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- [00:00]
Shabazz the OG
Foreign.
- [00:10]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Hello, and welcome to this episode of Keep It Positive, sweetie. I'm Krystal Renee Hayslett, and today I have with me someone that you guys are, I'm sure, really familiar with, but did not know. That is my big brother, Shabazz, the og you dare, you know, sayin', you understand me.
- [00:28]
Dinora
What's up, baby?
- [00:29]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Nothing much. How you doing?
- [00:31]
Shabazz the OG
Chilling. Happy to be here.
- [00:32]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
All the way from Miami to rainy.
- [00:34]
Shabazz the OG
Atlanta, man, I'd have came from Greece to get here. For you, Miami wasn't about nothing.
- [00:41]
Dinora
Aw, thank you.
- [00:42]
Shabazz the OG
You know what I'm saying? That's practically walking distance for you.
- [00:44]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Aw, thank you. I appreciate it. I'm so happy to have you here.
- [00:48]
Shabazz the OG
I'm glad to be here.
- [00:49]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [00:49]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
We always start the show with a song or a quote, but we actually just said it. One of our favorite sayings is, you understand me, you understand me. It's all one word.
- [00:59]
Shabazz the OG
All one word. You understand me.
- [01:01]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
You understand me, you understand me, you understand me, you understand me. Oh, my gosh. I love you, man. For real.
- [01:08]
Shabazz the OG
I love you, too. I'm proud of you lots. Like, beyond, like, proud is an understatement. Proud is cliche. Like, me and you talk about this all the time. Like, you said, a lot of people. Most people, unless they really close and tight with us, don't understand my and your relationship.
- [01:25]
Dinora
They do not.
- [01:25]
Shabazz the OG
And from 2007 to now, like, I'm happy, but I'm not surprised because I always. You know, this is. I'm not one of those people who say yes. I always knew she could do it. We really talked about this 17 years ago.
- [01:44]
Dinora
We did. Yeah, we did.
- [01:45]
Shabazz the OG
You know, we just didn't know which. Which level you were gonna reach. Whether it's gonna be fashion, whether it was gonna be music, whether. But we just knew that. We definitely knew at that time Chase was a star.
- [01:59]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
I was telling Dinora about my first music name was Chase. And you still call me Face.
- [02:04]
Shabazz the OG
I still call it Chase. Face. Put the face on the back of Chase. But now it's just Face. This is my face. And people be looking at me, like, when I do come around, like, whose face?
- [02:15]
Dinora
Right.
- [02:17]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Thank you so much. You have been there from the beginning. In 2007, we met. I was still living in Washington, D.C. you were managing Q Parker from 112 at the time, like, doing road management. Yeah, road managing, Traveling with him. And I remember us just hitting it off. You just always had this, like, super dope spirit about you. And just super 100, like, straight shooter, no sugarcoat. All funny. Like, people don't understand. You are fun.
- [02:43]
Shabazz the OG
Somebody told me yesterday I should do stand up, bruh.
- [02:46]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
No, I'm serious. Because some of the stuff that comes out of your mouth, I'm like, I.
- [02:49]
Shabazz the OG
Just be being myself.
- [02:50]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Yeah, I know.
- [02:51]
Shabazz the OG
I probably freeze up in front of an audience trying to crack jokes, because it's not like I'm not trying to be funny. That's what it is. I don't be trying to be funny. I just come out funny sometimes.
- [03:02]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
But we met, and I was in a transitional phase in my life where I was leaving Capitol Hill, trying to decide what I wanted to do. And I remember when I decided to move to Atlanta, you all rallied behind me and was like, chris, whatever you want to do, we got you.
- [03:19]
Shabazz the OG
Yeah, for sure.
- [03:20]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
I'm talking about when I say that, when I tell you guys about the hard time that I had when I moved to Atlanta. This man was one of the people that had my back when I moved here.
- [03:29]
Shabazz the OG
No question.
- [03:30]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
And I thank you for that. I remember I was pursuing music. We went down to Tennessee to do something for Homecoming, and you all came down. You've been to my hometown, to her mama house. To my mama house.
- [03:41]
Shabazz the OG
Her daddy house.
- [03:42]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Yeah, you've been there. The family loves you. But it's important to remember the people that were there when it was just a dream and just a vision, you know? And you were one of those people that was definitely there and have been by my side ever since. Most people know you as Shabazz the og. You are the author of Flip youp Life. You are a speaker. You are the money team motivator and entrepreneur. And you started your career early in the music business as a rapper and radio station intern in high school. And from there, you propelled into promotions, artist booking, road management, and ultimately project manager and consultant, which you've been a consultant in my whole life, since I've.
- [04:21]
Shabazz the OG
Known I'm everybody consultant. I need a firm at this point.
- [04:25]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
You do. Oh, my God.
- [04:27]
Shabazz the OG
I think I need to start a firm. Yeah.
- [04:29]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Put everybody on retainers.
- [04:30]
Shabazz the OG
That's my role, too. The problem is I can't. The retainer part is where it get tricky. Cause everybody I consult with, I love they. My family.
- [04:37]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
You like? Oh, I'll give you that for free, right?
- [04:40]
Shabazz the OG
Yeah, you know. You know, but that's who I am. That's what I do.
- [04:45]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
So I know we met and our connection came through music initially. What was it in the beginning that brought you to music? Cause I know you've been in the industry for a Minute.
- [04:56]
Shabazz the OG
Like, it goes all the way back to that internship you spoke about. Cause that was 18.
- [05:01]
Dinora
Wow.
- [05:02]
Shabazz the OG
You know, I wasn't. No, actually, well, the internship came at 17. Cause my mom kicked me out the house at 18. I'll get to that. But I'm just trying to. You know how certain things make you remember certain things. So the internship came before I was 18. Because 18 is when she said, we need you to leave. So 17 is when the internship started. But in high school, probably 15, 16 is when I started rapping. Like, I was really good at rapping. Like I was. That's. You know, it's funny how life works, because where I am now, I found my purpose. I believe this is exactly, you know, what I'm supposed to be doing. The things that I'm doing now. But at that time, back then, you know, I really, really, really aspired to be a rapper.
- [05:57]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [05:58]
Shabazz the OG
In those days. An emcee.
- [05:59]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [06:01]
Shabazz the OG
And I was really good. And what happened is we had a talent show at my high school, William Penn High. Me, my group, my dj, my man Eric Day, DJ Prep, and my man John Hamilton, John Doe. We had a group called the Devastating Three. I was a rapper. And Lady B, who was a very big radio personality at Power 99 FM in Philly at the time. She was one of the judges at the. At the. At the talent show. And afterwards, you know, I was just so smitten with her because she was fine. I'm talking about. I'm talking about. She had a mink drag on the floor.
- [06:39]
Dinora
Oh, wow.
- [06:40]
Shabazz the OG
Super slim, pretty. She. I remember she had on Obsession perfume. You know, back then, Obsession for women was. Was that thing, you know, she had that obsession on the fact that you remember the same. Listen, I remember. Listen, I. I could. It's nostalgic. I could smell it right now. I remember that day like it was yesterday. You know, Lady B came in there and shut the stage down. And I will never forget. I ran up to her and afterwards, and we had on the airbrush. Sweatshirts.
- [07:06]
Dinora
Yes.
- [07:07]
Shabazz the OG
And she signed my. She autographed my shirt. And I took it right downtown to the gallery to the guy who airbrushed our shirts. Because I had on an airbrushed shirt. I took it right back. His name was Jay. Took it right back to Jay, said, yo, I need you to airbrush this autograph. Cause I don't need this to come off. And I wish I still had that shirt. But that was the beginning of me getting into the realms of entertainment, because she brought me on as our intern. At the radio station. So she had a show called Street Beat. And Street Beat air every Sunday from 12 to 4. So every day, every Sunday around 12, 3, 55, the last five minutes, she would throw on instrumentals and let her street beat emcs rap. And I was one of them. Disco C, Prince, Little E, another guy, Flash D. But Flash was. Flash was in jail at the time, so he wasn't there when I was there. But those are the street beat MCs. And I used to rap on the radio every Sunday towards the end of her show. And that's how I got started.
