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- [00:00]
2 Chainz
The new king of Atlanta, hip hop. He's a hustler's hustler, a man of the people and a unifying force in Atlanta. I have this voice in my head every day that I kind of use it as like, navigation.
- [00:11]
Cody
Interesting.
- [00:12]
2 Chainz
It tells me the smallest thing. I'm trying to push the narrative to have people tap into that source that they have.
- [00:19]
Cody
What if the voice inside of your head will actually tell you if you will be successful or not? That is what I am exploring on this episode. If you don't know the rapper and artist 2 Chainz, you're about to meet him.
- [00:29]
2 Chainz
My book is not necessarily a memoir, but it has many stories on how I use my intuition to actually get things done, to come up with these ideas.
- [00:38]
Cody
What about a time when you didn't listen to your intuition?
- [00:41]
2 Chainz
I call that the fuck it voice. We all have had that fuck it voice. We literally have said fuck it. Once upon a time I looked at my phone and I had people who I knew were millionaires and I said, why can't I be one? So I really was like, realistic about what I could be. I'm really dope like that. I'm really good like that.
- [01:01]
Cody
What do you tell somebody listening who wants to achieve high levels but doesn't know how to find that belief? People know you as a larger than life artist. Like you collaborated with Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, to name a few. You've won Grammys. You know, you've had this giant career, but I don't think people realize one, where you came from and then two, all the things you've done in business. There's a story about you where you turned like a $500,000 piece of land in Atlant into a bunch of restaurants. Is that how that went down?
- [01:36]
2 Chainz
The properties in Atlanta and about 15 years ago, they were, I mean, prime location properties for sale for 400, $500,000, which is a lot of money, right? And so my realtor would tell me that compared to the rest of the United States in comps, that one day we're going to look back and we're going to wish we bought certain things because that's fairly cheap for prime real estate. So after I get this spiel over and over about just trust me, man, you're going to regret certain things. I bought a couple of pieces of land in downtown Atlanta in this historic place called Castleberry Hill. I had like three buildings. Don't have any ideas at this point. I'm just like, hoarding, really. I'm just hoarding properties. And so I met a young lady who had a business and she was, you know, making good money out of a very small location. She needed a bigger place to, to take her business. I mean, I looked at her PNLs, you know, she actually went to school for hospitality. She like was very passionate about this space. And before that meeting was over, I said partner. And she looked at me like, and you know, that was over 10 years ago. And we have locations and franchises. But I think I'm a, I'm good at identifying passionate people in certain positions and identifying talent too. And anybody that I work with. Because a lot of the businesses that you're going to speak on or that you research, none of them are solely just me. Yeah, it's always like a partner involved. And so when I first did this restaurant business, I realized that, you know, first I realized that most black owned restaurants don't last 10 years and stuff. Then I also realized that in that space it has to be more than, you know, your grandmama's secret recipe or this. It has. You have to really understand the hospitality space. And, and so with meeting this partner, I've been able to grow and learn a lot from her and then at the same time kind of build up my portfolio as an entrepreneur.
- [04:06]
Cody
So now you have nine locations, is that right? Man, more than that, Maybe we have
- [04:11]
2 Chainz
maybe a little bit under nine, but we should because we're franchising now. Memphis, the Memphis Esco is doing really well. We have one in Dallas.
- [04:21]
Cody
I gotta go check this place out. Is it true that you went head to head with the Pablo Escobar estate?
- [04:25]
2 Chainz
I forgot what they call these lawyers that just go around fishing stuff. But. So during the pandemic everything was shut down, right?
- [04:31]
Podcast Narrator
Yep.
- [04:32]
2 Chainz
So except Atlanta. Except Georgia. Like Governor Kent was like, we going to work, we're gonna stay open, we gonna work all this. So half the people were like, this man is crazy. The other half was like, let's stay, you know. So it was this whole thing going back and forth the whole time. The United States is watching us and they're just coming to Atlanta. Like, I guess we can. This is middle of the pandemic. Everybody wearing masks, six feet away, no hugging, people spraying you down with Lysol. It just was crazy. Temperature hand sanitize. So I get back to the homeless during this time. I have something set up outside. I have like pasta, something like that can fill you up. And it's not, you know, so I like this pasta noodles. I got chicken. So across the street from Esco, a little bit down the street is a homeless shelter. So I was like, man, let's just take this outside and feed the homeless. While we're feeding the homeless, of course they're broadcasting this on the news. Somebody from somewhere else says, esco, we can't. And they tried to really, like, you know, sue us. I think we end up settling this whole thing. It was a picture, so it was called Escobar, but I'm like a rapper. So when I came up with it, I was like, bar. Like, we got a bar. You get it? Like, Esco, Like, Esco is kind of like dope, right? We got a dope bar. I'm just playing with words at this time, right? And so to say that we became successful off Pablo Escobar's name was so far from the truth, we was like, okay, you talking about this picture? Let's take this picture down. And we put my picture up. And business had been just moving, just how it always has been. But, yeah, somebody tried to, you know how it is.
- [06:07]
Cody
But I kind of like it. I think my dad always used to say, you're not really in the game of business if you haven't been lied to, stolen from, cheated, and not known what to do next.
- [06:15]
2 Chainz
Okay, well, I'm here. I passed this course that's happened to me on numerous occasions.
- [06:21]
Cody
That's the part nobody tells you, right? They're like, oh, yeah, it must be so easy. Two chains. You're like, famous, you start a restaurant, you're like, no, no, that's humbling.
