Joe and Jada - Fat Joe, Jadakiss & Lola Brooke talk MASSIVE changes in last 20 years of hip hop

Summary

---

The Herd with Colin Cowherd – "Joe and Jada: Fat Joe, Jadakiss & Lola Brooke Talk Massive Changes in 20 Years of Hip Hop"

Date: February 17, 2026
Featured Guests: Fat Joe ("Joe Crack"), Jadakiss ("Jada"), Lola Brooke

---

Overview

This episode brings together two hip hop legends, Fat Joe and Jadakiss, with rising star Lola Brooke. The conversation spotlights the evolution of hip hop over the past two decades, the grind behind the scenes, the impact of iconic female rappers from Brooklyn, and what it takes to break through and sustain a career in today’s music industry. The tone is candid, humorous, and heartfelt as the trio shares personal stories, industry challenges, inspirations, and the realities of achieving and maintaining success.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lola Brooke’s Rise and Brooklyn Roots

• Introduction & Early Hustle

  • Jada reflects on Lola's work ethic: “You was out there making your chops. So that's a salute to you.” (02:32)
  • Lola describes her journey—early performances, humility, and persistence.
  • Joe Crack stresses the importance of OGs and supportive teams for young artists:
    “A lot of these young dudes, if they ain't got, like, no unc, no real OGs, positive people... you gonna get yourself jammed up.” (03:02)

• The Significance of Team 80

  • Lola shares how she linked with Team 80 in 2016: “To be around people that I felt like was in love with the same thing, it made me want to lock in.” (13:38)

• Carrying the Brooklyn Torch

  • On the legacy of Kim and Foxy Brown:
    “At first it felt like pressure, but I'm from Brooklyn. Like, it's in me, not on me.” (15:43)
  • Influences of Foxy’s tone and Kim’s presence; Lola is often compared to both: “I'm lemonade and Ice T. I'm a half and half.” (16:10)

---

2. The Realities of “Making It” in Hip Hop

• On Achieving a Hit Song

  • Lola on the aftermath of “Don’t Play With It”:
    “Just recently I just started realizing like I had a hit. I didn't feel it... When you finally get it, it go over your head.” (07:34)
  • Fat Joe on the industry’s relentless pace:
    “When you get one, they're working you so much that you can't even go to your normal spot… You do not get to enjoy unless you one of them dudes.” (08:06)
  • “We've been in the game... it still don't change. You gotta adapt to enjoy your fruits of labors. That shit don't work like that.” (08:50)

• Generational Wealth & Section 8

  • Honest reflections on growing up:
    • Fat Joe: “I'm generational. I never had nobody before me make money like me...” (09:20)
    • Lola: “I dropped my section eight when I popped... My mom's passed down the section 8.” (09:32)
  • The group discusses the trap of welfare/Section 8 and the importance of breaking out for future opportunities.
    • Fat Joe: “That system is a trap… it's meant to be temporary because they put you to a limit.” (11:09)
    • “If you on section 8... you can't make enough money to do what you wanna do.” (11:59)

---

3. Brooklyn Culture & Community

• Navigating Neighborhoods

  • Extended and humorous breakdowns of Brooklyn’s geography—the size, diversity, and unique cultures within (19:12–25:28).
  • Lola on Bed-Stuy pride and growing up in proximity to legends like Biggie (19:32).

• Food Culture & Local Color

  • Playful banter over famous Brooklyn Chinese spots (“cum cow”), White Castle, and mambo sauce (21:38–22:05).

• Safety, Street Smarts, and Growing Up in NYC

  • Fat Joe: “I switch my shit up every day. You ain't timing me like that. It don't go like that.” (24:56)
  • Anxiety about safety and surviving the “Coliseum” projects (24:12–25:28).

---

4. Artist Process: Studio Life and Making Hits

• The Studio Grind & Inspirations

  • Lola on her process: “I don't be in the studio like, yo, I gotta make a hit. I be in the studio like, oh, I gotta get this shit off.” (37:21)
  • Essentials for Lola in the studio: “I need some water... honey and tea... tequila... hookah... a good engineer... and good vibes.” (44:09)

• Reflection on Classic Hits & Industry Talk

  • Fat Joe and Jada recount their hit-making moments ("Lean Back", "Why"), and talk about the music business’s pressure:

    • Fat Joe: “No matter what you do, if you put out a hit, they want the second one.” (36:37)
    • “One hit is a miracle. I always say they talk about one hit wonders… that's a dream come true.” (36:37)

  • Jada on the creation of “Why” with Anthony Hamilton:
    “Once he heard it, he had the hook and did that shit fast.” (38:55)

  • The changing definition of a “hit” song:
    Lola: “Now it's like, there's no such thing as, you know, what's the hit. It'd be like the random stuff being a hit now. So it's hard.” (42:21)

---

5. Mentorship, Growth, and Women in Hip Hop

• The Value of OGs and Family

  • The importance of “team” and wise advice to avoid pitfalls: “When you got the right people... they know how to get you out of trouble.” (03:03)

• Girls Breaking Through

  • Teyana Taylor’s influence and the importance of seizing opportunities:
    • “She was ready for her moment. You could tell that she... waited for her moment, and when it came, she was ready. A lot of people not ready for their moment.” (55:27–55:46)

---

6. Prayers, Faith, and Coping with Pressure

• On God & Anxiety:
  • Lola: “I pray, I pray last night. I always pray though. I pray everywhere. Let me tell you, surprise, I ain't praying here.” (32:21)
  • Fat Joe on anxiety when flying:
    “I see myself while I'm praying in a white suit talking to millions of God... If they taped my prayers in my mind on the plane... he'd never act tough in his life.” (32:28)

---

7. Recognition, Legacy, and Where To Next

• Achievements and Covers

  • Lola on making the XXL 2023 Freshman class:
    “I dreamed of it… but, you know, coming from a place of doubts... when I did get it, I'm like, nah, don't ever soak doubt.” (59:20)

• Not Comparing Your Journey

  • On others blowing up first:
    “When you watch somebody else blessings or somebody else pockets, then you ain't focus on yours.” (60:36)

• Vision for the Future

  • Lola: “Being on the movie screens, having my own show. That's what I want.” (54:13)
  • Fat Joe: “You gotta stay in the game. You never know.” (55:46)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Artistic Motivation:

  • Lola Brooke: “I don't be in the studio like, yo, I gotta make a hit. I be in the studio like, oh, I gotta get this shit off. Cause if I don't, I'm be going crazy.” (37:21)

• On Legacy:

  • Jadakiss: “Every show legendary, every show iconic. You know what I mean? At this point, he just crushes shit, we just fried.” (00:49)

• On Escaping Poverty:

  • Fat Joe: “That system is a trap... it's really not a flex. When you go to a building and you be like, yo, the Washington's been here for 40 years... that shit is meant to be temporary. If you on section 8... you can't make enough money to do what you wanna do.” (11:09–11:59)

• On Hit Records:

  • Fat Joe: “One hit is a miracle. I always say they talk about one hit wonders… that's a dream come true. But to consistently... you hit it. In our era, it's a Nelly, it's a 50 Cent, Ja Rule... you have to respect when you in the business of making hits.” (36:37)

• On Teyana Taylor’s Glow-Up:

  • Lola Brooke: “She was ready for her moment. You could tell that she patiently waited for her moment, and when it came, she was ready. A lot of people not ready for their moment.” (55:27)

• On the Importance of Staying Ready:

  • Fat Joe: “You gotta stay in the game. You never know.” (55:46)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:32] — Jada & Joe salute Lola’s early work and grind
• [03:02] — The value of OGs and mentorship in hip hop
• [07:34] — Lola on realizing she has a hit record
• [09:32] — Generational poverty and Section 8 discussion
• [13:38] — Joining Team 80, finding balance and family in music
• [15:43] — Conversation about Brooklyn’s legacy: Kim, Foxy, and female rappers
• [19:32] — Brooklyn neighborhoods, pride, and personal roots
• [37:21] — Inside the artist’s process: purpose over “finding a hit”
• [44:09] — Studio essentials for Lola Brooke
• [55:27] — Conversation about seizing the moment and Teyana Taylor
• [59:20] — Reflection on making the XXL Freshman class
• [60:36] — Advice on focusing on your own journey
• [54:13] — Lola’s vision for her future in entertainment

---

Exclusive Performance

• Lola Brooke performs a verse from “Pain” (feat. Mary J. Blige sample) and discusses its inspiration:

  “When you think of Mary J, pain is the first word that come to my mind... My mom’s made sure of that. It’s no more pain. We standing on that, as black women.” (48:57)

• Performance segues into a conversation about music as generational healing.

