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Cutting School on The Ferry with Liam Nissan & Alfred Banks
57 Plays4 hours ago
This week I am joined by Alfred Banks and Troy Watts, we talk about their new album Yestermonth. How sneakers played a huge roll in Troy's life, what it's been like being an internet sensation. Why he always says his wife is bad and how bad is she? Alfred co-host with me and we get down to what influence Troy to start making beats. Why these two work so well together and how Troy used to cut school so much he ended up working for the MTA. Plus a whole ton more!
Follow Troy:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/liam_nissan/
Luther: https://www.instagram.com/luthervandals.wav/
Follow Alfred:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/underdogcentral/
COP YESTERMONTH: https://album.link/mmvtj6cf2vvjb
Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Sign up for the Patreon: https://patreon.com/MyFirstKicks
Intro & Outro by Sango: https://www.instagram.com/sango_/
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Transcript
Dodging Truancy and High School Stories
00:00:00
Speaker
I was cutting every day in my- my You chose junior year to start? My junior year, the most important year. while I was like, yo, I'm and i'm a real nigga. What? Watch what I do. I was dodging truancy like Jason Bourne, bro. I was on the- Yo, I had the crazy strategy. Because truancy would stop looking around- Yeah, after three o'clock. No, no, no. they would stop at like 11. Yeah, yeah. They would stop at like 10.30. Actually, it was like 10.30. 10.30, yeah. Right? And so, it would be like,
00:00:30
Speaker
9 o'clock, i would I would basically like 9.30, 10 o'clock, I would jump on the Staten Island ferry and take it and back. Once I got back to Manhattan.
Introduction to the Podcast and Guests
00:00:41
Speaker
That's how bad you didn't want to go to fucking school. I had this i had the the elite strats, bro. wow I would take that because it's 30 minutes both ways. Boop, boop.
00:00:50
Speaker
You know what saying? I'd rather just go to class, bro. No, my nigga, I was in Soho. I was, was, yo, I was doing it. I was, I was everywhere. And it's crazy. Cause after I went to, um, after I left Bertram, cause it all came crashing. It was like, like the, when the feds rushed the, you know what mean? Like it all came crashing down. And, um, what'd you call it? They called the crib and was like, Troy has missed 200 days school.
Social Media Engagement and Viral Interactions
00:01:21
Speaker
What's good everyone. Welcome back to my first kicks the podcast where I use sneakers as a through line to get to know somebody. I'm your host Haas. I'm joined by three time guest, three time guest Alfred Banks, but he's going to be sitting in the co-host position just for this special episode because we also have none other.
00:01:42
Speaker
And I don't know what to go. What's your name? im going We going Liam Nissan? We could go Liam Nissan. could go Liam Nissan. That's where everybody know me at. We got Liam Nissan on the podcast today. Yo. Also, I don't know. ya But they both have an album coming out. Yes, sir. Yes, Lord. Yes, the month, man. June 12th. Oh, it's up, up, up. You what I mean? But welcome to the podcast, y'all. Appreciate it. This this is cool, man. And welcome back. It's here, man. Feels always good to be in spot, man. You my mans in them. Come on, man. Come on. We go way back. Come on, man. Come ah Troy. Yo, what up? What's up? Welcome to the pod, bro. Yo, this is this is nice. This is not nice. Yeah, man. Thanks for rocking with me for how big... I know we've been you know talking on the socials, but you always go viral.
Intellectual Property and Collaborations Online
00:02:23
Speaker
um You always be getting at white people in on threads. Come on, man. It's beautiful. Yo, listen. no Look, just don't do don't don't do nothing bad. Don't be bad. If you're not bad, I'm...
00:02:34
Speaker
I don't got no problems with you. Be good. Be good all the time. One thing, so I was looking throw ah through a post recently. Like it like it just came over my my page. But one thing i I noticed that was very nice of you. Somebody posted your video and you were like, yo, ta like send the collab on it. Yeah.
00:02:51
Speaker
Nobody does that, bro. Nah, man. Well, you know, because look, numbers is everything. You what I'm saying? And I got to get it where I can get it. If you're going to use my my likeness and my jokes and my my work, you know i'm saying?
00:03:08
Speaker
Yo, what's good? You know what saying? And so, some people, most of the time, I get added as collaborators.
Creative Connections and Collaborations
00:03:15
Speaker
had just one instance where somebody didn't do it, and I just sent the copyright strike. Come on, man, talk about it. You know what I mean? You don't want to play fair? It's cool. Like, don't worry about it. I got you. So. Yo, but like, real quick, how did you two meet?
00:03:31
Speaker
So me and Alfred, we got cool on Instagram, honestly. So before I was doing content, I mean, I've always done content, but before y'all seen it, ah i um I would just be on Instagram taking pictures of you know my sneakers and...
00:03:49
Speaker
that's really it. And i i do I used to do photography, so just things like that. my My kids, well my daughter at the time, only had a daughter. And me and Alfred, we started we clicked up on the sneaker shit. You know what I'm saying? Because Alfred, he got it. You know what I'm saying? he got mad sneakers. Yeah, I remember he we was on Zoom. Yeah. On the first episode. This man pulled out the Red Octobers. Come on, man. Lil' 1, 2. Lil' 1, 2. I've since sold them. he's But you know how go. He feel different, man. Yeah. We know which one you never saw him. Oh, yeah. My swagger. Swagger. Never happened. You know what time it is. It's clean as fuck. Rob Markman, But yeah, oh that's pretty much how we connected. it And so from that point, you know Alfred is is my my music friend. You know what i'm saying? he I always brag when I be like, yo, my man, Al, yo, he rap for a living. He don't got no job. He don't clock in nowhere, he clock in on the mic, you know i mean? And so um Alfred used to hit me and asked to use like my photography for his album artwork. Oh really? I didn't know that. Yeah, it's a couple of his joints that you know I took them pictures, you know mean? And so um it went from that to 2021, I started making beats. And I'm like, yo son, i saw like I'm making beats now. He's like, word, send me something. And then then it it it just became a ah ah running thing of, yo, send me something. Yo, send me what you got.
Humor and Community Building on Social Media
00:05:14
Speaker
What is it? You got something that sound like this? yes but da
00:05:17
Speaker
And next thing you know, we got a whole album ready to go. Yo, his beats are wild good. I remember, um i forget, we was on Instagram and he was playing the beat. And I was like, yo, who beat that is? That's crazy. He's like, that's mine. was like, excuse me? Hey, email that through, hear me? What's the name you go by again? Luthor Vandals. It's funny, because when when we be in the car and like some of my shit will come up on streaming, it'll be a picture of Luther Vandross on the thing. Yeah, 100%. Don't make me have to change this shit, man. But, you know, it's all good. Yeah, man. I hope you've been enjoying this week's episode with Liam Nissan and Alfred Banks. And of course, do not forget, if you're watching this on YouTube, hit that like, hit that subscribe, and leave a comment on the podcast episode. It goes a long way. It gets me in the algorithm, gets me in front of other listeners and viewers. And of course, if you're listening to this,
00:06:54
Speaker
please put the five stars on Apple Podcasts. Put the five stars on Spotify. It goes a very long way. Like I said, it gets me in other people's ears. It helps me grow the podcast. And of course, you gotta help the podcast.
00:07:08
Speaker
If you don't help the podcast, I might have to start reverting back to Zoom calls. So I got a Patreon. It's only one tier, $5. You get the episode early. I'm literally right now trying to put this episode together so I can put it up for the Patreon listeners and watchers.
00:07:25
Speaker
You get that episode on there on the podcast page for the Patreon. Patreon.com slash myfirstkicks. Come on now. Help your boy out. $5. But let's jump back into the episode. and ah But you're here to answer the question that I ask everybody each week. And that question is, what's your first kick? So it's that first pair of sneakers you absolutely needed to have. My first throw first pair that I needed to have?
00:07:51
Speaker
Or the best sneaker story that describes you? um Man, bro, it's it's so many. I'll give you my very first pair of sneakers. okay My very first pair, well, it actually was like a pair of Ellisys or something like that. I was born in the 80s, yo. You born in the 80s? Well, 89, but still. don't count, bro. That's the 80s, bro. 88, bro. You were kids. You was old, man. Anyways. Anyway, but no, like the first that I can remember is Aqua 8s. There you go. 94. Was that 94? Like, so. Yeah. And I remember I got the Aqua 8s and my big cousin, she had got the worms. And I thought hers just was so fire because they had a zipper on them. I like, yo, that's hard. Well, we wasn't saying that back then. But you know what But yeah, so Aqua 8s. So I've always had like a love for that shoe. I just try to remember what we were saying back then. That was
00:08:48
Speaker
Fresh. don' think I think we were a little bit up from fresh. we went i't say fresh oh we were Did we start fat back then? Nah, fat was like 2000. 2000, so that's No, I don't think dope was bit dope was around. Dope dope was 80s too. don't win i mean Dope, fresh. Dope, fresh, hot hot. No, hot was i think it's hot. I think it was probably hot. yo that's hot. 94 though.
