Club Shay Shay - Killer Mike Part 1

Summary

Club Shay Shay - Killer Mike, Part 1

Host: Shannon Sharpe
Guest: Killer Mike
Release Date: October 1, 2025
Podcast by: iHeartPodcasts, Shay Shay Media

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Episode Overview

In this engaging and personal episode, Shannon Sharpe sits down with the iconic Atlanta rapper, activist, entrepreneur, and Grammy-winner Killer Mike. The conversation explores Killer Mike's approach to marriage, money, business, community, and the music industry. With laughter, vulnerability, and wit, they dissect his long-lasting marriage, unconventional family dynamics, business strategies, lessons from failure, and the triumphs and controversies that come with success. Killer Mike shares wisdom on wealth, partnership, legacy, and staying grounded while chasing—and achieving—big dreams.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Public Apology and Personal Accountability (02:58–08:13)

• Killer Mike opens with a heartfelt apology to Steph and Ayesha Curry for a misconstrued online comment, taking responsibility for his mistake.

  "Steph did something that all us brothers with women should do, and that's stand up and defend...I apologize deeply."
  —Killer Mike (07:09)

• Emphasizes the importance of respecting others' relationships and being mindful, especially as a public figure.

2. The Story of Killer Mike & Shay: Love, Secrecy, and Commitment (08:13–17:48)

• Mike and his wife Shea (Shay) kept their marriage secret for nine years to shield it from public scrutiny and gossip.

  "The world will ruin some good stuff if they know about it...I didn't want to share her with gossip sites and opinion."
  —Killer Mike (08:32)

• Details their unconventional wedding (a Vegas drive-thru at 3 a.m.) and how they avoid traditional trappings.
• On wedding expenses:

  "A traditional wedding used to be in your mama's or grandmama's backyard... I would encourage young African Americans...put that money into investing."
  —Killer Mike (17:39)

3. Partnership, Investment, and Financial Philosophy (21:35–27:06)

• Mike credits Shay for their successful property investments and prudent money management, citing her mentorship and encouragement to invest over showy spending.

  "My wife, like an old country woman, has constantly deferred our money into investments."
  —Killer Mike (22:13)

• Advocates for young people to use wedding funds to build wealth.

4. Marriage, Monogamy, and Blended Family Dynamics (25:36–35:43)

• Openness and compromise are central to their relationship; mutual respect and personal freedom are key.

  "Being allowed to be me is what's allowed us to prosper and grow...I want Shaina Ford Render to be the biggest, best, most badass version of herself."
  —Killer Mike (25:55)

• Honest discussion of temptations, boundaries, and humor in navigating monogamy as high-profile partners.
• Mike highlights the importance of harmony and respect among mothers of his children and Shay, creating a big, blended, supportive family.

5. Marriage as Business: Trust, Transparency, and Shared Growth (35:43–38:25)

• Killer Mike and Shay work closely in business, sharing information, assets, and decision-making.

  "I trust her implicitly...I have a partner. I don't just have a wife."
  —Killer Mike (38:08)

• They model generational wealth-building and see disagreements as opportunities for growth and communication.

6. Decision-Making and Business Lessons (42:15–52:09)

• Mike acknowledges the importance of mentorship, research, and humility in building businesses.

  "A big part of succeeding is just to keep yourself from doing stupid things...even if your intelligence don't save you, your non-stupidness will."
  —Killer Mike, quoting Charlie Munger (51:20)

• Encourages learning from failure, avoiding ego, and following one’s passion.

7. The Making of a Grammy-Winner: Risks, Rewards, and Legacy (66:10–71:35)

• Reveals he spent $500,000 of his own money on his Grammy-winning album—much to his wife’s concern, but the risk paid off.

  "Spending a half million dollars of your own money is not what you should be doing... but the gamble paid off. I walked away with three Grammys."
  —Killer Mike (66:24, 67:34)

• Shares lessons learned about leverage, independence, and receiving recognition.

8. Triumphs, Community, and Staying Grounded (75:33–78:23; 83:04–91:05)

• Reflects on his arrest at the Grammys, the outpouring of community support, and a sense of divine purpose:

  "God has a plan. And God can remain anonymous through what seems to be a series of unfortunate events."
  —Killer Mike (78:23)

• Credits success to a strong support network: family, friends, exes, his wife, kids, musical mentors, and Atlanta itself.

9. The Roots of Killer Mike’s Success: OutKast, Future, Chappelle, and More (84:02–94:15)

• Expresses gratitude for OutKast’s influence and support, breaking down the importance of their mentorship.
• Shares stories of collaboration with Andre 3000, Big Boi, Future, and Dave Chappelle, highlighting community and kinship in creative journeys.

  "All I ever wanted to do was make him [Andre 3000] and Big Boy proud... I always...mention Big and Dre because I appreciate them so much for giving me an opportunity to change my life."
  —Killer Mike (86:16)

10. Community Investment and the Future of Atlanta (52:48–55:00)

• On saving and redeveloping Bankhead Seafood, a staple in Atlanta’s Black community, with T.I. and a team of local entrepreneurs.

  "We feel indebted to my community...the biggest way we can do that is by keeping that restaurant and those recipes alive."
  —Killer Mike (53:03)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Keeping Marriage Private:

  "I wasn't walking a straight path, too. I was crooked as a clothes hanger. But that's not the reason I kept it a secret. I kept it a secret cause she was mine, right? And I didn't want to share her with gossip sites and opinion."
  —Killer Mike (08:32)

• On Partnership and Family:

  "How do I partner with this person? ...I have a best friend like relationship in that way with her."
  —Killer Mike (33:20)

• On Taking Smart Risks:

  "They know you've already took the gamble and invested in yourself... so they're going to not only invest in you, they're gonna invest in you and bump you up some."
  —Killer Mike (68:59)

• On Community Legacy:

  "For me, we have lost the art of partnership… We need to get back to that."
  —Killer Mike (24:18)

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Important Timestamps

• Apology to Steph & Ayesha Curry: 02:58–08:13
• Keeping Marriage Secret & Vegas Wedding: 08:13–11:02
• Advice on Wedding Spending: 17:19–17:48
• On Investing Together: 21:35–23:07
• Blended Family Dynamics: 33:20–35:43
• Business Transparency: 35:43–38:25
• Owning and Saving Bankhead Seafood: 52:48–55:00
• Spending $500K on Album: 66:10–68:56
• Grammy Wins & Aftermath: 77:04–83:00
• OutKast, Future, & Chappelle Collaborations: 84:02–94:15

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Episode Highlights

• Personal Responsibility: Killer Mike candidly acknowledges past missteps and the importance of public accountability.
• Marriage & Partnership: The episode is a masterclass in modern partnership—open, honest, and rooted in mutual respect and shared goals.
• Generational Wealth: Rather than lavish spending, Killer Mike and his wife focus on investing for long-term security for their family and community.
• Resilience through Adversity: Mike’s stories about financial collapse, humility, and bouncing back will resonate with listeners navigating their own challenges.
• Atlanta Pride: Throughout, Killer Mike reaffirms his deep commitment to Atlanta’s Black community and its cultural legacy.

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Tone & Style

The conversation is intimate, funny, unfiltered, and filled with wisdom and realness. Both Shannon and Mike keep it candid and Southern; Killer Mike’s storytelling is vivid and often humorous, blending tales of struggle and success with deep philosophical insights.

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For Listeners

Whether you’re interested in music industry inside baseball, Black wealth, entrepreneurship, partnership, or self-reinvention, this episode of Club Shay Shay is packed with insights, memorable moments, and inspiration—straight from one of hip-hop’s most grounded and visionary voices.

Transcript

[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're gonna get. Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Dan]

I'm Dan. He's Ty.

[Killer Mike]

Hello.

[Dan]

And we're the solid verbal college football podcast.

[Ty]

Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan.

[Dan]

Join us all season long as we ride the roller coaster of this ridiculous sport.

[Ty]

Listen to the solid verbal college football podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan]

We don't just love college football, Ty, we live it.

[Greg Rosenthal]

The NFL is rolling. That's right. And you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 60. It's in the name NFL Daily, so you'll have fresh content in your feed all season long. Join me, Greg Rosenthal and an all star cast of co hosts for previews and recaps of every single game. NFL Daily will keep you up to date with everything you need to know so you can sound smooth, smarter than all your friends. Listen to NFL daily on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Matt Jones]

No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Ends 28:26. Open to legal residents of the 50 US states and DC 18 and over. For complete details, how to enter prizes and official rules, visit toyotasgamedaygiveaways.com Tune in to all the Smoke podcast where Matt and Stack sit down with former first lady Michelle Obama.

[Sarah Spain]

Folks find it hard to hate up close. And when you get to know people and you're sitting in their kitchen tables.

[Killer Mike]

And they're talking like we're talking, you.

[Sarah Spain]

Know, you hear our story, how we.

[Killer Mike]

Grew up, how Barack grew up, and you get a chance for people to.

[Sarah Spain]

Unpack and get beyond race.

[Matt Jones]

All the Smoke featuring Michelle Obama. To hear this podcast and more, open your free iHeartRadio app, search all the Smoke and listen now.

[Simone Boyce]

I'm Simone Boyce, host of the Bright side podcast and on this week's episode, I'm talking to Olympian World cup champion and podcast host Ash Ashlyn Harris.

[Ashlyn Harris]

My worth is not wrapped up in how many things I've won. Because what I came to realize is I valued winning so much that once it was over, I got the blues and I was like, this is it for me. It's the pursuit of greatness. It's the journey, it's the people, it's the failures, it's the heartache.

[Simone Boyce]

Listen to the bright side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Killer Mike]

Steph Curry. Aisha Curry. I apologize for my statement being misconstrued. I was just stoned up trying to make a joke out of it. What's on it? It wasn't my damn business. Like my wife said, Steph did something that all us brothers with women should do, and that's stand up and defend. No matter if somebody step on her foot, no matter if they did it or not, man, check and say, hey, man, you didn't say excuse me. So let me say again, Aisha step, excuse me. I apolog deeply and I'm searching for your address so I may send y' all some of this Paloma. Y' all may make more love, make beautiful light skinned babies for us. All my life been grinding all my life Sacrifice hustle, paid the price Wanna slice, got to roll a dice that's why all my life I be grinding all my life look all my life been grinding all my life Sacrifice hustle, paid the price Wanna slice, got to roll a dice that's why all my life I've been grinding all my life Hello.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Welcome to another episode of Club Shay Shay. I am your host, Shannon Sharpe. I'm also the proprietor of Club Shay Shay. Stopping by for conversation on the drink today is a four time Grammy award winning rapper, an Emmy award winning host, the ultimate hyphen. A rapper, actor, outspoken social activist, celebrated cultural commentator and an entrepreneur. He's an advocate for the disenfranchised, a frequent public speaker on politics, race and equality. He's earned the first ever Billboard changemaker award and an influential figure, a respected artist, a decorated veteran emcee, an elite wordsmith, a hit maker, an Atlanta icon. He's hip hop royalty. Here he is, ladies and gentlemen, Killer Mike.

[Killer Mike]

Oh, man, I appreciate that, man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I appreciate you, man.

[Killer Mike]

Thank you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

We've been trying to make this happen for a minute. I understand that you're very busy, but you took time out of your schedule today to grace my audience with an opportunity to hear you and I appreciate that, man.

[Killer Mike]

I appreciate you. And let me say, man, let me start by saying congratulations to you and Sterling, man, being the first brothers that go coding. Now, man, there's gonna be many to come, many after. But Bo, at only one first. Only one first. And you and your brother been, as a Georgia boy, y' all been heroes of me mine a very long time.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I appreciate that, man. I got my own Kanye killer. Mike, I don't know if you. But I want to celebrate you. I got to celebrate. I mean, a Grammy Award winner. You've been at this thing for a minute and. And we going to talk about this during the interview. But you got your flowers. They might have not came when you.

[Killer Mike]

Wanted them to come, but they came.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They came and you got them.

[Killer Mike]

Hey, I'm going to tell you what's cool, man, is I. I only drink about four or five times a year.

[Shannon Sharpe]

What is one type right here.

[Killer Mike]

And I got a Paloma remix that me and my guy made. Me and LP, I'm 1/2 of Run the Jewels. We made out of a mezcal and grapefruit juice. Why don't you try it out? Tell me if you like it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Tell me what this is. What this is.

[Killer Mike]

Give it a sip.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I don't know what I'm supposed to be drinking. I know I taste grapefruit.

