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From Colorado to Long Beach with Kota The Friend
143 Plays4 months ago
This week I am joined by the extremely talented Kota The Friend. We talk about the early days of collecting kicks in New York. Where has music taken him and the places he's been. Where he gets his hustle mentality from, what he feels about streaming and discovery. His journey with music and kicks, how we met and what it was like to perform with Sango. Plus much much more!
Where to find Kota:
Socials: IG: https://www.instagram.com/kotathefriend/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KotaTheFriend
YouTube: @kotathefriend7029
Podcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/myfirstkicks
Intro Music by The DoppleGangaz: https://thedoppelgangaz.bandcamp.com/
Outro Music by Gordon Bombay: https://thegordonbombay.bandcamp.com/
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Transcript
Meeting Koda the Friend
00:00:14
Speaker
Yo, what's good? Welcome back to another episode of My First Kicks. And this week, we've got not only everybody's friend, but he's my friend now, Koda the friend. Yo, what's good, bro? Yo, what's good? Yo, shout out Sango, man. Shout out s Sango. Yo, shout out Sango. That's how we met at the Sango show. Good energy. Sango forever. Yo, shout out Sango.
Missed Podcast Invitation?
00:00:37
Speaker
Shout out Marcus for for having a ah long conversation with me. And then you coming in and being like,
00:00:42
Speaker
Because we were all we were talking about the po your podcast, the podcast before, and then I was just like, yeah, I remember hitting you up and be like, yo, I would love to have you on an episode.
Music Therapy in 2020
00:00:50
Speaker
And you were like, I've never seen that message. Right, right, right, right, right. But look at us now. We here. We here. Yo, man, it's a huge honor to having you on, man. um Big fan of your work and listening to you. Like, I was telling, I think I told you at the show too, because I remember being like, just saying, I was like, you don't understand, like, y'all's music.
00:01:08
Speaker
saved my 2020. Like I was on 2K, I was remember I told you, I was like, I was on 2K and I would just play like Mad Coda, Mad Sango. And I was just, that's how, I was just grinding 2K20 like crazy. And 2020 was different. 2020 was different. I feel like we were discovering so much about ourselves and really digging into the stuff that we liked.
Discovering Artistic Sound
00:01:29
Speaker
You know what I mean? So it was a big time for even me as a music artist, like finding my sound and figuring out where I want to go with it. so It was sick. Yo, I mean, that album is a classic that you dropped in 2020 as well. Everything. Everything. And that, like, I remember, I mean, I was telling you about BQE, bro. I was like, I was telling you the story. So because I was so afraid of getting on trains, I don't think I told you this part, but I was so afraid of of getting on trains during the height of COVID that I would walk to my girl's crib. How far was it she lived it? She lives in Harlem and I live in Queens.
COVID Adventures: Walking the BQE
00:02:02
Speaker
So I would walk all the way, I would walk to the bus that like gets me over the bridge in Astoria, but I would walk all the way over. You'd walk to the bus. Yeah. You'd walk to the bus. I'd walk, it would be like seven miles, bro. Okay, so you were afraid to get on a train, but you got on a bus? Yeah, because of COVID though.
00:02:20
Speaker
But I didn't want to get COVID. But the bus is public. I know, but I was just like that one little, I'd rather be on the bus for like five minutes versus being on a train all the way. Listen, it makes sense to me. I'm not sure your logic is completely. Look, I'm going to tell you, it took me two years to get COVID, all right? And then once I started being in the office. You should have got it before. You know what I'm saying? You should have just got it. Everybody else been regular, been normal.
00:02:47
Speaker
But I was walking on the VQE next to the VQE and I was listening to VQE when it happened. I was walking next to the VQE. Nobody does that. It was the craziest thing, bro. It was crazy. I remember people, I posted on my story because I put the song on my story and they were like, why is the song walking on the VQE? And I was just like, listen, I was strolling around the city, man.
00:03:14
Speaker
Strolling around Queens, all right? like Just walking around
Sneaker Stories: From Fake to Fashion
00:03:17
Speaker
Queens. Everybody in Queens got a car, bro. Everybody. Besides me. Besides me, all right? But you're here to answer the question that I ask everybody each week. And that question is, what's your first case with that first pair of sneakers you absolutely need to hash? My first pair of kicks that I absolutely had to have is pretty simple, the classic all white Uptown. jobtown you film me like just just Just straight like that. I feel like that was the first sneaker that I'm like, man, I need that because it's like the standard. yeah mean like so because it's like my We didn't come from means. so it was like
00:03:53
Speaker
It was like $85 at the time. And my mother was like, I'm not paying $85 for a pair of plain white sneakers. That was it. That was it. She's like, I'll get you some Converse. yeah It called it a day. yeah So i remember I remember just growing up, just needing needing those ups.
00:04:11
Speaker
You know what I mean? And I remember I went to the Chinatown. I went to Chinatown and got some fake ups for $55. No way. Which Chinatown? You went to Canal Street Chinatown? No, it wasn't Chinatown. It was 28th Street.
00:04:28
Speaker
Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 28th Street was where now that you get the bootleg jerseys. Yes, everything. Everything. It's like we walk in you know when you walk in store and there's a whole front, and then you go in the back room, and then his foot locked in. You know what I mean?
00:04:44
Speaker
He didn't know about that, bro.
Brooklyn Style Evolution
00:04:47
Speaker
Yo, it's funny, because somebody, I was in a, ah my boy Ricky, shout out Ricky, he was telling me a story of somebody he knew, and he was like, yo, this one dude, he was always dripping in high school, and we were like, how did he get it? How did he get it? right And he was just like, yo, one day we went with him, and he took us to 28th Street, and he went into a ah building, and they were like, yeah, you gotta go to this building. Then then there was cubicles,
00:05:12
Speaker
Oh boy. And the cubicles is people on the phone with like a catalog and they would just call and that's how you get that's how you get the stuff because they would just bring it up for you. Good old days. Good old days, bro. Good old days. Y'all used to get fake G-Shocks. That's crazy. Yo, they was they were selling them... um They would sell, cause I was a hustler from young. So it's like, we didn't have money. So it's like, how are we going to get money? It's like, that was always our thing. yeah yeah So they would sell G shots for $35 for like six of them in a pack. You know what I mean? So I would go, yeah i would I would buy like three packs and I was selling to people in my school, people around the neighborhood. Everybody hated me at the end of the day, but they got over it. You were saying it was real? He was like, yo, this is real. I wasn't saying it was real. I was, I was saying something.
00:06:00
Speaker
I remember one of them said they used to say G-Sport. I remember those. Yeah, those are the ones. So I used to tell them it's a type of G-Shock. It's the G-Sport G-Shock. It's official, bro.
Resurgence of Community in Streetwear
00:06:14
Speaker
It's different. Fuck with it. It's not like all the other ones out there. But it was solid though. I would wear it. I was like, fuck it.