00:09:14
Speaker
I don't know, B. don't know. Yo, comment what we were saying in 94. What was we saying in 94? Let me know, because I'm from the South. I don't know what you're saying. I was five. He was still in slavery. Come on, man. You got to chill, B.
00:09:32
Speaker
Slavery. This nigga's funny as hell. Slavery is crazy. Nah, I lie. I just told him a couple, yesterday, I like, yo, this is my, don't want no smoke. I know how to rip. I don't want no smoke with with with with Luther. I'm from 135th and Lenox Avenue. huh I will fry you. Yeah, I'm Gucci, my boy. You know what mean? Like, i respectfully, of course. yeah Yeah. You know, so... I mean, we've never done anything. Yo, disrespectfully? Disrespectfully, man, yeah! You about to get packed up? Like, nah. I mean, did you you did you get Aqua Aids back back in the day? um You know, no, I didn't. But you know, it's funny. About five years ago, i had a friend on Twitter. My man, ah, his name escapes me. Ah, ah but he's from the city. Liam Neeson. Nah, was... But Longest Hill Short, he was like, yo, you a real sneakerhead and I want to gift you with something. And he gifted me a pair of the original Aqua Asian. I still got them. and They're complete. They're crumbled. But I got them.
Alternative High School Experience and MTA Job
00:10:37
Speaker
And they're like, suit yo, it's the oldest pair I have. They're super cool. So yeah, shouts to him for that.
00:10:42
Speaker
What's the, so like from there, I mean, where'd you grow up? I grew up here i grew up in Harlem. I'm um um from Harlem. i've lived I've lived a couple places across from from east to the to the west side, but i got I jumped off the porch on 135th and Lennox, you know saying? And so. um What school did you go to?
00:11:03
Speaker
This is very new it is a very New York podcast. This is a New York episode? No, every episode is New York. I'll just say though. So like, you could just literally be like, yo, I went to blah, blah, blah. Yo, I went to three different high schools. I went to Martin Luther King. He was fighting there. Shout out the art shout out to R and Tech. You know mean? But I left there because they was they was fighting. They was doing all that fight. It was beating people's ass. You got to explain to it. All right. First of all, that was the first school, to my knowledge, that had metal detectors. Was it? i don't know what i don't know. I went to Washington Irving.
00:11:36
Speaker
And my high school was nicknamed Hell High. Yeah. You know that? You know that? Yes, yes, yes. But Martin Luther King, I remember because some of the year before I got there, somebody got smoked at Martin Luther King. So they put metal detectors. That's crazy. And so that just kind of was the energy. You know what saying? It was like going into the airport every day. Damn, man. You get used to it, bro. You get used to it. There's one high school quickly. There's one high school like that. It used to be called Walter L. Cohen. It was a Uptown off of, was it a, Barone, whatever, was Uptown. And yeah, metal detectives, man. They had a discovery documentary about how bad the school was. Yeah, it was pretty awful. I think you needed like a six part series for Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King wild because the thing is like when I got there for ninth grade, They were phasing out Martin Luther King and they had put the two, like, they put two different schools inside. It was Art and Magnus School. Yeah, yeah, yeah, right. Art and Tech and then Law and Advocacy. We had to wear uniforms. We had to do a whole thing. That's crazy. Imagine if you're going to school and be like, yeah, ma, yo, I represent Law and Advocacy. Yeah. Yo, what school you go to? Law and advocacy? With the Navy pen and stomped out. Yo, it was wild, bro. But I ended up leaving there because my sister didn't like the fact that they was beating people ass every day. But the thing was, I was good because it was wild. Because when I got there,
00:13:10
Speaker
um so many people from my hood was there. Like, everybody that I knew from around the way, you know, 135th, 137th, you know what I'm saying? They was there. And I was like, oh shit, all right, cool. You're just on the block now. Right, exactly. And so when people was, you know, getting beat up, it was never going to be me. Right. Because I'm with the- Wouldn't let that shit happen to me, though. Exactly. I knew the niggas doing the whooping for the most part. And if they wasn't from around my way, They was cool with people from around my way. So it wasn't no issue, but you know what I'm saying? My big sister, my legal guardian, she was like, nah, don't want you around, none of that. And then so she got me transferred over Bertram.
00:13:50
Speaker
So I went to Bertram for, what, two years? And then my junior year, was like, yo, fuck this school shit, man. I was cutting every day. You chose junior year to start? My junior year, the most important year. I was like, yo, I'm a real nigga. What?
00:14:11
Speaker
Watch what I do. was dodging truancy like Jason Bourne, bro. I was on the, yo, I had the crazy, I had the crazy strategy, like, because truancy would stop looking around. Yeah, at three o'clock. No, no, no. they would stop at like 11. Yeah, yeah, I was going to say, yeah, 11.30. They would stop at like 10.30. Actually, it was like 10.30. 10.30, yeah. Right? And so I would, it would be like nine o'clock.
00:14:34
Speaker
i would I would basically like 9.30, 10 o'clock, I would jump on the Staten Island ferry and take it and back. Once I got back to Manhattan. That's how you didn't want to go to fucking school. I had the elite strats, bro. I would take the, because it's 30 minutes both ways. Boop, boop.
Life Transition from NYC to California
00:14:52
Speaker
You know what I'm saying? I'd rather just go to class, bro. No, my nigga, I was in Soho. I was, was, yo, I was doing it. I was, I was everywhere. And it's crazy because after I went to, after I left Bertram, because it all came crashing down. It was like, like the, when the feds rushed the, you know what I mean? Like it, it all came crashing down. And what you call it? They called the crib and was like, Troy has missed 200 days of school. Sheesh. And that was my ass, bro. And then so they were like, yo, you could, you got one, it's like you could go to the military some shit, or you can like try an alternative high school or whatever. So I ended up going to an alternative high school.
00:15:33
Speaker
And the thing is, I'm not bad at school. I was just like, I just got like ADHD. I wasn't bad. I wasn't in this. I just was i just was like really good at school. Like, you know what I mean? And so, um, uh, ended up going to an alternative high school. So shout out to Wildcat. you know what mean? And, um, i ended up graduating there.
00:15:53
Speaker
And the thing is, what is it alternative? First of all, cause I don't know what alternative high schools. It's kind of like, you know, so people call them like continuation schools and shit like that. But So you was in class with like a 35? No, no, no. not Nothing crazy like that. I mean, it was there was some people that I was like 19. You know what I'm saying? But it was an alternative school in the sense that the the schooling process was alternative. like yeah We would go to school one week and then the net the following week we would go to like ah like internship sites around the city. So like they had joints at like the Intrepid Museum. They had them at That's fire. You know, different different places. Like, I did one at, like, Hunts Point Recreation Center where I used to just, like, play basketball all day with little kids. And they would they would pay us, too. We would get, like, a stipend. yeah You know what I'm saying? And so I was like, damn, I like this shit. You was buying sneakers with your stipend? No, it wasn't that much money. But I couldn't... I think... I was undiagnosed, ADHD something, because my daughter got that shit. She's not my baby. I love her. But like i I couldn't sit still. like I'd be looking out the window. I'd be drawing. I'd be doing all type of stuff. But I was still like past tests. I was like good at that shit. but um And I still had enough credits to be able to graduate on time, yeah which was early, because I skipped first grade.
00:17:13
Speaker
like ah you know i mean So it all worked out. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? like ah It all worked out. in the And the funny thing, after high school, I ended up getting a job with an MTA. You look like an MTA driver. I look like, you know what I mean? I got a little size on me now. You look like an MTA driver. I got a job with the MTA because my sister, she's actually about to retire from the MTA now, but she was like, you need to go take one of them tests. And so I went to go take the test, and one portion of the test, they give you a map of the whole city, and they like, yo, What's the fastest way to get from Union Square to this and the third? I cut so much school. was just about to say, it came in the hand. It came in handy. Yo, drop out of school, y'all. You know what I mean? Don't go to school. Take the train. Nah, fuck it. Yo, chill. Study the STL. Study the match. Study the match. He said, drive on the highway, go 100 miles an hour, cut your headlights up, your hands off the steel wheel. It'll bug you out. Nah, nah, nah, but yeah, nah, that shit came in Andy, that life, actually, taught me a lesson. It's like, yo, as long as you doing what you gotta do, you know what I'm saying, in some capacity, shit kinda work out for you, you know what saying? You just kinda gotta, but don't do what I did, you know? You know what mean? got like, it's because I have like autism level pattern recognition. You know what mean? Like, so that, that shit, that shit came handy for me. Like I can't, I can't like- You saw the colors, he was like, I'm in. Oh shit, yo, we out, we out. You can say, yo, colors. yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, 168 to go to. It was like, it was like, it was like rain, man. You saw like the math. Just maps. Y'all niggas wildin' boy.
