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Habits and Hustle
Episode 491: Jay "Jeezy" Jenkins: The $4M Bet That Built an Empire + His 7-Question Mentor Method
00:57:08
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- [00:01]
A
Hi, guys, it's Tony Robbins. You're listening to Habits and Hustle. Crush it.
- [00:07]
B
All right, you guys, today we have a special guest on the show. He goes by Jeezy, right? Young Jeezy. Right. That's what my husband told me.
- [00:14]
A
Yeah.
- [00:15]
B
Right. And first of all, thanks for coming on the show. We're going to talk about all your business ventures, your new biggest project in Vegas. So thank you for being on the show.
- [00:24]
A
Thank you for having me.
- [00:25]
B
Of course. We do this thing on the podcast. We take healthy performance shots. They're called Magic Mind, and they're, like, kind of to keep you, like, focused. And they're. It's all healthy stuff. So it's like Ashwagandha. Are you into health at all?
- [00:37]
A
Yes, for sure.
- [00:38]
B
Okay. Do you exercise? Are you a big workout person? Okay, so then you'd like these. So they're very. Basically, we just, like, shake them. We, like, do quick cheers, and then we're off to the races.
- [00:47]
A
Let's do it.
- [00:48]
B
So it's just a bunch of, like, healthy ingredients to keep you, like, on point. You're going to. You're going to know in two seconds it tastes good. It's actually really good.
- [00:58]
A
It is good.
- [00:58]
B
It is good, right?
- [00:59]
A
It is good.
- [00:59]
B
And now you're gonna be super alert and super focused for the rest of the show.
- [01:02]
A
Let's do it.
- [01:03]
B
All right. So I wanted to ask you, where did you even get the name Jeezy from?
- [01:09]
A
Well, growing up, there was an era where a New Orleans rap syndicate that was called Cash Money was taking over the world. And it was like where Lil Wayne came from and all these guys, and they had these nicknames like BG and Jizzle and all that stuff. And around that time, I was becoming a hot boy because I was actually, like, hustling and getting my first entrepreneur job on. And the people in my neighborhood used to call me Jeezy because of my voice. Like, my name is Jay.
- [01:38]
B
Right?
- [01:38]
A
They called me Jeezy. Cause that was, like my hood slang name. And it just kind of fit when I started to do music because it's just like, well, what do they call you? I'm like, Jeezy. And I just. And at the time, people were putting young on their rap names.
- [01:51]
B
Right, right, right.
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A
So I put Young Jeezy together, and that's how I came up with Young Jeezy.
- [01:56]
B
I love that. Okay, what? Like, you are. You're kind of known for being very entrepreneurial, right? So you kind of have. You have the music side to you, and you have, like, the business side. Can you talk about, like, what was your first entrepreneurial endeavor that you.
- [02:10]
A
I think I had one job before where I actually worked with my uncle. I had a job at McDonald's for, like, five hours. They put me on the fries, and I was out of there.
- [02:20]
B
Really?
- [02:21]
A
Yeah. No, I'm serious.
- [02:22]
B
How old were you?
- [02:23]
A
Maybe about 14, 15.
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B
And you just hated it?
- [02:26]
A
I mean, it just because I understood right then and there, I couldn't work for anyone.
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B
Right.
- [02:31]
A
That wasn't who I was. And no disrespect to nobody that does. I just understood what I was trying to do. My first entrepreneurial job was cutting lawns in a neighborhood. Had a lawnmower that I bought. Spent about $20 for it. Had my uncle helped me fix it up, and I would take. Take. Me and my little crew used to go around, cut people's yards for $5, $10, stuff like that. That's, like, my first thing where I had money then. If you know anything about the south and Georgia, watermelons are a big thing. So I would go out and get these trucks with my uncles, and we would throw watermelons. So you would go out in the field and you pick watermelons and you throw them, throw them, throw them back until they end up on the truck. And then you just keep that going. Then you go on the side of the road and you would sell the watermelons.
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B
How much did you sell them for?
- [03:16]
A
I make, like, $20 a day.
- [03:18]
B
Really?
- [03:18]
A
Yeah.
- [03:19]
B
Okay, so, like, how many would you sell for $20?
- [03:21]
A
Well, I would make $20.
- [03:22]
B
Right. How much would you sell to make the $20?
- [03:25]
A
Like, that was like, we pick, you know, maybe 100 watermelons a day.
- [03:29]
B
That's a lot of watermelons.
- [03:31]
A
Yeah. And then you might not sell them all, but you might sell some here at this place, some here, there. When you get done, they would just pay everybody. But the reason why I say entrepreneur, because it's my uncle's company.
- [03:41]
B
Yeah.
- [03:42]
A
So to speak. I don't even think he probably had a tax id, but that's how he was getting paid in cash. And that was like, my first thing. And then coming up, the first entrepreneurs I really knew were musicians and then the local hustlers in my neighborhood. So hustling was like. It was like a family thing. Meaning, like, it. Just the environment I was in, it was natural to hustle. And so I kind of got into that early on. Like, my aunties hustle, my uncles hustle. Like, it was just like a Thing.
- [04:09]
B
Right.
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A
And I just got into it and I was good at it. So once I picked that up, I was off to the entrepreneur race. Like, I just understood, like, okay, this is the way. I'm not gonna stick with it, but I just need to use this to get to the next place, which was music. But I was hustling pretty much all my teenage years.
- [04:25]
B
Right. And just kind of carried through.
- [04:27]
A
Yeah, right.
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B
Cause you don't even know any different. Cause that's how you always were.
- [04:30]
A
Yeah, but I mean, it was like a thing.
- [04:32]
B
Yeah.
- [04:32]
A
You know, you're growing up in this small town, you know, you know, all the police people, they know your aunties, your uncles, so you're a good kid, but they just know that you're hustling so you're not out causing any trouble. So you kind. I kind of. You know, I hustled on my auntie's front porch, so.
- [04:46]
B
Right.
- [04:46]
A
That's where the song came from. Had the rest of the yams in my auntie's house. Cause that was like a true. My auntie was my hustling partner. Like, we hustled together. I used to get the money. She used to put it up for me, put it in her bra, put it in her. Under her mattress or whatever. And she used to do these card games, like on the weekends. And all the people that came to the card games, they were pretty much my clients. So I had this tight ecosystem of people that I really trusted. They were like, you know, let me use their car because I was giving this. Or they was come, like, you know, and, you know, come over house and hang out all weekend. But, you know, they would spend a couple hundred dollars with me, and I was just like learning how to like, make this ecosystem. So that was like my first company. I would say I built, like, it was a very lucrative company for me to be that age.
- [05:29]
B
And you. You were like really young at that point.
- [05:31]
A
Yeah, I was like 14, 15.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Yeah.
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B
And then, wait, so like, for the. Even. Even for the music stuff, like, that's like a hard business. I mean, I used to. I don't know. You probably don't know this, but I used to be in the music world. I used to run marketing for BMG Music a long time ago, many years ago, before I got into all these other things. But. And I know how hard it is to get signed to labels, to stay on a label, to get, you know, to. To the whole music world is. And it's so different even today. Back then, it's even more difficult in my opinion, in some ways, how did you kind of go from, you know, doing what you were doing then to getting signed and who signed you? Like, can you kind of give me the origin and, like, the end evolution of how you even. Because it is the mo. People who know, know, but people who don't know, don't know. It's a very difficult business.
