Muse

because you just got you got to constantly be alert yeah you know especially if you live in the life like if you live in that life yeah bro if you're not focused you're gonna get outsmarted by every bitch you meet oh they'll get you they smart bro like what do you mean they're smart you gotta play chess when they say yo the game is crazy that's what they really mean Like, it's really a game about, it's a mental game on who can outsmart and outdo who. Wait, explain. It's hard to explain. Because they're coming to catch you. You'd say the... And you got to not get caught.

The suitors. Huh? The suitors are coming to catch you.

Yeah, they're coming to get you. It's a game. It's about who can bag you. Yeah. And you got to not get bagged. And then what is... You're like hide and seek. What is...

You know what I'm saying? Okay, okay. You know what I'm saying? Now, what is getting you, though? It's not just fucking, right?

No, no, no, no. It's not. I mean, to me, that's like the last part. That's like the part that's like self-explanatory in the end, right? It's either going to be the reward or the weapon. Fucking is either the reward or the weapon. It depends on how you approach your system. What do you mean by weapon? You don't know? I just want to clarify. Bro, I just want to clarify, you know what I mean? Like, think about all the horror stories that you see online about a guy getting snagged and next to know he's paying like $100,000 a month on a chick he just met, don't even know who she is. Got it.

That type of stuff. Okay, okay, she's weaponizing the sex. 100%. Got it, okay.

Or they just meet and get a divorce and next to know he's going to court giving her half and he only known her for six months.

Yeah, that's got to be a label.

It should be, but it's not.

What are the rules on that in Akon City? what are the rules going to be

oh there won't be no rules in Akon City there's no there won't be no rules there's going to be guidelines that's it okay how do I get dual citizenship yeah exactly when we sign up yeah no no yeah you guys will naturally be citizens because I'm trying to make it towards a partnership within the United States so if you're a US citizen you're automatically a citizen oh fuck Like, I want to make it a territory in Senegal.

Of the United States.

Yeah, depending on how legislation is passed here, though. Because some of the things that's going on here from a law perspective is not really favorable.

Especially with immigration right now. You know what I mean?

So I need to make sure that some of that stuff actually works for visitors to be able to come in and out. But for the most part, I want it to be an open, like, I want it to be a unity city, like an entertainment unity city. All right, we're going to get...

Just donate them a plane. Yo. Yeah, yeah. Just donate him a gift. You can make anything happen.

Okay, so.

I'm just on that.

Yeah, we'll all chip in to get him a plane that he can use when he comes.

Exactly. We were on a very interesting subject, which is like women hunting you. No, hunting us. Us. Yeah, we're in this together, guys. No, no. Listen, we're happily married.

Me too. That's what I'm telling you.

You got a unique marriage. No, it's not unique. You have a biblical one.

It's not unique.

it's just it's just it's just culture explain this culture well you know look how excited he got

i'm watching how excited you are

now you gotta explain it tell me why no no tell me why is it it is um because because obviously you think about like having multiple wives right and you're just like all right multiple women that's fire but multiple wives multiple responsibilities yeah that's a very different thing than multiple women 100 so tell me why you want multiple wives not just one wife and then multiple women i mean

because it's the responsibilities as well too it makes your life a lot easier like so much easier because you got to think like wives are like your best friends they always got your back yeah like no matter what. They're going to hold you down. They're going to support. They're going to protect. So your perimeter is already, like, you know, occupied by your soldiers because they're not going to let nothing come in there that's going to define, affect, or in any kind of way, you know, create a bad environment for you. You follow what I'm saying? Of course, yeah. Now, one wife... Some shit could get in. It could slide in.

She's one line of defense. that's all you got

you only got one line of defense bro that's crazy you only got one line of defense you ever have one bodyguard and think about how many are coming at you she can't stop them all that's why

That's why there's always problems in the household. You know what I'm saying? She can't defend everybody. She's like this. Then she starts using her feet before, you know, her feet go like this. And then somebody slip in. Oh, shit. Divorce. God damn.

So how many lines of defense you think are really necessary for security of a man?

It depends on the man.

Right, right.

I'm a very, I'm a very powerful, successful.

What about Alex? How many lines have you got? They're trying to get me in trouble, bro. No, I'm just saying. No, what about those lines in defense, bro? See, Alex. Chill out, bro. You're about to get a wife. Look at them calming you down.

See, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, Alex.

He's fragile. You're right. You're right. Not again. You're right.

Not again.

You're right. I'm a lover. I'm a lover. And with Alex, we kind of all have to chip in and donate some courage over here to us. Because what happens is this, as a man, right? Hey, Khan, you don't know what you're doing right now. No, no, no. I'm trying to help you, Alex. And you got to let me. You cannot stop me and allow me to. Yes. I got to empower you. Yes. Because right now, she holds the power. Yes. All right. And it's obvious. It's very obvious. But it's okay. You just met me. No, no, no. You gotta understand the kind of person I am, Alex, right? I'm in a position where I'm the king of my household. It's very clear. The fist is so heavy that no one can lift it but me. It's like that hammer. Thor's hammer. That's how your house has to be. If your wife can lift that hammer, she's knocking you over the head with it. Period. One thing about women, the more you give them, the more they take. There has to be a line where she knows that you're the dominant rule maker, the dominant voice, the dominant everything. And what you say is what goes, period. Yeah, it's more of a- It's very clear. More of a democracy in my house. 100%. But that's true. A household is a minority.

It's a monarchy.

A household is a minority. A minority. Democracy doesn't work in a household because now your kids feel like they can make decisions too. No, you can't. There's a king and there's a queen. Yes. Period. And then there's a princess, whatever, the workers, whoever. But there has to be a top position and maker. Like, he says what it is and everybody follows suit.

And what is Alex in his household? Which position would you say he is?

I have to hear more.

So far, what do you think? He says Democratic.

So far, it seems like the queen runs the house. Whoa. So far. Damn. From what I'm doing. Damn, man. Happy wife, happy life. That's the wrong. That's the problem. That's the problem right there. See, what's the problem?

That's the problem. tell us tell us tell us because women are never happy

you would never have a happy life because she's never going to be happy

women have to be listen think about it i can just imagine acon's wife going listen if you get another wife i'm not going to be happy and then he's just like when have you been

i got no i got no little moves here no that's the thing that's the thing i create happy environments because women have to be in a happy environment it's not about necessarily making them happy specifically yeah because women are very like they're very um how do you say uh indecisive what you think makes them happy yeah it's not quite what makes them happy what do you think makes them happy or what do we think what makes women happy is the happy environment that's what makes them happy like if you create a happy environment around them they're going to always be happy because the environment don't allow them to be depressed it doesn't allow them to be sad what they want they provide it's there what they need they don't have to look for yeah when this like when they're in a position where they feel safe yeah that's the environment what

do you do when your women are not feeling happy when your wives then that means you're fucking

up that's what happens when you're fucking i find out what's what i'm doing is fucking it up

and you ask them directly?

Not all the time, because you might think of something with more water. You don't want to always ask too many questions. The woman normally is the one asking the question. You want to keep your mouth shut. You shut the fuck up. And then you figure it out. As the king, you got to do that. I do that one. Alex, you're making us look mad.

Let me go talk, Alex. I know that one. I do now I'm trying to empower you

I can tell your wife is a sweetheart Because that's why you don't want to lose her So she's a good one Better person than me She paints his nails Oh hell no

I'm a creative, you know, we out here, we're eclectic.

You got to use Coulter on creative. I'm worried for Alex right now.

I'm so worried for Alex. Wait, wait, wait. But what happens when they all sync up?

That must be. That's a good question. A few days a half. No. Yeah. That's when you're going on tour, right?

Well, no, no. This thing. Your tour happens to be the same week every month. I'm always on the road anyway. But when I am home, you know, everything is in separate silos. Like, everybody has their own universe. I think the worst mistake you can do is put all your women in one place. You never want to do that.

So wait a minute. It's the same estate and different homes on the estate?

Everyone has their own place and their own lifestyle and their own universe.

Their own place, meaning like? Like, own mansion. Okay, so they're 30 minutes away. They're 30 minutes away.

Well, however many minutes away, they're just not in the same place.

And then how do you decide when you go to them?

I mean, that's all how your life is set up and how you manage yours, you know? Everybody's different.

Right.

You know, like depending on what's necessary, what's needed, but you want to make sure that everyone's treated equally, though. That's very important. Can't do one without doing for the other. How do you manage? You guys ask some questions. I can barely do that for one. How are you doing equal for all that? Because everybody needs, but sometimes one may need a little bit more attention than the other. Because, you know, emotions go up and down and those things kind of be, But, I mean, think about it. Guys do that now with their jump-offs.

Yeah.

They do it now.

I mean, we don't know anything about that, man. I know. That's why you got quiet. That's a different type of lifestyle. That's a different type of lifestyle. I don't even know what a jump-off is. What's a jump-off, Miles? Look at a jump-off. See if you get a definition for that. That's a Remy Miles song.

Let's not get in trouble. Let's jump off the subject.

I like that.

I'm a good man.

All you guys are great men.

All of you guys are good men. Do you have different wives that you enjoy doing different things with? Like, oh, the wife I like to watch movies with.

That's another thing. You know, one woman would never be able to provide you everything. Who cooks the best? They all great cooks. Every single one of them? Or you just can't say it right now because it's going to hurt you? A wife has to be a good cook. Yeah, but there's got to be a best. I mean, everybody got different recipes that they cook better than the other. Who cooks the best? Joe Luff. Ooh. My first wife. She's the best with that. She cooks the best African food, period. Is she African? No, she's not, actually. Asian? No, she's from the Carolinas.

Oh, wow. White girl? Black girl? Black. Do you have any different flavors than your wives? Well, yeah.

