Club Shay Shay - Tony Yayo Part 1

Podcast: Club Shay Shay
Host: Shannon Sharpe (with guest Tony Yayo)
Release Date: September 10, 2025

Overview

In this rich and candid episode of Club Shay Shay, NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe sits down with Tony Yayo, iconic rapper and founding member of G-Unit. The conversation digs deep into Yayo's upbringing as a Haitian immigrant in Queens, brushes with street life, ascent in hip-hop, loyalty, family, violence in the community, prison culture, and reflections on fame, survival, and legacy. With both humor and gravity, Yayo shares lessons learned from the highs and lows of a turbulent life, offering a unique insider perspective on American hip-hop and the realities behind it.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Journey from Queens to the World

• Early Life and Upbringing

  • Tony Yayo, born Marvin Bernard, details his upbringing in a strict Haitian immigrant household in Queens.
  • Parents emphasized hard work—his mom was a lifelong nurse—and invested all they could in his education, putting him through Catholic school (20:00).
  • Moving from Brooklyn to Queens, Yayo notes: “Every Haitian and Jamaican, they go to Brooklyn first. I don't know why… I'm really supposed to be a Brownsville nigga” (15:13).

• Tough Love & Street Realities

  • Describes life under tough love: “My parents never did ‘I love you.’ … It was always tough love. My moms would go to work, Christmas, Thanksgiving, food on the table. That’s how Haitian is” (20:05).
  • Laments how exposure to the streets began gradually after his parents’ divorce, when “my pops went to Florida… now my mom’s got to work every day… I’m on the block all day” (31:30).

• Cultural Identity

  • Growing up Haitian was once a source of shame; now it’s pride: “Now it’s cool to be a Haitian or African. … Back then you keep Haitian being on a low, but now… everybody want to be a Zoe” (16:50).

2. From Hustling to Hip-Hop Fame

• Early Hustle and The Block

  • Yayo candidly recounts street hustling, exposure to crime, and the allure of fast money: “Now you’re caught up in the game… Because that pass easy money, $30 off a pack… Now I’m an official drug dealer. No job, no W2 forms, nothing” (32:12).

• Forming G-Unit

  • Chronicles meeting 50 Cent at age 10, the formation of their friend group, and ultimately, G-Unit (51:41-53:30).
  • The group’s chemistry: “50 was just a natural writer. Banks, he just write bars for breakfast… I think people respect my energy. I have bars. But I think people love my energy on stage and as well as with the music” (53:25).

• Behind the Scenes in Hip-Hop

  • Describes the environment that made G-Unit so “militant”: “We always had to move militant—bulletproof trucks, vests… come on. It was a time where, man, there was guns everywhere, man” (45:08).
  • Highlights dangers in the rap business, from street beefs to hip-hop police: “I believe Hip-Hop Police was damn near created ‘cause of us… They used to jump us out the car, government name, grab us by our hip…” (40:55, 44:14).

3. Reflections on Loyalty, Fame, and Survival

• On Loyalty & Credit

  • Profound gratitude toward 50 Cent, Eminem, Dr. Dre: “Never bite the hand that feeds you. That’s what I learned. 50 could diss me tomorrow… no disrespect, because you turned the lights on for me, and I appreciate that” (63:57).
  • Acknowledges the frequent difficulty in giving people credit: “We worldwide ‘cause of Eminem… I don’t know why people have a hard time giving people credit” (62:44).

• Surviving Violence & Street Beef

  • Vivid stories of family trauma: “My mom’s crib got shot 22 times… They could have been not here. Luckily, the level of the house… If it was one floor, somebody would have been unalived in there” (38:28).
  • The cost of authenticity: “We were the most dangerous rap group in the world. … Being an artist, you never have your peace” (44:14, 45:50).

• Perspective on Fame

  • Fame as a double-edged sword: “For me, I don’t care about jewelry… At a certain point, when you’re an artist, your face is a jewel… So, niggas like Nipsey Hussle—face was a jewel. Pop Smoke, PNB Rock…” (43:40).
  • “I’m more appreciative than a lot of other people, right?” (41:53).

4. The Realities of Crime, Prison, and The System

• Prison vs. Street Life

  • Candid about prison experience and the myth of jail as a badge of honor:
    • “To me, that’s the real gladiator school… One thing about New York—New York grimy is different than everywhere else… Rikers Island—like a motherfucker will spit a razor out on you, cut you, and you wouldn’t even see it coming” (75:52, 76:19).
    • Glorifying jail in the culture: “It’s a fucked-up thing… anybody who’s in jail really don’t even wanna be in there. All the n****s doing life, natural life, man, I don’t wanna be in here” (94:40).

• Lawyer Money & Navigating the System

  • “We had a lawyer for every situation… A lot of these kids, they get in trouble and they don’t even have the lawyer money. The lawyer money is the main thing you need… With a Legal Aid, you going straight to prison” (77:24).

• Snitching, Pleas, and Public Backlash

  • On the complexity of plea deals (re: Gunna, Young Thug): “People take pleas… It just looked funny because it was on camera. We don’t know what his lawyer told him… The only one that could judge you is God… If you drop dope music, I’m listening” (96:03–97:58).

