The Tobe Nwigwe and Martica "Fat" Nwigwe Episode

GBR had the esteemed honor to have Tobe Nwigwe and his wife Martica "Fat" Nwigwe on this episode discussing their journey, the focus on love, life, family, being 100% independent, creative processes and much more. Tune in and listen to Geto Boys Reloaded at it's finest.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Yet get no boys. It's back and reoded all in
your mind. Yeah, and that deep throating. This is for
the streets, the reel, the railroading, the distant franchise, the
truth escape building. And they ain't know when we speak
the truth, so they ain't quoted because we wrote it.
The North South East coat is the g b my
keeping your head bobbing. It ain't no stopping and wants

(00:22):
to be dropped head by. And then the system is
so corrupt they throw the rock out of their heads
and then blame it on us. Don't get it twisted
on code and me and danceing for no furtament biscuits.
It's Willie d y'all scar faces in the building. Collectively
we are the ghetto boys, loaded reloaded with another episode

(00:44):
of information and instructions to help you navigate through this wild, crazy,
beautiful world. In the studio public come service, I nouns
lad to be no whig Away and his lovely wife Motika. Man,

(01:13):
it's so beautiful to see y'all, man, and to be
able to have y'all to come on the show and
to follow your journey. This is what's so important to me,
is your journey. You're not just two people sitting here
just talking about what you know, we're trying to sell
something like y'all man, y'all put the workings get twisted. U. Yeah,

(01:38):
y'all still are y'all still doing a song every Sunday?
Proud we're doing every other Sunday. But I promise you,
before I even get into talking, let me just say
it's honored to be here with y'all. I'm only here
because uncle, you know, I really fool with you. We
didn't I had lunch everything you've haven't been out and

(01:59):
saying how how how we how we do stuffing in?
You know what I'm saying, y'all legends in the game
and respect how you came up and how y'all stay
in Tanto's down on on your principles and uh just
really believe whatever it is that it is that you
stand for, even if I don't fully agree with anything,
and don't even matter, like I respect somebody who's standing
on what they believe in. Appreciate that man, appreciate and

(02:24):
and that's that feeling is mutual, man, because you'll stand
on what y'all believe in. And one of the first
things that y'all that that y'all believe in that resonates
with me is family. This is before the music. I'm
talking about family. That union that you guys have, that
energy that you have, that love that you have for
each other, to respect the admiration that you have for

(02:46):
each other. It's just beautiful to watch, and I'm like
very protective of it. Y'all don't even know. I'd be
wanting to fight among anything brought them the wig ways, man,
I'd be like, man, you don't sit your yeah, really
tough man. You know, like y'all some of my favorite
people in the world, So I ain't nobody man. You know,

(03:11):
I watched that Journey to Man. I watched it, and
I'm really really impressed with with with with the visuals.
Appreciate those visuals, like you might see me coming on
there like whoa like damn, like you know on your
Instagram pages. But it's just so incredible. Man, Who's who's

(03:33):
responsible for those visuals like that? Who's coming out of me? Yeah?
Why you put your hand up like that? Like I'm
just saying, I thought you getting Yeah, yeah, you can
put the blame on me for that. Yeah, Yeah, appreciate
for me though it was by force, not by choice.
You know what I'm saying. Because when we started, like

(03:54):
we would broke in hand of resources and stuff like that,
so I had to like, yeah I had Yeah, you
do all your concerts, uh, um yourself? Yeah, I do
my all my everything. Oh yeah, and when I buy myself,
I'm just saying, you do it. It's it's it's an
independent venture. That's dope. Man. I remember when um, a

(04:16):
certain recollator I won't say no names, but they were
trying to court you. Yeah. So all of them was
pulling up trying to court Yeah, not all of them,
but some of them. Yeah. And this is the thing.
I'm always open to any type of partnership. It's just
like the partnership has to be mutually been has to
be a partnership, not an ownership. Not an ownership to

(04:39):
own all your rights. Yeah ye. But I'm just saying,
if it's mutually beneficial, if there's some reciprocity in the relationship,
then I could. But most of the people that was
holing them, it wasn't. It wasn't mutually beneficial, and it
wasn't something that I next, like me personally, I necessarily
need because I'm saying that this is what this is.
You know that I think about. I don't need anything

(04:59):
that was just you know what I'm saying. I need.
You know what I'm saying. I need, I need. I
need certain things. You know I don't don't. I ain't
need what they was offering though, like I'm not lazy
and and I'm I have a vision for what I'm doing.
I ain't just like talent. I know exactly what I
know exactly how I want to be put again, Bro,

(05:24):
thank you for unbelieving. Thank you respecting that. I appreciate it.
Man so Dough, the colors and Willie, I know you.
I know you're ready to say something I didn't. I'm done.
I'm talking now. I'm done. I'm so. I got a

(05:52):
whole lot of ship to say because I'm a fan, Bro,
and I like coming from you today today today, I
don't know, I don't like a whole lot of people
because I think they corny is. I think they mono tones.
I think they they're not dope. Unfortunately, unfortunately, Bro, thank
you You're dope. Thank you and and and you've diversified,

(06:16):
you know you you have grown from where you were
twenty five years ago. A lot of people ain't grown
from there. They still where they are. My damn, I'm
not just saying not just stake Goddamn, you know what
I'm talking about. I'm just saying, you're not just saying

(06:41):
it ain't funny. Man, Listen, bro, you not the same.
And I don't want to check up five years old. Now.
What I'm saying is the ship that was the ship
that was important twelve years ago. Okay, we'll fine. Man,

(07:06):
what happened to day and years? He said? Boy twenty

(07:28):
years know what I'm saying, Stid in fifth grade, sixth grade?
I'm not I'm not, oh man, you alright. Nineteen August fifteen,
nineteen sixty three, nine years after Brown versus the Board

(07:50):
of Education school UH desegregation ruling, thirty two teenagers are
jailed for protesting segregated schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia. Damn,
Prince Edward County. That's the guy that painted his face black? Right?
What's his name? No, my father, politicians, we're don't find
out who it is. And I'll say it learning, but
thanks for reading that. UMBOO to go to a promise,

