996. - Pusha T

25:45Because people aren't dying to harvest them. Man, people dying about a lot of shit. Like, what?

25:51Jason Stewart:You make a good point, Push. You make a very good point. No, but I'm saying, I think that it is the... I've always wanted to see someone get the chain check thing in real life with the buzzer. You know what I mean? What's that called? What's the name of that tool? The Diamond Tester. The Authenticator. The Authenticator is a really fun bit for Instagram reels. That's a great bit. That works every time. But you want to see him do it to rapper Logic's chain and see if it does a beep beep or something? Yeah. I just don't know if the... Shout out Logic. I'm pretty sure Logic got real shit. Logic got real shit.

26:29Well, I mean, you know,

26:29Jason Stewart:Logic, great guy, but I want his chain to be fake. But the problem is I'm looking at the police auction for Pee Wee Longway and his friend group who had all their jewelry seized. Right. And then you can buy the peanut M &M chain for$1 ,800. and it was I didn't want his chains to be fake and I felt bad but I also was like they are in my price range so maybe you know Christmas is around the corner $1 ,800 chain is tough well I mean it's tough but it looks so cool push but I don't know did you ever do super dumb shit like a peanut M &M like you know what I mean like did you do dumb shit no but you know what I did I think one of my first one of my first pieces rose gold and pink diamond Jesus East and aftermarket presidential Rolex okay aftermarket yeah aftermarket ended up not being worth shit right right right once you once you bust down the plain Jane it really yeah when you think about the the chains that that we have seen over the years that is that's absolutely great compared to what I've seen.

27:47Jason Stewart:Remember the big ass chain that T-Pain had? Oh, no, no, no, no. My favorite was Central Sea at Wimbledon in the Queen. The big Queen hit. That was unbelievable. That's the Jesus piece for British people. That is the Jesus piece for British people. I didn't think about that. Yeah, I mean, to have a pretty clean track record as far as that stuff goes, because I'm sure you've made some, we've all made purchases that were mistakes. Yeah, for sure. Some of them are more visible to the public than others in your position. Yeah. You know, I had a pretty good tutor. I had a pretty good tutor at an early age.

28:35Met Jacob, the jeweler, a long time ago. Met Lorraine Schwartz a long time ago. so all all of your ice mentors yes they would tell me the right way to go but just you know i made some stupid decisions before sure sure i had the information and i chose to do my own thing

28:56Jason Stewart:yeah exactly exactly i'm sure jacob jacob might be wanting to push you into a more expensive piece that you're not ready for yet that's that too that's what jacob does it's the artist so you never you never had like a like a chain with the nobu logo on it or some kind of fun little thing like that you know nothing fun no nothing nothing i mean you know i i um i always had meaningful like pretty meaningful jewelry like like i had a clothing line for 10 years so i got a you know piece a small piece made out of that you know made of the logo play clothes but you know just never nothing too crazy.

29:37I mean, it was always tasteful. I always love hearing Lorraine Schwartz in your rhymes. That's one of my favorite. That feels like a real, you know, if you know, you know, and rhyming Schwartz is not the easiest, you know. It's not the easiest thing to do. Quartz. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That are Lorraine. I just think that the jewelry thing, as you've gotten older, does it chill out or do you actually want more because now you really know what you want i know with watches it's like that too and you know everything your taste is more refined right right i feel like the taste is more refined and um it just depends on you know right now musically and in in in jewelry they kind of it kind of coincide so like a new album may bring on a new direction a new look and it's like you know you know right now i'm i'm i'm i'm I'm battling back and forth with my jeweler, St.

30:35Jules, right now to make yellow gold. I haven't done yellow gold in a minute. Okay. And we haven't found anything great yet. We haven't, we're trying to figure it out. So, um. Okay. Listeners, keep an eye out. But that's the energy, you know, that's the energy of the new music that I'm making. And, you know, just things I'm trying to make. Okay.

30:54Jason Stewart:So the musical direction of yellow gold is, you know, I'm thinking some like 80s fat ass chains. and little Tony Montana? No, no, no? It's more Tony Montana, more mafia small chains. Okay, okay. I understand. Multiple. Yeah, we're not doing slick rig. No ropes. So no Cuban link, more of a Sicilian grandma with the little Yeah. Just a little, nicely. Yes, yes. Probably infuse it with stones or whatever, the links with stones. Okay. Sicilian grandma. Listen, I'm going to use that when I describe more. Like, yo, buy some Sicilian grandma shit. I didn't know. Yeah, that's very good. We know exactly what that means when it comes out.

31:49I didn't know. Okay, so I didn't realize that you're on your Bowie shit. So when you're making new music, there's a little bit of a new... you're trying to get into a zone that's a little bit different, whatever that may be as far as the look goes. Okay.

