INTERVIEW: 2 Chainz Opens Up About Purpose, His Father & The Voice In His Head

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2:01Or they'll proactively make it right. Just like that friend who takes care of things before you even ask. AT&T. Connecting changes everything. Terms and conditions apply. Visit AT&T.com slash guarantee for details. Success starts with your drive. An American public university is here to fuel it. With affordable tuition and over 200 flexible online programs. APU helps you gain the skills and confidence to move forward. Whether you're changing careers, starting fresh, or pursuing a lifelong passion. Our programs are designed for people who never stop. You bring the fire. APU will fuel the journey. Learn more at apu.apus.edu. You're going to finish all y'all done. Morning everybody. It's D.E.J. N.V. Just hilarious. Shalom in the guy. We are the breakfast club. Longer rolls is here as well. We got a special guest in the building. Yes indeed. You do change. What's up, bro? What's up, man? What's up, bro? How you all doing? Good morning. You and the family came ready to be cold. Listen. I love you.

3:01You just waiting on your low. No, no, no, no. Because I watched the other, you couldn't get one in, right? He was so serious the whole time. It's hard, yeah. I rock with your pull. Yeah. I mean, yeah. We were, we were just left an A.A.U. I'm circuit with my son. And then we was in Cincinnati. And they said it was going to be cold air, but it wasn't freezing. When we came to New York, he was cold. Today is the only day too. Because the rest of the way we get in, like, 60-70 degrees. So today is the only day you go with it. Oh, bless you. Because it's cold. It's cold. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because it's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. It's cold. New book, the voice in my head is God. I want to ask, what was the intention behind the outfit this morning? Because in the buried me inside the Louis store chapter, you say every outfit has an intention. So what's the energy other than it was cold? That's the energy that it is. Okay. Okay. And it's like, where is, can you wear like the hat in it? And, you know, I can't get this off in Atlanta. So this will be the place. The voice on your head say, get that off.

4:01So you're going to write this shit? Yeah. What's happening? What's happening? The voice in my head is God. New book that's out today. Make sure you go get it if you haven't got it yet. Why was it the time to write this book? I just think that success without reflection is just noise. You know what I'm saying? Success without giving back is noise. So I'm feeling successful. I think when you live long enough to experience scars, when you've won enough to have the wisdom, you know, then it's time to write a book in my personal opinion. So, you know, growth, maturation, me, you know, talking about or talking about God in this book through my personally experiences, you know. So, I just felt like after you do, for me, I've done the albums, I've shot my short film,

5:01and I'm just ready to take more creative risks. And so, this doesn't feel like a risk because I feel like this could motivate someone, this could help someone. It's not generic, it's not cliche. I hadn't seen any other artists talk about, you know, intuition in the book space, so just so much. You know, I wanted to, let's say one thing. The biggest thing, everybody takes a different part of what they feel that they get out of the book, right? For myself is your relationship with your dad. And the reason I say that is I have six kids, and I'm always very intentional what I say to my kids, right? Because there's a line between being a dad and then there's a line with being a human being, right? And I'll explain you. So, with that relationship with your dad, was there, I know your dad moved in with you, was those tough conversations to have from the start him being incarcerated? To even, at one time, when, you know,

6:03when you got into that entity in Alabama, and your dad said, well, go get a gun and go handle it yourself. You know, how are those conversations had? Because I'm sure you wouldn't tell your kids that same thing. Or would you? That's a good question. You know, we all, I think everybody in here have lived through different errors. And, you know, I'm from the boys don't cry error. You know what I'm saying? I'm from the, that, that's weak, that's soft. My dad would say numerous amount of times that he don't think a woman could raise a man. But he, he wouldn't be there. You know what I'm saying? And I turned out to be, I mean, I can't change oil, change tires and stuff like that. You know what I'm saying? Like, somebody might consider some man stuff. But I've cut the grass and done stuff like that is y'all know recently. So, I mean, when I think about it, it's like he wasn't there to teach me certain things that a man should know. And I learned a lot of things on my own. And, you know, he was my first hero.

7:05He was my first somebody you look up to, whether he was incarcerated or just me hearing stories about him. And me just realizing that that DNA is inside of me. So, what I passed that on, I think I broke that way of thinking. I think it stopped with me, you know. I'm very, you know. I'm not lenient to why I'm like, man, you can cry anytime you want. But if my son needs to cry about something that's bothering him or hurting, I'm not like getting all over him about it. So, I think it's just timing. And what we are in life right now, I don't know how you are with your kids, I'm more sensitive to my kids. Of course, and my father was to me. Does he want me to be tough? He didn't, I hear stories in my eyes tell me like, if I would cry, he didn't want nobody to pick me up. I don't have like, it's some baby pictures, but like, all my baby pictures, I'm sitting somewhere on my mom beside me. She not like holding me. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, one of the pictures I remember was like, at a beach, I'm sitting on the hood of a car.

8:06I'm like, I'm not even one. And my mom got on a bathing suit. She right beside me. I'm not really like a picture of someone cobbling or anything. But I mean, I'm okay with that. What did you learn about your own feelings throughout the whole experience with your dad? So, being able to spend time with him, and moving in with you to his passing, because you talk about it very stoically at first, and then you talk up, and then you, we actually get to hear you talk about, finally being able to cry, and being able to like kind of get in tune with yourself a bit. Yeah. Well, his last few years, just like I talk about it in the book. Excuse me. He's getting out of prison. And, you know, he's in his late 60s. You know what I'm saying? Like, I don't. He might have been 70 something. So, when I go get him, you know, that's when I had to come and say to my man, you ought to move with me. Like, this is just crazy at this point. You know what I'm saying? And the last time he did time, he was probably two or three years, but I just felt like it was time. I had my first child, and I had a house.

