Full Show: Stephen A interviews Rapper/Singer Cordae, then "Iron" Mike Tyson

Published Nov 9, 2024, 5:00 PM

Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.


Stephen A. is joined in-studio by rapper/singer-songwriter Cordae to discuss his life, career, and new album," Crossroads"" He also interviews former world heavyweight boxing champion "Iron"Mike Tyson ahead of his November 15th fight against YouTuber-turned-professional boxer Jake Paul, live on Netflix from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

On The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith gives you his renowned point of view, breaking barriers beyond the world of sports, and tackling pertinent issues across entertainment, pop culture, society, business, and politics. Three times a week, you'll hear his LIVE unfiltered opinions on the day's biggest headlines as well as straight-shooting interviews with top celebrities, game-changers, and thought leaders across the societal arena. The Stephen A. Smith Show is sure to entertain, inform, and motivate anyone who tunes in.

I love Jim Carry, but then with yes men, I need honest ears. When in the studio turned down the movie roll to finish the album, I pray the outcome it's gun Clinton bigsbyat I'm tooken out of the hood, carrying water, chopping the wood.

But you're gonna always have motion.

If the product is gun.

Lord knows.

It's crazy how I can just text holes and run plays on the weekend.

It's more than just exos.

When I dropped my.

First album was nervous my chest pros play's.

Gonna be executed like on death.

Row bought a new CRIBA that is an s pro come. I credit sCOD Low as my self esteem, but I grow. It's a yellow beam. When I glow, I have mellow dreams. When I smoke to my fellow kids, keep the whole. I think, Yllo, heaned up, wokeme this moment, acting wow like a black of mind. We smoked the opponent. I prayed in hope for this moment. And if I'm posting.

Out own, that's fine right there, Yeah, that's all right there.

I appreciate that. I like that, Yes, I appreciate that.

What's going on in one of the only core days here in the house with your Shirley stephen A. Smith Man.

That's Saturday?

Is that what that was?

Yes, sir, Saturday mornings.

Right, Saturday mornings. First of all, it's good to see you, my man. It's been a while. How you doing?

Likewise, brother, I gotta say too, Man, you know I've been I would like to think I'm an early guest of the stephen A. Smith Show, our early friend. You had quite a lot of upgrades in this.

Thing, my brother. It looks amazing.

It was great to start off with. Don't get me wrong, it was. It was already amazing, but now I was like, oh shit, like, okay, I appreciate it.

I appreciate it. I aim to please.

I aim to please.

Talk to me about you and where you feel you are right now in your career. Things seem to be going real well for you. Just twenty seven, you making things happen. How you feeling about things right now?

Man?

I feel great, bro, Like I'm really blessed, and I'm sure you can.

Relate to this.

Of like I've always had this mindset and still do about just like, all right, what's next? What's the next barrier to break? Through what's the next level. It's just even something amazing, shit just happening. I'm already thinking about like what's next, how do I take this to the next level? But like right now, I think I've been find that balance between just like staying consistent, working really hard, but just also like being present, you know what I'm saying, and just like, Yo, I'm just really blessed.

Like I set out and did a lot of things that I wrote down that I wanted to do.

Still a lot more to do, but I say all this to say, just presently, just very happy. Like my manager was just telling me, He's like, yo, you know, you sold like twelve million, twelve million.

I was getting ready through out the one of one of the awards, well won of Grammy, right mery My Bad, My Bad, My Bad, that nominated for Grammy, nominated for Grammy one of they sold about twelve million. I mean most people ain't doing that right now, How do you think you've pulled that off?

You know what, bro? One, I give all glory to God, honestly.

Two, I don't know, man, I'm blessed because like selling music and tour, I'm even more than like the twelve million records sold. I'm really proud of like being able to sell out a tour, you know what I'm saying, Because like now it's streaming and streaming to like numbers equivalent, it gets a little tricky, like I don't really know.

Like back in the day, it's like when.

Niggas sold twelve million records because twelve million motherfuckers went to the store and bought the shit. Now it's like streaming equivalents is weird. But with a show, it's like a five step process. In order to go to a show, you gotta pay for the tickets. They gotta wait in line, they gotta if they got kids, they gotta find a babysitter. So when somebody actually shows up at your daughter come to a show to see perform, that's real love. And I've been blessed to be able to perform in all corners of the earth, and so I'm really proud of that. So I say that to say this being myself, and lately my model has just been pushing my pan.

Bro, just pushing that pin, pushing the pin.

Did you take and I say a break, I'm thinking, mentally, did you feel at any point in time over the last few years, just with the climate that we're living in, the kind of stuff going on in this world that you needed to take a step back with think about the kind of things that you wanted to do moving forward. Or has it always been about the grind for you.

I don't think I've earned a luxury to take a break, but I got a break.

We all did in twenty twenty.

Yeah, and that was my time to where I was just thinking about, like, what do I really want out of this entertainment thing?

What is what is my goal?

And just being more intentional about everything. It's being more intentional about like my brand, what's the message, what's my mantra, what's my ethos? You know what I'm saying. And so I kind of gathered that in twenty twenty. But in twenty twenty, I was twenty three years old.

I'm twenty seven.

Like I'm a whole different nigga, now, you know what I'm saying, Like same persons, same value, same morals, but just like you know, I have a kid, like yo, it's all of these things transitioning. You know, even for the average American, for average person from age twenty three to twenty seven, there is a certain amount of growth.

So my bad, I'm going on tangents.

No, yeah, going thank you, think yeah, thank you something, all right, all right, take time, thank you.

