Club Shay Shay - Best of Club Shay Shay with DaBaby, DJ Khaled, Ric Flair, Trevor Ariza and Cordae
Episode Date: December 2, 2023This special episode recaps some of the best moments from Club Shay Shay during the month of October. 0:00 - DaBaby explains why he played rugby over football and basketball, talks the different advic...e of 50 Cent and Kanye West and dealing with his brother committing suicide & father's death 14:02 - Trevor Ariza spills the tea as James Harden’s former teammate On how Harden was in the locker room, talks James Harden being seen in strip clubs & popping bottles in Las Vegas and the Clippers’ early struggles with Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Harden 29:20 - Ric Flair Ric Flair does NOT include The Rock on his wrestling Mt. Rushmore but says who is, shares insane Andre the Giant stories and tearfully shares the heartbreaking story of discovering his son after tragically dying from an overdose 45:45 - DJ Khaled talks Rick Ross And Lil Wayne didn’t hear Jay-Z’s "God Did" verse until the song was released, thanking Jay-Z for performing at the Grammys with Khaled and his secrecy after making music 1:03:44 - Cordae shares his message to Megan Thee Stallion after Tory Lanez incident, talks advice he received from J. Cole and explains living with his manager to save money #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The guy that's stopping by for conversation on the drink today is a Grammy nominated artist, a gold and platinum selling chart topping artist,
international rap star, fearless performer, songwriter and a father coming to the club today.
The baby. How you doing you doing well you played rugby yeah
i did i never knew they had rugby teams in the south they don't my school it wasn't even an
official team it was like a club team so to speak so we ain't even really we wasn't even named after
our school my team wasn't the same colors or whatever but i definitely played rugby though
that's how the hell you how did not basketball not football rugby basketball our basketball coach
used to make you uh he made all the players.
Shout out to Coach Rob, man.
I ain't, look, if he see this, because I'm sure he a fan of you.
But he used to make, I don't know why you used to do that, Coach Rob.
He made kids cut their head like they in the military.
What?
I had braids at the time.
I'm like, nah, which my mom ended up making me cut anyway.
I got a little slick at the mouth one day.
She say, as soon as you get home from school, you cutting that off.
She stood on it.
I got home.
She said, yeah, get in the car.
You know what I'm saying?
You know, I ended up cutting them anyway, but that's why I didn't move forward.
I would go to tryouts every year and everything.
Make the team, and then, you know, you come back.
Once they make the cuts, the next day.
But you already knew, baby.
First day of practice, I'm not showing up.
That's when you got to have that help.
Well, then why you keep going out? Well, you know that man. First day of practice, I'm not showing up. That's when you got to have that help. Then why you keep going
out? Well, you know that man. For the fun, I still like to play
the game. And then football, I ain't
even football. You know what I, and this
is a damn shame. Aside from
the summers, right?
Football, you know, you got to do, they
start practicing in the summer. That was, that was
a problem for me. I'm like, you know, alright,
cool. And, uh,
but then they also used to have to, and this is crazy because I love to wear dress clothes now when they
start to dress up okay I didn't like that I'm wearing no suit no tata you
know I'm saying like I ain't get comfortable with that side of my swag
and right now I was a grown-ass man right what I'm saying right mm-hmm so
you played you you went out for the football team you didn't like to dress
it up what position did you play when I I played, so when I played, I played for the football team, right?
And this is my life.
This really was the turning point of it.
Really with me and on hindsight, this right now, sitting here thinking about this,
this when I, you know, I come to this realization.
It's more about just, you know, I don't know if I did good with discipline early on like I think I would you know
if I feel like discipline is being when I feel like ego is being incorporated into discipline
you get what I'm saying I ain't compatible with that you know what I'm saying so if it's
because I remember I was on the team it was it was eighth grade I was no it was seventh grade
because it was only two seventh graders that made the team James Martin Middle School our team was
the truth too undefeated right James Martin itin two seventh graders made the team it was me and one other uh
one other one other kid that made the team name was dorian the details in this to let you know
it's a thousand percent facts the name was dorian i ain't seen this in 20 years 30 years you know
what i'm saying it was me and dorian we made the team two seventh graders and i had a math teacher
she was bad too she was fine named Miss Davis she gonna
see you looking at the math teacher in seventh grade she was bad talk like Rihanna she was from
the islands and stuff I remember like it was yes a lot of people gonna see this they gonna bounce
like she was Miss Davis was bad but Miss Davis I don't know why you did this see I could have been
a professional athlete see what I'm saying um and and you know the bell i don't know how it
was you know i mean i'm sure you you know i mean you excel you know i mean in in sports your whole
life the bell will ring sooner for football players so they can break off before the school
break out at the end of the day and get to practice you know what i'm saying right the bell
rung they made the bell run for football players they made announced football i get up you know i'm
in her class for the last period. I get up and start.
I do it.
I'm supposed to pack up, go to football.
And she's not, why are you packing up?
I ain't tell you you can pack up.
I'm like, this was supposed to go on.
You know, man, you know, and let me not make this a thing.
But I know, you know, certain teachers, when people having a bad day,
somebody could be having, it's sort of like that thing.
When the person in authority having a bad day, somebody could be having, it's sort of like that thing, when the person in authority having a bad day, and then they
exhort their power.
Exactly.
It's that type.
But I'm that type.
I was that type of kid.
I'm going to ask you, what's wrong?
What's going on today?
You having a bad day?
Why you... You feel me?
This is what I do every day.
This is what I'm supposed to do.
You get what I'm saying?
So what's different today?
What's different today is how you feeling.
You know what I'm supposed to do. You get what I'm saying? So what's different today? What's different today is how you feeling. You know what I mean?
And she called herself making an example out of my ass.
Walked her fine ass to the coach out there with a foot.
And she bad.
I told you this is not right.
So the coach, he's sweet on her, of course.
This nigga tell me.
We had this hill.
We had this infamous hill at our school.
You know what I mean?
In the back by the football field. Yeah, you got to run 30 hills our school. You know what I mean? In the back by the football field.
Yeah, you got to run 30 hills.
What?
You get it?
I say, who?
I say, who?
They ain't never see me again.
They ain't never see me again.
Never mind.
It's that words.
Who?
Who?
Never see me again.
I'm cool on that.
This is what you got to do with the play for the football.
Deal with people's attitudes.
It ain't got nothing.
Oh, no, I'm straight.
I'm cool.
You know what I mean? That was in that was your football I was already selling my little
candy I'd have been you know I've been I got two cell phones first of all right Miss Davis I got
two cell phones eighth grade or not I still ain't got nothing right right but I you know I got
something figured out to have two cell phones I pay for when eighth grade but you know I ain't
if I gotta do that in order to you know what I'm saying to do this then it ain't you know it ain't the same thing to me no more so yeah that was the
end of it's long story short when you went through what you meant went through 50 cent was there
how did he help you deal with the adversity that you were going through because you were at the
apex of your career you're talking about 400 400 easy all throughout the schedule 400
bands a show calendar look like it got tattoos on it what everyday you couldn't even book me for
that year this happened when july i would book till january and we wasn't taking no dates after
then it's like y'all gotta hold on we might be we gonna be getting a million the show by that time
no dates after then. It's like, y'all gotta hold on.
We're going to be getting a million a show by that time. We ain't fooling
with y'all. I'll call us in January.
It was like that, but
most importantly, man,
the most important thing being
he wasn't
ashamed of wrapping his arm
around me. You get what I'm saying? Right.
Not only that, I feel like what hit home
the most was him being a person who
had controversial experiences throughout his career and and being a
he's a person that was able to navigate through yes and get on the other end of
it that them them three factors alone was was enough for a person like me I
only need one of them three factors that you know I'm saying I'm fairly indebted
to anybody to do for me in any way big or smile that, that's how I rock, you know what I'm saying?
But nah, he a real solid dude, man.
Really put his arm around me, really put any opportunity in front of me that he could put
in front of me and didn't care about how it affected him.
You get what I'm saying?
Right.
A lot of people that I didn't help, that I done been a major part of what they got going
on, but because what I got going on right now could potentially affect what they got
going on.
Right, right, right.
I didn't turn-
They pick up the phone and call you but they ain't doing it publicly.
