Rare Wave

The Slo-Mo Interview

• Justin Hargrove • Season 1 • Episode 2

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0:00 | 1:05:32

The boys talk with artist Slo-Mo about fatherhood, the marines, and music.

SPEAKER_00

Rare wave.

SPEAKER_01

Welcome to Roger Wave where we ride only the records of waves. I'm of course your host Justin, and today we have a very special guest, someone who is uh a phenomenal guy. I I like him, I like him dearly. I feel like that's not how you say like, I feel like you say love of dear. It's weird. Anyway, but before we welcome him, I gotta welcome our co-host, the man, the myth, the legend, someone who is a phenomenal person. Honestly, it's somebody who I'm not okay. Anyway, please welcome Greg New to the stage, guys. Dang it.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Ah, what's up? Good to be here again.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Wait, what? What did we name this thing, bro? You named it Steve. I remember Steve. I feel like it was more of like Jemima or something.

SPEAKER_00

Jemima, all right. Well, Jemima would have worked a little better, actually.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, but we also, I think we also figured out that this is a man. I think this is more of a man.

SPEAKER_00

I don't I don't know. I'm not anyway. This is great. This is great.

SPEAKER_01

This is great, dude. I feel like my week's been good. How's your week been? It's been good, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

It's been crazy. Big day tomorrow. First day officially on the job by myself. Uh EMT, baby. Come on, son. Come on, raise the rule. Raise the rule. So uh, yeah, things have been crazy, to be honest. But it's it's a good crazy.

SPEAKER_01

So yeah, I'm excited to get started and do all that. That's good. Good crazy's good, man. I think um I feel like, yeah, life is crazy. Yeah, with everything going on, I don't want to get into it, so I'm just gonna not talk about it. But I will say this that's good. All this hard work's paying off. I feel like this year's going by so fast, we're already March. It's like, what are we doing?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, that that scared me. I couldn't believe we're in March. I put February still the other day when I was signing like this document, and I was like, oh my gosh, we're in March. It's already almost like literally like a quarter through the year. That hurts. Uh yeah, I know. That's a bit insane. But it's true. So I don't know, just gotta give it your best. Don't waste time. That's what I'm working on right now.

SPEAKER_01

So dang well, heck yeah. I'm gonna introduce our guests. Yes. Let's do it. Uh, rare away people, for those of you that are just joining us, we make sure to have people that are um rare individuals, people that um are fun to be around. And we like to also hit our DEI mark. And so we wanted to make sure to bring a person of color, especially in the wake after Black History Month. So I thought it only proper to bring someone who's not black, but black adjacent. And um I think this person, as well as a man who is a man of many talents, he can rap, he can act, he can TikTok host, he's uh served our country, fought for it, and has been through many obstacles, trials, and tribulations, and still came out on top. Without further ado, please welcome to the stage railway podcast, Mr. Ron. What's your last name again?

SPEAKER_03

Gosman. Gosman, yes, I love it to be. For real, guys. But I love what we got going on here, man. Thank you for having me on. Thank you for the great introduction, too, and the chocolate chip cookies. What's going on over here?

SPEAKER_00

Can I get an introduction like that?

SPEAKER_03

Because you're not Hispanic. Actually, you are. You actually are. You are because you need to have that accent, man. You gotta have the accent and whatever. You could kind of say whatever you want because they think you're just crazy, you know? Yeah, yeah. But if you just talk normal, then you don't get many, many, much attention.

SPEAKER_01

I know. But I feel like your your the tone of your voice is fine. It's very like I'm not gay, but I'm just saying like your tone.

SPEAKER_03

You do have a rich, yeah, richness going there.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. It's like if Morgan Freeman was from you should read books, bro.

SPEAKER_03

You should like out, like you should do audio books, man. That would be so I would I would buy your voice in audio. Who, Greg? Yeah. Oh, really? Like, you know, like maybe the Titanic? My voice has always been low, man. My grandma used to always tell me she loved my voice because it was just like really, really good, rich voice. You know, there we go. In in Mexican, however, Spanish speak grandma say it, you know what I'm trying to translate for you guys.

SPEAKER_01

Like, say something that you would what?

SPEAKER_03

Like my abuelita. Yeah, my abuelita. I don't speak Spanish though. Oh, you don't? No. Really? No. I'm only half, bro. Dead in the dead in the half. Dead in the half. You know, I was one of those guys where like 50% my mom, I only know, and then like we don't have dads out here in LA. You guys know that. We don't have any dad.

SPEAKER_01

I do, but yeah.

SPEAKER_03

You do have a dad?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I have a dad.

SPEAKER_03

Do you have a dad too?

SPEAKER_01

I do have a dad.

SPEAKER_03

You guys you guys both have dads. That is amazing. Well, I had a dad, and then he left. Yeah. But then he wasn't actually my real dad. So even my fake dad left. Yeah, bro. I don't know, man. LA unified dog.

SPEAKER_01

How many milk runs is this gonna be?

SPEAKER_03

I'm like, man. I was around, you know, the the the when we were there was an actual milkman days. Yeah, yeah. I was around then. I'm older than Google. How old are you? Damn. Older than you gotta do the math, bro. I can't say it out loud. I'm entertaining here. My entertainer age or my actual age?

SPEAKER_01

You know, we'll leave it. But I will say this. Um uh you are uh wait, so what are you are you half Mexican and then half something?

SPEAKER_03

According to Ancestry, bro.

SPEAKER_01

What? Okay.

SPEAKER_03

I had to do Ancestry. You couldn't just ask your. Oh, I see what you're saying. Because my my dad was gone and then, you know, my mom passed. And my grandparents who knew the good info, right? The ones who cared, they didn't they didn't pass down the info. So I I I don't know. I'm just going off Ancestry, bro. I'm 50% Mexican. The other is just a bunch of other things. But how do you not know you're fully Mexican? Because it tells you, it says like Spain, indigenous, uh, southern don't mess with me and my southern Bantu peoples. Oh, that's right, bro. Bantu 2%. Sounds like that.

SPEAKER_00

You know what I'm saying? I'd actually be really curious. You know, I'm I'm all over the place. My mom's half Puerto Rican, half black, and my dad is like 100% European. So one of the My dad's as white as it gets.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, yeah, bro. I would I would don't do it. It'll ruin your life. Yeah, you'll be like, wait a minute, bro. I found out I had another brother. So I did the stupid thing where I was like, hey, mom, I just did ancestry. Is there anything you want to tell me? Oh she's like, talk to your dad. I was like, what? For real, for real, talk to my dad. And she's like, yeah, talk to your dad. And then my dad told me, and I was like, didn't make no sense, bro, bro. You guys were already divorced. Yeah. And you and you already had broken up. You were single. Yeah. Just tell me I had a little bro, man. I would have taught him basketball, little guy. It was I was one of those, one of those kids who like always knew I wanted to be in the military.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So like it was just a thing. Like you say, a calling. I understand that because when I was young, I was like, oh man, this looks like something dope I want to do.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_03

