INTERVIEW: Nick Grant Talks 'Smile,' Bars & Books,' J.I.D,. TDE. Interest In Screenwriting + More

Summary

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The Breakfast Club – Interview with Nick Grant

Podcast: The Breakfast Club, The Black Effect Podcast Network & iHeartPodcasts
Episode: Nick Grant Talks 'Smile,' Bars & Books,' J.I.D, TDE, Interest In Screenwriting + More
Date: June 10, 2026
Hosts: DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne Tha God, Lauren LaRose
Guest: Nick Grant

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Episode Overview

In this heartfelt and candid episode, The Breakfast Club welcomes rapper Nick Grant to discuss his new album Smile, navigating grief, artistic growth, the realities of the music industry, his independent journey, and his budding interest in screenwriting and storytelling. Nick opens up about deeply personal losses, the pressures and expectations in hip hop, and the importance of mental health, all while maintaining his trademark humility and wit. The conversation highlights the artist's determination to stay true to himself and his creative vision.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Making of 'Smile' and Dealing with Grief

• Personal Loss Driving the Album Theme

  • Nick explains the album title Smile is a self-reminder to find light after a tumultuous year where he lost three close people (sister, cousin Young Scooter, and a childhood friend).
    • “I'm telling myself to smile ‘cause last year was very, very hectic—a lot of ups and downs.” (03:41, Nick Grant)
  • He shares how therapy and family helped him persevere through grief and continue his artistry.
    • “Prayer, number one. Family. Just having… close tight-knit family, and therapy for sure.” (04:29, Nick Grant)

• Therapeutic Honesty in Music

  • Nick opens up about channeling loss into his music and being vulnerable in a way he couldn’t have in his younger years.
    • “No, I couldn't. That came with time… when you live life, different trials and errors, you figure how to navigate and deal with these different emotions.” (05:25, Nick Grant)
  • DJ Envy and Charlamagne highlight the greater good in public honesty as it can help fans facing similar struggles.

Navigating the Business & Industry Realities

• Industry Frustrations and Resilience

  • Nick admits the business side has often made him want to quit more than personal losses:
    • “Just the business side—falling out with people, different managers… you get to a point where you're like, ‘Damn, who can I trust.’” (07:39, Nick Grant)
  • Despite setbacks, these challenges fueled his persistence instead of ending his journey.

• On Being Labeled a Lyricist

  • While honored, he notes the "lyricist" label is sometimes a box in today’s musical landscape:
    • “Now it's like we're in a certain era where people like, ‘Oh, we don’t want to hear that shit anymore’… it's not the cool thing to do today to be a lyricist.” (09:29, Nick Grant)
  • Charlamagne raises the double-edged sword of being typecast for "bars" and overlooked for versatility.

Cosigns, Community, and Artistic Growth

• The Power and Dilemma of Cosigns

  • Nick and the crew analyze how top lyricists often needed a major cosign (Kendrick with Dre, J. Cole with Jay-Z, Drake with Lil Wayne) to be widely accepted:
    • “Lyricism is like a boys club–you have to be ushered in by people we already respect, it makes your music more palatable.” (10:56, Nick Grant)

• Challenges of Recognition

  • Nick shares that affirmation often comes privately from other artists rather than publicly:
    • “I don't get upset… but I do be like, ‘Use that tweet… do a feature, or show up, or do a record.’ But I don't dwell on that, just keep pushing.” (12:32, Nick Grant)

Independence and Creative Freedom

• Why Stay Independent?

  • Nick values the creative control and familial motivation independence gives him, despite the challenges:
    • “Some of the most fun I've ever had creating projects ‘cause you don’t have certain people coming into the room... telling you what to do.” (15:20, Nick Grant)

• Coping with Being Overlooked

  • He focuses on those who do listen deeply and finds hope in longevity:
    • “When people actually listen, they support and apply it to their life… The turning point could be tomorrow, so if you quit today, you don’t want to be one of those 'I wish' niggas.” (16:00, Nick Grant)

Mental Health, Fatherhood, and Personal Growth

• Therapy and Healing as a Father

  • Nick sees therapy as essential for breaking cycles and raising his child differently:
    • “I'm trying to protect him from different things and show him things that I never got to see… That's important, but it's hard to navigate.” (18:32, Nick Grant)

• Mentorship

  • Credits his uncle as a key mentor on fatherhood:
    • “I talk to my uncle every day, and he always just tells me, ‘Look after them babies, man.’” (23:47, Nick Grant)

Vision Beyond Music: Screenwriting & Film

• Screenwriting Aspirations
  • Inspired by fellow artists and his own project for his album’s short film, Nick discusses plans for a comedy based on his father’s airbrush shirt hustle during Freaknik:
    • “I wanna make a movie about these teens going to Freaknik and everything goes left—it’s like a comedy.” (27:31, Nick Grant)
  • Encouraged by Punch (TDE), he’s actively pursuing writing for screen.

Artistic Competition & Integrity

• Competitive Spirit

  • The hosts and Nick discuss the hip hop tradition of competition, referencing social media debates about who’s the better lyricist, including J.I.D.:
    • “You gotta stand on it once you say it. I don’t think it’s far-fetched though.” (36:16, Nick Grant, 36:22 Charlamagne)
  • Lists several underrated dope rappers, advocating for broader recognition.

