AZ talks ‘Doe or Die 3,’ legacy of ‘Illmatic,’ Jay-Z vs. Nas era & shady hip hop industry stories

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30:50Will Tiff uncover who killed Rob? Will Victor and Shad find their freedom? And can Keisha and Emmett survive what's ahead? As friendships are tested, families evolve, and secrets refuse to stay buried. One thing is certain, The Chi is more than just a series. It's a legacy. Say goodbye to The Chi. Don't miss the final season. Streaming May 22nd on the Paramount Plus Premium Plan. What you listening to right now? What you like out of the new? Don't say new. Don't say new. It didn't come out when he came out. When we came out, it's new. current you got new order in medias you gotta say current what do you like currently that's out I'm listening to the classics I listen you know the chef the womb the locks regular shit no doubt same here yeah you not listening ain't too many ain't too many young cats that really uh that move move me like that like that now it's a few cats that get busy actually the the battle rap cats get busy I like them a lot they be getting busy yeah I can't do it man fuck you mother suck my dick i'll smack this shit out of your bitch right there her name's margaret and margaret got fucked by three niggas and no i can't do that we're talking about the battle rap cat battle rap the shit they be doing i'm like margaret knows she fucked johnny jim and the god supreme he hit her with the mathematics this like yo my nigga That's a foursome And you standing there like yeah God nice balls And what did we do to her Hit her with the Mad Maddie's God yeah Nah nigga They get busy The niggas get busy They lyrical But I can't stand there with them Yeah

32:49Oh shit I used to like the nigga Head Ice. You remember Head Ice? Right, he got busy. That nigga. He got busy. Yo, Matty. Ice! That nigga was like Dead DMX for the battle rap. That nigga come out of nowhere. Head Ice is that nigga. Yeah, that, that, that. Ice! I be like, yo, this nigga. Cold, man. This nigga right here. Ice, Head Ice, man. I wonder if Ice still doing it. I ain't seen him in a while. He used to be crushing shit. Yo, Head Ice, right? Head Ice is nice. Uniqueness. The new single with Mike and Keys. how'd you come up with that? Oh man, that beat. That was it. As soon as you heard it, it was...

33:25No hook, nothing. That was it. Go. I like when I get that out. Are we going to hear that later? You can play Uniqueness. Exactly. Let's crank that joint, man. Mikey Key is making a lot of noise, huh? In the production game. I seen Static Select. Yo, your album's incredible, bro. I'm telling you right now. Do or die three, y 'all. Don't waste some time with all this bullshit. Yo, Billy Dan's not dead. Billy Dan's album. Yeah. What? You ain't beat Billy Dan's album yet? Shout out to Billy Dan's. I'm on there, too. Fire. Yeah, you doing shit. I'm going to send you a fucking song. You're going to do something for me, motherfucker.

34:01You are everybody's shit now. I turn it on. Yo, kill me with the one more. I said, damn, I can't even get him on a song. The man right next to me. I got an album coming out of her, y 'all too. No. That's what I heard? Yeah. Soon. Soon as the universe aligns itself. Crank that shit, bitch. Yeah, I like this one.

34:31Sneaker hoarder. Relationships sinking in water. Two sons got chipped. One of the daughter. New guns. Bumping it. My niece, dad, the older. Yo, pull it back. You can't have the dreads and not know him. One of the daughter. Give me the lights a little more, you heard? This album is crazy. Sneaker hoarder. I ain't gonna come more time. This album is crazy. Sneaker hoarder. Sneaker hoarder. Relationships sinking in water. Two sons got jipped, one of their daughter. New guns, bumping it. My niece, dad, the older. Vime culture, whole horror, still MC Ota. Who the votes are? Sipping bomb, punch, sunk in the sofa.

35:11One blunt was on a hunt, trying to jump with some chocha. Young Sosa, soloist, seeking asylum Hitting sonics on my first album Speaking in volumes, peep how they wellin' Fashion trends keep me from stallin' Handsome thin, super slim Tryna sleep with the stallions Henny gallin' No demis, my pennies was pallin' Fall from friendly when you bent Let's get your chin to the island Drill salmon, tryna leave alone wings and bones Pockadallin' with these thrones I'm the king of the tones Bring me my throne, the lover E-N-Y, goth, and sutter In junior high, I used to lie when I stutter Fly with the butters, Coogee sweaters, cop them in colors I'm not like the others, nut-bustled, cat-boxes or rubbers It's over, your boy sober, sitting back 30 years older Stare closer, see the tears on my shoulders Distilling lost feelings, need therapy for the healing From what I see, I could never be a civilian We're touching the millions, who to trust, fooling with us I have you doing everything but never doing enough Just flew to the cut, first Ghana, then Basawana It's a lot to ponder, travel back right after Kwanzaa quick for Mondo.