Thank you.

But I.

Got that break kind of in twenty twenty. So I don't think I haven't tooken any breaks, like it's time in between albums. But I won't even counted as breaks because let's say my last album I dropped it January twenty twenty two. I toured all of twenty twenty two in twenty twenty three, and then as soon as I get off tour, I'm in the studio twenty four to seven, and so that hasn't really been a break since I started it. But again, I feel like I haven't earned a luxury of the right for You talked.

About having a list, at least a mental one, if not a literal one, where you just checked off the things that you've done, Yeah, looking ahead to what you've wanted to do. What have you done in your mind that you can reveal to the audience. What is it that you had on your Listen, you said, all right, I want to do this, check I've done it. What has that been?

You know? What I had?

Getting the studio with Doctor Dre on the vision board and I was able to do that, you know, early on shout out to my boy Anderson Pack.

He actually introduced us.

You know how I feel about Doctor Dre.

Yeah, bro, Yeah he's real special.

No, he's real special.

Nah the goat. And it's funny too.

I had like double ExLF freshmen on the early vision board of mine. I had Grammys on my vision board and I actually had like and I put Egott on my vision board and so like, it's funny that I've won the Emmy first because that's the e So it's like I'm assuming, I assuming, you know, Grammy's next been Oscar's Ben Tony, So you know, the Lord is want me to do it on his time and in that time.

And so that was one of the things, you know, being on the Steven A. Smith Show.

You know what I'm saying, one of my twenty twenty four goals, you feel me and yeah, bro, just just one step at a time. But I feel like, you know, when you write things down, it becomes and.

You're looking at it every day.

It gives me personally, like that extra motivation to keep it going. But just a remind of like what I'm doing this for because you know, this entertainment shit is like it's treacherous, bro, How it's crazy.

How treacherous is it now compared to what it was, say even four or five years.

Ago for you man?

You know what, it's completely different even now, Like I'm still fairly new to this shit, it's only been in it since twenty eighteen, but it's completely changed.

Like even the rise. I feel like this is one of my points too.

We are in a podcast epidemic right now, Like too many of them, yes, nigga, Like we don't need that many more podcasts, like straight up like of people that's missing formed. They're spreading misinformation, you know what I'm saying, Like people like you've been doing this obviously, been doing this a super long time, Like you've earned the right to have your own platform and to speak on things that you speak on. Most of these motherfuckers it's starting platforms, not doing any research on the topics.

They're stealing other people's content, stealing content.

It's not original.

They're not doing any research, they're not fact checking things before they're speaking, and they're actually getting platforms an audience that are But we're in a.

Very like sheep, like a group think world in the system.

And so you got kids who might not I have even heard anything about a certain subject, and they're getting the information from this podcast who may have millions.

Of subscribers, and they're giving them the wrong information.

They're not fact checked in like even like a lot of these music review podcasts. And it's like, Yo, it's this little like and it's not a race thing, but it's more so about a culture and a research thing. It's like, Yo, you got this white boy who don't know who can't tell you when.

Illmatic came out, but you want to make a.

Hip hop podcast.

But you know when Illmatic came out, you know what I'm saying. You don't know when Ready to Die came out.

You don't know, and you ain't willing to admit an acknowledge what you don't know. You're trying to pretend like you do know.

You know what I'm saying, So you have you haven't earned the right to make a hip hop podcast. Not again, not a race thing. But you haven't done your research. You haven't done the education, you haven't done the programming. You know what I'm saying, Like, I love this music shit like I don't study the greats, you know what I'm saying. And so yeah, people, Yeah, I feel like we're definitely in the podcast epidemic.

Everybody, you know what Tom it is. It's Tom for stephen a Sports Picks. Look. Just to let y'all know, I've been on the road, have been traveling, so the setup might look a little bit different, right, that's the way it goes. But it doesn't matter because I'm still here for you, all right. And that also means you need to hear about prizepects in case you didn't already know. Prospects is the largest fantasy sports platform in all the land, with more than three million members, where you choose two to three or even up to six, count of six players of any sports you love to watch and pick more or less when they're projected stats for the game, all right, pick from the NBA, the NFL, the NHL and everything in between. And the good news, by the way, just keeps on coming because now with Prospects' newest feature, Live Squares, you can make picks on real time player projections after a contest has started. So now you can run your game during the game. Just look for the red live indicator on the upper left corner of active squares to see the players full game projection alongside their current progress. Then then pick more or less to add the square to your lineup. All right, but the offer doesn't stop there, because will give you fifty dollars instantly when you play your first five dollar lineup. You don't need to win your lineup to receive the fifty dollars bonus. It's guaranteed. All you have to do is play a five dollar lineup on prize Picks and you'll get fifty dollars instantly. Now let's look at my winning pixel, right, I'll be picking from this weekend's NFL games. First up, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones facing the Carolina Panthers secondary more or less than two hundred and seven and a half passing yards. Carolina Panthers are the worst team in football. I know that Daniel Jones 't the greatest quarterback in the world. Hell, he ain't get anything close to the greatest quarterback in the world, but it should be hard to pass four than two hundred and seven and a half yards. Okay, especially when napors is back. Going up against the Carolina Pants this should not be hard. I'm going with more on this. More will be the answer to this question. Next up, Panthers quarterback Bryce Young going up against the Giants secondary more or less than one hundred and seventy eight and a half passing yards. He's had a rough He's looked nothing like the dude that started Alabama. Yeah. I know that, but at some point you gotta have a good game. Something's gotta work for you. So I'm gonna go with more on this too. I think he's gonna pass for more than one hundred and seventy eight and a half passing yards. I'm gonna go with more on this question in regards to Bryce Young, quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. Finally, Minnesota Vikings signal caller Sam Donald facing the Jacksonville Jaguars more or less than two hundred and forty six and a half yards passing. Trevor Lawrence is not expected to play. I don't expect the Jacksonville Jaguars to do much because of it offensively, which means the Minnesota Vikings will have more bites at the apple offensively themselves because Jacksonville Jaguars defense will have to be on the field to stop them. I'm still gonna go with less, though, I'm still gonna go with less two hundred and forty six and a half passing yards. To be honest with you, I don't need I don't think that Sam Donald's gonna need to do that much in order to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars. So with this particular category, I'm going.