So I was lucky enough to grow up in East LA, you know, whatever. It wasn't tough. It it was it was a rough area to grow up in, but it wasn't tough. Like, you know, we weren't brawling every day. Like, um, and then uh I played sports, you know, very active as a kid. And uh eventually I had a stepfather moved us out to San Gabriel Valley, and that's where I spent most of my time. That's where he taught me, like uh restaurant and things like that. Yeah, that's where I kind of got started in the restaurant field. And um, but man, I wasn't a very good kid as far as academics. So uh I really honed that into art arts, you know, art being artistic, drawing and um and writing poetry. Yeah. There wasn't something cool though at my age. You couldn't like I couldn't be like, hey brother, look at this poem. You know, he would be like, shut the one, no, I was I grew up in a time where you couldn't smile. Like if I smiled in any of my pictures prior to like I would say 15 years old, you know, the uh they'd call me everywhere. This is what like the 90s? It's like about no about 2000s. Okay, about 2000s, and um, yeah, I just grew up in a uh, you know, a lot of brothers, five brothers, one sister, you know. I kind of get to do whatever I want, be out in the streets, hang out with my homies. Um, I didn't have too many rules growing up, so you know, I was always I was always I think I think when you give give a kid a lot of rules, yeah, you know they're breaking them all. My mom didn't give me too many rules, so there was nothing I wanted to do. I could have drank, but I didn't really want to drink because I could have drank, you know. I didn't want to smoke because I could have smoked. It just didn't seem as fun to me.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_03

But um Yeah, I grew up and then uh uh went to uh Roland. I ended up graduating from Roland High School in Roland Heights. So I went from East LA and kind of went all the way through the Sangaba Valley. Yeah, ended up in Roland Heights, and then uh did my military service, did some restaurant, and then continued the whole entire time in writing and writing, you know, poetry, poetry, poetry. After the military, I got involved into music, and that's when my career just kind of like like right away. Um the first time I went into the studio, I was um I was published on an album, yeah. Which is very rare for anybody. I mean, that was the first time ever in the studio. From there, I ended up doing a few big shows. I performed like the uh House of Blues, yeah, when they used to allow hip hop, the Greek, um, the uh Rose Bowl I performed at. So a lot of good venues, and uh I kind of always just stuck with music. But uh that's awesome. Yeah, my real passion is cooking, like you know. Yeah, like I could I can make anything, bro. Like I'm a pretty good chef. Yeah, um, but you know, my my my best, my number one thing that I do is uh being a single father, bro.

SPEAKER_01

Like oh my gosh, my daughter, hey Steve, come on fathers, man.

SPEAKER_03

I gotta tell you. And single, yeah, single, but like I was saying, bro. See, I think, man, being thick being single, bro, being single and having a 17-year-old, dude, that is that is that's tough, man. Yeah, what kind of dad are you like? What are you a strict dad? Are you like a chill dad? I'm like uh I'm a chill dad. I'm the chillest dad ever. Okay. But I think um, you know, I was in the Marine Corps. Oh, right, so so my daughter doesn't get too much of a leash. But but now with these kids these days is you know how parents always like to think that that they weren't they weren't just as bad as their kids are now? Yeah. Like, bro, my daughter, when she's like, Dad, I'm coming home. Is it okay if I come home late? She's talking about like 10 o'clock. Yeah, yeah. She's 17 years old, so I'm like, Yeah, you better not come back at 11, you know. But even if she came past 11, bro, what am I really saying? You know, she's not out till four in the morning. Yeah, but I'm a pretty chill dad. You know, I like, I like, I think in this day and age, people say don't parent or don't be best friends to your kids. Yeah. Dead that, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bro, you better know everything your kid is doing. You better know every person she's talking to. Right. You're still not gonna know. But they have these apps, they got Snap, they got Instagram. Actually, kids don't even like Instagram anymore. Teenagers. They don't, they're kind of done with all like the social media in general, to be honest. But all of her friends, luckily, she's got like some really good friends, bro. God has blessed her with some amazing friends around her. Um and she's been able to like lean on them when when when whenever she doesn't whenever she can't come to me. Yeah, she has like other parents, you know what I mean, that she can go to little mother figures because you know, obviously her mom, her mom left her with me after COVID, bro. I was just like, what the hell? How do you leave your daughter?

SPEAKER_00

Wow.

SPEAKER_03

She moved to Idaho. So I just became a single father instantly, you know what I mean? Right. Wow.

SPEAKER_00

But mathematically, she was like 11 at the time.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, something about eleven, yeah. Dang, bro, you did that right now? I couldn't do that, bro. Dang, that was the powers of Steve right there, man. Thank you, bro. Thank you. Something left at 11. Yeah, at 11. And then um Yeah, I was just like, dang, like, what what do I do now? Right. But the the only thing I could do is like, well, I know how to cook. Right. You know? Um, so we're always gonna eat. Uh I don't know how to be like a mother dad. Right. And I it really got me away from like trying to be like let go of the Marine Corps way of lifestyle, yeah, or maybe way of thinking, and trying to hone that in. Basically, my room was a Raiders before, and then it became Hello Kitty. Yeah. So that's what happened to me, bro. So uh that's what it's been like raising a daughter.

SPEAKER_01

But dude, she's she's gonna graduate next year, and then you know that's awesome, and I gotta tell you, like, and like I know we're joking about single parents, but the idea of working a job, providing for a kid, and also being kind of because I believe that you know both parents are that's an ideal situation, you know what I'm saying? So to have so many responsibilities on top of having the blessing of having a kid and and having and raising him well is like an that's an awesome achievement.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, thank you, bro. I appreciate it. Yeah, I mean I'm I'm not in any rush for her to get any older though, you know what I mean? Because like, dude, she's gonna be in college in like a year or so, you know.

SPEAKER_01

How has that been? Is it you feel like it's gone fast? You feel like it's yeah, at times there was slow parts, so you're just like, oh my gosh, it's you're already at 17. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_03

I feel like I feel like as parents, you're gonna get trapped into your children at some age. At some age, they're gonna be trapped in your mind that you love them forever.

SPEAKER_01

Forever, right.

SPEAKER_03

And you're gonna try to love all the ages after that. But once that age, for me, it's like around like nine or eleven, yeah. When she was just like, like, um I don't know, just uh every time I picture her, I can't picture her face right now. I picture her then, you know what I mean? Yeah, but what it's been like to I would say that their their influences are tough, bro. Like there's different drugs out there, you know, there's different parties out there. But for me, it's been okay, man. Yeah. I love being a parent, you know, and so will anybody, but you really wanna you really wanna take care of those years when they're young. Right. Because that's when it goes fast. And like right now, I'm like, I can't believe she's already 17. I don't even remember what happened at 13.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_03

13 is 17. What what have we been doing? You know, I don't I don't I can't picture those years in my mind. It's been so, so fast. Wow. I'm sure when she's like 20, I'll think about her in her teenage years, you know what I mean? I don't know. Yeah, but uh either way, it's fun, man. It's awesome. And uh being able to, you know, have a daughter that understands, hey, dad also is gone a lot. You know, I'm doing a lot of shows, you know, I'm doing we're doing a lot of um live filming, we're we're gone as a single parent. I'm like, man, I also every show I make every show I do, every every live stream I do, I'm taking that time away from my daughter too, you know, and so it's a little balance right now between her being 17, knowing like, man, just in about one one year or so, she might be like, hey dad, uh I'm going to Alabama or something, you know, I'm moving to Arizona with uh with going to college or something. So yeah. So I'm just trying to hone in and and and and and just really like figure out what I feel like when they turn 17, it's like you got one more year to teach them uh how to cook an egg. Right, right, right. How to how to how to patch a hole. Well, not that I patch many holes, but you know, like you know, it's like that last year of like, man, I didn't teach her how to do this. Oh shoot, does she know how to do this? Like, man, does she know about taxes? Does she know about like so you're you're kind of in one of those rush modes no matter no matter what, um, no matter what you've taught them, once they hit 17, you're like, dude, um, they're they're adults now. Like, what am I gonna do?