32:02Jason Stewart:He's a method rapper. Yeah. Daniel Day-Lewis asks. Yeah, yeah. But also, like, how much of it is being method and how much of it is, like, the music industry where, like, somebody at the record label is, like, making a deck and, like, here's the direction of the album color-wise. Who thinks – you know what? Kevin makes the decks. Okay. Kevin makes all the decks. So when Kevin fires up AI and has AI make a deck of references. Right, right, right. So it's like we want to have the aesthetic of the album. Oh, Kevin says he's pre-AI. Okay. Kevin let us know. He knows how to use Illustrator and Photoshop.

32:41Kevin's not playing.

32:42Jason Stewart:Kevin got the Adobe membership legacy package type shit. Okay, but are we doing like here's the direction of the wardrobe and the album art and the stage design and the music as well, tying it all together. That's all it wants. 1 ,000%. Yeah, like, I mean, we're actually going through that right, right, right now. We're moving, but that's kind of like, we're moving like a pop star a little bit. Yeah, he said, you know what I mean? There are things to take from pop stars. I mean, I think that sort of holistic approach at this stage is sort of what's got to be done so that everything feels, there's too many moving parts for it to be piecemeal.

33:23The corporatization of the rap game. Well, at the same time, you got to give the consumer and your fan an experience, too. So, like, you know, it's not, this shit ain't just music no more. It ain't just, oh, drop the song. Like, nah, like, they need to know what they're buying into. They need to step into the world so they can really understand what it is. They can really be, they can really fan out. They can really champion you, you know, once these drops happen. You know what I'm saying? So that's what that whole world-building experience is about for me. I went to a couple of the clip shows, and the visuals were very good.

33:59I loved it. I thought it was really cool. Thank you. And then somebody was like, yeah, we found some 20-year-old British guy to do this. It's like we found some guy. It's not who you would expect that did this. But I think that hip-hop historically, the live experience has always been sort of secondary, for better or worse. like as far as like the way that like jason mentioning these pop stars like you guys are selling a lot of records selling a lot of tickets like the experience has to be there and i think that it's it's sort of that's caught up now and i don't think it was the same 10 15 years ago no man i mean you know you you um i would say that the the the whole kanye west yeah era of touring and the world building for hip-hop the watch the throne of it all like those set standards that um of course you know my stage of course isn't as big as that one but i mean you still try to you still try to build that world as much as you can yeah like you know similar similarly to that

35:01Jason Stewart:when you're when you're playing on a big festival somewhere you have a lot of stage to take up and And when it's you and, you know, one or two other people up there and a DJ, like it ain't cutting the mustard anymore. We got to have wild visuals. But you're probably not going to have like backup dancers doing choreography and like things like that that happen. Oh, man, I did Coachella with a cocaine mountain and capoeira dances. I do like. I forgot about that. I forgot about that. Are you kidding? I did. I mean, it was like Yeti snowmen, snowmen going crazy on stage. In the desert. Yeah, yeah.

35:45You brought snow to the desert. Walked down from the cocaine mountain in the desert with the snowmen going flipping.

35:52Jason Stewart:My nose is getting thirsty just thinking about it. But there's lines that we all hit. So like you're not going to go into a zone where there's like a Pusha T light up stick that you buy at the merch booth that you, you know, like the K-pop shit. BTS. BTS style. Like there's levels. Everybody's got a lot. And we're like, we're probably not going to have this. Nah, man. Even with that Kanye show in Chicago, like that shit, people were up there looking nervous as hell that they were going to fall. I'm like, like Lupe Fiasco saw his life flash in front of his eyes because that shit did not look safe.

36:27Like it did not look safe.

36:28Jason Stewart:I thought they have a little like they're like rope. I know. They have a leash or something. But if you go up there, you got to do one song. You've been drinking and smoking. It's just it's like that shit looks scary. Like it's actually it doesn't feel super safe. You know what I mean? Yeah. It doesn't feel super safe. I got to say a cocaine mountain feels safer to me. Yeah. That's all I'm saying. And listen, and that was unstable. That was definitely unstable. I had to really pay attention walking up and down. Yeah, that's what I mean. I think people forget that this shit is real, that we're taking a little bit of a risk here.

37:03You know, this isn't, you know, it's not five guys with guitars.

37:07Jason Stewart:You have the little fluorescent tape on the Cocaine Mountain to show you where you don't walk and where you can't walk. Yes, yeah, exactly. Somebody didn't tape off Coke Mountain. This is bullshit. Yeah, and where the pyro and the smoke and the explosion shit pops out too. Like, please, if it's not marked, your ass is grass. No, your ass is grass. We've seen it a million times over the years. It's got to be marked. What a way to go out. Yeah, have you ever done any large-scale Pyrex models on stage? Did I do that? I don't think I did that. I don't think I did the Pyrex. Just something to consider, you know.

