In short
Habits and Hustle Podcast Episode 491: Jay "Jeezy" Jenkins
Episode Overview In this episode, host Jennifer Cohen interviews Jay "Jeezy" Jenkins, a Grammy-nominated rapper and successful entrepreneur. The conversation revolves around Jeezy's extraordinary journey from humble beginnings to building a vast business empire, including his insights on mentorship, leadership, and personal development.
Key Themes and Discussions
Early Entrepreneurial Ventures
- First Business: Jeezy shares his initial foray into entrepreneurship by mowing lawns and selling watermelons in his neighborhood.
- Understanding Hustle: Growing up in a family of hustlers, Jeezy learned business acumen early, realizing the importance of hard work and determination.
Risk and Investment in Music
- $4 Million Bet: Jeezy discusses why he invested $4 million of his own money into his music career before getting signed.
- Lessons from Failure: He reflects on the setbacks he faced while attempting to launch the careers of others, emphasizing the need to learn from failures.
Mentorship and Networking
- Board of Directors: Jeezy has a diverse board of mentors, including Tony Robbins, Robert Greene, and T.D. Jakes, from whom he seeks guidance.
- Seven-Question Method: He shares a unique strategy to gain face time with billionaires, focusing on intentionality and preparation.
Transition to Business Empire
- Avion Tequila Success: Jeezy details his partnership in building Avion Tequila and the multi-million dollar exit strategy involved.
- Energy Drink Launch: He introduces his new product, Edge, as an energy drink that doubles as a mixer, aiming to compete with major brands.
Mental Health and Personal Growth
- Finding Peace: Jeezy discusses the importance of mental health, self-development, and finding tranquility after chaotic periods in life.
- Life Experiences: He shares how his past experiences shaped his identity and determination to change not only his life but also positively influence others.
Upcoming Projects
- Vegas Residency: Jeezy talks about his groundbreaking residency featuring a 101-piece orchestra, set to make history as a unique blend of hip-hop and orchestral music.
- Philanthropic Efforts: He is dedicated to giving back through his Street Dreams Foundation, focusing on youth mentorship and community support.
Key Takeaways
- Embrace Risk: Taking calculated risks is essential for growth and success; Jeezy emphasizes betting on oneself.
- Build Strong Networks: Establishing genuine relationships with mentors can provide invaluable support and guidance.
- Learn from Failure: Education through experience, especially in the form of failures, is crucial for personal and professional development.
- Pursue Passion with Purpose: True fulfillment comes from aligning one’s career with their personal values and purpose.
Closing Thoughts Jeezy’s story is one of resilience, entrepreneurship, and leadership. His journey illustrates the importance of self-investment, the power of mentorship, and the drive to uplift and inspire others. Through his music, business ventures, and philanthropic work, he aims to create a lasting impact on his community and beyond.
---
Sponsors
- Therasage: Use code Be Bold for 15% off.
- Air Doctor: Use promo code HUSTLE for savings on air purifiers.
- Magic Mind, Momentous, Manna Vitality, Prolon: Discounts available with respective codes.
Social Media Links
- Jennifer Cohen: [Website](https://www.jennifercohen.com/), Instagram: [@therealjencohen](https://www.instagram.com/therealjencohen)
- Jay "Jeezy" Jenkins: Instagram: [@jeezy](https://www.instagram.com/jeezy)
Conclusion This episode highlights the importance of resilience and determination in achieving success, as exemplified by Jeezy's transformative journey from rapper to entrepreneur and mentor.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:01Hi guys, it's Tony Robbins. You're listening to Habits & Hustle. Crush it. All right, you guys. Today we have a special guest on the show. He goes by Jeezy, right? Young Jeezy, right? That's what my husband told me, right? And first of all, thanks for coming on the show. We're going to talk about all your business ventures, your new biggest project in Vegas. So thank you for being on the show. Thank you for having me. Of course. We do this thing on the podcast. We take healthy performance shots. They're called Magic Mind, and they're kind of to keep you focused, and it's all healthy stuff. So it's like ashwagandha.
0:36Are you into health at all? Yes, for sure. Okay. Do you exercise? Are you a big workout person? Okay. So then you'd like these. So basically we just like shake them. We do quick cheers and then we're off to the races. Let's do it. So it's just a bunch of like healthy ingredients to keep you like on point. You're going to know in two seconds. It tastes good. It's actually really good. It is good. It is good, right? Yeah, it's good. And now you're going to be super alert and super focused for the rest of the show. Let's do it. All right. So I wanted to ask you, where did you even get the name Jeezy from?
1:08Well, growing up, there was an era where a New Orleans rap syndicate that was called Cash Money was taking over the world. And it was like where Lil Wayne came from and all these guys. And they had these nicknames like BG and Jizzle and all that stuff. And around that time, I was becoming a hot boy because I was actually like hustling and getting my first entrepreneur job on. and the people in my neighborhood used to call me Jeezy because of my voice. Like my name is Jay. They call me Jeezy because that was like my hood slang name. And it just kind of fit when I started to do music because it's just like, well, what do they call you?
1:46I'm like Jeezy. And at the time, people were putting Young on their rap names. So I put Young Jeezy together and that's how I came up with Young Jeezy. I love that. Okay. You're kind of known for being very entrepreneurial, right? So you kind of have, you have the music side to you and you have like the business side. Can you talk about like, what was your first entrepreneurial endeavor that you ever did? Entrepreneurial? I think I had one job before where I actually worked with my uncle. I had a job at McDonald's for like five hours. They put me on the fries and I was out of there. Really? Yeah, no, I'm serious.
2:21How old were you? Maybe about 14, 15. And you just hated it? I mean, it just because I understood right then and there, I couldn't work for anyone. That wasn't who I was and no disrespect to nobody that does. I just understood what I was trying to do. My first entrepreneurial job was cutting lawns in the neighborhood. I had a lawnmower that I bought, spent about$20 for it. He had my uncle help me fix it up. And I would take me and my little crew. We used to go around, cut people's yards for$5,$10, stuff like that. That's like my first thing where I had money. Then, if you know anything about the South and Georgia, watermelons are a big thing.
3:00So I would go out and get these trucks with my uncles, and we would throw watermelons. So you would go out in the field, and you'd pick watermelons, and you'd throw them, throw them, throw them back until they end up on the truck, and then you just keep that going. Then you'd go on the side of the road, and you would sell the watermelons. How much would you sell them for? I'd make like$20 a day. Really? Yeah. Okay, so how many would you sell for$20? Well, I would make$20. Right, so how much would you sell to make the$20? I mean, we'd pick, you know, maybe 100 watermelons a day. That's a lot of watermelons.
3:30Yeah. And then you might not sell them all, but you might sell something here at this place, something here or there. When you get done, they would just pay everybody. But the reason why I say entrepreneur, because it was my uncle's company. Yeah. So to speak, I don't even think he probably had a tax ID, but that's how he was getting paid in cash. Right. And that was like my first thing. And then coming up, the first entrepreneurs I really knew were musicians and then the local hustlers in my neighborhood. So hustling was like a family thing, meaning the environment I was in, it was natural to hustle.
