Club Shay ShayThe one and only 21 Savage sits down with Shannon Sharpe in this episode of Club Shay Shay, and it's a rollercoaster of realness with the Atlanta rapper. 21 goes into what it was like being born in London and growing up in Atlanta, exposing the trials and tribulations that eventually led to him becoming a global music superstar. Then, 21 Savage spares no details as he shares the chilling story of surviving six gunshot wounds and witnessing his friend's murder. The harsh realities of the rap game aren’t exclusive to 21’s experiences as he delves into the death of Memphis’ Yo Gotti’s brother. Then, The Saint Laurent Don delves into the financial side of the industry, comparing rap money to NFL earnings and shedding light on the frugality of T.I., who almost gave 21 a million dollars but didn’t, which turned out to be a blessing in the long run. But the buck doesn’t stop there, as 21 responds to Snoop Dogg's streaming insights and shares that there is good money to be made from streaming, which has compelled him to consider selling his catalog as Future did. 21 Savage covers it all; from claiming the title of the best rapper in his XXL Freshman Class, to giving his picks for the Mt. Rushmore of R&B artists and the best rappers from Atlanta, and expressing his willingness to drop a collab album with J. Cole. It's a candid, no-filter conversation that gives fans an unfiltered glimpse into the life and opinions of the Atlanta rap legend.
#volume
I hear smooth dogs say, man, look here, man im streaming. You stream a billion and man, you ain't really making no money. What's your thoughts on streaming?
They gotta be making money because that giving me money. It's some money in that shit, some real money.
All my life, grinding all my life, sacri fights, hustle, back pricing, one Slicector Brother Geist swatt all my life.
I be grinding all my life, all my life, grinning all my.
Life, sacrid fights, hustle back to prison, one slice, doctor Brother Geist swap all my life.
I been grinding all my life.
Hello, Welcome to another special edition of On the Road with Club Shay Shay. I am your host, Shenning Sharp. I'm also the proprivate Club Shape Shay, the guy that's stopping buy for conversation and a drink today, is one of the most influential and well respected artists of his generation. He's loved by million worldwide, your favorite rappers, favorite rapper. He's a hip hop a lister, a Grammy Award winner, Golden multi platinum songwriter, record producer, business man, humanitarian, father UK born at l raised, a BONA five superstar Twitter one savage How was that intro. You like to get intro? Did I leave out anything? I mean, I got less of time. I can add some more.
I ain't never heard no intro like that. I like that.
I appreciate that. Appreciate that.
You know, anytime you stop by conference, you have a conversation with a club shaw share, I got your little drink this, this is me right here, and because I want to toast album.
Bro, Uh, that's you right there American Dreams.
Yeah, it's good.
But I don't drink.
You don't drink at all. You just did that for me. I appreciate that.
Bro.
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You've born in London? How old were you when you migrated came to.
The US, Like.
Six turning seven?
So do you remember a whole lot about being in London?
I remember like small things, but not like a lot, like a little smart, like going to my grandma house, right being with my mama. I remember like going to the stoves, like across the street and then like on my mama side of town, it's like this shit called a high street, and it's like a street just full of stoves. I remember like walking over there, but I remember more like from when we went back and visited, okay, because we went back once to go visit when I was a little older, So I remember that more than I remember like stuff while I was there, like when I was younger.
When you do you have very many friends? Do you remember friends when you were growing up? You say you left at six or seven, So did you have very many friends?
I just had family, like cousins, A lot of cousins. Yeah, really need no friends.
So your family, your mom move you here. Of all the places in the US y at l.
You think, I don't know, I ain't never asked you.
Never, you never asked you like mom, not New York, not Chicago, not La not Detroit, Atlanta.
I ain't never asked of that.
Do you think about how different your life might have been had you gone to one of those places of Chicago or New York or Detroit or someplace other than the East side of Atlanta.
M No, I ain't never thought about that.
You were just so you were just happen to like, Okay, so you get here you get settled in, so obviously you're in the new London is very bad. So it's London. I'm assuming London is very different than Atlanta.
It is, but it ain't though really to me, because it's like it looked different. Okay, it's the same shit. Okay, you see what I'm saying. It's like like when I came over here, like I had family too. Okay, you see what I'm saying. So you're just around family?
Oh so your mom? So you had relatives in Atlanta.
Like my mama. Friends, they moved with us, a lot of people that I grew up with.
Oh okay, okay, okay, So it wasn't like you were just like moving to a by yourself, like just you and your mom. Now you had a large contingent with it. Yeah yeah, Oh so did that make the transition lot easier?
I ain't know about no transition. I'm just a child.
I'm not with my mama, you know what I'm saying. So how how soon did you get acclimated and how soon did you make friends once you got to Atlanta?
Like quick? Like it was this this boy named Skinny. He had got killed though, like a couple of years ago. Wow, but that was like the first person I met that ended up being like my best friend. Like growing up, they used to stay like we stayed in the upstairs apart meant he stayed directly hunder us and his mama Like we was bad as hell because it was six of us. Well back then it was like for us. So we used to be jumping up and down, running around. And he was the youngest, but his siblings was like way older than him, and like so their house was quiet. They got plastic on their couch all that. So like when we used to make noise, his mama grab a broom and hit them hit the room. So we ended up getting cool hunt his mama and my mama ended up getting real cool. And I used to like stay at his house, used to stay at my house. Like I still talk to his mama all the time.
Wow. Yeah, your your family, your background, you're thinking you're rialdly. Your mam is from the Dominicana, your father is from now Dominica, Dominica. Yeah, oh not that Dominican Republic, Dominica.
Yeah.
And so how much of the tradition from when you came to from London did you guys bring with you. So were did you matriculate into East Atlanta rather rather rather seamlessly because you say you got a big thing. You got six like four four boys and three boys and three girls. Three boys okay, and your.
Mom yeah, and then my little sister and I'm daddy. He' Jamaican okay. And what you mean like.
Like food wise, yeah, as far as yeah, my mama cooked okay for sure.
Yeah.
So how soon did you start eating some of you know, cause they get they got the mom's tail, they got the mother pork chops, mother chicken. How soon when you started eating that opposed to what you were customed to eating?
I think like that came with like like making friends, Like when I used to go spend the night at my friend's house. Like growing up, I ain't never I wasn't allowed to eat port Okay, okay, you know what I'm saying, Like other stuff like when I go to my friend's house spending night as a like when I was younger, I eat whatever they cook. But I ain't started really like just picking what I want to eat. I was a little older.
You, so when you went back home, you're like, mom, my friends they cooked this, their mom cooked this you think you might be able to cook that.
Did you tell your mom that?
No, Hell, I can't telling them. I'm going like.
She wasn't trying to hear that.
All I know she wasn't trying to I ain't even from the tribe.
Did your mom share with you that you guys were leaving London coming to the US or did you just guys just up the lead?
Did you know you were leaving?
I don't really remember. I just remember. It's like so long ago, so i'd be trying to really think about the story. But I'm sure my mama told me where it was going for sure, because I was six, But I just don't remember like that conversation. But I know it had to happen.
So do you remember You just remember getting on the plane, didn't have no idea where you was going.
You just know you were leaving London?
Yeah, right, because I think at first it wasn't a stay thing.
Oh okay, she was just coming to visit, right.
Okay, I think we was coming to visit. But I don't want to fuck the story up neither, because my ma mama know the story, right, Okay, saying I think it was like, let's see we want to move here, but we're finna go see. If we don't like it, we're gonna go back type shit. Okay, and then we just stayed.
Right, So clearly she liked it. Yeah what about you? Did you like it or you were just going along with the floor. You really didn't have a choice in the matter because you five or six years back. So if you didn't like it, you were stuck anyway, you.
Gonna just adapt. I liked it, though, Okay, I liked it, like it's hot, it ain't cold all the time. I remember like playing outside, like doing the same shit that I used to do, Like when I used to go, like to my grandma house on my daddy's side, like we're playing the neighborhood go, Like it was the same shit.
Right, So what was it like?
I mean, because all of a sudden they got these these new this new family comes in and I'm pretty sure you probably had an accent. Yeah yeah, so yeah, okay, so now you're on the east side of Atlanta. Yeah you got an accent. How how receptive were the kids to you?
They used to teach I got in a fight on the first day of school. Oh god, from the jump. Yeah, they used to tease me. Okay, Like I went to done that elementary That was the first elementary school I went to. So we get to the I get on the bus or whatever. They start talking to me. So they making fun of me on the way to school.
Okay.
So we get on the bus to go home. They making fun of me on the way home.
Okay.
So we get off the bus. Like one of the one of the older dudes, like his little brother was the main one. So the older brother was like like said some like basically like shit fighting. So we get off the bus. I beat them up. So the girls, all the girls, they run and tell my mama at the door.
So your sisters kids in neighbor.
So they run, they tell my mama because they started, I really was kicking a lot. They started calling me taekwondo kid. It's a true.
Story on my mama.
Okay.
So so they they run and tell my mama. So I'm trying to drag my feet to get home now. So I walked to the door. She grabbed me by my ear put me in the house because the girls were still there telling her the story when I got there. So she I just remember her grabbing me by my ear and then like throwing me in the house like type shit, and then that was it. I ain't get in punishment.
You ain't get no punishment. Nah, she didn't ask you what started at?
Uh? Uh? You so I not from my memory, I feel what I'm saying, she probably did, right, But from what I can remember, I just remember getting pulled. You know, you don't even regard parts you remember. I just remember the ear, Like.
So, what do you think was the biggest officer? You're very young, so you haven't experienced a whole lot. It's not like you're coming here. You're thirteen or fourteen, so you haven't had a whole lot of u Uh, you're five or six years away. You thank you're seven at this time. So is there a big culture shop? Do you notice anything different about being in London as opposed to being in East Atlanta.
The most shit that I like that I used to like, what I remember changing was the size of everything. Okay, Like I remember like in London, like our bathrooms to be like this big right here, right, you feel what I'm saying. Then I remember like we were still we was in the hood and on the East side too, right, But it was just like a size different. Like at my grandma house in London, I could touch both sides of her house like this. Wow, you feel what I'm saying. But over here it's like more space. I remember that. And I remember getting in a car to go everywhere in London. We used to take the bus in the train like everywhere. I remember like being we always was in the car when we got here.
So you had an accent, I'm assuming weren't. So where did you fall in the ranking as far as your siblings? I'm the oldest, You're the oldest. Yeah, okay, so I'm assumed. So you man, So if you're seven, that means and you got three brothers, three sisters, that means, man, you got some babies.
You got an ages three like cause it's a it's a three years age gap between me and my little sister. Okay, So if I was seven, she was probably like three turn in four, right, and then my little brother was still a baby baby right, and then the other three was born in America.
Okay, I feel what I'm saying, right, right, So did you feel a sense of responsibility because you are the oldest you, I mean, even though you're a child You're like, you're the oldest male, and so do you feel some type of responsibility that you needed to, like, Okay, i need to be the man of the house even though I'm only seven years old at the time.
I think so, yeah for sure. Yeah, Like I was naturally like a protector the type shit, Yeah for sure.