37:47Jason Stewart:Well, there's that performer, Dita Von Teese, who's like a burlesque performer. And she does a thing where she's inside of a giant martini glass, like splashing like it's in a bathtub. Yeah. Get a couple bad things in, you know, swimming in the Pyrex. Nah. The Pyrex bath. I haven't done Pyrex. I've been, I don't know why either. I don't know why, but I've done it. Why? Why haven't you done it? I don't know, but I have incorporated Pyrex on shoes and things that I've done with Adidas and shit like that. I know that we're a little more older and refined, and this is maybe a set design that maybe for 15 years ago.

38:30Jason Stewart:But I would love a really shitty electric stove as the stage, and you can kind of walk around in that environment. Just something to consider. Listen, we've been thinking about that for an anniversary show for Hell Hath No Fury. Yeah, see? See, Jason, your head's in the right place, man. Let me know what's, I mean, Sicilian grandma, you know, the stove and the pot. I'm not giving you that one, no one. I'm going to give you Sicilian grandma. I'm not giving you the stove. I'm just saying, because of those two, get me on the Zoom call for the creative next week, okay? Yeah, okay. So, pro bono. Did you guys record, you recorded a bunch of that shit in Paris, correct?

39:06Yeah, majority, all of it, yeah. What is the vibe? Walk me through, because I've heard some stories about this studio. but walk me through the studio because it's like how closely tied is it to the the corporate environment being in the same building are you seeing like the atelier are you going to your own area no no no it's the full atelier so you walk in and it's it's sewing machines it's fabrics it's um you know it's people drawing sketches it's it's the shoe person you know to the far left it's the fur person to the far to the far right and basically the studio is at one end of the hall once you open the studio doors you can see straight through to every aspect sneaker maker, fabric maker, bag maker everybody it was kind of stressful because these are people with amazing taste so like you know while you're working on some shit and you don't see nobody moving you like oh this ain't it so wait they can hear it yeah all right so you're saying that one of the

40:16Jason Stewart:i just assumed that it would be one of the one of the lvrt one of the lv artisans is not bobbing their head while they're kind of checking the stitch pattern you're like all right we got to try this again exactly now mind you these people are like you know these are young people they're probably the coolest dressed you know yeah yeah taste level of you know they're on some shit they're they're in there working they're smoking cigarettes indoors they know about shit that we don't know about exactly they're all of that and yeah so damn right so when you don't when you don't when you don't see any energy from them you you you go back to the drawing board damn right you do i think that's a good thing that's actually that's a good thing built in yeah i like that i think that's built in because i feel like i feel like with with hip-hop it's very interesting because the studio can be really anywhere you know what i mean yeah because of the because of the technology you don't necessarily need live rooms for drums etc etc all the time no listen the soundproof the soundproof booth is bro nobody does that no more it's a thing of the past yeah you're recording you're recording open you're recording the room you're recording the room just like this people record like this there's a mic right here and they just like i just find that So because I mean, do you want to get in a studio environment because it makes you feel good or are you down to do back of the bus, whatever you got to do to get it done?

41:34No, I actually prefer a studio environment. It's like it's music is so surgical to me that I don't I don't know. You want to have a place with the sharpest, best knives. Yeah. And I don't like I don't I don't like seeing extra people. I don't like people who aren't like I don't need anybody just sitting around me for no reason you know what I'm saying it kind of throws off my vibe

42:01Jason Stewart:you can open your own bags of chips yes exactly and pre-rolls already exist we're not really breaking down guts anymore right? I'm not smoking but you know are you in there are you keeping sort of like office hours are you in there at 9 to 6 Yeah, well, we'll start. I'll start from probably 6 to 6, 6 a.m. Whoa. All right, so we're in the studio 6 to 6. Yeah, we're going to do 6 to 6, more so. And that's what Pharrell likes that, too. Yeah, yeah. Or sometimes it's 5, you know. Sometimes you're like, yo, you up? We speak every morning around 5 a.m. Damn, you sound like me and Jason just on some, like, what's up?

42:42What are we doing? Yeah, like, what's the word?

42:44Jason Stewart:So you hit the 5 a.m. you up text, but it's after a full night's sleep has happened. For sure. For sure. Okay. Yeah. Because usually when I sent, you know, in my previous years of you up tech sending, it was at 5 a.m., but we've been up. Yeah. We've been up. Yeah. I'm trying to end the night, not begin the day. So you have gone full circle where at one point it was like I'm going in at midnight and staying up until sunrise. You never did that. I never learned nighttime recording. I think that's good. That's healthy. My voice doesn't even work at night. like it's like that's powerful yeah that shit never made sense to me i'm like why what you're getting here at 1 a.m with 30 dudes i don't really know what the plan is so i don't know what the plan is dude i don't even i hate that all right so you hit the studio okay so we're we're in the studio at six and we do we take a break to go to the gym or is it built in or we go but i mean how early can you go like i you know um for example let's say for it's almost dry it for it's almost dry that was almost that was like covid time right yeah so i went and stayed um i went and stayed at pharrell's in miami we would we would wake up at five we just start working we hit the coffee you know black coffee we'd be we'd be ramped up bro ramped up until about 1 12 1.