To go with less.

Let's recap Daniel Jones against Carolina more than tw hundred and seven and a half passing yards. Bryce Young, quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, more or less than one hundred and seventy eight and a half passing yards. I'm gonna go with more on that particular question. And last but not least, Sam Donald for the Minnesota Vikers against the Jacksonville Jaguars more or less than two hundred and forty six and a half passing yards. I'm going to go with less. That's more, that's more, that's less. Hey, at least I said more than less. You hear what I'm saying. You got a new single out No mad as fuck. Yes, that's the title of it. Is that one of the things you mad about?

Absolutely what else?

Let me see because I imagine, you know, you're a deep thinker, and I imagine you're mad about more than one thing.

Yeah, absolutely, you know. I'm gonna quote good brother James Baldwin. He said, to be black, and I'm paraphrase, but to be black and politically not politically where, but to be black and socially aware, it's to be enraged all the time, you.

Know what I'm saying.

And so I'm gonna take that quote as the genesis of mad as fuck. But mad as fuck isn't It's not that my song isn't that deep.

But yeah, just a bunch.

Of shit, just like I mean, we encounter things every day that make us mad, you know what I'm saying, Whether it's traffic, whether it's you know, a bunch of shit. You see some stupid shit people are saying online about it only even Goda be about you, about whoever, you know, the spread of misinformation, these bullshit podcasts that we're going about.

Yeah, a bunch of shit, you know what I'm saying.

A bunch of people have asked me, they said, Steven there, how do you do it? How do you do what you do every day? You on television? You know you're doing your YouTube show, you got your podcast, you got all of this going on. They coming at you all the times.

People, how you doing it?

I said, first of all, not nine percent of the time. I don't know what the hell they talking about because I don't read it. I don't pay any attention to it, because I know the objective is to distract me from what I'm trying to do. Absolutely every now and then, I might listen to it just to continue to develop my alligated skin, to show myself. I can take it, you understand, and.

You march forward.

Sometimes the haters inspire you more than you realize, and you could use it. You can utilize it that way. But sometimes, damn it, you just ain't in the mood to listen to that negativity because it can mess with your spirit, et cetera. What do you find yourself doing in order to get through it, because I imagine I don't give it. Damn who you are? If you successful, somebody got something to say. And obviously you're a successful, brother, so people got stuff to say.

Appreciate you. It takes success to no success, brother.

How about that?

But was I finna say you know what it is too?

I feel like our brains as an artist, entertainer, anybody with a platform, and just human being.

Our brains are more centered and.

Engaging to negativity, unfortunately, especially when it's about us. So you may have ten thousand comments that's like y'oll Steven that you the man go did this, but your brain is automatically gonna pay attention to the five hundred comments. It's like who snig sucks? But you know what I'm saying, And that's for every entertainer, artists, whatever. So I say all this to say I try to.

Keep that in mind.

Like, fortunately for me, it's been a lot more love than negativity. So I try to just focus on the love and then too, like you said, like I don't even pay attention to that shit. Like I have Instagram on my phone, I upload it, I get my news.

Like it's like you read the news and shit, I read the news.

If I got to upload a song or post whatever, do that and I delete the shit, and I try to only have it on my phone like for that purpose to read the news, get updated on what's going on in the zeitgeist, in the earth post.

If I got to and then just delete it.

You don't get as much hate nearly as some other artists who will remain nameless. I'm not gonna throw no shade on them because they don't deserve it. But you get a lot more love than hate. Why do you think that is?

Because that's what I pay attention to. This is from my synopsis, you know what I'm saying.

I'm sure there is, like you know, like you said, haters out there negativity, but I only try to pay attention to give in it to the love.

You know, So I'm not gonna just say it's just all love. Everybody just loveday, everybody fuck with me.

I know it's obviously it's not gonna be that, that's impossible for any artists. But I just try to stay focused and give energy to the love versus like the negativity, because I've given too much energy and thought to the negativity and it makes me like second guess myself, doubt myself, overthink, and like when I just delete Instagram, Twitter, social media and I just live my actual life, just like Nigga, like I am.

Are you a proponent of folks getting rid of their social media accounts not even having anything to do with it? You ain't got on social media account you don't know what the hell is going on, You don't receive any of you, you don't pay attention to any of it. Are you a proponent at least in some cases of people just having absolutely positively nothing to do with social media?

Man, my plan is to do that. I feel like I'm not quite there yet where I want to be, and it would be behoove of me, and I not behoove. I'll be a fool to do that, not a fool, but it wouldn't be wise if I would do that right now, because yeah, my audience is there, and there's other ways to you know, direct to consumer ways. But yeah, my goal is to get to a place in my life and my career where I don't have to entertain that at all, gotcha, you know, because it has positive you know, positives, but you know, I feel like the negatives is pretty large.