00:18:57
Speaker
So the reason you moved out of New York is because you got caught and- Nah. You got- You got- You ran my man out of the city. know the break room? Nah. You seen the break room? Nah. Apparently there was an MTA, ah like two MTA workers made like a secret break room and they had a PS5 and a TV in there. That's hard. Oh my God. That that is something that- That's actually similar to New Orleans. They just found two cops who was on the clock 364 days their house.
00:19:25
Speaker
They was chilling. They were clocking into GTA. Yeah, facts. Cops at GTA. Come on, man. I was like, what? Nigga had $200,000 checks and shit. Like, yeah. Don't nobody get paid that much money New Orleans. No, definitely not. No, indeed. Yeah, nah, they got fired. Wage theft, bro. Wage theft is real. It's a real thing, bro. But nah, I left New York because it just, I ain't really have nothing going on. And met...
00:19:51
Speaker
You was cutting the MTA too? Yo, I fucked that job up. But yo, it was 08 and I was getting to that much. I was buying sneakers every week, bro. Like a 19 year old, you know I'm saying? My only other job ever had was working at Duane Reade. You know what I mean? RIP.
Sneaker Culture and Personal Identity
00:20:09
Speaker
Yo, RIP Duane Reade, feel me? That's such a New York thing. Sure. I like Dwayne Wade. He was a great American. Dwayne Reed was like a CVS. Yeah. It's like a New York. You remember Rite Aid? Of course. Of course. Yeah. 100%. Dwayne Reed is Rite Aid. He was supposed be the direct competitor because... Rite Aid opened across the street, near a crosswalk, I think. That was like Dwayne and Reed. Rob Markman, And Reed streets. Oh, so that's okay. Ben, Ben, Ben. So Dwayne Reed, they held us down for 16 summers. You know what mean?
00:20:45
Speaker
But no. New Yorkers make everything dramatic. Shout out to this drugstore for holding us down. oh yeah I needed wild lotion. Hells down like steel, you know what I mean? Back then we didn't have a plastic coverings and didn't have hit the button to wait for somebody. Dwayne Reed had us just walking through the aisles and everything was there. I seen a nigga steal so much body wash out of that Dwayne Reed, bro.
00:21:11
Speaker
It's very specific. Yo, the nigga walked out. He looked at me. i looked at him. I'm like, I'm my loss prevention. And also, I be stealing too. So, yo, it's cool. Like, do you, man. Yeah, do your thing. Do your thing, playboy. Nah, but...
00:21:28
Speaker
Rob Markman, You he was 19? Rob Markman, Yeah, I 19. I was just selling sneakers and doing all type of bullshit. And I ended meeting a girl that was from California. Markman, No, don't know. Rob Markman, Oh, well, yeah, she's from California. And we got together. We was doing a long distance thing. And she came to New York for summer.
00:21:50
Speaker
And when the summer was over, she was like, yo, I want you to come back to California with me. And I was like, I'm not doing anything. Like, I have nothing going on for me because I had lost the MTA job. And so... You drove that train off the track. Yeah, exactly. That was... Yeah, I was like, I clocked out for good. Okay? No. And so, you know what I mean? I was just like, I don't know anything. I had no real work history. I remember one time I came across one of my old resumes from that time period. And that shit was Tragic Johnson. Like that shit look crazy.
00:22:27
Speaker
I had no work experience, bro. And I was just out there like, yo, give me a job. Like, so it was it was hard. Dwayne Reeves. Dwayne Reeves. And they was like, Dwayne, way. They had enthusiasm. Who the fuck is Dwayne, way. I'm like, no, it's Dwayne Reeves. It's like a Rite Aid. You don't get it. But ah well yeah, nah, it was a crash course, man. And um it it didn't work out. ended up coming back to New York for like a year.
00:22:55
Speaker
And then we tried to make it work again. And I moved back out there. And at by that point, I was working at Nike out there. Rob Markman, the one night my dad had called me, I was on a closing shift. and He was like, yo, I'm proud of you. like you You went back out there, you're going try to make it work.
00:23:14
Speaker
And you know I said, yo, give me a sweatsuit. My dad, old New York nigga, yo, up show give me one of them sweatsuits when you get, yo, send that back. I'm like, yo, pop, i got you. i Don't even worry about it. And then then the next day, my dad passed. Oh, shit. It was hard, man. It was hard. And um I just said, yo, you know what? My dad was so proud of me for going back out there and trying to make that shit work. I'm to stay. going to stay and figure it out. And literally the the following year, I met my wife.
00:23:45
Speaker
She wasn't my wife then. It was my girl. you know I'm saying? and we we eventually had my daughter. You know saying? Got married, bought a house and the whole nine. So, you know, it's crazy, man. If you go on his threads, he responds to people with his picture with him and his wife. Yo, that's my biggest flip because she's bad, bro. And so, like, you know what I'm saying? It's always dope to see how proud you are. Yo, nigga, I pull that shit out like a motherfucking... That bitch on your land, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, good out, good good out. Yo, my wife is mad. Yo, yo, don't say nothing to me, because I will pull that card. Like, yo, I bet you can't pull that card. Like, yo, you can't pull card. Like, yo, nothing with the Yo, nothing to do. But I make that shit work. I make it fit. I'm like, yo, nah, you don't.
00:24:33
Speaker
Yeah. He's like, yeah, the nicks suck. But have you seen my wife? My relationship, though, suck, nigga. Yeah, right? I got a wife, nigga. Yeah. You can't cook no roast brisket, nigga. What, what, what, what? You got to have it, like you said, like a lighter, but that's the one that snapped back.
00:24:51
Speaker
Like a lighter, nigga. Show me some respect, body, Yo, because y'all are the only niggas that can pull bad joints like that.
00:25:02
Speaker
Nah, man. It is always dope, though, to see his interactions on socials. and niggas might talk, they don't know bro, I know my man. So like seeing people talk all this crazy and he be like, nah nigga, my boy's like, yeah, be proud of your brother. Yeah, man, you what saying? proud father, proud husband, like, you know what I'm saying? And he'll roast your dumb ass on social. So like, wish so how did that start for you? Like what was the moment you felt like, yo, okay, this thing is kind of getting some steam in social media? So that was 2024, 2024.
00:25:32
Speaker
twenty twenty four Really? Yeah, August. Look, all August of 2024, I made a video making fun of Noah Lyles. Because that nigga's weird, bro. I'm sorry. If you see this, bro, you're weird. I'm sorry. Well, real quick.
00:25:51
Speaker
Noah Lyles, was he said, ah he went he went viral for saying, um that's not, was it competing in the world? Was it the basketball? Yeah, yeah. He said the NBA, like, what do the NBA niggas have to be proud of? Like, they call themselves the world champions. They're not the champions, you know what I'm saying? They're the champions world. They don't play the rest of the world in the NBA. Right, exactly. was like,
00:26:13
Speaker
It was like, it's niggas from China that want to be in the NBA, bro. Like, what are you talking about? Every player on the planet wants to play in the NBA. Exactly, bro. So, yeah, hes he was saying a bunch of goofy shit. And so, like, in the midst of all of that, he did an interview and he was like, yeah, well, I grew up in a cult.
00:26:30
Speaker
And i yeah I took that one part of that video and ah and and like I was like, yo, what what can I do with that? And so I just made a video of like the camera zooming in on my face. I do that a lot. ah the the The zoom in, the slow push. yeah And I like sung, that's why this nigga is so weird. like Layered my voice.
00:26:50
Speaker
And that shit went so crazy. yeah That was my first million view video. that's crazy And Usain Bolt liked that shit, which is funny on so many different levels. Tyler, the creator, a bunch of people, and that's when like Wayno started following me, my dog, shout out to Wayno. Yeah, a bunch of people. And like and that's funny, because they, I don't know, when you stitch a video on Instagram, if the original person takes it down or whatever, your video is gone. So that video is gone forever, and I'm kind of tight about that. I'm sure somebody has a save. I have We gotta find it. Right, yo, if y'all can find that video... They're not gonna be watching this. gonna have to post that on... Yo, you never know. But nah, it's funny because under that... Because, you know, there was a lot of engagement on that yeah on that video. And I remember it was a chick. And, you know, in this at this point, I wasn't like...
