Shannon Sharpe sits down with the head of Roc-A-Fella Records and one of the biggest entrepreneurs in the game, Dame Dash.
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Got bunkey fights, get him, gotta get him, gotta, I gotta gotta go. He's too strong, he been, he been his caving bogus too all my life and running all my life, sacri fice, hustle back price, Want a slice? Got the broll dice to swap all my life? I've been grinding all my life, all my life, been running all my life, sacrifice, hustle back price and want a slice, Got the broll dice to swap all my life? I've been grinding in all my life. Hello, welcome to another edition of the Club Sha Shape. I am your whole Shannon Sharp. I'm also the proprietor Club Sha Shape, and the guy that's stopping by for a drinking conversation today is an entrepreneur, media mogul, record a record executive, a legend, the ultimate hustler. Damn day, damn. How you doing, broum good? How you doing? You're doing better than good? Yeah? Explain to get off. Well, you know, I designed all my clothes. Okay, So I designed this shirt, and I designed these shorts, and I designed these socks. Right, so I decided to wear it. So are you like? Okay? So do you only wear your gear or do you wear other mostly mine? You know, when I was younger and I was running around in the fashion world, you know, I'm cocky and I'm arrogant, and I ran into like Ralph Ferrin, and you know, I think I'm cooler than him, and he's just kind of grinned at me, and I walked off and I realized I had a purple labeled shut on. It devastated me. So I was like, I could never I just feel funny wearing another man's clothing and then I meet him, right, I just don't know. I just feel like, also, I could always do things better creatively. I like to do everything myself. I feel like good taste transcends, you know, everything, and uh, you know, I like to do everything my self. So that's why I like to have my own. And then also I like to monetize the things that I love to do for free. Right, So if I'm gonna get fresh, you know, I love it, I might as well make the clothes. And ultimately it costs less to make your own rather than to pay for somebody else's. It just takes a little more time, but I like the process, right, yeah, right, So I designed everything down to my journey except for the classics. So before we go any further, you know, I'm an entrepreneur. I just started in the connact business. I got this was called La Portiers, a bsop named after my grandmother, and I wanted your one entrepreneur to another appreciate it. Welcome to the business is a rough business. It is, Pip, what you think? Can you do the Dame dash with that? Can you? You know you got the dance with the two bottles? You know? Then girls have to be here. A damn, You're never doing the Dame Dass dance without women, and I don't think possible. Let me do all that. Now come over to my name, Yes, you can do that, fine soul. So how have you been? What's new with you? Everything? Man, all my dreams are coming true. You know. I want to go down in history, not as like an actor or you know, an entertainer, not even an entrepreneur. I want to go down in history as an industry conqueror. Okay, you know I don't think the way industries are shut up right now? Behoove us as a culture and they all need to be changed. So when I went into the music business, I shook that shut up, and I benched the people from the other culture that I didn't think we're treating us fairly like a Lee or Cohen. I like to call them out by name, which a lot of us don't do. And did the same thing in the movie business. You know. I don't like to get at homeboy Weinstein, but I was getting after him way before we went through what he went through, and everybody thought I was crazy when I made paid him full, which I'm about to make part two, and fashion same thing, Rockwear, Rachel Roy stay property, you know. But the industry and television right now, I have this partnership with Fox Soul, and I have my own studios and make my own movies. I distribute other people's movies. I'm a director. But the industry that I really haven't shook up. And I've been really aggravated about his sports. I think it's the most flagrant example of racism and the programming of us looking like we're not equal, and us hurting each other and still looking and regarding each other as number two, especially the NFL. So you know, I look at things on a therapeutic and also a psychological level, because that's the way muscle is controlled. So if you're a professional football player, which you have been your owner, I don't even like that name. Your owner is the person that's your lifeline, that's who pays you, that's who you have to be nice to all the time, no matter what, no matter how good you are. And every owner is white. Every owner is white. And I've personally tried to buy teams with people from the NFL and you have to get voted in and all this, and it's ridiculous that every black well number one in the NFL. If everyone black quit, there is no NFL. True, But at the end of the day, they all have to look up to a white man owner and that must be traumatizing and I don't like it. So I'm not mad about how people set their own house up. I just build my own. So what you do understand how hard it is to get into that because they only have thirty two teams, listen franchises that don't become available. Barrier, I just say something about me. Nothing's hard for me. What's hard for me is not trying. Even if it's not successful. I'm doing it, and I'm doing it now. So my first step is an Arena Football League. We have a team, the Tampa Cyclones, will be ships airing it. And you know they'll be black owners. It doesn't mean that only black people could play, but we'll be the landlords. I'm gonna start with six teams. We start immediately. You know, I think I'm gonna make the announcement next next Monday in Tampa and uh, you know, we start playing. Our first game is April second, but in Alabama or Mississippi is the first game in March. And you know, I'm gonna have an approach on this. And my thing is they'll be black head coaches. They'll be therapy, they'll be economic literacy, and they'll be teaching not like yo, how to stay here, like you know, be taught that you could be successful if you act a certain way. It'll be about making sure that the players are rich and literate on every level, in every way. And what about the players that just want to give a paycheck go home. Everybody doesn't want to be it doesn't have the business augment that you does, or don't want to be in that business model. That's why I'll do the rough stuff. I'm gonna make sure that when the player doesn't have a career as a football player anymore. They have a career as an entrepreneur. They'll have some real estate. And also, I'm gonna do the same thing in the metaverse. Or already got the I use for the MFL, the Metroros Football League, and already have the technology to ford d m up and already have the real estate in network, which is like the YouTube of the metaverse. Already have the stadium being built. I got the AI. You know, I'm thinking in other dimensions as well. So at the end of the day, I want to shake up the sports industry. At least I'm gonna try. Everybody looks tough for nobody's fighting them when no one presents a different alternative. But I just think things would be a little better if we were in control, if we were just the landlords. I want to be in my own owner's box. I don't want to be a VIP and someone else's right. So I'll do it myself, and I'm up for the fight. I'm up for the war. You know, usually