You originated HYBN group. I mean it was filled with rappers, record producers, social media personalities and promoters from different parts of the country if I remember correct that. I want to know how all of that came together and was that the key to the group's success. The fact that everybody came seemingly from a different genre.

Well, you know, I was like probably the last member of why being honestly, it was started by Hybing my Mayor, and Ybing Glizzie and Ybing Almighty Jr. And they've started off on the Xbox like they were all friends together on the Xbox and shit, and you know, they came up and came together, and I was just cool when my Mayor we had a mutual friend and whenever it was in the same city, we would link if you would. And so you know, I got to be honest, like, no, Mayor just strew me that oop. He honestly just strew me the crazy oop and I called it and slam dunked it. So I'm like forever grateful, Like no matter what Na Mayor got to say about me, I don't got nothing but the absolute highest things to say about him because he shined that light, you know when he didn't have to, and he owe me that. So I got nothing but love for him and that group and like what is is and what is done for me? And like you know, and just not even more so what it's done for me, But like that time in my life, you know, what I'm saying to USh is being young making music, traveling the world and stuff.

So that was really like not mirroring them that constructed and construed that whole thing.

You talk about what was done for you? What do you believe you've done for the music industry? Hip hop?

Hmmm?

I feel I don't know, this is gonna sound narcissistic, but you know I'm asking you.

You know what I'm saying.

Only all you doing is answering the question. That's blame me for that day.

But I feel like I I feel like I.

Bring a much needed balance to music because it's a lot of dark shit, you know what I'm saying, And you know that's cool, Like how you express yourself. You know, Edgar Allan Poe was dark, you know what I'm saying. Lengthton Hughes had some dark poems every now and then, right, So like it's a lot of darkness and music and that's fine, you know, like because that's how you expressing yourself, and you got to talk about your environment. I mean, I got a song called mattis Fuck. I got a song called Broke as Fuck. Sometimes you gotta let that get out of you, you know, like like how mad as Fuck came about. I don't really complain too much. To be honest, I don't like, well.

Just because you ain't complaining too much, don't mean you ain't feeling it in yourself.

Yeah, exactly. I would like to say, I'm we just talked about this earlier.

I'm a if I complain, I like.

To be a solution based I'm a solution based complainer. Like I was at my homies crib and shit was playing a game and I was thinking in my head like, damn, this Nigga TV small as shit, but I ain't want to see.

It being there playing the game and shit like thirty inch TV.

I'm like, Nigga TV, Today's d's got to be at least seventy five.

That's what I'm saying.

So I was just like I was thinking about it, and I was.

Just laughing because I like to see me small and shit. Like my boy's like what what you laughing? Like He's like, what the TV's small? And I was like, I was like nah, But I say that to say I end up and I'm not.

I don't want to say like, oh, I did this for my homie, but I didn't want to bring up that TV until I got them a new one.

I got him a new one as like a housewarm against you know what I'm saying, because it's like.

Yo, I want to come. Let's let's be solution based. So wrapping back to your question of what I'm needed for a hip not needed. But what I think I've brought to hip hop is just like just positivity amongst so much dark shit and refreshing sound among so much dark shit.

Authenticity and and just realness.

I just be myself. I can't be compromised. I'm going to always say what's on my heart, whether right or wrong. I'm going to always say what I feel by the right or wrong. I'm I don't know, politically correct vibe. I'm not for no huge corporation.

You know.

I'm not here to like oh, you you know entertainment. You know you gotta be smart, right, don't be a fool. But I feel like we owe it to the general public and the fans to still like speak with our heart, say what's on our mind, and not be too afraid to burn bridges that were robots, you know what I'm saying. And so I feel like what I bring to music is like authenticity, me speaking my full truth and nothing but the truth, whether right or wrong.

Right and a fresh sound and yeah, just some light.

I could be wrong. I don't recall hearing you much. And I'm gonna bring this up and I'll only go as far as you want me to because this is your business. But congratulations, you've got a baby name Osaka. I mean, she fantastic tennis player, fantastic okay, But we know her story in terms of what she had to go through with fans yep, and what she had to deal with. What was that like for you as the man in her life seeing her go through that and thinking to yourself, what could you do, if anything at all, in light of the fact that she's in the public eye and you had people that were just coming that up just because that's what people are gonna do. You got fans, and you got people that want you to lose, and everybody was a root for her. What was that like for you?

Well, to be honest, when she was going through all of that stuff, like I'm on tour, while she's on tour.

I'm on tour, you know what I'm saying.

So it you know, it's not the best when you can't be there in person for somebody You know, so it kind of sucked that she had to, you know, go through that by herself.

And it's funny.

My first time going to a tennis event regardless was at the US Open. I was just like I saw you, I felt uncomfortable, you know what I'm saying. Like, I was just like, damn, like yo, this feels like a lot of classism, you know what I'm saying, a lot of racism. I would say more classism than racism, but I just felt like a black sheep, if you would. And so I can only imagine as a black tennis player, I'm just a bystander in the crowd, and I felt like hell out of place, you know what I'm saying. Like I said, I'm myself in every venue I'm asked, I'm like, let's.

Go Nigga, US Open, this all quad and niggas like what you know.

So I say all that to say, yeah, man, it's hard man, because it's like when you're like and it's not like a team sport either. And I don't want to speak for her because I don't know what she truly felt, and I don't want to be eyeing.

Her pr and I'm not her spokesperson.