5. Social Issues: Guns, Youth, and Community

• Youth and Drill Culture

  • Reflects on the increasing violence and younger shooters: “Shooters are getting younger and younger. … They 13, 14, got drill rap now. … There’s a difference between gangster music and reality. … My mom’s crib got shot up—I don’t wanna go through that” (85:22–86:50).
  • Critiques the glorification of the shooter: “Now they glorifying the shooter—the dude with five bodies. … That shit is really real” (86:25).

• Guns in the Community

  • Dissects the ease of gun access despite strict laws: “How they getting all them guns? It’s hard as hell to get a gun in New York, Yale. … Guns is like T-shirts, man” (87:41).
  • “Now the reason how we fit it is—how do they get to the street? How does a 16-year-old kid got a 9 with cop killers in it? With a switch on the back?” (88:44).

• Cycle of Violence & Indictment Game

  • On street indictments: “Let’s talk about an indictment… You let a person do crimes… nah, let’s let him get more shootings… Because you need more time on them. … Give him 80 years, give him 100 years” (89:31).

• Hope for Change

  • “It starts with people like me and you talking about it. … What can we do to make a difference? … My kids are good. Now it’s what can I do to make things better? … Why can somebody make a 3D gun now? Where’s this all coming from?” (81:12, 85:11).

6. Memorable Quotes & Interactions

On tough decisions and gratitude:
“The realest shit Dave Chappelle told me: ‘Why you turn down all that money? God said my belly full.’ That was the realest shit I ever heard from somebody.”
—Tony Yayo (46:50)

On surviving street life:
“I had a starter jacket… they pull a .38 out on me. I’m a little kid, I’m in the eighth grade… Cried all the way home. Jeez, 38. I never forgot that.”
—Tony Yayo (22:44)

On hip-hop history:
“Queens, we the pioneers… When you look at Marley Marl, he put out Big Daddy Kane… When people say, ‘what’s your top five rappers?’ — what era we talking about?”
—Tony Yayo (10:06)

On LL Cool J's legacy:
“Hell no, they don’t give LL as much credit as he deserves. Why? I don’t know… from the ‘80s to the ‘90s to the early 2000s, even when he had ‘Hey Lover’… We gotta do top 10 and top 20 instead of top 5. It’s kinda hard.”
—Tony Yayo (11:12)

On handling fame and danger:
“For me, I don’t care about jewelry… at a certain point, when you’re an artist, your face is a jewel… at a certain point, your face is jewelry. You don’t even gotta wear jewelry. Niggas know who you are.”
—Tony Yayo (43:40)

On credit and success:
“Never bite the hand that feeds you. That’s what I learned. 50 could diss me tomorrow… no disrespect, because you turned the lights on for me, and I appreciate that.”
—Tony Yayo (63:57)

On New York vs. Southern culture:
“That’s just New York, we just different. People from the south take it personally… they do. We help everybody. Like—no, don’t do that.”
—Tony Yayo & Shannon Sharpe (72:19)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:55] – Shannon welcomes Tony Yayo; foundation for discussion set.
• [13:14] – Yayo on balancing fame vs. street life: “I’m outside. People know me, but they’re not running me down… I like my fame a little better.”
• [16:50] – On being Haitian in New York as a child and now.
• [22:44] – The story of Yayo getting robbed for his starter jacket.
• [31:30] – How family life and divorce led to more exposure to the streets.
• [38:28] – His mother’s house shot up during street beef.
• [40:55] – On G-Unit’s dangerous reputation and hip-hop police.
• [43:40] – Thoughts on flashing jewelry and how fame changes what’s dangerous.
• [53:25] – The formation and chemistry of G-Unit.
• [61:15] – Yayo in the studio with Dr. Dre and Eminem.
• [75:52] – Raw depiction of life in Rikers Island.
• [86:25] – Reflections on drill culture and the glorification of violence.
• [94:40] – “Glorifying jail in the culture—it’s a fucked up thing… anybody who’s in jail really don’t even wanna be in there.”
• [96:03-97:58] – Perspective on plea deals and public judgment (Gunna, Thug).
• [101:15] – Yayo: “It ain’t safe nowhere. That’s why I say the hardest thing about being a celebrity… it’s a dangerous job.”

Final Takeaways

• Tony Yayo’s candid storytelling offers a powerful window into the challenges of growing up in an immigrant family, navigating street violence, the allure of hip-hop, loyalty to roots and friends, and both the glamor and danger of fame.
• The relationship between street credibility and music success is complex—Yayo does not glorify the path, but neither does he shy away from its reality.
• The conversation touches on urgent social issues—gun violence, the prison industrial complex, failures of community support, youth drifting toward violence, and how these play out in music.
• Yayo’s gratitude, humility, and survivor’s wisdom anchor the episode: “I got a billion dollars worth of experiences. And I feel like that’s what life is about” (35:11).

For fans of hip-hop history, the realities behind the music, and the lived experience of one of its most resilient figures, this episode is a must-listen.