• Integrity Over Shortcuts

  • Nick stands by taking “the long way” in his career instead of seeking shortcuts:
    • “There are no shortcuts… I took the long way, beneficial in a lot of ways… I’d rather go the long way than compromise my integrity.” (13:53, Nick Grant)

Reflections on Success & the Industry

• Biggest Lies About Success

  • Nick and Charlamagne dissect industry myths:
    • “Biggest lie I had to stop believing about success: that it can always make things better—sometimes it can make your life worse… it brings out the worst in people.” (31:36, 31:52 Nick Grant)
    • “Talent is enough; hard work guarantees results—that's another good one.” (32:29, Nick Grant)

• Music vs. the Business

  • Expresses love for the craft, not the industry:
    • “I know you love hip hop… but do you still love the music business?” (29:28, Charlamagne)
    • “No, I don’t… so much in my story where I’m just like… very few and far between do you meet real people… it’s this yin and yang of hating the music business but loving the music.” (38:29, Nick Grant)

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On Vulnerability:
  • “Lift as you climb…once you get in a position… help them up… create a domino effect of people helping each other.” (06:34, Nick Grant)
• On Artistic Cosigns:
  • “If you have a certain level of talent you have to be ushered in by people we already love and respect–that makes it easier… makes your music more palatable.” (10:56, Nick Grant)
• On Screenwriting:
  • “You have to be a multi-hyphenate… do different things… or you’ll drown.” (27:18, Nick Grant)
• On Libraries and Listening Sessions:
  • “I saw Jay-Z doing something there, so I wanted to do it. Just being honest.” (28:22, Nick Grant; about hosting a listening party at Brooklyn Public Library)
• On Competition:
  • “Once you don’t get the love, in a weird way, you’re kinda like the bad child… it helps being competitive.” (35:19, Nick Grant)
• On Being Overlooked:
  • “When people actually listen, they stamp it and apply it to their life… turning point could be tomorrow.” (16:00, Nick Grant)

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Important Timestamps

• 03:41: Nick explains 'Smile' and his recent losses
• 04:29: Nick on coping mechanisms—family and therapy
• 07:39: Industry struggles and questioning trust
• 09:29: On the "lyricist" label in modern hip hop
• 10:56: The importance and dilemma of cosigns in rap
• 12:32: Private vs. public affirmation in the industry
• 13:53: Philosophy of taking the long road, integrity
• 15:20: Independent vs. major label creative freedom
• 16:00: Finding meaning in being overlooked
• 18:32: Therapy’s role in fatherhood and self-work
• 23:47: On mentorship and family advice
• 24:26: Chasing dreams vs. fulfillment and reality
• 27:31: Plans for a film based on his father’s Freaknik story
• 31:36: The myth that success always makes things better
• 35:19: Competition and striving for recognition
• 36:16–36:22: JID, lyricism, and standing by your claim
• 38:29: Why he loves music, not the music biz

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Final Thoughts

Nick Grant's interview stands out for its transparency, thoughtful reflection, and insight into the modern independent artist's battle for authenticity, relevance, and emotional balance. He doesn’t shy away from discussing pain, competition, or the complexities of music industry politics, and is resolutely focused on carving out his own lane—whether in rap or potentially in film and screenwriting.

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Nick Grant's album Smile is out now. His listening experience will be held at the Brooklyn Public Library.

Transcript

[Lauren LaRose]

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[DJ Envy]

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[Charlamagne Tha God]

i wake up wake your ass up the breakfast club

[DJ Envy]

morning everybody it's dj envy just hilarious charlemagne the guy we are the breakfast club lauren larose is here as well we got a special

[Nick Grant]

guest in the building yes indeed his

[DJ Envy]

new album smile is out now ladies and gentlemen nick grant welcome what's up

[Nick Grant]

full house today yeah it's the first time you got a full house yeah halfway remember i ran out and came

[Charlamagne Tha God]

back again remember oh yeah you're right you're right but no lauren wasn't here then i don't think no lauren wasn't here how are you my brother i'm

[Nick Grant]

doing good man it's couldn't be better

[Charlamagne Tha God]

first track on the album is called another classic yeah what defines a classic and can you can you say that

[Nick Grant]

you got a classic no you can't okay that's just it was sarcasm in the title just because of my you know two albums before that was the sunday dinner album so you know that was like you know my magnum opus into the game and you know people like really respecting that i can make a body of work so yeah that was just sarcasm just to play on

[Lauren LaRose]

words then we heard the avant my

[Jesse]

first time yeah that was that's fire

[Nick Grant]

that's track masters too some of my favorite like producers they did that joint

[Jesse]

too so yeah are you now the title of the album smile are you telling the world to smile or are

[Nick Grant]

you talking about yourself i'm telling myself to smile cause last year was very very hectic a lot of ups and downs last year i lost three people last year oh wow sorry to hit a hell a sister my cousin young scooter i don't know if people know young scooter scooter and i lost a childhood friend so it was like me going through that and still having to navigate the business just staying sharp i

[Charlamagne Tha God]

didn't know you in scooter was related it's funny i mean i know both of y' all from walter bro yeah

[Nick Grant]

yeah yeah you know that everybody related it's so small y' all knew each

[Charlamagne Tha God]

other when y' all was young and

[Nick Grant]

everything too yeah i grew up with scooter wow wow yeah wow what got

[Jesse]

you through those times i mean cuz now you're at the point where you can smile or can you or is

