Too $hort and Shannon moved to Atlanta because of Freaknik | CLUB SHAY SHAY

when i got to atl it was 93. i went to the uh freaknik. april. april 93. i heard about the freak nick i. moved to atlanta because of freak me. freak nick 93 was life-changing all my. life been grinding all my life. sacrifice hustle pay the price. wanna slice got to roll the dice that's. why all my life i've been grinding all. my life look all my life been grinding. all my life. sacrifice plus will pay the price. [Music].

hello welcome to another edition of club. shay shay i am your host shannon sharp. also the proprietor of club shay shay. the guy that's stopping by for. conversation and a drink today really. needs no introduction he's hip-hop. royalty and a rap legend golden platinum. selling rapper and songwriter record. producer and executive with almost 40. years in the game the king of the bay. too short what'd it do what's up man. that's a. multi platinum multiple multi multi yeah.

cause i did it i did it like seven times. in a row what oh yeah well talk to us. about it. i'm just trying to figure you got a new. you got a new single coming out called. nasty dance you'll always seem to have. an album coming out what number album is. this for you i lost count but it's uh. it's up to like 20 something like 21. so. 20 somewhere up there so you got this. tell us about the single that you got. that you're about to drop well you know. i'm just trying out new platforms and. stuff i um partnered up with a company.

called encore okay and it's just a new. style of uh how they shoot the videos. and how they present it and i'm just you. know. at this age and with my career accolades. i really don't have much to prove right. so you know. you know we formed the mount westmore. group that's me snoop cube and e40 right. and that's kind of like my thing so. right outside of that i'm just. freelancing a little bit doing stuff. right having fun i love raps right i'm. just doing it.

you started you got 40 years in this. game so you started back in the 80s. obviously it's a lot different what's. some of the biggest differences that you. notice between rap when you started and. currently where it is now probably the. platforms is the biggest thing the. internet right and that changed the game. as far as we were so worried about. duplicating cds and and copying mp3s and. file sharing right and it just went. straight to streaming right and. streaming was streaming brought multiple.

multiple platforms right and you can. you can maximize just like an artist can. get one hot song right now right and you. make a boatload of money right just by. the fame you get and the different. opportunities you can sit in your song. all these different platforms paying you. so it's a different ball game and it's. it used to be a lot about skills and. what you could bring to the table. original now it's just about popularity. like right the most popular guy is going. to get the money so he don't necessarily. he or she doesn't necessarily have to be. good but just have a hot song and a.

hustle and a hustle and a hustle so with. the new platform that's out you have the. streaming you have the internet you have. social media guys you can go directly so. do you really need a record company do. you really need. you need a record company the majors. have the airwaves on lock right they got. you know the big numbers on lock right. yeah worldwide that international it's. unlocked right but you can get in there. right without a major and you could be. like a young dolph rest in peace young. dog right who was making millions.

independent it's still it's still a lame. to get in there and master these. platforms and make room for yourself. right. without a major label yeah i recommend. that as much as possible right it. depends on who you are individually and. what you want out of this right but. there is a way to have ownership and run. your own show and have your own team and. be me and be a major artist right but if. you just like you like i want to be that. guy. i need to be drake you're gonna need.

that big you're gonna you're gonna need. that you're gonna need a machine behind. exactly well you know what let's toast i. have my own brand of cognac you've been. 40 years deep in the game yes you did it. your way and you still continue to do it. your way salute bro here we go. that's my own brand tell me they're. smooth go ahead talk to me sure no it. really is good i would i wouldn't even. like you either it's it's cause if you. could just drink it and it's not a. problem right it's smooth like i don't.

this cognac man this reminds me of. the old in the 90s tell the story we was. telling off there he said you know what. i used to be a big cognac drinker oh. yeah i don't really drink as much as i. want i don't really partake in the. cognac as much as i once did because. it reminds me of the days before i. really made it big. and i was just a little guy you know. hanging in the streets with the homies. and we get the bottle and pass it around. on a cold day. you know cognac was your jacket yeah.

on a hot day coming out with your air. conditioner. i'm from that and then i started getting. a little money. going into some different little places. and i'm like you know what. let me get a margarita yeah so you got. food for you you got brand new owners so. that's all you know i just i just swish. it up a little bit and then when i when. i sip a little bit as soon as i sip in. the smell of the seed i'm like oh here. we go i'm back on the street corner in. oakland. in my mind you know. so you know i i'm a tequila guy but at.

the same time i have a great cognac. drink that i've i've made many people. over the years. that. it's high calorie but it's the bomb so. you take um. you take an even shot of the cognac. the kahlua and the bailey's irish cream. they got to be even shots okay put them. on a lot of ice and let it just. all get together right stir it up real. good it's like a it's like a separator. but with a ghetto twist right and then. um the other version is replace the ice.

with ice cream so a couple scoops of ice. cream. one shot of hennessy well not hennessy. we're going to shake shake we want the. shake shake yeah one shot of pork yeah. one shot of the. kalua and one shot of the bailey's irish. cream mix it with the ice cream and let. it turn into a milkshake. i'm trying to tell you well we're going. to try that i'm telling you it's called. a dirty mf. okay and uh people such as uh alan. iverson used to like it once upon a time. right it was it was i turned on i turned. scarface the wrapper onto it right and.

between me and him we turn a lot of. people on to the right the dirty mf's. okay i like that so what can we expect. from this album though. uh you can expect hip-hop to expand. meaning that every time. one of your legacy artists who have who. has been around for a long time right. and you know nah is still dropping. albums jay-z's still dropping hits right. you know rappers who are well into their. 40s are doing good right and some into. their 50s you know.

snoop dogg just like 50. and it's like. we're just expanding hip hop hip hop. hasn't had. uh 50 year old rappers great that have. any type of success if i told you in. your 20s in your early 20s that you'd. still be doing this in your 50s what. would you have said. i would have said you're crazy because i. was like. in my early 20s i was saying anybody. that's 32 is an old man right. you calling me an old man rapper and the. young rappers right now see it the same. way they like man you old dudes and i'm.