36:13Life's short. Visit resource. Spirits of sports. How you move? Miller your thoughts. Messages caught. Unwrapped. Placing my lap. The craters is back. Tell the haters, make me a plaque. 30 billion streams predicted. We ain't even mixin'. It's that next level shit. AZXY. Poetic extraordinaire. Kept in peace since day one. My world always my bomb, regardless of whom or what. Rather unique I travel through beats, correlate with crime. Most my kind is deceased. Vine for the streets, never those that line up their peeps. It's the ones who will as weak and thirst knowledge and seek. We shivel, read through vittles.

36:53Court cases lead to acquittals. They're chiseled in our presence, they shriveled. Words just scribbleed. If action ain't applied to assist, was fly to niss. From the mix, I survived the abyss. Highly equipped to cope. My nigga did his bid on a boat. Out of her wiggers, we slid him some dope. He home. Only one in fear, guarded some foams. Oh my God.

37:37You know what's crazy? That's not the best shit on the album. Yo, the fucking album Yo, when I tell you The fucking album is so That shit right there Crazy, my nigga Is what the fucking world needs None of that bullshit sound effect I just don't want to get hype What the way the Sonics changed I feel like, you know They're going to embrace it like that They need them to embrace it, nigga We embrace it Number one destination All these other niggas We ain't got to make them in break. You did 10 interviews. Should have just came in here. Cover everybody. Niggas is trash. They fly being sick, my nigga.

38:21These niggas. They just can't buck with us. Uniqueness. This shit right here. Yo, this album. I'm trying to tell you something. I want to hear Jay to join. And hit with him. It's as close as we're going to get here. Yeah, we're going to play. Nah, we can shoot. I don't like that, even. you know you can get me for the video. I ain't one of them people that do a song with you and then don't do the video. Or like did the song for free and I need 2.72 million to do the... That's like, what the fuck is wrong with you? You do the song and do the... Hold on, I gotta say something. Because in this game you gotta reinvent yourself.

39:01But you don't have to. Because you never... You don't have to reinvent yourself. It's like you spoon feed them just enough Then you hibernate and come back with, they need that fix again. And you keep it. You keep the fix. You keep them needing a fix. Is it a secret to your method of madness? You know what? That might be the shit. I mean, I don't do it intentionally. That's how I pick. You know, from the outside looking in, you give them a little bit of that blue magic, get them 30, get them inching and nodding, then they disappear and come back. Some of them is going to spark a lot. Lucky it ain't Thanksgiving.

39:38because this is going to spark a lot of arguments between pops and they sons and all that. Niggas going to come with the flibbity-ribbity. That's how you raise your kids. Hold on. My son is here. This is what this shit's supposed to sound like. He stepped out. The God came back. He love AJ. This right here. I raised him right. Yeah, this going to be beef. Yeah, you know. This was Thanksgiving, my nigga. Like, it'd be a fair. Things be throwing turkey balls out. This shit like politics right now. They be throwing shit out of his house. Any nigga that know real hip-hop, who came up from the cloth, who love real hip-hop, this album is a fucking gem.

40:13Let me get the one with man A on me. That's not the best one either. How about that? It's the whole project. It's beyond serious. That shit right there. You're dealing with so much garbage in the world. That shit he just played right now was so crazy. This shit is crazy. That shit with Nas is crazy. That Jackie song. Safe to say, it's a crazy project. It's OK. I know it's hard to say it because it's so much garbage. But this is a solid-ass project. Play that shit. Word up, eh? A nigga always got the nerve to ask for something. I told him, let's reverse the situation this time and do it like this.

40:51You know what I'm saying? Give me. Ah! Just give me. Break that shit, man! Call the NYC. Give me what you can't get back. What's the deal, y 'all? Pull the shit down, let's count this money. Why don't you give me the world? Give me what you can't get back. You know we too thorough. Champagne cheers, Louis wears over the years. In full length, me earmuffs over my ears. Knowing it's near, near brushes, moments of fear. For them jail phones, just know you on your own when you there. Alone in my squares, sifting, smiling, showing veneers. Reminiscing the Mac, spitting at me and bones in the stairs.

