WEBVTT - QLS Classic: DJ Drama Part 1 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:08.720 Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. All Right, y'alls. 0:00:08.840 --> 0:00:10.600 In twenty twenty two, we went to Atlanta for a 0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:12.840 block of tapings and we got to kick it with 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:15.120 the one and only DJ Drama. We brought some in 0:00:15.160 --> 0:00:17.919 Philly history to the atl as. We spoke about his 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:20.400 early as days, his love of hip hop, and some 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:23.040 of his most recent work. And this was a really 0:00:23.079 --> 0:00:26.960 really cool conversation, a two parter, and we chatted until 0:00:27.000 --> 0:00:29.160 the studio and film cruise damn near kicked us out. 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:31.479 So shout out to Ti for letting us use the 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:35.720 studio formerly Dallas Austin's Lab to shout out to DJ 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:36.960 Drama and the whole team. 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:49.679 Here is part one of DJ Drama. 0:00:51.320 --> 0:01:01.440 Primo sub Primo, Roll suprima, subprimo, Roll subprima, Son Supremo, 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:05.280 Roll call Suprema, so supremo. 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:09.280 Roll Warm up my Pannini, Yeah, on my forming grill, 0:01:10.280 --> 0:01:11.399 warm her for Nanni. 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:16.760 Yeah, or my. 0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:21.600 Supremo roll Supremo, Supremo role. 0:01:22.120 --> 0:01:26.200 My name is Fante DJ dramas my peoples, Yeah, the 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:27.000 best gangs, the. 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:29.320 Grills, Yes, separate but equal. 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:37.160 Supremo Supremo, Roll suprima Son Supremo. 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:37.560 Roll. 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:39.160 My name is sugar. 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:39.800 Yeah. 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:41.240 I don't need no drama. 0:01:41.640 --> 0:01:43.240 Yeah, but I do need a DJ. 0:01:43.640 --> 0:01:48.440 Yeah, fucking you're hired. I'm offended. 0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:53.880 Supremo, Roll Suprema, Son Supremo Roll. 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:57.240 It's lay yeah, and it's a must. 0:01:57.520 --> 0:01:57.760 Yeah. 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:01.400 You know the DJ drama. Yeah was my college crush. 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:10.440 Roll Supremo, Supremo, Roll Suprima, Supremo Roll. 0:02:09.960 --> 0:02:11.880 Is DJ drama. Yeah. 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:15.520 You know my mama, she's a white lady. 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:22.160 She didn't go to Grady. 0:02:19.480 --> 0:02:29.000 Supremo, Roll, Come Supremo, Sun Supremo, Roll Supremo, Sun, Sun Supremo, 0:02:29.160 --> 0:02:33.359 Roll Supremo Supremo Roll. 0:02:38.040 --> 0:02:42.400 Oh boy, all right, that was fun. Yeah, so that's 0:02:42.440 --> 0:02:45.040 the episode. Yeah, see your next go around. 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:49.040 All right, look I will shout man. All right, So 0:02:49.320 --> 0:02:50.360 I will say this much. 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:54.639 Back when my band started to tour in nineteen ninety four, 0:02:55.440 --> 0:02:59.680 I kept receipts of which DJs were open to us 0:02:59.680 --> 0:03:02.160 in film and supporting us. And of course, you know 0:03:02.320 --> 0:03:04.720 some cats up in New York, Tony Toka, you know, 0:03:04.800 --> 0:03:07.840 Tony Touch showed us love. His cat named Blue, the 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:11.320 barber who used to do these blends showed us love. 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:15.080 Of course, Philly's own cosmic keV DJ cash Money. But 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:18.720 there was one mixtape in particular that always got run 0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:20.120 on our tour bus. 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:23.160 And it just said ildelf on it. 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:25.679 You know, it meant something to me because this is 0:03:25.680 --> 0:03:29.400 the first time that I'm hearing Malik B and Tariq 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:33.800 and Dice Fraul actually on a mixtape, and we just 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:36.720 ran that tape over and like that was damn near 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:39.600 the soundtrack in nineteen ninety four and ninety five on 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:46.800 our tour bus. So cut two seven years later. You know, 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:50.640 once the roots sort of evolve and whatnot. And now 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.040 we have two tour buses. As I've joked before that 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:57.040 there was this Slytherin tour bus in the Gryffindor tour bus. 0:03:57.360 --> 0:04:00.680 So I'd be on Slytherin, which was Tarik's bus, and 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:03.480 you know which was it was always popping on his bus. 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:05.800 We were the nerd bus, but you know, his jaw 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:10.080 was always popping. And it wasn't until like the end 0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:15.280 of maybe the Phrenology tour where Tarik's trying to explain 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:21.640 to me that every time I hear this little he's 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:25.440 trying to explain to me that that's to read from Backenviilly. 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:28.400 It's dramatic and I'm like, wait, it doesn't make sense. 0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:32.880 Though it doesn't only because the thing was is that 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:37.400 that mixtape of ninety four. I've never heard someone just 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:40.440 devote an entire mixtape to what we called underground or 0:04:40.440 --> 0:04:42.800 backpack rap or whatever. You know what I mean, which 0:04:42.839 --> 0:04:46.320 is why the Roots couldn't find a real estate on 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:50.599 your sens or your Tony not Tony touched like you know, 0:04:50.720 --> 0:04:53.960 like yeah, all those like we barely got on them jings. 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:56.560 I was like, wait a minute, he what And they're like, yeah, man, 0:04:56.600 --> 0:05:02.720 he moved to Atlanta and now he's you know, I've 0:05:02.880 --> 0:05:05.760 always wanted to have this conversation with if you know, 0:05:05.800 --> 0:05:08.719 it's like, we never chopped it up for real. I 0:05:08.800 --> 0:05:10.880 knew one of these days we were going to have 0:05:10.920 --> 0:05:13.240 a conversation, so I wanted to save it for here. 0:05:13.320 --> 0:05:13.920 I'm glad. 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:16.320 I know we've had a couple of interactions on I 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:18.520 g about it, but never like in depth. 0:05:18.720 --> 0:05:21.719 This is Yes, this is our first in depth conversation. 0:05:21.839 --> 0:05:26.520 So ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to Quest Love Supreme, 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:36.200 the Master God himself, mister Thanksgiving, Yes, DJ Drama Man than. 0:05:35.839 --> 0:05:38.960 You, thank you thank you for having me. 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:43.280 Do you get tired of those people like always pointing 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:46.200 out the Mason Dixon line of your before and after life? 0:05:46.480 --> 0:05:48.880 No, I don't get tired of nothing because they could 0:05:49.080 --> 0:05:52.760 never care. So yeah, nothing, nothing tires me when it 0:05:52.800 --> 0:05:56.720 comes to that. Okay, it's a very important part of 0:05:56.760 --> 0:06:00.479 the story for myself and for hip hop and for 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:01.400 Southern culture. 0:06:01.600 --> 0:06:03.720 Like in a lot of ways, you know, like what. 0:06:03.680 --> 0:06:05.560 If I would have went to Temple or what if 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:07.559 I would have went to NYU, you know what I'm saying. 0:06:07.600 --> 0:06:11.600 So the fact that this kid from Philly who literally 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:15.640 grew up watching The Roots as his inspiration of Wow, 0:06:15.760 --> 0:06:19.240 you can really do this and DJing for Bahamadia and 0:06:19.440 --> 0:06:22.200 you know, my roommate when I got to college was 0:06:22.279 --> 0:06:26.360 Rubiks whose best friend was was Taib Kwali and I'm 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:30.400 DJing lyricist lounges. And then that kid goes on to 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:35.359 be a part of and transform like trap music and movement. 0:06:35.440 --> 0:06:39.400 Gangster Girls becomes like the most important mixtape series literally 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:41.320 of all time, but also how important it was to 0:06:41.440 --> 0:06:43.920 Southern hip hop culture. So yeah, it's one of those 0:06:44.000 --> 0:06:46.240 It's one of those like destiny stories to me when 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:48.840 you know, and when it's told and like I've literally 0:06:48.880 --> 0:06:51.520 been in Atlanta longer than I was in Philly, but 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:56.560 those eighteen years of born and raised in Philly. Once 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:57.920 from Philly, always from Philly. 0:06:57.920 --> 0:06:58.520 You know what I'm saying. 0:06:58.600 --> 0:07:01.400 So you know when last time you said John, I 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:03.480 say John all the time. There you go, all right 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:05.400 the second even even. 0:07:05.160 --> 0:07:07.600 In mean streets, like you know some of my employees 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:10.000 who started interns, like we have signs up like do 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:12.640 not come in this John like or in our new 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:15.880 building generation now, like there's a big sign of Kobe, 0:07:15.960 --> 0:07:18.880 or we have like a Philly map on the side, 0:07:18.920 --> 0:07:20.800 so we still wrap it up. 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:24.600 That's what's up. Of course, like you mentioned on your 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:27.840 roll call that YouTube went to clerk. So now from Atlanta, 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:28.680 I remember the. 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:33.600 Day no, don't don't lie. Me and Nadine used to 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:35.040 fight over you all the time, and you know that 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:36.000 let's not do that. 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:38.120 Yeah, I thought it was the other the way around. 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:40.080 I used to have the I used to still wear 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:43.120 the green fatigues from I Goldberg, like when I got discussed, 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:44.480 I still had them. 0:07:46.080 --> 0:07:48.880 And the locks definitely had the long locks. 