WEBVTT - DJ Drama 0:00:15.476 --> 0:00:23.876 Pushkin. DJ Dramas one of the most iconic mixtape DJs 0:00:23.956 --> 0:00:28.076 of all time. His legendary gangster grills tapes helped propel 0:00:28.196 --> 0:00:32.516 artists like Ti and Young Jez to stardom. His classic 0:00:32.516 --> 0:00:36.596 Dedication series reinvigorated Lil Wayne's career in the early and 0:00:36.676 --> 0:00:40.996 mid two thousands. At their height, mixtapes like DJ Dramas 0:00:41.076 --> 0:00:44.556 allowed artists the freedom to wrap over other people's beats 0:00:44.636 --> 0:00:47.716 and release new music to fans in between their major 0:00:47.796 --> 0:00:52.076 label projects. By two thousand and seven, the underground mixtape 0:00:52.076 --> 0:00:55.636 market was booming, but in January of that year, DJ 0:00:55.796 --> 0:00:59.676 Drama and his longtime business partner Don Cannon were arrested 0:00:59.716 --> 0:01:03.276 by federal agents and charged under Rico laws for bootlegging 0:01:03.316 --> 0:01:07.956 and racketeering. Their arrest resulted in the federal government confiscating 0:01:08.116 --> 0:01:11.476 hundreds of thousands of dollars from their business accounts, but 0:01:11.516 --> 0:01:15.956 the much publicized raid only boosted DJ Drama's profile. In 0:01:15.996 --> 0:01:19.356 the years since, Drama's built a successful record label, and 0:01:19.396 --> 0:01:23.556 it's continued to make mixtapes. Tyler the Creator even crafted 0:01:23.596 --> 0:01:25.916 his latest album, Call Me If You Get Lost with 0:01:25.996 --> 0:01:29.116 DJ Drama's classic ad libs all over it and won 0:01:29.156 --> 0:01:32.236 the Grammy for Best Rap Album in twenty twenty two. 0:01:33.316 --> 0:01:35.516 But at that same time, while DJ Drama was at 0:01:35.516 --> 0:01:39.596 the height of his professional success, personally, he was battling 0:01:39.676 --> 0:01:43.836 an addiction to opioids, an ongoing struggle he's only recently 0:01:43.876 --> 0:01:47.756 started to talk about publicly. On today's episode, Lea Rose, 0:01:47.796 --> 0:01:49.996 who some of you may know as the former music 0:01:50.076 --> 0:01:53.716 editor of Double XL magazine, talks to Drama about how 0:01:53.796 --> 0:01:56.956 he got sober after being what he calls a functioning 0:01:57.076 --> 0:02:01.316 junkie who spent six figures a year on opioids. He 0:02:01.356 --> 0:02:03.636 also tells the story of how Lil John recorded his 0:02:03.836 --> 0:02:08.356 iconic gangster Grills drops in Drama's laundry room, and explains 0:02:08.436 --> 0:02:10.956 why he decided to sign low Uzi Vert and Jack 0:02:10.996 --> 0:02:17.996 Harlow to his Atlantic Records imprint Generation. Now this is 0:02:18.076 --> 0:02:21.836 broken record, Alana notes, for the digital age, I'm justin Mitchman. 0:02:22.596 --> 0:02:25.756 Here's Lea Rose with the Ta Trauma. 0:02:26.516 --> 0:02:28.636 So back when I was at Double XCEL, I used 0:02:28.636 --> 0:02:31.836 to edit a section of the magazine called Show and Prove, 0:02:32.796 --> 0:02:35.876 where every month I would have to find five new 0:02:35.996 --> 0:02:39.996 artists from like all over the country. And I figured 0:02:39.996 --> 0:02:42.516 out that if I talked to mixtape DJs, they could 0:02:42.556 --> 0:02:44.996 kind of like plug me in with who was who 0:02:45.036 --> 0:02:47.636 and who was doing what where, and you are my 0:02:47.716 --> 0:02:48.516 guy in Atlanta. 0:02:48.676 --> 0:02:50.876 I remember I's frequently talking exactly. 0:02:51.356 --> 0:02:55.396 Yeah, it's been about twenty years and your career has 0:02:55.796 --> 0:02:59.716 grown in so many different incredible ways. So for people 0:03:00.076 --> 0:03:03.316 listening who might not be familiar with the function of 0:03:03.356 --> 0:03:06.196 a mixtape in hip hop, can you describe what the 0:03:06.236 --> 0:03:09.276 purpose is just at like the base level, Like what 0:03:09.356 --> 0:03:10.956 is the purpose of a mixtape? 0:03:11.596 --> 0:03:17.076 So a mixtape, obviously, through the years has taken on 0:03:17.236 --> 0:03:24.356 various purposes and different meanings. Me specifically or my brand 0:03:24.436 --> 0:03:29.956 of gangster girls. Mixtapes came at a time mixtapes had 0:03:29.996 --> 0:03:34.876 become almost like street albums in a sense where they 0:03:34.876 --> 0:03:39.876 were based around, you know, one particular artist or one 0:03:39.876 --> 0:03:43.756 particular crew of artists, or a label of some sorts, 0:03:44.236 --> 0:03:47.436 and it enabled that artist to kind of do things 0:03:47.956 --> 0:03:50.876 that they may not have been able to do on 0:03:50.996 --> 0:03:54.956 their major label album in a sense where they could 0:03:55.036 --> 0:03:57.916 kind of have a free for all or you know, 0:03:58.556 --> 0:04:01.516 wrap on someone else's beat, you know, just kind of 0:04:01.676 --> 0:04:06.076 experiment and not worry about, you know, some of the 0:04:06.676 --> 0:04:09.956 caution tape that comes with putting out an actual album, 0:04:10.476 --> 0:04:13.796 so a mixtape and a lot of times and don't 0:04:13.876 --> 0:04:16.916 in the early years would almost be kind of like 0:04:17.036 --> 0:04:21.236 lead lead ups to someone's album, or it would be 0:04:21.556 --> 0:04:24.356 a project that would come in between albums, you know, 0:04:24.516 --> 0:04:29.156 to keep the anticipation high, and you know, then then 0:04:29.196 --> 0:04:33.596 there would be what my my participation in it as 0:04:33.596 --> 0:04:37.436 the DJ is kind of like properly putting the mixtape together, 0:04:38.036 --> 0:04:42.116 sequencing it, you know, adding bells and whistles, sound effects, 0:04:42.596 --> 0:04:46.316 you know, giving what are known as either sermons or rants, 0:04:46.476 --> 0:04:49.756 depending on who you ask, and like you know, bringing 0:04:49.836 --> 0:04:53.436 back records just to kind of like create these moments 0:04:53.476 --> 0:04:57.356 and this excitement of almost like almost like being like 0:04:57.436 --> 0:05:01.436 a coach or the you know, the guy in the 0:05:01.876 --> 0:05:05.036 box of corner who's hyping up the artists in a sense, 0:05:05.076 --> 0:05:07.876 and you know, hyping up the audience as well, and 0:05:07.996 --> 0:05:10.956 just like you know, add my two cents to the records. 0:05:11.796 --> 0:05:15.196 And so when it came to you adding your ad 0:05:15.196 --> 0:05:18.836 libs and your drops and everything, it really seems like 0:05:18.876 --> 0:05:22.356 it's such an art and it's very intentional. First of all, 0:05:22.396 --> 0:05:25.316 how did you develop your style? I was listening to 0:05:25.356 --> 0:05:29.516 old tapes you're screaming it's like hoarse voice. There's a 0:05:29.556 --> 0:05:33.076 little like you know echo effect. How did you develop 0:05:33.116 --> 0:05:34.396 your own individual style? 0:05:34.916 --> 0:05:37.636 Well, it kind of changed over the years, interestingly, and 0:05:37.836 --> 0:05:41.076 so you know in the earlier years obviously when you 0:05:41.116 --> 0:05:46.516 go listen, like I'm definitely more boisterous and louder than 0:05:46.996 --> 0:05:50.156 I may be in today's time. But the style came 0:05:50.236 --> 0:05:54.716 in like that's what mixtape DJs would do. And in 0:05:54.756 --> 0:05:57.476 my era, like you know, I came up listening to 0:05:58.196 --> 0:06:02.276 people like Clue or SNS or or who kid who 0:06:02.356 --> 0:06:05.276 you know, they're all DJs would pretty much say their 0:06:05.396 --> 0:06:09.516 names and like you know, have an echo of fact, 0:06:09.676 --> 0:06:12.756 but they also like it was in a time where 0:06:13.476 --> 0:06:18.196 mixtape DJs were doing more of like shout outs and 0:06:19.236 --> 0:06:22.676 maybe like promoting the stores where their tapes were sold, 0:06:22.876 --> 0:06:25.636 or you know, shouting out the a and rs that 0:06:25.676 --> 0:06:28.276 were getting them records and things like that, and I 0:06:28.716 --> 0:06:30.836 kind of I kind of came up with a style 0:06:30.876 --> 0:06:34.796 where for me, it was almost like adding personality to 0:06:34.836 --> 0:06:37.396 the records. I wanted to be more than just kind 0:06:37.396 --> 0:06:39.476 of like to stay in my name where you know, 0:06:39.556 --> 0:06:42.716 I was kind of like talking shit and you know, 0:06:42.956 --> 0:06:46.476 in a sense like adding my two sense almost in 0:06:46.516 --> 0:06:49.076 a way of like, you know, I don't rhyme. 0:06:49.476 --> 0:06:51.436 You know, my statements don't rhyme. 0:06:51.516 --> 0:06:54.956 But I try to be creative as possible with what 0:06:55.116 --> 0:06:57.836 I say and add to the record as much as 0:06:57.956 --> 0:07:01.556 much as I can. And you know, yeah, in the 0:07:01.596 --> 0:07:03.836 early years, it was like, you know, the type of 0:07:03.916 --> 0:07:07.276 music that I was lending my voice to was was 0:07:07.436 --> 0:07:12.116 very like command and you know, it was intense. And 0:07:12.156 --> 0:07:15.316 then over the years I started to you know, do 0:07:16.316 --> 0:07:19.916 work on various projects. You know, then I started to 0:07:19.996 --> 0:07:22.436 even play around with my tone in my in my 0:07:22.516 --> 0:07:24.636 pitch and like I would do it. I taped like 0:07:24.756 --> 0:07:27.916 Verdi terrororsts with currency where it was like, you know, 0:07:27.956 --> 0:07:29.676 it was it's smoker music. 