- [08:14]
Dinora
Wow. That's.
- [08:15]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Listen, I feel like, even for me, out of college, I got started as an intern. I feel like that's always, like, the gateway to doing what you really want to do.
- [08:23]
Shabazz the OG
Right? That practice.
- [08:24]
Dinora
Yes, that practice.
- [08:25]
Shabazz the OG
Somebody giving you an opportunity to, you know. To segue.
- [08:28]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Exactly. That's so good. And then from there, like, tell me about all the other people that you worked with, because I know you've so.
- [08:35]
Shabazz the OG
So the whole process was internship with her and this one, I started to meet people.
- [08:42]
Dinora
Okay.
- [08:42]
Shabazz the OG
I started to meet people back then. Like, I was really meeting this. When I started networking. This is when I learned how to network. I learned how to network from being around so many celebrities at a young age. Like, I was really around when LL used to get out the limo with the radio on his shoulder.
- [08:59]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Oh, wow. Really?
- [09:01]
Shabazz the OG
Yes. He would come to the radio station, power99.ll would get out when he was really walking around with his radio, because that was his thing, you know, can't live without my radio Run dmc. I met back then, MC Light. I met back then. Like, I met a lot of people. Jahliel from Houdini was one of the. Was the first celebrity phone number I ever got.
- [09:21]
Dinora
Wow.
- [09:22]
Shabazz the OG
Like Jaleel Houdini. You know what I mean? That was the first celebrity phone number I ever got. Like. And they just took a liking to me because the person I am now is the guy that I was back then.
- [09:31]
Dinora
Got you.
- [09:32]
Shabazz the OG
So I never, you know, was never to wear out my welcome type was never too hype. Like, you know, people for my benefit gravitated towards me. So after the internship with D, I did try to pursue the music career. You know, I did rap for a while with my partner. His name was Pro. And we was working with another Philly legend, Schooley D. So we was going. We would do shows with Schooley, open up for him at times. But at the same time, I was in the street.
- [10:04]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Gotcha.
- [10:06]
Shabazz the OG
So being in the street kind of disrupted the path. You know, that's what I'll say on the surface, ultimately. And overall, it just wasn't in the cards for me. But if we stay on the surface, the streets kind of disrupted it because pro ended up going to prison. And then it just kind of fizzled out for me. But then someone who I met during my internship, because now we're going to go from 17 to about 22. Someone who I met during my tenure as an intern. His name is Troy Shelton. Troy took me under his wing, became my mentor, and introduced me to radio promotions. So I was, you know, every Tuesday, everybody in the music industry know Tuesdays is radio day. Yeah, that's when the radio. That's when radio promoters go to the stations and try to get their records added and played. And the first project I worked was Flow A Tree.
- [11:07]
Dinora
Oh, wow.
- [11:08]
Shabazz the OG
And Ron Osley's Body Kiss album, when he first. Actually, this was around a time when the Johnson sisters, Kim and Candy, his wife, Ron Osley's wife, they had a song out as well at the time called Ice Cream. So the Floor Tree, the Johnson Sisters and the Isleys is the first projects that I worked, you know, under my mentor, Troy.
- [11:30]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Okay.
- [11:31]
Shabazz the OG
And from there came radio, radio promotions. Then my first party promotions came in 2003.
- [11:41]
Dinora
Oh, wow.
- [11:42]
Shabazz the OG
Out in Milwaukee, when we did the. The Rock the Mic after party, you know, I did it with Freeway Fab, the Young Guns, Emilio Spark. Like, that was. That was the first big event that I did. You know, I was running around with one of my guys at the time, and he had, you know, put me in position to make that happen. And, you know, that was my first real, you know, party promotion stint. And then from there it just, you know, those relationships just built. Like, that's when I met Fat. 2003. That's when I met Bleak. You know, and now these guys, fast forward these. This is family. So a lot of my music relationships started from booking them. Like, my relationship with Trey came from booking him first. So once you start moving around a lot. And again, when you know how to move and you know how to move in and out of rooms and you conduct yourself the right way, you know, people receive you. You know, the more people I met, the bigger the network grew. And here we are.
- [12:48]
Dinora
Here we are. Here we are.
- [12:50]
Shabazz the OG
You know, with a clean face.
- [12:51]
Dinora
Right, right.
- [12:52]
Shabazz the OG
Clean face and a strong name.
- [12:53]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
See, and that' and that's.
- [12:55]
Shabazz the OG
That's. That's the. That's the key.
- [12:56]
Dinora
It is the key.
- [12:57]
Shabazz the OG
That's the real key.
- [12:58]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [12:58]
Shabazz the OG
To survive. To move through this business with a good name, a clean face.
- [13:03]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [13:04]
Shabazz the OG
You know, everything else can come and go, but once your name is destroyed and your face is dirty. Yeah, it's done.
- [13:10]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
It's done. That's so good. Growing up in Philadelphia, I know I'm friends with Meek Mill and I've heard the stories of what it's like, and I remember you calling it Real Adelphia.
- [13:22]
Shabazz the OG
That was Killadelphia.
- [13:23]
Dinora
Right.
- [13:24]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
And growing up, you talked about getting into the streets, getting in trouble, getting kicked out. What was it like during that time growing up? And what did you. What were some of your challenges as a young black man? Trying to grow up in that, in that environment.
- [13:39]
Shabazz the OG
So I was born in Cordell, Georgia, about an hour and 45 minutes from here. So my mom went to Philly when I was 14 months. She went back to Georgia. We went back to Cordell when I was in third grade. Then we went back to Philly when I was in seventh grade. So seventh grade is really where I, you know, got implemented and stamped in Philly.
- [14:03]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [14:04]
Shabazz the OG
And initially it was, it was, it was, it was very challenging. You know, I'm country boy, you know, country boy, you know, manners, nice guy, you know, friendly, country accent, you know, you know, Southerner, you know, they used to call me Virginia because I think a lot of guys, that's the furthest south they knew about.
- [14:26]
Dinora
Right.
- [14:26]
Shabazz the OG
So they used to call me Virginia at my middle school, Tilden Middle School in southwest Philly. And it was a little rough in the beginning. You know, I've been jumped, I've been teased, I've been, I was beat up, you know, because, you know, I didn't, I wasn't no fighter. Like, I didn't know, I didn't know nothing about. And it was. And Philly was gang infested at that time. In 80, 81, like, 80, 81. Right. When Ronald Reagan got shot, that's when we moved to Philly either. Right. I think a couple days later he had got shot. So, like around the time Reagan got shot, it was a big mob war in Philly and gangs were really prevalent. So when we got to Philly, like, it was, it was, it was rough for me because it was a different type of transition.
- [15:13]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [15:14]
Shabazz the OG
Unfortunately, those same streets that were mean to me became appealing to me, you know, and it turned me into something that I wasn't, but that I had to learn how to be because I was out there.
- [15:31]
Dinora
Right.
- [15:32]
Shabazz the OG
You know, to the point where I've, you know, I, I Had a friend of mine, he's deceased now. Back in probably 90. Probably 90. Probably 91. Because he got killed in 92. He.
- [15:44]
Dinora
He.
- [15:45]
Shabazz the OG
He said to my mom, like, he was from Brooklyn. And he told my mother. He was like, I don't know why he's out here with us. Because he's not like us. You know what I'm saying?
- [15:54]
Dinora
He's.