- [06:28]
2 Chainz
It's not easy, man. And I thought about it because I thought about making this post and I can say it here because I am trying to get my pre orders up for my book that's coming out on March 3rd, right? So I was like, you know, I did all this content on, like, creating awareness. And then I just thought, why not just tell these people that if you have worked at any of my locations, if I've helped you indirectly, directly, any kind of way. It was once upon a time that the Esco Franchise had over 100 employees, 130 employees. Some I know, obviously, a lot I don't know. But from me owning a nail shop, even an adult entertainment place, it seems like one of my calls, one of my callings is helping young women, right? So I'm saying that if I've ever done anything to help any kind of way, then my book is only $20 and I would just like your support.
- [07:27]
Cody
I love it.
- [07:28]
2 Chainz
That's all it is.
- [07:29]
Cody
This also has a great title, though, by the way. Like, the voice in my head is God.
- [07:33]
2 Chainz
Yeah, it's weird. You don't think that's weird?
- [07:35]
Cody
No, I think it's good. I mean, I'm not surprised because you're good with words, but every so often you hear words. You hear a sentence and you're like, I'm going to keep that.
- [07:43]
2 Chainz
Yeah, it hit me out the blue. It just. I mean, I had the idea. Well, I have this voice in my head every day. I've been had. I had this voice in my head just that I kind of like, use it as, like, imagine, like navigation. It tells me the smallest thing, tells me, you should wear this today. And then they'll tell me the largest thing on. I don't think that's a great business decision. So it has this wide range, but it's filled with love, and I know it's coming from a positive place. So when people say God is within you, are you a reflection of that? That's where I got the concept for that book title from. It has to be God. Because I came, this happened, I listened. And then also speak on the eff it voice. We all got that. And no, we doing. No, we shouldn't be doing it. No, it's going to be consequences and we do it. So, you know, we. It's kind of like the kind of cliche thing we used to see back in the days when it was like this angel on this shoulder, this angel on the other shoulder. But I. I started to believe in. In one of those angels.
- [08:56]
Cody
Do you believe in God?
- [08:57]
2 Chainz
I do. I'm never afraid to talk about it. I make people uncomfortable sometimes. Go to those big dinners and I just start praying on my food before I eat. And they, like, I just do that. My belief and my guidance and my faith has gotten me this far. So I don't think I should just, like, try to change it or come up with any. Anything else.
- [09:17]
Cody
You know, the way that you've done music and the way that you've. You've kind of, like created movements around your music. And I don't know if that's that normal today. But I think about, like. And you seem to care a lot about your community, which is like one of our. My core things. I like to own businesses by where I live. Cause that makes sense to me. Like, I want to go to a coffee shop that you own. I don't want to go to one that some CEO 100 miles away owns. And he's never come in, you know, you had one of the most genius marketing ideas I've seen that really didn't cost you much money at all, but blew up. You basically lease sort of an unremarkable house in Atlanta. You paint it the color of Pepto Bismol, right? And then in 24 hours, you write trap on it. You park a pink car in it, a stove in the yard, and you use it to promote your album, which was huge. And then it became one of Atlanta's number one tourist attractions. People flew in from other cities to take pictures. You had galleries and events, you know, even a free HIV clinic. What were you thinking when you started creating this? And why did you create this trap house?
- [10:23]
2 Chainz
So I had an album that came out in 2017. It was called Pretty Girls. Like trap music. Trap music, or the word trap means in Atlanta, it symbolizes hustling, and most knowingly, it has to do with selling drugs. Okay. When you hear a lot of people in Atlanta, they talk about trapping this, hustling and selling drugs. So it's the type of music that some. That people listen to. It's bass. It's heavy, driven with bass, and it has these, like, lyrical connotations dealing with scales and just. It's an underworld type of thing. So I had a project that was called Pretty Girls. Actually, like, this type of music, you just, you know, like, it's just not for, like. And it's just this old thing. Like, when I used to come up, I used to be like, the good girl always wants the bad guy. That's kind of like what it was. And so we actually rented out a house, we painted it pink, and we used it like a live, immersive experience. And that's what it was. And we had art on the inside. So it was about me actually making the word trap a positive connotation instead of it always being attached to something negative. And so we did everything from church to HIV to art shows, and it lasted a couple of months, but the neighbors couldn't handle all the traffic, so we had to get rid of it.
- [11:42]
Cody
Yeah, I think I saw a great line from you, too, which was basically, you were trying to save the house because they were trying to tear it down. And you called it the Eiffel Tower of atla.
- [11:52]
2 Chainz
It was, though, like, at once upon a time, it was one of the most visited sites in the United States. So that's just about something that is, like, this voice thing to me. It's an idea. And a lot of people, I don't think, understand how many people don't have ideas. And I am someone that gets these cool ideas all the time. And I just, I feel like ideas are currency. Like, people pay for ideas, people steal ideas. So you have to be careful who you even sharing with. But ideas, it's like, it's something that we don't really speak about because a lot of people in our position, people come to us with ideas and stuff to do. But for me to actually come to my team, man, this is my conversation, man, I got another one, man. Before I even tell anybody, I'm like, boy, I got. I did it again. So ideas is something that I don't think people really give a lot of credit to because they can spark, you know, a generation worth of just a wealth or whatever. If it's a really. We've seen good ideas go, you know, for eons. So, yeah, I think you're right.
- [13:10]
Cody
Well, especially think about it in this world today, like, everybody's kind of freaking out about AI, right? What's going to happen with tech. But, man, in some ways, the execution now is not the hard part. It's like, what idea are you gonna do?
- [13:24]
2 Chainz
Imagine taking your idea and pairing it with an AI who can actually show you the steps on getting. Cause we've all had ideas and just kind of left it as that, right? Just get so discouraged. Don't know where to start, don't know where to look, don't know who to talk to. Don't you know? But yeah, AI has opened up that, like, you got an idea. Well, let's, let's, you know, push it through. So that is a good thing.