[Nick Grant]

that no i can i can for

[Jesse]

sure for sure so what got you you know through that cuz back to back three losses back to back yeah

[Nick Grant]

that's wild go through that prayer number one family just having you know close tight knit family and therapy for sure

[Jesse]

that's and are you talking about it like your loss and going through it

[Nick Grant]

on the album absolutely yeah absolutely my sister being like the main person who was like she moved me to atlanta she came to get me from my grandma she moved me to atlanta and yeah that was like you know my mother didn't raise me so that was like my mother figure so it was like super close you know so yeah you know and that stuff is like very difficult to talk about but you know i just feel like somebody in the world old to young is going through the same things and you know it'll be criminal for me to not speak about it and is that the

[DJ Envy]

image you have on your page cause i see a woman on your page

[Charlamagne Tha God]

you think you could have did this when you was younger like when you listen to your younger self rap like what do you hear now that you couldn't hear then could you even be

[Nick Grant]

that emotionally vulnerable man that's a great question no i couldn't that came with time that came with time and just experiences that you know even if i went through the same shit i just wouldn't process it the same way just because i just you know when you live life different trial trial and error you kind of figure out how to navigate and deal with these different emotions and you know having conversations with older people and they telling you you know how to navigate those things and again

[Charlamagne Tha God]

therapy i always wonder when you are able to express those things on an album but then you gotta go do come do things like this yeah you know what i'm saying like one definitely i'm sure is easier for sure yeah

[Nick Grant]

yeah yeah yeah yeah nah i love it man i you know i love this i take it i take it on the chin even if i don't want to do these things and i'm going through and i don't want to talk certain days i don't want to talk about it but you know it's just part of the game it's part of the business so you got to take it whatever comes with it well

[DJ Envy]

the good thing about that is there's always somebody dealing with the same thing for sure that looks up to you and they don't know how to deal with it so when they steal somebody that they look up to or somebody that's outspoken so it's always a good feeling of i'm not the only one

[Nick Grant]

right one hundred percent one hundred percent i'm sorry no you go ahead no i'm sorry my mentality has always been too just lift as you climb once you get in a position whether it's financially spiritually emotionally and you kind of see somebody going through something kind of help them up and you know just create a domino effect of people just you know helping helping each other did

[DJ Envy]

you want to quit cause sometimes you know people look at things and be like i did this because of my sister i did this because of my cousin and now that they not here i don't know if it's gonna fulfill

[Nick Grant]

me the same man i always been very persistent i mean you know i've been here a lot of times and you know been knowing you guys for years so you know it's other things that made me want to quit and not just give up just the business in general but in a weird way this kind of made me like keep going for sure yeah just kind of like i can't stop now i'm so deep in it's like what made you

[Charlamagne Tha God]

want to quit god damn it i mean i know cause he said the

[Nick Grant]

business

[Jesse]

on the album like the experience with labels and stuff like that for

[Nick Grant]

sure for sure no but he said

[DJ Envy]

not that he said that pushed him

[Nick Grant]

to go further nah i get what he's saying yeah just the business side of it like you know falling out with people different managers different sides of the game and it's kind of like man you get to a point where you're like damn who can i trust you know what i'm saying so it's

[Lauren LaRose]

that too you got a song on there called your price tag song where it kind of talks about a lot of the things it's like you want the success and you want to be able to kind of move on from certain things but then there's a lot that comes with that like nothing in life is free and nothing in the

[Nick Grant]

world is free yeah shout out westside gun and young chris too two guys that i just look up to as musicians and artists so yeah man it's just that battle that back and forth you know that back and forth of you want all of these things and especially when you coming into the game in the game you want everything and

[Lauren LaRose]

you're so open eyed and excited and

[Nick Grant]

you know i said that in one of my records like i came in the industry a wide eyed child it's no surprise they molested my style cause it's like i had all of these things aspirations i wanted to do and you know when you younger and you see that and people see you like want it want that and they can they have access to it you did

[Lauren LaRose]

it oh wow oh my god jesus

[Nick Grant]

no you're not lying it's true though

[Charlamagne Tha God]

people say i mean i didn't even mean it in that way what way did you mean it what way did you mean it he understood what i

[Nick Grant]

was saying nah for sure for sure so yeah there's executives that can take advantage of that that's a better way

[Charlamagne Tha God]

to say it there's people that can

[Nick Grant]

take advantage of that for sure one hundred percent and if you don't have a certain amount of stability in your spirit and you know integrity you know you can get swayed are you still with grant hustle nah nah nah i was never with grant hustle i was with jason jeter and shaka got you

[Charlamagne Tha God]

you know you've always been labeled a lyricist too is that a compliment or is that a box man

[Nick Grant]

that's an amazing question i love the label lyricists of course of course just from the people that i grew up listening to tupacs the nas and the jay z's but now it's like we're in a certain era where people like oh we don't want to hear that shit anymore you know what i'm saying it's like people don't want to think people don't you know so that comes with it too so yeah i just think it's not the cool thing to do today be a lyricist you know the only

[Charlamagne Tha God]

reason i say i think sometimes you're respected for bars but sometimes that keeps people from seeing the full artist or you might do a record that it might be some turn up that you actually like but nick why are you