0:07:29.836 --> 0:07:33.556 So you know, I would you can't come off like screaming. 0:07:33.276 --> 0:07:36.436 Yeah, I would have to kind of like come back 0:07:36.796 --> 0:07:39.556 in a mellow tone or or I would start to 0:07:39.596 --> 0:07:42.836 do like R and B mixtapes with people like Chris 0:07:42.876 --> 0:07:45.716 Brown or or Jeremiah, and then it was like again, 0:07:45.956 --> 0:07:48.236 I couldn't come on there yelling and screaming, so I would. 0:07:48.596 --> 0:07:51.476 I would then, you know, find a different tone and 0:07:51.676 --> 0:07:53.276 play around with it, and in the sense of it 0:07:53.636 --> 0:07:56.796 was it's art to me, like you know, it was 0:07:56.916 --> 0:08:01.076 like knowing where to come and what to say and 0:08:01.156 --> 0:08:04.556 how to lend myself to the records, so it. 0:08:04.516 --> 0:08:08.356 Wasn't yeah and when to pull back exactly when to talk. 0:08:08.756 --> 0:08:11.956 And it's really like you're punctuating things that people say 0:08:12.156 --> 0:08:15.596 in a way that sometimes it's subconscious. As a listener, 0:08:15.636 --> 0:08:18.316 you're listening and then you might be like, oh, and 0:08:18.356 --> 0:08:22.276 then that line will sync in and then you start 0:08:22.276 --> 0:08:24.276 to say that as like you start to know that 0:08:24.316 --> 0:08:25.156 as part of the song. 0:08:25.436 --> 0:08:28.276 Nah, and I love that, yeah exactly, so you know, 0:08:28.356 --> 0:08:31.396 and then one of the biggest compliments to me at 0:08:31.436 --> 0:08:34.756 times is when you know, their big versions of Project 0:08:34.836 --> 0:08:37.996 said didn't have me on there, and people be like, yeah, 0:08:38.196 --> 0:08:40.476 it just doesn't hit the same without drama on the air. 0:08:40.676 --> 0:08:44.476 It's really not as good. It's really really not. So 0:08:45.676 --> 0:08:48.356 it's so exciting your drops are so it's just so 0:08:48.436 --> 0:08:50.956 well done. And I just want to play you this. 0:08:51.036 --> 0:08:52.876 I don't know, let's see if you can hear this. 0:08:59.716 --> 0:09:00.516 Twin set up. 0:09:00.796 --> 0:09:03.756 Set up Wow. Yeah classic. 0:09:04.236 --> 0:09:07.596 So that's from Dedication to which now is just like 0:09:07.796 --> 0:09:10.596 widely regarded as the best mixtape of all time. Yeah, 0:09:10.836 --> 0:09:12.116 which is crazy. 0:09:12.436 --> 0:09:14.196 You got your shout out on that that's fire. 0:09:14.716 --> 0:09:17.556 But you know, you guys, you know, you and Double 0:09:17.676 --> 0:09:22.876 XL were very important and influential to like mixtapes and 0:09:22.916 --> 0:09:25.916 mixtape culture at that time. And like and I remember 0:09:26.076 --> 0:09:29.076 like the feeling of, you know, opening up a double 0:09:29.116 --> 0:09:31.756 expel and seeing one of my tapes in there, or 0:09:32.316 --> 0:09:34.716 being reviewed or you know what I'm saying, Like that 0:09:34.876 --> 0:09:36.396 was like the holy grail. 0:09:36.596 --> 0:09:37.116 You know what I mean? 0:09:37.156 --> 0:09:39.516 That was you know, you guys want one of the 0:09:40.236 --> 0:09:43.756 few outlets where you know, we were getting our praise 0:09:43.996 --> 0:09:47.876 or you know, outside of the listener or the person 0:09:47.956 --> 0:09:51.276 who was familiar with the mixtape circuit or what we 0:09:51.276 --> 0:09:54.316 were doing, where a consumer who might not have been 0:09:54.356 --> 0:09:57.836 familiar could find out about you know, what I was doing. 0:09:58.236 --> 0:10:00.996 Yeah, I mean, you were absolutely keeping the music exciting, 0:10:01.036 --> 0:10:02.156 you were keeping it going. 0:10:02.556 --> 0:10:03.316 Appreciate that. 0:10:03.996 --> 0:10:06.836 So when it came to making dedication to I heard 0:10:06.836 --> 0:10:11.836 you talk about how you would sometimes script out things 0:10:11.876 --> 0:10:16.076 for the artists to say, and in Wayne's case with 0:10:16.156 --> 0:10:19.276 that tape, you sort of like set it up like 0:10:19.316 --> 0:10:19.996 an interview. 0:10:20.596 --> 0:10:24.716 Yeah, so in those days when I was doing tape, 0:10:25.356 --> 0:10:28.196 you know, I would yeah, make a script like you know, 0:10:28.316 --> 0:10:31.156 outside of the music, you know, some of the things 0:10:31.156 --> 0:10:34.036 that were important to those tapes were somewhat of the 0:10:34.076 --> 0:10:37.116 interludes or you know, it was almost like behind the 0:10:37.156 --> 0:10:40.116 scenes of some of the things that you know, you 0:10:40.156 --> 0:10:45.076 wouldn't get from the artists on a project. So I 0:10:45.196 --> 0:10:48.116 when I was when I would do dedications, you know, 0:10:48.116 --> 0:10:51.116 I would almost like write a script out for Wayne 0:10:51.516 --> 0:10:54.196 to record some things outside of the music. 0:10:54.516 --> 0:10:57.516 I would literally like almost like ask him questions. 0:10:57.916 --> 0:11:00.436 So you know, around those times, there were there were 0:11:00.476 --> 0:11:04.396 things about him retiring or him signing to jay Z 0:11:04.836 --> 0:11:08.196 or like, you know, I remember asking him like, you know, what, 0:11:08.196 --> 0:11:10.956 what do you like to watch on television? And that 0:11:11.116 --> 0:11:13.996 was when he was like all I watched the sports, sports, sports, 0:11:14.556 --> 0:11:17.716 you know, and he had actually freestyled over this green 0:11:17.796 --> 0:11:21.756 lantern beat that had been used that was like became 0:11:21.836 --> 0:11:24.916 sports center, you know, where it was like the sound 0:11:24.996 --> 0:11:28.956 of basketball or a tennis ball or what have you, 0:11:29.036 --> 0:11:32.036 and I called it sports Center. And that kind of 0:11:32.076 --> 0:11:36.396 came from my interviewing background, I guess, an the sense 0:11:36.436 --> 0:11:39.476 of like when I would get my drops from the artists, 0:11:39.476 --> 0:11:41.316 I would I would set it up where I would, 0:11:41.316 --> 0:11:44.076 you know, engage him and this is what the fans 0:11:44.156 --> 0:11:46.716 want to know. So there would be kind of questions 0:11:46.716 --> 0:11:49.636 he would answer, and those those who would turn into 0:11:49.716 --> 0:11:52.996 the interludes or you know, the way I would go 0:11:53.116 --> 0:11:55.156 from transition from song to song. 0:11:55.796 --> 0:11:58.716 It's such a good idea because an artist, especially Wayne, 0:11:58.716 --> 0:12:00.356 he doesn't really do interviews right. 0:12:00.916 --> 0:12:03.916 And you know, like those tapes like Dedication one and 0:12:03.996 --> 0:12:07.156 Dedication to, like the interludes if him talking are like 0:12:08.036 --> 0:12:10.916 so key or so memorable. You know, there were just 0:12:10.916 --> 0:12:13.796 things on there that like came out of me writing 0:12:13.836 --> 0:12:16.436 these scripts and him responding to it. 0:12:17.116 --> 0:12:20.916 I have to ask you about Dedication seven. Is it 0:12:20.916 --> 0:12:24.516 coming out? It's been getting teased since I think twenty twenty. 0:12:24.916 --> 0:12:26.036 A good question, I hope. 0:12:26.036 --> 0:12:27.716 So are you waiting to hear too. 0:12:27.956 --> 0:12:30.036 Yeah, I'm still waiting to hear, but I'm sure he'll 0:12:30.076 --> 0:12:32.836 start getting the itch. He always starts getting the itch, 0:12:32.876 --> 0:12:34.676 and then you know, I'll get a phone call and 0:12:35.076 --> 0:12:35.916 it'll be time to go. 0:12:37.076 --> 0:12:40.596 How did the original session where you recorded the drops 0:12:40.636 --> 0:12:44.396 with Little John? What do you remember about that session? 0:12:44.636 --> 0:12:48.156 And just talk a little bit about what Little John 0:12:48.276 --> 0:12:50.996 is likes. I think a lot of people sort of 0:12:51.036 --> 0:12:54.876 think of him as maybe a caricature because of the 0:12:54.956 --> 0:12:56.836 you know, because of the Chappelle skit and the what 0:12:57.836 --> 0:12:59.956 I mean talk about what little John is actually like 0:12:59.996 --> 0:13:00.636 in real life? 0:13:00.756 --> 0:13:02.476 All right, Well, first of all, the fact that you 0:13:02.556 --> 0:13:06.116 called the session is the most hilarious thing ever because 0:13:06.636 --> 0:13:11.196 it took place in my duplex in the fourth ward, 0:13:11.676 --> 0:13:15.556 where I where most people would keep their watcher and dryer, 0:13:15.956 --> 0:13:19.236 is where I kept my equipment. So it was the 0:13:19.596 --> 0:13:22.356 fact that it's called a session, like it was not 0:13:22.516 --> 0:13:27.196 in some fancy studio with some big ass mixing board, 0:13:27.356 --> 0:13:31.516 like there was two turntables and a four track in there. 