I done went from a liability, I mean from an asset, from the biggest asset they'd
never had to a liability.
I see completely different people, you get what I'm saying?
That was never the case with him and he stood nothing to gain.
He stood nothing to gain.
A lot of these is people that gained from me directly or have already gained from me.
He's stood nothing to gain, you know what I mean, the entire time, even to this day.
You're going through what you're going through.
Kanye West brought you out.
Him too.
That's another one.
He lost 30 million.
Just like that.
Quick.
Kanye lost a billion.
When you have conversation, what's those conversations like?
Because you went through what you went through.
He's going through what he went through. Yeah. So what's those conversations like because he's going you went through what you went through he's going through what he went through yeah so so what what's the conversation like damn man what we helped up with 50 would fit over like the how i lead out the conversation of
course with 50 is more the conversations they more they was more uh uh strategic more controlled you
know what i mean i didn't did this before. My boy Kanye, it's war with
him. My boy ready for
war. He don't get it.
My boy Kanye, that's really him now.
He ain't putting on no, that ain't no facade.
That's really him. Him is more so like,
you know, like he fed up with
this with the way it go. You know what I mean? Like he,
you know, it got him mad
the way they doing. You know what I'm saying?
Same thing with 50 that too
But what Kanye is more like respond to it like this with 50 is more like
More like you know it's more like this you need this like this right there
It's like you know I mean then then you'd be good. You know I'm saying what kind is more like now you be
Yeah, I'm saying like war you like both of my language
You know I'm saying like I'm kind of like, we both do war. And both of them are my language. You know what I'm saying?
I'm kind of like the hybrid between both of them.
Both of them different methods.
You know what I'm saying?
But definitely, that's the difference in the conversation between the two.
You dealt with some loss in your life.
Your brother.
Absolutely.
Your father.
How did that impact you?
How did that...
Because you mentioned three boys.
I'm assuming, and pardon me if my assumptions are off, that you were close with your brother.
Absolutely.
Because the three of y'all, you say your mom worked a full-time job, part-time job.
And so basically, y'all raising each other.
Absolutely.
You get what I'm saying?
How did the loss of your dad and your brother impact you?
Man, tremendously.
But at the same time, you know, and like I said, I've been working my documentary lately really finishing that up finishing it up so i've been exploring these thoughts and doing
a lot of self-reflection lately because a lot of these you know emotions and and the trauma that
come along with these experiences and these experiences i didn't experience this at the
height of my when my father passed it was two three weeks after i dropped my debut project uh
baby on baby you know what i'm saying and my first of tour, that's when I find out he passed.
I fly in to lay him to rest and fly out the same night, go right back on tour.
You get what I'm saying?
And go on to dedicate an album that was number one, a number one album, Kirk, dedicated to him.
But I really, and this is something I didn't just notice while self-reflecting, finishing up my documentary.
But I always suppress these emotions.
You get what I'm saying?
I suppress these feelings and distracting myself from them, you know what I mean?
And from the healing process by just pouring, putting that much more energy into my hustle.
You get what I'm saying?
And everything I had going on.
But that's unhealthy.
You know what I mean?
That I end up becoming a ticking time bomb waiting to go out.
You know what I mean?
So you'll
see a certain situation where I go from zero to 100 that's why well I'm still you know I mean
what I've been to hear about my brother or my dad you know I mean like so that's it's completely
unhealthy to deal with it that way but on hindsight I'm just not realizing that's the way I went about
dealing with these things and even furthermore I realize I've been doing that my whole life
since the kid.
You know what I mean?
A four-year-old ain't supposed to know how to suppress the way they feel in order to survive.
You get what I'm saying?
That ain't nothing for no kid.
You know what I mean?
My oldest daughter, six, I can't imagine her suppressing the way she feel in order to survive.
Feeling like she got to do that in order to survive.
You get what I'm saying?
Like, ain't no way.
You know what I'm saying? Like, ain't no way. You know what I'm saying? Like, ain't no way. But when I think about it and I think about the fact that, you know, our circumstances, our environment,
you know, everything, ultimately, like, that's what that became.
That became something so natural to me at such an early age
and stuck with me all the way to, you know, me being a grown man.
You know what I'm saying? Grown man with kids and just to, you know, me being a grown man, you know, I'm saying grown man with kids.
And just now, you know, having to get parked, you know, I'm saying like on top of the world in terms of, OK, where I'm at and from where I'm at compared to where I came from.
Right. On top of the world. Right. But God having to pull that front, pull that chair from up under me and park me, park my ass like now.
Hold on, bro. You know, deal with what you got to deal with heal you get what i'm saying and then move forward and then see how much you
know how much further you can move forward once you then finally quit you know i mean suppressing
the way because i'm better at it than others right you get what i'm saying like i always knew how to
do that i got other family members like my brother is an example you like you know he it took him
overboard you know what i'm saying his his experiences his, you know, it took him overboard. You know what I'm saying? His experiences,
his trauma, what have you,
it took him overboard
the way it took his own life.
You know what I'm saying?
With me, you know,
everybody in good
is suppressing it
and, you know,
and got that hustle
to where they hustle
to keep them busy enough
to stay distracted from it.
Like, I really still got
real deal people
that I'm responsible,
you know,
for taking care of them.
My brother had four kids i'm
responsible that's a responsibility of mine you know what i mean but who's to say that they able
to suppress and the last thing i want them to do is grow used to suppressing these emotions knowing
the possible negative outcome today you know what i mean later on in life so you know it's like i
gotta be there i can't it's like i almost feel as as if I don't got time to hang my head or what have you.
Then I got this mission that I'm on.
I was the number one artist in the world, top streaming artist in the world, top streaming rap artist in the world when my brother committed suicide.
You deal with what I'm saying?
I still got, you know, this responsibility to continue to see this through.
And you know what I mean?
See it through and make sure it is what it is. And my people get what they supposed to get from it. And we all get what we supposed to get from it. You know what I mean see it through and make sure it is what it is and my people get what they supposed to get from it and we all get
we supposed to get from it you know I'm saying so it's like you know I'm the
head I'm the head of the family you know what I mean and this is it's almost like
you know it take real deal experiences and it take time to self reflect and and
you know and it take experiences like me you know going through what i done went
through over the past couple years career wise in order to hey quit using this to run from what
you got going on i'm really running i'm calling it suppressing it what i'm gonna call it strong
but i don't know how you do it i don't know how you do it bro you're the strongest but i don't
know how you do it i don't know how you do it i really ain't strong that's really a weakness
i'm really running from it you know i mean strength is is and this is all stuff i just not came to realization about strength is dealing with it head on healing from
it and moving forward from it that's a that's a display of strength you get what i'm saying
running from this person you didn't think you could you did what i'm saying to run it from
it's the president you ain't really overcoming it that's still something that's there you're running
so while i'm out here you know what i mean it looked like boy he's strong he doing this he's
still holding down he He's still providing.
But boy, when the cameras go off on by myself, I'm messed up out here.
You get what I'm saying?
Like, I ain't got nothing to smile for when I get along by myself. And the guy that's stopping by for conversation and a drink today is an 18-year NBA vet.
He's a champion of the 2009 Lakers.
He's top 30 all-time in steals.
One of the original 3 and D guys. A
UCLA alum. A part of the 2004 Pac-10 all-freshman team. 2003 Mr. California basketball. California
high school state champion. He's LA through and through. Trevor Reason. Let's talk about the
Clippers situation. Recently they acquired James Harden. So now you pair James Harden with Russ, who Russ
was playing extremely well. And he's
been playing well since he got to the Clippers
last year. You got Kawhi,
you got PG. Do you
think they needed James Harden?
And what's going on? Why hasn't it been able
to mesh so far?
So in basketball
or in team sports, as
you know, chemistry is the biggest thing that you have to
overcome right james didn't go through training camp with them so he didn't get a chance to like
to even get acclimated to what they're doing um it's going to take a while for them to figure
out what they're doing period you know they've been going through injuries throughout their seasons. We're having PG and Kawhi already.
So hopefully this year, somewhere 20 games, they'll get a chance to mesh together and figure it out.
Does someone need to come off the bench? Can all four of those guys start?