- [06:16]
A
Well. Well, the first thing is, like, music was my. Like, it was my, like, my escape. Like, I listened to music every morning before school, every day. I got out of school, like, literally all day. But I learned from the music. So I. I just. Actually, it was like a course. It was like a college course. Like, I just listened to music to learn. It wasn't about same rate, same way. I listened to podcasts today. I literally listened to four, five, six different podcasts throughout the day.
- [06:42]
B
Right? Just to kind of get information, just.
- [06:43]
A
To kind of learn things. I'm sponge. I just have to get it, you know, it. It fulfills me. And I used to listen to music, but I. I almost immediately understood that I was learning because I would get into situations and be like, hold on. What did Tupac say? Okay? And I would apply it, and it was working. And I was learning that a lot of people that were around, they were kind of stuck, you know, just on the. On the. On the hamster wheel of just what was going on. But they wasn't thinking outside the box because they were just hearing the music and not visualizing what came with it. I was like, oh, you can. You know, and that's how I was applying it to my day. So music was very important to me. And when I was doing what I was doing, hustling, I just. You know, I saw a lot of things happen to a lot of good people, and I was just like, okay, I can't get stuck in this, because I see that there's really no win in it. And the thing that I was able to do was I was able to use my street, you know, street smarts and just my savoir faire to convince older people that I knew these other people, that I can go get them something too, and we can work this out. So that was like, my mouth. I would be around all the older guys, and I would get their money and be like, give me two, three days. I'll be back. I'm going out of town. But literally, I already had what they was looking for. I just went over my grandmother's house and watched TV and played video games until. And that was my M.O. so I built up a level of trust and all this by listening to music because I was learning through the codes. So as it went on and I started to get into, like, these situations where they were life or death and, you know, freedom of jail. And I was just like, okay, this is not gonna work. I gotta figure out how to pivot out of this. And around that time is when the cash monies and the no limits and all this stuff was taken off. And I was like, well, maybe I could do that. So I immediately went out and bought studio equipment, went and started signing people in the neighborhood and tried to put them in position to be rap superstars. I wanted to be the CEO. That was my thing. I wanted to be the baby or the slim of the. You know, of my thing. And what I learned quickly, you know, I spent lots of money for a young age. You know, I spent millions of dollars to try to put people on. Of my money?
- [09:06]
B
Of your own money?
- [09:07]
A
Yeah, yeah, of my own money. And it didn't work out. And then I was broke because all the. Some of my artists went to prison. Some of them got locked up for murder cases and so on and so forth. And I'm sitting in this studio because I really don't got nowhere to stay at this point, because I don't put all my money into this. So this nice apartment I had and these nice cars I had, they all gone now because I'm trying to stay afloat. And my man looks at me, he goes, man, you might as well do it like it's your life. You're out here living this stuff. And I was just like, you know what? And I just started on this mission to doing it. I just started to get in and start making music from the ground up. Of course, it took, like, 10 years, and I had to kind of get myself readjusted and just. And I had to hustle even harder because now I'm supporting my own career.
- [09:49]
B
Right. Wow. So you did the opposite of what everybody else does.
- [09:52]
A
Yeah.
- [09:53]
B
So you went from, like, running the company and trying to, like, be, like.
- [09:57]
A
Managing all these people, which was a blessing, because now.
- [10:00]
B
Yeah, now you understand the business.
- [10:02]
A
I know how to run it. You see what I'm saying? I think that's what a lot of people miss when I'm, like, sitting around listening to stuff like, oh, let's do that. And they like how you know that? Because I've already did it 30 different times, 100%. So I know that.
- [10:14]
B
And also that's why so many artists get in such trouble, because they don't understand the business side of the business and how things work and how things. You got on the back end of stuff. So if you're coming with that kind of street savviness and business acumen, you're just ahead of the game right there in a lot of the ways.
- [10:30]
A
And it's the same savvy that helped me secure, like, deals that you wouldn't normally get, because I would go in these situations, and I would be in these company meetings, and I would just watch people just be in disarray, like, just frantic, you know, like, why they. Like, I'm coming from a game where the pressure is, you know, freedom of jail, life or death. So those are the consequences. But you still got to play the game, right? So if I'm sitting in the boardroom and everybody panicking, I'm like, what's the worst can happen? You lose your job. That's it. You know what I'm saying?
- [10:58]
B
Exactly.
- [10:58]
A
For you, everybody calm down. You know what I'm saying?
- [11:01]
B
That's.
- [11:02]
A
So let's just, you know, think clear through the chaos. It's like, what's. What's the best route? Or how can we execute this in a way? Because the thing that people don't understand is it's just like, there's no wrong way. Education costs, even if it doesn't work, you learn, you know, And I've made decisions that cost me millions of dollars, and I made decisions that didn't cost me anything. But education still costs. And I'm grateful for all the times that I was in situations, because you got to think it's all strategy, you know what I'm saying? Like, when you're coming from where I came from, it's just like, I used to look at it like I'm standing on my auntie's porch. How can I get to this, from this mailbox on the front porch to where I need to go. How many steps is that in life? And when you go back and you just retrace all your steps, you had mishaps, you had let ups, let downs, you had, you know, you had times when you didn't even know how you was going to get your next meal, but you made it through. So knowing that in this world at this time, I don't really worry about much because I know if I don't have the answers, I built up a network of people that I can really call and have real conversations with about things that I need to navigate or strategy. And they're very respected people. But I think they see a lot of me, you know, what they saw in themselves when they were. Yeah.
- [12:18]
B
Do you have, like, one mentor or one person that kind of is your, like, like, guide that helps you with this stuff?
- [12:24]
A
I got a gang of, like.
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B
I got a board of directors.
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A
It's insane.
- [12:30]
B
Really?
- [12:31]
A
Oh, my God. It's insane. It's insane. It's like, you wouldn't. I mean, it's just like. I don't really like the name because people like, you know. But it's the Tony Robbins. It's the Robin Shermans. It's the Robin, the Robert Greens. It's the DJ Jazz.
- [12:45]
B
I love Robert Green.
- [12:46]
A
I love Robert Green.
- [12:48]
B
It's great. In fact, actually, I'm very good friends with him and he's writing a new book. It's almost finished. You know about this. I was just gonna say to you, do you know the book 48 Laws of Power? Because you would probably love it.
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A
I really tapped into him for the Law of Attraction, though.
- [13:01]
B
The law. Well, he's got a billion laws of human nature, the mastery, so many.
- [13:08]
A
That's why I really tapped in from him, you know what I'm saying? And me and Robert used to, literally, when I was home in la, we used to get up like once a month, go to the LA Fitness club and have tea and.
- [13:18]
B
And really?
- [13:19]
A
Yeah, just.
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B
I love that.
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A
You know what I'm saying? Just have real. You know, he helped me out with stuff with my son and give me some advice. I give him some advice about culture. But, like, me and Robert, like, we hang out.
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B
Yeah, he's. Me too. That's great.
- [13:31]
A
Brilliant. Yeah, he's brilliant.
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B
I love that.
- [13:33]
A
Yeah.
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B
So then how did. I mean, like, also, have you seen.
- [13:36]
A
That John Maxwell, too? I love John.
- [13:37]
B
Oh, I don't know John Maxwell.
- [13:39]
A
Oh, he's amazing.
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B
Really.
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A
He's one of the.
- [13:41]
B
He's the one. I know. Like, I've seen his name all the time.
- [13:43]
A
I've ever seen his communication skills, because.
- [13:46]
B
I see his clips sometimes and I do. I like his perspective. I should reach out to him to be on the show.
