September 12, 2024 • 41 mins
The Breakfast Club Sits Down With DeMar DeRozan To Discuss His New Memoir 'Above the Noise,' Compton & Toronto, Drake & KDot, And Kobe Bryant. Listen For More!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club Morning.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Everybody is the j Envy Jesse Hilarious, Charlamagne to God.
We are the Breakfast Club. Justice on maternity leave. Laura
la Ross is feeling in and we got a special
guest in the building. Comptence, finest ladies and gentlemen, Demal
de Rose and welcome man.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
It's honor man, my brother doing good. How you doing?
Speaker 4 (00:20):
And blessed black and hoghly favored man. You new book
out above the Noise, My Story of Chasing Calm.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
I love that title.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
When I hear that title, I know a man that's
doing the work on himself.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Man, trying. Man, it's definitely a challenge, something that's not easy.
Take time, it's patience. Gotta give yourself grace. You know,
we go through a lot of stuff. You know that
we we sweep under the rug, and a lot of
times by the time we figured it out, we we
deep in. And it takes a lot of work to
try to figure that out. So, you know, just trying
to expire, get the message out there, and just try
(00:52):
to break the stigma. More than more than anything, I.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Love what you said in The New York Times about
how more athletes need to open up about their mental
health and basically you said the need to show their
Clark Kent side.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Yeah, yeah, man, everybody look at us like we're just
superhero so much.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Without doubt, I'll dunk on you.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
You can't even test the net, can't take you serious.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
And it's definitely, you know, I think for me, you know,
I look at it. We fall in love with a
lot of superheroes because who they you know, who they
are at night? You know, we we never appreciate the
person before they put on the mask, and a lot
of times we carry that mask more than anything, you know,
even me to this day. That's one thing I'm trying
to break. You know. It's tough when you gotta you
(01:40):
gotta kind of be two different people, you know, and
sometimes you forget the most important person at times and
put yourself in it in a deep depression at times,
and it's tough to get out of.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
I want to I want to know your journey when
it came to the NBA, right because growing up as
a kid, there wasn't as many leagues where it was training.
We just kids played in the park and the good
kid with the high school played on a high school team,
playing in college. But now it seems like everything is
foreseen as training, you gotta train, train six days a week,
Lamar Olderman. In all those days to play park, they went
(02:10):
to rut and play ball and kept the moving. So
what was your journey getting too the league? And explain
to some of the kids out there who have that
dream how difficult it was to get there.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
First of all, like you said, like growing up, like
we didn't know nothing about training. It was all like
if I go to the play at the park from
sun up to sundown, that's what I'm gonna be able
to do. You know, That's what I'm gonna do. It's
in the backyard, if it's making a crate playing basketball,
Like my aspiration was always trying to escape from my
reality with sports, you know what I mean, whether we
played football in the streets, whatever, whatever it may be.
(02:40):
You know, we use sports as a gateway, you know,
for peace. And for a long time, you don't even
consider like working out. You just want to hoop, you know.
So as you get older, it becomes more difficult when
you got to take those necessary steps to you know,
evolve into a true basketball So it's definitely a long road,
(03:02):
you know, and especially now, I can't even imagine what
social media and so much stuff that's in front of
these kids. Now you basically famous by the time you know,
you in middle school, you know, So it's definitely difficult
these days, more more so than ever. When before it
just used to be about the game.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
When did you realize you were you were that good
to make it to the league. Because as a kid,
everybody thinks they Jordan, everybody thinks they Kobe, everybody thinks
they every player that they ever imagined. When did you know, like, oh,
I got a shot.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
When it was a true real life belief.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Probably by the time I was probably like in the
nineteenth grade, when it was like, all right, if I
keep working at this, I maybe I still maybe have
a chance. But for me, everything was still felt so
far fetched because you know, you didn't know nothing about college.
I didn't have nobody in my family go d one,
So even just going to college was a big thing, like, man,
(03:54):
I gotta at least make it to college, like damn
the league. College was more so the the big obstacle
for me to make it to there. So by the
time my senior year, I know I was going to
SC I knew, I know it was a chance for
after that for me to go pro for sure.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
What about your father, because I love seeing black men
celebrate their fathers. And you dedicated the book to your father,
Frank de Rosen. What was some of the values he contributed,
you know.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
And still to your to your upbringing, not just as
a man, more than anything, you know, he taught me
the art of hard working, resiliency, being a man more
so than anything. And one thing growing up that he always,
you know, preached to me that you know, we was
growing up in a cruel society. So he prepared me
(04:39):
on on how to deal with that more so than anything,
how to deal with white folks. Yeah, just period. My
dad was from the country. He was from the South
so Vdelia. It's a small in Louisiana, a small, small,
small town. Remember when I was a kid, he first
took me there. He showed me cotton fields and all
this stuff. It was it was crazy. They still boiled
their water to take baths, you know what I mean.
(05:00):
So that was real humbling for me at a young age,
especially being from Compton, going to go see the you know,
the countryside of my dad, but he showed me just
the importance of hard work, sticking to your word, and
you know, everything that he went through, he never complained.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Is your dad one of the old g's that brought
them horses to Compton? That's the good No, he didn't.
Speaker 5 (05:23):
What was the Compton like that you grew up in.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
I mean in the time, I thought it was a norm,
you know, of being around you know, such an aggressive
nature of you know, gangs and everything because it was
so it was so family oriented. You know, I grew
up during the time, like you know, it still was
those kind of old school rules where you know, the
guys in the neighborhood are gonna protect you to stay
(05:46):
away from all the you know, the bullshit that was
going on. And that was one thing that definitely helped me.
You know, even though it was aggressive, you had to
deal with a lot of obstacles, but you know, it
was a lot of people that looked out for me
more so than anything, to keep keep you on the
right track.
Speaker 5 (06:01):
Coming from Compton. I know.
Speaker 6 (06:03):
In twenty eighteen is when you sent out the tweet,
the depression get the Best of Me tweet that kind
of sparked all of the conversation and.
Speaker 5 (06:10):
I know you were back in LA at the time.
Speaker 6 (06:11):
Do you think or did you feel like was it
like survivors remorse because you're so connected to home and family.
Speaker 5 (06:17):
Now you're back and you're at the height of your career, Like.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Yeah, I think for me, that's when everything hit the
wall for me because my career was, you know, taking
off at a at a peak that I never would imagine.
You know, I'm coming back home to LA being a
starter for the All Star team, and you know, all
I cared about in that moment was get home and
see my kids, when to see my daughters. I didn't
care about nothing else. But it's like as soon as
I got to LA, it's everybody asked for something, needing something,
(06:41):
wanting tickets, wanted to do this. Everybody had this pre
notion of like I felt like I was getting plotted
on in a sense, you know what I mean, when
at the end of the day, I just want to
go hug my kids. I want to do what my
kids want to do. But it's like the overwhelming feeling
of I see myself in all these hotel downtown LA.
(07:01):
It was just a lot and it kind of put
a lot of stuff in perspective for me, and I
kind of just you know, I hit a wall at
that point.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Was Toronto a better place for you because you're away
from everybody that you grew up with? And was that
a mistake? Leaving Toronto?
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Toronto was the best thing that happened for me, because
at that time, even when I was at s C, like,
if I had a good day or a bad day,
I was still going to Compton, like still going to
stay at my mama house in Compton. I'm still around
the same type of environment. So I really wasn't, you know,
evolving in a way I needed to, you know, I
still ran back to what I was comfortable with. So
(07:35):
when I left s SE got drafted, you know, I
go to a whole nother country, Toronto.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Like hell, A lot of beautiful women in Toronto. It's
a beautiful place. Love like love it a lot of
beautiful women.
Speaker 5 (07:46):
He heard.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
It definitely is, like it's it's so wild because I
didn't realize how much I needed to be away from home,
like and it was to the point to where like
nobody in my family had a passport. One of my
cousins would go no like, so I was there by myself.
So it forced me to kind of grow up in
a way to help me mature in a in a
(08:13):
very professional way where I paid attention to nothing but
working on my craft, how to be the best player,
best individual, listening to all the ogs. Like, I didn't
have no outside distraction because I can't have the homies
come up. I can't have had a fam come up.
Nobody got no damn passport, like, and it wasn't easy
getting a passport. So it was something that that definitely
(08:35):
was a necessity in my career at that point, and
a lot of a lot of things that I learned
from my time being away from home. Then I still
carry to this day just understanding solitude and being able
to being myself.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
But that's the first time you felt the come yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Yeah, unknowingly too, you know what I mean, Because it
wasn't no distraction. I had no choice but to be
to myself. And with that, you know, shitting now you
got to figure out, you know, how to how to
do laundry, how to how to what to eat, like
so much stuff when before you know, I'm gonna just
go to moms, man'na have moms make me something to
eat this this So it definitely was a calm. Like
(09:11):
I said, even to this point, that make it easier
for me when I need those moments to be alone,
Like it's easy to do.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
The decision to leave Toronto, why was that?
Speaker 3 (09:21):
That was tough? That was tough because at that point,
you know, I was nine years in. It was the
only place I ever knew, the only place I you know,
wanted to stay invested so much there. You know, I
grew there. I was nineteen when I got drafted. You know,
I had two kids up to that point, so I
became a father. Like just was a lot going on.