---

Closing Notes

The episode is a blend of hilarious stories, sharp industry critique, and openhearted advice—a testament to hip hop’s enduring family feel across generations. Lola Brooke’s humility and hunger is met by Fat Joe and Jadakiss’ wisdom and sincerity, as the trio builds a bridge between eras while staying true to the unapologetic, boisterous spirit of New York hip hop.

---

For listeners new and veteran, this episode offers an authentic and entertaining look at the realities, triumphs, and lessons of hip hop from those who’ve lived, shaped, and are now inheriting the culture.

Transcript

[Lola Brooke]

I didn't. I didn't start doing music for a bag, but I caught a bag. So I'm gonna continue to do it for that as well. But nah, I don't be in the studio like, oh, I gotta make a hit. I'll be in the studio like, oh, I gotta get this off, because if I don't be going crazy.

[Joe Crack]

What up, y'? All? This is Joe Crack the Dawn.

[Jada]

It's your boy Jada. You know what it is, the Joe and Jada Show.

[Joe Crack]

What the mondami said J to the moi.

[Jada]

He said every name. He said every.

[Joe Crack]

Jason Escastudio, Saviour, Rolando Torres. That nigga named you a hundred names. And this is crazy.

[Jada]

Every show legendary, every show iconic. You know what I mean? At this point, he just crushes shit we just fried. But today's guest, think of hard working, you know, I never really seen a female Napoleon, you know what I mean? Meaning she got a. She packs a big punch. Pause if you need one. If not, let it go. Big energy she brings, you know, a big presence. You can tell she loves her mom. She come from a good. She come from some good raising of a good mother. Represents Brooklyn to the fullest. Brooklyn, Brooklyn, she's connected, you know, she knocked one out the park, maybe one or two. I gotta look back at the billboards, but she works very hard. Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Lola. Bruh.

[Lola Brooke]

Uh oh, oh, oh, oh. I like that intro. That was fire. I like.

[Jada]

You like that intro.

[Lola Brooke]

I like the intro.

[Jada]

No doubt, baby.

[Lola Brooke]

Shout out to Mom Dukes.

[Joe Crack]

You know, this is what I say.

[Jada]

Hold on. Before we even. Did you have another name?

[Lola Brooke]

Um, Big Gator.

[Jada]

Before you was Lola. Before it was. Bro, was it when you did this show, you opened up for me somewhere. One time we had a show on Syracuse. No, it was Lola Brooks. Yeah, Albany. That's how long she been going. She been putting in work way back then. I like to say he was very humble. And when I seen you finally hit one out the park, you know, I was proud of you. A lot of people don't put that you was in the trenches, you was doing shows. You was getting your name out there early and not just waiting for Plymouth Rock to land on you, you was out there making you. You know what I mean? Making your chops. So that's a good. That salute to you. To the success. Now go ahead, Crack.

[Joe Crack]

No, I'm just saying the way you moving is the way I wish all the young guy rappers would move. You got sav, you got OGs.

[Jada]

Shout out to Team 80.

[Lola Brooke]

Shout out to Team 80.

[Jada]

Me, my brother.

[Joe Crack]

Team what?

[Lola Brooke]

Team 80.

[Joe Crack]

Team 80. My thing is, when you got the right people, been around the business for a while, and they know how to get you out of trouble. You know, a lot of these young dudes, if they ain't got, like, no unc, no real OGs, positive people, I can see where they up at. So I say that all the time with the. With the young guys coming up, we need an OG to just tell you, yo, don't be impulsive. Don't move like that. You gonna get yourself jammed up.

[Lola Brooke]

Yes.

[Joe Crack]

Cause we getting tired of the next rapper coming home from jail, right? This shit out of control right now. Right? One go in, one come out. One go in, one come out. We. You know, this is played out, but I love your team and how you move. Welcome to the show.

[Lola Brooke]

Thanks for having me. I love you. Here. Let me know. Let me tell y'. All. They was popping mad. They was popping mad before the kidding. Oh, my gum came out before the cameras came out.

[Joe Crack]

They.

[Lola Brooke]

They off and on the camera. They the. They the same.

[Joe Crack]

They the same off and off.

[Lola Brooke]

Off and on the camera. Yeah, they the same.

[Joe Crack]

I'm jealous of mine.

[Jada]

I'm jealous of her.

[Lola Brooke]

What?

[Joe Crack]

My girl, maybe two.

[Lola Brooke]

I knew I was supposed to have it. I was trying to hide it.

[Joe Crack]

Two BET Awards.

[Jada]

It goes a lap or whatever. When it was. We had to. We caught a red eye at home together.

[Lola Brooke]

Oh, yes, dog.

[Jada]

We had the. We both in first class. You know what I mean? We got the. It wasn't the seats that turned to a bed, I don't think. But when she folded her body, she was the most comfortable person in the dog. She would have thought she was on the California. I walked by, I said, damn, I want to get comfortable.

[Joe Crack]

She had a leg under this leg over this.

[Lola Brooke]

A bed right here.

[Jada]

Yeah. That's just like a California. I was like, damn, I want to get.

[Joe Crack]

He don't remember. He did that shit to me one time. We took a.

[Lola Brooke]

But it wasn't bad. He just.

[Joe Crack]

You.

[Lola Brooke]

You a big dog now?

[Jada]

Yeah, it was. But you was still comfortable having whatever I had. It didn't look how comfortable you was.

[Lola Brooke]

I was curled.

[Joe Crack]

You were on the JetBlue mint to LA.

[Lola Brooke]

Mm.

[Joe Crack]

The man before the plane took off, this guy went to sleep like he's describing you. When the shit landed, he got up. I was pissed. I'm looking at J. This sleep like a beige on this. I can't even sleep on the plane like that. I Said knocked up rich player too. Before the move. He like, you know, if I played that game taking pictures of while you sleeping, I would have, oh, you didn't.

[Lola Brooke]

Do him like that.

[Joe Crack]

Dictionaries on rich player. He before the move. He like that.

[Lola Brooke]

That's how I be.

[Joe Crack]

I want somebody to be scared with me on the plane, you know what I'm saying? Don't want to be scared with me. He like, yo, every man for himself. You figure it out. Hold on.

[Lola Brooke]

Sleep before the flight take off, you can't recline. And that mug your back feel messed up.

[Jada]

Yeah, they don't let you up. You gotta wait till you get.

[Joe Crack]

You know what's crazy? When you private, you could do jumping jacks while the take off.

[Lola Brooke]

Oh, I gotta get there.

[Joe Crack]

Jumping jacks, backflip them. Don't give a watch on private. They'd be like, do you want to put your seatbelt on or not? Like, so all that shit, they be running like, seat up, sir. They'll wake you up. Be like, seat up, sir. Make sure you on air. All that shit is bullshit. No, no, no, no, no. It's the fact all that shit is bullshit. When you on the private safety measures.

[Jada]

That'S shit that gotta happen.

[Joe Crack]

My man Raul, rest in peace, was not afraid to fly. When that shit was landing, the more turbulent he be in the front with the pilots, like, yeah, look how he's cur. Like, I be like, yo, you know at that time you supposed to be super stracked up. Like, it's bullshit. All them rules and all that shit is bullshit, man.

[Jada]

It's bullshit to you.

[Lola Brooke]

Yeah, he don't like the rules.

[Jada]

He never did Planes is safe, man. Don't play with it. Did you think that was a. Did you know that was out of the park or you had to work it? We always got to work every single day, you know what I mean? You got to do a bunch of shit you don't want to do and everything. Savin them tell you to do and radio stations and DJs and all that. But when it got when you know it was one of them ones, how did that feel for you?

[Lola Brooke]

I ain't gonna front. Just recently I just started realizing like I had a hit. I didn't feel it. I've been working for so long. Like I've been raised by my mom. She a hard working black woman. All I know is to work hard and I don't reward myself because it's like, it's things that you're supposed to do. So when don't play with it, Pop. I was just excited because, you know, as an artist, when you feeling neglected and you not getting the attention that you feel like you supposed to get, when you finally get it, it go over your head.

