Rod Wave talks ‘Don’t Look Down’ dropping 8/28 + breaks down business moves & record-setting concerts

25:32It's just, you take that same formula to whatever business you're doing. I only got to know nothing about that lane, like AI and tech. I might didn't know anything about it when I first got into it, but I can go hire people because it's somebody in their mama basement who know everything about it, but they don't got the tools. They might not got the money or the influence and I don't got the understanding. So now we can come together, put that formula together and equal success. says. It's like a mathematic formula. It's never going to change. If I got the money and the influence and you understand that you got the structure, how can we lose?

26:06You're going to tell me. You got the map. I got the car. And he got the gas. He got the gas. He know where to get the gas from. What's stopping him? I love that song that you flipped. Alexander O 'Neal. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's that. That video, crazy too. Yeah. With the Soprano nigga. Yeah. A little soft launch to Mainstay Films, man. Just getting into films. It's really showing, like, level of production that, you know what I'm saying, my company can do. You know what I'm saying? It's like a little soft launch. But using this moment, like, while I'm in this moment to build other shit. Like, okay, y 'all want, I know y 'all want the rock, y 'all want the music, but I'm going to use this and I'm going to grow in the music, but I'm also launching my film company and show y 'all, like, the level of production, you know what I'm saying?

26:56The shit that... Just using this moment, bruh. Building more than just rap.

27:05Yo, you know what's crazy, man? It's hip-hop fans will argue about anything. I'm talking best rapper live, best era, best album, but nobody gets started on best verse. Don't even get me started on best verse. That's a fact. And now Sprite got y 'all debating something new. It's called the Sprite Living Track List. 50 records that really shaped the culture. That's crazy. We talking legends. We talking icons. And yeah, new artists carrying the torch right now, present day. But it ain't just songs, though. It's the stories behind them. The lyrics, the moments, what those records meant when they hit.

27:43Yo, go check out the full Sprite Living Track List and get into the stories behind your favorite bars. I like that. at livingtracklist.genius.com. This is the Sprite Living Tracklist. Obey your thirst. Yo, I was scrolling through the Sprite Living Tracklist the other day and immediately started arguing with myself. Arguing with yourself? I'm serious. It was wild because records like California Love, Still Not a Player, back then, those aren't just songs. Nah, those are moments, memories, snapshots of where hip-hop was and where it's going. Exactly. And that's what Sprite gets. They spent over 40 years celebrating artists who really defined the culture.

28:29And now they flipping it, letting the fans be part of the conversation. Which is where it gets interesting because the real debate is why. Like, why did that song matter? Why did that line hit? Why did it change hip-hop forever? I can't promise you we got the answers. But you're definitely going to have a good time figuring it out. Go check out Full Sprite Living Trackless. And break down the stories behind your favorite bars. At livingtrackless.genius.com. This is the Sprite Living Trackless. Obey your thirst.

29:06Didn't catch the latest Roland Martin Unfiltered podcast? Here's what you missed. And the argument is, do you want to win? If you don't win, you have no power. It's real. Those are the very people who I always say vote against their own economic interests and they complain about the very thing they're receiving. It's raw. I knew that the issue of transgender athletes was not going well with a lot of black men. Roland Martin unfiltered. I went off. I said, this is exactly what I'm talking about. Y 'all gonna scream at Chanel, but you don't want to see a black luxury company in the same vein. Catch Roland Martin's daily commentary on the Black Information Network.

29:50Twelve seats. Those are moving south. So if you Democrats, you don't wait to 2030. You better be hitting the ground going hard in the south now. And download Roland Martin Unfiltered on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Honey, is it on? Is it on? Is this thing recording? This is your girl T.S. Madison coming to you loud, live, and always and forever in color from the Outlaws podcast with me, T.S. Madison. This week, Laverne Cox is back. Keto superstar. Yes, that is what you are. Laverne, I love you. We're talking about her new book, her controversial ex, and going off on the red carpet.

30:3120 minutes later, he was like, let's squash this, let's talk about it. I was like, no, you do not talk to me like that. That is unacceptable. I walked out and said, we need to break up. And can you ever really change a man? Listen to Outlaws with T.S. Madison on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jake Brennan, and on my podcast, Hollywoodland, I revisit some of the biggest stories from Hollywood history, separating the myths people want to believe from the reality underneath them. Like how the story of Marilyn Monroe isn't just the story of a Hollywood icon.