9:07And so, you know, I remember stopping and getting him. He wanted to suit. And then I remember stopping to arise. And he wanted to fall. And he had some money. He had a little money put up, you know, somewhere. And we just talked. And he said that he would, you know, you know, think about it. And he ended up eventually just, you know, staying with me, which was really cool. It was like we start building that relationship. You know, I was so fond of him from a distance because I, you know, when I was young, we got separated. So just being in the same house, me learning his little crazy ways and his sarcasm and everything. And so, you know, I think started getting sick. I was going, I was starting it like, this was like 2012. My dad died in 2012. My first album came out in 2012. I was just so hot at the time. And so, I'm curious to tell me like, man, you know, your dad didn't eat the day or you didn't do something. She just tell me, you know what I mean? And he was somebody that didn't want nobody. No, he was sick. He like such a man. He don't want you to know he going through that,

10:08which is ridiculous. And he went to the hospital one night, you know what I'm saying? I ended up going up there with him. I ended up staying with him. I got to like, I just stayed with him for like a week or two. You know what I mean? And I have shows that I end up counseling. But I had this one particular show in Savannah, which is like, I don't know. A couple hours from Atlanta. And I'm talking to him. And I'm like, I got this show in Atlanta. You're going to be cool tonight. Like, yeah, yeah, I'm going to be cool. And then he says, you know, you know, dope man, my role model. I had a song called dope man, my role model, my mix tape. So he's so sarcastic. I'm like, bro, you straight. You know what I'm saying? He gives me a fist bump and says, do it big, eps. That's our last name. I said, okay, cool. I go to Savannah. I don't even get the room. I come back when I come back here on this breathing thing. I see him. Boom. But I see him. He like looking at me. I feel like he's looking at me. You know what I mean? Why on this breathing thing? And he keeps trying to take the tool by this throat. And they keep saying, like, if he takes that out, he could, he could die. That part was crazy. You know what I'm saying?

11:08So if he take that out, he can die. Now rewind it. I just got my part from prison. So they sent all the way that he cannot take it out. Is if they handcuffed him to the bed. You know what I'm saying? So I say, okay, handcuffed. And then I get the thinking. Like something is telling me, like, he don't want to be handcuffed no more. You know what I'm saying? So he handcuffed to the bed. He's looking at me. And it's just shit. You know, he's breathing. And I say, all right, man. You know, take the handcuffs. I'll take that. Take it off, man. He don't want to be handcuffed. But some of the handcuffs come off. He come to try to take the, and they, they tell me, he take it out. It could scratch his. Yeah. So I swear to you, I do that four times. Okay. Put the handcuffs back on. Take the handcuffs back off. Put the handcuffs back on. And it's like, he just, he not looking straight. Home looking to the side like this. You know what I mean? So I try to hold his hands, myself personally. Like, you know what I'm saying? Not chill. You know what I'm saying? Just chill.

12:08He keeps. You know. And then, you know, a couple days after that, or not even a day after that, you know what I'm saying? The beep start going off. You know what I'm saying? And by me staying with him. And the nurses, I'm able to run. Go get the nurse. You know what I'm saying? Check it out. And they say the same thing four times. Boom, boom, boom. They hit him. Bring him back. Thank you, nurse. They walk out the room. Oh, man. Man, look, man. Don't you be doing it. Run out again. Boom, boom. Do that. The fourth time. Now they, they put me out the room. So I'm looking through the look. The little window. And so the fourth time the lady come out. And she says, you know, I lost my father too. If he come back now, he'll be brain dead. We already broke two ribs. You just got to let it go. And I was like, that's easier said than done. Because he just told me. Now he didn't tell me to do it big. He told me before I went to Savannah. I'm not going to die no time soon. It came out his mouth. And he ain't never told me about it. So I'm like, what happened from the time I went to Savannah? It came out anyway. That's something that I want to say haunted or traumatized.

13:09I know you're big on therapy or whatever. And like this book is my therapy. Like certain things I do is my therapy. I hadn't actually said I don't want someone. And I'm not against people who, who do or who have. But, um, is it traumatic seeing your father pass? It could be, yeah, but then like a few years later I had a son who reminds me so much of like how he moves and his sarcasm is way off. So I got two questions based on what you just said. Did you relive in that for the book make you cry again? Because you said that was the first time you remember crying. No, I mean, I cried so hard when that happened. I was listening. I think I even tried to think what song I might listen to. It was a song. But not when I was doing it in the book. Because I'm just, I didn't, I didn't cry while writing the book. I think because I relive that so many times. It wasn't like I buried it and then just brought it back up. Like I relive my parts passing in front of me.

14:10You know, I've done that a few times. I think we, and then also I see now me talking about it just becomes easier to talk about. You know, when you keep stuff bothering or whatever. And when you said when Halo was born in the book, you, I got to see the picture. That's the, I just got to see the picture. You said there was, I got it. You got the picture. Yeah, but I won't be showing that actually. You don't. I want to see the picture. You said it was a picture of your, your, your father, the alarm went off and that. All right. So don't even tell the story. I know. All right. It's hard to discuss this book because there's so much that you want people to read and see for themselves. Oh, he just gave away a whole chapter. I know. Yeah. But it was worth it. So this, this picture. All right. Explain what we have. What. All right. So let's talk about it. So my son, Halo was born. 10, 14, 15. All right. Me and Keisha was in the hospital. And my mom and my two daughters was at home. And they were in our room in the master bedroom.