So what did your mom? What did your mom think about that? So the type of relationship, because like you said, you're the oldest, your mom is a new in a new place, and granted they're a community that came with you, but you the protector because you like, Okay, I got to look after my mom. I gotta look after my brother and my sister. Did your mom tell you anything about that or you just instinctively took that on?
I think it was just like instinct for the most part. I feel like I feel like it's just in my personality too, like just like take care of everything. I don't know why I'm like that, but I think just naturally, like I developed that because like my whole life, I've been like that, Like since I was old enough to like get out and do what I need to do. I always like took care of my mama and my siblings and shit, right.
Yeah, do you feel that? So when you were in London, do you remember much about your dad being around? Yeah?
I remember my Daddy used to come get me like every weekend. I used to be over there because that's like, well, majority of like my cousins was at right, on my mama's side, I only got like like three folk cousins, but on my Daddy's side, it's like thirty of.
Them, right.
So that's like like my oldest cousin, Taran, he in the wheelchair, I remember like following behind him a lot, right, I feel what I'm saying. So that's my Daddy's side, right.
So you so, in other words, you really love spending time with your dad's side of the family because that's where all the cousins were. That's where you got an opportunity to run and play and just have a good time. It was just deeper deep.
But my mama side too, because like my cousins on my mama's side was bad as hell too, you see what I'm saying. But it just wasn't a lot of us, right, Like it was just me kyra on is wrong, right? Were the only boys on my mama's side. On my daddy's side, it was more, but it's just different side.
Well, see, if it's only three of y'all, the trouble is only going three places. So you, you and you, your dad's side is about thirty of y'all. So you could play with a whole bunch of people. Oh God, So brought up in the East Side, on that side of town, Rappers, Gucci, Main Future, o J, the Juice Man, Richard mc kwan, child is getting be No, did you did you know any of those guys when you were growing up?
You had no idea about.
These I seen Gucci before? Okay, yeah, I seen Gucci before, for sure. I seen him at Church's Chicken before, like when I was real young, right right, No, Miss Winners, I seen him as MS.
Zone.
I mean the east Side, that's Zone six. There's a lot going on. Yeah, east side of Atlanta. There's drugs, there's a lot of killings.
Did you so what did your mom?
Did your mom try and shield you, like son, you can't be out this time of night, So what what does she tell you about the area that you that you guys were gonna call home?
Now?
I don't. I used to be outside so I don't remember like hers is. Like the only time it'll be a problem is if I got in trouble in school, right, But other than that, like I wasn't like one of them when the streetlight come on kids, Like my mama used to let me figure it out, because in London it's the same shit. It's them the worse because it's like concrete everywhere you see what I'm saying, it's Alley's, it's inner city. So in London I used to be outside from what I well, that was when we went back though, like from before then, I don't remember being outside that much. But so like nah, she just used to let me, like, let you figure out, figure it out. Then I used to be with Skinny okay, well Israel n ain't Aaron. I used to be with him, and he was older than me, so he was like my big brother and like, so as long as I was with him, she would give me a little more freedom to do shit, like as long as he watching over you good.
Did you always gravitate towards older guys?
Yeah?
I always hung with like people older than me for.
Sure, because you felt you were more mature than than than young guys your.
Age yeah, for sure because I was older. I had to be. I'm the oldest, right, so you naturally like a little more mature than you have to be because if you're not, you're gonna get in trouble.
Right, So how was the struggle when your mom moving here?
Obviously in a different in a different country, obviously times were diff difficult for you guys. Did you realize how difficult times were for your mom and your family?
Yeah?
Yeah, yeah, Like I remember when we first moved you be smoking ciguards on here.
You take off this your just your joint, let's go ahead.
But I remember, like when we first moved over here, like before we moved to the neighborhood where I went to elementary school. Okay, we would move to another neighborhood on the east side, and I remember, like my mama and her nigga, well her man, they used to sleep on the bottom bump for all us used to sleep on the top bunk.
Okay.
We used to share, Like we shared apartment with one of their friends. It was a two bedroom, Okay, we didne got evicted before. I remember coming home and our stuff was outside in front of the house. Like growing up, like I ain't never had my own bedroom till I was probably like fifteen years old or something like. We all shared a room like for probably from like first grade til like sixth grade. It was they had a room. My mama and her man had a room, and me and all my siblings had a one room because in a two bedroom apartment. Then like I don't know what happened, they got a little motion and then we moved in the same apartments, but we used to call it cross the bridge. It's like the other side of the neighborhood, right, And we had got a three bedrooms. The boys had their own room and the girls had their own room. And then I met my other big brother when I moved over there to VARs, right, they stayed under us. They mama used to do the same thing, man, Oh God, get the broom and bang the roof from god.
Right.
Yeah, but for sure, it was a struggle because like she my mama couldn't get no job or no driver's license, she couldn't get food stamps, she couldn't do none of that shit. So you know, it's a struggle.
Right, So she's basically working any job that she can get. Maybe, you know, maybe cleaning floors, maybe in the kitchen or doing things of that nature, trying to make ends meat to put food on the table and the roof over the head for the kids.
The one job I remember her having, she and I don't think she never like did like no cleaning floors type shit. But the one job I remember her having was like a daycare and they used to pay them under the table. I remember hearing them conversations though, like being nosy because I ain't even supposed to know that as a child, but I remember hearing them talk about it, like right, and she she used to work at Autum, used to work at the day her her man and then the other families that I told you more us they used to work there too, and they used to pay them under the table, like cash and shit. That's the only job that I remember though.
When you came home from school one day and you saw your family belongings outside, how did that make you feel? Did the kids make fun of you? Did you realize what was going on when you saw all of your belongings on the outside.
Yeah, because I didn't seen it happen before. And I remember, like we used to steal people shit, like because I didn't seen other people evicted, seeing their stuff outside, and like all the kids, the badass kids will be in the neighborhood walking around, see some shit, start going through that shit. So I just remember instantly thinking like, nobody better not touch my shit. That's like the first stop. And I remember standing out of there. But I remember like I didn't really care about it that much because they put our shit out, but they we instantly moved to a bigger apartment, so it kind of was like it wasn't like we just our shit was just out there and we were trying to figure out out right, I feel what I'm saying, like I remember us moving to a bigger apartment, like instantly type shit.
So what was what was a typical meal in the household?
Oh, we had food. They had good for you not like steak and ship though rum and hot dogs like that, like we had the regular you know, but not like I don't remember no time, like well, it just wasn't nothing to eat in the house. It's gonna be some bread. We used to make like condensed milk sandwiches. Like there was like I scrugger meal, like you take the you get the bread and the condensed milk and then you put it in like the little toaster ship and you put it together. That shit be good as fuck.
Oh God, you eat one of them now, hell y'all, I will.
God.
But like you know, hot dogs and noodles, My mama used to make noodles, third fry, rumen noodles, right, curry chicken, jerk chicken, all that type of ship.
Did you you, being the oldest, did you learn how to cook? Could you cook?
Shall?
Because I'm assuming like a lot of the times your mom probably was working and you had to take care of your brothers and sisters, so it was left up to you to probably cook the ram and to warm the food up so they could eat when you got home from school.
Not cooked though, like the most my mama what make me do is like unthoughted fool to me, like take the meat out. I used to get my ass if I forget to take the meat out right and put cause she don't play about the lemon, like don't just sit it in the water. Put lemon juice in the water when you sit it in the water. So sometimes I take the meat out and just sit it in the water without no lemon get in trouble. Okay, but she ain't ever just make me cook. But we used to make our own little food that we wanted. Like so if my little veteran was hungry and they wanted like a pack of noodles, I'd make them some noodles.
Up that shit, right, Yeah, obviously we talked a lot about your mom.
What's the relationship like with your dad?
Me and my dad in like a weird place. Because he got his side of how he looked at it. I got my side of it, look at it like like I kind of understand, like, okay, if your child moved to another country, it's kind of hard type shit. But from a child point of view, all I can do is go out the emotion that I felt as a child, like don't. I can't. I can't tell you how I would feel about it as an adult because the hurt come from when I was a child. You feel what I'm saying. So it's like it's like me, me whopping you as a child and then expecting you to receive the pain as an adult, Like hell no, I don't. I know how it felt when it happened. I know I felt abandoned. That's how I felt I felt like I used to see like other kids in the neighborhood were not in the neighborhood. But remember the family that I told you that move was. Yes, I had a front where he liked My cousin basically rock him. He was in the same predicament like he was in another country with his mama, was with another man now his stepdaddy, and his daddy used to come visit him all the time, buy him shit. So I used to be kind of jealous of where he had going, right, And so that's where a lot of the disappointment came from with my daddy. But my daddy was a good daddy to my siblings over there, like my love brother who died. My love brother got killed on my daddy's side. They was best friends. You knowee what I'm saying. I got twin little sisters and I got another love brother. They all love my daddy. You see what. So I can't just say, you know, mad Daddy with me, I feel like you didn't do what you were supposed to do.
The relationship that they have with him is not the relationship.
You have with him.
Facts right, Because you saw you said the family that moved with you saw his mom even though she was in a foreign country and she had ended up having another man, his dad still came over and would see him and buy him things. And did you explain that to your father, saying, look, rock him, dad, his mom is with someone else, and he found it time to come over here and see him and buy him things and spend time with him. Did you convey that to him?
Not as a child, okay, but like my little brother died in twenty twenty, and like that was me and my daddy first time talking in like fifteen twenty years. Type shit, savage, I mean you you didn't You didn't reach out when.
Like, at any point in time before that fifteen years was up. Did you not reach out and try to have a conversation with your father?
Because like when I turned twenty one, I got shot, okay, and my mama came in in the like while I was in the ICU, she brought the phone. Well, I don't know if I was in ic I don't know where I was at, but it was like fresh it was right after I got to the hospital, okay, and my best friend had just died like in the incident. So like I just remember being like mad. I was more mad than sad. So she tried to hand me the phone. But I remember telling my daddy like, because my mama and her my like my siblings, four of my siblings got the same daddy, I got my own daddy, and then my youngest sister got her own daddy. Okay, so my mama was moved out here. When she came out here, the father of my four younger siblings, he came like a little later, and we always together. So when they had broke up, how I took it was like you ain't my daddy. I gotta figure my own life out, Like I can't be up under your roof no more because my mama left, right, so I left. So I remember communicating like to my daddy.
Like your biological father, yeah.
Like like I'm in the street at this time, but I'm telling him like I figure it out, Like I don't expect you to just be able to just put me up in an apartment and just pay my rent every month, like, but I'm like, can you can tribute like one hundred or two hundred dollars? And i'ma figure the rest out. I'm probably like sixteen seventeen at this time this like years before I got shot. I remember communicating to him like, can you help a little bit, Like my mama ain't got you on child support. You don't really send no money like that, and it ain't no disrespect like because I he went in like he be taking shit, Like me telling my story is like trying to down him. But this is my truth. This is what I remember. You feel what I'm saying, right, Like from what I remember, he wasn't really sending no money to my mama, and my mama wasn't just pressing him for no money because she had a man. So you see what I'm saying. So I remember communicating that, and I remember like it not coming through. So now I gotta go extra harder in the lane that I'm in as a sixteen seventeen year old. You feel what I'm saying, because I gotta feel for myself, damn there, I gotta feed myself like I'm staying with friend, the friend, the friend.
