WEBVTT - #488 - Akon 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.320 Yeah, check it out, Manashi put a coon, don't forget 0:00:02.480 --> 0:00:05.960 check me out on the Bootleg cav podcast See you soon. 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:11.559 Yo, Bootleg cav show Man, we got a special guest 0:00:11.600 --> 0:00:15.159 in here, a living legend Akon in the building's going on? 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:16.439 What's good? Brother? 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:17.160 Amazing? 0:00:17.560 --> 0:00:19.320 First of all, he got this new song Going Crazy. 0:00:19.600 --> 0:00:22.319 I gotta say congrats. I can't believe it's been twenty 0:00:22.360 --> 0:00:23.800 years since the debut album dropped. 0:00:23.960 --> 0:00:25.840 Yeah, that's crazy. I can't even believe it. 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:29.319 It's time, I flew. It makes me feel like old 0:00:29.360 --> 0:00:33.239 because I just remember. I just remember that, you know, 0:00:33.560 --> 0:00:35.720 just a few of them records just being on mixtapes, 0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:37.519 and there was like I think Green Lantern had the 0:00:37.560 --> 0:00:41.120 remix of Ghetto Going Crazy, and I'm like, damn, that 0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:42.200 was twenty years ago. 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:43.320 That's crazy. 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:44.320 How does it feel, man? 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:47.239 Now? It feels amazing, Yeah, because I don't feel like 0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:49.000 twenty is to me right. It really don't. Like it 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:52.159 feels like like just a few years made it right. 0:00:52.240 --> 0:00:54.760 Because even now, when I look at my career in 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:58.480 the business and I'm still relevant in it, I can't 0:00:58.520 --> 0:01:00.280 believe that twenty years went past. 0:01:00.480 --> 0:01:04.440 Right super fast. Yeah, and you've had so much like 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:06.919 like arms to your business. Like obviously as an artist 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:09.200 that's one thing, prolific run and it's still going. And 0:01:09.200 --> 0:01:11.920 then as an executive as an newer. 0:01:11.760 --> 0:01:14.160 Yeah, I think all that played a role. And I 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:15.800 used to always say that in the beginning as one 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:17.600 of my advice is just trying to put on his people, 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:20.280 put on as many people as possible, right, because they 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:22.800 become the longevity of your career because as long as 0:01:22.800 --> 0:01:25.960 they're out in the marketplace, they always bring your energy around. 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:28.920 When they see them, they see you. So it's kind 0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:31.480 of like a way of extending your career to the max. 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:34.280 Yo. How dope is it to have like your brother 0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:37.399 also have his own like success, right, Like Boots had 0:01:37.440 --> 0:01:40.560 so many killing it and he's done so much. Right. 0:01:41.280 --> 0:01:42.959 I feel like I just found out somebody who was 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:44.520 behind or somewhere he was right, was like, dam he's 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:46.360 there now, Like I forget he's doing everything. 0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:48.560 Yeah, boo, working man. He was meant to be an 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:50.360 exec Yeah, Like a lot of people don't know. It 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:52.720 was Bood that foundy Pain and brought him to me. Crazy, 0:01:52.760 --> 0:01:54.520 you know what I'm saying. So he was he came 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:56.480 in already from an executive mind space. 0:01:56.640 --> 0:01:59.800 Yeah, for sure. You and Pain Got Us are a 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:03.120 show coming up at Red Rocks. Yeah, Red Rock Halloween 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:08.480 Eve thirtieth Grace who headlines at it's actually Pain Show. 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:10.079 So it's t Pain Show. You're okay. 0:02:10.160 --> 0:02:11.480 He's bringing me out as a special gift. 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:12.280 That's gonna be crazy. 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:12.640 Yeah. 0:02:12.720 --> 0:02:14.040 Yeah, How many songs are you gonna do? 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:17.440 We'll see, We'll see. 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:19.160 That's gonna be crazy. Yo. 0:02:19.440 --> 0:02:20.080 I see. 0:02:20.320 --> 0:02:22.400 So the last time you were on the show, you 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:24.359 had just had your hair thing done and from Turkey 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:26.679 we talked about it defensively. You've shaved it all off. 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:27.799 Yeah yeah, I got a new look. 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:28.480 Now, I got a new look. 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:30.200 So what made you shave off? Because you had you 0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:32.040 went and got the procedure done just to shave it. 0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:33.440 What the thing is, I can always allow it to 0:02:33.440 --> 0:02:35.240 grow back. Okay, that's the beauty of it. 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:37.120 So for this run, you're like, I'm shaving the head. 0:02:37.040 --> 0:02:40.240 Yeah, because you know, it's like it's a lot of maintenance, 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:41.639 keeping the waves going and all that. 0:02:41.760 --> 0:02:44.280 Yeah, and you also look like, you know, you look 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:46.640 like Trouble Acon right now. Yeah. 