[Joe Crack]

But, you know, the whack part about this business is when you get one, they're working you so much that you can't even go to your normal spot that you would go to. And look at everybody fucking with your shit. You like, you don't even get that. You know what I'm saying? You gotta lean back. Number one motherfuckers like, Yo, Flex played it 400 times. I'm in fucking Denver, Colorado, performing somewhere like, you do not get to enjoy unless you one of them dudes. And you don't give a fuck about a dollar. You don't care about nothing. You could sit there and be like, all right, my shit popping. But when you get a hit, it's always like, look, it ain't never gonna look. You are hard, hard working. That's one thing we gotta say about you. But let me tell you, it never changed.

[Lola Brooke]

No, no, you gotta adapt.

[Joe Crack]

We've been in the game. I've been in the game 30 years. It still don't change. You gotta adapt to enjoy your fruits of labors. That shit don't work like that. It's like, yo, what's the next. Where we gotta go, what we gotta do, what we gotta conquer, why we gotta. You know, this shit don't never. Especially where I don't know your finances, you know, you grew up with your moms and your pops.

[Lola Brooke]

No, just my mom's home.

[Joe Crack]

So, you know, you trying to.

[Lola Brooke]

I'm just trying to pay like, you know what I'm saying?

[Joe Crack]

I'm generational. I never had nobody before me make money like me. You could probably look my family tree a hundred years. Everybody been on welfare for 100 years. So I'm generational.

[Lola Brooke]

Yeah, I dropped my section eight when I popped. I'm like, oh, I can leave section 8 now. My mom's passed down the section 8.

[Jada]

I still got mine.

[Joe Crack]

You're a liar.

[Lola Brooke]

I wish I could have kept mine. I was looking for somebody to hold it down for.

[Jada]

You hear me? You don't hear how much I tell you about my Section 8.

[Lola Brooke]

You know, you can't say that line.

[Joe Crack]

He make you look crazy when he.

[Jada]

I don't play with my.

[Joe Crack]

You look cool.

[Jada]

He don't disrespect section 8.

[Lola Brooke]

You know how hard it is to section 8 right now.

[Joe Crack]

Don't even play with my shit. I got cousins in Section eight.

[Jada]

They.

[Joe Crack]

They know how to play that game. They shit is not easy.

[Jada]

I don't play about my. I feel the same way about my.

[Joe Crack]

Hard drive for like a month or something. Yo, listen.

[Lola Brooke]

You hear? That's how my mom.

[Jada]

I feel the same way about my hard drives as my Section eight nigga.

[Lola Brooke]

As you should.

[Jada]

I'm playing with my sister.

[Lola Brooke]

I was holding it all. I was holding it down for a minute. But I. I ain't have nobody to pass it down to. I'm the only child too.

[Jada]

Supposed to kept that low.

[Lola Brooke]

I'm the only child too. So I was trying to pass it down. I was trying to pass it down this section 8. They wouldn't let me.

[Joe Crack]

Listen to me, hold up, hold up. The Section 8. I'm trying to explain something to you. You think if Jay Z wanted to stay on Section 8, he would ever be a billionaire? Ever own a building like this? That whole shit is a gimmick. Yes, I'm going for billionaire status with section 8.

[Jada]

I don't got nothing to do with. I'm trying it.

[Lola Brooke]

I dig it.

[Joe Crack]

Calling you full of shit, man, I found the first flag, man.

[Jada]

All my Section 8 people in the comments, get them facts. Let me tell you, I stand strong about Section speak. I'm Section eight.

[Joe Crack]

Let me finish my statement if you need it. You're single parent moms or whatever type of struggle you going through, I'm not knocking you. I grew up on welfare, section 8. Free cheese, free lunch, everything you could. Nobody was fucking bummier than me. I say it all the time. But what I'm trying to tell you is that that system is a trap. And it's really. No disrespect, but it's really not a flex. When you go to a building and you be like, yo, the Washington's been here for 40 years and this, man, we gotta get up out that shit. That shit is meant to be temporary because they put you to a limit. If you on section 8 or you on that, you can't make enough money to do what you wanna do. So basically what they do is they control you from competing for the jobs.

[Lola Brooke]

To own shit like they do control you. That's why my mom was. My mom was like heavy on. Like, don't. This is, this is for you to move forward, to get you to be. That's it. You at sea right now.

[Joe Crack]

But she's smart. If you need Section eight, God bless. I just gonna face everything you name. Nobody been on welfare more than Me.

[Lola Brooke]

When they see an income and it go up, up and up, they pull.

[Jada]

You in and say, I'm sorry, it's over.

[Joe Crack]

You know why your mom say have a man in the house? Cause she couldn't. Because when they help you, they say they don't want you to have a man. Yeah, all right. I'm telling you the truth. Wait.

[Lola Brooke]

My moms ain't want it. My moms ain't want no nigga in the crib. Not cause of section eight.

[Joe Crack]

Don't tell her what. This is not about her mom.

[Lola Brooke]

I'm talking about how you break my moms up, man. When my moms watch this. Son, my son, I apologize.

[Joe Crack]

Come on. Your mom know what I'm talking about. They. They demasculate the home and the projects. They don't want the woman to have a man in the project. They don't want a man and a woman in the projects. They don't want it. Man, I'm trying to tell you the truth. It's a gimmick. Like, if you got a husband, they don't want you in the projects. If you're doing better, you got a raise in salary. They don't want you in the projects, so they want to keep.

[Jada]

You shouldn't be in the project. Think about. I'm just the one breaking. I'm breaking it in the first one.

[Lola Brooke]

I'm breaking through.

[Jada]

How you got hooked up with Team 80?

[Lola Brooke]

It was like 2016. It's this artist, he from Brownsville. His name's Bleezy D O D. He asked me to do a feature. I came through, met everybody just to do a feature, just working. And they caught a liking to me, and I caught a liking to them. I just was around watching them do music videos. I never done a music video before. Going out, working records at the clubs, get mansions to do content and stuff like that. And I fell in love with it. Like, I always was in love with music. But to be around people that I felt like was in love with the same thing, it made me want to lock in with them, you know?

[Joe Crack]

How you feel about coming from such a strong lineage in New York City of female rappers who really started the. You know, I mean, we have rappers from all over, but, you know, that Kim, that foxy, they both from Brooklyn. I'm sure you get compared to them all.

[Jada]

I'm gonna tell you, when I saw shit was lit Savannah and the little daughter was doing the Gaga, I said, oh, yeah, that shit hit it.

[Lola Brooke]

She hello, Savannah.

[Jada]

Yeah, that was fire.

[Joe Crack]

Shout out to Savannah, listen, let me tell you, I try to. I try to rig it. One time I reached out to Kim Kardashian. I asked her, did she want to say yesterday's price, not today. I try to rig the Bible. I try to rig it and be like, once some Kardashians or one of them Savannahs or one of them come.

[Jada]

Through, your shit's over.

[Joe Crack]

Next day is over. Your man Khaled did that. They don't want us to win. Justin Bieber went on that jet. The next. That's what happened, Savage. The next day, Justin Bieber went on that jet. He said, they don't want us on a plane. They don't want us to eat caviar and shit. That shit was over. You get one of them to do that, you wake up like, holy shit, this shit outta here. But coming back from Foxy Kim, did they inspire you? Do you know that you have a lot of weight on your shoulders? Tapping into that soyu.

[Lola Brooke]

At first it felt like pressure, but I'm from Brooklyn. Like, it's in me, not on me.

[Joe Crack]

Walking to the bodegas. Motherfucking pressure.

[Lola Brooke]

Like, coming from where I come from, it's only pressure if you allow it to be. Like, if this is something that you love to do, it shouldn't be a hard thing to get done. But I am happy that. Huh?

[Joe Crack]

Which one of the two inspired you more, Foxy or T?

[Lola Brooke]

I would say both. I would say both because I felt like Foxy has. Her tone is just so. It's so powerful and Kim presence is powerful. And they always compare me to both. So I be like, I guess I'm like half and half. Like I'm lemonade and Ice T. I'm a half and half.

[Joe Crack]

They both love Alola Palmer. They both love Joe Crack. I remember one time I must did an interview where I might have said something that might have got Foxy Brown mad at me. I don't even know what I say. I talk so much shit, you can forget about it. She hit me in the DM and said, yo, crack. I knew what yo crack, man. I was like, I know I fucked up. I didn't. Don't. I will never do it again, sis. I was on her first record, her first LL Cool J's. I shot you. And she came up in there with the papa this. I was like, yo, we ain't never seen somebody with that type of swag. And she was with Mar Deep on there. Keith Murray was the hottest at the time, by the way. Very underrated. Keith Murray. Keith Murray, his flows, all that shit. He had it at one time, right? She was with us, you know, ll, who was like the king at that time, the dawn. And she came on that shit and we knew the minute we saw her on that set doing all that shit, we was like, oh, no, she bout to bop bop.