(08:14):
I'm sure, But go ahead about I'm gonna need one
of those. Seemed like it was a good gesture in
the beginning, right, but it looks like segregation. Desegregation backfired
on us. Yeah, gave up my businesses, weave doing business together,

(08:35):
you know, like I group economics, damn trying to trying
to try something that didn't trying to be a part
of something that did not want us to be a
part of it. Exactly. Oh that was dumb. Yeah, And
the truth pought about it is that the Asian people
came over here and did exactly what we was doing
in the beginning. Like they came to do it and

(08:56):
they're still doing Hispanics are doing it too, But that's
what they did. We we we had to. We we
had the blueprint and gave it away because we wanted
to be friends. Yeah included, yeah, not just my friends. Inclusion. Yeah,
we wanted that elusion of inclusion, insision like that. Damn

(09:21):
Willie report man may a couple of dollars doing it.
M you know, like today in this modern era of
everybody chiming in. Yeah, you guys, you really have a

(09:43):
strong stance on promote family hot important is it? Who
have that type of energy? Uh? I would say from me,
it's extremely important, just because I didn't get evolved in
the entertainment side of this stuff and like music to

(10:07):
this to showcase like, oh, look how talented I am
and know not anybody who has a specific talent and
that that's what you're doing and you're doing your thing.
I got into. I started doing what I'm doing for
the specific reason of giving people who come from where
I come from game that I didn't get when I
was younger. So if I would have seen somebody who

(10:30):
was able to u uh show me something in a
light that I could receive it and pivot my perspective
and help me make sweet of decisions, sooner I would
have did that. I would have listened to that person.
And so I just take the responsibility upon myself. Realizing
that that ain't nobody. There was nobody at the time
when I that I was uh listening to music and

(10:50):
seeing what was going on in entertainment that was doing it.
I said, rather than complain, I'm just gonna do it
myself for people who come from where I come from.
Everybody else that understand and get the music and stuff
like that, it's like, okay, cool, that's a blessing. But
it's not specifically for you. It's for people who come
from places like I come from. So I say that

(11:10):
to say, like I do, I brand and stuff, and
I show the stuff on social media and all the
platforms and stuff so they can see, like, and it
ain't all gotta look one way true because the other
companies they're gonna make it seem like it can only
be done if you do something specifically this way, but

(11:30):
you don't. Really. I'm trying to show people that you
don't got to do it that way. You can do
it whatever that way it is you you did it
on the mede, your own drum broe. I saw it.
I witnessed it. Yeah, how being being out of a weave?
Being out of a how did you stay out of
a remember well he may have been too young, but
they had a gang out there called how did you know?

(11:58):
I know about the southwest Side? Very very well? Yeah,
how did you stay out of ship? That's a lot
of ship in the southwest Side? Yeah, mama, Yeah, well,
well this is a sad part. Even though I had
my mom and my daddy at the crib and they
were like, you know, saying extremely Nigerian. I hadn't extremely
Nigerian experience, I said, your Mama, because I like the way. Yeah.

(12:20):
So even though I had the extremely Nigerian UH experience
at the CRIB, I actually got involved in a lot
of things I shouldn't have got involved in. Yeah, yeah,
but but it was because I was. I was out
here trying to find myself, figure out who I was,
figure out how I was gonna roll what what principles
I I still know. You know, in the Nigerian UH household,

(12:42):
it's not real. It's not a whole bunch of like
birds and the bees talks and ain't a whole bunch
of like uh. The life lessons that you know, I'm saying,
the life lessons and stuff that you get in the
Nigerian household is um like a lot of You get
a lot of dead supplant and a lot of emotional stuff.

(13:02):
It's like, look, let me give you the foundation for
how you can be successful, how you can like learn
and not make no excuses for why stuff ain't going
your way. You gotta you know what I'm saying, stay
to it, perseverance, that type of stuff. But it wasn't
a whole lot of it wasn't a whole lot of
other stuff that you need as a human being to
like figure out how to navigate through life. So I
was learning that from my homies. But I'm learning from

(13:26):
homies who don't got no father. They ain't got no
daddy at the crib, so they learned from TV. Yeah. Yeah.
So so it's like a whole bunch of like you
know what I'm saying, blind leading the blind type situation.
So I was out there doing a whole bunch stuff
I ain't had no business doing. Uh, But eventually I
was able to run into some people who uh could

(13:47):
get me good guide that's good, like perspective, good with
stuff like that. Podcast will be right back after. Now
did you run into Fat or did you meet Fat?
I met Fat? Yeah, man, we want to hear that.

(14:11):
I mean, come on, I met Toby And um was
the two thousand and eleven I think around like two
thousand and eleven. Um, I had just moved to Houston
in two thousand and two, and I was like church hopping,
trying to find, you know, a church to go to.
And I came to Higher D and he was working

(14:31):
for the church. Um, you gotta stop saying that you
don't like how to say that. But I wasn't getting paid.
You were getting paid. He he was volunteering at the differently,
ain't getting no money if you pour And then you
know what I'm saying, You here doing all stuff and
they still don't give you no money. You know what
I'm saying. But they know I ain't gonna say. They

(14:52):
have still got my hand. He was working. He was
there volunteering UM with like the Young Adult Ministry and
stuff like that, and so I saw him and then UM,
we came a little bit later that night and he

(15:12):
had like they were doing like some mixer or whatever,
and he invited me and my friends back to UM
your nonprofit meeting because he had a nonprofit UM. And
so we came to the meeting and then I saw him,
and then I eventually like started to like volunteering and
getting the mix a little bit, volunteering to get closer

(15:34):
to well actually yes and no, yes and no. UM.
When I saw him at the meeting, I feel like
God told me that that was my husband, right like,
and I had just seen him and UM, so then
I'm like, okay, cool, let me see what he's talking
about and he was not interested in me at all.