0:13:31.956 --> 0:13:34.716 But you know, John has always been one of the 0:13:34.716 --> 0:13:42.156 most down to earth, humble, laid back and giving people 0:13:42.196 --> 0:13:45.596 that I've met within the music business. You know, I 0:13:45.676 --> 0:13:49.636 got to beat him at an early age for me, 0:13:50.396 --> 0:13:53.756 and I was kind of just transitioning from being a 0:13:53.876 --> 0:13:57.836 college DJ to really just getting into the business, and 0:13:58.476 --> 0:14:00.716 he was the king of krunk. It was a time 0:14:00.876 --> 0:14:04.596 before you know, the explosion of the Chappelle Show. But 0:14:04.956 --> 0:14:09.436 you know, John was definitely a very key figure within 0:14:09.916 --> 0:14:12.636 the Atlanta hip hop scene as well as you know, 0:14:13.316 --> 0:14:18.796 being becoming a national an international star. And this was 0:14:18.836 --> 0:14:22.236 at a time when when gangster grills, like as a 0:14:22.276 --> 0:14:27.556 mixtape was just becoming a series, and you know, having 0:14:27.596 --> 0:14:32.596 a host of your mixtape was a very important thing, 0:14:32.756 --> 0:14:36.476 at least from an up North perspective, like you know, 0:14:36.476 --> 0:14:38.916 and I was following a lot of the up Northeast 0:14:38.916 --> 0:14:43.356 coast trends of mixtapes, and you know, people were having 0:14:43.996 --> 0:14:47.836 people like Puffy and Nas and you know, just all 0:14:47.876 --> 0:14:52.156 these you know, huge artists hosting their mixtapes. And I 0:14:52.236 --> 0:14:54.036 was like, yeah, I need to I need to find 0:14:54.036 --> 0:14:58.076 a host for you know, against the girls, to make 0:14:58.156 --> 0:15:01.996 it seem like it was something. 0:15:01.756 --> 0:15:04.596 You know and legit. Yeah, like it make it seem legit. 0:15:04.836 --> 0:15:06.516 It's like a sign to science. 0:15:06.836 --> 0:15:08.356 Absolutely, signs are important. 0:15:08.396 --> 0:15:13.116 So I remember asking like three people around that time, 0:15:14.356 --> 0:15:17.516 and two of them pretty much told me no. And 0:15:17.716 --> 0:15:20.316 John was the one that told me yes, he would 0:15:20.356 --> 0:15:22.676 host the tape for me. And he came to my 0:15:22.756 --> 0:15:27.836 crib again like this raggedy ass duplex I had Fourth 0:15:27.876 --> 0:15:31.716 Ward of Atlanta, and he did the drops for me. 0:15:32.116 --> 0:15:34.396 I think I either wrote out a script or I 0:15:34.396 --> 0:15:36.436 would just tell him, yeah, can you say this? 0:15:36.556 --> 0:15:37.276 Can you say that? 0:15:37.996 --> 0:15:42.476 And in him doing those drops the way he said gangs, 0:15:42.556 --> 0:15:47.276 the Grizzils, Yiks, the Yiksanks, the Grazil you know, he 0:15:47.316 --> 0:15:50.596 did that on his own and he hosted. 0:15:50.556 --> 0:15:52.636 It was the third Gangst Girls I did. 0:15:53.636 --> 0:15:55.476 I had did two before, and at the time they 0:15:55.516 --> 0:15:58.476 were just they were still just like compilations, you know, 0:15:58.516 --> 0:16:01.476 they were just like the best the hottest songs in 0:16:01.516 --> 0:16:02.756 the South that I. 0:16:02.756 --> 0:16:03.636 Was putting together. 0:16:04.356 --> 0:16:08.876 And he was the first host of Gangster Girls, which 0:16:08.876 --> 0:16:11.676 turned out to be Gangst the Girl's four, So you know, 0:16:11.756 --> 0:16:14.236 that tape has him all over it. And then the 0:16:14.276 --> 0:16:16.916 next tape that I did, and I think Gangst the 0:16:16.916 --> 0:16:19.756 Girls five. It was time to put a tape out, 0:16:19.796 --> 0:16:23.156 but I couldn't find anyone the host in time. So 0:16:23.716 --> 0:16:26.956 instead of you know, having a host, I just used 0:16:26.956 --> 0:16:30.756 the little John's voice thing thanks to Grizils and ran 0:16:30.796 --> 0:16:35.276 it back abundance of times all over the music kind 0:16:35.276 --> 0:16:38.116 of like to brand it in a sense, and you know, 0:16:38.836 --> 0:16:41.876 the drop went on to be quite legendary. But yeah, 0:16:41.956 --> 0:16:45.916 John is you know for those who see him as 0:16:45.916 --> 0:16:48.396 a character, like you know, he knows when to turn 0:16:48.436 --> 0:16:51.276 it on and you know, somewhat similar to me. 0:16:51.396 --> 0:16:54.356 I mean, I don't go around screaming all day every day. 0:16:54.436 --> 0:16:56.836 I could do on a mixtape, but like, you know, 0:16:56.916 --> 0:17:01.156 he's he's one of the most creative, hardworking, you know 0:17:01.636 --> 0:17:05.476 guys in the business. You know that really you know, 0:17:05.956 --> 0:17:10.116 has guided himself doing an incredible care you know, from 0:17:10.876 --> 0:17:15.356 production to you know, artists to DJ to you know, 0:17:16.076 --> 0:17:17.436 just rockstar in a sense. 0:17:18.236 --> 0:17:20.356 Did you coach him to say it a certain way? 0:17:20.596 --> 0:17:21.756 No, he did that on his own. 0:17:22.076 --> 0:17:24.436 And when you heard that, like, did you know where 0:17:24.436 --> 0:17:25.436 You're like, ooh, that's good. 0:17:25.716 --> 0:17:28.196 I didn't know. He just said it. He said it 0:17:28.236 --> 0:17:32.316 like that Gangst the Grizzilds, you know, and it was crazy. 0:17:32.436 --> 0:17:35.756 Is that I never realized now looking back on it, 0:17:36.276 --> 0:17:40.556 there was a Hot Boy song prior to Gangst the 0:17:40.756 --> 0:17:46.996 Grills where Manny Fresh actually says Gangst the Grizzils. Really yeah, 0:17:47.036 --> 0:17:51.156 So I'm curious if that's where John got it from. 0:17:51.196 --> 0:17:54.796 I never knew, I really, I've recently just heard it, 0:17:55.276 --> 0:17:59.156 like in the last like two three months where many 0:17:59.196 --> 0:18:02.916 Fresh says Gangster Grizzils. This was a record from like 0:18:03.036 --> 0:18:06.396 ninety eight ninety nine, so it came before a Gangst 0:18:06.396 --> 0:18:10.276 the Grills, and you know, but even at that time, 0:18:10.356 --> 0:18:12.196 that's not even where I got the name for the tape. 0:18:12.316 --> 0:18:14.556 Like I just kind of came up with Gangst the 0:18:14.556 --> 0:18:17.516 girls in itself. So you know, great minds think alike. 0:18:17.556 --> 0:18:20.916 But I didn't know that him saying that would turn 0:18:20.956 --> 0:18:24.156 out to be so iconic or you know, turn into 0:18:24.236 --> 0:18:27.116 like what it is today. But I was always very 0:18:27.196 --> 0:18:29.516 keen on branding early on. 0:18:29.996 --> 0:18:33.116 How did you learn about branding because you're obviously so 0:18:33.156 --> 0:18:35.596 good at it, Where does that instinct come from? 0:18:36.356 --> 0:18:39.916 Well, I remember taking a marketing class in college. And 0:18:40.676 --> 0:18:44.636 you know, I was a radio TV Film major, but 0:18:45.316 --> 0:18:48.716 as a mass communications major, we had to take some 0:18:48.796 --> 0:18:50.036 business classes. 0:18:50.196 --> 0:18:53.076 It was mandatory, and marketing was one of them. 0:18:53.596 --> 0:18:56.636 And I remember just it was during the time when 0:18:56.676 --> 0:18:59.956 I was in college and I was very earnest on 0:19:00.036 --> 0:19:04.916 my mixtape hustle, and my marketing class just like every 0:19:05.716 --> 0:19:08.596 part of the fascinated me into what I was doing 0:19:08.636 --> 0:19:13.516 with my business or my mixtapes, and like I was 0:19:13.556 --> 0:19:16.116 applying everything that I was learning. 0:19:16.276 --> 0:19:17.076 To my craft. 0:19:18.036 --> 0:19:21.556 And you know, I just remember again just like just 0:19:21.716 --> 0:19:26.716 even early on, just studying DJs like Flats and Capri 0:19:27.036 --> 0:19:31.636 and Bizmarcky Rest in Peace, like you know, just just 0:19:31.756 --> 0:19:35.396 how how big of a brand funk Master Flex was 0:19:35.796 --> 0:19:39.756 and you know, watching him and even Clu as well, 0:19:39.836 --> 0:19:43.356 like you know, just just watching like you know, them 0:19:43.596 --> 0:19:47.916 beyond the mixtape, like you know, get endorsements and become 0:19:48.076 --> 0:19:51.436 figures on television and things like that. So, you know, one, 0:19:52.116 --> 0:19:55.916 becoming a mixtape DJ for me was was key because 0:19:56.076 --> 0:20:00.076 the mixtape DJ in hip hop for me was the 0:20:00.196 --> 0:20:02.076 largest life DJ. 0:20:02.356 --> 0:20:05.756 You know. Those were the DJs that were treated like artists. 0:20:05.876 --> 0:20:08.916 You know, those were the DJs that were the. 0:20:08.876 --> 0:20:12.676 One is that people knew outside of the city they 0:20:12.676 --> 0:20:17.036 were from, you know, And even when I was approaching 0:20:17.116 --> 0:20:21.236 Gangster Girls, for me, it was like my goal was 0:20:21.316 --> 0:20:26.836 to create a brand from the mixtape that people recognized 0:20:26.956 --> 0:20:28.956 even bigger than at. 0:20:28.836 --> 0:20:30.396 The time DJ Drama. 0:20:30.556 --> 0:20:34.076 You know, like most DJs at the time were trying 0:20:34.076 --> 0:20:37.636 to make a name for themselves or make sure their 0:20:38.196 --> 0:20:40.796 their name as a DJ was the most well known. 0:20:40.876 --> 0:20:43.516 And I approached it in a sense where I'm going 0:20:43.556 --> 0:20:46.676 to make this brand, this mixtape brand, Gangster the Grills 0:20:46.716 --> 0:20:50.996 the biggest brand where when people see it, they automatically 0:20:51.516 --> 0:20:55.236 want it, regardless of who's on it or you know 0:20:55.316 --> 0:20:57.396 what it is. If they see a new Gangster Grills 0:20:57.676 --> 0:21:00.316 that they're gonna copy it. And I was like, through that, 0:21:01.076 --> 0:21:05.076 then I can kind of double back and create the 0:21:05.116 --> 0:21:08.436 brand of DJ drama, you know, so in those days 0:21:08.476 --> 0:21:12.796 for me, Gangster Grills was a larger brand and DJ Drama, 0:21:13.316 --> 0:21:15.876 and then I started applying, Okay, now I'm gonna go 0:21:15.956 --> 0:21:18.556 and put my my face on on the Gangster Girls 0:21:18.556 --> 0:21:22.076 along with the artists and start, you know, branding myself 0:21:22.116 --> 0:21:27.316 and making myself known once Gangster Girls was already a 0:21:27.436 --> 0:21:30.596 known brand. Yeah, and then you know, just again like 0:21:31.236 --> 0:21:34.636 you know, branding through the years. I guess it's something 0:21:34.676 --> 0:21:37.716 that kind of has come somewhat natural. 