No, they can't really. I mean, that's just the reality of shit.
It's not an all-star game.
Right.
So what they got to figure out is how, who, and what.
Who's going to have the ball.
Right.
Who's going to play a role.
Right.
Who's going to sacrifice.
And, you know.
Well, how hard is it?
Because James Hart has been an MVP.
Russell Westbrook has been an MVP. Kawhi Leonard is a two-time finals MVP.
Paul George has been an all-NBA player.
So you're trying to bring all these personalities together.
And like you said, Russ and James need the ball.
Now, who's going to have the ball late in the ballgame?
Good thing I don't have to worry about that.
But that's the question that they have to figure out as a team like
the for 10 games do i have the ball or does james have the ball for 10 games do russ have the ball
does why have the ball does pg have the ball like how do you figure that out right that's that's
kind of like i guess as a team who's going to impose their will right who's going to be the
the dominant player to be like nah let me see because i'm going
to will us to this but that don't seem like wise personality now i could be wrong you played against
him but when i look at him from a distance he doesn't seem like a guy that's going to call a
team meeting says hey this is what needs to happen he doesn't seem the guy that's going to bring the
bring the huddle together and says guys look we're going to run this right here you're going to get
me the ball right there,
and I'm going to go make it.
He doesn't strike me.
I could be wrong.
Like I said, I'm just looking at it from a distance.
He doesn't strike me as that.
That seems more like a Russ to say,
okay, this is what we're going to do
as opposed to anyone else.
You know him.
You played against him for decades.
Who is like that?
Let me see.
I would have to say Russ probably is more of like an alpha when I look at that
group but again that might not necessarily be true. Um knowing
Kawhi, I know he's a he is a dog like in every aspect of the
word so um they gotta figure that **** I'm just happy. Happy you're not on the team having to try to figure that shit out. I'm just happy.
Happy you're not on the team, happy to try to figure it out along with them.
Yeah, for sure.
So when you heard Harden says, I'm not his system player, I'm the system,
I'm a system, considering that you're not going to be the James Harden that was in Houston because you got three other all-stars with you.
And I don't believe he's that same player because I think some of his James Harden that was in Houston because you got three other all-stars with you. And you're not,
I don't believe he's that same player because I think some of his athleticism has Wayne.
And like you said,
he didn't get a training camp.
So he's not in the peak condition to be able to get by people.
Kawhi ain't finna let you,
Kawhi ain't finna stand around and let you be the system.
PG ain't gonna stand around and let you be the system.
So how does James change his way of thinking in order to make this thing work?
Well, I think that's up to them players.
If he's coming in with that mentality, it's up for them to change it.
Okay.
Like if I'm going into a situation and I've been the guy like my whole career
and my whole time, the only way I'm changing it is somebody make me
change it right and if that's you know the stance he's gonna take it's up for
that team to figure out how they're gonna get him to come into whatever
they're doing to to switch that up if not they gonna have a problem you know
what you're the perfect person that I got you here you play with James Harden
Houston yeah what's he like in the
locker room because we hear these stories staying over late in a city going to vegas in off days
what's james harden like james what i guess what people don't know is james will work his ass off
like after practice he's running sprints uh before practice he's shooting he's getting his treatment
he's lifting weights after games uh what he doing his personal life and his personal business that's
that's up to him like nobody should give a fuck about that you cool with that so you cool if he
like opt out he's heading to vegas or you know because you know you see like i mean from the
videos now you like i said that social media gets you in trouble but because they put everything on
social media he in the club, he popping bottles,
he got them honeys around him. Is that
conducive for winning a championship?
Because at the end of the day, for him,
that's the only thing that's left to prove.
He's done proven he's one of the best players. He's the top
75 player. Where you want to rank him
as far as two guards, obviously
the two top spots belong to Jordan and Kobe.
So if you want to say he's better than Wade,
a lot of people are going to fight you on that and say Wade is the third best
because Wade got championships and yada, yada, yada.
But he's a top whatever you want to say.
Only thing left is a championship.
Can you win?
Should he?
Like, you know what, guys?
I done got this part in.
I'm going to be able to get that part in again.
Let me go on and get this championship.
Let me focus on this. I'm going to give up the strip club I mean I know that
hard but you know I'm gonna give up some of them like you said you told your son he's got a
sacrifice what's it worth to you yeah um some people I guess some vices work for people you
know and trying to change a player's game in a ninth inning, that's not going to help nobody.
Right. Right. So, you know, however he decides to live his life, if it comes a time where he feels like he wants to make a change, that's on him.
Right. And like everybody's going to have an opinion.
So the idea for us as athletes, fuck everybody else's opinion on what I got to do.
As long as I'm doing what I need to do and helping myself or helping my team doing the things that
I've been doing, I can't really listen to what anybody else have to say. The peanut gallery is
always going to be that. Right. How difficult is it for a player to change his off-court behavior when he's had success
doing it that way basically his entire career it's gonna be tough it's hard you got to get
humbled in a way right you know and a lot of the times when people uh stumble across things that
humble them they start to look for ways to change and to fix things. I mean, he goes to Houston.
He had individual success, and he had some great players.
He had Chris Paul.
He had Dwight Howard.
He had, okay, it didn't work there.
Well, I want out.
For whatever reason, I don't know the reason, but he wanted out.
He goes to Brooklyn.
He has KD.
He has Kyrie.
It doesn't work.
For whatever reason, I don't know the reasons.
He goes to Philly.
He has arguably the...
I think Jokic is the best player
in basketball, let alone big.
I think he's the best player.
Jokic is one of the best, but
I feel like right now Anthony Edwards
is the best player right now.
On his team?
Anthony Edwards is a fucking dog.
He's the best player
on the Timberwolves.
Yeah, I agree with that.
I feel like he's the best
player in the league right now.
He's my favorite player
in the league right now.
How about that?
Why?
Why didn't it work
in those places for James?
Think about what
KD's the top
as an All-75 player.
Chris Paul is
an All-75 player.
I think, I believe,
for me personally,
I think Dwight Howard should have been
on the 75th anniversary team. I agree.
Why didn't it work?
I mean, it don't work for everybody all the time.
A lot of people don't win.
And the team that
we had in Houston was a really good fucking team.
We just ran into
the best team of the decade at the time.
You had them down 3-2
trap! Yeah. And then one of the decade at the time right you know so you had a 9-3-2 trap yeah and then
one of the top 75 players first ballot hall of famers got hurt right you know and you know it
we i don't know on the money there's a situation when when chris paul and james
harding they were in houston there was a timeout and Chris was trying,
I guess Chris was trying to tell him something and James Harden slapped his hand. You were in
the, so what, what's going through your mind when you see that happen?
What's going, let me see. I got to think back to the play. When was that? Do you know?
I wasn't in the playoffs. Okay okay so probably in a playoff situation
um chris is a communicator through all things right james isn't much of a communicator um
so i think with chris being more of a communicator and james more of an art i get it you know let's
move on i think um in a situation like that, it's just two difference of opinions on how shit should go.
How was your interactions with Daryl Murray?
Daryl. Daryl is, I guess, a businessman.
You know, he's not a bad dude. He's just, you know, he is a businessman.
And he's going to do what's best for the business at all
times because if you think about it he gave james harden the max when i'm not so sure a lot of other
teams would have been willing to give a sixth man the max and gave up you know gave up you know
compensation to get him i don't think he got the max when they got him.
Well, he got the max for what he could get.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so now, Darren Mars in Houston,
he builds everything around James.
James is cooking, wins MVP, yada, yada, yada.
Going to All-Star, he's All-NBA.
He's making a name for himself.
He was like saying he might be a better scorer than Jordan.
He might be a better scorer than Kobe. He goes to, you know, than Kobe um he goes to you know Philly you know he's like I want him in Philly and they
bring him to Philly what happened how did it sound between Darryl Murray and Arden uh but that
situation you know I don't never really speak on other people's situation like that so I don't
really know but what I do know is
get in the max he earned that but however many times he got it he earned
that but and I know for the time that he was the MVP or scoring all the points he
earned the league and those teams he played for a shit ton of money and this
is a business right so and as far as like the business aspect he checked that
box off right when it comes to doing what he needed to do um us as competitors and athletes
the thing that he hasn't done is win a championship but every great player don't win all the time right
so we gotta kind of not really i mean we can't judge him on that. Right. But is it really, really, really fair to judge an individual on if they're going to win a championship if it's a team sport?
