Club Shay Shay - Bow Wow Part 1

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Speaker 10 For the second season in a row, I partnered with T-Mobile's Friday Night 5G Lights, powering up hometown football across America.

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Speaker 2 A huge congrats to Derricks High School in Derricks, Arkansas, home of the Outlaws and your 2025 T-Mobile Friday Night 5G Lights Champion.

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Speaker 20 Stay tuned for season three in 2026.

Speaker 4 Damn, I just knew you didn't know about this.

Speaker 4 You went button up and you posted it.

Speaker 4 You good?

Speaker 4 I would have known I had you know.

Speaker 4 That's all I was insinuating. I'm trying to keep it low-key.
I'm trying to.

Speaker 4 All my life, been grinding all my life. Sacrifice, hustle, paid the price.
Want a slice, got to roll the dice. That's why, all my life, I've been grinding all my life.

Speaker 4 All my life, been grinding all my life.

Speaker 4 Sacrifice, hustle, paid the price.

Speaker 9 Want a slice, got the roll of dice. That's why, all my life, I've been grinding all my life.

Speaker 4 Hello, welcome to another episode of Club Sheche. I am your host, Shannon Sharp.
I'm also the proprietor of Club Sheche.

Speaker 4 Stopping by for conversation and a drink today is one of the originators of Aura, one of the most influential people in hip-hop, one of hip-hop's biggest name and most recognizable voices.

Speaker 4 He's earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Record as the youngest solo rapper to have a number one hit on the U.S. R B and rap chart.

Speaker 4 He sold out Madison Square Garden three times before the age of 16. He has a career spanning over 25 years.
He sold 10 million albums.

Speaker 4 And he's only 38 years of age, a certified child prodigy, a former teenage sensation, an era-defining artist, a gifted gifted performer, and well-rounded entertainer.

Speaker 4 He has multi-platinum selling songs and chart-topping tours, a Hollywood blockbuster actor and a global star, a TV personality and a host, a one-of-a-kind creative and the outsized personality, a business savage entrepreneur, a significant figure in the early 2000s.

Speaker 4 He's an influence on the culture and he's undeniable. Here he is, ladies and gentlemen.
Bow Wow. What's up, good guy?

Speaker 4 I hope that intro, bro. I love that intro.

Speaker 4 I was caught up in, that was dope. You like, damn, I did all that? Fire.
I did all that. That was fine.
So, when, you know what? I don't know if you drink anything, bro, but

Speaker 4 you got to just sip. I was always told, like, if you walk into somebody's house and a drink, you got to have it.
So, to the success, bro. 25 years? 25.

Speaker 4 Ooh, this that brown, too. Yeah.
Oh.

Speaker 4 God damn, bro.

Speaker 4 It's smooth, though. Yeah.

Speaker 4 Yeah, we're going to sip. It's like a shot.
It's like a shot. All right.

Speaker 4 I thought it was a shot. Thanks for coming.
Thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate it.
I know you're busy and you took time out of your busy schedule to give us a few moments of your time.

Speaker 4 So I greatly, greatly appreciate that. Likewise.
Let's go back to where it all started, Columbus, Ohio.

Speaker 4 What's your best memories of growing up in Columbus, Ohio? Best memories growing up in Columbus, Ohio,

Speaker 4 just being a kid. You know what I mean?

Speaker 4 Being a kid and doing what young boys like to do.

Speaker 4 Playing football, of course, that went kind of fast once I got hit for the first time. I remember telling my stepdad at the time, like, yo, I'm going to defense.
I think I'm about to move to DB.

Speaker 4 I think that I want to do the hitting. I don't want to get hit no more.
So just things like that. Just, you know, places that I used to hang out.
You know, United East Skating Ring

Speaker 4 was like the

Speaker 4 thing growing up. Me and my boys used to go to the skating ring, get dropped off all the time.
And, you know, that's where all the little girls would be at.

Speaker 4 And we'll think we're doing something up there.

Speaker 4 But just, it's just a peaceful place for me when I think about Columbus and growing up there and being raised there for the time that I was there before I came to Atlanta. But Columbus is my heart.