0:21:37.436 --> 0:21:40.356 And its just like it must. It feels like an 0:21:40.396 --> 0:21:43.876 innate ability because you have you have a real solid 0:21:43.916 --> 0:21:46.556 instinct for it. You know, you've been able to maintain 0:21:46.636 --> 0:21:51.516 it for twenty years, twenty years in so many different areas. 0:21:51.876 --> 0:21:54.356 So yeah, it definitely feels like something that comes naturally 0:21:54.396 --> 0:21:54.596 to you. 0:21:55.396 --> 0:21:58.516 Yeah, thank you. You know that's key and hipop. I 0:21:58.516 --> 0:22:01.156 mean when you think about it, I mean from from 0:22:01.396 --> 0:22:07.916 DJ Drama to Gangster Girls to Generation Now to Dedications. 0:22:08.276 --> 0:22:11.036 You know, there's just so many things that that I'm 0:22:11.076 --> 0:22:14.516 attached to that are you know, known within the culture. 0:22:15.556 --> 0:22:17.756 At the height of Gangster Grills, like would you say 0:22:17.796 --> 0:22:21.396 the height was like oh five o six ish. 0:22:21.596 --> 0:22:24.396 I think it's had different different heights. I think oh, 0:22:24.476 --> 0:22:25.436 FABO six. 0:22:25.316 --> 0:22:26.396 Was like the first peak. 0:22:26.556 --> 0:22:28.276 That was the first peak. Definitely. 0:22:28.756 --> 0:22:31.356 Do you have an idea roughly of how many copies 0:22:31.356 --> 0:22:34.036 you were selling per month and how much how much 0:22:34.076 --> 0:22:35.436 you were making per month on. 0:22:35.396 --> 0:22:40.436 The tapes I was probably selling, like you know, between 0:22:40.476 --> 0:22:44.316 each tape it was you know, just coming from my backyard, 0:22:44.436 --> 0:22:50.916 probably like maybe twenty thirty five thousand tapes you know, 0:22:51.076 --> 0:22:54.036 just from me. But then again, like that's not including 0:22:54.076 --> 0:22:57.116 the bootleggers, and yeah, it was bootleg people that were 0:22:57.156 --> 0:23:01.156 taking that were taking masters, so you know, there were 0:23:01.196 --> 0:23:04.796 there were hundreds of thousands of copies, like I'm sure 0:23:04.796 --> 0:23:08.836 in that time there were you know a millionion physical 0:23:09.236 --> 0:23:13.956 gangster girls if we're including the Jezy tapes and the 0:23:13.996 --> 0:23:16.876 Wayne tapes and you know, all the various tapes. And 0:23:16.876 --> 0:23:20.716 then like monetarily wise, I was, you know, bringing in 0:23:21.156 --> 0:23:26.436 fifty sixty seventy eighty thousand dollars a month, like you know, 0:23:26.916 --> 0:23:31.436 money that I had never seen or been familiar with. 0:23:32.196 --> 0:23:34.076 So it was it was all of the time. 0:23:35.396 --> 0:23:40.996 And then all that changed on the morning of January sixteenth, 0:23:41.076 --> 0:23:44.316 two thousand and seven. Can you just tell us quickly. 0:23:44.356 --> 0:23:47.116 What happened that morning? What you remember from that day, 0:23:48.236 --> 0:23:48.956 I got raided. 0:23:50.116 --> 0:23:53.316 I came to the studio that day and I had 0:23:53.356 --> 0:23:59.956 gotten tipped off that they were coming to the studio, 0:24:00.036 --> 0:24:02.436 but I thought it was a mix up and a mistake, 0:24:03.236 --> 0:24:05.156 and I went outside to go move my car. I 0:24:05.196 --> 0:24:07.236 let my employees know, like I just got a weird 0:24:07.236 --> 0:24:09.996 all that, you know, the cops for coming over here. 0:24:10.596 --> 0:24:12.276 And I went to go move my car. 0:24:12.396 --> 0:24:15.636 When I went outside, you know, they pulled up with 0:24:16.036 --> 0:24:20.476 you know, tahoes with the lights and helicopter was above 0:24:20.516 --> 0:24:24.676 my head and they jumped out with M sixteen's and 0:24:24.716 --> 0:24:26.596 you know, told me to get on the ground and 0:24:27.236 --> 0:24:30.196 told me, Tyree Simmons, you're being arrested for bootlegging and 0:24:30.276 --> 0:24:35.996 racketeering under the Rico law. And you know, they tore 0:24:36.036 --> 0:24:38.996 the studio apart, and you know, they were looking for 0:24:39.316 --> 0:24:42.596 guns and drugs, and you know, all they found was mixtapes. 0:24:42.636 --> 0:24:46.276 And I remember being taken down the right street and 0:24:46.996 --> 0:24:49.476 you know, sitting in the hold Excel and somebody tapping 0:24:49.556 --> 0:24:54.156 me like, look, you're on TV. And that was what 0:24:54.236 --> 0:24:57.276 they know is like the day to game change within 0:24:57.756 --> 0:25:01.716 the mixtape world, because like you know, I was like 0:25:02.076 --> 0:25:04.316 top of the food chain. I was one of the 0:25:04.356 --> 0:25:07.476 biggest mixtape DJs in the world at the time, and 0:25:08.236 --> 0:25:11.596 you know it was like, man, if DJ drama can 0:25:11.596 --> 0:25:13.356 get locked up, like nobody's safe. 0:25:13.516 --> 0:25:15.756 What happened when you were in jail? How long did 0:25:15.796 --> 0:25:16.276 you have to say? 0:25:16.356 --> 0:25:18.556 I was only there for like twenty four hours. We 0:25:18.636 --> 0:25:20.156 got a one hundred. 0:25:19.916 --> 0:25:23.436 Thousand dollars bond, and you know, I had a lot 0:25:23.476 --> 0:25:26.556 of hip hop conversations. Honestly, I was you know with 0:25:27.356 --> 0:25:30.996 you know, the guys that were locked up or the inmates, 0:25:31.036 --> 0:25:34.276 like we just had rap talk. But I remember getting 0:25:34.316 --> 0:25:40.236 out and you know, it literally like changed my life overnight. 0:25:40.436 --> 0:25:45.316 I became this I became the representation of like what 0:25:45.516 --> 0:25:49.756 was wrong within the music business, and you know, it 0:25:49.836 --> 0:25:52.996 definitely made me more famous than I was. And you know, 0:25:53.076 --> 0:25:56.436 my record label was pretty excited. They were like, oh, 0:25:56.516 --> 0:25:58.996 we can't pay for this type of publicity. At the time, 0:25:59.036 --> 0:26:01.236 I was signed to an Atlantic record as an artist 0:26:01.596 --> 0:26:04.196 to put out an. 0:26:03.236 --> 0:26:05.156 Album, Official Gangster Grills. 0:26:05.396 --> 0:26:08.596 Yeah, Official Gangster Grills album. So you know they were like, oh, 0:26:08.676 --> 0:26:10.196 how fast can we get the album done? 0:26:10.316 --> 0:26:13.276 Like, you know, there were negative effects, right it wasn't 0:26:13.316 --> 0:26:15.596 all positive when you came out. 0:26:15.196 --> 0:26:20.996 Well, they froze my bank account, so they kept my money, 0:26:21.036 --> 0:26:25.436 they kept like sick figures of an account that I 0:26:25.476 --> 0:26:30.676 had had. But beyond that, there weren't that many negative 0:26:30.676 --> 0:26:34.116 effects to it. I mean, it pretty much made me, like, 0:26:35.356 --> 0:26:38.196 you know, it made more people want to interview me, 0:26:38.356 --> 0:26:41.436 put me on more magazine covers than I was, like, 0:26:42.196 --> 0:26:46.236 made me more recognizable to people outside of you know, 0:26:46.716 --> 0:26:51.036 the mixtape world, and I became, you know, larger than 0:26:51.556 --> 0:26:54.396 I was, you know, And at the time, like for 0:26:54.756 --> 0:26:58.076 another person or another situation, that could have been the 0:26:58.156 --> 0:27:00.716 end of the end of the story, but like you know, 0:27:00.796 --> 0:27:03.796 for me, I was like, this is just one chapter 0:27:03.836 --> 0:27:06.796 of my story, Like this is not what this is 0:27:06.836 --> 0:27:09.436 not going to define my whole career. Like, you know, 0:27:09.596 --> 0:27:14.876 it'll definitely be a talked about moment, but I got, 0:27:15.036 --> 0:27:15.836 you know, so. 0:27:15.876 --> 0:27:16.796 Much to accomplish. 0:27:16.876 --> 0:27:19.596 And yeah, that was what I would I would say 0:27:19.596 --> 0:27:22.796 at the time, not knowing how much of a career 0:27:22.836 --> 0:27:25.796 I was sent out to have. But you know, I 0:27:25.836 --> 0:27:29.076 definitely knew that I wasn't going to like lay down 0:27:29.236 --> 0:27:31.556 and let this be the end, you know what I'm saying, 0:27:31.916 --> 0:27:34.836 especially because of how much I loved the mixtapes like, 0:27:35.196 --> 0:27:37.396 and I felt I felt some guilt. That was that 0:27:37.476 --> 0:27:39.516 was the other only other bad part was the guilt. 0:27:39.556 --> 0:27:42.076 I felt like I didn't want to see this culture 0:27:42.236 --> 0:27:44.356 that I loved so much die on my back. 0:27:44.636 --> 0:27:47.276 You know that I came up loving and wanting to 0:27:47.276 --> 0:27:47.876 be a part. 0:27:47.716 --> 0:27:50.036 Of because it was sort of a situation at that 0:27:50.196 --> 0:27:54.556 time where album sales were down across the music industry, 0:27:55.156 --> 0:27:59.076 mixtape sales were up, and mixtape DJs were making a 0:27:59.076 --> 0:28:03.116 bunch of money and record labels were losing money. 