0:07:49.640 --> 0:07:51.520 So that's why this is the whole interesting thing. And 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:53.040 it's funny because the mere he said he would do, 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:55.880 he said, if it was in demand, he would do 0:07:55.960 --> 0:07:59.440 an Automatic Relaxation mixtape. Again, I just want to say 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:01.440 that to everybody who's listening. Did you hear this context? 0:08:01.680 --> 0:08:01.800 Well? 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:06.360 Old right, it's covered interestingly enough. 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:09.280 Just even during my most recent tour that I went on, 0:08:09.480 --> 0:08:13.600 I actually physically got my hands on one the first 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:17.360 Automatic Relaxation, which was the first CD which happened to 0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:20.120 be called it was hip hop lovables, like people don't realize, 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:23.360 like when I first made Automatic Relaxation, like it was 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:26.760 before neo soul was a thing, or like hip hop 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:30.720 love songs were like you know, before everybody was like singing, 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:33.760 or it was so much melody, so like, you know, 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:35.760 it was a hip hop lovables like I named it 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:38.360 that because it didn't really exist at the time. And 0:08:38.400 --> 0:08:42.080 then I just recently got my hands on my actual 0:08:42.080 --> 0:08:46.560 ill ADELFH tape with you know thoughts I do, I do? 0:08:46.640 --> 0:08:48.920 I should have brought it, N I definitely should have 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:49.240 brought it. 0:08:49.280 --> 0:08:52.280 I got the Green carp My home boy from from 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:54.320 Philly who lives across street from my mom d shot 0:08:54.320 --> 0:08:57.120 the DS. He found it in his crib and I 0:08:57.280 --> 0:08:59.679 was like, if you go on my Instagram, I actually 0:08:59.760 --> 0:09:02.040 show it the tape and then I go and I 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:04.400 go and then show my Grammy, like to see where 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:06.000 I came from and where I'm at now. 0:09:06.080 --> 0:09:07.760 How it started, how it was going, yeah, how I 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:11.920 was going. Yeah. So for you, what was your first 0:09:12.000 --> 0:09:13.199 musical memory. 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:18.599 My first musical memory for me is being in Germantown 0:09:18.600 --> 0:09:20.880 when my dad lived on Ruby Camp Street and the 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:25.280 older kids having the younger kids say. 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:28.199 The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:30.880 We don't need no water, Let it burn, let it burn, 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:34.520 and they left out motherfucker. Like I vially remember years 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:36.080 later being like, damn, I didn't know they said let 0:09:36.120 --> 0:09:38.199 the motherfucker burn because they used to say let. 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:39.040 It burn, let it burn. 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:42.240 And then I mean, my dad was a big duop guy, 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:45.560 so I definitely grew up around like him, playing a 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:51.800 lot of the Commodorees and the Temptations, and obviously Thriller. 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:54.240 Thriller came out eighty three, you know, so I was 0:09:54.280 --> 0:09:56.640 probably like I was, I was five when Thriller came out, 0:09:56.640 --> 0:09:58.920 So that was a big moment. And then another one 0:09:58.960 --> 0:10:04.360 for me was definitely wanting Adidas because of my Adidas, 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:07.160 like I didn't get my parents bought me the wrong ones. 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:10.280 They bought me Like they didn't buy meant stripe. Yeah, 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:12.280 I didn't get the three stripes. So they were still 0:10:12.280 --> 0:10:14.400 a Didas though they were Adidas. They were Das, but 0:10:14.440 --> 0:10:17.320 they weren't the street three striped ones. There was like 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:21.760 in Ecker's drugs. My parents were doing like air. 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:25.440 They were doing. My parents were doing a they were 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:29.120 doing a residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Anybody from 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:32.480 Puerto Rico that remembers, uh, I think back in eighty 0:10:32.520 --> 0:10:36.480 six or eighty seven when the DuPont Plaza, there was 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:40.520 like a battle between the union staff which I don't 0:10:40.520 --> 0:10:42.160 know if they were mom connected or whatever, in the 0:10:42.160 --> 0:10:45.520 hotel management. They threatened like if you don't renegotiate our contract, 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:47.680 we're gonna blow this hotel up. 0:10:47.880 --> 0:10:49.720 Because we checked out. 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:52.600 We had a New Year's gig in Lancaster, PA that night, 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:55.720 so we checked out at you know, twelve pm on 0:10:55.960 --> 0:10:59.640 December thirtieth, flew back to the States and came back. 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:01.439 Home with all the messages like are you guys alive? 0:11:01.440 --> 0:11:03.599 For you and then we found out that there was 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:06.120 an explosion in the DuPont Plaza. I think like eighteen 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:08.679 people died or whatever. But the whole point was there 0:11:08.679 --> 0:11:12.520 was an eckage drugs across the street. And you know, 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:16.000 this is when Adidas made Top ten Adidas, the red, 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:19.720 blue and green like high top thing, and so they 0:11:19.720 --> 0:11:22.319 were like, we got you Top ten Adidas, but it 0:11:22.400 --> 0:11:28.000 had four stripes. There's like the twelve ninety nine and 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:29.040 not case with either. 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:33.760 Yeah, and that's and that's where right, and that's when 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:36.360 like you had to run your shoes down before you 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:37.480 got another pair of shoes. 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:40.439 So yeah, just all in seventh grade, I just. 0:11:40.400 --> 0:11:44.080 Got laughed at because you know, I got a pleathar 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:50.480 thriller suit and I got four stripes in my Adidas. 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:52.560 Similar, Yeah, I got the wrong I felt like I 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:53.760 didn't get the right Adidas. 0:11:54.120 --> 0:11:56.280 I'll never forget that, I see, I see. 0:11:57.160 --> 0:12:03.880 But for you, when did at least turntablism, Like when 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:04.760 did that attract you? 0:12:05.480 --> 0:12:07.360 So for me, I grew when I grew up, you know, 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:10.640 I mean the first like piece of vinyl that I 0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:14.200 got was this actual this compilation vinyl was it was 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:15.199 called like street. 0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:17.959 Rap and like KTL Records joined or something. It had 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:18.840 to be something like that. 0:12:18.840 --> 0:12:21.440 I don't remember where where I got it, but and 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:24.600 it had like rock box on it and had Roxanne 0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:29.320 Roxanne Utfo KTL and I remember, like, you know, literally 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:33.160 like memorizing Roxanne Roxanne by Utfo and it had a 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:35.200 couple of other songs on there. So that was my 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:38.720 first actual physical like piece of hip hop vinyl. But 0:12:39.320 --> 0:12:45.960 around like maybe like ten eleven, I got really into skateboarding, 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:48.520 you know, and I was super into skateboarding and it 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:50.679 was all about Thrasher magazine. It was all about going 0:12:50.679 --> 0:12:52.920 down to Love Park. So this is like in middle 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:55.520 school for me. And you know, I came up at 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:58.520 a time when down in Love Park there started to 0:12:58.559 --> 0:13:02.240 be this this movement or group of black skateboarders. So 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:05.160 it was it was maybe like seven to eight of 0:13:05.240 --> 0:13:07.719 us at the time, and you know, shout to my 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:11.480 brother Stevie Williams. He was like the youngest of all 0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:13.400 of us, and he was also the best. 0:13:14.240 --> 0:13:17.840 Fortunately I was the worst. So what about Chuck Trees 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:21.040 was here around, I think, so he's older though, Yeah, 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:22.560 he was older and he's. 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:24.560 Still skateboarding and he's still. 0:13:24.640 --> 0:13:28.600 Yeah, we're a little younger, but you know, they used 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:30.800 to basically like make fun of me because I could 0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:33.719 barely land a kickflip and like or even like when 0:13:33.720 --> 0:13:35.560 we used to like go to Wah Wah and like 0:13:35.720 --> 0:13:39.440 steal the fucking the jugs of ice teas and everything, 0:13:39.880 --> 0:13:41.560 and then like when we were skate off, I would 0:13:41.559 --> 0:13:44.960 always be like behind, get caught, never got caught, but 0:13:45.000 --> 0:13:47.280 I was I was like I was like last when 0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:50.400 we would try to skate back to love. So yeah, 0:13:50.400 --> 0:13:53.000 I was super into skateboarding. I think Nickelodeon had like 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:56.000 skate TV out or something around the time. And then 0:13:56.440 --> 0:13:58.560 between eighth grade and ninth grade, I went to the 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:02.959 movies to go see Juice, and I was just blown away. 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:06.720 I think for a certain age group of us as DJs, 0:14:06.720 --> 0:14:09.960 like Juice was really was really monumental in our careers 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:13.200 because you know, and again like in Philly culture, like 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:16.120 we always like Philly had the DJs, New York had 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:17.920 the rappers, you know what I'm saying. So you know, 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:20.720 I knew early on about cash Money and Miz and 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:24.520 Jeff and what what have you. So, but it was 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:29.360 really Juice that started my fascination with like that's I 0:14:29.440 --> 0:14:31.040 might want to try that you know what I'm saying. 