[Killer Mike]

You taste grapefruit?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Killer Mike]

Well, it's a mezcal in there, too. The smokier, heavier taste is a mezcal comes out of Mexico. His wife's grandmother. His wife would bring him mezcal from Mexico. He fell in love with it. And it chased that yak pretty good, too. I'm gonna have a party with that thing, man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You gotta be.

[Killer Mike]

There we go. There we go. Come on, man. Do something with me, man. Don't act like that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But you try to do something for too. Somethin.

[Killer Mike]

There we go.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I don't know how they gonna go after this one. It started. It started. Well, Mike, we gotta get right into it. Yeah, you got into a little verbal.

[Killer Mike]

Not.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I mean.

[Killer Mike]

Oh, no, stop. Hold on. Stop. Steph Curry. Aisha Curry. Boy, my wife done cuss me out.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Daddy. Shea Gotti.

[Killer Mike]

My oldest daughter called me. My youngest daughter called me. My homeboys that played in the NBA called me. And I realized maybe I shouldn't smoke marijuana and get on. So, Steph, let me say this. Cause I appreciated you checking it. Cause it showed me you have a tremendous amount of respect for me. I was trying to say to the comedian, go easy on step. And I just typed something stupid. My homegirl, Tesla Figaro, man. Our political fighter and activist, she said, bruh, you don't understand how this could be misread. And I read it and I said, damn. So, Steph, let me say, man, since my favorite player ever turned me on to you, Kobe Bryant, Kobe being Bryant, told me, you gotta follow. You've heard this story before. You have been my guy. The only time I don't cheer for you is when you playing against the Hawks. Cause the Hawks are my guys. Shouts out to ice Trey. But I gotta say, first and foremost, Mrs. Aisha Curry and her husband, Steph. I apologize for my statement being misconstrued. I was just stoned up, trying to make a joke out of it. What's up? It wasn't my damn business, like my wife said. So I'm sorry, y'. All.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And see, that's the thing. Knowing you like I know you, you don't really delve into other people's affairs.

[Killer Mike]

High man. High stoned, man. And the boy made a glow Riddler joke. And I love glow. Yeah. And I just giggled a little bit. But I. But I was hitting Tell the comedian. Don't go so hard on my guy. Cause Steph's my guy. But it read wrong. But I'm gonna tell you something, man. Steph did something that all us brothers with women should do. And that's stand up and defend your talk. No matter if somebody step on a foot, no matter if they did it or not, man, check and say, hey, man, you didn't say excuse me. So let me say again, Aisha Step. Excuse me. I apologize deeply. And I'm searching for your address. So I may send y' all some of this. Paloma, y' all may make more love. Make beautiful light skinned babies for us. Love, y'. All.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know what a great transition. You've been married almost 20 years.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But what people don't know, probably maybe your closest friends. You and Shea kept it a secret.

[Killer Mike]

For first nine years. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

How did you keep it a secret? And why did you keep it a secret?

[Killer Mike]

Well, see, man, it's in the world will ruin some good stuff.

[Shannon Sharpe]

If they know about it, then.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, they will. They'll find rumor lies in your window. They'll find reason to get in the way. And I wasn't walking a straight path too. I was crooked as a clothes hanger. But. But that's not the reason I kept it a secret. I kept it a secret cause she was mine, right? And I didn't want to share her with gossip sites and opinion. I didn't want to share her what other people thought of our marriage. Cause it's been very non traditional at times. I just wanted her to myself, okay? And in the meanwhile, I had to understand that she as a wife had to share me with the world. And even though my wife's a very beautiful woman, she's very shy, she doesn't really look for attention. That's why, you know, I couldn't tell you. She figured you a homeboy, she got right to talking to you. But I didn't know, man. We got. It was three in the morning, we in Las Vegas. A friend of mine who had in a former life been a pimp brought me down. I wasn't doing my best financially. He was like, man, I'm bringing out a couple of grand to the club. Just say hello to folks, man. My man td man shouts out and at three in the morning, man, it just struck me. I was like, man, I'm supposed to be married to this woman. And I remember writing her a note and drawing something on her saying, you know, if you say yes, we can go do it now. If you say no, I just, I'm gonna go figure out something else to do. And she said yes. And we got up, got a cab, it wasn't even Uber in. We got a cab at 3 o' clock in the morning, went to one of those drive through chapels. Really the cab guy was our witness. We got married by some white woman who I'm sure was a witch. And we started figuring it out. And I have been honored to be her husband. I've been honored to have her as a wife. I appreciate her greatly. Cause she didn't make me stop going to the Blue Flame. She encouraged and went with me. She encouraged me when I wanted to quit rapping and keep rapping. She encouraged me when I went into business to think bigger, think bigger, think better. And I'm just, I'm proud of her. Ozzy Osbourne has a, has a God bless the dead when he talks about Sharon. He has a spiel when he talks about Sharon. They say she's my best friend. Sometimes I love her, sometimes I hate her, sometimes I'm envious of her. And I really felt that because those are the truest feelings. Sometimes when you're married, you don't, you don't know how you gonna feel about each other that day. But I know I made a dedicated choice to her. And we in this thing till it's over. I'm gonna take these off before I start crying about Em.

[Shannon Sharpe]

When it was very unconventional to start and she was seems she was amenable to It. But did you guys at any point in time have a traditional wedding where you had the family together, y'? All. So that was it.

[Killer Mike]

That was it. I'll tell you how it was. We were at. We were in South Carolina, Hilton Head. Her family, she's from Savannah, okay? But her family, her father's family, South Carolina, Hilton Head. They're a huge family, like my mother' in Tuskegee. And they love their nieces and nephews and sons and daughters. So we were on there, and she was talking about, you know, building on some of the land that, you know, the family has down there. And so I'm like, yeah, man, y' all get us some land. We'll figure out, you know, how we get our house in there. Her aunt says, hold up, hold up, hold up. When you gonna. When you gonna marry my niece? I said, excuse me? I said, when you're gonna marry my niece? It's been too long you've been dating or you just been having her around? You just have her running around chasing you on the world. And I'm just like. I don't understand her. What? She says, you're just gonna have my daughter. I mean, my niece following you around, chasing you around the world. And I started laughing. Cause Aunt Penny is serious. She reminded me of my Aunt Melinda. She was not playing. You know what I mean? She the one that tell my wife, go cook for your husband. Go cook. Your husband don't need to be going out to eat. You go in the kitchen and cook. So she's talking to her, and I'm like, auntie, we've been married nine years. What? You've been married nine and never heard another peep out of her. It satisfied her enough to know that I had validated her niece through marrying her. And that's my girl. Penny hit me at two in the morning just to ask me how I'm doing. Is my wife acting right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

But, Mike, you said you knew Shea was the one.

[Killer Mike]

After two weeks. Two weeks, Mike, man. It was a nurse. She was a nurse in school, but it was a nurse. It was a nurse that lived in the back of her apartment. It's the first time I went to her apartment. The nurse was. She was shaped like that bottle. Damn. That's what I said. Tacky. And when I pulled up, I pulled at the apartment. I said, damn. She lived in the same apartment. I just drove all the way back to the girl house. And I told her, I said, you know, I ain't gonna be able to. I ain't gonna be Able to see you no more. I said, I met somebody. They stayed in front of your apartment. So you ain't gonna see me no more? I ain't even gonna count.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So Shayba then lived in the same apartment?

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And you. So you saw I had been to the girl house.

[Killer Mike]

You had been to the girl. But when I pulled up, I'm like, oh, you saw she. Yeah, I'm like, damn. All the nurses. No, no. I met her in Daytona. Okay? I met her in Daytona. Yeah. Black spring break. All her friends knew who I was. And she was at the table eating, acting like she knew who I was. So I was like, what's wrong with her? She want to be the family in her head or something, you know what I'm saying? So I went up to a plate and I ate something off a plate. And she cussed me out. But like I said, she speak Geechee. I didn't understand what you saying. I thought you were Jamaican or something. But she said, man, she said I was rude and inconsiderate. I thought too much of myself. And I'd be like, whatever, shut up. And I. But I saw her some months later at an event at Big Boy's house where the old Boom Boom Room was. And I saw her walk in and she was with man. Shouts out to her friends. Her guy friends who didn't hate. Shouts out to them. But she walked in and I was struck. I was knocked off my feet. She was. I mean. I mean, she was. She had beautiful skin, glowing. She had freckles. She had been born a natural redhead. I didn't know then, but her hair was just off color. And she had a quirkiness about how she looked. It was just exotic to me. I was just like, man, I gotta talk to this guy. I remembered her, but I was like, man, I gotta talk to this girl. And she saw me and instantly remembered me and hated me and thought I was arrogant and full of myself.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Thought you didn't change at all.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah. But the PD of the station, man, was a true friend. And that he encouraged her to give me a shot, you know what I mean? And camouflage. God bless. The dead had died. And he was a common connector. She was a friend of his. He was loosely related to me, right? And she told me she had an obituary for me. And upon trying to get out of there. Cause there was another girl in the party that I had been with biblically. And I had to get out of that now. Cause I was like, if this girl sees me talking to her, this girl's Gonna hate. I was like, I can't have the hate. Like, I denied knowing this girl another 10 years. Cause the girl had told Shay, oh, yeah, I know, Mike. And I was like, I don't know what the hell she's talking about. Come on. For 10 years, I heard that lie. I'm like, nope, I do not know this woman. You know what I mean? Cause I wanted my chances to stay alive with her. But when I was leaving, she spoke to me, and I told her. I said, man, you need to take me out to dinner. And, you know, she. Again, she thought I was arrogant and full of myself. But I ended up taking her to the dinner. But I thought she was just amazing.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow. That's an unbelievable story. She's in the building to the girl that you see. And she lived in the back of the building. Shay lives in the front of the building. You see Shay, you like, yeah, I ain't gonna be able to see you no more.

[Killer Mike]

I ain't gonna be able to do it. I ain't gonna be able to do it. Cause I was just playing. We were having fun, but I was just like this other girl. It was something about her I didn't know at the time. She was a Gemini. My sister, when she first met her, said, man, I didn't know if you was in love or just programmed. Cause she acted so much like my grandmother in the way that she treats human beings and people. She was in nursing school. She generally cared about people. With that said, it was a certain amount of standoffishness about her. So I just wanted to know her more. And she didn't disappoint. It'd be two, three in the morning, me and my partners coming home with strokers. We coming in. She'd get up in the middle of the night, cook shrimp and rice etouffee. She. You know what I mean? Damn. She was like an old lady and a young fine. She looked like she was supposed to be stripping, getting some tilt. But she. But she acted like an old Southern woman, right? And I just. I fell for it. And then when I realized how intelligent she was, I said, I can't let. I can't let it. I can't let these Atlanta Negro get this. They ain't gonna know what to do.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They gonna do it, right? They ain't gonna do it. I'll do it, right.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah. And I can remember the moment she was like, she was gonna go waitress in Jazzy T's. And I said, God, I went and thought I had to go think, why you Go.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You been the older spot?

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, yeah. I Brokers and blue flavors. Magic City South Jugas.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Magic.

[Killer Mike]

All of them. We was supposed to go to. We used to go. I used to take her to Jazzy to have a good time and partying. And, man, she said, I'm gonna go. I need some extra money. I'm finna go, you know, waitress. I just thought. And I thought. I was like, man, damn. I said, she.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You let that happen, you know?

[Killer Mike]

I said, it's gonna go crazy. Cause I had a girl in Jazzy teens. I said, this ain't gonna. I was like. I was like, nah, I got that little bill. Don't worry about that. I got it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Since you didn't have a traditional wedding.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

How much do you think someone should spend on a wedding? They say the average cost is somewhere between 30 and $50,000. So by the time the cake and the pictures and the DJ and you get the building, how much do you think is a good amount of money? Let's just say for the sake of argument, I don't know if you would do it the same way over again or you would go back or you'd have a traditional wedding. Maybe she would want a traditional wedding. Let's just say Mike had a quarter. Bill.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

How much would you spend on a wedding?

[Killer Mike]

If she wanted a traditional wedding, she could have one. But I'll tell you, like, with Shay, the way her mind works, she'd go. She'd say, I'm gonna take that money. I'm gonna go put 20% down on a property and develop something. So I would encourage young African Americans in particular. You know, a traditional wedding used to be in your mama's or grandmama's backyard.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Killer Mike]

With a very nice dress. So you would give something for the dress and a tuxedo of sorts, or just a suit. But you will put that money into investing.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game.

[Killer Mike]

What was that?

[Matt Jones]

Looks like something that should not be sold.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, my.

[Matt Jones]

So that was my other big Colts takeaway. Sold that.