0:28:03.196 --> 0:28:06.156 It was like the Waid Wad West, Yeah, because I 0:28:06.196 --> 0:28:09.756 mean technically, mixtapes weren't even supposed to be taking money, 0:28:09.876 --> 0:28:13.436 Like it was always the quote unquote for promotional use, 0:28:13.516 --> 0:28:15.716 only stigma attached to it. 0:28:16.236 --> 0:28:20.516 And then, you know, outside of what myself for, you know, 0:28:20.756 --> 0:28:25.076 other well known mixtape DJs were doing, there were also 0:28:26.556 --> 0:28:32.116 just not even DJs, but mixtape guys that were stealing 0:28:32.476 --> 0:28:38.316 MP three's and hacking Gmail and getting records that weren't 0:28:38.356 --> 0:28:41.076 sanctioned by the artists or the label and they were. 0:28:40.916 --> 0:28:41.636 Putting them out. 0:28:41.796 --> 0:28:46.236 So you know, it was it was becoming like overly saturated, 0:28:46.876 --> 0:28:49.356 and you know, it was it was becoming a problem. 0:28:49.436 --> 0:28:52.716 And then on top of that, the music business was 0:28:52.756 --> 0:28:56.156 in a decline. Album sales were in a decline, so 0:28:56.316 --> 0:28:59.356 you know, it was kind of like some were looking 0:28:59.356 --> 0:29:01.516 at it like, oh, this is the this is the 0:29:01.596 --> 0:29:05.596 music business way of sending a message. The mixtape DJs 0:29:05.716 --> 0:29:09.876 like yo, y'all going to stop this ship here money. 0:29:10.436 --> 0:29:13.716 But meanwhile, you were promoting the artists like Wayne and 0:29:13.796 --> 0:29:15.876 Jeezy would tour off your mixtapes. 0:29:16.716 --> 0:29:20.996 Definitely, I mean the artists were you know, they were 0:29:21.876 --> 0:29:24.916 able to go on and you know, tour and make 0:29:24.956 --> 0:29:28.076 money off of the music that was coming off of 0:29:28.116 --> 0:29:31.356 their mixtapes as well as you know, those mixtapes were 0:29:31.436 --> 0:29:34.916 used as promotional tools to lead up to people's albums, 0:29:35.196 --> 0:29:37.436 you know, they were they were part of the marketing 0:29:37.516 --> 0:29:41.716 plan of the labels, like, yeah, before we do an album, 0:29:41.756 --> 0:29:44.636 we got to go against the girls to create some 0:29:44.836 --> 0:29:46.596 hype and anticipation. 0:29:46.396 --> 0:29:49.036 Right, And the labels would pay for them at times. 0:29:49.236 --> 0:29:51.796 They would. They definitely would. Yeah, I was definitely getting 0:29:51.996 --> 0:29:53.516 paid by labels to do tapes. 0:29:53.956 --> 0:29:56.116 Did it scare you after the raid? Did it stop 0:29:56.156 --> 0:29:57.036 you from doing tapes? 0:29:57.876 --> 0:29:57.916 No? 0:29:58.116 --> 0:30:00.116 I didn't. It didn't scare or stop me. 0:30:00.436 --> 0:30:04.476 You know, I kind of stopped the regular number gangst 0:30:04.476 --> 0:30:08.156 the Girl series that I had been doing because I 0:30:08.316 --> 0:30:11.676 was more focused on individual artist tapes. But I went 0:30:11.756 --> 0:30:15.836 and did like Gangster Girls sixteen and seventeen after the raid, 0:30:16.836 --> 0:30:20.756 and I continued to do mixtapes as. 0:30:20.596 --> 0:30:21.436 Did other people. 0:30:21.476 --> 0:30:24.596 I mean, you know, it was mixtapes are part of 0:30:24.636 --> 0:30:28.876 the culture, like they'll never go anywhere, even though through 0:30:28.876 --> 0:30:33.756 the years they've changed of how they may be presented 0:30:33.836 --> 0:30:34.676 or looked or. 0:30:35.116 --> 0:30:38.956 What have you. Like, I continued on after that. It 0:30:38.156 --> 0:30:39.796 didn't stop me. 0:30:40.956 --> 0:30:42.836 We're gonna pause for a quick break and then be 0:30:42.916 --> 0:30:50.556 back with more from DJ Drama and Lea Rose. We're 0:30:50.596 --> 0:30:53.196 back with more from DJ Drama and Lea Rose. 0:30:56.156 --> 0:30:59.956 Recently, you did a talk as part of a mental 0:30:59.956 --> 0:31:02.156 health awareness month with Shanty Dass. 0:31:02.436 --> 0:31:03.556 Yeah, and you. 0:31:03.436 --> 0:31:09.436 Opened up about your struggle with opioid addiction. Did you 0:31:09.436 --> 0:31:11.436 decide to come public with that. 0:31:12.516 --> 0:31:21.276 My opioid journey started somewhere around like twenty fifteen or 0:31:21.756 --> 0:31:26.876 something around there, or to be honest, like a lot 0:31:26.916 --> 0:31:31.636 of it started because of my issues with sleep, Like 0:31:31.716 --> 0:31:36.436 I was, I had really bad sleeping patterns and stuff, 0:31:36.476 --> 0:31:39.276 and I started drinking a lot of lean in the 0:31:39.356 --> 0:31:43.276 early two thousands, and you know, by kicking that habit, 0:31:43.556 --> 0:31:46.916 I then started to I think I went from mean 0:31:47.036 --> 0:31:51.836 to dank, then to percocets, and you know, I started 0:31:51.836 --> 0:31:54.476 to realize it was a problem around like maybe like 0:31:54.556 --> 0:32:00.036 twenty eighteen, because I had never I never really knew 0:32:00.116 --> 0:32:07.596 the effects of withdrawals, and I went through withdrawals from 0:32:07.596 --> 0:32:11.196 percocets and it was like a pain or a feeling 0:32:11.316 --> 0:32:14.516 I never felt ever before my life. I remember telling 0:32:14.516 --> 0:32:16.556 myself at the time, like I'll never go another day 0:32:16.596 --> 0:32:19.396 without a percoset. And that was really where my like 0:32:20.396 --> 0:32:24.676 my addiction or my habit like went into like a 0:32:24.756 --> 0:32:30.716 different space and it really became a serious issue and problem. 0:32:31.196 --> 0:32:36.636 And in twenty twenty, right when COVID hit, I went 0:32:36.676 --> 0:32:40.036 to rehab and that was my first That was my 0:32:40.076 --> 0:32:43.916 first time in rehab and in a facility trying to 0:32:44.276 --> 0:32:48.036 you know, deal with my opioid addiction. And I spent 0:32:48.156 --> 0:32:52.396 some time there during the beginning of COVID, and I 0:32:52.436 --> 0:32:57.156 came out and I stayed clean for some months, and 0:32:57.236 --> 0:33:01.996 then I relapsed probably around the end of twenty twenty. 0:33:02.436 --> 0:33:05.956 So I went through all of twenty twenty one back 0:33:06.076 --> 0:33:09.436 on Berks and then I was about to go on 0:33:09.556 --> 0:33:14.396 tour in twenty twenty two, and I just remember having this, 0:33:14.556 --> 0:33:19.236 you know. And and while I was in rehab the 0:33:19.276 --> 0:33:23.196 first time I met my therapist. I had tried therapy before, 0:33:23.356 --> 0:33:26.556 but I didn't really find a person that was very 0:33:26.676 --> 0:33:28.996 suitable for me. And when I went to rehab, I 0:33:29.036 --> 0:33:32.676 found a therapist that just was the perfect fit for me. 0:33:32.956 --> 0:33:35.836 In what way, like what did she provide for you? 0:33:36.196 --> 0:33:39.836 She provided when I told her when I sat down 0:33:39.836 --> 0:33:42.836 and I pretty much in our first session told her 0:33:42.876 --> 0:33:46.076 my life story or as much as I could in 0:33:46.356 --> 0:33:50.836 an instance. I just remember her responses to me or 0:33:51.156 --> 0:33:56.316 her assessment of me was so on point, off top, 0:33:56.476 --> 0:33:56.836 and it. 0:33:56.756 --> 0:34:00.236 Was just like, you know, it was almost mind boggling. 0:34:00.676 --> 0:34:04.396 The feeling that I got from the therapist prior to 0:34:04.436 --> 0:34:08.276 her was almost like a warm blanket, you know. And Amy, 0:34:09.156 --> 0:34:11.076 who was my current therapist who I met, was like, 0:34:11.876 --> 0:34:14.316 you know, she didn't take any she didn't take any shit, 0:34:14.556 --> 0:34:17.596 or she didn't let me get away with bullshit, or 0:34:17.756 --> 0:34:19.236 she helped me accountable. 0:34:19.356 --> 0:34:19.556 You know. 0:34:19.596 --> 0:34:23.196 It wasn't if I would tell her something that you know, 0:34:23.276 --> 0:34:27.316 I was doing or you know that was not good. 0:34:27.476 --> 0:34:29.116 She would be like that you're. 0:34:28.996 --> 0:34:34.356 Full of shit, or that's no, that's not good. 0:34:34.636 --> 0:34:34.876 You know. 0:34:35.476 --> 0:34:39.436 So once I left rehab, it was it's a place 0:34:39.476 --> 0:34:40.236 called out sign on. 0:34:40.716 --> 0:34:43.676 Because of the law, I wasn't able to have her 0:34:43.716 --> 0:34:46.756 as my therapist for a certain amount of time. 0:34:47.516 --> 0:34:50.236 But after that time passed, I reached back out to 0:34:50.316 --> 0:34:53.436 her and was like, you know, you said, after the 0:34:53.476 --> 0:34:57.596 two months or three months whatever, you know, I could 0:34:57.996 --> 0:35:01.156 see if you were available, and she was like, yeah, 0:35:01.316 --> 0:35:02.076 we can so. 0:35:02.636 --> 0:35:06.516 And she had tried to hook me up with another therapist. 0:35:06.236 --> 0:35:10.196 Too for me to go see what I left the facility, 0:35:10.596 --> 0:35:12.836 and even with him, it was it just wasn't the 0:35:12.916 --> 0:35:14.156 right fit, like she. 0:35:14.276 --> 0:35:15.196 Was just the one for me. 0:35:16.476 --> 0:35:20.556 I relapsed in twenty twenty. I was taking perchas all 0:35:20.596 --> 0:35:25.876 through twenty twenty one. I had a situation where I 0:35:26.116 --> 0:35:27.636 literally almost overdosed. 0:35:28.276 --> 0:35:29.556 Where were you when that happened. 