when you want to take a block, you get it. Whoever's the toughest one. I want to get it, Jerry Jones, so you know. I'd love to have a conversation with him to make me understand why there's no black owners. I want to know, Well, you do realize that you're talking about you need it own thirty percent the Bronco lifting. I don't want an NFL team. I'm making my own league for you on the own league. No, I have my own league, but doing it. But here's and look how they treat us in the HBCU. Right, Yes, they don't cover none of these players. Now that they can actually have the players can now get advertisements and no, no, no one will cover their games. Well, well that's not true. Since Dion Sanders has been down, that's the man. That's that's the word I'm hearing. I'm hearing his name a lot. Yes, but that's what I'm saying, since one of us had to go take control of that situation. But if we don't take control, it doesn't get control. We end up just doing what's the best for them. Right. And I'm in Jackson's at Gramblin University, so you're starting to get guys, that's familiar, right. I think they're making a conscious effort. I think some of the some of the broadcast partners are starting to to highlight HBC US and show that there are guys. We have to highlight ourselves. We have to have our own television network. That's the reason why I have my own television network. We have to showcase our image. We have to visualize what it looks like when we win, not when we fit in. It's when we the bosses, and that's what it has to be seen and it's never shown. So that's what I'm going to do for sports, the same way I did it for music, the same way I did it for movies. I'm gonna take us. I'm gonna take a swing on sports. I don't like it. Before I didn't have the bag. I have the plan and I'm getting that. I'm doing it, and I'm also gonna bring awareness to those HBC YOU teams as well as well as whoever else is doing it. But I'm gonna do my part just because I haven't ever been able, you know. It's just something that's been bothering me time. Like certain teams I don't like because I'd be like, yo, they never had a black head coach, they'll never get a black I just don't like it, you know, I just have when my culture. I love the people I love. When they hurt, I hurt, right. So I'm not in that, but I'm still affected by it. I'm not gonna be in that program and be considered distractions and watch my culture get their heads batter than they be, ending up with all its trauma and work away with nothing right. You know, I hear more stories of harvest, stories of making the NFL. It's supposed to be a dream and then it turns into a nightmare. This is what I hear, and I hear it just because of the psycho psychological pressure it takes just to even fit in. But of course, if you're thinking your number two, when you gotta pray to some white men they get paid, of course you're gonna be traumatized. That's the program that has to stop. And I'm not gonna complain about what they do. I'm a complain about what I don't do. So I'm gonna try and I'm gonna win. So if that I don't visualize the law seven? Is that the reason why you got into the spaces that you got in, You got into the music, you've got into the I played a little bit. I played football. I'm a fan Okay, I played basketball, I'm a fan. I played lacrosse. I'm a fan. And these are the things where I just don't like the narrative where the person calling the plays is never from my culture really, and when they are, it's like a big deal it. Ship should be the normal. We gotta own ship so we can make the rules. Will never ever make the rules if we don't own nothing. And I don't want to start out as big as them. I just want to own it. I just want to try it as an owner. I want to see it. But everybody makes things look so hard when they never try it. I gotta try it. Okay, you want to own, I gotta own. I can't speak in any other language. But here's the thing. I only talk boss. What about people that don't want to own? What about them? They don't have to, but I fight for them, and I'll make sure they don't get abused. They'll be protected by those that do. Period. Okay, I can I can rock with that. You mentioned your arena league, what you and listening that you talk. You said, well, I'm tired of seeing that people that look like me do all the heavy lifting, they do, all the legwork, they catch the ball, they throw the ball, they tackle the they're getting hit. While we look up there and the people that's looking at using the money look like us. They don't look like us. They're paying us, they're laughing at us. That's the way I look at it. So, if you had an opportunity to buy an NFL team, you don't want to buy an NFL team. You want to go a competing league. No, no, no, if they want to play nice. We've tried to buy how many black teap men have tried to buy football teams? And a white board said no, I know ray Lewis tried as a majority or as a minority. I want I want to be the boss. Okay, well, how but here's the thing. I tried to buy the Raiders. I get it, thank I get it. But how many black people have the capital to be able to put up thirty percent of an NFL team? First of all, how many people in general put up their own many in the first place. Anyway, we all have to come together and put our money together. They're gonna make it right. That's the difference between us and them. They know how to leverage, they know how to stick together. They don't put up no money. They pre sell everything before it happens. You get it, you get build it, mean pre sell the rights to the naming rights, and then it pays for everything. They just beat us. Don't know how to do it. There's no owner. One on one. I'll give it to you. I made one. I know how to run a team right now, I think. But I'm gonna try. It's logical. You know the goes. They won't I again. I'm gonna get an opportunity to be it on it. Let me talk to you for a second. Okay, having the money doesn't mean you're getting in that club. And you know that true bust it would already be there two exactly. So I'm gonna go bust my ass and my chops to raise a bunch of money, kiss their ass, and they still gonna tell me no all, I'm gonna end up as mad. I've been through this dance before I tried to buy a team. I'm trying to tell you, just like if you try to buy a house, just because you're gonna be add on the house, don't mean you're gonna win the be it again again. I'd make my own team, but that in NFL. Fuck it. I'm gonna say that. I'm gonna say this. I'm gonna say this. They have no con I'm coming to be con. I want to take a stab at it. Right, Why do you listen? I don't want That's like saying, make a TV show. I'm gonna say, nah, bro, I'm gonna have my own network, make a movie. Nah. I gotta have my own movie company, make a record. Nah, I gotta have a label. So when I was eighteen years old and everyone was telling me Yo Jays is whack, no one would sign him, I had to do it myself. When Kanye when no one would sign him, I had to do it myself. When no one would put Kevin hard on, I had to do it myself. When no one would fund Lee Daniels, I had to do it myself. And it goes on and on and on. I gotta do this myself. It's gotta be a fist though, because you mentioned, okay, you mentioned why I want to fit in and I could build my own Okay, build Why do I think they better than me? Why would I think they better than me because he's been there longer? No, because they because they own it and I don't my shit is better no matter what period. And you'll see I'm gonna be logical about the approach and I'm gonna be futuristic. I'm always in dimension. I