15:12The alarm went off at home. While Halo was coming. The alarm went off. Same time. So I Keisha having Halo. The alarm going off. And my mom is asking me what's the past word to tell the alarm people. Because it's the same motion in the house with them. And my mom is on the phone saying, I swear. And I'm looking at the cameras and I don't see anything coming into the house. I don't see the doors. I'm looking at all the doors. My mom said, I hadn't left the room. So I don't know why the motion going off. I'm telling the code it goes off. We have Halo, we come home. All right. We're getting our alarm updated. And then Keisha looks at her email. And when you have motion, it takes pictures. It takes snapshots of what the motion is. Okay. When we look at the motion, you can see somebody. You know what I'm saying? And it was my father. My father left in 2012. This was 2015. You can see an image. So people that I'm close to

16:16a couple of my friends I'm close to. I show on the picture. I'm like, who is it? That's part right there. I'm like, look at the date. My friends began big old chill goose problems or whatever. You know what I'm saying? My father used to walk around the house with his shirt off. He was in good shape to be 70. He wasn't like fast and sloppy. He was in the army. So yeah, it's something. And so another thing about this, and this is my personal opinion. He's so sarcastic that when I used to try to show people, I could not find a picture. So I gave the picture to Kisha. I said, Kisha, when I try to show people, it makes something like, I'm crazy. I don't have to put you keep it. But we go to Florida one time. I'm not even looking back there. I know she know I'm talking about I go to Florida one time. I only got the picture and I can't find. What happened in Florida? Kisha, you remember. Anyway, anyway, my phone fell in. We was she probably remember this, but she does remember this, when I said this, but we was on a boat. We got up a boat and then her phone down there fell

17:20in the water. And when our phone fell in the water, I said, damn, that's all I don't think about the context. I'm like, this is my proof. This is my proof that ghosts are real or whatever. You know what I mean? Boom. Okay. So I get to looking because I know exactly when the date was because I know when Halo was born. I pull up the picture again. So now I got it. So I give it to my cousin. I'm always with the outside cat. I gave it a cat like cat. You keep this picture. Boom. So this is this is crazy. So this is I go over the back end of that. I go over the Yale house, right? And I'm telling him the same story. I'm like, bro, this has happened to me. I'm trying to tell him what happened. And this is, man, you know, I'm the coolest player in the world. I mean, it's like food around. It's like lemonade. You know what I'm saying? So I can't find a picture. So I say cat, cat with my tongue to come in. Give me the picture apart as much as I can show. Why he giving me the picture, bro? I'm not going to blow up a big thing to lemonade everywhere on everybody. No, so I'm such a play. I ain't never done nothing like that. You know what I'm saying? So

18:21in my mind, I'm like, bro, this how my dad is. He like be on some joking. So you got me looking crazy. Hey, I don't make waste lemonade on everybody. The tables ain't even nothing. I do. You know what I mean? But anyway, that's another story. Let me find a picture. All right. You go right here. Let me see. I email myself. So I won't lose. Okay. This is my cadet. Why he's looking at the picture? The book on two chains.com. Yeah, two chains book, two chains book.com, two chains book, go to two chains book.com. I do got a sweepstakes for people they can sit next to me on a house game. Yeah, you know, I'm courtside. I'm very close. I come in through the owners lounge. It's a whole experience. I do have this little side note. This disclaimer, women. I'm going to be smelling good. I'm going to be looking good. If you have a crazy man at home articulate that to him. Men, I'm not going to be talking through the whole game. Right.

19:25We can talk. But I'm going to really be watching the game. Yo, but rapper win. I hope somebody trying to make it listen and trying to like, you know, I'm trying to show them. You know what's going on. Ha, hop up. If you see anything. Well, you got to see something in the picture. Oh, wait, only you. Yeah, he's showing me. Yeah, you got to have a boy. Yeah, he's got no question for you, right? See, she'll believe you, by the way. Yeah, you can see she'll make face. He know I ain't cap. But the reason that because that happened to him in Prince. He took a picture. I'm doing no guy. This is a spirit. I don't know. He took a picture. I want to add. Are you okay when I was in it? Okay. Oh, wow. That's a whole person. Yes. I thought it was going to be like, not it's so clear. I used to walk around the shutter. He walking. That's him walking through the

20:27kitchen. So I know you saying the book, too, that you feel like until you had your son, your dad hadn't crossed over to the other side. That's my assumption, right? Well, this is my mom. My mom is super, super spiritual, right? So she was probably like, you know, like he'd probably come to fuck with me before he, you know, I mean, probably come over there to fuck with me. You know what I mean? That's how she kicked the light before he left. But so the voices that you were here and then, because I know you have been here and voices in your head and hearing God for a long time. Do you do you know which ones might have been your dad? Because he was there with you or it was the God connection that you have here and God doing that. So this experience right here when this happened, this would have been 2015. I'm not even sure if I was fully committed to just giving the voice. It's credit for my success. Now, that's why I say when you asked me when it's time to write the book, it's like I've lived and had enough experience in trial and error with listening, not listening, moving through fear, moving through ego to let you know like this voice,