(15:55):
She just wasn't this version of fact, and I had
a specific thing. Yeah, she just wasn't what I was
looking for. At the time, I had in my mind
exactly what it was that I was looking for, and
I wasn't in a space where I was trying to
leave nobody on and make nobody feel like. Look, I

(16:15):
just wasn't playing the game. I'm like, hey, listen, listen.
If you ain't there, then we don't need to be
talking like that. So I wouldn't you don't need to
be talking like that whole hundred percent. And I then
I gave her that exact energy. And so did that
make you want to be with him even more? Well? No,
it was more so like, Okay, well, God, maybe I

(16:37):
embellished what you said because he is attractive. So maybe
I'm just supposed to be helping him or being, you know,
a part of the nonprofit in some type of way,
shape or form. So that's what I come on, man. Man,
that's that's that's good. That's that's good. That's good information

(16:58):
right there. That that is that is good energy. So
so you see, so you told God, well, maybe I'm
not supposed to be with him intimately, maybe romantically. Maybe
this is just supposed to be. I'm supposed to be
a helpmate from a platonic stamp spirits, right, right, And
so then I just started volunteering and literally doing all
that I was able to do to help push the movement,

(17:20):
and um, we became really good friends, like really solid
close friends, and then um, he were just he just
tried to have a relationship with me at one point
and we got we got into a relationship. I know,
I didn't know how to transition. How do you just

(17:41):
try to have a rep I said that all the
way wrong. Okay, wait I didn't. I didn't say that right.
So we got really close and really good friends, and
he saw that I was a really solid person, like
I loved him, like just loved him, and he was like, okay,
well let me let me see if they could be more.
And so then we got into relationship and it lasted

(18:01):
all of like six months. Um, I was on cloud
nine and he was just like, I'm not really in
it like that. Well I got involved. I got involved
when I first when we first started talking like that,
because I was like, man, all right, she extremely solid
let me see if I can like work up to
like loving her like she loved me, and I would

(18:23):
probably one of the dumbest things I could have ever
dig I'm like, bro, if you ain't that's one thing
I would tell people, like, if you ain't feeling it
like that, and don't do it, like, don't try to
force it and try to like because somebody is such
a solid person, like you want to like, oh man,
all right, well I don't want to, you know what
I'm saying, miss out on the good things. So I
was like, let me see if it could happen. And
then after six months, I was like, yeah, everything. I

(18:45):
felt bad just because every time I would look at it,
it's like you could she had, like I'm talking about
you could see it don't matter what I was like,
yes to what I would be like uh, and she'd like, man,
just be like, man, I don't feel that way, and
I could and I could see I could feel that

(19:05):
she felt that way, and I was just like, yeah,
we don't need to be together because you you really
deserve somebody who feel like like you feel about me,
like about you, and I don't feel like and I
feel bad because I could see like she really like
was like um emotionally there. So what happened to make
you make the turn? Uh? So after we split up,

(19:30):
we stopped talking for like a whole year, like like
no conversation at all, like no text, no platonic, no nothing.
And then after like a year, I don't know what
the event was or where I seen seen her at
uh how it came back, but we was like on
some extremely like platonic stuff where we was just cool.

(19:51):
Then I started realizing what I started seeing, how she
just started doing for herself, like she wasn't like because
when we were together, I was trying to like incur
at your to be low key. It was like I
was trying to get her to like be more like me,
be more aggressive towards like be more like uh ambitious
and all that type of stuff. And I started seeing

(20:11):
like after that year that she would started doing stuff
for herself. But it wasn't like in a it wasn't
like a like me type thing where it was like
she was like extremely ambitious. She just started moving towards
what it is that she wanted to do, Like she
started uh teaching art, she started uh, she she was
doing her art more she loved. She a painter. She
would uh she draws. She paints like top level though,

(20:34):
like you know what I'm saying, Like she really really good,
like naturally no school and no none of that. And
she became uh, well, y'all can tell them about the
school that hired you. She didn't have like no degree
or nothing like that, and was teaching at the school
as an art teacher. That's how talented she was. And
I was like, oh man, I ain't gonna call the
people on the people. That's crazy. That's crazy. Yeah, but

(20:55):
she don't worked in the moments. She ain't gonna never
go back to work like that in anyway, So it's
over now. So she was working, she was working at
the school. Uh and we't gonna say the school though,
but yeah, but so she was doing all that doing
stuff for herself. And then we just like became cool again.
And then I got and as we came uh but
kept uh coming more close and closer for lack of

(21:16):
better term, because I ain't it ain't sounding eloquent right
now as what I'm saying that, but anyway, as we
became more close, I like got revelation, like three different
areas one of the areas was uh I always say,
I used to always say that she was a solid option,
but I didn't feel like she was the best option.
And we went to this one event where it was
like all the options that I had met in Houston

(21:37):
in one place at one time. It was the craziest
situation and uh Fat was there. And it was the
first time ever in my life that I didn't feel
like having no conversations when nobody else outside of fact
so much so that I was like, a fact, if
you if you don't mind, would you like uh played
me a little closer? Don't nobody else come up to
me and asked me no questions and it was like

(21:57):
one of the and it was just just say. It
was like it was some people that I had either
wanted to talk to I thought UH talk to at
one point in time or something like that. They was
all in the building, Uh, all these different women, and
I didn't want to be close. I didn't want to
have conversations with not one of them. So I had
to be honest with myself, and UH, I asked myself, like,

(22:19):
all right, cool, you say that she a solid option,
but when all the options were present, this is the
only person that you wanted to be close to. So
I had to be honest with myself and say, all right,
cool out of everybody. I can't lie to myself. I
want to talk to her more, and I want to
talk to anybody else. That was the first revelation. Second
one was always said like I love fat, but it's

(22:40):
like that like I'm not in love with you. I
love you, but it's like like I know you, you
know me type love. And my homie had to uh
break the whole little concept of love that I had
in my mind. He was like, yo, Western society has
made you feel like in love it's a thing, and
it's and it's like that's a man made concept. He said,

(23:00):
if you can honestly say that you love or even
if you want to do your uh get uh spiritual
or spiritual whatever? Uh he say uh when they asked, uh,
Jesus was the two greatest commandments. Love your neighbor guy
with all your heart, and then love your neighbor as yourself,
he said. And if love is a command, they don't
got nothing to do with feelings. You can't command feelings.