So I don't want to misrepresent her, but I can only imagine what it feels like when you're off there by yourself. You don't got teammates, you can't even damn. I think they can just now start talking to the coaches. So yeah, it's easy for them to fill alone out there.

And that's a whole other layer when you add you're a person of color.

You know what I'm saying, Well, then you're a loud person of color when you speak, you know your ideals, you.

And treat It broke my heart to watch her go through that. And this is the last thing I'll say about that. Right to know. You have a right to know where I stood on that issue. Yeah, on one hand, I felt incredibly sad for her for having to go through it, But I cover sports, and it seemed very normal to me what people were doing. In other words, she's great. We don't want her winning. She busting people as left and right tennis court. Anything that we could do to distract her and to stop her from continuing the bus how you know what, for the for the athlete that we're rooting for, that's what they were going to do. You're Washington Commanders fan, in football, right, Well, you go to you have Medlife Stadium, Ain't nobody rooting for them? You go to Dallas, Ain't nobody rooting for them? So I was saying to myself as a sports fan, as wrong as it may be, there's no way to escape that because nobody is going to stop. How do you continue to move forward knowing that the world that we're living in, you're gonna have people rooting for you, and then you're gonna have people rooting against you, and those who are rooting against you will do everything they can to direct your success. I'm like, what do you say to that? I'm asking you as a sports fan more so than anything else, of course, how do you deal with Well?

I feel like with tennis is different because it's such the culture at a tennis match, it's like nobody, don't say nothing, you know what I'm saying. It's very like you speak when I might be the wrong representative because I've only been not too many, you know, but I.

Feel like, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.

But the culture is just like quietness, you know what I'm saying. It's like quietness, you know, it's very It's a club sport, it's a very elitist sport is how the vibes I get from it.

So everybody don't feel invited. I say the same thing about golf, Yeah exactly, I don't necessarily feel invited.

Yeah, so hecklers aren't as often in that sport as it is like basketball, football, and whether you know heckler is right or wrong, like you said, it's a part of the game, but it's just much more of a standout.

In tennis.

Sport is super rare versus basketball niggas, Like, hey, nigga, you suck every day, you know what I'm saying. And so just going back to just athletes in general and how they should deal with that, I feel like everybody has their own process. I mean, you got headphones. I guess where you're playing, you can't put on headphones. But I don't know, it's like everybody I don't have.

I'm not gonna.

I'm not an athlete, you know, So I don't want to give athletes advice on how they should deal with fans, hecklas and things of that nature.

Like when I'm performing, it's all fans in there.

That's where I was going. Is it all fans when you're performing?

Yeah, because they had to pay for a ticket.

Like when I'm doing a cord A headline show, Like that's when I'm speaking of it's all they literally paid to see me.

It's nobody else there but but me. So it's like literally like all love and admiration.

Now, let's say when we do a festival like a Coachella, Like Coachella is like a hundred other artists, you know it ain't gonna be. I haven't got any like Booze. Fortunately, I haven't got you know. I feel like I put on a really damn.

You would do if you did get Booze?

How do you think that would affect you?

Honestly?

So, the equivalent of Booze to me performing is a is a dry crowd.

You know what I'm saying.

They're just not in act giving it back to you.

And in that case, brother, I put it in both of my in ears and I just treat it like its TV performance. I just put on my in ears. I still give a great performance. I rock through it, and I get my money.

You'd address a lot of sociations that I'm thinking about. Crossroads, your third albums coming out November fifteenth. I Ain't forget that worry about it. I'll be pumping that over and in the day's week theys to come, Make no mistake about that. But I want to ask you, because you you address a lot of social issues, yes, sir, in your music, how do you decide what issues you're going to address?

Just about what's the most important, what connects with me the most? On the day drop Saturday mornings, it was when the police killed this black woman.

Okay, I can't think of the name off the top of my head, and I want to put down the research.

But I say all this to say I had to drop a single on the same day that that happened, and part of me was like, Yo, this is crazy, this is fucked up. Like yeah, we gotta protect ours, we gotta protect our black women, Like this is like.

Oh, this is crazy, right, this is crazy. You know what I'm saying.

And part of me was like, I didn't want to post it because I didn't want to seem like I was pandering on.

The day I dropped a single. It just happened to occur the same day.

But I'm like, nah, I know what my heart was at. This really affected me, This really fucked me up. I was raised by all black women. I got eight aunts. You know what I'm saying, My mom, Like, so I say all this to say just things that connect with me personally, you know what I'm saying. Things that connect with me and move me personally, is what I try to speak on.

You fly under the radar, Yes, sir, In a lot of people's eyes, you're pretty much under the radar. Number one? Is that intentional? Number two? How do you pull it off? Considering the level of success you enjoying?

You know what, It's definitely intentional.

Because even this is my first interview for this tired like I'll roll out, you know what I'm saying.

And because we have a relationship we've been locked in for.

Years, you know what I'm saying, I felt like it was important to do it on this shelf.

You know now. I appreciate you for giving me the space to speak.

But yeah, just being very intentional because I don't want to oversaturate myself and I don't want to mince and waste words, you know.

What I'm saying. I feel like a lot of.

People just be talking just for the sake of talking, you know what I'm saying, And like I was going back earlier of like it's too many podcasts, Like can it really be that many opinions about other things that's going on? Like, so I just try to offer a unique perspective on things. Going back to the music question whatever, I feel like I can offer a unique perspective on something that hasn't been said before, and also things that touch me personally and with me.

Just like you know, laying low.