- [13:45]
Cody
Do you believe that? Maybe it's Rick Rubin who says, like, when an idea's time comes, you either let it out of you or somebody else will.
- [13:54]
2 Chainz
I saw that and he's like, yeah, you keep playing something. It's like when it was like somebody else would catch it, I was like, dang. When I heard that, I thought about how many times I'm like, man, I thought about the man. I like you thinking that your thoughts is traveling. So when I saw that message from him, it stuck to me in the fact that I thought, I know I saw somebody's idea. And I've had that same thought as well, but just didn't bring it to fruition.
- [14:24]
Cody
But you have really been pretty prolific as an artist, as a business builder, as an idea generator for, God, I mean, decades. So I guess I'm curious for somebody that's listening, that's like, I'm not a creative. You know, we always hear People say that. What do you say to them?
- [14:41]
2 Chainz
I would tell them to quiet down the noise, maybe get my book. My book is not necessarily a memoir, but it has many stories on how I use my intuition, which is like a sixth sense in a sense for me. How I use my intuition, my discernment, that inner monologue to actually get things done, to come up with these ideas, to shut down the outside noise. I've actually used that voice in my head to get out of that rut. Like, you know, I mean, to be. Sometimes you have to self motivate yourself. That's one of the hardest things to do. And I know my peer group, some of my peers, like, man, how do you do it? Man, you, you know, it's like, man, one of my friends was coming to the studio much younger than me. He texted me and said, man, I don't know how you do it, man. You go to pra. You go to your kids practice, you go to. He's like, I'm tired, I'm gonna come over tomorrow. And I saw the message. I said, man, I'm just, I'm just self motivated. Like, I don't really have that battery pack. No one. Just like, I'm just like, I can look in the mirror and say. And just give myself that pep talk. I need to get my. To go further and get my day done.
- [15:46]
Cody
What do you say? What's your pep talk sound like a nutshell?
- [15:50]
2 Chainz
It's. No one else is going to do this for you. I don't, I don't have, like, I don't have. No, I don't have anybody else. I don't have anyone, you know, like, I got people I love. But if I need something, like, it's not love that I'm needing. If I won't need it, I have enough love. I have a lot of love. A lot of love. I'm getting a lot of love. I'm giving. Are your parents still living? All right, what do they do for a living?
- [16:11]
Cody
My dad's an entrepreneur. He wouldn't even call himself that. He'd be like, I worked my whole life. You know, he was like, didn't go to college, he worked in a slaughterhouse. He, you know, built up a marble and granite business.
- [16:26]
2 Chainz
If you needed something though, would you. Do you think you can call your parents for something?
- [16:31]
Cody
Yeah, I could call my dad to at least be like, I've had a time in business. I don't know if you've had one. I call it the head in the hands moment. Where like, they're like, I don't think I'm gonna make it, and I have no idea what I'm gonna do. Like, I don't know, and nobody else can know, and I might not make it out of here, and he's not.
- [16:50]
2 Chainz
But you did know you can call your dad. You did know.
- [16:52]
Cody
I did.
- [16:52]
2 Chainz
Yeah. So that's. So these are different levels of stress.
- [16:56]
Cody
Yeah.
- [16:56]
2 Chainz
Right. It's like, I'm stressed out, man. I know he'll do it, but I don't want to call him. Hey, dad. But then it's like, I'm stressed out, man. I don't have nobody.
- [17:08]
Cody
Was that you?
- [17:08]
2 Chainz
So, yeah, so that would be me. If I sat down in my own, like, mope and. And you know what I'm saying, so. Because I don't have, like, my dad's not alive anymore, but if he was alive, I was never able to be like, you know, front me some cash for my business or anything like that, you know, and my mom. So I don't. I don't have anyone. So when you don't have, like, a person on top of you, you are the apex. You. You're the person that everyone comes to. Then you have to find ways on motivating yourself.
- [17:36]
Cody
So are you now the person for your kids?
- [17:39]
2 Chainz
My kids were gonna be straight whether I was, like, successful or not. I think when you become successful, you attain more things. It's more responsibility, and that's where it kind of gets a little static and stuff.
- [17:51]
Cody
Yeah. It can be hard. I don't have kids. I hope to one day.
- [17:55]
2 Chainz
You should. I think you'll be a great mother.
- [17:57]
Cody
Well, thanks. I hope so. You know, I have. I got lucky. I won the birth lottery. I have great parents, you know, And I didn't do anything for that. I just got to show up. I mean. But don't get me wrong. I'll take every fucking advantage I can in life and then figure out what to do with it.
- [18:11]
Podcast Narrator
Right?
- [18:11]
2 Chainz
You should. That's. I think you should. I'm trying to get that in my little Nepo babies. They don't want to say my name like, you. You should totally use my name to.
- [18:21]
Cody
Yeah.
- [18:22]
2 Chainz
To the best of your ability to get whatever you need. They have a problem with that, but
- [18:26]
Cody
we're kind of good on them. As long as they do something real, though. And are builders.
- [18:30]
2 Chainz
Like, I remember talking to the Hawks owner. He was like, man, you better tell them to use your name, like. Cause it's. You know, everybody's like, what. What are they thinking? Because it's like, if someone finds out in my line of work, if they find out that I have something to do with it, then the price automatically goes up and think, yeah, yeah. So it's like, oh, this is nice. This is nice. This is a nice rug. This is a very nice rug. It's two chains rug. Oh, yeah, it's gonna be like 3,000. Yeah, it's going to be. Oh, no, it's cody's rug. No, 200.