(23:21):
I can't be like, hey, uncle would be sad, right,
now I would sound stupid, right, So once you understand
that love don't got nothing to do with feelings, and
it's a choice and it's a command, and it's like, okay, yeah,
if I can honestly say that, yo, I love her,
and that in itself is enough and you ain't gotta
have all and all the like little uh euphoric feelings,

(23:42):
all the little butterflies and stuff that that that's because
that's really what I was on. I wanted somebody who
I feel like, you hang't gonna no, you hang up like.
That's what I was really looking for, that that little
feeling and in the in the consistency of that feeling.
But it's like I didn't really get that until I
ain't really get that with Fat until I got engaged,
until we got engaged and we got married, and then

(24:02):
it was like, oh, man, like I feel like I
died without you type stuff, but I ain't had like all.
But before that it was just like I really just
looked like rid of die type stuff. So once I
understood that love was a command and the choice that
broke the uh, that was the second thing I got revelation.
And then the third thing was what was the third

(24:22):
thing that I always wanted to be with somebody that
I deemed healthy. You know, Nigerians we got a real
uh uh strong concept of like who we are, like
especially evil people. We got a lot of pride and
like well we you know what I'm saying, it's it's
a lot of that. So in my mind as I
thought about my future, I was like, I want to

(24:42):
pick somebody that I deemed healthy. In fact got sickle cell. No,
not nobody that got sickle cell. But I was just like,
for my I don't believe Oh also, I don't believe
in like um soul mates, I don't believe in that.
I believe in you choose who you want to be
with and then you of the covenant, like you just
make the choice to like stay true to what you

(25:04):
said you was gonna do in sickness and all the
stuff that you they read and you said, all right, cool, Yeah,
I just believe that you follow that and that's that's
your soul. Whoever you signed the thing too that I
just believe like that. So I so I always felt
like if I get to choose, and I want to
choose who I want to be with, you know what
I'm saying, and I always feel like I wanna be
with somebody who I deemed healthy, and guy got on
my head. I was like, what make you think you

(25:25):
know what healthy really is? What? Uh, what makes you
think you can't just go out and get somebody that
you deemed healthy and they die in a car crash
or uh get hit by a straight bullet or something
like that. And it was like, Okay, I don't really
understand the concept of uh health like that, and why
would I be out here looking for the next best

(25:45):
thing when the best thing is here with me. So
once I had revelation in those three areas, I had
no problem hitting up and be like, hey, I wanna
be with you and she but it had been so
long since we had even talked like that that she
didn't really believe me when I said that, Like she
was like, okay, stop, what you can tell? You know
what I'm saying? How you respond to when I told

(26:05):
you that? I just didn't think you were serious? And yeah,
I didn't think he was that serious because I mean
it was we had the long friendship and like you know,
throughout the friendship, it was like as he, uh, you
know what I mean? That type of thing. And so
then like when we got in together, I was like, Okay, cool,
we're about to this about to be a thing. And

(26:26):
he broke up with me. So then I was like, ah, no,
I'm not going to play these games with you. Once
that year went by, I was like and when he
started trying to come back around, I was like, no,
I'm good. And then I have had a close friend
at the time she was like, don't be so like,
don't be like so closed off. So we become bitter. Um,

(26:50):
if he's showing you something different, just watch him, and
he was. He was extremely different, um from like all
our past situation, and so I just began to watch
him and it opened my heart back up to being
in a relationship with him. It was a big part
of your acceptance of finally surrendering to the relationship, the

(27:14):
fact that that was independent, moving on our own, not
looking for help, doing something positive, you know, in the community.
It's not one of the things that you did. Did
you not want to miss out on that? It seemed
like she had it together and you didn't want to
miss out on that. Not that I don't want to
miss out on that. On that I didn't want to

(27:35):
miss out on her specifically because I knew for a
fact that she loved me for me, because the whole,
the whole, that whole time period, I didn't have nothing,
and I was broke, Like I had vision and stuff
like that, but I was I was in poverty. Like

(27:55):
she would give me her last And I come from
what this was so crazy. So I come from such
a like, uh, impoverished mindset that like she are you good?
I come from such an impoverished mindset that she would
let me hold something. She wouldn't let me hold something,
she would give it. She would give me something, well

(28:17):
it was money, food, whatever, And in my mind, I'm thinking,
all right, I need to hurry up and get whatever
so I can pay her back, because I know in
the back of her mind she's thinking, I R it's
been about two or three with and I would like
make mention of it lightly and she'd be like, yeah,
I gave you that. You don't have to pay me
back for that. And she would always tell me stuff

(28:39):
like that. I'm like, oh, man, I know you're just
saying that. And I would make like like jokes and stuff.
She was like, yeah, you'll be doing that a lot.
I don't know why you do that because like that's
your own thing, Like I get when I give you stuff,
I'm not looking for blah blah blah blah. And it
took me a while to even just like except that that, oh,
she really just fool with me for me, and that's
like all right, cool, I don't want to miss out

(29:00):
on that because it's rare to find somebody who just
it don't matter what it is that you do, whether
I was doing because I wasn't doing the music stuff.
I was just volunteering. I was broke, and she was like,
yeah that this this is what I want to be with,
and it's like, okay, cool, if if if that's if
that's if that's the truth, then okay, then I need
This is what I truly need and it's what I

(29:22):
really want, you know what I'm saying. So to your point,
you hadn't always done music, you just football? Start in
high school? He played ball? And did you play ball?
Was a football start in college? To college? Fayeah? Yeah?
You intee kind of what is the University of North

(29:48):
Texas North the northern part of UTU. You must got
more letters so you know you know, okay, but but
did you injured? You got it in how how man,
how did that impact your psyche? You know, like you
got injured and you know you had these aspirations to go,

(30:10):
you know, playing the league. You know, that's the that's
the only actual dream I ever had in my life.
This musical stuff and this entertainment stuff don't have nothing.
People really be like they really be on something like, man,
he living his dream, his dreams are coming true. I'm like, nah,
I wanted to be the next Ray Lewis. That's it.
That's the that's the that was like. So when the
people just come and talk to the school and he
be like, yeah, you might want to have a backup

(30:30):
plan because football don't always work out for everybody. I
used to be like, yeah, everybody that's not good on
this team, he's talking to y'all, I'm gonna yeah, I'm
gonna hit the league. Yeah. So that was the only
dream I ever had. So when it didn't happen, I
had to figure out, all right, who was told outside
of told the football player? And I had to like
really disconnect from the many of the world and figure out,
all right, what is my specific purpose? And it took

(30:52):
me like a long time, a year or so to
really be able to even articulate that my purpose is
to be a kind with to the realization of purpose
in other people's lives. And whatever vehicle guy got me
have a similar story and even a not like I played.
I played football. Also I was. I wasn't lying back.
You played football, and this is serious ship, this real

(31:13):
ship serious. When I played football, I was a kid.
I'm gonna leave the league. Come on, come on, Brad.