0:35:30.116 --> 0:35:33.796 I was in Atlanta, I was at home, and I 0:35:33.916 --> 0:35:36.596 was taken to the hospital and I was put in 0:35:36.596 --> 0:35:42.196 a situation where they were going through ten sixteen, which 0:35:42.436 --> 0:35:44.556 means they were going to keep me for a certain 0:35:44.596 --> 0:35:48.476 amount of time because of when they gave me the narcan, 0:35:49.156 --> 0:35:53.236 which they give to people who are almost going to overdose. 0:35:53.316 --> 0:35:57.876 Like I kept nodding off, and like, you know, it's 0:35:57.916 --> 0:36:03.036 supposed to keep you awake. Luckily, there was a nurse 0:36:03.196 --> 0:36:07.316 or someone in the hallway who was in there talking about, 0:36:07.316 --> 0:36:09.996 oh yeah, you don't know DJ Drama was he did 0:36:09.996 --> 0:36:13.556 all a little Wayne's mixtapes in the two thousands whatever whatever, 0:36:14.076 --> 0:36:18.996 And they violated the hippo law and I was if 0:36:19.156 --> 0:36:21.036 if they would have kept me in there, I went 0:36:21.076 --> 0:36:22.796 to I had to go shoot this movie. 0:36:23.316 --> 0:36:23.836 You people. 0:36:23.916 --> 0:36:26.836 I had to go shoot you people, and I would 0:36:26.876 --> 0:36:30.676 have missed it. And because they violated the hippolags, I 0:36:30.716 --> 0:36:33.676 was able to get out early and leave the facility. 0:36:34.356 --> 0:36:38.556 And you know, even I remember going on that movie 0:36:38.596 --> 0:36:44.636 set and during breaks of filming having a conversation with 0:36:44.756 --> 0:36:49.796 Jonah just about his struggles with addiction and things of 0:36:49.836 --> 0:36:50.356 that nature. 0:36:50.396 --> 0:36:53.676 And yeah, Jonah Hill and we had a. 0:36:53.676 --> 0:36:56.476 Really like in depth, like you know, heart to heart 0:36:56.556 --> 0:37:00.076 talk and I told him, like man, like I literally 0:37:00.236 --> 0:37:04.356 just was in the hospital like because of my addiction, 0:37:04.516 --> 0:37:07.116 and you know, he really opened up to me and 0:37:07.196 --> 0:37:08.596 like gave me some. 0:37:08.436 --> 0:37:10.556 Good it's a good guy, that's good advice. 0:37:11.316 --> 0:37:13.916 And I knew at that moment that I really, you know, 0:37:13.956 --> 0:37:16.236 I just I wanted to get clean because I used 0:37:16.236 --> 0:37:18.676 to tell Amy all the time, like my biggest fear 0:37:18.756 --> 0:37:21.476 is ending up like Michael Jackson or Prince, you know, 0:37:21.636 --> 0:37:26.596 and just like opioid is such a dangerous drug because 0:37:26.716 --> 0:37:30.276 like you know, there's no there's no end in sight, 0:37:30.436 --> 0:37:32.596 you know, and if they could take the lots with 0:37:32.636 --> 0:37:34.116 Michael Jackson or Prince, like. 0:37:34.876 --> 0:37:36.636 Who the fuck am I? You know what I'm saying. 0:37:37.396 --> 0:37:40.836 And the fear was like that was always my fear, 0:37:40.996 --> 0:37:43.516 like death, you know what I'm saying. So I went 0:37:43.556 --> 0:37:46.636 on I was going back on tour again in twenty 0:37:47.156 --> 0:37:52.196 twenty two with Whiz and Logic, and I was scared 0:37:52.276 --> 0:37:55.076 because you know, I felt like I only had like 0:37:55.116 --> 0:37:55.916 three options. 0:37:56.356 --> 0:37:57.316 Three options were. 0:37:57.796 --> 0:38:00.396 I'm either going to go on tour and I'm gonna 0:38:00.756 --> 0:38:04.836 buy an abundance of perks and be taking too many, 0:38:05.396 --> 0:38:09.236 or I'm going to go on tour and I'm not 0:38:09.276 --> 0:38:10.596 going to have them and I'm going to be going 0:38:10.636 --> 0:38:13.796 through withdrawals. Or I'm going to go on tour without 0:38:13.876 --> 0:38:16.316 them and be trying to find them and buying them 0:38:16.356 --> 0:38:18.996 from somewhere where I shouldn't be and they're gonna have 0:38:19.036 --> 0:38:21.596 fentanyl in them and it's going to be a hazard. 0:38:21.716 --> 0:38:23.116 So I called. 0:38:22.836 --> 0:38:28.116 The the rehab place that I went to erform outside 0:38:28.236 --> 0:38:32.796 on and maybe like a week before tour, and I 0:38:32.956 --> 0:38:34.756 just like, look, I'm about to leave, I just need 0:38:34.756 --> 0:38:37.756 to try the detox for a couple of days before 0:38:37.796 --> 0:38:41.716 I go. And I went there and I got on 0:38:41.836 --> 0:38:44.676 the boxing, which I had gotten on the time before, 0:38:45.036 --> 0:38:47.076 but I didn't stay on it. And this time when 0:38:47.076 --> 0:38:50.876 I left to go on tour, I stayed on Boxin. 0:38:50.716 --> 0:38:52.196 And that's the detox drug. 0:38:52.796 --> 0:38:55.796 The boxing is a Yeah, it's a it's a drug 0:38:55.876 --> 0:39:01.036 that they give people to detox off of opioids. It 0:39:01.076 --> 0:39:05.276 blocks the receptors in your brain that most people get 0:39:05.356 --> 0:39:07.156 high from opioids off of. 0:39:07.596 --> 0:39:09.796 Does it blocks the craving to do it? 0:39:10.476 --> 0:39:11.276 Yeah? It does. 0:39:11.596 --> 0:39:15.916 It blocks the cravings as well, because by blocking the receptors, 0:39:15.756 --> 0:39:18.956 it doesn't allow you to have those cravings. 0:39:19.276 --> 0:39:21.876 In a sense, it seems like there's two cravings, Like 0:39:21.916 --> 0:39:25.156 there's a physical craving like your physically your body's physically addicted, 0:39:25.476 --> 0:39:28.676 but there's also a mental craving of just wanting that 0:39:28.756 --> 0:39:34.236 feeling of escape. Absolutely, does it block the mental craving 0:39:34.276 --> 0:39:34.716 as well? 0:39:36.276 --> 0:39:40.116 I would think so, but you know, some of that 0:39:40.236 --> 0:39:43.356 maybe it's just kind of like a mental thing in 0:39:43.356 --> 0:39:43.756 its own. 0:39:44.116 --> 0:39:44.556 Yeah. 0:39:44.596 --> 0:39:47.356 You know, for me, it was more of me wanting 0:39:47.396 --> 0:39:52.476 to stop anyway, and the hardest part at that moment 0:39:52.676 --> 0:39:58.116 was more of the physical addiction and you know, not 0:39:58.116 --> 0:40:01.236 not wanting to go through the pain of the withdrawals 0:40:01.276 --> 0:40:02.236 and the things of that nature. 0:40:02.276 --> 0:40:05.556 But if there is the boxing or supplicate. 0:40:05.236 --> 0:40:07.956 Like, there is a part of it that definitely stops 0:40:08.116 --> 0:40:12.876 your the mental craving as well, you know. So, yeah, 0:40:12.916 --> 0:40:16.116 so when I got back from tour or when I 0:40:16.196 --> 0:40:20.716 ran into Shanti, I had at that moment and time 0:40:20.796 --> 0:40:23.476 had been like six months clean or seven months clean, 0:40:23.916 --> 0:40:27.476 probably the longest I had had been clean since I 0:40:27.516 --> 0:40:31.316 had started taking opioids. And you know, I knew that, 0:40:32.156 --> 0:40:34.276 you know, when we started talking, she was she. 0:40:34.316 --> 0:40:36.836 Asked me if I would be open to share my story. 0:40:36.996 --> 0:40:40.796 And I know that, you know, a person like myself 0:40:40.876 --> 0:40:44.436 in the position that I was in, especially when no one, 0:40:45.116 --> 0:40:49.276 no one was aware of my addictions or my issues 0:40:49.316 --> 0:40:52.516 and that and with that, you know me sure my 0:40:52.556 --> 0:40:56.516 story could help someone else out. So yeah, you know, 0:40:56.996 --> 0:41:00.156 she offered and gave me the platform to speak on it, 0:41:00.196 --> 0:41:02.316 and you know I was more than happy to do. 0:41:02.396 --> 0:41:07.436 So, Yeah, how prevalent are opioids in Atlanta? Just like 0:41:07.476 --> 0:41:10.236 in your circles, Like I mean about people drinking lean 0:41:10.276 --> 0:41:12.796 all the time, we see people holding styrofoam cups. But 0:41:13.396 --> 0:41:15.756 how prevalent actually is it? How big of a problem 0:41:15.836 --> 0:41:16.356 is it. 0:41:16.356 --> 0:41:20.316 It's very It's it's like common. I mean those were everywhere. 0:41:20.356 --> 0:41:22.916 I mean, that was even what happened when I got 0:41:22.916 --> 0:41:25.156 back on them. I mean, you know, I was able 0:41:25.196 --> 0:41:30.556 to stay clean in those early months because the world 0:41:30.676 --> 0:41:34.076 was shut down, and you know, I wasn't outside or 0:41:34.076 --> 0:41:36.836 I wasn't I wasn't in places where I could get them. 0:41:37.196 --> 0:41:39.756 But as soon as kind of like things started to 0:41:39.796 --> 0:41:41.956 open back up, or I was you know, out and 0:41:41.996 --> 0:41:45.076 about in Atlanta, and Atlanta was somewhere that was open 0:41:45.836 --> 0:41:48.196 a little more earlier than most places. You know, I 0:41:48.276 --> 0:41:51.276 ran into you know, people who were selling them or 0:41:51.836 --> 0:41:54.556 where I could I could get them just that easy again, 0:41:55.396 --> 0:41:59.556 and you know, or just even in regular circles of 0:42:00.076 --> 0:42:05.796 studio sessions and you know, you know people pop hills 0:42:05.836 --> 0:42:07.996 like it's it's it's a common thing, you know. 0:42:08.156 --> 0:42:11.556 So do people talk about addiction, like do you feel like, 0:42:11.636 --> 0:42:13.476 now that you've been through what you've been through and 0:42:13.516 --> 0:42:15.836 you have more education behind it, do you want to 0:42:16.236 --> 0:42:19.236 reach out to people and help somebody who you see 0:42:19.316 --> 0:42:20.716 might be dealing with addiction? 