like dude you're going to be an old dude. one day yeah and you don't wish. you're going to wish if you're a 22 year. old rapper you're gonna wish that you. could be a 42 year old rapper on stage. and they love you right cause that's. hard to do you know what my girlfriend. said hey i've been your age you've never. been mine yeah eat 40 living e40 just. said that in the rap i just said that. you keep you keep living so yeah man you. know um. i just think uh it's a beautiful thing. to to. do what you do what i'm doing right in.

my 50s right that i did when i was a. teenager and it's still something i love. and it's still giving me money right is. that why you do it because you still. love it you don't have to do it. obviously you made money you still. making money. but. i do it because. um. once upon a time i announced that i was. retiring right i was 30 years old. correct and it was a big promotional. push behind too short retiring i was on. my 10th album at the time right and i. remember dj red alert.

said to me um he was like you don't ever. see jazz musicians return or blues you. know what i'm saying they keep. performing no yeah diana ross and smokey. and them they on the stage stephen. wonder still why does a rapper have to. stop so when he said that. i never ever considered. retirement ever again right and i think. that the more. i get older and wiser i'm like. somebody's got to keep doing this dr dre. is older than me right and he's about to.

perform at the super bowl he's going to. be literally rapping he's going to be. lit too they didn't go get. a young thug and gunner they didn't go. get. you know money bag yo they they got dr. dre whether you're in la i mean you got. to how you come to l.a and don't get dre. how you don't get snoop you you i mean. you can't but ageism is a real thing in. in entertainment videos and they got dr. dre so that's like that that is the. whole narrative of what i'm trying to be.

a part of right is every time. jay-z steps up to the plate. we accept it right and. ever since she was 20 something right. you know so it's like. this is saying not for me look what i. did this is saying for my young homie. look what i can do right look what is. tom brady doing right now for. quarterbacks right. right you know what i'm saying he's. saying it can't be done right i don't. know if you can do it. what are some of the features you have. on this album. uh features.

i'm trying to think right now because. you know i really don't you know i. really don't like. value that that much right so if i got. like like say g-e-z was on there in my. mind it's just the homie g easy it's. like it's like nothing i can really like. brag on it right but i i definitely have. some features i always go out there and. get some homies i just i do so many. projects right you know like my westmore. like i'm not really focused on the. bragging part of it right. when it comes out you're gonna see. how do you.

determine who you hop on the track with. obviously if snoop comes you're gone uh. 40 water you go it's basically it's. based on friendships relationships. uh i could have a relationship with the. label of somebody at the label and not. the artist and they call me and say hey. i need one. need you do one i'll do it i got a call. from jazzy faye last night about an. artist he's working with atlanta. and they sent me the song i don't know. the artist but i'm gonna do the song. because it's a jazzy fate production. right the beat is hot so a lot of times.

it could be. is the song hot right a lot of times it. could be who's the artist right and it's. an artist i don't know i might check the. numbers and go a little homie doing it. right i'ma get down so and it could be. family. i mean like all my cousins get one favor. and after that you got a paper like cuz. you want your favorite to do it be a. show you want me to show up at your. party you need some help with a car. right you get one favorite right in a. lifetime when i look at what some of the. guys that you've been up with.

big and jay-z that's the best. oh yeah i mean dre t.i. i'm the big homie though. because. while your boy job you bit at it the. longer i'm the big homie. a lot of people get at me and they ask. me these stats and these numbers and. this what was happening then and i was. like all these stories you're telling. i'm in it i'm the big homie. and in these stories in these situations. you talking about big pot name all these. people i was platinum when these dudes. was in high school and middle school and.

stuff i was. out there living and kicking it so when. they came to the party i was already the. big dog at the party like you know snoop. dogg was in middle school bumping too. short they all i'm the og man so. you know. these this list of artists i've. collaborated with a lot of times. a lot of times majority of the time they. were getting at me right now like i need. too short on the song i brought a whole. lot with me right and you know i'm proud. of it but at the same time.

when you look back on it you look like. all of us were right there but nah when. jay-z first got at me no you way over i. had way more platinums and that was. established all that so it's cool man i. i love where it all the way it all. played out i love that when i look back. at it you know i'm a part of an elite. group right and and you know and it's. history it's hip-hop history i mean it's. it's it's i mean when you think about it. think about when you started. i was lit. look at where we are now i'm still on.

the scene. like you said you just mentioned tom. brady tom brady said look bro i'm three. generations bro i did the two thousand i. did 2010 here i'm in 2020 still doing. work he's playing against quarterbacks. that wasn't born when he got to the. league. that was two years old when he got to. the league did. did you think you would have this kind. of success this kind of staying power. when you started so when you're a legend. and you're breaking records and you. blazing trails. you don't care about that or even know. that right because you're a trailblazer. that means you're in front right and you.

you're the one burning the trail right. you don't realize until it's a paved. road you look back and go oh i started. that. so i'm saying you win that status of. of. of just like you're doing greatness. right you can't think i'm doing. greatness while you're doing greatness. you're like just trying to outdo the men. in the room with you. and then and. and you like um. we talked this stuff about uh sports. heiress right who would have been who in. what era right and i'm like.

a grown man is a grown man size strength. speed you put that grown man in any put. him back in africa 500 years ago he's. going to be a man amongst men right. because that's who he is right and. i think you know you drop me off in any. area you drop me off in this era of. hip-hop i'm going to shine i just feel. that confident about. who i am as an individual drop me off. in the hood. in. baltimore maryland right i'm gonna get. home.

you know what i'm saying everybody ain't. gonna make it home i'm gonna make it. home your style how did you come up with. the way. you were gonna rap. i was uh mimicking. new york rappers it's early 80s okay and. when i say mimicking new york rappers i. just mean. party rap you know. you know the girl in the blue dress well. you know you know just just it was like. a shout out thing and a fun thing you. just kind of rhyming little simple words. and and just trying to get your cadence. and your patterns together and then i. heard the message.

and the message is one of those songs it. came out in 1982 i was in 11th grade i. was one of the little kids that had the. beat box. my big boombox and i'm walking down the. street bumping up this day i always. remember this day cause i was by myself. and had no car probably was walking from. somewhere to the bus stop or something. coming from the bus or something and a. song came on i stopped in my tracks. by myself owner i was i wasn't even on. the main street i was in like a. neighborhood and the song come on and.