It's just for my peace of mind too, Like just for my personal peace of mind. I like to live like a fairly normal life, you know what I'm saying, high level of course, you know.

But you all with somebody who's one of the greatest players in the world, except how you gonna how you're gonna live a low profile? But you got somebody that laws yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Like it ain't like she out there doing her thing and you you you you home, you know, working a nine to five?

Yeah yeah yeah, how you pulling that off?

Man?

You know, it's funny she moves she moves even lower than me, like in the sense of like low keyness, you know what I'm saying.

And so.

Yeah, man, just I don't know, just being intentional, I feel like this being intentionable about everything, even when I go out in public.

Like my hair is the dead giveaway when I wear my hair.

When I'm like out like this, i walk, I gotta take a hundred pictures.

And I'm fine with that. It's super cool. But like y'all just wear dow rag shades, you know, masks. So just being intentional, you know.

I'm gonna throw something out to you. I want to get your opinion on this because you brought up the you know, like the invasion of the epidemic podcast epidemic and stuff like that. Absolutely, here's what I detest about it. Okay, like this ship he has earned, ain't given. I put in. I put in decades before I decided to do something like this. It's not the fact that people have podcasts. It's exactly what you pointed out. It's what they're doing with it. I'm seeing cats and again, you put in work. I put in work, and I'm looking at people with podcasts and it's like, all right, let me tell you what happened. And they're playing a clip for somebody else's work, somebody else's interview. They're putting it out there. They sitting at the same desk, ain't move, they ain't travel, they ain't research, they ain't doing any of this. Well, let me tell you what I feel about this. And for some reason, that's a podcast and as a result, they're getting paid off of that. And the way I view it is you want to get paid for not working fact, because we could tell the difference between those who's putting in the work and those who don't. That's what appalls me about the podcast business because I'm in it right. It's supposed to be a form of journalism, all right, a form of commentary, and to me, that's not the case in a lot of situations. As a musician, as an artist, how does it make you feel if you see somebody out there that they ain't putting in the work, but for some reason it's getting a little bit of shine even when that work isn't there.

Honestly, I'll be like, man, get your money, bro. I don't got an ounce of hater in me. Like yo, get to it, bro. The don't got nothing to do with me. It is enough, fan, Like I said, it's enough everybody, It's enough for everybody. I am blessed, bro. I've done three headline tours across the world all.

Of them sold out. You know what I'm saying. I do very well for myself. It's like, okay, like I don't get it.

Like even like when I have like friends and family that do music and they play it for me and I'm like, yo, i'mna give you my pain.

But I am one human being. Bro.

It's artists out there that I think are garbage juice. Bro, straight garbage juice, but they doing a thing. You can find an audience. We're in the age now. Just find your niche audience. Cater to them, and they're gonna tell their like minded friends about it, you know what I'm saying.

And so seven billion people in the world.

So when I see an artist that's like garbage juice and they're like going crazy and blowing up, it's like, yo, get yours absolutely, because gold don't get old and like longevity, those that's supposed to be here always stay here.

Got you. That's a good point. That's good. That's a good phrase to live by. Crossroads. Back to that, what can fans expect.

My best work yet?

Like my whole model, like I was telling you earlier, has just been pushing that pin, you know, Like production wise, I think this is my most tasteful beat selection out of all my previous projects. And I just been pushing that pin like it's some songs while we wrote the verses eight times and I might end up just going back to the very first verse, but the fact is I at least wanted to push my pen to see if I can take it further some verses out of the eight verses I wrote, I take a piece of this, piece of that, piece of that, piece of that, and that becomes the verse. But because once music is out, it's out, bro echoes into eternity forever.

Once it's in the zeigeist is there, it's not going back.

And so I just sleep a lot better at night knowing that I put my all into it and I try my very best to push it to take it to the highest level.

I can like creatively.

And my model right now the last year has been if I had a time machine, I go in that time machine and play the music back for sixteen year old Karda. Is he impressed with the music, not with oh my god, I made it, I got it music. Grammy's I done so millions of records like nah, it's just like I just go back in the time Machine play in the music he needs to be impressed of, like Yo, I was able to get that good, like I was able to create something that's good like wow. And if I don't think it impresses sixteen year old Krday, then it's gonna stay in the vault.

I want to take a second to make sure everyone knows we are smack dab in the middle of the NFL season and with games being played Thursday night, Sunday night, and Monday night. I couldn't be more excited. But it's even more exciting is that Prize Picks wants to help you cash in on all those big time games you see. Prospects is a daily fantasy app where you can pick two or more of your favorite players and then you simply select the more or less on the projected stats for the game pick up player's passing yards, rushing yards, and total touchdowns. The list is absolutely endless, and the good news just keeps coming because with Prizepects, you can choose from any sport you love to watch, basketball, football, hockey, soccer.

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It's guaranteed. All you have to do is play a five dollar lineup on Prozepects and you'll get fifty dollars instantly. Pick more, pick less. It's that easy. I've never met an artist that don't have an opinion about sports. Come on before, I'll let you get on out of here. What the hell is on your mind about the sports world.

Let's get that out there first of all, what's on your mind?

Is it NFL? Is it NBA? What's on your mind?

Most both of them? Man, I'm tapped into the NFL. I see the.

Jets just got yellow GMS, Aaron, I don't know what it's gonna do for them with Baltimore, Kansas City Buffalo just got.

Yeah, that's a big pick up for them. Yeah.

Now, Commanders, I see the Panthers. You know, my dad's a big Panthers fan, So I grew up heavy on.