(31:35):
So same same same scenario, same story. Um, I was
a band, I was a nice running back, and they
hit my ass with that no pass, no play. Yeah,
and oh that's when they just came out. I don't
want my last time, it's my last time talking, told

(31:58):
me again. I like. But but that no pass, no
play kind of screwed me over because like, I wasn't
really in the school. The only reason why I went
to school is to play football, right and then and
then I rapped on the side. I was gonna play football,
and I was gonna rap because he was rapping back then,
twenty five years ago. To believe it or not, but
I was a really good rapper two and I was
a really good football playing, so to no pass. No

(32:19):
playing put me to the point where I didn't even
want to go to school no more. I dropped out
of school. I was just that fairly with schools. I
can't play football, I don't want to go. So from
from there, I was forced to do the same thing
to to put put down put my life down in words.
So we share similar journeys. Bro. I wanted to play football.

(32:41):
That was my first love. I just knew for a
fact I was gonna be the next Earl Campbells. That
was fat. Did you ever want to do anything other
than what you're doing there? Um? I mean my story
is a little bit different. I grew up like my mom.
My mom's a single mother and it was six of us,

(33:05):
and so, um, she did a phenomenal job at always
telling me I could literally do whatever I wanted to do,
and so I had my my mind was open to
whatever I wanted to do. So I was trying all
these different things and I was good at all of them,
and I didn't like eat none of them. And so

(33:25):
then I was just like, all right, cool, I'm gonna Um.
I just like up and moved to Houston with my
best friend at the time from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Yep,
uh yeah, yea, And um, you know, I had done

(33:45):
some schooling and stuff, but I hated I hated college. Um,
I was good at it, but I just it was
something I just I didn't I just didn't like it.
And so I just I just felt like, I just
don't want to say that because I just I believe
that if that, if schooling is for you and education

(34:07):
for you, do it. I just felt like it was
a waste of my time because I felt like what
I was supposed to be doing I could do. I
could I could lock in and do that specifically, I
don't have to do all these different subjects that I'm
not gonna do nothing with, you know what I mean.
That's how I feel about when I was going through

(34:28):
my reading write yeah, and I feel like what I
was trying to do wasn't like it wasn't healthcare, wasn't law,
wasn't you know, those type of fields where you actually
need that information. It was just I feel like it
was just gonna take my money. And so, um, I
my best friend at the time got to teach and

(34:48):
fellowship and she was like, hey, you trying to go
and we had always talked about going. So I told
my family I was leaving, and um, they didn't believe
me because nobody left, Like we just didn't leave, We
just we were all there. And so, um, when I
was leaving, the dare was even nobody came to like
say nothing to me. My god, Mom drove me to
Detroit to the airport. I left Michigan with a duffel

(35:12):
bag of my clothes and sixties seven dollars in my
pocket and left. And I haven't had to go back
and live at home at all, because I, you know,
did what I wanted to do, and that was get
out of get out of the hamster wheel. Like that's
that's what I always wanted to do. I didn't want
to become another statistic. So it's not like I wanted

(35:33):
to be like this athlete or this phenomenal. It was
I don't want to be a statistic. I gotta change
something so that I don't end up like that. And
so I did, and I moved to Houston, and I
just kind of like found my way. But what was
the connection to Houston? But it was just random. It

(35:54):
was my my friend at the time, she got a
teaching fellowship, and it was like they gave her like
maybe like for six cities that she could go to
our states that she go to, and um Texas and
Houston was one of them. And I was like, oh,
the weather is good there, Let's go very young. Yeah,
I wouldn't encourage nobody else to just say what the

(36:15):
weather is in a certain place. We moved, We moved,
she went down there, I'm telling you. And that's why
every time we go back, I was like, I want
to go where the heat is every single time we go. Yeah, absolutely,
every time we go back to the Grand Rapp. But
I'm constantly trying to convince all of you know, y'all,
y'all could just like you ain't gotta do this. You

(36:43):
got to say, oh, I'm talking about random people on
the street. You know you ain't. There's other places in
America and you could just leave and just go. You know,
you can right go go to Detroit, go to anywhere
outside of Grand Rappers. No, no offense to anybody from
the from g rap You know what I'm saying, I
fool with You'll have brobably the best name. You know
what I'm saying. Uh, since Floyd out of Grand Rappids.

(37:05):
But it's just not a place for me in minevoting
podcast will be right back after the poet. A lot
of things have changed for you guys over the last
maybe three years or so. It's your rise has been METIORC.

(37:27):
Just watching you guys are doing. Every time I look around,
y'all got to be tearwards y'all on some type of commercial.
I heard you that you just signed up for the
Transformers movie, not signed up, that they already shot you
were Transforming. Say I'm the man, they say I'm a
new tree. Come on, I'm like getting need to shave

(37:48):
it off. But they say, can you talk about the row?
Oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah yeah. It's a real role.
Though it ain't like bro, it's a transform It ain't
one of those This is like yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

(38:09):
yeah yeah yeah, real life by ten pages. I ain't
gonna hold you. Yeah. First acting role we've never been in. Nothing,
wasn't even in the school play. They said I wasn't
good enough. I feel with Michael Jordan be saying about
high school stuff. Yeah I couldn't get into school play.
But now you know saying yeah, Stephen Capel Jr. I