i'm like i put the radio up to my ears. he's like broken glass everywhere. i'm like what and i'm i'm in the streets. of oakland i'm a rapper i'm pretty. popular i'm like little baby popular. right. and i think to myself oh my god i gotta. start rapping about oakland right and. literally at that moment. that's what it turned into and. everything from that point on has been. like um it's just been like a match made. in heaven like when i put the pen to the. paper i just think about oakland right.

and i write songs and it's just it's the. message gave me that yeah but you write. about oakland obviously oakland is in. you. but you were able to branch out because. it wasn't just the bay rappers that. wanted too short on the hill so it was. so i spent my early years right born in. l.a right and i moved to oakland right. after ninth grade okay so i'm of that. age where. if i was in la i probably could have. been trying to dip and dodge and avoid.

gangs right if i get to oakland and it's. a different thing it's not the street. gangs blue and red it's not like that. it's. to me oakland looked like a movie right. it looked like a black exploitation. movie that came to life like i'm on set. in the movie everything was colorful it. was the cars it was the lifestyle it. just i'm looking at it it was totally. different in l.a right and. it just you know it just really like i. think that me telling the story of my. experiences and what oakland taught me.

and brought to me right. was partially. uh because of my. outside influences right i spent every. summer in my childhood in new orleans. right my mother couldn't wait till may. june yeah school was out you gotta go. me and my brother you're on the plane. like come back i'll see you in august. right like you don't get rid of us for. two months every summer. yeah y'all go stay with my sister go. stay with my mama and. i think that that music in new orleans.

right. gave me a whole different cultural thing. that. west coast represent have. my. knowing and the streets of l.a and. coming up and being around the blue and. the red and and the hood stuff out here. and the music influences out here when i. get to oakland i bring all this with me. like subconsciously. and then i absorb all this bass stuff in. the bay area the bay area music is. sliding the family stone you know the. whispers the pointless system yup tower. power.

and this is before rap right and. you know confunction it's like the bay. has as a i can name a lot of groups the. bay has. a very rich music heritage even the. gospel the hawkins family you know like. it's a lot and when i come up as a. rapper i'm the first rapper i'm the. first guy who steps up to the plate. and. i'm looking at it like. because people you know the people that. i was working with when i first came up. some of them was have been around rick. james because they had been around tower.

of power they had been around sly larry. graham right. and i'm like. okay i gotta they telling me the story. are you taking me old you taking me way. back larry graham wanted a million. convuction love tricks but man you're. the love trained but i'm saying these oh. jesus telling me. look youngster you know this is what we. did this week you know right they. telling me the greatness i'm like i. gotta live up to this so from the start. it's quality man it's. it's it's got to be quality and you go. listen to the early two short songs and.

i'm that's musicianship man it's like i. got real like musicians on there trying. to. uphold the legacy so. you know. how do you link with 40. uh me and e40. have. street ties okay so e40 is definitely a. street guy yeah from the streets and my. whole influence of how i came to be. was from street guys like literally. i had a hustle where i sold cassette.

tapes in the streets. and 100. of our clients i had a wrap partner. named freddie b 100 of our clientele was. street level drug dealers right who was. on the street selling drugs right and. through that. through those relationships. when i started the label the first thing. i went to i didn't go to wells fargo i. went to the street dudes right to start. the label if you go back and check. almost. the entire hip hop industry.

a lot of us got bankrolled by the. streets right and because we you. couldn't get along they can't give you. the loan so what's your occupation oh. i'm a aspiring rapper get out of here. so. e40 and his cousins and brother right. there's some straight dudes who financed. themselves they went and got the game. from their uncle charles right who was. affiliated with the music scene around. vallejo that can function around it. and i got the game from a guy named dean. hodges who was also a street dude who.

was. dabbling with a lot he. i feel like he wanted to be a rock star. but he really didn't couldn't play. guitar the drums are saying so he. surrounded himself by all these. music-making people and he learned a lot. he taught me how to run an independent. label he taught me how to make music in. a studio and mix it down and put it out. and. me and 40 was on the same trajectory. he's in vallejo. i started rapping and getting popular. before him. he's motivated by me but he's like on a.

whole another island. 30 miles away and he's doing it on his. own he's like i'm getting out there and. i think um. the way we connected was. his immediate crew. was literally doing street business with. my immediate crew right and at the same. time they mixing and mingling. we're the rap guys we're in the same. crew and we keep meeting up hanging out. around the same you know crew not really. talking about music right but not even.

really connecting. just around each other what's up you. know i seen your tape i seen your tape. whatever right no it's cool i know who. you are i know who you are it's cool. respect. and then um. it started getting more and more popular. and he always told the story that he. flagged me down on the freeway you know. how you flag somebody on the freeway we. on the fit doing 55 65. hey man we need. to work together you know he like i kind. of big willied on him a little bit like. yeah okay and roll the window back okay.

i don't you know i don't think it went. like that was it the roll or was it the. electric you know you okay you know no. this this was a roll down there. yeah you know. it's a road that you wrote it down. and. that was that right we still the same i. know him we still like family but we not. music. back then nobody man you don't ask me to. use my producer and uh me try to do a. collab with somebody from some we don't. do that like yo crew your crew love your.

public enemy love your beats everything. but i don't want to use your producers. right you know what i mean it was just. it was just like that so. uh fast forward a little bit we had a. big event that we used to do they still. do in the bay it's called a summer jam. right it was um you know where the radio. station bring the 50 artist out and let. everybody get 10 15 minutes and you know. the 30 40 000 people in the crowd it's. just a big day so i had done that a. couple of times. and this particular year it was 40's. turn to be the the headline he's hiding.

about you know big show and. i wasn't on the show that year. some stuff had happened. where i moved to atlanta. and. a young group. called the loonies i got five on it. had mentioned my name in a record and. they mentioned this one line it said it. was trying to say insinuate that they. were a part of some situation that that. came my way and they made me move to. atlanta which is far from the truth.

right. far from the truth right and i was. totally offended that this record the. line was that's why the town got rid of. short and they was talking about some. some gangster gangster [ __ ] or whatever. that's why the town got rid of short and. i'm like what like we them guys in the. streets me and my we're them guys right. and you can't get away with saying that. you can't say that and you think. everything okay so. i was being diplomatic because the. loonies are literally. connected right i can tell you many.