had a promise for that. Just watch. And also, you just want a team, you can have one. How about that? You want a team? Ready? I gotta you know, see anyway, you always welcome over here. But hey, I treat you like that. I'll treat you how you deserve. I get all that. But because I'm big, I got so many things going on. That means I gotta I gotta put down a lot of things to like, read up on what I need to do because I like you. I want to be good at it. If you're a good chef, right and someone can't cook, I'm just said if ye if hypothetic. Okay, If you're a good chef and you know someone wants you to cook for the biggest restaurant in the world, right, you go, I can't cook for a thousand people. They go, We'll train tends, make junior chefs so they can make it. You can always make things happen, And you should never think about the reasons why you can't. You only think about the reasons why you can, I don't visualize they can't. Well, that's why I stared. See, that's why I stared. My reader the metal my metaverse. They got metaverses over there. It's it doesn't cost a dollar to dream, and in my dream, everything it's perfect. So I don't think about the reasons why or how tired i'm gonna be. I'm inspired by what I do, so I'm doing it. I don't care about. I'm gonna make sure I do everything and be apparent every day all day. I've been able to do it. So if I were to tell you when I'm eighteen year old, I'm gonna be the biggest in music independently, I'm gonna make the biggest movies, or at least the best ones. I'm gonna have the biggest clothing lines. I'm gonna do it all on my own. I got my g D. People traditionally would say I was crazy. They all did. And unless you have a dream that people think are crazy, then your dream is whack. I dream big, bro, and everyone around me that dreams big that I've taught the dream big. You're reading a bottom in force, but billions next to their names, those are my students. Well, I'm out a little nick because I want to be next to my name. And I ain't just talking about boss me neither, Okay, But I'm have a billion dollars worth of love, and my culture is gonna eat, not only meet, and I'm gonna toast to my culture and all of us being rich and being treated with respect, never having to fit in. I could hear about it. I want to do something about it. We hear a lot about Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. You got Dame Studios and Dame that students. Yeah, out here in Burbank, right, have another drink, salute now, I was trying to get another vodka in arms. I can't be a one hit a quitter. You can't get you know. You partner with Fox Solow. So what type of shows are you trying to produce out of your studio. It's called d programming and things like entertainment is usually made to distract us from the oppression, you know, make us visualize things that can't happen, you know, And my programming is to make us focus. It's about real wealth. So this programming like health is wealth showing how you eat. This programming and called healing his gangster therapy. There's movies, right, there's I'm part of something called the OSG one hundred and thirty Black Principles, and you know that are fighting for us when no one's looking, and I'm showcasing them. So they have their programming or what's g programming? I got uh programming like Forbidden Knowledge with Billy Carson talking about the and the knakis and the things they don't teach us that are an ancient text. We have the music, the blue rock music. Basically have everything, you know, doctor series. We have everything. So you do you do sitcoms everything, and on my app you can go to my app while you're watching it you can buy it. So we do movies. We do everything like you know. That's why you see when I came in, I'm like, you know, to me, thank you. When I look at what kind of cameras it though, huh uh huh. How many cameras you got? We got a nice little operation, we got fall camp. You got one slide I see, and you have a set, yeah, and this is a set, So why not do some scripted for the same money you're sitting down talking. That's what I learned from having a student. I'm like, yo, for the same fucking money, I could do well. You could do a lot of things scripted. Scripted gives you residual income, right, And that's what it's about, making money while you're sitting by the pool. See that's the problem. Like you know, sometimes trying to lure my crew away. No, I'm trying to tell you. I'm trying to tell you what they do with your crew. I'll do it with you if you weren't. You give me all these pros. What if some of the cons they gotta be, they gotta be. No, the cons is you don't try, and you wonder what would have happened if you did your whole life and nothing comes true. So there has never been a venture that you should slat out to do that didn't come through, didn't come through fru wishing. I learned that they don't sometimes come through the timing and which I want them to. But the experience, like you know, I sold oil, I've done all that stuff. It was just to see what it was like for me. Experience is the wind, right, you can't smoke. Experience is the wind. You know what I'm saying. So you know I made my dreams come true when I was young. I was like a hip hop mogul before I was told five, so I hadn't needed more ship to do. It's just everything I visualized in my head. I usually end up doing my version of it. I don't want to do what everyone else's version of it, because then they have to get somebody else's money, be told what they do. My version of my dreams is doing it myself, being completely independent and always being able to stand behind my point of view fearlessly and unapologetically. Right. So why is it so important? Because you, like you said, you do clothing, you do it, records, you got sporting up and f ts. Yeah, because that's what inspires me. I'm an artist, so you like being diversified. You would like that. I'm just doing music. I'm just doing clothing. I like to do a TV show. I like doing whatever inspires me. Okay for a living. So the trick is to do something and you've learned it. Yes, people, you would play football for free you love it, but you would learn to get paid. Yeah. I would have played for mother, but I need to know everybody else played for free too. I ain't playing it for free there, But that's not my point. My point is, you know I'm saying. My point is the trick is to get paid to do something that you would do right free because you love it right and then it never feels like Burke right. So I'm just the person that's inspired by a lot of things. So I just like to do everything without somebody telling me what to do. So if I say I want to be a football I want a football team. I don't want to have to try out and just make the team. You mentioned earlier that you're doing the paid in full too. Will we see any of the original actress? They're too old y see, I mean Poe Mcca five for it in camera they were all fifty. Now what is it make Cocoon pay the full for fifty year old wife TV. I didn't say that, but they will. It'll be what painingful nurse at home? I don't know. They're too old to play young characters. Day You did help you You mentioned you mentioned that some of the things, some of the projects you you help funded. Lee Daniels, you produced help I funded him, you funded him. Yeah, nobody helped I gave him that. I gave him that bank when you're making investment. Okay, you you fund Lee Daniels or I ain't doing that no more. Okay, that was that was a mistake. Okay, you did that the cabin hart. I put him in a movie. Ye put him in. You to off a stage him in