- [19:01]
Cody
I'm sure you've had a lot of haters over the years, man.
- [19:04]
2 Chainz
I wouldn't say haters.
- [19:06]
Cody
What do you say? Like, how do you handle it? I think that's a lot of, like, when I see the people who follow us, a lot of the comments I get are like, I'd be too scared to ever do that. Like, I care too much what people think, you know?
- [19:19]
2 Chainz
But that's the thing, you don't. So then that's why it's perfect for you and not perfect them. They're literally answering their own questions. A lot of times if you look at the comment, they already, what made you? You know, I wouldn't. I wouldn't wear nothing like that. That was the answer. You wouldn't wear anything like this. You wouldn't. You know, you wouldn't. So a lot of times comments don't really, you know, bother me. The hate stuff. I don't. I don't even. That word is kind of, like, overly used too. Like, everybody can't be hating. Sometimes it's constructive criticism, you know, and so it just depends on how you're listening to it. But I don't get a lot of hate because I'm pretty much a what you see is what you get kind of person.
- [19:56]
Cody
So I kind of get that vibe from you overall, especially because I was looking at your background. Your first solo debut that kind of blew up. You were 34 and, like, had been working for, like, 15 years, but then you completely rebranded. Charlamagne was telling me, like, later in your career. He was like, that was super impressive. And I was kind of wondering, like, what kept you going for the 15 years before you felt you had, like, made it.
- [20:21]
2 Chainz
I just. I knew I was. I knew I had something special. I knew I was a star. And it was hard to explain it to somebody, what you have inside of you without actually proving it. So with me, it was like, I had been around star. I had. Once upon a time, I looked at my phone and I had people who I knew were millionaires. Like, I knew these people were millionaires. Like I didn't. I never saw their account but I just know and I said why can't I be one somebody number. Why can't I be one? So I really was like realistic about what I could be like. I just, I just knew it. I just knew I could crack the code. I just knew I would change. Just like when I walk in here, I walked in here, I could just change the room when I walk in. I just knew I had something I had to it and I just had to stay at it and not give up. I just knew I was special. I knew it was something to me. I just God took his time with me and I know that and that's. And can't no words or comments or anything like that kind of derail what I know is inevitable. Like I'm a real, you know, I'm. I'm. I'm a superstar.
- [21:26]
Podcast Narrator
There's this Wild study from 2016 that found that gut instinct outperforms careful analysis under pressure, but only when it's built on years of real experience. Turns out intuition isn't a feeling, it's a database. So two chains has been running that
- [21:40]
Cody
database for three decades.
- [21:41]
Podcast Narrator
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- [22:48]
Cody
I was talking to this guy before this, his name's David Senra. And there's all this data that actually proves that in a lot of ways what you believe is what you become. And so anyway, we were talking about that like, you know, how some people say you shouldn't believe it if you don't have proof. You know, like, give yourself some proof and then believe it, but you seem to believe the opposite. What if somebody, like, let's imagine there's somebody out there listening to us right now. They're like, one day, I want. I don't know if they want to be two chains, but they want to be their version of you, you know, like their most successful self. What do you tell somebody listening who wants to achieve high levels but doesn't know how to find that belief?
- [23:27]
2 Chainz
The voice in my head is God. Like, this is how I feel. You know, I'm not trying to, like, sway. This is how I feel. This is what I think. This is what I think. I'm an individual. This is my independent thinking. This is what I think. And so when other people do that, and then you get people around that understand, like, this is what she believes, and it's okay. This is her thoughts. Now. Sometimes we look at stuff and we'd be like, that's pretty wacky. Like, something's wrong there. You know what I mean? And I get that. But with me, I don't let stuff like that bother me, man. You know, I just came so far, man. I can't do nothing but just be happy, you know, about whatever engagement I get, whether positive or negative, you know what I'm saying? I'm still, like, recognized. Being in the game so long, 15, 20, who's even counting anymore? I'm still recognized. I'm still not able to just walk outside and walk down the street. Like, I'm still, like, very much in it. I'm still in my. In my legacy phase of just really, like, putting the chairs on top for the things I did in the past with the entrepreneurial thing, the music thing. Everything I'm doing, I did. I shot my own short film. This book is coming out. So I'm just really. I'm building out the two chains, you know, Legacy Stamp more than anything.
- [24:43]
Cody
Yeah. You know, it's interesting. It seems a little bit more normal now. Like, you see, like, Taylor Sheridan owning sort of, like the vertical integration of his business. Like, he owns a ranch where they film the show and he rents out the cows and the horses that he owns back to the studio. It's really smart.
- [24:59]
2 Chainz
And see, see, that's different. That's so different. And that's what we gotta get in our. See, we gotta get that. I just. I had to do somebody else's part, and it was at their house by the Pool in the attic. And I was like, oh, you got some tax write offs going on, you know what I'm saying? It's like. And you just like, man, that's information that needs to be shared and it's just smart.
- [25:32]
Cody
Well, I think you, like, I don't know if you give yourself enough credit. Like, I heard a story about how you spent money on like a tour bus and on a studio and like one of the reasons why you could record was for Nicki Minaj when she called you up because you were smart enough to already have the studio that you built inside the bus when nobody was doing that.
- [25:54]
2 Chainz
Yeah, yeah. So I bought my tour.
- [25:55]
Cody
Is that right?