- [13:52]
A
Another one is Lewis Howes. I love Lewis. That's my.
- [13:55]
B
Oh, I know Lewis, too.
- [13:56]
A
That's my guy. Yeah, Lewis is a great.
- [13:58]
B
Have you been on his show yet?
- [13:59]
A
Of course.
- [13:59]
B
Yeah.
- [13:59]
A
I was gonna say, I talk to Louis all the time. Yeah, he's a great guy.
- [14:02]
B
He's a nice guy. Who else? We probably have a lot of mutual friends, actually.
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A
I mean, you name them all, but that's the thing. I mean, once I became an author. That opened a lot of doors, too. But I really love Robin Sherman as well.
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B
Like, he's, he's great.
- [14:13]
A
Yeah. Dave Gibson is another amazing one. He's, he's. He's. Yeah. So I, I have a lot of resources when it comes to that, but these are real relationships. But they're my board of advisors. Like, they notice. Like, I can call Tony Robbins and be like, hey, he's like, lay it on me, Jeezy. But then he'll call me about stuff too. And I respect that. You know what I'm saying? But you gotta understand, like, you take that and you flip it. Back when I came from the streets, like, I talked to the guys that were in that position in the streets the same way. Like, they actually got advice from me.
- [14:42]
B
I was going to say, do you have, like a group of people that you mentor?
- [14:45]
A
Of course.
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B
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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A
I got programs, Young CEO program with the Urban League, the Urban League of Georgia, Greater Georgia. I got my Street Dreams foundation. So we got a lot of stuff there. And then, you know, I just do my own mentoring. Like, as far as culture wise, I'm not a. I'm not a. What would I say? I'm not a role model. You know what I'm saying? I'm not that. But I. I do have a set of skills. Like the guy said on the transporter.
- [15:12]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [15:14]
A
I have a set of skills when it comes to living life that I'm very serious about. And I don't mind sharing the information because I know it changed my life.
- [15:22]
B
You know, what are some of the skills that. The set of skills that you live by that you're. That you live by your life?
- [15:29]
A
I think integrity is a skill.
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B
Okay.
- [15:31]
A
I think it's a skill set, you know what I'm saying? And I think that it will get you. It's a slow grind, but it will get you farther than anything because you never know how much your past will affect you until 10 years later. And people go, he was that way 10 years ago. Jesus. He's solid. You need that for people to trust you, you know what I'm saying? And let you into their world. I had people like, because I was rough around the edges, so I had a lot of things that, you know, I wasn't proud of. But people know that deep down inside I was still a good person. And they would say that, you know, it's like, you know, he just came from a, you know, rough beginnings. But he's. He's actually, you know, he's a great person. Just sit down and talk to him. And they helped me out a lot because it was one time I was, like, getting banned in radio stations. I couldn't even come in and promote my projects.
- [16:18]
B
Really?
- [16:18]
A
Yeah. Just because of the things that I was affiliated with that people were, you know, just like, oh, my God, like, he's terrible. But I was just caught up in a situation. And I was also trying to help these misfits navigate stuff, because I just was the one that saw around the corner. I was the prophet, right? I was like, guys, like, we can. We can do something great with this. I mean, it's bad now. Doesn't look good. You know, nobody likes us, but we can. We can make this something great. And I think that. That I was the voice of reason.
- [16:46]
B
You know, and also perseverance. Like, so how did you. Like, so if one of your skills now is integrity, how did you kind of go from where you were to where you've become, where now you're kind of known for being someone with integrity.
- [16:59]
A
And someone who's a good person, Staying curious. Right. And also not being afraid to, like, think outside of the box. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'll do things that. Like, last year, I took a trip to Italy, a solo trip, you know, by myself, and just really wanted to kind of just find myself and get centered. But in the middle of that, you know, I called Robert Sherman. I don't know if you know, his books. He did the Muckle, Sold his Ferrari, the 5am Club.
- [17:26]
B
He just had a new book coming out.
- [17:27]
A
Yeah, the wealth the Money Can't Buy or something like that.
- [17:30]
B
Yeah.
- [17:31]
A
But I just actually called him. I was like, yo, you gonna be in Tuscany on Wednesday? He's like, yeah, I'm here. I was like, I'll be there Tuesday. I'm gonna come by the house. Went by his house, sat out with him by his pool, looked at his, you know, his wine vineyard, and we just sat out there and talked. And I was like, hey, I got seven questions. We had this conversation. I was like, you mind if I break out my pad? He was like, no. And we just sat there, and he just answered all my questions. And it got so good, he took my pad and started writing down his own answers. Like, what about this? What about that? And I know what he charges people to mentor them. And he asked me. He was like, because, you know, we had lunch, so we had all this food. And he was like, where are all your people? And I was like, I came by myself. My spirit told me to come sit down and talk to you. And he looked at me and said, you're very brave. I never thought about it. I just got on the plane because I wanted to talk to him and I had some things I was trying to work through. But to me that's like, that's thinking outside the box.
- [18:20]
B
That's amazing. You just like one day you're like. Or you just thought, you know, I'm going to go to Tuscany, jump on a plane and ask him seven questions.
- [18:27]
A
That's it.
- [18:27]
B
Did you have the seven questions written down?
- [18:29]
A
I did.
- [18:30]
B
Can you share one of the questions?
- [18:31]
A
Oh, it was actually about speaking.
- [18:33]
B
Oh, speaking?
- [18:34]
A
Yeah, one of the questions was about speaking, like, because I want to get into speaking.
- [18:38]
B
Right.
- [18:38]
A
So I just wanted to talk to him about what his process was to get to where he at and he's speaking and he just gave me the whole breakdown. How it's structured, how it's set up, where I need to start, what are the punchlines, how do you come on the stage, what's the policy you take, how do you get people into it, how do you make everybody clap to get on the set? Like he just gave me this whole. And he went to writing it down and same thing with John Maxwell, you know what I'm saying? It was seven questions and he loved that. Actually, I got that from John Maxwell.
- [19:04]
B
Really?
- [19:04]
A
Yeah.
- [19:05]
B
To come with seven questions.
- [19:06]
A
Seven questions. And they better be good.
- [19:08]
B
Better be good.
- [19:09]
A
And I got that from John. So when I got with John, I was like, john, I got seven questions for you. He just was laughing, he was like, my friend, you're so good at this. And I was like, yo, I need the answers. We became like really close.
- [19:28]
B
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- [20:38]
A
Oh, I asked him about music to entrepreneurship, because John was a pastor, and he ended up being leader for leaders. Like, what he does now is leadership. And I asked him, how do you go? I said, how do you leave from one thing to go to the next thing? And he said, you don't leave something. You go to something. So you're not leaving music. You're going to this new life you want to go to. That'll always be there, but you're not leaving it. So don't put in your mind that you're leaving something because you feel like you're losing something, but you're not. You actually just going to something else, and that's okay.
- [21:12]
B
That's a really good reframe, actually.
- [21:14]
A
And TD Jakes was the same thing, because his entrepreneurship is like, I love him. And I'm like. I'm like, bishop, he's great. Explain to me this. And he was just like. He said, well, the reason you messed up, Brother Jeezy, is I told him is because you're putting this stigma on me. You're judging me because I'm a bishop, but I was an entrepreneur first. How about that? So I could be two things.
- [21:41]
B
That's right. Exactly.
- [21:42]
A
And I was just like, oh, okay.
- [21:45]
B
It's true.