31:08Marilyn Monroe has become so iconic that her death can only be explained through conspiracy theories. And for some fans who can't let go, these stories have metastasized from conjecture to accepted fact. So on August 4th, 1962, Marilyn Monroe died. Then the rumors started and she died again. And now we're going to set the record straight and learn about the way Marilyn Monroe actually died. the third way. Learn more about what happens when fame, media obsession, and conspiracy collide. Listen to Hollywoodland on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

31:52Is we ever gonna see a skinny Rod Wade? Because Fat Joe, they gonna be like, not so fat Joe. Khaled, that nigga looking like he got a six-pack. Are you ever gonna go on that shit? You think in the future, you gonna... because, you know, we the fattest niggas on earth, but we done lost this shit. I'm just wondering if Rod Wave gonna be skinny Rod Wave one day. Yeah, I'm working on it. You working on this shit? Trying to better myself all the way around, like mentally, physically, you know what I'm saying? Every day, every day I try to get better and better and, you know what I'm saying, just being a person, like, you know what I'm saying, mentally, physically, you know what I'm saying, business-wise.

32:27I feel like with this whole change, this childhood, like, because I didn't feel like this like two years ago. I wasn't thinking nothing like this. I wasn't trying to change. I didn't think nothing was wrong. I didn't think nothing I was doing was wrong until I really analyzed. You know? You got them tied out. And that's what, that go back to what I was saying in the beginning about like, your brain don't fully develop until you get a certain age. I just feel like I woke up one day and I just rewired. I just saw the world different. I don't, I just don't, I can't even explain it. Like, just looking at, just, you know, how I was handling my business, shit I was buying, shit I was doing.

33:01And I'm blessed because it didn't, it wasn't too late. You know what I'm saying? It didn't take a long time for you. I studied patterns, right? So like just watching the game, I've always been a music connoisseur. I just studied patterns. Since I was younger, I've always been a music connoisseur. So I'm like, okay, this rapper did this. I thought this shit was cool. I ain't like, he did this lame shit, I ain't like that. So I'm not going to do that. I'm going to do all this shit right here and I'm going to take this same blueprint and I'm going to get to where I'm going and it got me to where I was at in the music shit.

33:28So just understanding like patterns and how the way this shit works. I feel like I'm doing the same thing with the business side. And one of them patterns as a rapper, like, it's going in. Like, the end is inevitable. Like, it's coming. And you don't want to wait until it's too late. So I'm just blessed that I was able to... You can't get to a time where it's played out. I'm blessed that I was able to grist life, like, and understand, grist reality, you know what I'm saying, before you... Because people like to cling on and catch on when you're falling down. So you know what they do is these people crooks, right?

34:02So these record labels are crooks. They've been crooks since James Brown and shit like that. So they take some young black kids that's talented and they act like they can change their life, and they do. But, you know, they give them a couple of dollars and they take them and these motherfuckers make some records to sell 10 million records. And then they go, the same guy who don't even know your first name, he just know you rod something, come stand on stage with you and take credit for fucking making the album. And then they give you like 10 cents on an album. So imagine if we sold this shit, we went on the corner and sold this shit all day for 10 cents.

34:45You said 10 of these, you make a dollar. And so you're like, we not even get money. So what they do is, what's so good about what you said just now is, once a guy or girl figures it out, two albums in, three albums in, they throw them on the old school at noon circuit. They get a new young kid to rob for the next two, three albums. And they've been doing this shit since the 50s and the 60s and the 70s and the 80s. And the only thing that never changed throughout the industry is the contracts and the math. This shit is the same shit they was giving James Browns in 1950. Matter of fact, even worse now with 360 deals.

35:31Because before they didn't get you, you'd be like, all right, they robbing me. At least I can go do my shows. They robbing me that. Now they want everything. So it's like, I'm so happy that you figured out the business structure so early because once you figure it out, you ain't got that influence or you ain't popping as much. you know we usually figure it out if we did a tally to rappers and we really if they said the truth they'll tell you that they figured the business out once they was like you know over their prime you know what i'm saying and this is always a young man's game yeah but i feel like it's a business like the way i always look at the world like be grown like nobody care about you crying nobody coming to save you so i feel like in the beginning them deals you're talking about that seemed crazy or slavery.

36:24Like, I was thankful for that shit in the beginning. You know what I'm saying? I didn't really get too uncomfortable until I, you know what I'm saying, got to a point in my life or understood the math or understood it. So, but I'm still thankful because I probably wouldn't even be where I'm at. You know what I'm saying? But it's like, your ignorance ain't an excuse. Like, our ignorance ain't an excuse. Like, is it really their fault? Because it's like, we jumping in this water. We the ones signing. Like, nobody put no gun to our head. It's supposed to be the older cats who's supposed to teach us, hey, little brother, this is how this goes.

36:56Or it's supposed to be because the hand we dealt. Like, you know what I'm saying? So we walking into them offices signing them papers and not understanding. Like, it ain't their fault because they built a business. It's a business. Like, it's all it is. It's really a partnership. Like, you sign to a label or you sign a deal, it's really a partnership. And the partnership, they telling you, it's right there in black and white. We're going to loan you this money, little brother. And we're going to get our money. when you start selling, we're going to build you up to build stuff. When the money start coming in, we're going to get ours first.