Speaker 4 It's my soul. It's my everything.
You get back much? Want to go back? Yeah, do you get back? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like we just, I just left.

Speaker 4 We was just in Cleveland, which was crazy how everything is aligned because it was my birthday. Wow.
So it was kind of emotional. Returning home,

Speaker 4 sold-out crowd. Birthday, brought out some legends.
I brought out bone thugs. You know, of course, they're from Cleveland.
Right. Had a chance to bring them out.
And Jermaine came out.

Speaker 4 Jermaine the Craig. JD came out.
Yeah. Surprised me.
Did a little speech live on stage. I got kind of tearioted and started, you know, crying.
So the people up Ohio, they know how much

Speaker 4 Ohio means to me. Not just Columbus in particular, but just the whole entire state, period.
But when you were growing up in Columbus, Ohio, what did you want to be?

Speaker 4 A football player? An athlete? I wanted to go to Duke.

Speaker 4 So you wanted to be a hooper? I wanted the hoop. Like, I didn't know that basketball players was as tall as they are.
Like now, people have been around them, watching the movie and all that.

Speaker 4 But growing up, like, I didn't have no access to players. So on TV, everybody to me, they're like normal height.
Like, right? And then I remember one day somebody like, you too short to play.

Speaker 4 I'm like, what you mean? And I finally like, I'm like, oh, damn. Yeah.
Yeah, this ain't going to work. Everybody's six feet and up.
Like, it ain't going to work.

Speaker 4 But that was my first thing was to go to Duke. And then I said, if that wasn't going to work out, Jerry McGuire is like one of my favorite movies.
I said, if I can't.

Speaker 4 Play the game, then I'd rather have some type of, you know, arm in it, which would be a sports agent.

Speaker 4 So once I saw Jerry McGuire, I was like, wow, this is a thing that I could do where I could still be around sports, but I don't necessarily have to get hit.

Speaker 4 I don't have to worry about breaking the limb or nothing like that, but I could still be in it. You're close to it.
Then that would be it. Right.
So what was the dynamic of your family?

Speaker 4 So you have siblings? You mentioned your stepdad, your mom. So was your real dad? Did you know who he was? Was he around? Yeah, pops, definitely know my pops.
Me and my father, we had

Speaker 4 kind of like a, I wouldn't even say a weird relationship. My father, you know, indulged in the alcohol.
Okay. You know what I mean?

Speaker 4 Was an alcoholic, like I said. I'm proud to say was, too, because he changed his life.
Wow, that's awesome. Over.
Like completely a whole different person.

Speaker 4 And where now we're able to catch up, go have lunch.

Speaker 4 He's able to reach out to me now. So I always knew my, I always wanted the best for my father.
And I think growing up, without him, you always want that

Speaker 4 father figure, that person to be there. I mean, I've had him, but...
It's nothing like your own blood. And I wanted that with him.
But yeah, growing up, really, it was just me and moms.

Speaker 4 You know, my moms did get married at one point.

Speaker 4 That was cool. And, you know, but even before that, it's always been me and moms.
And now it's me and moms. So it's me and moms do see the wheels fall off.
Right.

Speaker 4 You know what? Let's talk about this.

Speaker 4 And I always want to move past this. You're from Columbus, Ohio.

Speaker 4 There's another famous person from Columbus, Ohio who's an all-pro football player, played with the Pittsburgh Steelers, went to the Jets. I think he finished his career with Kansas City.
Yep. And

Speaker 4 I don't really know how it started by. Well, maybe you can add some context to this.
I think you said like, okay, I'm the most famous person or I'm the biggest. Nah, I said I'm the biggest.

Speaker 4 You're the biggest from Columbus, why? Okay.

Speaker 4 Okay. I feel, I mean, I'm supposed to feel like that.
I think anybody with some type of success, especially coming from a small city like that. I mean, we got a lot of legends.

Speaker 4 James Buster Douglas, God rest his soul. He's from Columbus, myself.

Speaker 4 It's a list of others. Even Lotto.
A lot of people don't know Lotto. Yeah.
Atlanta, but yeah, Lotto from Columbus. Okay.
Like, that's where she was born. I say that.