00:06:21
Speaker
you yeah i would So you've lived the all your life in Brooklyn. Yeah. So where where did you your style come from? Does it come from like a specific area in Brooklyn? Man, my style came from whatever my mother was getting me, for real. because like um But it was basically Brooklyn, you know, you you want to wear, like the baggy jeans was a thing at one point, then it was the skinny jeans. And then at some point you come up with your own style and you're just like,
00:06:46
Speaker
you know, whatever, whatever I got in, you know, I'll go to the store, I'll get something new. And then one of my favorite eras was like the streetwish, like street style, like exclusive sneaker era, because it's like not everybody knew about yeah what was going on.
00:07:01
Speaker
You know what I'm saying? So it's like it became I went to sneakers that nobody has. Like by the time I was in high school, I had jobs, you know, so now I'm I actually have money to spend. So I was like, you know, what I'm gonna be real picky about what I get. I'm not shopping where everybody else shops. I'm i asked like we
Music vs. Fashion
00:07:17
Speaker
were talking about early. I'm going to DQM. I'm going to a life. I'm going to, you know, stay alive. Yeah. You feel me?
00:07:23
Speaker
So that was fun, like running at LES and Soho and learning about the spies and learning how to really create my own stuff. Yeah, that's that's my that's my bread and butter. I used to do the the loop. I mean, everybody listening knows my my stories of like, I'd start at Supreme, then you then you you'd go from Supreme. No, oh wait.
00:07:43
Speaker
start at Atrium. No, you go to Blades first, Atrium, Supreme, then you hit up clientele, and then you come all the way back down because you ended at DQM. Because the the reason why I always ended at DQM, because I was cool with them there. So I would spend the most time there. And I'd spend like two, three hours just talking to people and be like, yeah, man, you know, I think I'm down. i'm Now I'm down with y'all, you know? Like, yeah. But that that whole so-ho,
00:08:09
Speaker
i wishes I wish it was still around. I mean, now a lot of those shops move to Bowery. I don't know if you've been to Bowery. I haven't been to Bowery in a minute. Bowery has all the shops now. Yeah. I usually hang out with extra butter, shout out to extra butter. um Every Thursday, they do like a lowdown because they're trying to bring the community aspect back of streetwear and sneakers. um But that's what's like, I think a lot of shops are doing that now, especially in the city because they noticed that like,
00:08:37
Speaker
all the hype stuff is just like, the hype hype doesn't drive anymore as much as they thought in terms of just like bringing people into the into the store itself, because you can just buy it online. Everybody, if you ask anybody and they'd be like, yo.
00:08:49
Speaker
where do you get rare sneakers from? They're gonna be like, resale shop. They're gonna be like like, it becomes commonplace where it's like, like glo yeah, like back in the day was like, you go to flight club to look and see if you're paying, you're overpaying online or like you look and you go to just be like, yo, I just want to hold a pair of pigeons in my hand. Like, you know, but now it's like, everybody thinks,
00:09:10
Speaker
that every store every
Emotional Connection through Music
00:09:12
Speaker
store that sells sneakers is a resale shop, which is crazy. It kind of is though, but they are kind of like resale shops everywhere. They're buying the sneakers and selling sneakers. Yeah, I mean, yes, and in that terms, but it's just like, everybody thinks that like, In order for you to be in this, you have to pay the $400, $500 to be part of it. So that's what it... I don't I don't because I feel like I don't have the time to be fucking around anymore. You know what I mean? If I want to get the sneakers, I'm going to get the sneakers for whatever it costs, you know? But I do have a little bit.
00:09:46
Speaker
to spend. You know what I'm saying? So it's a little different than it was. It's like the music doing good. But like back in the day, that's why you had to really figure out what you was getting. But I loved that about ah like back in the day. It's like you can go and get some affordable fire kicks. yeah like yeah They used to sell the classic SBs for $65. $65, bro. you know like Do you remember that? like that was That was a time. It's like getting a fire pair of kicks for 65, less than a pair of AF1s. You know what I mean? Go to Bladez when it's like Black Friday. I used to clean up, bro. Clean up, bro. I've gotten some crazy stuff for like 50, 60 bucks because of that. Yeah, but it's a crazy time now. You're not gonna ever find a deal like that. You're not gonna ever find fire kicks for a good price. Like, unless, I don't know, you know more than me. I mean, I do. I was just gonna say, put me on. Put me on, that's what We're on a downtrend. We're on a downtrend, yeah. So a lot of a lot of the hype shit is like still sitting, like, yeah. we're We're in a good time in terms of just like, if you wanna just buy kicks at a regular price. Or like, if you wanna buy kicks at like, for sale. okay Facts. I mean, I'll text you some. Just let me know. Just let me know, you know. So like when you first started rapping and stuff, were you dressing to to be like, <unk> were you dressing crazy? Nah. When I first started rapping, I was dressing like nothing. You know what I mean? I was literally like, I i was just focused on the music. yeah I really didn't care how I how i dressed or what I was putting on. you know I think I'd recently just started to really think about
00:11:18
Speaker
Like what I'm wearing and how I'm wearing it, you know? Because it was just all about the music. What what what was that like switch? What made you? What was the switch? um I really don't know, man. It switched at some point, but I don't know what i don't know what the switch was. Maybe it was just you know wanting to be a little bit more polished or wanting to look better in ah in the videos or something, or level up in some way, you know maybe. I mean, I think you... So like watching your music you know expand and grow and stuff like that, I've always been a fan of just like your aesthetic, right? so
00:11:57
Speaker
Like, I know I remember watching you on your lives doing, you know, you was freestyling or were you just playing songs? I forgot what it was like, but it was like around 2021, like that you were on live, like playing songs and then rapping and stuff like that. So that evolved. do you Did you feel like, oh, I got to evolve with that as well?
00:12:17
Speaker
Hmm. I feel like um'm for a long time,
Empowerment through Streaming
00:12:21
Speaker
I was just having fun doing it and enjoying the fact that I was progressing. you know So ah i I wasn't even thinking about evolution. I think I was just evolving ah naturally. yeah It was just happening. like Everything was moving along. So ah i don't think i was thinking about i was I wasn't thinking about the evolution. It was kind of happened automatically.
00:12:43
Speaker
um I think at some point I really looked at where I was at and I was like, man, I'm not where I was five years ago. you know and that And that was really yeah the like the first, it's like being head down and you you got tunnel vision, you focusing on a thing. And then five years later you look up for the first time and you're like, oh shit, I'm not, this is not where I was. yeah And I think that's the first time I really was like, man, i have I'm not who I was, I'm not where I was.