0:42:21.236 --> 0:42:25.036 Absolutely, I mean definitely, because I know how easy it is, like, 0:42:26.316 --> 0:42:29.156 you know, for it to become a problem, you know, 0:42:29.356 --> 0:42:33.596 and yeah, you know it's it's scary. It's the scariest 0:42:33.596 --> 0:42:36.556 part and the most dangerous part is that, like it 0:42:36.676 --> 0:42:40.636 was a five six thousand dollars a month habit I had. Wow, 0:42:40.796 --> 0:42:45.836 I was spending close to six figures a year on opioids, 0:42:45.916 --> 0:42:51.516 and like I was in a position where I could 0:42:51.636 --> 0:42:55.676 afford the type of habbit of doing that. The average 0:42:55.716 --> 0:43:01.076 person can't do that and the next step after opioids 0:43:01.196 --> 0:43:05.996 or not being able to afford consistent percosets heroin, you 0:43:05.996 --> 0:43:09.396 know what I'm saying. And you know that the rich 0:43:09.476 --> 0:43:12.916 person or if you watch shows like Dope Sick or 0:43:13.356 --> 0:43:17.396 the new Netflix series Painkiller, Like the more education I 0:43:17.436 --> 0:43:21.396 got about, you know, just the opioid crisis and understanding, 0:43:21.516 --> 0:43:25.636 like it's so easy to see how people can fall 0:43:25.676 --> 0:43:27.516 into these traps, you know what I mean, and not 0:43:27.596 --> 0:43:30.076 even not even be aware of it, you know, because 0:43:30.396 --> 0:43:33.756 when I started out, I started out taking a five 0:43:33.796 --> 0:43:38.116 miligram percocet, and it was this feeling of euphoria. And 0:43:38.116 --> 0:43:42.276 then once you take that for a period of time, 0:43:42.556 --> 0:43:44.596 it doesn't do anything. So then I have to take 0:43:45.156 --> 0:43:47.276 three of those, and the next thing, you know, I'm 0:43:47.316 --> 0:43:51.156 taking one hundred and twenty milligrams, you know, to feel that. 0:43:50.596 --> 0:43:53.476 That feeling and throughout the whole day, like you would just. 0:43:53.876 --> 0:43:56.756 I would it got to that point and that happened. 0:43:56.796 --> 0:43:59.276 I would wake up, I would take a thirty. Then 0:43:59.316 --> 0:44:01.076 in an afternoon, I would take a thirty, and then 0:44:01.076 --> 0:44:04.356 at night I would take three thirties and a fifteen 0:44:04.596 --> 0:44:06.396 or something to go to sleep. 0:44:06.796 --> 0:44:09.076 Did it affect your career in a negative way, it seems, 0:44:09.236 --> 0:44:12.236 because didn't you do Tyler's album during that time period? 0:44:12.916 --> 0:44:15.796 You know, I was able to really like hi, did 0:44:16.196 --> 0:44:16.556 I mean? 0:44:17.116 --> 0:44:19.636 You know, there was a time when I was calling 0:44:19.636 --> 0:44:24.156 myself like a functional junkie, like not the tour I 0:44:24.156 --> 0:44:26.956 did last year, but the tour I. 0:44:26.916 --> 0:44:30.316 Did in twenty nineteen. 0:44:30.876 --> 0:44:35.756 In twenty nineteen, you know, I was on percosets constantly, 0:44:36.556 --> 0:44:39.356 but I would do them during the time, like in 0:44:39.396 --> 0:44:41.916 between when I would have to work or I would, 0:44:41.996 --> 0:44:44.876 you know, I was working out every day and working 0:44:44.956 --> 0:44:47.316 and then you know, still taking perk, So I think 0:44:47.396 --> 0:44:49.436 I was I was able to hide it for the 0:44:49.436 --> 0:44:53.396 most part. Like it had more of a negative effect 0:44:53.436 --> 0:44:56.596 on my life more so than it did my career, 0:44:56.676 --> 0:44:59.716 you know, your personal life. Yeah, more of my personal 0:44:59.716 --> 0:45:02.036 life than so much my career. Yeah. 0:45:02.036 --> 0:45:04.316 I imagine it can make you sort of withdraw from 0:45:04.356 --> 0:45:05.636 people emotionally. 0:45:05.996 --> 0:45:07.436 Yeah, it definitely does that. 0:45:07.916 --> 0:45:12.476 And your vision and you know doesn't You don't always 0:45:12.476 --> 0:45:15.676 make the best logical decisions. 0:45:14.796 --> 0:45:17.796 On them, so you know, it's just it's just not good. 0:45:17.836 --> 0:45:18.636 They're just terrible. 0:45:19.476 --> 0:45:22.076 Now that you've had a little bit of distance from it, 0:45:22.116 --> 0:45:24.916 what do you do to stay resilient? What do you 0:45:24.956 --> 0:45:26.796 do to stay clean? 0:45:27.916 --> 0:45:30.276 I look forward to the twenty second of every month 0:45:30.916 --> 0:45:36.916 because it's another monthly anniversary of my sobriety. I hit 0:45:36.956 --> 0:45:41.156 a year on July twenty second, So now this is 0:45:41.796 --> 0:45:45.836 thank you Sonoun was just thirteen months. And you know, 0:45:45.916 --> 0:45:51.556 I get more fulfillment and enjoyment of the longevity of 0:45:51.796 --> 0:45:55.236 saying clean and sober that I do from wanting to 0:45:55.276 --> 0:45:58.236 take a purpose at and never wanting to go back 0:45:58.236 --> 0:46:00.076 to that, you know, it's not worth it. 0:46:00.596 --> 0:46:02.996 Do you continue to take some sort of medication. 0:46:03.556 --> 0:46:05.396 Yeah, I take a shot. 0:46:05.476 --> 0:46:11.036 It's called a supplicate shot, which I take monthly, and 0:46:11.116 --> 0:46:15.476 that definitely is supposed to help with you know, cravings 0:46:15.596 --> 0:46:18.516 or even feeling the effects of an opioid. 0:46:19.116 --> 0:46:19.276 You know. 0:46:19.316 --> 0:46:23.316 I remember a time recently, or a couple of times recently, 0:46:23.356 --> 0:46:29.116 where they've been right in my face, you know, around 0:46:29.156 --> 0:46:34.236 and I had no desire to engage or indulge, and 0:46:35.156 --> 0:46:37.116 I was extremely proud of myself for that. 0:46:38.556 --> 0:46:40.236 We have to take another quick break and then we'll 0:46:40.236 --> 0:46:42.996 come back with more from Lea Rose and DJ Drama. 0:46:47.516 --> 0:46:50.156 We're back with the rest of Leo Rose's conversation with 0:46:50.396 --> 0:46:51.236 DJ Drama. 0:46:52.316 --> 0:46:54.276 So I wanted to ask you a little bit about 0:46:54.756 --> 0:46:59.516 your background. What was your home life like, like early childhood? Like, 0:46:59.556 --> 0:47:02.036 what do you remember about the house you grew up in. 0:47:02.156 --> 0:47:04.676 Was it a house filled with music? Were your parents 0:47:05.316 --> 0:47:06.036 into music? 0:47:06.516 --> 0:47:06.916 Yeah? 0:47:07.276 --> 0:47:10.596 So I grew up between my mother and my father. 0:47:11.396 --> 0:47:14.796 They split up when I was around two, and I 0:47:15.476 --> 0:47:18.116 spent like equal amount of times between both households. 0:47:18.516 --> 0:47:24.756 But my dad was a huge duop fan and he 0:47:24.996 --> 0:47:27.156 had a large record collection. 0:47:27.876 --> 0:47:30.836 I remember my mom had a lot of records too, 0:47:31.916 --> 0:47:37.436 And they definitely both played a lot of music within 0:47:37.756 --> 0:47:40.516 the household. And my dad, my dad also listened to 0:47:40.556 --> 0:47:42.716 a lot of jazz. My mom listened to a lot 0:47:42.796 --> 0:47:46.516 of jazz, a lot of early eighties R and B, 0:47:46.916 --> 0:47:50.156 seventies R and B. And you know, I just remember, 0:47:50.476 --> 0:47:54.356 you know, being introduced to hip hoping at an early age, 0:47:55.116 --> 0:47:58.596 you know, having a keen love for it. But even 0:47:58.676 --> 0:48:01.476 over all, even just a came up for music, like 0:48:01.796 --> 0:48:06.276 you know, I grew up listening to Big Daddy Kane 0:48:06.636 --> 0:48:10.116 and Guns and Roses krus One a Metallica. 0:48:11.236 --> 0:48:13.716 Did you ever feel like, because being mixed race, your 0:48:14.116 --> 0:48:16.556 dad is black, your mom is white, did you ever 0:48:16.676 --> 0:48:18.956 have a period where you felt like you had to 0:48:19.036 --> 0:48:20.236 sort of pick a side. 0:48:21.916 --> 0:48:22.116 Yeah. 0:48:22.276 --> 0:48:26.036 I mean as a young child, you know, I definitely 0:48:26.116 --> 0:48:32.276 had some identity issues, you know, definitely being so fair 0:48:32.436 --> 0:48:36.276 skinned or light skinned, you know, and my father always 0:48:36.396 --> 0:48:39.796 instilled in me, like about my blackness, and you know, 0:48:39.836 --> 0:48:42.476 at a young age, it was kind of confusing because 0:48:42.476 --> 0:48:44.876 it was like he would tell me that I'm black. 0:48:45.596 --> 0:48:48.036 I'd be like, well, okay, but my mom is white, 0:48:48.596 --> 0:48:51.876 and you know, just I would always get questioned a 0:48:51.956 --> 0:48:56.716 lot like about what I was or you know, how 0:48:56.756 --> 0:49:00.036 to identify myself. So you know, it would go from 0:49:00.836 --> 0:49:02.836 me saying I'm black to me saying I'm mixed, or 0:49:03.276 --> 0:49:06.076 me having to explain to people or what have you, 0:49:06.356 --> 0:49:09.356 or you know, being fair skinned but having you know, 0:49:10.276 --> 0:49:14.596 certain features like big lips or curly hair, and you know, 0:49:14.876 --> 0:49:15.396 just like. 0:49:16.916 --> 0:49:20.276 Growing up in I guess the eighties and the nineties in. 0:49:20.356 --> 0:49:25.436 That time, Like they're definitely worth some times of confusion 0:49:25.756 --> 0:49:29.956 or or trying to you know, who I've identify with 0:49:30.116 --> 0:49:33.236 more or picking aside or things like that, or you know, 0:49:33.796 --> 0:49:37.716 friend groups and you know, just school and you know. 0:49:37.876 --> 0:49:38.436 Things like that. 0:49:39.596 --> 0:49:41.716 Yeah, how did your parents meet? 0:49:42.116 --> 0:49:49.196 They met because they both were very active in like 0:49:49.756 --> 0:49:56.036 conscious and liberal political movements, so they met kind of 0:49:56.156 --> 0:50:01.356 both working around civil rights in the mid to late seventies. 