- [25:56]
2 Chainz
Yeah, before I got my record deal. Before I got my record deal. First of all, in order to. When I signed my record deal, basically it was, I was. The questions that I was asking labels was, I was asking about their international presence because locally, domestically I was already doing shows. So I went through three bands. These little conversions band, we were just going, they call it the chitlin circuit. Where it's like Memphis, the Carolinas alum. You just go around and you just go around this little chitlin circuit, the Southeast, and you can become a millionaire. You go to these places every weekend. You pick up I don't know how much money doing three or four clubs and then a few. And so I, I was going through vans. I said, man, I'm gonna need a bus. Because I was getting larger and I'm just going through these vans, so I'm gonna need a bus. And then plus I started, you know what I talked about, about convenience. It had a, a stove on there, it had a bed, it had a studio. So that's everything I need. Whether I had a hotel or not, I could really like make it work from there. So I bought that, I bought the bus. I don't know, it was maybe 300, a little bit over 300,000, you know, used. But it was well kept. And then I would go on the road and still work. Like some artists, not most, but some artists go on the road and then when they on the road, they can't work because they're not near a studio. That wasn't my problem. I'd literally be, we be riding. I'd be working, you know, I'd be working. So the incident that you talking about with that song, she called one night was like, I really need this song done by tomorrow. And she offered to get me studio. I can get you studio time. Where you at? Whatever. I'm like, nah, you don't have to do that. I'll knock it out when I get off stage. So that was one of the many stories where I literally. Somebody gave me something and I just sent it right back because I was in a position of just having everything I needed near me.
- [27:52]
Cody
It's really smart because if you think about it like basically what you did, you vertically integrated the music. If you own the studio and you can rent it to other people, and if you own the bus and you don't have to rent it out to other people, there you go. Then you under. You get the first dollars.
- [28:05]
2 Chainz
You get it. You, you get it. Got a chef on there cooking food. Got the chef. We let the, we let the windows open and people entrap it. Like, what y' all got on there? What y' all cooking? You know, you get to putting them onions and garlic and man. So yeah, this was something I did earlier. This is actually what I did before I got my record deal. I got this tour bus and then when I got the record deal, I went on tour. Obviously I already had the bus because most of the time you have to rent buses to go on tour.
- [28:31]
Cody
And they're expensive. I saw the markup. They are 60%.
- [28:35]
2 Chainz
They're very expensive. And so you have to get the driver or drivers, depending on where you're going, you got to get them room, whatever. But yeah, I did that. When you reach a certain level, I think convenience is something that we can't have enough, enough of. So when I, when I reached a certain level, I, you know, I hired a driver, I hired a chef.
- [28:59]
Cody
Yeah,
- [29:02]
2 Chainz
you know, you just hired. You put these things in place where you can just focus on the main thing, work. And you have people who do what they do at a high level, you know, help you out in different, you know, areas that you need help in.
- [29:15]
Cody
So, yeah, there's this. Do you know this guy, Sam Zell? He, he was like this big real estate investor. He wrote this book called Am I being Too Subtle? But he's kind of this cool, weird old dude and he was billionaire a bunch of times over, but he had this gray line that was like the difference between a $10 million house and a 30 million dollar house. Like, doesn't really matter. He goes, but the jet, the jet matters.
- [29:40]
2 Chainz
Yeah.
- [29:41]
Cody
Because it's about convenience.
- [29:42]
2 Chainz
Yeah. I have a great relationship with the owners of the Hawks.
- [29:45]
Cody
Cool.
- [29:46]
2 Chainz
So they invited my son and myself on like a recruiting trip. We went to like this Kansas versus BYU game and we took like a jet, jet, like a Not one of
- [29:59]
Cody
those tiny ones that I've been on before? No big one.
- [30:02]
2 Chainz
No. He was. You know, we. It was massive. It probably seated 12 to 14 people or something like that. So it was cool. And it's cool for my son to experience that. But it's a difference in jets as well. It's a difference in everything. But, yeah, it's true.
- [30:17]
Cody
Also, I like when other people pay for the jets. I like that way better.
- [30:20]
2 Chainz
Jets are so expensive.
- [30:21]
Cody
I know. I don't want to be paid for that, man.
- [30:24]
2 Chainz
They're so. I'm so happy. I'm not happy, but when people started wearing masks in the airport, I was able to cut my jet bill by more than half because I was able to. Because I would get. I don't really get anxiety or nothing like that, but sometimes people just yell my name in these crazy places, and the airport is one of them. And I would be in the airport and somebody would be like, you know, two chains, and I'd be like, God, Lord, help me. I'll just. So the next time I test them out, just book me a private. I don't feel like. Cause it's like one person does it. But when people started wearing masks, I just kind of put my mask on.
- [30:58]
Cody
I can't tell.
- [30:59]
2 Chainz
I think I'm high and I. But it doesn't work like that.
- [31:02]
Cody
It's not gonna work. And then didn't you also buy back all of your masters?
- [31:07]
2 Chainz
Yeah, I did that. They don't come back. I bought them back, but they don't. They literally can't give them back to you for. I don't know if it's 7 or 20s. I don't. I don't know the date. But, yeah, they supposed to revert back to me, you know, soon. But, yeah, I did that.
- [31:25]
Cody
Will you explain how that works? Because I don't think people understand.
- [31:28]
2 Chainz
It's negotiating more than anything. You have to have leverage. That's. That's. It's not like you. It's not. Nothing that works. You gotta have. Like with any business, if you got leverage, then the conversation can be had. If you don't have leverage in any business, if you ain't got leverage, you know, I wanna. I wanna do this podcast at Times Square, you know, you can't just tell people, you know, whatever. So with me in these different phases of my life, I had a certain amount of leverage where I was able to get certain things, normally for syncs and say if we were using my song here or something like that, we would have to go through the label, but because they own it until it's reverted back to me. And then songs like birthday songs, something I made that I'm sure someone played somewhere in the world every day. It'll just be a bigger cut at the end of the day, a bigger split. That makes sense because some artists don't even have a. They didn't even have a great negotiating when they did their splits for their pub. Somebody else may have it in different. I don't. I have my pub. I have all of that. So it was just about getting the masters back.