44:06okay we go we going a 20 mile bike ride come back in by six o 'clock you know by six o 'clock we just now we're just chilling we're like hey we got something we got it we didn't we did it you know we may be just trying to we may just start listening to old music new music whatever after six but nothing nothing tedious after six yeah okay that's when we begin to land the plane right right slowing down

44:35Jason Stewart:Okay, so it's just the two of you? You guys don't have to wake an engineer up at 5 in the morning? No, no, no, no. Oh, yeah, engineers is up. Engineers is up. They don't get to choose their schedule. They're ready to rock. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shout out Mike, shout out Ben. They be up and at them before us. What is your level of understanding of the technology and stuff? Can you do all that if you have to? Never. None. I am so stupid. I feel you. I'm the same way. I have no technical ability. I have no technical ability. I find myself even trying to articulate what I don't like. It's tough for me to even articulate what I don't like sonically.

45:19You don't have the language. Yeah, I don't have none of that.

45:24Jason Stewart:But you are one of the greatest rappers of all time, so you are good at articulating and talking. So it is interesting that you have difficulty doing this. but that's only because i don't have the the technical knowledge of production i don't know shit about it yeah never cared so you could you really do sound like i hit him with the i don't know it's just not it's just not right it's like well what the fuck does that mean bro i'm like i don't know it's just not i don't know there's something about it's just not working for me are you good at um are you good at googling stuff you know what i mean like prompting do you know how to ask for what okay and let me tell you something that's a that's when the studio gets a little bit that's when that's when the argument can come into the studio because it's like he knows that I don't know how to articulate everything that I'm trying to say and he's a person who exhausts all options so while I'm saying I don't like this I don't like this and we should move on he's like well what don't you like knowing damn well what i don't like but he's like still just trying to like you know exhaust all his options yeah that sounds a little bit like chris and i i'm getting i'm the p in this situation you are i'm getting tired i'm getting tired of hearing shit i'm like man fuck that move on i feel like that is that is the nature of any relationships like this like these two people have to exist and all of these you have to go through this almost every day for it to be good and that's the problem that's the problem and the gift and the curse yeah and you gotta let him you have to let i i have to let him go through his process like that's one thing that you that i've that i've learned like even when it's even when he finishes like when he gets his thought out if i don't fuck with it at least he got his thought out and he then he can move on he's not a person who can move on without getting the thought out sure so like trying to press trying to press him to get it out is like or trying to press him to move on is like it doesn't work in my benefit because he he can't you know he doesn't it doesn't clear him like that it doesn't clean he doesn't he doesn't clear his mind even if he doesn't end up using whatever it is he's a completist he has to finish the song yes and then move on yes instead of leaving it open-ended and i think i think that's as some that you have to be like that to be as prolific of a producer as him yeah you know because everyone when they're starting out the hardest thing they always tell everybody just finish the song even if it's not good even if you'll never use it yeah you have to get the the muscle of finishing things strengthened in your or in in the mental selfishly i didn't know i selfishly i i just figured that out with him i'm like oh now i'm like oh you know what go ahead because i i i fucking hate it but finish no no because i know that's the only way i can get to where i'm trying to finish these dumb little drums yeah like man yeah a whack little sample just knock it out do your little thing and then we'll move on to some real work.

48:38Jason Stewart:Yeah. Engineers are like, yeah, I'll totally master it tomorrow. I always find it with, I also feel, I don't know. I mean, have there been times where you've heard something for 10 seconds? You're like, I know this is the one. Is that really how it works sometimes? It really does? Yeah. Yeah, because there's a sense of urgency that we're always trying to hit. and um if i can if i can listen to it for 10 seconds and know that oh this this this is this has grabbed me you you stay right on that fucking vein do not leave that vein do not leave the vein the seasons are changing jason you gotta get that fucking wardrobe whipped into shape you can't show up underdressed overdressed too warm too cold and luckily with quince they got pieces you want to keep wearing the sweater that goes to everything the perfect pair of pants or the t-shirt that somehow you always reach for first those are the pieces that make getting dressed easy and that's what quince does the absolute best yeah that's right and i you know during these transitional times as seasons change me personally you know i'm in the sauna i'm out of the sauna i want something that's breathable but also looks like bougie and nice where i can go to a fancy dinner i don't know does 100 % Mongolian cashmere do that?