Panally my condole sisters, your dad.

Yeah, man, Yeah.

Horrible French, horrible, Yo, the g we have the worst GM in sports. How the fuck excuse my French. But it's the only way to say it. How the fun I'm saying, excuse my French thirty minutes in his interview, right, But Yo, how the fuck do you trade away Christian McCaffrey for two second round picks?

How do you miss that badly? On Bryce Young compared to c J.

Stroup.

Now, I know Bryce Young coming out of Alabama was all world, but damn you see how small he is and and and you look at the offensive line it's supposed to protect it.

I mean, I spent a hundred a million dollars. They spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the offensive line.

And then they want to talk to me like I can say something different than what I'm saying. I'm like, I can't help you. I mean, it's just that damn bad. Now we'll say this about your commanders, Jaydon Daniels, Yeah, Jadon Daniels, true, I'm trying to lay low because I don't want to jinx him. I don't want them to get hurt like r G three got hurt.

Don't bring up that.

I don't know. Don't do that. Don't do that. Don't do that. Don't bring up my man Rob Hark like that.

Don't do it.

I'm doing that. We're gonna We're gonna let that go. But I tell you that r G three was big time. Brother was throwing that brother was special, no doubt about it. Jaden Daniels.

You believe in him, absolutely, one hundred percent. I rebuke all r G three energy Jesus Rebut now Jayden Daniels the one. You know what this reminds me of, like just that excitement. They didn't do what they were supposed to do. But I remember just being in sixth grade. We had like Jason Campbell, like Hugh Les and Tana Moss, Clinton.

Portis our but Handsworth.

You know that for the season started, Shaylor what a monster.

Oh my goodness.

But that squad just had me so excited before the season started. Now they went eight and eight, God ras Sean Taylor soul. But I say this to say, this commander's team, and it's looking real good for I think.

We got rid of Dani Schneider.

We had to get heat that something.

Yeah, we had to get he was.

I don't even know he in the country. He won't come and cut away.

Yeah, he was cursing. Man, like we good.

I know that. Listen, Josh Harris a billionaire. You paid over six billion dollars for the franchise, but part of that ownership group is serving Magic Johnson. How are you feeling about that?

I love it, man, I love it. This is this is great. Now they need to buy the Wizards too. They don't own the Wizards.

No, they don't. You do know this. They almost as bad as the Carolina Panthers. They might be, they might be worse. Yeah, well but I mean the only thing you could say is that at least Carolina only puts us through seventeen weeks in misery. The Wizards put us through eighty two games.

And this ship, yeah, man, it's the Wizards is bad.

All right? So who you got in the NBA this year?

NBA? I like the mass I think that.

No, let me go ahead, go ahead. They just got the ass whip in the finals that you bringing up because they got Clay Thompson.

Man, I think he got a bone to pick. Man, he got a point to prove. And I feel like people been playing with him.

I feel like, oh, he's been time. You know, he's big time Hall of Famer, one of the great shooters. But they think he lost the step. Golden State thinks he lost the step defensive.

And now he's the third option versus the second.

If he's open, he's gonna make shots.

He's gonna hit that he got and Kyrie handing it off to him.

Here's my issue with Kyrie Irving spectacular, spectacular throughout the years. Put on a show in the playoffs, it was absolutely sensational. In the finals in Boston, he forgot how to play no No in Boston.

Ain't gonna do that. Look, I'm gonna tell you that's my brother in real. A little bias. I'm a little biased. I'm a little bias. That's my that's my tribe for that's my main man.

I got a lot of love despite what people think. We had our disagreements, but I respect the hell out of him and I got a lot of love.

For him, and going back to the point of like that courage and that willingness to speak his truth.

He did. No political correctness. He did.

And I feel like the entire world and you said this publicly owes him apology. You know what I'm saying, Like people owe with this man in apology because he stood on his beliefs, in his morals, and we got to reward that as a community.

In fairness.

With you sit in here, I look right in the camera and I'll say this, Okay, I got on him, but I got on him because I got tired of him missing them. Damn games. He's too great for me not to watch you play. He's too great. But I was never of the mindset, YO, take the vaccine during the COVID pandemic because it's the vaccine. I was of the mindset, Yo, Katie and Brooklyn because of you tain't Harden and Brooklyn because of you do what you gotta do to make sure you win in the chip in Brooklyn. That was my position. But I do owe him an apology, so does everybody else in this regard what we've seen the politicians turn it into what we've seen revealed about COVID, the vaccine, and all the stuff that comes with that, the conspiracy theories, and beyond the inconsistencies, the statistical lies. Kyrie look a hell of a lot better now than he years ago. People like me and others need to shut the hell up about that issue. We can't say anything against them at this point.

Yeah, yeah, well that was great. Appreciate it right there.

My man. I'm proud of you, man, keep making it happen. Crossroads Drops November fifteenth, all the best of you men always home here for you, my brother.

I appreciate you. Thank you. I'm gonna take this couch with me too, man.

I need the couch. Man, I ain't got your money. I don't feel like buying another one.

We ain't gonna talk. We ain't gonna do that, brother. But you know what, all right, We're good. We're good. We're gonna do that right, all.

Right, y'all. My guest is one of the greatest heavyweight boxing champions of all time. He returns to the ring in an official capacity to take on YouTuber turned professional boxer the one and only Jake Paul November fifteenth at AT and T Stadium in arlingin Texas.

Live on Netflix.