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:48.720 I like I look a little bit younger with it. 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:50.359 They say, I look a lot younger with it. But 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:52.639 it feels better too, especially around the summertime when it 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:54.639 was super hot. I think when it gets cold, I 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:56.400 might you know, less, some more hair grow or whatever 0:02:56.400 --> 0:02:57.000 the case may be. 0:02:57.040 --> 0:02:59.760 But talk to me about like obviously this new record 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:02.040 beautiful Days dope, but I know like you got to 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:03.080 you got a new album on the. 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:06.560 Way, Yeah, a new album not Guilty, not Guilty. Yeah. 0:03:06.600 --> 0:03:09.320 I like that. Yeah, it's a statement for the culture. 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:11.160 I just think the culture is under attack right now. 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:12.240 What do you mean by that? 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:15.320 Just in general? I think, you know the way it's 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:18.560 just such a negative vibration in the music business, you 0:03:18.600 --> 0:03:20.120 know what I mean? And I think a lot of 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:23.200 it came from just miseducation. But for the most part, 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:24.800 like when I look, that's that's one of the reasons 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:27.200 why I even created a Beautiful Day, because I just 0:03:27.200 --> 0:03:29.800 feel like sometimes we take the most. We take a 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:31.799 lot of things for granted. Bro, Like, no matter how 0:03:31.840 --> 0:03:34.440 bad your life is, somebody out there got it worse. Yeah, 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:36.360 And we're always focusing on what we want or what 0:03:36.400 --> 0:03:38.240 we should have versus what we already have that we 0:03:38.240 --> 0:03:39.080 should be grateful for. 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:42.400 Do you feel like with any because there's been so 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:46.000 many negative things happening in the music industry, so many 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:48.920 people are worried about people getting exposed with the Ditty situation. 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:51.840 Do you feel like that because obviously, like we kind 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:53.720 of all grew up like looking at Ditty and like 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:57.120 look for Diddy's rights or wrongs, Like he's a mogul, 0:03:57.520 --> 0:03:59.560 you know, He's somebody who we could look at and 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:01.920 be like, yeah, I want to aspire to be for boss. Like, 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:05.640 So when something like this happens and it feels like 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:08.440 there's going to be a lot of you know, aftershock 0:04:08.480 --> 0:04:10.680 that might affect other people in the music industry, do 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:12.720 you feel like like you like there's like a weight 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:15.960 of that situation in particular, weighing on just the industry 0:04:15.960 --> 0:04:16.359 in general. 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:18.760 I think it's weighing on the whole industry because I 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:20.919 don't think a situation like that can happen without the 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:24.760 industry's participation, you know what I mean. But for the 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:29.440 most part, the industry always like bread these kind of situations, 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:31.800 these kind of behaviors, And I think it's at a 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:34.760 time now where the world itself is just cleansing itself. 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:37.200 I think I see this more of as a spiritual 0:04:37.800 --> 0:04:41.680 movement than it is something physical or someone being you know, 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:45.520 directly targeted, if that makes sense, Because this is something 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:49.839 that needs to be exposed for everyone spiritually to cleanse themselves, emotions, 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:52.120 their thoughts, all the lives need to come out. Like 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:54.279 we just need to get back to being human versus 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:56.599 playing the role of where other people want us to play. 0:04:56.920 --> 0:04:59.280 And I think we're at that point now where you're 0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:01.679 forced to now have have to confront all your doings. 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:05.640 I just think like nature does that spiritually, it does 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:09.480 it physically, Like like even think about all these hurricanes 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:11.280 and all this stuff in areas that we never expected 0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:13.320 it to happen. Yeah, all, I mean, the world is 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:15.039 just cleansing itself, period, and I don't think we're going 0:05:15.080 --> 0:05:16.120 to be exempt to it. 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:18.279 Yeah. You think there's like a spiritual cleansing for sure. 