You feel what I'm saying.
So I remember feeling that down by that, on top of all the other times that I was let down when I was young and I wanted shoes or a phone or this or that, a new video game. You feel what I'm saying. So at a certain point, I remember, like I got old enough to where it was like I R I don't even kept it talk. So that's how that build up came of me not talking to him about them years. You feel what I'm saying.
Right, So in twenty twenty year brother gets lose his life. Right, Yeah, at that point in time, did you think about putting everything else aside and try to re establish a relationship with the father?
I did, and we got on the phone, and he started doing some things that rubbed me the wrong way, like like just asking me for shit, like too early and like so.
At this point in time, you had already become what you become.
Yeah, in twenty twenty twenty one seven, Right, you feel what I'm saying. Yeah, Yeah, but I kind of like fell back and then, like you know, like when I do interviews, these questions come up and I just I'm truthful. So I think that might have rubbed him the wrong way. You feel what I'm saying.
Type shit, Oh, okay, so you went back, your parents come you come over here, and you go back. So how long were you over here before you went back? For a month, two months, three months.
We came out here. I was seven six, I was six turning seven. We went back the summer of sixth grade, going into seventh grade. So however old you is.
Okay, so probably eleven twelve?
Yeah, so probably like what five years we was over here?
Five years?
Because I know whatever it was, it was right before the visa expired. We went back and then renewed it.
Type shit, you go over there, whether it did you remember anything about London because you had now you had spent just as much time in America as you had London, because you remember you five or six when you left, you stayed five, six, seven years here and you go back, did it seem like home or did it seem unfamiliar to you?
It seemed like home, like even like like even when I just went back for the first time, and what I don't know how many years that is. If I the last time I went when I when I was twelve, and I just went last year when I was thirty, that's what eighteen years. Yes, I still remember how to get to my grandma house, like cause like it's a parking lot and you got to walk through to get to her house. Like I still remember how to walk to her house. I still remember how to walk to the stove. So it's like I remember. I don't remember everything, but I remember like key, like major parks type shit.
Once you get Once you get over there, did you yearn to come back? Like, yeah, I like London, but the US is my home now.
When I was young, when we went back to visit, yeah, yeah, I think I was ready to go home. Not like just in a rush, but it was like, all right, now I missed my other friends, right, I missed y'all. We didn't kicked it.
Now ready to go back? Yeah, So school, how were you in school? What type of student were you in school?
I was an excellent student up until a certain grade. Okay, Like I feel like like we was just talking about this last night. We was playing the game and they was like spelled super califragilistic xbladocious, and it was crazy because I wanted the spelling Bee in fifth grade spelling that same word wow. And I won the math competition that same year. Okay, so I used to get all a's, but like up until a certain point, I feel like when I when I found out, like really just realized, like all no, matter how good I do in school, I can't go to college because I'm an immigrant. I can't get a job, I can't get no driver's license. I feel like once that started to kick in, I kind of just gave up and just stop caring. I used to go to school, fall asleep in class, like just do our types of shit.
Right.
So once you realize, like, man as smart as I am math was won the math competition one the spell and be I can only advance so far in school. Now I might need to try a different path. Yeah, so you go on this so in school? So, so, how were the other kids towards you because you're smart? Normally kids they pick on kids that are smart.
But I was the cool kid.
Oh you was the cool smart kid?
Yeah? Okay, because I used to do bad stuff too. I just had I just had good grades. But I still used to skip fight, right, like do all the little mischievous things doing school. But I was just smart. I'm still smart. Did you get bullied in school? No, I ain't really get bullied. I had issues with people, not just like you. Ain't. Finna just put my head in the toilet and take my lunch money.
Yo. So that's what it was. I mean the older kids trying to take advantage of you.
Yeah, and nobody never tried to do that to me. I'm just saying, like I'm not one of them kids. I was never one of them kids.
Right, You ain't letting nothing slide.
No, my mama ain't even finna go for that, right, Like I remember like getting tried in the neighborhood, my mama and them coming outside to fight with us. Where y'all mama at facts, Mom put it out like that. I remember one time, like it was this lady and my little sister used to be real cool with this lady daughter. But I was just known as the bad kid in the neighborhood. So somebody spraying it spray painted fuck you all over her car. She had a like Alexus the Man, the little bubble Lexus, right, but it was like it wasn't like the shoe. It was just like a regular little lexis.
Okay.
So she comes straight to my dough. My mama ain't home though, banging on the door where y'all had ass sat.
I know you did this shit, wo.
So she come to the door. So my auntie was down the street. I guess my little sister ran and told my auntie. So my auntie come down. My auntie come down. By this time, they didn't call my mama. I remember my mama just smashing through the neighborhood in her mini van. I remember I had some scissors. I had them. Broke the scissors so it was just one side of the scissor right there. So my mama pull up, swerve and she part right in front of the lady Bill. So the lady out there, the lady standing like on the car, like with her back on the car. My mama jump out the truck. Bitch. She'dne mushed the lady on God, but the lady didn't want to fight. So my mama didn't really just mash the gas on the type shit on God. And me and my little brothers, you know, we deep, it's all of us. Then we got friends right like and our friends down there like our family, like we like this the hood right down there like this our side right So they all out there like ready like they was gonna beat her up. But she she she bit her tongue and all. My mama I really didn't do the shit right. It really wasn't me who was spray painting her car. Right, That's how you know reputation is.
Your reputation preceded you because you used to get into stuff and they just automat as soon as it's some issue with down savage did it?
Oh God, that shit was crazy And I was an innocent as a motherfucker.
So you go to school, you end up getting kicked out of school because you bought a fire arm to school? Yeah, what made you feel you need What made you feel like you needed to bring that fire on?
I think I was just bad, like we it was like some issues were a group of people from like another neighborhood that we didn't really get along with with saying like they were supposed to be trying to fight us, and they was a deep and one number like five six of us because all my friends are older so they in high school. Right, you see what I'm saying, right, Okay, like the people that I hang with, that's like I feel like it's like me, it's only a few. It was like three of us. And then like I was just being bad. Really I didn't really need to bring no gun.
When you get when you get the strap from.
Like this dude in my neighborhood had did something and he hid it somewhere and I knew where he heard it at, so I sleep stole it, right, Yeah.
And so someone to how did they find out that you had the piece on you in school?
Because when I got to school it was an is day. So I started thinking like, damn, I don't want to just be had this motherfucker home in school suspension. Yeah, I ain't want to just have it on me all day, So I'm like, let me hide it. And it was this little bitch as little like he ain't even really I don't even really fuck with him. He just happened to beat up while I'm hiding this shit. Oh man, I ain't even thinking about this ship at the time. I didn't put this shit up under some leaves and some bushes and shit. So I guess they see us on the camera, but on the camera they can't really tell who doing what. They see me and him right there with something. I don't know how it happened though, but they found it. They end up finding it, so they come get me out of iss with the It was the school officer. His name was Valentino or Valencio or some shit, but he was a police officer, but school police. They come get me out of iss. They walked me into the assistant principal office. But they know me like all the cause you know, like and kids. This ain't for me. I'm not bragging about this, but when you bad as hell in school, you have assigned counselor type shit, and normally your counselor is one of the assistant principles type shit. So I didn't have been counseled by all of them type shit. So they come get me out of iss. They bring me in in the office. The nigga who was there while I was hiding the shit, he right there in the office.
I'm like, a shit, even dive you out.
I know it is about. So they bring me in the office. They're like, yo, what was in the I'm like, know what y'all talking about. I don't know nothing. I don't know. I wasn't doing shit. So I just sit there. Then I just every time I used to get in trouble, I just get an attitude and get mad, and so I don't got an answer to shit. I just like, man, bro, you stop talking. So I stopped talking. So they like, all right, come on, They bring me back to ISS. So I'm like, oh, I'm straight. So I'm seeing the ISS. They start calling, like you know, they be like buses, walkers, riders woo, so everybody start going. So I get up off the rip like I ride the bus right, but they let I think either walkers or riders out first. I get up as soon as the first one get up. So I'm walking out ISS. I'm walking out of you know, ISS and the trailers. So I'm walking down the hill. I see the school police. He's walking towards me. He come get me. He cuffed me. I'm like, ah shit, But all I was worreing about was my mama. It's like when you're young and you get in trouble, you don't give it damn about nothing else.
But what your mama. Oh God.
They cuffed me up, took me to they tried to do some fake scared scrape ship. They took me to the big jail, the cab County. But like they used to, like I don't know how they do it now, but back in the day, they used to book you in the big jail, not like put you in the big jail, but that like the juvenile facility was right there. But they'll take your pictures and ship at the big jail.
Right.
So when they bring us in, I guess they told one of the inmates like, start banging on the window and some ship to scares. I'm like, bro, what the fuck?
That didn't work?
No big ass, though, with what you're gonna bust through the dough and do something.
So now they banned you. You cannot go to school in the cab County. Correct.
No, that ain't that. I got on.
Probation for that.
Got on probation for that one.
Okay, right next year? No?
This yeah, this this eighth grade. I'm doing good. I'm still on probation, playing football or whatever. So I'm at the back of the bus with all the cool kids were on the way to school. These niggas. It was this song when we were young called tea bag that he Man, these niggas in the back, they start beaning on the window. T bad dao ta baddo, banging on the window. So people start throwing shit because we had a substitute bus driver. Oh man, they started throwing paper at the bus driver. I'm just back there. I ain't really doing because I'm on probation. So I'm chilling, but I'm laughing, and shit, I think I was singing the song a little bit.
Man.
They come get us. They treat us like we got dawn. There's some some serious shit. They come get everybody, everybody who was in the back of the bus. They put us in the library. They had a like it was some girls who was like telling about what happened. They got down. I think some of the boys were like grabbing the girls, the type shit bringing the girls back then and ship girls were sitting on people laps and just bad ship. So they had some girls who started telling like they got in trouble, Like if you don't tell who is doing it, we're gonna tell your parents that you've been being fast back there. So goddamn, I just remember they had We had like a they used to call that ship like a hearing, a hearing in the library, they bringing all of us to the window. They got girls lined up. We got to put our face at the window, like the hell they like yep, they said him, they put my face. I ain't even dead. Ship they like yep him. So when that happened, by me being on propobation already, that's when they kicked me out of the school right ship for that incident.
So they lied on you.
Hell yeah, they lied on me.
Man, You sure, I mean you sure?
You had no should have never been back there when they started doing all that issues. You should have got the got up and went to the front, right, So they didn't really lie. I was back there, right, I just wasn't doing all this the shit that they was doing that. I was in the mixed type shit.
Did you have to go to juvenile attention for that?
That was just like some school shit because they like, nigga, you're on probation, right, you still don't know how to act.
So they informed your mom. That's when they kick you out of the cab cundey, right, Yeah, so they tell your mom, Yeah, what did your mom say?