- [32:27]
Cody
That's so interesting. Do you like the business side more or the creative side more? Do you think that they're all the same?
- [32:33]
2 Chainz
No, no, they def. No, no. Nothing is the same. Nothing is the same. But I love the creative side more because that's where I get my idea. That's why I get my. Oh, I can't believe that's when I start talking to that voice in my head. That's when I get to say, well, I can't believe you came up. It's like, I'm talking to somebody. I can't believe you just came up with that. Like, yeah, man, that was. You know, that's pretty good. That's a good one, man. And then, ooh, what if we do that? Oh, man, you know, that's me. The business side frustrates me, and it makes me want to go out to the car and smoke one sometimes.
- [33:03]
Cody
So, yeah, not your favorite side.
- [33:06]
2 Chainz
Even when you got leverage, it kind of makes you a little bit cockier than you should because you, like, come on, man. I know y', all, you know, so it's. It's just. It's just messy. Business is messy to me.
- [33:18]
Cody
You know, there's. There's a lot of people out there today that have had a really hard life, that have struggled in their background. Maybe they're thinking, like, I got nobody but myself. It's all on me. And then they could look at somebody like you and go, well, he got out. How could I do the exact same thing? And my question for you is, like, did you always have this type of confidence in you? What does that look like?
- [33:43]
2 Chainz
Well, I work every single day, so when you work every single day, it becomes effortless. So if I needed to do a verse for somebody right now, I don't need to, like, figure out a headspace to get in. I'm literally activated. This is what I do for a living. Rap and music is like a job that you never really truly clock in or clock out. This is ongoing, this is what I do. This is my professional. I don't need to have a certain candle or a certain type of water to get my ideas. I'm really dope like that. I'm really good like that. So when people ask me for things like that, they get it right back. I don't have to like, ah, it's going through, you know, I don't, I don't, I'm literally, I'm moving around, I'm ideating all throughout the day. So I have ideas, I have metaphors, I have different innovative ways to say some of the same things I've already said before, just in a different way or different patterns. So for me it starts first you have to be highly confident in yourself and what you do for a living. And then I think everything kind of falls under that umbrella. And for me, confidence is like, I didn't fall short in that at all.
- [34:44]
Cody
No, you seem very confident.
- [34:47]
2 Chainz
I put a lot on myself. So even though I'm recording songs every night, they might not see the day of light because I have a higher expectancy for a lot of my things or a lot of stuff that I'm putting out to the world. But like if I'm doing a feature, if I'm working with somebody, I'm just comfortable in what I do. I'm comfortable in my skin and it starts from there. I'm someone that didn't have much and when you come from that kind of space, majority of the time you want what you never had. You want these, you have all these screenshots in your mind of your driveway and your three story house or what's your garage or whatever that's going to look like. So coming from where I, you know, the environment I came from, it just inspired to have larger than life things when as you get older, you realize you don't even need all of these things. You don't need all of these bedrooms because everyone can't sleep in them. You don't need all these cars because you can't drive them all. And you've heard this getting to that point, but until you get to that point, you can't truly respect it and honor it because when you're working hard, when you're doing whatever, when you work and putting the work in, how else do you, I'm speaking for me in my community. How's do you celebrate yourself? How's do you, you know, I've seen people Charlemagne, he just reached an incredible height. It's everywhere. He's Just being so. What are you talking about? 200 million. I don't know. He's making up, lying on everybody's lying. It's only happen. But I could tell you that if I got a 200 million, you would know. You would know. You, you know, hey, Scott just bought a. Bought a jet guy. So you would know Charlemagne. Like, hey man, y' all stop spreading these rumors, you know. But you, you would, you would know. How would they know? You would know, right? It's like Cody has got 200 million. Like, do you are the do these little yellow cubs, they might just suddenly be gold one day. You ain't going to tell it all like, damn. And then this little table like marble. Honestly, it's just small, small little changes. Like, you know, and so that's me. I get this money. We gonna. We're gonna have these chairs gonna be different. The carpet, I'm going marble. The glasses, we're gonna gold straws, we're gonna have bond. I don't even know different candles, live plants, live vegetation. It's just a difference when that money comes.
- [37:22]
Cody
Yeah.
- [37:23]
2 Chainz
And certain people, with certain people, I don't know, you might can get the money and still just keep it nice and subtle and. But I'm gonna tell you honestly, like I'm. When you. You'll hear me pulling up like, yo, he's chains is here. I come in. You know, it's just different, man. It's just different, man. I think it's just nature versus nurture, however you were raised. Really?
- [37:45]
Cody
Yeah. You seem like a man of faith regardless. Who knows like that's not gonna define you, but you could have fun with it.
- [37:49]
2 Chainz
Got to have fun, right? Life is short. I know why we not having fun for real though. I know we supposed to enjoying life.
- [37:57]
Cody
I mean, have you ever struggled with anxiety from all the attention?
- [38:03]
2 Chainz
The things that kind of get on my nerves is people who just drunk people in general.
- [38:13]
Cody
Yeah.
- [38:14]
2 Chainz
Around me.
- [38:15]
Cody
Yeah.