- [21:46]
A
Yeah. But I mean, you know, coming from where you come from, it just, like, the mentality is either or. It's sad to say.
- [21:52]
B
Yeah.
- [21:52]
A
Because you don't feel like you can do two things great. You know what I'm saying? It's almost a miracle to do one thing great. But it's just like, when you can do two things great. But I think you should give yourself that grace and understand, like, anything's possible if you work hard at it.
- [22:06]
B
I think it's also. It sounds to me that, like, you seek out people who are. That you kind of respect and admire and try to, like, glean something from them, like, learn something from these people. And I like this idea. I just learned that, like, I was. As you were talking, I'm like, this idea of doing seven questions A. It's very focused, and it keeps you focused and on point. And then, like, people know, like, there's, like, kind of, like, a structure.
- [22:31]
A
Right.
- [22:32]
B
Where you can, like, kind of stay within so you can learn more. They know that's a very good thing for people.
- [22:37]
A
It's intentional, and you're not rambling.
- [22:39]
B
It's intentional. Exactly. I think that's a really good Point for anybody who's listening. Because I don't. Like, for me, even for a lot of people, right. Like, you have people who reach out to you, and they don't even know what they want to do or what they want to talk about. And then it's like, it's left on the person to figure it out for them. But if. I think people would have a lot more success if they approach somebody with, like, I have five questions for you. It's an intentional amount of things, but.
- [23:04]
A
Also taking the intentional time to get to the point where you can ask.
- [23:08]
B
Exactly.
- [23:09]
A
Having the clarity, taking the time and, like, really, you know, diving in and not, like, rushing the process of, like, just. Cause you know this person, you want to ask them. Like, I thought about this Tuscany trip for a while, and I was like, you know, I really need to go get some time in with him, and I want to talk to him and. And I also want to see what he's doing that I don't understand. And I've been to a lot of people's houses, but when I got to his house, I clearly understood what was going on. I've never seen that type of beauty in my life.
- [23:33]
B
Really?
- [23:34]
A
Oh, no. Ever? It's just like the rolling hills, the wine vineyards, the olive trees, the mountaintop with the snow. Like, this is his view.
- [23:42]
B
Wow.
- [23:42]
A
From this pool. And I'm just going like. And when I left, I clearly understood there's a difference between living in the quality of life.
- [23:53]
B
That's a good one, too.
- [23:54]
A
You know what I'm saying? Like, it was clearly a difference. And I'm going like, oh, okay. Because sometimes we get caught up in the wrong things based on our environment.
- [24:02]
B
Right.
- [24:03]
A
We think that having the right car or the right jet or the right this or the right. That is the thing. But it doesn't change the quality of life. I can see why he's writing, the type of books he's writing. I'm looking at the room that he's sitting in while he's writing, and I'm going, like, how could you not?
- [24:15]
B
You know? Right. Exactly.
- [24:16]
A
Right. There's so much inspiration there. And I just. I remember leaving and telling my. My. One of my business partners at the time, like, sell all the cars. Sell. He's like, what is going on over there? I don't need it. You know what I'm saying? Cause I was like, I'm cool. Like, I want to live a simple life. You know, I actually want to get a place over in Tuscany. Like, I want to do something Are.
- [24:34]
B
You going to move there?
- [24:34]
A
1,000%.
- [24:35]
B
When?
- [24:36]
A
Soon.
- [24:37]
B
Really?
- [24:37]
A
Yeah, it's happening.
- [24:39]
B
I love that. So you're basically. You make like. But that's what's good about this stuff. Because it's one thing if you just do that and just have these ideas and don't really act on them, but you're actually. You take it to the next. Like, I think that's where people get stuck. They don't take action.
- [24:53]
A
Well, it has to be a part of your process.
- [24:56]
B
Not everyone can move to. I know, not everyone can move to Tuscany. But what I'm saying, whatever it is.
- [25:00]
A
It doesn't matter on the other side of town, you know what I'm saying?
- [25:02]
B
It could be whatever.
- [25:03]
A
Yeah, but it's just like changing your environment. You got to inspire to do it and you got to know how you want to live your life. Like, what really matters to you 100%, you know what I'm saying? And that matters to me because I know what type of state of mind that would put me in, you know, pieces. Like something. I mean, coming from chaos, you know, you don't. You won't. You wouldn't want peace if you didn't come from chaos. And like, to me, like, the end goal is peace. It's like to be somewhere where I'm great, I'm good, my focus is world class. I'm not just thinking, like, you know, just neighborhood or city stuff or, you know, you know, just being in the United States, it's like, it's such a world out there, huge world.
- [25:39]
B
I know.
- [25:39]
A
And there are people that really want to help you and really want to pour into you, and there's stuff that they can actually like, you know, help you to understand. Because it's just like a world class view of things, right. And it's like for a person like myself who's pouring back into my culture, I want to have a world class view. So when I'm having these conversations or I'm doing these speaking engagements, I'm thinking and coming from a world class level. So I'm not just giving you this stuff that's just, you know, cookie cutter. Because I feel like I have a voice. It's like, no, I'm actually going out and doing the work, right? I'm having the conversations, I'm doing the research. I'm taking the time to go have the solitude to come up with these business plans. Like, I've done great business deals just on the surface. I bought and sold Avion Tequila to Pernod Ricard you know, I've done crazy real estate deals.
- [26:29]
B
What's the best deal? Give me an example of your most profitable, most lucrative business.
- [26:33]
A
I would say Avion Tequila.
- [26:34]
B
Yeah, Big one.
- [26:35]
A
Shout out to my mentor and business partner, Ken Austin. He sold NetJets to Warren Buffett and he started Aviance Keyleth. He built it. I came in, he had the top. I was like, ken, you just need to buy them. And he's like, what do you mean? I was like, well, you have all these high end hotels and you have all this thing, but you don't have culture. And he's like, tell me about it. And I told him, I'll tell you about it, but I'm gonna need some equity, you know what I'm saying?
- [26:58]
B
Really? I didn't know you were even involved in that deal.
- [27:01]
A
Yeah, I was his partner. I had stock share, everything in there.
- [27:05]
B
Yeah, that wasn't in my notes. I didn't know I did.
- [27:07]
A
How to buy out. Yeah, the whole thing.
- [27:08]
B
That's a really good one.
- [27:10]
A
I mean, yeah. I mean, after it was sold, I had to kind of sit down and think about that I wanted to make music anymore. I was like, this was different, you know what I'm saying? Because it was like, you know, probably one of the biggest accomplishments I had outside of music and outside of touring. And I loved it, I understood it. But you got to go back to the hustler mentality. I knew how to, you know, mobilize people on the block, and I knew how to make things hot and I knew how to navigate things. So I understood it by being in that environment. I was in all the clubs before I was doing music. I watched it. Like, I watched, literally watched when Patron took off. Meaning, like, I was in the conversation, Like, I was standing right there when the guy said, hey, we don't have any more 1800. We got patron. I looked at my man, he was like, let's do that. And I watched it go from that moment to the world, because that's how much of a grip we had on culture, you know what I'm saying?
- [28:02]
B
That's amazing.
- [28:03]
A
I literally looked at it. I saw it. Moet Rose, same thing. They'll tell you that. Moet will tell you that we did that. Nobody was holding bottles in the club and all that. And I'm just saying that's a minute way of thinking about it, but I'm.
- [28:15]
B
Saying it's not actually. I think it's a great way of.