[Nick Grant]

nick you can't do that yeah this is unfamiliar for me like i'm not they don't want to see you in a certain space but you know it's the duality of artists like we gotta try and do everything you know what i'm saying so that's what your favorite artists do and if you don't allow them to grow and do that you know it kind of stunts hip hop it kind of stunts your position in a way where you can't like be progressive in this in this thing for

[Charlamagne Tha God]

real so what what are you doing that no what are others doing that maybe you're not doing because kendrick is a lyricist right a drake is a lyricist a cole is a lyricist for sure while they all these people have had different commercial success they're all lyricists we just saw jade at the roots picnic give a soliloquy of bars that everybody's talking about man that's so crazy

[Nick Grant]

we just had me and one of my friends just had this conversation and he was like yo you know the big three is like was selfish in a way because when you look at all of these different artists when you look at the kendrick lamars the j coles and you know the drakes with drake it was lil wayne with cole it was jay z with kendrick it was doctor dre he was like you know lyrically and lyricism is like a boys club so if you have a certain level of talent you have to be ushered in by people that we already love and respect that kind of makes it easier to you know it makes your music more palatable and people open their ears a little more once somebody else brings you in that makes

[Charlamagne Tha God]

a lot of sense i think that

[Lauren LaRose]

that's kind of the conversation you was having shar about j cole and jit jaddee like how i mean he's there he's on the label but there are people who would say they feel like he didn't support him the way he should have even though he's already doing well but you kind of do need

[Nick Grant]

that absolutely absolutely that goes back to fifty cent eminem eminem doctor dre that goes back to that like you know i'm not sure this is kind of a little before my time but even what i'm thinking now it's like jay z too like we love jay forever but when biggie did like this it was kind of different kind of changed

[Charlamagne Tha God]

everything for me even before that it was a jazz o i get what you're saying like yeah yeah that's interesting

[Nick Grant]

you know what i'm saying i think that helps that helps the artist more

[Lauren LaRose]

was there a moment when you i mean you're still figuring it out but you're here though right like was there ever a moment where you were like okay i think i'm getting that arm and then it was like oh okay this ain't what i thought it would

[Nick Grant]

be not publicly i get a lot of it behind the scenes from a lot of different artists does it make

[Lauren LaRose]

you upset that you don't get it publicly but it's behind the scenes

[Nick Grant]

i don't get upset but i do like use that tweet yeah for sure or the feature or nigga show up do a video do a record do something but i don't just dwell on that i kind of just keep pushing you

[Charlamagne Tha God]

was flirting with the tde thing at

[Nick Grant]

one point though right yeah yeah punch was my man punch was one of the few people that like i stayed close to in the business but he was doing this group thing he was doing this group thing and at the time it wasn't just like the best thing for me in that moment so

[DJ Envy]

well he wanted you to be in

[Nick Grant]

one of the groups yeah he wanted me to be in one of the groups what group was it a room full of mirrors shout out to them man i think a little i think a lot of it was ego okay me just being in a certain space in my career and it was like i felt like i was starting from from scratch again you know and you know it was it was a little bit of fear and ego of having to go back to doing that what

[Charlamagne Tha God]

energy fueled a song like generational runs

[Nick Grant]

no shortcuts man i just felt like it is hard to be good at anything for a long time or be critically acclaimed at something for a long time so i felt like not even numbers wise but just talent wise i've been really good for a long time so it's like that that i came up with the term generational runs just

[Charlamagne Tha God]

because of that and no shortcuts part

[Nick Grant]

there are no shortcuts it was like you know just a statement for my career you know what i'm saying it's like i took the long way it was beneficial in a lot of different ways but again when those things are waved in your face and different things are waved in your face like you know no shortcuts i'd rather go the long way and then to compromise my

[DJ Envy]

integrity i want to ask you know when you do see artists who might not be as lyrical as you or as nice as you but you see they have more success does that bother

[Nick Grant]

you at all nah my race is different i just think my journey and my time and what i do is just different you know i never say what nobody deserves or what they don't deserve i don't know what they've been through so i can't say you know this person doesn't deserve this but for me man i'm just you know i know i wave a certain flag and i just gotta stay on that yeah

[Jesse]

what keeps you dedicated as a to being an independent artist man so many

[Nick Grant]

different things family because these these different experiences that i go through so that keeps it you know and i just don't want to i don't want to just jump back into a system without a plan yeah that too i think you have to plan before you get back into a big machine like that

[Jesse]

and kind of is it more challenging

[Nick Grant]

than than not as an independent artist it is it is for a lot of times but i think for me it's some of the most fun i ever had creating projects cause you don't have certain people coming into the room hey listen to this bpm you need to rap on this and you need to do all this different stuff so it's kind of just me just doing what i feel yeah yeah yeah so that's and on a major i didn't have i didn't have that luxury so

[Charlamagne Tha God]

gotcha how do you stop disappointment from turning into bitterness because i do feel like you're overlooked nick for sure and that's gotta be disappointing sometimes yeah so how do you stop that from turning into just being bitter overlooked by the

[Nick Grant]

masses but it's people that love and support a lot of my stuff when people actually listen they actually really support it and stamp it and apply it to their life so i just think it's a time thing or the right situation you know but i think for me it's like the turning point could be tomorrow you know what i'm saying so if you quit today and it's like shit you don't want to be one of those i wish niggas you know what i mean so it's like just keep going just keep going that's