the movie the next day? How do how do you? How do you know? Because I'm confident when you're a lot of people, hold on, there's a lot of comedians in the club that you didn't take off the stage and put him in a movie. Yeah, I was confident and the fact that I thought he was funny and a lot of funny people, that's why they comedian. I picked a lot of funny people. Yeah, but we don't put him in a movie the role I needed. He he fit the role. I needed a little dude that was funny, that could make fun of himself. He fit the bill. He fit the bill, okay. And he just took the opportunity. Like I give a lot of people the same opportunities, and I see pretention a lot of people that don't realize them. Effort and again, as a professional athlete, you know it could be good. But I have a discipline and you know you end up going nowhere. So just Kevin is one of those people that just had the work I think, and took the opportunity. And I might not agree with everything he's done, but you know he's got where he has to go, you know what I'm saying. So, in other words, you have an eye for talent. Yeah, I have an eye for talent for sure, But having an eye for work ethic is also something. I have an eye for it too. There are a lot of people that work hard and our talented day and they end up getting good places, great places. So you see Kevin, you see Jay, You see a lot of these people, and you're saying, Okay, I'm doing this. They can fit the bill for what I'm looking for. They work hard, they're discipline, they're determined. Their work ethic match my work ethic, and I think we can go places they make the tryout, right. I put him through training camp, my version of it, and if you can make it, then we're gonna get money. How do you know somebody has it? You know, I don't know what, but he has he or she has it. I don't know. I just it's being inspired. It's like, how do you know it's gonna make your body move like by dancing. I don't just gonna start moving. How you know you're gonna be attracted to a woman. It's just just things that you see in the person or that sometimes just inspire you. You don't know why. Born in Harlem, raised in Harlem. Hm, you're upbringing when Dame was growing up? What did you want to be? What did you inspire to? Damn you running through that cup? I'm a rock star, bro, are we gonna be able to get through the interview? Are you gonna be? Are you gonna be drunk? Gonna be? Did you see that? You saw when I bodied Nori on his own show, Drink Champs, she ended up like ridiculous. I'm a rock star, but I'm dam dash, I'm a professional rock star. Ste another one. Yeah, well, I mean we're coming to me, you know we do? You know, we don't really have bottle stir, we don't have box tailers that everything. You said, this is a club, Yeah, so I got I guess I gotta hi are the end of everything. But if you say it's a club, yeah, I mean say you're a football team. You got a football players, right, and a football we might be a soccer team. Then you have to have soccer. I'm I'm doing all the sports. Trust me. I'm starting with football. I'm going back. I'm going basketball next. I'll show you a plan if you want to know it. I'm here, I mean, I'm in. Can I can I start with this and take this to another level. This is a hard business because in every state there's different laws. I'm learning and then you have to and then you have to beg for real estate. You have to go do these taste things and it's a lot, so you know, but when it gets going, it gets going. It's a replenishable good. It's not like you have to keep designing making them so you know. See, see, I look at you. You just told me you're trying to deter me from my I said, I did say that. I just told you it's a hard thing. Okay, I don't care. You just told me me to care about it. I just said, be prepared for it. I'm prepared. There it is now I need you to help me to to elevate. Okay, what's the name of it. It's called the Portier BP. Get it. Here you go, and if you want I sponsor, I put your I put See the thing is I got stadiums right yea, and I could put you want you want to put it in there? Go ahead, boys, I help out, bro if my spots clicking in your work's good, I share. I want to see you winning. If I can help, I will. I just wanted the same energy reciprocated Hollop hall The Hallom swag ridiculous. But everybody, every borough field, they got their own swag. Who all of them dudes don't care about every brod they there there you queens, stop what I'm saying. Yeah, I mean what about Hollom. We just want to win. That's it. It doesn't matter. All the extra shit is corny. It's about getting that bread and looking good doing it and always being on your ding, having honor, being cut from a certain cloth like a real cat, right, you know, that's all. Just knowing that if you're not number one now you will be right, you know, because we're hustless, so we don't give a fuck about betting at all every time. There's no fear that. But you know, have you always been a hustler? Yeah? Where did that come from? So my bloodline? I have an interesting family, Okay, tell me a little bit about it. I can't not allow you can't speak about your failing, not that part. Okay, I don't have to get permission. I read your mother passed away at a very young age. The impact. Then you had to go to a boarding school with the impact. I didn't have to. I put myself in the boarding so, okay, made me a beast, It made me an animal, made me feel us. My worst nightmare was losing my mother, and it happened to me fairly young, right, So what else did I have to be scared of? Then my friends started to become killers, and I knew that I would be have to become one because it was part of the game, and I was becoming a product of my environment. My mother worked too hard for me not to have to do that. So I put myself in boarding school South Kent. I played football, across in basketball and started boxing as a team. So the homies do what they think, like, that's not for me. I see something big or brighter, know I was. I was hustling, yeah hard, I just you know. The boxing happened because somebody aw me some money. You had to put hands on him, and I was like, might as well. Sophisticate teasy. She can't. You want to get good at it, so you really do for that. I got very good at it. I had to or so I was like, you know, handsome and shit. So you know, so the under estimate you always so when they looking at her, man you all decked out, They're like, it was just I was a smaller good you know. It was like it was like, you know, they're trying to look at me like a pretty boy, and I was like, I just act ugly for y'all. Then, you know, marketing promoting what what I mean? Because because what you do, you're right, you take a space that somebody else. You're like, I don't want to be in your space. I want to have my own space. That's what I feel like, that's what every man should want. I don't see any other way. Like, you know, I have friends that have big houses, but I can't stay at their houses. I like to walk around the way I want. I like to infrigerator, right, you know. I like to make the rules, and I can only make the rules in my house. Right. I have to abide by other's rules and other people's houses, and I don't like other people's rules. Sometimes So what what knowledge did you take from the street and incorporated into what you do now? Everything marketing? You know, you had a color top and you definitely somebody came into block using your color and putting some You know that that was a problem because they could compromise you what people think about your work. And then also infrastructure. You