0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:34.040 Like I dabbled about, you know, rapping a little bit 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:36.280 and never was really that good at it. And then 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:40.760 so ninth grade, after seeing Juice, I convinced my mom 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:44.360 to buy me a turntable and a mixer, and she did. 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:47.600 It was a belt drive. Originally, I got to Yeah, 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:48.720 it was tough. 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:49.440 It was tough. 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:52.200 So I originally got like a belt drive turntable and 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:55.640 one mixer. I remember was it a Gemini or a 0:14:55.640 --> 0:14:58.320 technical a Gemini? It was a Gemini belt draft. It 0:14:58.320 --> 0:14:59.320 was a Gemini be draft. 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:03.160 Those that are wondering drivers a direct drive, they'll drive 0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:05.920 is like you know, yeah, exactly. 0:15:05.960 --> 0:15:08.880 It takes a long time to rev back up. So 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:14.400 like good time without a technique twelve hundred dot, you 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:17.200 wasn't really doing nothing. So but I remember I did. 0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:20.040 Like it was a kid. His name was Ari Foreman. 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:23.120 I did his Ari birthday. You know, all right, ye 0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:25.360 are still around. He's like he does very much doing 0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:27.640 production and film and things like that. 0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:30.280 He did some art for us, like him and Tramp 0:15:30.320 --> 0:15:33.600 and like they designed so crazy how the world is 0:15:33.600 --> 0:15:37.360 still connected with his birthday party was my first party. 0:15:37.400 --> 0:15:40.120 So I remember the first records. Really, Yeah, we went. 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:41.160 He went to Central with me. 0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:45.400 You and Ari are the same age we are, Yeah, 0:15:45.400 --> 0:15:45.840 we came in. 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:49.520 I'm older than Ari. I'm way older than you. So 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:54.320 by the transit vehicles by a couple of years. Are 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:58.720 so classy. Like I always thought he was like slightly 0:15:58.800 --> 0:15:59.320 older than me. 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:01.840 Yeah, we'll just same class two five. 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:04.040 Because he's the one that introduced me to Cosmo. 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:04.960 Okay, so good. 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:08.000 So I used to save my lunch money. My mom 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:10.120 would give me like five hours every day for lunch. 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:11.200 What did your parents do? 0:16:11.240 --> 0:16:11.400 Man? 0:16:11.440 --> 0:16:14.520 What was My mom is a teacher. She's in education. 0:16:14.720 --> 0:16:18.680 She's been in education forever she was. She now has 0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:22.720 her PhD in education. But when I was in growing up, 0:16:22.880 --> 0:16:26.640 she would teach in Philadelphia High School. She taught at Alnie, 0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:30.120 she taught it Overbrook, Yeah, I think those were She 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:32.440 went from Alnie to Overbrooks. So she was at Overbrook 0:16:32.680 --> 0:16:35.880 when I was essentral And my dad used to work 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:40.080 for this Quaker organization in Philly called AFSC American Friends 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:43.840 Service Committee and then HIT. Part of his job was 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:46.640 spending a lot of time in Eastern Europe. So like 0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:50.320 he used to travel to the USSR at the time, 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:53.320 and you know, and then later on he would go 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:55.360 to other part of parts of Eastern Europe and like, 0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:57.760 you know, help out like what are known as Gypsies, 0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:01.360 which pretty much are like, you know, people of European descent, 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:04.800 but they almost get treated as black people over there. 0:17:04.840 --> 0:17:07.040 And then my dad, you know, both my parents are 0:17:07.119 --> 0:17:09.479 very politically active growing up, so like my dad used 0:17:09.520 --> 0:17:12.840 to be in snick student student and coordinating committee. 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:14.800 Yeah, so you know, I grew up going to like. 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:17.040 Did you go to Charters school of the Charters? I didn't. 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:19.719 I always wanted to go to a charter school category. 0:17:19.800 --> 0:17:22.000 I wanted to go to Friends Select or GFS or 0:17:22.040 --> 0:17:25.280 Penn Charters so bad, like because I knew so many 0:17:25.320 --> 0:17:27.399 kids that went there. It's funny because I put my 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:29.280 daughters into friends schools and they're. 0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:31.239 Like, oh, Dad, why did you do this to us? 0:17:31.640 --> 0:17:32.960 And I was like, man, growing up, I wanted to 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:34.600 go to a friend school, but I think it might 0:17:34.640 --> 0:17:36.919 just be a Philly thing. It's Quaker and that's like 0:17:37.280 --> 0:17:40.159 a pa thing. But I went to public school. Like 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:43.360 my parents couldn't afford me to go to those schools, 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:45.520 so I went to Mastermin and I went to Central. 0:17:45.560 --> 0:17:48.000 So I always went to like good academic schools, Like 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:49.560 I had good grades in school and. 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:49.960 What have you. 0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:53.719 So, yeah, so I used to go downtown between Arman's, 0:17:53.880 --> 0:17:56.840 Funkel Mart and Sounds of Market and I would buy 0:17:56.880 --> 0:17:59.240 my records and I would you know, the first records 0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:02.440 I bought was like the Who's the Man soundtrack Heavy 0:18:02.520 --> 0:18:06.600 D was Who's the Man partying bullshit, So. 0:18:06.640 --> 0:18:08.280 You spend out and cuts in the grooves here this 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:14.840 small and its loud, Superba, super ghetto, Redtat, Supercat, Ghetto 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:18.120 red Hot, Fad Joe Flow Joe. Yeah. 0:18:18.520 --> 0:18:21.320 You know this was around the time when like in Philly, 0:18:21.400 --> 0:18:23.600 like it was there was the Goats and then there 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:26.040 was the Square Roots, and you know that was like 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:30.320 that was you know, my introduction to like hip hop 0:18:30.359 --> 0:18:32.560 and DJing, and it was this was all around that era. 0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:40.720 Well, first of all, you know, even for me, like 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:44.000 to be a drummer as young as I was, and 0:18:44.000 --> 0:18:47.240 I would get these catalogs, you sam Ash catalogs whatever, 0:18:48.119 --> 0:18:51.560 drums were like seven thousand bucks, right, And so I 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:54.960 mean lucky for me, my dad had like access to 0:18:55.080 --> 0:18:58.960 stuff usually like band members that upcumbed to an addiction 0:18:59.080 --> 0:19:01.280 or whatever, and whatever leave the equipment and that's how 0:19:01.440 --> 0:19:03.760 like the inherited drum sets when I was younger, but 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:08.960 like DJ equipment though, man it's like expensive. 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:12.280 Were you just on one turntable and one cheap radio shack? 0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:13.560 Drawing like a mixer. 0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:16.399 For a while, I had the what was the I 0:19:16.400 --> 0:19:18.000 guess it was a Gemini mixture that had the eight 0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:20.040 second sampler scratch master. 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:20.720 Yeah, I had that. 0:19:20.840 --> 0:19:23.040 Oh my god, how do you know that I had? Well, 0:19:23.119 --> 0:19:24.879 I had access to one, that one that was like 0:19:24.920 --> 0:19:26.719 you were DJ too, No, no, no, I used to 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:30.280 make beats on it. YEA had the sampler, yes, yeah, 0:19:30.760 --> 0:19:32.720 loop and you had to like turn the thing to 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:37.000 catch it perfect perfectly and yeah, my finger was like all. 0:19:39.000 --> 0:19:39.399 I remember. 0:19:39.600 --> 0:19:43.240 I used to write my grandparents, my mother's parents, like letters, 0:19:43.440 --> 0:19:45.360 and like when I would get good grades, I would 0:19:45.359 --> 0:19:47.880 like write them letters like hey, I got good grades. 0:19:47.600 --> 0:19:50.280 Like can you get me this? 0:19:50.560 --> 0:19:55.000 And you know, and then you know, my my grandparents 0:19:55.080 --> 0:19:58.600 actually I think we're the ones who bought me my 0:19:59.160 --> 0:20:03.240 technique twelve hund so they bought me my technique twelve hundreds. 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:05.800 And then I would do little gigs here and there, 0:20:05.920 --> 0:20:08.520 and I think, you know Armands at the time, like 0:20:08.840 --> 0:20:10.640 or not even armands that I think a funkal Mark. 0:20:10.960 --> 0:20:13.639 You know, you could buy speakers weren't like that expensive, 0:20:14.040 --> 0:20:16.280 so you could. I could I bought like maybe like 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:19.200 you know these big ass wolfers and everything, and it 0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:22.480 might have been like two three hundred bucks four hundred 0:20:22.520 --> 0:20:24.679 dollars for a set, right, and then you would have 0:20:24.720 --> 0:20:25.800 to buy a receiver. 0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:27.399 What else would you need? 0:20:27.640 --> 0:20:28.240 All gift money? 0:20:28.240 --> 0:20:30.880 No job, I didn't have a job, now, this was all. 0:20:31.160 --> 0:20:32.200 This was before a job. 0:20:32.440 --> 0:20:35.440 Yeah, I didn't get a job till like eleven, twelfth grade, 0:20:35.840 --> 0:20:37.640 so yeah, it was all. It was all pretty much 0:20:38.000 --> 0:20:42.639 like get birthday and Christmas type gifts and stuff. But 0:20:42.880 --> 0:20:46.399 you know, lunch money is how I did my record collection. 0:20:47.000 --> 0:20:49.119 And they just starved in school. 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:49.520 Starve. 0:20:49.800 --> 0:20:53.840 Yeah, yeah, maybe go across the street from Central and 0:20:53.840 --> 0:20:55.600 go to the pizza spot and maybe get a dollar 0:20:55.680 --> 0:20:58.120 slice or something. But you know, definitely all would save 0:20:58.240 --> 0:20:59.760 up to get my records. 0:21:00.320 --> 0:21:04.399 So were your parents encouraging or did they see this 0:21:04.480 --> 0:21:06.760 as just like a hobby. 