- [28:17]
A
Looking at it, but I'm looking at it from a world Class level of. You see that go from culture to mainstream. But I'm looking at it and I'm seeing, oh, all you gotta do is stand beside it and do this or that. And people will be like, okay, that's the new thing. That's what we're doing. And I think that that's what I brought to Avion. It was like, how do you mobilize a group of people to like something at one time? And that's the skill set I had, you know? And that's another skill set. Mobilize. You know what I'm saying? You can't. Most people can't get people together. I knew that coming up early on, I'm making these songs and I'm filling arenas. I'm doing tours with Jay Z, Rihanna, and all these people, but people reciting every word that I'm saying for an hour, hour and a half. Every word. Right. You tell me, we're president. You're going to get to go up there and say any speech that people are going to recite for an hour and a half.
- [29:03]
B
That's power.
- [29:06]
A
That's power.
- [29:07]
B
That is.
- [29:08]
A
And that's the difference. Because when I got into the music game, it wasn't about the money. I understood almost instantly that it was a position of leadership. Now, what am I going to do with this leadership? Because I was already leading when I was in my other environment. Because I wasn't the toughest. I didn't have to be, but I was the smartest.
- [29:26]
B
That's 100% true. That's. That's such a good point. What do you think it is about your personality that you. Because I think what you just said, like, it's kind of like a mobile, like, mobilizing, building community, getting people to, like, do what you want. That's a really, like, very, very particular skill set that most people cannot do. Right, Right. Either you. I don't think that's even something that's necessarily. You can't teach somebody that. I think you either have that or.
- [29:52]
A
I think it's in your heart.
- [29:53]
B
It is. I think so, too.
- [29:54]
A
Yeah. I think it's like your heart because people. What I mean by it's in your heart is like you got the heart to love and protect people, but then you got the heart to face anything. You're fearless.
- [30:06]
B
Like, courage and bravery.
- [30:08]
A
Like, you're fearless.
- [30:09]
B
Fearless. Yeah.
- [30:10]
A
You already. Cause in my mind back then, I was ready to die for it. I was like Malcolm X, like, whatever, let's do it. But as you begin to get Knowledge. You're like, well, I don't have to think about it like that, but let me just, you know, work on myself so that I can be the best version of myself. So now I have emotional intelligence. I don't get upset about things. Because me getting upset about things could shift everything. Because everybody's gonna move with my energy. And back then my energy was like, really in the streets. So I can turn half of the world against half of the world. Imagine that. Like, I can literally do that, you know what I'm saying? Just because I got up and said, you know what? I don't like that person or that. And wherever I put that energy at, you're talking about a whole coast of people that's gonna align with that because they align with me. Once I started to understand, I'm like, okay, well, how can I use this for, you know, for good? Right? But that's not a popular decision. So I had to fight through that. Because now people are looking at you like, well, how you lead us to this point. But then you wanna switch up and do something that's positive. This doesn't make sense. But the people who understood the bigger vision stayed around. The people who didn't, they fell to the wayside. And that's okay. But now I'm in a different place and my focus is different and my vision is different and the way I carry myself is different. Because this is what I was working on the whole time. Because I understood that once I got to this position that I can do world class things. And not just things where it's like, you know, he did a. You know, I would hate to just be this person who just made great music. That would just tear me up.
- [31:42]
B
Right?
- [31:43]
A
I want my kids just to know that I just made great songs. I mean, we all do. You know, when I think about Bob Marley, it's just like, look at all the Grady did though, right?
- [31:51]
B
So you want to be much more robust and like kind of well rounded.
- [31:54]
A
Well rounded Renaissance man. That's what I call it.
- [31:56]
B
Right?
- [31:56]
A
Yeah.
- [31:56]
B
So what's your main focus now? So you've kind of. You've had a lot of evolutions, right? Like you had the. Well, I didn't know about the avion one. Is there another one? What's another one? That's really big, by the way, defines.
- [32:07]
A
Fuel, which was athlete's water. And we did very well. What's up? Defiance Fuel.
- [32:12]
B
Oh, Defiance Fuel. Okay. You have an energy drink though now called Edge. You didn't bring me one though?
- [32:16]
A
Yeah, I should have brought one especially with this coffee. So Edge is an energy drink that also doubles as a mixer. Okay, so we coming for Red Bull? Let them know.
- [32:25]
B
Yeah, I'll tell them.
- [32:28]
A
Let them know. We also, you know, right now it's just like, you know, we just did the book adversity for sale, New York Times bestseller. Congratulations. That's something I always want. Thank you. That's something I always wanted. So that worked out for the best. Right now my focus for this year and the rest of the rest of 25 has been on, you know, this tour that I wanted to do that was a vision of mine that I wanted to elevate my culture with, which was an orchestra tour.
- [32:54]
B
That's so great. I saw that. That's like a hundred piece orchestra, right?
- [32:57]
A
Well, that's the one that we bring it to Vegas. So the one we just took around the southeast and the Midwest was a 30something piece.
- [33:03]
B
Oh, wow. Okay.
- [33:04]
A
And a black tie event. Sold out. Totally. It was one of the most just amazing experiences I ever been a part of and I wanted to bring it out to the west coast. So we just got a residency. We're planning Hollywood, right. And we're doing the Masquerade on November 31st. I mean, October 31st, November 1st. Those are the two days.
- [33:25]
B
Right, I saw that.
- [33:26]
A
And then we're doing the Nutcracker on the 19th and 21st December. And this is at Planet Hollywood. And it's also the 20 year anniversary of my first album, which is Thug Motivation 101 that came out in 05. And I'm bringing 101 piece Orchestra Shout out to the caller of Norris Orchestra, Adam Blackstone, Derrick Hodges. And on my birthday, I don't know when this is airing, I'm actually releasing a mixtape slash album with DJ Drama. Album with DJ Drama. It's called Still Snowing and it's releasing on 28th September. I don't know when this is air, but. And also DJ Drama and I, this is how I got on by pressing up mixtapes and giving them out. This is how I built my career.
- [34:14]
B
That's. That's how all. That's how everyone builds their career. You actually gave out all the mixtapes?
- [34:18]
A
Yeah. For free though, like.
- [34:19]
B
Yeah. You're probably going around the streets.
- [34:21]
A
Oh yeah.
- [34:21]
B
How many do you think you gave away?
- [34:22]
A
About a half a million.
- [34:24]
B
A half a million?
- [34:25]
A
For sure, yeah.
- [34:26]
B
How much did that cost just to make 100amillion. Sorry. Half a million mixtapes probably cost you like 100,000 even back then.
- [34:33]
A
I probably. Between that and my first album, I probably spent about $4 million.
- [34:38]
B
Really?
- [34:38]
A
Yeah. Yeah.
- [34:40]
B
And your own, like. Because at that point you had no money.
- [34:44]
A
And that's what I tell anyone to bet on themselves. I watch people sit there and budget things out and I'm just like. I don't even think like that. Let's go.
- [34:52]
B
Tell me how you. So tell us how you think. Tell us how people should.
- [34:56]
A
There's no bottom line on it.
- [34:58]
B
You'll just spend how much it needs to be spent.
- [35:01]
A
But I'm not just spending like a maniac. I'm definitely thinking about what I'm doing, but I'm not cutting any corners when it caught. When it comes to my legacy, my future, and changing the quality of life for the people around me. Because you have to take the risk.
- [35:15]
B
Yeah.