- [15:54]
Shabazz the OG
He's not. And I wasn't. Like, I was so different. Like, this. This is. I'm about to say something crazy. I was so different that a lot of guys didn't trust me. You're like, is this the police or something? Because I wasn't disloyal. You know what I mean? I wasn't shady. I was accommodating.
- [16:17]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [16:18]
Shabazz the OG
I was honest, like, you know, a little too nice.
- [16:20]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Like, what's up with him?
- [16:21]
Shabazz the OG
Who. If you leave it with me, ain't nothing going to be missing.
- [16:24]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [16:25]
Shabazz the OG
All the money, all the work, all the bullets. Everything going to be the way you left it. That's just what it.
- [16:31]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Like the word. Everything going to be just how you left.
- [16:35]
Shabazz the OG
You're not going to be missing a crumb.
- [16:36]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [16:37]
Shabazz the OG
You understand me? So that was different. Like, people weren't used to that. They not. They weren't used to that type of loyalty that. Because, you know the rules of the street. Don't trust nobody. You can't turn your back. But I wasn't that kind of person.
- [16:50]
Dinora
Right.
- [16:51]
Shabazz the OG
By no stretch of the imagination. So his name was G. G told my mom. She was like, I don't know why he out here with us.
- [16:57]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [16:58]
Shabazz the OG
You know, because he's not. He's not like us. And I wasn't like this guy. He was. He was a different type of individual. You know what I mean? And what I learned later, what I learned in life is people who can't be trusted can't trust.
- [17:15]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Come on, now.
- [17:18]
Shabazz the OG
So it was foreign to see somebody like that.
- [17:22]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [17:23]
Shabazz the OG
You understand what I'm saying? So a lot of guys, you know, they just couldn't understand it.
- [17:27]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [17:27]
Shabazz the OG
But again, you know, this. The same streets that were mean to me became appealing to me, which, you know, which led to me, you know, eventually my mother asking me to, you know, leave her house at 18, because I just got to a point where I just was going to do what I wanted to do, you know, And. And it was. It was primarily, again, when we get older, you look back at life and you realize why you did certain things.
- [17:55]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [17:57]
Shabazz the OG
My mother's. To this day, she still is. She's been a Jehovah's Witness since I was five years old.
- [18:01]
Dinora
Wow.
- [18:02]
Shabazz the OG
So who I was as an individual. Right. Because we tend to think. Or you a child, Chance child's place. Or you a child, you ain't got no feelings or you a child. You ain't got no say. So you. But the thing about kids, they're just smaller sizes of adults. They don't have the same experience. But they're people.
- [18:24]
Dinora
Yes.
- [18:24]
Shabazz the OG
They're people with personalities. They're people with feelings, they're people with ideas. They're people with ambitions. Like these things rest inside of children.
- [18:34]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [18:35]
Shabazz the OG
And who I was at my core didn't correlate with the Jehovah Witness religion. I done like girls since I was five, you understand me? Like, I was attracted to my. Literally attracted to one of my mother's girlfriends when I was five, six years old. I was attracted to my first grade teacher, Ms. Matt with the blonde highlights. You know? You know what I mean? You know, these are things I remember, you know, but in the Jehovah Witness religion, you can't have boyfriends and girlfriends, you know, so how does I know that? So, yeah, they don't do same thing in Islam. You don't. It's either husband and wife.
- [19:14]
Dinora
Wow.
- [19:14]
Shabazz the OG
No boyfriends and girlfriends.
- [19:16]
Dinora
Well, I did not know that.
- [19:17]
Shabazz the OG
Yeah, they don't do that. So, like, so I couldn't. So word I want to use. I couldn't fulfill my desires.
- [19:26]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
What I wanted to do, I couldn't do it. Yeah. Let me get out of this Jehovah's, please.
- [19:29]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [19:29]
Shabazz the OG
So not. I wanted to play sports. Like, I come from my father's side of the family.
- [19:34]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Athletes, Jehovah's business can't play sports either.
- [19:37]
Shabazz the OG
Because, you know, the, you know, probably now the religion is a little bit more lenient, but back then it was like anything that was outside the scope of the congregation or the affiliation of the religion was. Was. Was deemed bad association.
- [19:53]
Dinora
Wow.
- [19:53]
Shabazz the OG
So anything that wasn't necessary to do, you weren't really allowed to do. I had to go to school.
- [19:59]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [20:00]
Shabazz the OG
But I didn't have to be on the basketball. I had to go to school, but I didn't have to be on the football team. So my mother didn't allow me to do those things. And my father, he used to be upset because I was a natural athlete. My father used to be so angry because he saw it. He was an athlete. My Uncle David was an athlete. My brother Scott. I come from a family of athletes on my father's side. And he saw it and he wanted that for his son so bad, but my mind wasn't having it. So at 17, you know, the closer, the older I got, just the more rebellious I came, because I could no longer contain who I was as an individual. Like, you're, you're. You're really hindering me. Like, I'm a very likable guy. You know, I want to dress nice. These girls, these, these, these. These womans like me. And I like these womans. I like these womans. And you standing in my way.
- [20:55]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Now get out of the way.
- [20:58]
Shabazz the OG
You got a serious roadblock up here, Mom. Yeah, and, you know, I was. I had that internship with Lady B. And I used to be at the radio station, you know, with her and events. And, you know, I was just enjoying that. And my mom told me, she said, Listen, my 18th birthday was approaching, and she said, if you come in this house one more time after 12 o' clock at night, you're getting out. Now, mind you, Joel, witnesses don't celebrate birthdays, none of that kind of stuff. Well, not only did I come in the house after Midnight on my 18th birthday, I came in with a birthday cake. Oh, I had a birthday cake sat on the top of the refrigerator.
- [21:47]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Oh, no.
- [21:48]
Shabazz the OG
Went upstairs and went to bed. My mom woke me up. She said, you thought I was playing. Whoever just brought you home, call them and tell them to come back and get you.
- [22:00]
Dinora
Wow.
- [22:00]
Shabazz the OG
She put me out.
- [22:02]
Dinora
Mm.
- [22:03]
Shabazz the OG
Yup.
- [22:04]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
18 years old, sir. Had you graduated from college? From high school then.
- [22:07]
Shabazz the OG
I finished. That was my 18th birthday, April 19, 1986. I still had two more months of high school. I finished those last two months at the house where I was staying at.
- [22:20]
Dinora
Wow.
- [22:21]
Shabazz the OG
Down North Philly, at my man house, with him and his dad and his uncle and his grandmother sleeping on the couch. But actually, this is a couch. A love seat. This is a couch. This wasn't. I might have enjoyed this. They might not have. They might not have been able to get rid of me.
- [22:39]
Dinora
Right.
- [22:40]
Shabazz the OG
But, you know, sleeping 10 months with your knees up like this was uncomfortable.
- [22:44]
Dinora
Yeah, absolutely.
- [22:45]
Shabazz the OG
I was out the house for 10 months. My mom let me come back.
- [22:48]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
So at what point you were raised Jehovah? Were you raised Jehovah's Witness?
- [22:51]
Shabazz the OG
Till I was 17.
- [22:53]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Okay. And then when did you convert to Muslim?
- [22:55]
Shabazz the OG
I became. I took my Shahada when I was 22.
- [22:59]
Dinora
Wow.
- [22:59]
Shabazz the OG
22. 23.
- [23:00]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Because I know Philadelphia is a big Muslim community.
- [23:03]
Shabazz the OG
Yes, extremely big Muslim community.
- [23:05]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Okay.
- [23:06]
Dinora
Wow.
- [23:06]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
So what made you. I mean, was that the reason why.
- [23:08]
Dinora
You were.
- [23:11]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Interested in converting to Muslims.