[Ty]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

I might want to go back at the Colt Stadium.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

I want to go back to the drawing board on that.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

I thought the shape we had with Pretzels was working pretty well for generations. We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go. I hope I'm as youthful as Pete Carroll is at his age. He's a young 73. He is a young 73. He is spry. I wouldn't fight him. I would listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Dan]

I'm Dan, he's Ty.

[Killer Mike]

Hello.

[Dan]

And we're the Solid Verbal college football podcast.

[Ty]

College football season is here and you know what that means.

[Dan]

Your team is going to break your heart three times probably before Halloween.

[Killer Mike]

Uh huh.

[Ty]

But fear not, the Solid Verbal will be right there with you through every soul crushing loss and impossible comeback.

[Dan]

Join us all season long, all year long, as we ride the rollercoaster of this ridiculous sport.

[Ty]

Whether you're a diehard fan or a casual observer, we'll help you make sense of all the chaos and of course, celebrate the madness. Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan.

[Dan]

We don't just love college football, Ty, we love live it.

[Ty]

Listen to the solid verbal college football podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Simone Boyce]

I'm Simone Boyce, host of the Bright side podcast. And on this week's episode, I'm talking to Olympian World cup champion and podcast host Ashlyn Harris.

[Ashlyn Harris]

My worth is not wrapped up in how many things I've won, because what I came to realize is I valued winning so much that once it was over, I got the blues. And I was like, this is it for me. It's the pursuit of greatness. It's the journey, it's the people, it's the failures, it's the heartache.

[Simone Boyce]

Listen to the Bright side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Sarah Spain]

Get fired up, y'.

[Killer Mike]

All.

[Sarah Spain]

Season 2 of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway. We just welcomed one of my favorite people and an incomparable soccer icon, Megan Rapinoe to the show, and we had a blast. We talked about her recent 40th birthday celebrations, Co hosting a podcast with her fiance, Sue Bird watching former teammates retire and more. Never a dull moment with Pino. Take a listen. What do you miss the most about being a pro athlete? The final. The final and the locker room. I really, really like you. Just, you can't replicate. You can't get back showing up to locker room every morning just to talk. We've got more incredible guests like the legendary Candace Parker and college superstar Az Fudd. I mean, seriously, y', all, the guest list is absolutely stacked for season two. And you know, we're always going to keep you up to speed on all the news and happenings around the women's sports world as well. So make sure you listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ashlyn Harris]

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports.

[Killer Mike]

Something that's gonna grow over the next 10, 15 years. So, you know, it's good when you're married and when you're single to have mentors. We have a group of marriage mentors in John Hope Bryant and his wife Shay. And John preaches to us, you know, you know, just economic integrity. Have some integrity about don't do what you do just for flash, just for show. So we would honestly, I would say before a traditional marriage, we probably would have invested in something. And that, that theory proves true because I remember getting a $60,000 publishing check or a royalty check for rap music and saying to Shay, you know, what are you going to do with it? And she was like, well, we should get a rental property. And it's the first thing. That was the first rental property we bought. And we grown our portfolio. You know, I could have afforded $150,000 Dodge Demon or Porsche. She was like, no, we should buy these apartments. You've been saying you want apartments. We bought a set of apartments in the bluff. So my wife, like an old country woman, has constantly deferred our money into investments. So maybe when I'm 67 or something, she'll want a traditional wedding and I give her one. Like my big mama and big daddy in Tuskegee. We have wedding pictures in them. And they are adults. They grown. I was so funny seeing my big mama in that wig and that gold dress. I don't see my big daddy dressed up because I'd only ever seen them in overalls. But when they could have done traditional wedding, they bought 40. They bought just under 40 acres in Tuskegee, Alabama. We still own that land to this day. And both of their names is on that deed. It was not just my great grandfathers, NH Blackmoogists to Zella Mackey Blackman too. So for me and her, we probably would you give us 35, $40,000? We just gonna go find another Property to buy and invest in. Wow. And I would encourage young people to do that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You said that you knew that that was your soulmate. How different do you believe your life would have been had you not followed your instincts and say, that's my soul mate, let me go?

[Killer Mike]

Well, I think she's my twin flame. Like, you know, I think more than I think we the same flame, just sparking different kind of coming in. I've had a lot of soul mates like, you know, my children's mothers were at the time that they were in my life. I needed them, you know, I needed the encouragement they needed me. I've never fallen off from doing my job in terms of co parenting, being there. So I've had a lot of people my soul matched with, but there hadn't been anyone that thought from the same place I thought from and moved in the same way that I moved. And they had the same core values and beliefs in the same way. So how would my life have been different? Probably would have been more of an addict. Probably would have. Probably would have wasted more time chasing impulse and compulsion of bullshit. Probably would have made a lot more money, but squandered it. You know what I'm saying? So I'm glad that I married her because I married like my grandfather did, a woman I can bring my check home to and the proper investment is gonna get made. Now the money I make on the weekend mine, you can't tell me what to do for my weekend money. But all that money that come from that singing and dance on stage, that gets sent to her and it gets taken care of.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You are really an old soul. Because I was around my grandfather growing up and that's how he. But all the old men thought like that. They worked Monday through Friday. When they got that check on Friday, they come sit that check on the table, go do what you're gonna do with that marriage.

[Killer Mike]

Don't do what you gonna do.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's how they fought.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah. It's like Proverbs. What is it? Proverbs 31. When it talks about the type of woman you wanna marry. A woman that's gonna be a conservative woman that's gonna be saved. A woman that's gonna take her time to invest and do things for herself. But it's Mother Mellock, you want that? Cause you need a partner. You know what I'm saying? You have to have a partner. And for me, we have lost the art of partnership, in our opinion. Not even in our actual, but in our opinion. See, it used to be you Want to break up with your girl? And it'd be like that scene in the Goodfellas, your homie sitting around, you gotta go home. I know you like your little side piece and everything, and y' all get back to that, but you gotta go home, you know, no matter what happens. And I think that we've lost that philosophy, you know, in our community, and it's not good for us. Cause you gotta go home. You gotta take care of home. I mean, and if you really got a good, solid home. I've seen some old men in the country have two homes. You know, we mess around, but both of them homes be stable because one of them women or both of them.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Women, two different sides of the towel.

[Killer Mike]

Yep. But they're teaching him to stay in line to stay. And I think that we need to get back to that. As men.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Shea seems to allow you to be you.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

How important is that in a marriage, in a relationship, that. Because a lot of times you meet someone and you try to change the very person that you met.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Shea met you, Killer Mike, how you are, but she allowed you to be that. How important is that in a relationship, in a marriage?

[Killer Mike]

That's a compromise. I trim back on some of my, you know. You know what I mean? I have. But with that said, being allowed to be me is what's allowed us to prosper and grow. And I appreciate that, and I encourage her to be her. I don't want her to simply be Michael Render or Killer Mike's wife. I want Shay Bigger. I want Shaina Ford Render to be the biggest, best, most badass version of herself. When you see a project coming, like Development Properties, we do techie homes. We're partnered in a company called Techie Homes that's building miniature neighborhoods for people. That man looked for me for five, six years, couldn't find me. When he finally found me, he met my business partner, my life partner. He met Shea, and she was the business partner. She went out on the construction site, she walked the sites. She came back and said, hey, this is a good investment. So for me, it was important because I knew I married somebody who was my equal. If I'm the tight end, man, I want to know my old lineman doing they thing right. And me and Shay try to work in tandem like that. So I've always attempted to live like that with women I've dated or been with, but it didn't work cause they didn't have the proper understanding, or it didn't work cause they didn't have the Proper faith. And I don't mean that from a bad perspective. My youngest daughter, Mikey, her biomamma is like, hey, man, I'm into this working thing. That entrepreneur thing is too shaky. I don't know. You know, I need healthcare, and I.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Need nine to five.

[Killer Mike]

And her and Shay have an amazing relationship. That's benefited my daughter because Muffy's gonna go to work. Muffy's gonna take care of what Fulton county needs taken care of. Shay's gonna work on these developments. She's gonna take some high risk. But they both pour into my daughter. And now that my daughter's a freshman at Hampton University, Joe's rewards are pouring back. So her letting me be me allowed A big mixed family. You know, you come to our house on Thanksgiving, literally everybody is there. The kids there, their mama's there, they mamas, sisters and brothers there. You know, friends and family that may not have friends and family there, but everybody's welcome. And that's what I needed, that. Because in order for me to be the type of Michael I am. A kid raised by his grandparents, raised in between parents. And we didn't say step parents, but these bonus parents and all these cousins and stuff, you know, we were in Atlanta, but we lived like we was in the country. All 10 of my niece, all 10 of my cousins, we were all on that living room floor together on Palace. Nobody wants to sleep next to me. Cause I peed in the bed, so. So it was.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They don't know about the palace, though, by the way.

[Killer Mike]

Autumn palace is the best thing going, man. If it wasn't, though, if it wasn't for me marrying her, I probably would have had a far more disruptive life. So I'm appreciative for her for having the trust in me that I could do it and encouraging me when I thought I could.

[Shannon Sharpe]

All the places that you mentioned, Stroka's and Blue Flame, Kazi T's. You go to Dugan's and she seems like, okay, you can do that, but you take her with you.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, well, if you got a wife that finds a stripper, you want the stripper to see her. And we get half off on our dancing. When I got her with me, when I go to Mansion City without Shay, man, my dance would be $10. For real. I'm just like me. You charge me 10, Mike. You know, it's just a rule. I get there with Shay, they be like, girl, don't worry about it. I ain't even worried about no dancing tonight. I just wanted to hang with you, I be like, you know, I mean, just. You ain't gonna give me no break. I've been spinning with you since my freshman year, right? But they like my wife. A lot of them thought she used to be a stripper. That was so funny, dancing. But we respect the girls. We love the girls. We built cool relationships. We. A lot of those young women in there aren't just dancing. They own businesses. Shay's shopped with them a lot for their hair businesses, their clothing businesses. She's encouraged them to get real estate license shouts out to our girl Dee, who went on to get her nursing practitioner. I mean, she's a nurse. She was a practitioner when we met her, but I think she's a full on nurse now. It was just so you get to see these success stories too. And I'm just. I'm damn proud that when I go to the club, if I'm with my wife, I get a discount.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Mike, how hard is it to remain monogamous when you're married?

[Killer Mike]

How hard is it? I don't know. I ain't never tried. No, I'm just playing, J.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Don't throw anything on me. Oh, man.

[Killer Mike]

Oh, man. It was this dancer, man. I was just. I was smitten by this dancer, But I knew I wasn't supposed to be doing outdoors. My old lady didn't like this dancer. This dancer, she liked my old lady. But it was a love for way. My old lady wasn't interested. And I just had too much fun, man. So I done had too much fun at the girl spot one time. And I got out of there, man. I got a call, hey, man, maybe you should come back, man. We should run around too. I was like, well, I am trying to get some cardio in. I decided to lose some weight, man. I got a call when I got in the door, say, man, you gonna bring your ass out that girl house right now. I'm gonna kill both of y'. All. I said, what? Man, get out of here. Stop playing, man. I ain't even over there, man. You just seen my truck. When I looked out there, my wife had my gun in that driveway pointing at me. I was like, okay, damn. I was like Henry and the Goodfellas. I woke up like, hey, I got in that truck where I scooted over. She said, I ain't never seen your fat ass run so fast in my life. Being monogamous got a lot easier after that. But what killed me is she drove straight to my Auntie Deborah house. My Auntie Deborah was the aunt that you know, encouraged me to read. My Auntie Deborah was my. She was, you know, into Zen and just peacefulness. Man, I walked in there, man, my auntie said, man, I've never been so disappointed in you in my life. I would have rather got shot. Damn, I literally would have rather got shot.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Cause you had so much respect for Deborah, your aunt.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And to hear and to hearing her voice and to seeing her, how disappointed.