21:29they gotta be God. The reason I call it the voice of God because the voice would be like my intuition, it'll be my alignment. You know what I'm saying? That's what the voice, but when I say God, I know everybody's not into God, but I had to give the credit to somebody higher than myself. You know what I'm saying for this superpower, whatever the hell it like. For me, I got a real picture of my dad three years after he passed like this is not something and I don't, it's my first time ever, ever talking about it, feeling comfortable talking about it, showing somebody that I feel like is understands like a deeper meaning of like spirits and everything like because I don't fully understand. My father, you know, you see, they'd be like people come to you and dreams, people, you know, do stuff like that. I can't say that he did that. You know what I'm saying, but I can tell you that I do have a divine guidance in me that helps me make decisions

22:29with the spirit of decisions, relationship decisions, whatever it is. And it's a voice that could probably be too noisy to certain people, but I welcome that voice. So this book is, I put this book together to help somebody and to motivate somebody to shut down the outside noise. And this is also for anybody who's ever said like something told me like something told me to get this job or where this had or whatever the whatever it is. It's like it's that something told me thing. You know what I'm saying is that or something told me don't go to this place and this happened or something told me don't whatever it is. You know, and we've all said when we miss the flight, well, that's God trying to. Maybe I want to suppose to get on. You know what I mean? So why can't that inner dialogue be that? Why? Why? Why? Why? They say God is inside of you and and why can't your blessings come from within on how you are on the surface? You're a positive person on the surface and your blessings come with it. This is my experience. This is my opinion. So what do you trust that voice though? Because you talk about in the book many times when you

23:31didn't trust that voice, you heard it and you were like, now you got to be, you got to go through the experience, right? To see like, what was that moment for you that said, I need to start trusting this voice. I don't want to use like a tragic experience experience. But like the voice comes before something happens, right? So it's hard to like pay attention because you don't know what's about to happen. Alabama. You know what I'm saying? Alabama, my colleague experienced these different experiences that I had. I felt something. I did. I put this on everything. I felt something. Something told me, you know what I'm saying? But you don't have a crust of ball in order to see it. So that's why I'm using all these experiences in the book to tell you like how I listen and maybe then fully, you know what I mean? I just what was going on or when I did and that positive outcomes that came from them. You know, I woke up sometimes to be like, something told I need to do this today.

24:33You know what I mean? I do that a lot actually. You know what I mean? And it's just a message I'm just trying to bring to people. You know, the book is about God and you first recognize it in that voice. But to me, it's also a love letter to your mom and your pop soul. So when did you first recognize God in them? Mom, church going to steal gold. Just went yesterday. Mom went yesterday. I checked on her. My pop when he was in prison. He wrote, which, which helped me come up with the title too. He used to write God is love on the back of his prison letters. And one day, I took the God, the ears out and I put an equal sign like God is love. So I was like, it just made so much sense to me because if it's love there, then it's God there. That's what I think. You know what I'm saying? And if it's hate there, then that can't be God. And that's how I decided what that voice was. So yeah, I've had that that kind of spiritual upbringing like, I'm a I'm from a praying family. You know what I'm saying? I encourage my kids to pray. So it's something I believe in. And I talk, I pray before my show. I pray before I wrap at night,

25:36bro. I just, you know, I'm saying, I should be praying sometimes. I'll be praying on stage when I'm killing it. I look up, man, thank you. Thank you, man, you know, I ain't nobody. You know, I mean, because it's just certain or you get when you when you tap them, you know, I mean, real. You said you always wanted to write a book. Did you think that it would be this? No, no, but you know, most artists, they do an autobiography. And then they talk about how they just had nothing to eat. You know, I'm saying artists are the poorest. You know, I'm saying nothing. No education, no net. No, I finished high school. I have a college degree. I don't be on none of that. You know what I'm saying? And I still have my struggles that I deal with. And so when it was time for me to do the book, I wanted to be in my own lane like I do with anything else. If you all noticed, I don't follow no, really, no training. I'm so comfortable in my skin. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's scary sometimes. I know you said you don't need therapy, but you've been in some real

26:39life traumatic situations. Like you just named two old Malabama, the Cali one. I didn't even know it went to that where he was standing over you and all of that. I don't know why I know who's heard that part of the story, but is any out of that impact the way you move like now? Well, I, you know, now I'm going to say something cliche. I mean, some here for a reason, you know, I'm saying that's something. But it really does though. Like I'm in my 40s. Just got my physical a couple of weeks ago. No cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure. Work out three times a week. Hey, you games like Rapid Night, I eat healthy, drink a lot of water. Don't get enough sleep, but that's like something I can work on. But, you know, I'm just, you know, I'm in a, I'm in a good, I'm in a good place. You happy? Yeah, I'm happy, man. No PTSD, no stress, no, no, no.