- [23:12]
Shabazz the OG
Not even I had a girlfriend at the time, and I was getting money with her brothers and I was getting money with her cousins, and they were Muslim. So they introduced me to Islam. They introduced me to Islam. And just over the course of time, the more mature I got, the more I resonated with Islam. My life, it was just granted, Islam is a very disciplined religion, just like being a Jehovah's Witness. However, I believe Islam just came into my life at the right time. Because the things that you shouldn't do as a Jehovah's Witness, you shouldn't do as a Muslim either. You understand me? But I think. And me and my mother had these conversations, you know, later in life that, you know, she wished she would have did a few things differently. But I told her, look, you don't owe no explanations, no excuses, no apologies, because you gave us the best that you had, which in which. And what you knew how to do with what you had. But that being said, I think it's important, even when you're teaching your children religion and have them in religion, I think it's still important to still identify with your child as an individual and don't make it so much about the religion, the religion of religion. You can't do this. You can't. Because what will happen is that's where the rebellion comes in. Because again, in terms of religion and practices and conduct and codes of behavior, Jehovah Witnesses and Muslims are similar. Like, Jehovah Witnesses don't celebrate any holidays. Muslims don't celebrate any holidays. Jehovah's Witnesses don't believe in smoking. Muslims don't. Jehovah Witnesses believe in drinking a little alcohol, though. Muslims. Muslims don't.
- [24:59]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [25:00]
Shabazz the OG
You know, so. But in terms of just resonating, Islam started to resonate. I started to resonate with Islam. It's. I started to. Islam is what gave me a conscience.
- [25:12]
Dinora
Wow. Oh, yeah.
- [25:13]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Because. Yeah, I can see that that's what happened.
- [25:16]
Shabazz the OG
To sum it all up, Islam is what gave me a conscience. Islam established my conscious awareness of how you treat people, what you should do, what you shouldn't do. Although you're not perfect, strive for perfection, you know, be accountable for your actions, you know, know when you've done right, knowing you've done wrong, and always carry pure intentions, even though that's who I, you know, profess to be as an individual, Islam amplified that for me.
- [25:44]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Got you.
- [25:45]
Dinora
Okay.
- [25:45]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
That's what's up. At what point in this journey in the streets and doing what you're doing? Did you end up getting locked up at one point you got jammed up a bit.
- [25:56]
Shabazz the OG
Quite a few bits. Not a bit. A few bits that started at 12.
- [26:04]
Dinora
What.
- [26:07]
Shabazz the OG
My mother told me. And we'll get to that in that book when I was seven.
- [26:14]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [26:14]
Shabazz the OG
That you're gonna learn everything the hard way because you don't listen.
- [26:18]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [26:18]
Shabazz the OG
So I was hard headed growing up and I was 12, on my way from the dentist. And my mother used to always tell me about throwing rocks and playing with fire. So those. I don't know what my infatuation with rocks and fire was, but I was coming from the dentist one day and I was just. I was by myself walking down Woodland Avenue and I was throwing the rock in the air, throwing up, catching it. Innocent, so I thought. But the higher I threw it and caught it, the higher I threw it again, you know, tested myself. Well, one time the rock got away from me, came down, hit a windshield of a moving car. And it was an off duty cop, white dude, he jumped out, pissed, gave me the business, threw me against the gate, called the paddy wagon and they locked me up.
- [27:04]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
So is patty wagon a Philly word?
- [27:06]
Shabazz the OG
Yes.
- [27:07]
Dinora
Okay.
- [27:07]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Cuz that's what me had said in Dre and Knife man.
- [27:10]
Shabazz the OG
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, the patty wagon. So the patty wagon, for those that don't know, is the van.
- [27:15]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
I was gonna wait until I could get it.
- [27:17]
Shabazz the OG
Yeah, yeah, the paddy wagon. The paddy wagon is the police. The actual van that they put you in the back of.
- [27:25]
Dinora
Okay.
- [27:26]
Shabazz the OG
So we call that the paddy wagon.
- [27:28]
Dinora
Wow.
- [27:28]
Shabazz the OG
And so they put me in the paddy wagon and took me to the precinct. And I never forget, my mother was getting ready to go to one of her meetings, you know. Yes. She was on her way to get. When they called her between the meetings.
- [27:41]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Now, you know you in trouble listening.
- [27:43]
Shabazz the OG
She didn't come. There is no coming in between of the meetings. She told him I'll. She told him, I have something to do. I'll be there afterwards. Look, after she left me there until she went to the kingdom. Yeah, she left me there until after her meeting. And when she came, she didn't let him open the door, she didn't let him open the gate. I was in the cell and she did not let him open the cell immediately. She stood on the other side of the cell and she said, what'd I tell you about throwing rocks?
- [28:14]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
I knew you had to say that because every. Mom, what'd I tell you?
- [28:17]
Shabazz the OG
What I tell you about throwing rocks? Like she didn't care that I was Locked up. She didn't like my mother. And that's why I'm the way I am to this day. People don't really understand the meaning of standing on business. Like, that's just a cool new word for a lot of people. I stand on the business that I stand on because that's how my mother was. If my mother said, don't leave this house and you go outside and get hit by a car and get your leg broke by a drunk driver, what did I say? She gonna be mad at the drunk driver later. Yeah. Don't even worry about him. What he get from being drunk. Oh, okay. Well, y' all handle that.
- [28:50]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [28:51]
Shabazz the OG
You. What did I tell you before I left this house?
- [28:55]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Don't leave this house.
- [28:57]
Shabazz the OG
If you didn't go outside, your leg wouldn't be broken. I don't care about that man being drunk.
- [29:02]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [29:02]
Shabazz the OG
I care about you not doing what I told you to do. Every action has a reaction when you don't listen.
- [29:11]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
That's real.
- [29:12]
Shabazz the OG
And I learned that the hard way. And that's. And that was the beginning of me going to prison because I had, in my. So I switched infatuations. I went from rocks and fire to guns.
- [29:25]
Dinora
Oh, wow.
- [29:26]
Shabazz the OG
And I just. I had a thing for. Well, I take that back, because before rocks and fire, guns was my first love. But at five, when my mother became a Jehovah's Witness, I used to have this gun set. I had the pants, the chaps that go over your pants. I had some green ones. I had a vest, a hat, and two six shooters. That was my everyday outfit after I came home from kindergarten.
- [29:55]
Dinora
Wow.
- [29:55]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Oh.
- [29:56]
Shabazz the OG
So I come home one day ready to suit up.
- [29:59]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [30:01]
Shabazz the OG
My materials is nowhere to be found.
- [30:06]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
5 years old. Where is my.
- [30:08]
Shabazz the OG
Yeah, I'm. Maybe it's. So my mother, see? So I inquire, you know, about my items. She tell me it's in the trash.
- [30:21]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
What you mean, it's in the trash, mama?
- [30:24]
Shabazz the OG
Right? What do you mean, in the trash? Yeah, why she says jehovah don't like guns. First of all, who is Jehovah? That's the first thing. Second thing, what does he have against my guns and my outfit?
- [30:38]
Dinora
Right.
- [30:39]
Shabazz the OG
What do you mean, it's in the trash? So I go and get it out the trash. She puts it back in the trash. And this is my introduction. That's probably why I didn't like being a Jehovah Witness, because it didn't start. Right.
- [30:51]
Dinora
Right.
- [30:51]
Shabazz the OG
We got off to a bad start.
- [30:54]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Took my guns away.
- [30:55]
Shabazz the OG
Took my gun. I'M talking about the whole whole nine. Put the whole situation in the trash because she done went off and started studying the Bible with. With. I never forget Sister Jordan. As y' all can see, I got a very good memory about my past. You do. Sister Jordan then wrote my mom into this new belief. And it's affecting me tremendously.
- [31:17]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Yeah, I like it.
- [31:19]
Shabazz the OG
Wasn't feeling it. Yeah. So, you know, that's. We got off to a bad start.
- [31:24]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [31:24]
Shabazz the OG
And so fast forward, you know, when I was probably. This is probably 91. 91 is when I. When I reconvene with the guns.