know, I had a team at a young age. You know, I had people working for me. I had to collect, I had to re up all that type of thing. How do you But the difference is I was, you know, definitely way twenty years way past twenty years ago, but I was really young, and I applied all those things to what I do now. The differences the recourses in jail or death, So the ship is easy. That's my point. Like, if you fail in that world, you go to jail or you know, you die, right, That's why I stopped. It's not sustainable in my teens. But in this world, what the fuck's gonna happen? How do you put enough people to do what you needed to do what you wanted to do. You have to have enough people around you you can trust. I don't trust nobody, what you mean, you don't trust anybody? I don't trust nobody. Let's to be a drug dealer, bro, you still had to trust somebody. You gave somebody your drug. They had to so you sold y'all. You had no you had no runners. I didn't give them enough to hurt me. But I gave him enough to make me hurt them. But still you so you still had to trust them. Didn't trust them. It just didn't give him enough to hurt me. What do you mean I wouldn't give him my whole stash. You first hit somebody, I feel like I'm gonna jail with this. You ain't gonna limitation. I said, you know, you hit somebody, give them enough work to war. If they don't give you back, it don't hurt you. But I'm never giving somebody everything. No nobody would do that. But what about So what about? And I'm sorry to music and don't trust. In order for you to get like this, you had somebody had to betray you. So you trusted somebody from the beginning because you learned through experience. No, no, no, I never trusted anybody. And if you notice, I was known for punishing people that portrayed my trust. I just wasn't having it. And then I walk away. So once somebody portrays or does something that's beyond my boundaries that I can get, can't control to where it could hurt me, it's trying to go. But the music industry itself to me was a waste of time. Why that caught you on the map? It was a stepping stone. But when I say it's a waste of time, industry wise, they don't do real business. There's figureheads that that don't have the power. Like you could call somebody a president at a music company and they don't know shit about P and L and it's just a figurehead. It's not real business. It's just you know, the majors, which is not run by our culture, putting us as figureheads there so that they could say that it's still being run by black people, But it's not. All the decisions will being made by someone else. Do you know that? So I got sick of playing those games. I was too ill in the street to be a sucker in the real in business, you know, on corporate business. How'd you meet? You? Say? Jay Z Clark Kent introduced me to him. What made you think of twenty six year old rapper could be big? In the industry because he had on Nike ass. What the hell I gotta do with it? We was from Brooklyn, I'm from Harland. Back in those days, Brooklyn dudes didn't wear Nike ass, So that was a flag for me. You got a very peculiar way of of of of recognizing people and believing that they can do big things based on an appearance. Seems like it works, doesn't it. You said you were tired for begging for a seat at the tape. I never begged for a seat to said, I broke that table. I never begged for nothing. So I'm sorry. I'm sired of hearing us to beg before the table. How about when you when you and Jay Jay blows up your company? Now people want to talk to you. You understand we were always blown up. J V wasn't always blown up. Yeah, we was in the street. We was doing really well. No, he didn't make no you know, I promise you think about this. Back in those days, the rappers were emulating the drug dealers. Yes, we were really good drug dealers, so we were famous in the street already. Yeah, so it was normal. But were you going why? That's why when like Lee or offered us a million dollars. We was like, we laughed at him, right, it was like, we're not here for a million dollars. Yeah, because we like having fun, right, you know? But we knew once we got there, Yeah, we're hustlers. Of course we're gonna fucking destroy this ship, which we did. We did exactly what we said we were gonna do when I knew we were. And who who educated you on owning your masters? Because that seems to be something that a lot of a lot of musicians entertainments struggle with and they're fighting, they're scratching and trying to claw it back. That was my education. Listen to everybody else complain about it. Right, If I hear somebody made a mistake, why would I make the same mistake? Right? That's dumb? So how how difficult was it to negotiate that? You don't have to negotiate anything when you own it? There was no negotiation. What are you talking about when you're the boss? You don't have to negotiate. You fire people. You seem to have a as a business mogul. You he seemed to have a very short fuse. No, I just don't like disrespect that's the street ship. So that I have triggers for sure. Disrespect it's a big trigger. What what do you determined as disrespect? Not being a man in your work, having an agreement, or crushing my boundaries when I clearly established it. So I make my boundaries clear and awesome, you're consciously disrespecting me. And then the street that means you think I'm soft. So then I gotta swing on you. What's his name, governor, governor your dad? Yeah, you know that too hard. He's not listening monkey, get him go. He's too strong. He's been his caving bogus too. So how you stay so strong? Strong? I work out? Watch what you all the things you do? You make time to work. There you go with it, There you go, there you go. You see all that wasn't necessary. Yes, you're right. I find the time to do the things that I want to do. Exactly, we find the time to do the things that we want to do. We prioritize touring in the nineties. In two thousand, you put together two or fifty fourth thirty JZ Deal makes Jar Rule, red Man Method, Eve Property nineteen million revolutionized the hip hop touring in the hip hop industry in nineteen ninety nine. But now you said, what's wrong with touring? There's nothing wrong with toring. You mean artists today it's COVID. You can't go out right now. But I don't know. I'm not touring. I don't know what's wrong to goring. That's the only way an artist makes money. Really. I think the problem maybe with touring now is just these three sixty deals where you sell your touring to the record company. But touring is the way you make your bread. But here's the thing, why would they do that because they don't have any bread. You don't have nothing. You're selling something. You're like, yo, I don't have it anyway, so you sell it. Actually, I don't know I'm doing that, says why not do it yourself? You get a hundred people in room, you get one hundred thousand, Right, it's just a little harder work. It's the advanced money. If you've been broke your whole life and someone's gonna give you something that's gonna make you like, all of a sudden being another social circle, yes, then you're gonna do it when you're young. I've been broke your whole life and somebody's gonna make you rich like that, at least what you're perceive it. But you're taking it so you know, people know how to trigger people. It's a program. But the thing is, if you've been broke your whole life, another six months not gonna break you. Wouldn't. Nobody's thinking that. If you even broke your whole life, that's like being underwater. Soon somebody's gonna give you