4:03And so I kind of got into that early on. My auntie's hustled, my uncle's hustled. It was just like a thing. Right. And I just got into it and I was good at it. So once I picked that up, I was off to the entrepreneurial race. I just understood, okay, this is the way. I'm not going to stick with it, but I just need to use this to get to the next place, which was music. But I was hustling pretty much all my teenage years. Right. And just kind of carried through. Yeah. Right. Because you don't even know any different because that's how you always were. Yeah. But I mean, it was like a thing. Yeah. You know, you're growing up in this small town.
4:34You know, you know all the police people. They know your aunties, your uncles. So you're a good kid, but they just know that you're hustling. So you're not out here causing any trouble. So I kind of, you know, hustled on my auntie's front porch. So that's where the song came from, how the rest of the yams in my auntie's house. Because that was like a true, my auntie was my hustling partner. I love that. We hustled together. I used to get the money, she used to put it up for me, put it in her bra, put it in her, put it up under her mattress or whatever. And she used to do these car games, like on the weekends and all the people that came to the car games, they were pretty much my clients.
5:05So I had this tight ecosystem of people that I really trusted. They were like, you know, let me use their car because I was giving this. Or they would come like, you know, and, you know, come over house and hang out all weekend. But, you know, they would spend a couple hundred dollars with me. And I was just like learning how to like make this ecosystem. So that was like my first company I would say I built. Like it was a very lucrative company for me to be that age. And you were like really young at that point. Yeah, I was like 14, 15. Yeah. Yeah. And then wait, so like even for the music stuff, like that's like a hard business.
5:36I mean, I used to, I don't know, you probably don't know this, but I used to be in the music world. I used to run marketing for BMG Music a long time ago, many years ago, before I got into all these other things. But I know how hard it is to get signed to labels, to stay on a label, to get, you know, to the whole music world is. And it's so different even today. Back then, it's even more difficult, in my opinion, in some ways. How did you kind of go from, you know, doing what you were doing then to getting signed? And who signed you? Like, can you kind of give me the origin and like the evolution of how you even?
6:09because it is the most people who know know, but people who don't know, don't know. It's a very difficult business. Well, the first thing is like music was my, like it was my, like my escape. Like I listened to music every morning before school, every day I got out of school, like literally all day. But I learned from the music. So I just actually, it was like a course. It was like a college course. Like I just listened to music to learn. It wasn't the same way I listened to podcasts. I literally listen to four, five, six different podcasts throughout the day. Right, just to kind of get information, just to kind of learn things.
6:44I'm a sponge. I just have to get it. You know what I mean? It fulfills me. And I used to listen to music, but I almost immediately understood that I was learning. Because I would get in the situation and be like, hold on, what did Tupac say? Okay. And I would apply it. And it was working. And I was learning that a lot of people that were around, they were kind of stuck, you know, just on the hamster wheel of just what was going on. But they wasn't thinking outside the box because they were just hearing the music and not visualizing what came with it. I was like, oh, you can, you know, and that's how I was applying it to my day.
7:21So music was very important to me. And when I was doing what I was doing, hustling, I just, you know, I saw a lot of things happen to a lot of good people. And I was just like, okay, I can't get stuck in this because I see that there's really no win in it. And the thing that I was able to do was I was able to use my street, you know, street smarts. Yeah. Yeah. And just my savoir faire to convince older people that I knew these other people that I can go get them something, too, and we can work this out. So that was like my M.O. I would be around all the older guys and I would get their money and be like, give me two, three days.
8:05I'll be back. I'm going out of town. But literally, I already had what they was looking for. I just went to my grandmother's house and watched TV and played video games, too. So, and that was my MO. So I built up a level of trust and all this by listening to music because I was learning through the codes. So as it went on and I started to get into like these situations where there were life or death and, you know, freedom of, you know, jail. And I was just like, okay, this is not going to work. I got to figure out how to pivot out of this. And around that time is when the cash monies and the no limits and all this stuff was taking off.
8:37And I was like, well, maybe I could do that. So I immediately went out and bought studio equipment, went and started signing people in the neighborhood and tried to put them in position to be rap superstar because I wanted to be the CEO. That was my thing. I wanted to be the baby or the slim of my thing. And what I learned quickly, I spent lots of money for a young age. I spent millions of dollars to try to put people on, of my money. Of your own money? Yeah, of my own money. and it didn't work out. And then I was broke because some of my artists went to prison. Some of them got locked up for murder cases and so on and so forth.
9:17And I'm sitting in this studio because I really don't got nowhere to stay at this point because I put all my money into this. So this nice apartment I had and these nice cars I had, they're all gone now because I'm trying to stay afloat. And my man looks at me, he goes, man, you might as well do it. Like, it's your life. You're out here living this stuff. And I was just like, you know what? And I just started on this mission of doing it. I just started to get in and start making music from the ground up. Of course, it took like 10 years, and I had to kind of get myself readjusted, and I had to hustle even harder because now I'm supporting my own career.
9:48Right. Wow, so you did the opposite of what everybody else does. Yeah. So you went from running the company and trying to be managing all these people. Which was a blessing because now— Yeah, now you understand the business. I'm not a runner. You see what I'm saying? I think that's what a lot of people miss when I'm sitting around. I listen to stuff. I go, let's do that. And they're like, how you know that? Because I've already did it 30 different times. 100%. So I know that. And also, that's why so many artists get in such trouble, because they don't understand the business side of the business and how things work and how things you got on the back end of stuff.
10:22So if you're coming with that kind of street savviness and business acumen, you're just ahead of the game right there in a lot of the ways. And it's the same savvy that helped me secure deals that you wouldn't normally get, because I would go in these situations and I would be in these company meetings and I would just watch people just being disarrayed, like just frantic. And I'm just like, why are they, like, I'm coming from a game where the pressure is, you know, a freedom of jail, life or death. So those are the consequences, but you still got to play the game. So if I'm sitting in the boardroom and everybody panicking, I'm like, what's the worst that can happen?
10:56You lose your job. That's it. You know what I'm saying? Everybody calm down. You know what I'm saying? And let's just, you know, So think clear through the chaos. It's like, what's the best route? How can we execute this in a way? Because the thing that people don't understand is it's like there's no wrong way. Education costs. Even if it doesn't work, you learn. You know, and I've made decisions that cost me millions of dollars, and I've made decisions that didn't cost me anything. But education still costs. And I'm grateful for all the times that I was in situations. Because you got to think, it's all strategy.
11:30You know what I'm saying? Like when you're coming from where I came from, it's just like, I used to look at it like I'm standing on Monty's porch. How can I get from this mailbox on the front porch to where I need to go? How many steps is that in life? And when you go back and you just retrace all your steps, you had mishaps, you had let ups, let downs. You had times when you didn't even know how you was going to get your next meal, but you made it through. So knowing that in this world at this time, I don't really worry about much because I know if I don't have the answers, I built up a network of people that I can really call and have real conversations with about things that I need to navigate or strategy.