I think that's the first time I really just got grounded, Like, well, you can't even leave the house. But I still was leaving the house. My mama know that shit, though, She know that shit, because yeah, I got grounded because matter of fact, on God, so boom, my mamach ain't whoop me by then, I'm too grown right, ain't no whooping. So I get home and shit, she like, you ain't leaving you can't go nowhere, sit inside the house, watch your little brothers and sisters type shit. Because at this time, my little brother rural. He was probably like to a some shit. So I used to have the babysit. But my little sister old enough to watch them too, right. So it was this little boy in the neighborhood. I ain't gonna say, I don't even remember his name anyway, but he was like younger than me. So I'm outside. We at the park, the park like right behind our building. So I'm at the parking shit. He walked up like bright, I got some keys. I found them, some keys to this lady car that live in the next building. So I grabbed the keys, I take the kids. I'm like, what car it is? He showed me the car. I'm like, all right, all right, so I don't supposed to be outside, no, so god damn, I go get the car. I crank it up.
I'm like, oh shit, have you ever driven a car before?
Yeah?
My mama, my mama, shit, yeah, oh god. So so so I'm like, oh shit, this is the real keys. So I jump out. I jump out, I walk out, I walk back to the park. So you know how when you're young, you're doing something bad, you always need somebody with you to do it too, like you ain't gonna just do it by yourself. So I forgot who it was. It was somebody, Oh it was it was my partner. I forget his name. Terror. He used to live across the bridge, though he was spoiled, though he was the only child. They lived in the townhouse. So I used to kind of like be jealous in him. But I used to so I used to fuck with him too. He used to have all the games, right, unlimited snacks. Oh god. So I went and got tear. I got a car. I got a hot boss. That's what we call like a stolen car, right, I got a boss, I got a box. So I go get him. We go get in the car. So we driving around the neighborhood, spinning like suberving, like doing not burning out, but just like drifting. Right, So I go part the car, we jump out. We go back to the park again with chilling, probably like thirty minutes. Go pass him like shit, let's go ride, Let's go ride. So goddamn, now I feel like I have mastered the car. So now I'm trying to do extra shit so I get in the car. I reversed, but the car is parked directly in front of the people like building, that apartment build. So when we pulling off, we like trying to ease off and then hurry up and smash off. So I put the car reverse and I back out the parking spot. So but he working the gear. I'm just so I'm thinking this nigga put the car and dry. It's just real. Got in, reversed and then smashed on the guas.
Man. I'm like, oh shit, shit shit.
I hurry up, apart the car, get out the car. We take our runt in the back because I ain't want to run this way because my building right here. So we run behind that building. And I went through the backway of my building and go change my clothes type shit. So I come back out the cab. Condon police out there, so I walk up. So they're like, uh, who's seen where they went? Who's seen where they went? I'm like, I seen them. They had on white. They ran in that way. My bitch ass little cousin and told his mama it was me.
Oh man, So the police.
Don't know, but my mama no, right, So now God damn they heat and told, but I think I can't remember. I got to call my mama and asked her, like, did she whooped me about that? Because I think she that's like she punched me about that, like something.
I remember.
I got in big trouble for that. And I just remember that being like a couple of days after the school bus incident, because that was like fresh, Like I really wasn't supposed to be outside, right.
You're supposed to be inside. You Not only are you outside, you doing.
Some That's how I got to go outside. On God, I told my mama I was taking my little brother to the part. Okay, So my little brother was at the park with my little sister.
That's how I got outside, Okay, on God, So you were supposed to be outside. You just wasn't supposed to be, no hood shit. Yeah, and your brother Randy died out little cosin there.
Yeah, he told his mama that it was me, and his mama told my mama type shit.
But did the police ever find out it was you?
Nah?
Well you straight there? Statue limitation yours up?
Oh God?
Yeah?
Sports? Did you play sports?
I played football, but I was too small, but I tried. You tried, but really I had to for probation. Okay, Like they was like, you gotta be in as many extra curricular activities as possible to keep you from doing shit, just being at home doing nothing, right, So I had to. But then like, I only played one season because at the end of the season, my mama them didn't have enough money to pay the dues. Right, so I only played one season. I probably got on the field three times.
What position did you play?
Wide, receiving, cornerback?
Okay, had you stuck with did you think you'd have been pretty good?
Yeah, because I ended up getting taller as I got older, right, so probably well for sure, But I stopped going to school in ninth grade.
You might have been an NFL player, facts.
But I don't think the average and do that. How much money do the average NFL player make? I made more than a rapper.
No, ain't all dead.
I think I went the right route.
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm gonna less. You play quarterback now, quarterback they make some bread. Yeah, they make forty fifty milll a year. Yeah, but you're doing better than that too.
So if you did it right there, yeah, facts, yeah, you ain't tak you don't got to take no hits.
Yeah, nah, yeah, I'll be bruised up. Yeah, ain't no nigga fin to be pushing me to the ground and all that.
So you go.
So the ninth grade, Well that's the fartherest you went in school, right, Yeah, you dropped out. So I got kicked out in eighth grade or you got kicked out of eighth grade for the second semester of eighth grade? What did you do to get kicked out? The butt shit? Oh so yeah, but you had But I thought you could go if you went to another county outside of the cab you were straight.
Yeah, that's what we thought. So we moved up the street to Gwenette County and I had to go to alternative school right in Gwenette County, right, and they make you well like that shit was just different, bro like, because when I went to alternative school in the Cara County, you know, it's black kids. It's like it's still like regular.
Right.
I got out there, it was just nothing but Mexicans, but it was some black people too. But this when I first learned about gangsh type shit. So I went there for a semester. Then I went to South Gwennette High School for like probably like a semester. Then they was trying to kick me out because I was smelling like weed in school, falling sleeping class. But this is about around the time while I'm telling you like I ain't, I ain't really feel like shit was gonna get me nowhere because I'm an immigrant. So I just stopped caring. So my mama just withdrew me type shit, and she started like trying to home and school me and ship and then that ship. I don't know, it's just eventually I just I don't know what the hell have but it just stopped.
You just kind of realize that, man, school ain't for me.
Yeah, oh god right, yeah?
And so what So once you realize like school ain't for me, what do you say, Like, what are you gonna do? You gotta do something.
She'll hustle ship. That's all you That's all I could do.
Did you ever get your d ged?
No? I'm finnah get it though.
So when you when you're okay, your mom takes you out of school.
No, I don't think I do.
Your mom takes you out of school, She's gonna try to homeschool you. You're like, if it this ain't for me, what do you tell your mom? Mom, school ain't for me. Hey, I'm not going this homeschooling ain't working. I'm gonna get on this grind or did you or did you just like I just gotta do what I gotta do.
Honestly, my mom, I always just knew, like because I used to be getting in trouble for like having cars lined up outside the house and shit.
So like cars lining up outside the house, yeah, huge general manager of the car dealership or something, that's that's the only way that's supposed to.
Happen, like people outside waiting in the car and okay, yeah, so she I feel like she had an idea, But I think I was just too grown. Even though I was young, I was just like grown, Like I can't explain it.
It was like.
You were much older than your age.
Yeah, Like, you can't tell me nothing because I already be gone for god damn, two three weeks at a time type shit. So it's like, if you tell me something, I'm gonna just get the hell on right and go do it somewhere else.
So when did the affiliation with the gangs, When did that come about?
Like, I don't know. I feel like when you're from the hood, they just automatically like affiliate you with a game, right just growing up in the area. Did you feel me, I ain't never been initiated into no games, you know shit?
Yeah, so that's that's that's you're not a part of a gang.
And do people just assume because you was doing devious, you know stuff, right stealing the cars and whatever else was going on, they just automatically assume you were part of a gang, right.
Just from being from a certain side of town, right, Yeah.
So did they say anything? Your mom didn't say anything to you, like, bro, what you're gonna do with your life?
I think I think my mama used to like beg my daddy to like step up type shit more than like to me, like because I feel like she felt she probably felt like, shit, what else can he do for real? Right type shit? And it wasn't like I was just stupid, like I kind of knew what I was doing type shit. So I think she mightn't used to like say that ship to my daddy, like come like get him or come be with him, or but then again, it's like she probably was saying that, but I wasn't would I wouldn't have went for that though.
Yeah.
I was about to say, even if he had come, if he had come to the States and tried to take you back where you gonna go.
Younger? Yeah, I probably would have, like sixteen seventeen, but by the time I was twenty.
But you've grown ass man now, I mean, he can't get.
You to go nowhere?
Right.
I had my son though, right, so it was that wasn't an option, no more right type shit. I had my son the same year I got shot, So that was twenty thirteen, right, twenty, so he was twenty.
Yeah, take us back to that day.
Do you remember anything about that day, the day you got shot and your friend got killed. Do you remember anything about that day? Was it a normal day? Did you wake up like, oh, this is this is a Tuesday, this is a Wednesday. I'm gonna start my day. I'most gonna carry on. What was it about that day? Did anything feel different?
Yeah?
It kind of some It ain't really feel different. But when I look you know how you in the moment, you don't it don't feel different, right, But you look back on it and it's like, damn, because that day was my.
Birthday, okay, so like he was turning twenty one. Correct, Yeah, it was.
My birthday, his his mama birthday, and his nephew birthday. Y'all got the same birthday. So I was trying to like book a hotel room so we could have like a kickback and shit like for that weekend. And he called me because I had like a couple of cars and shit like, but they were not stolen cars, like cars I paid for. In one of my cars, I had speakers in the trunk like you know how people put speakers in the trump And one of his speakers went out and one of his cars. So he needed one of mine. And he was like, shit, I'm gonna just give you one of mine when I when I whenever I go by a new one, I don't feel like going up there now. So and he was like I want to see come my son. So I wasn't at the house. I was with my other partner. He ended up getting killed too. His name one one I was with him. He was like riding with me and shit, we was trying to get that he was gonna get the hotel room in his name because I ain't got no id. I ain't got no license, so I needed somebody to get the room in their name. So I was running with him and shit. And Johnny is my friend who was with me that got killed. He had went to my mama house because me and my mama, Me and my mama last baby daddy, like my little sister daddy, we had all went in like we was paying rent on the house. They was paying more than me, but I was paying. I was probably paying like five hundred. They was probably paying like six hundred or some shit. And so we was all staying together. So he had because remember I told you, like my mama and her other baby daddy broke up shit and she ain't had nowhere to go type shit. So he finally back together in the house. So Johnny had went to my mama house and he had went to see my mama, went to see my son, and he had got to speak out the car and shit. But I remember like that whole day, now that you say it, like I remember that whole day. I kept telling myself like I got to pull up on Johnny. I got to put up on Johnny type shit, because he wanted something that I had, and I wanted something that he had so after he seen my son and shit, and that was his first time just going to see my son on his own, like he ain't never did that before type shit. So after he went to go see my little boy and shit, I had pulled up at his house and he was like, he was like, ride with me somewhere right quick. I got to handle some shit. He was like, I don't feel like going to my car thor let's let's just ride in your car, because I was in one of my little pluck plucks, like like a hoopie type shit, like a low key car. So goddamn, the ships so crazy because like when we was in the car on the way to wherever he was trying to go to his grandma call and his grandma was on the exact same street, but where we was going was to the left and where his grandma was at was to the right but on the same street, and she called like right before we turned on the street, like we was at the light waiting to go left. Type ship. So when I used to think back on it, I used to be like, damn, Like you know how the toy be like in life, you you got a choice, like which way you can go? Type ship. And I used to be like, damn, if he would have went right, he would have still been alive to ship. So we made, we made, We ended up making the left or whatever. We ended up pulling up or whatever, and like a nigga just jumped in the back seat and just was like, get up type ship. Then a whole bunch of just shit started happening. Boom boom boo boo.