layers of this story like the way they. get in the game is through people that i. influence my guys all this stuff we. family right so i don't go to router man. let's just go get these dudes man i'm. not even thinking like that i'm like. we're gonna do this the right way. summer jam is coming up that's the show. where everybody in the bay is going to. be in the crowd right the loonies is on. the show e40 on show everyone we're. going to step up in front of the crowd. me and the loonies and just say to the. crowd ain't no beef between us you ain't. got to explain this song you ain't guys. just step up there if you say that in.

front of them i'm cool cool so i come to. the show. they tell me um you know we can only. give you four passes short but they gave. them sticker sticker passes. i'm like i tell my guys we're good to go. i got four stickers so we go to the show. four guys go in. i send one guy out with four passes. four more guys come in. one guy goes out with four passes four. more guys come in we do that [ __ ] all. day right. so the loonies are on stage and i'm.

telling the kmel radio station people. let's do this thing i got in mind let's. do it right. i'll hold up right here uh let's go get. this impressive. now the loonies are off stage they all. missed the opportunity so now we got all. this friction backstage. uh. long story short. not not the loonies but their manager. got roughed up a little bit. um we went out in the crowd watched the. show he was a little upset. and.

i guess the presence of us. and the ex over exaggeration of. what how we showed up and what we did. uh prompted them to end the show before. e40 could perform then they went to the. scandal of. of uh. monday morning right they get on the. radio and have a comedian somebody funny. fake my voice and pretend like i called. the radio station and and the dude was. like. it's just too short man i don't care if.

your name was e100 you ain't getting on. stage if i'm like you know i run this. thing and e40 called me he was he had. that that sort of anger that was not. like an angry voice but you he's like. hey man was you on the radio this. morning i'm like nah he's like so you. wasn't you sure he wasn't even called up. there i'm like wasn't me he's like all. right hang a phone. and then. however circle back and start coming out. about the call and this and that and. then e40 is the kind of guy he said i. talked to you and you said to me man the.

man wasn't you did the investigation. what me was somebody funny and. long story short the radio station was. trying to make us enemies right they. figured these big dudes a little too. short vallejo you 40 of them to click. you know they're gonna beat too short up. and two you know right the pro the. program director was trying to she was. sending around fax machines facts faxes. and emails like banned too short. it was it was terrible so 840 who i give. all the credit to was like man you know. we got to turn this negative into a.

positive he really wanted to do that. show right they really tried to tell him. it was all my fault and you know they we. need to be enemies but we had already. had a friendship right so we took all. that and we made this song called. rapper's ball right which went platinum. it was our first record we did together. we probably done dozens of songs. together we did dozens of songs since. then and. it was almost like he could have took. that bait right and just been like he if. he would have said yeah okay finally. when i see you then there would have. just been no turning back it just.

but he's he's he's. a smart guy yes. and. that was a great decision because i. probably if she won the other foot i. don't know what my reaction would have. been right or yours it was a big day for. him right he'd spend a lot of money on. his pocket to put this big show on right. and they shut it down and said well. blame too short. and it was just you know. i always look back at that and i'm like. a radio station. tried to end my career. tried to pit me against my number one.

ally. and. all that backfired cause we like we our. music is from us to the streets right. and you're gonna put a commercial. middle man in there and like i'm gonna. alter this and i could i could end your. career with a fax machine no you can't. so. now that you mentioned that this. transition. is that what's happening because we see. a lot of beasts. and maybe the beef is manufactured maybe. it's real because a lot of these you.

know you rap about the cl the proximity. of where you grew up you talk about what. you see what you've experienced and. because you've experienced doesn't make. his experience any less or her. experience any less. is that what we're getting at because. like you said 40 could have went a. totally different way. but he called you and stepped like a man. he's like okay i'm gonna do my due. diligence. uh too short said it wasn't him i'm. gonna do my due diligence get to the. bottom of it as opposed to just capping. off and then ain't no turning back from. that.

yeah a lot of situations that we see. happening now where we got. injuries loss of life. could have been handled by a phone call. from man from one man to another man and. just. what was it because click bait is. playing a part. uh. rappers are using the click bait to get. popular it's the most it's one of the. easiest ways to get free publicity right. is to pick a guy. you gotta play the same position as you. right and you got you we didn't have.

social media because no no no. the week before the game you just start. hitting him. you're sorry you're. hitting with the personal right your. ex-girlfriend yeah he's hot when he see. you right but this is a different kind. of hot they sitting there saying. you know street stuff right and then you. got this whole ego thing you got to live. up to it right and it's it's so bad man. where. in you know social media and playing.

with these streets and this music you. you like you got albums out in videos. and your face is popular but you're. gonna send out a message on social media. saying i'm on such and such street. f you and your whole crew. and they pull up in five minutes and. shoot you. you just told them where you was at like. it's really. it's really. crazy to me because. i know what my guys did when i was. coming up i didn't do what they did. right. they protected me from that right when. they did what they did they said.

man you probably want to go. because something about to happen and. they would even tell somebody man get. short up out of here and things would. happen they would not say come with us. we about to go do this right or come. stand on the corner while we do this. they wouldn't say that. they would literally say stay away from. what we do because we need you to be you. right we can't get in places that you. get into if we don't have you right you. rad guy for that we got a guy for this. other stuff and i think that um. if a rapper is promoting beef.

in these days. with the social media. you got a crew of 30 40 people there's. only one popular face in your crew right. that's you you so. yo guys do this and that y'all incited. some stuff and then you provoking it. with your song. when they see you all around the town. they only know one face you and that's. why i think personally i think we're. losing a lot of rappers is because. you know. chop it off at the head man that's the. bread and butter when you when you gun.

down the rapper you just gunned down. five other employees income right you. just gunned down. school kids clothes. you know what i'm saying christmas right. a birthday right dope birthday that was. gonna happen you gunned down it and same. thing with jail when the rapper do so. much dirt with his homies and he ended. up catching the case and going to jail. you locked up the income. you feel me so i think that we're not. looking at the big picture when i say we. i'm talking about us in the hop industry.

of. the trinkle down the economic trickle. down of. what's right getting murdered and going. to jail like you like man you got a. rapper that's making 50 grand a month a. weekend not a month right a week every. weekend he go out and make 50 grand. that money goes to the crew we share we. you know you my road manager you know. what i'm saying. you're my hype man you my dj we we we. from nothing right. and all that stops while you go do six. months a year three years in jail all.