00:13:14
Speaker
So I really have to figure out what I'm doing and what this is and who I am. And it's like and I have to accept that I'm not that anymore. you know Because I feel like that's one of the most important things when you for whoever you are. You have to know where you're at. yeah Because if you don't know if if you you don't really understand your geography, um you're going to act like you're still over there. right But to everybody else,
00:13:38
Speaker
you're not there anymore. no so it's like you would I would be living in a false reality to be acting like I'm i'm still that person who who doesn't have all all of this evolution. So I started, I was like, yeah, let me get my stuff together and let me really not even play a part, but let me accept that I'm here in this role right now so that I can make better decisions and and my next move could be more effective.
00:14:04
Speaker
Yeah, that's far that I think that's like foresight where it's like you're you're looking at it instead of it because like I feel I feel like some people can look at them and be like negative about it versus it being like this is my personal growth where you're just like you're you're you're giving yourself the flowers, which I don't think a lot, and barely anybody does now, right? I mean, i even I myself think about it where I was just like, oh yeah, I've done, I've gotten to this point, like I've been doing this for four years or something like that, and and I've never took the time and be like, yo, I really accomplished a ton in this span. You know, you've done,
00:14:43
Speaker
talking crazy stuff with Colorado, you know, Long Beach, you know, you you you made, I feel like there, these are like hits that everybody, if I bring you up, it'd be like, yeah, that's my jam, that's my shit. Yeah, people listen to my music, you know what I mean? It's like, you're not gonna walk up to somebody on the street and play Colorado and they're gonna be like, oh yeah, yeah, that's not shit, you never know what I mean? But somebody that rocks with me is, yeah, they're gonna like Colorado, they're gonna like Long Beach. And it's the, I feel like that,
00:15:13
Speaker
it's and It's like the that you grow, especially with like the the album with with ah Static Selector and you know that Wolves and it's like it's like I feel like you definitely learn
Staying Authentic vs. Going Mainstream
00:15:26
Speaker
from you and hear about you in your music. And i think ah that's what I absolutely love about your stuff. So ah that you hear the growth and you learn about the growth through your music and Yeah, I think that's the beautiful part about music. yeah know it's like It was really my outlet. It's always been my outlet just to get out these emotions and these feelings. I think as an artist and as a person, you realize, like I realize that in my personal relationships, like the the most common complaint is that I'm a bad communicator. Really?
00:16:02
Speaker
Yes, that's my that's the most common complaint. I can't communicate. I don't know how to say what I'm feeling. But you're like extremely articulate. Exactly. It's always songs. We listen to them like listen to the music, you'll know how I feel. you know say is' It's so tough to say certain things to people because everybody people could be so like judgmental and and like they misunderstand you so easily. But in the music, I come through perfectly. you know i mean I cut through all of the noise, all of the bullshit.
00:16:30
Speaker
It's like right there, right to your soul and you understand exactly what I'm saying, exactly how I'm feeling. And matter of fact, not only do you understand how I'm feeling, but you understand how you're feeling too, which is which is crazy thing about music. It's like it allows us to like enter this third dimension, this different dimension, you know, where it's like everything kind of makes sense and we can look at things kind of like objectively, you know, it's just different, bro.
00:16:57
Speaker
yeah I totally understand it, you know, especially because like, yeah, I've been listening to music so long and music is something that, that's where I feel like I can, I can connect with somebody and be like, yo, you know, I'm not feeling this great. I'm not feeling great. I've been listening to this song. You should probably listen to this song too, you know, that, that, that's like, it's, I always say it's my love language. Whenever I put anybody up on music, like new music, that means I'll fuck with you heavy. and because that's One thing about music is like...
00:17:28
Speaker
It's so quick to judge somebody on their taste. You be like, oh, you fuck with that? Oh, I don't know if I fuck with you. like Because you kind of get what they're into. If they fuck with a certain artist, or is like I feel like now and nowadays, like music tastes, it can really show you what somebody's about, you know i mean depending on who they who who they love. you know but And you you can look
Money, AI, and Artistic Integrity
00:17:52
Speaker
at some of the mainstream artists and you see, you understand why so many people like these artists, you know? Because so many people are under this umbrella, yeah you know? And that's why I really would never want to go mainstream because I'm like, if I'm mainstream, I must be doing something wrong. You know what I mean? I genuinely feel like that. If I'm mainstream and my music is connecting with people in in this like in it' like superficial way, yeah is is I don't want that.
00:18:20
Speaker
you know ah see man because Because back in the day, everybody's everybody's goal was to go pop was that's the was the term, right? You want to get that you want to get the deal. And I definitely see now a lot more independent artists start becoming bigger. Like, you know you got you, you got ah Red Veil. Red Veil is one of my... Like, I love Red Veil. You got Denzel who broke off of his his stuff, but he's... I don't know if if his last album was... I feel like it wasn't, but... you know you got you got these artists breaking off and still being independent and and big too. yeah So it's interesting now, because I think that support, it comes in waves versus it being so hard to find before, where it was like you peddling, you have to do every single show, you gotta go to, you know i mean unless you you think otherwise.
00:19:12
Speaker
Nah, I mean, I think streaming really changed the game for artists in a positive way, even though they get a lot of flack for you know not paying artists enough or whatever. But it gave us an opportunity to get paid, period.
Flight Boys and Cultural Reconnection
00:19:27
Speaker
Because if you... weren't signed to a label, you weren't you weren't able to really sell music. So like Spotify and Apple Music gave artists an opportunity to at least push their music and then you know have people listen on Spotify. You get paid per stream and you're able to get something per month. you know if you
00:19:48
Speaker
I remember the first time I looked in my TuneCore account, TuneCore is the distribution, and so yeah I was able to distribute all my music through TuneCore and get it to Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, whatever. I remember the first time I checked my account and I had $8,000 in it.
00:20:03
Speaker
that changed my life. That changed my whole life. 8K. Just out of nowhere? It wasn't out of nowhere. It had been building up. But you looked at it out of nowhere. I wasn't checking though because I was really thinking my thought process was there's no money in music unless I'm on the label. That was genuinely my thought process. So when I checked and I saw that money,
00:20:26
Speaker
I was like, damn, we could build on this. All right, what's next now? Because um I come from that Brooklyn hustlers mentality, right where it's like is like, you give me a little something, I'm gonna flip it. You give me five, I'm gonna turn into a 10, 10, 20. That's how my brain thinks. you know So that was no different. And so and I still move like that to this day. It's just like, all right, cool, I got that, then I could do this. And I take that and I flip it over here.
00:20:54
Speaker
It's like and so ah like streaming made all of this possible. you know because it First of all, it gets your music to a whole bunch of people that will never even hear about you. Do playlists through just people sharing it on Spotify, sharing it on Apple Music, whatever. and Playlists have been huge. ro It's all about discovery. yeah Especially if you're an artist that really loves art,
00:21:17
Speaker
streaming is amazing because so many people that have wouldnt have never heard of you and probably would have never had the chance to listen to any of your music get to hear it. And I understand when you have your fans, you have your loyal fans that listen to the music and you give give it directly to them, yeah I get that.