- [31:35]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [31:36]
Shabazz the OG
But they was real ones this time.
- [31:37]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [31:38]
Shabazz the OG
And I was getting caught and. And it was the craziest thing because I was unlucky with them, you know, But I just kept carrying them. So I got locked up with a gun, going to court. While I'm out on bail, going to court for that gun, I get locked up with another one. So now I'm going to court for two guns. Then I get locked up with a third one. Now I'm going to court for three guns at one time or three open gun cases. I had a really good lawyer, though. Gerald Stein. Gerald Stein and Fred Perry. They, you know, was able to get the gun charges all consolidated to one charge. And I got probation. Okay, cool. Got probation. That was in 91. 92. Right. Fast forward to 96. I get locked up again with another gun, but this time I'm in Jersey. Now, I had done the Philly probation and all of that, but I got locked up in Jersey, in Camden. And when they saw my jacket from Pennsylvania, they ain't play with me. They gave me three years off the rip. It's like we you not even ready to come over. Philadelphia gave you probation and you had three guns that now we not even ready to start playing with you.
- [32:50]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [32:51]
Shabazz the OG
So they gave me Jersey, gave me three years, and I went to prison.
- [32:54]
Dinora
Wow.
- [32:55]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
What was that like?
- [32:56]
Shabazz the OG
Awful.
- [32:57]
Dinora
Oh, my gosh.
- [32:58]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Cuz we see it on tv, but awful. We don't know what it's like to really be in there.
- [33:02]
Shabazz the OG
N. It's, you know, what it is. And what I learned, I learned quickly that it's not necessarily the amount of time that you do. It's the conditions that you have to succumb to.
- [33:16]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [33:17]
Shabazz the OG
And be faced with and deal with. So, you know, they gave me three years, but I did 14 months in. Sixteen months on intense, super supervised parole and, you know, finished it all. But the conditions.
- [33:31]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [33:31]
Shabazz the OG
Like being in 14 months, being in 6 different facilities wow. You know, just, you know, from this place to that place and then falling under a federal investigation then being. You can't be in. I was in a minimum security camp. You can't be in the. You can't be in a minimum security facility if you have an open investigation. So they have to take you out of there and take me to the. To the. To the main prison. The main prison, which was East Jersey State Prison system at Railway, was the, like, the control center for all the smaller camps and other jails in the surrounding area. But because I wasn't sentenced to that jail, they didn't have nowhere to house me, so they had to put me in the hole.
- [34:18]
Dinora
What?
- [34:18]
Shabazz the OG
I mean, the hole for two months. Oh, I'm in the hole for two months while the feds do this investigation. You know, so it's like. It's just the conditions, you know, what I had to endure in those 14 months was enough. It was enough to make me know, like, this just ain't it. Not for me. You know, and again, you know, it's hard to break old habits. So when I did come home from prison eventually, at some point in time, you know, jump back outside again right after. But right when you met me is really when I came off the tail end, because it just. You made me.07. So January 06. January 06. I got locked up. I got locked up. I got caught in the middle of a. Was under surveillance. Didn't know it. Got caught in the middle of a, you know, transaction. And what wound up happening is the cops never came to court. They took money from me. They. They took money, but they stole some. They didn't put all the money on the property receipt. So the money that they stole, they didn't record it on the. On the property. And then they never came to court, so I ended up beating that case. And that was 2006. That was my last time in handcuffs.
- [35:46]
Dinora
Wow.
- [35:47]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
You have not looked back since.
- [35:48]
Shabazz the OG
No, no, no, no, no. Because I would have really been disappointed in myself had I went to prison for that, because I would have did a significant amount of time. 1, 2. Would have been like, damn, you know, you don't like jail.
- [36:07]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Yeah, right. Why do you keep doing this? Right?
- [36:09]
Shabazz the OG
You know you don't like this.
- [36:10]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [36:11]
Shabazz the OG
You know you don't like jail. So, like, why is you playing? Yeah, so, you know, I just. I just decided that I was just going, you know, do. Do what it took, but do other things that it took. Like, I just wasn't gonna keep playing with these people. Man.
- [36:28]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
At all.
- [36:28]
Shabazz the OG
Because they will give you a thousand years.
- [36:30]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [36:30]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
No, with no. And not blinking eye.
- [36:32]
Shabazz the OG
Yeah, they were. I was talking to Wallow the other day, man. Wallow was talking, and. And, you know, he was talking about the young. And it's like. Like I told Low, like, we got to remind them that Wallow didn't do the last 20 years.
- [36:44]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Right.
- [36:44]
Shabazz the OG
They still got another 20 tucked away. If you need 20, they got 20 for you. He didn't do. Wallow didn't do the last 20 years in prison system, right? They got 20 for you. They got 20 for you. You need 20, they got 20 for you, right? Yeah, they got some 20s to go around.
- [37:00]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
They do.
- [37:01]
Shabazz the OG
You know what I mean? And they don't mind giving them to you with a ribbon on it, right?
- [37:04]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [37:05]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
You know, being that you've been incarcerated, do you do anything with people that. Like youth that are locked up or.
- [37:11]
Shabazz the OG
Yeah, the most recent was. Was it August? My last. My last prison. No, actually, no. My most recent was in Quincy, Florida, right outside of Tallahassee. I went to the. To the. To the county jail there, where a lot of guys. Some guys are doing county time, but a lot of guys have violent crimes, and they were waiting to be sentenced and sent upstate. And that was an extremely, extremely good visit in the sense of I was able to resonate with the guys, you know, despite their circumstances. And the administration really like the visit because I just have a way with interaction and I have a way with words, and I have a way with communicating with people to make everybody feel like they matter, despite the circumstances. And one of the women who were there, and when she spoke to me afterwards, she said, you know, a lot of people have come through these doors, but I've never seen anybody hold their attention like that. And, you know, and I was told that back in 2017, when I went to a new facility in St. Louis, it was like, yo, you really are good at this. Like, you really know how to keep their attention and talk. Because this. And it's because I'm not. I'm not stuffy, I'm not preachy. You know, I might go in there, dress just like this, with shoes untied, you know, because I just want to be relatable but effective.
- [38:45]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [38:46]
Shabazz the OG
And I'm talking to. And not at.
- [38:49]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Right.
- [38:50]
Shabazz the OG
So when I go to these. Even when I was in Quincy, they had me do a community event after I left the prison. And, you know, one of the most illest things that ever happened since I've been speaking is a 9 year old girl came up to me after we was finished and she cried in my aunt 9 and said, everything you said to me, everything you said today changed my whole life. I'm like, wow, nine. You don't even have a whole life yet.
- [39:20]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Right, Right.
- [39:21]
Shabazz the OG
You got a nine year old life.
- [39:22]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Imagine what she's been through.
- [39:24]
Shabazz the OG
That's what, that's what, that's what, that's what, that's what resonated with me so much. Imagine what this girl has gone through. To be nine years old and cry and tell me that what I said changed her life.
- [39:38]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [39:38]
Shabazz the OG
So those are the things that's important to me. So, yes, I do go to these facilities, from youth to adults, from elementary schools to universities. I've spoken to second graders and I've spoken at Kennesaw State.
- [39:54]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [39:55]
Shabazz the OG
Morehouse twice. You know, that's my range.
- [39:59]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [40:00]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
That's amazing. I love that. So the world knows you as Shabazz the og, Right? You have taken your social media platform to spread positivity. You talk about current events and give your opinion on them. What brought that about? And at what moment did you realize, hey, I've got a following. I have a voice as well.
- [40:18]
Shabazz the OG
Oh, back to our good friend, Meek Mill.
- [40:22]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Shout out, Robert.
- [40:23]
Shabazz the OG
You know what I'm saying, Mr. Williams. You dig? Yeah. Meek was the first person to repost one of my videos.