some oxygen. You're taking it, but I'm not excusing it. I have never I wasn't broken my whole life, right, I was never broken. My version of broke is completely different than most Right. What made you decide to start capturing contents content while you were touring? Because it was logical. I knew we were making history. I know what it would look like edited. I could visualize the future, but I wouldn't. I've been capturing. That's the reason why I have television. I I captured everything right, everything, the hardest, the hardest item. Bet you know the the difference between me and everyone else, Okay, because I don't wait for everybody else to do it. I just do It's logical no matter what. I don't know why everybody wants to be you know that I'm gonna be doing what everyone else is doing. Why do you want to be in a crowd of people that are doing the same thing? You disappear. I just like to stand out. If everybody's doing something, then I don't want to do it right. The reason why we said what's to get up? Because no one can dress like me. I know that when I walk in this room, no one's gonna have this outfit on. They can't do it, can't, won't not. You cannot put this outfit together. This you have to be a black belt. The Rockefeller chain, M what about it? Why was it so popular? Because I made it popular how by saying, let's make a Rockefeller chain? And you noticed me I would publicly give them away and I was the only one that gave them away. So unless I gave you a Rockefeller chain, you don't have a real Rockefeller chain. It's it's it's fuego Kanye. When you when you first met Kanye, you heard it sound. Did you knew he did you know he could be what he became? No, not at all. I never expected that in a billion years. So even something something surprised you, I'm not surprised. Nothing surprised to me, but I didn't expect it. Okay, well you didn't expect it, so I expected. I expected other people that were in my crew to be Kanye. I expected someone to do those things, but I didn't know it would be him. But the reason why it was him is because he had the most respect for me. He's the only one that listened completely. It still does on certain levels. Yeah, the Easy brand, Jordan brand had a head start. That's why I've always said, I think it's so hard for someone to compete with the Jordan because he got a twenty five thirty year head start on you. But the Easy has made up a lot of ground in a very short time. Yeah, why why? And how did the Yeasy become so popular? Jordan didn't make music so the crossover peal. Jordan was known for playing good basketball, right, Kanye's known for something completely different. If Michael Jackson had sneakers and they were designed well, he would have made more money than Michael Jordan. I think I like to think I like about artists. Now they're willing to branch out. Back then, the artists just wanted to do what he was good at because I taught them that we're talking about one of my students. Yeah, yeah, that's the point. I teach people things so it could that's in the future. I played chess, not checkers. Right, everything that happened now was dictated by something that happened one hundred years ago. I'm planning for the next hundred years. So I have to get my people right as babies. Old people are fucking stubborn. Second, talking to people that don't listen just because they didn't have the heart to fight. They judge the others that do. These young cats, they down for it because they don't know no other way. Why is it's so important for you to empower those around you? You always talk about how you give knowledge, How if people listen, you got you can go place, you can do things. Why is that so important for you? Because I love my culture. It's like asking me, why would it be important for me to educate my child because I love my child? Simple as that, pretty simple. It's all about love. I'm not going to educate you. If I don't love you, right, I go a fuck about you. Why would I speak to you a little harsh? Yeah? If I don't care about you, why what I speaks to you? I care about the people I speak to. I make the effort. I even hurt myself sometime to help others sometime to default. Not ask you to to re goo through every step by step. Obviously you and Jay aren't as close. Maybe you would because I heard it Hall of Fame speech and he thanked You say, you guys don't see addio on some things. But what you guys work. We're in court right now. That's why I said, But yeah, what about it? It's because you're giving me shot glasses. That's what it is. Mad, A little shot glass man for a rock star is No, that's not what we call him where I'm from, y'all call him rock star. That's not what we call him. Yeah, you're a professional athlete. You had to stay. You know you couldn't be getting drunk. I don't. I don't know if I could probably be on the floor by now. You man strong, But this ship will not get the fuck out. You probably got a protein shake back there while I wasn't looking at song. Let's get a little to it day. You guys made magic. You guys made history. A different a difference of opinion. What difference is the name? I don't know what we're talking about right now, J What about why y'all kid? Just hey, bro, get into a room, Hey bro, hug it out straight. What you're talking about. Why don't listening to the paper? Why you in court? Did if y're straight? Because he sued me for something that he said that I did that I didn't and then I just had to sue him because he was redirecting funds for reasonable doubt. I didn't realize it. It's just I would never sue somebody I used to hustle with. I'm not into sueing anybody. I was disappointing. I think it's embarrassing. But the thing about it is, you know, again the program is when two black people used to work together and now they don't, then they gotta be beefing. I'm not beefing with that man. I don't care what he's doing. I don't like the way he carried things, but you know that's on him. He went his way. I went mind. When you get traded from a team, do you hate the team you get traded from? No? All right, I mean something some team some people do. Let me take that back, But what's the beef that I have with him? That you think. Tell me I don't. I don't think. I don't think you have any I just feel like, dang man, I have no beefing this. I don't know you or him well enough. I don't have the beef in any black man. That's what we're programming to do. Fight each other and not pay attention to the people that are pressing us. I ain't got no beef for Jay. Just stay over there, I stay over here. I just you know the team he plays for. It's not the team I played for. Period. I just chose a different team. Well, why we can't all get together and coom buy y'all hug this thing. Go and get him hug what thing out? If I see Jameson pounding the hug, no matter what what you're talking about, get out of Courtney, I talk to your man going to the club, talk about this. You say, you're a rock star, so you got no I am all right, Okay, you're a rock star, no doubt. You go to the club. I don't go to the club. I go to my club that I own. Okay, you go to the club that you own. What about that club and the bottles? Did you start the bottle? Did you start the bottle service to pop in the bottles, and I would say I didn't start bottle service because that means you could pay for cool. I just started going into clubs and buying out the bar. My crew all the champagne. So all the girls have to come to us to get the champagne. It was a logical model. If you have all the champagne, the girls have to come to you to get it. What if they all like