[Lola Brooke]

Yeah, yeah, it's a quick thing.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, no, no, no, no. Yeah, it's really, you know, Brooklyn too big for me. Yeah, Brooklyn too big. It's like you could drive in Brooklyn for hours, like, right? You ever notice the shit don't run out? Like, you go, yo, Brooklyn don't run out. I'm not disrespecting Brooklyn, it is big as fuck. If you're not from Brooklyn, you are very lost now. I remember I used to go with my mans to buy weed out there. They had one particular spot that was popping somewhere. I'd be like, I could never find that shit. So you got East New York's all the way on the other side.

[Lola Brooke]

It's nothing bigger than traveling from Brooklyn to the Bronx.

[Joe Crack]

I get that. The Bronx is much smaller than Brooklyn.

[Lola Brooke]

Like, that alone is bigger than Brooklyn.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, that Brooklyn shit, man. I don't be knowing where I'm at, you know, all the time. When the plane landing at jfk, I look out the window at Brooklyn, I'll be like, yo, I really need to know. Cause in the Bronx, Harlem, all that, I know every single block. I haven't discovered every single block. And this shit just keep going. And then it turned. And then you in flat books the next way you in Flatbush, the next way you this. Then you got Jews right next to the black dudes across the street. This shit different from the whole world. Brooklyn really is. Spike Lee be calling that shit like another planet, like another.

[Lola Brooke]

It is. It is.

[Joe Crack]

You on this side of the street. The next side. The next gang bangers is the Hasidic Jews. They out there.

[Lola Brooke]

It is deep. It truly is, Joe.

[Joe Crack]

It is right?

[Lola Brooke]

It is.

[Joe Crack]

That shit big as fuck, man. And so coming from Brooklyn, what part of Brooklyn exactly?

[Lola Brooke]

You from Bed stuff.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, you from Bed Stuy? That's deep.

[Lola Brooke]

That's deep. No, soon as you get in Brooklyn. What?

[Joe Crack]

Oh, you mean like where Biggie's from? I used to go see Biggie there. That's right there. That's right there. That's right over the.

[Lola Brooke]

When you go to Junior's cheese camp. Yeah, it's like 10, 15 minutes.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, been out. I used to go see Biggie out there, man. Best size. Good. But where you Go. Where you. Where you go? You go Crown Heights, then you go up. Give me another name in there.

[Lola Brooke]

Brownieville.

[Joe Crack]

No, Cody island is the end of her.

[Lola Brooke]

East New York.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, I was at Coney island the other day and that diner. We went to JFK too early and I was like, yo, let's go to the diner. We went to that Coney island diner over there. I know Coney Island.

[Lola Brooke]

Coney island is Cauley Island. Like, they got their own. Like, Coney island is Cauley Island.

[Joe Crack]

That's not.

[Lola Brooke]

Like, when I used to go to Cauley Island, I thought. I didn't even know I was still in Brooklyn growing up. Like, I thought I was somewhere else.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, Coney island is far, right? Shout out five mics and everybody out there. I used to go with Stephon Marbury. If you don't know who that is, he was king of New York at one time. Basketball. I don't know.

[Lola Brooke]

He went to Lincoln, right?

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, you know, he was one of the greatest. He knows shit.

[Lola Brooke]

I know it's my go.

[Joe Crack]

I go with Stephon Marbury because, you know, we her old OGs. I don't. I don't give a fuck what you think. She from a whole different generation.

[Jada]

Brooklyn, man. Brooklyn.

[Joe Crack]

Know.

[Lola Brooke]

But I study. I study it.

[Joe Crack]

I mean, yeah, but I used to go see Steph out there and he had like 10 family members in one project building. Them niggas was on every floor. Let's see Ms. May. Let's see this district, like they had the whole building, bro. Sebastian Telfair. That's why I got mad when he tried to play against us. The black guy. We fed that boy four chicken wing french fries many a time out there in Coney island, man. That shit, that's. I tell people all the time. That's my. If I go dead broke, I'm good with four chicken wings, french fries, hot sauce, and some cab argue with.

[Lola Brooke]

You know about mambo sauce, lady?

[Joe Crack]

Huh?

[Lola Brooke]

You know about mambo sauce?

[Joe Crack]

Mambo sauce?

[Lola Brooke]

Yeah. You don't know about that?

[Joe Crack]

No. What's that?

[Lola Brooke]

You gotta come to the sky and get momo sauce on your french fries. Ketchup and mambo sauce.

[Joe Crack]

So what is it like? It sound like mayonnaise and ketchup.

[Lola Brooke]

No, no, no, no. I don't rock with mayonnaise. Me and mayonnaise, we don't get along.

[Joe Crack]

Come cow.

[Jada]

You ever been to comecat?

[Joe Crack]

The fuck? Don't play with me, man. What it sound like?

[Lola Brooke]

It's a Chinese restaurant.

[Joe Crack]

Famous. I said cum cow. Famous.

[Jada]

Chinese rat you eat.

[Joe Crack]

I never heard that shit before. I don't know what. I think home bought over the dumb cow.

[Jada]

I need to eat it, but I've been there.

[Lola Brooke]

Yeah, it's a good Chinese spot, like.

[Joe Crack]

Sozo Slice, but it's like a Chinese parker in a different part of Brooklyn. That's Killer Ben. And all them over there on that side.

[Jada]

Hey, playing trivia. Brooklyn trivia.

[Joe Crack]

I'm lost.

[Lola Brooke]

He really is, though.

[Jada]

Throwing name out there.

[Joe Crack]

Demographic too. I am lost in Brooklyn. It is very.

[Lola Brooke]

It don't sound like he be lost.

[Joe Crack]

Pause that shit deep. That shit won't stop. Wow, he just got the bats. Listen, you go from the. What you call that? You go from Barclays. That's that Main Street. What avenue? You go from the Barclays. That's one street about an hour long. You go to Long island, all that, right? You passed four white Castles on that, yo. Four white Castles on that.

[Jada]

What a hell of a landmarks do you know about?

[Joe Crack]

Oh, man, four white Castles. You go to the Barclays, you take that one street down. Jackson. Four white castles. Four white castles. That's how I know we getting to the end. By the time you hit the fourth white Castle. I went to these projects. They had a. I can't think they had a fucking. A basketball game, the championship. And these projects in Brooklyn. Chris Gotti sent me in there. Thank God we had the yard. This shit was like. Yo, it was like the Coliseum. You gotta park in the middle of the project. You gotta walk in the. There ain't no such in the surface, the soil. And then leaving. Chris, you gotta tell me what them projects was. And they were playing the chip. They had hookah, they were selling hookah. What's the shit they call the fucking.

[Lola Brooke]

Who's that, Gersh?

[Joe Crack]

Nutcrackers. Nutcrackers. Who's that?

[Lola Brooke]

Gersh.

[Joe Crack]

Gersh. They had the girls from Starlet selling hookahs and now this shit out of control. They got a popcorn standing there. But it really felt like, how we getting out this bitch if it just pop off?

[Lola Brooke]

Yeah, you was in East New York.

[Joe Crack]

That was East New York. So when you start from Fort Greene, going over there, it's deep.

[Lola Brooke]

That's. That's. Yeah, that's a drop.

[Joe Crack]

That's what I'm trying to say.

[Lola Brooke]

That's a drop.

[Joe Crack]

They jam me up. You know me, they jam me up. I taught my wife. I never do the same shit twice. So when I go to my house every night, I go to the right, to the left, go a Little further come down. No, I'm not.

[Lola Brooke]

How you left?

[Joe Crack]

I did that in the projects. I come out through the basement one day to go to school. I come out through the front. I go out through the rent building. I switch my shit up every day. You ain't timing me like that. It don't go like that. Right. So in there, n gonna have to get to shooting. Cause there ain't no normal way to get out of them Girst projects, I'm telling you. Are you jammed up? The parking lot is in the middle of the projects. If they close that shit up, good luck. You gotta do what you gotta do to get the fuck out them projects.

[Jada]

That's a fact of Monday.