00:27:46
Speaker
recording my like clapbacks to comments or anything like that and it was one chick was like you only because listen August 2025 I only had 3500 followers yeah that's still a lot it I mean it is a lot but the only reason I'm saying that is I'm under that so yeah I had 3,500 followers and she was there was a chick that was like, wow, he's a so you know a star athlete and you only have 3,000 followers.
00:28:12
Speaker
Bitch. like I was like, bitch. and then But I was like, you know what? Respectfully, I'm going to delete her comment. I don't got time for the drama, but um' I'm all about the drama. Now I am. Now I am. Look at my wife, bitch. It nothing nothing. I mean, shk. You know what I mean? He's like, when we throw it. It is so dope to watch because he's a he has decorum. yeah He's very calculated. You what I'm saying? You could tell he's calculated from the gift selection. Also, something that I have to give you credit on is the vast amount of comments you leave on social media generally. You ever just watch a video, you be like, oh, this is tight. You go to the comments and he's in that moment. It's like, damn, bro. It's so dope like because now he's like built a community just on his comments alone, let alone his content. So it's like really so for you, as it pertains to comments, why are comments so important to you? Outside of just the general comments are important, why is that the space you decide to go in? Yeah, like the comments, it's like, it's kind I call it me getting my shots up. You know what I'm saying? Like that's me getting my reps in. And i I've since kind of moved over to Threads to kind of really do that. You know what I'm saying? Once I kind of found my footing on Threads, I'm like, all right, Threads is where i I really get to kind of stretch my legs and But I still do the comment thing because I just be having funny shit to say. You know what I'm saying? And and you know what? Shout out to my my guys, ah Cole and Chappelle over at ah Cooked in the comments. Because right when my shit started, going you know, this social shit started going up. Yeah,
00:29:50
Speaker
Cooked in the comments, another podcast, which is dope. I hope I can grace y'all podcast soon. But ah they they do a thing where they find comments yeah on videos. And solo they my boy Sean sent it to me and was like, yo, they they they told you about they they talked about you on on the show. And then i ah I had never heard of him at this point. I've heard Chappelle Lacey. Shout out Chappelle Lacey. Shout out Chappelle Lacey. I've heard, you know, I've seen Cole Garrett stand up. And so um I'm like, oh, wow, this is dope. Okay. And so I just commented like, yo, like, that's dope. Y'all shouted me out in a thing because they use me in their clip too. Yeah. that's fine And so ah they commented like, yo, you were in this episode twice. yeah And I was like, oh shit. And then so kind of from that, um I've actually like forged a really dope relationship with those guys. You know what I'm saying? When they when they've came out, I went to the shows to you know see them perform and stuff like that. And i like I said-
00:30:49
Speaker
No, no. Don't be pits at comedy shows, man. Chappelle Lacey has a rock band. That's a wild nigga, bro. Chappelle Lacey is the Bo Jackson of stand-up comedy, bro. That nigga can do everything. is ah he's a So he's a black dude. He was adopted. but i know his whole backstory, because love him very um Black dude, adopted, became a cheerleader.
00:31:08
Speaker
Oh, that I've seen his stuff. Yep. That dude hilarious as hell. But he is in a punk band. Yeah, he's like he be like, da da da. Oh, that's tough, man. That dude funny as hell, bro. Yeah, and a nigga could do a backflip with him. Yeah, right? I seen the clip of him doing it. Yeah. all right, whatever. I was like, man, that's fire, bro. Yo, Chappelle Lacey, he's awesome he's so fucking dope. Yeah, yeah, that's my dog, for real. um And so, yeah, so like the comments, that's pretty much what I kind of, I gotta get this shit out of my head. You know what I'm saying? Especially when I see shit that I feel like I need to speak on. um so And it just so happens it's funny as fuck. And then it, like, I left a comment recently, that shit got 220, like 240,000 That's wild business. God damn. That's wild business. I'll show you the video in a minute because I still get notifications for that shit.
Strategies for Engaging Social Media Content
00:32:01
Speaker
That shit's going fucking crazy still. And I left that comment weeks ago. That's crazy. That's beautiful. I like that. The one thing that we've definitely, and I'm pretty sure you've seen it too, especially within sneaker community too, is like you know people just pull it. I mean, I'm known for this too. I'll just throw a little fire emoji and keep it moving. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It is definitely harder to do it on stuff like sneakers. Because it's not, you're going like,
00:32:24
Speaker
Yeah, this is... like like i You know what I mean? Even when I try to think of something funny to put under... yeah like ah Like on Threads, I'll say some crazy shit. I know you've seen... I'll be wilding out. oh yes but But also, I mean, because we talk about Threads, it's like... within The one thing about Threads is there's a lot of fucking stupid people. oh Yo, my man. So many stupid people. That's the backbone of Threads is dumbass people. I swear to God. That's the backbone of so social media. Social media in general, man. There's a lot of shit that I see. I'd be like... i like Are there any things you don't interact with that's so wild that you just be like, nah. No, no. I mean, you know. I was going to say, i think I don't think. No, that's mine um my my algorithm is is like a cesspool. And I like it that way. Like, because that's like, that's that's where I get all my my content from. You know what saying? So it's fine. Like, um i there's nothing that I really don't.
00:33:14
Speaker
You know what Unless it's just like something that's like whack. You know what I'm saying? Or something that I don't really care about. But there's there's a lot of lot of good shit. Like, just. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, shit, that's a lot of crazy. Yeah. yeah I just recently ran over, i ran over. The cat looks run over. But there's cat that, like, is, like, it's, like, weird looking. Yeah. It's gray.
00:33:37
Speaker
It's black, gray? Is it the one that looked like? Yeah, it looked like it's a taxi. like Yeah, yeah. I think that's what you commented, right? No, didn't. I didn't. Somebody did. yeah that they They had that video on Cooked in the comments. I remember that. but um Insane. Yeah. Like gross, like what are we doing? I mean yo put it, yo show love. Nah mean I wouldn't be like don't take it behind the bar. Yo pack that love, Pack that motherfucker up. But nah, yeah no, ah I just, i did the there's a lot of stupid people on social media. media like
00:34:10
Speaker
And it's some it gets to me sometimes, not gets to me to the point where i like it's ruining my day, but like I just really like i've audibly say, there's some stupid motherfuckers out here. like I'll be in the bed with my wife like looking at my phone.
00:34:23
Speaker
Niggas is stupid. that's That's me. You know what I'm saying? Niggas is stupid. It's worse on Twitter. I don't even use Twitter. I have i made a Twitter. where If you were on Twitter, bro, I think you'd probably... go platinum, platinum. Yeah. Double platinum. I think... Because then once, you're to have to have... It's going to be two Liam Nissans on there. Yeah. That's a battle with them. And I got to see that.
00:34:44
Speaker
I'm the black one, y'all. I'm the black one, okay? It's funny as hell. But it's like... And then it's crazy because now that Liam Nissan... had like Now he's like created a crew.
00:34:54
Speaker
yeah It's called the Smoke Fleet. And they're all parodies of white famous people. And it's like, then they're all just going after Trump. So it's even crazier. Yeah, man. That's cool. You know saying? It's funny because I made my Twitter before had an Instagram because I got an Android phone. And don't shit on Android phones. I will show you my went viral once. It was all good. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? But anyways. So I had an Android phone. And Instagram hadn't come to Android until like 2012, 2011 or something. Late 2011. And so I had a Twitter before that.
00:35:30
Speaker
And before before i was on Twitter, i was on Tumblr. Yeah. Like I was on Tumblr. That was my first time like going semi-viral. I had made a ah I had recreated the 808s and Heartbreaks cover with Thugnificent on the front. Oh, really? And it said I made it say, like, Thugnificent, niggas and computers.