- [40:32]
Dinora
Wow.
- [40:33]
Shabazz the OG
Meek is my.
- [40:33]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
What's up, Rahmeek?
- [40:34]
Shabazz the OG
Meek is my first repost.
- [40:36]
Dinora
He.
- [40:38]
Shabazz the OG
It was May, I Never forget was May 2016. And the video was about male groupies. And you know, when we started to witness this new phenomenon of the guys wanting to be in the pictures in the VIP section more than the girls.
- [40:56]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Pushing them off the couch.
- [40:57]
Dinora
Move.
- [40:58]
Shabazz the OG
But that's what the video was. Yeah, the video was about. Y' all are coming in the VIP section, pushing the girls out the way so y' all can sneak selfies and stand next to rappers and ball players. And I said, I remember it was like the cha cha. We need y' all to move to.
- [41:15]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
The left, slide to the right, swing.
- [41:18]
Shabazz the OG
It in, and let these girls get in here in this VIP section. Man. Get out the way.
- [41:23]
Dinora
Right?
- [41:23]
Shabazz the OG
So at that time, what I was doing and the way I was doing it was different and refreshing. Cause it was like it was coming from a street, dude. And it was being delivered exactly the way it was happening.
- [41:36]
Dinora
Yes.
- [41:37]
Shabazz the OG
So Meek was the first person to repost. And he reposted a few more times. And then my man Mike Gardner, I think he reached out the baller alert Shout out to my homie Robin.
- [41:52]
Dinora
Yes.
- [41:52]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
We love you, Robin Lyon.
- [41:56]
Shabazz the OG
He had, I think he reached out the ball alert for them to repost, something that he resonated with. And it just kept catching.
- [42:02]
Dinora
It did.
- [42:03]
Shabazz the OG
It just kept catching. But what happened is, in terms of the place of responsibility and progressiveness, I started to realize that it was a place of advice and to be responsible. In the beginning, it was like I was standing on the corner of 52nd and Parkside. That's how my mouth was.
- [42:26]
Dinora
Right.
- [42:27]
Shabazz the OG
But then I started getting women in my DM asking advice, men about their relationships. And I remember a 17 year old kid from Illinois reached out to me in my DM and said that he didn't have a big brother, he didn't have a dad, but he watches my Instagram every day. And all the advice that he can get, he gets it from me.
- [42:51]
Dinora
Wow.
- [42:52]
Shabazz the OG
And that's when it started to change. And then one day I called Q. I called Q and I was like, yo, I think I found my purpose. He said, what you mean? I said, dog, this Instagram thing, I say this. I said, it's feeling different.
- [43:12]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [43:12]
Shabazz the OG
I said, too many people reaching out to me, telling me what I'm doing.
- [43:15]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [43:17]
Shabazz the OG
Mean something to them. I said, I'm. I said, this ain't no gimmick. I'm on to something.
- [43:22]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [43:23]
Shabazz the OG
And he was like, baz, he said, do you understand how powerful what you just said is? And you know me. No, I don't. I don't know right now. I'm just telling you what I'm noticing. And he said, no bass. People go their whole life and don't discover their purpose and why they're here. Seriously, like, a lot of people don't know what they're here for. And I'm like, okay. It didn't sink in then, but as time went on and the more people who reached out, the more people who asked for advice, the more people who saw me in the street, saw me in the airport. Can I take a. I'm like, wait a minute, what's going on around here with this Instagram?
- [44:09]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
With this Instagram? This is.
- [44:11]
Shabazz the OG
I'm getting treated like a rapper outside, you know, But. But it just goes to show the power of technology.
- [44:20]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Absolutely.
- [44:20]
Shabazz the OG
Because it's people as far as Nigeria, England.
- [44:25]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [44:26]
Shabazz the OG
There's people everywhere that follow my page and they DM me. And see, the thing about it is I DM everybody back.
- [44:33]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Oh, you talk. That's good. You talk to everybody.
- [44:36]
Shabazz the OG
Everybody. Like, they know I respond to every dm like, that's my job.
- [44:39]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
That's what's up.
- [44:40]
Dinora
Right?
- [44:40]
Shabazz the OG
I'm a dm, right? Yeah. I'm a. That's. What did you do for. I respond to DMs. You know, I respond to DMs. And so it just. It continued. And the more it went that way, the more I realized I could still be me.
- [44:57]
Dinora
Yep.
- [44:57]
Shabazz the OG
I could still be raw, I could still be uncut. But I don't have to be abrasive. I don't have to be vulgar. I don't have to use, you know, profanity in the sense of, you know, just vulgar and vile words. You know, I had to learn that part, but I'm glad I learned it myself. No one ever had to say to me, hey, you know, you don't. But once you tone it down a little.
- [45:17]
Dinora
Right.
- [45:19]
Shabazz the OG
I discovered that on my own, I trained myself to say, like, nah, you know, stop using the N word so much. Definitely kind of abandoned the B word. Like, that's really not.
- [45:29]
Dinora
Let that go.
- [45:30]
Shabazz the OG
That's really not a good one.
- [45:31]
Dinora
Right.
- [45:35]
Shabazz the OG
You know, so is it. But, you know. Yeah, to the right. You know what I mean? And so. And then Instagram Live, I went live every Single day at 8 o'. Clock.
- [45:48]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
I remember that.
- [45:48]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [45:49]
Shabazz the OG
For about three years, every night.
- [45:51]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [45:52]
Shabazz the OG
It was like a TV show.
- [45:53]
Dinora
Yeah, it was.
- [45:54]
Shabazz the OG
You know what I mean? So, you know, so these are the things that, you know, that brought us to where we are now. I mean, now I'm shadow banned. Cause I talk too real.
- [46:04]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
All right, now you do, too.
- [46:05]
Shabazz the OG
Hey, ho, ho. Now he's. He's leading the people a little too much now.
- [46:08]
Dinora
Right.
- [46:09]
Shabazz the OG
You know, he's a little too influential.
- [46:10]
Dinora
Right.
- [46:11]
Shabazz the OG
You know, and unfortunately, that's where we are now. Like, the more positive you are, the kind of less you're being seen, depending on, you know. You know what your algorithm is looking like, Dinora?
- [46:21]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
It's the algorithm.
- [46:23]
Shabazz the OG
You say, ogo rhythm, the algo. No rhythm. They giving you no rhythm.
- [46:27]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
No rhythm at all.
- [46:28]
Shabazz the OG
They don't want you to have no rhythm now. You know, but, yeah, I'm. I'm past. I'm beyond. How many followers? I'm beyond, you know, a blue check.
- [46:38]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [46:39]
Shabazz the OG
Because it's too late. The people know now.
- [46:42]
Dinora
They do know.
- [46:42]
Shabazz the OG
The people know. You know, I'm outside, you know, I'm on platforms, I'm on couches. I'm being guest, you know, making guest appearances. And so the word is out. You know, they're day late in the dollar short.
- [46:55]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
They too, you know, yeah.
- [46:56]
Shabazz the OG
I've been at 208,000 followers for eight months.
- [47:00]
Dinora
Oh, wow.
- [47:00]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
You are lying.
- [47:01]
Shabazz the OG
Dead serious.
- [47:02]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Oh, that's the algorithm I've been at.
- [47:04]
Shabazz the OG
No lie. I've been at 208,000 followers since August. So what's August? From August to now, however many months.
- [47:10]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
That is crazy.
- [47:12]
Shabazz the OG
Yeah. My followers have not moved.
- [47:14]
Dinora
Oh, yeah. You definitely.
- [47:16]
Shabazz the OG
You know. But, hey, again, way too late. I'm here now. I'm here with sis, Right. You know, I mean, we'll get some. We'll get a few off of this, I'm sure.
- [47:26]
Dinora
Yes, you got.
- [47:27]
Shabazz the OG
You will.