[Lola Brooke]

Oh, man.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Today's show brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet, Florida's best sports book. I know it's tough with no football, but like the song says, I will survive. Hard Rock Bet. Always something to bet every single night. Hoops, hockey, so much more. All the great same game parlays, live betting, player props. Hard Rock Bet is the official sports betting partner of the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic, so they know their basketball as well. If you haven't signed up yet for Hard Rock Bet, never been a better time. Signups, double your winnings on your first 10 bets. Maximum 50 bucks. If you would have won 200 bucks in your bet, make that 200. Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook only legal sportsbook for wherever you're in Florida or you also if you live in Arizona, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, Michigan. Coming soon to more states. Hard Rock Bets got new promos daily. Whenever you're listening, just open the app. Check it out any day of the week. Download the Hard Rock Bet app and.

[Jada]

Make your first deposit payable and bonus bets. Not a cash offer. Offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. In Florida, offered by the Seminole Hard Rock Digital ll and all other states must be 21 and over and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee or Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about gambling in Florida, call 1-88-APPROVED in Indiana. If someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-9 with it gambling problem, call 1-800-GGLE that's in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohi, Tennessee and Virginia.

[Joe Crack]

This month, iHeartRadio is celebrating the stars of the 2026 Winter Games. Representing Vienna, Virginia, Ilya Malonen is redefining what is possible on the ice. Known as the Quad God, the reigning world champion arrives in Milano, Cortina as the only skater in History. To land a quadruple Axel in competition, he isn't just performing a routine. He's pushing the laws of physics. Malinin stepped the into onto the Olympic ice, looking to turn his technical revolution into pure gold. For more Winter Games gold Search olympics on the iHeartRadio app. Man, I saw you in Paris. Remember, we did Paris together.

[Lola Brooke]

The Jordan.

[Joe Crack]

The Jordan joint. I seen you out there in Paris. I was proud of you.

[Lola Brooke]

Thank you.

[Joe Crack]

You know, and you know what's crazy? We don't get enough time to tell you and everybody else, whether you young, you the og, you know, in this game, yeah, it's a competitive game, but we happy for everybody. And everybody's just. We got like a alma mater. Rest in peace. Fat Man Scoop outside like we. We took a beating, you know, we used to. You know, I hung out with him. No kiss. What's the matter, man? Bouncing around because it's a family, G. His brother sitting in my face. You think I can't? That's all I could think about. This. My brother, Fat Man Scoop. I hung out with him. We ate breakfast, right? We had a show in Europe. We ate breakfast together. That guy was so happy. He had a gun collection, right? He kept bragging to Me, yo, the AR12 comes with a. I'm like, what? Yo, no, legal. Legal. But he was such a positive dude my whole life, but he was talking to me about guns. Last time I was with him, he's like, yo, I can't get back. I can't wait to get back. I'm gonna go buy this new shit with a scope on it. This. I'm like, yo, fat Man's cool. Like, you buying guns at a mile a minute. But he loved it, right? You know, what a beautiful soul, bro.

[Jada]

Clap, you nigga.

[Joe Crack]

Huh?

[Jada]

He was gonna clap song.

[Joe Crack]

Well, you know, that's what I say to the end of the show. Jada wants to kill me. I said, yo, listen, if you have a son. If you have a son that love guns, and you live in New York, where it's two years no matter what, I don't give a fuck what kind of money you got. Lil Wayne sat two years for the gun. I don't care how much money you got here, Johnny Cockwood. Nobody could get you out. If your son love guns, take him to Atlanta, take them to Connecticut, take them to Pennsylvania, take them somewhere. Let them buy the guns.

[Jada]

They're gonna kill him. You making it. You saying the solution there. If your son is Gundelero, take him somewhere.

[Joe Crack]

Where's the wild Wild west, you agree with that? No, what I'm saying is kids that love guns, they get caught with three guns before they blink in New York City and they doing real time.

[Lola Brooke]

I mean, this might sound crazy, right? I had a fetish for them, but I don't know, something clicked in me that it wasn't cool. It's like, your kids gonna get it.

[Jada]

That's your style.

[Lola Brooke]

You know what I'm saying? Like I'm seeing eye to eye with them.

[Joe Crack]

So I'm like, no, I'm just talking about Jill.

[Lola Brooke]

When you raise your. No, I'm saying though, when you raise your kids, right? After a while, they get it, they get it. It'll click. It'll be so random too. You're just. A lot of things click for me. Like growing up in Brooklyn, I was around the wrong crowd. But sometimes I go home and I'd be like, yo, that shit was so whack. Like, why, why did I. That was, that was pointless. It was corny because I knew at home my mom's made it safe. It was, I felt safe there. So it was like, why I'm going outside doing all this extra shit when I got a hard working moms that make sure the home feel like home.

[Jada]

Can't take that for granted. Send your son crazy, Send your kids.

[Joe Crack]

To the army, to the gun state.

[Jada]

And let him, let him get all the guns they want is his solution.

[Joe Crack]

Okay, listen America, I don't know, Listen America, hear my logic. My logic is I got a lot of friends that their kids like guns. You in America, in certain states have the right to bear arms before your kid is a 3 time felon by the time I'm 19. Because he loves guns, man, you went to jail for the hammer. Before you go do that, move to a state where it's legal and let him do it the right way. Otherwise. I know what I'm talking about, guys. Play if you want. And you'll be going to see your son upstate in no time.

[Jada]

That shit fix me not a sinner. This dying.

[Lola Brooke]

I think it's just pray.

[Joe Crack]

Just pray, just pray. Prayer helps.

[Lola Brooke]

Pray helps you.

[Joe Crack]

You, you into prayer and God. Yeah, I pray big time.

[Lola Brooke]

I pray, I pray last night. I always pray though.

[Joe Crack]

I pray every.

[Lola Brooke]

I pray everywhere. Let me tell you, surprise, I ain't praying here.

[Joe Crack]

Yes, I sell my prayers on a plane because, you know I'm scared to fly. I see myself while I'm praying in a white suit talking to millions of God, please, the dog next to me doesn't want to Die right now. God, please give these pilots the knowledge. Oh, yo, if they are. Nah, I'm certified pussy. If they taped my prayers in my mind on the plane or they like, oh, this guy's pussy. He can never act tough in his life. This guy. Like, I pray too hard. The record with Bryson Tiller. Yeah, okay, Sav. Did that do what you wanted it to do or. No, no, that record was a super smash. Did the record label throw the proper bag behind that?

[Lola Brooke]

It went platinum.

[Jada]

That's my shit. You know what I'm saying? Platinum.

[Joe Crack]

Platinum. Oh, man, that's crazy.

[Lola Brooke]

With gold. Don't play with it with platinum. But I got a. Yeah, I got a plat.

[Jada]

After this, it might go platinum.

[Lola Brooke]

It's going to go plat. It's going to go platinum.

[Jada]

After this, it's going platinum, Zach.

[Joe Crack]

See how much we bring it back. Not only was the record a smash, but I don't know if, you know, we discovered Bryson Tiller, and I happen to know the man just don't work with anybody.

[Lola Brooke]

No, he don't.

[Joe Crack]

He don't care. He don't care about your bag. He don't care who you are.

[Jada]

That's a fact.

[Joe Crack]

And when that man jumped on the track with you, to me, being a hip hop historian, it was just super validation. Cause he don't fuck with nobody.

[Lola Brooke]

No matter.

[Joe Crack]

He don't even post a picture on IG you. So. That shit is so fire. The record is fire. And then he rock with you. You know that. Get the other. You know, you might catch a child of the creator next time. Somebody who don't really rock with people is like, oh, she's somebody. We need to take serious.

[Jada]

Working hard. Yup.

[Joe Crack]

So I'm glad you. Because I got some records. I did that. I thought, you know, the reason why I truly went independent was I dropped the record with Young Jeezy. Yeah. What was it? Ha ha. Slow down, son. You killing him. To me, that was a lean back. Like, I thought that.

[Jada]

Something crazy to that beat.

[Joe Crack]

You rock to that. Ha ha. Let me tell you something. We shot the video in Harlem. We did the movie.

[Jada]

Jeezy.