- [35:15]
A
And if you counting peanuts and you're trying to make. You're not taking a risk. You have to break the glass ceiling. How you gonna do that? By spending your own. I've never took anybody's money. When I made my records, when I was signed to Def Jam, I paid for my own records. And then I.
- [35:28]
B
You did?
- [35:29]
A
Yeah. And I get my money back. But it's just like. Because if I get your money, then I might treat it like it's free money. But if I'm spending my money, I'm going to work.
- [35:38]
B
You're going to work?
- [35:39]
A
I'm going to work.
- [35:39]
B
That's so exactly true. The only way to know a value of a dollar is just when it's your own money, right?
- [35:44]
A
Yeah. And of course you're going to save when you can, but it's just like, you know, some people be like, you know, I got hundreds of thousand dollars, I'm going to, you know, invest it in this. And I'm like, yeah, but you know, if you got 250, let's go.
- [35:56]
B
That's right.
- [35:56]
A
What's the difference? Like, it's all the same.
- [35:58]
B
What did you spend the 4 million on? So you got the mix, the mixtapes. A half a million mixtapes.
- [36:03]
A
Yep.
- [36:03]
B
That's great. What else?
- [36:05]
A
I meant, you know, producers, studio time, marketing, videos.
- [36:12]
B
What kind of marketing back then did you do?
- [36:14]
A
Well, the biggest thing was the Snowman marketing, which is my alias, Snowman and. Cause the only competition I got is Frosty. We gonna get into that. But I branded myself with Snowman and making all these T shirts where I gave away these Snowman T shirts to promote my album. That was hundreds of thousand dollars. Cause a lot of T shirts. However, these same T shirts. Cnn. Well, the high schools and middle schools banned the T shirts, and CNN made a report about it.
- [36:49]
B
Really?
- [36:49]
A
Yeah, it was. It was a big deal. Yeah.
- [36:51]
B
What were the T shirts? Just frosty. You said no.
- [36:54]
A
Well, the snowman was on the T shirt.
- [36:55]
B
Yeah.
- [36:55]
A
My emblem of it. But they were saying what it represented, and they thought it represented, like, drug dealing, street stuff and all that.
- [37:02]
B
Really the best press you ever got?
- [37:04]
A
Best press I ever got? Yeah.
- [37:05]
B
Best press you ever got. Back then, also seeing that was a big deal.
- [37:08]
A
Well, the other best press I ever got was when I was coming around, I was doing my work, and I actually made this song on my third album called My President is Black. And it blew up right around the time Obama was running for president.
- [37:24]
B
Yeah.
- [37:24]
A
And I did all these campaigns where I was renting all these buses and bringing all these people in for the neighborhood to vote. And I did it with the radio station and had lawyers going to the neighborhoods to talk to people that was convicted fellas and tell them they could still vote. And boom, it just became this cultural classic. And I got invited to a correspondence dinner. And when I got there, the Secret Service told my security, I can't come in, clearly, because of my past. You know what I'm saying?
- [37:49]
B
Right.
- [37:49]
A
And I felt the way. Cause I bought a Tom Ford suit. I was like, I was ready. And they told me I couldn't come in. And, you know, I kind of left with my head down. And I was on tour in Europe. About four years later, my mom called me. She was like, baby. She's like, well, mama just shouted you out last night. I was like, he, don't mess with me. She's like, I'm gonna get your sister to send it to you. And he said, on my first term, I sang Al Green. This is at a correspondence dinner. He said, my second term, I'm singing Young Jeezy. Michelle likes that. And I was just like, my guy.
- [38:19]
B
Really?
- [38:19]
A
Yeah. So that was definitely a big moment. Yeah. That was great press, by the way.
- [38:24]
B
That's great press.
- [38:25]
A
Yeah. Yeah. And he actually wrote me a letter. It was weird.
- [38:29]
B
What did it say?
- [38:30]
A
I did a documentary, so I've been an executive producer on a lot of documentaries. And I did this documentary on Hulu called Hip Hop in the White House. And I kind of told this story and talked about all the stuff I did for him. And he just wrote me this letter. One of my guys called me. He's like, hey, man, one of Obama's guys has called me. He wants an address on you. I'm like, don't give it to him. Might be coming to pick me up. He's like, no, I think it's good.
- [38:55]
B
Don't give it to him. You're right.
- [38:57]
A
Cause I didn't know what was going on. And I get it and I open it up and there's a letter. And it's just basically like, man, just thank you for everything you're doing for the culture, your people, and we appreciate and thank you for everything you've done for me. And I was just like, wow. Yeah. I hung it up on my wall. It was like. It was a big deal.
- [39:13]
B
That is really amazing.
- [39:14]
A
Yeah. I showed it to my daughter. She's like, huh, Whatever.
- [39:17]
B
Of course she doesn't care. Isn't that funny how, like, something that you were so upset about, right? Where you walk in, they wouldn't let you in. But it comes back full circle in a different way.
- [39:25]
A
That's why I say you just gotta go, because you just gotta take the first step. Like, you never. Everything I've ever done and never worked, it always came back better at the right time. And that's my prayer every morning. But clearly, that's the big guy's mo, right? He waiting till you're ready. If you're not ready and everything you're going through, he preparing you for the next step. You know what I'm saying? Because he can't give you what you're not ready for. You're going to drop the ball. And it's just like, that's a real thing. And I think for a lot of people that a lot of musicians, a lot of this is about money, status, you know, women, cars, jury, whatever. But to me, this is. This is my purpose. Like, there's nothing else in the world I could do. I've tried.
- [40:10]
B
Right, right, right. And didn't work out yet.
- [40:12]
A
This is it. You know what I'm saying? And I'm all in. And it's every day, you know, it's like nothing comes before my purpose but my kids and God. But it's just like I'm locked in because I know that I have to navigate this very well, because this is a real shot from where I'm coming from, what I've been through. People don't make it. You know, I lost more than I ever gained. And that's people, too, as well. And when you see that and you get in a position like this, I'm blessed. Like, I get up, I get to do what I love. I get to live this amazing my life. Is like a vacation. You know what I'm saying? Of course I got to work, but at the same time, I'm still able to touch people. I'm still able to push the envelope. I'm still being able to do things on my terms because I started off betting on myself. So me going out on this orchestra tour and putting my own money and my own team behind it is unheard of. It was independent. It was. No, no. You know what I'm saying? You don't even hear about stuff like that. But all that came from the beginning.
- [41:03]
B
Right? Because you. It sounds like you just said. It seems like that's kind of always what you do. Right, Right.
- [41:08]
A
And now taking it to Vegas and doing this hundred, that's all me. I don't have to ask anybody for permission.
- [41:14]
B
Well, how did you get that deal with Planet Hollywood? Did you go to them and say, I want to do this collaboration?
- [41:18]
A
Yeah. They saw everything that was going on. I mean, they would have been crazy not to.
- [41:22]
B
I was gonna say. Well, I was gonna say, why did they get the lucky ones? Like, why did they get it?
- [41:26]
A
They saw. Saw the vision.
- [41:27]
B
They saw the vision. Okay.
- [41:28]
A
It was like, what we understand. And they're dope. You know, I love playing Hollywood. I think that they just really understood what we was doing. And it was like, no, this perfectly works with our brand. We align. The venue is perfect, you know, for the size of the orchestra. I want, like, it's. New equipment in there.
- [41:44]
B
I was gonna say, how big is it in the planet Hollywood area?
- [41:47]
A
5,900.
- [41:49]
B
Okay. Because that's a big. That's a huge orchestra. Like, 100 pieces is a lot.