that stops. so i'm like we ain't thinking about the. big picture. you lead the bay and you go to the a i. don't know if a lot of people knew this. that atlanta's been your home for two. decades. yeah i mean i i i stayed in atlanta 15. years okay i'm back on the west night. you i'm i came. so using in the 90s mid 90s from 93 to. 2008 okay atl you know you're more over. there than that the boy over there i'm. telling you so you know all about 112.

you know about diamonds and pearls i. know the gold club i know everything. okay i know it was diamonds and pearls. and 112 was at the other location yeah. oh and then one next to the kroger one. yeah disco kroger yeah that's um well. david justice and not dave just with uh. uh andre rising the left i was in there. wilding out in the grocery store uh-huh. atlanta live yeah go down the stairs. uh and then 112 moved to the old. diamonds and pro location chester bridge. thank you so i i know all that man.

i know a lot i know the you know the. original magic city i visited. i'm the guy blue flame it's stroker oh. you name all them spots i'm the guy. when the club closed. i'm in there hanging out i'm gonna put. tables the chairs on the table right i'm. in the i'm in the uh i'm down there with. the house mom right well all the girls. is. changing in their regular clothes they. don't let nobody down there i'm not. kicking it i got some wings. you've been to the clermont too haven't. you everywhere eat breakfast. [Laughter].

see people don't know. i'm laughing you laughing because you. know what goes over the clarebot come on. i i know everything but um. yeah i could tell you a lot about that. that atl when i got to atl it was 93. i went to the uh freaknik. april. april 93 i heard about the freak nick. that trick nick happened in 91. it was a picnic it happened in 92. piedmont park sold the whole park out. and it was like man this freak [ __ ] i.

heard about it. so me and a whole bunch of people heard. about it. and we freak nick probably went from. 20 000 people to 400 000 in a year yeah. i was there i moved to atlanta because. of freaked me. that's my story at the time i was living. in savannah i went back to so i had went. back finishing my about schooling but i. was living in savannah in the off season. and i called my brother and i kept. hearing people talk about it i said well. i'm gonna go to the freak. i called my brother abra they got this. thing called freaknig going off in.

atlanta he like went in it. i said such and such you're like okay. i'll meet you there. freaknick93 was life-changing. it was a monster it was life-changing we. um we got wind of it right we took about. probably like 15 dudes from oakland like. some baller little baller crew yeah we. went out there we we checked into a. hotel it was like a bunch of detroit. dudes miami. some some uh some cleveland dudes and we. kind of all clicked up and our hotel was. like a like a crew and um freaknick93.

i went for the weekend. now mind you. i'm born april 28th freaknig is my. birthday oh that's the weekend. my birthday is it's freaknig. i check in the hotel three nights. i check out probably like three weeks. later. and one of my homies from oakland had. moved to atlanta. and he was like man what you gonna do. what you like what you doing in life i'm. like i'm about to get me a little crib. into town probably probably spend about.

a half mil up on the hill on the little. private roads or something he was like. you're gonna spend 500 000 in oakland. you let me show you what you get in. atlanta for 500. we rolled around. looking at houses. he's showing me these big old houses for. like 350. i'm like what so. it was it was planted yes i went home i. get home ain't nothing but drive-bys and. shootings and. violence and i mean seriously man at the. time. friends of mine had split up into a.

street war right so friends we're in a. small town oakland is 400 000 population. right we got a small crew of homies. that are now enemies right and. it's really hard in that situation to. determine what's coming your way right. because. who's who's who picked what side i don't. know who's who's friends who's mad at me. because i hang out with them right like. it was really weird and. i'm going to atlanta. taking little trips. and i just was like man i'm about to buy.

me a house out here i went to the jack. the rapper which is in august. four or five months after freak [ __ ]. i didn't tell nobody nothing we had jack. the rapper it's two pockets snoop dogg. is people everywhere it's like it's it's. not freaking but it's still a it's still. an atl yeah oh absolutely i just got a. little rent a car i just drove over to. southwest atlanta. by myself and bought a house and then. went back to the convention like i. didn't even do it. and by the end of the year house was. ready i moved out and.

the rest is history you know that's how. it happened atlanta was a hit town too. it wasn't it was nothing like it was. because i got there i went to freak nick. like you i went to freak [ __ ] first. time in 92 went back in 93 i called my. agent that was a friday saturday sunday. start breaking down weighing it on. sunday i called my agent uh on monday. i moved to atlanta. up here. he's like okay we got this kind of you. got this this much money to get a house. i said i don't care what nobody in.

atlanta at that time it was bobby. brown it was um. i'm trying to think who was there that. was. that was like really like kicking up. some dust i remember my boy eric sermon. got there kind of early yeah well i mean. you had like i think l.a i think. babyface i'm saying the facebook. that was the game yeah. but. but no but like you said bobby brown was. really the only like celebrity lab that. was there because i got there and i. watched a little bit and i seen bobby. brown having so much fun i was like i'm.

about to do what he's doing because he's. having too much fun. and that's when the club stayed over all. i probably stayed over until seven. o'clock in the morning yeah yeah i've. probably probably i got there at the end. of 93. and at that point in time i had a. platinum album at 89. 90 90. 92 93 i had four platinum albums when i. got there right. i show up i got my little car i got like. 20 inch rims. they like what are those uh flying. saucers.

what is that. you know i was like michael jackson huh. that's when you uh when you somebody go. man you from california you know michael. jackson. of course i know mike what you talking. about like. man i used to be a magic city i. i never really tell the story i spent. magic city. and i had um. i had an endless supply of the really. good california weed. and literally. people like you.

you want to tell some chick uh yeah girl. i'm trying to kick it with you what i. gotta do i would open that bag. like what is that like that's that well. cali baby like. i i i was having so much fun in 93 but. atlanta. uh the atlanta that we know now i was. i'm. proud that i was there to see it born. young dallas austin young jermaine dupri. young le face records uh outcasts came. out of all that yeah um you got louder. you got the ti's now you got.