SPEAKER_01

So as men, I feel like, and that's cool, because I I think as men, we we don't have necessarily that like nurturing aspect, it doesn't really come as natural to us, I feel like. And especially when you're saying how you grew up, it's like you didn't smile for a long period. Like that's just not you what you were supposed to do. The question is as a father, I've heard that your capacity to love just completely evolves into something that you probably never would have experienced if you didn't have a kid. Like, is that something that rings true for you?

SPEAKER_03

Or yeah, yeah. So so I'll give you another example. It might it might pick up Steve. So I lost my son, right? Yeah, about 11 years ago. That love I had for him on day one, even when he was in his mother's stomach before he got diagnosed, it already started developing, right? And then when you see him and you hold them, and before once you get over the oh my god, that's where babies come from, they really pop out of there nine months ago. Once you get over that for your first child, you're gonna be like, dude, you're gonna remember that you're gonna be like, dude, nine months ago, I literally what the heck? And once you get over that, that bond starts, right? That that whole like this is my kid. And for my even for my son, who has been gone, you know, almost 10 years now, I still feel that same love. Yeah. That same amount of love, that same passion, that same energy towards him, of him, and because of him, you know. And it allows me to, as I grow up, it's it's really a way for me to my kids help me mature so I can be a little bit softer. Right. I remember coming back from the Marine Corps, I served in Iraq and Afghanistan. I couldn't even cry. I wouldn't be able to cry. I was at my grandparents' funeral, I couldn't cry. You know, I was emotionally um like taken away by everything that I experienced. And having children allowed me to like want to revisit unhardening. You know, when I realized I was having a daughter, I didn't want to be hard anymore. I wanted to feel like what was going on. Yeah, I wanted to feel what she was feeling. There was one time my daughter was driving a uh riding a bike, we're riding bikes, and she hit a pole. And I instead of me being like the nurturing, like the the the daddy, I I was just like, man, why why why aren't you looking out? Why aren't you looking out for the wire? Yeah, you know, and she and then at that moment she says, Dad, I'm okay. And she was a little girl. And that's when I realized, man, I gotta get rid of this, yeah, this whole what like there's there's this devil dog way to we call it devil dogging you, like like telling you what to do and making you feel like you didn't know how to do any of it on your own. So, you know, coming out of the Marine Corps, having a platoon and being in charge of lives, right? I hope people give me passes on there, but the only pass I need is the one for my daughter, you know what I mean? As long as she understands, right? But yeah, man, that love for her, as much as it's molded, it's never it's never been unconditional. And I don't really get some parents who like leave their kids or don't want to be parents. Yeah, even if it's your intent to want to be a parent, and maybe, maybe for some reason you're struggling on your own. Yeah, but man, the court wants you to be a parent. You know that some of these dads they lose their full custody. It's hard to do that these days. Yeah, it's really hard, bro. The court wants you to be part of your kids' life. So I was like, I'll take her 50%. Yeah, you know, and then after that, I'm sure I'll take her 100% too. I don't know what I'm doing. Yeah, I ain't got no playbook, I ain't got no manual, and I don't think a man has any business raising a woman, a little girl on her own into a woman, you know. I don't think that, but hey, right, I'll do it. Right, I'll do it, you know.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and that's and that's honestly in my personal opinion, that's like that's just all God and like yeah, putting seasons because you probably could look back in your life and go, that shouldn't have even worked, but somehow it did. Yeah, you know, like because you referenced the rain, I want to get into that too. Like, at what point from you go from the San Gabriel Valley to in Iraq in Afghanistan?

SPEAKER_03

Dude, so manifesting that's my first time I've ever manifested something in my life. Yeah, I remember in East LA playing with the GI, those little green guys used to buy for like two bucks, all those little guys, right? And I remember being like, Man, I want I would play Army versus Marines. Right. So that was my first manifestation. One day I want to I want to be a Marine. And when you really tell God that, he it really, the the not only God hears you, the world hears you, and you hear yourself, right? Then when I was in school, about fifth grade, yeah, I was in, I was in uh I was in school, it was about fifth grade. I did a report on one of the seventh grade wonders of the world. I had no idea the hanging gardens of Babylon were gone. No idea. And you guys know how big the world is. Right. Babylon's pretty far from here now. You know, Iraq isn't 18 hours away if you left from Riverside, and I know, because that's where I left from. I left on an airplane from March Air Force Base.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So um we took a long flight over there, and when I when I did that report, being dyslexic, I didn't do many reports, I didn't do much homework. Yeah, you know, uh, I graduated to 1.9 though.

SPEAKER_01

But I still graduated, bro.

SPEAKER_03

I still graduated. Shout out to all you you can do it too. Bro, I was like, I graduated with a D average, my boy. How do you do that? I never mind. I'm not gonna tell anybody how to be bad in school, man. Stay in school. But so I manifested that as well. I did that report, I picked that as the seven great wonders of the world, and when I read about it, I loved it because it was like the greenery about it. Boom. I joined the Marine Corps, I do stellar exemplary at the Marine Corps, I get so many awards, and guess where I end up? The hanging gardens of Babylon ruins in Iraq in the Marine Corps during the war. Wow. I was I might literally every part of my dream. I wanted to be in a war. I wanted to. I was one of those guys. You know, you join the Marines because you there's one Marine out of every three high schools. You can't a little weird already. You don't want to join that. Yeah, I want to go first. Yeah, you know, so that was the first time I ever understood manifestation when I was in the Hang Gardens of Babylon. And I was like, bro, the world is too big for me to be right here. That's crazy, yeah. Right now, like and what year was that? That was oh three. No, it was 2002. Yeah, it was 03. It was 03. Okay, oh three. Because I got August 2003 is when I got out. They flew me from Iraq straight out of the war.

SPEAKER_01

And how many year years did you serve?

SPEAKER_03

Four.

SPEAKER_01

So you enlisted right before, oh not right before, but before 911.

SPEAKER_03

So I I enlisted in high school. Okay. Crazy reason why that makes sense is because when I got flown out of Iraq, George Bush. Said they call it a stop date. Well, it's a stop loss date, but I'll t for you guys, it's a stop date. Basically, if you joined after this date, you have to extend a year. Yeah. If you joined before this date, you gotta get kicked out of the Marine Corps. And for some reason in high school, when I joined, that recruiter, if he would have been walking there one week later and I would have met him one week later, I would have had to stay there another year.

SPEAKER_00

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_03

But since he since I joined in that one week.

SPEAKER_00

Like right on the cutoff.

SPEAKER_03

Seven days before the stop loss. Wow. So um I had the choice to either go home uh or go or leave the war or go home. Yeah. So I did what anybody would do. I left it to my platoon sergeant.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And um about three in the morning, I was on a chopper, on a convoy, going back to uh going back to Ireland from straight from um straight from Iraq.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I didn't even know they fly people out of the war. Like, bro, just imagine like, hey dog, we're taking you out of the war right now, like you know, and they just fly you out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I was like, when how's that moment? Because it's the last four years in your life. It has to be like uh wow, all right.

SPEAKER_03

Bro, no one's ever asked me that actually. That moment, that moment I was disappointed instantly because I was leaving my platoon behind and my brothers. Right. And then but Sergeant Rod, he said, man, because I had just came from Afghanistan too, yeah, prior to Iraq. So he Sergeant Rodriguez told me he's like, hey man, you already, you already kind of did your time, you know, you kind of already did your thing. Yeah. So and I was a platoon sergeant too. I was uh I was only a corporal, but I was I I was a squad leader, I should say. Yeah. But my staff sergeant got relieved, meaning like fired. And um, so my sergeant became staff sergeant. Yeah. And then I became platoon leader.

SPEAKER_01

And um And how many guys are in a platoon?