Speaker 4 But, yeah, man, I mean, it's just.

Speaker 4 Did you expect to get any kind of backlash? Yeah, I knew it. I knew it.
Oh, you knew he was going to say something to somebody. I didn't know that Levy Levy Allen was going to say something.

Speaker 4 But I knew somebody was going to say something just because of the energy. Look,

Speaker 4 it all stemmed from the national championship game. Okay.
The Buckeyes. The Buckeyes is in Atlanta.

Speaker 4 It's rare that I get Columbus and Atlanta together. Okay.
And it's in Atlanta. We go to the dome.
I go to the suite.

Speaker 4 My boys, all my boys from Columbus,

Speaker 4 we all got a, well, they got the box. And so I'm looking.
They're like, you got to have a drink. I'm like, I ain't got nothing over there.
I drink. They're like, we got tequila.

Speaker 4 I'm like, bro, I'm going to drink Patron. That's Patron.

Speaker 4 I happened to take a couple of shots. We won and I got on live.
And it just, I just, I thought, oh, you thought I won. Yeah.

Speaker 4 And I was trying to make it. People don't know this.
I was trying to get to the field. My security said, bow, you just kept trying to get to the field.
And I did get to the field.

Speaker 4 They were celebrating. I'm like, yo, you got to let me out there.
Right. They're like, bow, man, we will, but we can't let.
I'm like, you got to let me out there. Like, I'm the biggest thing from the.

Speaker 4 And riding off of emotions, I went on my live and I said what I said, but I didn't know that he was going to come back. And I will say this.
I reached out to him as soon as I saw the video.

Speaker 4 I'm not not like most cash i'm not like the back and forth on the internet try to keep it going you try to settle it i'm gonna call you so i hit him on a dm like yo call me i don't do the internet right hello no thing okay we spoke like men okay passed it up um i told him where i was coming from with it he apologized like man you know

Speaker 4 I jumped out there not knowing blah blah blah like that and the people spoke for me I didn't even have to say much right but um I got love for Levian that's all good okay I appreciate that did you did you know he was from Columbus yeah I knew okay I knew he was from Columbus.

Speaker 4 Okay, yeah, nice little thing. So let me ask you this.
So before you, because, okay, you're in Columbus, Ohio. You say, I want to go to Duke, but you really come to the realization.

Speaker 4 It ain't working. It ain't going to happen.

Speaker 4 And so now you shift your focus. Now you realize or come to the realization, basketball ain't happening.
Damn. Now what is the focus? The focus was just being a kid.
Okay. And letting it just happen.

Speaker 4 So I remember

Speaker 4 at the time, I want to say

Speaker 4 I was on the football field. Okay.
And my mother walked up to the fence. And she was like, come here.
And I was like, all right, what's up? She said, we're going to Atlanta tomorrow.

Speaker 4 I'm like, for what?

Speaker 4 And she's like,

Speaker 4 I know you said you just want to live a normal life. You want to be a kid.
You don't want to do the thing. Because after the whole death row thing fell out, I was over the music business.

Speaker 4 I was like, I'm done with it. She said, but this is guy by the name of Jermaine Dupree I want you to meet.
I'm like, who? He found crisscross. And growing up, I was so envious of crisscross.
Yeah.

Speaker 4 Because when Snoop had me, I felt like that was my time, even though it wasn't.

Speaker 4 And I was like, I don't want to meet him. I don't want to go nowhere.
I'm in full pads and gear. I'm like, I don't want to go.
Yeah. I want to be right here.

Speaker 4 I'm about to get this pink mama taken to the house. I want to be a kid.
I don't want to do that. And my mama, I don't want to hear nothing you got to say.
We going.

Speaker 4 And sure enough, I never look back. Right.
Yep.

Speaker 4 So,

Speaker 4 after you're playing sports and being a kid, so obviously your mom realized that you have a talent. So you're doing talent shows.
Yeah. So are you in a group? No group.
No group. Is you solo? Me solo.

Speaker 4 Rapping, doing RB. So

Speaker 4 what is your spiel? What are you doing?