(09:44):
You never thought in your mind that you were leaving
a place that you know, you had so much success in.
So when that happened, you know, it took a hit.
But you know, looking back on it, I'm glad you
know it happened because that's another point in my life
that that was needed for me to bro much more
than I ever could imagine.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
And you left Toronto and you went to Chicago. I
went to San Antonio, San Antonio and then Chicago. Cago
was there was the rumors of you going to l
a ever real.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Yeah, that was one one with Lebron.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Yeah, how close did it get?
Speaker 3 (10:18):
It was like it was it was basically like a
done deal at one point. And I remember waking up
and I remember leaving LA because I just knew, like man,
free agency starting, I'm about to sign with the Lakers
is about to be a fucking ship show, like you
know what I mean. So I took a vacation, got
away with the I think I went to Cabo or something,
(10:41):
and you know, I look on Twitter. They with a
different route. I was like, I thought I thought it
was a done deal.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
You found out from Twitter.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Yeah, the Lakers changed that, you know, changed their mind.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
Is that normally how that works?
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Like youtimes? You know you can't you know, thank so.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
You and Cabo and like, so what happens? How do
you feel?
Speaker 4 (10:59):
What?
Speaker 5 (11:00):
Who do you call? Like what?
Speaker 3 (11:01):
What's crazy? You don't call nobody. You just basically, like,
you know, figure out your next move, you know, because
just because some probably could be a thought or word
agreement don't necessarily mean you know, it's it's setting stone,
you know. So they chose to go a different direction,
and that's that's when I went to Chicago. So, but
(11:21):
before Chicago, it was a good chance I was gonna
be a leged.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
I always wonder how did that make players feel when
they look on Twitter and see that they've just been
shipped somewhere, because it's almost like you're not even humans, Yeah,
just a sproduct.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
And that's another thing I talked to a lot of
guys about that. It's a lot of players in our
league that that that kills they confidence, They don't understand it,
and it puts them in aspiring like downhill like emotion
that they can't get out of. And a lot of
times you will see a lot of these guys that
you know, they they they good players, and that one
(11:54):
our school hit, they never the same because a lot
of a lot of guys can't bounce back from it
from a mental aspect, expectations set on them. They feel
like they didn't reach it. Now they feel less than
they they they It's a lot that goes into it
that gets overlooked. You know, I understand that it's a business,
but a lot of times guys feel a certain type
of way when that do happen, and a lot of
(12:15):
times it's hard to bounce back from it.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
That's why I never get mad at players when they
make their own decisions exactly, and people are always mad
at them. And you know, you see people giving Lebron
flack all the time for doing what he does. But
how could you be mad at him when on the
other side, I want to do the same thing.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
Yeah, do the same thing. That's the tough part where,
you know, I always tell guys my whole career, I
always tell guys, man, you make the best decision for you,
you know what I mean. It's been times I play
with guys like, I know, if you come back like
we could be we could, we could even be better
next year. But you got to make the best decision
for you. I always tell guys do that.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
So what made you choose to play for the Kings?
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Be honest. The opportunity to compete the win was there.
On the other side of it, obviously, the financial part
to be still be able to, you know, feel like
you want to still receive what you work, you know
what I mean.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Like, let me look that contract up.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
He's like a bird over there, a bird pull it overt.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Let me see, I know he got this is sixteen
year in the.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
League too, sixteen Yeah, what's the contract?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Shall I mean?
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Hold on three year deal?
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Work up to seventy six point seven million, including three
million and unlikely bonuses.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Congratulations appreciates you affreciate it.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
You see yourself going like twenty.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Mentally or physically both both.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
I would answer physically first.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
And then do it physically for sure, you know, I
definitely could do it. I take care of myself. I
don't do nothing. I don't go out, don't drink. I
just either be my kids. I'll be chilling like I
don't do nothing. So physically for sure, Mentally that's the
tough part because you know, kids getting older, you know,
missing so much stuff from the kids that that becomes
(13:55):
more of a priority, more so than anything, like you know,
I hate you know, my daughter asked me if I'm
gonna be at a dance they having them, I'm on
the road. I can't make it, you know what I mean.
That'd be the tough part. So, you know, seeing them
get older and missing a lot of stuff, that makes
it harder on me to, you know, say, let me
go for twenty.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Why did you you know, leave the spurs? Because you know,
Greg Papa vis he writes the Ford in your book,
I saw you. I forgot what I saw you telling
the story about how I think it was after your
father passed, he came to see me with y'all just
kicked it for.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Like some hours.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
Yeah, and like like why I leave that type of environment?
Speaker 3 (14:31):
You know, it's crazy, Like Pop's such a real dude,
because even in that point, like he just wanted me
to be able to go somewhere to win and kind
of you know, because the team was going a different route.
It was kind of going younger. And you know, he
just told me my last year in San Antonio, wherever
you choose to go, I'm gonna make sure it happens,
you know. And like that's why I speak so highly
(14:54):
at Papa, even like you know, Pop text me last night,
like just randomly, like you know, like the most Pop
of this message you could always get. You know, I
love him, Pop text me, But Pop, you know, he
was the one that come to me saying, like, you know,
go somewhere where you could go be happy and be
yourself because we going a different route here with the team.
You know, so Papa will.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Do for that will makes them such a special coach.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
It's not about basketball, you know, It's been I always
tell a lot of guys around the League, like you
think it's basketball, but it's been so many days when Pop,
we will come in, we think we're about to watch
film on the game previously or something, and he'll sit
us down and we'll watch a whole show about penguins, right,
and you will be lost in a moment, but you
(15:38):
also will watching and realize why he have us watching it,
because how penguins come together and sacrifice during certain seasons,
of how the males come together take care of the
eggs while the female go out and hunt for six months.
It's like a deeper meaning that he puts you in
front of to show you, like humidity from a a
(16:00):
different level, you know what I mean. And maybe times
where you lose two games in a row, everybody mad
complaining and he'll come in and show clips from a
third world country of kids training at fourteen years old
playing to be in an army, and you know he
actually he'll tell you act yourself, like what is it
really to complain about? You get paid millions, like you
(16:21):
get to do what you want to do. It's people
out there suffering from real things, you know. So he
put a lot of stuff in perspective, and he know
how to get the most out of his players more
than anything.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
When you all watch the Penguin Doctor, it's so that
they have same sex behavior because a lot of times
they say same sex behavior in penguins has been deserved
in zews.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
But it's not clear if it's common in the wild.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Nah. No, I ain't get that. I ain't get that.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
So let me ask you about that.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
That's true, But that's true, they'll look it up.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Lem Okay, Now let me ask you about your pops.
You said you said, I knew my dad loved me,
and he was larger than life to me. But he
was the only person that you were scared of. Oh
my god, And I know for my fact, and that's
say for me growing up. I'm sure I said I
was scared of my dad growing up to I'm sure
you give me too, Like my dad used to say
that word too in the nineties. But how would you
(17:14):
as as a parent. Are you the same way with
your kids?
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Uh? No, because the fear he put in me. I
always tell myself, I didn't want to be like that
to my kids.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
But it kept you straight, but it kept me straight.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
But I also grew up in the streets. My kids don't.
That's true, know nothing about the streets. So I approached
them more so with love and patience and more of
an understanding when before, like you know, my my parents
parent me in a sense of survival. It was always
it was always a thing my mom always usually told me,
(17:49):
when you walk out that door, make sure I don't
care what you do, you walk back in this house,
but every time you come back in. So with that,
it gave me a survival instinct. I understand, like, no
matter what I gotta, I gotta make sure I make
it back to the house. You know what I mean.
Because it was tough.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So you know, my kids, but did you realize that
because you know, as a kid, you think your dad's
is being hard on you, and you like, I hate him.
But then when you started getting a little older, you
start having kids, you understand.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Oh yeah, you understand so much. Even to this day,
to this to this moment, I still have moments where
I fully understand. While my parents did a lot of
stuff that they did, you know, And but you know,
when it comes to like that tough love, I don't
think it's necessarily necessary, like it's like it was with
my dad For me, especially growing up and confident.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
You know what it's dressing.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
I saw you say in the book that you were
afraid to have a son of your own because you
didn't feel that you could deliver the same brand of
tough love that he did.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
And two things that I learned in therapy.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Number one, I felt like my dad used to discipline
me for things he never taught me. But also my
dad was raising me out of fear and not love exactly.
And I think what we call tough love is actually
fear because he was afraid because you was in the streets,
Like when I was in the street.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
My dad didn' not want me to make the same
mistakes that he made exactly.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Yeah, even now, even me now having a son like
my son is like, you know, I got four girls
and one son, and you know, having my son like
he having that, you know, especially with my son, I
think about my father more so than anything. But like
with him he brings like I give him the joy
(19:25):
and the love that he deserved like I do my daughters.
You know what I mean, because when I was a kid,
I always wanted that for my dad. I always wanted
to approval for my dad. I always wanted to make
sure I made him happy. But that was a tough
love he was giving me. That made me question at
that time. So, you know, with my son, like, I
definitely didn't want to come off that way, you know
what I mean, I didn't want to give him that
(19:46):
tough love. It may be times where it's needed, but
for the most part, you know, my son is my dog.