37:24We're going to count every penny. That's your job to negotiate that and say, no, I want it like that. I want it like this. But we don't understand because it's a cycle. You know what I'm saying? Somebody got to get in and break the cycle. But that's the problem. The people supposed to be teaching us trying to run it on us. You know what I'm saying? Because they feel like, shit, I'm older now. You know what I'm saying? Ain't nobody teach. You know what I'm saying? It's red on me. So let me run it on you. Wild Wild West. You know, I never understood that, right? So I've always treated everybody fair.

37:53I've signed artists. I can honestly say I made at least about 10, you see. And it's different for me, right? Because for some reason, I guess kids feel like that, you feel like that. A lot of shit I do, either it goes unnoticed, the niggas try to act like it's regular or they try to act like everybody doing that or whatever. I don't know. I know I was born in Bronx, Lebanon, high school. Broke as fuck. It's a family that been broke for 100 years before me. And I got on and I helped at least 10 different people I know that had shit. Didn't even have a fucking glizzy to becoming millionaires. I'm just telling you the truth.

38:39Damn, not a glizzy. Nigga, I was the leader. You can get a glizzy even when you're at your low. I was the leader of the free lunch bunch. Okay? It's not that hard to get a blizzy, bud. I used to go summertime. I used to go to every school. Not at free lunch. I used to go. You might get the steak. Anybody walk up blizzy free.

39:11Might can't get a burger. You might can't get a shrimp, but the glizzies are coming quick. Anything done? Yeah, glizzy. Get out. People put the orange soda in the glizzies. You freak. My point is, there's a lot of guys who made a lot of money. Pumping gas. Because, no, I'm not saying that. I'm saying I got an opportunity. I got myself like a miracle into an opportunity where I could have kept it to myself or I could have helped others. And I found a way to say, you know what, man, let me help this person. Because I've always been about, of course, God first, but my second religion is hip hop, the culture.

39:54So I always felt like if I heard an artist that everybody got to hear, I'm like, yo, I'm going to put them on. Even if they don't want to sign to me, I'll help them because hip hop needs this. So I helped a lot of people become millionaires and all that. and I feel like I didn't have to. I could have just gave a fuck about myself. I could sit here and tell you about artists I looked up to my whole career that they never put a nigga on. Not one. They never put a guy in position. When I look at it like that and I see the opportunity, but a lot of these guys ain't educated. I wasn't educated when somebody sat down with me and said, sign here.

40:37I didn't even have a lawyer. You understand? I was just like, yo, I'm going to get up out the streets. This is legit money. My mom's going to be proud of me. I'm going to put on for the hood. You know, and then when I made that U-turn and noticed that niggas was making crazy bread off of me and I wasn't making no bread. I'm like, yo, this shit crazy. Yeah, that epiphany like damn, like you start understanding what's going on around you. I definitely understand it. I think I signed my deal with her. I went to a damn injury lawyer got there to read my contract for me. I was 17. I didn't even understand.

41:15I just saw the number. That's all I saw. And that number was a number I ain't even never, like, I wasn't gonna never get in the first deal I signed. I just saw the numbers I knew. I wasn't even really like taking this. I know these artists it's very hard to do. But I know this one particular group and I'm not saying who and they sold too many records. I'm not even going to say the number because the people will know because not too many people sold the fucking numbers they sold. Right? That's how big they are. And if I said the number, you wouldn't have to go, oh, you would know who I'm talking about.

41:51And to this day, I never heard them talk bad about the person who signed them. And they got raped and pillaged. Like, beyond the type of shit they sold, they should be owning that building across the street at Skyscraper. and they still, I see them in interviews and all, y 'all want to thank, you know, Mr. Such and Such, you put me on. Yeah. You know, and you know, you got people like that. You got people who feel like, thanks for the opportunity. Yeah, because I feel like at the end of the day, that same formula, right? Because y 'all could be most talented people in the world or in your region or whatever, but you might don't got the money to finance or understand the way business works.

42:30So, and maybe they never will be able to understand how business works, but they got all the talent in the world. So maybe they looking at it like with the hand they was dealt, shit, maybe we weren't even supposed to get this far because we don't understand business or we don't understand structure. We don't know how to save money or invest money or raise money. So they looking at it like, and that's how I always looked at it like, but it's my job to understand business because I'm a grown man, right? I don't want to be looking back 10 years from now and talking about, oh, this guy did, this guy owe me that and he got over on me because now you got to check yourself.

43:06You know what I'm saying? Like, we got every man for themselves. Like, that's the way the guy works. Talk slow to him. You know what I'm saying? Like, you got to have your sure. All right, so it's my job to wake up and understand business and let me sit down and let me learn what's going on. Not just getting caught up in the lights and the fame and people, everybody happy to see me. Talking that shit. Let me learn what's going on. Let me put my money up. Put my, save my money. Now, I don't got to, you don't got to believe in my idea. I got my own paper. You see what I'm saying? Now they know this.