[Joe Crack]

I was like this shit outta here. Like, the phone calls. I was getting fake phone calls from the industry. You back, yo, it's a lean back. It's them. I was hyped. And the record label, I know for a fact they didn't push that shit. And that's when I said, you know what? You guys ain't doing this to me no more. I'm going independent. Putting My own bag up. I'm not coming over here begging somebody to push my shit or whatever the case may be. That song changed my life. Because that's one song to this day. If I'm sitting in the club with you and they play it, it bothers me when I hear it. I'm like, this shit was supposed to be outta here. This shit was a missile. This shit. You see the Savannah. When that song came out the next day, LeBron was doing the little dance to the shit too. Like, I was like, oh, no, this we got one. And they didn't push it. And they was acting like, nah, got you. We do it. You know, that forced me to go independent. But you're correct. No matter what you do, if you put out a hit, they want the second. Lean Back. I put out Lean Back. I think the next song I put out was make it Rain. The shit went full platinum and N was still like, this ain't Lean Back, yo. They was dead ass. Oh, no, you gotta do it again. Then again, then again, then again, then again and then again. And that's why when I look at certain artists that put it out the park consistently, that's when I be like, man. Cause you know, one hit is a miracle. One hit is a miracle. I always say. They talk about one hit wonders. I always say, yo, motherfucker, lived this dream. One hit with my man. Gold over my plaques, Gold over the mountain Watch send it that James golden, I thought gold, man. I seen him on a red carpet. I seen him take pictures with everybody he ever loved. I seen him live a life. So when somebody hit it out the park one time, it's a dream come true. But to consistently, you know, you hit it. You know, in our era, it's a Nelly, it's a 50 cent, as ja Rule is. These guys kept coming and coming and coming with hits and hits and hits and hits. And you have to respect them when you in the business of making hits, because when do you know you got a hit? Do you know when you got a hit?

[Lola Brooke]

Well, now I do. You can feel it. People treat you different.

[Joe Crack]

No, but I mean, in the studio, you create a song that.

[Lola Brooke]

I don't know. Music for me is a lifestyle. I'm making music because it's making me feel good. I do music because it speaks for me like I do music. Cause it's therapeutic. I didn't start doing music for a bag, but I caught a bag. So I'm gonna continue to do it for that as well. But nah, I don't Be in the studio like, yo, I gotta make a hit. I be in the studio like, oh, I gotta get this shit off. Cause if I don't, I'm be going crazy.

[Joe Crack]

I like that. You like ever songs, right? You knew, you. What song you knew, Jay, that you had to hit? Thank you, Lola. Thank you. God blesseth the savior. This guy here, he's a sniper. He be killing me. Every show when I go home, I watch the replay. I'm like, yo, this. This sniping me. I'm on the couch. I don't even know. He killing me like that. What song you had that you knew is a hit before it came out? Me in the studio. You recorded it? Why?

[Lola Brooke]

Mm.

[Joe Crack]

Why was so incredible, brother?

[Lola Brooke]

That was a different type of hit.

[Joe Crack]

Oh, man. But it was perfect.

[Lola Brooke]

It was different.

[Joe Crack]

That was God talking like. You know what I'm saying? It was so different. It was. It was necessary. To this day, it's necessary. Anthony Hamilton. What made you think of him for the hook?

[Jada]

Shout out to my man, Rest in peace, Ice Pick. We just thought we, you know, once we got it, once we got this song, shout out to Havoc too, for doing the beat.

[Joe Crack]

But once we got it, they know.

[Jada]

That we already knew. We knew we wanted to get somebody. We were big fans. We are big fans of Anthony Hamilton. So it was just the beat was perfect for him. And once we told him the concept and he heard the verses. I had the verses on before the hook. So once he heard it, he had the hook and did that shit fast.

[Joe Crack]

He made the hook.

[Jada]

Yeah.

[Lola Brooke]

So he was like, wah. Oh.

[Joe Crack]

Keith Swag came up here. Keith Swag came up here and said, what's that shit called? Southern. There's a name for that kind of music. Southern. Whole genre I never heard.

[Jada]

Yeah, he made that.

[Joe Crack]

He might have invented. He invented that, right? Southern something.

[Lola Brooke]

It's Southern soul.

[Joe Crack]

Southern soul. He said, it ain't R B, it ain't this. It's got his own name. Huh? Listen, when I. When, you know, I'm in the house, my phone ring. It's like four in the morning. I got the house phone. I'm laying in the bed. Yo, Joe, come to the head factory. I'm like, who's this? How do you got my house? And he was like, reserve Gotti. Come in, the hair factory's 4 in the morning. I said, got something for you. I only met him one time before that. We both hooked the same studio and we talk shit till like seven in the morning. No work got done. We were just telling stories And I realized, I said, yo, this nigga just liked me. Like, he got the stories. Like, back Irv Gotti, he got the stories. So we going back to back stories. He must have liked three. Pun dies, right? Rest in peace. Ja Rule comes to the funeral. I never even met Ja Rule before that. He came to the funeral. I was like, it's a good man. But anyway, like, a month after Pun dies, he calls me out of nowhere. And you want to talk about pressure? They were like, you know, Pun was so much better than me. They was like, oh, this nigga threw like, Pun is the king. Joe is a bum. Now, Joe, it's over for him. He's like. I mean, literally in my face, they were saying this shit, right? So when I went in, they just pressed Play and the Hit Factory. Like, I ain't gonna lie to you. I don't give a fuck what you think. I never spent money like that on the studio. Like, my studios was always underground, small studio. I Never spent the 5,000 a night. Hit Factory. Like, I wouldn't do that. That's one thing I wouldn't spend on. They had different speakers. That shit came on through. Nigga was like, what's love? I knew immediately. I said, oh, oh, shit. This shit outta here. Like, this is shit. It's gone. And so it was crazy. After Irv died, I had asked my wife. Cause she was there with me. And I asked her. I said, yo, what? I never asked her. Cause, you know, I'm always caring about what I think. I said, what did you think? That night when we drove home, she said, I knew our life had changed forever. And when she heard Once Love one time, she was like. She said, I always loved Durv Gotti. Cause of that. She was like, I knew it. Driving back to the Bronx, she was like, oh, no, this shit. This shit over. It's about to be a new day. But you know, when you know you got that hit.

[Lola Brooke]

See, back then, it was so different. Like, the substance was so raw. Now it's like, there's no such thing as, you know, what's the hit. It'd be like the random stuff being a hit now. So it's hard. It's like we in a weird space for music.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, you are. But if you keep it consistent, nothing. Yeah, nothing changes. You know, I love what you said without you knowing. You answered that question. So beautiful, where you was like, yo, it ain't about a hit. I gotta get this off. That's really. That's Aretha Franklin. That's all the greats that we could call, they just. Anthony Hamilton, he just sunk from the soul. This and that. And then people related to it.

[Lola Brooke]

Right.

[Joe Crack]

You know what I mean? So that's really where music is at. You feel like you talking your shit. You. You. And people could relate. That's powerful right there. That never changes.

[Lola Brooke]

Yeah, hits come from great energy. It's a room full of energy. Is it a hit is guaranteed gonna be made for sure.

[Joe Crack]

You know, it's so funny. I went to a show one time and it was just crowded. Who was it? I think Gumbo threw some shit in Jersey. And here I'm going up the stairs, and there's a bunch of big guys and there's a girl flying in the air past me going down the stairs. And that's how I knew how little you was. It was so crowded. There y' all was, carrying her out the motherfucker. I'm like, yo, this shit great. I'm looking up saying, oh, shit, that little Lola Brooks.

[Lola Brooke]

It be so much people, I be needing help.

[Joe Crack]

They carry you out of that shit.

[Jada]

That's when it comes in handy. They can just lift you up and slide you over the.

[Lola Brooke]

Yeah, like, take me three minutes.

[Jada]

What's your process like in the studio? What you need? What's your.

[Joe Crack]

What's essentials for?

[Lola Brooke]

All right, so, boom. I need some H2O, I need some water Facts, I need honey and tea Facts, I ain't gonna front. Need the tequila, you know what I'm saying? You know, tequila. I need the gsa, you know what I'm saying? I need hookah. A good engineer. I don't gotta keep tapping him on his shoulder, not doing that. Get it right. And good, good vibes. Of course. Some grubs, you know? Some grubs.

[Joe Crack]

You know what's crazy is we was just talking off the camera like you said it'd be some good shit. He was telling me that Tupac one time, there's a video where he telling the engineer, yo, my job is to record. I leave you mix that shit. I don't know what to do with that. That's you. You get that shit.

[Jada]

I can't even stay there for the mix. He lay his verses and stuff, make sure it's good.

[Joe Crack]

That was ill, dude. That was. I gotta hear it.

[Jada]

I gotta hear this shit, man.