49:59Oh, oh.

50:00Jason Stewart:Did he say that? Did he say that? It does, Jason. Yeah, yeah. So I'm breathing. You know, if it gets a little hot, that's okay because it's nice and breathable. If it gets too hot, you know, pull that sweater off and then tie the arms around your neck. And guess what? You just went from a seven to a nine and a half. Okay, Preppy. Find your next fall favorites at Quince. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com slash howlong. Get free shipping on your order in 365 day returns now available in Canada and the UK too. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C dot com slash how long. This episode of How Long Gone, Jason, is brought to you by BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.

50:41If you could wake up tomorrow and be better at one thing, what would it be? Well, I can't. That's a laundry list. I don't have enough. We don't. This is longer than a CVS or sheet.

50:49Jason Stewart:Paddle tennis for me. This looks like a fucking ancient scroll if you're looking at my list. It can be funny or vulnerable. So I'm going to say I could be better at sort of being selfish. I want it Chris's way or the highway, and I need to kind of work on that. Oh, you mean better at being less selfish? Better at being less selfish, and I think that's something I could talk to with my BetterHelp therapist, Jason. Better is a feeling defined by you. And for BetterHelp, it's a BetterHelp therapist who really gets you to focus on global emotional well-being with thousands of therapists and millions of members in over 100 countries.

51:29It's progress, baby. And it's getting better. It's getting better, Jason. I think it's going to work if you talk to your BetterHelp therapist. That's something I would recommend for you as well.

51:38Jason Stewart:Yeah, Chris, Virgo season is here. And we all have to talk to our Virgo parents, family members, spouses, partners, et cetera. And you're going to need this BetterHelp. Sign up and get 10 % off at betterhelp.com slash howlong. That is better, H-E-L-P as in pumpkinmilk.com slash howlong. This episode is brought to you by ChatGPT. Hey, it's Bill Simmons from the Bill Simmons Podcast. Have you guys heard about ChatGPT work? It's the new way to use ChatGPT for bigger multi-step projects. And when you need more than just answers, give ChatGPT work access to your apps and files and it can create real work documents like spreadsheets, slides, and structured reports.

52:21Get started at chatgpt.com by selecting work mode available on Plus and Pro plans. Do not leave the vein. I see what you're saying. So it's like if it grabs you, it grabs you. The rest of it will figure it out.

52:34Jason Stewart:Yeah, we can figure the rest out. Once you got that chunk, once you got the meat there, you could build the burger around it. We could do an intro, outro, bridge, all that shit. But without that meat? meat. Without that little Mr. Me Too meat in there, we got nothing. Come on, man. What's up with all your meat talk, man? Yeah, what's up with all the meat talk, bro? He's a food guy. I apologize for my friend. He's a food guy. I don't refer to... I don't use meat in terms of dick slang. I don't use meat. I don't use meat. That's actually... Jason, meat is a Joe Budden podcast thing. That's where I hear the most meat talk.

53:16That's the most meat talk that I've seen. Unless you're at the butcher shop. That's the most meat talk I've ever seen.

53:23Jason Stewart:I'm sorry for saying Mr. Meat too, and we will move on from this forever. Speaking of Budden, do you have time to listen to podcasts? Do you ever get sick of music on that 20 mile bike ride and you pull up This American Life or some shit? Yeah, no, I actually do listen to Budden. I actually do listen to Joe Budden's podcast. That's one of my favorite ones. When it's about music, you know what I'm saying? Because I like the idea that they're just very well versed. You know what I'm saying? He's like a rapper. You know what I'm saying? He actually knows the nuances of rap. He actually knows the industry.

54:05He knows the ins and outs. I usually go up there. I usually go up there when I'm trying to like prove a point because you can't really lie to them you know what I'm saying and everybody knows like you know there's no faking them it's like it's going on the US Open Andy Roddick is doing unbelievable tennis commentary because he did it he won you believe it and the other people are there to help him but it's like I agree I'm interested we listen to that show a lot and it's fascinating how much I've learned about New Jersey. That's mainly my biggest takeaway. Is it, I know all kinds of shit about a place I've rarely been as a New York resident.

54:47Jason Stewart:And I learned a lot about Trey Song's B-Sides. Yeah, yeah. The R &B of it all does throw me off because I don't care about that at all. But it is interesting. You do learn. You do learn. Oh, man. It will throw... I mean, it may throw you off, but they're R &B aficionados. They fucking love it. Are you, okay, well, speaking of, are you Team Breezy? Yeah, damn right. Okay. Damn right. Welcome home, brother. Team Breezy for sure. Okay, I'm just saying some people aren't, you know what I mean? Nah, man, I'm Team Breezy, man. He from Virginia, fucking, I actually went to Breezy Bowl. They let guys go to that?