He makes it sound so... I know. It's your name, Baskin Robbins. I'm talking, nigga. We will all be in trouble by the time we get out of here. Like Britney Spears.

He's talking like, is it a buffet? But no, are there some different flavors? Oh, man. Yeah, I mean, in a situation like that, you would want to, I guess you would... You want a little Epcot. You would definitely want an Epcot. You want an Epcot. You want a drink around the world. He's describing what he would want. I'm happy, bro.

I'm happy. I'm happy. I need to jump over here. I need to jump over there. I'm happy, guys.

I'm just saying, so with your lifestyle, when you got different mansions, you don't want to have one mansion over here, one mansion over here, and it's the same thing.

No, I mean, it's their taste. Their taste. It's their universe, remember. It's creating a very happy environment for them. Separately, though. Whatever makes them happy, that's what you can do. What about Christmas? Well, you don't celebrate Christmas. Me, I don't celebrate holidays. No holidays? Not really. Very convenient. Very, very convenient. Yeah. I like that. What about New Year's Eve? New Year's Eve, I'm always working. You're on the road. I'm always being booked for those. That's another reason why I don't celebrate holidays because I'm never there. I'm always being booked on special days, special nights.

Yeah, that's a big day. They're going to have you do the ball. Yeah, it's a lot. And then birthdays, you make a special?

Birthdays, I have to be reminded. I'm really bad with numbers and names. But faces and places, I'm like photographic memory. How many wives you got? That's entertainment. That's entertainment? Yeah. What does that mean?

That's a great answer. I feel like you answered a different question. That's a great answer. That's fire. I'm going to use that. What does that mean?

I don't even know what that means. It's entertainment. If you don't even know, that means you're not entertainment.

Damn, I'm not entertainment right now? You're not right now, you're not.

God, do you know how many wines are? That's entertainment. Come on, man. See, guess what that does? Tell me how to use that line. It makes y'all figure it out. It makes y'all think about it. It makes you research. It makes you just... That becomes a part of your entertainment.

That'd be funny if you were really single, bro. That's entertainment!

One day I might confess.

Until then, it's entertainment. Update, I'm going to be out in L.A. shooting a movie this summer, but we added some stand-up shows. So pull on up, man. We're going to be in Pasadena, California at the Ice House the 19th and 20th of June. Then the Ontario Improv will be there the 26th and 27th. And then the Brea Improv will be there July 17th and July 18th. And then we're going to be at the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Great Outdoors Fest, August 8th. So you can go grab tickets to any of those shows if tickets are still available. Theandrewschultz.com. Thank you guys so much. And Virginia Beach, you were fucking awesome. That was incredible. Love you guys, man. All right, Mark, what do you got?

Oh, I have great news. I'm going all over at the end of the year. I'm going to Plano, Texas, Chandler, Arizona, Pasadena, California, San Diego, California, and then I'm also going to a couple other spots that are going to be coming up at the end of the year, like Detroit, Michigan, and Salt Lake City, Utah, and I can't wait to see you guys all there.

Mark Yagnon, live.com. Alex. Guys, my monthly comedy show is back. Canceled Comedy is on June 24th. We have a killer lineup. Get your tickets at canceledcomedyx.com, and then my tennis series theallloveclub.com the tennis is on July 25th I'll see you guys there the first one was fantastic second one's going to be even better peace

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limited time you have like the most interesting life bro yeah like i was just doing like deep dive on you man like your life is absolutely crazy no it's amazing yeah it's amazing but like outside of entertainment do you ever look back on it and you're like yo what the fuck happened over the last few decades like what an insane journey i've been on yeah and that actually happens as i'm living it so you're so you're present in it you're reflecting on it constantly a hundred percent because like i think like for me i didn't even know about the michael jackson stuff yeah nah that was my dog man this good dude i literally found out about that doing research on you for it right like i've known about lady gaga i've known about like your unbelievable success you know like but the mike how do you get connected with mike well we actually shared the

same attorney for years and i never knew like my attorney never told me he just called me one day like hey man would you would you you know would you do a record with mike so mike reached out to you yeah he told him to call me and see if i would be interested to work with him what what song did he i ended up doing i ended up uh um co-executive producing the the re-release the re-release of

what's the name um uh thriller with him wow okay so you were brought in as a producer yeah as well yeah and then what he liked your work on it no he had already liked my work that's why he had me come that's what i'm saying what did he listen to from you did you find out the song that yeah

so i had already had a few records already created for mike if that day ever came and it was interesting because when i did it hold my hand was one of them and that's the song i played first

hold on so you already had songs already set up for mike just in case did you have any idea that you might meet with him yeah it was after the lawyer connection or no this is even more this

is way before this is what i was locked up yeah this is my vision board like he was at the top of the list to achieve one day out of here to work with michael jackson you're writing songs

for mike while you're in prison right hoping that one day yes you'll be a massive superstar and you'll get the opportunity to work with Michael Jackson. Exactly. The crazy part, he said, I want it in 10 years. And then when did it happen? It happened in five years. Crazy. Okay, hold on. So you go meet him. Do you meet him the first time? Or this is a correspondent with the followers?

I flew out to Vegas to meet him.

All right, so you fly to Vegas to meet him. You're in the studio with him? No, no. We met at his penthouse the first day I met him.

okay do you play the music there let me just tell you what happened yeah this is insane how many people can say they fucking went straight up so my attorney literally called was like yo would you want to work with mike i said hell yeah he said okay cool you know i represent him i said bro how long you been representing mike he said for a long time i said you never told me he said well you know it's attorney client privilege i said man fuck that all this time. You know how I felt on my mic and you never told me? He said, well, I was just waiting for the right opportunity, but I think now isn't the time. Do you mind me setting up a call with you guys? And I was like, hell yeah. Wait, one quick thing. Did you ask him about Mike's stuff since he knows the allegations? Oh, that was all bullshit. See, that's all bullshit. When I met Mike, when I spent time with him, I understood what was happening. What do you mean? I'll explain after. Okay. So, no, but it was all bullshit. Not only bullshit, but Mike had a lot of power, bro. And he owned a lot of... Coordinated. Coordinated attack, you think. Yeah, he was... See, Mike was just a smart-ass businessman. Yeah. And he outsmarted a lot of the guys at the top. And they wanted to come for that. And that's exactly what was happening. They was coming for it. Tell us this story and then explain that part of the mic thing. So, boom, he calls me. And Mike's like, hey, Con, how are you? I was like, get the fuck out of here. So I hung up the phone. You didn't know. I hung up. I hung up because I thought my attorney was just bullshit. Like, he was a jokester, too. He was a jokester, too. So then he calls back. He said, Econ, I got, that's Mike on the phone, bro. Like, it's really Mike. I said, all right. No way. So I said, all right, let me, Mike, is that you? Econ is really me. I said, forget the fuck. I hate him again. No. When he called a third time, that's when I knew, okay, he's not joking it's really Mike so I called I picked up again he's like no Akon it's really me I said Mike it's like where are you he said I'm in Vegas I said oh shit so what we doing we gonna work together or what he said yeah you said that yeah he said no seriously I just wanna let you know that I'm such a fan and we have to get together I'm working on Thrillery release and I want you to be a part of it I said well shit when he said what are you doing tomorrow I said where what do you need me to be doing what do you need me to be doing he said okay cool Well, I'll set it up and I'll see you tomorrow. So next thing you know, they call me, hit me with a text, flight information. I get to the liner. We get on a jet, fly to Vegas. When I get there, head security guard, Mohammed, picks me up. And now we're on our way to the wind. So now I'm driving. I'm going to send myself, damn, I'm about to really fucking meet Michael Jackson. This is crazy. I'm kind of scared because I don't know how I'm going to fucking react. Like, I don't want to embarrass myself, but I'm like, nigga, this is Michael Jackson. yeah like as a kid like this is all like so are you worried about like what you're wearing no i'm like i don't care about none of that shit like i'm not worried about how i'm gonna react like

as a man like i'm like i'm a man you know what i mean but it's still like you want to just hug him you're gonna get nervous i don't know exactly i'm now i'm checking myself like bro just be easy yeah and just pretend like you ain't excited like you know you know the shit that you everybody I tell you something before you meet somebody that you admire. People faint from Mike. Right. And you see the photos, you see the videos. You're like, I know those people didn't plan on fainting. You know what I'm saying? That's the shit you're playing. It just happens. You just black out and the next thing just fucking just happened, right? So I'm like, please don't let that shit happen. Yeah, yeah. So now we go down. Bro, that's when I realized there's entrances and exits in fucking Vegas that you would never, ever know. No, bro. we get I don't know if I can even be saying this online I don't know if they want people to know this even exists but fuck it it exists bro I'm riding we get to this one road and we go into this parking lot and the fucking road lifts up like this oh shit and we drive in it and it closes back down wow next thing you know I'm at the fucking underground parking lot of a private place where it's nothing but just parking and one elevator we get in the elevator that shit takes me all the way to the top. Directly to the... Straight up. Yeah. I get to the top and there's this long-ass hallway with no doors. It's a door at the very end. Get the fuck out of here. Bro, the whole shit felt like it was choreographed, right? Yeah, it's like Men in Black. This is when I realized, okay, Mike choreographs everything. Like, nothing is by chance. We get all the way to the end of the door. Five steps before I get there, the doors just start opening up. No. My nigga. I walk in, Mike is sitting in the middle of the floor, in a chair, back turp, and the chair just starts turning. You're lying, bro, you're lying. No, I'm fucking lying, bro. You're lying, bro. You're lying, bro. At this point, the...