Right. So my my my thing to you, as you start to get older, you realize that you have less time.
Should he have given money back to Philly? Fuck no.
There's no such thing as giving money back to Philly? Fuck no. What? There's no such thing
as giving money back. Right. No, because
they're not, when they take it from us, when they
finance, they don't give it back. Right. So,
no. And see, I, and I think
that might be the crooks because, you know,
hey, if you take less money, we'll be
able to get this player, but you taking
money from a millionaire,
but a billionaire
got it. Not even that. It's not his job to fix or work
through the salary cap right it's the general manager and that franchise's job to figure out
the best way to work and construct that team through the through the salary cap and if you
decide to give a player the max it's not his job to give money back now you know but nah fuck now let me ask you this you've been a part of culture we hear the term
culture or the heat culture I mean the Patriot way and this and the back being
a part of a winning culture and a losing culture what's the biggest difference
habits things that people are gonna accept your team holding you
accountable your teammates holding you accountable that your teammates, holding you accountable.
That's number one.
If your teammates don't hold you accountable,
then you know,
you don't really,
you're going to,
you're going to be a bad organization.
If you don't have no vets,
wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast,
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This is their window right now.
This is their Super Bowl window.
Why would they trade him away?
Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl.
I don't know why, Colleen.
Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day.
Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app,
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The referee, the coach, the expert.
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You're going to be a shitty organization.
So why are teams so willing to get rid of vets?
Because I've heard a lot of people,
not just basketball, but in football also,
the older guys that's trying to kind of
show the younger guys how and how not to do things.
So why are teams and franchises
so willing to move on from this
and have oh we got eight guys that's under the age of 20 probably because they're cheaper okay
i mean it's a business right at the end of the day and your bottom line is what's important
now this is just my thought process it ain't it might not be you know what it is but i would
think that's that's the reason whose responsibility is it to create
that culture is it the star player is it the coach is it the general manager is it the franchise
whose responsibility is that i think the responsibility is the organizations led through
the coach through your vets that's i, the pecking order it should be in.
But I definitely believe that the fact that there's not a lot of vets
in the league anymore and throughout all sports,
I think that kind of helps bad teams stay bad.
Right.
How disciplined, you know, you hear that.
Now, I don't believe any successful,
I don't believe you can be successful without discipline.
Fact. Which requires you to do your very best when no one else is watching.
So how hard is it to be disciplined, hold people accountable while still having fun?
Being able to put everything in it in the right place, compartmentalize, you call it.
called part mentalize yeah call it yeah understand there's a time and a place for everything when you when you commit to something that's first and foremost
you're gonna have fun doing what you're doing if you love what you're doing
right it's gonna be for ya so a basketball should be fun cuz that's what
you wanted to do your entire life exactly so everything else is extra
club Shay Shay the guy that's stopping by for conversation and a drink today is world renowned.
He's arguably the greatest professional wrestler of all time.
He's been wrestling for over 50 years.
The most decorated, celebrated world champion in sports entertainment history.
A 16-time world champion.
The only man to be a two-time WWE Hall of Fame inductee.
An international icon.
A limousine ride. Jet flying. Kid stealing, wheeling, son of a gun.
Woo!
I thank y'all for that red flag.
Give me your Mount Rushmore of wrestlers.
Well, my Mount Rushmore, see, it's hard to do,
because I obviously love the old guys, but in a contemporary world,
it's Undertaker, Hogan, Austin, and Shawn Michaels.
Okay.
Cause Shawn is the greatest of all time.
Really?
Yes.
Better than you?
Yep, yep.
Not talking, but in the ring.
Right.
I gotta, I can't, I can't.
You gotta give it up to him.
I knew that the day I came home,
and my little son said, can you go moonsault?
I said, why?
Why, why, why?
Shawn Michaels can.
So what was it like when you, when your first match against Andre the Giant?
What was that like when they told you, okay, Rick?
It was so ridiculous.
Cuz he's a mass, a mountain of a man.
He just take me over there like he said boss
just have a relax normally i would say i used to say the big show right
big show tells a story can i use some of my graphic language sure go ahead that's all if
it's too bad we'll no no i would go with the big show sell your balls and your eyes that's all you
need to do right so like you want ball shot big show drop to his knees he's my size right boom boom i can actually work with him right
but when he's standing up not a chance right blind him he can turn to turn out my blind me
when i poke him blind eye walk away from me and anybody 120 pound uh defensive back you clip a guy
you start to think of a logic
because no one's going to believe
not going to have a test of strength
and he's a great athlete
he played basketball at Wichita State
who's bigger
Big Show or Andre?
Andre, 540
he was that
they tell the story of him drinking 102
cans of beer six of them downtown er and Charlotte North Carolina and Frank
Vaughn drink 56 that was his original manager I I was really looking listening
to his documentary and they and he was so massive and he was going to have surgery and they didn't really know how much anesthesia to give him.
And it's like, well, they said, well, he can drink. I think they said two fifths of vodka.
And it's like, OK. And so they deduce two fifths of vodka and still walk.
I mean, for a man to be drink two fields of vodka or
102 cans of beer and stand up and walk out of a bar that's not that's not
normal Rick no well he doesn't think a couple of times he fell down well who
got him up well they didn't know what happened they took him to his room in
Boston when I'm and he fell down on top of Pedro Morales in between he was
caught between the bed. And Pedro
couldn't get up underneath him. He literally
fought like it had
500 pounds on top of you.
And all you can do is try to nudge the bed
over.
He was...
He just falls asleep. They just leave him in the lobby.
So
how do you like, okay,
Andre, Rick's going to win tonight or this guy's gonna win
because nobody can really beat him if he didn't want to lose no exactly he didn't
so was he was he and here is the thing harley was the suplex yeah and i would say you'll like
the story of william granger one time and he he was harleyed and slammed him and Harley stood him up.
Yeah. And I go to Harley, did you ask him if you could do that? I mean I was so,
Harley had this unreal, not a weight lifter but that body strength. Yes, yes. And I said
did you ask Hunter if you could do that? He said, you got a Marlboro, why not? Ask him what? I said, did you ask Hunter you could do that? He said, got a marble, why not?
Ask him what?
I said, slam, suplex, kick out on two.
So he told him what was going to happen?
It was that simple.
Nobody argued with Harley.
Nobody.
So what are some of your favorite locker room moments
oh just the camaraderie you know you you know a good locker room or a bad one right yep when you're
winning everybody's in a good mood i don't know i i just i don't know that my thing is i just want to be happy i want to get along
it's hurt me financially to say that but rather than argue about it every night right just beat me
right okay if i got to fight you for my pay i mean it takes all the fun away from doing it right
you're not having fun you have been days i'm sure when you go i don't want to do this right i don't want to fight with him i don't want to be part of it
did was it hard to be in a locker room or wrestle someone that you didn't like or did you not or did
you get along with everybody oh there are a couple guys i didn't get along with it but you know you
don't yeah just you just internalize you don't bring that to work though. No, you can't
Just make yourself miserable
the move so
Your move was the figure four. Yes
How did you come up with that move? I?
Got that from buddy to mm-hmm that actually Jack Briscoe, right? I did ask Jack if I could use it, right?
Jack was great.
Jack and Jerry Briscoe. Jack and Jerry. This is Jack Briscoe, junior year, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State.
Right. Right. Thirty one and oh, thirty one pins. No one scored a point on him.
Wow. He was going to the Olympics and he got a girl pregnant.
You know, back then that took that took precedent. Yeah, you got it. You got a job. Yeah
31 at all. No one took him down Wow
Yeah, I mean I think about that when I talk to Jerry and Jerry's still tougher now much to this day. Mm-hmm. I
See Jerry quite a bit
How many different wrestlers do you think you've wrestled over your career?
God, everybody.
Not the new guys now, but I never missed anybody.
Yeah, cuz I remember you wrestling from like you said, Black Jack Mulligan,
Hulk Hogan, Sergeant Slaughter, Andre the Giant,
Bobo Bozell, Abdullah the Butcher, Dusty Rose,
Wahoo, Mr. Wrestling number one, number two, Baron Von Raskin.