00:35:48
Speaker
And that shit went crazy. Like, yo, I used to fuck around in Photoshop all the time back then. And- So you you just good at- I'm good at everything. Not everything. my hair well yo man. First of one thing I will say about him, he's been very funny for a long time. I've been knowing the dude since like 2011, 12. This nigga been, yo, you been funny since, been since been. So it's just crazy that the world caught up. Yo, I'm so, um'm and I'm, look, y'all here now. What's up? But yeah, but not like, I was on Tumblr and then I jumped onto Twitter. my two I was like, I gotta come up with a cool name. And this, will this I'm saying this because this is what led me to Liam Nissan. So- um i made a twitter and i was like damn i gotta come up with something fire so i came up with black john stamos and so like think i was following black john stamos on tumblr uh maybe i think so uh maybe i don't know i haven't been on time i go to my tumblr every now and again like mom's done to find old pictures that i posted or whatever but uh yeah on twitter i was black john stamos but then i was like i don't like
00:36:48
Speaker
the structure of Twitter. Like I don't, I didn't like it. It didn't, I didn't take to it quickly. And then I, so I never use it. I still have that page and I don't tweet. I don't i like, I think my my bio says like, what the fuck is Twitter? Like, you know what mean? Like, I don't know. Bro, when this episode goes out, you're gonna get tagged on Black John Stable. Yo, man. But it's funny because I've seen people send me tweets with like my video like my reaction. And I'm like, I'll log into the Black John Stable. They'll be like, yo, that's me. You know what it whatever. like um
00:37:21
Speaker
So yeah, that led me to create the Liam Neeson Instagram. And that was just my name on Instagram. like My personal Instagram, I would just post you know my daughter and... my daily activities and stuff like that and then I don't know something just told me to start posting like videos of ah me like you know content videos and they were like doing okay you know i mean and that no allow shit yeah fucking took me into the stratosphere bro My first time seeing videos is the is the one where somebody... Is it a black person that does something bad? And then it's The the the amount of... the more with the kid Yeah. Yeah. So, all right. So that was the first thing. but though The very first thing I did was
00:38:06
Speaker
I actually, before that, I was doing like reactions to just like black people doing shit that I ain't like, you know what I'm saying, particularly. And so it would be like me kind of like talking with that with that song that I always use, that agape. I hope I never get copyright stricken for that, bro, because if if they do, I'm finished. But ah that yeah, so... I did like one where like the chick, was she had a full Carhartt. She was like a baddie, you know what I'm saying? Wearing a full Carhartt outfit like as like on some high fashion, big BBL shit. She had like the waist bag with the pants and the jacket. like I got the full Carhartt with the thing. And then I was like,
00:38:48
Speaker
I remember when, like i that' was it was like a real solemn thing. like yeah I remember when my dad used to come home with the Carhartt on and now you could go to brunch with the B&A with Carhartt.
00:39:02
Speaker
You know what mean? like It was like some thing and people was fucking with it. They thought it was funny. And then I was like, I gotta, I don't know. I need to come up with with something different. And then that's when I did the Martin Luther King, Malcolm X thing. It was all like negative. And I was like, damn, I think I need to do like positive ones. And that's what kind of led me into like kind of making fun of white misfortune. hu You know what mean? And it's like they're smiling at white misfortune. And then I was like, oh shit, like this is, it's funny. And it's actually like striking a chord with people. yeah It's striking a chord with people. And then it's also making people feel good. Yeah. My people feel good, you know what mean? And so I said, I bet. And I just fucking hit the gas on that shit. usually And I kept going and going and going and going.
00:39:48
Speaker
And that shit ran me up to 200,000, you know what I'm saying?
Sneaker Collection and Personal Space
00:39:52
Speaker
And yeah, it's crazy. That shit is wild. Every time I see the joint, I just be like, that Malga Meg, that's...
00:40:01
Speaker
Like, let's go. Let's fucking go. like because that and it's the It's the song. The song carries that shit so well. like Whether it's like negative or positive, it could be either one. and like I just, yeah, that's my shit.
00:40:16
Speaker
All right, let's go jump back to sneakers sneakers sneakers my first kicks. Yeah we joke with chills over to But but um like you talked about, you know growing up in New York and collecting sneakers like what when did sneaker culture really like embraced you?
00:40:31
Speaker
um Right away. Like, right away. As soon as... Because you going to school in New York, middle school in New York is where you first kind of be like, I have to get fly.
00:40:44
Speaker
I have to... I'm from Harlem. I have to... You know what I'm saying? it is like an It's an innate thing. like But you know once you get around other kids and you start seeing like, oh, that's the kid who parents got money. You know what I'm saying? Whether they doing whatever, whatever, or you know what I'm saying? Because I remember actually before that, I remember second grade, it was a kid that I went to school with. It was a kid and his brother. And they stand out to me still because they was light skin with red hair. I ain't never seen niggas with red hair, ginger niggas.
00:41:14
Speaker
You know saying? And they used to have big afros, but they had- So Blake Griffin. They had the uptemp- Nah, they looked like was- Bob Ross? They looked like was niggas for real, but they just, I'd never seen redhead niggas, you know I'm saying, up at that point in my life. I was, what, seven years old, six, seven years old. But they had the uptempos, the either much or more, either one, I can't remember which one, but the ones that say air on the side. And I was just like, yeah. Yo, you know what I'm saying? More, more uptempo. Well, the much uptempo had the air on the side too. Did it?
00:41:45
Speaker
Yes, it just didn't have the full length. it don't Don't get me started, nigga. I will technology you to death. It didn't have the full length air back on the much. That's why it's the much uptempo. The more had more air, you know what mean? Right, yeah. Yeah, so. But I'm thinking i'm thinking he's that they have they would have the one with more air. Maybe, but they was also little kids. So it's like, possibly, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, exactly. you know what mean? So, ah but I just remember seeing them shoes and I'm like, yo, these, these, this is dope. You know what i'm saying? And this is nineties basketball. So, It's not like today's basketball where it's like, you don't know who the fuck is on the court. yeah Back then, like you were you could identify who was who by their shoes, by whatever. and And so, you know, and of course, you got Mike and everything Mike is putting out.
00:42:36
Speaker
And so just growing up in New York, it's like, it's a silent competition. It's actually a silent competition. It's like, yo, that... that nigga don't got hit, he don't got that shit on, you know what I'm saying? And so, you know, and ah that was a dope thing about the 90s though, it's like, you could have on some Pippins and still be crushing it, you know what i'm saying? So, like, you know, I had to have, I had to have Pippins, I had to have Jordans, I had to have, you know i'm saying? So I would beg, you know, Easter, back to school, your birthday, Christmas, those were the days where you was like, yo, I gotta get something, like, ma, can you please get, you know mean? And so, um
00:43:13
Speaker
Yeah, it was it was real early on. yeah And then once I started like keeping them clean for the for the little girls, you know what I'm saying? Back then, I was like, yo, I have to impress girls. You have to.
00:43:25
Speaker
And yeah, that's pretty much what made me keep my sneakers clean. And then I just like, I got these clean sneakers. Let me just put these to the side and then wait for the next ones to come. Keep those clean. Put those to the side. And so forth and so on. And then when I started making my own money, it was lit.
00:43:41
Speaker
You know? Do you have any crazy sneakers line stories? um Not too crazy. i mean, I never really, like, camped out.
00:43:52
Speaker
You know what i'm saying? the The closest thing I did for camping out, I waited, like, six hours in line at Nike Town for the... ah Doernbecker 4s. You know what I'm saying? And I still got them. You know mean? Like my, them shits is falling apart, but I still got them because I wore them like the next day. I was like, you are going to see this shit. And it was snowing. I was like, yo, you going to see these shits on my feet. I was outside for six hours. You seeing me. Yeah, you seeing me. You know what I mean? I actually need, I need to get them shits restored. You know what I mean? mean, I missed the re-release when they did re-release. They did a re-release? I think they did, right? could be wrong.
00:44:28
Speaker
I don't think so. I feel like I feel... No, wait, wait. No, during back at Sixes came, they did a re-release of the set. I think that was the first one to do ah ah a re-release. Either three or six. I can't remember. but I don't think they did the three because I would have been alive for the three. that rate That's crazy. yeah So probably the six. Probably the six. I feel like they were either they talked about doing it or it did happen. It's low-key one of the best ones, man. I only have eights. 8s. I had, yeah, I went on a little Doernbecher run. I had the, I had the 4s, I had some Air Forces, the ones with the netting on them, and Glow in the Dark Soul. i ended up like just taking those and dropping them off in the street somewhere and just left them.
00:45:07
Speaker
Rob Markman, that's crazy. Rob Markman, before I had like any kind of crowd, I was like, yo, I did a stash and dash and nobody knew. But ah you know what I'm saying? Thornbecker pennies.
00:45:18
Speaker
Those were my shit. I lost those. I still got the 95s. couple of joints.
00:45:24
Speaker
couple joints but Yeah, and I i never really like had a crazy sneaker story because I always... like my My brother-in-law, um he was a manager at Foot Locker. So he would he would bless me with mad shit all the time.
00:45:39
Speaker
So i kind of once I got to that point, like you know high school, where it actually mattered, which is cool, that you know what I'm saying? Especially for the hoes. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? I always had something. I always had something. and then my other brother-in-law, he used to you know hit me off with the gear. So I had sneakers and gear, and that kind of became my personality at ah at a point. And so... You hear him?
00:46:02
Speaker
Privilege. Yeah, yeah, your family movie give yeah. giving you stuff up. Don't know what that's like. look That's called love, baby. That's called love, man. But yeah, nah, like... um Yeah, nah, so it's just amassing the the collection that I have now. It's kind of dope. And like, you know, now that I'm a grownup, I can buy what the fuck I want to buy. yeah You know what I'm saying? And so like, I'm always on eBay.