27:39Nothing out of that. No, like I don't have any, like I did take psychology in college. So and I loved it. Like when I got into psychology, it wasn't even my major. I remember changing to the major, like maybe like I remember finding out something about myself studying the actual course, you know what I'm saying? And so with me, the therapy aspect, you know, I do have like some little triggers. I do have triggers. But I want to say I'm kind of conscious of them and I'll probably be, I'm probably doing some self evaluation, you know, I mean, I hadn't sat down and really like kicked it off. I don't know, I'm not against therapy though. I'm not against therapy, but I have went through things and I've gotten over them and I moved on and I want to do some dramatic stuff too. But I just feel like God, when you, I feel I believe so much in God that I just didn't, been let that hold me back. I didn't let it bring me PTSD. I ain't like, man, you know what, what happened to me? I, I'm crazy. Like, I ain't, you know, I'm crazy. People being in excuses

28:42to be told, you know, man, you don't even know, man, I was, you know, and I ain't on that, you know. I know that you're seated, you're deeply grounded and family came in with your family. How did you know that your wife, Keisha, was the person that God intended for you? Something told me, something told me she was the one. She used to write, she still does, but she, you know, I said this all the time, she used to go to church and she used to write notes. And I was like, okay, and like real like, they didn't have power points to act stuff or like, or what? They was talking about her church. So I like to use God fear and I like that she was just a natural, beautiful woman inside and out. And, you know, having somebody like that in the industry is like, or being in the industry and having, you know, somebody that you care about is like, not the easiest thing to navigate. So you got just, you know, for me, just keep on the pedestal and let her know that she, she is my, she's the one for me. How do you separate divine guidance from just wanting something really bad?

29:43That's a good one. My question is easier than that, okay? As you ain't, you're working now. You're saying? Yeah. But, but it's, they good. The divine God. Keep going, keep working. You know what people do? You let it just keep going. Keep trying, keep trying. Look at your paper. Just keep going. You're almost finished. Um, the divine guidance aspect, or if you just want something. So if you just want something really bad, is that, are you saying like, man of best and something? Yeah. You know, you have something in your mind that you want. I want this goal. I want to accomplish it. But that don't mean that's what God wants you to be doing. Hmm. I believe in speaking things until it's this, do I believe in manifestation. Now, if you want to do something that don't got love in it, I believe like him got nothing to do with it. I say God is love. God equals love. So you might want to be on some

30:46that ain't got nothing to do with loving. He's not going outside the hall for that. But if you want something and they got love or text to or two, I think you're awesome. Listen. I mean, you already know what's going on. So that's my personal because I have one of some of them. Another thing is we have to teach something to youth, the difference between these and once. I think they got it like some of it confused. You know, those are, and it's a difference. So, how have you always, because every interview I watch is you and I know we talked about culture come before too. I feel like that was good. Thank you. No, thank you. I feel like every time I listen to you speak, even when you were younger, it seems like you always understood the difference between your needs and your wants and separated it to how did you have that so young, like doing so many different things from college to being a street to rap like. So I'm going to tell you another pop story. So pop, my pop used to go on the story. He used to steal. And then he used to get mad at me because he would just stop abruptly and then I would hit him in the back of his Achilles with like the buggy. When I hit him in the back of the lead with the

31:47buggy, he'd get mad his head. And so then I get like 30 feet away from him. And then we're getting the car and he'll start taking stuff like out his sock. You know, the long sock and he put stuff on his gym. And then he told me he said, he told me, the kids don't listen to me on my pops on this because it's mad on me. When I listen to him, he says, but he said, still what you need, not what you want. And so he was going to store and steal like things that he felt like we need put house, whether it was toiletries or whatever it was. You know what I'm saying? It would be like snacks or gum or nothing like that. And that makes perfect sense to me. But you don't want people to think, man, I need this watch. You know what I'm saying? Because that's why I say they don't know what needs and want. Sorry. But my pop. So for a long time, there's still stuff, you know, but I would stand in line with a pack of gum on everything I love. I just be like, I just waiting

32:49to pay for the gum. But if it was something I need, I already had a problem. Like I really need it. I take that and couldn't afford it. I would take it. You think reading the book, right? Do you think God gave you those plugs? God. You think God gave you, I read it. He was like, it was a blessing. I got the plug. God gave me this plug. I'm like, you think the plug could be however you got this job, whatever, you know, I don't talk about that plug. The plug I got opened up so many doors for me. But yes, I got it. And so many people that do what I do never had a plug. And they'll tell you how mirrored they're hustling experience for us. Once you get some out there, you can call. And this is just once again, this is my these are my theories. Right. Okay. You know what I'm saying? But I I'm not looking for a plug. I find this guy that essentially helped change the way I was moving and living up to now. What was a little finesse in one of your plugs now? Yeah, it was a little

33:51finesse when you told me phone. Yeah, that was finesse. Yes. That was finesse. But it was and it was it was a sign of intelligence too. It was a sign of intelligence, right? Because I'm able to hear him what's going on. And I know how important it is to have one because I don't at this point already had a plug. So I'm hearing like, so I'm like, so I didn't even take buddy plug. That's just kind of like what come in the street. I don't never was like a person that robbed anybody. I'm so. Yeah. I won't say this though. The reason I do agree with him when he says for him, for him, because you was weed man. Yeah, I was a weed man different than like the other guy that's telling the hardship. The weed man, the weed brings you love. Yeah, you know me. Yeah, weed man, man. And you know how this you, I mean, you you you get a feature. I was smoking weed with our artists when you coming up and you smoke, you like, man, it's pretty good. Let's wrap. You know, things can happen, man. You know, so it helped me out tremendously. I got some of my