[Joe Crack]

That boy Scott Storch sent me back, leaned back like, I got a demo. I'm demoitis. I know a hit. I'm a little bit. And I noticed you're not the first artist. More artists Come here saying they didn't know what was a hit. I always knew what was ahead. So when I left Lean Back, I knew that shit was number one. He sent back the mix and had like a cowbell on that shit going ping. I was like, yo, my man, who the fuck told you to throw a bell on that bitch? Take that shit crack. We could just take it out. You get into the same. I'm like, fuck out of here. I'm like, I'm definitely one of those. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. We hear it the shit. You know, your man Kendrick Lamar, they said that when he did, they not like us. They didn't even mix that shit. He said he was like, yo, get that shit out now. 30 minutes later, he was like, yo, I want that shit out. Like, they didn't even professionally mix. They not like us. It was just like, yo, do a random little two track, it's out. You know. And so you know me, I'm into mixes. I fucked up one time and I had Jay Z on this record we had on Family ties projects. Jay Z spit the verse, and we looking for the mixer of the year. All this bullshit. Cooling Dre, Jesus, Joshua gotta get back from parties. This, this that they was playing. And the man they called back about three, four days later was like, yo, you can't drop that verse. Cause he was like, getting at, like, certain people at the time, they was like, yo, can't put that out this. I was like, nigga, I fucking told you to get that shit. The front master flex in 20 minutes. Now we sitting on a Jay Z verse we can never use in our life. You know, sometimes can't go, you gotta go, you gotta run and go.

[Lola Brooke]

That's how I recorded my last project. I did, I bet. Like, I have a scratch off and I just go. So whatever I say, I'm looking at the engineer like, keep that shit. Cause you might not get that moment back.

[Joe Crack]

We just fucking heard that about Tupac. He used to say the same shit. He be like, yo, I ain't erasing nothing. He go over there rock.

[Lola Brooke]

Yeah. You be asking no sexy shit put in the intro.

[Joe Crack]

That's crazy. Not us. They not even me. I probably would be like that. But they forceful. These guys want perfection. These guys, these cooling Drake. I'm probably the only old school rapper that they make do it 100 times till the verse is picture perfect. Like, they. They abused me in that studio. Nah, not like that, Joe. This. To this day, they still, like, coach me. Like, yo, Joe. Like, you know. Cause me, I. You know, if I had a dream come true, I would go to Nebraska, some shit, and make my own album. And it'd be some shit about God, some about flowers, some about killing, some about, they want Fat Joe the gangster at all times. They be like, that gangster shit.

[Lola Brooke]

Yeah, that's crazy.

[Joe Crack]

Nah, Joe, the niggas want to hear you spit. And I'd be like, every time I try to be a nice guy on the record, they don't allow us. The song Pain. We use mj. She was excited about that, by the way.

[Lola Brooke]

I love Mary. I was excited. I was excited.

[Joe Crack]

I said, she love you. Like, by the way. Behind the scenes.

[Lola Brooke]

Yeah, I love her so much.

[Joe Crack]

She was like, yo, I cleared this. She. I'm like, all right, man. Yeah, Lola Brooks. I like her. This, that. What made you use that sample and the title, Pain.

[Lola Brooke]

When you think of Mary J, pain is the first. The first word that come to my mind. Like, I didn't see my mom get through her day listening to Mary J. You know what I'm saying? I didn't see my mom stressed out. She put on Mary J and she could clean a whole house. That's what she was in my household. My mom's what I knew Mary J was on. I said, oh, I gotta get up and clean my room or she gonna be wilding on me. So Pain, with that record, I feel like she like, no more pain. And I'm like, this the new generation. No more pain. I learned from you, too. Like, my mom's made sure of that. It's no more pain. We standing on that as black women. I'm standing on that. I'm not going through it. Like, I see my moms go through it. I'm straight. So I was excited that she cleared it because it meant something to me, who was rocking.

[Joe Crack]

Because there's a generational gap. And I could tell you, my mother and my aunts, they was this one song. I don't know if you know it, you way too young. But they were singing I Will Survive.

[Jada]

Oh.

[Joe Crack]

And I was a kid, I didn't know what they was really singing. And they would sing this shit.

[Lola Brooke]

Wait, how it go?

[Joe Crack]

I will survive Dinosaur. Oh, no, no, no. Walk out the door. Who's that, huh? Gloria Gaynor. Then turn around now. Cause you not welcome. And I be in front of the building. We live in the fifth floor in the projects. They be singing that shit. And you hear it outside, like, you know, that's that cleaning the house. And Mary was that for you, right? Who are some artists that were very inspirational to you in your age group? Who was rocking when you was like, yo, I think I want to be a rap. Like, who was like, on fire?

[Lola Brooke]

Lil wayne, Meek Mill, 50 Cent. It was a time where I would have Lil Wayne. I would be on LimeWire, and it'd be nothing but Lil Wayne on my iPad, my ipod.

[Joe Crack]

I just met a little. A young brother from New Orleans. What his name? Leezy or something, a rapper. He was up there, Lareezy the man. I was telling him that Lil Wayne taught me how to work fast. So I come from a way back generation where rappers would do an album. I don't give a fuck if it was number one. And they would wait four years to drop. That was it. They would wait, sit home for two years, and then, all right, it's four years, let's drop the next one. We didn't have that work effort. But Lil Wayne, when he moved to Miami after Katrina, and I used to go visit him in the studio every night. He was cutting records. He was cutting records. So he taught me like, yo, Joe, if you want to be relevant in this generation, you got to keep working and working and working. And so he taught me about being in the studio every night. So Lil wayne, Meek Mill, 50 Cent. That's who was ringing off at that. That Meek Mill. That. That shit ain't never gonna stop. That's like. That should be in the museum. What's that shit when they take your shit and they put it in, like. No, they got some shit where they put it in the Washington, D.C. what is that? Library of Congress, James. We gotta ask the one white guy on set. Yo, James, what is that like? Is that the Library of Congress? That rhyme like this? Nah, I'm like this.

[Lola Brooke]

It was the hunger for me with Meek, it was the hunger. He made me feel like. You shouldn't be shy to speak about your truth. Whatever you're going through your reality, you could put it in your music, no matter if it's embarrassing or not. Like, if you cried today, tell him you cried today, Wayne. I learned punchlines. I listened to Cannon back to back, figuring out what he meant by his lyrics. And 50. It was just so New York.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, Wayne is different, right? So Wayne, his flow path. Cause he from the south and the Southern rappers use different flows. But then he started rapping over New York beats. But he was hitting them flows. He was dumbing out. Like, we. I was just like, oh, shit. We didn't know people could do that. I remember One. One record. I don't know the name. Every time I bring it up, everybody act like they don't know what I'm talking about. But it was. He rapped to a Jay Z record. And let me tell you something. Jay Z bodied that shit to begin with. And that man went up in there so much you got. And that man, Lil Wayne was doing all this backstage. He was doing the Jamiroquai on that, remember, Jamari choir video. He was going in the treadmill backwards, like this. Lil Wayne was doing to that. It was like. AI. Like, we had never heard nobody flow ostrich. And Jay Z bodied that. And then he went up in there and was like. And that's when I knew. I said, oh, we got. We got a new leader of the new school. This guy, he on another level. Another level. Lil Wayne, one of the best guys you'll ever meet, you know, on Earth. So where you want to go from here, Lola? You have some success. You got platinum gold plaques. What do you want to do? At the end of the day when you want to look at your career 10 years from now, 15 years from now, what's your vision of success?

[Lola Brooke]

Being on the movie screens, having my own show. That's what I want.

[Joe Crack]

Shout out Tiana Taylor. She hit me four times today. You know what I'm saying? Word. Yeah, yeah. You know, T, she got a sneaker coming out, so she wanted to, you know, you'll crack. You know what I'm saying? You know, we so proud. Listen, Tiana, we are so fucking proud of you, man. And you want to know what's crazy?

[Lola Brooke]

She makes New York City look so good.

[Joe Crack]

I'm into talking shit about people or whatever the case may be, but I'm falling for the. Teyana won the award. Don't she look different now to you? Like, from one day to the other? So now I'm looking at her outfits and I'm like, yeah, she queen. She a big girl. I don't know the glow up. She always been bad. She always been fly. But since she won the award, she.

[Lola Brooke]

Got a glow, right?

[Joe Crack]

She looking like fucking Angela Bassett.

[Lola Brooke]

She was ready, right?

[Joe Crack]

She looking like some other shit right now. She ain't just Teyana Taylor, who sit like that on the couch with us and bug out. It's. I don't know. I'm falling for it. I don't know. I'm feeling like, wow.

[Lola Brooke]

She was ready for her moment. You could tell that she. She patiently wait for her, waited for her moment, and when it came, she was ready A lot of people not ready for their moment.