00:46:27
Speaker
I'm always like buying- your collection is crazy. were like- No, you see him, man. He be going crazy on the joint. Yeah, actually did that hoping you noticed. You know what I'm saying? Like, please notice me, Haas. You know what mean? Yo, nah, because I know you were- Because like, yeah, I started getting on trend threads a little bit more and then I started seeing your post because obviously it goes through. yeah. So you post on Instagram, it goes on threads. yeah Yeah. And I'm like, Jesus Christ, like your sneaker room looks crazy. Yo, yo. Look, yo, shout out to, look, and this is why i do a Shout out to my wife yeah for allowing me to, you know, be able to create my own. Because I didn't have that growing up. I didn't have... i cu I'll show you later. i had The way I used to have my shoes back in the day, we all lived in a one-bedroom apartment. yeah You know what i'm saying? we live It was like four of us in one-bedroom apartment. And my grandma had a trundle bed that didn't have a mattress. And I would put my sneakers under there. So I had probably about 20 pairs of sneakers just under there. I'd pull out. You know what I mean? it was it It felt kind of fly being able to... pull that shit out and put some, you know i mean? Put some Godzilla's on or something. And so, you know, and and after I moved ah to California, i was like renting a room. So I didn't really, had boxes stacking up. So now we have we have our ah own a home. I have an office where I can display my shit. key Because I had my shit in storage for mad long. And now I have like my- Once the videos went viral, you was like, I'm going to cop this home. Facts. He was like, MediChex is coming in. Yo, yo, yo, yo. I told you, give me $20. We got the house before any of this shit popped off. And like, it was just a perfect storm. like
00:48:09
Speaker
Like, it was ah it was the perfect storm. Because now everybody can see the shit that I've been doing for- decades You know what I'm saying? And yo, people was fucking with it. I appreciate it. I love everybody that fucking DMs me some cool shit or just tells me that they love my stuff or you know shit like that. It's sold so dope. You said had somebody ah put your face on golf balls, right?
00:48:32
Speaker
Yo, I forgot about that. Yeah, this dude was like, yo, my daughter gifted me these things. And it was it was my face like this on the golf ball. That was so crazy. I forgot about that. Yo, shout out to bro. That was so dope, yo. man I've been in his crib too, and I see like the way the shoes are displayed. It's done with care.
00:48:53
Speaker
You can tell like you really appreciate that space, because he's got the Doom here, and he's got the arcade here, and he's got the the sneakers they hook. He can't wear it because they crumble, they turn into cookies. And then like he got this, but these are joints, and then he got, but this is this, um man, section. And then he got the joint, which is similar like to my my part, because I got my closet.
00:49:12
Speaker
This right here my Nikes. These are my Reeboks, but these are my Adidas. These are my what the fucks, and these are my Js, but then these are the ain't war yet, you know what saying? appreciate the attention to detail that he has yeah with his collection, man. It's super dope. And it's like, like I said, i i'll my wife is cool with this shit. Like she knows that this is something that i you know, love.
Creative Process Behind Collaborative Album
00:49:34
Speaker
i have i have like a a deep connection to. yeah So she was like, yo, do your thing. You know what i'm saying? and And that's fire. Like I love that. You know what I'm saying? so yeah. Speaking of passions, yep you know you two decided to put an album together. Yes, Lord. Album?
00:49:51
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, okay. Close album. yeah um I got to ask you, since we're starting off with you, yeah the inspiration behind the Beats and and working with Al. Look, i just I like to do cool stuff with my friends.
00:50:04
Speaker
That's as simple as it is. I like doing cool stuff with my friends. i um When I started making Beats, it was like during a pandemic, I was I've always had the ear for this shit. I'll be sitting there with my wife and be like, yo, you know that sample, that's such and such. You know what I'm saying? That's Steely Dan, baby. You know what I'm saying? That's Steely Dan on that song or whatever. And so I've always wanted to make beats. I've always kind of had that mind for it. But I just never had the means, man. My living situation was fucked up my whole life. And so I never really had time to like sit down. didn't have money to put towards stuff. I might have downloaded a cracked version of Fruity Loops back in the day to try it. We all did. I think I did too. Even that was like short-lived because I didn't have the time to sit down and learn shit.
00:51:00
Speaker
And I, ah you know, ADHD shit is real. but i know because this is not what I'm asking here Exactly. See what I what I mean? But nah,
00:51:11
Speaker
I just like to to make these beats and I'm good at it. I'm like really good at it. You know what I mean? And so so to to have so one of the best rappers that I know rap on my beats...
00:51:29
Speaker
Let's fucking go. Nah, yeah. man. That makes me feel so cool, dude. you really good at rapping. No, yeah. All right, enough glazing. All right, sorry. Yo, come on. Y'all new y'all niggas. Yo, too much appreciation. Chill out, Yo, that's your boyfriend or something, nigga? It's like, yo. Y'all acting like y'all rap together. But the...
00:51:46
Speaker
ah In terms of just like the inspiration behind the like the theme of the album, um working together. like rocking so So the idea was like, okay, for me, um I'm a real emo guy. And so I think a lot about the past. I don't live in the past, but I use the past a lot to kind of like fuel me. Whenever I get to like a mental roadblock or something like that, you dig? So the album is called Yestermonth. So it's using your past as a platform to build your future. yeah And I know like he understands a lot about the 90s and how good that felt and that nostalgia, but not living there. It's just about taking that energy you feel when you think about it and going to do something cool to create those new memories. yeah That's what the new album is about, man. It's like me, because of past things that I was a part of and that ended and and just all these crazy things I've done in my career, but it's now a time to kind of create this new chapter in my life. And so using him as the as the as the background, as the is the platform of the music, I'm coming through with the bars and I ain't gonna lie, dog, it's really good music. Like yes Troy, yo, you wow nice with the beats, man. Rob Markman- Lufa, Lufa, Lufa. Rob Markman- And that's the thing, like my sound, right? yeah I pull from that soulful sound, you know what I'm saying cause i grew up
00:52:57
Speaker
And then I grew up in the 90s and my mom, you know what I'm saying, my parents are from that era where they would play them soul records and all that stuff. And you know, I kind of, a lot of things I hear when people hear my beats, they're like, yo, this nigga, he sound like Dilla. Like, you know I'm saying? But that is like my main inspiration. I was going to say, got a tattoo on you. see the tattoo? And I got this tattoo before I started making beats. You know what saying? Like... Dilla and Doom, like that's- That's another way me and him match up. Doom is like top five. Dilla is my favorite producer of all time. Never heard of either these guys. Oh man. This is a small, small act. Yeah, this is a different, you know. Niche. Blink and you'll miss them, man. You know. Rap snitch conditions. But yeah, so like it pairs well with the concept of the album. You know what saying? So yeah. No, yeah. mean, listen. Well, sorry. I listened to it earlier. June 12th. June 12th. June 12th. June Listen to it. Like what I got was like a perfect harmony. And this is why I texted him before this episode. And after I finished listening, was like, yo, this shit is fire. Yeah. I don't say that a lot of people. I know you don't. I know you It don't seem like the time. It means a lot, dude. So just hearing it, it's a perfect pairing in my opinion. His voice and the way you styled your beats was like, it just felt like
00:54:19
Speaker
Match together And i'm like Listening to lyrics I definitely gotta listen to a little bit more To get like You know The more In depth of the Yeah yeah yeah I gotta sit with it You know it's like a good book Yeah gotta just keep reading Come on Come on But the The idea of just like What I got from the first listen Was just like the beats The beats match with the lyrics that I was listening to. and you that i don't know like How did that work? that's Alfred is dope.
00:54:46
Speaker
Because hill i when I make beats, the the the the the names that I give the beats, I just... I do that as like a placeholder. I'll just pull a word out my fucking head and put it there. And an Alfred will take that. either he don't ch He'll use that title that I gave it, make the title of the song, build the concept around that title.
