? And not complaining about it. You know, not... not being a brat about it, just learn to fall in love with the process, man. And if you can get that, when you figure it out and you get there, it's just, man, it's again about, I don't wanna say manifesting, but once you get to that point and you fall in love, It's a part of manifesting outside of thinking. It's a part of manifesting what you want for this reality.

SPEAKER_00: 40:15

Well, I feel like it does. Like you were talking about, like, it is manifesting for sure. Like, because you just have to put yourself in position to, like, get there so you can actually, like, start acting and, like, creating that for yourself, you know? Like, you were talking about creating that lane and shit. Like, knowing where you fit, you know? And a lot of the time, I feel like that has to do, uh... a lot with just soul searching, like figuring out who you are and shit like that. You know, asking yourself those very difficult questions, whatever it might be for each person to figure out whatever it is you need to figure out, you know, like to get in that position, you know what I mean? And then from there, it's like, yo, like we could create something different. We could create something better than the things that we've had in the past, you know, and it's attainable. And all it really takes is the belief. And then once you believe, you can imagine it. And once you imagine it, The vision is clear, and all you have to do is take steps to get there, and then you're good. You

SPEAKER_02: 41:13

know what I mean? I just sent my sister today. I told her to go on YouTube and search the manifestation code. And from what I understood from part of it that I always felt like, that I've always done, is that I always saw myself as being something. I've always been. I always saw myself as like... be in something greater than the version I was a day before and so forth, but I would set myself, you know, where I wanted to be in my life, successful. So it's just like, you gotta start building those patterns with yourself, like those thinking patterns, like, like me and my brother was talking about this, like, you know, what you think can, you know, kinda have a, no, it can't kinda, it will have a, you know, produce an action that may have a reaction to a certain stimulus. You see what I'm saying? Right. So it's like, if I'm going to think positive and I, you know, the outcome, if I'm going to think positive about this, the outcome might be positive. Because it might conduct myself in a more relaxed way and a certain way that might be cool with this situation to have a better reaction, you know, from the situation. So it's like, you got to be positive. Like, if you, like, life has challenges and it has ups and down bro but when you learn to be keep a positive outlook like man i have to learn at a serious level that shit can be worse for somebody else than it is for you and most likely shit is worse than it is for somebody else than it is for you right now. So how can you complain?

SPEAKER_01: 42:48

Facts.

SPEAKER_02: 42:49

You know, like, how can you complain? If you here right now, and you know that it could be worse for somebody else, stop complaining, get your shit together. Do what you need to do. Not even that, stop complaining, get it there. Get out of this situation or get your shit together. So it's like, I had to learn that too, and it's like, man, when I learned that, bro, it was just like, I always, it just, my mind automatically bounced to like the positivity, like, yeah, I got this, because I know it's worse for somebody, and it's not to be like, oh, yeah, it's worse for somebody, so I know, no, it's like, man, I don't want to beg where it's worse for somebody, so I know it's going, I know I should be in this direction, because I could be here in this situation, somebody could not be, somebody could be dead in this situation that I was just in. So it's like, I'm still alive. I'm still alive. I still got my life. I still got my youth. Who am I to not live it out, live it up for the people who couldn't live it up? You see what I'm saying? Who am I to not live it up for the people who couldn't live it up? The people who come with it are probably looking at you like, what do you call it? That's a spoiled milk? You see what I'm saying? Don't worry about that. Keep going. I wish I could be where you was at. You know how many people older than me always tell me, man, I wish I could be in your position at your age. And I'm like, yo, like... To me, I'm like, damn, what was you like at your age? What was you like at my age? You feel what I'm saying? What was you like at my age? You're like, damn. It was worse? Oh, shit. And it just keeps the positive.

SPEAKER_01: 44:31

Keeps

SPEAKER_02: 44:31

me thinking in a positive way, man. Keeps me with the love, man. If you don't get that love, it's the acid, bro. I don't know what lane you living in because love is the acid, bro. And on top of that, unconditional love. And there's different types of love. So if you don't get all that, man, like, when you get the love as the answer, bro, like, you just like, man, life is beautiful at all times. So let me ask you this, right? With all of that being said, how do you interpret this through your music? How do you channel this all through your music? Being myself. Being myself at all times.

UNKNOWN: 45:09

Whether or not I'm being vulnerable. Whether or not I'm just being a thug. Whether or not I'm just being soft. Whether or not I'm being emotional. Whether or not I'm being fucking like, you know, being myself.

SPEAKER_02: 45:19

And not trying to, you know, I've had a struggle with one part of myself. It's just like, I don't want to sound just like this. I don't want to sound just like this. And I'm like, I have to let that go. And I had, you know, shout out to my boy, Rest in Paradise, man. One of my boys told me, he was like, man, I told him, I'm listening to the album, but like, you know, excuse me, I talk about love, I talk about, um... a little bit of what's going on politically. I talk about what's going on. I said, man, I don't know how they're going to perceive me, bro. I don't want to know if they think I'm like, can't pick a lane or I need to pick this lane. Because I was getting told for a while, I just pick a lane, bro, I go with that. And I was like, nah, bro, I can do all this. I can talk about all this, bro. And he told me, he was like, man, like, yo, just like be yourself, bro. But if you be yourself, that's like, it's being honest. When you be yourself, you're being honest. And nobody can ever, ever be mad at you for being honest. And I say, you know what, bro? That's what I'm doing. You know, I'm never going to get caught up in the bullshit of just being, I can be just like, you know, one lane. That's why I got, I think I say on my side, you know, I'm serving lanes and shit.

UNKNOWN: 46:25

Like, I can do whatever I want to do, and I'm going to be myself being unapologetic about it. Right, right. And it's just like, it's off of that, boy.

SPEAKER_02: 46:34

It's going to that. My bad, man. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00: 46:38

I'm intoxicated. No, you're good. No, you're good, bro. Like, I'm just listening more so, bro. At the same time, like, I'm listening. I'm taking everything in. I'm soaking it up. And I'm like, I hear what you're saying at the same time. I think for people that are working through shit, it's probably just working through shit that has been programmed in their mind, you know what I mean? That's been imprinted from trauma and like other shit that they've been through and other things like you know and uh like not going like trying not to go back to those same patterns Because a lot of the time it's a decision, you know what I mean? And it's like just not entertaining like that side of it, you know, and just choosing to do what you already know is right, you know what I mean? And like, but just following through, that's the thing, like just following through and like maintaining that is what's important, you know? Like once you get to that place, you know, everybody starts somewhere, everybody, you know, everyone starts somewhere, you know, then, you know, you're working through it. Some people get through it faster than others and shit. However fast you get through it, you know, the only thing that matters is that you get through it. You know what I mean? So, like, just staying focused throughout

SPEAKER_02: 47:49

that. Yeah, and that's all I wanted to say. That's what I was getting at with that. It's just like... man, somebody got it worse than you, bro, you, sis, you, whoever you are, somebody got it worse than you, so if you know somebody got it worse than you, it's up to you, if you know somebody got it worse than you, now it's up to you to be like, you know, I carry that kind of weight, like, I feel bad, like, if I let it get to me right now, and I don't do what I'm supposed to do, I let my ancestors down, you know, So I'm like, I can't let y'all down. Like, I, you know, I can't let y'all down. And then when I let y'all, imagine you leave here and they say, why you ain't do this, why you ain't do that? And you was capable of doing way greater than what you did.