SPEAKER_03

About anywhere from 18 to 24, 25 guys, just tense, depends on on what your mission is that day. Right. Sometimes well your whole your main you have your main platoon and then you have your squads, and you kind of get broken down into like little things. But yeah, yeah, I just couldn't believe that like my life actually manifested into something, and then that that that same skill of writing every single day ended up like helping me today with my music.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_03

So I I write about I write about experiences in my music all the time. People don't really probably hear it because it's very hidden.

SPEAKER_00

Right, right.

SPEAKER_03

But it's always coming from that military perspective. So I like it, man. I like it. I like it.

SPEAKER_00

Um how were those um those four years? And how would you say maybe serving or even what you encountered and what you saw kind of shaped your your mindset to what it is today?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I would say those four years were definitely the the like the staple in my life. It's the one that I pivot off of. I don't my attitude, my personality, um, Justin knows all the messing around that I do, right? Bro, it all comes from military jargon, military like like leaders, people that I've messed around with. Um, I wasn't too influenced by gangs and living in East LA or in the hood or by, you know, the style was the style. I got my brothers hand-me-downs. I had to wear 501s and white t-shirts, you know what I mean? But it didn't really, never really resonate with me like that. You know, I have a lot of love for people that I grew up with and my culture, my community, but those four years were the transitional point where um I came out like a whole totally different person as far as like um what I think everybody should join the Marine Corps. Um, not the Marine Corps, but everybody should join the military a few years. Even if maybe it had a program where you do like two years active and one year reserve, I think it just squares people away, bro. Right. It just like kind of lines you up to like there's another whole world out there.

unknown

Right.

SPEAKER_03

And it takes that snow globe away from from like, bro, people have never left the state. Right. I know people who've never left the country. Yeah. And I'm like, whoa, man, you have no idea what and I hate to be the one, oh, you don't know what life is like, but no, but some people generally don't know what life is like. Everybody's everybody needs a true seek under seek of understanding of what life is, right? Right. But that is that is variable based on you know your knowledge. I I think there's some, my daughter recalling it, there's some there's Disney moms out there.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

You know what I mean? Where they still just want to go to Disneyland, bro. They don't want to marry you or date you, bro. But if you want to meet them at Disneyland, go ahead. You know what I mean? Like with the Mickey Mouse. Yeah, like they're still there's still 40-year-olds wearing Mickey Mouse ears, you know. So I guess how happy you want to be, but nuts on the Disney adults. Oh no, I love Disney single moms too.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, Disney Disney moms. That's right. But what was what was your favorite thing to do? Like, because uh my two brothers are uh well, they're out of the military now, but they were both officers. One was stationed in uh Japan, and then the other one was stationed in uh North Carolina. So they wait, so they were one was a Marine.

SPEAKER_03

They're both Marines. Both Marines, right?

SPEAKER_01

North Carolina, but they were they were officers. So they went to officer.

SPEAKER_00

The other ones in North Carolina.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and you actually North Carolina was was a was the training bases right there. Yeah, I don't honestly don't have no idea what he did, but they were they were officers. So they they went to officer candidate school and then they yeah, but people also talk to me about that because I hear enlisted hate a lot of the officers because they're kind of stuck.

SPEAKER_03

I mean, bro, it's like saying you went to college or you from the streets. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_03

But bro, rounds down range, it didn't matter to me. Right, right, right. You know, you know who who you really don't like is is it's enlisted versus versus active duty. Oh so I mean officer, I mean I I was with the Marine Corps, I was with First LAR, which is a pretty elite unit in the Marine Corps. It's a light armor reconnaissance unit. Okay. So the funnest, I got the funnest parts. I got the cool training, I got cool little little missions, things like that. Right. But when it came to our officers, man, like Were you infantry? No, no, no. I was um so my I was with communications transportation, and I eventually went to I got picked to go to a unit called uh First Line Armor Reconnaissance. They're they're the the Highlanders is their name. They call them the Highlanders. Um it's uh it's right around right off of 41 area exit off the five.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_03

Um, but that unit was pretty cool. So the officers, the captain, I mean, the captain made me fight, bro, on a ship. Yeah, like we went to uh Puerto Vallarta on a on a cruise, yeah, and we took our whole unit, and the captain made me fight all uh against the Navy, the Navy because I said I was from East LA, I was Mexican, I was new to the unit, and I had to prove myself.

SPEAKER_01

Well, so it was kind of like an initial fashion kind of thing.

SPEAKER_03

I fought just some random dude, some random guy. I yeah, I knocked him out. Okay, yeah, oh yeah, bro. That dude, that would be like um like one of those old like like uh blood sport kind of movies of that and a flight club or something. A flight club, and it's literally I'm walking up the deck and I'm just like I'm like Did he give you any like dude with small gloves? So so walking up the deck, I literally came um right off the mess, right off the mess, the the mess line. And they're like, hey goozy, they're like that's what they call me, goozy. They're like, hey goozy, remember, remember you said you wanted to approve yourself? Yeah, that you remember we told you you're gonna need a uh you're gonna get a chance to prove yourself? Yeah, I was like, yeah, dog, yeah. He's like, yeah, right now. And I'm like, what? What what what's going on? And he's like, bro, we're doing smokers upstairs. And smokers is like Army, I mean it's Marine Corps versus Navy. Right. And it's just however you want to fight, you could either box, you could grapple, or you could just go all out. Right. And um, and so he's like, bro, you're gonna be boxing this dude in the Navy. Yeah, so man, I'm walking up there, they're putting gloves on me, and I'm like, what the heck? I'm like, damn, bro, I can't even stretch. They took the mouthpiece out of my homie, they rinse it off, they're like, boom. I'm like, damn, let's go. But we're Marines, bro. It's it's all crazy like that. There's a school circle, like probably around this fight, and then yeah, we start fighting, it ends very like within 20 seconds, it's over. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00

And um, no offense to the Navy. I I don't see the I see the Marines beating him up.

SPEAKER_03

He was a he's a little Filipino guy. He was taller than me, but he was he was he was skinnier than. I was already skinny, bro. I was like 137. Dang. Yeah, in the Marine Corps, like when I was a sharp little tool, and I was like a killer, it's like 137, bro. Like not big at all, but I used to Yeah, you get speed. Yeah, bro. I used to abilities. You see MMA fighters now, they're all skinny, but they're strong, right?

SPEAKER_01

It's like the Ryan Garcia.

SPEAKER_03

Now, Ryan Garcia is way bigger than like he's more he's more bulky. I wasn't I didn't need to be bulky for the type of uh things that I did in the Marine Corps. Yeah, yeah, I was more lean, more cut, more uh more quick, yeah, more more like I don't know. I'm little, so I could fit in small spots. You know what I mean? There we go. But you know, yeah, I was cool, bro. I I got to be in the best Marine Corps unit. Yeah, I got to be in the war, I got to serve the war, I got to see my dream, and now go ahead.

SPEAKER_01

No, that was great. First of all, I just gotta say click give it up for that. That's awesome. Um and first of all, I don't even say I don't know if say this, but thank you so much for your service. Thank you, bro. What are your thoughts on when people are like, thank you for your service?

SPEAKER_03

Does it ever get like annoying or like so no, it's always appreciated. Okay. Um now that there's a war, right? Um, even my daughter's asking me about the war now. Like, everybody's curious about like what is war like? There's actually Marines who have there's military people who have separation anxiety from not being able to go to war. Right. Because they wanted it so bad. Think about the humility it takes to say, like, I don't know you guys. Yeah. But hey, if there's a war, I'll die for you. Right. That's like a lot, a lot of uh, a lot of gangsters, like there's always this like gangsters military gang. It's like, bro, like I don't have a gang. My enemies don't look like my neighbors, and you look like my neighbor. My neighbor my my enemies aren't down the block either, but hey, I'll die for all of you guys. Right.