12:11And they're very respected people, but I think they see a lot of me, you know, what they saw in themselves when they were young. Of course. Yeah. Do you have like one mentor or one person that kind of is your like guide that helps you with this stuff? I got a gang of, like, board. I got a board of directors. It's insane. Really? Oh, my God. It's insane. It's like, you wouldn't, I mean, it's just like, I don't really like the name because people are like, you know, but it's Tony Robbins. It's the Robin Shermans. It's the Robert Greene. It's the D.D. Jakes. I love Robert Greene. I love Robert. Yeah.
12:46He's brilliant. It's great. In fact, actually, I'm very good friends with him. And he's writing a new book. It's almost finished. You know about this? I was just going to say to you, do you know the book 48 Laws of Power? Of course. Because you would probably love it. I really tapped into him for the law of attraction, though. A lot of that. Well, he's got a billion laws of human nature, the mastery. So many. That's why I really tapped in from him. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? And me and Robert used to literally, when I was home in L.A., we used to get up like once a month, go to the L.A. fitness club and have tea.
13:18Really? Yeah. I love it. You know what I'm saying? Just have real, you know, you help me out with stuff with my son and give me some advice. I give him some advice about culture. But like me and Robert, like we hang out. Yeah, me too. That's great. He's brilliant. I love that. So then how did, I mean, like also have you seen that? John Maxwell too. I love John. Oh, I don't know John Maxwell. He's amazing. Really? He's one of the. He's the one, I know. Like I've seen his name all the time. He's the best communicator I've ever seen. His communication skills. Because I see his clips sometimes and I do, I like his perspective.
13:50Yeah. I should reach out to him to be on the show, actually. Another one is Lewis Howes. I love Lewis. Oh, I know Lewis, too. Yeah, that's my guy. Yeah. Lewis is a great person. Have you been on his show yet? Of course. Yeah. I talk to Lewis all the time. Yeah. He's a great guy. He's a nice guy. Who else? We probably have a lot of mutual friends, actually. I mean, you name them all, but that's the thing. I mean, once I became an author, that opened a lot of doors, too. But I really love Robin Sherman as well. He's great. Yeah. Dave Gibson is another amazing one. Yeah. So I have a lot of resources when it comes to that.
14:19But these are real relationships. But they're my board of advisors. Like, they know this. Like, I can call Tony Robbins and be like, hey. He's like, lay it on me, Jeezy. But then he'll call me about stuff, too, and I respect that. You know what I'm saying? But you got to understand, like, you take that and you flip it back when I came from the streets. Like, I talked to the guys that were in that position in the streets the same way. Like, they actually got advice from me. I was going to say, do you have, like, a group of people that you mentor? Of course. Yeah. Yeah, I got programs, young CEO program.
14:49with the Urban League of Georgia, Greater Georgia. I got my Street Dreams Foundation, so we got a lot of stuff there. And then, you know, I just do my own mentoring, like, as far as culture-wise. I'm not a, what would I say, I'm not a role model. You know what I'm saying? I'm not that, but I do have a set of skills, like the guy said on the transporter. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have a set of skills when it comes to living life that I'm very serious about, and I don't mind sharing the information because I know it changed my life, you know? What are some of the skills, the set of skills that you live by?
15:28I think integrity is a skill. I think it's a skill set, you know what I'm saying? And I think that it's a slow grind, but it will get you farther than anything. Because you never know how much your past will affect you until 10 years later and people go he was that way 10 years ago he's jesus he's solid you need that you know for people to trust you you know and let you into their world i have people like because i had you know i was rough around the edges so i had a lot of things that you know i wasn't proud of but people know that deep down inside i was still a good person and they would say that you know it's like you know he just came from a you know rough beginnings but he's he's actually you know he's a great person just sit down and talk to him and they helped me out a lot because it was one time I was like getting banned in radio stations.
16:15I couldn't even come in and promote my projects. Really? Yeah. Just because of the things that I was affiliated with that people were, you know, just like, oh my God, like he's terrible. But I was just caught up in a situation and I was also trying to help these misfits navigate stuff because I just was the one that saw around the corner. I was the prophet. Right. I was like, guys, like we can, we can do something great with this. I mean, it's bad now. It doesn't look good. You know, nobody likes us. But we can make this something great. And I think that I was the voice of reason, you know. And also perseverance.
16:48Like, so how did you just, like, so if one of your skills now is integrity, how did you kind of go from where you were to where you've become, where now you're kind of known for being someone with integrity and someone who's a good person? Staying curious, right? And also not being afraid to, like, think outside of the box. You know what I'm saying? like i'll do things that people like last year i took a trip to italy a solo trip you know by myself and just really wanted to kind of just find myself and get centered but in the middle of that you know i called robert sherman i don't know if you know his books he did um the muckle sold his ferrari 5am club he just had a new book coming out yeah the uh the wealth the money can't buy something like that yeah but i just actually called him i was like yo you're gonna be in tuscany on wednesday He's like, I'm here.
17:36I was like, I'll be there Tuesday. I'm going to come by the house. Went by his house, sat out with him by his pool, looked at his wine vineyard. And we just sat out there and talked. And I was like, hey, I got seven questions. We had this conversation. I was like, you mind if I break out my pad? He's like, no. And we just sat there and he just answered all my questions. And it got so good, he took my pad and started writing down his own answers. Like, what about this? What about that? And I know what he charges people to mentor them. And he asked me, he was like, because we had lunch, So he had all this food.
18:05And he was like, where are all your people? And I was like, I came by myself. My spirit told me to come sit down and talk to you. And he looked at me and said, you're very brave. I never thought about it. I just got on the plane because I wanted to talk to him. And that's some things I was trying to work through. But to me, that's like, that's thinking outside the box. That's amazing. You just like one day, you just thought, you know, I'm going to go to Tuscany, jump on a plane, and ask him seven questions. That's it. Did you have the seven questions written down? I did. Can you share one of the questions?
18:31Oh, it was actually about speaking. Oh, about speaking. Yeah, one of the questions was about speaking, like, because I want to get into speaking. Right. So I just wanted to talk to him about what his process was to get to where he is in speaking. And he just gave me the whole breakdown, how I structured, how I set up, where I need to start, what are the punch lines, how do you come on the stage, what's the posture you take, how do you get people into it, how do you make everybody clap to get on the stage. Like, he just gave me this whole thing, and he went through writing it down. And same thing with John Maxwell, you know what I'm saying, with seven questions, and he loved that.
19:01Actually, I got that from John Maxwell. Really? Yeah. To come with seven questions? Seven questions. They better be good. Better be good. And I got that from John. So when I got with John, I was like, John, I got seven questions for you. He just was laughing. He was like, my friend, you're so good at this. And I was like, yo, I need the answers. We became like really close.