The door is turning. The door is turning. Yo, listen. Like how your chair is turning? That shit moving slow. And while it's moving, I'm like, okay, the moment I see his face, what the fuck am I going to do? Soon as shit make the full 360 turn with 180, he looks. And I look. I was like, oh, shit. I froze for a second. And as I was freezing, the freeze automatically broke because Mike just stood up. Yo, my God, what's up? And I'm like, oh, my God, what's up? Wow. Yo, we're embracing it. It felt like we've known each other forever. No way. Like, literally felt like we've known each other forever, bro.

That is crazy. Did he have another voice? He did. He did have another voice. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It was deeper than the one he's normally using. But it's not that deep. But it's not that deep. Right. But it's just a little bit. Yeah, but people will exaggerate and be like, yeah. No, no, no. But it's definitely deeper than that one, for sure. But it was like an instinct. He just knew when to turn it on or turn it off.

Right. Wow. And, like, would he talk shit?

Would he bust balls a little bit? Was he, uh... Oh, no, he was funny. Like, Mike was funny. And, like, we would have real conversations. Like, real conversations. Like, I was like, yo, Mike, what kind of girls you like? And what was he saying? He was like, don't make it. I was like, what do you like, Mike? Like, do you like fat asses? You know what I'm asking? Like, do you like fat asses? You know what I'm saying?

Like, what, you know?

He was like, that's entertainment. I'm too big. I like them just palm-sized. I'm like, what palm-sized? We would always joke like that. Was Mike getting after him with the hoes or what? Oh, Mike had bitches. Really?

Wow. And then none of them would talk?

Hell no.

Because these girls talk like crazy. No, his system was set up.

Mike had a system. But by the time I met him, he was older.

Yeah.

More mature. Yeah. But he told me some fun times when he had, when he was growing up.

Oh, really? Yeah.

Wow.

I always thought he just was, like, asexual. No, no, no. He's very heterosexual. Oh, okay. Oh, yeah. Wow.

Yeah. Yeah. He's very heterosexual. Yeah, yeah. How heterosexual do you think, Al? I don't know, man. Son.

Mike had the high water, the tights. Mike, Mike, Mike, honestly. The glitter, glitter.

I think Mike wasn't glitter. No, no, hold on. I think if Mike didn't live that life to where he was, he had to have been, like, a celebrity his whole childhood, Mike probably would have been a pimp.

No way.

Yeah, he was that finessing. No, really? No, bitches loved Mike, bro. Well, yeah, of course. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, but because he was a celebrity. I'm just saying, like, Mike, before even a celebrity, like, bitches thought he was handsome as shit. And he had a charm. Yeah, like, think about it. Like, celebrity will take you so far, right? But there are some people out there that's not celebrities that got bad bitches.

That's true.

Because they just got a certain level of how they move. You know, they got a certain aura that comes with them. Mike just had that aura that was just magnetic to women. You know what I'm saying?

Really?

Like, Prince had the same thing.

Yeah, yeah. You always heard about it with Prince, for sure. You know? And what happened when Prince became what? The pimp. Oh, really?

No.

Prince wasn't an out there pimp, but he was a pimp. But he had girls. No, he was a pimp. Prince was a pimp.

He was very heterosexual. That thing was a pimp. And he painted his nails. Bro, don't look for Orton. I'm just saying. I'm just saying that's a very heterosexual thing to do. It's not. Prince? Prince had more bitches than Mike. I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't say that.

I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't say that.

See, Prince, that was a part of his image. Like, he'll walk in, he'll have some bitches walking with him. His band was all hoes, you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm sorry, ladies, but I'm just, you know, just figure of speech. But it was all bad, bad bitch. It's entertainment. But my point is, it's a part of his aesthetic.

Right, right. You know what I'm saying? Where Mike was true to the game.

It was, everything was quiet, silence, mysterious, a mystery. Like, you never really knew how he moved, who he moved with. You know what I mean?

But he's very calculated. Do you immediately get to work? Is he like, hey, let's look at some samples, let's look at beats? Or is it like you guys just hang?

Oh, yeah, we just hang. We just hang, we talk, and then we just create. And what do you think of this? I love that. I'm going to add this. What do you think about this? And it was like, we just kind of just back, you know, kind of was like sparring partners in the studio. Yeah, and he'll go in there and beatbox something, then I'll make the actual beat to it. Like, it was really dope. And he had a recording studio in the pent-up? No, actually, we went to The Palm to record. Okay. The Palm had a dope-ass studio, and he blocked it out and was recorded. Wow.

And how was he musically in terms of, like, production? Oh. Did he really understand? Yeah, he understood music. But he more was a, I thought I turned this off. He's more of a, he understood rhythm. Right. What's the difference between those two? Well, music and rhythm is two different things, right? So let's say from a perspective, they don't know rhythm. Define rhythm. you're right music is more from like like the way they well mike wasn't like a musician so he

couldn't really play instruments music is like composition yeah it's more organized noted written

down whatever the case whereas rhythm is just a feeling that that just rocks with you and it's locked in on a tempo right you follow what i'm saying so mike was that like no matter what you did there have to be a certain pocket that he needed it in and did he have instincts for what

a song needs oh yeah so like he knows what a song needs without being able to necessarily play it

yes exactly exactly exactly exactly and was it difficult for you to give pushback if he did something musically and you were like i actually don't think that's it no that's what made me and

work so well together because we would try anything to see what it sounds like first like sometimes people have a habit of saying no i don't think that's gonna work but you didn't do

it yet how would you know but who's saying that to michael jackson like if no you'd be surprised

there'd be people that do that really yeah but mike was the pun like man he was so now i realize why he was as big as he was because he was like he was that open-minded to it i would ask him to i could have asked him to bark on the record and he would have did it just to see what it sounded

like what would the his bark sound like i don't know that'd be interesting to find out

It's entertainment It's entertainment Come on like a Like a poodle Wow

Damn man Mike How many people can say that Yeah he's a legend bro Alright so you leave that session You're like Did I just accomplish Everything that I ever dreamed of No like Because you're already An incredibly accomplished artist At that point I felt like

Yeah I've hit the ceiling You checked off every box I checked off every box

Like is there an actual feeling as you leave the hotel or as you leave the session.

It was that feeling, like, damn, what do I do from here? What do I do from here? That's exactly what it was. It was like, what do I do literally from here?

And then what did you think? What did you do? Did you dream up new dreams? Did you have to sit and reflect on it?

Well, actually, I didn't reflect on it. I just kept going to see where life takes me. Got it. But then I found out, that's when I got actually more active in going to Africa with my philanthropy, the lighting projects and all this other stuff. because even me and Mike was talking about creating like a music university.

Out there?

Out there in Africa. Like almost like, you know, like a Berkeley type of style university but for Africa because you have the arts, you have, I mean, when you look at rhythm, arts, instruments, all of that shit come from Africa. We wanted to kind of reinvent the whole wheel, bring it in for history and also create how we develop that instrumentation and culture for the future. Like really a musical university that would take Africa into the future.

Is it interesting for you, exciting for you to see how much African music is being embraced in the mainstream?

Yeah. I mean, interestingly enough, in the beginning, it felt tough, though. Because that was why I actually stopped doing music after I released my album in 2008. I promoted for about two years. i did the world cup in south africa and then i stayed in africa and went straight to nigeria and started developing what you now know now is to be afrobeat but it's really was uh afrobeat was more of a political movement started by an artist named fella and he was really big and very influential in nigeria he was like he was like the rebel this fella kuti yes he was like a rebel but he would speak the people's words through his music and he would always come back to government on what they ain't doing, what they should be doing, and it became one of those kind of things. So it was more...

Bob Marley-esque figure in terms of his influence?

Yes, exactly. Wow, okay. He's a good analogy. So when we went up there, that music was well-respected but wasn't commercialized. And that's when we came and kind of brought more of a pop feel to it and gave it a more rhythmic type of allowance to where people outside of Africa can actually relate to it if you wasn't quite understanding what was being said.

Wait, when is this?

This started from 2008 to recent. Bro, Wizkid was my first artist that I signed. Wow.

Akon. Yeah. The lore is crazy. Your life is unbelievable. No, it's crazy. Wizkid was how old when you met him? He was 13. Crazy. Wow.

And what are you seeing in this kid? Oh, he was a star. He was a star. But at 13, musically, he was a star? He could perform?

When he walked into the room, we just knew, okay, this kid is going to be, he's something.

something big. And he was, he had an amazing voice. He was also writing his own little songs at that time. You know, he was, um, uh, managed and, um, uh, ran by a guy named Banky W at the time who that's who I partnered up with to sign with. So you're in there, you see some talent.

You also see potential for this genre of music internationally. Yes. What makes you think like what? I mean, cause I imagine as a young kid growing up in the States being African, right? there wasn't the same like uh embracing and love and like you need to connect with your roots right like i'm 42 so i remember there was like a distinct separation even like maybe yeah maybe

i would even go so far as to say like no no like everybody hit the fact that they was african yeah like literally people was embarrassed to be african you know what i mean i would like i was probably the only one pushing it yeah i think it's gonna be a clown is like african jokes It was like, if you was being joned on, the Africa jokes was the most popular. Put it that way. So nobody wanted to be African. I apologize for my past.

You know what I mean? Okay, so that's interesting. So you grew up in this time, and now you're seeing massive artists from the region.

Doing well locally. And I'm like, yo, this is crazy. How, like, they don't know about this.

But what gives you the feeling that it would be successful when you grew up in a place where there was this separation?

Well, because I knew in Africa it was heavily popular. But I knew it just wasn't exposing America to even get the chance to become popular. Got it. Right? So I just knew that there's certain elements in it that I knew that made it too local on why it would never leave and become bigger than the continent. And this is, like, sonic elements? Yeah, it's sonic elements. I'm knowing what the U.S. want to hear. I'm knowing what Europe want to hear.

This is like taking Chinese food from China and turning it into a version of it where Western people will consume. Got it.