Baron Von Raskin, the great Baron.
Yeah.
So how do you, how, what difficult was it to go from good guy to heel back and forth?
Because you're one of the few guys that could do it, right but i was i hated being a good guy did you yeah i could i don't have any i don't
have that i don't drop kick right right and i did all i got all i really have is a good guy
is a chop and a woo right i mean i i still rather be taking the bumps i'm better you're ready i'm
much better at being a heel.
I mean, I'm looking at, you know, Andre the Giant, Sting, Randy Savage, Lex Luger, the Giant, Kevin Nash, Undertaker, Stone Cold, Big Show, Triple H, Booker T, The Rock, Roddy Piper.
Who's who?
To name a few.
To name a few.
And a lot of them are younger generations.
And a lot of them, our younger generations, like I said, we go back and you talk about Abdul Labutcher, Bobo Brazil, Thunderbolt Patterson, the Junkyard Dog, all those guys.
Tony Atlas.
Yeah.
That was a rivalry.
Oh, yeah, Tony.
I broke him in the business.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Tony, a state high school champion from Roanoke, Virginia.
Mm-hmm.
So what was your favorite match?
I've seen Tony.
Close grip, right?
Right.
Bench press 505 for eight reps.
He was unbelievable.
The tricep.
Mr. World, I think he won one year.
If I'm not mistaken, I think maybe a couple of years ago I saw him still wrestling.
Tony?
I don't know.
He's about your age, isn't he?
He's younger than me, but I broke him in.
Yeah.
He's probably in his 60s though.
Late 60s?
Or mid, yeah.
Yeah, so what was your favorite match to be a part of?
One match you says, you're gonna remember this match forever.
you remember this match forever um because they bring it up only every year the the um either the i quit match i had with terry funk in new york class champions or the match with steamboat or
first night i met jim harbaugh in 89 called chi town rumble where I dropped the title of steamboat right
so how did when you go into a match how did they decide like okay Rick tonight you're gonna lose the belt okay Rick tonight you're gonna keep the belt how did how did they come to that decision
for motor just ask you and you do it see that's why I'm the 16 champion technically I've won a title 21 times right
you know I told you about about when we were in New Zealand right I'm wrestling Harley Harley
goes to me let's yeah I wish you could have met him I guess you let's do Ricard Steve Ricard was
a promoter right a favor and you drop the title to me tonight.
But that wasn't what was playing.
No, but he just called it.
What am I going to say, Harley Race?
And you pick her back up tomorrow and then we head back to the States.
I said, well, now I'll get in trouble.
He said, no, no, no.
Who's going to tell him here?
I'll tell Ricard if he says a word.
I'll come back and see him personally.
Sure enough, they found out.
So that's 16, 17.
Right.
Then I had the same thing in San Domingo with Jack Veneno.
Right.
The hot potato.
Been a full-scale riot.
He was trying to give me the
belt i said i want the belt keep it and then i would went to go back and get it right and then
same thing in um the islands were rough trinidad with brody right brody was a big tough guy boy
your son's death yeah she she she actually fulfilled his dream that's kind of her you found
him you found your son correct yes so because he was gonna be the wrestler he
was gonna fall in daddy's footsteps he was gonna take on the flare lineage and
keep this thing going how did that impact you read killed me
How did that impact you, Reed?
Killed me.
Did you know he was dealing with these demons?
He'd been on life support four other times.
Oh, man.
Four other times.
You try to get him help, stays clean for a month. Ten rehab centers.
Nine or ten. I think it's ten.
You're from Phoenix to Colorado.
One time he lost complete, complete.
He was on his right leg.
That's right in the center of Colorado where he was mountain climbing in a rehab facility. The last time before he died, his oxygen level, you know,
the thing to put everybody right, was at 42. The doctor called me and said,
when I call the minister, when he wakes up he'll be brain dead if he makes it i said yeah and i went in the
room and i went and told everybody he woke up nothing wrong the doctor looked at me
an indian doctor right from india i mean indian he goes you just saw you just saw a miracle
Indian he goes you just saw you just saw a miracle I have never seen I guess because your oxygen level just can't be that low that low for 24 hours it can't
be that low for five hours Wow that's the guy's honest truth so I was so upset
with him because he wasn't drinking buddy I've we found pills I'm just glad
I opened the door I went met my daughter I. I'm just glad I opened the door. I went
and met my daughter and I said I'm just gonna leave Reed home and I went and
opened the door. It's like the same thing you know I've seen them in purple and
they come and shoot him with Narcon and the same cops, same fire crew. I went and said
Charlotte's a small town and they came and I walked out in the hall.
And the guy said,
he said, he didn't make it.
I walked across the street to a bar,
to the Captain's Truth,
and I just drank for five years.
You blamed yourself?
Yep.
Why, because you don't think you were a father? You were more of a friend?
Yes.
What could you have done differently, Rick?
I don't know.
I traveled the world with them.
I took them to Japan and Europe.
We traveled together.
I don't know.
I don't know what could have been different. Except, you know, that's one of the only things.
It's so easy for these doctors to say,
you've got to let them bottom out, kick them to the curb.
Right.
And I just could not know.
You could not?
I could not know.
They died.
I wasn't there. because I kicked him out.
Right.
Then I can't imagine how someone would feel in that situation.
Right.
You're not welcome here.
You can't come home.
You're kicked out.
And the next day he's dead.
Right.
I don't know what's worse.
You never turned your back on him?
Never.
I mean, but that has to make you feel good.
You were fighting for him to the very end.
Yeah.
Well, you find out heroin is not an addiction.
It's a disease.
Right.
But he was doing so good, he just came back from Japan.
I brought him back to take him to WrestleMania
to watch Ashley debut.
And we were leaving, Wendy and I,
Wendy was with me, we were leaving.
And I had gotten him two gigs that weekend
before WrestleMania for $1500 a night to wrestle,
make some money while he was here.
That was it.
How's your health?
Great.
I mean, your kidneys fell.
You were placed in a medically induced coma.
And you told us earlier,
they had, for six months,
you didn't remember anything back?
Back, nothing.
But you're good now. Your't feel the horse so what's it like to be a grandfather you go you say
you have grandkids now yeah I only get to see the one alive the other ones um
are in Minneapolis my oldest granddaughter is fabulous yeah she's in she comes to visit and she's a uh sophomore at alabama right
of all places and the guy that's stopping by for a great conversation he really doesn't need any
introduction but i'm gonna give him some of his flowers right now he's a multi-talented music
producer a world-renowned dj grammy award-winning mega producer multi-platinum recording artist, a music industry visionary,
a global figure, pop sensation,
bonafide hit maker,
New York Times bestselling author.
He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,
a motivational speaker,
a guru, a positivity, a philanthropist.
Now he's a golfer, actor, entrepreneur,
record label executive, radio personality,
innovative influencer, the anthem king,
the Quincy Jones of hip hop and R.B., none other than DJ Khaled.
Khaled!
He turned the Grammys into the Holy Grail.
Yes.
He closed out the Grammys.
My brother Jay-Z did like an eight-minute verse on there with Lil Wayne, Rick Ross,
Friday, and John Legend.
When I made that record, not only was it sent from God, you know what I'm saying?
To get Hull to do that was such a blessing for him to do the song and to perform it.
He doesn't even do that for himself.
No.
I mean, you know this.
I'm not making this up.
Like, guys, like, I pinch myself when I pray and I thank.
I text Jay-Z out of nowhere and to say thank you a hundred times a month.
Just because I know this is like when we was backstage before we got on stage and we in the suits and I'm like.
You looking around.
I'm looking around like, yo, you know what I'm saying?
You see what's going on?
So those blessings, I know my fans appreciate it.
And that's what keeps me going.
Right.
My fans expect me to perform at the highest level.
Right.
And expect me to deliver.
Right.
Once I've delivered so many times so consistently throughout the years,
my fans, like right now, summertime, haven't dropped a record yet.
Right.
And they know I'm.
You do.
I am sorry.
You do.
No, I'm saying it could be winter, and I could turn it to summer.
Right.
That's what Calvin does.
That's what.