Speaker 4 Believe it or not, it was comedy.

Speaker 4 My mom brought me that red, white, and yellow, blue official price microphone so people can take things. Yes.
I used to always mimic people. I used to always mimic stuff.

Speaker 4 So it went from that to my mom playing rap music or whatever. I got a young mom.
So from that, then it went to, okay, he wanted to be an entertainer.

Speaker 4 There's something in him. We just don't know what it is.
Is it

Speaker 4 the comedian stuff? Is it the music? But the way I will hold a comb or a remote control resembling a microphone in my movements, I just knew how to imitate what I saw.

Speaker 4 And then, you know, that one special night when Snoop and Dre and them came to Columbus,

Speaker 4 that was my chance, and that was my night to really flex what I've been not really working on, but that I just possessed. Like,

Speaker 4 it was just second nature to entertain and just

Speaker 4 have fun with it. Right.
And then I think when mom saw that and saw me up on that stage in front of all them people, and then Snoop and Dre wanted to meet me. Right.

Speaker 4 That's when they clicked for mom and like, okay, this is what it is. This boy about to be a rapper.
Right. I don't want you to focus on nothing else.
Rap, rap, rap.

Speaker 4 When you get out there, they're going to take care of the school and all that. Right.
This is who you are. Right.
And I never look back.

Speaker 4 But you had, originally, before you became Bow Wow, you was kid gangster. How do you get? How did you get? Did you give yourself that name or somebody gave you that name?

Speaker 4 Oh, somebody gave me that name. Because I love gangster rap.
Right. You know what I mean?

Speaker 4 My mom, like I said. Even with that heavy cursing, your mom would let you.
Man, let me hear all that.

Speaker 4 Let me hear all that like that was me that's me on doggy song on snoop album all the kids cursing and all that so i it just fit me and then i remember getting with snoop and he was like what's your name i was like kid gangster he was like this

Speaker 4 that ain't gonna work then he looking like

Speaker 4 but he he little me though right he little snoop right and then he seemed little snoop i'm i'm the big dog i'm the big bow while you

Speaker 4 you little bow right so snoop gave you that name snoop gave me the name and it stuck stuck you but you liked it though it was weird at first because i was so used to kid gangster and I'm like like little bow I'm like

Speaker 4 it didn't really ring and I remember him telling me I want you to repeat it like I want you to get comfortable saying that name that's who you are that's your name your name is Lil Bow Wow and I was like

Speaker 4 that's dope and he basically it's like no matter where you go in life no matter who you sign with no matter what you do you're gonna always have a piece of snoop with you because you are the little me and I gave you that name so You know, that name mean everything to me.

Speaker 4 So in other words, you were the first Lil. There are a lot of Lil.
There are a lot of L-I-L's, but you were the first. I was one of the first.

Speaker 4 Kim was out before I was. A little Kim.
Right. Kim was out before I was.
Okay. Am I one of the biggest littles? Absolutely.

Speaker 4 So in the talent, when you did talent shows in Columbus, you were rapping. Correct.
You win them. You win all your shows? You were killing them.
You killing them. Jack the Rapper.

Speaker 4 That's one of like the biggest hip-hop. Yeah, Jack the Rapper was here in Atlanta.
Yep, yep. So you came with Jackie the Rapper? Did Jack the Rapper? Did all that.
Almost had everything.

Speaker 4 Like, opened up for Tupac and Yo-Yo back in the day. Yeah.
Man, I want to find that picture so bad. That picture is so tough.
Um, yeah, opening up for people. I mean, I was doing everything.

Speaker 4 I mean, you name it, man. I was, I remember doing value.
So, you, you were the person, you were the traveling. Oh, yeah.
It was up.

Speaker 4 It wasn't just no, okay, in Columbus, and then I go to Cleveland, and I go to Canton, and I go to these Ohio, you was going state to state, and I really have to move much because Columbus, you know, that's the capital.

Speaker 4 And then, for me, being at Columbus isn't like a big city, like in Atlanta or New York. If you ringing bells in anything,

Speaker 4 sports, music, like you can seriously own the town. Like they will get behind you and rally to let you know, like you here.
So it's almost like I really didn't have to go nowhere.