Ooh, so perfect. That's the perfect way to explain it.

And this is just because, like, your father was a musician, if I'm not mistaken, so, like, you grew up classically trained in music. Right. So, like, you can consume this from this culture that you understand and it is a part of your identity, but also recognize the limitations in the music for, like, Western audiences to go.

And how much not to take out to keep it authentic as well.

Because they also need to still like it. Yes.

Right. They have to love it.

Yeah, it can't feel too commercialized where they start going, no, that's not the real thing.

Exactly. Oh, fuck. That was a challenge. That was a challenge.

So you're saying Avro Beats doesn't really exist in its modern iteration before you go there? 100%. Wow. Whoa, dude. 100%.

Did you connect with Berna Boy around this time? Well, Berna, he was young at that time, too. he was he was because we're talking 2008 yeah like he was probably trying or thinking about being an artist at that time wow but he wasn't at that level nowhere near it wow at what point

do you go oh afrobeats is out of here like this sound is not global is there a moment when weird's

kid actually popped that's when i realized okay we got him because it took a while and when i came to the u.s and i was shopping with they thought it was reggae and they're like well reggae's not really popping right now i'm like it's not reggae yeah it's not reggae bigger in europe before it came to the states but that's what made me that's what made me go to london then when i went to london i got it it broke in london because london was more open-minded and there's a lot of africans african exactly yeah so london was where it actually broke and we was able to break p square first which was a twin group two twins right and they we had a record called chop my money that went fucking ridiculous end up charting the u.s charts oh wow but it charted in the uk charts first you know what i mean but at that time those guys were like they were performers imagine if you had two ushers oh and they were twins that's what they were but in the afrobeat market right like when you see their performance it was it was nuts that's how they actually got them and then while that's happening whiz kid is more authentic at that time for what we were trying to portray whereas p square were more commercial so p square came what actually opened the door for whiz to bust through the door with the authenticness of what they recognize in p square and then they just

at this point it was over at this point your career can you kind of like see do you know when

the trend is gonna pop i don't know when it's gonna pop but i don't know what will pop right

so it's like but is there a moment where you see something building momentum and you're like yeah this is out of here yeah in a year this is out of here that's exactly how i see it and this is what you saw with with that that's what i saw with interesting and at that point from a business perspective are you starting to build up an apparatus around it 100 but what i

realized was there was no business or apparatus to build around african music because they didn't understand the business well enough to know what that was and why is that was

There was no music industry structure in Africa. Everything was black market, sold in the black market. Like, there was no, even, there was no record stores. You would have to go to the actual market and buy albums that was duplicated and CD duplicators. Because the music industry didn't see the value in Africa. Exactly, so in Africa, the motto was you would sell the master to somebody. And then they, like, prime example, with Wiz's album before then, they would make an album and then sell it to someone sell the master to them for like 100 grand and then and then done then then now they just make money off shows and who owns the master now he monetized that through all the black markets throughout nigeria and then later does a deal in the u.s with itunes apple or whoever and then he owns the master now to it got it so just

so i understand here you make your album you sell it to somebody it might be somebody in the business it might be somebody outside the business they own the rights to it in perpetuity right you go tour with your songs yep and then they literally print yes cds or whatever it is right yeah and then sell them in different black markets wherever they can sell it so you can see how someone might

never break out but be locally super hot exactly and that's why it was like that because of that motto so when we came we twisted it up we actually taught them the business oh really yes this you You can make publishing off this. You can make royalty off of this. This is your distribution cost. This goes to the label. This goes to the artist. Now they understood it, and it was able to now understand it because now you can actually negotiate with labels in Europe and France and the UK and, you know. You're putting the artists on game to this? You're putting the industry folks on game to this? What is the— What industry folks didn't like the fact that we're putting them on game to this?

Fuck no, right? Because they're like, yo, we're getting a deal off this.

We're getting a hundred grand. I mean, it was getting mass-free, basically.

Right. It was basically like, hey, we'll pay for the production of all this stuff.

And interesting enough, in India, it was the same way because India had the same model.

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now let's get back to the show you have one new message translating disney and pixar's hoppers is now available on disney plus you could say that again critics are calling it pixar's funniest movie ever and a wildly entertaining ride lizard potato it's certified fresh and verified hot now we party this is incredible wow i am clearing the rest of the day disney and pixar's hoppers now available on disney plus rated pg

where does this business acumen come from because like even you started your label early yeah as soon as you started music you would think in your own because i used to always because we know you

got to think like my dad was a jazz musician okay and in jazz drummer yeah he was a drummer yeah yeah he's a drummer percussionist um the problem with jazz is that that's a passion project yeah dude jazz doesn't really make money you got to really just love music to do jazz and if you're making it money off of it that's fine but you don't really care if you make money or not you know you hit small bars little spots and things like that so my pops was like i don't know if music is what you want to do for a living you know what i mean but you loved it as a kid i don't know if that's what i want to do either right because but i loved it as a kid but i was like there's gotta be money because somebody's making money yeah like literally somebody's making money and i just always think about that but then i just always hear how artists just cry about them not getting paid enough and they got robbed this and that and i was like oh there was a lot of money how do i be the guy but somebody's making it so let me find out how they're making it smart right i started reading books about the music business see back then they had books that would tell you how the music business worked there was there's a book called um um what was it called i think it was called uh uh what was it um how to something about the music business something about that it was i forgot the title but it was a long ass title like um all oh it's all about the music business that's what it was all about the music business and i read it and i understood the dynamics of how it all worked and i was like oh so the money's made if you got your own label It's not actually being the artist unless you're just a successful artist that know how to tour, that understand merchandise and all this other stuff. You need the label because that right there becomes bulletproof. Right. And that's when I said, okay, cool. I'm just going to start my own label and just find a distribution. But I was like, how the fuck am I going to distribute it? That costs even more money to create. Then I found that they had things which you call like joint ventures where you can just partner with a distributor and give them a percentage and they have that part and you have the content. And I was like, that's what I want to do.

But there is a, there is a small difference going on here which is like you can produce music right and like we had rizzo on here a few weeks back and it's just like the guys that can actually create something right are it's different than i'm just going to start a record business no no for sure it's way more leverage it's the same thing like even in like you're talking about like scripted television or film right if you can write a script you're a very different entity than somebody who just gets placed to maybe act in a movie or maybe even just a thousand percent so and it's very unique that there is somebody who has artistic ability and business sense oftentimes they're like almost diametrically opposed no they are they are so you're in a unique position that like you could if you needed you could just produce all of your own music for your label but that's what i've been doing of course and it worked out it makes sense but not everybody could do it right my favorite story that showcases kind of the business acumen tied with the creativity is the the ring the

ringtone right story which was to me basic common sense bro i didn't i couldn't believe that the

ringtones were going for that much yo 4.99 were we buying ringtones yes we were buying them and

they were they were selling more than singles that's yeah they were selling more than singles

We were spending $5 for a fucking ringtone? A ringtone, bro. So break down the ringtone, what this did, and how you kind of like produce songs around it.

Yeah, so when I realized, okay, well, first of all, I was trying to find a solution because I wasn't getting enough radio play. Like the way my music was, it was hard to put a genre to it. Like it wasn't quite rap. It wasn't quite R&B. It wasn't quite reggae. It was like, what is it? Is this before Locked Up or after Locked Up? This is during Locked Up. Like Locked Up itself, what made Locked Up actually pop was the fact that we was able to get Styles P on there. So Styles P made it a genre. It became hip-hop. Yeah. That's why until this day. It framed it in the eyes of the consumer. Exactly, because before Styles was on it, we was working the record a whole year and couldn't get it to stick nowhere. Get out of here. Because there was no genre to put it. Wow, I thought that's an instant hit.

What does that mean, working a record?

record so that means like promoting it going to djs you know going to radio stations trying to get it played things like that so when we put styles p on there it gave it a because before then they didn't know okay what do you play it before or what do you play after it like so it confused people because they just don't think like a good record just can go behind another good record right yeah so there's a version of locked up where it's just you the first version is just okay so then when they put a genre to it then they just made it hip-hop like that's why right now to this day if you notice i've never rapped a day in my life yeah i never thought of you as a rapper but if you look up akon i'm on the hip-hop genre because that was the first thing that was ever you know recorded as and it stayed that way wow you know it's so funny like because i was doing

a little research about you and you were very intentional with gaga right to not sign her under like convict because you didn't want her to be framed in an 100 way yep you wanted to have her audience finds her organically exactly and like did you understand that after you went through

this i went through it yeah got it got it got it because i was like she's like me they're like what genre is she really like yeah and then at that time we were doing 80s music in like late 90 i mean late to early 2000s yeah and you know like even right promise apple just dance they thought it was like just dance was out a whole year before it actually popped why because i literally had to tour the world to push it we tried america first nobody bit nobody touched it they was like no this is this is too old we can't even put this in our playlist we went to europe europe was like well it's a little cheesy it's not quite what it is then i was like fuck i went i can't let this record go like this is a hit i know it's a hit so i i had a tour in australia i flew all the way to australia when i got to australia i said i'm gonna push it here i know for sure they'd get it here the record didn't work so now my that's six and a half seven months of me working this record and nothing getting no bite so now i'm at a point like i fuck i'm just gonna give up like we just gotta give up and i know if i give up there's a chance that they will really drop her right because she was always having challenges before i picked her up before already so this would have solidified the fact that okay this just maybe not it i was like i can't fucking deal with this so i'm now i'm trying to figure out how i'm gonna revive this record so i'm on australia heading back to the states we're connecting through canada and i was like should i get off the plane and go to canada and try it like what would it hurt i'm connecting i got five hours there so i'm in a lobby thinking about this while i'm in the lounge and i said you know what man this i ain't got nothing loose i called a friend at the time he was the head of virgin radio named david magro i said yo david i got this record i want to test it's out but it's like the biggest record in europe right now it's doing fucking amazing in australia australia the hustle side i said bro you guys got to jump on this shit before it reaches america like that'll be embarrassing it's the number one record on both sides like You need to drop this record, test it with your mark and see what you got. He said, I come to the station, leave my bags, everything, and go straight there. He plays the record. This shit becomes number one on phones. The phones start lighting up. Oh, my God, this record is amazing. Who is this?