43:34So now I can invest my own money. I put my money up and I can hire this guy because, you know what I'm saying? So like, that's one way that I always looked at it. Like, I don't got no problem with nobody I signed. I don't care what kind of deal I signed because I signed it. And my name, nobody put no gun in my head. I was eager to sign. I couldn't wait. I was ready for the world. Because all I know is I don't know the business. I don't know the game. But when I sign this paper, you got to let me in. This one is for the OGs. Let's keep it$1 ,800. Who influenced you before you came out that you was just like, as an artist, you was like, yo, if I could be big like that, or I could make music like that, who influenced you?

44:13I'm one of them people that I can see as far as I can go. And I feel like at the time, all I could see was rap. I need to get on first, right? I need to get on. I need to build a fan base. I need to build a following. So at the time, I could see artists my age, like the Kodak Blacks who had, I'm from Florida, so. That's right. Had the whole thing. Florida in a frenzy. But when I was real younger and I had dreams to be a rapper, 106 and Park and shit, I didn't even think it was really possible until I saw people like Kodak Black, my age or younger than me, doing their thing. And I was like, damn, it's getting easier, it's getting possible.

44:50A Chief Keef niggas just getting on YouTube and getting their partner from across the street to shoot the video and putting it up on YouTube. And now you out of here. So once the algorithm changed or once the structure of the business changed where it was more accessible, that's when I started believing in it. But I saw people like Chief Kee, Kodak, Youngboy. I saw all these young cats like getting crazy attention, getting crazy following. Like it wasn't set up like, okay, I got to get this manager and get this, got to know somebody who knows somebody to get on. It wasn't like that. You know what I'm saying?

45:24So watching them guys get on and just go for it made me say, shit, I might as well take my shot at that. I could do a little something too. That's what he doing? I can do that. You see what I'm saying? So I made my move. And then now once I got in it, now I'm here. Now I'm looking at people who was here and went and took it further. Now I'm looking at the drapes of the world of people. We got making albums and real music. Now I'm watching them. Now when I get to this point, selling out arenas, big money, big stuff. Now I'm looking at the Jays and Jay-Z and the old D-Boys started. Business D-Boys, I want to do that.

45:58So now I take that. Like I said, it's the formula. like it's not gonna change the blueprint these guys walked and ran so nigga like me can fly like you know what I'm saying it's it's innovation it's you know what I'm saying like I'm gonna do something and somebody gonna be watching me and say I can do that you know what I'm saying they might be bigger than me better than me you know what I'm saying but people who who laid the ground worked down you know what I'm saying so always just study what's going on like he did it I down and that's and that's what he did and that's what I can do that somebody from you at from your area that before your time, he put a foot in the ass of the game.

46:37It's T-Pain. T-Pain, where from? T-Pain from... He from up top. He ain't from Jacksonville. He's from Tallahassee. That's a long fucking drive from Miami. That Tallahassee shit, I might take the propeller back or something like that. That shit? That motherfucker drive. I'd have been all over through Florida, man. Every internet motherfucker trying to get it wrapped. off the ground. I done been in every... It ain't one city. Man, it ain't two, three cities I ain't been in, boy. I done been in every inch of that motherfucker. All up and through. Because I just saw, like, okay, I'm gonna get my city first.

47:14Now, once I got the city, now I'm gonna get my area first. My county, my surrounding areas. And okay, now I'm finna get my state. Now I'm finna get the south. You know what I'm saying? Now I'm finna... And it just... That's how I built it. But I started small goals. I'm going to lock this area right here down. Now I got these folks, they with me. Now I'm going to move on. Lock the state down now. You know what I'm saying? Now I'm going to lock the whole South down before you knew it. You know what I'm saying? It was what it was. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, we do the same thing here. You start New York, you go branch out Connecticut, Jersey, then you go up to Boston, and it's like from Boston, Rhode Island, all the way down to like Virginia.

48:01That's the first locking down you could do as like a New York artist. Yeah. So you got that bitch locked down. I lived off of that shit, like$500 a show. I tell them all the time, three shows in one day. I mean, Philly, VA, and fucking Baltimore the same night. And I'll come back to Bronx, Westchester, and Connecticut. And so once you lock that down, and then you expand. You know, we had a real, I don't know what the, what it was coming from the South, but I know from New York, we had a lot of guys that were flaming hot in them states, I'll tell you, but couldn't get to North Carolina. Just was so regional.

48:44They could be the hottest nigga in the world up here. You as a publicist, you, you got the map. It was hard to get them niggas to pop in North Carolina, South Carolina. This is like basketball. Like y 'all might be that. y 'all city. But now you finna get in this state. Y 'all might be that in the state, but now there's reasons now. Now we finna see who's the best in the nation. You see what I'm saying? So I feel like on every one of them levels, even when I was in my city, I might not have been the most hottest or the biggest. I waited my turn. I stayed down. I grinded. Matter of fact, I ain't wait nothing.