0:21:06.880 --> 0:21:09.440 Definitely just saw it as a hobby. Did you see 0:21:09.440 --> 0:21:10.760 this as a career or a hobby? 0:21:11.119 --> 0:21:11.359 You know? 0:21:11.840 --> 0:21:16.119 Interestingly enough, my sister was like as a filmmaker and 0:21:16.760 --> 0:21:20.040 she used to do like make independent films and hence 0:21:20.080 --> 0:21:23.800 how we first met because she brought me to I 0:21:23.800 --> 0:21:24.880 guess it was. 0:21:24.880 --> 0:21:26.560 Was it a temple? It was for the. 0:21:26.480 --> 0:21:31.800 Premiere of Past the Popcorn video, Damn Wow. And there 0:21:31.880 --> 0:21:34.240 was a there was a young lady who used to 0:21:34.240 --> 0:21:37.800 direct videos because she did a three times Dope video. 0:21:37.840 --> 0:21:40.760 I can't remember her name, but my sister was friends 0:21:40.800 --> 0:21:43.560 with her and then, but she's the one that That's 0:21:43.560 --> 0:21:46.399 how I wound up coming to the premiere of Past 0:21:46.400 --> 0:21:48.840 the Popcorn and that was where we originally first met. 0:21:48.920 --> 0:21:51.280 And I like came up to you as a young 0:21:51.359 --> 0:21:53.440 lad and just introduced myself. 0:21:53.520 --> 0:21:58.400 Shout out to Abdul Jackson and Kevin Drer. I forget, 0:21:59.040 --> 0:22:01.679 damn man, you just back on some joints, man. I 0:22:01.760 --> 0:22:02.520 totally forgot. 0:22:02.840 --> 0:22:05.960 Yeah, y'all had a premiere party for that video, right. 0:22:07.640 --> 0:22:11.359 So yeah, like my last my last day at rough House, 0:22:11.960 --> 0:22:15.400 just you know, I just through spaghetti and the Wall 0:22:15.440 --> 0:22:18.480 seven stuck and I just happen to ask Chris Wartz 0:22:18.560 --> 0:22:20.920 right after lunch because I would notice after lunch he'd 0:22:20.920 --> 0:22:27.000 be in a different mind state, and I was just like, hey, 0:22:27.480 --> 0:22:29.600 you know, or he knew about the roots and you know, 0:22:29.720 --> 0:22:31.960 saw some shows or whatever and always wanted like how 0:22:31.960 --> 0:22:34.960 can we get it, you know, an offer, But he 0:22:35.119 --> 0:22:38.520 just he was just that day, he just like, okay, 0:22:39.000 --> 0:22:43.399 how much I was like five thousand, Wow, you'll need 0:22:43.440 --> 0:22:47.600 seven thousands, was like seventy five hundred things. And to 0:22:47.680 --> 0:22:49.639 do organics, no, to do the. 0:22:49.640 --> 0:22:53.280 Past popcorns and we shot past the popcorn on Thanksgiving morning. 0:22:53.320 --> 0:22:56.560 Wow, like yeah, Like shout out to Chris Wartz of 0:22:56.640 --> 0:22:57.359 rough House Record. 0:22:57.400 --> 0:22:59.720 And I remember too, my other friends used to be 0:22:59.800 --> 0:23:00.960 cool with Kenyata. 0:23:01.440 --> 0:23:03.480 I used to look up to. Yeah, I used to 0:23:03.520 --> 0:23:04.760 look up to yacht like. 0:23:04.840 --> 0:23:08.439 But but no, it was it was for them, it 0:23:08.520 --> 0:23:10.280 was a hobby. For me, it was still you know, 0:23:10.320 --> 0:23:12.360 I thought I was gonna wind up going to NYU 0:23:12.520 --> 0:23:15.400 and being film school and be a director, like at 0:23:15.440 --> 0:23:18.600 the time, that's that's but I love DJing like it was. 0:23:18.720 --> 0:23:19.440 It was my thing. 0:23:19.560 --> 0:23:22.760 So I definitely had, you know, without even realizing, was 0:23:22.760 --> 0:23:25.919 putting way more time and effort into my DJ career. 0:23:26.000 --> 0:23:27.959 And then you know, I had my stuff in my 0:23:28.680 --> 0:23:31.119 in my room at my mother's house. And then it 0:23:31.200 --> 0:23:34.600 got to a point when the traffic of the friends 0:23:34.600 --> 0:23:37.160 coming over and us trying to make little freestyle tapes 0:23:37.200 --> 0:23:39.399 and everything. She she got fed up because it was 0:23:39.440 --> 0:23:42.440 like ten ten thirty and she was like, yo, it's 0:23:42.480 --> 0:23:44.560 too loud, and so she allowed she let me move 0:23:44.600 --> 0:23:48.199 to the basement and I moved. You know, that was 0:23:48.200 --> 0:23:50.520 my first studio in the basement of my mom's house, 0:23:50.560 --> 0:23:52.919 and we used to be down there, boom bapping all 0:23:53.040 --> 0:23:56.200 day after school every day. And that's where I made 0:23:56.359 --> 0:23:59.280 La Delf and you know, I started. My sister took 0:23:59.320 --> 0:24:02.479 me to New York between ninth and tenth grade and 0:24:02.800 --> 0:24:05.240 we went to Harlem and on one hundred and twenty fifth, 0:24:05.240 --> 0:24:07.120 they still had the vendors and I bought That's when 0:24:07.119 --> 0:24:10.440 I bought my first mixtape, DJs Ands Old School Part Two. 0:24:10.840 --> 0:24:12.920 And the reason why I bought that tape was because 0:24:13.359 --> 0:24:15.840 all the songs that were on there when I would 0:24:15.880 --> 0:24:18.920 go to to the record stores, I couldn't get those 0:24:19.040 --> 0:24:21.720 songs on violin anymore because they were unless they were 0:24:21.720 --> 0:24:24.560 the you know, the bootleg copies and everything. So I 0:24:24.600 --> 0:24:26.639 bought S and S Old School Part two and I 0:24:26.760 --> 0:24:30.240 was just literally blown away, like by that tape by 0:24:30.760 --> 0:24:33.520 S's talk game, like how he was putting records together 0:24:34.119 --> 0:24:36.760 and hence that just really started my fascination with like 0:24:36.840 --> 0:24:41.240 mixtape culture. And then you know, Clue kind of was 0:24:41.400 --> 0:24:43.600 coming up on the scene. And when I would get 0:24:43.640 --> 0:24:46.640 Clue tapes from the Layup and things like I would 0:24:46.760 --> 0:24:48.560 I would feel like when I would go to school, 0:24:48.800 --> 0:24:50.560 I'd be like, oh, y'all don't know about this yet, 0:24:50.600 --> 0:24:54.080 Like y'all don't have this premiere Jay RW remix or 0:24:54.320 --> 0:24:57.960 you know this this new big Ye Grand Pooba Tupac song. 0:24:58.119 --> 0:25:00.639 Like so I would feel ahead of occur then, you know, 0:25:00.840 --> 0:25:03.200 I was just that, you know, and when it came 0:25:03.280 --> 0:25:05.960 to like DJing and like, you know, there were battle DJs, 0:25:06.000 --> 0:25:09.879 there was radio DJs, there was you know, party DJs, 0:25:09.920 --> 0:25:12.119 and there were mixtape DJs, but the mixtape DJ for 0:25:12.200 --> 0:25:14.440 me was always just like larger than life. 0:25:15.000 --> 0:25:21.360 So for Philadelphians, the Layup, my current production manager Keith McFee, 0:25:22.119 --> 0:25:26.199 kind of opened kind of like Phillies. I don't know 0:25:26.200 --> 0:25:28.240 if it's the first culture store, but it was like 0:25:28.240 --> 0:25:30.600 the spot where, yeah, it was like the spot where 0:25:30.640 --> 0:25:32.720 you get like what was the first skateboard and get 0:25:32.760 --> 0:25:37.520 like fresh jive or excuse you could get to see. Yeah, 0:25:37.680 --> 0:25:43.320 those Triple Triple five, those hoodies early Echo. It's not 0:25:43.359 --> 0:25:46.920 the hood yeah, those I can't remember. It's the even 0:25:46.920 --> 0:25:49.560 though skateboard pants that are like the big at the bottom. 0:25:50.720 --> 0:25:53.600 Yeah, and the forty waist Johns that were super big. 0:25:53.720 --> 0:25:57.080 Yeah. So that's and that's pretty much like that was 0:25:57.160 --> 0:26:00.399 just like the cultural epicenter. That's where like mixtapes were. Yeah, 0:26:00.480 --> 0:26:03.240 you get cry line, spray paint, you get to catch 0:26:03.280 --> 0:26:04.679 all those things and everything. 0:26:05.640 --> 0:26:09.359 They have the white man Daiki yes with the yeah 0:26:09.520 --> 0:26:10.800 those things. 0:26:10.760 --> 0:26:11.960 You're talking about money. 0:26:14.080 --> 0:26:16.280 Looks like you see like five white boys at lunch 0:26:16.280 --> 0:26:17.040 playing Hackey sacking. 0:26:17.560 --> 0:26:18.080 Yeah. 0:26:18.520 --> 0:26:22.560 I would rock that ship all the time. It never showers, 0:26:22.640 --> 0:26:27.720 so all the fun in the world side of that, Yeah, 0:26:27.760 --> 0:26:30.520 come on. I mean, only the only reason why dudes 0:26:30.520 --> 0:26:32.800 would shower in the twenties is if a woman is 0:26:33.280 --> 0:26:36.280 involved or whatever, like their future partner. 0:26:37.040 --> 0:26:40.960 But you know, come back, come back, come back, come back. 0:26:41.119 --> 0:26:45.199 Yeah, I'm coming back anyway. Who is the DJ? 0:26:46.080 --> 0:26:48.000 Okay, I'm trying about rock the bells thing, just like 0:26:48.040 --> 0:26:51.520 Jeff does my cash money thing whatever. But for me, 0:26:52.640 --> 0:26:57.119 I will say that like Cosmic keV is probably the 0:26:57.200 --> 0:27:00.360 sensey DJ that I always have in my head when 0:27:00.359 --> 0:27:03.359 I'm doing a set or whatever, like you're always going 0:27:03.400 --> 0:27:07.440 to emulate someone because like if you're making beats, when 0:27:07.480 --> 0:27:09.760 you get your drum machine, you start to you know, 0:27:10.119 --> 0:27:12.120 all right, let me see if I could do blah 0:27:12.160 --> 0:27:14.840 blah blah blah that sort of thing for you as 0:27:14.880 --> 0:27:15.359 a DJ? 0:27:15.680 --> 0:27:17.720 Who were those DJs? Who was the sense? 0:27:17.760 --> 0:27:19.479 He like, what was the mix that was sort of 0:27:19.520 --> 0:27:22.560 like damn, I gotta well, I. 0:27:22.520 --> 0:27:25.800 Mean, or were you even into turntablism? Oh? 0:27:25.840 --> 0:27:28.159 Absolutely, I was going to tell you, I mean, because 0:27:28.240 --> 0:27:30.040 there was so For me, it was a few. 0:27:30.320 --> 0:27:31.480 I mean definitely. 0:27:31.480 --> 0:27:36.360 Probably first it was DJ Rand because I forgot Yeah, 0:27:36.359 --> 0:27:37.200 because before. 0:27:37.000 --> 0:27:39.560 You still spinning, right, he was like with the w 0:27:39.720 --> 0:27:43.919 W Yeah, I'm not sure, shot shot the cosmic Keev. Two, 0:27:44.320 --> 0:27:47.879 he just took me on a superhistory lesson, Like was he. 0:27:47.960 --> 0:27:50.800 Nice about it? keV? Oh yeah, yeah yeah. We talked 0:27:50.800 --> 0:27:51.679 for like two hours or. 0:27:51.640 --> 0:27:55.120 So, gently exchanging nice words. 0:27:55.200 --> 0:27:59.000 We discussed like his relationship with Ran and how things 0:27:59.040 --> 0:28:01.360 came about and how you know it went from Ran 0:28:01.440 --> 0:28:04.840 to keV and you know, but when of course as 0:28:04.880 --> 0:28:07.919 it as a as a youngster, like it was Kobe 0:28:07.960 --> 0:28:11.360 Cob and DJ ran on Radioactive every Friday night. So 0:28:12.000 --> 0:28:15.399 you know, people don't really like this is obviously before 0:28:15.560 --> 0:28:17.280 we had you know, you can go and you can 0:28:17.320 --> 0:28:20.440 go on YouTube, Hulu, anything and watch anything hip hop 0:28:20.480 --> 0:28:23.280 you want. Back in the day, we only had certain outlets, 0:28:23.320 --> 0:28:25.760 so you would run home to catch Rahap City or 0:28:25.800 --> 0:28:28.600 Friday night, I would be tuned in to Radioactive to 0:28:28.640 --> 0:28:29.240 hear and so. 0:28:29.720 --> 0:28:32.480 Oh you know who else too? Yeah, yeah, it's fucking 0:28:32.560 --> 0:28:40.160 j Ski. Yeah, oh yeah, talk about Godam because what 0:28:40.240 --> 0:28:47.360 was the station was one O three something, you stupid. 0:28:49.200 --> 0:28:53.160 He came to his birthday party. 0:28:51.800 --> 0:28:52.520 Damn on. 0:28:52.600 --> 0:28:55.920 So on the radio side, it was definitely ran keV 0:28:56.120 --> 0:28:59.480 and Jay Ski and then in Philly for me, it 0:28:59.560 --> 0:29:04.920 was DJ Ghetto and Ghetto was like yes, you know, yeah, 0:29:04.920 --> 0:29:08.320 Ghetto used to be our d m C champion. He 0:29:08.360 --> 0:29:10.880 would he would go up against Rock graded Rest in 0:29:10.920 --> 0:29:13.719 Peace and you know, do his DMC thing and like, 0:29:14.120 --> 0:29:16.960 you know, Ghetto has another cousin named Evil Tracy too, 0:29:17.360 --> 0:29:20.280 but but Ghetto, like Ghetto kind of like you know, 0:29:20.880 --> 0:29:23.160 took me in as a youngster and was trying to 0:29:23.240 --> 0:29:25.520 kind of show me how to really cut and scratch 0:29:25.600 --> 0:29:28.160 and you know, do things on his level. I could 0:29:28.160 --> 0:29:31.440 never get it down to to to that degree. But 0:29:32.200 --> 0:29:34.600 Ghetto definitely like befriended me as a as a young 0:29:34.680 --> 0:29:37.360 DJ too and Philly, so I salute to him. So 0:29:37.400 --> 0:29:39.360 those were the guys that I was around or were 0:29:39.400 --> 0:29:42.520 listening to early on. So when you're in the dramatic era, 0:29:43.480 --> 0:29:46.200 are you do you have a regular residency? 0:29:46.600 --> 0:29:47.880 Are you now? High school? 0:29:48.120 --> 0:29:50.200 So Dances is the first club I ever. 0:29:50.080 --> 0:29:51.560 Dj' at dance? 