A loans with my daughters. But you know, having a
son now it makes me think about my dad more
than anything.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Now, is it true that you said Jordan on the
win it is your favorite, Michael Jordan, but.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
You don't do drugs more more so, you gotta explain
that way, more so from the standpoint of like how
simple he made the game as such a it was
thirty eight, thirty nine, forty.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Still, but that was your favorite, Jordan.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
It was my favorite, but it was more so the
one that I could I remember watching the most, you
know what I mean. I'm thirty five when you know
I was what twelve thirteen when when when Mike was
with the Wizards, So it was more me understanding and
like watching.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
And you fell in love with that, Jordan.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
No, I love Jordan, but I'm more so fell in
love with that Jordan with the style of playoff hot playing.
Now you know what I mean.
Speaker 5 (20:42):
Obviously you don't agree, huh No, I.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Mean, I mean I get what he's saying, but that
twenty three.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
On the Bulls three, it's definitely something that what's your
favorite Bron? My favorite Bron? That's a good question. I
mean second Cleveland Stint Lebron probably my my favorite Bron
because that's Lebron. We couldn't get passed when we was
in the playoffs. He was he was. He was unstoppable, unstoppable.
(21:11):
And you had a relationship with Kobe too, Yeah, Kobe was.
I had a relationship with cob ever since I was
probably fifteen fifteen, sixteen years old.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Just growing up in Compton, Like.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Yeah, growing up in Compton, and I always used to
go to his camps. Then obviously when I was in
high school, being a ty reigned ranking high school player,
he used to have these late night runs where we
would go up there and play, and you know, he
used to hand pick who, you know, who he fell
in love with as players, and I was one of
one of one of those ones. And by the time
(21:43):
I was a senior in high school, you know, he
would give me his shoes. I wore shoes his Kobe's all,
I think my senior year in high school a lot
of times. And when I went to college, he used
to give me a lot of his shoes. So we
always had a relationship ever since I was young.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
For sure, where do you rank them?
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Like?
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Where do you have?
Speaker 3 (21:59):
We just finished on my goat. I'm beyondest I tell
you about. Cobe is my goat for many a reasons.
You know, that was the first person like I watched,
like grown up in LA. That's the only NBA game
I used to watch Lakers, So I watched every single
game of his ship. I cried when he shot the
air balls versus Utah in the playoffs as a kid,
(22:20):
So I always had an emotional attachment to him growing
up watching him play and obviously him being my mentor
by the time you know, I got in high school
and throughout throughout my time in the league.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
Did the NBA provide proper grief counseling after Kobe passed
being even if you didn't have a personal relationship with Kobe,
he influenced so many people and inspired so many people.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Did they did they handle that correctly? Because I was
in the bubble too around that time.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Right, what is that the bubble? Yeah? That was that
same year, right, yeah, because that happened, yeah that yeah,
just that happened that year. Then the league stopped in
that summer, we went to the bubble. Yeah. No, you
know what Scrater, I think during that time as players,
we we kind of embraced each other deeper than than anything,
(23:09):
because you start to look at the person next to you, like, man,
damn if this could happen a cold, this could happen
to anybody, and it kind of hit us all hard,
man like, like I remember the night, I mean the
day it happened. I remember we had a game and
a lot of people across the league started, you know,
basically text and talk before the game is like should
(23:31):
we even play? A lot of people is contemplating on
not even playing because just out of respect for Cob
and everything. But we end up, you know, everybody ended
up holding the ball. I think we held the ball
for twenty four second shot clock. You know, just try
to you know, pay pay respect to him. But you know,
we all bridge together as players more more so than anything.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
I was playing against him because that was your idol.
That was your goal. Y'all played with ten games in
the league against each other total.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
Yeah, yeah, more than that, because probably more than that.
I think for me it was it was cool because
you know, I was even able to be a part
of his last All Star game in Toronto, you know,
to honor him even that season. I think we honor
him when he came to Toronto. I gave him some
(24:19):
special shoes, special made Kobe shoes. It was. It was
amazing being able to play against your idol, somebody you
looked up to, and knowing how crazy he was on
the court, you know, and and the order that he
carried it is almost similar to the stories I heard
about Mike, you know. And to see that in cold
(24:41):
whenever he stepped out there on the court and the
things he was able to do was it was beyond incredible.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
And now you also played on Master P's AAU here.
How I was playing for P.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
P was P was like man, that's like that's family
man like like P like beyond family man. P took
me in like like a son, honest, be honest with you,
like Monday through Friday, I'll be in I'll be in
Compton Friday night to Sunday, I'm at Pea House with Romeo,
you know room. You know, even the other day my
(25:13):
book signed in La room came through and you know,
show respect, you know, that's that's one of my close
friends since since it was fourteen fifteen years old. But
you know, he took me in. You know, I was
like I was like a son to him early on
for sure. So it was dope to be around that.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Whole Or how good was little Romeo playing ball? How
good was people? Because I'm sure y'all played.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Yeah, we played a lot. He was good. But he
was even better at talking smack like he used to
talking the whole game talking. Yeah, he used to talk
trash all day long.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
He gives me the old man, back you down, like.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Yeah, hit you with the elbow, like that's that's Pete, Pete,
like old school dirty. But he going if he hit
two shots in row, you ain't gonna hear the last
off it. And rome was nice, you know obviously you
don't looking back at it. And we even had this
conversation him being the child star he was, it was
(26:06):
hard for him to focus on, you know, just one thing,
but for him to even make it you know, the
college says a lot with the amount of stuff that
he was dealing with going through being a star, doing
TV shows, doing music and everything, so it was just
difficult for him to focus on one thing, but he
had it.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
I think for the wall, I love the title of
your book. Right now we're talking to the margor rolls
and above the noise my story and chasing calm. I
think we all know what noise sounds like, right, What
does calm sound like?
Speaker 1 (26:33):
Because one thing.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
You said earlier that that that hit me because I
understand that feeling is when you feel peace, and you're
a person that's used to dealing with anxiety about the depression.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
It scared you a little bit.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Man. I think I said this the other day. It's
kind of like, you know, that eery feeling you get
when you're in the middle of somewhere and it's just
too quiet, like you ain't for something go wrong, like
you just waiting, Like it makes your nerves kind of
even worse in that moment because you you you kind
of on ten from there. So that was even a
challenge for me, Like, and I used to try to
(27:06):
figure out ways on really how to like accept it
and indulge in it, so I start, you know, it
got to a point to where I started going to
like Montana, Wyoming, going to these random places where it's
just completely natural sound and just like getting lost in
it and understanding it's okay to be within peace, it's
(27:27):
okay to kind of decompress away from everything else that's
going on, because it's the true way to find the
center yourself and kind of really think clearly for a
second and not question it, medita or I mean, I'm big,
Like I remember I went to Montana. I got on
the river. I wouldn't loan the river for about seven
(27:48):
eight hours, no phone, no nothing, and just you know,
looked at the mountains and just wouldn't loan the river,
and you you know, it kind of put your thoughts
in perspective with everything I've been. Yeah, no, nothing.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
But that's the thing that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
But that's the thing. We get so caught up in
our phone. Like i'ma be honest too, Sometimes I get
lost in my phone and I get mad through my phone,
like damn, I don't need this, you know what I mean.
Let me kind of like like decompress from all this
and kind of just find myself because it's so easy
to get lost in everything else.
Speaker 6 (28:21):
So now you have like resources though where you can
get up and go to like Montana and all that stuff.
When you talk to younger players about finding peace, just
because they might not have the same environments, how do
you explain to them how they can find little pieces
of piece Like you said you had your grandmother who
was peace to you, Like, how do you talk to
them or talk them through that.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
I think you really got to find what you what
you love, and sometimes you can't be scared to try
something new either, you know, whatever that may be, because
it's different for everybody. And one thing I always try
to tell people be open minded to things you may
be comfortable uncomfortable with, because that could be the thing
that changes. Because it's a lot of stuff. I never
(29:00):
in my life thought i'd do it. I never thought
I'd be somebody from Comptant be in the middle of
Montana like. I never thought that. But I was open
to the idea of doing it and trying it, and
it was one of the most amazing things I did.
And even in that moment when I did it, I
remember I took like six seven of my cousins from
from Compton. I took him there. I remember they was
mad as shit at me because you know, I didn't
(29:21):
tell them what he was going.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
They thought was going somewhere.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
They thinking like we about to go turn up, we
going like and we get off the plane and we're
in the middle of Montana and they was mad. But
by the end of the Triller, it was like, Yo,
this is one of the greatest experience I ever had.
I never thought I'd be in Montanna scaling trees or
on the lake, or or fly fishing or doing all
(29:48):
these like I never would imagine. But it changed their perspective,
you know what I mean, in touch with nature too. Yeah,
it give them a whole different outlook on just life
and thinking it's just being around like you know tox
type of you know energy. Sometimes it's cool, it's you know,
everything in moderation. But sometimes you really just got to
ground yourself and figure out that that come.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
What is it that makes Compton so special?
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Man?
Speaker 4 (30:11):
Like, just think about all of the great iconic culture
shifting people who have come out of comp.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
Yeah, it's it's it's wild because I've had moments where,
you know, when I go back home and I'm leaving
out this like city and you really just sit and realize, like, man,
this this small city the births some of the greatest
individuals that ever touched the world, you know what I mean.