[Charlamagne Tha God]

what it's about have you ever been taken off any i remember you saying that before you got took off some records right like some records from like some some artists that feature probably could have changed a lot yeah a few

[Nick Grant]

people or i was supposed to show up to a lot of different studio sessions and it was like don't show up just come come tomorrow and lay your verse and you know if it's like that i wouldn't i don't even want to go but don't you feel

[Charlamagne Tha God]

like sometimes man that is a part of my story so why not tell

[Nick Grant]

it right i do i do but i just feel like that causes more conflict and puts more things in my pathway to where i'm trying to get to you know what i'm saying you

[Charlamagne Tha God]

think people can really block nobody can block your blessing what's for you is

[Nick Grant]

for you man that's a great thing but i've seen so many people like you know mess up a lot of different things for people that could advance people careers you know what i'm saying so it's like in a weird way yeah nobody can block your blessings but

[Charlamagne Tha God]

there's a lot of sensitive gangsters out

[Nick Grant]

there yeah great segue yeah it's a lot of them it's a lot of them man and it's like god is gonna give it to you in another way but this is one of the few things i've seen where people can kinda you know change your trajectory you know what i mean so yeah what

[Charlamagne Tha God]

was the energy behind that record sensitive

[Nick Grant]

gangsters man just listening to you know i got a bunch of people that i talked to just and you know got into a thing with a friend where it was like man i don't wanna hear this shit today like who's doing what who outside doing what in the streets i just wasn't on that at the time and he kind of got mad at me and we fell out about it and i wrote a

[Jesse]

song about it wow damn i know

[Nick Grant]

he called up his name what did

[DJ Envy]

he say when he heard the song

[Nick Grant]

it was a combination of different things

[Charlamagne Tha God]

so he know this record about him

[Nick Grant]

you know now damn god damn damn

[Charlamagne Tha God]

you know now i've heard you mention therapy a couple of times too man like what version of nick grant are you trying to trying to heal from

[Nick Grant]

man things that i could project i could project onto my child that kind of would stun his growth in society so and a lot of that stuff i killed before he got here but i'm still like you know we're human we working on ourselves every day so yeah just trying to protect him from different things and show him things that i never got to see or didn't have and i think that's important but it's hard to navigate and know what you didn't have to kind of give him the right thing so it's also having the right you know mentors and different people around you to help you navigate that as well do you have

[Lauren LaRose]

mentors that are helping you navigate just that piece of it like the dad

[Nick Grant]

piece of it oh for sure for sure my uncle was like health insurance

[UnitedHealthcare Announcer]

matters especially for athletes but health care isn't some one size fits all proposition even though it's been treated that way forever thankfully unitedhealthcare has been rethinking things as young female athletes a lot of us grew up without fully understanding what our sports demanded from our bodies we weren't taught enough about proper fueling recovery or even how women's bodies develop over time and when injuries happened the focus was mostly physical but the mental side totally ignored but when you're all about being an athlete and you suddenly can't compete that's tough it's one reason many women don't return to sport after serious injuries but things are improving research is starting to focus on female athletes not just treating them like smaller versions of men but there's still a gap real recovery takes a connected care team and unitedhealthcare is working to make that kind of support more accessible so every athlete keeps moving forward learn more about how unitedhealthcare is committed to care at uhc dot com care what up y' all

[DJ Envy]

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[Lauren LaRose]

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[State Farm Announcer]

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[Nick Grant]

talk to him every day yeah i talk to my uncle every day and he always just tells me you know look after them babies man just different just different things or whatever i see and you know but it's interesting for me because it's like i'm seeing his personality and i'm seeing like things that i went through and we have the same personality but i'm like yo he probably would have been able to navigate this the same way but it's like yeah man it's just dope to see it's dope to see but i'm doing all right doing a good job at

[Charlamagne Tha God]

it what do you do when the dream comes true but doesn't feel the way you imagined it would oh man

[Nick Grant]

that's a real question doesn't feel the way i had that feeling a lot of times you know it's like ah man people fight and give their whole life to this but it's just the love of the music man for sure that just keeps me going you know what i'm saying if you attach you in it for the wrong reasons if you're looking for that you kind of gotta just love being a creative and just staying positive as you make music

[DJ Envy]

and record what did you learn from the industry cause i see you post industry rule number four thousand eighty right tribeco quest right so what did you learn from the industry that burnt you that you said i will never do

[Nick Grant]

that again man people are selfish people are selfish everybody just they feel like it's not enough room for everybody i just think people are very selfish and you know i didn't come up that way i come up like you got something and your brother don't have it man break that shit in half and give it to him you know i came up like that so in this business man and it's like they not even fighting for money it's always for the most times it's attention you know what i'm saying so when i see that it's like it's like yeah that makes you want to like stop too so but yeah do you think the

[Charlamagne Tha God]

game is more competitive now or people

[Nick Grant]

just more insecure people just more insecure yeah yeah yeah yeah people you you your insecurities will get you out of here you know what i'm saying because you would jump out there thinking you know you can handle this person because of your insecurities they speak louder than what you can actually handle so you get out there and it's like don't go the way you thought so yeah

[Lauren LaRose]

that has to be difficult as a music artist trying to build because in somewhere like if you're doing media or something you can kind of control your own space you can sit at home now and stream and be a media person you got to get outside you got to talk to people distribution deals probably coming your way you want to get bigger and grow the machine is going to be there at some point what's the vision like how are you long term planning to like navigate all of that cause that's just gonna get