19:27Let me share my daily routine game changer with you. It's the Momentus 3. I've been using their protein, their creatine, and omega-3 combo for months now, and the results are undeniable. These nutrients are key for long-term health and performance, but hard to get enough of through diet alone. The Crea Pure Creatine boosts both physical and your mental performance. The grass-fed whey tastes great with no weird aftertaste, and their omega-3 is a must for recovery. Since adding these, my energy, my recovery, and my overall well-being has really improved. So if you want better performance, this is the way to go.
20:09Visit livemomentous.com and use my code JEN for 35 % off your first subscription. That's livemomentous.com, code JEN for 35 % off your first subscription. Trust me, you'll be happy you did.
20:35What was the one question you asked John Maxwell? Oh, I asked him about music to entrepreneurship because John was a pastor. And he ended up being leader for leaders, like what he does now is leadership. And I asked him, how do you go? I said, how do you leave from one thing to go to the next thing? And he said, you don't leave something, you go to something. So you're not leaving music. You're going to this new life you want to go to. That'll always be there, but you're not leaving it. So don't put in your mind that you're leaving something because you feel like you're losing something, but you're not.
21:09You're actually just going to something else, and that's okay. That's a really good reframe, actually. And T.D. Jax was the same thing because his entrepreneurship is like... I love him. And I'm like, Bishop... He's great. ...explained to me this, and he was just like, he said well the reason you messed up brother Jeezy is because you're putting this stigma on me you're judging me because I'm a bishop but I was an entrepreneur first how about that so I could be two things that's right exactly and I was just like okay it's true but I mean you know coming from where you come from it's just like the mentality is either or it's sad to say because you don't feel like you can do two things great.
21:55You know what I'm saying? It's almost a miracle to do one thing great. But it's just like when you can do two things great. But I think you should give yourself that grace and understand like anything's possible if you work hard at it. I think it's also, it sounds to me that like you seek out people who are, that you kind of respect and admire and try to like lean something from them, like learn something from these people. And I like this idea. I just learned that. Like I was, as you were talking, I'm like, this idea of doing seven questions. A, it's very focused and it keeps you focused and on point.
22:27And then like people know, like there's like kind of like a structure where you can like kind of stay within. So you can learn more. They know. That's a very good thing for people. It's intentional and you're not rambling. It's intentional. Exactly. I think that's a really good point for anybody who's listening because I don't like for me even for a lot of people, right? Like you have people who reach out to you and they don't even know what they want to do or what they want to talk about. Right. And then it's like, it's left on the person to figure it out for them. But if I think people would have a lot more success if they approach somebody with like, I have five questions for you.
Read the full transcript
23:01It's an intentional amount of things. But also taking the intentional time to get to the point where you can't ask. Exactly. Having the clarity, taking the time and like really, you know, diving in and not like rushing the process of like, just because you know this person, you want to ask them. Like, I thought about this Tuscany trip for a while and I was like, you know, I really need to go get some time. in with him and i want to want to talk to him and i also want to see what he's doing that i don't understand i've been to a lot of people's houses but when i got to his house i clearly understood what was going on i've never seen that type of beauty in my life really oh no ever it's just like the rolling hills the wine venues the olive trees the mountaintop with the snow and like this is his view wow from his pool and i'm just going like and when i left i i clearly understood there's a difference between living and the quality of life.
23:53That's a good one too. You know what I'm saying? Like it was clearly a difference and I'm going like, oh, okay. Because sometimes we get caught up in the wrong things based on our environment, right? We think that having the right car or the right jet or the right this or the right that is the thing, but it doesn't change the quality of life. I can see why he's writing the type of books he's writing. I'm looking at the room that he's sitting in while he's writing and I'm going like, how could you not? Right, Right, exactly. Right, there's so much inspiration there. And I just, I remember leaving and telling one of my business partners at the time, like, sell all the cars.
24:24He's like, what is going on? I don't need it. You know what I'm saying? Because I was like, I'm cool. Like, I want to live a simple life. You know, I actually want to get a place over here in Tuscany. Like, I want to do something. Are you going to move there? One thousand percent. When? Soon. Really? Yeah, it's happening. I love that. So you're basically, you make like, but that's what's good about this stuff. Because it's one thing if you just do that and just have these ideas and don't really act on them. But you're actually, you take it to the next. I think that's where people get stuck. They don't take action.
24:53It has to be a part of your purpose. I know not everyone can move to Tuscany. But what I'm saying, whatever it is, it doesn't matter. It may be on the other side of town. It could be whatever. Changing your environment. You got to inspire to do it and you got to know how you want to live your life. What really matters to you. A hundred percent. saying and that matters to me because i know what type of state of mind that would put me in you know peace is like something i mean coming from chaos you know you don't you want you wouldn't want peace if you didn't come from chaos and like to me like the end goal is peace it's like to be somewhere where i'm great i'm good my focus is world class i'm not just thinking like you know just neighborhood or city stuff or you know you know just being in the united states it's like It's such a world out there.
25:38Huge world, I know. And there are people that really want to help you and really want to pour into you. And there's stuff that they can actually help you to understand because it's just like a world-class view of things. And it's like for a person like myself who's pouring back into my culture, I want to have a world-class view. So when I'm having these conversations, when I'm doing these speaking engagements, I'm thinking and coming from a world-class level. So I'm not just giving you this stuff that's just, you know, cookie cutter because I feel like I have a voice. It's like, no, I'm actually going out and doing the work.
26:10Right. I'm having the conversations. I'm doing the research. I'm taking the time to go have the solitude to come up with these business plans. Like I've done great business deals just on the surface. I mean, I bought and sold Avion tequila to Pernod Ricard. You know, I've done crazy real estate deals. What's the best deal? Give me an example of your most profitable, most lucrative business deal. I would say Avion Tequila. Yeah, big one. Shout out to my mentor and business partner, Ken Austin. He sold NetJets to Warren Buffett and he started Avion Tequila. He built it. I came in. He had the top.
26:46I was like, Ken, you just need the bottom. And he's like, what do you mean? I was like, well, you have all these high-end hotels and you have all this thing, but you don't have culture. And he's like, tell me about it. And I told him, I'm going to tell you about it, but I'm going to need some equity. You know what I'm saying? Really? Yeah. I didn't know you were even involved in that deal. Yeah. I was his partner. I had stock share everything you know yeah that wasn't in my notes I had no idea yeah the whole thing that's a really good one I mean yeah I mean after it was sold I had to kind of sit down and think about that I want to make music anymore I was like hmm this was different you know what I'm saying because it was like you know probably one of the biggest accomplishments I had outside of music yeah outside of touring and I loved it I understood it but you got to go back to the hustling mentality.
27:28I knew how to, you know, mobilize people on the block and I knew how to make things hot and I knew how to navigate things. So I understood it by being in that environment. I'm, I was in all the clubs before I was doing music. I watched it. Like I watched, literally watched when Patron took off. Meaning like I was in the conversation. Like I was standing right there when the guy said, Hey, we don't have any more 1800. We got Patron. And I looked at my man. He was like, let's do that. And I watched it go from that moment to the world because that's how much of a grip we had on culture. You know what I'm saying?