- [41:54]
A
And this, for me, it's like, well, the 101 is to celebrate one on one.
- [42:01]
B
Yeah.
- [42:01]
A
The 20 years of it. And it's never been done, so why not do it right? I was telling my team earlier today that somebody going to come beat us. They got to do 150. 170. That's on them. Let them figure that out.
- [42:11]
B
Well, I was exactly right. But I was. I was reading this. Yes. Reading your stuff yesterday. And someone was behind me. They're like, wow, he's bringing orchestra. Like, it's like. It's like. Actually it stops people. People in their tracks because nobody. That is very unexpected. People don't normally bring an orchestra of that caliber and that size. Right. So it is something that. I don't know how people can top that unless they bring 150 people. 150 pieces. I mean, there's not much else you can do.
- [42:37]
A
And the thing that I love about it is we already got the proof of concept because we took it around the world, and we've seen what it is, and we didn't come to the West Coast. So this is strictly for the west coast and anybody else that want to come. So we talking to Bay, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Denver, wherever you at, Just come out. We want to make it an experience. Come on, bro. You're black. Black, black tucks, you know, and that's.
- [42:59]
B
What people have to actually dress in black tie. And when you did the world tour, how many places did you go?
- [43:05]
A
23 cities.
- [43:06]
B
23. And for 39 pieces in the. How many people were in, like, what size theaters were?
- [43:12]
A
4,000.
- [43:12]
B
4,000.
- [43:13]
A
So, like, sold out, though.
- [43:15]
B
Sold out. But I was gonna say, like, people had to wear black tie in there, too.
- [43:18]
A
And they did. It was nothing like seeing people bringing their son. Like, yo, I brought my son. He's 21. He wanted to come see you got on a suit. He's so happy. Cause where we come from, you only wear suits for court and funerals.
- [43:29]
B
That's what I. Yeah, yeah.
- [43:30]
A
So it's just like, this is a celebration. You're not just celebrating 20 years of my first album. You celebrating 20 years of you 20 years ago. You wasn't wearing a suit. I wasn't wearing a suit. You know, a dicky suit, but not a suit.
- [43:41]
B
Right.
- [43:42]
A
And not just that. Like, you want to see people celebrated and you want them to feel good about themselves. I mean, it's nothing like seeing these black men in these suits. Cause this is a. You know, this is a feeling like everybody's dressed like you and you looking good, and you ain't brought this suit out your closet for years, you know, since you got married. Bright, right? You know, and you bringing it in, you put it on, and your girl was dressing up, and it was like, so many couples that came, and it was people that was flying in from out of the country. Like, people landed from Switzerland like, an hour ago, and they running straight to the show. And people coming from Africa and all these different places. Yeah. It's amazing.
- [44:16]
B
That is amazing.
- [44:17]
A
Yeah.
- [44:23]
B
I want to take a quick break from this episode to thank our sponsor, therage. Their Trilite panel has become my favorite biohacking thing for healing my body. It's a portable red light panel that I simply cannot live without. I literally bring it with me everywhere I go. And I personally use their red light therapy to help reduce inflammations in places and in my body where Honestly, I have pain. You can use it on a sore back, stomach, cramps, shoulder, ankle, Red light therapy is my go to. Plus it also has amazing anti aging benefits, including reducing signs of fine lines and wrinkles on your face, which I also use it for. I personally use Therassage Trilite everywhere and all the time. It's small, it's affordable, it's portable and it's really effective. Head over to therasage.com right now and use code be bold for 15% off this code will work site wide. Again. Head over to Therasodge T H E R A S a g e.com and use code be bold for 15 off any of their products. So what now? Like, you're like, very curious, obviously, and interested in doing like speaking. What would you want to speak on? Like, what would be your topic that you think that would be, like, what you'd want to.
- [45:54]
A
Well, self help is big to me.
- [45:56]
B
Well, I can see because of all the people that you're.
- [45:58]
A
Mental health is big. Entrepreneurship is big for me. I think it would just be something unique, a little bit of blend of all that, you know what I'm saying? Because like I said, I'm a sponge. Like, I literally get up and listen to like, you know, I mean, you name it, like, I'm in. I'm dialed in and I'm reading the books and I'm in. But I love it, you know, and there's nothing better for me if I, if I can be, if I can quit my job, I'll be, I'll be a student for life. That'd be my job. I'll be a world, I'll be a student forever.
- [46:26]
B
Right?
- [46:26]
A
I can quit my job. And then also I love being able to help, you know, my people problem solve. Like, if it's like somebody that I'm close to, somebody that I work with, somebody that's up here or something, you know, I'm like a safe place to land where you, you can come. You know, I'm a vault and we can have these conversations and there's no judgment, you know what I'm saying? Because I've done the work. So I'm not like, I'm good with me. I'm in a place where nothing bothers me really no more. As long as it ain't about my kids or anything about my family, I'm fine. But it's like I'm not in a place where I'm angry at anything. I'm taking the time to take care of myself. If I Get too caught up. I know how to go away and get centered. I could sit somewhere and, you know, by myself for a month and nobody even know where I'm at. And I could just be there and I could just be journaling and hiking and cooking and listening to jazz and drinking wine. Like, I do my thing and then I come back and I'm ready. I'm like, okay, what we need, what we need to do.
- [47:20]
B
What was that thing in your life, though, that kind of did that reset for you that you became so passionate and interested in, like, self help and evolving really as a human being. Personal development, I would say.
- [47:33]
A
I think it's always been there, Right.
- [47:35]
B
Because you're always curious.
- [47:37]
A
Yeah. But I just think what really gave me the edge on it is, you know, shout out to my dad. He was in the military, so I lived abroad most of my younger life. So when I, when I was young, I lived in Hawaii, Japan. My sushi game is impeccable. I'm like the best at that. But it gave me a world class, like, lens on things, right. So when my parents divorced and I had to move back to the neighborhood, I just didn't understand why people couldn't see past the neighborhood. And that frustrated me so much. Cause I'm like, there's beaches out there. Like, there's people that don't even look like us, right? They're like, what are you talking about? I'm like, man, there's a world like out there. And nobody believed me, Right.
- [48:18]
B
Cause you had like a sneak peek a little bit, right?
- [48:20]
A
So I just. That just upset me. And then when I started to, like, get comfortable and where I was at, I started to realize things that things happen that I've never seen before. Like, people die, people get killed, people stab each other, people hurt each other, people get kicked out, people get evicted, people get sick. They don't have any insurance. And you just like, what in the hell is going on? You just left this world where everybody's okay and everybody's figuring it out. And people going to the beach on the weekends and you got friends. And I'm just like, you can't trust your friends. Like, this is crazy, right? And you hear about people that used to run together and they was like this close, and then this one killed that one. And I'm just like, what is going on? So I think a lot of that was me saying, how can I fix this? So I spent a lot of my life trying to, like, figure out how to fix it. Like, what do I do? Like, how do I get involved in this and how do I try to turn the curve? And it's just like been this uphill battle of just trying to fix it. And I had to realize one day it's like, I can't fix nothing if I don't fix myself. And that's when I kind of was just like, okay, well, let me just work on me. You know, I really change myself before I could change the world, because that's going to be a harder task. And then just hope the people that align with me that we go out here and we crusade together to do our part. But I used have visions when I was young about how I was going to change the world. Like, I literally knew, like I had to get out here and become this well respected person so I can have some say in this. Because if not, then who better? Like, who's really, who really cares? Because once the money is made, like, you know, the MO is to walk to the sunset, you know?