[Nick Grant]

worse for sure i want to transition into another space punch actually put this planet the seed for me he was talking about this i did a movie for one of the sunday dinner albums it's like a comedy he was like yo you should just like get into film and screenwriting and i showed him something the other day that i did just kind of surprised him with it he was like yo this is actually dope like you should do it so that's the thing the new thing that i kind of got bit by that i'm trying to like work on and perfect and be great at you're probably

[Charlamagne Tha God]

right i mean i mean i think about somebody like lil dicky right like lil dicky had a fan base he was cool as an artist but man that dave show was hilarious better than

[Nick Grant]

the music you know what i mean

[Charlamagne Tha God]

for sure you know and probably makes people have more anticipation for whatever you

[Nick Grant]

about to drop for sure one hundred percent no i agree with that i think i think today you have to be like a multi hyphening and you know do different things man that's important if not you'll you'll you'll drown is

[Charlamagne Tha God]

there a story you want to tell through that art like film that you

[Nick Grant]

can't tell through the music yeah i'll tell you about this this thing i did so my dad i don't know of course everybody knows freaknik but my dad used to do like the shirts iconic freaknik shirts oh the airbrush joints yeah yeah okay okay he used to make those shirts and he would like take me out there to sell the shirts so i'm like yo i wanna make a movie about like these teens that were like you know going to freaknik and everything goes left it's like a comedy it's like everything goes left and you know so yeah that's like something i wanted to do so your

[Charlamagne Tha God]

dad is giving you a bunch of

[Nick Grant]

freaknik stories yeah too explicit too explicit

[Jesse]

no i was you having a listening experience june fifth at the brooklyn public library why the library i think it's dope but why did you choose the

[Nick Grant]

i saw jay z doing something there so oh shit okay i wanted to do it yeah just nice just be honest yeah i saw that and i loved his like this whole thing he had on display with the albums and stuff so i was like yo i want to try something like that unless

[Charlamagne Tha God]

you been to the library j what last time you been to the library

[Jesse]

i'll be going so when you have the listening experience right although you in

[Charlamagne Tha God]

the library just so crazy why the you in the library i mean library cool but what no i just never

[Nick Grant]

who reads books anymore like why you

[Jesse]

there this is great this is great but although the name of the album is smile right it's a lot of heavy things that you're talking about and it you don't you don't think it'll be very emotional like how you think you do you have like how you

[Charlamagne Tha God]

gonna get used she talking about how

[Jesse]

you gonna get through the listening experience yo this is a heavy ass album in the library so how you know

[Nick Grant]

how you think it's crazy man you

[Jesse]

don't think you gonna cry cry about what in the library yo the album

[Charlamagne Tha God]

did you see the album nick books

[Jesse]

make you cry i'm not talking about

[Charlamagne Tha God]

like that you know you mean when he's performing some of these records that's

[Jesse]

what i'm saying there's a lot of things on the album that's very heavy

[DJ Envy]

it's heavy hitting you put a book

[Jesse]

anyway yeah so yeah you don't think about it like that it's gonna be very emotional night don't cry the paperbacks

[Nick Grant]

no i'm not gonna cry i'm not

[Jesse]

gonna cry just go in because i make it funny but it's a real

[Nick Grant]

it's a real question for sure it's different yeah it's different it is different when you this would be the biggest crowd that i played the album in front of so i'm like just seeing them and living being in the moment as the music is being played and it's like it's bittersweet in a way

[Jesse]

cause that could hit somebody else like oh shit i lost such and such i'm trying to still get through i'm trying to navigate grief and you know

[Nick Grant]

what i mean one hundred percent and all of these people are here for you so it's like the moment of like right like damn this is a beautiful moment but we talking about this so nah i'm with you but you

[Jesse]

not gonna cry nah i'm not

[Charlamagne Tha God]

there's

[Nick Grant]

nothing wrong with crying no cry yeah

[Jesse]

and it's men's mental health month i don't know if you knew that but

[Nick Grant]

i ain't know that yeah you still

[Charlamagne Tha God]

talking we doing the interview

[Jesse]

my bad nick y this is probably why i wear here where you came last

[DJ Envy]

they

[Jesse]

don't take oh shit they don't take me serious yo go answer my own

[Nick Grant]

question have you seen have you seen

[DJ Envy]

well of course you've seen what's been going on with south carolina has that helped what you were doing because at one time i know it was difficult because there weren't too many artists from south carolina but you're seeing still not well you seen a lot more now

[Charlamagne Tha God]

trap dicky's too trap dicky yeah trap

[Nick Grant]

dicky love him man good guy too man like good spirited dude when you see him and meet him yeah nah i love it i love it it's a few it's not a lot of people but it's more than it was it's more than it was what's the

[Charlamagne Tha God]

biggest lie you've had to stop believing about success cause i think i got one for you but i wanna hear

[Nick Grant]

what you think hmm the biggest lie i had to stop believing about success that it can always make things better sometimes it can make your life worse

[Charlamagne Tha God]

new ways expound on that why you

[Nick Grant]

please i think it brings out the worst in people when they see you in a certain light you know what i'm saying you could have known somebody your whole life and once you start having success they'll change on you you know what i'm saying so that's one of the things like once i got to a certain position i had to start cutting certain people off because it was like damn man i know you twenty years and you out of nowhere you know what i'm saying and it's so many different emotions people go through when you get there too and i think jealousy is the main one what