- [38:15]
2 Chainz
If you're over there drunk doing stuff, I don't. I don't mind. I can look at you and laugh. But like if you drunk and like, I don't mean like my friend drunk like over here doing. I'm like somebody that's like, yo, come on, change man. You don't know. You don't know how strong you are. You don't know how. You don't know. You slurring. You don't know. You spin you out. That just makes me be like, you know, leave me alone. You know, that kind of messes with me a little Bit. It's the alcohol. But I'm not a big alcohol drinker.
- [38:42]
Cody
Yeah. Either. I like a little red wine, but
- [38:44]
2 Chainz
I've been doing my red wine thing, too. My friends put me on red wine. Some of my basketball friends. So I've been trying to, like, cab myself and pinot myself here. And there you go. For real.
- [38:55]
Cody
Well, now I know what to send you for coming on the floor.
- [38:58]
2 Chainz
You got. Come on, man. Send me whatever you drink.
- [39:00]
Cody
You know what my secret is? This is so unrelated to anything, but I really am into French and Italian wines. And I'm kind of. I'm a little bougie in some ways. I mean, but the. The fun part about those, you can get incredible wine. It's actually cheaper than us wine often. But it's way better. It's way cleaner. There's no pesticides in it. And it's just, like, more complex. So we'll. We'll make a little note. David, I'll send you. I'll send you one of my favorite. There's this, like. Like, do you ever do, like, Barolo?
- [39:31]
2 Chainz
Yeah.
- [39:31]
Cody
Or like, I love a Brunello.
- [39:33]
2 Chainz
Yeah.
- [39:33]
Cody
But I'm actually not that cool or classy. It's all my husband, he's, like, kind of fancy. And then he taught me because he was fancier growing up.
- [39:40]
2 Chainz
That's another thing you should. You should absolutely get with a man that can teach you something. Yeah, I think all females should do that. I mean. Yeah. So that's good.
- [39:50]
Cody
And you're married.
- [39:51]
2 Chainz
I am.
- [39:52]
Cody
And do you feel like. Did you teach her something? What would she say? You teach her something better.
- [39:59]
2 Chainz
Say it. Yeah, man. I think that's what it's about. You get a relationship with me. Of course a dude can bring, you know, money and all this stuff, but, like, he got to be able to put you down, put you on something. Like, you know, I think that's important, and especially for somebody like me. I'm always traveling. I'm able to, like. I guess this is what's going on, you know? So, yeah, I think that's important. I have another business partner by the name of Joe. He's running my adult. I have a strip club in Atlanta called Candyland.
- [40:26]
Cody
Yeah.
- [40:27]
2 Chainz
Be open three years this year. So Joe is handling a lot of that stuff. So in Atlanta. I don't know about anywhere else in Atlanta. The license to have alcohol and nudity, they put that out of commission in, like, 93. So you have to get grandfather. Then you have to actually buy that from somebody else.
- [40:47]
Cody
Yeah.
- [40:48]
2 Chainz
So just that whole process of doing that and getting this facility. I'm from Atlanta. Outdoor entertainment is a major part of how the city moves. It's not just for one group of people. You see all different types of people in these clubs, whether they are getting drinks, watching tv, listening to the music, looking at the girls, eating whatever it is. And so that was something that I couldn't have planned it, but it just happened like it was supposed to happen. And it's not many in the city. It's, you know, two or three or whatever, so.
- [41:24]
Cody
Oh, and you own one of them?
- [41:26]
2 Chainz
Yeah.
- [41:26]
Cody
That is cool.
- [41:27]
2 Chainz
That is cool. You and your husband can actually come. You can get some hibashi.
- [41:31]
Cody
Do you think I'd like it?
- [41:32]
2 Chainz
I think you'll love it.
- [41:33]
Cody
Really?
- [41:34]
2 Chainz
Everybody has come to my club, Beloved. I mean, I've had friends from out in Cali. I've had friends from Germany, Russia.
- [41:42]
Cody
And you have hibachi instrument.
- [41:44]
2 Chainz
Yep, I have hibachi. I have, you know, tacos. I have vegan burgers. My vegan burgers are delicious. I have vegan burgers. And that's another thing. You have these type of places. Why go out to eat when I could just call my. One of my businesses and say, though, I would like some salmon with some okra and spinach, or you want to pay yourself? Yes, I would like a shrimp and chicken I bought you. Or shrimp and lobster I bought you. I go get it and I watch espn. I watch a game, and a young, nice female walks past. And we speak.
- [42:20]
Cody
And, you know, no, I'm Latina. I told my husband he's not allowed to talk to women, you know, at all.
- [42:26]
2 Chainz
I'm kidding, okay? Because I've heard. I don't know, like, I don't know. I hear some Latino women are a little aggressive. I don't. I have no clue. Because I'm from a place where it was just all black people. Like College park is. I'm from College Park. Then I went to a black school, hbcu. So I went black on black. My elementary was black. Now I went to a black music. I went to my black. Now I'm blacks. And then I went to New York in la. And then that's when you start seeing the diversity. And then early on, when I started seeing the diversity, I had to learn how to be. You know, this is just. This is sure ignorance. Like, so what you is, you know, just. Don't you know that just. Man. What. What. What you. What are you like, what do you mean? So then. Then having to learn how to ask people, you know, their background. So. Yeah, so I, you know, and I'm gonna tell you I'm very intelligent, but just not knowing is just not knowing. You only know what you see and what you so experience are very different.
- [43:31]
Cody
Yeah.
- [43:31]
2 Chainz
One of my best friends that passed away, Johnny, he was from Puerto Rico, but he was like my real brother. We was the same person, so to speak. We had some of the same, we did a lot of the same things. So rest in peace to him too. But yeah, but so you hear different things about, you know, the passionate Latinos and then you'll see how they portray their movies just like they do black people and everything else. So you just never know until you.