00:55:08
Speaker
And I'm like, this motherfucker, bro. like I can't believe that shit. so It's really, you know, the thing is like, I'm one of those guys that if if a a producer sends me the chorus, it's like, boy, this song will be done in eight minutes, man. So like, I use inspiration everywhere I can. So he'll send me a beat and it'll be called Step Up. And it's like, okay, step up. it's the Okay, boom. All right, I'm stepping up to the next level of my career. guess the And then it just kind of flows. And my favorite thing because he'll send me a beat and he'll be like, I'll be like, yo, you got any ideas? Like, Naj, do your thing. And I'll send him back to joint. man, what the you come up with this idea. like We got this song at high speed to like kind of drum and bass joint. Like was like- know when I heard that I was like, God damn. Exactly. One of my things was I wanted the world to kind of hear the range that this guy has. You know what saying? And I love to like test them musically and be like, yo, I got this idea. Can you, and he'll be like, and I want to hear your interpretation. Don't copy it. Just give me your interpretation of it. And I don't have to tell him that he just going to do it. And he'll give me his, his version. I'd be like, yo, this shit is flames, bro. And I'm going to make a record. You know i'm saying? My goal is to make the producer's job as easy as Just give me the beat. That's all I need. Give me the beat. Maybe an idea, but if not, just give the beat.
00:56:17
Speaker
got it. You what I mean? It's so fun hearing his reaction or reading his reaction when he was getting the song. He's like, yo, this shit is good. You know what I mean? And luckily I'm like 13 for 13 I don't think I sent him a bad one yet So it's super lit Yeah man That's dope It's just It's crazy Like I'm excited for You know people listening To check that out June 12 June 12 June 12 We'll talk about when Yeah it's all good It's all good It's all good Hate to date it But You know what I mean? Yeah yeah But it's all good I'll make sure this comes out Before then Appreciate that But that's it But Like
00:56:49
Speaker
it like working from two different realms, I want to say. right Like this is, I guess you're East Coast, West Coast guy now. He also lives in California. i in new ors That's what I'm saying. So it's just like, now you got, you know, the South. The South will rise again. The sons of the Confederacy. Yo, that's the new group name. yeah You feel me? Nah, man. Sons of the Confederacy. Sons of the Confederacy. None of that.
00:57:19
Speaker
Yester month coming out June Nah, man. Robert E. Lee and- Shout out man Jeff Davis for producing the outro. Nah, fuck that nigga. Nah, but you say it. But like, you know, two different worlds. Like, you know, and using sneakers to, you know, connect to, you know, each other. Like,
00:57:39
Speaker
How often has that been a through line through both y'all lives? Oh my God. We talk about it all the time. Literally, bro. We talk about that shit all the time. Yesterday, I had a rough time getting into New York, right? But yesterday, we met up for our little cafe show. Yeah, yeah. And niggas had on the same outfit just about. Yo, my man. I had on a Nike windbreaker, you know, like the 90s Nike windbreaker suit, the Billy Hoyle Command Forces. Yeah.
00:58:09
Speaker
all It was black, black with like some white hits, and then the white, black, and Volt Command Forces. um'm I'm on the phone with this nigga. We meeting in the Bronx. I'm like, yo, where you at? I don't see you.
00:58:22
Speaker
I see the nigga across the street. He got on a black hoodie, black pants, the white, black, and Volt Reebok pumps. yeah I'm like, this nigga. We did not... At all. We ain't gonna coordinate this shit. Yo, his wife says all the time, yo, y'all like the same person, bro. Like, it'd be some of the same interests. We'll just pop out and it'll be like, this the first time we don't look somewhat similar. We both got our pants rolled up crazy. You know what I mean? It be so wild bro, like for real, that shit is crazy.
Personal Style and Sneaker Preferences
00:58:54
Speaker
But he always give me shit too, cause like I did another podcast and talk like my top five sneakers. And there'll certain joints, I'm like, that's one thing we all different on. There'll be certain joints, like any, like a bread four, semen three, those are fire. But I'll pull out like a- Nah, he's over here, D'Adora. You know what I'm ain't think it be like, uh.
00:59:13
Speaker
That's an alpha seed. I'm like, fuck you, nigga. This nigga be liking some weird shit. I ain't even gonna lie. We was in Second Street. This nigga... Was that Second Street or Buffalo? One of them. was one of them. Nigga pulled out a puffy half...
00:59:26
Speaker
Half hoodie. It look like a, ah it look like something an astronaut would wear. It's like right here. It's like a vest, but it's puffy. It's got the hood. If it stop right here. That hard, nigga. This nigga deal by hard, bro. That shit's fire. That's a flotation device. Yo, yo, but he, Alfred different. Like the nigga, he'd be on, he'd be on another, like Alfred with the socks. We was talking about the socks yesterday. I said, yo, I'm a white sock, nigga, man. I'm a white sock. White sock, black sock.
00:59:55
Speaker
That's the LA in you. I guess so, man. You be walking like... All those pictures like this. Looking like Ticket Williams. Yeah. Hey, homie. Hey, homie. Hey, homie. Hey, hey, hey. Straight thing got to say. I said this on Threads, man. West Coast niggas, like the LA, Compton, because I know it's like different areas. You can't say niggas from Compton or from LA, but whatever, whatever. But them was Southern California, West Coast niggas, they make...
01:00:25
Speaker
they turn mundane household of fucking chores into like, hey, nigga, I emptied that nigga dishwasher, cuz. I'm like, what? I parked that nigga, like, you did what? Is that violence or did you help his, did you Are you his maid? Did you help the nigga out, bro? Like, I folded that nigga laundry, blood. Yeah.
01:00:47
Speaker
It's like, wait, are you his maid? Oh, shit. Nah, yo, I love my West Coast niggas, though, man. Y'all got the most heart I ever seen, bro. like Coming from a folk from a New York nigga, y'all got it, bro. I swear.
Project Collaborations and Future Plans
01:01:00
Speaker
But, yeah, nah, Alfred is a dope nigga. He's cool. that's that's we We connect on so much. we we're We're different, but we're so fucking similar. wow we was it We was out eating, and I was like, hey, my nigga,
01:01:14
Speaker
You like pudding? This nigga like pudding too! You know what I'm saying? Yo, I was like, you like applesauce? Nigga love applesauce! I love applesauce, bro. Now applesauce go crazy, Applesauce do go crazy. Next album, I need a skit. yeah Yo, actually, you know, so I was thinking about that, bro. Like, because we're we're so distant, like, this project was made over the email. yeah The next project, I'ma lock in with my boy. Yeah. We're gonna have I'm in there. I'm down with it. Yeah,
Advice on Sneaker Care
01:01:40
Speaker
for real, bro, for real. I'm telling the dog could like- I'll do this i do the interludes. Come we gotta bring back interludes first Yeah, man. Like, his sense of humor is wild. Yeah. He's funny as hell, obviously, right? And that needs to be captured. Yeah, all right. Don't give the my man. But nah, yes to man. I'm super proud of you. Yes, yes to my man. Don't forget to cop that. But we're towards the end of the podcast. It deals with one last question. yeah Also deals with the visualization, right? want you to think back to young, don't know, Troy? We're just going go Troy. Young Troy. Young Troy. Young Troy. He's about to get those Aqua 8s, right? Now, your older you behind your younger self, what would you tell young Troy as he opens that box?
01:02:18
Speaker
Keep them clean. Keep them clean. Keep them clean. I mean, he was. He had the shorties. Don't tear up them fucking shoes, bro. Look, kids be tearing up shoes, man. So, yeah. Keep them clean, baby. Everybody, you know what's funny? i have 50% of people say this. Yeah? Keep them clean. Bro, you a kid. Yeah, they not going to listen. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Little Troy is like not listening. I'm 100% guaranteed. I'm about to do a car wheel right now. Right now. Look what I can do. go tight yeah I'm going to jump in a... I remember one time. I'm sorry. like I had LA gears and I jumped in a puddle with my LA gears and they stopped working. i was so mad. And so I had to wear the fucking like the unlit l LA gears until I couldn't fit them anymore because nobody was buying me another pair. yeah So yeah, nah. Kids be fucking shoes up. Put in rice?
01:03:08
Speaker
them in rice. That shit wouldn't be a lie. Get my ass beat. Twice over. For wasting food. You forgot to take out the chicken. yeah And you put in these sneakers and rice. What the fuck are these shoes doing in this rice? But yeah,
Social Media and Community Support
01:03:22
Speaker
nah. All right. If I won't say keep them clean, um there's a lot more shoes to come. Yeah. Yeah. There's a lot more to come.
01:03:30
Speaker
Let everybody know what allfred living might know where to find you. first Okay, so um my black planet is blackplanet.com. Black planet still exists. Yeah, I know. I swear to God. lot of Caucasians on there. I'm sure. sure But ah my website is underdogcentral.com. Yes, sir. um Underdog Central is a social. That's everywhere. Alfred Banks, just Google. Wherever you listen to music, Alfred Banks, and you can jam out.
01:03:56
Speaker
And I am at Liam underscore Nissan, like the car. ah My producer page is at LutherVandals.Wave. That's really all I be on, bro. you know what I'm saying? Like, that's it. Shout out to Film Suede for sending me these ah shoes. You know what mean? Wow. Yeah, I was like, yo, I'm from... was looking down, was like, what am I looking at? are you looking at? Yo, Josh Brubaker from ah Film Sway.