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:20.280 That's how I feel for sure. 0:05:20.360 --> 0:05:21.880 Yeah. I think that is one thing you said, like 0:05:22.400 --> 0:05:24.080 when it comes to like certain levels of some of 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:27.200 this stuff that just became like normal behavior, like you said, 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:32.000 like everybody is Yeah, I mean people were ignoring this stuff, 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:35.680 I mean participating and enabling you know. I mean you 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:37.000 can go all the way back to like some of 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:39.520 the allegations against like Russell Simmons, you know what I mean. 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:42.320 So it's like this kind of behavior isn't new and 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:44.920 it was kind of the worst kept secret. So that's 0:05:44.920 --> 0:05:49.120 where I wonder once all of the like trials and 0:05:49.160 --> 0:05:51.839 start happening, like does security have to play a part 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:54.120 in getting in trouble? Of course, the assistant, I mean 0:05:54.520 --> 0:05:56.640 who the emails, the person that runs and picks up 0:05:56.640 --> 0:05:59.120 the drugs. You know, there's gonna be so many people, Like, 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:00.120 there's so many people name. 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:03.320 There's too many elements, and it's nothing that he could 0:06:03.320 --> 0:06:05.960 have personally been able to do by himself. It had 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:08.080 to be supported by people around him that support the 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:10.200 whole concept. And I think this is the point where 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:12.680 everybody's you know, going to be worried. And this's the 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:14.800 reason why the whole industry is quiet. No one's speaking 0:06:14.839 --> 0:06:17.119 out because as many people that this man has helped 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:20.520 uplifted and set up to live them lives, their lives, 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:22.400 will set up their lives of family, you would expect 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:25.359 someone to come in this defense, but no one's. The 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:28.039 only person who did was Stevie j I think, yeah, 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:29.279 he's probably the only one. 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:31.560 I'm assuming you haven't been any. 0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:37.160 Freak offs, unfortunately, because I was never a party person, and. 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:40.760 Any time I see you at any like event, it's 0:06:40.800 --> 0:06:41.760 like you're there on business and. 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:45.640 You never really see me hanging around with celebrities or 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:47.440 not that anew because that was never really my life. 0:06:47.720 --> 0:06:50.640 I just saw it as work for perspective, but I 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:53.400 always thought the mindset of how people or celebrities per 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:56.800 se think they always felt like they were above everyone else, 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:57.920 and I didn't like that attitude. 0:06:58.080 --> 0:06:59.960 Yeah, yeah, yeah, I feel like, even like you know, 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:01.920 any time I've ever had encounters with you, you're very 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:04.839 like you're just a normal dude. Yeah. 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:06.719 I was just blessed to be in a position, but 0:07:06.760 --> 0:07:09.960 you're also eight con I get it. I'm popular, but 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:11.400 I don't think it changed the man though. 0:07:11.480 --> 0:07:15.200 You know, YO, talk to me about something, because obviously 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:17.679 you have a lot of entrepreneurial stuff. I just opened 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:19.360 a pizza restaurant here in Burbank, and I. 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:20.160 Helped me too. Yeah. 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:21.680 I heard you open one in Jacksonville. 0:07:21.880 --> 0:07:23.600 Yeah, got yep. I got a three in Atlanta and 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:25.400 one in Jacksonville that we just opened up, and we're 0:07:25.440 --> 0:07:27.000 gonna spread out to the West Coast as well too. 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:29.240 Pizza. You should do a collabor we should, man, Yeah, 0:07:30.040 --> 0:07:32.000 right here on the corner. It's right here, and that. 0:07:32.000 --> 0:07:33.680 Would be hard. Yeah, that would be done. 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:35.440 How has the Pizza game been for you? Like? 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:39.040 Man, amazing? Like bro like it takes I mean literally, 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:40.440 it only costs eight cents to make. 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:44.320 Yeah, pizza is the highest it's the highest margin. 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:47.200 Yeah, it's like, it's the highest margin for any food 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:49.760 in the world. It's like, but then it's so good 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:51.880 and it's a snack. It's also could be a meal. 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:54.080 It'll never go astordable, it'll never go. 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:55.840 Out of style. It's like the best business to go 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:57.000 into if you're talking about food. 0:07:57.040 --> 0:07:59.080 So you guys, you got three of them? Yeah, four 0:07:59.160 --> 0:08:02.000 now four shots to Jacksonville. Man, that's j Yeah. 