[Killer Mike]

She was after that, the rules changed. After that, I was just like, man, you know, I like you, but you just gotta holler at her if you can convince her that we like each other enough and you ain't no problem, man, I love to do a twirl in the wind with you, man. I don't want to get shot. And I don't want my auntie Deborah to feel like that again. So, you know, I would just say, let Taylor fit your marriage for you. I can't tell you monogamy is the best thing for your marriage. Cause when I see some of my Muslim brothers that have three, four wives, all their kids scholarship in the school, you know, a lot of my homies have been monogamous. They gotta pay for private school and for college. So the dynamics of marriage are more than just who you land with a monogamy or non monogamy there. How do I partner with this person? Cause I know a lot of. We visited, man. We have some dear friends. They're both attorneys, man. Peach and Howard, they're amazing attorneys. She was already an attorney. Her husband sold his janitorial business, went on to become an attorney. They just some of them black folks she be proud to brag about. But they left me in the garage with the husbands one time. So we down in Tampa and Ybor City's there. They got a nice strip club there. So I'm like, fell, let's go to the strip club and the guys want to ho ho. You know, it turned into a. It turned into a slave plantation. When you said, harriet coming. Oh, no, I don't know about that, boss. And I was like, man, what's wrong with you? I was like, your wife don't go to. I gave the speech. I mean, this shit was. It was brave heart worthy. I'mma get the men that we going out the next day. Peachy and Shay get me in the kitchen. They say, mike and Peachy, like a sister to me. She said, yeah. I said, yeah. She said, the wives had a talk and they don't really want you. And Shay comes in and says, stop talking, stop talking. Shut up. I said, what you talking about? She says, stop talking to wives husbands, because you get them some idea that they can live like us and they can't live like us. They don't have the same type of marriage we do. You out here messing up marriages. And I was like, oh, my God, I done told slavery it's freedom on the other side. So what I realized is Shay and I have a non traditional marriage in that. That I have the ability to speak my mind, even if I can't act on every impulse and thought I can say to my wife, man, I find that girl attractive. She'll nudge me. I'm just like, man, look at the ass on that one. So I have a best friend like relationship in that way with her.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You mentioned something earlier. Just a few minutes ago, you said your kid's mother and Shea have a great relationship.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

How important was that for you to make sure your kid's mother had a relationship with your now wife? Because a lot of times it's not like that because they feel some type of way that you're with her and not with them. Yeah, she's getting benefits that they were. She ain't got. Well, I don't know if you had kids at the time, but she ain't went through what you.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, she got us as a package deal. Yeah, she got a five for one. You know, with us, we. It was a package deal, you know, so she was like, I remember one of our first dates, you were going to buy clothes for Pony boy. You know, Pony is the one who had the kidney transplant. He's there in trade school, shouts out to Pony. I talked to my guy this morning. So it's three mothers. It was four children.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Killer Mike]

You know, with the oldest boys, mother's pretty cool. She was pretty comfortable. The second two, she was a little wilder. We was from the same neighborhood, so it took them a minute to get acclimated to each other, but they did. And they have a lot of love and reverence for one another. Like, she's the one that'll call Shay now. Like, if he feel like being non monogamous, we gonna whoop her whole ass. Like, she that type. And I'm just like. I'm like, fat head, please, let's not do. Let's not whoop no ho's asses today. And the youngest one, Michael, her mother's Anna. And Anna is amazing. My grandfather used to plead with my father, biofather Big Mike, and my mother, Drizella Denise. He used to say, get his Sisters together. He has two sisters by you and three sisters by you. Which means this boy has five sisters. No half sisters, no step sisters. He has five sisters. And my parents were so young and impassioned that a lot of times they didn't do right in terms of taking that advice. Now that my sisters are adults, they know one another, they talk, they congregate, and they all love their brother, and their brother all love them. And I wanted my children to have that faster. My children have me on a text chain, and they got a whole nother text chain without me, about me. Because even if you don't have the same value of mother and father, biologically, Y' all are 50%. Y' all are 50% me. That means y' all belong to one another. And I need you guys. I need to know that one day when I die, that those four people that's gonna cry are connected beyond me. And I have accomplished that. And that is my greatest accomplishment. You know, besides finding a woman that will be steadfast and that philosophy with me, my greatest accomplishment has been and birthing these four individuals and having these four individuals grow up to be a human being. When I go in a room and say their name, people speak it in high esteem. And away from me, they keep the same integrity for my family that we've developed over the past 50, 60, 180 years, however many years we've been doing it. And they love one another beyond me, you know?

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's awesome. You're in business with your wife. A lot of people, like, man, you know, hey, keep wife, wife, but business. Keep that over here.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Cause she knows everything. So it's not like you can hide something. Cause she knows. She's reading all the documentation. Also, she knows where all the money is. She knows the safety deposit box. She knows the shoebox, the mattress and all that.

[Killer Mike]

How?

[Shannon Sharpe]

What led you to do, like, you know, what, Shay? Everything. I'm an open book. There it is.

[Killer Mike]

I mean, that's what I saw, you know, with Betty and Willie. That's what I saw. Now, again, the money Willie made on the weekend, that was his money. Whatever he made play at Tonk Drive, the dump show on the weekend. But the money from Chattahoochee Brick, that was the Betty and Willie collected fund to raise Michael Levy and lashonda. You know what I mean? So, you know, it's one or two things. Like, I got a building I bought I didn't tell her about, but she was pissed about it. But I knew I wanted to build it, and I Wanted to see if I could do it myself, you know what I mean? And I went in and I went and got. It got great. Got great terms on the loan. Got great, and it's paid off already, you know, I knew I was gonna get it out quick, but I had to see if I could do it myself because of what I had learned just in proxy to her, as she learns, she teaches what she learned about development. She taught me. I'm running around trying to learn lyrics and learn lines, but she makes sure I understand, you know? Shouts out to my man, Booker T. Owner of Techie Holmes, and somebody who's been a part of wisdom on us. Shouts out, you know, to my man Patrick, who's giving wisdom to us. Shout out to John Hope Bryant, who's giving wisdom. Jamie Gertz, who's giving wisdom. Tony Ressler, owner of the Hawks, who's giving wisdom. She takes that information, we take that information and we aggregate it. We get it figured out what's gonna work best for Mike and Shay. So having a partner and me, I told him that if you ever wanna leave me for another nigga, just tell him, get introduced to his brother, husband. Cause you're not getting rid of me. Like, I'm here. I'm here till the end.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, we packaged it.

[Killer Mike]

What we getting her for her birthday? Brotherhood. You know what I'm saying? I don't. So I'm just. I'm locked in with her like that, you know? And I trust her implicitly. I woke up exhausted and dehydrated in the hospital. I had blicked out and didn't even know what was wrong. I woke up and there she was. And I went to sleep, and I woke up and there she was. And I went to sleep, and I woke up and there she was. She wouldn't leave my side at the hospital. She wouldn't leave my dad come up. I gotta watch her. No, I'm straight. She didn't leave till I left. I remember we left. We left. She was smoking a joint, playing Kings of Leon. You know what I mean?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Killer Mike]

And I just. I appreciated for that. And I understood the depth of what my grandparents had with that, you know, Every time Willie Burke went fishing, he didn't come back with no fish. But he came back with the same love and adoration for Betty. And that's what I saw. So that's what I emulate, you know? And I have a partner. I don't just have a wife.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know what happens when she wants to do a property? You don't agree you want to do a property. She doesn't agree.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

How do you resolve disagreement?

[Killer Mike]

We just. We talk, we argue. I mean, we had disagreements that lasted months. We had philosophies where we still stand on different sides, you know. You know, for me, man, you know, I practiced Islam for a few years. I was like, you know, I could technically have four wives. And she like. She like, nigga, I'm gonna move my house. I hope you in the hoes be okay. You know what I mean?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Shape body for real.

[Killer Mike]

But I don't have to hide the fact that from a philosophical standpoint, I do think you could have more than one wife. But that's a much more freeing relationship than one where I got to sit in the garage and not go to the strip club in Eboy City. You know what I'm saying? So, for me, I found a partner in there I can openly communicate, agree and disagree with. And she came with me. So there's certain things my wife told me, man. She said, I want to get a bed and breakfast. And I was young in my career. I had a little more money at that time. And I was arrogant. I'm just like, who the fuck want a bed and breakfast? I stay in Marriotts, you know, talking like pimpsy to myself in the mirror. And what exploded right after that? Bed and breakfast right in Savannah, Georgia. And I came back and told her. I said, I'm sorry. I said I was wrong. So when she came back to me and said, I found an industrial building in Savannah and they're about to build a new police station, some other stuff over there. I didn't question it. I just signed off on the paperwork, you know? And that property is worth, I would say, seven to eight times what it was when we bought it. And I remember going to the property. We bought it from a black woman. The black woman walked in the room and realized it was a young black couple buying it for. And she burst into tears, crying. Cause she said, I had bought this with my husband, and I wanted the legacy to be people who look like us. So I tend to trust that God has favor and grace on us. And if we give ourselves the grace to get through the communication, that we'll reach some type of understanding. And understanding doesn't always mean agreement. But I trust her because I've seen her as a businesswoman. That same property I tell people about that I bought instead of buying the Dodge Demon, is worth just under a million dollars now, and we haven't touched it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

This episode is brought to you by prize picks. You and I make decisions every day. But on prize picks, being right can get you paid. Don't miss any of the excitement this football season on prize picks, where it's good to be right. Week four was certainly entertaining. Philly pulled through. Jalen had 130 yards. He nailed that max discount offer. Bill's mafia and Josh Allen showed once again. I got my eyes on Josh next Sunday's night game. Also, prize pick is simple to play. Just pick more or less on at least two player stats. If you get your picks right, you could cash in. Prize picks is the only app that offers stacks, meaning you can pick the same player up to three times in the same lineup. Want to pick more on Josh Allen? Pass yards, rush yards, touchdowns. Now you can pick them all on the same lineup only on prize picks. Follow other prize picks players directly on the app. Copy their lineup in one click. Whether it's a friend, a celebrity partner, or just someone's pick you like, hit the follow button and check out every lineup they create in the new feed tab on prize picks. Download the prize picks app today. Use code Shannon to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That's code SHANNON to get $50 in lineups AFTER you play your first $5 lineup on prize picks. It's good to be right. How do you decide what to invest in, what to buy, what to become a part of? Do you guys brainstorm? Excuse me? You guys brainstorm? You guys sit at the kitchen table, you somewhere and she's like, you know, Michael, I was thinking about this. Or you was like, shay, hey, I rolled by this area right here and it seemed like they're gonna be developing this. They're gonna be some small. They're gonna be family homes. There's a project. How do you decide what you guys are gonna invest in?

[Killer Mike]

Kinda like that. Like, you know, some people come to us and say, you know, hey, as. As the baby boomers are getting older, these are going to be good investments. Retirement community homes. You see Alonzo mourning just investing in one. Did an amazing job. Ti knew affordable housing was a big thing in Atlanta. So he built 140 some odd units right at the old Kmart. He bought the old Kmart and developed those. So we talked about it all. We knew that, you know, coming. I look at man, my heroes were people like the working men that worked at the longshoremen in Savannah, the working men that worked at Chattahoochee Brick, like my grandfather. These men oftentimes, hey, this is Matt.

[Matt Jones]

Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining and twice a week. That is exactly what you're gonna get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game.

[Killer Mike]

What was that?

[Matt Jones]

Looks like something that should not be sold.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh my.

[Matt Jones]

So that was my other big Colts takeaway. They sold that?

[Killer Mike]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Might want to go back to the Colts stadium. Yeah, I might want to go back to the drawing board on that. Yeah. I thought the shape we had with pretzels was working pretty well. It's worked for generations. We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go. I hope I'm as youthful as Pete Carroll is at his age. He's a young 73. He is a young 73. He is spry. I wouldn't fight him. I would listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Frank on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan]

I'm Dan. He's Ty.

[Killer Mike]

Hello.

[Dan]

And we're the Solid Verbal College football podcast.

[Ty]

College football season is here. And you know what that means.

[Dan]

Your team is going to break your heart three times, probably before Halloween.

[Killer Mike]

Uh huh.

[Ty]

But fear not, the Solid verbal will be right there with you through every soul crushing loss and impossible comeback.

[Dan]

Join us all season long, all year long, as we ride the rollercoaster of this ridiculous sport.

[Ty]

Whether you're a diehard fan or a casual observer, we'll help you make sense of all the chaos and, of course, celebrate the madness. Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football.

[Dan]

We don't just love college football, Ty, we live it.

[Ty]

Listen to the Solid Verbal college football podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Simone Boyce]

I'm Simone Boyce, host of the Bright side podcast, and on this week's episode, I'm talking to Olympian World cup champion and podcast host Ashlyn Harris.

[Ashlyn Harris]

My worth is not wrapped up in how many things I've won, because what I came to realize is I valued winning so much that once it was over, I got the blues and I was like, this is it for me. It's the pursuit of greatness. It's the journey, it's the people. It's the failures. It's the heartache.

[Simone Boyce]

Listen to the bright side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Sarah Spain]

Get fired up, y'.

[Killer Mike]

All.