People are calling into the radio station. They're calling into the station now. And is that how you could tell back in the day? That's when you knew if you had something.

Because they would say, listen, this is new music. Let us know what you think. And then play it. Bro, when I tell you, the phone line's lit up. Wow. So he was like, man, this record is a fucking smash. We need to add this. I said, what? He said, can we add it to our other stations? I said, hell yeah. So now I start going to the other stations while I'm there. Fuck it. Mind you, my bags are still on that plane. That plane had already left back to the States. I understand in Canada an extra week going to all the stations. By the time I left Canada, the record was number one in Canada. Wow. That's crazy. Then they called like, yeah, what the fuck is going on with this record? I think we got something. Then KISS and New York City picked the fucking record up in America. When they picked it up, everything changed. KISS FM? Yes. At that time, they were the needle. If KISS got the record, everybody was like, okay. What about Z100? Was that like a big pop? It was, but not like KISS, though. KISS was like the generation, whereas Z was more like the older generation. Right. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. KISS, though, was like, when KISS said that was it, everybody followed suit.

Follow suit, meaning all the other radio stations go. Jump on it. Wow. Okay. And you're recognizing this because you believe in this artist, but is there also a version where you're like, you understand how profitable it is to have just a megastar artist under your, so it's worth you taking the time. It's 100% worth it.

all you need is one meeting all you all you need is one major artist that one artist can pay the bills for the next 10 years wow yeah if you sign the right artist you're good and and you signed

well gaga was already signed she was already at interscope and then you were like hey i i think

she's talented can i work with her yeah and jimmy literally that's why i say jimmy saved my life with that one because he threw me the bone he didn't have to do that really and he made me a

50-50 partner with it get out of here yeah and is it because he knew your talent yeah your ability he believed in me got it so he's like listen we don't know what to do with this girl she's obviously got talent let him give it a try if it becomes massive let's take half of it but this

thing jimmy was brilliant he knew how to put like parts together like he knew how he knew how to marry a writer with producers producers with artists you know writers with artists like he knew exactly what would work so when i called and was like yo jimmy i need this one and he thought about he's like you know that's that could be brilliant because at that time i was working on the pussycat dolls record i remember you so in his mind he's like dude this is this might he said you sure i said trust me jimmy this is i need this one on my label he said all right well fuck it she's all yours wow like literally thought about it like that and then when we when we heard that first record because the first record I did on her was really for the Pussycat Dolls. You had her singing like the scratch vocals

for the Pussycat Dolls.

Yeah, because she came on board because I had got a writer's block and couldn't come up with nothing that week. I was just, I was so excited I had just closed this big ass deal. And I had just picked up Red One who was the producer that I worked on the whole Gaga album with. And he was like, I just worked with this chick last week. That's pretty dope. I think she'll help you come up with some ideas. And that's when I met Gaga because she came into the studio. and then i was like yo are you signed like what's your situation she's like well you know i'm at interscope i said wait wait you at interscope hold on yo jimmy what the fuck you know yeah that's how

it came together wow and then when did you stop or have you even stopped working with gaga

ah man we we did the whole first album in 30 days holy moly literally the whole thing that's all those tracks that's like poker face all that whole first album wow we did that in 30 days After that, then I got obviously on tour, started working on my album. Red was still a part of it, but I wasn't as active as I was on the first album on the writing side of things. So the second album, I had like, I would say 50% involvement on the creative, but I was heavily involved on pushing the album itself once it was done. And then the third album, by that time, she had her own idea of what she wanted to do and who she wanted to work. and then she partnered up with her ex-boyfriend who was a producer as well and then they did those albums moving forward.

Yeah. You do a cool thing with Neo on the tour where you guys go kind of like back-to-back.

Yeah, back-to-back on songs that we wrote for other artists.

Yeah. And we call it

The Needle Drop.

There's tracks that you're like, you worked on this?

Yeah, you would not even know. No, you gotta come to the show. Oh, 100%. Yeah, because people don't know. I don't want them to know until they come to the show.

Oh, got to go. Okay, okay. It's gonna shock you. You'd be surprised. That's like verses

when Babyface

tell me something outside where i was like that one yeah can you say any that you're not playing

in it that you might people might not assume this is entertainment yeah are there any artists that

came along that you had the opportunity to work with or to sign that you were like god i don't know if now is the right time yeah who's the one and then it's the fish that got away bro i had

it's i the biggest fishes that's out today i had or had an opportunity to do and i and i didn't and I passed on it at the time for specific reasons, but. Tell us. Okay, so Drake is one of them. Really? Cardinal Fischer had brought me Drake originally. It's so interesting how you pronounce his name. Oh, Card, yeah. So it's interesting because he was the first artist I had ever signed from Canada. You signed him? Yeah, so Cardi was like, yo, nigga, this nigga out here now, he killing the streets. And he played me his mixtape, but I was so busy doing so much And I was so busy on the Gaga stuff. And, you know, I had just turned down Justin Bieber because I didn't have time for that because I had Kobe O'Donis. Yeah, it's like those things. And then I had one of my security guys, 2Ts, was constantly on me about Kendrick. Like literally for a whole year. Like, yo, I'm telling you, Khan, you got it. I'm telling you. But it just at the time was so much happening that I just didn't have the time to do it. And then Dre ended up picking up Kendrick. and then Dre would beat me down to do production for Kendrick but everybody was needing me and I just there was no time you know what I'm saying and I never had the time to stop and listen to see to hear even the genius of what Kendrick was bro I was just about to compliment you for your eye for talent and then I'm like no I didn't miss out no I didn't miss out no I did

Like literally, had I had an infrastructure, they would have all been bagged at that time. But it was just all me doing my own A&R and doing my own everything. And everybody pulling from every direction. And I'm just focusing on what I have on the table now and what needs to happen for that versus what more I need to add to my table.

See, you didn't have all the wives to help out.

Wow. That's crazy. So now you built out the infrastructure? Oh, yeah, the infrastructure's built out now. Yeah. Now it works in my sleep. I don't have to be a part of it at all. Could you kind of break down what your infrastructure looks like? It's like a mini universal. It's like literally like I have artists I haven't even met yet that's been signed to my label that I haven't even met. So you have different A&Rs that are going and getting out of it. Well, now A&Rs, we don't really use A&Rs anymore. I just feel like A&Rs was a waste of time and money because most of them didn't really know what the hell they was doing anyway and didn't have the ear for music. Like, they just went, whatever they saw was popping. So they would read other people's gauge to see. Instead of having their own. Instead of having their own. Today, it's like, the people around me, these are the people that was telling me, yo, Con, I don't know about that record. And I'd be like, nah, nigga, this is a hit. And they'd be like, ah, I don't know. And then they was right. And I was like, oh, shit, okay, they know something that I don't know. Got it. Keep him down. Keep him, keep him, keep him, you know what I mean? Type shit, you know what I mean?

Do you ever get worried that it gets too big where you start signing artists and it could have another Lady Gaga situation where you have an artist with talent sitting there but isn't being... Oh, no, but that's a part of the business.

You're not going to catch everything. Ah, okay. That's one thing that I had to realize and had to just accept that there's going to be some ones that you miss.

Mm-hmm.

You know what I mean? And it just is what it is. Like, everything ain't meant... Some things are meant to pass by you but not through you. Yeah. And I've realized that had Drake been with me, he probably wouldn't have been that big. Have Kendrick been with me, he probably wouldn't have been that big. It's those things that either define them or things that pass them by that might have motivated them to even go even harder. Because by the time I was and did have time for Drake, his price was a million dollars to sign. He was in a bidding war. Oh, wow. And I was like, man, I ain't got a million dollars for an artist. Yeah. I can't pay a million dollars for an artist. At that time, I couldn't afford it.

you know i'm curious you have such an international appeal what's the craziest like private event that you got booked to do yeah with like a king or something like that exactly it was royalty and

it was funny because where it was in the middle east yeah um i can't say which family but for the most part it was the craziest thing because they booked me for a million dollars right and was like um well you want you know we want you to perform for the family we have this huge event and um my daughter's the biggest fan I said okay amazing so we get prepared they do everything like it was set up to where it's gonna be like I even had a dressing room with all my condiments everything on my rider like it was like top notch so you know I go in and I'm getting ready for the show and everything else it was interesting because I'm like the castle is so big I don't hear any music right so i'm like wow this is this is huge like so they're walking me to the show they walk me through this huge hall but there's only three chairs monster stage led lights lasers everything and i'm sitting on the side of the stage waiting for my audience no fucking way yeah three people came the daughter the son and the wife and she's sitting in the middle she's just like just cheesy just can't wait i walk out and it's like okay this is my audience right wow so i go into my show and in the middle of it she said no stop stop And I was like, what's going on, sweetheart? Everything okay? She's like, I want to hear Mr. Lonely. I said, that's it? She said, yes, can you just play that first? I said, okay, no problem. So we start singing Mr. Lonely. She's like, Lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely. Right? So the song finished. She's like, ah! Again!

Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. we can't treat you like like a CD player again we do it

again

bro

that song has never been more applicable bro I am alone right now

the whole hour

that's all we perform no way she was like funk flex when he gets a new record again again No.

Well, how many dudes are with you on stage in total?