Do you think what the setup? Because that means you say, this is the this is a bucket, this is the car that you know. O key, don't nobody really know that the people know you had this car.
Not people who knew me, because I was always like a super low key right like I got a fly I had a flashy car too, But nah, I didn't nobody know about this car for real. I be thinking back on like a lot of shit because even like after that shit, I used to be like, damn, I didn't did like a lot of shit to a lot of people type shit. So I used to be like this shiit cause it came from anywhere type of shit. So that there used to cross my mind. But I don't really know.
Did you feel you let your guard down to allow for somebody to get to jump on you like that.
Not really, not really, because I was on point. I think that's how I made it. Type shit, like I was already looking back type shit.
Did you know the guy?
I ain't know?
So he says, give it up, whatever you have on you, Like, okay, bro, hey, whatever I got here take mm hmm. You didn't have it you, he said, I ain't got none, Bro, I had some, but you told him you you told him you didn't have anything.
No, I had something else for him, not what he wanted you right right right, okay, okay, yeah, type ship. But he had something for me too, ship. So he got to jump on you kind of not really though, because they was really scared for real.
It was one or two.
It was two.
It was one of them jumped in the back seat. One of them was standing up outside the car. Okay, type ship. So the one who was shot standing outside the car, he shot me off thrilled right here okay because I'm turned like this, so he like, fu niggas type ship.
Okay.
Then he take off running. So now it's just me and Buddy in the back seat.
But my brother he.
Like I remember screaming to him type shit, because me and Buddy started going back and forth, like his arm was like over the seat and my arm was like over the seat. So I remember like, but I was shot. So I remember saying like like Johnny, shoot him, shoot him, shoot him, type shit, And me and Buddy was just going back and forth, and then he started. Buddy in the back seat started screaming like, ah, before you hit him. Yeah, but I was hit up too, right, So when I remember, like the gun jamed type shit. So I had copped it back again, and when I put my arm over the seat, he put his gun on my arm and shot me. So my gun fell out my hand, and I remember us fighting over my gun. Then they went off one more time. Boom, I got shot right here in my hand from holding the gun type shit. Then he got up and he tried to run and then he collapsed type shit. And then I remember that's when I had an iPhone in This was probably like the iPhone three or some shit ugglass, So god damn, I remember like trying to unlock the phone to car nine one one, and like my blood kept drying up the screen type shit. So I remember I got out the car, but first that's how I knew Johnny was dead type shit because like after Buddy got out the corn ran. I remember I told Johnny like pull off, pull off, pull off, and then the car wasn't moving, but his foot was on the gas but it was in part so the engine was just like reping. Then it was like some movie shit. The windshell wipers was like, but it wasn't raining. And then you know the door like when you got the door up in ding ding ding, like the alarm to tell you closed the door type shit. So I jumped out the car, went and knocked on somebody's door. They ain't come to the door. So I went back to the car and got damn. I unlocked my phone. I finally like, I didn't even unlock it. Back then it was like slide for emergency car, right, So I ended up sliding the car down my one like yeah, I'm shot. They get to asking our type just dicked out asked questions like what the fuck, bro, like I'm shot?
What shift?
What street man?
What the fuck you mean?
What street who? I don't know the street I'm just shot type shit. So they like I remember telling them like my brother dad, my brother dad type shit. And then I remember laying there, and I guess the nigga who was driving them niggas, he came looking for the nigga who was in the back seat. I guess he couldn't find a nigga, so God damn they he rode back past, and I remember being on the phone because I thought they was finna ride back past the handle of the business, so I scooped back type shit. I was on the phone that lay like they running back past type shit. Then I remember the police pulled up. I don't even think I told her. I think I just put the phone like down type shit and just did like that. Then the police pull up, so I get out the car cause I'm a victim. I'm like, man, this nigga tell me, I put your hands up. He put your hands up, let me see your hands. I'm like, bro, I can only put I can only put this arm up, cause remember I told you he shot me in this arm, So I put the arm up. I'm like, I'm shotting this arm. I'm shot in this arm. He like, sit on the curb and put both of your hands behind your back. I'm like, man, I'm shotting this arm. I can't put it.
Behind my back.
He like, put it behind your back. So I think I just like mean this shit like that type shit. Then I sat right there for a minute. Then the ambulance pulled up. And when the ambulance got there, I remember the lady. It was a white lady. I wanted to see her, like so I wonder, like how she doing type shit. But she she was in the back of the ambulance. So they put me on the scratch and shit, they cut my clothes open, put me on the scretcher. So she put me in the back and she was like, she was like, let's hurry up and get him to the hospital before the sergeant get here. And he bleed to death type shit. Cause I guess, like when when you're in critical condition or some shit like, well, I don't even think I was in critical condition. I think I was just bleeding a lot, right, I guess, like they they objective is for the detective to hurry up and ask you questions just in case, right, type shit. So she was like, hurry up. So they put me in an ambulance and we just went to the hospital.
How many times did you get hit?
Six? And then no vital organs though, no, no vital organs.
So what do you think happened to you? He got friendly fire? My brother?
Yeah, the one that was in the car with you.
No, I think the dude in the backseat shot him in the head, oh like when it first happened, right, because he had his gun on him too, right, But he never shot right.
So that's why when you're saying Johnny shoot him, he couldn't because he had already got hit. Yeah.
I think he got hit like off the type right.
Yeah, So what happened to the guy that was in the back that ended up collapsing? Did he live?
Yeah? He lived, Okay, he was paralyzed.
I don't know about now. Well that's what I heard. You know how you hear shit yet street, but you don't know, right, Yeah, he lived though from what I remember what I know, Yeah, the guy.
Did they ever find the guy that shot you that was outside the car?
Yeah? They they they they I don't know about it. I know they found two people, but I didn't know what they looked at like right, so I couldn't tell like the police shit, really it was.
Dark type right.
So I think they ended up they got charged and then it got thrown out type shit.
You think about that. Do you think about that day? What could have been? What what could you have done differently?
Yeah?
Hell yeah. But I ain't even want to really ride with him that day because I was really just trying to chill. It was my birthday, right, We had some shit like some drinking shit, some looking and shit, we just want to get drunk. So I was really just going over there to kick it with him type shit. So yeah, I be thinking about that. But the main thing I think about is like, like I heard his grandma on the phone telling him like I'm ready, because he picked up from work every day, right, And I just used to think, like, damn, I wish you he would have just win and got his grandma instead type shit, because.
He wouldn't have got his grandma. You wouldn't have been in the car, you wouldn't have been there, he wouldn't have been there, and that day would have never happened.
Facts. Yeah, oh god, you've seen.
A lot of tragedy. Your uncle ended up getting killed.
You That wasn't my real uncle though, But remember I told you like how we like made Yeah, he got killed when I was in third grade. I remember I was, I was, I think I was sleep, but I was so bad I probably was up, but I remember it was a school night, and I remember just hearing like.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom.
And I remember jumping up, and I remember jumping up and looking at my window and then my mama came in the room and just started hugging me type shit, started holding me. But I was so young. I think I knew it was gunshots, but some was telling me it was fire craft, right, So I go back to sleep, and I remember getting up the next like a couple of hours later, like that was probably like two in the morning. I had to get up, probably like Sam for school, and I remember like my mama was ironing my outfit for school and shit, and the news was on and they was like, I think it was five of them they got killed that night, like four or five. It might have been six. It was like the dudes came. They killed big Boy, which was like my uncle, they killed Swiss shot, and like another one of their partners, and like two maintenance men. And then I remember like my mama telling me or it was either my mama or my stepdady was like yeah, they kept big boy type shit. But then when I got older, you know how you replace shit back in your head. I was like he robbed the wrong person because I remember, like, ah, that week he had went and bought one of them new Tahos, the Z seventy two trucks.
Was he seventy one?
Yeah, the two dogs.
Yeah, I know exactly what you talk but yeah, that's the high end.
Yeah, he had bought one of them he had. I remember walking down there because like when I was young, they used to like give me like little dollars and shit. And I used to like rap, might do a little like like three bars or some shit, and they'll give me some dollars. So I remember one time, like that week, I went down there and they was like outside by the Z seventy one, like they was on the truck and sitting on the truck smoking and shit. I remember I seeing like a big ass bag of weed probably like five pounds or some shit. Wow, just bags a week on the lighthood of the car. And I remember one of them, one of them. His name was Kevin. He used to have a box Chevy on twenty threes with the Jordan logo. I remember him like man put that ship up, bro, What the hell wrong with y'all? Put that ship up? But I remember, like, I ain't never seen them have that much weed. I seen them smoke weed a million times. They ain't never had that much wheed. So I feel like that's what happened. But I don't know. I feel like that's what happened, though. Hit somebody's out, yeah, the wrong nigga, and they came back because they chased them. They he was in like it was some apartments connected to the apartments and it was a cut. He got damn he got shot in the next apartments.
So he was running.
He coming in the head once, but he still was alive. And he ran all the way from them apartments, ran like through the cut because the cut is like right next to my building. He came through the cut and ran all the way down there to like to the end, like well, our street. It was a dead end on our street, and he ran all the way to like well, my cousins Rock Kim stayed and he ended up dying, like collapsing on their front step type shit.
But your twenty first birthday, that wasn't the first time you had gotten shot. Was it was that the first time you got shot. No, that was the second time.
The first time was like on some like bullshit though, it was just like a grade for real and wanted to just like no, just you know what I'm saying, Like I ain't even go to the hospital.
Right yeah, whether that or was someone intentionally trying to.
Get I think it was an accident, okay, Yeah, twenty.
First birthday, you lose your partner, you almost lose your life. You watch you've gotten graves before your your uncle who's not your biological uncle, but he was raised up with you, so he was considering an uncle.
At what point in time, Savage, do you say.
No for this?
Mm hmm?
I think like, yeah, after I got shot, because you got a kid, you gotta thinking now you got you got another life to be responsible for. It ain't just you now for sure.
I remember thinking about that too, Like while I was sitting there, I was like, I remember, I just kept mumbling like I can't go out like this, can't go out like this, can't go out like this type shit, And I was just thinking about my little boy type shit.
Did you ever lose consciousness?
M hmm?
Not from what I remember, right, m hm.
You leave lost siblings. Yeah, you mentioned that.
I think it's your Your father's had a son that ended up getting stabbed in death, correct.
Yeah, in London, in my grandma neighborhood. That's why I just shot my last video at Yeah.
How does one that have experienced death so much? How does one cope with it?
M hmm.
It's one thing to know someone's gonna die of old age. We got grandparents and we have someone over there the terminal illness. Okay, that's one thing. But to see someone lose their life so young, to see a parent burier child when no one, no parents should have to bury a child. It's supposed to be the other way, the child buried the parent. How does one begin to cope or wrap their minds around death in that capacity?