[Sarah Spain]

Season 2 of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway. We just welcomed one of my favorite people and an incomparable soccer icon, Megan Rapinoe to the show, and we had a blast. We talked about her recent 40th birthday celebrations, Co hosting a podcast with her fiance, sue, bird watching former teammates retire, and more. Never a dull moment with Pino. Take a listen. What do you miss the most about being a pro athlete? The final. The final. And the locker room. I really, really like you. Just, you can't replicate. You can't get back. Showing up to the locker room every morning just to talk. We've got more incredible guests like the legendary Candace Parker and college superstar AZ Foote. I mean, seriously, y', all, the guest list is absolutely stacked for season two. And you know, we're always going to keep you up to speed on all the news and happenings around the women's sports world as well. So make sure you listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ashlyn Harris]

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports.

[Killer Mike]

Things they would buy. Like, my grandfather never sold his original house, so he always had a rental property. That rental property is what allowed him to get an rv, which allowed him to take us on vacation from Lake Winnipesauker to Tampa, Clearwater, St. Peter. We got to go all these places because my grandfather made a sound investment. My grandfather, you know, they had a little stock option here, there, penny stocks. He would buy stuff for us. My grandmother was an investor. You know, she was a grow your own fooder. You don't have to get everything from the store. So when me and Shay have an idea, she usually is a better researcher than me. I do things off gut instinct, you know, it's like, I remember buying my first barbershop. We were recording rap music, and we were living in Brooklyn at the time. We were living in Williamsburg recording music. I saw a barbershop on Craigslist. I just bought it. And she was like. I told her she ain't talk to me for two weeks. And I was like, what? She was like, you could have just let that damn lease on. But we could have just went and got the lease. I said, shit, I ain't never think of it like that. And she was like, well, you need to think and we need to talk about before we make major moves with money. I didn't make another major move with money for another probably 15, 16 years, you know, because I understood that, the importance of having my partner. You know, you get Warren Buffett, but a lot of people don't know who Charlie Munger is. You know, you don't get Dr. King without having Coretta Scott. You need a partner. You need a partner. So for me, I needed someone who thought practically, who was instinctively conservative with a dollar. And the universe gave me that in her. What she needed was a dreamer, a believer, and someone who wasn't afraid to think as big as she is. Because, you know, owning 1, 2, 3, 10, 20 rental properties is one thing, but when you get into development, and she stepped into development. Bankhead Seafood is a restaurant that T.I. and I bought from a lady named Ms. Helen Hart. It was a hole in the wall. Grapefruit, great shrimp, and the world's best hush puppy. When we reopened that business, it opened as a sit down restaurant. We've had some repairs done on it. Now we're reopening in a matter of weeks, which I'm very proud about. But if it wasn't for Shay and Crystal Peterson thinking big, it wouldn't have been developed like that. But she only could think that big because she's up at night watching YouTube, reading literature, learning. She's being mentored by people like Booker T. By people like John Hope Bryant. She is in a constant state of. And that's what I trust more than just okay, I know she did it a couple of times. She had a real estate license or was trying to get it. I trust the fact that she's researched with me. I trust my gut and I like a good story. So when you look at the swag shop which I brought for you today, cause your hair always on point. So we got, man, we got shampoos, we got. Well, you gonna love this bump killer if you get razor bumps. We got a shaving cream for those brothers that still put razors to their faces a lot of times. So this is. You're gonna love this shaving cream. We spent two and years developing this. And we got your beard oil. So we got this. But what I learned by watching my wife is research it. I could have went and bought some white label stuff that was made for white folks that wasn't for our skin. But what I went and did was I went and developed formulas just specifically for us. So when I get out the car and I see a Floyd's barbershop across the street. I know that the swag shave, wash and groom shop is gonna be comparable to a Floyd's one day. Because I think that there's a cool that black barbershops offer. And it was, for me, just about marrying a business model with that cool. We figured that out with the first barbershop in state farm arena. You can get a haircut, have the same view as the suites, watch the game. But then I said, man, well, I can't grow the company as fast as I'd like to grow it. Covid happened. I was supposed to expand about 10 stores by now. I said, so in light of that, what can I do? Talked to Tony, wrestling. Tony said, you know, Mike, you could go ahead and start rolling out your product. You don't have to wait. So I appreciate Tony for that advice. Cause it put me on a two and a half year campaign to develop and research our own. We developed and researched our own. We got some of the best products on the market. Now they're gonna be rolling out. And it's only because I've learned good research habits for my wife.

[Shannon Sharpe]

What are some of the keys to running a successful business?

[Killer Mike]

Oh, man, I haven't been successful in all of them. So learn your lessons from your failures.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Cause for them dubs, you gotta take.

[Killer Mike]

Some Ls, y', all, man. You gonna take some Ls, man, and you gonna take em like we took some Ls at Mancas C4. We were too top heavy on salary at first. So rather than keep going and keep chugging along, we said stop. We put a freeze on it. We said, we got some infrastructure things we need to fix some pipe. One lake, let's fix that. Let's put a freeze on. Let's put a freeze on spending money. Let's reconfigurate how we do business. And when we reopen, we'll be a much more streamlined business, much more effective. But it took me and Tip not having ego. Our egos had to be put to the side. And me and my friend had to come to the table and talk and say, well, how are we gonna fix this? And I've been to a couple other restaurants and this is what I thought with this. The first time I thought about doing it, I just thought about white labeling. The first time I got some product back, I'm saying, this isn't good product. Let me develop my own thing. So you're going to have to be willing to eat some losses before you get a win. And you're gonna have to learn from Them. And then I've been reading Charlie Munger, man, his quotes, his books and things of that nature. And Charlie has a real good thing. He was saying, a big part of succeeding is just to keep yourself from doing stupid things. Like you know, sometimes, man, this ain't a winning play, so why run it? Don't run the play if it's not a winner. Try to avoid the stupidity that's already in you. And that way, even if your intelligence don't save you, your non stupidness will. So I've tried to do a good job in growing up in business and learning from my mistakes early. You gotta know when to cut the rope early, you know what I mean? When there's too much weight to let it go and you gotta do things you're naturally passionate about. Elle loves Mezcal, my rap partner. So when it came time to develop an alcohol. I'm not much of an alcohol drinker. I like marijuana. I leaned on his expertise in Mezcal. I leaned on what he thought. And then when it came time to will of lame it like this, well, just every average age person, when it came time for me to taste it, I'm like, oh, I like this. We understood that together. We had put together something.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You got a marijuana line coming out?

[Killer Mike]

I did, and I didn't like it. I like, I didn't hate it, but I didn't like the marijuana business From a corporate structure. I believe marijuana should be ran by the people who put their time in federal prison. I believe marijuana should be ran by the people who grow on the top of the mountains in Jamaica. I believe marijuana should be ran by the people who were outlaws 20 years ago. I don't think marijuana should be ran in a corporate way. I don't think marijuana should have to sit in a warehouse two, three months before it hits the public. So I'm not a big fan of that business in the same way I was. I'm a bigger fan of like, where we from, people make their own corn liquor. I like corn liquor better than I like buying liquor out the store sometimes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You mentioned Bankhead Seafood. It's a staple.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah. And.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And I remember hearing that it was potentially going out of business. And I remember you and Tip.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Like, I was like, damn, it's almost like you and Tip, like, man, this is a staple. We can't let this thing go.

[Killer Mike]

That's how we felt like, I don't know if we'll ever have a hundred Bankhead Seafoods. I don't know. But what I know is that one that we dedicated ourself to. For anybody who ever said disparaging remark, don't you worry, buddy, we will be back on your ass, open in a few weeks and you can come on out, eat what's going on, all that shit. But we gonna eat these hush puppies and laugh at you. Because we have a mission, right? We the same little nappy head boys that sold dope up and down that street. We the same little nap head boys that played for them parks around the corner. We the same little nap head boys that went to Frederick Douglass high school under Dr. Samuel Hill and he believed in us. We the same little boys that William Murray, you know, my art teacher who told us to be a businessman, we the same little boys he's still proud of. So I feel indebted to my community and those children in the community that are right next door at the organization called Paul Kid that helps kids after school get their reading in, have clean clothes and supplies they need. I feel indebted to my community, whether it's Collier Heights or Grove Parks or the old born homes. To show them an example of you can, you know, to show them that you can, you must, you will. And the biggest way we can do that is by keeping that restaurant and those recipes alive. We got better seating now. You got a rooftop. You can smoke your cigars on the rooftop if you want to and look out at it. Bankhead.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So you expanded it?

[Killer Mike]

Yes, yes we did. That's why I say shade developing. We tore down the old building. We had to keep one legacy wall. It is now full sit down restaurant on the inside and we have a rooftop in which you can see the sun set every day.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah. It's an absolutely gorgeous building and I'm very proud of Shay and Crystal for putting it together. We've now brought on a woman named Shawnika who has ran four, five restaurants and clubs. She helped us understand what we were doing wrong and getting it right. Rest in peace. To OG Mike, who had helped Tip with Trap City. He just died, but he gave us some valuable advice. Brother Waleed, whose family started the Fish supreme franchise down there and his dad was a part of the Olympics in terms of feeding the Olympians in 96. We've had a lot of good people around us to help us and I sincerely appreciate it and I just know, I know we're going to be successful because we not no quitters.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You know what I was wondering? How difficult is it? And maybe it's not as difficult as it would appear to like to take advice. You're like. Cause a lot of times you're like, man, bro, I know. I know what I know. I know. I know. I know what I did wrong. I know what I'm doing, bro. How difficult is it? Like you said, you and Tip swallowed your ego. But how difficult is that, Mike? Because you've had success in other areas. And so when somebody tries to tell you something, you're like, well, you not successful. So why am I gonna listen?

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I done had that. I done had that. Listen, man, it's hard. It's hard not to get in your own way. And even if you feel like, you know, listening don't cost you nothing, right?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Listening, but not listening might cost.

[Killer Mike]

Might cost you everything. You know what I'm saying? But listening don't cost you nothing. I can listen, you know? I've had better advice on not becoming an addict by addicts than I have by people who've been non addicts. This is what I'm saying. I've had better advice from addicts on how not to become an addict than I've had for non addicts. Because addicts understand addiction. They can see it in your early, you know, fat boy, your ego getting too big. You liking that too much. You gonna mess around, you gonna lose everything at the crib. Cause you hanging in the club too much. You know, you have to take advice. I remember. You know, I remember my grandfather would say, you know, the world gonna learn you, boy. And man, when you hear that, you like, oh, my God, he tired of talking to me. When your grandparents say, you in the south, hey, man, the world gonna learn you, or the world can learn you better than I can. That mean I pour teach at work or teach? Hey, they surely better not catch. Yeah, and they didn't say teach. They said learn. Cause you're gonna learn the lesson. You gonna learn that lesson. When you sitting down on your ass broke is a joke. You can't call, and you ain't got nobody to call. Cause ain't nobody gonna answer that phone and speak, man. You know, man. Oh, man, the world alert me, son. I get it now. So for me, it's my ego oftentimes wants to jump up. Cause I like to argue. I love the way to argue. But I'm gonna go sit by myself and I'm gonna think through what you saying. Because I appreciate you even caring enough to impart any wisdom, you know, Even if your wisdom is doubt, you know? Cause like I told Tiff, I said when we come back now, I Said I done saved all the messages where people said, this where we messed up, this way we going. I said, now I'm gonna let them know this is what we fix. And I expect to see your ass in here buying some fish. Don't give me no advice. Don't come buy no fish. No hush fuckers. We trying to be the new Carrie Hilliards. We trying to play okay. You know, by the K. Yeah, man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That fried, hey, that fried chicken. Woo Lord, find that Lois. How did Shay help you when you're at your absolute lowest and really the only person you could turn to was probably her.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, man, it's so. You know, she was talking to one of my ex girlfriend from high school. We had lived together and she said she had told Shay, she said, I remember a time where, you know, I thought we couldn't pay rent. I thought we was on our ass broke. She said, Mike started laughing and walked through the closet and pulled out a few thousand dollars and said, girl, we ain't never broke. I'mma always, I' ma always be a saver. So even from my time, from running around in the streets, you know, trying to be a half ass drug dealer and shit, my mother taught me, Denise taught me the importance of conserving, of having something and tuck and then hide, you know, so the fall back you got to so instinctively I'm like that. But with that said, there can be times where as a man, you allow yourself to be stretched too thin. All four of your kids need something at one time. You know, with my businesses, I like old cars too much. So I tend to buy too many old cars. And with that business, with certain businesses, I put so much passion into that passion oftentimes lead to a cash deficit. That's why I empathize and sympathize when people be saying, hey man, you know, I get dame, you know, I shit. Sometimes when you pour so much of your own money to it, bosses be broke, you know, it can get like that. But to have a woman that you have invested in and that has made the proper investments with your investment. When I bought her, her grandmother's house that she grew up in, she didn't just take that house and try to flip that house. She put the house together, put that house up as a house for rent. So at the end of the year, no matter what happens, she knows she had these many thousands of dollars off that rent. When I bought a house off one of my comedian homeboys and he taught me about pad split and we started using pad split, I Don't ask her about that money. I just know, man, there's been times I've been tight And I needed 50, 60, $70,000. And she said, well, should I got it? I'm just like, where you get it? You got another husband? And she said, no, nigga, you bought me them two houses. This is what I saved off this. Just make sure you pay me back. And I get out there singing, dancing. After the show, she called the counter and said, now send me my money back.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Mike, what's the brokest you've ever been?