champagne? What do they like to keep the shots? See then what you keep thinking of it? That's too much? Then they like me, they like who damn dash, They don't like the champagne. They like dame dads. But see you buying up something. You you fourth them like you just said, you said, if you got my head on the water with the first chance I get to get oxygen, I'm gonna take it. If they're buying all you got all the champagne. I want champagne. I got to come see you that. I'm not bottling hardly coming. You forced me into the situation. I don't know what you do exactly what I'm talking about. You brought all the champagne, so the hunts up in there. We had to come see you. You didn't give them an opportune You didn't give them a choice. They didn't have to come see if they wanted a Champagne, you had it all right, So what you mean they didn't have a choice. So what's the problem with you? I understand the end. There's the problem. Why Why is that a problem? Because you forced the people. I enforce anybody. It's good marketing. What you did, you knew if I buy up all of this, right, you gonna have to come see me to get this. Sounds like I'm a genius. Sound like you you gouge it that you put people in a situation where they had no choice. I call that genius. Look, if there's if there's a disaster, and I all the brave, all the wars, Champagne's not a desag yes it is. And the club it is. You go to the club and do what I don't have a good time, right. I think you're making things too complicated, not to complicated. I think you slick, That's what I think. I'm very slick. Okay, See, I thought I wanted you to say two minutes ago, and you should have asked me. You think you slicking? Up and like, yeah, I know, did you realize that with a trend at the side? I made it a trend. I make the trends. You should have patted to say, you can't buy the UK, you can buy the bar? Why should I do that? They should call it a day. I wanted it to be contagious. I wanted everybody to buy the bar. I lead by example. I'm not gonna patent this so no one else could do it. Then I gotta do it all the time. I want to have everybody else to do it. A Leah day too? What's your legacy? Coolest girl in the whole world? You know, too good for this world? Who is there anybody that remind you have her style? Yeah? My girl? Right come, that's who reminds me of a live doctor. Dre said recently, artists care more about money and not the art. Do you agree with that? He said? What artists care more about money and not the art? I don't know. I think broke people care more about the money. Ask somebody, Regista, what hell? How many millionaire rappers you know that start out as millionaires and get into the rap game? Jade Smith? Who will Smith's son? Oh? Lord, a Mercy tis Son. I thought you was gonna say. I thought you're gonna say Kendrick Lamar. I thought you were gonna say eminem elude or TI. Why would I say that that wouldn't be true because they know stop. I just answered your question honest. So Jay, so you you James, no disrespect, but come on that. I'm fifty man, I don't judge these kids. I don't know what language they're talking. This man said, James Smill. You just said, is there any rappers that started on his name? There's that name too off top? Yeah, but I don't they toured. I know you just asked me. That's what I'm saying. Well, I mean you can say anything. No, I said the truth. No, that's not James Smith's not a rapper. That's what you call it. Okay, you're the guy. You the expert. I'm not oh shitty, this is James Smith. No, that's not what I all I said. I said, that's what you as. You're the expert. You're the expert. I said a rapp though, Kenny for I saw, yeah, okay, I'm an you the expert. If you wouldn't ask me something, not an expert. I'm fifty no no, no no, no, no, you've been in the business, right, Okay, this rap beef that we have going on? We see, pops, what we see so many of these young dolf We see so many of these guys. What's going on? How do we stop that? It's an algorithm that needs to be stopped. So the algorithm that's like if you like to look at trolling and beef and it pops up on your phone, YouTube should stop paying when people put up beef. That algorithm needs to be stopped. The algorithms or they're controlling us right now. So instead of people paying attention to a negative algorithm, they should pay attention to a positive one. It's just the program that we keep falling into. Like I said, family killing family instead of your real enemy. Is your enemy tricking you to do that, and we're aware of it, but we keep doing it. My rule of thumb is I'm not hurting anybody with the same color skin as me, period, and then it just keeps things peaceful if they're real. I mean, you know it for the longest time to go back west coast, east coast. Now all of a sudden, I mean, everybody you know got to come out with a disth track. If somebody accidentally say something, well, I mean I saw Dame he had a Peak shirt on. Dave got to come out with a dis track. Was that like a little job. So it's it's it's it's it's it's a program, you know, it's knowing how to trigger people, and it's profitable our dysfunction. But what needs to be profitable is our our love and our unity, and that's what has to be showcased. But no one shows that. So yeah, like I said, people that are broke will do anything to not be broken. They justify not being honorable to do it. It's just don't look the other way. Money is not real. It's not backed by gold, and as you see, they're creating currencies daily. So don't do anything for money. To do things for love, and then you'll be protected and you'll know what real wealth is. You're big on promoting help. How can we get the culture op community helpier? You know, by showcasing cool people eating good food. It's about influence and leading by example. So telling people what they do doesn't work. Showing people what to do by doing it, and if they respect you, they usually do it right it's like, you know, you gotta make it aspirational kind of, but just understanding, Like there's this documentary called They're Killing Us that shows exactly how food is targeted to black people to kill them, but they won't showcase that. You know, understanding that, you know, meat has nothing but fecal and doodle all over it, ninety nine percent of it. Who the fuck wants to eat doo doo? And understanding what the GMO does to your body and your organs? Are you vegan? Vegan? Ish eight eggs and cheese? Sometimes no fish. It's disgusting. Do you see cspiracy? Like when you think of fishing or fish, you think they're people are out there fishing and that's that's not it, most of them and they're sitting in the toilet shitting, you know, and dying. It's disgusting. Anything that shit is disgusting. I'm not eating, so you don't eat no pro you don't eat no animal protein. M hm, it's disgusting. It's like eating governor. Now hein' like eating no governor. It looks like a little count. Look looks like a little pig. Advice what advice would you give someone trying to be an entrepreneur. You've done it, been there, done that. Find something you love and fight fearlessly for it until it makes money period. Because you know what, it's funny that you say that, because that's what I tell people it say. You know, I said, why would you get a fast out with good at football? And I'm you know, I found out somebody would pay me to do it most of the time. What what? What are you most what are you most here most of the time? Man, I want to get it. I want to make a lot of money. Okay, what do you want to do? I don't care. I just want to make a lot of