No, no. You don't understand. My whole team was there. My sound guy, my lighting guy, road manager, business manager. Because we thought it was like a major show. I mean, they agreed to everything on The Rider, bro. That's a million-dollar stage. And they set it up in a hall. You know what I'm saying? Three people. It was crazy. What do you think they spent on it total? Like, the stage is a million dollars. Your fee's a million dollars. It was an easy $5 million budget.

Was there a part of you that was like, man, I could have just kept the $5 million and just sung it with a karaoke. After? No, listen, like, bro.

It's just three of them. After that, in my mind, I'm like, I wish they would have just told me specifics because I would have just saved them all that money, took half of that and just went in the living room and just sang with her, like, karaoke with her for, like, an hour.

Yeah.

It would have been better.

Yeah.

Wow. Because, bro, like, even the jet that they sent, it wasn't like a typical jet it was like a fucking 747 yeah it had a full bedroom inside shower game room like theater like crazy all right guys you know the moment that uh you catch your

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apply. Any disaster gigs? Disaster gigs? Oh, no, it was no disaster gigs, but there was one gig that almost could have been a disaster. I was in Lebanon. Okay. Craziest show. Yo, on everything, the Lebanese crowd is probably the craziest crowd I've ever been in front of. Let's go. Okay, so I'm in the crowd well not yet I'm in the car riding through the crowd this is probably one of the biggest events Lebanon has had since their last bombing right this was in 19 no no no this was 2000 this was 2007 this was in 2007 so this was to kind of like bring morale just

Uplift the, you know, because it was going through some conflicts, right? And it was like, don't worry, it's going to be a ceasefire. It's going to be no issues, whatever. Because a lot of people said they wasn't going to come. They was all afraid to come. I was the only one that was like, I'll do it, right? Because I just love the Middle East, right? Especially Lebanon, like, bitches, I'm sorry. Girls, food, they're party people, right? Bro, I get there, it's like 200,000 people easy. Holy shit. It was that big. It was easily 200,000 people. And we're riding through the crowd. You got the security. And I'm out there performing, man. We go crazy. Ghetto comes over. Oh, my God. It's like, it goes nuts. So now we're in the party side. I go into the back, and I'm in my absorb ball, like the absorb ball. Right? I've been doing it back then since then, by the way. He goes in one of those. And then you're just going through the crowd. So I'm riding through the crowd. And I see this one dude who's like, yeah, I know he's a super fan. So I was like, okay, I'm going to roll over his way so he can, you know. Because I know a moment like this for him is like crazy. Like he will never forget this moment. So now I'm rolling this way and I see him and I just start rolling over towards him. And as I'm rolling over towards him, I'm getting close. He's like, yeah, come. And next thing you know, he disappears. I'm like, where the hell did he go? And next thing I look down at the ball and I see him. And I see him, he has his blade. No. Bro, he takes the blade, shoves it in the ball, because he's so fanatically a fan that he wants to hug me. So he hits the ball, and so I immediately see him going. I try to hurry up and roll out the other way, but he had already poked it. No. So I'm seeing the ball slowly starting to flake. No, bro, I'm in the middle of like 200,000 people at this time.

now. No, crazy, right? Security's not near you. No, I'm in the audience. They can't move. They're

just watching the side. But now I've started deflating. So now I said, I got to think quick because I can suffocate in this motherfucker with all these people, right? Because I'm going to get out because you got to open it from the outside. So then I start thinking quick. I start like calming down so I can see where the wind is coming from so I can find the hole. And then I realize the hole is above me. So I roll to where the hole is right up under me. And then I put my fingers in and I just open it up, and I slide out, and then the ball just goes. So everybody's like, oh. Like, no, everybody's, like, scared. Like, what the fuck's going on? In the meantime, I done came out, and I'm on my knees, like this, under everybody, on my way back to the stage. By the time the ball had sunk all the way down and people realized where the hell I was, I had already made it back to the stage.

Get the fuck out of here.

Bro, because everybody's working towards the ball. Nobody realized that I was crawling already towards the stage. I get to the stage, and the fucking crowd thought I was a musician. A magician. A magician. The crowd thought I was a magician. Right? Yo, my light guy was so brilliant. As soon as he saw me, hit the black and put the spot right on me. I was like, Lebanon. He was like, ah! It was, yo, that shit was the craziest show. I'll never forget that moment. Wow. That is fire. That was great. You got to incorporate that from now on. Yeah, that was crazy. No, because I don't want to give people ideas when I go out in the ball. Yeah, fair. So I kind of try to keep that quiet. You just did. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're going to forget. You're going to forget. How come you haven't performed in the States in a while? I just, man, it was, well, for two reasons. One, they wasn't paying enough. And two, I was just so busy. Like, literally, it was like a two, almost two and a half, sometimes three-year waiting for me to get available to perform out here. Yeah. Because I was so in demand on the other side, to the point where when a promoter wanted me, they'd be like, damn, I got to wait in a year and a half? No, I'll just book somebody else. And that's how it was like that.

So how long has it been since you've done a proper tour in America?

Man, I would say since 2000, probably four, no, 12, 2012. Wow. Yep, 2012 was me and Usher.

Wow. That's crazy. Yeah. But all this time you've been performing? All this time I've been performing internationally. Wow. Yeah. Wow.

And never considered living internationally? Because you're mostly in Atlanta, right?

Well, that's the thing. I got a house in Atlanta, a house in L.A., a house in France, a house in Senegal, a house in Dubai. So I kind of do live internationally. But I'm just always traveling. Right. So there's no one place I can just call home because I'm always moving around and shit.

Was there ever concern? like when you're in senegal was there ever concern about safety because of just how famous

you had become no because it's like

me i never looked at it as a safety issue because it's all it's all love like the people is coming from love can be dangerous too meaning it could be like yeah 100 trying to poke yeah exactly more

just like people wanting to see you people rushing them that was always the thing like just having crowd control like security for crowd control and did that become did it become difficult to spend time there because of that yeah in senegal senegal was one of the places it was difficult to spend time because of that so what would you do do you have like a compound there like how do you well

i got a house on the island and you need a boat to get out to it yeah yeah got it that was the only way are you worried about um coming back to the states like what your reception is going to be oh no i mean my legacy is already built don't really matter okay you know what i'm saying because the fan base is already there and they hadn't seen me in forever so it's a start it's a treat for the it's starved right yeah he's starving for it i'm gonna give it to him too and are you going out with neo or yeah me and neo got a collaborator now that we're doing so we got all together 70 dates we just did 30 in europe we're about to do 10 in canada then we're doing another 30 in america wow yeah what was it like working with eminem ah man i love working with em i love work how did that come to be was that that was through obi trice actually obi trice was the one that connecting me with Em. Oh, wow. Yeah, because I had this record I did for Obie, and I was like, Obie, don't worry. Don't worry. You ain't got to pay me. I just need a feature from Em. Wow. You know what I'm saying? Like, I just need a feature from Em. He's like, man, got to talk to Goldberg about that one. I was like, all right, well, let's figure this out. He said, but nah, he ain't going to let it happen. We just got to find Em. You got to get to him directly. Goldberg? And Rosenberg. Rosenberg. Rosenberg. Yeah, that's a Goldberg. That's a Rosenberg. He was a wrestler. Yeah, Rosenberg. So, Opie was like, yo, just come to Detroit. I'll just take you to the studio. I was like, man, I don't want to be on Rosenberg's bad side. Let me just call him first. So, I called Rosenberg. I said, yo, I got this record I want to do with him. What do you think? He said, well, send it to me. I didn't have it at the time. You know? I didn't have it at the time. I said, well, I got to kind of put it together. When I put it together, I'm going to send it to you. He said, all right, cool. Just let me know. So at that moment, I put the seed down. Right. He knew that.

Yeah, there was interest there.

Yeah, right. I put the seed down. He knew. So then I said, OK, Obi, all right, cool. Let's go. We got to get the record because I got to send it to Rosenberg. Right? Boom. So Obi was like, all right, cool. So now we posted looking all over him because he don't never really know where he's going to be. So we post outside the studio. em doesn't show up that day so i'm like but he might show up at night cold kobe was like i mean um uh obi was like nah he'll never come up late night because we stay nice in studios he said nah nah em don't operate like that i said all right well let's come tomorrow he said you got to come early before you come so we come early like 6 a.m so we don't miss him so i'm like we staking out the studio it's the funniest thing so em finally shows up he said that nigga go right there come on let's go so then we come and was like oh shit what's up what's up what's up so i come through and i was like yeah yo m man we need to get in the lab like you know let's work he said i i you know i came my little briefcase with all my tracks and everything i said i got mad records for you too i want to play you a few records so now i'm going to make sure i get records for him first before i ask for something exactly yeah you're offering value right so he was like yo you know i produce too i said really he said yeah i said well play me some tracks so now he's playing me some tracks i didn't even know em produced yeah i had no idea wow bro the smack that track came on i was like yo this shit is crazy can i get that he said hell yeah so i'd take the track and he gave me four more so all together i picked five tracks i started on the what's name one first though the the smack that record and then after i finished on the em heard here and i was like what do you think he said yo this is crazy bro this is fucking this is a hit so this is em's

production. M's production. You asked for it because you're like, I can do something with that. Yes. Are you tweaking anything in the production or are you laying vocals on it?

That track was produced solely by Eminem. Wow. A lot of people don't know that. They thought I produced it. I thought you produced it too. Right. That was the only track on my album that I didn't produce, by the way. Wow. M produced smack that. Right? So interestingly enough, M heard it and I was like, bro, you really think it's a hit? He said, hell yeah, this is a smash. I said, you should jump on it. Right? I said, you should jump on it with me. He's like, yeah, you know, I think about it.