[Killer Mike]

Oh, man, I've been so broke. I laid in the room for two years depressed. And I had got a truck and it got repoed and it was under Mikey's mom's name. And it broke my heart because it was under somebody else's name. And I could have did it under my name. I only spent a few hundred dollars more and it just would have affected me. But it affected her. I felt so guilty about that, I don't think.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, it made her mess up her credit. How you was doing that? Now you done put. How you gonna put the truck in some kids name?

[Killer Mike]

You know you doing that dope, boy. Shit dumb, but. But I tell you this, when I got back on my feet, she ain't pay to call no sense, you know what I'm saying? And I deeply appreciate her for being patient with me. But the broken I ever been, man, was, you know, man, I remember paying. I remember paying child support and then getting a child support order the next week. I literally paid 900 bucks the next week. I said, well, we gonna hit you with a child support order anyway, you know. But for two years I was on my ass. And if it hadn't been for the encouragement for Shay, if it hadn't been for people like TD booking me on the chitlin circuit, if it hadn't been for me getting with SMC Records at the time, and my manager was currently working with him at the time. Now my manager works with me. If it hadn't been for all these people believing in me, Gut Master DJ Swift Outkast DJ giving me a place to record at a discounted rate, I wouldn't have been able to do. I pledge allegiance to the grind as a series that was meant I pledge allegiance. The grind meant getting rich independently. And I had to do that. I had to understand the record business from the trunk up from digging out my trunk, having fat beats hit me and say, this is how many you sold this month? Because that way I put a value on money that I didn't have before, you know what I mean? So the brokers I ever been, I didn't have transportation and I was famous. The brokers I ever been is, I couldn't afford a $5 dance in the flame. Girls that gave me dance on charity and said, it's gonna be all right, big dog.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You don't spend enough of it, you good for it.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly. We got you, big dog. You got some grace today.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You tried to file bankruptcy. You were too broke to file bankruptcy?

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, I was. You know, the bankruptcy was the cap though. I did that to piss my baby mama. Damn. Yeah, yeah, I was like, heifer, you know what I mean? I done gave this money, you gonna hit me with this order? But her mama was afraid that I was gonna be a typical guy, right? So her mama pressed her into doing something. And I got pissed. Cause I went and the lawyer was a white boy, her lawyer, and he had a. He brought a black intern in with him. And I said, you know. And you know, for lack of a better word, I said, that cracker trying to shame me. And I really was offended by it. So then I went to my white woman lawyer, I said, we filed a bankruptcy. Scared the shit out they ass, you know what I mean?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Then they called it off.

[Killer Mike]

Well, we sat down and we talked and we figured it out. Cause I love my kids. I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna have my kids go without it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You don't want them being hardship. But let's work, let's talk this thing out.

[Killer Mike]

And we did. And we did. And I have a wonderful relationship with her. I have a running relationship with all three of them. But, you know, it was just like, man, when you on your ass, sometimes, you just got to admit, I'm on your ass. Cause people gonna see you and still think you're doing good. You know what I mean? But the air force ones weren't clean. I was just cleaning them every night like I did. And I was a little boy, you know what I mean?

[Shannon Sharpe]

They wasn't.

[Killer Mike]

I wasn't.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They wasn't doing. They wasn't doing.

[Killer Mike]

Same one, same one, baby, you know what I mean? But I appreciate the grace that they gave me. Because after we got past that rough moment and sat down and talked it out, we got to sort it out.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But that's the thing though, Mike. You go back and you look back, you're like, man, there's a lot of things that we could have done differently. We could have just talked instead of reacting you reacted. I reacted. We're young. I'm high strung. You high strung. I'm not gonna let you one up me. You're not gonna let you one up me. And we find ourselves in a spot where we could have just sat down and talked and we could have saved. Cause ain't nobody really get rich but the lawyers.

[Killer Mike]

But the lawyers got paid. The lawyers got paid. That was it. The lawyers got paid. Man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Man, I done paid.

[Killer Mike]

Hey, hey, boy.

[Shannon Sharpe]

He done made partner.

[Killer Mike]

Boy got his own firm. Come on, man. That's all. But I appreciate understanding and learning that way. I often tell my kids when I try to impart something on you and my niece and nephews, I'm imparting on you from a place of where I have failed. I don't think you gonna fail.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Killer Mike]

I'm just telling you where I failed. And I don't wanna see. I see. I see further down the road. Cause I done made that decision. I done been further down the road. That's all. That's all.

[Shannon Sharpe]

As the word E40 said, I've been your age. You never been mine.

[Killer Mike]

Hey, well, that's some old folk.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And you put the guardrails up where there could potentially be a problem. I put guardrails up there so you won't have those problems. Just listen.

[Killer Mike]

Like people intentionally, they get this wrong. God bless the black bourgeoisie. I went to Morehouse, greatest black college for men in the world. I understand the concept of the Jackson Jills, and I get what higher education will do for us. But don't forget, Tuskegee University was built with the hands of the students who went there. The students who went on to become doctors, lawyers, engineers, made the bricks that form the buildings. I just spoke at Tuskegee a few weeks ago, and I got a chance to see the bricks and see the thumbprints in them. And I want to remind people that, you know, our young men, if they aren't gonna go to college, they need to be going to seek trade. So I said something publicly. I said, if a young man, you know, between, say, let's say ages 14, 24, is to get a girl pregnant, that girl's gonna receive WIC or some type of government underwriting of funding. I said, let's make it so that the boys don't owe that first two years back. Now, people tried to make it, like, interpreted like, you wanna take girls, you know, the government assistant, they get. I'm like, no, dummy. I would like to add. I would like to say if the girls are gonna get this Government assistant. Let's require it that the boys have to go to some type of trade school too. So within that 18 to 24 months, while she's being assisted by government and this child is being allowed to be nurtured in terms of food, clothing, shelter, let's make it so that these little boys have a place to go get educated. Because what we need is educated fathers. Along with these educated mothers. Our girls are going to school. That post high school, they going to school. I don't care if it's to be a nurse tent or to be a full on doctor, they're going to school. Our girls still understand the power of education. We need to make sure the United States government will underwrite our boys at first. Whether it be 18 months or 24 months. You gotta go get a trade, young man. And if you get this trade, then we not gonna charge you back them two years. That first two years.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Cause they gonna get their money now.

[Killer Mike]

They gonna get their money. But if you got, you know, my friend, I remember he got his passport, he could have went through the roof. But that was after years of being a dad and having to go through the court system and not being allowed to travel. So I wanna see us as a people. Whether y' all married or not, I like it. So if you get married and you get a trade, you get a bonus, you get a lower interest loan on wherever you want a house. But I think that as black people, we're gonna have to sit down with one another outside of government and government resources, and we gonna have to come up with some new terms and conditions for what to do once these babies get pregnant. Cause it's both pregnant, the boy and the girl. These families gonna have to start getting together and saying, well, what's the plan for them so that we don't do it again with the next generation and we get to stabilize. Cause had it not been for my grandparents, had it not been for your grandparents, we wouldn't have opportunity to create, you know, the catch word, generational wealth.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Killer Mike]

Which is really just the ability to take care of yourself. Post my part. And when I get out of here, I want to make sure you can take care of yourself and the kids that are coming out.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow. You spent 500,000 of your own money.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

On your Grammy award winning album.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And Shay wasn't too happy about that.

[Killer Mike]

Nah, she had a quarter million dollars. She hit me saying, nigga, what the. She was like, what is you? What do you keep taking this big money out for? And I was like, Man, I got a dream. I gave her. I got a dream.

[Shannon Sharpe]

She was Dr. King.

[Killer Mike]

You had a dream. She was like a quarter million dollars. I was like, yeah, man. And we gonna have to probably spend a little more. Cause Dion no id lives in la, so we gonna have to go out there. So, yeah, man, I did. And I was. I was proud to have done it. But had I known what I know now, I wouldn't have spent that much money. I would have, you know, shouts out to Cubs like you. A r. Shouts out to Will, my manager and business partner. I wouldn't have, you know, I wouldn't have been so free with it. But I needed to do it because the gamble paid off. I walked away with three Grammys. Walked away. Walked out of Getting locked up after Grammys, Walked out of Folk Hero while I walked in a musician. So it's paid off, you know. And then when it came around this time, the record company was calling me saying, hey, we got some money to give you to record another record. We don't even want you to spend your money. We got some money for you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You're like, okay.

[Killer Mike]

So it was dad and Pluff. So I was like, okay, I got you. This is really a partnership. But I'll tell you a time that I understood how important her mind was to me. And that was when my attorney. Not my attorney, my accountant called me and said, hey, man, I don't know if Shay's getting ready to divorce you or. But, I mean, she's taken out, like, 80 grand. And I'm just like, 80 grand? I mean, but she's done it several times. And I'm like, he's a small. Like, he's a small Jewish guy, man. And he gets a little nervous and antsy. And I'm just like, robert, just calm down, man. I said, I'll talk to her. I'll see what it's about. And she said that he talked too goddamn much. I was trying to surprise you. I've been developing these houses, and she had developed a few of our properties that were then on the market, of course, for rent. And he was a. For a while, for a few days around there, but.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But you appreciate it.

[Killer Mike]

Cause he was like, hey. But I knew that. I knew that she wasn't a squanderer. Now. She could spend three hours in everything the same store, right? And buy that shit out. So, you know, we land in London, she going to the mall. We land in la, she going to the mall. But she is a woman that is constantly thinking of ways to invest internal dollar. And I appreciate that about her. So I've trusted her and I appreciate her for trusting me in terms of Michael, because Michael really was a gamble. Spending a half million dollars of your own money is not what you should be doing. You know what I mean?

[Shannon Sharpe]

So what did you learn from that?

[Killer Mike]

I learned that once you prove to the record company that I'm willing to do it myself and I can do it, they're a lot more free flowing on the other side with the budget because they know you've already took the gamble and invested in yourself. They know how much your investment based on the prior investment. They know how much of return they can expect on this investment. So they're going to not only invest in you, they're gonna invest in you and bump you up some because they wanna further the investment. They want you to grow.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You got a lot of criticism because you beat some heavy hitters that night. Yeah, you got a lot of critters like, ah, man, that record wasn't that good. It wasn't better than Travis Scott. It wasn't better than this one.

[Killer Mike]

Shouts out to Travis, shouts out to Nas, shouts out to Metro. Damn. Yeah, I done lost something, so, nigga, I won. That's it. That's it. You know, that's it. They put Travis in a position where they tried to get him to diss me. He came with some light bars. It was cute, you know, I appreciated it. That shit was funny. But this the same kid that I had saw at south by Southwest and I remember telling Sway, like, don't try to push him to be no freestyle artists on it. This kid's just good. He's entertaining. I like Travis Scott. I take my kids to see him. He's entertaining as shit. I like the comic book, like, imagery he has. I like him a lot. But you know, with that said, like, I'm an emcee, right? Like, I'm not here to play with you off the top. I'm sure there's a lot of people you love in the league, but when Denver played them, when Baltimore played them, hey, man, I'm here to win now. So that's about. Yeah, if you a Travis Scott fan and one of the ones that was disparaging me, I don't give a damn, nigga, I walked out, I still got no grams. I wake up every day, you know, you gonna do. You know, I mean, nigga can't outrap me. And that's just what it is like. But that's not to say I'm not gonna tame. I don't like him. That's just to say, when the game is on, I'm there to win. I don't care how old I am or how many gray hairs I got. This is all I ever wanted to do. So I'm not going to feel bad about being a winner because I put 500 grand of my own money into it. I have given my life since I was 9 years old to this. You know what I mean? I've given 40 years of my life, over 40 years of my life to this. So I can't feel bad about when you get it. Because when you ask God for something, be prepared for everything that comes with it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Killer Mike]

When you ask God, God, I want to be a winner, you know, next year, they gonna comfort you harder when you win a Super Bowl, Boy, the hardest thing to overcome, I would imagine, is laziness. Yes. Cause, man, I done won. I want to chill. I don't want to do like Jerry Rice and run them heels. I don't want to be. I don't want to be like Shannon and get out there and condition myself. Yeah. So my thing is, with everything I asked for to come with the win, I got, right? And with that, I accept it all and I appreciate it. So when I get back in the studio and work my ass off for the next 120 days, when I come out on the other side, I'm coming back to whoop ass again. I don't give a shit who's in the category. Did you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I think Kai had said something on the stream. You ever talked to Kai?