0:29:52.280 --> 0:29:57.640 It was for Juwan Lee's birthday party. Juan Lee, he's 0:29:57.680 --> 0:30:00.760 the director. He works with Benny Boom. He does a 0:30:00.800 --> 0:30:03.479 lot of stuff now too, my brother to this day. 0:30:03.520 --> 0:30:05.120 I just saw him the other day. But yeah, that 0:30:05.240 --> 0:30:09.240 was my first actual club gig. Was was Juwan's birthday 0:30:09.240 --> 0:30:12.000 party of Dances. This might have been like eleventh grade. 0:30:12.080 --> 0:30:13.560 And then I was just doing like I would get 0:30:13.600 --> 0:30:18.080 hired to do like block parties or like birthday parties 0:30:18.120 --> 0:30:21.320 of you know, kids that I went to school with, 0:30:21.520 --> 0:30:24.520 or you know that I knew around town or what 0:30:24.680 --> 0:30:26.840 have you. And and then you know, we had this 0:30:26.960 --> 0:30:30.680 I remember we had this crew that it was this 0:30:30.760 --> 0:30:33.400 crib off Gerard Avenue that we lived at, and I 0:30:33.480 --> 0:30:34.960 used to do a lot of their functions. 0:30:35.040 --> 0:30:36.280 So you know, I was. 0:30:36.360 --> 0:30:38.680 I was getting you know, gigs here and there, just 0:30:38.720 --> 0:30:40.760 like around Philly as a as a kid. 0:30:41.000 --> 0:30:44.160 Now, as far as your creative output is concern and 0:30:44.320 --> 0:30:47.080 I specifically want to kind of go step by step 0:30:47.240 --> 0:30:49.720 that I'm leading and we got this a lot. So 0:30:50.320 --> 0:30:56.640 for you, are you in the mind state of serve 0:30:56.760 --> 0:31:02.400 my audience or like I met, I'm very selfish with 0:31:03.920 --> 0:31:06.360 my DJ and I do it like I'm like Prince 0:31:06.440 --> 0:31:08.240 doing Darling Nikki. No one cares about the music but 0:31:08.280 --> 0:31:11.840 your self. Yeah. And but I also know that I 0:31:12.040 --> 0:31:15.680 have a shield of protection that will allow me to 0:31:15.720 --> 0:31:19.800 play a mister Rogers song, or I can play the 0:31:19.880 --> 0:31:21.880 number song by the porn of Sisters on Sesame Street 0:31:22.200 --> 0:31:22.520 kind of. 0:31:22.440 --> 0:31:24.440 Get you know, they're like, what the hell is he playing? 0:31:24.600 --> 0:31:26.080 Like yeah, that quest loves so crazy? 0:31:26.200 --> 0:31:28.880 Like I know I can do rogue shit right, and 0:31:29.760 --> 0:31:32.160 you know, and oftentimes the openers are like, yo, man, 0:31:32.240 --> 0:31:35.400 like that was crazy you did that? Because even one time, 0:31:35.560 --> 0:31:39.320 I think Fonte mentioned that someone spun return to Forever 0:31:39.520 --> 0:31:41.680 something it or weather report. 0:31:41.800 --> 0:31:43.880 Yeah it was out of who it was, the Detroit 0:31:43.920 --> 0:31:46.360 It wasn't things Steel perish. 0:31:47.120 --> 0:31:50.400 Okay, okay, okay. Well, he's known for Dared Devil shit. 0:31:50.840 --> 0:31:54.320 But my whole point is that as a DJ, you 0:31:54.400 --> 0:31:56.680 kind of have two choices, which is serve the people 0:31:57.720 --> 0:32:03.360 or established yourself right. So at the time and oftentimes 0:32:03.400 --> 0:32:06.840 like opening DJs have it the hardest because they gotta 0:32:07.720 --> 0:32:08.880 you gotta keep them on the floor. 0:32:09.000 --> 0:32:09.400 You can't. 0:32:09.680 --> 0:32:12.000 I remember once an opening DJ got in trouble. He 0:32:12.040 --> 0:32:16.280 had like an early copy of Brooklyn Zoo, and I 0:32:16.280 --> 0:32:19.920 think that might have been to you know, of course, 0:32:20.080 --> 0:32:23.720 you know it was like the new Woutange, okay, but 0:32:24.760 --> 0:32:27.600 it wasn't. The club owner was like, no, no, you 0:32:27.640 --> 0:32:29.800 know that sort of thing. So for you, were you 0:32:30.320 --> 0:32:35.520 facing any sort of venue structure that would tell you like, 0:32:35.720 --> 0:32:37.920 this is what we want and just play R and 0:32:37.960 --> 0:32:40.080 B or so not in Philly. 0:32:40.400 --> 0:32:44.400 When I was in Philly, I was very stubborn and 0:32:44.640 --> 0:32:47.440 very East Coast with my taste in music and what 0:32:47.560 --> 0:32:50.000 I would play Like I remember I would do parties 0:32:50.000 --> 0:32:51.560 and want to play Doctor Octagon. 0:32:52.160 --> 0:32:55.680 Wow, oh Jesus Christ. Yeah, like that's where I was at, 0:32:55.760 --> 0:32:56.320 Like I want to. 0:32:56.560 --> 0:32:57.760 Try to make blue Flowers work. 0:32:58.080 --> 0:33:00.400 Yeah, exactly, I was. 0:33:00.720 --> 0:33:02.520 That's where I That's where I was at in my 0:33:02.640 --> 0:33:06.600 Philly days. And you know, I wanted to play fucking 0:33:07.120 --> 0:33:11.280 Smith and Wesson album cuts and just you know, I 0:33:11.320 --> 0:33:16.760 didn't get to to the stage or era of pleasing 0:33:16.840 --> 0:33:20.000 the crowd or my audience until I moved to Atlanta. 0:33:20.080 --> 0:33:21.640 Atlanta Atlanta did it, and I. 0:33:21.600 --> 0:33:23.080 Don't want to do I don't even want to frame 0:33:23.120 --> 0:33:25.600 it like it's a compromise because I do think that 0:33:26.120 --> 0:33:29.160 you're either going to be an effective DJ yeah, or 0:33:30.240 --> 0:33:32.160 we're going to be a teachable lesson DJ yeah. 0:33:32.160 --> 0:33:33.880 Well I was blessed in my career to be able 0:33:33.920 --> 0:33:37.160 to be that later on because of who I became 0:33:37.240 --> 0:33:41.120 and who I was, so once I became DJ Drama, 0:33:41.160 --> 0:33:43.680 it's like, Okay, when they come to see me, they 0:33:43.720 --> 0:33:46.520 also want to be able to I can, you know, 0:33:46.920 --> 0:33:50.160 introduce them to something or be a little more stubborn. 0:33:50.200 --> 0:33:53.880 But it's really going to Clark Atlanta University and being 0:33:53.920 --> 0:33:56.640 in the AUC for me coming from Philly, where I 0:33:56.640 --> 0:33:59.680 would have people from d C who wanted to hear 0:33:59.720 --> 0:34:02.560 Go Go, I would have, you know, people from the 0:34:02.560 --> 0:34:06.000 West Coast who wanted to hear ship from l A 0:34:06.240 --> 0:34:08.520 or the Bay, or I would have people from Texas 0:34:08.560 --> 0:34:11.520 who wanted to hear screw or what have you saw 0:34:11.960 --> 0:34:13.760 it taught me how to be well rounded. 0:34:14.080 --> 0:34:19.320 Okay, So and that's that's where I was gonna go next. 0:34:20.000 --> 0:34:23.480 You know, the whole I mean, especially now you you 0:34:23.680 --> 0:34:28.160 kind of morphed into your dramas before the age of 0:34:28.200 --> 0:34:32.040 cell phones. So the whole idea of someone put their 0:34:32.040 --> 0:34:35.239 phone on your facing. Yeah, like I hate I'm a 0:34:35.320 --> 0:34:38.040 no request person, gotcha, And that's where my ego gets 0:34:38.040 --> 0:34:38.560 me in trouble. 0:34:38.640 --> 0:34:41.359 Yeah, I'm not like that. So you're you're people, You're 0:34:41.360 --> 0:34:42.200 a person of the people. 0:34:42.520 --> 0:34:42.839 I am. 0:34:43.239 --> 0:34:47.279 I'm definitely a person of the peopleol. 0:34:45.880 --> 0:34:46.279 No, no, no, no. 0:34:46.480 --> 0:34:49.000 I like when people like if I go to Vegas 0:34:49.080 --> 0:34:52.719 and it's eight women who keep putting Bad Bunny on 0:34:52.760 --> 0:34:55.800 their phone, I gotta play fucking Bad Bunny. 0:34:56.040 --> 0:34:58.560 Even to this day, you're not offended, Like, motherfucker, I'm 0:34:58.640 --> 0:35:01.280 DJ drama, Like I created stars. 0:35:02.440 --> 0:35:05.560 You don't tell Picasso what the paint see that. 0:35:05.480 --> 0:35:09.719 I got to But that's not that's not the capacity 0:35:09.760 --> 0:35:11.120 he's there to serve that night. 0:35:11.160 --> 0:35:11.759 You know what I'm saying. 0:35:11.840 --> 0:35:14.400 It's like, yeah, I mean, there's it depends like it 0:35:14.480 --> 0:35:17.000 depends on the gig too, Like if I get it 0:35:17.080 --> 0:35:20.759 like a hipster New York gig for like I did 0:35:20.760 --> 0:35:24.279 something for United Masters and you know that night they 0:35:24.360 --> 0:35:27.640 booked me, Like I know they want to hear drama ship, 0:35:27.800 --> 0:35:31.560 Like I'm gonna play Canon Remix and I'm gonna you know, 0:35:31.680 --> 0:35:34.839 go in and play some Gucci or go here with it. 0:35:34.920 --> 0:35:37.520 But you know, if I'm at my Vegas residency, like 0:35:38.440 --> 0:35:39.160 I'm there to. 0:35:41.000 --> 0:35:43.280 Yeah, like I'm not at. 0:35:43.160 --> 0:35:46.719 The same time, like I'm still trauma, so I'm not 0:35:46.800 --> 0:35:48.200 about to fist pump that thing out. 0:35:49.400 --> 0:35:55.600 Have you ever had a i mean moment or at 0:35:55.680 --> 0:35:58.120 least that was sort of the ship back in twenty fourteen. 0:35:58.560 --> 0:36:02.279 Yeah, I mean I've played them records at times like what, 0:36:02.920 --> 0:36:05.480 but that's not the majority of my set. Like I 0:36:05.560 --> 0:36:08.319 know when they booked me, like they want to they 0:36:08.360 --> 0:36:10.560 come there for a certain run. Yeah, people I give 0:36:10.600 --> 0:36:13.160 them like when they when I go even to Vegas, 0:36:13.200 --> 0:36:15.279 like and you know, Vegas has had a transition at 0:36:15.360 --> 0:36:18.279 time where it's become much more hip hop driven than 0:36:18.320 --> 0:36:20.120 it was. But I'm just saying, like when I go 0:36:20.160 --> 0:36:23.680 to gigs, like people want to hear DJ drama, be 0:36:23.840 --> 0:36:25.279 DJ drama, you know what I'm saying. 0:36:25.280 --> 0:36:28.880 So it's like, but is it confusing now at this 0:36:28.960 --> 0:36:33.000 stage in your life where okay, so say and now 0:36:33.000 --> 0:36:35.200 I'm that that I would associate you with like any 0:36:35.200 --> 0:36:38.400 Cannon records. So let's say like Go Crazy, right, which 0:36:38.520 --> 0:36:43.920 came out in two thousand, Yeah, which too old guys. 0:36:43.920 --> 0:36:46.160 To me, I'm still like, oh, that's new rap, even 0:36:46.200 --> 0:36:47.320 though that's. 0:36:47.080 --> 0:36:48.000 Old school right. 0:36:48.160 --> 0:36:51.480 No, no, no, so no, I mean it was confusing now, No, 0:36:51.520 --> 0:36:53.200 not for me, because I go with the times and 0:36:53.280 --> 0:36:56.240 I go like I just got off a tour with whiz. 0:36:55.880 --> 0:36:57.320 And Logic, for instance. 0:36:57.680 --> 0:37:00.359 So but and and the blessing for me as though, 0:37:00.480 --> 0:37:03.840 is that that's not like as much as there is 0:37:03.880 --> 0:37:06.600 an audience that knows me for that. When I get 0:37:06.640 --> 0:37:10.279 on stage at the Wizkallyfan Logic show, I start with 0:37:10.280 --> 0:37:12.400 a tiler to create a record, and then I go 0:37:12.440 --> 0:37:14.920 into a dream. I play stick off the Dreamville tape 0:37:15.160 --> 0:37:17.920 because that's still my shit, like it's still off Gangster Grills. 0:37:17.920 --> 0:37:20.120 That's when DJ dramatic to me kind of enters the 0:37:20.120 --> 0:37:20.520 thing I hate. 0:37:20.520 --> 0:37:20.840 I know you. 0:37:21.040 --> 0:37:22.279 I don't know if you hate when I go DJ 0:37:22.360 --> 0:37:25.920 dramatic or drama, but it's just how I can. 0:37:24.880 --> 0:37:25.919 Knew you when you was a minor. 0:37:26.480 --> 0:37:28.239 But I was drama first though. I mean, it wasn't 0:37:28.239 --> 0:37:29.920 like I was dramatic. I was drama and then I 0:37:29.920 --> 0:37:32.319 tried to change it to dramatic and then I went back. 0:37:32.480 --> 0:37:33.239 So it wasn't like I. 0:37:33.200 --> 0:37:36.520 Was originally DJ dramatic. I was. I was DJ drama first. 0:37:36.600 --> 0:37:38.560 But you okay, I'll accept that. But you know, when 0:37:38.560 --> 0:37:40.960 I say dramatic, it's also like to an era, a 0:37:41.000 --> 0:37:43.680 time when you did have a certain lane that you 0:37:43.760 --> 0:37:45.760 were in that you have yeah left sin. 0:37:45.760 --> 0:37:47.759 Well what happened was it? I didn't know. 0:37:48.040 --> 0:37:50.719 I mean, like as much as much as I was 0:37:50.719 --> 0:37:54.680 putting into gangster grills, I was putting into automatic relaxation, 0:37:54.960 --> 0:37:56.480 one just took off from the other. 0:37:56.480 --> 0:37:56.680 Third. 