41:30Homie, I'm here, escaped it. 88 first with them aces from crack hit nigga that was the matrix track sacred rap chains when i enter the game half i entertainer over half i explain it's in my name the beginning that never began never van rolling dice got a hell of a hand the melody man meal prep on the celery plant with a few extra greens my two steps prep on the celery bet but i'd be extra queens Fat in the Manhattan, ain't no capping in between Give me Big Cubans and Diamond Rain Oh, no, no, no, no, no Give me what you can't get back Hey, James! What's the deal, y 'all? Give me James! Why don't you give me the world?

42:15Give me what you can't get back Yo, we gotta shoot this shit, man Too thorough Sleep a piece of the season, eh Early demise, teary-eyed Knowing this code's most barely abided I rarely advise the fiends and no scary inside Intervene between killers that nearly collide Clearly I'm live, got a vibe, can't compare me to size Certified hood ties, had to bury my pride Sincerity wise, a Pisces with Aquarius side Never shy, see those, those of love to hear that I die My error of I, we back, real niggas of Venus is packed Presence felt, never seen as attacked Mean when we rap, we rebels Transform the guard from devils is in the stars of each in the largest level.

42:54Scars are settled in debt. Pay up on a live of regret. Love my set, we individually repped. Envision the best, believe it. You see it first before you achieve it. When on the board, let the Lord referee it. Give me, just give me, for the NYC. Give me what you get. Get back. What's the deal, y 'all? Give me, why don't you give me the world? Give me what you can't get back. You know we too thorough. Yeah. That's nice. Hell out, Philly. It's like 95 all over again. Let's go. That was nice. Yeah. You know y 'all keep speaking 9-5, you know? Well, you ain't know I did that? I know you did that. I listened to that.

43:45Caden ain't know I did that. Okay, he snuck that one in, that motherfucker. I was like, huh? That's how you do. The other day I was in the studio and Diamond D sent me a joint and I snuck it in before everybody got in the studio. I was like the first nigga there. I see y 'all throw this up. Knocked it out. Yeah. I mean, nobody knows. They know now. But I mean, like when I threw it up in the studio, nobody was there yet. So I got that one out the way. That's people. That's one of those. You did that shit right quick. It made you feel like that. What made you feel like that? I booked it. nobody was there with me and the engineer but what made you feel like coming up with that hook no that's the hook he already had I know so what made you say I'ma do it over when royalty calls you do it you the only one who act like I don't answer yeah he don't fuck with the guard like he can't even reach the flag cause it's so he lying so much the flag he can't even reach You know what I'm saying?

44:48You know what? It is crazy. Yo, he's wow. Jada Kiss is wow. Let me tell you something. Jada Kiss is cool, man. Jada Kiss is wow. I'm cool, man. But let me tell you something, man. That shit is amazing. This album, I love it. This is going to change. This is going to change your bank account. It's going to change. It's going to change a lot of things because. I got my man, Colombian John. He's like a... He drives... He does anything I need. Somebody in my hood, around my demographic. But I called him. I was doing... Fixing the sneaker room. I had to get rid of the boxes. I usually call him, give him a couple hundred to grab it.

45:37As soon as he gets to the crib, though. That HD out. I said, yeah, Colombian. Usually he still works. I'm a lot of OGs put some albums together and I support 1 million percent and I like certain songs from their albums. The last one to do it the best is Billy Dance. Billy Dance, y 'all better check that fucking album out. Yeah, I heard that. That's nice. And NAZ came with the, yo, here's the pure, the cocaine. I said, god damn, this nigga just like because Billy Dance did some grown up You on that album too Hello I heard it was me You got a lot of fluidity out there What I think is missing And we need more of Is our contemporaries Making them kind of songs You know what I mean People get caught up with calling Top people on the billboards Whoever you're hearing on the top Eight of eight Those ain't necessarily the people you make good music with.

46:46So... Or make music for. Exactly. Your audience. As long as we stick to the script and work with our contemporaries, I think more beautiful things can come out of that. But, you know, like you said before, people get a couple dollars, you get a new house, a new Ferrari, you start feeling like you got to make songs. Now, you know what? A lot of times it be like record company niggas want to tell you, they shouldn't be. do a song with this guy. Yo, this will be fine. So the record label still signing? People still signing the record labels? They rock niggas all over again. I know that. Whatever we got robbed for, they got fresh niggas getting robbed.

