OZONE MAG // 39
It’s crazy you ask that. I ran into some little kids who were selling water
the other day in Atlanta’s West End. I asked them, “Yo, man, how much
money y’all make in a day?” They told me; it was like eight of them. I
told them, “I tell you what. I’m gonna bring you guys a pallet of water
over here, that’s about a thousand bottles, and I want you guys to sell the
water. But I also want you guys to come up with another company idea
because I feel like water is not a real hustle.”
They didn’t even give me their phone number because they didn’t
wanna hear that. I think sometimes you gotta be careful how you approach
them because kids don’t want to hear you talk at them. You
can talk to them, but not at them. So I just try to find better ways to give
them knowledge.
As far as giving back, that’s just who I am as a person. I’ve got a back-toschool
event tomorrow in my hometown where I’m giving away backpacks
and pencils and pads. I’m having a fish fry and inviting the whole
‘hood out. That’s just who I am. As far as knowledge, it’s about being able
to sit down with these kids and – if it’s a group of seven – my goal is
to just get one of them to understand that there’s a bigger picture. And
that’s not always the easiest thing to do.
I remember when older cats used to try to tell me something, and I’d be
like, “Man, I don’t even wanna hear you preach to me.” You know what I’m
saying? Until it’s too late. Because it’s a lot of wet pillows in the penitentiary.
These kids are out here doing a lot of crazy shit but they’re not looking
at the time they might have to do behind it. If there’s seven kids
and you can save one, or just give one some insight, I think that’s the
goal for me. I’m gonna always give back, but I’d rather change a life. With
all the shit I went through, I don’t wanna see nobody else go through
that shit.
Let’s talk about BMF, for example. They’re “legends” in the sense
that everybody knows Meech’s name, but the bottom line is, he’s
spending a lot of his adult life in prison. Do you feel like the hustle is
worth it if that’s the end result? How has your perspective changed
as an adult now that you see the big picture?
It depends on what you really want in life. Some people want to go out
in a blaze of glory. I’m sure at one point Magic Johnson wanted to be the
best basketball player ever, but if you look at him now, he’s a full-fledged
businessman. Look at somebody like Michael Jordan. His brand is a business
and he doesn’t even have to do anything. It depends on what’s going
to make you happy after the glory days. For me, hustling was the only
way out, and sometimes that’s as far as people can see.
You have to start somewhere. I realized that nobody is gonna tell you
how they made their first million dollars. I don’t care what business
they’re in, Amazon or whoever, their first million dollars was dirty. That’s
a fact. They could be worth a billion dollars today, but that first million
dollars, they did some grimy shit to get it. So once you’ve got that capital
to work with, you have to make a decision: am I going to put in the real
work and do something that’s gonna be worthwhile, or am I gonna do
something that’s gonna be fast? I’ve always been taught that anything
that’s fast is dangerous, you know?
For me, my freedom and my integrity was worth putting in the work
rather than to just be somebody who had a good run. I’ve seen so many
cats come and have a year-long run and then they end up dead or in the
penitentiary. I can’t speak for nobody else, but that just ain’t what I want
for myself. I think I’m obligated to at least say that now, because I can. I
couldn’t say it before. I said I was a “soul survivor” back then, but I think
I’m more of a soul survivor now.
Are you still in touch with Big Meech?
Yeah, I talked to him not too long ago. I talk to his moms all the time; me
and his son chop it up. No matter what the speculation is, that’s gonna
always be my brother. He’s showed me nothing but love and it’s always
gonna be love over here. Even if brothers don’t always see eye to eye, it’s
nobody’s business but ours.
Have you talked to him about the upcoming BMF movie?
Nah, I didn’t really get into it, but I know how passionate he is about his
story. Meech is a great storyteller. If you sit down and talk to him, he’ll tell
you about a lot of old things that happened, and it’s just the way he tells
it. Shit’s funny, it’s entertaining. He’s got a way with words. So I know he’ll
be able to tell his story better than anyone. I’m glad he has a platform to
tell it from his perspective and at the end of the day, hopefully it’s going
to help feed his family and help put his son in a good position. I’m hearing
his son is gonna play him in the movie, which is dope – it’s no different
from Ice Cube’s son playing him in the N.W.A movie Straight Outta
Compton. I thought that was the most gangsta shit ever. I’m just glad
that his movement and all the things he went through wasn’t in vain.
A lot of blogs reported that you’re retiring after the TM104 album.
Is that like, a real retirement, or a Jay-Z/Too $hort style retirement?
(laughs) Just to clear things up. I’m never a quitter, quitters never win. I
never said that. I only said that this was the last album in the Thug Motivation
series and my last album on Def Jam. I never said anything else. So
I don’t even know where they got that shit from. I didn’t feel the need to
straighten out the reports that I’m “retiring” because I never said that. It
never came out of my mouth.
Well, nobody fact-checks in 2019. It’s a whole different game.
(laughs) It seems like it would be difficult to craft an entire album
for an audience now with such a short attention span. How do you
make it cohesive and keep people’s attention when they’re used to
like, 60-second clips?
I don’t even think about that shit. I just love complete bodies of work.
If I write a letter, I’m gonna write a whole letter, not just a sentence or a
paragraph. I just love what I do and I love to see the finished product. If
people appreciate it, cool. If they don’t get it, that’s on them. I just try
to make sure my shit is timeless and I get my point across. I don’t really
think about people’s attention span. I still got bodies of work I like to
listen to that I feel like are classics, because I love all the songs. You can
make it as short or as long as you want, as many songs as you want, as
long as it’s quality material.
Especially with social media, fans seem a lot more focused on the
drama rather than just the music. You’re pretty lowkey with your
personal life, not too much speculating on the blogs about who
you’re dating or any of that. Is that intentional?
Yeah, I’m a little old school. I’ve got an old soul. Less is more. Denzel
Washington once told me that: “The less people see you, the more they
want you.” If something in my personal life comes out, then that’s what
it is, but I’m not gonna go out and promote it. There’s no need. I got other
things I could promote. My life is my life; that’s the only thing I have that’s
mine. If you see it, it’s my real life and I’ve allowed you to see it. But if you
don’t see it, I didn’t want you to see it. Because I feel like it has nothing
to do with the relationship that we have, whether you’re a fan or a hater.
(laughs) It has nothing to do with you.
You have an older son, and you recently had a daughter, right? Are
you a totally different person when you’re in “dad” mode?
Nah, I’m just me, man, I’m a lion, and those are my cubs. I’ll go head to
head with a rhino about mine. (laughs) I’m a nurturer and I just wanna
see my kids getting the best of life.
Does your son Jadarius have any rap aspirations?
He’s an aspirational dude. That’s one thing I respect about him, he’s always
thinking of something. He’s always plotting, he’s always got a plan.
He’s working on his clothing line International Fly Airlines (IFA) now,
which is actually dope. I’ve seen where he started and I’ve seen where
he’s at now, so I have to call and commend him every now and then. I’m
proud of what he’s doing. He’s in his own lane and not trying to follow
anybody or get caught up in what everybody else has going on. This
internet shit is king and a lot of these young cats get caught up trying to
compete or trying to be somebody else, but that shit is only temporary.
You got the rest of your life to be great.
So he inherited the hustler gene.
He definitely got that, yeah. I saw that in him very early.