Okay, so he, because everybody's asking him to be on a song. Right. So it's a ballsy move to go, hey, be on my shit. Right. Like, for you, you have to find the right moment. Right. You throw it out there. I just throw it out there. And then when he goes, let me think about it, you're like, cool, cool. There's no pressure. That's nothing.

Because it really wasn't. Me, it was just great enough that he produced it. I was happy.

to be able to say Eminem produces track. I was cool with that, right? So now I'm working on the other tracks. So I'm kind of hearing the song playing in the background, not quite sure if he just listened to it to see what he want to do from a production perspective.

Oh, you're hearing him listen to it.

Yeah, listen to it. So I'm thinking, okay, now he want to tweak the beat, whatever the case may be. So he goes off to lunch, we come back. By that time, I done worked on the other tracks. Five o'clock come, I'm like, yo, where's Em? Like, Em left. I was like, where'd he go? He went home. I was like, oh, shit. He just went home while we was working? I didn't know that he set a timeline at the studio. He comes in. Lunchtime, he takes lunch. Five o'clock, he goes home. He treated it like a real night of five. Like a real job, yeah. Right? And I was like, damn, that's interesting. Like, it fucked me up because he accomplished just as much work as he's supposed to accomplish in that little time that I did spending the night there. So I started to rethink everything. It was actually after that that I started to really manage my time better, like in life. Because after that, I realized now I can make time for my kids, make time for my family, and not be consumed by the studio all day, every day. He comes back the next day. He said, yo, man, I did some minor adjustments to the song. I want to let you know what you think. So I'm playing. I'm hearing my verse come in. Boom. Then his verse come. Oh, looks like another one. I said, whoa. Oh, shit.

Nigga, you, oh, shit, bring that back.

Bring that back. Whoa. I heard the verse, I was like, oh, this shit is so fine. So I was like, in my mind, I was like, oh, this shit is going to be crazy. Then I'm like, okay, whose record it's going to be, though?

Of course. Yeah, yeah, definitely. So now I'm just waiting for it. You know, I'm just like, so we're going to put this on your album?

So you're deferential to him, obviously. He raps on it. Yeah. So you're doing the respectful thing, which is like, yo, is this on yours? Like, what do you want to do?

I mean, think about it. You were producing, now you're featured on it. Like Primus Apple, what I did, I Want to Love You. Me and Snoop did the same thing where we actually put it on both of our albums. And that's been done before. Yeah, right? So that's when I was like, so Em, what do you think? Should it be on your album? How do you want to work this? He's like, nah, bro, it's on your album. So he just gives the song to you. Yeah, he's like, yo, bro, let's go. And then later it became a bonus track on his album as well too because the record became such a huge record. Such a huge hit.

And for you, there was no issue with that at all. Hell no. It's even more spin.

It was even better because now I got a bigger, broader audience on top of that to also bring this record to. That's so cool.

Holy shit. Yeah. And then it just goes crazy. When you're hearing a song like this, you've produced it. So the creative part is, quote unquote, done. Yeah, that's the easy part. Are you going, are you like assigning a dollar amount to what you think this song is going to do? No, never. okay so there's never a financial thing it's more just like this is going to impact culture

it's about how big the record is going to be yeah i'm going to perform this if it's going to be like the creative part is automatic and me if the record is a hit the financial part is automatic it's just going to happen it's yeah if a hit record is going to generate money no matter

how you for those of us who have no fucking clue what does a hit record generate it it pays the bills of course but like is it can you tell us like what it will depending on how big the record

could be like you got some records that literally because okay prime example let's say smack that let's say smack that for instance right i can't tell you the exact number but i can tell you that that record i'll be getting paid for that record for the rest of my life are we talking

about like like royalty checks no of course of course but we're talking about 20 million we're

talking about well that's the thing two million that's the thing you can't quantify how much it eventually will make because it will always continue to make money like let's say in a 10 year period like like let's say in a let's let's use it in a let's quarterly period every three months yeah every three months that record could generate easily about 150 to 200 thousand dollars wow every three months and you got a lot of respect a lot of those yeah and that's for in perpetuity they just can't right and guess what it spiked during that and that was before digital that was before digital with the label taking all the extra shit out now digital is more accurate and when you had spotify and you got the streaming and you know you have the the netflix of the worlds the apples of the worlds the amazons of the worlds now you got ai coming that's going to also bring in the record now goes from that into digital world it tripled off top just from that and then when ai comes where it now becomes even bigger and global and being attached it can

make easily up to a million dollars a quarter a quarter forever wow and the record makes that

and then everybody gets their piece of that everybody gets their piece of that but the writer gets it the producer gets it the labor distributor gets it whoever owns the masses gets their piece like that and it's kind of it all breaks down and if there's an artist right

that has a massive

Thank you.

massive huge song assuming they're not in like a complete like predatory contract like say they're an artist that they have you know a piece of their publisher and all these things right one song they could potentially never work again yeah one hit record one hit record they'll never work again

let's say one classic and that is different than a hit that's a hit different hit because sometimes hits come and they go but classics stick around for a long time so if you and this goes back to So the goal is to make classics.

Yeah. And this goes back to the Michael thing. When you start owning... Yes.

This is why Mike had so much power, because he owned catalogs that was filled with classics. Like, you know, the Beatles at one point, I think?

Yeah, Beatles. So explain that to me. Elvis Presley. Like, you think... So you think that this was potentially, without putting yourself in a compromising position, but you think that there was certain people out there that felt threatened with the amount of power that Mike had.

Yeah, it was alleged that at the end of the day, he owned too much, like, he owned too many shares of Sony to where he controlled it.

Because he owned the classic records or too many of them. Well, the catalog. Wow. And then so there might have been people. And he didn't want to sell. And they were like, hey, we need control. Or maybe somebody over there.

So it was alleged that because he didn't want to sell, they said, okay, cool, we're going to pressure you to sell. And if not, then we're going to devalue you to the point where it's not worth that much. Holy shit. And that's where that came in to devalue him. And what is devaluing him due to the records? Oh, it doesn't really do much to the records itself, but it does to his... Financial situation? Yeah.

And now he's forced to sell these records.

Yes.

Whoa. Oh, so, okay, so this is, obviously, we've all heard the side that, you know, people have made the allegations against Mike, etc. So the other side, the other argument would be, he has so much power, they first try to pressure him to sell. Right. What are they doing to pressure him to sell?

I mean, like how they do with everything. They first attack your reputation, your likeness. Oh, wow. They take the power your name has and make it muddy to the point where nobody wants to be attached to it.

So this is a, this is an interesting thing.

And it always starts with allegations with women, race, pedophilia. You know, I mean, you see it happen with every powerful person at a certain time in their life when they don't want to play ball. The reason why it never happened to Trump is Trump didn't give a fuck. Interesting. He owned up to it and said, okay, I did it, man. Fuck you, niggas locker room talk. We all do it. He didn't say, no, I didn't do it. Or he didn't try to distance himself from the allegations he stepped up to it and then there's no power because now you get support

sometimes in sports you see this where like right a player's coming on a contract here and all of a sudden the video leaks of them like rolling a joint with like some cocaine on the table remember that happened with like bell beckham jr right do you think that's the same thing you think that's like powers that be it depends because sometimes everyone has a backstory

that you don't quite be aware of but certain people when they get to a certain level there's certain things they're asked to do that sometimes most people play ball and some people don't do it and when you don't do it depending on what they're asking you to do now you seem to be not a part of the club so when you're not a part of that club okay we need to remove this person because he's a threat to everybody else it's almost like a crooked cop within a precinct he knows where the bones are buried so you got to get that so you got to either play with us or somehow there's gonna be an accident and a police report written that makes everybody okay and you not because

think about it yeah that one person threatens everybody else and why was michael owning all the music so threatening to them that's a very good question like what is that like why why couldn't they just continue to make more songs and make more hits and then have other things

See, okay, there's a word that's more powerful than value in itself, and that's hope. Mike is the most, arguably, the biggest artist on the planet, and he's black. It's one thing to be a big black artist, stop it. No, but it's true. I know, I know. But to be a big black, powerful artist that runs the business, that's something different.

Interesting.

If Mike can be that guy, what makes you think I can't be that guy? Or LeBron can't be that guy for NBA? So you think they're attacking the hope. It's the hope, yes. They're attacking the systems and power to be. That's what it is. Whoa. Because you got to think about it. We, when you talk from a cultural perspective, and I don't want to sound like it's to be racist or anything, but when you look at it from a cultural perspective, whether it's entertainment, fashion, or sport.

yeah right black and brown people are ones that generate in the billions but we don't own the

content and we don't control it and there's no real reason why you shouldn't be able to do it

since you can generate it right but the moment we put ourselves in a position to be able to do that what it do you can't stop touching kids the ones that come on why does it happen you guys Get a little bit of power. I could. No, he can't be that guy. He's touching kids. But because that's so sensitive to society, that's always the first place they go to start to attack. And that's why when you see that, you got to first say, wait a minute, what's really happening? You don't just agree with that. Find out what's happening behind it and find out why it's going there first.

And why do you think that Michael's team didn't push more of that out there. Why do you think that there wasn't more like a...

Well, you gotta think, they own the media. It's Michael Jackson. Like, no one's bigger than him from a perspective of voice. But if you can't use the platforms that your voice can be heard in, then your voice has meant nothing. So if Mike can't use it, what makes you think the people around him are gonna be at ease? Oh, shit. It's a game. It's like, it's powers that know how to control the situation. It's all about how you control the narrative and then the companies that actually own what controls the narrative, who controls that. So it's almost like

you gotta just be careful how you move. And he was talking about that, predatory practices, and then Prince was also talking about it.

They all talked about it, because they were all in handcuffs, but there's not much you can do. You can just say it, but the people you're telling it to is blind and deaf to it.