SPEAKER_00

You know, I mean, even if that's such a humble you get four years of your life to that, like you you have given your life to do those things and to serve. But actually, it it ties into something I was talking to Justin about literally yesterday. And I was telling him, like, dude, it's a bit of a longer question where it goes in. I'm I love basketball.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And I I was watching this interview because I love sports talk, and it was this the most recent MVP player, he plays in the Thunder, and they're doing this interview, and he's talking like, yeah, I'll never ever repeat an outfit, like I just never do that. Like that'd be great.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, yeah, yeah, I saw that one.

SPEAKER_00

And then I was just I remember I looked at Jess, I'm like, dude, it's so nice that we have like relatable stars in today's world.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And I was like, dude, and I I love basketball, and I'm not saying there's anything morally wrong with what he said, but I was like, dude, it it's sad that this is kind of idolized when we worship these athletes. Yeah. Realistically, he's he's good at basketball. Yeah. Like, how far does that go? Yeah. Like, dude, there's environment, military, teachers. Yeah. Teachers are shaping the future of the next generation. And yeah, we prioritize it. It's we look more towards the spectacle. And like the heroes we worship, even like an instance, like Michael Jordan.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_00

He was a great basketball player, hugely idolized and looked up to in today's culture. If you look at him as a person, it tends to fade away a bit. He was a big absentee father. He was a huge gambling addict.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, they get write-offs for that kind of stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And I just was like, dude, the people who we really look up to, like, really should be someone who stood for something, who fought for something, who served. And that was just a huge disconnect that I more like realized just from that one small interview.

SPEAKER_03

Those those segues, no, I think you're absolutely right, bro, because I saw that same one too. The the segue from being in the military, there's just no way to learn where to go and be a leader at anymore. You know? And you're right. I I think everybody who served in the military should be in office. You know what I mean? I'm like, how are you in office campaigning and you've never served in the military?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Because that's pretty tough. It's pretty you can serve in the Coast Guard. I'm not saying you gotta go to the Marine Corps, but just the act of service for me is like anybody who served, I'm like, man, bro, just because I served doesn't mean, man, that person who just served four years, eight years. I I know I know um I know someone's getting out of the Marine Corps right now. Eight years. She was an infantry artillery sergeant. She had our artillery unit, she did eight years in the military, but there's not a good segue. Where do we put her? Right. So everybody knows what kind of boss she is. Right. You know, there's nowhere.

SPEAKER_01

And that's so funny.

SPEAKER_03

You just get out.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_03

And then you got you she thinks her life's starting over, but those military people don't realize, oh no, we're looking for you to be the leader.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_03

We still need you to lead out here now. There's just no, there's no quick way to get there. There's no there's nobody out there saying, hey, all of you guys who have joined the military, come over here. Right. I got a position for you, I got a job for you already. I got a leadership position for you right now.

SPEAKER_00

Sorry to pay well. Um, one of the things I love. I have a friend, a close friend. I also worked in the restaurant industry for very long. Yeah, yeah, good. Um I I was a server at some fancy Beverly Hills restaurant. And there'd be interesting clientele, there'd be struggling days, you get snapped out or whatever. I really struggled because I'm a very loyal person by nature. I think a lot of it has to do with how I grew up, part of it's just instinct. But one thing I loved about one of my coworkers who'd been in the military for years, he had this loyalty like ingrained in him. Right. And he had, and I would mention it to him, he's like, Yeah, dude, no one's left behind. He'd always say that, and he's like, Yeah, that's that's what I learned my whole life. Because especially in today's world of business, it's business first before people. They'll walk all over you if it means they'll make more money, or they'll drop you without a second thought if it's better for the business. And I I love how oriented it is to people, and like that focus, no one left behind. And truly I loved working with the dude because it was so much bigger, the person. Anything could happen. He's like, No, no, no, make sure you're okay.

SPEAKER_03

He'd check up, nothing's bigger than the mission.

SPEAKER_00

Exactly. Everything became second to you. And I loved his um just his care, but also he he'd stand up for you. I guess we'd yell, he'd come up and be like, absolutely not, this, that, don't talk to him like that. And he was really there and he just had your back no matter what.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And that was such a refreshing um characterization that I also find very rare. Because I understand everyone, like, you know, do what's best for you, but few people go out of their way to also make sure and like really care for you because they're so concerned in themselves.

SPEAKER_03

There's just like an extra tenderness that they know how to deal to be to give, you know, selfishness. There you go.

SPEAKER_00

Because they're putting the greater good above their own good. Yeah. Like you gave years of your life to go serve in that war to protect for our freedom.

SPEAKER_03

So you reminded me of a story that I don't I don't ever tell. And I'll say it here because you're literally speaking on it right now, and it's not has nothing to do with me. Uh one day when I was there in Babylon, um there was a loud bang, and um what they did is they shot down one of our choppers, one of our uh cobras, got shot down, it landed in the Euphrates River, which you guys know, right? Um two Marines jumped in to try and save the Marines that were in the chopper from drowning. Everybody died. And I was like, I was like, wow, I can't I can't believe those Marines they did it. They did like we get these Marine Corps stories of like heroes ingrained in us that these acts of service that you're talking about that like have nothing to do with who you are, but just giving your life for someone else, like making that ultimate sacrifice, and that's why they say never leave anyone behind. And when those Marines got to do that, that was their privilege to do that. Yeah, they felt privileged to go do that, you know. We we didn't what we ended up doing is taking out our freezer. We took out all of our rations for for ever the whole, the whole, the whole, our whole everybody that came, we took over Saddam's palace. And everybody that came there with us, we emptied all of our meal rations out that we had stored and we put the bodies in there so we could bring them home. Wow. Because forget the food. Who cares? I don't eat for like four days, whatever, you know, I'll get some bread or something.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

We put the bodies in in the freezer and and we send it back to the rear. Never leave them behind. Like, that's your guarantee, bro. I'm never gonna leave you behind.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

It's really important for like military people to have their last wishes.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

That's why I'm glad when people die, whether you're broke or poor, if you were a vet and something happened to you, you you get your you get at least your your your military taps, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00

That is so special. Yeah, it is my uncle, uh, who I'd only met a few times. Uh I went to his funeral. Yeah. He lived uh mostly in Puerto Rico and Florida. Gotcha. I went to his funeral, he'd served. And they came in and did the trunk call. Yeah, how did that feel?

SPEAKER_03

Like the first time that was the first time you you experienced it?

SPEAKER_00

It was the first time I'd experienced it, and they came, they folded the flag. Yeah. That gesture, it really meant so much. Feel some, huh? And they went to his wife, yeah, said a few words, handed her the flag. That means so much. It really did. And also there's like a pride. Yeah. Yeah. And it's like, because it's a brotherhood. And you're really signifying, you're also thinking, and it's it's the the last call. Yeah. It's so moving. It really was. And I No, go ahead.