the olympics came yeah 96. and then they. started building up atlanta with the. olympic money yeah and when the olympics. left atlanta was a nice city yes it was. nice and from that point on the music. industry was establishing itself and. it turned into a whole new atlanta the. atlanta it is now i'm i just it doesn't. make you proud when you go out there and. you see the entrepreneurs and you see. the dream you see the firing people. trying to make it yes trying to make it. like everybody ain't making it but they.

be trying to make it that's like that to. me is so important that you try because. people have dreams and they sit around. and they think of stuff but they don't. try it. you said something very interesting. early you said that you left the bay. because there are some things going on. do you feel that rappers have to leave. their hometown have to leave where they. grew up from. in order to get away because. everybody is not happy too short is what. he became they liked too short when too.

short was the same level we drank it we. hanging out he ain't got no more than i. got i ain't got no more than he got too. short my dog hold on too short got more. than i got and two shorts got three cars. man two shorts they bumping too short. so. in my case it was it was a lot of. violence and i think that if you close. to that you probably should. separate yourself from it because. anybody that's into that that's close to. you shouldn't want you to be there if. you're a ballplayer right if you a. entertainer whatever it is help that.

person they should insulation help. people make it out when you see them. when you say i got a chance right so um. um i think that. in certain situations like i noticed. long after i moved long before i moved. that. in the daytime. shine a little bit come by and say hi. what's up. you know but at night. it's somebody that saw you earlier that. day that was like f him. and they might see you at the gas.

station in the store and just act on. that so i used to have like my. my um. you know different uniforms yeah my. uniform for hanging out at night was b. i look at everybody else i'm like okay. put on some black jeans throw a little. black hoodie maybe a little raider. hoodie or something right and uh you. know don't put the fly. cool right and just come out there and. zip it up you know what i'm saying. i literally did don't you stand out. literally.

i went and bought me a 1973 camaro. got it i went took it to the cheapest. paint shop got a cheap paint paint job. where if the little green chip it'll be. blue underneath right you know what i'm. saying and put some hubcaps on it. and had my little music inside i had a. brand new engine right. it was reliable right but i would drive. that at night and when you pull up cash. just be like oh that's short you know. you ain't really pulling up with five. chains on and.

and jumping out acting like you the man. and it just irritates people a little. bit of show-off so what i'm saying is in. certain situations you don't gotta lead. a hood just. understand that you rubbing it in folks. face right all that social media posting. saying you got way more than everybody. else somebody don't like that man right. and it might be somebody that normally. wouldn't even be mad at you but you're. making them mad right and then you come. around and you're showing up and you're. jumping out and you ain't really sharing. because it ain't your obligation to. necessarily share right so you're.

irritating somebody you might get a. jealous a jealous reaction so i think um. smart is the thing you do man you be. smart you be smart how you move and if. you got to move out if you don't have. that respect. from like guys who fight good and guys. who are very violent don't come around. them. right after you make it and you know. somebody's been you know. lightweight bully situation or it's a. dude that. like in the hood is dudes like this you. got respect all these dudes gonna.

respect you but it's just one dude that. none of them is gonna mess with if he go. bad on you right. oh man devoted went bad on you. everybody who will protect you now they. ain't particularly like man tell him. stop no can't that's devo right. so you know right so it's all these. situations that you got to navigate. through. depot might not be the guy who want a. job he'll want to be your bodyguard he. didn't want nothing for you he just he. just don't like you can do a punk. showing off right and he is you in it. right so you got to be smart man right.

you were in the 90s in atlanta in the. 90s tupac. was also in atlanta he was there in the. 90s he was enjoying he was early it was. an early one again yeah yeah so and you. were also in the studio with big. what was what was it like what was it i. mean because i talked to snoop and snoop. what was what was park really like what. was it like with it being around him in. the studio. um. you know that you noticed instantly. that biggie and poc both you notice.

instantly like these guys are not in the. same universe as me right because. the way they. the way they their method of recording. is. truly unbelievable biggie. no pen no paper. that didn't seem like. you know the one time i was around and. when he wrote. a classic rhyme. which was uh the world is filled when. the remy's in my system ain't no telling.

you know what i'm saying. classic. we were in the room. and it was drink they were smoking it. was girls it was loud it was. storytelling it was jokes it was just a. lot of. distractions so we're working on this. song. puffy got the first verse. carl thomas is on the hook. the beat is already done. carl thomas and puffy already on the. puff is playing it doing his dance thing. and it's you know what's puffs uh i.

forget how his first start but. but um. he come in slick right and puff at the. time. wasn't really known for like raps he. hadn't done a lot on biggie's first. album right this was the second album. right and he was proud he was hitting. the knives and like look how i sound. like he did he. he crafted his away from everybody and. it was however he did it he did it right. so. that's the first phase so i'm in the. room i'm supposed to be doing my little. 16 bars and but it's a lot of.

distractions it's the girls are looking. at it you drink it let me hit that well. you know. that's a treat so biggie right there we. laughing stealing and he's like i'm. ready what you mean you're ready. what's he talking about he's ready he's. going there. and he's like he tell everybody like. watch him do this in one take and he go. and he go when the room is in my system. ain't no telling and he stop he goes. hold up take it back you like watch. and the next take he wrapped that whole. verse in one take. and he you know when you it's this is.

what i like about rap. whether it's on you or you put it on. somebody else he came out that booth and. everybody was like. whoo. i'm sitting here. it's two verses on this song the hook is. there to beat the ain't nothing but an. open 16. and me i'm like oh man. like oh man it was it was that dudes. like that put you in that situation how. he did that with all that noise and him. talking right how did he put that in his.

head. and memorize it you know jay-z went on. to develop that technique and then. little wayne instead i'm throwing down. the pen and now. based on biggie. evolution and notorious big right ain't. nobody trying to use pen and paper. because it's sort of like. it's like a straight jacket it's. limiting your your freedom movement how. you go so. i found my way up out of it i i i boxed. my way out of it it was you know i love. those situations i learned that.

when you get around somebody that's. better than you. and you ain't got no choice you get. better right you have to right and tupac. was a whole different beast because he. actually would actually take a pen and. paper and i don't know if you've seen. any of his written stuff yeah he writes. really fast right and it's really like. like it has emotion right in the pen and. he and. one night i remember in particular he. came in and did something on my album a. song called this is how we do.