Is there a part of you that as you ascended to superstardom, and then you start shifting into more i wouldn't want to say political things but like infrastructural things wanting to oh yeah i'm a victim of it too i was a victim 100 i mean you saw the attacks on akon city well that's the thing i want to ask you that was clearly clearly that so that that is where that's why i shut the fuck up okay and again we don't have to talk about something that you're not comfortable talking about but like is there a part of you that's going through it's like oh wow now i'm attacking like system and structures if i can just come in and make this majestic city within this country that i love and cherish right all the people that exist within this country and the powers be within this country that haven't done that yet right now you're potentially threatening that that power 100 because if i'm a person that's living there i'm going well why the fuck haven't joe done this right and then every other country in west africa right like If you bring him Traore, he takes over, and all of a sudden, all these other countries are like, oh, why don't we do that? Again, because guess what?

After that happened, guess what? There was four more coups.

Yep.

And then the other ones are now preparing, and there was some that got stopped. So it becomes a domino effect because it's human nature. It's almost like a very successful person walking through the mall. Nobody really notices, and some do, but they're afraid to go ask for a picture. It only takes one person to say, oh, my God, can I get a picture? And then next you know, everybody's like, oh, shit. So then everybody comes and does it. so to control just human nature and the way how we are because we're just followers by nature it's not that many leaders right the majority of humans are followers so the ones that actually lead it depends on what you're leading and you got to be able to control that because if one person gets to hope to move in that direction it can offset everything that was built if that

leadership is at odds with someone else's agenda yes they need to stop so do you think that you you had people that were working against oh yeah it was very clear and yeah and the goal was attainable more than attainable right because the outside perspective i'm sure you were probably

having to defend non-stop i mean i realized me defending it only made it look more it made it

look worse that's an interesting thing because the knee-jerk reflexive reaction is that guys this is what i want to do i want to do good in the world we could do this but the more you keep saying it then they start looking at you like where are you how are you involved in this

they looking like okay con is 100 part of illuminati i'm like what the fuck bro like you go on youtube right now they tell you all illuminati they start looking at my shows they start seeing signs i'm like oh shit it made me believe i was a part of it because the way they put that shit together bro it's like this shit is so interesting it's like damn yeah these

motherfuckers are clever they do that to jay they do that to all the yeah it's like i love i love the work and the way you highlight uh africa right are you still doing the work but

just doing it more yeah now i'm just doing it in a more smarter way to where it doesn't attack the powers that be attack the powers that be but more support them in a way to where

they can get what they want but we can get what we want too this is a lighting project yeah so like you know so my thing is okay let's find a way to coexist i get you need the resources here but we also need the resources too yeah you can't just take the resources from africa build your country up in and ours are still fucked up yeah yeah how do we work it to and this this is the agreements that was made with china china figured out okay cool we understand you don't have the liquid cash but you do have the resources but we need your resources yeah so give us what your resources worth and then we'll give you that back and infrastructure. And that made sense. So now China's in Africa building roads, roundabouts, bridges, putting down fiber optics for technical futures and things like that. Whereas Europe, America, they just took the resources and left. And didn't even send no money back for

nothing. Put that more on Europe than us. I've been doing that for a minute. No, no, no.

it's more real it's sure completely more Europe we do that to the Middle East no America only comes in when the oil is we got South America we need oil they do Africa too a little bit they do it proxy they do it yeah yeah we do proxy we outsource that but look I'm American so I know what else I'm straddling both sides of the fence but I'm trying to unite us because I was the one in the White House trying to get America to partner with Africa before China did

but they didn't get it this is dude this is the the political game yeah is a very dangerous one no it's very dangerous when you attack people with real power yeah it's very different than

music nah bro you think you think nigga listen you talking about gangster does this the most

yeah yeah yeah government's a mafia bro yeah they they nigga they bigger than the mafia

The mafia is afraid of the government. Don't worry about that. That's small potatoes.

Because those powers is something you don't want to play with. This is something that interests me so much. Because I saw you say somewhere something that really bothers you is the fact that black people can't work together. Come together, yeah. How can we come together?

I mean, the thing is that there's a lack of trust within our community, unfortunately. How can we change that? It's hard. Only thing that can do—you can't—that's not something that can be changed overnight. That's something that they have to change for a generational cycle because we have to teach our children, and they have to be the one to make the change. We're too gone. Our mindset and mentality is so left that it's impossible. This generation is awful.

I admire that of other cultures that are able to come together and pull their wealth together to move up. That's how you have to do it. It sucks that we're not able to do it as a people, but it's also like there's black Americans, and then there's Africans, and even they don't get along.

at a time yeah because it's the divide of how and it's also information too like information can be very dangerous if you know how to properly use it to to create divide right but if it's being used to create unity right now it could be dangerous because such a capitalist you know environment that we're living in and so many agendas that can that that can actually affect that it's in the world's best interest to keep africans and black people divided yes because

africa holds so much power so if they were united so much power yeah they would be able to organize

around that power period tell us everything that they see it one thing that black americans can maybe do to help bridge that gap they just come together that's it nobody like like literally

literally come together put together pools bring your investments together invest together and literally create and build together it's literally like prime example how does one invest in africa Let me give you a prime example. The one thing that you have to respect on this planet is how small a population the Jewish are, but how united they are. They're the smallest population on the planet, but they're the most powerful. Why is that? Because they come together, they pool together, they invest together, and they build together. And then when there's a problem, they stay together. what happens when there's a problem with my niggas and i don't know that you know what i'm saying on their side they're like hold on because if that affects you that affects us how do we fix it we need them kind of them conversations and we can't continue to blame the white man for every fault that goes on in the fucking society hold on now

but it's true i'm just being real we like to be talked about we like to be reminded how powerful we are don't take that away from us if you stop blaming white people we'll start to think we're not running but that's the point yeah we just gotta stop because man what i realized bro as much as i

travel

That problem only exists in America and maybe two or three parts of Europe. But the rest of the world is united, and they all coexist.

This is a young place, though. I think that's another thing that it's tough for us to compare to. You're looking at European civilizations that have existed for thousands of years. America's a young country, about to be 250 years old. The black American experience in America is super young because a lot of the black Americans don't even have connectivity to their roots in Africa. That's so true. So you're like inventing a new identity. Yeah. And unfortunately, because of fucking what his family did. Wait, what did it do?

No. My family was in Canada. No, no. We had nothing to do with that. No, no, no. We didn't know he was on some shit. No, no, no, no. I wasn't doing nothing, bro. No, no, no, no, no. Sorry to the natives, but no, no, no. Black Americans, they were coming up there as a safe thing. Yeah. Fell for that trick.

but like but like so unfortunately like a lot of the experience is this like shared trauma it's shared trauma so it's like eventually ideally you get to the point where it's like the a lot of the experience is shared culture yeah and like the most ideal version is like we all share culture like that's like that'd be amazing we all share culture and everything is incredible and we can all rally around being american despite us having cultural differences etc i know that you gotta get right but like that would be the ideal scenario but there is a version where like what we've done in 250 years most countries haven't done in thousands no no that's

100 but we still got you know but to your credit you to your credit what we've done as a culture here is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel because right now my kids don't know what racism is they wasn't raised that way like their friends are from all parts of the world it's like it's like it's like united nations at my house right literally they don't see each other from

that perspective they know racism exists of course but but they don't see it the way we see it and maybe the same way that maybe you and i saw it growing up there's a lot of flavor over there

it's all in how the it's all in how the adults teach their children though because if they keep it going then it's going to continue to go moving forward right but if we allow them to be able to just be themselves and get to understand each other as they are without putting our thought and process and our ideology on them it actually can change overnight that's true but you gotta

tell them that too yeah we're working on it we're working on it okay we're gonna say we'll discuss it you gotta get out before you get out of here we just need your world cup we just need your

world cup hot so my my my world cup prediction you were talking crazy shit outside i was i said

the finals is gonna be senegal and u.s what are the chances on calci that we have what's what's the chance of senegal 0.8 for for senegal right so what about what about the u.s the u.s is 1.6

percent oh i'll take those odds yeah but that's a tough one for you you're a dual citizen if If Senegal and USA is in the final... I went both ways. But who do you root for, though? What jersey do you wear to the stadium? Oh, great question, bro.

Oh, that's actually a very good question.

Great question. Yeah. Because there's the businessman in you?

No, no, no. Honestly, I will get a customized jersey. It's going to be Senegal in the front. He wants in the back.

Why Senegal in the front, though? Yeah. The colors look nicer.

Because I'm in the business of selling hope. And Senegal needs it. Senegal needs more hope.

I like that. Even when it comes to soccer? No, America needs more hope. America needs more hope. I guess Sadio Mane?

Come on, we got better odds than them right now. Yeah, they got, you see, bro, listen, the U.S. team is so good this year. They're really good, bro. And mind you, just so you guys know, people didn't know, there was a friendly match between Senegal and the U.S., and you guys beat us by one. Oh. Oh. All right, I didn't even know that. That says a fucking lot. Yeah. I mean, we kind of wanted to build hope in the U.S. team.

Don't do that. Come on, bro.

Before the game, more than, you know, come on, guys, we beat you before the show. I mean, come on, you hope. Like, we need to make sure that you guys make it to the finals so we can really play. Ah, okay. Well, I guess we'll see then. You know what I mean? But, yo, the U.S. team is really good this year. Yeah. Like, they make me nervous. I'm not going to lie. See, you got me feeling hope, man. Yeah, you got me feeling hope. You gave hope to all of us. I already know something I was going to make it, but y'all make me feel nervous. Akon, ladies and gentlemen. Akon, thank you so much.

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of $45 for three-month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. Default terms at MintMobile.com.