[Killer Mike]

I have not talked to Kai. I think we may have passed each other at a wrestling event. I may have said hello, you may have said hello. But I don't. I mean.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week. That is exactly what you're gonna get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game.

[Killer Mike]

What was that?

[Matt Jones]

Looks like something that should not be sold. Oh, my. So that was my other big Colts takeaway. Have you sold that?

[Ty]

Yes.

[Matt Jones]

Might wanna go back to the drawing board at the Colts stadium.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Matt Jones]

Might wanna go back to the drawing board on that. Yeah. I thought the shape we had with pretzels was working pretty well. It's worked for generations. We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will will join us throughout the year. And let's go. I hope I'm as youthful as Pete Carroll is at his age. He's a young 73. He is a young 73. He is spry. I wouldn't fight him. I would listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Dan]

I'm Dan, he's Ty.

[Killer Mike]

Hello.

[Dan]

And we're the Solid Verbal College football podcast.

[Ty]

College football season is here and you know what that means.

[Dan]

Your team is going to break your heart three times probably before Halloween.

[Killer Mike]

Uh huh.

[Ty]

But fear not, the Solid Verbal will be right there with you through every soul crushing loss and impossible comeback.

[Dan]

Join us all season long, all year long, as we ride the rollercoaster of this ridiculous sport.

[Ty]

Whether you're a die hard fan or a casual observer, we'll help you make sense of all the chaos and of course, celebrate the madness. Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan.

[Dan]

We don't just love college football, Ty, we live it.

[Ty]

Listen to the Solid Verbal college football podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Simone Boyce]

I'm Simone Boyce, host of the Bright side podcast, and on this week's episode, I'm talking to Olympian World cup champion and podcast host Ashlyn Harris.

[Ashlyn Harris]

My worth is not wrapped up in how many things I've won, because what I came to realize is I valued winning so much that once it was over, I got the blues and I was like, this is it for me. It's the pursuit of greatness. It's the journey, it's the people, it's the failures, it's the heartache.

[Simone Boyce]

Listen to the Bright side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Sarah Spain]

Get fired up, y'.

[Killer Mike]

All.

[Sarah Spain]

Season 2 of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway. We just welcomed one of my favorite people and an incomparable soccer icon, Megan Rapinoe to the show and we had a blast. We talked about her recent 40th birthday celebrations. Co hosting a podcast with her fiance, Sue, Bird watching former teammates retire and more. Never a dull moment with Pino. Take a listen. What do you miss the most about being a pro athlete? The final. The final and the locker room. I really, really like you. Just you can't replicate. You can't get back. Showing up to the locker room every morning Just to talk. We've got more incredible guests like the legendary Candace Parker and college superstar AZ Foote. I mean, seriously, y', all, the guest list is absolutely stacked for season two. And you know we're always gonna keep you up to speed on all the news and happenings around the women's sports world as well. So make sure you listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ashlyn Harris]

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports.

[Killer Mike]

Bet you don't need to know who I am. No, I know who you are. Congratulations, too, on that. I think it's Time magazine cover. Congratulations, Kyle.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, congratulations. You're doing unbelievable.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, I'm cheering for all you niggas. Even you little niggas don't like me. I'm cheering for you, nigga. Cause I don't want you in Fulton county begging nobody for nothing. Being nobody, girlfriend, you know what I mean? So you know, I don't give a shit. Oh, I don't give a damn how you feel. Cause I got mine. The old people used to say something south. I got mine, you got to get yours. Yeah, so I'm good. Everything I've ever wanted, I got. I got a wife shaped like a stripper. I got all fast muscle cars. I got some German cars in there. My house paid for. My warehouses and buildings paid for. I can sit back, take a month off and live off the rents that I charge people. I am rich. I'm as rich as I ever been. I'm fine. I'm not Jay Z rich. Not billionaire rich, but boy for old country boy.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, man, you got more than you ever thought you had.

[Killer Mike]

Oh, boy. Everything but you don't know. Only thing I'm missing out is a couple hundred acres somewhere in West Georgia, my own lake, and a compound for my sisters to live on with me. And that's soon coming. So, y', all, no matter what you say about me, what you try do to try to do, or throw at me, I don't give a damn. Don't matter to me. I'm good.

[Shannon Sharpe]

The barbs were mad at you? Not Nikki, but the barbs, which is Nicky fan base.

[Killer Mike]

I love Nikki, too. She might be.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Why would they? I mean, it's not.

[Killer Mike]

I didn't even know they were mad. Cause my daughter's a barb, Aniyah. So she protecting me. I think she my advocacy, my advocate on clubhouse or whatever for that. But I wanna say, man, I think it's a Bit of an insult to call her one of the best female MCs. Nikki is just one of the best MCs. So just shouts out to Nicki, love you to death. Girl, you absolutely amazing.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But that night, this is the highest you've ever been, musically.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And something happened. Walk us through. Because you, like, you in the A. We in the house. You in the Grammy. You nominated for all these awards.

[Killer Mike]

You don't know.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And when people like, hey, I'm just glad I'm nominated. I don't care if I win or not. That's a lie.

[Killer Mike]

You nominated, you super cow.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You wanna win, man, that's like, I'm playing the game.

[Killer Mike]

Well.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm just at the Super Bowl. If I don't win, I'm okay. Nah, bro, I wanna win this game. Cause I don't know if and when I'll ever get back.

[Killer Mike]

Absolutely.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You're so high. And then that unfortunate incident happened. Can you walk us through that night?

[Killer Mike]

Well, I mean, we were told to go places by different people, but we didn't have one person just to walk us through. I think now that they do it differently now, but we kind of got dropped off at a ticketing place. We showed our tickets, we went through. It was alleged that somebody with me didn't have a ticket, but we were ticketed. My publicist was walking me to the red carpet. It was raining outside, so we were trying to walk it through. We were told we couldn't go. We didn't understand what was happening. Next thing you know, we were being told that we were going to be detained. We were detained, and I'm headed to jail. By the time they get me, I'm in the holding cell now. My wife had wanted. Shay had wanted to bring the kids out. And I was like, nah, for whatever reason, I don't want to bring the kids out.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow.

[Killer Mike]

What I didn't know is the next day, my son would receive an emergency kidney out of nowhere. He has a rare blood type, so out of. No. It was very. He had been bumped up on the kidney donor list, but we didn't know he had one coming. So I was glad. God has a plan. And God can remain anonymous through what seems to be a series of unfortunate events. So I'm sitting there in the holding cell, and I'm like, man, ain't this some bullshit? And the people who love me. Cause the cops were kind enough to let me keep my phone, were hitting me with encouragement. People like my Mayor Dickens down in Atlanta, former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Kasim Reed were hitting Mayor Karen Bass out in la. There's a policeman on night duty. I forget his name, Mayberry or something. He's telling them, don't bring him on in. By the time they got me brought in, they have received 1,500 phone calls, like on some Malcolm X shit. Like they're about to do a protest on your police station. Like, these people are coming down here for a mic. I don't think you guys know who you arrested. They had to move me to another detainment center. It scared them so. But as I'm sitting there kind of by myself, I just start thanking God and I just say, man, you know, I appreciate you putting me in this place of peace and quiet because everything is so wild and disturbing. I knew I could win, but I didn't know I was gonna sweep. So thank you, Lord. I knew I could get back to this mountaintop, but I didn't know it was gonna be on this album. Thank you, Lord. I just started being thankful. I was like Daniel and Eliza, and I was like Jonah in the belly of the whale. Cause I felt like it was something that God needed me to understand in that moment, to make me not get too arrogant, not too full of myself, you know, not to be an I told you sore. And I can remember when I checked out, I can remember the black guard and I had. I had had Mexican policemen pretty much around me. One white guy. And they weren't very talkative, too, for me. They weren't rude or unkind, but they weren't engaging. And it ain't like Atlanta. You get a lot of them. Atlanta police. Nigga, I went to school with you. Nigga down. Yeah, yeah, you know. But he said, now, Mike, we don't want to see you come back. I said, you ain't got to worry about that. He said, good. And I walked out. And it was like a movie. I saw Shay standing in the rain. I saw my lawyer, Elliot, standing in the rain. Will was in the car in the rain. It was just like. It was like the end of a movie. And I thought that was the very end of the movie. That this beautiful, romantic set of me, this woman who I love, my lawyer, you know, the people who care about me there. And then I woke up the next morning after having. Cause I still went out and party. I still went out and party with Tom Wiley and Ryan, his son. And Tom Wiley, who discovered Tupac. He owns the parent company to Loma Business Co. I park, man. We still went out and had a great time. I Think it was Peterson Automotive Museum and had a great night. Oh, man, it was a great night. Jesus Christ. And the next morning, I woke up to a call from Ponyboy's mom saying, hey, you gotta get back to Atlanta. You gotta get back now. And I was like, what's wrong? What's wrong? She was like, pony's getting his kidney. She was like, he's getting a kidney. And that was truly the end of the movie for me. And I just thank God. Even hard, you know, I thank God for everybody that had been a part of making that album with me. Everybody that had sat up at the studio with me to encourage me, Everybody that just gave me Rico Wade, God bless them, he's gone now. I remember Rico walking in the room, Ray Murray saying, you know, this album gotta be as cohesive as the Chronic, and it gotta be Southern. And he just left. And I was like, well, that's a hell of a thing to say to somebody. You know what I'm saying? I was like, that. The Chronic. You know what I'm saying? But we managed to do it. And it was only because of the people that believed in me. It was because of the men and women that believed me, the people that truly loved me that believed in me. It was because of the ex girlfriends that believed in me. It was because of my wife that believed in me. It was because my kids believed in me. If I wouldn't have had all that belief poured into me, I don't know what I would have done. So in that moment, that night, that night, that troublesome, like, I tell people they locked up a rapper, but when they let me out, I was a folk hero. When we went to the Whopper House, when we got home, standing ovation. We went to spondemic standing ovations. We went to. Everywhere we went, it was standing ovations. Cause the city told me, man, we felt like we won. And I said, cause we did.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow. When you heard the categories and Killer Mike.

[Killer Mike]

Yes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Travis, Scott, Drake. You hear all these names called. And the winner is Killer Mike.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah. The first time, it was exciting. I was like, oh, my God, this is crazy. This is amazing. I got one.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Got one. So I'm not leaving empty handed. Like Denzel said, I'm leaving with something.

[Killer Mike]

I'm leaving with something. But I walked back and they said, hold on, Mike. Don't walk back to your chair. Notice that when I went up there the first time, I asked Shayla, I said, where is Shaya? Where's my wife at? They said, I said, don't go back. They said, no, hold on. I said, oh, shit, I'm gonna win another one. And I went back out. When they called my name again, I'm just like, nigga. Like, oh, shit, I don't want two. When I got off again. Cause I asked Dashea again. She still didn't come down. I asked. When I left, they said, hold on. And that's when I realized, oh, shit. I just swept. They said, don't go nowhere yet, Mike. And that's when I knew I was gonna win three. And when I looked up and seen Will going crazy. Paul. Yt, Cuz Lightyear on the stage, my wife coming up in that short dress with them heels on, I was like. I was like it, truly. And everybody in the house that night who had love for me, I appreciated. There were people that you just didn't even see that just gave a fuck and showed love. And I just appreciated you all.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow, you got Dre. I mean, Dre hadn't really done anything in.

[Killer Mike]

Yes. Stacks. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

How'd you get Stax? How'd you get Stacks on this album?