34:53stuff may sound really, really off. But if you just, if I have Charlemagne with me, he'll help you I bet I bet I'm like, God gave me the plug. Well, he was the weed man. Oh, that's the difference. I'm like, he man different when you got that. Everybody has those experiences though where you're like, yo, if I had to talk about this again, nobody would be, but I think that's favorite too. Like I was watching a sermon yesterday and pastor Mike, like junior, he was saying your yes to God, brick cycles. And then that comes with a whole level of divine favor that like you couldn't even explain it to people in the feeling of if you tried to. And a lot of your story is that it's like you have this personal one on one that like we would never really get. It's funny to hear. But the story about my dad crossing over is something I never knew how to even tell nobody. You had to be like, I probably told eight people my whole life. And this happened in 2015. I just showed my kids recently because I thought that they would be, you know, ready. So, yeah. But you even named all your kids something

35:58spiritual. Well, Keisha started off. She named our first baby heaven. She named the first two heaven harmony. And then I came with the halo. I sprinkled that salsa. That's done. That's fine. I was emotional maturity changed the way you hear that inner voice. Emotional maturity changed. Oh, yeah. I can answer that. So my emotional maturity changed. I hear the inner voice because I'm able to want one disciple if it's love or hate because we all we all got a fucking voice too. We all got a voice that we've all said fucking and done and done some things. And sometimes it sometimes came back to bite us in the butt and sometimes it happened. But right now, I think with the emotional intelligence, it comes with it comes with growth. It comes with age and it comes with experience, right? And it just comes with life. It comes with life situations. It comes with life choices. And so for some of the things that I touch on in this book,

37:02you literally have to live long enough. Like this book can't be written by a teenager or somebody in their 20s. This is my personal opinion. This book is like experience based at the same time. I'm just not running off some ideas and stuff like this. This is this is stuff that you know, I've been through or someone has been through or you know, something and it was a voice there. It was a voice there during all of these situations. Has there ever been a time where that voice led you somewhere painful? But you realized it was necessary. And I don't mean by not listening to it. Like you actually listen to it. It's still led you somewhere. It's not what I thought was going to happen. When I listen to my voice, I have listen, bro. This is how this is how insane it is. I listen to it. They'll tell me what time to go to the gym. Tell me what time to lead. They'll get my son. They'll tell me what route to take him. They'll tell me what we need to eat. What he needs to eat. It'll tell me what route to go home.

38:08I can go home three or four different ways. They'll tell me, man, I'll go that way, man. And this has been happening for a long time. But I used to pay no attention until I ran into a role. But I knew I shouldn't have came this way. But this was early on when I was maneuvering. But the voice is something that I hear a lot, that it was hard for me to really articulate without saying I had an imaginary friend or something like that when I'm sitting in the corner and I'm going back and forth. I'm ideating between me and my voice. But I think it was very important at this time for me to write this literature because I feel like it's going to help. If it helps one person, which I've already received multiple text messages from people who got advanced copies on the voice in their head and the something told me and them listening more closely. So that's what it's just for. That's why the time and it's for, you know,

39:09I've been in front of you guys many of times talking about many of different projects. But I just keep going until my creative back coming up with something that I think can help my community. This is like a community outreach project. This is for my community, bro. It's like this for my community. People give away turkeys. People do all kinds of stuff. This book is for my community. I feel like I've been just holding on holding like this secret sauce, this secret. Like, man, how, Tony, how you keep, man, how you keep, man, what? I'm telling you, man, try it. Try it. I'll try it. Just try it. Just try it. Just try it. I'll try it two weeks, like. Just try it. Did you really think you were Michael Jackson? I was just messing with my mom. Okay. My mom, my mom, my mom got it. She, she, she me on my dad at this whole time. So she knows sarcasm, right? And so I had, you know, I broke my, I broke my elbow and my knee, but they put my, they had just put me to sleep to pop my elbow back in place. Boom. And this is a whole birthday. She don't love her birthday party being a hospital with me. I'm coming up out of the anesthesia and they're like,

40:11Mr. Fs, you okay, Mr. Fs, you okay? I'm like, yeah, yeah, Mr. Fs. And I kind of look over, I look over there. I see you, my mom, I see you, my mom, like, you okay? I'm like, yeah, like, what's your name? Say your whole name, I said, uh, Michael Jackson. She said, oh, man, I'm getting the fuck up out of here. She got up in love. I don't know. I don't know, man, I'm, I'm an optimistic person, man. I'm just optimistic. If something bad happened to me, I just, I've turned it over. I just try to find the good and it's something good in here somewhere. It got to be, you know what I mean? You talk about rebranding and re-invention a lot in the book. Like, do you have a word that when you, that constantly evolving can disconnect you from your, from your core? No, you have to do that. You have to, I have to, you know, I'm showing people, but I'm not like being preachy when I'm showing people how to move and how businesses move. If you look up, McDonald's, Sprice, everybody rebrand, they don't exactly change their name, but they rebrand, they change the art, they do something they, you know what I mean? And so for me, I'm a business. Two changes of brand.