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:03.240 The goal is to get twenty by the end of 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:04.760 the twenty twenty aycon in the Pizza Game. 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:06.320 Do you have any other franchises or anything you're a 0:08:06.320 --> 0:08:06.640 part of that? 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:08.600 You have, no, no, But the next one's gonna be 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:10.960 a jelif Rice fast food restaurant. Oh fire, Yeah, so 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:13.120 it's gonna be called it's gonna be fast food like 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:15.480 McDonald's or Wendy's or whatever. But that's more like African 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:21.520 cuisine but quick almost like what's that one? Uh Chipotle? 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:23.960 Chipotle? Yeah, no, that is interesting because there hasn't been 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:25.960 any I feel like we don't have a lot of 0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:28.200 exposure on a commercial level the African food. 0:08:28.360 --> 0:08:29.800 Yeah, yeah, that's true. 0:08:30.040 --> 0:08:31.640 That's true. Like we get Jamaican, feel like you can 0:08:31.640 --> 0:08:32.560 get jerk chicken it like. 0:08:32.760 --> 0:08:35.320 You can get Jamaican, you can get Chinese, you can get. 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:39.480 Time for sure. Yo? What for you? Man? Like talk 0:08:39.480 --> 0:08:42.960 to me just about like your your how how do 0:08:43.040 --> 0:08:46.920 you feel about where we are musically right now? Because 0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:50.240 I feel like we've had like a interesting year because 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:53.640 you know, I feel like the Kendrick Drake thing kind 0:08:53.640 --> 0:08:55.240 of took over this year in terms of hip hop, 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:57.920 at least and at least for me as like a fan. 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:01.160 I appreciated the fact people were like cared about bars again. 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:04.400 Right, So that was the positivity, and that was the 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:06.840 positive hip hop back to its essence. 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:09.600 It did. It also created like the civil War of 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:10.240 hip hop. 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:12.240 Right, But I honestly believe it or not. As much 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:15.480 as I loved the idea that that happened, I wish 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:19.439 it would have ended on a shaking hands by gods 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:21.760 be by gods let them continue, because that's the one 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:24.240 thing about the hip hop industry, Like when you look 0:09:24.280 --> 0:09:26.840 at the LL and Cool Mo d Beef all the 0:09:26.840 --> 0:09:29.320 way back in the day, those boys, after all of that, 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:32.520 they came back and set an example like listen, this 0:09:32.559 --> 0:09:36.040 friendly competition. You know, they both went at it. You 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:37.720 know who won, This is what it is, and they 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:40.160 kept moving on with their careers. And I think sometime 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:43.120 with this generation, we take things so emotionally personal to 0:09:43.160 --> 0:09:46.560 the point where it goes beyond the competition on wax 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:50.320 that it can easily like kind yes, easily spill over 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:53.560 into some real live, you know, beef. And I just 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:55.920 think that we got to be it. We have to 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:57.600 change that, that that tone of it. 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:01.480 Yeah, I think too, like with with this like new 0:10:01.800 --> 0:10:05.320 landscape of fans in the internet right like now fans 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:07.480 are embolded, they're trying to expose artists. 0:10:07.600 --> 0:10:11.559 Yeah, it's a lot, Oh my goodness, that man. Listen. 0:10:11.559 --> 0:10:14.040 The vibration of what music is is just it's so 0:10:14.160 --> 0:10:15.840 negative right now, you know what I mean? And I 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:18.400 think a lot of it. Honestly, I would kind of 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:25.120 give my generation, I will say we were partly responsible 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:27.160 for that too. You know what I mean, because I 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:30.080 think it was a different stet like the hip hop 0:10:30.120 --> 0:10:32.520 generation that we came up to on you know, like 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:35.880 the African Bombardas and all them, Like they always on 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:40.480 positive messages. It was always party. If it was something 0:10:40.480 --> 0:10:43.920 that that kind of like scrubbed the edge of content, 0:10:43.960 --> 0:10:46.360 it was always about something political that was going on 0:10:46.360 --> 0:10:48.760 in our neighborhoods. Whe we got about like that, you 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:51.920 know what I mean. And then later, you know, when 0:10:52.320 --> 0:10:55.120 our generation came, then, you know, gangster rap kind of 0:10:55.120 --> 0:10:58.240 opened the door up for a different era of music 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:03.600 where street crimes and street you know, you could say, 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:07.160 politics became something to brag about. It became something that 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:08.640 you needed to be attached to to make it in 