(38:30):
that's the first black director for Transformers. He was the
one who had a Paramount hit me up yeah Canada
for Yeah, yeah, we shouted in Montreal. But this is why,
this why I got a loving respect for Paramount though,
because when they asked me to do the role and
I did, I really wanted to do the role, but
I told him I can't come, and let's my whole

(38:51):
family come and they said, all right, cool, it's it's cool.
Everybody could come. So we was all in Montreal. Yeah, yeah,
it was all getting it in first time ever, the
first time in Canada. And yeah, they really think Montreal
as France for some reason. It's they really be out
there like this is I'm like, you know this Canada
but this Yeah, they really feel like his friends. Beautiful

(39:12):
family man family, family, family, and I admired it man. Yeah.
And then that was two, and then that was five.
I looked around up the five kids come from. No,
we got three kids? Now we got three, three kids
three and under three years. Yeah, three under three, that's
what we had. Yeah, but not like you just hearing
three though. Yeah, we got three under three. Yeah. So

(39:32):
we're backing back, yeah, back to back to back. Yeah,
so they all be grown together and you get your
house back. Yeah, we don't have a couple more. Yeah,
we gotta go. You know what I'm saying. How many
sisters and brothers do you have? I'm one of six
and okay, so y'all come from Yeah, relatively speaking, relatively speak,
I guess. I guess five six is kind of medium. Yeah,

(39:57):
it's large. Would be more like nine ten. Yeah, that's
what I'm head. You know, Nigerians they get acting bad.
How many you got one? Right? One sister? Yeah? Um no,
I got zena. I can't say your name complicated? Yeah fine, yeah,

(40:23):
but my mom only got one. Yeah. I don't like
seeing people names. They'll be like, so your brother yea,
please please bleep my sisters name out of there. Come
get to check check you said my name? Mother? Hey,

(40:46):
so the babies, yes, do you guys? You gotta did
you guys property? You know what I'm saying. What I'm saying,
y'all grown? Yeah, a little older than that, I said.

(41:06):
Oh man, wow, that's a legendary. Oh boy, that's the babies. Yes, sir,
do y'all want the babies to be because y'all feel
them a lot, you know, like I see him like that,
I'm um open to whatever they feel like God is

(41:29):
telling them that their purpose is. I don't. I don't
want to put them in any type of box because
that's not my life. But if you're confident that you
know that's what you're supposed to be doing, then okay,
let's figure this out. You know. But right now we
can see, we can see artistic and creative and like
music abilities, and all of them are as as young

(41:50):
as they are, so it's just awayn gag. Really yeah,
So I feel like whatever their purpose is, like figure
that out and then do that. I would prefer that
they didn't do in a tainment and stuff like that
just because of what comes with it. Well, let me
tell you. I say like this, I wouldn't mind them
doing entertainment stuff if they knew exactly who they was, yeah,

(42:10):
and what they that's literally our goals. Yeah, as long
as you know who you are and what your purpose
is and like you know what I'm saying, how to
operate in this world, like you can do whatever it
is that you want to do. Yeah, but but with
with entertainment stuff and with popularity and with fame and
stuff like that comes it's a lot of stuff that
if you're not really mentally prepared for, spiritually prepared for. Yeah, yeah,

(42:33):
they can hit you with the oaky dog real quick
and you'll fall for it just because you you know,
saying got some like gaping hold and what it is
that you're supposed to be doing. You don't have any trepidations,
both of you. I does you have any trepidation about
your kids? Yeah? Yeah, we get that. That's a trick

(42:58):
right there. Yeah, I talk, let me talk, come on,
But do y'all have any trepidation about the kids being attacked?
Because you know, it's a lot of trolls and just
holes out there who would attack innocent children just to

(43:18):
try just because they're jealous of the kids and they're
jealous of what their parents do. You know who they
think about stuff like that. Because I am a very
serious person when it comes to being mine. I'm just
a very serious person. And I have no problem throwing hand, No,

(43:42):
not throwing hand. I have no problem dying for what
I believe. I will die peace. I'm at my last
little breath. That's good. I feel at peace dying for
what I believe, and I believe you. I believe like
zero fear. Yeah, I'm not worried. I'm not. I'm not

(44:05):
worried or concerned about that, only because we don't we
don't just be having our kids around a whole bunch
of like people that don't mean it's good, you know
what I mean, Like we keep our circle tight with
our children, and they don't like so on social media,
Like I don't even look at the comments like it

(44:26):
really that much about it, because I know it's always
people in there that are hurting. And then they'll just
project project, project check, and I'm just like, I'm not.
I'm not. I'm not here for that, here for none
of that. I'm not here for that. So how do
you know if the people are feeling what you're doing?
If you're not going to read me, you know, I
keep I keep the temperature on that. Yeah, I keep

(44:47):
the temperature on that, and and I pay attention to
the to the people who it's full. Oh it's gonna
sound bad, and I ain't gonna saying like that. I
say it don't matter. Uh yeah, So if you ain't
from if you ain't let's say, if you don't come
from where I come from, and you ain't experienced the
type of things that I experienced growing up. I truly

(45:08):
don't care about nothing that it is that you're saying.
You're like, yo, I don't know why he was. I'm like, yeah,
I don't care. I don't care if you don't understand
or get or yeah. So it's a lot of people
that's not from where I'm from, who says who might
have an opinion about what it is and I'm doing. Yeah,

(45:31):
And I've gotten to a place where if if it's
too frequent, I'm not I'm gonna save you your energy
and I'm just gonna block you follow me. Yeah, I'm
just gonna block you because you can't do it yourself.
Something in you is like drawing to somebody who's doing
stuff that's not for you, and you really want to
spill all your negativity over here. So I was just like,

(45:53):
all right, let me help you. Let me just block you,
let me just delete your little access to it, so
you don't even have to do that no more. You
could just be happy with whatever it is that you're doing.
You know what I'm saying, And I don't have to
waste time trying to see what what the people that
I'm servicing are trying to receive from us like and
how to like be of better service and have to

(46:14):
like skim through the trash you keep putting out on
you know what I'm saying on this stuff because I'm
really trying to like service my people. Yeah, yeah, you guys.
When you but at you, I'm dope that was the one, right,
That's the one set it off? Right? Yeah? I know
you had other songs before that, because you are you
are already booking your big show and all of that stuff,

(46:36):
and then all of a sudden, I'm dope king I
would say that, how did that song come about? Um?
You know? Yeah? But who hit us up? Earth it was?
It was? Yeah, No, no, what's it Dave to hit
us up first? So Mo, yeah it was Moto Dave.