47:26Rapper Pete. Oh, wow. He's getting robbed, nigga. This is a genocidal. Yeah, it ain't stopping. It's more worse than that. These record labels is genocidal, my nigga. They blowing bar. Nigga, the whole gimmick is to sign young black men and Latino men that came from nothing. Put you in debt. Throw him a little carrot. What? Yo, nigga ain't never had none. They gave him$100 ,000. These niggas are singing their life away. Talented, doing the illest shit. These niggas is running it up. $20,$30 million. This nigga never, he's in debt. So if they spend$100 ,000 on a video, they charge you$2 million on a video.

48:04You, not them. Yo, I still have it recouped. Let me tell you. I have a double platinum album. that I still haven't recouped from for 20 years. Then I put out an independent album where I sell 100 ,000 records and make a million dollars off that shit. Did you ever actually listen to the first line of why? Mind showing why. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know the ball, but I want you to say it. I'm going to fuck it up. Why is the industry designers in debt? That's crazy, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, no, but it's true though. But it's a why. Why? Why? is the industry designed to keep the artist in debt. Only key word is the artist.

48:51Nobody else be in debt. And so that don't never run, they never run out of broke niggas. Yeah, yeah, I see. They never run out of a talented young kid. I figure they learn from our shit and everybody else did this. Why would they still? Some of them have. Now they're catching them with a longer spoon. Some of them have. Like when you see like a Travis Scott. You get a movie, you get any deal, they hand is in the bucket. He's chilling, right? Travis doing this thing. There's some smart ones out there. Right, right. You see them running up. They let a few smart ones slip through, but they make sure it's only a few.

49:26We're going to let two. You can't beat up the record label no more. You go to the feds. You can't hit. In my day, we was beating niggas up with the plaques on the wall. We want out. We want now. That shit is a fed case right now. They letting you know ASAP. Can't even get out of the building. They're going to lock you in the building to the fucking authority. So, I think it's at Atlantic one time. I said, yo, I'm running up in. They didn't want to pay for a video. Like, I wanted to do. I said, I'm coming in there. And anybody, I mean, anybody up in this bitch. That shit, I walked in there. Atlantic Records, they had like a thousand workers.

50:04That shit was like. Niggas in there thought it was a Jewish holiday. and they sent everybody home. When I think it was papers blowing in the wind, I walked up in there and I said, damn, it ain't one nigga stood behind. Not a fucking janitor can get smacked up out this bitch. This shit was like, the whole place. Yo, they didn't take it as a bluff. They didn't think that was Kat at that time. They got out of it. Everybody. Nice ladies. Everybody was gone. Niggas was like, oh, no, he coming up in here. They told me the only guy who stood there, rest in peace, is my good friend, Ronnie Johnson. And because he knew I loved him so much, he said that he explained it to me.

50:46He said, yo, Joe, you're not Beyonce, man. Your last single didn't do good. They're not going to give you the bag for the next video and this and this and that. So a lot of shit I went through in the industry, I learned I had to go independent. Yeah. Because I realized we're in the blind at all times. So we tell in the record label, yo, you're going to push this. You're going to make this a hit? And then suppose they don't. Suppose they lying to you. And they're like, yo, Kiss always sell 250 ,000 records. Just give out enough. Spend a little. It's like the drug game. Spend a little. Step on this bitch.

51:24We know he's going to sell 250 ,000. So that's how they make their PC. Meanwhile, Kiss is like, yo, I think I could do a million if y 'all blow the bag. They cool with that 250. They make their money. You get 250 from 50 people. That's a fact. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that's why being independent, I had that one song. I say it all the time. You hate when I repeat stories. But when I put out that song with Young Jeezy, I got so many, you know, right? Just like we talking to you, you ain't delusional. Niggas is telling you this album is hot, AC. You know when this shit is hot. I'm speaking to my peoples.

52:00Yeah, they been out for a day. Yeah, yeah, but they telling you. But they telling you this shit is hot. That's a fact. Right? So it ain't a lot. So I put that shit out and the whole world called me. It was like, yo, you got another lead back, nigga. This shit is crazy. The whole industry called, yo, welcome back. Nigga, this, this, this. That shit, it wasn't charting, wasn't moving, wasn't doing nothing. I went to the label. I was like, yo, y 'all didn't. Yeah, Joe, this. I said, this shit was a hit. I said, I got to go. I got to put my own money where my wife is and go independent and put my own money And at least I know I spent it.