49:20I just kept going. I might have wasn't the hottest at the time, but sometimes it's about who likes the hottest. I definitely wasn't the artist. This guy, one of the best rappers ever. Me? Not me, nigga. I just knew I was a hustler. And I'm like you, I had to see it to believe it. So when I saw, uh, you know, Lord Finesse from my hood, when he became a rapper, like I knew the nigga before he was a rapper. And then next thing I know, I'm listening to Red Alert and they playing three, four songs. I'm like, oh no, this is possible. I've been hustling. So I looked at that. I said, all right, this is possible.

49:54But I remember when I used to come down to, let's say, the SOBs and all that. Like, I grew up at a time where they can lie if they want. Jay-Z, Nas, all the niggas was like freestyling in front of clubs. Like, they didn't have deals yet. They was trying to come up. Yeah. And so I was outside at that time going to all those events, Lyrus' Lounge, SOBs, this and this and that. And then the niggas in my hood was 100 times better than me, but they wouldn't make the trip downtown to where it was at and connect and you know I was at a time like that but I knew guys was way better than me but they never made the effort then them niggas dumb tight when I popped off they was like we better than this nigga we taught him we just but you niggas ain't make that effort y 'all wanted to stay on the block yeah I feel like it's like 40 % of talent and the rest of it's like discipline and strategy You know what I'm saying?

50:54My uncle came home. He did 14 in the feds. I feel like that kind of, like, I grew up with him like when I was younger, but I was too young to understand what's going on. But when he came home, like, he was like militant, real disciplined. He up at 4.45 in the morning getting his day started. So I feel like I had a talent and I drink like a kid and he had the discipline, right? There was a lot of people who was hotter, better than me. And as I was going, I kept, I was, I used to get discouraged, like, and didn't really used to be like real so I was spoken and didn't want to really be because I knew it was cats that were foul, had the look, or had the talent, had the buzz, right?

51:31But we was young. We was 18 and 19 and 20. And, you know, at that time, people be, young cats be wild with money, with attention. So I feel like my uncle was always there, like, with the discipline. And I feel like that's the formula. Like, you could be as talented in the world. I'm going to tell you one thing about me. That's only 40 % of it. I don't know about you. I was delusional. Yeah.

51:56I started Apollo Theater. I remember walking in that shit. They had about 150 rappers about to go on. And I was saying to myself, what the fuck are these guys doing here? Don't they know the champ walked in? Like I was that delusional, my nigga. And I won four weeks in a row. I can't even tell you how. But I remember me delusional because I wasn't that good. and I just knew I was going to win. I walked in that shit. I said, what the fuck these people doing here? Nigga, like, this is my shit. Like, you got to be fucking kidding me. And I always been like, so even when I was making music, I wasn't as good as Nas, Eminem, Jay-Z, but I used to have posters of them.

52:41When I made my album, I'd be like, yo, I got to be as good as them or better. Like, I don't know. I had to gas myself. to step my game up because niggas was just so much better than me. I remember I used to hear rappers rap and be like, oh my God. Like, can I ever be that good? Can I ever? Like, I used to really be like listening to guys like amazed and be like, yo, these niggas just too good. I knew I was hard, though. I knew I was hard. Oh yeah, you wouldn't be here if you wasn't. I knew I was hard. I just like, I don't know if it was just like, I don't know. was like, I don't know. I don't really, I don't know.

53:20But I just be real shy. I didn't think I had what it take to push myself out there or push myself in front of people. Like, I'm one of them people like, I don't, I remember opening up for Kevin Gates on tour like the first night. Like, cause you gotta think about it. I had already locked down the state and I was getting like 10, 15 ,000 a show. But Todd Monson, the one who signed me to Alamo was telling me like, bro, I done did this, I done been here. Like, you gotta stop doing them clubs because you wanna be able to tour. Like you getting ready to be like a nationwide type of artist. Like, and you don't want to not be able to tour when you get older.

53:53But I remember going on tour at Gates and after the first show, like the people didn't know who the hell I was in Chicago. Right. Mind you, I could go to Chicago right now and do two days, two days at the United Center. But at the time I remember telling my uncle, like, man, I'm going home. Like I'm going, I want to go where people know me at. I want to be in front of a crowd. People want to see me. I don't care with 300 people. I want to be in front of my, my people. So I knew I was hard. I just didn't have like the courage or like the, you know, the confidence to just put myself out there in front of people.

54:22Like I'm like, man, I'd rather go perform at a 300 cap venue with my folks in the middle of the trenches in the club somewhere in South Carolina than to be on the big stage with Kevin Gates because I just didn't like that feeling. You know what I'm saying? So I knew I, I knew I was hard. I just, I just used to get discouraged because I'm like, I ain't with, I don't want to, I don't want to be the, I can't, I don't know the track I don't know We all guilty of that I had the number one song in America and I was hanging out in the fever while I could have been everywhere get money I'm in the middle of the Bronx like fuck you wanna go where everybody know you him too them niggas was in the fucking gas station of that young cause every time I went around there they be like the locks is at the gas station

55:11Joe and Jada show.com We got new merch fresh off the presses. Go get it. Bang. Out of bang. Boom. JoeandJayTheShow.com. You can get these. Little cold for a t-shirt with a hoodie. It's my favorite right there. I need an extra large. JoeandJayTheShow.com. Go there. Get it.