28:02That's amazing. I literally looked at it. I saw it. Moet, Rose, same thing. They'll tell you that. Moet will tell you that. We did that. Nobody was holding bottles in the club and all that. And I'm just saying that's a minute way of thinking about it. But I'm saying like - It's not actually. I think it's a great way of looking at it. But I'm looking at it from a world-class level of, you see that go from culture to mainstream. but I'm looking at it and I'm seeing, oh, all you gotta do is stand beside it and do this or that. And people will be like, okay, that's the new thing. That's what we're doing.
28:31And I think that that's what I brought to Avion. It was like, how do you mobilize a group of people to like something at one time? And that's the skillset I had, you know, and that's another skillset, mobilized. You know what I'm saying? You can't, most people can't get people together. I knew that coming up early on. I'm making these songs and I'm filling arenas. I'm doing tours with Jay-Z, Rihanna and all these people. but people are reciting every word that I'm saying for an hour, hour and a half, every word, right? You tell me we're president, you're going to get to go up there and say any speech that people are going to recite for an hour and a half.
29:03That's power. That's power. That is. And that's the difference because when I got into the music game, it wasn't about the money. I understood almost instantly that it was a position of leadership. Now, what am I going to do with this leadership? Because I was already leading when I was in my other environment. it because I wasn't the toughest. I didn't have to be, but I was the smartest. That's a hundred percent true. That's such a good point. What do you think it is about your personality that you, because I think what you just said, like, it's kind of like a mobile, like mobilizing, building community, getting people to like do what you want.
29:38That's a really like very, very particular skillset that most people cannot do. Right. I don't think that's even something that's necessarily, you can't teach somebody that. I think you either have that or you don't. I think it's in your heart. It is. I think so too. Yeah. I think it's like your heart because people, what I mean by it's in your heart is like, you got the heart to love and protect people, but then you got the heart to face anything. You're fearless. Like courage and bravery. Yeah. Like you're fearless. Yeah. You already, cause in my mind back then I was ready to die for I was like, I was like Malcolm X, like whatever, let's do it.
30:17But as you begin to get knowledge, you're like, well, I don't have to think about it like that, but let me just, you know, work on myself so that I can be the best version of myself. So now I have emotional intelligence. I don't get upset about things. Because me getting upset about things could shift everything because everybody's going to move with my energy. And back then my energy was like really in the streets. So I can turn the half of the world against half of the world. Imagine that. Like, I can literally do that. You know what I'm saying? Just because I got up and said, you know what?
30:46I don't like that person or that. And wherever I put that energy at, you're talking about a whole coast of people that's going to align with that because they align with me. And once I started to understand that, I'm like, okay, well, how can I use this for, you know, for good, right? But that's not a popular decision. So I had to fight through that because now people are looking at you like, well, how you lead us to this point? But then you want to switch up and do something that's positive. this doesn't make sense but the people who understood the bigger vision stayed around the people who didn't they fell to the wayside and that's okay but now i'm in a different place and my focus is different and my vision is different and the way i carry myself is different because this is what i was working on the whole time because i understood that once i got to this position that i can do world-class things and not just things where it's like you know um he did a you know, I would hate to just be this person who just made great music.
31:40That would just tear me up. I don't want my kids just to know that I just made great songs. I mean, we all do. You know, when I think about Bob Marley, it's just like, look at all the great he did though. Right. So you want to be much more robust and like kind of well-rounded. Well-rounded. Renaissance man is what I call it. Right. So what's your main focus now? So you've kind of, you've had a lot of evolutions, right? Like you had the, well, I didn't know about the Avion one. Is there another one? What's another one that's really big, by the way? Defiance Fuel, which was Athlete's Water. We did very well.
32:11Defiance Fuel. You have an energy drink, though, now called Edge. You didn't bring me one, though. Yeah, I should have brought one, especially with this coffee. So Edge is an energy drink that also doubles as a mixer. Okay. So we coming for Red Bull. Let them know. Yeah, I'll tell them. You know what I'm saying? Let them know. We also, you know, right now, it's just like, you know, we just did the book, Adversity for Sale, New York Times bestseller. Congratulations. That's something I always wanted. Thank you. That's something I always wanted. So that worked out for the best. Right now, my focus for this year and the rest of 25 has been on this tour that I wanted to do that was a vision of mine that I wanted to elevate my culture with, which was an orchestra tour.
32:53That's so great. I saw that. That's like a hundred piece orchestra, right? Well, that's the one that we bring into Vegas. So the one we just took around the southeast and the Midwest was a 30-something piece. Oh, wow. And a black tie event sold out totally. It was one of the most just amazing experiences I've ever been a part of. And I wanted to bring it out to the West Coast. So we just got a residency. We're playing in Hollywood. Right. And we're doing the Masquerade on November 31st. I mean, October 31st, November 1st. Those are the two days for that. Right, I saw that. And then we're doing the Nutcracker on the 19th and the 21st of December.
33:32And this is at Planet Hollywood. And it's also the 20-year anniversary of my first album, which is Thug Motivation 101. It came out in 05. And I'm bringing a 101-piece orchestra. Shout out to the Color of Noise Orchestra, Adam Blackstone, Derek Hodges. And on my birthday, I don't know when this is airing, I'm actually releasing a mixtape. slash album with DJ Drama. Slash album with DJ Drama. It's called Still Snowing. And it's releasing on the 28th of September. I don't know when this is the air, but... And also, DJ Drama and I, this is how I got on by pressing up mixtapes and giving them out.
34:12This is how I built my career. That's how everyone builds their career. You actually gave out all the mixtapes. Yeah, for free, though. Yeah, you were probably going around the streets and doing it. How many do you think you gave away? About a half a million. A half a million? For sure. Yeah. How much did that cost just to make a hundred and a million, sorry, half a million mixtapes? Probably cost you like a hundred thousand, even back then. No, I probably, between that and my first album, I probably spent about$4 million. Really? Yeah. Yeah. And your own, like, because at that point you had no money.
34:44And that's when I tell anyone to bet on themselves. I watch people sit there and budget things out. I'm just like, I don't even think like that. Let's go. So tell us how you think. Tell us how people should. There is no bottom line on it. You'll just spend how much it needs to be spent. But I'm not just spending like a maniac. I'm definitely thinking about what I'm doing, but I'm not cutting any corners when it comes to my legacy, my future, and changing the quality of life of the people around me. Because you have to take the risk. And if you're counting peanuts and you're trying to make, you're not taking a risk.
35:18You have to break the glass ceiling. How are you going to do that by spending your own? I've never took anybody's money. When I made my records, when I was signed to Def Jam, I paid for my own records. You did? Yeah, and I get my money back. But it's just like, because if I get your money, then I might treat it like it's free money. But if I'm submitting my money, I'm going to work. You're going to work. I'm going to work. That's exactly true. The only way to know a value of a dollar is when it's your own money, right? Yeah. And of course, you're going to save when you can. But it's just like, you know, some people are like, you know, I got$100 ,000.