Speaker 4 Like a lot of the competitions that we were doing in Columbus, I was winning them, performing at East High School.

Speaker 4 Man, I did it. Like

Speaker 4 I've done it. And everybody in Columbus that they know, like this boy, it didn't happen overnight.
You remember about coming to here, sneaking in here?

Speaker 4 You know, his mom and them would, I mean, we, I did it all.

Speaker 4 I did it all how did you learn that stage present were you ever nervous because it strikes me like you just a natural performer and nerves was never an issue with you

Speaker 4 or did you have to develop that

Speaker 4 i love that stage

Speaker 4 i love the stage it's because your mom probably had you performing in front of family and friends at a very young age so they come over hey baby do do that yeah my mom would be like don't hold stop covering the damn mic you can't cover the mic you muffled all y'all rappers want to cover the mic you got to hold the mic right there underneath i'm like man it's just it's feel when i'm hosting right

Speaker 4 but when i'm rapping i gotta i gotta get in my bag right um l cool j yes l did it for me um watching him perform

Speaker 4 so many similarities that i see when i look at l pertaining to myself heavy female records

Speaker 4 the women fan base.

Speaker 4 But when you watch him perform, to me, that's my idol. That's my go-to.
That's my GOAT. That's the film that I watch.
You know, we watch film and we study.

Speaker 4 I watch old L Cool J performances, and you will see the moves that I've stole from this man. I'm happy to say this.
He knows this. OG, that's my, he knows he's my GOAT.
And

Speaker 4 when I watched him, I was just like, yo, this dude rocks. Like, he rocks a crowd.
That's what I want to do. I got a, it's cool to have a hit.
It's cool to sound good on the record.

Speaker 4 It's cool to, but when people come see you live in concert that pay their money and the music matches with what they see live live is different right

Speaker 4 you you you got you got it so for me i took i take the stage very seriously and i come from that cloth i come from that era where performing is everything right rocking the crowd rocking the house so l is the only person that i watch for that and you'll see it like little subtle things the leg thing i do is all and when i'm down when i'm rapping fresh i miss i feel like i'm performing bad i'm bad every night when i do fresh i really feel like i'm doing the bad so he means so much to me just performance wise and everything that he's done.

Speaker 4 Did you ever get nervous and forget a lyric or forget a step or something while you was on stage?

Speaker 4 I did one time.

Speaker 4 One time I was in Chicago. That's when I first came out.

Speaker 4 Jermaine was on stage first. He brought me out to do bounce with me.
I come out there. I kid you not.

Speaker 4 I wrapped the second verse on the first verse and it completely threw off everything.

Speaker 4 I'm hearing my ad-libs saying different things. And

Speaker 4 I promise you, I remember like it was yesterday.

Speaker 4 The face that Jermaine had on,

Speaker 4 oh, it was that. It was,

Speaker 4 are you serious right now? Like, that's what it was. Right.
And I'm looking at him like, he can see it in my eyes, but I'm just going to keep rapping. Like, he sees it.

Speaker 4 I'm going to just keep it going. Right.
But I knew.

Speaker 4 Did the crowd know? Oh, they most definitely knew. Okay.
But the thing is, keep going. But I've had my mishaps.
I don't fell through holes on stage. Damn.
Yeah. Like,

Speaker 4 we know this, right? We, um, I have these things on stage sometimes where I get launched out of right, yes, yes.

Speaker 4 And you got to be careful because if somebody else is coming up, if I have a surprise guest, it'll be down. Right.
So, you know, this wasn't this tour. This was

Speaker 4 our first run with the millennial. Well, my second.
Well, my first run with the millennium. And I had Soldier Boy in the hole.

Speaker 4 And I forgot that the night before we did MSG, I didn't have him because we couldn't bring our stage. Right.
So it's down. Soldier's in it waiting.
And I kid you not. And I was a little hungover.

Speaker 4 It was my birthday the night before. I literally

Speaker 4 went missing. Bam.
Fell on top of Souls. He in the hole like what the hell is going on? I don't fell on him and I said, bro, oh my God.
And then he looks at me.