00:21:35
Speaker
But it's all about discovery, bro. Even in podcasts, it's hard. It's hard to get discovered. It's hard for people to figure out, like oh, this is where I got to look, or this is where like is the album algorithm going to fuck with you today? You don't know. You only put out once a week. you're not put You can't put out every single day. you know So yeah, that that discovery is important on all fronts, especially on the internet. like It's hard.
00:21:58
Speaker
But now it's gone itself because everybody is trying to get discovered. Everybody's trying to get discovered. It's crazy, bro. What are the things that we're doing to stand out more? My thing is, bro, just do what you love. At the end of the day, you just got to do it if you love it, bro.
00:22:17
Speaker
I feel like we're in a culture right now and it makes me kind of sad. We're in a culture that looks at music and looks at art. It's just a tool to make money. And all you see online is influences and music influences. Just talking about my art form It's a fucking machine. You know what I mean? And I hate that shit. I hate that shit. And I understand it's all about knowledge, and yeah, you should have knowledge. But I'm like, can we just talk about music as music? Is it that hard? That's what Tyler was saying about that. Why can't I put out an album? You take two listens and now it's trash. You just eat it up and that's it.
00:23:00
Speaker
What's crazy about what Tyler is saying is like that's how I've always looked at the music industry too. When I first started putting out music, I was dropping on Mondays and Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
AI in Music Production
00:23:12
Speaker
I was dropping on dates that were important to me and not important to anybody else. you know yeah yeah it's like if And that's that's part of the magic. like Music is magic. And that's what people are trying to catch lighting in a but bottle all the time. But it's something that um some that Quincy Jones said. He was like, when you start talking about money, God walks out the room. You feel me?
00:23:32
Speaker
um and so And that's something I've always kind of lived by without even hearing the quote. So when I heard the quote, I was like, damn, that's real. It's like, you have to move. When you're making art, you have to move or feeling a lot. You have to admit, how does this feel? you know And if it don't feel right, then it's probably not right. And and so I ah ah try not to look at music in that way. You know what I mean? I kind of am straying away from how everybody is going about the music industry.
00:24:02
Speaker
And i just want to I just want to make music. I want to work with people I want to work with and just move forward. So collaborations with with people that I admire, who's who I like their sound, people I probably think I never work with. And I feel like that's how I'm going to find joy in it again and make it fun.
00:24:20
Speaker
Nah, yeah. I mean, I definitely wanted to talk about Flight Boys. And you know, you starting that up. And I remember, because I i think that's that's where that message went. Because I remember you started Flight Boys, that account. And I wanted to be like, yo, I want to the actual space. You have the the the actual space. And I was so intrigued and being like, yo, I want to pull up. And you can pull up, too. I would love to pull up, bro. But I definitely want to talk about like how'd you start that and and what influenced you to start it.
00:24:49
Speaker
yeah flight boys I started Flight Boys when I was in high school. yeah and um I remember I was inspired by Billionaire Boys Club. It's so funny because I feel like even the name is
Memorable Fan Connections
00:25:03
Speaker
so timely because it's kind of like it the name was kind of a mix between Flight flight Club and Billionaire Boys Club.
00:25:10
Speaker
The font, I was looking at that font, I was like, that looks a little familiar to you. You know what's so sick, bro? The font, I was really trying to, I was really trying to come for like a, go for like a A-Life. A-Life joint, yeah. Cause I love A-Life. Cause you was doing the box logos too. Yeah, we did the box logo. Like everybody looks at Supreme for the box logo, but for me it was A-Life. That was my favorite brand. OG. Yeah, I never really, I didn't really rock with Supreme like that, but It was heartbreaking when A-Life closed their store down. I was like, damn, it's really the end of an era. My boy, so I have my boy who designs for A-Life on here a couple of times. He's my homie. Shout out, Chris. Shout out, Chris. And we can make something happen. Oh, that would be dope. That would be dope. You know, I always wanted those tennis ball joints. Yo, me too. The Reeboks, man. The pumps?
00:26:00
Speaker
Oh man, those are fire. i I wanted those so bad. I remember when those dropped, but ah i hope I talk about it on the live episode I did, because we had Jesse, who was the the GM of A-Life, the store, the actual store. with the and a I didn't even know they had, they did you know they threw parties in the backyard? yeah I didn't know any of that. I never like i never went to a party. You had to get yeah had they get invited.
00:26:25
Speaker
They had Nas back there. They had Wu-Tang back there. It was crazy. They didn't know who I was going to be, bro. They didn't know. Hopefully when they open back up, eventually if they open back up. I hope they do, man. I hope they do, bro. One thing I hope happens is there's a shift in the culture where people are able to do things for the love again.
Nature, Travel, and Exploration
00:26:46
Speaker
Because we were talking about earlier, people want to bring community back to the culture. But it's hard to do when everything is so commercialized. Yeah, for sure. Everything's super consumerism. Yeah, it's crazy. Amazon exists, bro. And that has changed the world. And the way people buy things, people buy things like this, this, this, and they keep going about their life. They don't sit and appreciate what they got. They go on to the next thing. On to the next thing. That's what it is about sneakers right now. It's like everybody's onto the next shoe because they drop so frequently. You get a new pair dropping each week. Like it's crazy that you can't, some people, they actually keep up with it where they buy every single week. And I'm like, what are you getting this bread for? What are you doing? You know, like it's, you know, there's like,
00:27:32
Speaker
Like I talked about this shoe, right? I talked about how much, i like I literally, before the episode, I talked about the Faust SBs and how much I love Faust and all these little intric intricate designs that are on the shoe. i This is the second time I've worn it. First time I wore it was on my birthday because that's how much I love this shoe, where it's like,
00:27:52
Speaker
that you don't get this feeling unless you actually are paying attention to what you're gonna buy, you know? Like you got on the Papa Bears, you know? And I remember that whole pack and being like, I need to get them, I need to get them. Struck out, I'm a size 13, so I struck out like crazy. I even wanted the Mama Bears and people were like, mid-strap boom. There's a hard though. There's a hard though. The whole pack. Three little bears pack is fired. Yeah. And so that, we don't get that like the chance to savor anymore. And back in when we were collecting basically like,
00:28:30
Speaker
that's where you have to scrounge your money together to get the one shoe. So you spend all your time getting that one shoe. Right, right, you're patient with it. But it's there, you know what I mean? It's not going anywhere for real, you know what I mean? But it it's there, you just gotta get your coins together. yeah But yeah, flight boys. and like how how
Self-Worth and Materialism
00:28:51
Speaker
What is the the full 360 of what you want it to be?