(46:59):
Y'all was all backstage at a show that Dave had
is either in Houston or somewhere. I don't know where
I was at. No, I told Dave I was with
me and Mo was together. Oh Mo, you hear that
moment now, I said, what you said? The uncle Willie said,
he told now what he used to fight. I don't
know if you wanted to have to take that descripty

(47:20):
of men men MO was together and MO was playing
the music. Unt More was playing your music. We were
we were all backstage somewhere I don't know, but we
were backstage, and I think it was Dave and it

(47:42):
was a lot of people that was other big comedians. Yeah,
but I didn't know more at that time. Yeah, but
I knew you. We had sat down and that I think,
and you hit me up on FaceTime. That's how it happened.
So MO was s playing the music backstage, listening to
the music, and then I facetimed you and then it
was like yo, and then I was telling you about
and about to do the bt uh board for the

(48:05):
first time. But we were about to do bre We
were like the little side show that was two right,
the cipher that wasn't it wasn't a cipher what we
want to sip. No, it wasn't a side. But it
was just like like the days before. It was your
first first appearance on the siphone on the cipher. Yeah. Yeah,

(48:25):
we she mirked it. Thank you appreciate so so so
Dave get it over to Erica. Yes, and then Dereka
she hit us up. You up, you dope. How did
your mom feel about that? Corus? When you said my
mama thought I was he told me, I'm My mama

(48:46):
knew I was telling the truth because this is the
whole time I started doing the entertainment stuff and uh
rapping and all that type of stuff. My mom I'm
talking about consistently. I would come in the house and
be like, hey Mom, what's going on? She was like
to be when we just stop with in your life?
I don't talking about instant. It wasn't even a high.
Hey mom, why do you look so much? It was

(49:09):
like instant, It's like. But she kept that same energy
throughout the whole time where I was trying to build
the build the foundation. But I told her, I said,
hey look mom, listen and she and she could like
she say it herself. I said, listen, when it happens
when all these people started asking you questions, do not

(49:30):
a lot of not now one of these people, make
sure you tell them exactly what just do not make
it seem like yo. I believed in my son. I
knew he died. I don't want to hear none of that.
You tell him exactly what you told me, and you
tell him exactly how I kept pushing through even your comments,
and she, oh yeah, she said something like it seemed

(49:53):
like she was more you know, you know I'm saying
it seemed like she was with ros Yeah, yeah, this
is that. That's the matter. What catn't do if you stay,
you'll I said, you know I'm saying, and I let
you know what I'm saying. It was some moment I
didn't want to take away from it. I just can't.
You gonna tell about that. But it's cool. But yeah,

(50:13):
so so my mom yeah so, but she she kept
saying that and she and she knew it was the truth.
When I said my mama thought I was a joke,
because she definitely did. And she said, what that here
I see her light telling the truth to your song. Yeah.
So yeah, so man, I'm beyond proud of you, bro.
Thank you man. And and and outside of me, me

(50:35):
and a fan, man, I just watched the whole thing.
Was like I had a front row seat to your movement, bro,
and I was like, damn, I love it, bro. I
love it man, I love it. I love him. Thank
you man. That is so beautiful man. And you know
what was even more beautiful, You remain Yeah independent you

(50:57):
remain booking and you know I just started doing yeah,
booking at my own venues and doing this ship myself.
Oh yeah, I'm just starting. Yeah, but I see why. Yeah,
you know what I mean, Like I can actually go
somewhere and call and and and impact the house. Yeah.
But it blew my mind that more people weren't doing

(51:18):
it because even with booking agencies, right, we didn't know
it existed. Yeah, really really really did it first. So
so and and this is my thing, I think me
not having no fore knowledge of the industry, really it
really helped you more than anything. Yeah, because I didn't
know how stuff was supposed to go. So I'm just
a very practical person. So when they say, alright, cool,

(51:38):
we're gonna need a certain percentage two, set your your
tours and your and and get the venues, I'm just like,
all right, cool, tell me why what specifically are y'all doing.
They're like, oh, yeah, we're gonna call the venue to
make sure that they got the dates and that I
said I could call the playbol If that's we're just

(52:01):
calling the people just the number. Yeah, I ain't even
gonna ask you if you're just up the venue what's
the number. And then I see the number and I'm
gonna call you myself. I'm like, so what am I
giving you a percentage for? And they couldn't make it
make sense for me at I'm just like, all right, y'all,
gotta make it make sense because in my mind, I
just don't I don't understand why you would get that

(52:22):
type of percentage off of all of my even my
uh merch ideas. I'm just like, you get a percentage
of all that for calling the people. And I was
just like, yeah, yeah, Unfortunately I ain't gonna be able
to do it. And then I just kept on like,
come on, man, laughing. This is great though, because it's

(52:42):
it's so good for other independent artists to hear this
coming from an independent artist that's successful. Your successful, bro.
I freaking know you, bro, I know you bro, so
dope man. I'm I'm so impressed man, And I'm just

(53:02):
grateful to have UH artists that come up up under
us that are so dope and and doing their things
and they don't have, you know, big brother hand on them.
You know what I'm saying, Like the powers that bees
hand their hands not on you. They can't control your movement.
See what I'm saying. You get on your bus, you
go to your venue that you booked out yourself, and

(53:24):
they cut you a check at the end of the night.
That's how you do it. I love it, man, And
that is important for all these independent artists to know
that if you're dope. Yeah that if you're dope, come
on and you gotta show and people want to see you.
You out of there, Hey man, you could do it.