35:49I'm going to, you know, invest it in this. And I'm like, yeah, but, you know, if you got$250 ,000, let's go. That's right. What's the difference? Like, it's all the same. What did you spend the$4 million on? So you got the mixtapes, half a million mixtapes. Yep. That's great. What else? I mean, you know, producers, studio time, marketing, videos. What kind of marketing back then did you do? Well, the biggest thing was the snowman marketing, which is my alias, snowman. And because the only competition I got is Frosty. We're going to get into that. But I branded myself with Snowman and making all these T-shirts where I gave away these Snowman T-shirts to promote my album.
36:36That was hundreds of thousands of dollars because a lot of T-shirts. However, these same T-shirts, CNN, well, the high schools and middle schools banned the T-shirts and CNN made a report about it. Really? Yeah, it was a big deal. Yeah. What were the T-shirts? Just frosty, you said? No, well, the snowman was on the T-shirt, my emblem of it, but they were saying what it represented. And they thought it represented like drug dealing, street stuff and all that. Really? The best press you ever got? Best press I ever got. Yeah, best press you ever got back then also, seeing it was a big deal. Well, the other best press I ever got was when I was coming around, I was doing my work, and I actually made this song on my third album called My President is Black.
37:18and it blew up right around the time Obama was running for president. For president, yeah. And I did all these campaigns where I was renting all these buses and bringing all these people in for the neighborhood to vote. And I did it with the radio station and had lawyers going to the neighborhood to talk to people that was convicted fellas and tell them they could still vote. And boom, it just became this cultural classic. And I got invited to a correspondence dinner. When I got there, the Secret Service told my security I can't come in, clearly because of my past. You know what I'm saying? Right.
37:49And I felt the way because I bought a Tom Ford suit. I was like, I was ready. Oh. And they told me I couldn't come in. And, you know, I kind of left with my head down and I was on tour in Europe about four years later. My mom called me. She was like, baby. She's like, Obama just shouted you out last night. I was like, you don't mess with me. She's like, I'm going to get your sister to send it to you. And he said, on my first term, I sang Al Green. This is at a correspondence dinner. He said, my second term, I'm singing Young Jeezy. Michelle likes that. And I was just like, my God. Really? Yeah.
38:19So that was definitely a big moment. Yeah. That was great press, by the way. That's great press. Yeah. Yeah. And he actually wrote me a letter. It was weird. What did it say? I did a documentary. So I've been an executive producer on a lot of documentaries. And I did this documentary on Hulu called Hip Hop in the White House. And I kind of told this story and talked about, you know, all the stuff I did for him. And he just wrote me this letter. One of my guys called me. He's like, hey, man, one of Obama's guys has called me. He wants an address on you. I'm like, don't give it to him. Like, he's coming to pick me up.
38:52He's like, no, I think it's good. Don't give it to him. And you're right, because I didn't know what was going on. And I get it, and I open it up, and there's a letter, and it's just basically like, man, just thank you for everything you're doing for the culture, your people, and we appreciate you, and thank you for everything you've done for me. And I was just like, wow. Yeah, I hung it up on my wall. It was like, it was a big deal. That is really amazing. Yeah. I showed it to my daughter. She's like, whatever. Of course, she doesn't care. Isn't that funny how something that you were so upset about, right?
39:21You walk in, they wouldn't let you in, but it comes back full circle in a different way. That's why I say you just got to go. Yeah. Because you just got to take the first step. Everything I've ever done, it never worked. It always came back better at the right time. And that's my prayer every morning. but clearly that's the big guy's MO. He waiting till you're ready. If you're not ready, and everything you're going through, he preparing you for the next step. You know what I'm saying? Because he can't give you what you're not ready for. You're going to drop the ball, you know? And it's just like, that's a real thing.
39:56And I think for a lot of people, a lot of musicians, a lot of this is about money, status, you know, women, cars, jewelry, whatever. But to me, this is my purpose. Like there's nothing else in the world I could do. I've tried. Right, right, right. You know what I'm saying? Didn't work out. Like, this is it. You know what I'm saying? And I'm all in. And it's every day. It's like nothing comes before my purpose but my keys and God. But it's just like I'm locked in because I know that I have to navigate this very well because this is a real shot from where I'm coming from. What I've been through, people don't make it.
40:28I lost more than I ever gained. And that's people too as well. And when you see that and you get in a position like this, I'm blessed. Like I get up, I get to do what I love. I get to live this amazing. My life is like a vacation. You know what I'm saying? Of course, I got to work, but at the same time, I'm still able to touch people. I'm still able to push the envelope. I'm still being able to do things on my terms because I started off betting on myself. Right. So me going out on this orchestra tour and putting my own money and my own team behind it is unheard of. It was independent. It was no, you know what I'm saying?
40:59Wow. You don't even hear about stuff like that, but all that came from the beginning. Right. Because it sounds like you just said, it seems like that's kind of always what you do. Right. Right? And now taking it to Vegas and doing this hundred, that's all me. I don't have to ask anybody for permission. Well, how did you get that deal with Planet Hollywood? Did you go to them and say, I want to do this collaboration? Yeah, they saw everything that was going on. They would have been crazy not to. I was going to say, why did they get the lucky ones? Like, why did they get it? They saw the vision.
41:27They saw the vision. It was like, we understand. And they're dope. You know, I love Planet Hollywood. I think that they just really understood what we was doing. And it was like, no, this perfectly works with our brand. We align. The venue is perfect, you know, for the size of the orchestra. I want, like, it's new equipment in there, new sound. I was going to say, how big is it in the Planet Hollywood area? They hold about 5 ,900. Okay, because that's a big, that's a huge orchestra. Like, 100 pieces is a lot. And this, for me, it's like, well, the 101 is to celebrate 101. Yeah. the 20 years of it.
42:02And it's never been done, so why not do it? I was telling my team earlier today that if somebody's going to come beat us, they got to do 150, 170. That's on them. Let them figure that out. Well, exactly. But I was reading your stuff yesterday, and someone was behind me. They're like, wow, he's bringing orchestra. It actually stops people in their tracks because nobody, that is very unexpected. People don't normally bring an orchestra of that caliber and that size, right? So it's, it is something that, like, I don't know how people can top that unless they bring 150 people, you know, 150 pieces.
42:35I mean, there's not much else you can do. And the thing that I love about it is we already got the proof of concept because we took it around the world and we've seen what it is and we didn't come to the West Coast. So this is strictly for the West Coast and anybody else that want to come. So we're talking to Bay, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Denver, wherever you at, just come out. We want to make it an experience. Come on, Embroider, black tux. And does it feel like they actually dress in black tie? Well, they're black in black tie. And when you did the world tour, how many places did you go?