0:37:56.760 --> 0:37:59.680 Okay, so let me ask you when you decided to 0:37:59.719 --> 0:38:05.360 go to Lark University yep, Park Atlanta. And I assume 0:38:05.400 --> 0:38:09.520 that you're transporting your your equipment with you yep. 0:38:09.719 --> 0:38:10.800 So, and that's. 0:38:10.640 --> 0:38:14.399 Important, Like you already know that in your dorm that 0:38:14.440 --> 0:38:17.839 your big ass speakers and your records and your turntables 0:38:18.160 --> 0:38:20.080 had to come with me, are coming with you? 0:38:20.120 --> 0:38:22.960 Okay, absolutely no question without it. Were your parents like 0:38:23.000 --> 0:38:25.040 what the hell are you doing? Like you're in a dorm? 0:38:25.120 --> 0:38:28.560 They you know, I mean by that point, I was 0:38:28.600 --> 0:38:32.480 already like kind of you know, they had they it 0:38:32.600 --> 0:38:35.440 was clear that I was on a certain path, and 0:38:35.480 --> 0:38:38.839 I was, you know, this DJ thing was to happen 0:38:38.920 --> 0:38:41.799 in college, not just some high school thing. And yeah, 0:38:41.800 --> 0:38:43.400 I don't yeah, I don't know if they knew. I 0:38:43.440 --> 0:38:46.319 mean clearly they didn't see this happening. Like you know, 0:38:46.440 --> 0:38:48.960 I mean my mom even after school, was concerned about 0:38:49.000 --> 0:38:51.799 me getting a real quote unquote real job. But yeah, 0:38:51.800 --> 0:38:53.359 I mean when I got to school, like it was, 0:38:53.560 --> 0:38:56.319 you know, I brought my Philly hustle with me. Like 0:38:56.680 --> 0:38:59.400 like I will tell you, like freshman year, when everybody 0:38:59.480 --> 0:39:03.240 was freaking doubt, I bought a bunch of T shirts 0:39:03.480 --> 0:39:05.560 from this guy named Moot, and I was hustling T 0:39:05.680 --> 0:39:06.600 shirts during Freaknink. 0:39:06.680 --> 0:39:08.080 Like I didn't partake in none of the. 0:39:08.040 --> 0:39:11.560 Activities like or I would set up on campus on 0:39:11.880 --> 0:39:14.480 we had these green trash cans and I had this 0:39:14.560 --> 0:39:17.760 little yellow radio, and I would like hustle my mixtapes 0:39:17.760 --> 0:39:18.600 in between classes. 0:39:18.680 --> 0:39:22.600 So how did you find an outlet to establish yourself 0:39:22.600 --> 0:39:23.160 in Atlanta? 0:39:23.719 --> 0:39:26.239 Well, I mean the outlet was the AUC. It was 0:39:26.280 --> 0:39:28.040 our world. I mean, there was enough. 0:39:28.080 --> 0:39:28.960 And market at Marcos. 0:39:28.960 --> 0:39:30.319 You feel like working at Marcos too? 0:39:30.400 --> 0:39:32.760 Was I mean Marco's people. I didn't go to college. 0:39:33.000 --> 0:39:33.640 You see the. 0:39:33.680 --> 0:39:38.359 Atlanta University Atlanta University Center, so that's Clark Atlanta, that's 0:39:38.560 --> 0:39:41.680 Morris Brown at the time, that's Morehouse and Spellman. So 0:39:41.719 --> 0:39:45.919 you literally have four historically black colleges and universities right 0:39:46.320 --> 0:39:52.680 in one epicenter. So there's multitudes of parties and gigs available. 0:39:53.080 --> 0:39:55.640 So I was did you try to find your flock 0:39:56.120 --> 0:39:58.200 or no, I can't, or were you like, okay, where 0:39:58.200 --> 0:40:01.840 did they endo down here? It just happened naturally, because 0:40:01.880 --> 0:40:05.200 you know, as you start doing gigs, I mean you realize. 0:40:04.800 --> 0:40:06.719 Oh, I got to people from everywhere. 0:40:06.760 --> 0:40:09.560 So you know, I learned very early on and I 0:40:09.560 --> 0:40:12.479 shot to my man DJ Sense and since is also 0:40:12.520 --> 0:40:15.560 from Philly, we met freshman year and he kind of 0:40:15.640 --> 0:40:18.880 was a little more commercially driven than I was at 0:40:18.880 --> 0:40:21.880 the time, Like I was real backpack rap and he 0:40:22.080 --> 0:40:25.319 was like bad boy, you know what I'm saying. So 0:40:25.520 --> 0:40:28.719 us doing gigs together, he kind of helped influence and 0:40:28.760 --> 0:40:31.239 inspire me to get you know, he yelled at me 0:40:31.239 --> 0:40:33.360 one time I cut the Benjamin's off too early. 0:40:33.680 --> 0:40:34.839 Oh WoT a gig. 0:40:34.920 --> 0:40:36.960 He was like, bro, like, you can't cut it off 0:40:36.960 --> 0:40:38.560 at this part, and he was right, you know what 0:40:38.560 --> 0:40:42.080 I'm saying. So us doing gigs together, I kind of 0:40:42.239 --> 0:40:45.279 got more into my commercial bag. And you know, because 0:40:45.320 --> 0:40:47.080 I still even when I was in school, when I 0:40:47.120 --> 0:40:50.320 was doing these college gigs, I was still DJing lyricist lounges. 0:40:50.600 --> 0:40:54.680 I was still at yin Yang Cafe doing poet you 0:40:55.760 --> 0:40:57.520 know what I mean, Like I was, I was still 0:40:57.520 --> 0:40:58.320 into that world. 0:40:58.320 --> 0:41:01.359 So I was I was bouncing between worlds in a way. 0:41:01.520 --> 0:41:07.520 Who was the DJ down here that was your oh 0:41:07.760 --> 0:41:11.280 shit or your kaiser? So it's a coffee mug, slow 0:41:11.400 --> 0:41:15.760 drop realization thing that this is some next shit. 0:41:15.640 --> 0:41:18.240 Down here that I have to First it was DJ Nabs. 0:41:19.000 --> 0:41:23.640 Nabs was the ultimate. I mean, he was on the radio, 0:41:23.880 --> 0:41:28.000 he was on television, he was he had Kai He 0:41:28.040 --> 0:41:31.000 had Nabs in a lab at club kaya Sunday night, 0:41:31.160 --> 0:41:35.360 which was just the ultimate experience. And then I think 0:41:35.480 --> 0:41:40.000 for me it probably was DJ Mars. Mars also at 0:41:40.000 --> 0:41:42.640 the time was you know, he used to be on 0:41:42.760 --> 0:41:45.040 he had a bet gig, so he was doing what 0:41:45.120 --> 0:41:47.280 was that show called It was one of them shows 0:41:47.640 --> 0:41:50.600 Mars was on the radio. You know, he was on 0:41:50.719 --> 0:41:54.279 every day and he was in the club. So he 0:41:54.480 --> 0:41:58.000 was like one of you know, one of those like 0:41:58.160 --> 0:42:01.279 the guys that we looked towards, just like damn, that's 0:42:01.320 --> 0:42:05.560 the next level. So and he It's funny because I 0:42:05.600 --> 0:42:07.360 did the same thing with you too. I know you 0:42:07.360 --> 0:42:09.640 don't remember this, but I used to like write for 0:42:09.719 --> 0:42:14.319 this like little magazine or like little zine, and I 0:42:14.360 --> 0:42:17.600 went and did an interview with Mars. That's how I 0:42:18.280 --> 0:42:21.000 like got I introduced myself to him. I went to 0:42:21.040 --> 0:42:24.200 go interview him at the station and then I handed 0:42:24.280 --> 0:42:26.680 him one of my mixtapes and he was like, Yo, 0:42:26.760 --> 0:42:30.319 this shit's hot. And oddly enough, when you guys came 0:42:30.360 --> 0:42:32.799 to Atlanta one time, I did the same thing with you. 0:42:33.120 --> 0:42:35.520 I was, I did an interview with you for the magazine. 0:42:35.719 --> 0:42:38.560 And that was how I first found out about Dyla 0:42:38.640 --> 0:42:40.719 because this was the era where you were dial it 0:42:40.760 --> 0:42:43.040 out and you were just you told me, like, yo, 0:42:43.120 --> 0:42:45.360 all we do is listen to slum Village and this 0:42:45.520 --> 0:42:49.440 is mid late nineties and everything, and yeah, so I 0:42:49.480 --> 0:42:51.880 would kind of, you know, wiggle my way in however 0:42:52.080 --> 0:42:54.880 whatever to you know, get my name out there or 0:42:54.880 --> 0:43:05.000 get my tapes in people's hands. 0:43:01.200 --> 0:43:04.680 Like I feel like Atlanta really found itself with what 0:43:05.000 --> 0:43:09.239 I organized noise and now casting all this established absolutely so. 0:43:09.719 --> 0:43:12.120 But the thing is is that I didn't call it 0:43:12.160 --> 0:43:14.759 anything like I know, like New Orleans's bounce and there's 0:43:14.760 --> 0:43:21.640 bass music in Miami. But what was Atlanta's culture before trap? 0:43:22.239 --> 0:43:24.920 Like does first of all, does Atlanta own what we 0:43:25.000 --> 0:43:25.720 know as trap? 0:43:25.840 --> 0:43:31.239 Absolutely so? What was before the BC era of that? 0:43:32.040 --> 0:43:34.600 It was Dungeon family. I mean, so you think I 0:43:34.640 --> 0:43:38.120 moved here in ninety six? Ninety six El Adelph Half 0:43:38.120 --> 0:43:41.960 Life came out, ninety six at Aliens came out, Luddy Waters, 0:43:42.040 --> 0:43:46.120 right Man, Muddy Waters came out, Reasonable Mob Deep second 0:43:46.120 --> 0:43:48.920 album came out on Hell on Earth came out. 0:43:48.920 --> 0:43:51.959 Score And I have and I have an elevator's question 0:43:52.000 --> 0:43:54.839 to ask you because I came right when elevators kind 0:43:54.880 --> 0:43:55.120 of hit. 0:43:55.680 --> 0:43:58.319 Okay, so let me ask you something, all right? 0:43:58.360 --> 0:44:02.040 And why is elevators like my new Latin quarters so many? 0:44:02.560 --> 0:44:03.439 We can go so much. 0:44:03.520 --> 0:44:07.239 I gotta talk, I want to say, like, so just 0:44:07.280 --> 0:44:10.279 while we're here, all right. So when we asked, you know, 0:44:10.560 --> 0:44:15.960 LA read and organized noise, my thing was I would 0:44:16.040 --> 0:44:18.360 ask them, why would they take such a risk with 0:44:18.680 --> 0:44:20.640 the sonic choice of elevators. 0:44:20.719 --> 0:44:23.520 Yes, it's a masterpiece of a song, but who knew 0:44:23.560 --> 0:44:24.000 at the time. 0:44:24.200 --> 0:44:26.719 I was just like, yo, who would ever put like 0:44:26.760 --> 0:44:30.160 a song that's like eighty six bpms which was very 0:44:30.160 --> 0:44:33.120 slow at the time compared to what was hitting. And 0:44:34.080 --> 0:44:36.200 it was just everything about that song was just like 0:44:37.280 --> 0:44:39.160 it was a risk. It was a hell mary throw 0:44:39.239 --> 0:44:42.480 that got caught and you know, Organized Noise explained that. 0:44:42.640 --> 0:44:44.680 You know, they leaked the first and of course La 0:44:44.760 --> 0:44:47.799 Re really wanted atl Is to come out first. They 0:44:47.880 --> 0:44:49.640 put it, they took it to the radio station and 0:44:49.760 --> 0:44:52.879 just and forced it right right and then but as 0:44:52.920 --> 0:44:58.280 a DJ, like, could you explain to me the effect 0:44:58.320 --> 0:45:02.560 that that song had or just at the time, like. 0:45:02.760 --> 0:45:03.960 Yeah, I mean it was Atlanta. 0:45:04.080 --> 0:45:08.680 So again, there was when when when at Aliens dropped, 0:45:08.960 --> 0:45:13.759 just you know, the the pride and the the sonics 0:45:13.760 --> 0:45:17.120 and the creativity of that album. You know, Southern playlistic 0:45:17.680 --> 0:45:20.680 was already a thing, right, and then eighty Aliens came 0:45:20.719 --> 0:45:23.880 and it was like, oh, these these boys is different, 0:45:24.000 --> 0:45:26.520 you know. I mean that was the era when three 0:45:26.560 --> 0:45:29.360 thousand was walking around with the turbine and you know, 0:45:30.080 --> 0:45:32.799 Goodie Mob had you know, dropped and everything. So it 0:45:32.840 --> 0:45:35.719 was like, I just think the pride and you know, 0:45:35.920 --> 0:45:41.000 I hear stories about before Outcasts about how you would 0:45:41.040 --> 0:45:43.799 go to certain clubs in Atlanta like Warehouse and things, 0:45:43.800 --> 0:45:46.080 and people would almost want to kind of act like 0:45:46.120 --> 0:45:48.719 they were from New York, you know, and then he 0:45:48.880 --> 0:45:51.640 just said, yeah, they just said that, And then it 0:45:51.680 --> 0:45:55.080 was Outcast that was almost brought that pride out where 0:45:55.120 --> 0:45:58.480 it made people in Atlanta feel proud to be from 0:45:58.560 --> 0:45:59.760 Atlanta or in the South. 0:46:00.120 --> 0:46:00.319 Yeah. 0:46:00.760 --> 0:46:03.879 So yeah, So before the trap era, you. 0:46:03.840 --> 0:46:09.680 Know, Atlanta was was defined by Dungeon family, by so 0:46:09.680 --> 0:46:13.640 so deaf and you know, by the Face records, and 0:46:13.920 --> 0:46:17.000 that was that was the you know, the the trifecta 0:46:17.160 --> 0:46:18.120 of what Atlanta was. 0:46:18.400 --> 0:46:22.920 So when you are down here, at what point the 0:46:23.040 --> 0:46:27.200 cast of characters that were known as the Affiliates, how 0:46:27.239 --> 0:46:30.080 are they amalgamating themselves in your life? 0:46:30.120 --> 0:46:30.200 Like? 0:46:30.239 --> 0:46:32.600 Are you meeting them now this point? 0:46:32.880 --> 0:46:37.360 So I met DJ Sence literally the first day I 0:46:37.440 --> 0:46:41.400 get to school in Clark, Atlanta, agat in. We go 0:46:41.560 --> 0:46:45.920 to the dorm to Brawley Hall and my room number 0:46:46.120 --> 0:46:50.960 was two one five, crazy, right, And and then somebody 0:46:51.040 --> 0:46:53.319 told sense, Hey, you know there's a DJ on the 0:46:53.320 --> 0:46:57.120 second floor from Philly, and he had told he told 0:46:57.160 --> 0:46:59.880 me it kind of already heard about me in Philly. Like, 0:47:00.080 --> 0:47:03.320 you know, it's crazy to think I had a little buzz, 0:47:03.360 --> 0:47:05.560 but he had, you know, he knew about me. 0:47:05.600 --> 0:47:07.120 So we like battled it. 0:47:07.360 --> 0:47:09.799 We battled in my room, like the first first day 0:47:09.840 --> 0:47:11.680 we met, just kind of going back and forth on 0:47:11.719 --> 0:47:14.680 the turntables, cutting the scratch and and then you know, 0:47:14.760 --> 0:47:17.960 we were doing parties together and we were, you know, 0:47:18.160 --> 0:47:21.560 like a dynamic duo and just you know, people would 0:47:21.719 --> 0:47:23.960 book me or book him and we would go together 0:47:24.080 --> 0:47:26.239 and we would do all the parties. And then my 0:47:26.360 --> 0:47:30.959 next year, this tall, lanky kid gets on campus and 0:47:31.040 --> 0:47:33.359 like he had heard about me, and he kind of 0:47:33.440 --> 0:47:35.640 was like, Yo, my name is Donny Brasco, I'm from 0:47:35.680 --> 0:47:38.319 Philly and I'm a DJ. I make beats. And I 0:47:38.400 --> 0:47:40.480 was kind of you know Kyle. You know, him and 0:47:40.560 --> 0:47:42.759 Kyle went to school together. So Kyle kind of like 0:47:43.480 --> 0:47:45.839 put a sour taste in my mouth early on, like 0:47:46.160 --> 0:47:47.879 that that canon was a nut. 0:47:48.120 --> 0:47:48.520 Kyle is. 0:47:48.880 --> 0:47:50.120 Kyle was part of Tyree. 