01:04:26
Speaker
He was the... he He designed the Super Sky Top. He designed the Super Sky Top and I believe the the the TK Society and stuff. So he's... he's stamped in yeah yeah in footwear history, you know what I'm saying? And so he has his own brand now and they have some fucking heat. I'm talking about the quality joints. quality of this leather is so fucking buttery. And then they got the Humira lacing system, you know what I'm saying? with the With the fucking gazelle. And then this is pony hair on the fucking leopard print.
01:04:56
Speaker
Yeah, yo. I was like, yo, yo, yo, send me those. And he, yo, he came through, son. So I had to add the rep for my man. There you go. Use code, i don't know. i so Use code, ah. We're going to get an affiliate code set up. because This nigga got some heat, bro. I'm telling you, man. Yeah. And you know what to find me? Who is Haas? Also, some of the podcast on My First Kiss. Who is Haas, by the way?
01:05:19
Speaker
That's me. That's it. That's all I got for you. ah Hit me up. Info at MyFirstKicks.com. Hit up the Patreon. Only $5. You get
Promoting New Album and Supporting Artists
01:05:28
Speaker
this episode early or that any episode. You get it a day early. That's that's the perk right now. $5. You get the day the episode a day early. No ads. um And then, you know,
01:05:39
Speaker
hit me up info at myfirstkicks.com to which are my first kick story but i'm gonna kick it to myself to do the patreon shout outs uh peace i hope you enjoyed this hilarious episode with liam nissan aka troy watts or that's his real name so and Alfred Banks, um please make sure just get it off the top of this this outro please make sure to check out their new album that just dropped literally this morning, if if you considered midnight the morning of the next morning, the next day. um But they just dropped an album together. It's called Yestermon.
01:06:15
Speaker
It's fire until we talk about it in the episode. And now you get to listen to it. So make sure you do that. and I don't know how much it costs, but please support people by buying the actual download link or instead of just streaming it because we we all know how musicians and we talked about it on here when I talked to the musicians about how unfair streaming is. And that goes for podcasting as well. like Streaming is not something you can become lucrative off of, right? It's all the extra stuff like the Patreons. It's all the extra you know items that that you know creators sell. So it's very important to support people that are being creative and are putting out something that you love, because if you want to see them continuously create something, you have to help them out because there's not going to be a brand that comes out the woodwork and be like, yo,
01:07:10
Speaker
here's a ton of money, let's work together and you get to do your own thing. No, it's usually the idea of a brand jumping onto something that you're creating is because you created an audience that they need to tap in on. And You have become that person that they have chosen in order for you to get that thing off. So somebody like Alfred, who's been able to work with with commercial, put his been have his music in commercials um and basically as we talk about it, live off of doing something not as crazy lucrative as it as it always seems, such as rapping. It's super important so that.
01:07:46
Speaker
You know, to give that that your actual hard earned dollars towards the person that's also putting their hard earned effort and actually connecting with a lot of these people. Like if you comment on any of Alfred or, you know, Liam's or Troy's items or not items a post, they instantly comment back. And that's and I mean, I'm also the same way, too. I also comment on everything and respond back to everyone as much as I can. But.
01:08:12
Speaker
but I think that's super important because like you have to give back into the community that that gives back to you. And that's something I'm always super prideful about. i don't leave anybody on you know just you know in the wind, kind of. you know like If I see it, I see it. If I you know if i see a comment, I always try to like put it in my stories. if i see you know if there's a question, I try to you know respond back. like I'm never a type of person that duck in the smoke or, or you know, kind of you know, ignoring a lot of the stuff. Like, I get it. Like, some people just want to get some angry stuff off. Some people just kind of want to get, you know, they're just kind of being like, whatever and leaving a comment. Like, I've been in those phases. And, you know, you never expect a response back by the person who's posting it. But when you're at a small follower count, such as I am, and I mean, look, I'm grateful for, you know, close to almost 5,000 followers on on Instagram. But, know,
01:09:06
Speaker
I'm also very conscious that like you know people do want to have interactions and comment and talk. and like that like I like interacting with people because that's how we bring and build community. like Whenever I go to events, I'm talking to as much people as I can and I'm trying to you know get to know them in such a short, small, little time. and Or you know if we're looking at something or we're at it at at something we're just like, yo, this is this is kind of you know dope or this is kind of whack or this is like...
01:09:34
Speaker
I'm always trying to feel the the environment environment around me. And so it's very important for for us to continuously build that and encourage that. Like I always say, like you know leave a comment, like you know write a review. like These are things that ah I'm trying to make sure that I'm always interacting with the community because, you know, I can't be everywhere all at once, but I know I have something that everybody can come to and we can also build off of. And very prideful of that. and Very, you know, thankful for all the conversations we've been able to have. And, you know, it's really dope that, you know, Liam Neeson, Troy, Luther Vandals, Like all these names, whatever his name is, I'm going to go with Troy. I'm very, very dope that, you know, Troy, he's gone viral a ton of times. And he's ah also, you know, a person that just like kind of takes risk and, and you know, makes a joke and and also can take a joke and continuously, you know, go back and forth with people.
01:10:32
Speaker
Like, that's just dope. You know, not a lot of people have that in them. Some people just kind of like, you know, as they say, throw rocks and hide their hands or whatever. or or they're they're kind of just like their online personality is not the same as their offline personality. And, you know, just by this episode, and if you watch how he interacts on online, he's the same person. And so it was very
Event Reflections and Upcoming Episodes
01:10:54
Speaker
fun. Like, even after that, I got to see them perform at their show.
01:10:59
Speaker
that they did the the next day um after the recording. And that was fun. Got to meet a lot of of Troy's boys. And we hung out till like the middle of the night. And that was insane. And then the next day I went to Double or Nothing and waited on a crazy line. oh That was insane. And um I'm just like, it was just very dope. What a night. Because like I didn't even, i didn't even think I was going to go. I was so enamored. i Not enamored. i was so like,
01:11:27
Speaker
just down to just do nothing and and which i've been trying to find days to continuously try to do but Here we are, busy day. The mix are are up 3-1 in this series. And I'm recording this the day before this goes out. Technically the day of if you're on Patreon. And so, hey, we're here, you know. ah Hopefully when somebody finds this 10 years from now and they're like, what was 2026 like? Yo, it was wild. my first kicks?
01:11:56
Speaker
what was twenty twenty six like for my first case It was wild. I will say that it was wild. And I got a lot more in the pipeline coming down. But, you know,
01:12:08
Speaker
We gotta do the Patreon shout outs since I mentioned Patreon. Patreon.com slash myfirstkicks. You can also get shouted out on the podcast by just giving $5. $5. That's all I need from you.
01:12:21
Speaker
It goes a long way. It helps the podcast tremendously. It gets me in the studio. I'm paying for this out of my own pocket for the love and because I extremely love doing this and I'm excited to see how far I can take this But you can also help me continuously do this and continuously put out episodes and find more time to do more extra things and and also just continuously work on making the goal of building a community around this possible, which is a very, very important part of this to me. so
01:12:58
Speaker
Please help out the Patreon. um Help out the podcast by signing up through to the Patreon. Patreon.com slash MyFirstKick. So let's do the shout outs. Let's do, we got to start off. And I got, I got the list right here. I got the list right here. i won't fumble this time. We got Adam Neustadter. We got Ross Adams. We got Derek Lipkin. We got Adam Butler. We got Jesse, Jesse G. We got Plox. We got Derek Hawkins. We got Jordan Kaiser. We got Samia Grandpierre. We have Sean Hates You. We also have Brett.
01:13:27
Speaker
then we ah Then we have AD, AD Sneaks, former guest, former Patreon guest. And then we have a new patron subscriber, MDOT.
01:13:38
Speaker
Thank you for supporting the podcast. All like I said, all the money just goes right back into the podcast. So there's a lot of things coming. There's a lot of things I'm trying to work and put together.
01:13:51
Speaker
i i will give you a little bit of insight in the Patreon. I might do a post about who's the guest ah for 300 in a newsletter, but I'm like working on a ton of things. And all right, my hint, I'm not going to give it away, but just know 300 episode 300. I'm going big It's confirmed.
01:14:11
Speaker
I linked up with the person by accident one day this week and they said that they were excited and I was shocked. So, Be on the lookout for that. But keep tapping in with the podcast. I got a lot in the chamber. And you know what we say each week, man.
01:14:29
Speaker
I jumped ahead. But let me i would go backwards. if you're if you If you want to see more of this podcast, check out these two episodes here. And you know what say each week. Wear your kicks.
01:14:42
Speaker
Peace.