43:0423 cities. 23. And for 39 pieces, how many people were in, like, what size theaters were they? 4 ,000. 4 ,000? Sold out, though. Sold out. But I was going to say, like, people had to wear black tie in there, too? And they did. It was nothing like seeing people bringing their son, like, yo, I brought my son. He's 21. He wanted to come see you. got on a suit. He's so happy because where we come from, you only wear suits for court and funerals. That's what it's, yeah. Yeah. So it's just like, this is a celebration. You're not just celebrating 20 years of my first album. You're celebrating 20 years of you.
43:3620 years ago, you wasn't wearing a suit. I wasn't wearing a suit, you know, a Dickey suit, but not a suit. Right, right, right, right. And not just that, like you want to see people celebrate it and you want them to feel good about themselves. I mean, it's nothing like seeing, you know, these black men in these suits, Like, cause this is a, you know, this is a, this is a feeling like everybody's dressed like you and you're looking good and you ain't brought this suit out your closet for years, you know, since you got married probably, you know, and you bring it in and you put it on and your girl was dressing up and it was like so many, um, couples that came and it was people that was flying in from out of the country.
44:08Like people landed from Switzerland like an hour ago and they running straight to the show and people coming from Africa and all these places. Yeah, it's amazing. That is amazing. Yeah.
44:22I want to take a quick break from this episode to thank our sponsor, Therasage. Their tri-light panel has become my favorite biohacking thing for healing my body. It's a portable red light panel that I simply cannot live without. I literally bring it with me everywhere I go. And I personally use their red light therapy to help reduce inflammations in places in my body where, honestly, I have pain. You can use it on a sore back, stomach cramps, shoulder, ankle. Red light therapy is my go-to. Plus, it also has amazing anti-aging benefits, including reducing signs of fine lines and wrinkles on your face, which I also use it for.
45:04I personally use Therasage Trilite everywhere and all the time. It's small, it's affordable, it's portable, and it's really effective. Head over to therasage.com right now and use code BEBOLD for 15 % off. This code will work site-wide. Again, head over to therasage, T-H-E-R-A-S-A-G-E.com and use code BEBOLD for 15 % off any of their products.
45:45so what now like you're like very curious obviously and interested in doing like speaking what would you want to speak on like what would be your topic that you think that would be like what you'd want to kind of self-help is big to me well i can see because of all the people that you're mental health is big entrepreneurship is big for me i think it would just be something unique a little bit of blend of all that you know i'm saying because um like i said i'm a sponge Like I literally get up and listen to like, you know, I mean, you name it. Like I'm in, I'm dialed in and I'm reading the books and I'm in, but I love it, you know, and it's nothing better for me.
46:19If I, if I can be, if I can quit my job, I'll be, I'll be a student for life. That'll be my job. I'll be a world, I'll be a student forever. Right. If I can quit my job. And then also I love being able to help, you know, my people problem solve. Like if it's like somebody that I'm close to, somebody that I work with, somebody that's a peer or something, you know, I'm like a safe place to land where you can come. You know, I'm a vault and we can have these conversations and there's no judgment. You know what I'm saying? Because I've done the work. So I'm not like, you know, I'm good with me. Like I'm like in a place where nothing bothers me really no more.
46:52Like it ain't about my kids or, you know, anything about my family. Like I'm fine. But it's like I'm not in a place where I'm angry at anything. Like I'm taking the time to take care of myself. If I get too caught up, I know how to go away and get centered. You know, I could sit somewhere, you know, by myself for a month and nobody even know where I'm at. And I could just be there and I could just be journaling and hiking and cooking and listening to jazz and drinking wine. Like I do my thing and then I come back and I'm ready. I'm like, OK, what we need, what we need to do. What was that thing in your life, though, that kind of did that reset for you, that you became so passionate and interested in, like, self-help and evolving, really, as a human being?
47:31Personal development, I would say. I think it's always been there. Right. Because you're always curious. Yeah. But I just think what really gave me the edge on it is, you know, shout out to my dad. He was in the military. So I lived abroad most of my younger life. So when I was young, I lived in Hawaii, Japan. My sushi game is impeccable. I'm like the best at that. But it gave me a world-class lens on things, right? So when my parents divorced and I had to move back to the neighborhood, I just didn't understand why people couldn't see past the neighborhood. And that frustrated me so much because I'm like, there's beaches out there.
48:10There's people that don't even look like us. They're like, what are you talking about? I'm like, man, there's a world out there. And nobody believed me. Right, because you had like a sneak peek a little bit. So I just, that just upset me. And then when I started to like get comfortable in where I was at, I started to realize things that things happened that I never seen before. Like people die, people get killed, people stab each other, people hurt each other, people get kicked out, people get infected, people get sick, they don't have insurance. And you just like, what in the hell is going on?
48:42You just left this world where everybody's okay and everybody's figuring it out and people going to the beach on the weekends and you got friends. And I'm just like, you can't trust your friends? Like, this is crazy. Right. And you're hearing about people that used to run together and they was like this close and then this one killed that one. And I'm just like, what is going on? So I think a lot of that was me saying, how can I fix this? So I spent a lot of my life trying to like figure out how to fix it. Like, what do I do? Like, how do I get involved in this? And how do I try to turn the curve?
49:09And it's just like been this uphill battle of just trying to fix it. And I had to realize one day it's like I can't fix nothing if I don't fix myself. And that's when I kind of was just like, okay, let me just work on me. You know, I really changed myself before I could change the world because that's going to be a harder task. And then just hope the people that align with me, that we go out here and we crusade together to do our part. But I used to have visions when I was young about how I was going to change the world. Like I literally knew like I had to get out here and become this well-respected person so I can have some say in this.
49:37because if not, then who better? Like who's really, who really cares? Because once the money is made, like, you know, the MO is to go up to the sunset, you know, and we all want to live somewhere great, but I still want to do the work, you know? Right. Right. What was the, I guess, I know you have all these big mentors now and you get seven questions with lots of people. What would you say the best advice has ever been of all the things that you've heard that really made like a big impact on your life? I think the best advice that I ever got was from Dave Gibbons, one of my mentors. And he told me the education costs, like it costs.
50:13It costs money, it costs pain. And one of my other mentors told me, you're not a leader if you're not in pain. Cause it costs, it takes pain to lead. Cause I didn't understand, you know, why I was feeling the way I was feeling, going through the things I was going through. And I started to really realize like, oh, I'm in this. I don't know nothing else. I couldn't wake up tomorrow and do something else. Like, I'm just, I'm in this, this is it. and you know I have a lot of empathy for what people go through especially in my culture because it's all based on data that we don't have it's all based on resources that we don't have it's all based on the way the world is set up and how things are and it's just like if you can't get out of that or you can't people can't come into that there's no refuge there's no help it's not gonna come and once I realized that nobody's coming to save you I'm like okay I gotta get out here and just do what I got to do.