I don't know. I don't know how I do it, cause I didn't had times like why I cry sometimes type shit when I'm by myself and shit, But I don't know. I think you just gotta be built for this shit, Like you gotta just be built for it, like you learn how to like just like move forward in life and just accept certain shit. But it's like still hurt though, But right, I don't know like what it. I don't know how I cope with it.
Honestly, I read when you said after your brother's death, I took my anger out on you. I wish I could take that ish back. Yeah, what do you mean by that?
Like like growing up like I ain't really we ain't really talk like that neither, cause I used to be like kind of jealous of like the relationship that him and my daddy had. I used to feel like my little brother was the son he wanted and I wasn't. I was the son that he didn't want. Type shit.
Hm.
So like when me and my my daddy relationship faded, it's like me and my relationship with like that whole side of the family faded type shit. But like right before he died, we had just started back talking, okay, So it was like me saying that was like damn, I regretted all the other all the years that we wasn't talking because I felt like you was like spoiled by my Like you know what I'm saying, Like you was his favorite type shit, Like he ain't really fuck with me, he wasn't there for me, how he was dere for you type shit. Like I remember one time, like my daddy had came to visit. This the only time he ever came to visit, and he had none you was like my mama told him, like no, my my mama, baby. My stepdaddy told my mama like, they ain't gotta spend no money on no hotel while they hell, they can come stay with us type shit.
Yeah, y'all barely have enough room for you guys.
But shit, West Indians just like that.
Yeah right, Okay, cram in this bitch.
Oh god, We're gonna cram in this motherfucker. So so they came and stayed with us and ship, and he had brought my little brother with him, and I remember one day, god damn, he had and took the van. He had took us to city trains and shit, and god damn he only bought my little brother shit. He ain't buy me shit though, type shit. And then I remember I think my mama and my stepdaddy got the arguing about that because he took too long with the car and my stepdaddy had to go to work type shit. So I remember just being like I remember like being in the store and like I was like picking out shit and he wasn't grabbing my ship that I was picking out, but he was grabbing my little better shit type shit. And I remember like like being jealous, like being hurt by that type shit. So goddamn, I ain't never say shit though like that like when cause I was too young, so it was kind of like a you know when you're young and you feel some type of way about something, but you can't say nothing, so it's just like you just eat it.
Right.
So I remember we got home. I remember them arguing and shit, and then I remember my stepdaddy telling my daddy like this ain't got nothing to do with you, bro. You good, like like, don't worry about nothing. You didn't do nothing wrong. She was supposed to tell y'all the time I had to go to work type shit, right, And goddamn, I remember my daddy.
We go home.
Were at home. Now, well, we walk in the house because I think my stepdaddy told my daddy that while we was like in the parking lot. So we walk in the apartment. We go in the house. I remember my daddy and my mama talking and shit, and then I remember my daddy caught me in the room and he was like he was like I ain't gonna lie I'm homesick type shit. He was like, I think I'm gonna leave early what type shit. And I remember being like, I remember being like hurt by that too, type shit. And then he left type shit. And I remember that's when I first started like being like, man, fuck this nigga, like that's my That was my first feeling of life.
And my brother.
Right, that's when I first started being jealous of my brother, cause I was like, now you ain't seen me in years. You done brought my brother out here and bought him off type shit. You ain't buy me nothing right type shit. So I think that's where that like jealousy like came from. Type shit. But I wish I never did that because we were child with my brother. But I think I couldn't control.
No, you're a child, that's like anything.
I mean, if you got two kids and you buy one constantly, the other child will become resentful of the child that you buy everything for and the child that you don't get anything.
He will resent both the child.
And the parent. So it's a natural reaction. Savage. I mean, that was not something that you could consciously like, you know what, it's okay, you know, blah blah, that's not how that's not how a child minds function. But it explains why you have the resentment towards your father and you ended up growing even though it wasn't your brother's fault, but still he was getting gifts and things that you weren't, and so you resented him forgetting things that you couldn't get, and you resented the father forgiving it to it and you the opportunity and that you know, you hear people say all the time, savage, that you know, make sure you tell someone that you love him. You never know when it's going to be the last time, or you might not get an opportunity. And here will you see you sit back in like, man, the feelings that I had to towards him, what I would give to tell him.
I love you and I appreciate you.
It bro Oh god.
Yeah.
The type of father that you are I'm assuming, correct me if I'm wrong, is that you want to be everything that your father wasn't.
Fact to your son, that your father wasn't to you.
Fact. Yeah, but I kind of understand, like with my daddy, likes I don't like I had forgave him for all that shit when I was a child, right. More so, like the reason why we're not talking now is because like shit that he did, like as an adult that just kind of rubbed me the wrong way, right, But like I kind of understand like a child and the whole nother country. You ain't rich, right, But.
It was just like time doesn't cost anything though, right, But.
It was like other little things, you see what I'm saying. So it's kind of like but now, like with my kids, I be feeling like I don't be doing all the way my job because of my job, right type shit. So I'll be trying to like balance that out, like trying to like it's like you, you you work to receive to gain all the success and all the good ship. But it's like I feel like the best parents, in my opinion, is parents that don't got it all. I feel like broke parents are better than rich parents in my opinion, because when you broke, you got way more time type shit, right, so you there for like a lot of the ship. Like, yeah, gifts and shit matter, but they don't matter at the same time.
Sometimes all the kids needs time fast your time fact something that a gift can't replace. Fast we see Yo Gotti lost his brother. Yeah, was coming from was at a funeral and ended up losing end the son. His brother ended up losing his life. Let's say, how do we how do we stop that cycle? Because I heard Rick Ross call and said, bro, let's put the guns down, Let's put the mask down, Let's let's come together, Let's build this, let's build these communities, let's get this paper together, Let's stop this senseless violence.
I don't know. I don't think that shit ever would stop. It's just my opinion, like people been killing forever, that shit just life.
But what what are they actually killing for?
Nothing?
But you can't there's nothing that you can kill somebody for that validates.
Right, you fight over a territory that doesn't belong to you, that block doesn't belong to you, that belonged to the man.
Yeah, but I don't feel like people really fight over blocks no more, Like I think it'd be like shit that people do to each other. Right, Because it's like you could look at it from two points of views. Because when I was younger, I used to look at it from my point of view, But now that I'm older, it's like I look at it from like an older point of view, But when I was younger, it was like, if somebody kill your brother, like, what can stop you from.
Wanting to kill they brother?
You seeking revenge?
Like what can stop you from wanting to do that? You feel what I'm saying? Like then I'd be like, damn, what give like people the right to say when you can kill? Because it's people who, damn that got a license to kill? Who can go they can go kill somebody legally? What's the difference? Like what makes their reason more valid than this young boy who just lost his brother? You feel what I'm saying. So it's like I don't feel like killing. Whatever stopped probably the amount and the how it's happening, and shit can slow down, right, But I feel like, as long as you got life, you got killing.
When did you decide that rap was gonna be your way out and you was gonna put that behind you? How old were you when you said you know what, I can do this? I mean, I think fifty fifty was a guy that the end was in the game, ended up getting shot nine times, turned his life around. I don't know if fifty of the role model of yours. I think I read somewhere where you said three six Mafia.
Yeah, I liked that they music growing up, but I ain't really know much about three six Mafia, like I knew about Project Pat like his story, I didn't really know about three six Mafia, like as a whole fifty was one thousand percent like I looked it up to him growing up too for show, like because he told his story more than like a lot of other artists. He had a movie and all this type of shit. So right, I knew his story a little more, like I was inspired by his story and shit.
So when did you decide to says i'm'a give this rap thing.
To try, like after I got shot. Yeah, that's when I really just started like trying to like rap for a Right. I had made songs, playing around and shit with friends, but that's when I started like really like putting my money into it and shit like that.
Right, Okay, you meet metro Booming? Yeah, and so that was So how did you meet him and how did you guys become such good friends?
I met metro Booming through Key. It's a r Atlanta rapping named Key, and I met Key through Man Man. He a rapper from Atlanta. Too right, and Key used to bring me around Sunny Digital.
Nobody had a real name. Huh, everybody got mad Man, they.
Kid Oh god right, God damn that used. He used to bring me around Sonny, and Sonny was the man, okay, and then everybody used to be at Sunny House. And then that's how I met Metro.
So you Metro up he gave you so did he know? Did he know you rapped at the time?
I don't think so. He ain't know me right, But I just walked up on him like, man, I'm savage, bro, I need some beats. I'm finna start rapping. And he fucked around and sent me a couple of beats and I had there like a couple of songs on him and he fucked with him and then we just grew relationship.
And it took off from there. Yeah, did did you think or did you know?
But really, Sonny, Sonny, my songs were Sonny blew up before my songs with Metro type ship, So it was really me and Sonny was locked in like Metro was giving me beats too, but I was doing like pride was Sonny and shit, Sonny was like showing me how to record like, let me use his house to record and our type of shit, and then me and Metro grew our relationship while all that was going on type shit.
Yeah, did you think you could become this?
Because I remember I used to like when I had caught my little first little song. I remember I used to be sitting that sunny house, like, man, when the hell are you supposed to start getting show money?
Bro?
Type shit?
And he used to be like, Bro, don't worry, brouh, it's gonna come. Bro. Trust me, Bro, like it's gonna come type shit. I ain't think it'll be like this, not hell no, because back then it was like people was blowing up. But I don't know if people was blowing up that big. I feel like all the people who this big right now, like we all got there around the same time type shit, right, like we ain't have nobody be like what future back then, who.
Was just big like that Future says, If young Metro don't trust you, I'm gonna shoot you.
I mean, but you look at your guy, I mean, what is it about Atlanta you? Future?
Tip Luda, I mean east Side, if you if you in the rap game.
I think little Baby, Yeah, I think Atlanta is just like a player city. Like it's just player like we just.
I don't know.
We just know how to talk, we know how to walk, dress top to women, set trends. It's just something in the I don't know.
I had Ti out on the podcast. Tia said, you asking for a million dollars and he said no because he said that I would have to take more from you.
Yeah, he was still trying to sign me though. Tia just cheap as hell. But he sent me an offer and my counter offer was I want a million, and he was like, shit, I'm gonna have to take so much from you in return that it ain't even worth. It ain't even gonna be worth the men in the futures type shit.
So we actually saved you from yourself.
Facts. Yeah, I look up the TI because t I one of them niggas. He rich as a motherfucker, but he tight his hair. That's how he keep that money up. He's smart with his money. I had a planning album before you signed your first deal. Yeah.
Yeah, so now you you you're in a very favorable situation because you got you. I mean, it's not necessarily you got to do a bad deal because you already got a platinum album. It's not like a situation you're looking to get signed so you can release an album.
You already got the album.
Was it platinum up or was it gold?
Go?
I had platinum singles, yeah, but I had a go right Yeah? But you straight yeah for sure?
So it kept so that kept you out of a bad deal, yeah.
Because I was like it was like our type of street niggas I was supposed to sign to, had like little labels and shit, right, but some just used to tell me like, man, hell no, I don't take no thirty thousand, don't take no fitty right, Like you're worth more than.
That, right.
You end up doing a seventy thirty split, right, yeah yeah with Epic right, yeah, that was my first deal.
It was like seventy thirty, but like they had like a ten percent distribution feel some shit. Yeah.