Speaker 4 He goes, man, you ain't just do what I think you did, bro. I said, bro, I fell through the hole.

Speaker 4 All these people.

Speaker 4 I said, we're going to stand up straight. We're going to come up together.
And when we came up together, we came up laughing. And it was a moment.

Speaker 4 But my manager was like, yo, the so i got the stage and said man you got to post this before anybody else posted so but yes things happen right things happen so as a kid you were your mom allowing you to go to concerts as a kid and see some of this gangster rap and see some of these rappers do you remember the first concert you went to first concert i went to was uh the chronic tour wow snoop dre boss

Speaker 4 um and onyx right yep that was six years old yep i was there i was there and from that point on you was hooked gone so they brought so did you know they were gonna bring you out not Not at all. So

Speaker 4 AJ Johnson, God Arrested, Soul, who plays Ezelle on Friday. Yeah.

Speaker 4 He was the MC, was the host of the tour. And during the intermission, he said, you know, anybody want to come over here and dig dig out with the tape? Da-da-da-da.
And

Speaker 4 he picked me out the crowd. Like, man, let's man up.
Oh.

Speaker 4 I'm talking about the front of like 16,000. I just started rapping.

Speaker 4 Rapping, you know. a little rap somebody might have wrote for me.
Crowd going crazy. They throwing money on the stage.
You know, me, I stopped rapping. I'm grabbing the money.

Speaker 4 I'm like, man, this right here. I'm like, forget this.
I'm like, damn, you know what I mean? And then the crowd was going crazy. And Daz, actually, Daz was like, he was the one who saw me.

Speaker 4 And he said, man, I'm about to take you to the back and let you meet Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.
I'm about to bring you back here. Little homie, Cole.
Right. Brought me back there, met him.

Speaker 4 And that's when I met Dre and Snoop for the first time. We got this epic photo at six years old.

Speaker 4 in the middle of Dre and Snoop. And then that's when they was like, you know what? We're going to do this every night.

Speaker 4 We're going to bring him on the road, put him in the crowd, and we're going to yell like, who want to come on? We're going to pick him every night. And we're going to let Lil Man get off.

Speaker 4 Oh, so that's how that worked.

Speaker 4 Okay. So now I'll be knowing because they'd be like, oh, and they'd be bringing this person up.
And that person already be planning this. Might have already been planning it.

Speaker 4 But that's where they stood with. Like, yo, nah, we're going to bring Lil' Man with us.
And I never look back. So when they told you, so, okay, we're going to do this.

Speaker 4 So when you go out there and they say, oh, Dav takes you back. You meet Snoop, you meet Dre, and they say they're going to bring you out.

Speaker 4 Do you remember the song that you performed out there with him? I definitely don't. I definitely don't.
And it was towards like the end and stretch of the tour.

Speaker 4 So, what I do remember was as soon as the tour was over,

Speaker 4 they went in production for Snoop album for Doggy Style. So, I was around when he made Doggy Style.
I was in studio sessions while

Speaker 4 they were making it and creating it. Like, I'm watching Unk

Speaker 4 in the booth. Like, I'm sitting out here just watching them work on this album.
Right. And that's how I got on the album.
You know what I mean? From being there. Then I did a couple records at Leap.

Speaker 4 They on YouTube. They out.
It's bad. It's bad.
The language that I was using is crazy. Yeah, they had me on something.
Yeah, if CPS would have found out back, they didn't have came and got you.

Speaker 4 Oh, God. Would they? I mean, it was crazy when they was on.
They were really molding me to be Lil Snoop. Like, for real.
I had corrupt writing my rhymes.

Speaker 4 And, you know, at that time, it was just stuff that, you know, a seven, six-year-old shouldn't really be rapping about. And Snoop knew that.

Speaker 4 And then, you know, that's how that whole thing kind of played out.

Speaker 4 Did you feel like everything, because it happened so quick, you're six years old, you're on stage, you're at a concert, you see them, you go back, you start doing this.