So I'm about to drop some new music soon I could turn it to summer. That's what Cali does. So I'm
about to drop some new music soon, but my fans, I hear them out there and I see them. They tell me
they're screaming, let's go golf. And they're also screaming Cali, where's the anthem? Because I know
you coming. I'm coming. You know what I'm saying? My fans is what keep me going. You know what I'm
saying? As far as the music. When you did God Dear. Yes yes did everybody come up with their own lyrics did wayne
do his own thing do his own thing it was you just set the beat yeah so god did was my man friday
okay sent me just the chords okay and him singing god did obviously i already put in the universe
you know if you follow me on social media,
they don't believe in us.
God Did?
Yes, yes.
So he came and sent me a thing with chords, and he was singing the hook of God Did.
Okay.
So I'm like, oh, man, this is dope.
So originally, I was going to keep it as an interlude, just like that with nothing.
Then I started listening to it.
I was like, nah, let's make this into a song.
So I started, we put me,
Street Runner, we put drums on
there and
music and
just turn it into like a
with no vocals on it besides Friday,
just turn it into like a masterpiece, a
musical masterpiece. So now it's just the beat.
Now we got drums on it.
Now we got instruments
on it with Friday's chords and with him singing on it.
So I sent it to Ross.
Uh-oh.
Yeah, because you know Ross is my 305 brother.
Yeah, yeah.
That's my brother.
We go way back.
You know what I'm saying?
I sent it to Ross.
Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast,
NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal.
Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps,
and analysis delivered straight to
your podcast feed by the time
you get your coffee. No dumb
hot takes here, just smart hot takes.
We'll talk every single game,
every single week, but I can't do it alone, so
I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL Media.
That's Patrick Claiborne, Steve
Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan
Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe.
This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window.
Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl.
I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day.
Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends.
And who doesn't want that?
Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey there, it's Michael Lewis, author of Going Infinite, Moneyball, The Blind Side, and Liar's
Poker.
On every season of my podcast, Against the Rules, I take a broad look at various
characters in American life. The referee, the coach, the expert. My next season's all about
fans and what the rise of sports betting is doing to them, to the teams, and even to my family.
I'm heading to Las Vegas and New Jersey and beyond to understand America's newest form of legalized gambling.
Listen to Against the Rules on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Can't get enough football? Look no further than the Good Morning Football podcast.
Join me, Jamie Erdahl, alongside Peter Schrager, Kyle Brandt, and Akbar Bajabiamila
for a daily breakdown of the league's biggest stories.
From game plan analysis and player interviews, we've got you covered for all things football.
Hey, you want to know the secret ingredient that makes Patrick Mahomes unstoppable?
Or maybe which reality show best describes the Jets season?
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Ross, if I send him something, he know, call it up to something.
Yeah.
But also, Ross will send it back that same day or that next morning, like that.
My whole career.
You know, Ross has been in every single album of mine.
Yes.
Same with Wayne.
Yes.
So I sent it to Ross.
I was in the Bahamas.
He sent the verse back.
And when he said, something put me with the sharks.
God did.
Then when he got into that mode, you know, I'm losing my mind.
I'm losing my mind.
Right.
Like, I'm losing my mind.
I'm running around.
I'm just blowing speakers. So I hit Wayne. I hit Mac Mane. my mind i'm losing no i'm losing my mind right like i'm losing my mind i'm running around i'm
just blowing speakers so i hit wayne i hit mac main i like a main mac man i need wayne you know
wayne is family to me and um he's like sent it through so i sent it to him wayne sent it back
the next morning i get wayne's verse i'm like oh my god so you know you got you i first. I'm like, oh, my God. So you know you got you. I'm like, I'm like.
I got something.
Yeah, the man talking.
He talking.
He so many bars on that.
I'm like, wow.
Right.
I'm losing my mind.
Him, Wayne.
Him, Ross.
I'm so excited.
So now.
Oh, I said, hold up.
You keep it like this.
And you can win big.
Or you could do what you do Coward
So
I took a jet
I flew to New York
I found out Ho was in New York
Ho's my brother's family
I told him I need to see him
I told him I just need 5 minutes of your time
The blessing was I had a few hours of his time
But I asked for 5
He gave me a few hours I come see him i said i would love to play you my album and i would love
for you to pick my album cover i had like three options of album covers and i wanted him to pick
it i was happy with all three of them and i was like i want to play you my album so the first
song i played was Drake, No Secret.
I set it off like that.
He's like, ooh, that's crazy.
And then it went into God did.
Uh-oh.
So now.
Uh-oh.
So while God did his playing, I'm looking at him.
I ain't asking him to get on it yet, but I'm looking at him.
OK.
And I was like, you know, I'm trying to tell him, like,
and he's listening to it.
So now you're hearing, and then the beat coming,
and then Ross coming, and he like,
then Wayne coming, he like that.
And then I purposely left an open verse for just the beat.
So now the beat is playing, and I see him doing this.
Look.
And then I started hearing him, like, rapping.
So boom, when we turn the record off he already had
like four or five bars already out the head saying already spitting some of the rhyme
so I was like y'all really need you you know what I'm saying so I was being cool so I continued to
play the album right and he's like oh this is not he nice. He was just loving the album, loving the album. Then we went back to God then.
OK.
He kept listening to that.
So now we popping champagne.
You know what I'm saying?
All you had for was five minutes.
Yeah, five minutes.
Now we popping champagne.
I'm standing in the room with a cigar.
He lighting up a cigar.
He doing this. He ain't confirmed nothing yet.
It's just a vibe.
So boom.
Make a long story short, me leaving the room.
He's like, yo, send me, God did.
Send it to me.
Like, I know what that means.
Like, you know, like send it to him.
So I'm looking at Lanny S like, you know, I got to be cool now.
I got to show my excitement.
But I still got to be like. OK, OK.
So we sent it to him.
And I'll never forget.
He texts me and goes, yo, can I have a book studio?
I think it was like book studio at 6 o'clock or 7 o'clock
or something like that.
I only got like an hour because I got to catch a helicopter
to the Hamptons.
So I'm thinking like book the studio.
He going to do it. But he going to get to it.
Like, you know, it might take it.
You know, I don't know.
Right.
But I'm going to do it.
I'm excited.
He said book studio.
That means something about to happen.
So we book studio.
He FaceTimes me.
Now, remember, he said he got an hour and he got to catch the helicopter to go to the
Hamptons.
Right.
You know, I don't know how that works over there.
Right.
It's a whole thing.
Right.
And I guess it cuts off. I don't know how that works over there. You jump in the helicopter, ambulance. It's a whole thing, right? And I guess it cuts off.
I don't know, right?
So he FaceTimes me, and the song is playing in the background.
He's rhyming.
So I'm listening to him.
He's smiling.
And I'm listening to it, and I'm hearing him spit.
I'm like, oh, my God.
But the problem is, after a minute, it ended up being two minutes.
It ended up being three minutes.
It ended up being four minutes.
It ended up being like five minutes. I'm like being three minutes. Ended up being four minutes.
Ended up being like five minutes.
I'm like looking at him.
He's like, and I'm like, what?
So forget me trying to hear the song.
I'm trying to figure out what's going on.
I just keep hearing his voice for that long.
Like I'm not expecting that.
So he says, I got to go catch the helicopter.
He's like, I did it for you.
So Guru sends me the song. So now he sends it. I'm running the studio now. I'm like like i did it for you so guru sends me the song so now he sends
out running the studio now i'm putting a blend to it and i'm losing my mind because there's so many
quotables so many bars but not even just that i felt like he told because i'm a real jay-z fan
yeah i felt like he put his whole career of flows and and and and life in one verse right you know like the the book of whole like you know
yes because you know god did and then when we was when we was when i played a record
we was i was like yo tell me what ho did and and he did you know so it was the biggest blessing in
the world to get the song done that was one thing thing. And it was, the culture went nuts, right?
But to be able to get the opportunity to perform it at the Grammys.
Yeah, man.
They shut it down.
Right.
But the thing is, for him to say yes was bigger for me than just the performance.
Right.
Right.
Because I've never seen him really do that for himself.