0:47:50.640 --> 0:47:54.399 It was a whole crew of Philly dudess. It was Dame, 0:47:54.600 --> 0:47:57.120 Dame Carolina. 0:47:57.360 --> 0:48:01.080 Yeah, it was Chris, Chris and Italy, it was Dame. 0:48:01.280 --> 0:48:04.719 It was me since and I had like my school crew, 0:48:04.760 --> 0:48:08.080 and then I had like my Rubik's Jack's and you know, 0:48:08.200 --> 0:48:10.239 my my hip hop my Binker's Crew. 0:48:10.640 --> 0:48:14.040 But rest in peace to my brother Jack's. 0:48:14.280 --> 0:48:17.279 But so so finally Cannon wound up giving me a 0:48:17.320 --> 0:48:19.719 beat CD and I went home and I listened to 0:48:19.760 --> 0:48:22.440 it and I was like, Yo, this shit is fucking fire. 0:48:23.120 --> 0:48:25.920 So next day I see him on campus, I'm like, yo, yo, 0:48:26.200 --> 0:48:28.080 I've listened to your beat tape. That's just hard, like 0:48:28.520 --> 0:48:31.200 you know, come through the crib. So it went from 0:48:31.200 --> 0:48:33.799 Me and Sense to me Sensing Cannon, and then we 0:48:33.800 --> 0:48:36.239 were just the three of us were like, you know, 0:48:36.920 --> 0:48:40.960 damn near inseparable, like while we were in school and 0:48:41.080 --> 0:48:43.640 we would do a bunch of gigs together or just 0:48:43.719 --> 0:48:46.600 support each other, or you know, when I was selling tapes, 0:48:46.840 --> 0:48:49.680 like Cannon and Sence would make their tapes and I would, 0:48:49.680 --> 0:48:53.319 you know, I would sell them all and we would 0:48:53.360 --> 0:48:56.560 just do events together. But the way the Affiliates came 0:48:56.600 --> 0:48:59.480 about is because there was a crew called the super Friends, 0:48:59.560 --> 0:49:02.120 which was DJ Mars, DJ Trauma. 0:49:03.640 --> 0:49:04.000 Uh. 0:49:04.160 --> 0:49:05.600 It was a cowboy, was in there. 0:49:06.440 --> 0:49:10.319 Fahrenheit shot him was super Friends and they made us 0:49:10.440 --> 0:49:12.800 part they We were like the youngest of the crew 0:49:13.160 --> 0:49:15.080 and they you know, invited us in. 0:49:15.000 --> 0:49:19.160 And DJ Trauma that is currently okay, and you know, it. 0:49:19.040 --> 0:49:20.600 Was you know, that was one of the reasons why 0:49:20.719 --> 0:49:23.000 I tried to change my name to Dramatic. It's because 0:49:23.000 --> 0:49:29.080 of Trauma because Trauma and his name is Tire at 0:49:29.120 --> 0:49:30.880 the time, and he was on the radio and he 0:49:30.960 --> 0:49:33.279 was on fire, and it was like everywhere I would 0:49:33.360 --> 0:49:35.680 go and try to say I'm DJ Drama, They'd be 0:49:35.760 --> 0:49:39.080 like Trauma and I'd be like, no, Trauma, and it 0:49:39.239 --> 0:49:40.759 just used to frustrate. 0:49:40.320 --> 0:49:42.879 Me, like like, man, I'm about to just change my name. 0:49:43.200 --> 0:49:46.080 And Mars, you know, interestingly enough was like, yo, don't 0:49:46.160 --> 0:49:49.000 change your name for nobody. And Trauma was his best friend, 0:49:49.360 --> 0:49:51.799 but he, you know, he said, you don't change your 0:49:51.840 --> 0:49:54.640 name for nobody, Like if that's your name, that's your name. 0:49:55.080 --> 0:49:57.480 So we were part of the super Friends and we 0:49:57.480 --> 0:50:00.360 were really trying to be focused, like on mixtape and 0:50:00.480 --> 0:50:04.319 super Friends were very party driven and we kind of 0:50:04.760 --> 0:50:07.919 we went through a little disagreement at the time. As 0:50:07.960 --> 0:50:11.040 my memory serves me, Jacob York offered the super Friends 0:50:11.680 --> 0:50:14.680 opportunity to do an album, and we were kind of already, 0:50:14.840 --> 0:50:17.200 you know, feeling a certain type of way because you know, 0:50:17.320 --> 0:50:19.400 we weren't like they were getting all the gigs, and 0:50:19.480 --> 0:50:20.680 you know, we were trying to make our name. 0:50:20.719 --> 0:50:22.279 We couldn't get no sponsorship for the. 0:50:22.200 --> 0:50:24.799 Mixtapes because they were getting on a sponsorship for the 0:50:24.840 --> 0:50:27.520 parties and everything. And they were like, Yo, if we 0:50:27.560 --> 0:50:29.759 do an album, let's call it Gangster Grills because that's 0:50:29.760 --> 0:50:32.319 the strongest brand out of all of us. And I 0:50:32.400 --> 0:50:34.680 was like, I don't know, I don't want to call 0:50:34.920 --> 0:50:37.160 the super Friends album Gangster Grills, Like that's my shit. 0:50:37.600 --> 0:50:40.440 So they basically, wait, when did you morphine you gangster Grills? 0:50:40.920 --> 0:50:41.200 I was. 0:50:41.360 --> 0:50:44.560 I started Gangster Grills in two thousand, so by like 0:50:45.360 --> 0:50:48.560 three oh four had become a thing like where it was. 0:50:49.040 --> 0:50:51.600 You know, I little John was the first person. 0:50:51.360 --> 0:50:51.960 To host it. 0:50:52.400 --> 0:50:55.719 So I used his voice on Gangster Grills four and 0:50:55.760 --> 0:50:58.279 it was still just like a compilation at the time, 0:50:58.880 --> 0:51:01.239 and you know, I did like Gangster Girls five, and 0:51:01.600 --> 0:51:03.560 I just kept using John's voice. 0:51:04.080 --> 0:51:07.719 Right, how did you? So, how do you approach an artist? 0:51:07.760 --> 0:51:09.799 Because for a lot of the artists that weren't Gangster 0:51:09.880 --> 0:51:13.399 Grills mixtape. Like, as an outsider, I didn't know none 0:51:13.440 --> 0:51:16.160 of those people. So you know, I'm hearing TI for 0:51:16.200 --> 0:51:18.319 the first time right here, Like everyone that you put 0:51:18.360 --> 0:51:23.839 on Jesus GZ and all those six even like really 0:51:23.880 --> 0:51:25.759 the first time I really paid attention to Wayne and 0:51:25.760 --> 0:51:30.000 all that stuff is really on Gangster Grill, So like, 0:51:30.239 --> 0:51:31.040 how are you. 0:51:32.600 --> 0:51:36.719 Propositioning them and approaching them to do these things? Each 0:51:36.760 --> 0:51:39.080 situation is differents in a way. 0:51:39.160 --> 0:51:42.160 But like Little John was since was working at the 0:51:42.200 --> 0:51:46.400 station and Circe and Little John were partners in b 0:51:46.520 --> 0:51:48.839 and me and John used to be up there all 0:51:48.880 --> 0:51:51.840 the time, and you know, John was He's one of 0:51:51.880 --> 0:51:54.440 the most down to earth, humble guys in the world. 0:51:54.560 --> 0:51:56.400 And I literally just asked them. 0:51:56.760 --> 0:51:58.279 You know, this was a time when I was paying 0:51:58.280 --> 0:51:59.960 attention to what was going on on the East Coach 0:52:00.640 --> 0:52:03.600 and I asked him, like, yo, would you host a 0:52:03.640 --> 0:52:05.360 mixtape for me? And he was like sure, and he 0:52:05.400 --> 0:52:08.240 came to my crib in the fourth Ward and hence 0:52:08.280 --> 0:52:11.440 the Gangster Grizzils Drop was born, and you know, he. 0:52:11.480 --> 0:52:12.400 Hosted the tape. 0:52:12.760 --> 0:52:17.000 Jason Jeter is the first person to ever call me. 0:52:18.160 --> 0:52:20.560 He got my number off the back of a mixtape 0:52:20.680 --> 0:52:23.160 from the barber shop. Now think about this. I get 0:52:23.200 --> 0:52:27.600 a thousand DMS a day about artists trying to get on. 0:52:28.040 --> 0:52:31.800 The first phone call I ever got was from Jason Jeter, 0:52:31.840 --> 0:52:33.959 and he was like, Hey, my name is Jason Jeter. 0:52:34.160 --> 0:52:37.880 I have this new artist signed to LaFace. We have 0:52:37.920 --> 0:52:40.920 a song with Beanie Seagull called two Blocks nine. I 0:52:40.920 --> 0:52:42.719 got one of your mixtapes. I want to bring him 0:52:42.719 --> 0:52:44.080 through to freestyle on one. 0:52:44.000 --> 0:52:44.560 Of your tapes. 0:52:44.600 --> 0:52:47.440 And I was like, all right, sure, cool whatever, soight 0:52:47.480 --> 0:52:49.440 I've seen you don't know, never. 0:52:49.280 --> 0:52:53.040 Met Tip, never, wasn't even familiar with the two Glocks 0:52:53.120 --> 0:52:56.240 nine record yet. So he literally comes to the crib 0:52:56.480 --> 0:52:59.879 Jeter and Tip super shy and quiet at the time. 0:53:00.560 --> 0:53:03.200 You know, I had my equipment in like where the 0:53:03.280 --> 0:53:05.879 laundry room would be. He comes in there, I pick 0:53:05.920 --> 0:53:08.400 a beat. I picked it for the fan beat the 0:53:08.480 --> 0:53:11.960 Rockefeller with the one with a mill and everybody on it, 0:53:12.080 --> 0:53:14.480 and he freestyled on that and at the end of 0:53:14.480 --> 0:53:16.920 the freestyle he said, you know, King of the South. 0:53:17.080 --> 0:53:20.799 And I remember once him and Jeter left, I went 0:53:20.840 --> 0:53:22.839 the sense like, yo, this nigga said he's the King 0:53:22.880 --> 0:53:27.200 of the South, like he's tripping like. So that was 0:53:27.239 --> 0:53:30.239 literally our introduction. And then you know, Jeter was also 0:53:30.280 --> 0:53:34.240 from Jersey, so he was paying attention to my mixtape 0:53:34.280 --> 0:53:36.520 Grind and what I was doing, and they were kind 0:53:36.520 --> 0:53:39.239 of you know, once things didn't work out between them 0:53:39.239 --> 0:53:41.799 and La Reid, they got on their mixtape Grind. So 0:53:41.800 --> 0:53:43.719 we were kind of both coming up at the same time. 0:53:44.200 --> 0:53:47.720 Where I lived on Glenn Iris, Coach K lived around 0:53:47.719 --> 0:53:48.480 the corner from me. 0:53:48.600 --> 0:53:51.080 Ah, okay, we got cool with Coach K. 0:53:52.000 --> 0:53:54.879 He had this group called Jadis, who Bobby creek Water 0:53:55.000 --> 0:53:55.680 was a part of who. 0:53:55.640 --> 0:53:57.360 Later outside to Shady. 0:53:57.440 --> 0:53:59.960 That was Coach K's first group, and then he also 0:54:00.080 --> 0:54:03.520 used to work for Alan Henderson and Hindu when Alan 0:54:03.560 --> 0:54:04.200 Henderson had. 0:54:04.080 --> 0:54:04.800 A record label. 0:54:05.080 --> 0:54:07.200 But we got cool with Coach K and then he 0:54:07.360 --> 0:54:10.640 told me, like, yo, I got this this artist from making. 0:54:10.719 --> 0:54:14.279 His name is Gez and he had an album out. 0:54:14.560 --> 0:54:16.440 The first album they put out was called Come Shop 0:54:16.440 --> 0:54:19.560 with Me and then Jeez I would Coach would bring 0:54:19.640 --> 0:54:22.799 g Z over and I would make show CDs for Jez. 0:54:23.160 --> 0:54:25.200 I would charge them like one hundred dollars and he 0:54:25.239 --> 0:54:28.000 would come and I would he would just he he 0:54:28.120 --> 0:54:31.040 was doing shows and making and I would like make CD. 0:54:31.160 --> 0:54:33.879 He would take instrumentals whatever instrumentals were hot at the time, 0:54:34.560 --> 0:54:35.520 and I would just make. 0:54:35.480 --> 0:54:37.800 Him a little like show CDs to put together. 0:54:38.320 --> 0:54:41.360 As Gangster Grills was becoming a thing, so then I 0:54:41.400 --> 0:54:46.040 did like John Tape then like I think Scrappy hosted one. 0:54:46.800 --> 0:54:49.680 Then Jeter called me and was like, yo, I've been 0:54:49.680 --> 0:54:52.480 listening to the tapes. I got this idea, let's do 0:54:52.560 --> 0:54:56.400 an all TI and PSC Gangster Grills. And I was like, 0:54:56.480 --> 0:54:59.359 bet you know. And at the time, I'm I'm just 0:54:59.600 --> 0:55:01.840 fast NATed by Green Lantern and who Kid and what 0:55:02.000 --> 0:55:05.040 Fifth is doing and what they're doing, and so Jeter 0:55:05.400 --> 0:55:07.839 and Tip gave me the opportunity to do the type 0:55:07.840 --> 0:55:09.239 of mixtape that I wanted to do. 0:55:09.320 --> 0:55:13.000 So you felt because I'm just amazed that your amount 0:55:13.000 --> 0:55:15.239 of faith it's so weird, like I need to have 0:55:15.280 --> 0:55:20.680 this conversation because I'm such a no now no or 0:55:20.760 --> 0:55:23.560 who going to be there? Who are going to be there? 0:55:23.680 --> 0:55:25.560 Like that sort of thing and get me out of 0:55:25.560 --> 0:55:26.200 this or whatever. 