55:38Yo, I was scrolling through the Sprite living track list the other day and immediately started arguing with myself. Arguing with yourself? I'm serious. It was wild because records like California Love, Still Not a Player, back then, those aren't just songs. Nah, those are moments, memories, snapshots of where hip-hop was and where it's going. Exactly, and that's what Sprite gets. They spent over 40 years celebrating artists who really defined the culture. And now they flipping it, letting the fans be part of the conversation. Which is where it gets interesting, because the real debate is why. Like, why did that song matter?

56:18Why did that line hit? Why did it change hip-hop forever? I can't promise you we got the answers. But you're definitely going to have a good time figuring it out. Go check out Full Sprite Living Tracklist. And break down the stories behind your favorite bars. At livingtracklist.genius.com. This is the Sprite Living Tracklist. Obey your thirst.

57:11going well with a lot of black men. Roland Martin unfiltered. I went off. I said, this is exactly what I'm talking about. Y 'all gonna scream at Chanel, but you don't want to see a black luxury company in the same vein. Catch Roland Martin's daily commentary on the Black Information Network. 12 seats. Those are moving south. So if you Democrats, you don't wait to 2030. You better be hitting the ground going hard in the south now. And download Roland Martin Unfiltered on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Honey, is it on? Is it on? Is this thing recording? This is your girl T.S.

57:50Madison coming to you loud, live, and always, and forever in color from the Outlaws podcast with me, T.S. Madison. This week, Laverne Cox is back. Kettle superstar. Yes. That is what you are. Laverne, I love you. We're talking about her new book, her controversial ex, and going off on the red carpet. 20 minutes later, he was like, let's squash this. Let's talk about it. I was like, no, you do not talk to me like that. That is unacceptable. I walked in and said, you need to break up. And can you ever really change a man? Listen to Outlaws with T.S. Madison on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

58:29I'm Jake Brennan, and on my podcast, Hollywoodland, I revisit some of the biggest stories from Hollywood history, separating the myths people want to believe from the reality underneath them. Like how the story of Marilyn Monroe isn't just the story of a Hollywood icon. Marilyn Monroe has become so iconic that her death can only be explained through conspiracy theories. And for some fans who can't let go, these stories have metastasized from conjecture to accepted fact. So on August 4th, 1962, Marilyn Monroe died. Then the rumors started and she died again. And now we're going to set the record straight and learn about the way Marilyn Monroe actually died the third way.

59:16Learn more about what happens when fame, media obsession, and conspiracy collide. Listen to Hollywoodland on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

59:30At that time, for me, and probably a lot of people can understand, You know, like, today time, like, people who want to be rappers will get on there and be like, oh, this ain't no rap money. I ain't no rapper. This ain't, it's all rap. And I feel like I had that kind of mentality when I was younger. Like, rappers was, like, lame to me. Like, watching them on TV, like, the street niggas in the neighborhood. Like, I wanted to do it. Like, I liked the music. I feel like I was hard. But, like, the street niggas was more, you know what I'm saying? Like, cooler than me. Niggas I know who, like, low-key getting money, got the whole shit on lock, got the whole state on smash.

1:00:03making three, four million out of the street. Nobody know his face, how he move, quiet, chill. Them guys was more like, damn, this nigga raw, boy, this is raw, nigga. You know what I'm saying? And when I saw other rappers, like, they were cool or whatever, but I just didn't like, so when it was time for me to get up and be a rapper, I was like, damn, I ain't want to do too much. Like, I just was like, man, I'm going to fuck with who fucked with me. But at the time, it was like, that's what it took. Like, nobody was coming to, you got to get out there and everybody trying to rap. It's a raw wave.

1:00:32I was a serious street nigga, man. And when I told niggas I rap, like I was like, you know, like a militant street nigga. When I went to the other drug dealers and started telling them, yo, I'm rapping now. Going to the Apollo on Tuesday. Why don't niggas look at me and was laughing, like we're falling on the floor. Oh, he's a rapper. You know how much courage it took for me to go to the Apollo theater where they throw apples at you and dance and shit. Niggas just like, yo. And I was just like, yo, I'm going to rap. And all the niggas went to jail for 30 years. Every last one of them that laughed at me at this, and I don't wish them jail.