[Charlamagne Tha God]

about talent being enough nick talent is enough hard work guarantees results that's another

[Nick Grant]

good one too yeah that's another good one and it goes back to what you were saying like people don't be want as a lyricist people don't want to hear all that like are you actually talented if you're a lyricist today that's another question it's like they put all these like bad tags on lyricists and bad bad things to say about lyricists in these times so i like

[Charlamagne Tha God]

what you said about the cosign because to that point i always felt like i used to be like man i want to hear a kendrick rhapsody album i think about like that what if kendrick did connected with rhapsody the way he connected with his cousin baby king or like that you know what i mean for sure what if what if somebody somebody like kendrick said hey i think about that that's my guy you

[Nick Grant]

know what i mean i think about that all the time like rhapsody is dope she been dope for a while too so like why hasn't that happened why doesn't something like that happen i'm asking you i'm asking why do y' all think stuff like that doesn't happen

[DJ Envy]

i don't even know how cool they are if they are cool i mean this could be something that we think of and dream of but when you

[Charlamagne Tha God]

say stuff like that what you mean like so like rhapsody not taking off

[Jesse]

or yourself you just saying in general

[Nick Grant]

yeah just in general like people don't

[Charlamagne Tha God]

i think success is subjective right cause to me somebody like rhapsody is successful

[Nick Grant]

for sure i mean nominated for a

[Charlamagne Tha God]

grammy endorsement deals dope dope albums yeah

[Nick Grant]

not saying she not successful but she would that look would like i would

[Jesse]

just like to see her everywhere yeah like i see you know other mainstream artists like i would like to see her everywhere more places same with you like love to see just wanted to go to the library oh yo if i had shows in atlanta i would come to live videos like i even wrote a book yo like look i even wrote a book so you know

[Nick Grant]

library's cool library is cool how do

[Charlamagne Tha God]

how do you feel when people diss

[Nick Grant]

people on your projects who you talking about how you think doctor mumbu i told that there you go let's go

[Charlamagne Tha God]

to cook him how do you think doctor lumumbu feel about what oh man he ain't heard it yet probably but boy when he hear it he's gonna

[Nick Grant]

get me too for letting him do that i told that nigga you gonna get us embarrassed but you gotta let

[Charlamagne Tha God]

artists be artists though nah one hundred

[Nick Grant]

percent one hundred percent yeah yeah but nah yeah shout out to saha man super dope lyricist that verse was crazy though that verse was dope but yeah nah i told him what he said

[Jesse]

he was talking about the snow bunnies

[Charlamagne Tha God]

nah he ain't built the school yet

[Nick Grant]

he ran off with the bunny oh

[Charlamagne Tha God]

one thing you say on that record though and it's funny because back in the day that probably would have caused problems you said bigger than competition bigger than the competition they know who the wallace is yeah and it made me think of that when when kendrick said he was the king of new york line you know was that the mind

[Nick Grant]

frame he was in one hundred percent i'm always in that mind frame like once you don't once you don't get the love in a weird way you kind of like the bad child that acts out and you like you know not that you screaming for attention but it's like this is what it's about it kind of kind of helps with you know if you do have that energy just being just being competitive but yeah i'm always on that i'm always on that what does somebody like oh

[Lauren LaRose]

go ahead i was going to talk about being competitive i mentioned jid earlier i saw the whole it was like the tweet then you went on the podcast and was having a conversation about you know you being a better rapper than jid is that like competitiveness or

[Nick Grant]

like what yeah that's yelled out cap

[Lauren LaRose]

who yelled out cap he so somebody had tweeted on like there's no better rapper than or bliss or something like that than jid and then he responded with the caps and then you went to go do an interview and they brought it up and you doubled down

[Nick Grant]

on it yeah you got to stand on it once once you say it i mean i don't think that's far

[Charlamagne Tha God]

fetched though and i like jid i think jid is super dope but that ain't yeah a reach to say nick grant can rap better than jit i mean that's a competitive that'd be a

[Nick Grant]

competitive you know battle yeah nobody else thought that too i thought i was gonna get a lot of heat for it niggas calling me a hater or something but nah a lot of people agreed so what made you respond to

[DJ Envy]

that one because you could have just left that alone what made you say that

[Nick Grant]

everybody's playing with me what made

[Jesse]

you

[Nick Grant]

i just wanted to do it i just wanted to do it i was just on that i just probably was upset with people just spewing certain things cause that's just silly to think like there's so many people out here that can rap you got the reuben vincents you got russell the marcus marco plus marco there's so many people that's rhyming kai cash yeah for sure kai cash is dope yeah he is yeah so many people that rap so to say that is like it's crazy but

[Jesse]

you supposed to think that about yourself though you know what i mean yeah not to paint that as an artist

[Nick Grant]

one hundred percent one hundred percent you

[Charlamagne Tha God]

definitely do where you at library on stage you gotta think you that you gotta think you the ella at all

[Jesse]

yo

[Nick Grant]

yo what y' all got against the library i love the library should i switch my shit should i see

[Lauren LaRose]

what you're doing was there i love

[Nick Grant]

it

[Jesse]

i would definitely come i got shows i do comedy or whatever so i got shows but i'm saying i would come to the library i just