(53:45):
It's a done deal. It's a done deal. Man. When
people are bragging on y'all show, you know, your visuals
and stuff like that, people shows body, body itself, they
be like, ain't going nobody, don't go by myself. When
when people when people bragg on your show and stuff
like that, back on your visuals, do you guys understand, like, oh, unique,

(54:08):
what you guys are doing? Do you do? You do
you think it ain't no big deal? At first? I
at first I used to feel like it's not no
big deal, bro, you know what I'm saying. And I
used to feel like that because I'm like, yo, it's
not like extremely elaborate or like this is why I
was trippling, because it ain't really cost us a lot. Yeah,

(54:31):
some of the stuff, but it ain't cost us a
lot to do something like yeah, it's it's cool, it's
it's different, but it was we were forced to be
different than that man because we ain't had no resources,
so we had to get creative, like all right, how
can we make this different than everybody else? Stuff? And
people like receive a certain way. So I used to
really feel like early on like it ain't no big deal,

(54:54):
but not atout, thank you. But but now, like you
know what I'm saying, I understand exactly what it is
that I'm doing. I fully am aware, like okay, this
is extremely special. And then like with the partnership and
like hearing stuff from uh legends, like y'all uh legends,
like you know what I'm saying for real in them,

(55:15):
and being able to partner with Beyonce for the Ivy
Park stuff, and just like being able to make like
make these different connections. I'm like, oh, okay, cool. I
thought it was I thought it was just I I
thought it was cool we're doing something different. But now
I understand exactly how special it is because like the
were hidden different were getting different types of relationships. We're

(55:36):
able to make different types of things happened. I'm like, Okay,
there's nobody doing what it is that we're doing, and
I'm like, oh, and it takes a different level of
integrity and character to do it, Like it is like
not just talent, but you gotta have the integrity and
the character to move like we're moved into. So it's
not just about like, oh, I'm rapping sweet or fattest
saying uh rapping sweet, Like we really believe the stuff

(55:57):
that we're saying, and we really move how we you know,
what I'm saying, how we put it out there. So
it's like it's very rare that you can find people
people that move like us in today's society. What's your
energy level compared to two thousand and seventeen when you
got out there, Jim, when you what's that energy level

(56:20):
and your motivational level? I got you. It's very simple.
I got a wife and kids playing. Yeah, now I
got a wife and kids. So I moved as if
like what they experience in life depends on it. I
was just able to take my kids and my wife.
It was the first time ever going overseas. A couple

(56:40):
of weeks ago, we went to Milan, Italy through the
relationship that we established with for Real. For Real looked
out for us and said, listen, I designed something for
can we talk about I was just like you, I
don't know if he's supposed to be say, don't matter,
all right, so I ain't gonna say the whole thing,
but something I want you to go over there and
like holding out and it was a whole gig and everything,

(57:02):
and it allowed my execution and what it is that
we're doing allowed me to provide my family with experience
that we would never have unless I was doing what
I'm supposed to be doing. So yeah, so I'm moved
with that type of mindset, like I need to do
what I need to do at the highest level because

(57:25):
like I'm shaping all my kids, like my my wife.
I'm talking. We had a phenomenal experience eight food. Ain't
feeling no GMOs, nothing like that type of stuff in
the food we eat, like you could taste the freshness.
We were just in the Milano streets, were out there talking.
We full fledged and the galleons, Oh that's uh a

(57:48):
negro in Italy. Yeah, yeah, I'm I'm in. Then you
ain't gotten no more, it's time for you to go.
How would you like to be remembered as somebody who
died empty out about just say, you don't know what
I wanted? Yeah, yeah, somebody who died empty, who ain't

(58:12):
leaving no potential on the table. I'm gonna do it
like that, somebody who walked out empty evenly I'm nothing.
You're not dying, bro, just walking out empty, didn't leave
nothing on the table. Man. We see a whole lot
of the same views man and man Like, I say,
I really appreciate you coming out and talk with us,
Willie um Man. This was great that, you know, this

(58:35):
was really this was really his whole movement. He was like,
what you're thinking about Toby? I like what we should
have been at him? On him? Man, damn, I'm gonna
call you know, Toby Toby people these days thankfully next
to him at culture very and then somebody was trying

(58:56):
to wine and dine, he was like, yeah, swing, so
give me this, give me this, give me this, give
me this, and then come try and talk to talk
like yeah, yeah, yeahs back then, man, I didn't love
how he handled that situation, you know, because they were

(59:18):
trying to court me at the same time. You can't
court two different people at the same time. But and
this is my thing. I'll say this because at the
end of the day, we really don't be doing a
whole lot of interviews and stuff like that, because at
the core of my being, I truly don't care about
coming and sitting down and talking with people like that.
But I really do. I really got a lot of love,

(59:40):
especially for Uncle Willy. But but you don't like me
like we didn't. We didn't, we didn't locked in a
little a little different set down like topped games and
stuff and we did uh at that time, and uh coach,
But y'all are really legends. And I got a lot
of respect for like what y'all done in the industry
three and like how y'all still have stayed together. And

(01:00:02):
I know, like people go through stuff. Life happened, situations happened,
and I got a lot of respect for how y'all move,
how ya operate, like y'all doing yawn your own podcasts.
And you know what I'm saying. I know, Uh, I
just got a lot of respect and a lot of love.
Appreciate falling out you know, Willie. Willie has always been uh,

(01:00:23):
my big brother. Well, I talked a lot of ship
about Willie. When I see him, I don't speak to him.
You've seen it, everybody in the room seven. Yeah, but
that's my big brother, man. I appreciating him and just love.
We have never felt out even when he left the group.
I wouldn't, man. You know how some people lead a
group to be mad at him. And Willie left the group,

(01:00:44):
I wouldn't even mad. I like he wasn't mad. He
just said in one of his songs, we lost the
member back in December. I go with it, lost the
member back in Yeah, I remember that ship. I love you.

(01:01:07):
I gotta go. What are you on one? Right now?
Thank you? Now we're done, man, we're done. But thank
you man, thank you, Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen. Don't
be in the weak way on gentlemen, my tica, the
man I am d in the building. I am so
proud of you, bro, like I saw it, I saw

(01:01:28):
the whole man. You know, William might be better friends
than me and you is. But that's not for long. Man.
I'm gonna start calling this ship. We're gonna try to
get you in the crypto. I'm already like you already.
This episode was produced by A King and brought to
you by the Black Effect Podcast Network at I Heart

(01:01:51):
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