1:01:18And I'm not happy for them to be going to jail, but all the niggas that laughed at me, they all did 20 and 30 year bids. They're all going to laugh at you. You know, so I mean, I feel like that's two ways to look at it. Because even with you being like in the streets, you cut on TV, they rapping about street shit. Like streets on TV. Like how these guys want to be the biggest street guy in the raps? But like it was to a point when I was younger, like even the street guys was like, I was watching people on TV and then looking at my neighborhood like, E-God looked like E-God. But I just always looked at it like, I know what E was.

1:01:56Let me tell you something. I met a lot of rappers that were very influential. and like big time. Say LL Cool J is my idol. Wait. Huh? You waiting for a name? LL Cool J is my idol. And then, you know, one time I had asked him about something he did that was so influential. The man used to wear this sweat pant and he wear one leg up and the whole world started wearing these sweat pants like that. And one day I asked him and he told me, I don't want to say who he said because this nigga's a rat. Nah, drug digger, nigga's a rat. He was like, yo, I got that from such and such. Seen him in Harlem. We already know.

1:02:39Huh? We already know. I don't know who, but what I'm trying to tell you is that me as a kid, I looked up to LL so much. I wanted to be like him so much. And then when I finally get to tell him, like, yo, nigga, when you had the leg up, he's like, yo, I got it from homie in Harlem. When I seen him on the motorcycle, I'm like, oh, God. Like, niggas been... Rappers been taking the drug dealers' shit since the beginning of time. Yeah. But that's one thing, though. Like, you can take this swag, but my uncle had that hustle, though. Like, that's one thing. So a lot of you got to get in the rap. You take a little piece of a lot of shit and materialize your own way.

1:03:19No, that's what we do, is it? Look at the street niggas, look at the songwriters, the rappers, this, that. Yeah. But I like a little bit of what they all do. You just put it in your own source. It's just one thing, because you can get on there and fake street a fake hustler. It's going to come out. These guys teaching, I know how to, like, these guys real school, they're teaching me how to hustle, how to hustle go, how to business go. So, like, that's my whole approach to this. Like, I didn't just get to glorify the rapper or the art part. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, you don't want to just be the biggest rapper.

1:03:51Because the way you're leveling up, taking a hold of your business, how is that going to, you know, how we gonna hear that in the new album. Don't Look Damn. Tell us about it. I mean, Don't Look Down, the album titled this, meaning like, Don't Look Down, like, can't even believe I got this far, right? But like, we hustle hard, like we deserve to be in, so like, don't even look down. You know, you be so high up in the sky, like, just don't even think about it. Don't even think about it, because I can get so in my head sometimes, but I don't want to blow this or I'm here, but I can't, you know what I'm saying?

1:04:27I mean, that keep me on my toes, but, just don't look down, you know what I'm saying? Just keep going. Keep dreaming. Keep building. Keep doing what you're doing because it's working, right? But this album is just, like I said, it's a new chapter for me, like, just as a man. You know what I'm saying? Just building businesses. The way I look at the world, the way I break it down, the way I can look at the past, look at the future. It's just like a new chapter, like, you know what I'm saying? Fire. Got some new music for us? Yeah. In store soon. 1800.

1:05:01So the song, I Am, like the intro is setting the tone for the album. You know what I'm saying? Just like basically like, that's who I was. This is who I am. This is who I'm trying to be. That's right. So just explaining like where I came from, what made me me. You know what I'm saying? My DNA, all this stuff. Reason why I am who I was. This is who I am in this space right now. this my transition, like, rockstar to the business, man, you know what I'm saying? And then who I'm trying to be, like, what my future, what I see my future being, you know what I'm saying? Play it loud, please, brother.

1:06:01up got a 200 box of purple another honey coming got a hundred box of green going to the country So fat come get the truck and you don't owe me nothing Don't let these niggas kill you by their dirty money Don't let these niggas kill you by no fucking change These people they do anything for the fame These people they put anything on my name But it's okay, yeah it's okay Cause I am a motherfucking bottom boy survival That real shit, that raw shit they ride to That I am That you mean I'm the only one they bankin' on That real shit, that raw shit they workin' on I wanna lift your glass, it went on I wanna lift your glass, it went on It went on, it went on Down flip, dog, I miss you, nigga, time flies I gotta keep myself busy to keep it off my mind I got a temper like my daddy, you can say it's true But you know that I got that Godfather shit from you Run the streets like the mafia, go home and eat tilapia Or baked chicken with the cream sauce This 10-minute cut your dream show Riding with my youngin' He got something that'll lift your stomach If I sing it or I sung it Best believe I done it If your trap ain't jumping You should let us run it An old nigga, I'll get tied up If he get in the way I was born a belt Boy, I had a mafia run again Motherfucking bottom, what's a Bible?

1:07:25That real shit, that raw shit, they ride to I am The chosen one, the only one they banking on The real shit, that raw shit, they waiting on Come on and lift your glass, we're waiting on They're waiting on Come on and lift your glass, we're waiting on Come on, come on Try and follow me home, I'm in the rear view Fat time, follow me round Deep cover shit, nigga, for that other shit, nigga Made a hundred this year, you can call my bluff Crazy as it sounds, I break it down Made a 50 on the road, doing shows, selling clothes Made a five in the spot, selling exotic bowls Made a dog, middle man, and Kanye for the lows.