[Killer Mike]

I invited. I was at no IDs studio, and I invited him just to come through. It was like, Dre and Big Boy matter to me a lot. Like, I have a podcast called Conversate with Killer Mike. I gotta get you on there, too. Bet. And we talked. I had a conversation with C Bone, who at one time was my. You know, like, your friend and arch rival at the same time. Cause Seabone was very loyal and dedicated to Big and seeing what Big Boy wanted to see happen. And Dre and Big, at the time, Dre had decided, I'm gonna leave rap, and I'm going to pursue acting, pursue fashion, that. And at the time, the crew felt. And I said the word abandoned, but there's no malice on it. It's just that that's how we felt. We felt like our leader. Him and Big Boy are our leaders. You know, like, in lieu of Rico being gone. Now, Ray, who was very quiet member of Organized Noise, he had become more vocal. Ray has always been like Yoda, quiet in the far. But Ray is our leader. Sleepy Brown's our leader. So that was like one half of our leadership left. And to pursue what you should do, pursue your soul's desire and calling, but it just went into anarchy. And so getting an opportunity to be in a room with Trey as no longer just teacher and student, not only just leader and follower, but equals getting a chance to be in a room with him and let him hear what was Michael at the time and say, I think I may have something that you like? Man, it was overwhelming because all I ever wanted to do was make him and Big Boy proud. I wanted to make him and Big Boy and a woman named Regina Davenport, who now works with brother David Banner. She was at A and R at Equimani. If it had not been for those three people, my life would have went drastically different. If it hadn't been for Nasilo Reddick, you know, whose mother's a schoolteacher and father, Bonzo Reddick. Mother, Betty, and father Bonzo's a famous lawyer in Savannah. He was best friends with Big Boy. If it hadn't been for these people encouraging me, allowing me in, then where would I be? So, you know, I just want a man like I forever do, man. I always. I tell Dre, man, damn, man, you be forgettin to mention me in interviews. You got to mention me, big dawg, we trying to sell a record. But I never forget to mention Big and Dre because I appreciate them so much for giving me an opportunity to change my life. And as I grew older and matured, I understood what a difficult task Big Boy took on. And then losing his partner, you know, and not losing his friend, his brother, but his partner in Ryan, because his partner in Ryan had other things his soul sought, other things to see, but he was forced to now hold it down alone and by himself. And I remember years later, just calling, being out of nowhere one night, just saying, man, I understand, and I apologize. I deeply apologize for the way I acted, you know, when everything was falling apart and you were trying to hold it together. I deeply apologize because I see as a leader, what you go in there, he says, see, I told you, boy. You know? So I thank Big and thank Dre, you know.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Do you think they'll ever make music again together?

[Killer Mike]

I don't think about it because I'm an Outkast fan. I get frustrated. I want to yell at the sky, too, you know, I understand that. But I'm glad that every few years, they pop out on the stage together, and I think that music is better for it. They're receiving their Rock and Roll hall of Fame sometime the next couple months between, I think, October and November. I'm gonna be proud to be in the audience watching that happen, just like I was proud to watch you in Sterling, man, walk on that stage, get those gold coats. I think that they don't owe the world nothing, but should they want to give the world something, we glad.

[Shannon Sharpe]

We surely appreciate it.

[Killer Mike]

We surely Appreciate it, man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You won your first Grammy with them in 03.

[Killer Mike]

Yep, I did. Yep. On a song called the Whole World. Yeah, I lit that shit up, too. And I learned the importance of work ethic. Then I wanted to go out to the club. All the other guys were going, I think to the gentleman's club. They were going out, too. And I remember Big Boy stopping me saying, hey, maybe you want to stay here and check out. Because it was supposed to be another single off that album that was going to be the lead single. And Big said, I think you need to stay and try to do something on this. So Big Boy, man, I got to say, has always been an encourager and always been someone I wanted to emulate in terms of being a good businessman, a good provider, the cornerstone of his family. He's somebody that doesn't get the praise and accolades he deserves. Cause he's quiet about it and he doesn't throw his tail around. But, man, if Big Boy threw his tail around, a lot of y' all will be shamed. That boy bank account on Swole, man, you know. You know, buy a house in the original neighborhood. Say, man, I'm thinking about buying this next old neighbor house. I don't really want no neighbor. I said, God damn, he around and did it, you know.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Is it true Future was a part of the Dungeon family?

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, Future. Future, it used to be called Meathead. When he was rapping with the df. Second Generation. And G Rock, I think, nicknamed him Future. He's Rico's cousin, and he's an amazing artist. He's Dre's current favorite rapper. And Atlanta, it belongs to him. They love him, and he gave the world. Future, to me, is like a futuristic rendition of the blues. When you listen to his music. A lot of times you listen to things that are sad and painful to hear, but he make them sound like, man, it's the most exciting thing in the world, you know? So shouts out to Future. And I really appreciate it, him and Drake. Cause after Dre gave me the record, we had to figure out how to make it a record. Dre had a verse, you know him. And I think, Blake, I've been getting the young man, Sam. I think, Blake, they had it. And then no ID came in. And then DJ Paul came in and just went crazy. But I appreciate Future. Cause I know Future got a lot of shit to do, you know. Future. Future got a lot of hits to be on. But Future came out of nowhere, man, and sent me that verse, man, and I just appreciate him. And him and Stax for doing that. So, Future, I ain't seen you in a long time, but thank you. You know, I sincerely appreciate you, brother.

[Shannon Sharpe]

When he was in the Second Generation, did you know he would, like, be what he's become?

[Killer Mike]

No, I didn't, because I was so. I was too busy clawing at not falling off myself, you know what I mean? Like, the big record company didn't have much faith in me, you know, Columbia Records is a company. The people who worked there didn't have faith in Killer Mike. They remember telling you a big black guy. You can't be named Killer Mike yet. You know, you get a band, come out a few years later called the Killers, and everybody gets behind them, you know what I mean? So for me, I was too busy clawing. But I knew that Rico understood talent, and I knew that the guys I knew he could rap his ass off. I knew G Rock and C Smooth was dope as hell, you know, Bullet Bar was dope. I knew that the guys that Riq had put together for Second Generation were dope guys. So I never doubted him. But it was when I saw him, he did a record. I'm forgetting who he was featured with. But the kid literally chopped Future out the video. Whoever was doing it was chopping Future out. And as a gun family, I got pinned. I'm like, man, that's how I got. What the. Y' all doing this? You know, it was. I think it was racks on racks on racks. It might have been that, but I knew then I was like, oh, they trying to hold Shawty back. Oh, Shawty gonna do it. And the next thing you know, Shawty did it. I can't remember the other artist's name. That's not an insult to him. That just said. That was the moment that I knew when I seen another company try to kind of excuse him or get him. Oh, I said, oh, he got. He got what he take. He got what he take. And he's not. He's not let us. He's not let us down, man. He's done the city proud.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You also got Dave Chappelle to appear on that album.

[Killer Mike]

That's my guy.

[Shannon Sharpe]

How'd you get Dave to appear on that one?

[Killer Mike]

I just asked. Cause, man, I went to. I ended up befriending Dave because I've always thought he was hyper, intelligent, funny as hell, and it's crazy. Like, him and Ryan Davis are two of the most. And Paul Mooney, you know, so. Paul Mooney, of course. God bless the dead. Dave is the current Legend. There's Ryan Davis, who I think is going to be an absolute goat too. I like intelligent funding, you know what I mean? I like all funding, but there's something about intelligent funding. And Dave, man, I remember asking Dave, you know, he gave me this speech after one of his shows, like, you need to run for governor. And I'm like, I don't. I want some money like you. And he gave me this speech about how I don't care if you go to strip clubs, I don't care if you smoke weed. We care that we can trust you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Killer Mike]

The people have implicit faith in you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They do.

[Killer Mike]

And you have to honor that by doing something. So I called him and said, dave, you'll do something on the album. And I sent it to him and he sent back that monologue. And I was like, oh, shit. And then people tried to get pissed about the monologue. How dare you compare being a black man or being a rapper to storming the beaches of Okanawa. When I think to myself, how many 18 and 19 year old boys in the army and not don't know what the. Their life is going. Stepping out on that beach is as scary as stepping off that curb. Sometimes you don't know what you doing, which direction to go, what's going on around you. And I say, man, what a pitiful way to hate on them, to. To hate a metaphor by trying to hate on Dave Chappelle, who's intelligent, who gets it. And I appreciate him telling me to run. Cause I ain't stopped running since, man. Thank you, Dave.

[Shannon Sharpe]

When was the first time you met Dave?

[Killer Mike]

First time I met Dave. Dave had me on the show, the Chappelle show, first season, when everybody was like, oh, your name's Killer Mike. We're not booking Killer Mike. And Dave was like, I'll book him. And had me come to a boxing gym in Brooklyn. And me and my man Gigi McGee, who just got his ex in the Nation of Islam south, south of G, man, I'm very proud of you. We went up there, man, and we performed action. And Dave was jumping around, he was skinny as a prick. And I have been a fan of since then, but in the last four years, really built a solid friendship with him.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You took him to the plane.

[Killer Mike]

Took him to the plane and Bill Maher. And that's how we toured together. At the end of the night, at the end of the night, he puts his arm around me, he says, mike, we should go on tour. And I was like, don't play with me. I have My white folks. Call your white folks in the morning. We'll get this shit together. And the next morning, I called my white folks. They said, dave's white folks already called us. You guys were going on tour.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Wow.

[Killer Mike]

And it happened. That's how it happened. The Flame. I owe a lot to the Flame. Shouts out to Michael and Jackie Cato.

[Shannon Sharpe]

The food good at the Flame.

[Killer Mike]

No, the food is the best at the Flame. So let me give y' all this, man. Atlanta is one of the places where not only do you have black strip clubs, they're black owned. So when you start talking about Club Reign now, I think rebranded Follies, you start talking about Peaches, you start talking about Magic City. Start talking about the Flame. You're talking. Yeah. Candy Lane with two chains shouts out to Dre over there. Those are clubs that are now Folly's reopened. Yeah, well, Folly's name is now Rain over on Moreland, which used to be. Yep. Now they're.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They used to be on what you call them too Highway.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah. Yeah. But it's gone now, so that one had to close. So I think that they're just doing a licensing deal.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, okay.

[Killer Mike]

But.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But I don't know why I knew that.

[Killer Mike]

Yeah, but. But these. Yeah, these places got great. Got great food. So if you want the best wings, you know a lot of people gonna tell you magic City. And I love Magic City wings, but, you know, I'm from the west side.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Killer Mike]

While the west side Wings at that Flame, like, woo. Woo.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'll have to take the Flame.

[Killer Mike]

And they got. Yeah, you gotta let me take you. We gotta do. I'm gonna tell you the secret. They shield. They shield. They shield. They shield. Okay. Day shield. Got them all natural bodies. And them girls got they. Girl. They got.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm going for the food. That's all I want. That's all I want.

[Killer Mike]

Oh, respect. We gonna go for the food. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Joy. Got the schedule.

[Killer Mike]

Let's do it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

This concludes the first half of my conversation. Part two is also posted, and you can access it to whichever podcast platform you just listened to part one on. Just simply go back to Club Shay Shay profile and I'll see you there.

[Matt Jones]

Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining and twice a week that is exactly what you're gonna get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Dan]

I'm Dan. He's Ty.

[Killer Mike]

Hello.

[Dan]

And we're the solid verbal college football Podcast.

[Ty]

Tune in for previews, recaps, bits you won't hear anywhere else, and all the emotional support you need as a college football fan.

[Dan]

Join us all season long as we ride the roller coaster of this ridiculous sport.

[Ty]

Listen to the solid verbal college football podcasts on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan]

We don't just love college football, Ty. We live it.

[Greg Rosenthal]

The NFL is rolling. That's right, and you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 60. It's in the name NFL Daily so you'll have fresh content in your feed all season long. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, in an all star cast of co hosts for previews and recaps of every single game. NFL Daily will keep you up to date with everything you need to know so you can sound smarter than all your friends. Listen to NFL daily on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Matt Jones]

No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Ends 28:26. Open to legal residents of the 50 US states and DC 18 and over. For complete details, how to enter, prizes and official rules, visit toyotasgamedaygiveaways.com.

[Simone Boyce]

I'm Simone Boyce, host of the Bright side podcast, and on this week's episode I'm talking to Olympian World cup champion and podcast host Ash.

[Ashlyn Harris]

My worth is not wrapped up in how many things I've won. Because what I came to realize is I valued winning so much that once it was over, I got the blues and I was like, this is it for me. It's the pursuit of greatness. It's the journey, it's the people, it's the failures, it's the heartache.

[Simone Boyce]

Listen to the Bright side on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Matt Jones]

Tune in to all the Smoke Podcast where Matt and Stack sit down with former first lady Michelle Obama.

[Sarah Spain]

Folks find it hard to hate up close. And when you get to know people and you're sitting in their kitchen tables.

[Killer Mike]

And they're talking like we're talking, you.

[Sarah Spain]

Know, you hear our story, how we.

[Killer Mike]

Grew up, how Barack grew up, and you get a chance. A chance for people to unpack and get beyond race.

[Matt Jones]

All the Smoke featuring Michelle Obama to hear this podcast and more. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search all the smoke and listen now.