52:37The shit don't blow. It is what it is. I can't go there. And it also feels, you feel smaller looking at a guy behind a desk begging him to promote your shit or play your music or this and this. I used to feel smaller on the other side of the desk saying, yo, you're going to pump my shit? You're going to go? And I was like, yo, you know what, Joe? You've always been a hustler. You've always been an entrepreneur. You got to go. and they was calling that at that time I had B for 50 sets and they was calling that shit the graveyard you niggas this crackhead you niggas like going independent at that time oh yeah they really try to discourage niggas from going independent the graveyard only bums go there meanwhile I made wow more money than I made on a major you go on a major you sell two two million records they take you unrecouped they give you another half a million to make the next album you sell gold on an independent.

53:37At that time, they giving you$7. You made three and a half M's. That's a fact. That's the math I was figuring out. So I wasn't trying to hear none of that shit. They was talking graveyard, fums, this. I'm like, nah, papa, you ain't seeing these jacks. That shit was that fucking another round with Chris Brown. It's the one time in my life I try to stop the money from coming. and I was kicking that shit back in the safe. Like, please stop. Stop sending another check. Another bonus is coming through this shit. So independent, when you hit it out the park, it's sweet. It's the best in the world. And then you build that catalog so that you can benefit off of it if you ever want to make a catalog deal where you want to sell your catalog.

54:26You got that equity. That's the real money. It's fat. That's a fact.

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57:39Because when people are the destination, your ride is important. Learn more at Toyota.com and find the vehicle that fits your people. Favorite ball you ever hit. That's one of his questions. Because I don't. That's like a brain twister. Yeah, that is. That's crazy. We got 10 albums out. That's kind of crazy. All right, we can skip that. Nah, nah, nah, nah. What's close to it? What's a verse that you feel like, yo, that might be my best verse I ever spit? You got to have one. You're lying, kiss. I'm not lying. When you got to lie, any verses, niggas got? How could you sit there and break that down?

58:22I think the come up, the come up, stack, get right, put the gun up, laugh, get nice, put the blunt up, pray blue and whites don't run up, remain humble. Yeah, that one was coming. He got the shit. Man, that's more money, more murder. Damn, man. All right, yeah, see? Keep going, yeah. It's so many, man. Man, AZ, man. So AZ, I heard on the album where you said, Rakim birthed the style Sean D The G-Rap fine tuned it Did I skip somebody? Skip Kane I said Kane Big Daddy Kane That was Pun's Cool G-Rap and Big Daddy Kane Was Pun's favorite rappers Yeah I skipped Kane So you said G-Rap Rakim Kane warmed it up G-Rap turned my dial Yeah And then They're my favorites right there And then that realism some life-actuality, fuck who's the baddest perk.

59:23Yeah. That's the set-off right there. So good. That goes with this one. Which album changed your life more, you think? Illmatic or DoorDop? DoorDop. Damn, nah. I don't fucking know that. That was crazy. That was a good one. I would say Illmatic because it made me... It opened the door so I had a Benoit and I only had three songs or six raps. And every label, you know, they wanted me. So I had to make... What is connection with Nas? Like, who introduced you? Yo, this is Nas Sid. This is a... I think the homie Yambo. He was on the phone. He's from Brooklyn, but he was in Queensbridge and he knew I rapped.

1:00:07He knew Nas rapped. He was in the streets and he got us on the phone and me and Nas going back and forth. Actually, it was other people on the phone. It was like one of them party lights type shit. But it was just some real shit. We was rapping, but I gravitated towards Nas. He just was spinning some crazy shit. And I was like, we exchanged numbers and we kind of, we dialogued for like a year before we even bumped heads. Like every now and then, like once a month, what up, nigga, what's going on? It was, yo, my man just got shot over there. Oh, my man, you know? So that was like a year. And then he got a deal.

1:00:39And then I think halfway through Illmatic, he invited me to the studio. I went there. Just a fly on the wall. And Life's a Bitch wasn't even premeditated. That just happened. I wasn't trying to get on an album. I was just there to support him. Yeah. It just happened. Life's a bitch and then you die. That's why we get high. And you know he get busy, so I'm wondering why he even put me on a fucking album. It's done. I don't want to get on that. I can't keep up with you, nigga. That's how I do it, right? Let me tell you my perspective. A fly nigga in my hood is showbiz. Born Lord. Showbiz coming all that.