and. he came and he's like hey man we had. already made the song he was like man. let me get on that song like you tupac. get on it. and he gets the pen he gets the paper. and he starts writing and i'm watching. him and he's writing. a line and he's writing as fast as you. can just keep writing. he just keeps writing like when i write. a rhyme i rap it. thing i'm thinking right you know taking. about 30 minutes could take me an hour. and get like a cool 16 or something you. know right this man wrote this verse in. like five minutes as fast he could write.

it and i'm like. he had to know this beforehand or. something but when you find out he's. been doing that everywhere. and he gets in there and he just says. his opening line was a finger [ __ ]. with my diamonds like you just thought. of that. like you just just come in here and. and everybody said it man they're like. tupac i have like. two verses written by the time you like. just starting your first couple lines. right and here in the booth dancing. circles around you go listen to.

a lot of the songs he did with the with. the um his crew the um. he got me thrown off now. with the with the uh gaddafi and all. that right and. the outlaws thank you. tupac do the first two verses and then. they come on. and they say a lot of songs he got with. people he's already on verse two before. you could even start. and he just he'd go in the booth and rap. it so fast why you still writing he's. like catch up.

and i don't know how. these guys. come up with this i don't know i just. think it's. i wouldn't even call it genius i would. just i think that. think about people who die young they. seem to and do great things they seem to. have an urgency that they got to hurry. up and do this because they seem to know. in a lot of time right and tupac's case. he rapped about it. multiple times he rapped about diane. young yes getting murdered like he's.

people don't realize tupac was what 25. 25 biggie might have been 25 too yeah. and. it's hard to accomplish that much at. that age that's the thing what people. don't realize. you would think that biggie and tupac. had 10 15 20 year careers. like five. we take tom brady at 25 he's not a. legend. we take two short away at 25 ain't no. legend yeah like i need time to get to. this right that he didn't have a jay-z. career he didn't have an ll cool j or an.

ice cube or snoop dogg the longevity but. i honestly think that somewhere in there. you get it you get the insight i've i. know people who weren't as popular as. them that die young and they did great. things right great things i'm like how. do you know to do this right how you. know you got to do this much so i think. i i think those guys will um give gifts. to hip-hop right. tupac bro biggie brought that style to. notepad and pad a lot of cadences a lot. of stuff. you know the big guy swag.

but um. you know. tupac i think man if you look at him how. many rappers had tattoos thug life on. their stomach before tupac yeah. you know what i'm saying how many people. was trying to little skinny [ __ ] was. trying to. tie it all up and he was you know he was. emulating gang bangers. you know crips and bloods but at the. same time. that's the look of hip-hop now right. like you can't really be a rapper like. i'm a rapper with no tattoos i've been. laughed at. girls be like let me see your tattoos i. ain't got nothing yeah.

you ain't got no tattoos i'm like. i was before two blocks baby. [Laughter]. you. you tell the story about the road trip. from miami to atl. to be on jay-z's. big pimping oh yeah yeah i mean uh not. big paper though yeah. big paper yeah yeah. uh that was the um. and the whole thing with pimp c. ugk yep pimp c and bun b and the big. pimping song. and i hear bun talk about it.

and i knew the story i knew a little bit. of it because um the label jive records. were all in the same label was trying to. get pimped to do the song right and. i knew pimp's opinion. on the situation and it was. open and shut. if you don't if you don't fool with. tupac i don't fool with you right. no bending of the rules we're talking. about a guy who never met tupac right he. didn't even know him and he's like.

i'll ride with pot. till the end so anybody who ever said. this on tupac. ever pimps he didn't like you just he. just never would fool with you ever ever. ever. so he put jay-z in the category of. i don't think tupac liked him tupac. wouldn't you know that's biggie homie or. whatever i ain't i ain't fooling with. him but bun b the label myself included. was trying to say you know jay ain't. like that bro j.a.j you know it's a. great opportunity right jay-z getting.

that you right do it. i ain't doing it. you know all this stuff so. whatever bun all them did they talked. him into it the song got recorded but. pimp still had an attitude about the. east west and the right he from port off. to texas but he mad. about. how y'all feel about tupac right. and bun b give you way more insight on. pimp's state of mind about this but i. was given the task of.

pimp won't go to the video the two-day. video shoot. i think it really was a one-day video. shoot they was gonna shoot in trinidad. at carnival right and this fool got a. song with jay-z. a video at carnival trinidad and i ain't. going like me. james he would have called me and said. do the song. win. you know the video carnival win my. flight win. exactly now see she was hardheaded so. i was given the task can you get him to. come to the video they gonna add another.

day and shoot in miami they gotta get c. is a big budget video i think height. williams directed it. so pmc had just bought a brand new. mercedes he loved his new mercedes and i. think i had just got this little porsche. so i was like we should. he knew about the video right when like. i wasn't scamming him and nothing right. i was like we should get the cars we go. down to the video shoot you know what. i'm saying we get down there stay a. couple weeks get some well you know. whatever right and i i made it a thing. and he thought i'd show you know if i.

said it because i was i was just like he. looked up to tupac he looked up to me. right and and in all situations pimp. would be like throwing a fit. and they'd be like man go talk to your. little brother man go talk to him right. i'll go in there and be like. kate talking down. but you could throw some logic in there. we like see. we came here to get the money man then. people out there want to see the show. man you know what i'm saying right. that's man these people man look at the. money that this show that's how we just. how we do it bro we get at them.

deal with them later and he'd be like. all right if you say so. before that he would throw his stuff. around like if everybody man get money i. don't know. so. um. we took the road trip we got him down. they did a scene and we kicked it we. stayed in miami we stayed in miami for a. few weeks they had a ball like we we. really did kick it. you love you love sports. i'm a sports fan you you sports junkie. you love it all basketball football.

boxing berries bay area sports fan very. biased you buy us very biased so you. steph curry above all. i'm worried it's the warriors you're the. warriors you know i was match alice. you were there before steph and clay and. draymond you would what did they call. themselves that was the matt barnes. stephen jack what they what they. do we believe teams yeah. yeah yeah we believe we believe we have. run tmc you know yeah yeah. but look at this man i'm i'm the we the. warriors man we really questioned.