- [47:28]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Because my people, they definitely support. So I want to talk about something a little personal. How we have. You helped me through my journey because.
- [47:35]
Shabazz the OG
Everybody, drum roll, please. Get into the real thing now. Speed, Dale, speed dial.
- [47:42]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Listen, you say so many people DM you for advice and relationship advice.
- [47:48]
Shabazz the OG
Yes.
- [47:48]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Since I have known you and we've grown close, you are the one that I call to this day about anything. And you always pick anything. Anything.
- [48:02]
Shabazz the OG
It's two people. You and Lonnie.
- [48:04]
Dinora
Yeah. Yes.
- [48:05]
Shabazz the OG
You and Lonnie. They. They. I have to remind y', all, I am me. I'm a. I'm brother. I don't want to know everything. Stop talking to me like I'm one of the girls.
- [48:17]
Dinora
Girls.
- [48:17]
Shabazz the OG
Like, goodness gracious, spare me something. I get it all. Like, carry on.
- [48:26]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Carry on. Okay, so there has been times where I have been, like, angry, and I can call you, and you'll either talk me off a ledge or be like, what I need to do. Like.
- [48:38]
Shabazz the OG
Yeah, you're like, only two. Two. Two solutions. And that's.
- [48:41]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [48:42]
Shabazz the OG
What do I need to do? Or how can I reroute your emotions right now?
- [48:46]
Dinora
Exactly.
- [48:47]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
And I love you for that. So, lastly, I want to talk about your book, Flip youp Life.
- [48:52]
Shabazz the OG
Yeah.
- [48:52]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
I'm so proud.
- [48:53]
Shabazz the OG
Had to do that.
- [48:54]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Had to do that.
- [48:55]
Shabazz the OG
The book and the flip. Had to do the book and the flip.
- [48:59]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
For real. And then did the book.
- [49:00]
Dinora
Thank you.
- [49:01]
Shabazz the OG
Yeah, yeah, yeah. If I didn't flip, the book couldn't have came.
- [49:04]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [49:04]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Exactly. What prompted you say, hey, I need to write a book?
- [49:09]
Shabazz the OG
Believe it or not, the book idea started when I was locked up. So the book idea started in 1998.
- [49:16]
Dinora
Wow.
- [49:17]
Shabazz the OG
In jail, bored. Prison, actually. In prison, bored. I took the yellow notepad, started writing. That got old quick, didn't complete it, Moved on to something else. Fast forward to 2017, 18. The idea revisited me because I felt like, now it's time. I got a lot under my belt now I'VE done a lot, seen a lot, been through a lot. And now, now, now there's a story to tell.
- [49:57]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [49:59]
Shabazz the OG
If I would have did it in 98, it would have been a bunch of glorified street shit. And I didn't want that.
- [50:05]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [50:06]
Shabazz the OG
Which is what I did not do. So what I did, the foundation of the book is based on what my mother said about being hard headed. You're gonna learn everything the hard way because you don't listen. So the book is compiled of situations and the outcomes of me not listening.
- [50:28]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [50:29]
Shabazz the OG
From her to me not listening to my friends that told me, stop carrying those guns.
- [50:33]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [50:34]
Shabazz the OG
The book. The book came at a time where I felt like I had enough experience and the social media was really bubbling and starting to really bubble. But I realized that a lot of people didn't know where I came from. They were like, who is this guy? Yeah, he just fell out the sky with all this game he talking. Right. But who is he? Who is he and why do all these celebrities know him? He's not a rapper.
- [51:04]
Dinora
Right.
- [51:04]
Shabazz the OG
He not a singer. We don't know him, but. We don't know him. But it seemed like everybody else know him. What are we missing?
- [51:11]
Dinora
Right?
- [51:12]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Exactly.
- [51:12]
Shabazz the OG
So what I did with the book, the book, again, is a compilation of my experiences from not listening to some of the things that I talk about on social media. How to interact with the police, the importance of duality with co parenting and being respectful even when the relationship is over, and accepting that your child's father or your child's mother has someone new in their life that's going to be around your child, how you should conduct yourself. Like all of that's in the book. So it gave people a bird's eye view of. Okay, this is who he is. This is where he comes from. And this is why what he says resonates so much, because it's really authentic.
- [51:56]
Dinora
Right.
- [51:56]
Shabazz the OG
He didn't Google this stuff. He be telling us he went through this stuff. He really lived this.
- [52:00]
Dinora
I love that.
- [52:00]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
I love that. Make sure you guys get the book, please. Please get the book, please.
- [52:05]
Shabazz the OG
Cuz. Y' all know I'll go back in them streets, right? No, I won't.
- [52:08]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
We don't want that.
- [52:09]
Shabazz the OG
No, I won't. But I do want y' all to get that book, though.
- [52:12]
Dinora
Yes.
- [52:13]
Shabazz the OG
Don't pay these bills.
- [52:14]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
I know. That's right, brother. I appreciate you.
- [52:17]
Shabazz the OG
No, for sure. I mean, this is, this is, this is. This was. I'm happy about this.
- [52:22]
Dinora
Me too.
- [52:23]
Shabazz the OG
I'm just not just Me being here. I'm just happy about this.
- [52:26]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Oh, thank you.
- [52:28]
Shabazz the OG
This.
- [52:28]
Dinora
Thank you.
- [52:28]
Shabazz the OG
This is so cool, man.
- [52:30]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Yes, I appreciate it.
- [52:31]
Shabazz the OG
Yeah, this is super cool.
- [52:33]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Thank you. Right now we're gonna do. My favorite part of the show is called Positive Outcomes, where the listeners write in and we give them advice. So I'm going to read a letter from one of our listeners, and I'm going to let you give advice because the best it says, hi, Crystal. I wasn't raised in the church the same way. I hear others speak about their experiences. Even still, I always knew God. And most of my life, I've only had God to depend on. In my younger years, God was all I needed. But as I grow older, I feel like my faith is decreasing in ways that I never struggled before. I'm 25 years old, and I've been on my own since the age of 17. God continues to sustain me and provide for me, but I'm lacking some key loving parents, a community, a college education, financial literacy, etc. Last year, I was blessed with most of my prayers being answered, while losing everything I already had. Starting over was a very humbling experience. I expected 25 to be a great year, if not my best year. And I often wonder if it was something I did that caused this on me. I love God with all my heart, and it breaks my heart that I feel this way. However, I know God has me because only he can sustain a person that lacks all these things. And considering my upbringing, I'm doing well for myself. How do you find the hustle within your pain? What does the balance between knowing you're blessed but also suffering look like? I look at you and I'm inspired because I know it's not easy. I. I need to get back on my feet, and I truly believe that I need to work harder and release myself from the victim mindset. But I just don't know how or where to start. Please help. Okay, let's see, let's see.
- [54:18]
Shabazz the OG
You know what I notice when a lot of people ask for advice, and this young lady included, a lot of people don't realize they answer their own question.
- [54:28]
Dinora
You.
- [54:29]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
That's crazy. Tyler said the same thing when he was like, read it back. And he was like, she answered her own question in the question.
- [54:35]
Shabazz the OG
Oh, wow.
- [54:35]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
No, that's.
- [54:36]
Shabazz the OG
Yeah, see, tp. So what that means is, you know, me and you need to get together, have an executive sit down. Cause that means we think alike, which means I should be on that type of paper wave that you want, you know, my money My money running low. So we'll talk soon, P. T. But no, she answered her own question because she has the faith. She has the faith. She understands who's in control. She understands. She has that understanding. What she has to do is stay acclimated to the patience and the belief. The belief of what she knows to be true. Right. Meaning she believes in God. She knows that God is in control. So she has to be patient. But what I like to tell people, be patient, but be patient in motion. Don't be patient and stagnant. Don't be patient and still be patient, but still have movement. Because what she's going through is, in my opinion, she's not looking inside herself and being okay with what her success may be. I tell people, don't reject your reality chasing what may be someone else's fantasy. A lot of people look at other people's lives and they minimize their own.