- [43:58]
Cody
We women are crazy.
- [44:02]
2 Chainz
I believe you. It's a certain way you just looked at me and I just believe you. And I just wanna tell your husband, bro, do right. This little, this girl from 11 years old, she is not playing with you.
- [44:14]
Cody
Yeah, it's funny, you know, but it's good cause you have a son and a daughter.
- [44:19]
2 Chainz
I have two little girls. I have a 17 year old and a 13 year old and I have a 10 year old son. So I have three kids total.
- [44:25]
Cody
Yeah. Cause dads are super important to daughters. You know, I'm really close with my dad.
- [44:29]
2 Chainz
Okay, quick question, tell me, was it a peer to PE time that you was like smelling your own whatever or just being like. Okay, cool.
- [44:36]
Cody
Oh, that's a nightmare.
- [44:38]
2 Chainz
What was that, 13? What age was that?
- [44:39]
Cody
Right about what you're.
- [44:40]
2 Chainz
I just want to make sure I ain't.
- [44:41]
Cody
You're right. You're right in the box actually. Yeah, Yeah, I was a bit of a nightmare. But now my dad and I are the closest. He actually works with me now and he's amazing.
- [44:52]
2 Chainz
I feel that with my oldest too. Me and her are like, I'm the oldest too. She, she. But you know, girls are just, they go through a stage where we're psychos.
- [45:01]
Cody
Yeah.
- [45:01]
2 Chainz
They don't, they don't want to be bothered or whatever it is. And I have to understand that and give them some of their space because when you go through this stuff in your house, it's like technology knows it. So then all of a sudden you start getting this stuff like teenage girls are going through. It just pops up on your, on your, while you're scrolling. Stop. Do you have teenage girls that are in their room not speaking like, oh, you know. So this is going on right now. So I'm learning how to just, you know, just be understanding and let them develop.
- [45:34]
Cody
Yeah. Well, it's interesting. Like, does that end up coming into your music now? Like, is your music always sort of a reflection of where you're at in life?
- [45:43]
2 Chainz
That's a good question. Yeah. And a lot of my music is. I reminisce a lot. I use past tense. I used to. I had a lot of it is me, like a reflection type of thing to. In a lot of my music, I used to. You know, so I'm not, like, saying I'm doing it right now. I'm not, like, I'm not lying in any of my stuff. So. Yeah. But when it comes to, I guess, like, something as personal as something like that, I wouldn't. Although my newest album, I do have a song dedicated to my pops that has made a few of my friends cry, so I can't wait to that. So it's very, like, just like plucking this heartstring.
- [46:24]
Cody
I do want to talk a little bit about intuition because it's kind of the backbone of this book.
- [46:30]
2 Chainz
Yeah, let's talk about that.
- [46:31]
Cody
I think in business, intuition is so important, but it's important in every aspect of your life. So I'm curious, like, what's your favorite point story about intuition from this book?
- [46:43]
2 Chainz
The book is. It's a lot of tales, a lot of stories about my journey and when I used my intuition or when I listened to my intuition once I discovered it and the times that I didn't. And so, you know, out of all the stories, it's just like. Or how my mom or someone tried to. Maybe she had the intuition. I feel like women are born with it. You know, I have a chapter in the book called Women are Superheroes. I feel like women are just born with intuition. You know, women are just be like, I knew I shouldn't have. I knew I shouldn't have listened to you, you know, or I should have did whatever. So, you know, my book is about discernment. It's about that discernment. It's about the inner monologue. It's about quieting down the outside noise, tuning in to, like, the inner. Your inner connection, your inner wi fi to the highest source, whatever you believe in and listening to it say, man, I think you should give it another shot. I think you should go try to do this. I think you should. I think you should leave that alone. I think it's time for you. It's about time for you to leave. You know, this is. I think. And that's. That's my voice talking to me all the time. You've Been here long enough. It's like, yeah, I have friends sometimes. I don't know why. I just might get them just start walking out the club. Just. I just might get up and just. It was just time to go, you know? So I think I'm trying to push the narrative to have people tap into that source that they have. I'm just trying to affect one person who may. Who may have sat up and said, you know, something told me. If they've said that one time. If you've said something told me one time, then this book is for you.
- [48:34]
Cody
What about a time when you didn't listen to your intuition?
- [48:36]
2 Chainz
I call that the fuck it voice. We all have had that fuck it voice. We literally have said fuck it. And I think it's okay to have that voice, but you just gotta be able to distinguish between. But I think the fuck it voice has maybe gotten us into some trouble or maybe had us live on the edge and not even trouble. We all had that, man.
- [49:03]
Cody
And have you ever had a time where you're like, I really. If I had this book, I probably would have, like, not done that thing because I would have tapped into my intuition.
- [49:14]
2 Chainz
I think it'll help people navigate life differently. That's my ambition. I want people to be like, you know what, man? After reading your book, man, I realize sometimes I didn't need to be in certain places, and other times I needed to be in certain places and things of that nature. The voice in my head is God. Which comes out on three. Three. I want to be a New York Times bestseller so I can add it to the rest of my accomplishments. And last but not least, I have the. My audiobook. It's a real, true experience. I cannot wait till you hear the audio part of this. Of course, it's me. I'm an excellent, exceptional reader. So I did my own reading, but I also added production, so when you hear certain things that I'm describing, you can hear the sound effects that's attached to this actual scene. And I was listening to my audiobook in the car on the way home, and it's actually really, really riveting, and it's really cool. And I think people will enjoy that audio experience as well. It's By Yours truly, 2 Chainz. I'm here. I'm happy to be here. And just thank you for you guys locking in with us.