1:01:18Come in the motherfucking Convertible bands You gotta hear this, you gotta hear this I was by Soundview somewhere He was like, you gotta hear this And that motherfucker pulled that Illmatic out the tape And threw it in and we sat in the car And listened to the whole Illmatic and I was like, oh my God, like yo this shit I was scared Right, because I had one hit out One album out, I had Flojo And I was like, bust it Check it Watch how I wreck it Niggas watch your bet And I'm here realizing the realism of life And that you're out I say oh my god It's getting over to me I'm not coming with the Stiggity bumps Stiggity bumps This might have been the realest shit That's ill That's you That's ill That one right there hit home different Because Nigga I was shocked You gotta say it again How did Flo Joe go?

1:02:18Buss it. Buss it, check it. I got a line on Flojo where I say, step to me and I'm going to mash your toes. Yeah, I got to go to the bathroom. Yo. Yo. Nigga.

1:02:36That's a fact you said that? That's a fact. And that shit, I heard that shit. So I was so, dude, what you call that shit? the endorphins in my brain was like, yo, this is the illest shit I ever heard. And then the fear sets in and says, nigga, if you don't step down that much. So I studied you guys. Yo, I'm telling you I might have listened to Illmatic one million times before I started my second album. And that's how I stepped my second album up. The crazy shit is I put out the second album right about now. You four days in. And I run into Biggie. rest in peace I see Biggie he got 200 300 people around him and shit and he was like yo crap it's like what we've been playing all week he was yo you step your shit up nigga the second album I was like yo he told Lil' Kim he was like yo we've been playing your album all day that was like I had to step it up or I was I was done a lot of niggas you know Illmatic put a lot of niggas out of business oh yes that's the hustling you you gotta adapt yeah and it was a wave after that you know niggas out of business you know you couldn't come with that whack shit no more you had the life be lyrical yeah or come through with some shit otherwise yeah it wasn't gonna work shout out my man L.E.S L.E.S yes L.E.S I love you brother man he was like the first nigga whoever you know cause I just wanna shoot people and Rob People and all my music and all that.

1:04:17He gave me something. Oh yeah, he gave me like two, three joints. But what he did do was like, let me know, like I did the, hey Joey, I didn't even know I could make a song like that. I was so hardcore. I was like M.O.P. So when he was like, yo, you can rap, I was like, yo, B, they're going to take a pussy guard if I rap to some shit. He was like, nah, nigga, this is the fly shit. And I did it. Thank God, it's like one of my classics. And so he was like, you know, with me, I was real, just, I was, I was too underground. Right. You know what I mean? My shit was like, we will not commercialize. So my shit was like, so underground that every step of the way for me, if you would have asked Fat Joe, 1992, will he ever have a what's love or some shit like that?

1:05:08He would have never, ever, ever in the history. I thought I was just going to be making spit raiser music. That's it. But you adjusted with the sound. Yeah. Real work. Well, I just seen the money. So what happened for me was niggas that was making that kind of, like the band, not to tell his business, one day Chris Gotti came to get me. And this one, Murder, Inc. was on fire. And he showed me. And this is Chris Gotti, not Irving. Rest in peace, Irving, man. I miss Irving, man. Mm-hmm. He showed me a$20 million check. And then he came to my crib in the Bronx. Nigga was like, yo, I just got this.

1:05:50He's not. He's number two or number three on the list. He showed me a$20 million Chris Scott. And I said, oh, I got to make records like that. Just shoot him up. Bang, bang, ain't going to work. Then we made the West Love. That's real. We dug him from there. Then we started just making hit records. But it was like, you know, I seen it. He showed me the check. And I was like, nothing. It was a normal day. He was like, all right, Joe, let's go to the negative city. You know, I was like, yo, this thing's got a$20 million fucking check. I'm over here still doing$1 ,500 shows. I was like, and so I realized you got to step it up.

1:06:29You know what I mean? And make music like you when you did Sugar Hill. Yeah, I had to do that. I didn't want to do that, but I saw what Biggie did. He just zipped. he still kept it real on the album and so now I'm hearing everything I'm hearing Marv I'm hearing I said I can compete but I want to zip that was a good ass zip you made some fly shit that was a hell of a zip yeah you can zip hell of a zip you can zip that's a fact that's a fact that's why because it's a music business it's not I mean we all get busy but it's a business at the same time when the conversation never comes up In my mind, I always credit Biggie for the whole shit.