0:50:02.036 --> 0:50:05.396 Cool. Yeah, Philadelphia seems like a very politically active city. 0:50:05.796 --> 0:50:06.396 Definite. Yes. 0:50:07.196 --> 0:50:09.916 Okay. So in addition to every thing that you've built 0:50:09.916 --> 0:50:13.476 with the mixtapes, with you know, with your podcast, with 0:50:13.596 --> 0:50:17.476 the albums you've released, you also have now a label 0:50:17.556 --> 0:50:23.516 imprint called Generation Now, and you've signed two of the 0:50:23.716 --> 0:50:28.156 most now successful hip hop artists, Little Ooze, Vert Jack 0:50:28.236 --> 0:50:31.636 Harlowe and they're really living up to the name of 0:50:31.716 --> 0:50:34.676 the imprint. Yeah, just talk about how you found them 0:50:34.796 --> 0:50:37.036 or what it was about them that you knew that 0:50:37.276 --> 0:50:39.116 you wanted to sign them. 0:50:39.956 --> 0:50:42.876 A lot of it was their conviction upon meeting them, 0:50:43.396 --> 0:50:49.676 their own desire to be great, to be stars, to 0:50:49.836 --> 0:50:53.676 be you know, the best of the best. You know, 0:50:53.756 --> 0:50:58.236 they both kind of in a sense like went against 0:50:58.276 --> 0:51:01.156 the grain. You know, that's something that you know, I've 0:51:01.196 --> 0:51:04.276 always been keen of. Like even if you look at 0:51:04.316 --> 0:51:07.316 my story about you know, this kid funtil you moved 0:51:07.356 --> 0:51:13.796 to Atlanta and dominated you know, southern mixtape scene, like 0:51:14.316 --> 0:51:18.156 you know, a little Oozi wasn't the norm of what 0:51:19.676 --> 0:51:22.516 people were used to have artists of what Philadelphia artists 0:51:22.556 --> 0:51:27.236 sound like, right, Yeah, and you know that definitely attracted 0:51:27.356 --> 0:51:28.636 us to him. 0:51:29.596 --> 0:51:31.756 But how did you know he would have longevity? Like 0:51:31.876 --> 0:51:33.636 when you were starting to talk to him and hear 0:51:33.676 --> 0:51:35.876 his music, Like, how did you know that he's someone 0:51:35.916 --> 0:51:38.156 who's worth investing long term in? 0:51:39.396 --> 0:51:42.316 I mean, to be honest, I don't know if you 0:51:42.396 --> 0:51:45.636 ever really do you know. I mean, it's like it's 0:51:46.596 --> 0:51:49.236 it's the music business. I mean, it's all at gamble, 0:51:49.396 --> 0:51:52.196 you know. I mean, I definitely saw the talent in him. 0:51:52.476 --> 0:51:55.716 You know, I saw his Again, it's the conviction, like 0:51:56.516 --> 0:51:58.676 he knew he was a rock star, and you know, 0:51:58.876 --> 0:52:01.836 he was always very confident of like how dope his 0:52:01.916 --> 0:52:03.636 shit was, or you. 0:52:03.676 --> 0:52:08.236 Know Jack is. You know there's videos of Jack rapping 0:52:08.356 --> 0:52:09.796 at twelve than thirteen. 0:52:10.076 --> 0:52:14.316 Like I stand behind his ability to want to be 0:52:14.436 --> 0:52:18.876 great and to want to have longevity and you know, 0:52:19.516 --> 0:52:22.756 wanting to be a great performer and you know, which 0:52:22.836 --> 0:52:27.236 he wasn't always, but you know, I mean again, he 0:52:27.396 --> 0:52:31.036 was a sponge that you know, we watched like soak 0:52:31.116 --> 0:52:34.716 it up and we're able to lend our shoulders to 0:52:35.676 --> 0:52:39.556 artists and bring the knowledge and then you know the 0:52:40.036 --> 0:52:43.196 years of legacy that we have and you know, to 0:52:43.316 --> 0:52:45.236 help them for their careers. 0:52:46.156 --> 0:52:49.716 When you and Lake and Cannon are talking about signing 0:52:49.836 --> 0:52:53.476 Jack Harlow to the generation now, that becomes a huge 0:52:53.556 --> 0:52:56.636 co sign for Jack and that can change the trajectory 0:52:57.156 --> 0:53:00.476 of his career. Right, What was it about him that 0:53:00.676 --> 0:53:01.876 made you confident? 0:53:02.396 --> 0:53:05.676 I just was always impressed of how comfortable in his 0:53:05.836 --> 0:53:10.996 own skinn he was. And like its note of you know, 0:53:11.116 --> 0:53:13.756 of hip hop or you know we we we we 0:53:13.916 --> 0:53:15.676 had a fond. 0:53:17.076 --> 0:53:21.276 Interest in the same films and movies, and you know, 0:53:21.396 --> 0:53:24.956 watching him rap like you know, lyric lyrically, and like 0:53:25.716 --> 0:53:28.956 what he in the conversations I had with him of 0:53:29.076 --> 0:53:32.116 what he where he wanted to be, and you know, 0:53:32.236 --> 0:53:34.916 where he wanted to go as an artist, like he 0:53:34.996 --> 0:53:38.116 wanted to be one of the greats, and like, you know, 0:53:38.316 --> 0:53:41.116 that was enough for me. That was like, here's this 0:53:41.316 --> 0:53:45.036 kid from Louisville, Kentucky that looks like Napoleon dynamite that 0:53:45.316 --> 0:53:47.956 you know, like it's going to shock the world. So 0:53:48.836 --> 0:53:52.316 you know, again, I just think like I've always found 0:53:52.356 --> 0:53:55.356 a lot of success and and someone kind of like 0:53:55.436 --> 0:53:58.836 going against the grain. And I remember having conversations with 0:53:58.956 --> 0:54:01.956 the label and you know, some people being a little 0:54:01.996 --> 0:54:04.956 skeptical about us signing a white artist, and I was like, look, 0:54:05.076 --> 0:54:07.276 it's not it's not the year. 0:54:07.156 --> 0:54:10.116 Two thousand anymore. Like them is not the only one 0:54:10.196 --> 0:54:14.196 that can exist. Like you know, just sit back and 0:54:14.276 --> 0:54:16.916 watch what we do. You know, we did it again. 0:54:17.796 --> 0:54:21.436 Yeah, you guys have had tremendous success. Congratulations on Thank 0:54:21.476 --> 0:54:24.116 you on all the success. What are you working on now? Like, 0:54:24.196 --> 0:54:26.836 what's next? I know you're working on probably a million things. 0:54:27.756 --> 0:54:31.116 Yeah, I'm in the process of finishing up a book 0:54:31.156 --> 0:54:37.876 deal who memoir, potentially a memoir Stay tuned. Generation Now 0:54:37.956 --> 0:54:42.596 we have our management company, so we now have a 0:54:42.716 --> 0:54:47.996 little Tyler, Ruby Rose, Mariaha scientists on Generation Now Management. 0:54:48.116 --> 0:54:50.916 We're in the process of signing some new artists, one 0:54:50.996 --> 0:54:55.396 of them being this artist named kay Cash and another. 0:54:55.156 --> 0:54:57.156 One that will announce very soon. 0:54:57.716 --> 0:55:00.796 I'm finishing up this tour with Snoop and Wiz and 0:55:01.396 --> 0:55:03.236 going to go right into start working on a new 0:55:03.276 --> 0:55:07.756 album and then we all we're working on some film 0:55:07.836 --> 0:55:08.596 projects as well. 0:55:09.436 --> 0:55:12.596 How are you sleeping now, like a baby, I. 0:55:12.716 --> 0:55:15.556 Just sleep peacefully. You know, I'm at a space and 0:55:15.716 --> 0:55:17.796 where you know, life is amazing. 0:55:18.396 --> 0:55:21.156 I get up, I work out, and you know, my 0:55:21.316 --> 0:55:24.356 day is pretty fulfilled if it's a normal average day. 0:55:24.356 --> 0:55:26.996 I put my ass to bed about eleven eleven thirty. 0:55:27.596 --> 0:55:30.076 That's great. Thank you so much, Drama for doing this. 0:55:30.236 --> 0:55:32.876 I appreciate you so much and I'm so proud of you. 0:55:33.876 --> 0:55:35.156 So good to be connected again. 0:55:35.516 --> 0:55:37.676 No, for sure, it's great to talk to you all 0:55:37.716 --> 0:55:38.116 this time. 0:55:41.036 --> 0:55:43.836 Thanks to Djdrama for being so open about his addiction 0:55:44.196 --> 0:55:47.516 and recovery. We wish him continued success. And personally, I 0:55:47.556 --> 0:55:50.116 look forward to the return of the greatest mixtape series 0:55:50.156 --> 0:55:53.196 of all time with the dedication seven. Whenever that drops. 0:55:53.836 --> 0:55:56.356 You can hear all of our favorite official djdrama tracks 0:55:56.396 --> 0:56:00.036 on the playlist at broken record podcast dot com. You 0:56:00.076 --> 0:56:02.476 can subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube dot com 0:56:02.636 --> 0:56:05.196 slash broken Record Podcast, where you can find all of 0:56:05.276 --> 0:56:08.356 our new episodes. You can follow us on Twitter at 0:56:08.436 --> 0:56:12.196 broken Record. Broken Record is produced with help from Leah Rose, 0:56:12.436 --> 0:56:16.796 Jason Gambrel, Ben Holliday, and Eric Samer. Our editor is 0:56:16.916 --> 0:56:20.836 Sophie Crane. Broken Record is a production of Pushkin Industries. 0:56:21.036 --> 0:56:23.396 If you love this show and others from Pushkin, consider 0:56:23.436 --> 0:56:27.636 subscribing to Pushkin Plus. Pushkin Plus is a podcast subscription 0:56:27.836 --> 0:56:31.276 that offers bonus content an uninterrupted ad free listening for 0:56:31.436 --> 0:56:34.156 four ninety nine a month. Look for Pushkin Plus on 0:56:34.196 --> 0:56:37.436 Apple podcast subscriptions, and if you like the show, please 0:56:37.476 --> 0:56:40.516 remember to share, rate, and review us on your podcast app. 0:56:41.036 --> 0:56:43.916 Our theme music Expectkenny Beats. I'm Justin Rischmith