And it gives me the chills a lot of times
(30:39):
when I think about it, because you know, it makes
me even feel even more proud of even being from there,
because it don't happen by accident the same, you know
what I mean. It's something about this place, that that shape,
that have so much to offer, that that you that
you see, you know what I mean, And it's it's
it's I'm just honored to be a part of it.
(31:01):
Be honest with you. It's hard to pinpoint what what is?
What is it? But it's it's something amazing because we
got some grapes to come out of there.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
Now, you played in Toronto for years, but then Kendricks
from Compton, Drake is from Toronto. That's your guy. How
do you how do you choose what you're gonna get
into and what you're not gonna get into at that point.
Speaker 3 (31:19):
You know, it's crazy. It's like love them both family,
you know, it's but at the end of the day,
it's like I'm from Compton, like my city, where I'm from,
where I'm born, like when my family still live. It's
like that comes first before anything, you know. And I
feel like any real person will understand that, you know,
(31:43):
And that's just what it is like. And it's so
crazy because my second home became Toronto that that has
the one of the greatest of all time being from
there too.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
So watch your mouth, watch your mouth.
Speaker 5 (31:57):
But you're not mad about watch.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
Your mouth got the super Bowl?
Speaker 3 (32:00):
No, I'm not mad. I'm not mad. I understand it. Like, yeah,
we for sure love to see Wayne up there. And
my thing too is like everybody was in such an upworld.
We don't know Wayne was still gonna do it, you
know what I mean, Like we don't know. We didn't
know fifty was doing l A but we it was
such an honor and surprise to see him still do it.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
He can't do that though, Kendrick, I mean, I mean
that part of it, I would be crazy, you think so, Yes,
super Bowl, Kendrick put your name in the song. I'm
glad the Rose came home. Y'all didn't deserve it, neither
you being in the video. They were acting like you man,
crossing me lines and something, even though that's your guy.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
So imagine Wayne's showing up on stage with me. What
you want to say? I see dead people too, and
then walk off. That wouldn't have worked.
Speaker 3 (32:51):
I mean, it's that's why I'm glad I'm not in
an entertainment because your job is definitely difficult.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Have you spoke of Drake?
Speaker 3 (33:00):
No, I haven't talked to him. I haven't talked to him.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Ain't sent them a text to be like, you're good, blocked, nothing.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Good. It's just super Bowl.
Speaker 5 (33:15):
First it was the Penguins. Nowadays the thing is true. Okay,
go ahead ahead, you see watching.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
You can see the penguin thing. Is that's a thing
like people?
Speaker 3 (33:26):
Right? I think listen, it's dope regardless of how everybody
look at it. I think it's dope. Go back to
the content thing to see somebody from Comptant headline the.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
Super Bowl, like again, I just had one two years ago.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
Yeah, it's la in two years from now too, so
but yeah, I don't know. I just appreciate the moment.
I would love to see Wayne, you know, I love
to see you know, cash money out there. I love
to see no limit out there, you know, So I
don't think too much into it when it happens, because
I'm pretty sure it's more of a surprise that probably
(34:01):
do come with it. And that's just me guessing. I don't.
I don't have no insight on anything. That's just me guessing.
Speaker 4 (34:06):
And I like it, man, because you know, to the
victor goes the spoils right like it was. It was
the greatest rap feud of all time, greatest rap beef
of all time, Kendrick One. I feel like if Drake
would have got the better of that situation, it's no
doubt in my mind.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
We don't. We're getting Drake and Wayne at the super
Bowl this February, so absolutely so. You know, that's that's
like Kendrick's ring.
Speaker 4 (34:28):
It's not like you know sports, right, like you can
you play to a certain point and you play for
a championship and you win a ring. These guys just
sell records, sell our shoulder. What's like that that crowning moment.
This is like his crowning moment to me.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
I mean yeah, I mean it's and I look at
it from a fan perspective, from from the whole thing,
like it was just exciting year from the standpoint of
being able to see two of the biggest rappers off
time that duke it out, you know what I mean,
and to see where is it at now? Like I'm
a fan of it, you know what I mean, Like
because I look at it like that in sports, you
(35:02):
want to see the best of the best at it,
you know what I mean. When lose a draw, somebody
got somebody gotta lose. That's all right, but it's it's
it's sports. It's part of the sports competition. Get location,
who's better? For Get location, forget where you're from. It's
just pure listening. Who's a better rapper? Kendrick, Lamar Drake,
you not bother put me in this. I'm going with
(35:22):
both both. Both of them is my favorite. That's what
I'm I'm I'm leaving that.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
Drick was him.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
That's what coach said.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
I remember something like that.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
Yeah, he did. He did say that. It's it's such
a It's tough because even when it comes to Kendrick,
for me being from content, it resonates so in debt
because every album, every verse like a pinpoint that emotion
and feeling the bar for bar like it's certain things
(35:52):
he say with certain streets and lingo where I know
exactly what that feeling feels like or what that meaning
means to me is if you put me in that
situation is Kendrick. But it's like also like I remember
when Drake was making views, I was in Toronto and
I remember hearing it and knowing exactly the vibe and
(36:16):
the feeling he was going for it that was going
on in the city. So that's what makes it so
tough for me. That puts me in such a like
tricky like like you know what I mean, because I
was there like for both times, Like I've been there
for so many albums of Drake and really understand where
it comes from and everything. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (36:34):
So for me to be throwing in it, I want
you to break down the concert, right, the concert you
did in June team in La Right. Of course we
see it from the outside. We've seen the music side,
but everybody was talking about what he did for street
and local. So break that down for people that don't
understand that.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Part of it.
Speaker 3 (36:51):
People got to understand, Like I know, it could seem
like people celebrating whatever it come to the disc or whatever,
but for us, the weeks leading up to it, the
conversations that has had about certain people being in the
same buildings that haven't been around each other, the same
people that's been having issues, internal issues, hoods, individual problems
(37:14):
with a lot of a lot of people. For everybody
to know that they're going to be under one building
and act accordingly, no problems, no issues. I remember when
I first got there. I remember walking in the back
and I see the line of every single entourage, every hood,
every hood. I'm talking about blue, red, blue, red, blue, red, blue,
(37:36):
like you see it, and it was no issues, no problems,
everybody talking. In that moment, thear symbolized what really was
going on that was bigger than just with the outside
people may be looking at like, oh to beef, they
don't know, like some of these dudes haven't even been
in the same building in years, and some of these
dudes hoods then had serious issues with this other hood.
(37:59):
So it's like we all in here?
Speaker 6 (38:01):
Was it?
Speaker 3 (38:01):
Not? One problem was in one argument going or leaving?
And that was the most incredible thing for me to witness.
Speaker 4 (38:08):
How did you avoid I guess joining a gang Growing
up in Compton, I always wondering about.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
That because you would be like the good kid in
the Magic Yeah exactly.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
And I think for me, like my majority of my
family GAG members in a gang, associated with a gang,
and growing up in Compton, you was affiliated with a game,
whether you want to be not. And for me, I
had so many older people in my life that understood
(38:38):
and had the respect to where when they see me,
make sure I don't get in this situation or you know,
it's been times where a situation about to happen and
be like, all right, d out here, d somebody get
d out there taking take them on. Then we meet
back and you know, I hear that night a situation happened,
but they made sure I was. I was far gone
before anything happened. So I had a lot of that.
(39:01):
I was lucky enough to have a lot of that
from both sides, even with bloods and crypts, to be
able to have that type of respect and that that
that that loved to keep me away from a lot
of situations, even even my games in Compton, Like like
I remember so many games where I look in the crowd,
it'd be this hood that don't get along with this hood,
but they here to watch me play with no problems,
(39:23):
you know, And that used to mean so much to
me that that no issues happened.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
Nobody ever found you, and nobody ever found you hard
ever ever.
Speaker 3 (39:33):
Even still, I remember we used to have when we
had road games. My high school coach used to get
an extra two buses so we could take people to
our away games, and he used to make sure all
the game members took the bus so we wouldn't have
problems somewhere else. But that was always just a respect
I had growing up.
Speaker 4 (39:52):
When you look back at your journey from Compton to
the NBA, what's the most valuable lesson you think you learned?
Speaker 3 (40:00):
Most valuable lesson? That's a good question, man, that's a
hell of a question. I should have been ready for
that because I know, like you, I think for me
patience because growing up I always used to want everything
so fast, like I didn't I never consider nothing else.
(40:24):
And sometimes patience is what have you ready for when
it whatever you want to come? And that's one thing
I kind of I kind of learned because my patience,
when things came my way, I was ready for it.
I accepted I made the most out of it instead
of rushing through it.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
Ladies and gentlemen, Demal de Roz in this book is
out right now above the noise, my story of chasing calm,
and we appreciate you for joining us.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
Man, my Nick's beating up on y'all. You come on,
you come in, what's up?
Speaker 1 (40:54):
I wish you much success to season. I don't have
an NBA team. I like you know what I'm saying,
So you know I wish y'all much success in the Sacramento.
Speaker 3 (41:01):
Thank you, brother, appreciate it absolutely.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
It's the Breakfast Club. It's the Mar de Rosa, wake
that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club.
Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club Morning.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Everybody is the j Envy Jesse Hilarious, Charlamagne to God.
We are the Breakfast Club. Justice on maternity leave. Laura
la Ross is feeling in and we got a special
guest in the building. Comptence, finest ladies and gentlemen, Demal
de Rose and welcome man.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
It's honor man, my brother doing good. How you doing?
Speaker 4 (00:20):
And blessed black and hoghly favored man. You new book
out above the Noise, My Story of Chasing Calm.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
I love that title.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
When I hear that title, I know a man that's
doing the work on himself.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Man, trying. Man, it's definitely a challenge, something that's not easy.
Take time, it's patience. Gotta give yourself grace. You know,
we go through a lot of stuff. You know that
we we sweep under the rug, and a lot of
times by the time we figured it out, we we
deep in. And it takes a lot of work to
try to figure that out. So, you know, just trying
to expire, get the message out there, and just try
(00:52):
to break the stigma. More than more than anything, I.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Love what you said in The New York Times about
how more athletes need to open up about their mental
health and basically you said the need to show their
Clark Kent side.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Yeah, yeah, man, everybody look at us like we're just
superhero so much.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Without doubt, I'll dunk on you.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
You can't even test the net, can't take you serious.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
And it's definitely, you know, I think for me, you know,
I look at it. We fall in love with a
lot of superheroes because who they you know, who they
are at night? You know, we we never appreciate the
person before they put on the mask, and a lot
of times we carry that mask more than anything, you know,
even me to this day. That's one thing I'm trying
to break. You know. It's tough when you gotta you
(01:40):
gotta kind of be two different people, you know, and
sometimes you forget the most important person at times and
put yourself in it in a deep depression at times,
and it's tough to get out of.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
I want to I want to know your journey when
it came to the NBA, right because growing up as
a kid, there wasn't as many leagues where it was training.
We just kids played in the park and the good
kid with the high school played on a high school team,
playing in college. But now it seems like everything is
foreseen as training, you gotta train, train six days a week,
Lamar Olderman. In all those days to play park, they went
(02:10):
to rut and play ball and kept the moving. So
what was your journey getting too the league? And explain
to some of the kids out there who have that
dream how difficult it was to get there.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
First of all, like you said, like growing up, like
we didn't know nothing about training. It was all like
if I go to the play at the park from
sun up to sundown, that's what I'm gonna be able
to do. You know, That's what I'm gonna do. It's
in the backyard, if it's making a crate playing basketball,
Like my aspiration was always trying to escape from my
reality with sports, you know what I mean, whether we
played football in the streets, whatever, whatever it may be.
(02:40):
You know, we use sports as a gateway, you know,
for peace. And for a long time, you don't even
consider like working out. You just want to hoop, you know.
So as you get older, it becomes more difficult when
you got to take those necessary steps to you know,
evolve into a true basketball So it's definitely a long road,
(03:02):
you know, and especially now, I can't even imagine what
social media and so much stuff that's in front of
these kids. Now you basically famous by the time you know,
you in middle school, you know, So it's definitely difficult
these days, more more so than ever. When before it
just used to be about the game.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
When did you realize you were you were that good
to make it to the league. Because as a kid,
everybody thinks they Jordan, everybody thinks they Kobe, everybody thinks
they every player that they ever imagined. When did you know, like, oh,
I got a shot.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
When it was a true real life belief.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Probably by the time I was probably like in the
nineteenth grade, when it was like, all right, if I
keep working at this, I maybe I still maybe have
a chance. But for me, everything was still felt so
far fetched because you know, you didn't know nothing about college.
I didn't have nobody in my family go d one,
So even just going to college was a big thing, like, man,
(03:54):
I gotta at least make it to college, like damn
the league. College was more so the the big obstacle
for me to make it to there. So by the
time my senior year, I know I was going to
SC I knew, I know it was a chance for
after that for me to go pro for sure.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
What about your father, because I love seeing black men
celebrate their fathers. And you dedicated the book to your father,
Frank de Rosen. What was some of the values he contributed,
you know.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
And still to your to your upbringing, not just as
a man, more than anything, you know, he taught me
the art of hard working, resiliency, being a man more
so than anything. And one thing growing up that he always,
you know, preached to me that you know, we was
growing up in a cruel society. So he prepared me
(04:39):
on on how to deal with that more so than anything,
how to deal with white folks. Yeah, just period. My
dad was from the country. He was from the South
so Vdelia. It's a small in Louisiana, a small, small,
small town. Remember when I was a kid, he first
took me there. He showed me cotton fields and all
this stuff. It was it was crazy. They still boiled
their water to take baths, you know what I mean.
(05:00):
So that was real humbling for me at a young age,
especially being from Compton, going to go see the you know,
the countryside of my dad, but he showed me just
the importance of hard work, sticking to your word, and
you know, everything that he went through, he never complained.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Is your dad one of the old g's that brought
them horses to Compton? That's the good No, he didn't.
Speaker 5 (05:23):
What was the Compton like that you grew up in.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
I mean in the time, I thought it was a norm,
you know, of being around you know, such an aggressive
nature of you know, gangs and everything because it was
so it was so family oriented. You know, I grew
up during the time, like you know, it still was
those kind of old school rules where you know, the
guys in the neighborhood are gonna protect you to stay
(05:46):
away from all the you know, the bullshit that was
going on. And that was one thing that definitely helped me.
You know, even though it was aggressive, you had to
deal with a lot of obstacles, but you know, it
was a lot of people that looked out for me
more so than anything, to keep keep you on the
right track.
Speaker 5 (06:01):
Coming from Compton. I know.
Speaker 6 (06:03):
In twenty eighteen is when you sent out the tweet,
the depression get the Best of Me tweet that kind
of sparked all of the conversation and.
Speaker 5 (06:10):
I know you were back in LA at the time.
Speaker 6 (06:11):
Do you think or did you feel like was it
like survivors remorse because you're so connected to home and family.
Speaker 5 (06:17):
Now you're back and you're at the height of your career, Like.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Yeah, I think for me, that's when everything hit the
wall for me because my career was, you know, taking
off at a at a peak that I never would imagine.
You know, I'm coming back home to LA being a
starter for the All Star team, and you know, all
I cared about in that moment was get home and
see my kids, when to see my daughters. I didn't
care about nothing else. But it's like as soon as
I got to LA, it's everybody asked for something, needing something,
(06:41):
wanting tickets, wanted to do this. Everybody had this pre
notion of like I felt like I was getting plotted
on in a sense, you know what I mean, when
at the end of the day, I just want to
go hug my kids. I want to do what my
kids want to do. But it's like the overwhelming feeling
of I see myself in all these hotel downtown LA.
(07:01):
It was just a lot and it kind of put
a lot of stuff in perspective for me, and I
kind of just you know, I hit a wall at
that point.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Was Toronto a better place for you because you're away
from everybody that you grew up with? And was that
a mistake? Leaving Toronto?
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Toronto was the best thing that happened for me, because
at that time, even when I was at s C, like,
if I had a good day or a bad day,
I was still going to Compton, like still going to
stay at my mama house in Compton. I'm still around
the same type of environment. So I really wasn't, you know,
evolving in a way I needed to, you know, I
still ran back to what I was comfortable with. So
(07:35):
when I left s SE got drafted, you know, I
go to a whole nother country, Toronto.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Like hell, A lot of beautiful women in Toronto. It's
a beautiful place. Love like love it a lot of
beautiful women.
Speaker 5 (07:46):
He heard.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
It definitely is, like it's it's so wild because I
didn't realize how much I needed to be away from home,
like and it was to the point to where like
nobody in my family had a passport. One of my
cousins would go no like, so I was there by myself.
So it forced me to kind of grow up in
a way to help me mature in a in a
(08:13):
very professional way where I paid attention to nothing but
working on my craft, how to be the best player,
best individual, listening to all the ogs. Like, I didn't
have no outside distraction because I can't have the homies
come up. I can't have had a fam come up.
Nobody got no damn passport, like, and it wasn't easy
getting a passport. So it was something that that definitely
(08:35):
was a necessity in my career at that point, and
a lot of a lot of things that I learned
from my time being away from home. Then I still
carry to this day just understanding solitude and being able
to being myself.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
But that's the first time you felt the come yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Yeah, unknowingly too, you know what I mean, Because it
wasn't no distraction. I had no choice but to be
to myself. And with that, you know, shitting now you
got to figure out, you know, how to how to
do laundry, how to how to what to eat, like
so much stuff when before you know, I'm gonna just
go to moms, man'na have moms make me something to
eat this this So it definitely was a calm. Like
(09:11):
I said, even to this point, that make it easier
for me when I need those moments to be alone,
Like it's easy to do.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
The decision to leave Toronto, why was that?
Speaker 3 (09:21):
That was tough? That was tough because at that point,
you know, I was nine years in. It was the
only place I ever knew, the only place I you know,
wanted to stay invested so much there. You know, I
grew there. I was nineteen when I got drafted. You know,
I had two kids up to that point, so I
became a father. Like just was a lot going on.
(09:44):
You never thought in your mind that you were leaving
a place that you know, you had so much success in.
So when that happened, you know, it took a hit.