55:30I didn't know that. Man, listen, bro. Bro, it was, listen, it was, fuck, it was incredible. watching this shit. I haven't seen fandom like this in a minute. No, Jason, we need to get you tickets to the Usher Chris Brown tour. We need to go to that. Maybe we should check that out. I haven't done that one. I haven't done that one because I went to Breezy Bowl. I don't know if it gets better than Breezy Bowl. Jason's scared that Usher's going to give his wife the cherry, so we got to be careful. We got to be careful. All right,

55:59Jason Stewart:did you bring your chick to Breezy Bowl or is that fellas only? Bro, I went to go see myself. Yeah, this was for you. It was a by myself meeting. Yeah, yeah. I wanted to go see it. I mean, it was so much pandemonium just about the tour. I was like, man, let me go see this shit. Got it. Let me see what this is about. So, yeah. So, like, Don Draper, the Don Draper meme of him watching a film, smoking a cigarette in a suit. That was you alone watching, yeah, X3. Yeah, X3. He's like, he keeps spinning. But like, it's funny because you got Kanye and he builds a giant dome and just stands there wearing some weird shit.

56:38Jason Stewart:And it's, you know, sold out stadiums, wild shit. And Chris Brown selling out the same amount of stadiums, but he's working triple overtime. Yeah. I don't, you know, what's better, what's worse? I don't know. Not missing a step. Not missing a step. But I think, you know, I think it's the experience of them both, man. I mean, those are two very strong catalogs. What's the crowd at Breezy Bowl, though? What's the, like, how thick are we talking? What do you mean? With baseball stadiums? What are you talking about? I just mean, no, I mean with the ticket holders. I mean, is it 80 % thick females, or is it more varied than we would think?

57:19Oh, my God. Yeah, I would say 80 % females of all ages. Oh, it's a range. Of all ages. all ages fanning the fuck out all shoe sizes too yes yes bro it's crazy got the triple e and and they're all and they're all like bro they're all looking in all the whole time as if he's going to pick all of them yeah that yeah yeah yeah it's it's crazy yeah i that that that i want to see that part i'm interested in that part i'm interested and then you got kids you got you You got kids. You got little boys. Like, oh, man, look at him. He's dancing. He's going crazy. It's just different levels of fandom. Yeah, yeah, sure.

58:05Artistically, creatively, oh, you know, fawning over him, the girls. It's fucking shit's crazy. Yeah, it's crazy. Michael Jackson-esque. Yeah. So you guys live in Virginia, though. Like, you come to New York, you come to L.A., Miami, whatever, but you live full-time in Virginia. Full-time. Okay. That's cool, man. Are you just trying to, do you just like it that much or does it like keep you in a good place like mentally? Well, it definitely keeps me in a good place mentally. Virginia does. I've always thought that my writing might change if I ever moved from Virginia. Oh. You know, I like New York.

58:38I love being in New York. I love being in L.A.

58:41Jason Stewart:But if you if you move to L.A., would your would your bars get worse? No, I just be right. Are you worried you'd be rapping about dumb shit? The East Coast sensibilities are what I gravitate towards. And there's not enough of that in L.A. for me. There's not. L.A., really. California is not for lovers. Yeah. Like, yeah. Like, I can't. You know, it's just a certain East Coastness that comes with it. East Coast and a certain sophistication that comes with being where we're from in Virginia. Okay. the specific part of Virginia that you're from carries the sophistication more so than some other parts of Virginia.

59:21For sure, for sure.

59:23Jason Stewart:So you're not in the part of Virginia where there's billboards of kids being aborted and guns and stuff like that? It's a little more... On a good week you can see some shit like that maybe if you wanted to. He's like, sometimes I gotta go to the mall. It's like 45 minutes so sometimes you will see something on the highway you weren't looking for. Yeah, but I mean, you know it's just um it's just a big for me it's a it's a it's a a history lesson like virginia is so history rich musically in my area um history rich um culture rich uh if you think about if you think about the 90s and 90s hip-hop from biggie to wu-tang to mace all of them are talking about being in virginia beach and being around where i'm you know where where it is that i'm from um the drug culture what is the what is the what is the yeah what is the reason for that drug culture is that a big part of it is they were all coming to work basically yeah drug culture was a huge a huge thing um 80s early like because like 95 goes through it type shit like type thing okay so like the the cameron get it in ohio that's just one stop on the on the coke train as we're moving up the 95.

1:00:39Well, that's what I'm saying. Somebody should have made that record back in the 80s and 90s. That was us. We were the first. We were the first. Somebody should have done it.