money. It's not gonna happen because you just say it. Find something you love. Everything will take care of itself. But if you just want to do something to make money, you're not gonna love doing it necessarily and then when you won't stick to it. So what's your question? How do you teach? Well? I think the thing is up what becoming an entrepreneur? Because I think just because are they are they are they exclusive? I mean, just because you're an entrepreneur, does that mean that that means you're making tons of money? If they're making tons of money. Does that means you're an entrepreneur? If you're a football player, does that making making tons of money? Yeah? Yeah, I'm a football player, but I'm not an entrepreneur. And asking that, I ask you, if you're a football player, yeah, does that mean you're making tons of money? Not? Well, I mean I didn't at first, but I started out making money, but I love football. It depends on the football player, right, same thing with entrepreneurs. Depends on the entrepreneur. What qualities make a good entrepreneur? What qualities make a good football player? It all depends on the positions that he's playing, whatever position these plays. Okay, Uh, the things that make a quarterback good necessarily might not make an offensive lineman good. And the thing that makes an offensive wasn't good. Question what every entrepreneur does a different business. I'm asking you what us over the quality? I'm asking you, yeah, what makes generally a good football player? I think i Q makes great players, because I think everybody i Q yeah, makes great entrepreneurs. Next, if I play a skill position, I need to be I need to be you know, have some decent speed. I don't need to be you know who you say? Being fast? Makes a great entrepreneurs. Uh so any entrepreneurs. So it doesn't matter the business that I mean. I think the question you should ask is what makes a great professional? Okay, what makes a great professional? You tell me you you're a professional. What makes a great professional? Well, I'm always about time. You were late. I'm always about courtesy. I'm also I'm always about respect. I'm big on respect. I'm huge on respect. Don't you think if you respected me the most, you would have came to me, came to you within to do the interview? I did. No, I'm here. That's why I'm late. Why are you beating? You? Late? Disrespectful? How did respected you? You didn't come to me? Hello? So another word, just do a job. I just was fucking I ain't don't I would job after you were late? Hello, let me ask your question. You think I'm drinking? I just mean you think dreg I'll be looking at looking you're drinking the sip for the whole show. I ain't even just drank that. Do you see that? That girl drinking? You said should they go down? And all? Now you have a whole thing down. I'm about like your ship. Why are you not? Why are you take a shot of your ship real quick, yo, shit, but you do realize take a shot, take that knocked that, damn knocked that. Damn. This is not a shot drink that wasn't a shot a shot. No, this is a sipping drink. You ain't been sipping you and you are not having to come still there. You haven't said refiliate. No, look, let even take the top off. It's bad promotion. No, well, first drink gon't even drink his own drink? Oh oh, I definitely drink it, So go ahead. How does how does damn? Define success? Love and happiness and laughter? Love what you do or love who you're doing it with and for both happiness? How do we define happiness? How much you laugh? Love the amount of people that are happy that you care about. Everybody in your circle feels that from you one hundred percent. That's why they stay in my circle. What's the art of the deal being profitable? If it doesn't make money, it doesn't make sense. It doesn't make love. It doesn't make sense. Love ain't always profitable. It's always profitable. Nah, sometimes because I know some people that lost bill because they lived they didn't love right, don't love? Man? Here am I gonna dang dash you. I feel a be with Steve Harvey and doctor Field? Which one of you? How the fuck did you get Doctor Fields Steve Harvey from that? Do I have a big fat musself? You? You offered all these love quotes and advice or relationships and everything I do therapy, and I my currency is love. That's all I care about. Well, then, how do you know when to walk with what's the first time that says, Dame need to walk away from this one? It doesn't feel good, but yeah, that's what I'm saying. Governor. How do you not giving the pressure? I don't feel any pressure. What's pressure? What does that work be? To be Dame dash? It's too easy to be me. It's no pressure being me. But because you've been successful, do you not feel the need to always be successful in everything that you do. I'm always successful in everything that I do, so it doesn't matter. I don't even know what it means not to be successful. It's not an I'm always finding the light in the dark. What's the hardest part about being a boss? Internalizing not putting your hands on somebody that's disrespecting you that you know you can break in half, but it's not legal. Why you still have that mindset? I don't know. You do no PTST PTSD. Are you going? Are you post traumatic stress? Huh? Survival was traanic, You're not. You're not surviving now. But I was being young and watching people get killed, watching people go to jail. That ship was traumatized. Use sports, But do you watch sports? I understand that you want to own your own industry? Of course I watch points? Okay, who's your team? The Raiders? Who? The Raiders? You got even be a good long time? But we got good uniforms. Okay? And what'd that get you? You got the prettiest uniform I'm loyal and the sorrys team. Now. I was the Raider fan back when Lester Hayes had the sticky ship. Yeah yeah, I just think that they haven't been good since Lester Hayes had the sticky Still still got the best uniforms. What about the players here? What's your basketball team? The Knicks? How? Oh my goodness, how do you talk about you like winners? And you're a winner. You are always winning, and you pick the loser, the losers or the losers. That's why I'm started my own league to be somebody in illegal have to lose. Somebody gonna have to guess what somebody you'll legal have to be the Knicks and the Raiders. But either way, but either way I win, doesn't matter who loses. I win. I was sick of being a fan, could be an owner. When I'm a fan, I can't control anything. So yes, the Raiders have bad management, so I would definitely go in there and change things. But instead of complaining about it, I just start my own Raiders. But I still like the uniform and I like the fact what he represented. He was an independent owner who he was a maverick. That's why I like the Raiders. You consider yourself a maverick? Do you not consider than me and every I mean you you? You did things your way. I still do. I'm not Frank Sinatra. M I'm still doing it my way. Or you didn't do it your way, You're doing it your way. You get it clearly now, Yeah, right, I appreciate you. I appreciate you. How many little how many you have? CJ five No, let's say a bottom, how many did you have? You should have? Still the same? Let me find out this is iced tea? No, no day iced tea all my life and grinding all my life. Sac Fice hustle back price on a slice, got the bron the dice, swap all my life. I've been grinding all my life, all my life, and grinding all my life. Sacrifice hustle bade the price. Want to slice, not the brawler. Dice to swap all my life. I've been running all my life