demontay trade monte ellis like. you gonna trade my tail who who could be. our point the little. little little kid with the uh with the. weak ankles yeah. people was mad. and stuff you know i i really think he. was that little kid. all the way up until he got that goatee. when he got that goatee. when that goatee came he came in he grew. up he's like y'all know i remember first. time seeing steph curry the warriors was. they used to club you know these new.

warriors don't really club right they. they're a little more refined and and. you know the steve kerr warriors but the. old warriors baron davis and them. stephen jackson was they went to the map. bars they was in the club every night. and i was like. who was that little boy with the. warriors. who's the little boy like oh that's the. back up point guard. like he's like a little kid man he was a. little kid and he steph curry now so you. know. for real so.

short athletes give me your no first of. all you say big in tupac obviously give. me your. mou rushmore rappers. dang that's that's a tough one man. that's really a tough tough tough one. i'm from a different era than most. hip-hop fans. and you know. with me. right out you can't do nothing without. melee male like and a lot of people. ain't gonna put him there but. he put the mc in it he was the first one.

to me to just put the mc in it yup like. in it like on a. not on a new york scale on a commercial. national scale yeah yeah this is of. songwriter rapper hit maker. gram splash first five lead rapper. mellie mill. um. you know um. that's just a tough question man cause. i'm biased on the west coast. i'm biased how about this give me your. west coast give me your mount rushmore. west coast so we just made the mount.

westmore group. which was it. which is my guys and then so you got 40. you smooth. and cubed and i got gj quick and i got. warnings no you ain't got before you got. four of my brothers but you ain't gonna. add no heads to my rush boy. but hey a full-time man you know i would. put i'll put melly mill up there just. because of his impact on hip-hop and i. would put jay-z up there. because i feel like. jay-z. i don't know where biggie and jay-z.

would have ended up right at brooklyn. brothers if they both had a long career. i don't know where they would have went. what puffy would have did with big and. what it would evolve to. but i do know that jay-z is an extension. of. biggie and i don't i do know that he. i don't notice for a fact but i do know. that he took on. everything jay-z was gonna be. and everything biggie was gonna be and. he said i'm gonna wear both these both. these [ __ ] boats and and. and hold it down for brooklyn right um.

so where he got to is definitely it. uh rapper wise you can't put dr dre in. it because he's not a. a writing rapper. but he's dr dre and he had the best. resume he got the best branches on his. tree of eminem and snoop dogg and 50. cent and you know. he's a producer right. but rap wise man it's just too many it's. too many. it's too many to just go down the line. and go who's the goat because there's.

too many goats man i got my boy scarface. i mean. he's he's goat status on the songs he. wrote like scarface you're going to say. scarface but go back and listen to the. words he wrote like the words he wrote. he's. is so. poetic. poetic in it yeah they're well they're. different style because people don't. give k k r s was some lyrics. kr people don't give krs as duke but but. i'm old enough you and i are both old.

enough to know who krs one is big daddy. kane. who mo i mean kumo did he was yeah you. know he was a guy for a while rock hill. right kim he changed a lot of a lot of. the way people rap right i'm saying. every a lot of people brought a lot to. the table man so it's hard to it's hard. to go there with me man i can't top five. nothing i'm not arguing no top five. arguments. i'm not agreeing with no top five that. you got it i'm not it's just it's just. not. i can't even top 10 it.

not even top ten. i can't man okay well give me my rush. more basketball. now you can do that. hoop let's see uh. i'm definitely gonna go with. magic okay and jordan okay put them on. there okay. um. i got the witness. and i've seen the i've seen the college. clips. and i've seen. a lot of the youngster um.

it's hard you know kareem abdul-jabbar. man okay. little alcinda. you know what i mean. it's it's it's savage yeah because we. picture his end of his career when he. wasn't really going back on defense but. a lot led up to that yeah to still hold. his he still hold that scoring title he. does he has it for another year and a. half till lebron lebron yeah you know. gonna get that he's coming he got you he. got you that's part of why you hanging. around yeah yeah uh. lebron i'm gonna give lebron they talk.

to lebron steph curry thing but i'm like. i have a theory. you might dispute it i know you big up. lebron a lot. uh i have a theory that later on. they're going to introduce the. technology of human hybrids. let us know that lebron was one of the. first. like he was partially a robot six nine. two fifty it could run could jump body. like calm along and i always started. when he was a youngster because he was a. grown man at 16 right.

literally the grown man. and. he held up. and he's still like coming down that. lane. power went over i i i pity the fool they. take a charge from lebron. like. they get out the way i i literally see. players like you watch you watch the. game and you wait at me but. you jump out the way and he coming yeah. you ain't got no pads on why am i taking. why am i taking an elbow to the chair. why am i taking a knee to the chair i. see dudes take that charge and lay there.

like. yeah all right he's a robot. yeah he's a robot he's done a lot of. robot stuff in the game too appreciate. it yes sir for stopping by wait don't. mean it yet was it because i need to. know cause i thought you and your. brother was twins for years. who the oldest he is he's the oldest. okay i'm three years younger for real. yeah. you get the twin stuff a lot. no well no not really but no people. mistake me for him they say well. were you the one that played in green. bay um i mean people know we're brothers.

but they always you know you know i'm a. raider now so man y'all. you know i've always been a raider you. got to get you a new team bro. y'all ain't gonna do that we about to. give us a quarter everything afc west. you know yeah you know how we get down. to afc west oh yeah ain't no love ain't. no love lost between nobody in that. division yeah so where y'all from. born in chicago raised in south georgia. okay so down to savannah way yeah see i.

wouldn't school to savannah i'm about 65. miles from savannah i'm wrong i know. everything geographically okay yeah so. you so you not only would you live so. you parked you all down in the making. savannah going down there. georgia columbus all that yeah okay. south yeah i know it all. i know it all every i know every little. town in mississippi louisiana arkansas i. didn't hit the back roads i didn't get. the chitlin circuit brock yeah yeah. richard steinbach short thank you bro. good stuff. all my life grinding all my life.

sacrifice hustle pay the price. wanna slice got the bowl of dice that's. why all my life i've been grinding all. my life look all my life been running. all my life. sacrifice plus will pay the price. wanna slice got to roll it dice that's. why all my life i've been grinding all. my life. [Music].