But you know, looking back on it, I'm glad you
know it happened because that's another point in my life
that that was needed for me to bro much more
than I ever could imagine.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
And you left Toronto and you went to Chicago. I
went to San Antonio, San Antonio and then Chicago. Cago
was there was the rumors of you going to l
a ever real.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Yeah, that was one one with Lebron.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Yeah, how close did it get?
Speaker 3 (10:18):
It was like it was it was basically like a
done deal at one point. And I remember waking up
and I remember leaving LA because I just knew, like man,
free agency starting, I'm about to sign with the Lakers
is about to be a fucking ship show, like you
know what I mean. So I took a vacation, got
away with the I think I went to Cabo or something,
(10:41):
and you know, I look on Twitter. They with a
different route. I was like, I thought I thought it
was a done deal.
Speaker 5 (10:47):
You found out from Twitter.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Yeah, the Lakers changed that, you know, changed their mind.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
Is that normally how that works?
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Like youtimes? You know you can't you know, thank so.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
You and Cabo and like, so what happens? How do
you feel?
Speaker 4 (10:59):
What?
Speaker 5 (11:00):
Who do you call? Like what?
Speaker 3 (11:01):
What's crazy? You don't call nobody. You just basically, like,
you know, figure out your next move, you know, because
just because some probably could be a thought or word
agreement don't necessarily mean you know, it's it's setting stone,
you know. So they chose to go a different direction,
and that's that's when I went to Chicago. So, but
(11:21):
before Chicago, it was a good chance I was gonna
be a leged.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
I always wonder how did that make players feel when
they look on Twitter and see that they've just been
shipped somewhere, because it's almost like you're not even humans, Yeah,
just a sproduct.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
And that's another thing I talked to a lot of
guys about that. It's a lot of players in our
league that that that kills they confidence, They don't understand it,
and it puts them in aspiring like downhill like emotion
that they can't get out of. And a lot of
times you will see a lot of these guys that
you know, they they they good players, and that one
(11:54):
our school hit, they never the same because a lot
of a lot of guys can't bounce back from it
from a mental aspect, expectations set on them. They feel
like they didn't reach it. Now they feel less than
they they they It's a lot that goes into it
that gets overlooked. You know, I understand that it's a business,
but a lot of times guys feel a certain type
of way when that do happen, and a lot of
(12:15):
times it's hard to bounce back from it.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
That's why I never get mad at players when they
make their own decisions exactly, and people are always mad
at them. And you know, you see people giving Lebron
flack all the time for doing what he does. But
how could you be mad at him when on the
other side, I want to do the same thing.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
Yeah, do the same thing. That's the tough part where,
you know, I always tell guys my whole career, I
always tell guys, man, you make the best decision for you,
you know what I mean. It's been times I play
with guys like, I know, if you come back like
we could be we could, we could even be better
next year. But you got to make the best decision
for you. I always tell guys do that.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
So what made you choose to play for the Kings?
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Be honest. The opportunity to compete the win was there.
On the other side of it, obviously, the financial part
to be still be able to, you know, feel like
you want to still receive what you work, you know
what I mean.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Like, let me look that contract up.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
He's like a bird over there, a bird pull it overt.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Let me see, I know he got this is sixteen
year in the.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
League too, sixteen Yeah, what's the contract?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Shall I mean?
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Hold on three year deal?
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Work up to seventy six point seven million, including three
million and unlikely bonuses.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Congratulations appreciates you affreciate it.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
You see yourself going like twenty.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Mentally or physically both both.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
I would answer physically first.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
And then do it physically for sure, you know, I
definitely could do it. I take care of myself. I
don't do nothing. I don't go out, don't drink. I
just either be my kids. I'll be chilling like I
don't do nothing. So physically for sure, Mentally that's the
tough part because you know, kids getting older, you know,
missing so much stuff from the kids that that becomes
(13:55):
more of a priority, more so than anything, like you know,
I hate you know, my daughter asked me if I'm
gonna be at a dance they having them, I'm on
the road. I can't make it, you know what I mean.
That'd be the tough part. So, you know, seeing them
get older and missing a lot of stuff, that makes
it harder on me to, you know, say, let me
go for twenty.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Why did you you know, leave the spurs? Because you know,
Greg Papa vis he writes the Ford in your book,
I saw you. I forgot what I saw you telling
the story about how I think it was after your
father passed, he came to see me with y'all just
kicked it for.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Like some hours.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
Yeah, and like like why I leave that type of environment?
Speaker 3 (14:31):
You know, it's crazy, Like Pop's such a real dude,
because even in that point, like he just wanted me
to be able to go somewhere to win and kind
of you know, because the team was going a different route.
It was kind of going younger. And you know, he
just told me my last year in San Antonio, wherever
you choose to go, I'm gonna make sure it happens,
you know. And like that's why I speak so highly
(14:54):
at Papa, even like you know, Pop text me last night,
like just randomly, like you know, like the most Pop
of this message you could always get. You know, I
love him, Pop text me, But Pop, you know, he
was the one that come to me saying, like, you know,
go somewhere where you could go be happy and be
yourself because we going a different route here with the team.
You know, so Papa will.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Do for that will makes them such a special coach.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
It's not about basketball, you know, It's been I always
tell a lot of guys around the League, like you
think it's basketball, but it's been so many days when Pop,
we will come in, we think we're about to watch
film on the game previously or something, and he'll sit
us down and we'll watch a whole show about penguins, right,
and you will be lost in a moment, but you
(15:38):
also will watching and realize why he have us watching it,
because how penguins come together and sacrifice during certain seasons,
of how the males come together take care of the
eggs while the female go out and hunt for six months.
It's like a deeper meaning that he puts you in
front of to show you, like humidity from a a
(16:00):
different level, you know what I mean. And maybe times
where you lose two games in a row, everybody mad
complaining and he'll come in and show clips from a
third world country of kids training at fourteen years old
playing to be in an army, and you know he
actually he'll tell you act yourself, like what is it
really to complain about? You get paid millions, like you
(16:21):
get to do what you want to do. It's people
out there suffering from real things, you know. So he
put a lot of stuff in perspective, and he know
how to get the most out of his players more
than anything.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
When you all watch the Penguin Doctor, it's so that
they have same sex behavior because a lot of times
they say same sex behavior in penguins has been deserved
in zews.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
But it's not clear if it's common in the wild.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Nah. No, I ain't get that. I ain't get that.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
So let me ask you about that.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
That's true, But that's true, they'll look it up.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Lem Okay, Now let me ask you about your pops.
You said you said, I knew my dad loved me,
and he was larger than life to me. But he
was the only person that you were scared of. Oh
my god, And I know for my fact, and that's
say for me growing up. I'm sure I said I
was scared of my dad growing up to I'm sure
you give me too, Like my dad used to say
that word too in the nineties. But how would you
(17:14):
as as a parent. Are you the same way with
your kids?
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Uh? No, because the fear he put in me. I
always tell myself, I didn't want to be like that
to my kids.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
But it kept you straight, but it kept me straight.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
But I also grew up in the streets. My kids don't.
That's true, know nothing about the streets. So I approached
them more so with love and patience and more of
an understanding when before, like you know, my my parents
parent me in a sense of survival. It was always
it was always a thing my mom always usually told me,
(17:49):
when you walk out that door, make sure I don't
care what you do, you walk back in this house,
but every time you come back in. So with that,
it gave me a survival instinct. I understand, like, no
matter what I gotta, I gotta make sure I make
it back to the house. You know what I mean.
Because it was tough.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So you know, my kids, but did you realize that
because you know, as a kid, you think your dad's
is being hard on you, and you like, I hate him.
But then when you started getting a little older, you
start having kids, you understand.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Oh yeah, you understand so much. Even to this day,
to this to this moment, I still have moments where
I fully understand. While my parents did a lot of
stuff that they did, you know, And but you know,
when it comes to like that tough love, I don't
think it's necessarily necessary, like it's like it was with
my dad For me, especially growing up and confident.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
You know what it's dressing.
Speaker 4 (18:36):
I saw you say in the book that you were
afraid to have a son of your own because you
didn't feel that you could deliver the same brand of
tough love that he did.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
And two things that I learned in therapy.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Number one, I felt like my dad used to discipline
me for things he never taught me. But also my
dad was raising me out of fear and not love exactly.
And I think what we call tough love is actually
fear because he was afraid because you was in the streets,
Like when I was in the street.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
My dad didn' not want me to make the same
mistakes that he made exactly.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Yeah, even now, even me now having a son like
my son is like, you know, I got four girls
and one son, and you know, having my son like
he having that, you know, especially with my son, I
think about my father more so than anything. But like
with him he brings like I give him the joy
(19:25):
and the love that he deserved like I do my daughters.
You know what I mean, because when I was a kid,
I always wanted that for my dad. I always wanted
to approval for my dad. I always wanted to make
sure I made him happy. But that was a tough
love he was giving me. That made me question at
that time. So, you know, with my son, like, I
definitely didn't want to come off that way, you know
what I mean, I didn't want to give him that
(19:46):
tough love. It may be times where it's needed, but
for the most part, you know, my son is my dog.