0:55:26.719 --> 0:55:30.440 But it seems to me that your the key to 0:55:30.480 --> 0:55:34.000 your success is the word yes, absolutely, yes, and absolutely 0:55:35.239 --> 0:55:39.359 I give when I go outside, I give my number 0:55:39.400 --> 0:55:40.800 to everybody. Wow. 0:55:41.000 --> 0:55:42.720 The worst thing that I can do is not answer 0:55:42.719 --> 0:55:45.799 it's right, because I think about that all the time. 0:55:45.840 --> 0:55:49.080 What if I would have told Jeter no? Wow? So 0:55:49.640 --> 0:55:52.200 now I think about all the news I've told the Jeters. 0:55:51.920 --> 0:55:52.399 In my life. 0:55:52.440 --> 0:55:54.279 Now, don't they don't get me wrong, I've you know, 0:55:54.400 --> 0:55:55.960 I mean, I've missed out on some things. 0:55:56.040 --> 0:55:58.920 Have you Have you passed up on a moment that, like, 0:55:59.120 --> 0:56:01.200 damn I could have had blah blah blah. 0:56:01.719 --> 0:56:04.600 Of course name three three notable. 0:56:05.600 --> 0:56:07.360 You probably worked with them since, but at least like 0:56:07.400 --> 0:56:09.520 you could at least introduce them to the world or whatever. 0:56:09.640 --> 0:56:09.839 I mean. 0:56:09.880 --> 0:56:12.560 I've said this before, but Drake definitely wanted a Gangster 0:56:12.640 --> 0:56:15.759 Grills very early on, all right, for sure. 0:56:15.800 --> 0:56:18.000 And you didn't know about him or it was just 0:56:18.000 --> 0:56:20.359 like you were too busy or it was I just 0:56:20.480 --> 0:56:21.680 it didn't happen, you know. 0:56:21.719 --> 0:56:23.480 I mean he went he because I mean he did 0:56:23.520 --> 0:56:27.880 a Southern Smalls tape like DJ Smalls, So at the 0:56:27.920 --> 0:56:30.560 time there was there was Southern smoking, it was Gangster Grills. 0:56:30.600 --> 0:56:33.920 So so, and then Bumby was a very early believer. 0:56:34.480 --> 0:56:36.719 So then I did the tip. I did the Tip 0:56:36.760 --> 0:56:38.920 Gangster Grills and that just like took off in the 0:56:38.920 --> 0:56:41.920 streets and it was like, you know, Tip was on fire, 0:56:42.360 --> 0:56:46.120 Gangster Grills was becoming a thing, and you know that's 0:56:46.320 --> 0:56:48.200 that was the soundtrack of the streets in Atlanta and 0:56:48.280 --> 0:56:51.560 the t I PSC meets Gangster Grills, And then I 0:56:51.600 --> 0:56:54.799 did a tape for Bun and then I did a 0:56:54.840 --> 0:56:58.240 Gangster Grills party and I had like I had it. 0:56:58.239 --> 0:56:58.640 It was in. 0:56:58.600 --> 0:57:02.600 Buckhead and I think Tip hosted, bone Crusher hosted. 0:57:02.719 --> 0:57:03.840 I think David Banny. 0:57:03.920 --> 0:57:05.960 Yeah, I did a tape with David Banner, bone Crusher 0:57:05.960 --> 0:57:08.360 host and I was against girls like seven and was 0:57:08.400 --> 0:57:10.920 like that that was insane. That was a big one. 0:57:11.040 --> 0:57:13.120 But it was still a compilation at the time. So 0:57:13.200 --> 0:57:16.680 then coaching Jez took me out. They wanted to take 0:57:16.680 --> 0:57:18.360 me to lunch one day, so they took me to 0:57:18.360 --> 0:57:21.400 the spot called Harry and Sons and Jez tells me, Yo, 0:57:21.480 --> 0:57:22.320 I was at your party. 0:57:23.160 --> 0:57:23.360 Yo. 0:57:23.400 --> 0:57:25.200 I don't know how much you know, but the streets 0:57:25.240 --> 0:57:28.280 like fuck with you, you know. And I'm like, We're like, 0:57:28.320 --> 0:57:30.040 you know, I'm I'm in the streets something. 0:57:30.080 --> 0:57:30.840 We're not aware of this. 0:57:31.200 --> 0:57:32.160 Yeah, I'm very unaware. 0:57:32.280 --> 0:57:34.880 Like when he his his version, his what his streets 0:57:34.880 --> 0:57:36.160 are wasn't what my streets were. 0:57:36.200 --> 0:57:38.680 Like my streets were in Atlanta. 0:57:39.000 --> 0:57:42.080 Yeah, well I was familiar, you know what I'm saying, 0:57:42.080 --> 0:57:46.000 because I was doing parties for like BMF and things 0:57:46.000 --> 0:57:47.720 of that nature. But the streets for me were like 0:57:48.040 --> 0:57:51.600 going to the flea market and selling boxes of CDs. 0:57:51.720 --> 0:57:54.680 You know, you're not going to Bankhead or I'm going anywhere, 0:57:54.840 --> 0:57:57.760 or I'm going anywhere that they sell CDs. I'm going, 0:57:58.320 --> 0:58:00.880 but I'm not, you know, in the street. Yeah, I'm 0:58:00.960 --> 0:58:04.520 selling the mixed tapes. I'm not selling nothing but mixtapes, right, 0:58:05.240 --> 0:58:08.280 you know. Yeah, So then you know, Jez tells me like, yo, 0:58:08.720 --> 0:58:10.920 when Meat goes to campus, that's where he goes and 0:58:10.960 --> 0:58:14.160 gets his gangster Girls from. Like he's listening to your 0:58:14.200 --> 0:58:16.680 ship and he's like, listen, I got this vision, like 0:58:17.120 --> 0:58:19.040 I want to do a Gangster Girls with you, Like 0:58:19.160 --> 0:58:20.960 he had it all mapped out, and I was. 0:58:21.320 --> 0:58:22.640 I was listening, like no doubt. 0:58:22.840 --> 0:58:25.640 But at the time I had never done a tape 0:58:25.640 --> 0:58:28.960 with somebody who wasn't known yet, And that was the 0:58:28.960 --> 0:58:30.720 first time I got paid for a tape. They gave 0:58:30.760 --> 0:58:34.760 me a thousand dollars and we did the tape. It 0:58:34.760 --> 0:58:36.880 was called Streets Is Watching. It was damn it was. 0:58:36.920 --> 0:58:41.400 Really changed my life with just ten bills, right, what 0:58:41.440 --> 0:58:41.840 the fuck? 0:58:41.920 --> 0:58:43.360 Why did we go to you back then? 0:58:44.160 --> 0:58:45.040 Had a thousand bucks. 0:58:46.000 --> 0:58:47.760 He paid me a thousand dollars to do the tape. 0:58:47.760 --> 0:58:48.720 It was already working good. 0:58:48.960 --> 0:58:51.160 Yeah, you was like, what are we talking about? Like 0:58:51.440 --> 0:58:52.040 fifth record? 0:58:52.160 --> 0:58:54.240 Yeah? How many Grammy you have? 0:58:54.760 --> 0:58:55.080 Yeah? 0:58:55.160 --> 0:58:55.840 Yeah, come on. 0:58:56.640 --> 0:58:58.439 We still to this day. 0:58:58.520 --> 0:59:02.040 We it's almost like we like someone took us to 0:59:02.080 --> 0:59:04.600 the front of the bank line on a Friday. Yeah, yeah, 0:59:04.640 --> 0:59:07.240 and I got we gotta go back. 0:59:07.080 --> 0:59:11.160 To Baltic Avenue and Mediterranean Avenue and Oriental Avenue, like 0:59:11.240 --> 0:59:14.240 we got park Place and all that stuff. But we 0:59:14.320 --> 0:59:18.040 realized that there's an early gap that we skipped and 0:59:18.960 --> 0:59:21.560 it doesn't matter like I could have forty two oscars. 0:59:21.960 --> 0:59:24.400 We have to scratch that itch with black people. 0:59:24.760 --> 0:59:27.040 It ain't never did. Like the conferences and stuff like 0:59:27.080 --> 0:59:29.920 the HOWD how to be down Jack to Rappa Impact. 0:59:30.280 --> 0:59:32.120 We wanted to, but you know, Geffen wouldn't have it, 0:59:32.280 --> 0:59:35.560 so anyway, so go go so then yeah, so originally 0:59:35.640 --> 0:59:37.960 the tape was called G's Up, but that was the 0:59:38.040 --> 0:59:40.400 name of Scrappy's group at the time, so we changed 0:59:40.400 --> 0:59:41.360 the streets Is Watching. 0:59:41.840 --> 0:59:45.560 So when I did streets Is Watching again, Gangster Grills 0:59:45.640 --> 0:59:47.760 was a bigger brand than Young Jeezy at the time. 0:59:47.840 --> 0:59:51.320 So we put the tape out, and we put it 0:59:51.360 --> 0:59:55.120 out around Birthday bash Era, and you know, within a 0:59:55.120 --> 0:59:58.040 couple of months, I mean I remember the first person 0:59:58.080 --> 1:00:00.000 ever telling me my man Jay who does Raw Report, 1:00:00.160 --> 1:00:02.760 who wound up doing the DVD with GZ for Trapp 1:00:02.800 --> 1:00:05.560 or Die. But I was on Glenn Iris with my 1:00:05.640 --> 1:00:07.640 dad and he drove. He was driving by and he 1:00:07.720 --> 1:00:10.960 was like, Yo, that JEZ tape. That's the best Gangster 1:00:11.000 --> 1:00:13.480 Grills you've ever done. And I'm like, we're I just 1:00:13.480 --> 1:00:14.960 told JZ this other day and I was like, We're 1:00:15.040 --> 1:00:18.040 the new nigga. Like because I'm tied out, you know 1:00:18.040 --> 1:00:21.120 what I'm saying, Like Tip the King, Like I'm on 1:00:21.240 --> 1:00:24.120 fire with Tip and he's like, Yo, the JEZ tape, 1:00:24.160 --> 1:00:27.880 Like that shit hits different. So, you know, a couple 1:00:27.880 --> 1:00:30.320 of months in Coach k Is like drawm, you gotta 1:00:30.400 --> 1:00:32.160 come on the roll with us, like you got to 1:00:32.200 --> 1:00:36.000 see what's going on. Like they're doing this word for word. 1:00:36.080 --> 1:00:37.280 There's one thing you're skipping that. 1:00:37.400 --> 1:00:42.400 Gotta know this as far as the marketing and the distribution, Yeah, 1:00:42.600 --> 1:00:44.920 is there only one place to get this? Because how 1:00:45.040 --> 1:00:46.880 is Tariq Well, I mean, I guess, y'all, I don't 1:00:46.880 --> 1:00:48.040 know how. 1:00:48.160 --> 1:00:53.280 So really, thankfully the bootleggers were like taking my ship 1:00:53.320 --> 1:00:54.040 to the next level. 1:00:54.080 --> 1:00:56.120 They were doing a lot of legwork for me. So 1:00:56.160 --> 1:00:57.480 you didn't know that you were national. 1:00:57.880 --> 1:01:01.480 No, I went I when Gangster Girls seven came out. 1:01:01.760 --> 1:01:04.200 I wound up finding out where the bootleg spot was, 1:01:04.240 --> 1:01:05.400 and this was around the time. 1:01:05.520 --> 1:01:06.840 No I'm sorry, it was Gangs Girl six. 1:01:07.000 --> 1:01:09.800 It was against Girl six, but it was fifty cent 1:01:09.840 --> 1:01:11.840 get Richard dot Try and had just came out. We 1:01:11.880 --> 1:01:15.800 wound up finding out where the bootlegs spot were in 1:01:15.880 --> 1:01:18.680 the West End, and we went there and I literally 1:01:18.760 --> 1:01:21.880 saw as many Gangster Girl sixes as I did get 1:01:22.000 --> 1:01:24.960 Richard Doe trying bootlegs, and I was like, I was 1:01:25.000 --> 1:01:27.760 like fascined. I was like, oh my god, this is amazing. 1:01:28.160 --> 1:01:30.560 Not thinking damn, like I'm not really making a lot 1:01:30.560 --> 1:01:32.400 of money, but these niggas is making a lot of 1:01:32.400 --> 1:01:34.560 money off my shit. But it's a mixtape, so it 1:01:34.600 --> 1:01:36.400 was for me, it was a you know, it was 1:01:36.440 --> 1:01:38.600 a calling, like, I mean, it was my calling car like, 1:01:38.640 --> 1:01:41.560 so I was just excited and I was moving around 1:01:41.600 --> 1:01:43.760 like I would. I would come to Canal Street in 1:01:43.840 --> 1:01:45.480 New York and I would, you know, even at a 1:01:45.480 --> 1:01:47.360 time when they were telling me like, nah, we don't 1:01:47.360 --> 1:01:50.400 really check for South mixtapes, I would just be like, listen, 1:01:50.760 --> 1:01:55.360 take this, it's all yours, like you know, and let 1:01:55.400 --> 1:01:57.160 me know how it does. And I would call back 1:01:57.560 --> 1:01:59.320 a couple of weeks months later and they'd be like, yo, 1:01:59.600 --> 1:02:01.560 send us more So, when. 1:02:01.440 --> 1:02:03.479 Did death start? Is that like after six from the Jump? 1:02:03.560 --> 1:02:05.120 Or is that like that was that was. 1:02:05.160 --> 1:02:06.040 All around the time. 1:02:06.120 --> 1:02:08.960 It was all around that time, around six, around the 1:02:09.360 --> 1:02:12.600 by the time Trapper Died came out, Gangster Grills was 1:02:12.640 --> 1:02:15.480 a thing, so it was like I didn't go anywhere 1:02:15.520 --> 1:02:17.320 in the country. I was on tour with TI at 1:02:17.320 --> 1:02:19.360 the time, and I was hearing my shit come out 1:02:19.360 --> 1:02:21.560 of every car. And then I was like, damn, what 1:02:21.600 --> 1:02:24.320 I'm gonna do next? And the next tape I did 1:02:24.400 --> 1:02:25.000 was Dedication. 1:02:27.600 --> 1:02:30.520 Okay, y'all, So that's gonna conclude part one of our 1:02:30.560 --> 1:02:33.200 conversation with DJ Drama. But wait a minute, you need 1:02:33.240 --> 1:02:35.720 to stay tuned for part two, Well, we speak to 1:02:35.760 --> 1:02:39.640 Drama about making mixtape classics with Lil Wayne, his evolution 1:02:39.760 --> 1:02:43.200 from making those tapes to platinum hits, and why he 1:02:43.400 --> 1:02:47.360 is so proud about working with Fonte and Little Brother 1:02:47.440 --> 1:02:49.760 on Separate but Equal. Oh y'all don't want to miss 1:02:49.760 --> 1:02:50.400 that conversation. 1:02:50.520 --> 1:02:51.959 It gets deep and so good. 1:02:52.360 --> 1:02:56.200 But listen, stay tuned because we got more with my family. 1:02:56.480 --> 1:02:59.600 Repens c Au All Day, DJ Drama. 1:03:01.120 --> 1:03:07.040 Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. For more 1:03:07.080 --> 1:03:11.560 podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 1:03:11.600 --> 1:03:13.240 wherever you listen to your favorite shows.