00:28:55
Speaker
Yeah. um Flight Boys was cool, man. Honestly, I got certain ideas from A-Life, like the backyard parties and stuff like that. And like they used to have artists. like you said they had knives They used to work with a lot of artists. And I remember I was like, oh, that's so dope. I said A-Life did that, right? A-Life did that. Yeah, A-Life did that. Yeah.
00:29:15
Speaker
My bad. I got from A-Life. I was like, man, I would love to have a brand that connects with the culture like that. you know and a so One thing we used to do is ah when we were in high school, we used to rent out bars, even though we weren't you know legally allowed to, yeah but they used to let us rent out bars and we would like throw concerts and we would throw shirts in the crowd. That's fire. you know i and People would be wearing the t-shirts the whole night. It it was dope. like We had a whole show going. It was like a talent show outside of school. so We had this freedom to kind of do what we wanted. and you know some of those Some of those artists that performed at those shows have become like big artists and toward the world and and all that.
00:29:58
Speaker
um If you want to name drop something. Nah, I'm not. But it's okay. It's all right. But i remember I remember those times and how visceral that energy was, you know and and and seeing how it was like an incubator for for for artistry, yeah because it didn't really exist. 15-year-olds are not going to bars and performing.
00:30:21
Speaker
You know what I mean? But we were doing that. And so it was lit. You feel me? And um it kind of just now I kind of just want to bring that back, because it was so it was so beautiful. people Sometimes people would come up to me and be like, yo, remember flight boys in 2009?
00:30:38
Speaker
And I'm like, damn, that was a long time ago. but But it's something that I feel like I want to bring back in a more polished way. And right now we're working on ah figuring out really how to do that properly because now we're faced with a whole new set of challenges. So it is what it is. Well, what are these challenges?
00:30:55
Speaker
I mean, just like the the music scene is different. okay it's not what it It's not what it was.
Fitting in vs. Belonging
00:31:02
Speaker
ah Going to shows is different. Not as many people are coming out to shows and things like that. So it's kind of tough, I guess, just for flight boards as a kind of re-establishing itself. right yeah So we're trying to find ways to position it where it makes sense. And it makes sense with me as an artist and And it comes together at the perfect time. I'm not tripping about it. I'm not even stressing it. i'm just I just know it's going to happen at the right time. And when it when it happens, it's going to be you know synergy. And I'll be there. I guarantee you. And if you got to do it, I think we got to do the first one in New York, period. Yeah, for sure. Period. For sure. ah I mean, you talked about shows and stuff, but like you've been, because we talked ah about how emotional and how connected your music is, what when you meet fans, like what is that like?
00:31:51
Speaker
is that Is that just them pouring into you and you just get emotionally drained? or is you know I always wonder to that because when I listen to your music, obviously I feel like the first time is like, yo, this dude knows me. like you know you So i I feel like I'm not the only one thinking that, so yeah. ah Fans do come up to me and pour their heart out and tell me how much they love me and how much they love the music. And I think it's really, that's it doesn't overwhelm me.
00:32:21
Speaker
it It makes me feel like, damn, like this music is so important to this person. In that moment, I really have to know who I am, and I'm the person that makes this music. yeah and This person has been listening to these songs every day for the last three years.
00:32:40
Speaker
And so drilling so so for me, that's just an opportunity to make this thing real. You know what I mean? to To show them like this a real person that was behind this music, real emotions, you know? And even though we can't, you know, get to the bottom of the meaning of life in five minutes, 15 minutes. yeah It's like we have a few moments, a few brief brief moments to actually chat and I get to know them a little bit. you know And the thing about people is like you meet somebody once and you learn one thing about them.
00:33:15
Speaker
You probably remember that thing you learned about him the next time you see him, you know? And a lot of- It's gotta be hard when there's a lot of
Upcoming Projects and Music Focus
00:33:22
Speaker
people though. Yeah, but a lot of times you meet fans twice, three times, four times, because they keep coming to the shows. And before you know it, homies on IG ain't like, bro, like that, that, that. That was crazy. Yeah, like I got homies in Portland that love to go fishing and I'm like, damn, I got to get out there so I go fishing with them. You know what I mean? I got homies in Miami that I'm like, bro, we got a party next time out there. I know the Dominican spot. It's like music is just this thing that connects people. And at the end of the day, I'm just a musician. And the more fans meet me, the more one fan meets me four or five times before you know it, it's like we're actually homies. And so I have a few fans that have really become really cool.
00:34:03
Speaker
and i just ah I watched their kids grow up and I'm like, oh damn, that's Don't forget the terrible twos. We really talk about these kinds of things, bro. and I'm like, damn, like I'm going through this right now. that and and I think that's a beautiful thing about music and that's the the good flip side of social media and stuff like that. is like you can actually connect with people, but y'all already connect on a music level because they listen to this music and they connect, they understand you because the music is real. yeah it wouldn't The only way it wouldn't be a real connection is if it was fake and if it was like you know just inauthentic. You know you just write in somebody wrote g cat chat GPT. By the way, I know people that do that. No way. Like full on, they don't, they just they just let it rock though. They just do that shit, bro. They use chat GBC, bro. It's crazy. No way, bro. Chat GPT bars, it's crazy. Yo, it's crazy. No way, bro.
00:35:01
Speaker
I tried, I'll be full full disclosure, full disclosure. I try to write a video, like a sneaker review video, because I hate them. I hate sneaker review videos. So I refuse to do them, but my friend asked me to do one about this SB that came out and and I got it. And I was just like, all right, fine.
00:35:18
Speaker
So I was just like, man, I don't really wanna just like sit here and write a whole script. Let me just throw in the jet chat GVT and see what's going on. I threw all the information in. That shit came out like ass. And I was just like, I'm not doing this. like it It made me not wanna do it at all. right like I was just like, I'm not gonna do this. cause If my heart's not behind the video that I'm trying to put out, then it's just- Cause it's not you. It's like that, it feels fucked up. So then people would be rapping bars on this? We having it, bro. People are doing it, dawg. Yo, you can make a whole, you can make a whole AI song. That's like, isn't that crazy?