[Charlamagne Tha God]

wanted to know why you know why

[Jesse]

you would do it in the library i never heard of a listening experience you know like you know being in the library i think it's smart it's studious it's real it's dope studious appreciate

[Nick Grant]

it i'm switching my shit soon as

[Jesse]

i wait no don't do that don't do it no i like it watch you gonna start it watch other gonna be like i need to go to the library you know jay already did

[Charlamagne Tha God]

it right hov did it jay z

[Nick Grant]

did yeah that's where i got it

[Jesse]

from well then that's even better yeah that's what's up y' all that's what's

[Charlamagne Tha God]

up listen i know you love hip hop man but do you still love the music business no i don't i

[Nick Grant]

don't just so much just so much in my story where i'm just like you know it's back to the selfish people like you know it's very few and far between you you just meet real people in this shit bro so it's like you know the thing that keeps it together it's this ying and this yang of hating the music business but loving the music so that's like that's like the tug of war spiritually that you battle with but it's very few and far between you just meet genuine people that just want to help you know and i just i go where i'm i'm wanted so you know the punches the west side guns all these different people i'm kind of i'm kind of like the cousin to them that they just with like so it's like it's dope but the business part of it like yeah i'm not a

[Charlamagne Tha God]

fan of yeah but it's loot to punch you know i got i got mad respect for punch you know y' all got the same song record but yeah it's not just the music that sound the same every time i hear artists talk about the music business that sound like they singing the same song so for sure but somebody like a punch is in a position to change

[Nick Grant]

the song right to change the song what you mean to change the song to change the whole but he's been doing that though he's been doing that yeah he's been doing that for a while like their contributions to the game is like one hundred you know kept this like kept lyricism at a certain level and just just great artistry not even i don't even want to say lyricism but just great artistry as far as rappers and even r and b you know he is one of the biggest r b stars right now so

[Charlamagne Tha God]

what could he do to press the button even more for nick grant or you just think it's a matter of

[Nick Grant]

time for you i just think it's a matter of a matter of time and i think with me and him we kind of just developed some stuff where it's people around him that's just asking him for stuff all day we don't have that relationship i don't you know i don't even want that kind of relationship with you if we genuinely got a bond with each other i'm gonna pull up on you fuck with you pull up on me fuck with me and that's basically what our relationship has been since we known each other

[Lauren LaRose]

i can understand i also feel like too when whatever it is that you're looking for comes you want it to be so it couldn't have been for nobody but you that it catapults everything you don't want it to feel like it's here today and then boom maybe

[Nick Grant]

one hundred percent because i could ask him for anything and he'll do it but he would have seen that i just want it to be as organic as possible when i do when i do get that moment to go to

[Lauren LaRose]

the next level and it will be

[Charlamagne Tha God]

it will thank you nick grant y'

[DJ Envy]

all that's right well let's let's get into joint off the album what you

[Nick Grant]

want to hear man i want to hear money problems money problems all right

[DJ Envy]

the album smile is out now he will be at the library this friday

[Charlamagne Tha God]

brooklyn public library listening experience yeah jess

[Nick Grant]

won't be there but n y' all

[Jesse]

won't be there either you talking about

[DJ Envy]

me i've been to a library no

[Jesse]

i i've been to libraries too i won't be at the listening experience because i have shows in atlanta you know how i go nick you know but i'm just saying ladies and gentlemen it's

[Nick Grant]

nick grant it's the breakfast club good morning thank you guys man hold up

[Charlamagne Tha God]

every day i wake up wake your ass up the breakfast club

[UnitedHealthcare Announcer]

so women are not smaller versions of men i mean you already know that but sports medicine has only recently started to clue in the thankfully unitedhealthcare totally gets it as young female athletes a lot of us weren't taught enough about everything our sports demanded from our bodies but things are improving and unitedhealthcare is working to make support more accessible for every athlete learn more about how unitedhealthcare is committed to care at uhc dot com care

[DJ Envy]

this july fourth come celebrate at america's block party hosted by america two hundred fifty america's block party is a can't miss fourth of july concert happening at the los angeles memorial coliseum experience music performances from major artists patriotic tributes and the kickoff to giving fourth helping to make july fourth the largest day of giving in american history it's more than just fireworks learn more about this landmark celebration at america two five zero dot org

[Nick Grant]

professional wrestling fans the action continues

[State Farm Announcer]

every week watch cna thursday night impact every week every week on amc it

[Nick Grant]

is like electricity blowing through your veins don't miss the adrenaline the drama and

[State Farm Announcer]

the total non stop action no one

[Nick Grant]

can ever be as good as this right here don't miss the action of tna thursday night impact every week on amc for showtimes and more information visit tna wrestling dot com ryan reynolds here from mint mobile with a message for everyone paying big wireless what way too much please for the love of everything good in this world stop with mint you can get premium wireless for just fifteen dollars a month of course if you enjoy overpaying no judgments but that's weird okay one judgment anyway give it a try at mintmobile dot com switch

[UnitedHealthcare Announcer]

upfront payment of dollar forty five for three month plan equivalent to dollar fifteen per month required intro rate first three months only then full price plan options available taxes and fees extra see full terms at mintmobile dot com this is

[Lauren LaRose]

an iheart podcast guaranteed human