SPEAKER_03

Joe, go ahead, go ahead. You're the same. No, I like I like how much people I like how people have a send-away, and then when you leave, it reminds people, wow, how heroic was this person. You know, no matter what they did, like I still have friends today that that tell me, hey, I remember when you were in the Marine Corps, bro, and how much you were you you inspired all of us when I was in high school. We couldn't believe what you were doing out there, you know, things like that. I'm like, man, I'd really be impacting a few people once in a while.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, dang, man, I love it. Come on. Yeah, come on now. But it's uh because I wanted to go back to the perspective. I think right now, not to get into it, but just overall arching idea of perspective and not understanding, like there's a world out there, bro. I think one thing that I can personally talk to from experience is one, I have two brothers who both served as officers. My grandfather fought in World War II in the Korean War. And so I was just raised around be grateful for what you have because what you have people died and fought for. This this United States of America isn't free because we just happened. People go out there, they fight, they do this and do that. Um and it's so interesting too because I think you're absolutely right. I think for the most part, historically speaking, our leaders were generally. I mean, our first president was a general. You had all these guys who served and they were people, and I think even before that, it was the guy who led the army. The leaders, the king, the leaders were the ones that kept those motherfuckers. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Biden and Trump couldn't okay, I'm gonna get imagined in the front of the anyway. I'm just saying, and I'm not uh not to get politics, but I'm just saying six three Biden could have did it.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. See when Biden got grew six inches.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

But Biden, if Biden was on a horse.

SPEAKER_01

Oh my god. If Biden was on a horse, yeah, the backwards, you'd be like, what the horse?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, bro.

SPEAKER_00

Couldn't get on the horse.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

He couldn't even get on the bike, son. Alright, we might have to cut that out. Anyway, um, so yeah, but it it's just to me, that was just a little side note that I wanted to add, because it is insane to me to think that like I'll see people that I'm just like, you don't live uh in the way to where you're like grateful for what you have, because I could like if you've been to other countries, for example, I was just stuck talking to somebody about this the other day, where the only place I've really been to is like Albania outside, and Albania was in communism. That's a communist country? Well, they were, but they they've been out for 20, 30 years. But since they've been, they appreciate life more. There, you see more people like Albania has the most amount of coffee shops per capita, and people are using it. There are old dudes on the outside just hanging, having a good time, they're talking, they want to have conversations because they're like, oh my gosh, we have freedom. They want to learn about religion, culture, things like that. And I just think that America, we've been in such a um uh a free age um for so long that I feel like we I'm not saying we need something like communism, but I'm just saying like uh culture. Dude, a wake up call. Yeah, a wake up call.

SPEAKER_00

And I think that if look at and again, this isn't me, like I never would say that's a good thing. 9-11 changed the attitude of America because once something huge happens, yeah, all those smaller things, like again what I referenced, like with all the issues in the world, you're talking about I'll never ever double wear an outfit. It's so out of touch, and you you stop and Yeah. Like that's that's what we're talking about right now with all the problems in the world. Like it it's just we prioritize um just spectacle over substance is how I put it yeah yeah for sure where if you actually go down to it something crazy happens you'll realize what's important real quick. When you're dying, yeah you don't a lot of things that you oh I want to go do this, I want to do that. That doesn't matter anymore. You want to be with your family. You know what I mean? Those priorities are so like shaded, we're just focusing on the wrong thing.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I wish there was a better connection between politicians and sports athletes who actually have uh influence, which it doesn't matter how you know, even your weakest NBA player has a huge influence on his community at home. Where he came from, that little little little town in in Wisconsin.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Like they have to but but why are I I've seen politicians um I've even seen it on TV where they're they're uh they're like acting like athletes don't have a real voice. And maybe they have an athletic voice, but it doesn't mean that you're in as an American, you you you have an American voice too. Right. You know, you could be a uh general, you can be a sergeant politician, work at McDonald's, work at Chipotle, um, or not have have anything, but you still have an American voice. Right. You know, and and I wish politicians do you really see politicians and athletes really like uh trying to? That's a good point, yeah. And and you don't, you don't. You you'll see actresses, you'll see actors um with politicians and things like that, but you'll never really see um athletes like that. But honestly, take your typical athlete. You know, you're we I I I know few people who are at athletes. I have I have people I know people who are playing at UC USC right now, and um as athletes, are you really growing up in politics? No, you're not.

SPEAKER_00

Your sports is your life, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So everything. So it just gets kind of hard. Like calling Kaepernick, I feel bad for him. I mean, Jesus. I still think about that. Like, man, a guy put his knee down and lost his whole career, all of it, every little thing. It's like saying, I put my knee down and they kicked me out of the Marine Corps, and all those stories I just told go away. Uh you know, like now he tried to do in politics, but bro, you you were you you have to act, you can't do that. You know what I mean? So so once they once they mend that connection between athlete and politician in those local areas, you know, you ever see you ever see Lakers and Dodgers with our mayor in LA?

SPEAKER_01

Who's our mayor?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, exactly. Like Jesus.

SPEAKER_01

I didn't know our mayor until the LA fires.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, no, I still don't. Who is our mayor? Uh Karen? Karen Bass. Karen Bass's still a mayor, huh? Well, when do you ever see when do you ever see her with there's such a disconnect.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03

Like the riots were going on and the Dodgers are are are playing. You know what I mean? You know, we got half the town, like, oh, I'm not going to the game, and half the town's like, let's go, Monkey. Let's go Shohei, let's go, Shohei.

SPEAKER_01

All the people that work, we're at Shohei's show. Dude, I gotta tell you, he's doing so many great things for the city of Japan. Or what what is he? Yeah, Japanese. Yeah. He's Japanese. Yeah, yeah. Okinawa. Um, so we talked about Marines, man. Uh the transition from Marine to musician. Mm, son.

SPEAKER_04

Talking about Marine to Marine Bongs and ready.

SPEAKER_03

Nice week. Now the transition from Marine. It's actually kind of sad, bro. Like another sad story, another look we'll say, like another another obstacle in our life that turns into triumph, right? Like my cousin was murdered. Oh, and I wrote a poem about it. Wow. And um, so I didn't really plan on getting in from military. When I got in the military, I wanted to be a head chef, and which I ended up doing. I was a head chef. I opened up restaurants for many years.

SPEAKER_00

Poetry as a kid as well.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, so I'd always done poetry as a kid, right? I just didn't share much of it. But when my cousin got murdered, um I I shared it to my best friend, and he was like, Hey, he's like, bro, that's that's like if you took out this word and that, that's like some hip hop right there. Yeah. Then I called my other homie who was in music, and I was like, hey bro, I got this this verse I want to show you.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And then um, I would say within 30 days after that, I I was are I was shotgunned into music.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

You know, um, luckily I'd volunteered with some veteran stuff, so that got me the the Rose Bowl, the Rose Bowl uh show. Um, so when I got to Rock the Rose Bowl, right after I got off stage, they signed me. Yeah. Yeah, because they didn't, they didn't what happened is the band that was on was a pretty legendary band. They sing Lowrider, Cisco Kid, all those old school like Latin songs.

SPEAKER_04

Right.

SPEAKER_03

Their mic dropped off, and we the whole Rose Bowl was there. Yeah. So they the band needs more than one mic. So the one mic that did work, the dude's like, hey, don't you rap? Yeah, I'm like, Yeah, I rap. He's like, Well, go up there, and like, because the MC was bombing, bro. He was going hip, hop. He didn't know what to do because it was just random. I was and I I was like, Alright, cool. So I remember I handed my daughter to him.

SPEAKER_00

What an opportunity. Yeah. Just out of nowhere.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I just volunteered as a veteran. I knew it was for veterans, and I was a veteran, so I just wanted to volunteer. And then they had put the veteran wall up. Have you guys seen the veteran wall? Oh. Yeah, bro. It's it's amazing. They they take it around tour, yeah. Okay, yeah. And um, and so they put that up and I volunteered. Ended up going on stage, and then before you know it, bro, I'm recording at uh Universal in like two weeks after that. So my transition, I would say, was like you're in music now.

SPEAKER_01

So what year is this?