00:35:55
Speaker
All you have to type in is, yo, I want a song that sounds like Nas and Lupe Fiasco, da da da and it'll come out with a whole song with bars. Then you got your old Drew song. Yeah, you maybe. But it's like it'll come out with like lyrics yeah you know that would sound like what you would say or like what I would say. That's crazy. And it's insane, bro. it' It's crazy. you gotta get in Everybody got to get in tech now because AI is AI is taking over, bro. Yeah, I take it over crazy, bro. That shit is sickening. i i So I have a hard no sharing AI art. like i don't if If I see it and it looks like AR art to me, like I'll barely even comment on it. I'll just be like, nah. like I just don't. I can't. I feel you. I can't. like I have like a hard... like
00:36:41
Speaker
I like ah had somebody that posted something and they were like, why you don't why you don't share my stuff? And i I didn't want to just tell them because I know it's AI. like i don't I'm not going to help you out because you you really just typed something and now you just put it on. like it's not that has There's no art to that just because you picked the right picture. like Because you typed in the right in the in the prompt. You typed in the right thing. So I'm big i'm big no no AI, unless it's like,
00:37:11
Speaker
Like it's like, if it's helping me cut a clip or something like that, you know? Like if it streams, like if it streams like my work, like I'm down for it. But yeah, if you're just doing it for, to get art out now, I'm good. I'll be real, bro. I'll be real, bro. AI has helped me in one way. It's like,
00:37:29
Speaker
um my like Obviously, I'm an independent artist, so clearing a sample is crazy for me. like That's like it's like it's such a job. such a it It could take forever. It could take a year. I could never get some shit cleared, ever. So, a static, shout out static selector, he put me onto this. i forgot what i I forgot what it's called, but like I put the sample, like the my homie made a beat with the sample. I put the beat into the app, and it gave me, and it spat out,
00:37:59
Speaker
a different beat in the same key, with the same vibe. You know what I mean? It had the same groove, everything. So it was different enough so I won't have to clear the sample, but it went perfectly with the lyrics. That's crazy.
00:38:18
Speaker
I mean, that's a good workaround. I'm being real. I had to, because it's like, you know what it is? For artists like me, there's no other way. There's no other way for me to clear this sample, bro. And even if I did clear the sample, they probably take all my money. Yeah. They want that. They want that bag. They want that bag. They're like, oh, I heard it. I heard it in there. I heard it in there. Yeah, that's crazy, man.
00:38:43
Speaker
I don't know how the years of just listening to hip hop for so long and then how sampling have like sampling was a pivotal part of how hip hop is created. So for it to be like strictly pulled out so that you have to pay somebody in order to get something going like it's hard for it to evolve after that. It is what it is, bro, because at the end of the day, you can't steal somebody's work. They have certain websites that have made it easier for artists to sample, but even then, they want 20% of the master and 20% of the publishing just off the rip. And maybe that's not that much, but I'm like, damn, that's just the beat. You know what I mean? That's just because of the beat they want 20%. And then the producer that made the beat is gonna want another 10% or sometimes 50% on top of it. So it's like, at the end of the day, what does the artist actually get? It's crazy. And then they're like, oh, but you get paid if you do it on the show.
00:39:48
Speaker
like Nah, bro. I got to get paid mechanical royalties. I got to get paid like every time it streams, you know? So now there's some workarounds and, you know, so I guess shout out to A.I. for now until, you know, because it's like it's always for now. It's always like, all right, cool. It's cool for now until, you know, musicians are obsolete. Yeah. I mean, was that then that TikTok dude, he was making like He went, he signed like a multimillion dollar deal with an AI guy, AI rap that he made. And it was like a rap, it was like a dude, it was like a virtual black guy, right? He was saying the N word, isn't it? And then it was a white guy that programmed it, so is he?
00:40:36
Speaker
I don't know. kick Dang. It's crazy. It's crazy. Oh no. Was he making him say the n-word? Yeah, he was a guy saying the n-word on his own.
00:40:53
Speaker
Yeah, it's coded in that ways. You shouldn't even be allowed to write the N word, right? they You should grab a full on.
00:41:10
Speaker
Yeah. Right. We got to get into tech for real. I've been saying that recently too. I'm like, there's no way around it. Bro, it's like we can enjoy this shit right now what we want. But that's coming, bro. And the fact that they gave us all this AI shit all in really came out of nowhere. Yeah. You think about it. It was like a flood of just AI, AI, AI. All of a sudden it was like, yeah. Because they've been planning it for so long. Yeah. But now it's here. If something happened and they was like, all right, we got to put it out now.
00:41:36
Speaker
and You know, it's not going to stop in 10 years. I don't know what my kids are going to be doing, bro. I don't know what there's going to be for my kids yeah other than tech, you know, because it's going to be crazy. It's all about who can who can manipulate the AI. It's. say ai not gonna take your job so am i good a Facts. Yeah, for sure. For people who can't hear that, Dee just said, AI is not going to take your job. Somebody good at AI is going to take your job. so But shout out to Dee for the off-camera conversation. Facts. Facts.
00:42:16
Speaker
yeah complicated control the machine and all of that i'm like well we That's crazy. I'm going to look into that. yeah not Mm-hmm. Hell yeah. That's what you, that's that's it right there, bro. That's it. For anybody who's listening, no he just said he's taking prompting classes, and that's the way to the bag, is prompting classes. So sign up. Sign up for that shit. Sign up for that shit. um I definitely wanted to ask you, because I didn't get to talk to you at the Sango show. Well, how did that feel? Like, that it's, it
00:42:53
Speaker
I've never, that was my first time seeing Sango ever. So it was crazy that he, I was that close to him the entire time. We ended up becoming cool and shit. Like that was crazy. And, but like he pulls you out on stage and that was a laid out show. I was tired as hell, but you still crushed it. Everybody still was, there was like, yeah, I was, I mean, I knew all the words, so I was there. That was also my first time seeing you. So yeah, ah I was wondering like, what was that for you? Like, how did that feel for you?
00:43:23
Speaker
It was a vibe. I think it's always dope when you can connect with one of your favorite artists, producers, whatever, like creators, one of your favorite creators. like And even if it's just for a little seven minute set, especially, you know because those moments, people never forget. like People are not going to forget the day that Sango, you know, did a show in in the city and then out of nowhere, Coda the Frank came and created this moment and that that's going to be an in their memory bank forever like, bro. Like, I went to see Sango, had no idea that my other
00:44:01
Speaker
other artists that I like, Koda the friend was there and that's the shit that they'll be talking about forever. And at the same time, I'll be talking about that time I was backstage with Sango and we met yeah and then we did the part and then, you know what I mean? And it was like good energy and it' so and Sango was in my city, you know what I'm saying? Like first time we met was in South Africa, but now we're here in New York, like it's a moment. So it's like always good to have those moments. I wanted as many of those as I can possibly have.
00:44:30
Speaker
Outside of that moment wast ah was like one of your favorite that comes to the top. My favorite moments in South Africa is one of them, which is crazy. yeah That was the first time I met Sangu. Just being in South Africa and being on stage, it was probably like 500 people in the crowd. and But the love was like so crazy. like The love that they were giving me was just...
00:44:54
Speaker
it It was crazy, man. It was like they were crying in in my arms. They were like hugging me and crying that i because I was there. And it felt so beautiful because I'm like, man, these people, look at these beautiful black people. And I'm in Africa right now. you know So it was ah a whole different energy than any place I've ever been, like whether it's Europe, Australia, and in the US. I never got that much love. I never got love like I got in South Africa.