He did that maybe a long time ago right you know
I'm saying and that's like you know that thing you don't want to abuse the love yeah right right
you know I'm saying like even though I know it's love but it's like some things is so great right
he felt what I felt we had to do that for hip-hop right we had to do that it's 50 year anniversary but not even just that
we got to do that for hip hop it's bigger than us and we did that right so he told you he had a
minute he ended up giving you eight minutes did you like i gotta put all this i can't cut any of
this i gotta put all this on here let me me tell you, Wayne and Ross and Hov,
those are my brothers for real.
Yes.
My rap friends.
No, these are my brothers.
Right.
Family.
I've known them so long, and we really
have real stories together, real moments together.
And those are my brothers.
They never told me no.
Right.
And I would never tell them no.
Right.
But I've worked with artists.
They might want to hear, especially when you got a hove on there.
Yeah, yeah.
They might want to go fix.
Fix that.
But they know if it's Khaled, Khaled.
You know, I don't like calling people saying my records to get on as a feature.
You know how to tell somebody the other day, because I'm working on my new album,
and I said, nah, my records ain't features.
You get on a feature. My records are moments. You know what I'm saying? my new album. And I said, nah, my records ain't features. You get on a feature.
My records are moments.
You know what I'm saying?
Like, these are anthems.
They're going to talk about this forever.
Our records, when we work together, they play forever.
The time was for moments.
When we come together, that's a moment.
So when they found out that Hov was on it,
is when they had to clear the record,
meaning through their lawyers or their management. Right. So I'm sure, like, yo, Calvary got Hov was on is when I had to clear the record, meaning through their lawyers or their management.
Right.
So I'm sure like, yo, Cali got Hov on there.
You know what I'm saying?
So I'm expecting like, yo, I want to add some more stuff to it.
Nah.
And everybody was just excited about it.
And the first time they heard it is when the world heard it.
See, I work different, it see i work different shannon i work different and
some of the new artists that's working with me now they're learning how i work because some of
them don't understand that because i like to keep even the person that's on my record excited right
i i don't like people taking my record after we record. They actually take it home.
Right.
I usually, if you do, it's because of the circumstances,
I had to work in your studio or something.
Right.
But when you work with me, I don't like to let nobody have a copy of my record.
Right.
But I don't want it to leak.
Cut down leaks.
And I want you to stay excited because if you listen to it every day,
I might not come out for another six months.
Right.
I don't know.
I work off of God. God tell me when to come right? So I do that for our
protection and
To keep us excited. So when the record do come out, yeah excited as much as the fan is excited, right?
What's your own work? You know, I'm dip your chin
There's people and there's cowards. Yeah
You know, you got the jacket. Yeah, yeah you got the jacket I got a jacket in the music world
You know what I'm saying
This album I'm working on
I'm trying to
The message that I'm going to put out there
And it's like you're getting really exclusive
Because I haven't told nobody I was working on a new album yet
But I am working on a new album
Some of the message I'm going to put out there
Is that we have to learn to appreciate each other.
We have to appreciate each other as brothers and sisters.
And
because if it's gone,
don't appreciate it then. Right. It's too late.
Appreciate it when you got it.
You know what I'm saying? Because what we giving these
people is not regular.
Right. What you doing
is not regular. It's not.
Right. It's not.
There's a lot of people do what you're doing right now. They ain't doing what you're doing it's not regular it's not right it's not like there's a lot of people do what you're doing right now they ain't doing what you're doing they ain't coming with
the yellow linen and you know the glasses like that with the talk you know what i'm saying with
the pearly whites they ain't doing it i'm just telling you we different yeah right and i just
want people not to take nothing for granted because i don't you know what i'm saying i don't
take life for granted i pray to god every day i don't take my friends for because I don't. You know what I'm saying? I don't take life for granted. I pray to God every day. I don't take my friends for granted. I don't take the music I've made
for granted. I act like I just started today because I know it's special. You know what I'm
saying? I know when I'm doing something special and I know when I see something special and I
know when I hear something special. So I'm going to make sure that I love it and I treat it and
I show my appreciation. And this ain't no bullshit. Excuse my language.
This is real life.
This is who I am.
And when I make this music, I go all out for the fans.
Not just the fans that go out, go all out for the artists that's on my records.
Right.
So that's why I keep working so consistently with the biggest artists in the world because they know how passionate and how much I love this.
You know what I'm saying?
When I work with a Jay-Z or a Drake or a Lil Wayne or a Ross or a Lil Baby or
Future, I go all out, not just making it. I go all out to make sure the world can hear it.
I go out there and campaign for us. I do everything. I'm not these other guys. I'm not.
I'm sorry. Let me ask you this. We love it. We love the energy. But let me ask you this.
I heard the story that Michael Jackson, what drove him to what he did is that he kept trying to make Thriller.
Thriller was once in a generation.
It was once in a historical event.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
A lot of times historical events only happen once.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's what make them historical.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Right.
So how does DJ Khaled says, okay, if i did 15 million whatever yeah if i don't do 15
million on this one it ain't as good if it doesn't do diamond if it doesn't do this if it doesn't do
that right how do you guard against that cali well you know i you know i never worry about the numbers
um what i care about is the impact oh okay, okay. You know what I'm saying? Some records, this is what's so beautiful about music.
Some records, the impact is so big that you get all the blessings in abundance.
Right.
From the numbers.
Right.
From the impact.
And then some records, it's just impact in a different way where it comes from right here and then it just starts doing this.
It just goes everywhere and then it just becomes massive. I care about impact of it right um that's what i do when i make music like like i
have i tell other days with this artist and i said yo i don't make records that go pop you're
saying my records they just go pop because they the biggest like when you start trying to make a
pop record that means it's not like it's
like you're you're making we create over here i'm gonna be me and i'm gonna make sure i'll be true
to myself and true to my music and you love it so much that it explodes where everybody love it even
if you don't listen to hip-hop right you love it that's the type of records i try and put my energy
to make you know i'm saying and that's why they become anthems. You know what I'm saying? Even if you
wasn't listening to our music,
you heard it. You know what I'm saying?
So that's the blessing.
I think when you start worrying
about going diamond is
when you don't go diamond. I think
you go in there and you put your
best effort and you
work so hard and you pray that it connects
with the people and then there's
no limits after that.
Right.
But you have to work hard as an artist too.
You can't just think that you that cool.
Nah, I mean, I don't do that.
I work.
I work.
I work.
As I sit here and listen to you, you don't say, well, I got Jay-Z.
I mean, I got Hov.
I got Babe.
I got Lil' One.
I got Weezy.
I got Ross.
I got Drake.
Always going to do this.
No.
You go in like, hey, I might have the best players, but we're going to put this thing,
we're going to put this time in.
I got to put the time in.
And another thing, too, is it's not about getting the best players.
It's about making the best record, the great record.
Okay.
A lot of people might get a feature and get some.
I know a lot of records where they got some of the
biggest artists. It doesn't mean it's the hit.
It doesn't mean it's gold. No. It's about making
the great record. You know what I'm saying?
Every time I'm in the studio with the greats,
listen,
I'm just...
Listen, I'm good at what I do.
You know what I'm saying?
And even the greatest artists,
I try my hardest to push more greatness out of them the same way they would do it for me.
Right. Because when we're in the studio, I'm pushing so much greatness out of them and they're doing the same thing to me.
You know what I'm saying? So that's the blessing. And my goal is to continue to work with Rihanna, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Drake, Lil Wayne, Lil Baby, Future,
Charlotte, all the people I ever worked with,
the goal is to continue to work with them.
Because if you continue to work with them, that means
you did a great job the last time you worked with them.
Yes. Yes. You know what I'm saying?
So, obviously,
we have a connection and the fans
love it. And the guy that's stopping by for
conversation on the drink today is a three-time
Grammy-nominated artist.
The next time he's nominated, he's going to win.
Yes, sir.
A gold-selling artist, rapper, singer, songwriter, businessman, Cordae.
You are a member of the 2019 XXL freshman class.
You got Meg D'Estalia, and you got Blueface Gunna, the baby Roddy Ricch.
Do you follow?
Do you follow your classmates?