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:10.959 hip hop, to be relevant or even to be heard, 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:13.480 or even to be looked at as somebody official. So 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:17.800 then what happened was this new generation took that and 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:21.319 really felt like they can glorify being gangster, glorified getting 0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:24.960 shot versus shooting, to the point where you can't be 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:28.160 a rapper unless you got or like you've been locked 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:30.800 up or you've been shot, or you've been shot at, 0:11:31.760 --> 0:11:33.520 you know what I mean, Almost like that becomes your 0:11:33.640 --> 0:11:37.920 calling card or your your your backstage pass to become 0:11:38.400 --> 0:11:39.559 a part of the entertainment. 0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:42.640 Yeah, And I always say this too, like it kind 0:11:42.640 --> 0:11:47.199 of fans become desensitized to when people die. 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:49.160 To the point where it's like it's a part of it. 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:51.280 Well, they look at I feel like they're they're looking 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:53.840 at a lot of these kids as like characters in 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:56.520 the TV show that they watch on YouTube. Yeah, and 0:11:56.559 --> 0:11:59.200 so if someone dies, they're like, well, I'm gonna leave 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:01.320 a comment. I know who did it? You know, like 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:04.480 it's it's it's crazy. But you were kind of like 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:11.040 the the first R and B artist who came into 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:14.840 the game talking that talk like you before you, I 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:16.880 can't think of another artist who was singing that was 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:19.560 I mean, think about locked up, Like yeah, talking about 0:12:19.600 --> 0:12:21.719 your first single was talking about being incarcerated, which is 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:24.200 a crazy thought to be like, Yo, this is I 0:12:24.280 --> 0:12:27.680 had a singing ass song with style talking about being 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:30.040 locked up. And that's changed music. 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:31.920 For Yeah, No, it really did. And I think because 0:12:31.920 --> 0:12:33.440 at the time when I came, R and B was 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:36.000 really more about begging and love making. 0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:38.280 And being a simp. Yeah, very very s and you 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:40.079 also kind of came in when the R and B 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:41.120 group was very popping. 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:43.200 Yeah, it was like edge. Yeah, you had a lot 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:45.680 of boy bands out there, one Twelves and all that, 0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:47.439 and then on the other side you have the Insyncts 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:50.000 and the Backstreet Boys and all that stuff. So yeah, 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:53.040 we kind of was the balance because everything was really 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:54.960 a lot of happy, go lucky R and B type 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.560 of stuff, whereas that was a whole struggle that was 0:12:57.600 --> 0:12:59.680 being talked about on my album that was just in 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:01.880 an arm beformed, but lyrically just didn't match. 0:13:02.120 --> 0:13:06.319 Yeah, I want to know something that I'm curious because 0:13:06.400 --> 0:13:10.679 obviously you you know, you being from where you're from, 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:15.280 and some of the narrative that's out there about like 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:19.200 immigrants coming to the United States, right obviously, uh Trump 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:22.439 famously during the debate talked about that they're eating the cats, They're. 0:13:22.280 --> 0:13:24.440 Eating my gosh. 0:13:24.840 --> 0:13:28.000 I just I just wonder, like for you being on 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:31.640 both sides of like coming into this country as an 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:37.320 immigrant and then also turning into a very successful entrepreneur, artists, 0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:40.360 you know all of that, Like, like, what are your 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:42.720 thoughts on that kind of whole discussion about like immigration 0:13:42.840 --> 0:13:44.520 kind of like you know, the border being a wild 0:13:44.520 --> 0:13:46.679 place right now? I heard I do I do here 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:48.160 for you know, it is like a free for all 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:48.760 low key. 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:52.200 Yeah, I mean up, all borders at a certain line 0:13:52.559 --> 0:13:54.959 is free for all because you can't board the whole. 