A loans with my daughters. But you know, having a
son now it makes me think about my dad more
than anything.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Now, is it true that you said Jordan on the
win it is your favorite, Michael Jordan, but.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
You don't do drugs more more so, you gotta explain
that way, more so from the standpoint of like how
simple he made the game as such a it was
thirty eight, thirty nine, forty.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Still, but that was your favorite, Jordan.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
It was my favorite, but it was more so the
one that I could I remember watching the most, you
know what I mean. I'm thirty five when you know
I was what twelve thirteen when when when Mike was
with the Wizards, So it was more me understanding and
like watching.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
And you fell in love with that, Jordan.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
No, I love Jordan, but I'm more so fell in
love with that Jordan with the style of playoff hot playing.
Now you know what I mean.
Speaker 5 (20:42):
Obviously you don't agree, huh No, I.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Mean, I mean I get what he's saying, but that
twenty three.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
On the Bulls three, it's definitely something that what's your
favorite Bron? My favorite Bron? That's a good question. I
mean second Cleveland Stint Lebron probably my my favorite Bron
because that's Lebron. We couldn't get passed when we was
in the playoffs. He was he was. He was unstoppable, unstoppable.
(21:11):
And you had a relationship with Kobe too, Yeah, Kobe was.
I had a relationship with cob ever since I was
probably fifteen fifteen, sixteen years old.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Just growing up in Compton, Like.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Yeah, growing up in Compton, and I always used to
go to his camps. Then obviously when I was in
high school, being a ty reigned ranking high school player,
he used to have these late night runs where we
would go up there and play, and you know, he
used to hand pick who, you know, who he fell
in love with as players, and I was one of
one of one of those ones. And by the time
(21:43):
I was a senior in high school, you know, he
would give me his shoes. I wore shoes his Kobe's all,
I think my senior year in high school a lot
of times. And when I went to college, he used
to give me a lot of his shoes. So we
always had a relationship ever since I was young.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
For sure, where do you rank them?
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Like?
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Where do you have?
Speaker 3 (21:59):
We just finished on my goat. I'm beyondest I tell
you about. Cobe is my goat for many a reasons.
You know, that was the first person like I watched,
like grown up in LA. That's the only NBA game
I used to watch Lakers, So I watched every single
game of his ship. I cried when he shot the
air balls versus Utah in the playoffs as a kid,
(22:20):
So I always had an emotional attachment to him growing
up watching him play and obviously him being my mentor
by the time you know, I got in high school
and throughout throughout my time in the league.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
Did the NBA provide proper grief counseling after Kobe passed
being even if you didn't have a personal relationship with Kobe,
he influenced so many people and inspired so many people.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Did they did they handle that correctly? Because I was
in the bubble too around that time.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Right, what is that the bubble? Yeah? That was that
same year, right, yeah, because that happened, yeah that yeah,
just that happened that year. Then the league stopped in
that summer, we went to the bubble. Yeah. No, you
know what Scrater, I think during that time as players,
we we kind of embraced each other deeper than than anything,
(23:09):
because you start to look at the person next to you, like, man,
damn if this could happen a cold, this could happen
to anybody, and it kind of hit us all hard,
man like, like I remember the night, I mean the
day it happened. I remember we had a game and
a lot of people across the league started, you know,
basically text and talk before the game is like should
(23:31):
we even play? A lot of people is contemplating on
not even playing because just out of respect for Cob
and everything. But we end up, you know, everybody ended
up holding the ball. I think we held the ball
for twenty four second shot clock. You know, just try
to you know, pay pay respect to him. But you know,
we all bridge together as players more more so than anything.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
I was playing against him because that was your idol.
That was your goal. Y'all played with ten games in
the league against each other total.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
Yeah, yeah, more than that, because probably more than that.
I think for me it was it was cool because
you know, I was even able to be a part
of his last All Star game in Toronto, you know,
to honor him even that season. I think we honor
him when he came to Toronto. I gave him some
(24:19):
special shoes, special made Kobe shoes. It was. It was
amazing being able to play against your idol, somebody you
looked up to, and knowing how crazy he was on
the court, you know, and and the order that he
carried it is almost similar to the stories I heard
about Mike, you know. And to see that in cold
(24:41):
whenever he stepped out there on the court and the
things he was able to do was it was beyond incredible.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
And now you also played on Master P's AAU here.
How I was playing for P.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
P was P was like man, that's like that's family
man like like P like beyond family man. P took
me in like like a son, honest, be honest with you,
like Monday through Friday, I'll be in I'll be in
Compton Friday night to Sunday, I'm at Pea House with Romeo,
you know room. You know, even the other day my
(25:13):
book signed in La room came through and you know,
show respect, you know, that's that's one of my close
friends since since it was fourteen fifteen years old. But
you know, he took me in. You know, I was
like I was like a son to him early on
for sure. So it was dope to be around that.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Whole Or how good was little Romeo playing ball? How
good was people? Because I'm sure y'all played.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Yeah, we played a lot. He was good. But he
was even better at talking smack like he used to
talking the whole game talking. Yeah, he used to talk
trash all day long.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
He gives me the old man, back you down, like.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Yeah, hit you with the elbow, like that's that's Pete, Pete,
like old school dirty. But he going if he hit
two shots in row, you ain't gonna hear the last
off it. And rome was nice, you know obviously you
don't looking back at it. And we even had this
conversation him being the child star he was, it was
(26:06):
hard for him to focus on, you know, just one thing,
but for him to even make it you know, the
college says a lot with the amount of stuff that
he was dealing with going through being a star, doing
TV shows, doing music and everything, so it was just
difficult for him to focus on one thing, but he
had it.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
I think for the wall, I love the title of
your book. Right now we're talking to the margor rolls
and above the noise my story and chasing calm. I
think we all know what noise sounds like, right, What
does calm sound like?
Speaker 1 (26:33):
Because one thing.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
You said earlier that that that hit me because I
understand that feeling is when you feel peace, and you're
a person that's used to dealing with anxiety about the depression.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
It scared you a little bit.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Man. I think I said this the other day. It's
kind of like, you know, that eery feeling you get
when you're in the middle of somewhere and it's just
too quiet, like you ain't for something go wrong, like
you just waiting, Like it makes your nerves kind of
even worse in that moment because you you you kind
of on ten from there. So that was even a
challenge for me, Like, and I used to try to
(27:06):
figure out ways on really how to like accept it
and indulge in it, so I start, you know, it
got to a point to where I started going to
like Montana, Wyoming, going to these random places where it's
just completely natural sound and just like getting lost in
it and understanding it's okay to be within peace, it's
(27:27):
okay to kind of decompress away from everything else that's
going on, because it's the true way to find the
center yourself and kind of really think clearly for a
second and not question it, medita or I mean, I'm big,
Like I remember I went to Montana. I got on
the river. I wouldn't loan the river for about seven
(27:48):
eight hours, no phone, no nothing, and just you know,
looked at the mountains and just wouldn't loan the river,
and you you know, it kind of put your thoughts
in perspective with everything I've been. Yeah, no, nothing.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
But that's the thing that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
But that's the thing. We get so caught up in
our phone. Like i'ma be honest too, Sometimes I get
lost in my phone and I get mad through my phone,
like damn, I don't need this, you know what I mean.
Let me kind of like like decompress from all this
and kind of just find myself because it's so easy
to get lost in everything else.
Speaker 6 (28:21):
So now you have like resources though where you can
get up and go to like Montana and all that stuff.
When you talk to younger players about finding peace, just
because they might not have the same environments, how do
you explain to them how they can find little pieces
of piece Like you said you had your grandmother who
was peace to you, Like, how do you talk to
them or talk them through that.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
I think you really got to find what you what
you love, and sometimes you can't be scared to try
something new either, you know, whatever that may be, because
it's different for everybody. And one thing I always try
to tell people be open minded to things you may
be comfortable uncomfortable with, because that could be the thing
that changes. Because it's a lot of stuff. I never
(29:00):
in my life thought i'd do it. I never thought
I'd be somebody from Comptant be in the middle of
Montana like. I never thought that. But I was open
to the idea of doing it and trying it, and
it was one of the most amazing things I did.
And even in that moment when I did it, I
remember I took like six seven of my cousins from
from Compton. I took him there. I remember they was
mad as shit at me because you know, I didn't
(29:21):
tell them what he was going.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
They thought was going somewhere.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
They thinking like we about to go turn up, we
going like and we get off the plane and we're
in the middle of Montana and they was mad. But
by the end of the Triller, it was like, Yo,
this is one of the greatest experience I ever had.
I never thought I'd be in Montanna scaling trees or
on the lake, or or fly fishing or doing all
(29:48):
these like I never would imagine. But it changed their perspective,
you know what I mean, in touch with nature too. Yeah,
it give them a whole different outlook on just life
and thinking it's just being around like you know tox
type of you know energy. Sometimes it's cool, it's you know,
everything in moderation. But sometimes you really just got to
ground yourself and figure out that that come.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
What is it that makes Compton so special?
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Man?
Speaker 4 (30:11):
Like, just think about all of the great iconic culture
shifting people who have come out of comp.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
Yeah, it's it's it's wild because I've had moments where,
you know, when I go back home and I'm leaving
out this like city and you really just sit and realize, like, man,
this this small city the births some of the greatest
individuals that ever touched the world, you know what I mean.