- [49:47]
B
Exactly.
- [49:47]
A
We all want to live somewhere great, but I still want to do the work, you know?
- [49:50]
B
Right, right. What was the. I guess I know you have all these big mentors now and you get seven questions with lots of people. What would you say the best advice has ever been of all the things that you've heard that really made a big impact on your life?
- [50:05]
A
I think the best advice that I ever got was from Dave Gibbons, one of my mentors. And he told me, the education costs, like it costs, it costs money, it costs pain. And one of my other mentors told me, you're not a leader if you're not in pain, because it takes pain to lead. Cause I didn't understand why I was feeling the way I was feeling going through the things I was going through. And I started to really realize, like, oh, I'm in this, this. I don't know nothing else. I couldn't wake up tomorrow and do something else. Like, I'm just, I'm in this, this is it. And you know, I have a lot of empathy for what people go through, especially in my culture, because it's all based on data that we don't have. It's all based on resources that we don't have. It's all based on the way the world is set up and how things are. And it's just like, if you can't get out of that or you can't, people can't come into that, there's no refuge, there's no help, it's not gonna come. And once I realized that nobody's coming to save you. I'm like, okay, I gotta get out here and just do what I gotta do. And that's why it was so important to me to build relationships with Tony Robbins. Tony Robbins, one of the realest people I know. There's nothing he does that he doesn't call me personally, say, hey, Jeezy, I'm getting ready to do another seminar. How many kids you got? I wanna send him some packages I want him to come through. During the pandemic, he was sending, like, these 20, 30, 40, $50,000 packages for these kids to get on these, to be a part of these seminars. So much so that I was able to give my family members some. You know, I called him for my sister. Just the last one he did, she called me I'm walking on fire. I was like, I don't know about that. But even, like, some of the people that I mentor, they don't have those type of relationships. And he'll literally call me like, geez, what are you? I mean, I literally was doing a bike drive and we was talking. He's like, why are you doing a bike drive? I said, because I feel like if you can ride a bike, you can have freedom. You can get out, you can mentally get out of where you at in these neighborhoods. And I'm doing it for these kids.
- [51:57]
B
Oh, wow.
- [51:58]
A
And he's like, how many bikes you gonna get? And I was like, no, 500. He was like, well, I'm gonna double it. And Tony Robbins sent those bikes. He sent the money to get the bikes.
- [52:07]
B
Really? Yeah.
- [52:08]
A
Yeah, Tony. A real. Yeah. He gonna play around every year. I've done my gala. We're doing another one this year on the 9th of October, do a gala called a Snowball. And we do it for my nonprofit Street Genes Foundation. Tony Robbins donates every year. Whatever we raise, most of the time, it's just magic.
- [52:26]
B
That's incredible. Is this in Atlanta you do it or. Yeah, yeah.
- [52:29]
A
Atlanta. Yeah.
- [52:29]
B
That's amazing.
- [52:30]
A
Yeah.
- [52:31]
B
By the way, you know what I think you should do? You could take it or leave it. This is my little two cents. You should do a one man show for your speaker. Like, you should launch speaking into, like. But what you should do is a one man show. Do you know what? You know how Mike Tyson did that on Broadway? Like a one man show, and it crushed it kind of catapulted him into a whole other area. Did it a long time ago. Like, it's basically a speaking engagement. But, like, because you're so entrepreneurial and you're so business savvy. You would be doing it. And just how you would book, how you booked all your tour dates, you would book that. But you would, like, tweak it into a different way of like, branding yourself because you have so much life. Like, you have way. A lot of life experience, good stories have, like a really good salt. Like, you have the whole solid system of, like, how you've evolved and your personal development. Like, there's so many things you can weave into your. Your thing, which I think can also break into other areas and genres that would be interesting for people to.
- [53:34]
A
I received that. I'm gonna give Mike a call.
- [53:36]
B
I'm telling you. Ask him how he did. But I'm telling you, I think you would be great. I would go watch it. My friends would go. Because personally, you have so much perspective in different areas and you've come a lot, come so far that I think people would really like it.
- [53:49]
A
I would. I would love that. That's what I thank you for that.
- [53:52]
B
No, you're welcome.
- [53:53]
A
Yeah.
- [53:54]
B
Well, tell people again. Okay. This. Now you have your energy. Where's your energy drinks being sold?
- [54:00]
A
We basing it out of Georgia right now.
- [54:01]
B
Oh, so we're going to start.
- [54:02]
A
Yeah, we're going to start in Georgia for right now. We're going to work out because it was. It's privately owned.
- [54:07]
B
Oh, okay. So you're only. So are you going to have distribution? Yes, everywhere. Okay.
- [54:11]
A
But just right now, as of now, Eagle Rock is distributed.
- [54:13]
B
Yeah, I saw that.
- [54:14]
A
Y. Shout out to Eagle Rock. They good.
- [54:15]
B
Shout out to Eagle Rock, whoever they are. And if you're in Vegas or go to Vegas to see your show and there, the information on your website, also on Instagram, you can see everything on Instagram at Jeezy.
- [54:29]
A
That's at J E E Z Y. You can find me there. I'm definitely on Facebook, definitely on Twitter.
- [54:35]
B
Do people get you confused with Jay Z? Because everyone thought I said Jay Z.
- [54:39]
A
When I'm like, that's my. Yeah, that's my good friend. I'm the only. The only. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [54:46]
B
Similar.
- [54:46]
A
Yeah, it's. It's crazy.
- [54:49]
B
I know, but.
- [54:50]
A
And by the way, he's. He's another one that's in my advisory board.
- [54:53]
B
Oh, really? No, no, of course. I know. I'm just saying, like, it's very similar. Jay Z, gz. You know what I mean? Sounds very similar.
- [54:58]
A
He's dope. Yeah, but, yeah, you're dope, too. Thank you.
- [55:02]
B
Yo, you're welcome.
- [55:03]
A
But yeah, definitely the residency this is going to be special. Like, just so. Just so you know, out there in TV land, if you come, come witness it, but also come be a part of history. This is going down in history. Nobody's done this. This is going to be amazing. And the Color of Noise orchestra is something amazing.
- [55:20]
B
I want to see this thing.
- [55:21]
A
You should come.
- [55:22]
B
I want to go.
- [55:23]
A
Okay, you got. We're going to get you a ticket. Two of them.
- [55:25]
B
Okay. There you go. But I'm going to hold you to that ticket.
- [55:27]
A
No, you're good.
- [55:27]
B
Okay. I'll get you a bike for your.
- [55:29]
A
Group and, you know. And the album will be out. I don't know when this is airing, but it should be out by the time. Still snowing.
- [55:36]
B
When's your album? What's the day of the album?
- [55:38]
A
9, 28. I'm putting it out on my birthday, actually.
- [55:40]
B
Oh, like coming up right now?
- [55:42]
A
Yeah.
- [55:43]
B
Your birthday? 928. Oh, mine. September 16th. Are you a Virgo then?
- [55:46]
A
Libra.
- [55:46]
B
A Libra. Okay. You just miss it. Okay. Wow. Okay. You have a lot of things going on. And this one man show that you're going to now do, right?
- [55:52]
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [55:53]
B
We.
- [55:53]
A
We're going to set it up for 26.
- [55:55]
B
There you go. Thank you so much for being on.
- [55:57]
A
Thank you for having me.
- [55:58]
B
Bye. Bye.