1:08:06And I had a dog to that number that I told you before. They in the club throwing ones, but I can't get with it. I'm in the office planning, talking, I'm going for the billy. Cuff screaming, I built, snatched the streets by they britches. Get right or get left, these niggas know the business. Street loyalty to the Don is strong. You want a nipper that he caused, and they got a ready course. He was the best guy around. What about them? They've only murdered. What murder? What murder

1:08:46I love the intro to that album I love that I love that intro I love that intro to an album It's just like You just let them know what's coming Yeah, you feel me Yeah, that's how I feel. That's how I do it. You too, you big on the intro of the album? Sometimes. All my albums don't got intro. Come on. Yeah, I wouldn't even say it's an intro. It's just the first song. It's great. It's great. It's great. And I'm mixing some music now. That fucking mix, somebody mix because this is a wax speaker. So it's like, that shit sound incredible on this shit. That shit hitting like boom. Like, this shit ain't really popping like that.

1:09:40You know what I'm saying? What was the dynamic with with, you know, it's crazy because I want to ask you some crazy shit, but it's too crazy. But I know you did some business with Kanye. What was that like? And what made Did you go there and say, yo, I want to do that? Just getting into, like, my own touring space and just doing it at a level of, like, to be able to do it for the right way was, like, a big level of handling the touring space. So once I felt like I was comfortable and I wrapped my head around it, I felt like I could do it for anybody. It's simple math. So I really just tested myself, and I just tried it.

1:10:25I knew I had a good team. I had the team for it, right? and had the relationship, you know what I'm saying, with the venue already, you know what I'm saying, by just doing my own touring thing, I had built relationships. So by handling my own touring business, I was able to build my own relationships with certain arenas or certain companies. So I had that relationship. So once I got comfortable with it, I just felt like I can do this shit for the biggest of the biggest or up-and-coming artists. So I just tried it. So, I mean, we just put the venue. Break it down. Where was the venue? It was in LA.

1:11:03SoFi Stadium. SoFi Stadium. The biggest, the fucking biggest hip hop. Wait, what was it? The highest grossing hip hop show. Ever. Ever. We'll leave out that ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. And you just knew that shit was going to be crazy. Yeah. I mean, Kanye, man. Yeah, Kanye, the motherfucking man, you know? I mean, I just feel like, you know what I'm saying, certain artists, certain people got that following, that fan base that, like, no matter what they get into, what kind of mistakes they made, you know what I'm saying, because nobody's perfect, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. But he got that fan base, bro.

1:11:42And that's what I was building my touring company. That's what I'm building my touring company around, like, having that connection with your fans, like, building something with your fans, something that, you know what I'm saying? Like, people who got them kind of, like, relationships with they fans, like that core fan base, like can't do no wrong. I know you like Ed Sherry, but you like our Ed Sherry. You know what I'm saying? And hip hop, nigga. So just know, you know, sometimes we might even get bigger than who we aspire to be. You know what I'm saying? Hey, yo, this ain't that. That ain't this.

1:12:16It's cracking kiss. God damn it. Make some noise for Rob Wave, you heard.

1:12:31Before we go, let me ask y 'all something. What's a hip-hop lyric that changed the way you saw music? Because that's really what the Sprite Living Trackless is about. It's not about crowning winners. It's about starting conversations. 50 tracks. Generations of artists. Endless debates. And Sprite didn't just throw lyrics on cans either. Nah, they went deeper. Bringing in hip-hop experts and tastemakers. To totally break down the stories and impact behind every track. Check out the full Sprite Living Tracklist at livingtracklist.genius.com. This is the Sprite Living Tracklist. Obey your thirst.

1:13:15Didn't catch the latest Roland Martin Unfiltered Podcast? Here's what you missed. There should not be a single law enforcement agency. It does not have body cameras. It's real. Black farmers have been under attack. This is just the latest example of them just slapping DEI on anything. It's raw. And I'm sitting here going, they are playing y 'all for fools. Catch Roland Martin's daily commentary on the Black Information Network. And download Roland Martin Unfiltered on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The entire draft room groans because you just took the guy they wanted.

1:13:50There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league. I'm JJ Zachary, host of the award-winning late round podcast. Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. Listen to the late round fantasy football podcast on the I heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

1:14:16You gave everything you could give and now it's time to take the next step. Hey, it's Emily Tisch-Sussman. And this season on She Pivots, the podcast where women share bold career moves and personal turning points. I sit down with culture-shifting women who share their pivots like Elizabeth Smart. I still feel that drive that I can still make a difference. So I'm going to keep going. And feminist legend Gloria Steinem. All of us were trying to express women's real lives. Listen to She Pivots on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.