1:07:17I credit him because he's the first guy I've seen with a backpack and an army fatigue jacket and started rapping on them R &B beats, making them hits, juicy and all that. And so that inspired me to make songs like that or everybody else. You know, he opened that door. At least for New York niggas, I know he opened that door. Like you just said, if everybody just kept it real and say, who let them know that you could do that, it would be B.I.G. Man, it's cool to wear a nice shirt. It would be the one that would be going from nasty to classic. Man, I was in his house one day. The nigga had a hockey jersey on and Levi's and this and that.

1:08:02He was like, yo, come to my shit tonight, this, this, that. I pulled up, nigga had gators on, fucking fur trench, this, that. I was like, what the fuck? Where did this come from? Biggie Smalls was an overnight success. He was number one, two, and three. That's a fact. Within months. Just never been seen before before that. Just his money must have went like. That's a fact. Like some shit we never seen. Like that shit was one, two, and three. I remember like, yo, this nigga's number one, two, and three. somebody I equate that to, I always use Cardi B as the standard now for like fandom money. You know how Cardi B say anything on Instagram, the girls love that shit.

1:08:53She just this this. Like she got that shit where she just that shit you were saying, she just jumped to another level. That's how Biggie did it for me. You know, but all you guys, man, you shit, the firm shit All that. What was it like working with like a Foxy Brown? You know, we rate Foxy Brown. She another one in the cut. Yeah, she get busy. Foxy. I was listening to some Fox yesterday. I can't wait till she come back out. I'm waiting for that. She got to come back. She's coming back. Got the boobs with the back to the ankle. She's saying that. Foxy's going to be saying. Guys, we got my biggest moat.

1:09:30You see, it happens all the time. So I think if you are a veteran, Sean C., you've seen this. if you're a veteran exec who's been in the game long enough, you've seen this shit play out with different artists. So say like French had that shot caller and the next thing you know, he did the pop that. With all the miggas, it took him another level. With me, I was just getting my credibility with Flojo and all that. And LL put me on our shot chip. But Fat Joe already had Flojo and already had the second album that Biggie saying, I stepped my shit up. so I kind of like I don't know if I deserve that slap right there but thank god he gave it to me and then you got Prodigy on there you got Keith Murray was on fucking flames and then you got Foxy Brown and I remember me doing it it was a big deal to be on there with LL and all them and I turned around cause we all shooting the video the same and she come on I say yo this girl Yeah, yeah.

1:10:32How about it took two seconds to know she was a superstar? She was in there with the biggest, hottest niggas. From the four platinum niggas to the underground niggas to everything. She came up in there. I think she had like a white silk shirt. She was like, In Ellen Tracy, this, this. And I was like, oh, my God. There's a girl on this song that she's about to be the fuck out of here. What was that like that? Working with her in the studio and shit like that. No, Fox in and out. She getting right to the business. As soon as the music come on, it's her turn to get in the studio. She getting on the mic.

1:11:06She do it and she gone. She'll write fast right there. Lay half it down, write more. She out. And we used to waste a lot of money, huh, Sean C? We used to, the studio was the hangout. Oh, yeah. Huh, Sean C? Yo, what was it like working with Rest In Peace half a mil? Oh, man. Half was big head scientist. He had a lot of knowledge. He was trying to get that shit out like he knew something. He was before his time. Way before his time. Way before. You know, a lot of unsung heroes in the hip-hop game passed away prematurely. You know what I mean? It was like the streets. Rap game turned straight to the streets.

1:11:50Yeah. Yeah. Was you conscious of that? Yeah, I seen what was going on. My style was the same. I'm sitting back. You got the loud ones and you got the sound assassins. I think I was more like that. Just checking shit out. Seeing where to go, where not to go, you know? I always went with a problem. You was hearing that shit. That nigga fat Joe walked up to there with a hundred Puerto Ricans. Word up, son. What do you do? Yo, that nigga pun they called him a German. He took the chain off and whipped the shit out of them niggas. Yo, this nigga big pun. Let me tell you something. Yo, listen. Listen, you was there for that?

1:12:30Yo, Sean C., let me tell you something. Niggas say, I'll be watching all these documentaries. They say the tunnel was the, it was the worst place to go. The tunnel was just Killerville. Right. Rikers Island with a sprinkle of young ladies. This nigga, big pun. Big pun would go in there with millions of dollars in jewelry and a robe on, my nigga, with boxes under like this in the middle of the tunnel. with a robot and chancletas where every so-called the murderer of all murderers at this. What up, God? I'm like, yo, where's your clothes, my nigga? Fuck that. Niggas know what time it is out here.