- [56:08]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [56:08]
Shabazz the OG
She said her. She named a couple different spots in there where she's blessed.
- [56:12]
Dinora
Yeah. Yeah.
- [56:15]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Answered prayer.
- [56:16]
Shabazz the OG
So sometimes, and this is very important for people to understand face sometimes our success is we are able to pay the bills. We did wake up today. We're not running from bill collectors. We are in good health. Our family structure is okay. Now I understand there were spots where she wished she had a better relationship. Loving parents, you know, Loving parents.
- [56:46]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [56:47]
Shabazz the OG
In a community. But she has to understand those are people.
- [56:50]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Come on, now.
- [56:51]
Shabazz the OG
Parents are people. And sometimes, you know, blood makes you related. Loyalty makes you family.
- [57:01]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [57:01]
Shabazz the OG
And unfortunately, sometimes people have these issues, you know, with their parents, with their siblings. And I would never tell anybody to sever ties with Kith and Ken. However, I will say that when people, whether you are family members or not, when they make your life difficult, you have a right.
- [57:23]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [57:24]
Shabazz the OG
To not intertwine yourself in negativity. So whatever you have to do to preserve yourself, especially when it comes to parents. Respectfully.
- [57:33]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [57:35]
Shabazz the OG
You know, you still have a duty to be respectful even if you had the worst parents in the world. And if you have to. And if you have to respect them by staying away from them.
- [57:44]
Dinora
Right.
- [57:44]
Shabazz the OG
Do that. But what I believe this young lady should do is identify all her pluses.
- [57:51]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [57:52]
Shabazz the OG
Let's put our minuses to the side. Look at all your pluses, compare them to your minuses. I guarantee you the minuses will be something that somebody else has that she thinks she should have always.
- [58:07]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Nine times out of 10, it is.
- [58:09]
Shabazz the OG
Nine times out of 10, the minus is, I don't have this over there, and I think I should.
- [58:14]
Dinora
Right.
- [58:15]
Shabazz the OG
Meanwhile, I could find a multitude of people. You can take her life exactly as it is right now. And they'll think they living like the Princess of Wales.
- [58:26]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
No, it's so crazy, because a lot like you can. My mom used to always tell me, is somebody out there that is doing much. You think you're having a bad day, honey? Somebody wishes.
- [58:39]
Shabazz the OG
Let me say this, and I'm gonna sit up a little bit because this is very important. It's like what you just said. There's somebody else that's going through much more. But here's what a lot of people will do. Face Shabazz. That's easy for you. You live in Miami in the penthouse, and you drive this and you, Crystal. That's easy for you to say. You did this and you got that and you on tv. This is what people forget. They forget what they don't know. They don't know Shabazz lived in a crack house for 10 months. They don't know Shabazz lived in another crack house after that and used to wake up smacking roaches off his face. They don't know what you went through for order, for this to become your blessing.
- [59:26]
Dinora
They don't.
- [59:28]
Shabazz the OG
You understand me? So when. So people will think it's easy for us to be encouraging. It's easy for us to say we got faith. No, we are encouraging and we have faith because our lives are testaments of what being faithful brings. Because I know mine is.
- [59:47]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [59:47]
Shabazz the OG
That's why I stick with what I do. This is why I stick to speaking engagements. This is why I stick to motivation, because that's my job. I don't know where the money coming from sometime, y'. All. I don't have a salary.
- [60:02]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [60:03]
Shabazz the OG
You understand me?
- [60:04]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [60:04]
Shabazz the OG
You know, I don't have a salary. I don't know, you know, if I'm gonna make 100,000 this year or if I'm gonna make 50. But what I do know is as long or what I believe.
- [60:13]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [60:14]
Shabazz the OG
What I do believe is, is that as long as I do what I'm doing, I'll continue to receive what I've been receiving. So I stay the course. This young lady, she has to figure out, again, going back to purpose. Are you operating within your purpose? So take your pluses, sweetheart, and put your pluses on the table.
- [60:37]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [60:37]
Shabazz the OG
Set your minuses aside. Because if you concentrate on what your good at and what you're blessed at, that'll get too much. That'll get so much attention that what you don't have won't even matter because you'll be fulfilled over here.
- [60:50]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [60:51]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
That's real.
- [60:52]
Dinora
I love it.
- [60:52]
Shabazz the OG
She's looking for fulfillment.
- [60:53]
Dinora
She is.
- [60:54]
Shabazz the OG
But she should concentrate on what's going right.
- [60:57]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [60:57]
Shabazz the OG
Because the things that's going wrong are maybe not necessarily wrong. It may not be meant.
- [61:03]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Oh, that was the word. I like that.
- [61:05]
Shabazz the OG
It might not be meant.
- [61:07]
Dinora
That's good. Thank you.
- [61:09]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
I don't have nothing to add to that.
- [61:11]
Dinora
That was good.
- [61:11]
Shabazz the OG
Pass the bath. Only one time passed the bass.
- [61:19]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
All right, we're gonna do what I'm going through and what I'm growing through.
- [61:23]
Shabazz the OG
Okay.
- [61:24]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
And right now in life, I am. There's so much going on. I have a lot on my plate right now, so. Juggling things, managing my anxiety. I was talking to Dinora today about being in. She's in a season of surrender, and I need to surrender some things myself and completely let it go and pray on some things. But right now, I am trying to manage everything and manage this anxiety because it wasn't until last year that I realized I even had anxiety. But just keeping that under control and understanding that I have everything I need, I like nothing and just. Just letting God take it. Because a lot of times we put more on ourselves than we have to, and I'm very guilty of that.
- [62:09]
Shabazz the OG
Yes.
- [62:10]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
What about you?
- [62:14]
Shabazz the OG
Shockingly, the same thing, really. I just never had an attack, but I worry.
- [62:21]
Dinora
Yeah.
- [62:22]
Shabazz the OG
I be anxious because sometimes you just don't know you're unsure.
- [62:33]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
All right, lastly, we're gonna do Keep it Blank, sweetie. And for this episode, I'm going to say, keep it 100, sweetie. Keep it 100.
- [62:45]
Shabazz the OG
Keep it accountable, sweetie.
- [62:47]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Come on now.
- [62:48]
Shabazz the OG
Yeah. Keep it accountable.
- [62:49]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
I love it.
- [62:50]
Shabazz the OG
Yeah.
- [62:50]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Everybody. My big brother, Shabazz. Thank you so much.
- [62:53]
Dinora
So much.
- [62:54]
Shabazz the OG
Thanks for having me. Thank you. This was a. This is. This was a jewel and a gym and a box of jewelry.
- [63:00]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
I love it.
- [63:00]
Shabazz the OG
I love this. Thanks for having me.
- [63:02]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
Absolutely. Thank you. And thank you guys for tuning in. If you want to write into our positive outcome listener letter, write into keepitpositivesweetiemail.com and that's Sweetie with an IE. You can follow me on all platforms at lovechristal. Renee. And that's L U V. Krystal. Renee. Shabazz, tell the people where they can find you.
- [63:20]
Shabazz the OG
Ooh, I almost said so. I ain't got no business saying.
- [63:25]
Dinora
Don'T do that.
- [63:26]
Shabazz the OG
You can find me at Shabazz, the OG S H A B A Z Z T H E O G On Instagram. I'm not real on a lot of other social platforms. However, I do have a podcast named after the book Flip youp Life, and you can subscribe to that@tmt digitalnetwork.com I love it.
- [63:44]
Krystal Renee Hayslett
All right, make sure you guys tap in with him. In the meantime, in between time, you know what to do. Keep it positive, sweetie. Love y'.
- [63:51]
Shabazz the OG
All.