SPEAKER_03

That was 2004. Okay. I think it was 2004.

SPEAKER_01

So this is like right after the morning.

SPEAKER_03

Right after the morning. I got August, I got August 2003.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_03

So I would say by then, by like a few more months later, I was already like not knowing that I was gonna have this huge musical career, which is now turned into I'm more of like, I'm more of like a performing artist. Yeah, I write a ton of songs. I have so many songs like in my computer, but I love to perform, man. I love to do the shows of it. I like, I love, I love for someone to leave and they're like, they're like, wow, that guy right there, like I I would see that again. Yeah. I would I would see that show again. I'm not out there just performing songs, you know. To me, it's like performing some hip-hop songs. Yeah, it's like, bro, now I want to make sure the MC element is in there. Right. I want to make sure everyone in the crowd can relate.

SPEAKER_01

I think I think it's the ultimate entertainer, that entertain inner entertainment going, I just want you to have I mean the same with the comedy. You show up, you have a drink in your hand, all right, we're gonna have a good night. We might forget about the the suckiness of the day, the week. Yeah, you just have a good time.

SPEAKER_03

Just that escape, huh?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

In terms of uh artists, uh, one of my favorites is um J. Cole. Yeah. Just because as you were saying, he raps about such deep topics. Yeah, J. Cole was one of my favorites. Listening to his lyrics, uh really just I I love it.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

I I could just really talk forever. Talk a little bit about having those meaningful lyrics as you were saying, and it's the story and really rapping about that meaningful thing. Because there's a lot of music that sometimes a little bit more about just more fun and all that, which is good, but I love kind of those those songs have always been more of my favorite.

SPEAKER_03

So I think I think the fact that I once I started getting into hip hop, all of my homies, it was like true hip-hop.

SPEAKER_00

Right.

SPEAKER_03

Like there's one mic, six people, who has the best verse, you're gonna go record. Everybody else better wait. Yeah, that was my kind of hip-hop. I had to freestyle, you know what I mean? I used to love J. Cole, and then when you back out of a rap battle, bro, I can't I can't get over. I still can't get over that, bro. Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Did you hear his his song?

SPEAKER_03

I did not hear his new album.

SPEAKER_00

If he had a song about it, yeah. He response.

SPEAKER_03

Bro, we're from LA, man. Once you said, once you said you're out, I I've never listened to J. Cole since, bro.

SPEAKER_01

But he kind of gave a free he kind of gave a forewarning about it. But he was talking about like, I'll never like be for the nigga for nothing. If I'll if I be a rapper's gonna be legit, it won't be for cloud. But this one was this one was lit.

SPEAKER_03

This one was legit.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

You gotta promise me. Alright, he wrote this song specifically about him backing out. And by the way, we love J. Cole. Dang it. It's called Port Uh Port Antonio, I think. Yeah. Gotta listen to that. I'll listen to it. One of my favorite songs he's ever.

SPEAKER_03

I gotta consider that I'm also in music, right? So I'll listen to Port Antonio. So being in music, bro, if if when you're in music and you write music too, bro, you know how many people are in it. Bro, what once you once you're once you're gone, yeah, like bro, there's too many, there's too many new artists coming in. You know, I'm like, I'm like uh, I'm still on Scissor, you know what I mean? I think I still think Scissors album is way better. I'm still on SOS, my boy. You know what I mean? Um, um I used to be a big, big, big J. Cole fan. Thanks, Steve. Appreciate it, my boy. Um, but I would say for me, my creative hip hop is I'm writing too much music to listen to anybody. You know, I'm writing too many songs. I got a show. I just got booked this morning, bro, for the for J Electronica in Vegas. I'm gonna go back to Vegas and do another show. And then probably, yeah. And then and then they called me back for another show with um MC Magic and Baby Bash.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

30 days later. So baby, slow-mo's got a lot of music. I got a lot of music coming up, but what you can expect from mine is that there's some hip-hop in there. There's some real, like, I have this one um song that kind of starts off slow, a little more artistic. But once you get into that verse, no one's rapping better than that, you know. Right. I said, like, um, Cry Lawn Maps, the streets. We push the tears down and force to pick between Montana tips or the grips we squeeze. So translation is like like um, you know, if you think about that, you you like which one you gonna pull? Which one you pulling that trigger or you pulling that spray cam, bro? Pick one because it's the kind of kind of life we live in out here.

SPEAKER_01

But who's your uh who's some of your influences?

SPEAKER_03

Oh man, uh Ludicrous, Ludif Master P and the All the No Limit. I would say Twister, you know. Um but other than hip-hop, bro, you're talking about my I grew up by my a single mom, you know. So I grew up with uh um Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Minnie Ripperton, you know, Edda James, people like that, you know. So Motown, um oldies, Jackson 5, temptations. So I got a little um a lot of my music too is is slowed down. I slowed down hip hop, you know. Yeah, but I always talk about God in all of my music. You'll hear a little bit of God, you'll hear a little militar military, you know. I talk about um I talk to the people in LA, you know. Um I there's a lot of like I said, I didn't join a gang, but you know, you either joined a gang or joined the military where I'm from. So a lot of my homies that do or are involved with that type of life, um, they do lean on me for for an out or for a a good a good different type of perspective in life. I've had people crying on my shoulders, so I um I always put that in my music to make sure there's a good perspective. I always tell my homeboys, anytime they come to me, I'm like, hey dog, make sure you celebrate your wins, bro, because I know you feel the losses. I know you felt every loss. Right. And how many, how long does those lap, those losses last?

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_03

Sometimes 45 days, right? Two weeks. You know, and then your win, your win, you you you you you gotta you gotta um your check came in$50 higher than you thought it was. That's a win right there. How long you celebrate that? Right. Two seconds. Yeah. You know, instead of really getting on your knees saying, God, I didn't expect this, but it's here for me now. Right. You know, like the more we can get to that, the better it's gonna be. I have one song, it's called Just Like. And really it's saying it's just like what I prayed for, man. It looks just like what I'm made for. Yeah. We pant the seed, it looks just like what I paid in full. Still pre-shake them when I'm crossing traffic. You know what I'm saying? I'm still gonna put that on the wall. But no matter what I've been through in my life, whether I'm talking about military dying, you know, my son dying in my hands, or my grandparents being killed, you know, like whatever it is, my life still looks just like I prayed for it. Wow. Still looks just like I'm made for. I'm still gonna, man, I it's still gonna look exactly like God's promise to me, you know. Yeah all of uh uh you know I promised future was my clothing brand, and it's it's really just talking about God's promise to you. Yeah, I'm promised a life of abundance and health, yeah, and wealth. Yeah, man, to me, my tummy's gonna be full, my pockets are gonna be fat, yeah, and I'm still gonna have the house, the car, the the girl and the woman, the daughter, the kids that I've always wanted. Yeah, it's still gonna look like that, no matter what I've been through. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

With sorry, go ahead. Yeah, I was I was just thinking, because everything that you're saying, and also just thinking about like the time period of which you were starting out. You got out of the Marines 2003, started music in 2004. What's the difference between a dude coming out from where you grew up starting to hip-hop versus someone who's seen, oh, okay, I gotta I gotta maybe say that I'm I I have a struggle so that I can make it in hip-hop. Do you think there's ever like a fake flex now in hip-hop?

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

What are your thoughts on that? Okay, bro.