For what's your take on streaming?
I hear Snoop Doggs say, man, look here, man, I'm streaming you stream a billion, and man, you ain't really.
Making no money.
What's your what's your what's your what's your thoughts on streaming?
I think it all depends on how your deal structure because it's some money in streaming money streaming. It's just about like how your deal structure and how much you scream type shit. Well, it seemed to me to we need to be some money in it because my label be giving me some money.
Okay, I was about to say, because the way you talk, you talking like you got a structure deal that.
You be getting.
They gotta be making money because that giving me money. Right, So it's some money in that shit, some real money in it.
Let me ask you about your catalog. Future sold his catalog. I think he sold at sixty five seventy five million. Is that something you'd be interested in at some point?
Yeah? Probably lay on down the line for sure. Yeah. I only got a couple of albums right now though, Right, but you're gonna stop it on. It depends how much my hustle, how I apply my hustle, right, because shit, I might fuck around and invest in something and become a billionaire and be able to pass my catalog down to my kids. Might not even have to sell my catalog.
Right, I'm looking at the exale of Freshman Class Little Easy, Bert, YACHTI, Kodak, Denzel Current, your Herbo, David's Little Dick and Anderson pack designer and you well y'all had licked that year.
Yeah for sure, Yeah, y'all have a link. Yeah for sure there was some stars on that cover.
Do you do you do you ever sit back in like man, considering what your story of how coming to Atlanta from London or the East Side, your upbringing.
There's a lot of things that could have happened that this didn't happen.
Do you ever sit back and like, damn, I'm savage?
All right?
Yeah?
Yeah, sometimes yeah, I'd be like I still gotta keep going on.
You're still trying to grind.
Yeah, but they will be like appreciative that I do sit back and just daydreams sometimes like down this ship could have went this way, this way type shit.
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I think my sound just changed, like my beat selection, like just talking about deeper things and just like I feel like I'm just growing up, Like I'm a grown up now, right, Shit, I was like a young nigga when I first came out. I was just saying anything type shit right.
Samples on the album? How difficult was it? How difficult was it to clear the samples for some of the.
Music that you use.
Jam do that my am r she be handling, she'd be on on top of all that shit, so she ain't really come back to me. Like nothing was too hard clear this time. But it do get hard.
Sometimes it gets hard because they want to charge more than what you think it's worth, or they just don't want you to sample it.
Some people just don't want you to sample that shit, right, Like one of my songs, like they cleared it for the album, but then when it was time for me to do like commercials or like TV performances, they wouldn't clear it. So it was like, damn, I should have just never cleared it for the album in the first place, because now they song big and you can't sing it. I can't really do nothing right everything that I want to do with it.
So why would they let you do it for the album but not let you do it commercially?
I don't know.
Man.
Do you ever look and.
See like, okay, American Dreams supposed to drop and somebody else, like you know what, like three other artists might be dropping that week. Would you ever move yours up or push yours back or you're like, hey, make the best man win. It depends on who's dropping.
Let me keep it all the way real. If it's somebody too big, I'm gonna get up out their way, right, But I'm gonna normally know that before I even right drop, like I'm gonna know, Like you know, all the labels have like a calendar of what be coming out for the most part, right, But yeah, I get about somebody way. But people get up out my way too, though they should. Yeah, I'm looking at this. Are you the best rapper in that twenty sixteen class? I feel like I am right, But I feel like everybody in that class should feel like that is too right. But hell yeah, I feel like I am for sure.
Dark Day's song of the album, you would say your gun won't love you back and the block won't hug you.
Back that song. Yeah, I really was like in the booth, like talking like to like a younger me, a young man in that same situation type shit. Like I was just like telling them like, yeah, this ship might look cool, but in reality, like this is the truth, Like this is what it really is right here, Like this the real type shit. I was just like talking to him in that way like yeah, you you could say you love that block, but they don't love you it ain't gonna hug you back. You can stay like hug the block. That's like posting on the block all night. It ain't gonna hug you back. You could love your gun, but your gun ain't never gonna love you back. Your friends after your candlelight, dang, ain't nobody gonna come check on your mama like that. That ain't gonna give her nothing. Wow, Like you feel me, Like that's just how shit go for real.
You told kids to stay in school, talked about seeing friends take their last breath, talked about crying at night and mama's crying, talked about kids growing up with our fathers said, even though you even thought about suicide, tell the story that don't want people to live. So what is it about that lifestyle that people find so not people, but young men, especially a lot of young men of color, find so fascinating?
When you young, you damn it, get rewarded for dumb shit, right like when you're young, But it ain't like a real reward, but it's like you get more attention. I say that, like like when we be growing up, like we don't be getting a lot of attention type shit Like our dad ain't mama always busy type shit. So like when you do bad shit, I told you, like you get a counselor. That was like something cool in school, Like if you had a counselor, like other kids looked at you like like you was something type shit. So it's like it just build up and build up and build up type shit. And you just used to get rewarded for dumb shit or not dumb shit, but like bad shit, right that it's just carry on and then you just before you know that you're a grown man and you just stuck in this shit type shit.
But you're one of the one that made it.
You got an opportunity to be a grown man, got an opportunity to look back and says, look, made some mistakes. Don't learn, don't make the mistakes that I made. Yeah, you wanted a few, Yeah, blessed. I know a lot of people that didn't. On this album, Young Thug, Young Thug or Thug recorded a pre recorded you still talk to Thug.
Yeah, not like that though. Right, we're in the top.
The twenty one American Dream. You got a story a movie coming out?
No, that was a parody.
Okay, do you think your story you think you your story is good enough to be a movie or documentary.
You got a very interesting story, savage.
You think you think so?
I do, because it's the American dream.
I mean, think about how many people you hear about this all the time, people migrating to America. And you're an American ex success story, not a whole lot of money, very tough upbringing, single parent. I mean, you had love, and you could have gone down this path, and you went down this path for a period of time, but somehow you come back down the straight and narrow and here we are American love success stories. Why nothing?
Yeah, yeah, I feel like it could be one day. They hate on it now though, Why they hate on it because they're gonna be like, what the fuck twenty one is to average? Deserve a story for a movie by him?
Right?
What he did? Right? You know how they do?
You know what? They hate on your relationship with Drake? Why people got why people got beef with Drake? What Drake do to anybody?
I don't know.
So because you know you gonna get blowback if you cool with Drake. They hate on him, they gonna hit on you.
Two.
Yeah, I don't know. I fucked with Drake though, Drake my boy, Yeah, you shure?
I mean what's not what's not like about the bad? I mean hell everything he touched her? Platinum, damn gold, platinum, God, oh god.
Yeah.
Do you think people are envious of your relationship because obviously it's not like he I don't I wouldn't say that.
He doesn't mess with a whole lot of people.
But he seems to have it very You and he seem to have a very special relationship, and sometimes people get envious of that.
They want what you have, what.
You feel like a man is if he's jealous of how cool two other men are? What you what you think?
What you think?
That is what you would look at like that Like if somebody said I don't like how Steve and they how that will make you feel what you a look.
At that like that's some hate mass you know what?
Right?
Because it is.
But what what you have to understand, and I'm learning this Savage, is that as you rise, the plaws are gonna.
Come be sore. Is the hating and the criticism.
So if you're not willing to accept the plaus and the elagulation that comes along with the rise, you might as well get off because the hate and the criticism coming. Yeah, yeah, and that's a part of it. And you just have to accept that. And and that can't the the the hate and the criticism, It can't drown out the applause and the adulation, right, what adulation means applause, the praise, the Grammys, the man Savage, you hear Savage album? Man if savage? Man, I don't if what that do like that? Man?
He ain't like that?
Yeah, you know that's you know that's coming. Yeah, but see everybody, everybody see as long as you like here and everybody's here with you, we cool Savage.
But now the hold on that.
Don't you go here because if I can't go here with you, I'm gonna start hating on you. Now if you get here, now, I gotta say some stuff that might not even be true, right because I don't want people to like you more than they like me.
I ain't never been like that, though, I know you not, but there are a lot of people that are. Yeah, I wonder why, though, Like what make you be like that? Like I always look at it like shit, that's just just like me.
Hainting on Drake.
Yeah, I'm trying to get there, right, I.
Look at it like inspiration, Like shit, I'm working.
That's see. That's how I look at it. I look at anybody that's done something. What it's been done once? Hello, can be done again? So if Drake their hell, why can't I get there?
See?
That's how I looked at it.
When I saw steven A and I see guys that Charles Markling things like that, I was like, I'm not hating on them. I was like, I can do that. Let me see, let me get on my grind. Yeah, but that's not how we are. We're not wired like that, right, And it's sad. The tour aspect, what do you what do you like? What do you like most about touring? And touring with Drake? The money, lots of it come with Drake.
That ship just com period to reach a certain level because ship, Drake ain't finna pay you none. That gin't worth right. You ain't like he's just paying you because you're his friend. Hell no, they paying you your fee.
Man. It makes me get thinking I should have started rapping instead of playing. Then I got you what hell? What a fifty five year old gonna.
Rap about ship?
Rap about goddamn everything, everything you're going through. It's some fifty five year olds that goddamn can relate. It's a lot Google how many fifty five year old men it is in the world.
That's a bunch of them all right, then, Nah, you ain't for to get me out there?
He be at that, get some screaming money and then tell me of streaming pay a night.
Whats it like touring outside the country.
It's different because they got It's like they love, they love hard.
They might not even speak English, but they can sing every word that you be saying.
Yeah, that shit crazy. I ain't never got loved like that before, really I I have. But I think it's just different because they don't see you as often. They appreciate you more, right type shit.
Yeah, So you love so you love going you love.
I mean it's not like you you don't love touring the States, but you love going out of the country because they give you love.
Like, But I think it might be different from me because remember I couldn't travel for so long, Like my first time ever performing out the country was a couple months ago.
Right, because you couldn't leave because of situation.
Right, So I think it was like anticipated for me a lot. But shit, every soul showed out. They were showing love like a motherfucker, like screaming every song, like songs that I wasn't even expecting them to know.
They know everyone every word.
Yeah, that shit was great.
Let me ask you this, would you ever experiment with your sound like Drake did?
Yeah?
Right? Not once I get to Drake level. You got you gotta be big as hell to experiment, yecause you could experiment and that ship in your career, right, but so you got to have like the leverage to do that, right type shit.
But right now you love you love the savage sound right now, that's working, right now, it's booming. You sold out your album number one, you go platinum.
I'm just slowly like evolving like type shit, like piece by piece, Like I ain't finna just jump out the window and just make no whole different shit, right, But I give you like little bits and pieces of it as I go.
You like R and B?
Would you ever do an R and B album with me singing? Yeah?
Heah, I had to go get a vocal coach.
I love R and B.
Though I listened to that ship more than anything. I don't even listen to.
Rap like that.
Okay, you like R and B.
Give me your Mount Rushmore R and B artist, if you you got, you got, give me your top five R and B artists.
Can they just artists or group? Can it be either?
Or it could be either. It's your listen all right.
Mount Rushmore ain't in order needed.
No, no, no, no, Now my Rushmore is only four, but I'm gonna make it easier.
You're gonna let you get five. I'm gonna let you.