Please welcome the Man, the Myth, the Legend, Iron Mike himself, the one and only Mike Tyson. What's up Big? How you doing, Bro? How you doing?

Everything's great? Thank you? Thank you for asking.

The fight was supposed to be in July. I was postponed because of an ULCRA flare up according to reports. First order of business, How are you feeling for this fight?

Hey? I feel great. Everything fine.

So I gotta ask you what made you want to fight? Jake Paul.

I mean, there's a lot of money, and that's always an incentive for all of us, but I get the feeling that it's not just that with you. What's up?

I could use a bucket like everybody else, but this money. Believe they's not going to change my lifestyle, and you know it's not going to change my lifestyle. Be able to do what I'm normally able to do it if I didn't have to fight.

It's just the fact this is what I want to do.

I want to get out of my comfort zone and I want to test myself. Whatever I'm afraid to do, I do it. That's just my mentality. If I'm afraid to do something.

I do it, you're you're attacking your fears. I remember years ago, Cam Chancellor for the Legion to Boom with the Seattle Seahawks when they were winning Super Bowls told me the great ones all always attack their fears.

I never heard that before. That's pretty heavy.

He told me. Iron Mike, he said, listen, I said, how do you ultimately end up being so successful as a teen? He said, everybody that enters this locker room, we find out what their fears are and we make them face it. That's how we do it. That's why we win. And that's what he said. Having said all of that, I want to say this. The fight's going to be live streamed on Netflix. Okay, tell me how you feel about Jake Paul. What do you think about him as a fighter, and why you took this fight with him?

And listen, I think he came a long way as a fighter from when he first came and first showed himself on Roy Jones, Mike Tythan caught, and he built himself up to be quite a sensation.

And I think it was only right. It was no brainer for me and him to fight. I started on my card on them.

I'm finishing how much pressure, if any at all. Do you feel to win this fight even though you're twice his age and you haven't been in the ring in an official sanctioned bout since two thousand and five. How are you feeling pressure wise about needing to beat him?

Well, I feel a great condition Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at box eight round and I don't know I'm ready. I don't look at it. I'm some old guy that decrepit gonna fight this young guy. I'm fighting a guy with ten fights. You know, he's ftational and he's hot. But I'm fighting a guy with ten fights, and I think I'm gonna have to handle this situation.

You're gonna knock him out.

I think I'm gonna hurt him.

Yes, you know, watching Jake Paul, I really respect what he's done for his career. I really respect what he's done for the sport of boxing, because he's one of those guys that's saying I don't have to depend on promoters to do this for me. I'll do it myself. Having said that, I'm tired of seeing him go up against boxes we don't know, or strike us from the UFC or basketball players. Something I like the fact that he's in the ring with a former champion. What do you think you're gonna bring to the table that he has not seen?

My whole existence, it's everything is listen. I hope he taking this very seriously.

His health depends on it.

I was getting ready to ask you, why do you say that, because his health is his health depends on it. Watching I'm imagining that you've watched him fight. What have you seen from him as a fighter that makes you so confident you can take him out?

Well, I'll keep that to myself.

You ain't gonna tell me, Mike.

You say you ain't gonna say anything. You just gonna give it to yourself.

I wasn't it to your ear? When I see in person, you.

Know I'm I'm looking at you right now.

The last time we saw you fight in the officially sanctioned out was in two thousand and five when you lost to Kevin McBride. You lost to Danny Williams before that, beat at the end, before that. When you look at yourself and and how you've aged, people look at you and they see you sparring, and they say, it's still a lot there. This is iron. Mike Tyson mad respect for him. What do you believe that you've done since retirement that has you so confident that this is a fight that you could win against somebody half your age.

I stopped doing drugs. I stopped drinking liquor. I stopped your stole my life away, and I took my life serious came you know, basically a responsible family person.

That makes any sense?

Okay, Well when you when did you stop all of that? When would you say you stopped all of that?

Eight years ago? Might be nine, but I've eight.

And what happened that made you stop eight or nine years ago?

I had some experience, That's what I had, A psychadelic experience, MT experience.

At age fifty eight. How do you train to fight an opponent like Jake Paul at age fifty eight? What's different now compared to let's say what you would have done in your younger hey.

Day far and gets fargn partners, bar training, shape, your strength and conditioning. Just do the basics you know and give it the best you got, give it everything you have three times a day.

Mike, do you think your ultimate advantage is the fact that he hasn't been in the ring with a true, true boxer who's a power puncher that has really really tested him.

I advantage that I'm just a better fighter.

Period.

Yeah.

Look, man, before I'll let you get on out of here, it's a couple of things that I wanted to bring up because I wanted to promote this for you. Quick service plant based food company you invested in, mister Charlie's told me so, yes, what got you? What got you involved in a quick service plant based food company? You eat some of that stuff to train for this fight.

Absolutely, I'm here some strong believe in self awareness and taking care of yourself.

What you what people put in.

That body is what they are if you win this fight. When you win, when you win this fight, in a lot of people's eyes, especially if you do it by knockout, is are you one and done? Or are you the type of person approaching approaching sixty years of age that's gonna think you could go back in the ring and do it again.

And listen, Sky's the limits, brother, Sky's the limits.

Good luck, my man. It's good talking to you, my brother.

Thank you very much.

No doubt, the one and only Mike Tyson himself right here with your boy Stephen A. Smith on a Steven A. Smith Show. You can check out The Longer Way to Tyson Versus Jake Paul fights streaming live and free on Netflix. Remember Friday, November fifteenth. Don't miss it. Don't miss it.

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