41:11And I have a new logo. I got a new logo on my launch, you know, this week and next week. So, for me, you know, I've been two change, Titty Boy, Beat Tongue, you know what I mean? I'm looking at other successful people that have pulled this stuff before. I mean, Jay has a couple names. A couple people, I know half a couple names. And it's just like a part of me. I'm also giving that knowledge. I was like, man, I got some game. And sometimes this book is a way to spread it to the masses instead of just talking to one individual. So, I think it's important that, you know, a lot of people be like, man, you know, I've had artists ask me, should they change their name? You know, I'm saying, should I change my name? Like, I know you did it, bro, you know what I mean? And stuff like that. So, it's whatever works for you. But I think it's important that you you revisit your brand every three to five years, three to five years. That's mine. Like, go in there and I see what I can tweet, turn through whatever. I love the book, man, because you make, you make ambition. You look at it as something spiritual. Like, I think sometimes people have this hunger and they, they dress it up as, it's

42:15faithful. Like, to me, you actually approach ambition as something spiritual. Can we, can't, you can't buy ambition. You can't go to Amazon. You'd lazy. You need some, take something to give you, you take something to give you energy, but that ain't the ambition. You know what I'm saying? I got that. I got the self-motivation. You know what I'm saying? I, the boy starts there. Anybody get your ass up. You ain't got no big home. You ain't got nobody's going to do this, but you ain't got no friends you can call on. You ain't got nobody. So like, it all falls on me. So, yeah, I'm operating and definitely in that space. You know, the one thing I wanted you to talk about in the book is why you chose Alabama because over South Carolina State. Did you talk about it in the book? No, not, not, not. No, so I got recruited by South Carolina, South Carolina State. I was going to Memphis when I, I got, I was going to Memphis. That's what I was going to commit to. I like Memphis because opinion hard away here went there. I was like, just look skinny scrolling point guard, two guard and I just wanted to just follow in those steps. So when I got locked up in high school,

43:21Alabama State was the first school. They called me. They got in touch with me. They called me. They were very like, you know, compassionate about what I went through and they offered me a full-rise scholarship. I already had the grades. They offered me a full-rise scholarship and they also had peers that went down there from my school. So I knew some, knew some kids down there. It was two hours from the house. And, you know, in the book first chapter I took, I went down to the plan. I went down to the plan. I forgot where I went down to them, you know, the Alabama board. They showed, they see you're bidding. I ended up going down there and then I lost my love for basketball the same year I went down to because the coaches that called me and they were so excited about having the opportunity to work with me. They got fired. New coaches came in, new coaches came in. They brought players in and then I just remember my passion for hoop and started to diminish because at this point I still wasn't like wrapping or anything. I was just like trapping the hoop. Yeah, because in the book I thought he said that in the book because you said it

44:23was somebody you knew down there and it was close to the crew. Yeah. And he said you started playing ball and then it really turned you on. You said it was when the flood happened. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. My darn, well, my darn flooded but that just made me get a spot off campus. You know, I still was dealing in the parameters of a student athlete. I still was, I was going to class. You know, I was going to class. I was doing everything. I just, I'm already living a certain lifestyle. I'm already got a little hustle. I go down there. I got three cars already. I'm literally driving a different car Monday, Wednesday and Friday just because I can't. I'm on that type of time. And so, but I'm, I'm a, I'm a learning junkie too. I love to learn even now. I love, I mean, learning is so fast right now. It's insane. You know what I'm saying? Like trying to learn what's going on in the words. But I, you know, originally meant I enjoyed learning new information. I just, you know, I mean, I loved it. So it was never a situation where I, if I wasn't on campus, I wasn't going to go to school. I still was going to help my responsibility. So I just talked about that in the book as one of the, and that's one of the things that

45:26pushed me into being independent too. You go to college, you know, you stay on campus, then when you get your crib off, this is your first home, this your crib, you know, you start becoming like a grown up. You know, when you met your queen, even if you didn't go to Alabama. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. True. My last question. If that voice in your head told you to walk away from rap tomorrow, would you listen? That's a great question because I love rap music so much. And I figured like, he know, I love it. He wouldn't do. He wouldn't do that. You know what I'm saying? I love it. And one of the things I love about it is that I still have good ideas, whether for me or anybody else, I, when I say ideas, not just in rap, but after the rap, the marketing, the title, the fonts, shades, like I'm in the eye, like even this right here, this is a black artist named the Reese. He's dope, man. He's just like, he's not with a gallery anything to Reese walk. I found him online. He does his little like pastel dope. This is art. Like he drew, he drew this. I mean, this isn't not a pitch. He drew this whole thing. And

46:31I just like, I just like, I don't know, curating dope stuff. So, if I heard him as clear as you saying it, yeah, I probably would because I feel like he got something bigger for me. And so he wants me to probably start going to sleep and like getting up early or something like that, which I haven't done since my father passed. I sleep in the daytime on the sleep of night. So right, both now you got the podcast, you know, me and Halo, me and Halo a podcast. What do you do? My man, what do you do at night, then? If you're like, what are you doing? You're not sleeping. Do I sleep in night, y'all? No, what time I go to sleep? Six, seven. I got kids when they tell me we was returning this year, I think he said on the podcast, like we

47:34had to let it go or something for some reason. Yeah, but I go to sleep around six or seven. And then I get up around one time, I get up 12, one. And that because of your music artists, like a lot of artists are like that, too, where they're up on that. I've been doing that every sense of the kids know me. Okay. Harmony 13. What are you doing? Are you thinking like, are you writing? Are you? I'm in a studio space when I'm doing something ambitious to help my career go further. And that is the time when all the noise is shut off for me. All the people that I love should be in the bed sleep. I don't receive phone calls that lady nobody call me saying they need to do. I can actually concentrate on the task I hand, whatever that is. And those are my hours that I can just lock in from probably 12 to six or something like that. I saw it working the night around 11 to 12. I'm 12 to six. It's really just really, really my time, really me time. I want to worry about, you know what I'm saying? I mean, of course, I worry about people, but it's