Get five, all right, Usher, Okay, I love s w Uv Okay, Beyonce, Okay, the boy who in jail.
And five tough Man number five tough. I ain't gonna lie. I love Monica, Monica. But then like you got married j Blith, Yeah, yeah, yeah, you got God damn because the Isley Brothers got some ship.
For sure.
There's so many other ones, but them probably who I listened to the most, right, What your mount worth? Marby R and B?
Well, Usher, that definitely got to be on there. Usher for me, I would say, Usher, Mary j Uh James Brown.
I would probably know that's so Marvin.
Gaye James Brown. So yeah, you want to put him in R and B.
No, I wouldn't either know, probably Marvin Gaye. I guess looke for me. I love Luther, but you can't go wrong with Kenny Lattimore either.
I don't know Kenny Lattimer.
Yeah, he a little bit for your time.
Yeah yeah, but you know, but you know, but you know Luther right, Yeah?
Yeah, yeah for sure.
So would you like Let's just say you want to do an R and B album? Who who is?
And you can't pick Beyonce.
I can't be down, heir, because I know you're gonna be because because you know you're gonna pick me on. You can't pick Beyonce. Who who jumping on the track with you? It's one person? Yeah, for the whole album you have no you know what, I'm gonna let you do. Feature you can have, you can have as many as you won't. I'm I'm gonna let you have. I'll let you have Beyonce.
Beyonce. You gonna do a track, Beyonce, go do a track, Beyonce, gonna do another track? That's too I'm gonna just get this from Beyonce. Sama Walker Okay, that girl she hard as a motherfucker. Coco Jones.
Her Okay, I like her.
I'm gonna go get a funt wherever he at, gonna gon get the funt. We're gonna get the boy Joe. Yeah, okay, we're gonna see what Joe at Well, you're.
Able to put if you go get what about Casey and Jojo, You're gonna putting them on your R and B.
They be stinging still, they still say, yeah, Casey and Jojo, I'm gonna go get jagged edged man, you go a wave far bad, bring them back together. I'm gonna go get sw V okay to come back out. I love cut close. If they still somewhere saying I get cut close, I get SAMO two to come back okay. Yeah see, I'm gonna have our type of ship on my ship. Right. I probably make the hardest collaboration n the album of our time if I could just get autumn artists right o.
God, Yeah, it's gonna call you a lot though.
Ships. All right, we're gonna scream.
How did it feel to help ja Cob When it's with Grammy?
I think we helped each other. I don't think I just helped him. I think we helped you. Shut it felt good ship. That was my first Grammy too, ain't like I just had ten Grammys and I just gave him a Grammar. We won that motherfucker. At the same time, I wouldn't have got it without him.
Right, So what so what was that? What was that feeling?
Like You're sitting in there, Okay, you're getting nominated. Obviously, it's a huge accomplishment just to get nominated. Everybody said, oh, you know, I don't even care if I win, as long as I'm nominated.
Bull dyve you nominated?
You want to win? Okay, So you sitting there and the Grammy four goes to and they called j Colen twenty one, Sava, what goes through your man?
I was sad that day because that was the day Kobe died. Oh so I was kind of sad that day. And then like they my award wasn't announced in the Grammys. I knew I wanted before we got there.
At that climatic, it was like one of them like pre announced.
Yeah yeah you want to hear you want to?
Hey, I want to I would.
Want to get up here, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, god, but yeah, that was the day Kobe dot so.
Like good a sweet. So when you do a collab with Jacob Yeah, for sure. It seems like you're like, look, you wanted these you want of these artists that hey you collab off set Jacole Drake, You don't seem to have no beef with.
None of the artists.
Because I feel like I feel like life is bigger than like that type shit. I feel like we are blessed to be in these predicaments and positions and shit, because I feel like we'll be doing the people of injustice by not giving them that right type shit. Like back in the day, you don't remember, like everybody used to be in everybody video. It was more like unity because we was all coming from we were spoiled. Now artists today is spoiled because of how far music has went. Back in the day, it was like it was harder to get on, so they was more appreciative. By the time they got they start getting they shit together, you know what I'm saying, So they all stuck together a little more.
Yo, we had that.
That's why I feel like beefs were so big back then, right cause it was like more rare. Now like everybody be.
Got everybody beefing so type shit, but they really beefing or they try to they trying to get some publicity.
It be half and half.
Okay, Yeah, i'm'a put you on.
I got a tough on it for you right now, give me your top five Atlanta rappers.
Without meet without you, i'm'a go future, okay, t I okay.
Gucci.
Outcast and Young Thug Okay.
I'm sorry.
Luda Jeeze y'all made my top five, but that's damn Migos Thug Yady out Yeah, baby help sorry.
See, you can't do no Atlanta top five.
You can.
You gotta do Atlanta Top twenty. No, nope, we got too many greats.
Nah, because I have to let you put everybody up in there. So when they see that, I like.
My five, them niggas ain't gonna put me in they top five anyway. Hell Nah, they gonna say current current all time.
So what what what type of influence the Gucci have on you? You say you saw Gucci at Miss Wingers very very early on.
I'm gonna keep it real, like growing up on the East Side, bro, Gucci made me hate Young Jeezy as a child, right the head go to the head, Yeah, like I used to really be like man, fuck Jesus, right, from the east Side nigga Gucci type shit. Oh god, Gucci had a big impact, like Butchu was the one, like and he was like he put that ship on the map, like let it be know, like the east Side type ship.
Are you big in the gifts? Do you buy a the other I saw Drake? Uh about Thug or Ferrari? Are you big in to buy other artists gifts that jump on your album and it blow it up? Yeah?
We be buying about Drake some ship. He bought me some ship about thug ship. He bought me ship like people that I fucked with in Metro. I just don't do ship for the internet, so like.
You do stuff and don't nobody know about it.
But a nigga might have a chain on that I bought him. You will never know because I ain't finna like be like bro type ship.
Were you old enough to remember freak nick Yeah, like that one.
I don't remember being there. I just remember traffic. I can't go nowhere, nope. Type ship.
It was real nice though, but.
You gotta come to my free You've been you know, I been throwing freaknekt too.
You threw what hold on?
What time?
About?
What going on on my birthday.
When when is this October?
Man?
Man, we have like how many people was out there? Like seven thousand people? Yeah, downtown at the underground we had we had Uncle Luke performed.
What Yeah, I remember them day. You see, after you get fifty five, you just get on up out of the way.
You know.
I have my time about the early twenties. It's about late twenties, early thirties. I have my time. I have my time with freaking you missed you. It was real nice act man, Let me stop, let me stop. It was all right, it was all right. Nah uh, everybody be talking about you know, teeth, what's going on? I mean, you spent a lot, you put spend good. I mean now you you you you savage. You're gonna be in front of the camera, you rapping. You gotta have your grill, right, Yeah for sure. How many band as you put in there, like eighty five? See to go get them right?
You get it right? Yeah you're supposed to though.
Yeah.
Not the composite ship.
No, No, that's that. I know you got that porcelain.
Yes, grills, no grills. I want to I want to get to this dating publicly. Would you ever date publicly again.
Mm hmm, yeah you would, would you? No?
Why because I believe if you date publicly, you have to break up publicly and you have to deal with your issue publicly. If you date privately, you can break up privately and deal with any issues you may have privately.
Damn, I never thought about it. You just taught me something.
That's just me. I mean, to each his own. I mean some people like that.
I don't. My relationship is not for public consumption because sometimes I think people start to try to live and try to play their relationship for the public and do things. Oh you see what they did they on this vacation. If I go on vacation, it's just being you. I ain't trying to do anything for the grammar the net. Yeah, I mean if if I don't all that, like when you go out to eat and you women got to take pictures, let me take a picture. Come home, man, stop it. Yeah God, So that's that's where I'm at with that. But that's the eat your own.
Yeah.
But you but you cool.
We have me.
If your lady says, okay, you know, savage, Hey, you.
Might just change my mind. You might just change my mind because you eat to break up publicly, But what if you never break up? Have you ever been in a relationship that you felt like I don't think we ever gonna break up?
Hell, all the relationship that you being, you be thinking that in the time.
I don't think anybody getting no relationship thinking like this, you're gonna end them all? You think you go to last forever. But I just think the thing is that that sometimes you know, man, that internet man, Then people start then people start surmising what's going on? Oh, he ate he don't love her like that, she don't love him. She for the street, he for the street. And it started to play. I mean, you get inundated with that savage man, you hit that enough and it.
Just yeah, it'll take a tall on it does it.
Does your tattoos? How old were you got your first tattoos?
Thirteen fourteen? I had got my mama name though, so.
She come, so you cool with that?
So how old when you first got your face tap? Your first face tap?
How old were you?
Sixteen? She didn't like that, sam teen, Yeah, she ain't like it, sementeen semteen.
Yeah, so what was it? The cross was?
It was twenty one?
Okay?
And then that next year my big brother Larry, that was like Johnny best friend he had got killed. Him and his mama got killed together. Wow, And I had got rip Larry as me and Larry went and got twenty one together. Right, so I had when it got RP Larry around it. That was my second face tattoo. Right.
What does been a father mean to you?
Everything? It's just like I feel like that's where your legacy count the most, because when you think of like all the legends you be like, now, I wonder what they signed on, what they kids look like, like, that's who carry on?
Like, Yeah, I feel like it means everything. And you're trying to be everything that your father wasn't to you. Yeah, facts do you make? Is it your second nature? Or you try or you make a conscio or you like, yeah, my dad wouldn't do this, so I'm gonna do that.
I don't do that. It's your second nature, second nature. I don't even think. It's like I don't even think of me and my daddy relationship when I think of like my kids, religious what comes natural to me?
Do you always want to be a parent, you always want to be a father? Yeah?
I always wanted to have kids. I feel like, what did you What did you really do it for? If you don't have no kids?
Right, Like, what was all of this for?
You just gonna die? And then what that's the end of You ain't nothing else to go on? Like type ship, like how I look at like Brianni and Shiit like ken yamnd Junior or like Carmelo's son. It's like, that's what it's about.
You want you What if your son said, Dad, you don't want to be a rapper too.
I'm gonna try and find something else. But if that's his passion ship, We're gonna do it the right way.
Right.
When people say rap is declining, your answer is.
My show probably is going up. It can't it can't be declining. Shit, my shit going up?
Right.
I just did the most streams in the day of my career, the biggest solo streams of my career, so it can't be declining.
But I don't know though, right what's twenty one Savage goal for twenty four? We're early in twenty four, were January, so what can we expect? What's your goals for twenty four?
I just want to like level up with everything. That I'm doing, like better show. I feel like everybody loved the album already, Like spend more time with my kids and my people, like I want to go back to London more often and shit, and.
Just like now that you can travel, that's something that you want to do.
Yeah, like traveling and just starting new ventures and shit and business and shit, just growing up doing grown stuff.
When he Wan's to every lady and.
Gentlemen, all my life and grinding all my life sacrifice Mussele paid the price and want to slice, got to brow the dice. Thats why all my life I've been grinding all my life.
Yeah, all my life and grinning all my.
Life sacrifice Ussele paid the price.
One slice got to brow the dice.
This why all my life I've been grinding all my life.
Mm hmm