51:04And that's, that's why it was so important to me to build relationships with Tony Robbins. Tony Robbins, one of the realest people I know. There's nothing he does that he doesn't call me personally and say, hey, geez, I'm getting ready to do another seminar. How many kids you got? I want to send him some packages. I want him to come through during the pandemic. He was sending like, you know, these 20, 30, 40, 50 dollar packages for these kids to get on these, to be a part of these seminars. So much so that I was able to get my family members some. You know, I called him for my sister just the last one he did.
51:32She called me, I'm walking on fire. I was like, I don't know about that. You know what I'm saying? But even like some of the people that I mentor, they don't have those type of relationships. And he'll literally call me like, geez, what are you? I mean, I literally was doing a bike drive. And we was talking. He's like, why are you doing a bike drive? I said, because I feel like if you can ride a bike, you can have freedom. You can mentally get out of where you're at in these neighborhoods. And I'm doing it for these kids. Oh, wow. And he's like, how many bikes you going to get? And I was like, no, 500.
52:00He's like, well, I'm going to double it. And Tony Robbins sent those bikes. He sent the money to get the bikes. Really? Yeah, yeah, Tony real. Yeah, he don't play around. Every year I've done my gala. We're doing another one this year on the 9th of October. Do a gala called The Snowball, and we do it for my nonprofit, Street Genius Foundation. Tony Robbins donates every year. Whatever he raised, most of the time he was just magic. That's incredible. Is this in Atlanta you do it? Yeah. That's amazing. By the way, you know what I think you should do? You can take it or leave it. This is my little two cents.
52:34You should do a one-man show for your speak. Like you should launch speaking into like, but what you should do is a one-man show. Do you know how Mike Tyson did that on Broadway? Like a one-man show? And it crushed. What is it? It kind of catapulted him into a whole other area. Did it a long time ago. Like it's basically a speaking engagement, but like because you're so entrepreneurial and you're so business savvy, you would be doing it. And just how you would book how you booked all your tour dates, you would book that, but you would like tweak it into a different way of like branding yourself.
53:11because you have so much life experience. You have a lot of life experience, good stories, have a really good – you have the whole solid system of how you've evolved and your personal development. There's so many things you can weave into your thing, which I think can also break into other areas and genres that would be interesting for people to listen to. I'll receive that. I'm going to give Mike a call. I'm telling you, you shouldn't ask him how he did, but I'm telling you, I think you would be great. I would go watch it. My friends would go because you have so much perspective in different areas and you've come so far that I think people would really like it.
53:49I would love that. Thank you for that. No, you're welcome. Yeah. Well, tell people again. Okay, now you have your energy. Where's your energy drinks being sold? We're basing it out of Georgia right now. Oh, so it's only in Georgia. Yeah, we're going to start in Georgia for right now. We're going to work out because it's privately owned. Oh, okay. So are you going to have distribution? Yes. Everywhere. Okay, but just right now. As of now, Eagle Rock is distributing. Yeah, I saw that. Yeah, so shout out to Eagle Rock. Shout out to Eagle Rock, whoever they are. And if you're in Vegas or go to Vegas to see your show.
54:22Yep. And there's the information on your website, also on Instagram. Yes. You can see everything on Instagram. At Jeezy. That's at J-E-E-Z-Y. You can find me there. I'm definitely on Facebook, definitely on Twitter. Do people get you confused with Jay-Z? Because everyone's thought I said Jay-Z when I'm like, Yeah, that's my good friend. I'm the only, the only, yeah. Similar. It's crazy. I know. By the way, he's another one that's in my advisory board. Oh, really? No, no. Of course, I know. I'm just saying, like, it's very similar. Jay-Z, GZ, you know what I mean? It sounds very similar. He's dope.
54:59Yeah. You're dope, too. Thank you. You're welcome. But yeah, definitely the residency, this is going to be special. like just so just so you know out there in tv land if you come come witness it but also come be a part of history this is going down to history nobody's done this this is going to be amazing and the color of noise orchestra is something amazing i want to see this thing you should come i want to go you got we're gonna get you a ticket okay there you go but i'm gonna hold you to that okay i'll get you a bike for your group and um you know in the album uh i'll be out i don't know when this is airing but it should be out by the time still snowing when's your album what's the date of the album?
55:38928. I'm putting it out on my birthday. Oh, like coming up right now. Yeah, yeah. It's your birthday, 928? Oh, mine's September 16th. Are you a Virgo then? Libra. A Libra. Okay, you just missed it. Okay. Wow, okay. You have a lot of things going on. And this one-man show that you're going to now do, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're going to set it up for 26. There you go. Thank you so much for being on. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Bye-bye.
56:07Thank you.
From the publisher
From cutting lawns for $5-$10 each to building a business empire worth millions, Jay Jenkins has never played it safe. In this episode of Habits and Hustle, I sit down with the artist better known as Jeezy for a raw conversation about betting everything on yourself.
We discuss why he spent $4 million of his own money before getting signed, and the unconventional way he built relationships with mentors like Tony Robbins and Robert Greene. We also dive into his transition from music mogul to business empire builder, his upcoming Vegas residency with a 101-piece orchestra, and why he believes pain is a prerequisite for leadership.
Jeezy is a Grammy-nominated rapper, entrepreneur, and New York Times bestselling author. He's built million-dollar businesses including Avion Tequila, launched his own energy drink Edge, and is known for his mentorship programs and philanthropic work through his Street Dreams Foundation.
What We Discuss:
(03:00) From lawn mowing to watermelon entrepreneur: His first business ventures
(07:00) Why he spent $4 million of his own money before getting a record deal
(14:00) His secret "board of directors" including Tony Robbins, Robert Greene, and TD Jakes
(20:00) The seven-question strategy that gets him face time with billionaires
(27:00) Building and selling Avion Tequila: The $100M+ exit strategy
(35:00) Why he gave away half a million mixtapes for free
(46:00) Mental health, self-development, and finding peace after chaos
(51:00) The Vegas residency with 101-piece orchestra that's making history
(54:00) Why Tony Robbins doubles his charity donations every year
...and more!
Thank you to our sponsors:
Therasage: Head over to therasage.com and use code Be Bold for 15% off
Air Doctor: Go to airdoctorpro.com and use promo code HUSTLE for up to $300 off and a 3-year warranty on air purifiers.
Magic Mind: Head over to www.magicmind.com/jen and use code Jen at checkout.
Momentous: Shop this link and use code Jen for 20% off
Manna Vitality: Visit mannavitality.com and use code JENNIFER20 for 20% off your order
Prolon: Get 30% off sitewide plus a $40 bonus gift when you subscribe to their 5-Day Program! Just visit https://prolonlife.com/JENNIFERCOHEN and use code JENNIFERCOHEN to claim your discount and your bonus gift.
Find more from Jen:
Website: https://www.jennifercohen.com/
Instagram: @therealjencohen
Books: https://www.jennifercohen.com/books
Speaking: https://www.jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagement
Find more from Jay “Jeezy” Jenkins:
Instagram: @jeezy