And it gives me the chills a lot of times
(30:39):
when I think about it, because you know, it makes
me even feel even more proud of even being from there,
because it don't happen by accident the same, you know
what I mean. It's something about this place, that that shape,
that have so much to offer, that that you that
you see, you know what I mean, And it's it's
it's I'm just honored to be a part of it.
(31:01):
Be honest with you. It's hard to pinpoint what what is?
What is it? But it's it's something amazing because we
got some grapes to come out of there.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
Now, you played in Toronto for years, but then Kendricks
from Compton, Drake is from Toronto. That's your guy. How
do you how do you choose what you're gonna get
into and what you're not gonna get into at that point.
Speaker 3 (31:19):
You know, it's crazy. It's like love them both family,
you know, it's but at the end of the day,
it's like I'm from Compton, like my city, where I'm from,
where I'm born, like when my family still live. It's
like that comes first before anything, you know. And I
feel like any real person will understand that, you know,
(31:43):
And that's just what it is like. And it's so
crazy because my second home became Toronto that that has
the one of the greatest of all time being from
there too.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
So watch your mouth, watch your mouth.
Speaker 5 (31:57):
But you're not mad about watch.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
Your mouth got the super Bowl?
Speaker 3 (32:00):
No, I'm not mad. I'm not mad. I understand it. Like, yeah,
we for sure love to see Wayne up there. And
my thing too is like everybody was in such an upworld.
We don't know Wayne was still gonna do it, you
know what I mean, Like we don't know. We didn't
know fifty was doing l A but we it was
such an honor and surprise to see him still do it.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
He can't do that though, Kendrick, I mean, I mean
that part of it, I would be crazy, you think so, Yes,
super Bowl, Kendrick put your name in the song. I'm
glad the Rose came home. Y'all didn't deserve it, neither
you being in the video. They were acting like you man,
crossing me lines and something, even though that's your guy.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
So imagine Wayne's showing up on stage with me. What
you want to say? I see dead people too, and
then walk off. That wouldn't have worked.
Speaker 3 (32:51):
I mean, it's that's why I'm glad I'm not in
an entertainment because your job is definitely difficult.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Have you spoke of Drake?
Speaker 3 (33:00):
No, I haven't talked to him. I haven't talked to him.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Ain't sent them a text to be like, you're good, blocked, nothing.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Good. It's just super Bowl.
Speaker 5 (33:15):
First it was the Penguins. Nowadays the thing is true. Okay,
go ahead ahead, you see watching.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
You can see the penguin thing. Is that's a thing
like people?
Speaker 3 (33:26):
Right? I think listen, it's dope regardless of how everybody
look at it. I think it's dope. Go back to
the content thing to see somebody from Comptant headline the.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
Super Bowl, like again, I just had one two years ago.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
Yeah, it's la in two years from now too, so
but yeah, I don't know. I just appreciate the moment.
I would love to see Wayne, you know, I love
to see you know, cash money out there. I love
to see no limit out there, you know, So I
don't think too much into it when it happens, because
I'm pretty sure it's more of a surprise that probably
(34:01):
do come with it. And that's just me guessing. I don't.
I don't have no insight on anything. That's just me guessing.
Speaker 4 (34:06):
And I like it, man, because you know, to the
victor goes the spoils right like it was. It was
the greatest rap feud of all time, greatest rap beef
of all time, Kendrick One. I feel like if Drake
would have got the better of that situation, it's no
doubt in my mind.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
We don't. We're getting Drake and Wayne at the super
Bowl this February, so absolutely so. You know, that's that's
like Kendrick's ring.
Speaker 4 (34:28):
It's not like you know sports, right, like you can
you play to a certain point and you play for
a championship and you win a ring. These guys just
sell records, sell our shoulder. What's like that that crowning moment.
This is like his crowning moment to me.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
I mean yeah, I mean it's and I look at
it from a fan perspective, from from the whole thing,
like it was just exciting year from the standpoint of
being able to see two of the biggest rappers off
time that duke it out, you know what I mean,
and to see where is it at now? Like I'm
a fan of it, you know what I mean, Like
because I look at it like that in sports, you
(35:02):
want to see the best of the best at it,
you know what I mean. When lose a draw, somebody
got somebody gotta lose. That's all right, but it's it's
it's sports. It's part of the sports competition. Get location,
who's better? For Get location, forget where you're from. It's
just pure listening. Who's a better rapper? Kendrick, Lamar Drake,
you not bother put me in this. I'm going with
(35:22):
both both. Both of them is my favorite. That's what
I'm I'm I'm leaving that.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
Drick was him.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
That's what coach said.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
I remember something like that.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
Yeah, he did. He did say that. It's it's such
a It's tough because even when it comes to Kendrick,
for me being from content, it resonates so in debt
because every album, every verse like a pinpoint that emotion
and feeling the bar for bar like it's certain things
(35:52):
he say with certain streets and lingo where I know
exactly what that feeling feels like or what that meaning
means to me is if you put me in that
situation is Kendrick. But it's like also like I remember
when Drake was making views, I was in Toronto and
I remember hearing it and knowing exactly the vibe and
(36:16):
the feeling he was going for it that was going
on in the city. So that's what makes it so
tough for me. That puts me in such a like
tricky like like you know what I mean, because I
was there like for both times, Like I've been there
for so many albums of Drake and really understand where
it comes from and everything. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (36:34):
So for me to be throwing in it, I want
you to break down the concert, right, the concert you
did in June team in La Right. Of course we
see it from the outside. We've seen the music side,
but everybody was talking about what he did for street
and local. So break that down for people that don't
understand that.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Part of it.
Speaker 3 (36:51):
People got to understand, Like I know, it could seem
like people celebrating whatever it come to the disc or whatever,
but for us, the weeks leading up to it, the
conversations that has had about certain people being in the
same buildings that haven't been around each other, the same
people that's been having issues, internal issues, hoods, individual problems
(37:14):
with a lot of a lot of people. For everybody
to know that they're going to be under one building
and act accordingly, no problems, no issues. I remember when
I first got there. I remember walking in the back
and I see the line of every single entourage, every hood,
every hood. I'm talking about blue, red, blue, red, blue, red, blue,
(37:36):
like you see it, and it was no issues, no problems,
everybody talking. In that moment, thear symbolized what really was
going on that was bigger than just with the outside
people may be looking at like, oh to beef, they
don't know, like some of these dudes haven't even been
in the same building in years, and some of these
dudes hoods then had serious issues with this other hood.
(37:59):
So it's like we all in here?
Speaker 6 (38:01):
Was it?
Speaker 3 (38:01):
Not? One problem was in one argument going or leaving?
And that was the most incredible thing for me to witness.
Speaker 4 (38:08):
How did you avoid I guess joining a gang Growing
up in Compton, I always wondering about.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
That because you would be like the good kid in
the Magic Yeah exactly.
Speaker 3 (38:17):
And I think for me, like my majority of my
family GAG members in a gang, associated with a gang,
and growing up in Compton, you was affiliated with a game,
whether you want to be not. And for me, I
had so many older people in my life that understood
(38:38):
and had the respect to where when they see me,
make sure I don't get in this situation or you know,
it's been times where a situation about to happen and
be like, all right, d out here, d somebody get
d out there taking take them on. Then we meet
back and you know, I hear that night a situation happened,
but they made sure I was. I was far gone
before anything happened. So I had a lot of that.
(39:01):
I was lucky enough to have a lot of that
from both sides, even with bloods and crypts, to be
able to have that type of respect and that that
that that loved to keep me away from a lot
of situations, even even my games in Compton, Like like
I remember so many games where I look in the crowd,
it'd be this hood that don't get along with this hood,
but they here to watch me play with no problems,
(39:23):
you know, And that used to mean so much to
me that that no issues happened.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
Nobody ever found you, and nobody ever found you hard
ever ever.
Speaker 3 (39:33):
Even still, I remember we used to have when we
had road games. My high school coach used to get
an extra two buses so we could take people to
our away games, and he used to make sure all
the game members took the bus so we wouldn't have
problems somewhere else. But that was always just a respect
I had growing up.
Speaker 4 (39:52):
When you look back at your journey from Compton to
the NBA, what's the most valuable lesson you think you learned?
Speaker 3 (40:00):
Most valuable lesson? That's a good question, man, that's a
hell of a question. I should have been ready for
that because I know, like you, I think for me
patience because growing up I always used to want everything
so fast, like I didn't I never consider nothing else.
(40:24):
And sometimes patience is what have you ready for when
it whatever you want to come? And that's one thing
I kind of I kind of learned because my patience,
when things came my way, I was ready for it.
I accepted I made the most out of it instead
of rushing through it.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
Ladies and gentlemen, Demal de Roz in this book is
out right now above the noise, my story of chasing calm,
and we appreciate you for joining us.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
For sure.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
Man, my Nick's beating up on y'all. You come on,
you come in, what's up?
Speaker 1 (40:54):
I wish you much success to season. I don't have
an NBA team. I like you know what I'm saying,
So you know I wish y'all much success in the Sacramento.
Speaker 3 (41:01):
Thank you, brother, appreciate it absolutely.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
It's the Breakfast Club. It's the Mar de Rosa, wake
that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club.
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