1:00:52Jason Stewart:I wish there was a rapper here on the call who could have done that. I do feel like now that you're saying that that Virginia has come up a lot, now that I'm thinking about it, it's like, oh yeah, you're right. I think of you guys and obviously like whatever timberland you know there's the all the modern stuff but i forget that it was it was mentioned so often in the in that era oh it's neptunes it's neptunes it's timberland it's it's missy it's um it's chris brown and it's chris brown and trey and d 'angelo it's um yeah yeah it's being you know pretty much responsible for a lot of the soul and and rockefeller stuff it's not that's actually that's actually fucking crazy i didn't yeah i mean some of that i knew some of it i didn't and then you had teddy riley you know who yeah new jack swing who moved to virginia which was the he probably was the one who moved there and was like let every let all of us know like oh you can really do this shit was there like a freak nick like atlanta era like where it was lit okay what era was that so that was that was the 80s that was the 80s and that was uh It was called Greek Fest.

1:02:02If you think about Public Enemy, they were rapping about the Greek Fest riots in Virginia Beach. They were like hosing kids. The college weekend. First college weekend was Virginia Beach. Greek Fest. Black college weekend, that was there.

1:02:17Jason Stewart:I feel like somebody needs to make a documentary about Virginia and hip-hop. I'm sure there's somebody out there. LVMH got some bucks for that, right? I'm sure they should. Of course they would. That does feel like something that should be explored a little deeper. But yeah, I didn't, I had a feeling that it was, but do you think it's still, do you think people are still moving there in the same way? Like, are people attracted to it? Cause no, it's, you know, it does. No, no, I don't think, um, I think now it has, it has changed. Um, a lot of that energy wasn't embraced. Sure. A lot of energy wasn't embraced.

1:02:52And I think it's changed the landscape of Virginia because of it. I think it's changed why it's kind of been a little stagnant in the music and just arts and the arts in general. I don't think the arts was embraced by the powers that be. Yeah, they have to sort of, they have to, no matter how big it is, they sort of have to keep it going. It's like their responsibility a little bit. I see what you mean. I see what you mean. And then you got all the athletes. I mean, you got Michael Vick, you got fucking Allen Iverson, the GOATs. Like, what are we talking about? Shout out Mike Vick. Shout out Chris Brown.

1:03:25Yes. them too yes my two kings me there let's see who got i i just my mom was a nurse growing up and she would she worked weekends and she has some of the best freaking stories i've ever heard in my life from just driving on the highway oh from where we from like right where we went and it was just sort of like the the thought of that kind of thing going down whether it's miami bike week or it's Greek Week in Virginia, it just feels like that stuff is like, we need it now more than ever, I guess is what I'm saying.

1:03:58Jason Stewart:We need more black people in Jeep Wranglers. You don't see that anymore. Hey man, you so fucking hip. You so fucking hip that you would even say that. Black people in Jeep Wranglers. It was a better time. Yo, that was such a great description. wow it's like last night we've been out we've been partying fashion week my brain is hung over and whenever that happens I wake up the next morning and drink a black coffee to the head and just start saying bullshit every seventh thing that comes out is a gem it can work did that happen to you back in the days when you were hung over or do you still get a little hung over every once in a while when you opening up some of those Rothschilds bottles or whatever?

1:04:54Jason Stewart:Nah, man. Listen, being hung over is not my way, bro. I can't stand this shit. I hate it. Oh, really? Hate it. So it's been years since you've been hung over? Yeah, for sure. Oh, that's powerful. That's powerful. Speaking of drinking and the green room and the backstage, we actually shared the stage together. I DJ, I opened for you guys in anaheim at the house of blues the one that's at disneyland okay and there was a fun moment backstage where the the clips crew sort of punked me a little bit where what i know i know right i shudder to think this is a long time ago this is a long time i mean this is jace what would you guess date wise 2010 or something like that so okay there was i was djing and wouldn't you know it you guys didn't show up right on time for the stage it was a little late so i was my crates were running empty and the crowd was not happy with me could because my dumb ass was not the clips right so you know they weren't throwing drinks at me but there was they were pissed off when i with my soldier boy music so i've you know three hour dj set later i go backstage and then i see everybody the whole crew they're having a delicious meal all this food and catering is out okay and they say hey man thanks for playing you know come on over get come get a plate you know chill out and i was like oh really okay and then I take one step and everyone just starts laughing at me.

1:06:40Jason Stewart:Get the fuck out of here. So after I had been beaten down by the crowd, then I was offered a fake plate. That's crazy. This was not a representation of you. This was maybe somebody. No, no, no. Of course not me. I like the idea of offer. I was offered a fake plate. It's really, really funny. We pump faked you on the plate. I apologize, big bro. I don't even know who the fuck we were traveling with back then. But I'm sure. Oh, who knows? I'm sure they were idiots. 2010? Yeah. He's like, that definitely happened. I wasn't there, but I know it happened. For sure. And I've done that to people now as well.