SPEAKER_03

I feel like there is, but that's just on backstage in every Hollywood show there is. If you don't know, if you probably see me backstage if you're in music at some point. If you're on the bigger shows, and I'll tell you what, man, there's a lot of fake flexing going on back there, bro. I've had, I know for sure I've had the largest. I won't, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not saying this to brag. I've had the lar the deepest pocket in the room. Yeah. And and it and it definitely didn't look like that in the room. You know what I mean? I'm like, man, there is a lot of fake flexing. But remember, we're not trying to be fake. We're artists, yeah, we're entertainers. Right. Just like when you go to a Las Vegas show and you see them wearing, you know, glamour and glitz. You think every every cocktail girl has real diamonds? Like, nah, they don't. But there is definitely there isn't a there is there is a segue though for anybody starting off. Right. And and the fact that there is so many tools digitally available for them to start creating, whether you're making beats, writing songs, whatever you're doing, man, just get creative and stay within your own realm. Don't feel like you need to write about gangsters, because not everyone's a gangster.

SPEAKER_01

And that's also something I noticed too. I feel like I think back because I also remember growing up and being like, man, like my dad's in the house. I can't be a rapper. You know what I'm talking about? Like, that's the thing. Like once I'd have, and then you have a Jack Harlow who's like, I'm vanilla baby, I'll choke you. I ain't no killer. So there it has, it has, but everyone has to be in the MM whether it came from Detroit or something, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_03

Like Post Malone, he's he, man, he got he he went into music, got into rap, got out of rap, and then he used it, and now he's back to country. Now he's on podcasts and wearing camouflage. I'm like, bro. Talking about I don't know. He made White Iverson and got on out. You know what I'm saying, bro? But but that's that I like those songs, but I I wouldn't, I wouldn't, I hope Post Malone would have never tried to say he's a gangster, you know what I mean? Because then that'd be kind of weird. He's never done that. Yeah. So I'm glad that he's found his lane. And I've seen him live, he's amazing, guys.

SPEAKER_00

But he's my favorite artist.

SPEAKER_03

I'm really about the show. Right. If you could put on a show in front of me, and I tell a lot of artists that are coming up, baby, it's still about the music. I don't care how many shows you go, podcast, and how many things you do to promote yourself, bro. It's still about the music. Right. And once that music's out, if they go see you perform, yeah, and you can't hold that mic, right? Oh man, I feel bad for you, bro. Yeah. Because, you know, I'm gonna call it out first. You know, the fans are gonna call it out right away, you know. Yeah. I've had I've seen artists, hey, y'all ain't feeling me? Oh, y'all ain't lit.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. Like, no. That's kind of like what a comedian bombs, and they're like, well, it was the crown, like, your joke suck, bro. Yeah, you try that anywhere, it's gonna suck. So, what's the future look like, bro? So you your music, you're doing music, uh, any acting or anything? Do you act? Bro, because I know you're in a you do skits and stuff.

SPEAKER_03

I do a lot of skits. People ask me to do skits. Uh, I've been trying to get into acting. Yeah, I just don't really know that avenue right now. I mean, even just being in a full-fledged entertainment, I've had, you know, now that I'm kind of like they know me as a as a performing artist. Right. Um, of course, my next my next one, I want to be like that old man, right, grumpier old men. I want to be that, those dudes. You know what I mean? Like sea bass. What do you mean, sea bass? We don't even need go fishing, you know what I'm saying? I want to be like one of those kind of guys. Obviously, I like comedy. I think that's why we're we're so cool, like when we hang out, man. Like, easy to get along with. But um I would I would say my music is at its baby infant steps. As much as I've done, as much as I've done for as long as I have, I'm still at the infancy of my music.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And um, so I really want to see what this album provides. The feedback I think has been amazing. I love that everyone has their favorite song already. Wow. So no one has the same favorite song. And I like that it's palatable, you know, people are able to listen to it. It's not, it's not really rap like that, it's not West Coast like that, you know. It's more like a chill lo-fi type vibe. So I think once that's out, I've been getting booked so frequently, you know, like and and what a blessing. You know what I mean? I've been getting booked like now two major shows a month. Right. So hopefully by the end of this year, I can have a better answer for you next time I get on here. Cause um, I'm really hoping that the music does what it needs to do.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_03

Um, my music is infused with with God. It's influenced. I write every song for the crowd. Right. So there's no song I write that's for like for like my girlfriend or something like that. Everything is for even when I use words, it's more of like I want everybody. Yeah, yeah. So um I'm just hoping so far the algorithm's working, man. A lot of people are like, bro, I see you out there, but what are you doing? I'm like, you gotta come to the show. I'm selling 70 tickets now. Yeah, we're selling like 70 tickets, I think, last show. That's a lot of people, you know what I mean? Just for like a little opening act or whatever you want to consider me, performing act. Um, and then the promoters are all saying that, you know, uh the guys that we do music with, my whole camp, that we can be at any show. We can entertain anybody, and that's why they keep booking us. So I'm gonna keep rolling with that, bro, because you know, entertainment like ludicrous, that that'll find you when you get big enough. You know what I mean? I need that five million dollar paycheck.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

That's all we're gonna use some of that. Yeah, any movies, anything like that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Well, I love it, dude. Okay, so what what are your socials, bro?

SPEAKER_03

Give me your social is slow-mo underscore vision, yeah. S-L-O-M-O underscore vision.

SPEAKER_02

Heck yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And then uh my rap name, too. Don't find me on Spotify. Some guy has slow-mo, and he doesn't realize he's from the UK and all his music's coming to my account. Oh, yeah, yeah. And bro, I don't want the 20 bucks, bro. I just don't want people to think my music is yours. Yeah. This new album, Midnight, is gonna be um under Slow Mo Vision.

SPEAKER_01

Slow Mo Vin. Okay.

SPEAKER_03

Slow Mo. So just like my IG name.

SPEAKER_01

And you have a day for the release date yet? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Bro, before before this, before the show in Vegas, I need to have the album merchandise ready for that Vegas show.

SPEAKER_01

So that's when next month?

SPEAKER_03

Uh it's yeah, next month to yeah, next month. Shoot. So April 8th. April 8th. April 8th. So it's punch time, baby. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. You guys should come by, come to the studio.

SPEAKER_00

We we uh gotta make it one of your shows.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I'd love to definitely gotta come to the shows. And um, and then I gotta come, I gotta come to Justin's show too, see what she got going on, telling them jokes, baby.

SPEAKER_01

We'll drop some jokes, Jazz.

SPEAKER_03

But no, thank you guys for having me, man. I really appreciate it. It's been amazing. Thank you for telling me allowing me to share my story with folks. And hopefully somebody, somebody, uh, whether it was military, they're thinking about joining or becoming a music or whatever there is, hopefully somebody was influenced by it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I always I always like to end the show with like someone who's watching thinking about doing the military or thinking about music, what would you what would you say to them?

SPEAKER_03

I would say if you're if music is your dream and it's a real calling or whatever calling on your life is, like, stick to that and you're gonna eventually get paid for it a lot more money than you ever thought you would. And if you're if your dream is to join the military and you need that as a stepping stone, it is the perfect stepping stone to get yourself with some good benefits coming out, some good, uh, some good education, like not actual education, but like like different worldly type of education. Right. Um, working with people from all over the world, working with people from all over the US, different languages and cultures. It was the best thing I I've ever done, man. And I would never I would never take away my years of service. There was bad parts, there was good parts, but I think everybody should uh should stick to the callings. Those are two callings on my life, right? So, whatever the callings are on their life, man, stick to those. Stick to those and and then get paid a lot for it at some point. Become expert at it. There we go.

SPEAKER_01

Well, thank you for joining us, brother. I appreciate you hanging up, brother. Thank you so much for all the people that I that watched this episode of Rare Wave. And uh, we will see you guys next time. Yeah, friend father figures, bro. If you need memory.