00:45:22
Speaker
man, I mean, because a lot of your songs, you you know, you got different states and stuff like, I don't. what What are some of the places very like favorite places you travel to? Because I feel like you've been to a lot of places. Yeah. This is crazy that music was able to bring you there.
00:45:39
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. California is one of my favorites just because there's so many different landscapes. um I love the mountains. At the same time, I love the beach. So it's like I get a little bit of both. Yeah.
00:45:55
Speaker
Recently, one of my favorite places has become um ah Seattle seattle ah for the lakes. like man i was Me and my friend stayed in a lake house and it had a canoe and everything.
00:46:10
Speaker
and I took out the I took the canoe out on the lake and the sunset was just like if you look in this direction, it was like purple. And then if you look in this direction, it was blue. And in the other direction, it was like pink. That's crazy. Yeah. And there was like this. There was like this horrible. Yeah, it was crazy. And it was like the steam coming off of the for the lake.
00:46:33
Speaker
And I'm just sitting in the steam looking at this beautiful sunset and the sunrise was just as amazing. So I was like, damn, I got to get a spot in out here in Seattle. Where did you love for nature come from, because we, I mean, we're surrounded by none of it. Exactly. Exactly. So I would watch movies and shit and I would be like, man, I want to go to a mountain, you know what I mean? I want to go to a lake and be in a boat like these people, you know, but I don't. And my great grandfather always used to tell me he's going to take me fishing, but then he passed before he before he could take me. You know, so the first time I actually went fishing was in Seattle because my friend from my DJ, he's from California. He goes fishing.
00:47:18
Speaker
So he was like, you know what? we're gonna Since we was live we were staying by a lake, he was like, yo let's just somes get some fishing rods and let's go out and let's go fishing, you know? Yeah. so Catch anything? Nah, nah. Not that day. I don't even think it was- Not even a guppy or nothing? that Nothing, bro. Nothing. But then ah a few months later, ah my friend from ah Miami, he took me fishing in in Miami and I caught a a puffer fish. Oh. But you're not supposed to eat those. No, you definitely not.
00:47:47
Speaker
I mean, unless you, what is it? Like you're supposed to be like a trained chef. Yeah. And it's only like a small little sliver. they I'm not, but I'm not in it to eat any of these fish, bro. I'm just, we caught it and then we threw it back. You know, I just want that feeling of like catching and fishing, going fishing. So, it so it was cool, but. You want to hear funny a funny fish story? First time I went fishing, my Godfather took me fishing. Right.
00:48:08
Speaker
and i grab like i I feel the tug, i'm like oh and i'm only I'm like six, I think, right? Grab it, and I'm pulling back, I'm pulling back, I'm pulling back. My mom comes, helps me, we go and grab it, pull it up, it's an electric eel. Everybody's like, oh my God, oh my God, and we all just leave. Did it land in a in a boat?
00:48:26
Speaker
Nah, we weren't in the boat, we were fishing on the side. Okay, so what happened? And so we all, and we had to run, and like, my my Godfather was like, you just gotta throw it back, you just gotta throw it back before you before you before it starts to try to shock you, right? So he grabs it.
00:48:41
Speaker
And he just flings it. And I'm like, yeah, he's the one of the most hardcore dudes I've ever met in my life. And this dude was like, cigarette in hand. like He's just like he's like, stop. He's like, stop. Don't worry about it. I got it. And then he just took a big rip and just grabbed it and just threw it back in the water. I was like, man, this guy is gangster. He ain't skip a beat. He ain't skip a beat. Man, give me that shit.
00:49:04
Speaker
That's what's up, really. But, you know, when you're from the city, you never, we know we don't get nature, you know? So, growing up, I always wanted to be around nature because I didn't have it, you know? a um And I knew it was out there. Obviously, everything I'm watching got a damn... you know, this beautiful scenery, but every day we got the same scenery, these great buildings. So, is it? What's a, what's a, cause like I would literally was about to be like, you know what movie made me want to go to the mountains of Snowboard? It's fucking bri Brink. Brink? Is it Brink? I've never even seen that. No, the Disney, you remember Disney movies? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm trying to, what's the snowboarding one? No, Johnny Tsunami. I never saw that. Johnny Tsunami is the snowboarder. You gotta watch that. It's a Disney movie? there That is, I think that's a Disney movie.
00:49:50
Speaker
and then Brink is the the roller skating one. okay And then, I don't know which ones do you know, Luck of Irish, where it's like, you turn to it. Oh, none of these. Yo, what's going on? Are these animated movies? Nah, these are like when back in the day when Disney Channel was making movies and it was all like a live actress. I never watched Disney Channel. I never watched Disney Channel.
00:50:12
Speaker
I'm about to start sending you the links, bro. Don't send me no links to Disney Channel. I want to see that. that's I decline. I'll block you. Disney Channel, not my thing, bro. I like Disney movies that are not on a Disney channel. You didn't hit them with the with the the the little the mouse joint and then the the highlight the where is like it glows and then they're right Disney Channel and then you don't remember? No, I remember.
00:50:35
Speaker
No. My cousin used to love Disney Channel. I would turn it off so quick. It was so corny to me. It was so corny. It was very corny. But the movies are fire. Like you talk about Lion King, Aristocats. Yeah, Disney movies. No, Aristocats. Yeah, Aristocats. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Disney movies are fire. I still watch Disney movies to this day. Especially because I got kids. So sometimes I'd be like,
00:51:01
Speaker
like my My daughter would want to watch something. I'd be like, girl, you don't want to watch my water. Come on, let's watch Encanto. You But Are we still on topic? oh you have you you take So do you take the kids out like do you like to to these different places to travel and stuff like that? Have they been able to experience? Hell yeah. I do it as much as I can. and like ah They saw the Sequoias.
00:51:26
Speaker
I took him to see the the Sequoias in um Northern California. Big ass trees, huge trees. We got pictures. It's amazing. um like We got a spot in California. It was right by the beach. So we're always we're always by the beach. yeah Something that I didn't really get growing up. was like They can just, they know if it's summertime, we're gonna be at the crib, three blocks from the beach, we're gonna be at the beach, damn near every day. So that's that's always amazing. And um my I've had them in the mountains, like I've had had my daughter in the mountains when she was like a baby, baby. I took my daughter to Iceland when she was like three months old. that's fine you know we We've been to Dubai and she's seen, you know, she's been out and she's seen things, you know, and and I want to do the same with my son now.
00:52:11
Speaker
i'm like i'm i right now i'm trying to plan like maybe like a japan trip i want to i want him to you want to adopt me real quick i can be the other son Baby, baby, we'll see. I wanna pull up, bro. We'll see. I can't afford no more kids, but, you know? I'm the cheapest one, man. You just gotta take me with you.