0:13:55.600 --> 0:13:58.360 You know, there's not enough people to literally lock down 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:02.120 every border, every entrance, every exit. Right, So I just 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:05.360 me personally, I just think borders is one of the 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:08.480 main reasons why people don't get along. I think borders 0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:10.719 is one of our biggest mistakes ever. We should never 0:14:10.840 --> 0:14:12.719 like this is God created this land for us to 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:14.760 roam through it freely. That should never be a line 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:16.760 saying Okay, this man can't cross here or this woman 0:14:16.800 --> 0:14:18.760 can't cross here. I don't think we should ever have 0:14:18.800 --> 0:14:20.520 borders at all. Like I think we should be able 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:22.760 to roam through every parts of the earth as we 0:14:22.880 --> 0:14:25.240 please or see fit. There will be a lot more peace, 0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:28.440 for sure. I think people that's in a situation where 0:14:28.560 --> 0:14:31.520 life is not that good or struggle is created in 0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:33.920 that area going naturally want to get away from struggle 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:35.480 and be in a more comfortable environment. 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:35.840 Yeah. 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:38.920 I don't think it's a person's place to say that. 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:40.360 You don't know, you're not allowed to come to a 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:43.240 place where you can thrive. And I think that idea 0:14:43.280 --> 0:14:45.240 of it is what creates the problems because even when 0:14:45.280 --> 0:14:48.680 you look at Mexico, there's this double line standard as 0:14:48.720 --> 0:14:50.560 to which Mexicans you can let in and which ones 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:55.160 you don't. There's a lot of illegal Mexicans that's working 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:55.760 in America. 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:58.080 Oh tons, yeah, I mean I don't know if the 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:01.240 country would the country would not function out without without 0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:01.640 the labor. 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:04.520 That it's impossible, right, So you can't try to set 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:07.000 a line now saying Okay, well they're illegal, but yeah, 0:15:07.360 --> 0:15:09.920 you're hiring illegals, like what's the point and then you 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:11.920 don't even give them a Social Security number to be 0:15:11.920 --> 0:15:13.960 able to get a legitimate check. And then you're down 0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:16.680 waging them and giving them lower rages and they're supposed 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:18.640 to naturally get or paying them cast or there's no 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:21.920 tax involved. So now you implicating yourself. So it's it's 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:24.640 it's a wrong on both sides. We can just all 0:15:24.640 --> 0:15:26.840 be human and just work together, because believe me, I 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:29.840 love going to Mexico. I love having a great time 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:32.040 in Cancun or wherever the place may be, or going 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:34.360 even into the further parts of Mexico. But at the 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:36.640 end of the day. I think that the idea of 0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:40.800 that that that border exists creates opportunity for more craziness 0:15:40.800 --> 0:15:41.160 to happen. 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:43.200 Yeah, how did your family come over? 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:46.880 My mom and dad, they came in as they came 0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:49.840 in legally, but they made sure that we were all 0:15:49.880 --> 0:15:52.320 born in the US, so we would have no problems 0:15:52.360 --> 0:15:54.840 with immigration in the fast. So my dad was he thought, 0:15:54.840 --> 0:15:56.640 in the few we have kids in the US, right, 0:15:56.720 --> 0:15:58.280 and then you can take them back, because that's that 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:00.720 what happens. After all us was born, he shipped us 0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:02.800 all back to Africa. Who was raised you know, came 0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:05.400 in speaking Spanish, French. We didn't speak English until we 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:06.080 got through America. 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:09.880 Damn you So you speak how many languages for four? 0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:11.160 That is crazy? 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:15.280 What is your like the dialect and senegalgue? Okay, yeah, 0:16:15.320 --> 0:16:16.480 well off is the native tongue? 0:16:16.600 --> 0:16:20.560 That's dope. Many are you leaning in either direction? In 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:22.720 terms of the presidential election? At this point, I've seen 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:24.360 a lot of people come to the Trump side that 0:16:24.400 --> 0:16:26.640 maybe not would have been on its side four years ago, 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:28.160 and versa. 0:16:27.760 --> 0:16:29.920 And vice versa. I think politics is just a big 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:32.080 game of who can convince who that they belong to 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:34.840 be that they need to be. Me personally, I believe 0:16:34.880 --> 0:16:37.400 that we do need a woman leader. Even if it 0:16:37.440 --> 0:16:39.040 was I think it's kind of overdue, right, I think 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:42.360 it's overdue because one thing about women, they their motivation 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:46.120 is family. And I think the rules, the laws, the 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:48.560 bills that family is going to pass will be more 0:16:48.600 --> 0:16:52.200 catered to family versus what Trump would pass. Trump from 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:56.000 a male's perspective, our motivation is power, So the bills 0:16:56.040 --> 0:16:57.800