48:36just really my time. I don't have anything else on my mind, but me and the task I hand. And that's therapeutic for you. That's so therapeutic. I wouldn't know what to do. Like, if I like, keep your hates when I'm at home, that in those times, because she trying to sleep. Yeah. And I'm moving around up. Man, just the other day I was just doing the most crazy stuff, man, because I had to be up at seven. So I'm like, man, do I go to sleep? Or do I just stay up at seven? So I'm trying to figure it out. What you doing home? Next thing you know, she looking at me, I'm staying out the one like Malcolm X. I'm just looking at the one. And I'm saying stuff like this. I really need some asphalt. So I can, I'm just looking at stuff at the house. I'm just looking at the driveway. I need to do this round about over. I'm looking at the 10th court. We got the light out there on the court. I'm looking. I'm like, man, what should you use this more often? We just put my mind at my like, I'm not sleepy. I'm not tired. I'm not yawning because

49:38my body is trying. I'm almost like a newborn. I'm trying to sleep from like seven to five. I mean, I'm sorry, five hours, seven to 12. I'm trying to sleep like that long. But the longest, like literally since 2012, my pop diet, I hadn't really slept in life. Well, the book is out today. Mitchie. This is the book, man. This is the voice in my head is God. Are you looking at this? This is the, there's a handsome picture on the back as well. Man, look, if you open this up, this is something to do. I know. Something told me. So I'm going to challenge y'all to go to twochainsbook.com. Enter the sweepstakes that sit next to me at the house game. You have to march 11 to do that. But this right here, tell me what is something to tell you? Who I got something to tell you? Give me something. Give me an example. Something told you. Give me an example. To where they had. To where they had something to tell me to you. So what? I'm saying what? So you was putting this up. Tell me how to tell me how that went. So I woke up under this. It's crazy though. So that yeah, because I was going to wake up early and

50:39do my little, you know, my little curl joint. But I haven't enough time because I was, I was going to go questions for my book. You know what I'm saying? Because I stopped first this week. So I got up. I haven't enough time for that. So I was like, you know what? I'm gonna, I'm gonna wear my head to the floor. Something told you to put, I mean, you got all the hats though. Hell yeah. What made you get put that one on? I don't know. Like the funny is. I want to go with the law suit. You go with the, you know, the body suit. I just got these new nighties. I know they call you. You cordon. There's part of your part. Okay. Okay. I just like this. Give me an example. Something told you. I told you that today. I'm learning how to ski today. Yeah. Something told you like you just sitting on like man. I know there is my son Snowboys and I took him to all them on the mountain the other day. And I felt bad because I couldn't go with him on the mountain because I don't know how to score Snowboard or ski. So I was like, you know what? I'm gonna learn how to ski. So next time we go, I can get on that mountain. Some good father son, tonic. Absolutely. Yeah. So I'm told me I need to go back home this weekend and spend more time with my family. I love that. So I'm told me that two chains had an amazing book that he needed to

51:42get published. And that's why you're in on that's right. My dog. Black effect. You know you want to write about, but did you go to him and say, Hey, it's time or did how did that have no, he just knew I'm a successful black dude. So he tried to cap him on my sick sick because he know I'm a winner. Well, that's what you know, because he'll be having a little thing. That's my two chains of the plug. I wouldn't have crystal franchises if it wasn't food. Oh, yeah. People don't talk enough about you and you're involving in the crystal franchise. Man, my involvement in my involvement in the culture is crazy. You know what I'm saying? I am the Pinterest. I am the mood boy for a lot of stuff going on. I'm humble and quiet at some time. A lot of the times, but I can see how what my influence has done for even my whole city. Like man, listen, Esco and the Esco franchise 10 years. I owned the dirt five years before I started running the business on the vertical candy land. There's no other person. My age, my Democrat, my Democrat owns a adult entertainment you to get a permit to be nude and have alcohol is they stopped

52:46issuing those in 1993. You have the bottles for an extremely high price from somebody who sets it. A lot of the even the G Lee team being connected to the Lionel Hulk. You know, I'm saying even having an association with that. It's just a lot of things that I see that I try to open up like in this book and let my peers know like this is what's going on and this is how I'm even making these business decisions based off like, of course, I have a lawyer, I have management, but I got this voice going on with me too. But I do have, you know, the crystal situation shot the Jonathan just shot everybody that I became partners with. I think collaborating is a good thing. Not only am user, but in business too. And my secret to that is finding someone that's passionate and whatever you're trying to do and collaborate with. And then you can have success in the field. So I said to say that the person I'm collaborating with at Esco, they're they're passionate about

53:47the hospitality space. They don't have a special seasoning or sauce. It's bigger than that. You got to know this space. The person that I'm in the strip club business is passionate about that business. So it's just training Jonathan is passionate about crystals and this man is passionate about giving back to our community. So that's how a lot of things lie. Well, there you have it. It's two chains. Ladies and gentlemen, get the book today. Thank you. And it's the breakfast club. Good morning. Success starts with your drive. An American public university is here to fuel it with affordable tuition and over 200 flexible online programs. APU helps you gain the skills and confidence to move forward. Whether you're changing careers, starting fresh or pursuing a lifelong passion. Our programs are designed for people who never stop. You bring the fire. APU will fuel the journey. Learn more at apu.apus.edu. Pro drivers live for race day. But for small business owners,

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