Yeah, to an extent for sure because
it's always like whenever we see each other like it's just always like we graduated high school
together this type of feeling you know type of vibe so whenever i see meg it's always love with
her she always admit super good energy always had even when she was going through you know that thing
with tori like she all were out sending like you know a voice note you know things of that nature but like she always was like good vibes good energies and every time I see him it's always
like last time I've seen Meg in person was at the Met Gala you know so it's just like hey
hey what's up man freshman class we here right you know just talk about you know how proud you
are with each other uh well Roddy you know we have the same A&R with Dallas shout out Dallas
um so I knew Roddy a little bit before the XXL Freshman class,
so it was like super fire and inspiring to see, okay, us meeting each other 2018. Then we both
had a show together, and the next time we seen each other, it was XXL Freshman. The next time
we seen each other, it's at the Grammys. So it's always just good to see people leveling up and see
how far they can take it, or how far they took it and how far we're gonna continue to take it so it's gonna be funny to see like
even five years from now ten years from now to see where everybody is and how
far they was able to take it and things they able to do for a family that
community it's a blessing for sure you mentioned that Meg went through what you
went through with Tori you reached out mean, what was your words of advice?
I mean, obviously,
that's someone that's a very dear friend to you
and she's going through something.
Yeah.
And from what I could read,
I don't know either of the parties,
but it seemed like
they didn't believe that, like...
And I'm thinking to myself,
why the heck is she going to lie
about somebody shot in the foot?
I mean, that's Meg.
She don't need clout.
Yeah.
I'm not trying to...
I'm not going to over-exaggerate it and say we like good friends. You know yeah I'm not trying to uh I'm not gonna over exaggerate
it and say we like good friends you know I'm not like best friends right at all but like
I'm more so of a of a supporter you know and the fact again we was on that double excel freshman
class just whenever I see her it's always good energy and so I was just like man you know God
always prevails right and it might not even have been about the Tory Lanez situation it might have
been like her she's been through a lot her losing her mother right and things of that nature but
just just let just just sending good energy out right that's it just sending good energy it's a
blessing for how did you decide the record deal that was right for you um at the time man I didn't
really do too much deciding with my like initial deal. It wasn't really too much deciding that I had to do.
If that makes sense.
You get what I'm saying?
But with the major label deal, just me sitting down with different partners.
Sylvia Rohn, she was amazing.
So again, with like that initial deal, it wasn't really too much deciding going on.
That makes sense.
You know, just like it is what it is. You take what you can get exact to an extent but whatever that's a whole
different story but with my major label deal um i think atlantic uh julie craig kaiser success
dallas all of them was um just the energy that was in the room at the time you know it was just a lot
of energy going on and they they hustlers
and they like grinding you know they like putting in that work and so I just like to be in an
environment to where like I'm a priority I love to go because a lot of even not just with a major
label you'll notice it with like an agent or lawyers a business manager what they do they name
drop they'll be like oh yeah we represent this person this person they think they're gonna get
you just because they got all these other big names.
But it's like, I'd rather go to where I am a priority, where I'm loved, versus where I'm just an extra name on the roster for you to go to other clients and get them because you're using my name.
So I'd rather go to where I'm a priority and I'm loved, you know?
I read where you are.
Is it true that you live with your manager as you are a millionaire?
You done made millions and you live with your manager.
Yeah, yeah, I was living with my manager yeah man listen dog i was just that was a tool to overextend but but yeah i definitely had a million dollars in my bank account was living
there with a manager sleeping on his couch his girlfriend was pregnant at the time i was going
to the studio you live with yourself hey it was pretty good looking at that bank account i was
like hey didn't know me tonight y'all hey, they know me tonight, y'all.
They know me tonight, y'all.
I did the same thing.
I lived with my grandmother.
I lived in the house that my brother and I got for my grandmother.
And I was a million.
Had a Ferrari parked outside.
But I woke up once like, man, I'm still living with my grandma.
I'm still living with my grandma.
My back was hurting one day.
I woke up.
My bad to cut you off.
I woke up.
That couch wasn't hitting like it was supposed to.
I'm like, yeah, I got it.
Let me get a spot real quick.
And then I was still figuring out if I even wanted to get a spot in that area.
You know?
So it was, shout out to him.
What's been your, since you've made some money, what's been your favorite, what's your favorite purchase?
Hmm.
Probably buying real estate.
Buying my mom a car, taking care of family, you know, just like, and not like taking care, taking care, because I don't want to make it seem like my whole family just like, here, Cordae, what you going to do for me?
But just like being able to be a blessing to others, you know, like truly like that's what really fills me, like being able to be like oh we can do this how do you know not how many blessings to hand out because sometimes you know you can they can thank you a godlike
figure just like the blessings are unlimited yeah absolutely um i've treated i got great advice from
jay cole from that treated like credit you know what i'm saying just like okay you don't borrow
from the bank if you ain't pay off your loan or whatever the case may be. You six. You in the five hundreds now.
But then also just not and not only blessings that we're able to present are just money.
A lot of the times the biggest blessing we able to present is opportunity.
Correct. Get let you get your foot in the door due to this because of I've done kick the door down for us.
Right. So learning to plant those type of seeds in fertile ground versus planting seeds in fertile
ground where you just keep having to plant it keep pouring your water in it but nothing's coming out
of it and so just investing in people that's going to make the most out of the opportunity versus
people that's like entitled and just going to do like the absolute bare minimum versus people like
yo because i feel like uh gratitude is just so
important man like even when somebody take care of my thing i'm like man i appreciate you i'm
starting to learn not even learn but just show gratitude at the highest level like i've always
had gratitude never had again we raising the self we say please and thank you for everything
yes ma'am no but now i'm appreciative for just this tiny man. The fact I don't had a daggone Escalade had to come and pick me up from the house to bring me here.
Right. That's a blessing. You get what I'm saying?
So being appreciative of what we almost consider small things, but are so huge.
So just having people around us, one grateful for the opportunity, gratitude.
You don't got to get down on your hands and knees every day day now but just sometimes you show appreciation with your actions as well so that's one thing i'm really learning
is learning how to plant seeds right in other people and give them opportunities for fertile
ground because that's worth a lot more than just sending you a wire you know have you had any
purchases that you regret like damn why did i buy that that was so unnecessary I bought a house in Atlanta
and I know long term it's gonna be good but man I had a car out there too I had
a house in a car and and you know thankfully I'm super blessed like I own
houses in different states some for rental properties and some just for
whenever I go back home I got somewhere to stay so I bought something in Atlanta
a crib in Atlanta a a nice crib, too,
a super nice crib.
I had a car that was just out there,
but I am never in Atlanta as much as I thought I was going to be.
And so I just shipped my car actually back in D.C. to where I'm out there a lot.
You're out there more.
So I'm just like, I'm just sitting on this carpet, you know,
but it's a blessing.
I won't even look at it as a bad purchase because it's still real estate.
I can always sell it. i can always do whatever it's whenever i got family
in town my mom don't live too far from atlanta she go just stay there etc so i won't even call
that a bad purchase um you ain't got no jewelry no watch no car no to be honest i haven't been
like suit like you know this is paddock ph Philippe. I can always get my bread back
You know what I'm saying for this now? This is a gift actually, but I don't really think I've
Spent like too much outlandish stuff cuz even on clothes like you look good. You feel good. You feel good
You do good. You do good. They pay good and then also that's the business expense. It's a write-off. Um, I
Can't really think about bad money Because even if I spent like
Say you go to the strip club one night
You drop five
It would never be an outlandish ass price
You know when you go to the club
When you go like the casino
I'm going to drop $500 maximum
You know what I'm saying
Like I go to the club
I've never spent a dollar at the strip club
What you paying a dollar slot?
You're going to be paying penis slots
No, no, no
I'll be playing the roulette tables.
Oh. $25
minimums. I ain't dropping too much on
Listen, I'll bet on myself.
Like, even on certain
music videos, like a label will be like, okay,
based on our projections,
amount of views we think this video gonna do,
we gonna give you $75,000 for this budget.
But the creative plan that I
have, the video costs $200, 000 and so i'll spend out of my own pocket the difference in that 120 g's on the
video but i look at that as investing right within my brand within my career within how i'm presenting
my visuals want to give the fans a great video so honestly man i'm not gonna lie i haven't made
like too much like really dumb purchases wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast,
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