1:13:09Yo, big punt. Yo, that nigga was that nigga. Oh, oh. Whoa. Whoa. Man, big punt, man. But you know. Yo, Joe, how you made it to that More Money, More Murder video? How you do that? I'm in that video? Yeah, but how you do that? I was in everybody's video. I don't know. Niggas is like, I might have had the video niggas on speed down. They always shoot the video. Fat Joe was like, wow. Yo, they shooting over there. You know who I did incarcerated Scarfaces? I'm the barber in Raekwon's video. Yeah, they shot the shit over there Bob Lemmon's projects By the Taino Towers over there On the east side of the hall And they had the ice cream truck I'm the barber in the video Incarcerated Scarface And fucking engine Engine number I'm jumping up and down Oh shit Big it up, big it up, big it up Back to the stains, Chris Spear Nigga, you call Fat Joe For a cameo, he was there But that day, that day, it's crazy that you bring that up.

1:14:24Right. Because sometimes I'm fried. I'm going to be honest with you. I'm fried. So, like, sometimes, you know, niggas don't call me cap so much. Sometimes I think I'm capping. I don't know. This shit is crazy out here. Right. But that video. Right. I remember Jay-Z was there. Jay was there, yeah. And Nas and every, you know, we just had Rick Ross here. I really asked them how did it go bad between him and Drake. And I remember everybody was there. No, no, no, no, no. This is before Nas and Jay-Z beef. Everybody was there in peace. Yeah, no. I was sitting next to these niggas. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1:15:02So I'm like, when it really went bad, I never, I never, you the one, you probably the only guy who got them together before all that beef. That's a fact. How did that come about? I knew Jerry from high school. We went, I think, ninth grade. He was in the grade. He used to rap in the lunchroom. That's before the Biggie and Busta Rhyme shit. So you was in that same high school? They leave you out of that high school. I didn't go to that one. That's after. They closed ours. And then from there, we was cool. And I was already doing me. He reached out. Tried to make it happen. It didn't happen. But I was there at the video with Big and all of us sitting at the round table.

1:15:43Nas Bozak came, but he didn't. So it was cool, but, you know, shit happens. Yeah. I mean, you know, it's a part of our history, everybody's history in hip-hop. You know what I'm saying? That shit. I guess sometimes some shit had to happen. No, no, for real. Sometimes the journey is shit gotta happen. Maybe it was about just the business, right? About the music business. It was a power move like that. It's the same game, right? Fire mode. That's what it is. Supremacy. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? It's a fact. But we hear the name of the project. Tell them the name of the project. DoorDot3, man.

1:16:24Telling you right now, anybody. Uniqueness. Anybody in the fucking planet Earth, if you love real hip hop, if you love lyrics, you love beats, nothing is fucking with AZ's album right now. It's untouchable right now. I already set a date with myself. I'm going back home to get in the car and play the album while I drive in the car, preferably around Brooklyn, Harlem, the South Bronx. Yes. A little bit of Queens in there. Yes. Pull up. You want me to touch that? Pull up the Y.O. Pull up. Do I got juice in your own case by now? Because I'm affiliated with you. You got juice. You know your kids, man.

1:17:05The twins. I hung out with the twins at the game. They got so much love. I want to know. You got fucking. Can I get like a free pasta Leo or some shit? I ain't one in Y.O. Magic carpet. Yo, we spreading the wealth. Yo, Y.O. Am I like a doctor? You good in Y.O. You good. Don't do that. You gonna love. You gonna go pump my gas in the gas station. You know the gas station. Where's that gas station at? 354, man. What? Every year, every time I used to go to Young's, they'd be like, yo, the locks is in that gas station over there. Y 'all motherfuckers just out there deep. So I'm good in YL. Give me a fucking ginger and lemon shot.

1:17:45Go get you a bacalito. Free bacalito. I'm good. Yeah, YL, what's up, baby? What's up, baby? I'm in the building. Yo, this ain't that. That ain't this. Make some noise for AZ, y 'all. Go, I got three, y 'all. You know why, AZ, let me tell you something before we turn off these cameras. the reason why I give it out there to you like that is because you're not going to do it to yourself. You quiet, but you need niggas like me, the spokesman, the mouth of the South, to let the niggas know your shit is on fire so they don't get it mistaken. You quiet, nigga. I'm saying, nah, nigga. This for the culture.

1:18:27We going to salute them the right way. And if you got ears, go get that fucking album. Yes. We appreciate you.

1:19:04We'll be right back.

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