[Joe Crack]

No.

[Lola Brooke]

No.

[Joe Crack]

A lot of people ain't.

[Lola Brooke]

And that's the most important thing about this whole thing. You gotta be ready for when it come. Cause you don't know when it's gonna come.

[Joe Crack]

That's a super fact, you know? Good man, you could quote, is a guy named Fat Joe. His quote is, you gotta stay in the game. You never know.

[Lola Brooke]

That's what he said.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, I'm telling. Yo, listen, you gotta stay in the game. You never know. And so what I mean by that is, you got a guy. I don't know if it's true or is a lie, but what I hear from rumors, the guy, what's his name? Chlamillionaire Chameleonair. He had that big hit, but he went off and did some, like, some shit in Silicon Valley. You don't know, you know, you think, Dr. Dre, this is some shit. I always say there's one of them stories you say, joe, you repeat this shit. But Dr. Dre discovered it. NWA, that's ice cube, Eazy, E, all of them. He's done his own albums, Chronic, which is we consider one of the greatest, if not the greatest album ever. He discovered Snoop Dogg, then went and discovered eminem. That discovered 50 Cent. And did you think that the most money he ever made come from headphones? You never fucking know. I never forget when them headphones came out. I'm in first class, and every white guy, white girl on that plane had them shits on. And I'm just like, that's when you know, huh?

[Jada]

No, black people had it.

[Joe Crack]

We had it. But you know, we always gonna support Dr. Dre. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is, when somebody listen.

[Lola Brooke]

My first pit wasn't mine.

[Joe Crack]

We stole them. Shit. Come on, Lola, tell me about it.

[Lola Brooke]

Oh, wait, hold on. Cause he gonna think I ain't trying to put that bag in his pocket.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, look. You stole them shits.

[Lola Brooke]

I'll just say, yeah, I had them here, and it wasn't mine.

[Joe Crack]

It wasn't yours?

[Lola Brooke]

Yeah. Not what. I ran them down.

[Joe Crack]

I was so grateful for them. That was the best headphones I ever heard. At the time.

[Lola Brooke]

It had the red wire. Red wire, too. It wasn't wireless.

[Joe Crack]

You know what broke my heart is before your time, Lola. They had this thing called the ipod. I have maybe what I just told you.

[Lola Brooke]

I was listening to Lil Wayne on my ipod. I just said that.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, I didn't know that.

[Lola Brooke]

I was listening to Canon.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, my shit just turned off.

[Lola Brooke]

Like, hold on, hold on. I don't want to. I got.

[Joe Crack]

Let me ask you a question. Did everybody get like a. Like a. You know when they say it's a virus? When my ipod turned off. My ipod turned off. That had like 5, 10,000 fucking songs on that shit. My shit just. Did we get a bug? No, my ipod don't work. If somebody has a working iPod in 2026. Cause my shit just turned off.

[Lola Brooke]

I wonder if my. Cause I still got mine. I wonder if it works.

[Joe Crack]

Yo, that broke my heart. When the ipod turned off, I'm really in the gym going, I got the same shit popped at Pop that shit. Pop. I'm like, I got that shit, that gym playlist to keep going. That shit said, no more ipod. You know, they do that shit with the phones. They. When they come out with the new phone, i17 your shit all of a sudden start glitching, not working. You ain't hear, nah, maybe I'm losing. Sir, you gotta go buy the phone.

[Lola Brooke]

You need a new phone. The updated one.

[Joe Crack]

The new XXL freshman 2023. Glorilla Friday sent you C. How you feel about that class?

[Lola Brooke]

I mean, I was on there. I feel great about it. I ain't think I would ever be on the COVID of xxl.

[Joe Crack]

Wow.

[Lola Brooke]

I dreamed of it, but I'm like, eh, I ain't never gonna get that. Like, if I get a hit, if I pop, I ain't getting that. I would say that to myself, but, you know, coming from a place of doubts, it'll do that to you. So when I did get it, I'm like, nah, don't ever. Don't ever soak doubt facts. I was proud.

[Joe Crack]

You ever. You ever feel like some people might have took off before you and you was like, yo, I was right next to him. Like, I like. I had this artist shout out, Angelica Villa. She got a project coming out and I remember she was doing like, them showcases and Doja Cat was. Nobody knew her. She was performing with her. And Angelica had more of the power. She had Fat Joe there with her. I'm pushing her, blowing the bag. This is that. And that Doja Cat went to the fucking moon. And I remember that showcase when nobody knew both of them, you know, at least Angelica walked in with the Joe Crack. We coming through furred out. She's looking good. And man, that Doja Cat. So you ever seen that and said, damn, I gotta get there. Or, you know, if I would have.

[Lola Brooke]

Seen that, I don't think I Would have got my hit. I wouldn't. I wouldn't have been blessed with my hit. This is like when you watch somebody else blessings or somebody else pockets, then you ain't focus on yours.

[Jada]

So talk slow to them, though.

[Joe Crack]

Yeah, I get. I got a little man. I tell everybody. I don't give a what they say, you know, they gonna try to spice my up. But, you know, I got little man. I came in the game. I'm selling drugs. I got Beamers and Benzes, Cuban changed, iced out. All these other rappers looking at me like they saw an alien and shit. That's how I came in the game. They could fucking lie if they want. And all them niggas became billionaires before Joe Crack. And I'm sitting here still struggling for the next paycheck. And I'm like, shit, these motherfuckers really got to the Billy before me. Like, I was like, you know, so, you know, now they inspire me. Now I'm like, all right, I gotta keep going. I know we could do that because I seen these guys before they did that. So I've always looked at stuff like inspiration, right? You know, that's how I took it. Let's listen to pain one good time. Feel the pain.

[Lola Brooke]

Feel the pain.

[Joe Crack]

Feel the pain. I went to that mall and got some sneakers.

[Jada]

Or else you will get back.

[Lola Brooke]

Got to count on me cuz I can guarantee that I'll be fine.

[Joe Crack]

No.

[Lola Brooke]

More lift me up. You cry for everything. You don't cry for love no more. I can do whatever I want here. You don't I look like crying. I'm buying everything you brought me. Thompson reminds him I was that before him. He chimed in, bing bong. I'm like, guess who I'm a G. They keep it P. I'm like, f you. Oh, you thought that was your man's, huh? Guess who I don't want him or his money. These hoes be crashing for dummies. They either broke or they ugly. These men be dusty and musty. What you doing with a that got more motion than you, more money than you that's out here out hustling you trying to n this other but don't got nothing to lose why ain't giving nothing? He got something to prove. I got too much money to be with you. I got plenty options there a 100 of you so you know how I do, you know how I move crying but you hope that I do.

[Joe Crack]

That's that, that baseline, huh?

[Lola Brooke]

Try to play me like an outcast. Some are out last I'MMA make you drink your tears in the shot glass? I'mma make you face your fears going outside, do your big one on me? You don't cry for love? But you begging for attention? The bundles on my back? I put some shames to your inches? Instead of trying to keep it peace? You should have knew your limits? Like I wouldn't have you crying in the New York mini, lift me up? You cry for everything you don't cry for? You cry for everything? You don't cry for love? Don't cry for love. Baseline.

[Joe Crack]

That Baseline.

[Lola Brooke]

Thank you.

[Joe Crack]

That shit going somewhere else with it, man.

[Lola Brooke]

Thank you.

[Joe Crack]

What's the name of the project? The new joint.

[Lola Brooke]

I bet.

[Joe Crack]

I bet it's like.

[Lola Brooke]

I bet. Say, look.

[Jada]

No doubt.

[Joe Crack]

It's fire.

[Jada]

It's that New York. Yo.

[Joe Crack]

This ain't that.

[Jada]

That ain't this.

[Joe Crack]

This cracking kiss. God damn it.

[Jada]

Make some noise for Lola Brooke.

[Joe Crack]

Y', all.

[Lola Brooke]

From Geico Subconscious News, I'm Tammy. Racing thoughts broadcasting from your brain. Tonight's top worry. If something happens to your apartment and you need to, like, stay in a hotel and pay for it, that would be crazy, right? Art Palpitations has more.

[Joe Crack]

That would be crazy, Tammy. But you got surprisingly affordable renters insurance through Geico, so it could be covered, giving you peace of mind.

[Lola Brooke]

Aw, I love a story that ends well.

[Joe Crack]

Next up, love stories. Are they all they're cracked up to be?

[Lola Brooke]

It feels good to worry less. It feels good to Geico.