1:07:22Jason Stewart:Hurt people hurt people. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. It's a full circle. I learned it from watching you. Well, tell us about this coffee. Oh, yeah. Let's talk grinding. Yeah, because I am interested. Yo, coffee, like the Grinding Coffee, man, it was actually birthed during probably this almost dry era. And just how we were using it. We were using it as basic fuel. Like I said, we were getting up, we were working on the album first thing in the morning. From that, that turned into us doing pop-ups at Camp Flognor. Pop-ups at Camp Flognor, selling coffee. I'm not even performing at the festival.

1:08:07You're merely a barista. Yeah, I'm merely a barista. We had some merch components with Carhartt, collabs or whatever. Then we did that for a couple of years. And ultimately, Pharrell and Lavazza came and was like, hey, Pharrell had these people at Lavazza. And they were like, hey, we actually like the way in which you guys use coffee. This is a 130-year company that, you know, they cafe the day away. So it's like, they were like, man, y 'all use it as, it's like a different category for us. Yeah, you're not sitting around a small table smoking cigarettes. You use it to work.

1:08:49Jason Stewart:This is my rapping juice. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Hey, I mean, we're the same way. I'm on and on. It's the pre-workout. It's the podcast workout, you know? Yeah. We need it. So, you know, that was the birth of grinding coffee. Now, did you go through the whole thing? Like the process of, you know what I mean? What's the chart they bring out, Jason, that we did? Because we made coffee like five years ago. We made like a snap chill cold brew. And we went to the facility and did the whole cupping regimen with the little spoons and shit. And it was, those guys are fucking nerds. They really know some shit.

1:09:28Shout out Tinker. No, no, no. We definitely did. We went through all of that. We went to Torino. Yeah. You know what I mean? And yeah, man, it's a very, very detailed, very intricate process. But, you know, like I said, it's something that was just super organic to us because this is just how we do it. We're going to be doing it anyway, so we might as well do it for real. And then, I mean, just having a song like Grindin, it only made sense, man. Because you guys were talking about coffee and grinding, so it does make a lot of sense. Of course. It does make a lot of sense. Kind of the parallels there make a lot of sense.

1:10:09Just about your daily grind. What's your machine at home? What do you use at home? Man, my wife uses the pods. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nespresso. No, I think it's fellow. Isn't it fellow? It might be fellow. Oh, fellow. Oh, okay. A bunch of people make the pods now. Yeah. A bunch of people make the pods.

1:10:28Jason Stewart:Shout out to my fellow family. I'm a fellow user. Oh, you're down for, okay. You're not like freaking it. You're not going crazy. Okay, okay, okay. Oh, no, no, no. No, no, no. I'm not a, my brother's a bean grinder and all that other shit. Oh, you're saying that he knows how to measure. He's measuring it, weighing it out. Yeah, he's a measure guy. He's got the scale. That's really funny. He took it too far. You're like, all right, you took it too far. I mean, there's always one in every group. I used to be a pour over guy. and now fellow was nice enough to send me their new espresso machine and the crazy grinder and you know next thing you know I got the scale out I got the fucking monocle you know I got the fucking I'm spritzing it with rare oils and shit my wife is like some bullshit you're nerding out on me that's exactly what he's doing I'm trying to sell some beans push come on now we're helping you we got both you made the pods Yeah, we got beans and grounds right now.

1:11:24That's what's coming. Oh, okay, okay, okay, okay.

1:11:25Jason Stewart:All right, well, yeah, we'll be in New York. I'm going to be DJing the grind-in party on Monday night. Yes. And then there's a little breakfast activation. We're going to try to pop in. Yeah, I'm going to hit the brunch. Tomorrow is my birthday, but I'll get up and have some brunch with the fellas. You coming out? What better way to celebrate, Chris? Shiv and I will be there at the middle point. I'm not going to be the opening. You know, first guest. you don't want to be too thirsty. Break shiv, man. You got to break shiv, man. I'll bring shiv. No problem. All right. Look, Push, thank you for joining us on How Long Gone.

1:11:58We really appreciate it. It was a pleasure. Come on, man. Thanks for having me. Grinding is in stores now. This will come out tomorrow. Yes. And we'll see you this week in New York. All right. Appreciate you guys. All right, bro. Appreciate you too, man. Thank you. Appreciate you as well. Thanks, man. Love.

1:12:29This episode is brought to you by chat GPT. Hey, it's Bill Simmons from the Bill Simmons podcast. Have you guys heard about chat GPT work? It's the new way to use chat GPT for bigger multi-step projects. And when you need more than just answers, give chat GPT work access to your apps and files, and it can create real work documents like spreadsheets, slides, and structured reports. Get started at chatgpt.com by selecting work mode available on plus and pro plans.