00:52:30
Speaker
like That's really important for me, you know? Making sure my kids are able to like experience yeah all of these different things that we didn't get to experience, because every day was the same for us. Yeah.
00:52:41
Speaker
Every day was the same, bro. Try not to get in trouble. yeah it was There was no out. you know There was no like, you know we're going to spend a week here. you know and It was none of that. so like When was your first vacation? My first vacation?
00:52:55
Speaker
see um A first vacation just happened. It just happened. um what did What did we do? Damn, we did something, bro. Did I have a vacation? I feel like I just had a vacation, bro. And that was your first one in your life? Yeah, recently. In your life. You turned everything off. and Yeah, that was the that was the first this it was the first one. i I'm trying to figure out. Yeah, we went to Iceland. We went to Iceland. mount ice and that was That was a vacation. yeah
00:53:27
Speaker
It was cold as hell. Did you do like the hot springs thing? that's not it was nice that sounds fire It was nice. But the problem was, you know what it is, it didn't feel like vacation because we had a baby with us. um um we went to a where did we go We went to Rome, bro. We went to Rome. Rome is amazing.
00:53:44
Speaker
like That was my, I think that was my first official vacation, no babies, no nothing, just having a good time. And I remember we did the first part in like the island area, was a mafia. We went on a mafia coast for a little bit. And that was cool, but it was too out the way, you know what I mean? My city boy was kicking in, I was like,
00:54:12
Speaker
Like where's the nearest hospital? I gotta make sure I'm good. And so we went we went to Rome and i it was just amazing to see like all of the different, you know, these ancient structures just around the whole city, just just out like just scattered. You know, it's like the city was like half ancient and half modern. And I thought that was amazing. I need to go to Rome. Now Rome is a vibe, bro. We had um we had our ah the best. ah What do we have? Best pasta we ever had in Rome. Steak was fired. yeah We had some steak. It was like top three steaks we've ever had in our life. That's right. Not even Bosun. Well, shout out to Italy. You gave me my first official vacay. There you go. There you go. um You know, we towards the end of the podcast, but
00:54:59
Speaker
I definitely wanted to to give you a dab on, you know, thank you for pulling up on here. So course bro this last question deals with a lot of like visualizations. So I want you to think about the, I want you to think about when you was a young kid about to open that box of those white Air Force ones, right? Now you're you transported all the way back to that time you're standing behind your younger self. What would you tell your younger self?
00:55:28
Speaker
I would tell him, I would tell him that the shoes don't make you. You know what I mean? That's what I would tell him. I'd be like, I know you want these shoes, and I know now you have them. And I have them, right? You got them. You're opening them. They're the real ones, right? I mean, it's the one that you had. Are they real? They're the fake ones. They're the fake ones. Those are the first ones? No, the one, your mom. They're still fake? I got it. Damn.
00:55:57
Speaker
I still got the fake ones. I thought it was imaginary situation. i had the real ups die you i buy so I'll give you, I'll give you one better because it's like, cause it's two different reactions now. It's like, all right. So it's like, i I have the, I have the fake ones. I'm looking at them like,
00:56:15
Speaker
Damn, like, I know they fake. They kinda look it too. I'm gonna have to really go hard to pull this off, you know? And so, I would tell him, I probably just, I wouldn't tell him that, I would just laugh. I'd be like, bro, you got fake, 55, you know they fake. I ain't gonna bully you young and stuff, bro. You be like, yo, you got fake ups, bro. He gonna turn around and be like, huh? Okay.
00:56:41
Speaker
Now I would tell him the same thing, the shoes don't make the shoes don't make you, you know what I mean? It's like, you ain't even have to get these, you know? You could have just got some real something else, you know? And it don't matter because it's just a pair of shoes, you gonna wear them anyway. right But it's like, it don't matter what's on your feet, you know? More than anything, it matters. Like, we're seeing your soul, bro. like And i and just just just being real, bro.
00:57:04
Speaker
stop Stop worrying about stuff like that because I feel like I spent so much time thinking I wasn't good enough but because I didn't have the right kicks or I didn't have the right clothes. When I could have spent, I could have been on a different path mentally and emotionally, and I could have been more focused on what I'm really doing with who I am in my future.
00:57:24
Speaker
put that energy more into school and forced her in better friendships with people that's not worried about what Steve is doing. So i would I would really tell him to go down to go down that road. no yeah i mean the that's always the bigger When it comes to kids, and they if they ever ask me for advice, I don't know. I don't get the, hey, OG, let me talk to you. But the ah if that's one thing, where it's like, social currency is cool and everything, and social currency can get you into the circles that you're trying to get to. But as long as you're confident in yourself. like
00:57:59
Speaker
It's hard to build that. It's hard to find that. oh yeah It took me forever to get that. oh you Forever, bro. like I used to look in the mirror and be like, yeah, I'm not. I don't know. like I don't like the person in the mirror. like you don't like you You have those moments. and and That's a lot of that is like dealing with people that are just looking at you like, oh, you don't match up to are um our standards. you know like But what about my standard? Am I good for me? Right, man. I feel like that's more profound than you think, bro. Like, for real. Brene Brown said this, said something beautiful. She was like, um you know fitting in is when you have to be like everybody else you know to be accepted.
00:58:41
Speaker
and ah And when when you belong, you can be exactly who you are you know and still and still be accepted. you know so was like why nobody should have me Nobody should have to be like everybody else. you know and and it's like so much of our lives is focused on trying to be like everybody else so we could fit in some kind of you know circle so we can feel some some sense of community when it's really about just just being who we are and and belonging everywhere and knowing that you know
00:59:21
Speaker
we should be able to be accepted no matter what I'm i suppose should be able to accept accepted no matter what i'm wearing. um As long as i'm I got a good soul, I got a good heart. Yeah, exactly. Let everybody know where to find you. Yeah, you find me on social media, and Instagram. I don't even want to say Twitter.
00:59:40
Speaker
He's like, why? I don't there's oh no bro. go Go to Spotify. Go to Apple Music. Stream that shit. Stream my music, man. Don't even follow me on social media. Fuck that shit. don't Just listen to the music. what i'm What I'm doing on a Friday doesn't fucking matter. Just listen to the music. The music is hard. I got a ah got a song out with with Logic called Blah. It's fire. i said I'm coming out with like two more albums. and You know, one album this year and another album next year. And I probably drop another two albums next year because I work. I'm always working. Yeah. Appreciate you so much. Appreciate you, bro. You know who I am, who is also for me to follow the podcast on My First Kicks Pod. Hit me up if you have a story. MyFirstKicksPod at gmail.com. And if you are listening to this,
01:00:28
Speaker
You're gonna have to go to YouTube, watch me and Koda in person, right here. you know YouTube dot.com slash my first kicks. And you know what we say every week, wear your kicks, peace.