Speaker 4 did you feel like everything was coming easy

Speaker 4 not that it was coming easy uh i felt like it wasn't coming fast enough okay actually you know um because once i got to la

Speaker 4 a lot of artists

Speaker 4 well i don't know about now but i know back then a lot of artists had to sit on the leg we call that basically when they sign you but you're gonna wait your turn right artist development we're gonna get you right

Speaker 4 and all of this type of stuff so i just felt like i was ready you felt you was already right it wasn't no sense in waiting man i was ready i want it you know what i mean but obviously it wasn't my time right crisscross is on fire.

Speaker 4 ABC was out.

Speaker 4 I probably would have drowned. Like, they had the market sold up.
You know what I mean? So it was perfect timing for Snoop to be like, you know what?

Speaker 4 I know the person I'm going to put him with. I know exactly where he needs to go because this death row thing is just not it for him.
Right. Like it's not safe.

Speaker 4 And I don't want him growing up being influenced by the gang culture. Now he's banging and he's doing this.
I know exactly what to do with him. I'm going to place him right with Jermaine Dupree.

Speaker 4 And I know he's going to take him exactly where I know he needs to go.

Speaker 4 But before that happened, you signed the death row and you moved to Cali and your mom didn't go with you. Nah, moms ain't.
Moms ended up coming out there later. Right.

Speaker 4 But off the rip, I was staying with Nancy Fletcher. That's one of Snoop's background singers at the time.

Speaker 4 How old were you? You remember how old you were? Probably like six going on seven. And your mom just say, hey, go ahead.
Yeah. That's a lot of trust.
A lot of trust. But trusted Nancy with everything.

Speaker 4 She was such a sweet person, sweetheart, took care of me, took me in. I lived with her.
And

Speaker 4 I really wasn't around the guys much. Like it was a home environment, even in L.A.
Then my mom ended up coming out there later.

Speaker 4 And we ended up getting an apartment. Right.
I believe out in Sherman Oaks somewhere.

Speaker 4 And then from there,

Speaker 4 my mom went back. And then I went back after her, back to Columbus.
And that's when I wanted to play football and just be a kid. Right.
Then we got that call. Right.

Speaker 4 Time to come today.

Speaker 4 Wow. I mean, things are happening so fast.
So, okay. Now, you rapping on a dog dog style album.

Speaker 4 You're like, but Snoop, Snoop, not only did he do you a favor twice, he brought you out there because he saw the talent in you, but he also saw that, you know what, what I'm rapping about and what this culture is about, he doesn't need to be a part of this.

Speaker 4 Right. And he moves you along.
Well, because did you know that's what he was doing it for, or you thought, like, maybe I'm not good enough and they don't believe in me?

Speaker 4 It never was a moment where I felt like I wasn't good enough. I understood because it was so explained that to you? No, he never did.
Okay. but it was so self-expanded.

Speaker 4 It didn't have to. The writing was on the wall.
I've seen it. Okay.

Speaker 4 Just being around,

Speaker 4 witnessing the things that was going on and

Speaker 4 seeing what Snoop was going through.

Speaker 4 I knew he didn't have time to focus on the artist. He had to focus solely on himself.
And he felt like that was so selfish. It would be selfish of him to

Speaker 4 worry about him, but still having me near. I'm getting older.
I'm getting older. And it's like, man, this dude, I know this kid can go.

Speaker 4 I just got to put him with somebody. I don't want to be the reason

Speaker 4 he doesn't make it.

Speaker 4 he has to make it right and we done moved him out here the next thing for him is boom jd and it was almost like like a like almost like a like dropping off your kid and come back to get him it was like here you go jd but look nephew i'm gonna swerve around the block

Speaker 4 a little later on we're gonna meet all right right and once i got hot It was up, bro. And first album, second single, Snoop, me and Dog, number one.
So it's like, he was right.

Speaker 4 I'm going to place you there, and we're going to, I'm going to come back around and come get you. Yeah.
I'm going to come get you. And he got me.
When it was on Dog Father, you gin and juice.

Speaker 4 Did you know what gen and juice was? Nope.

Speaker 4 I just remember seeing this green bottle all the time at Laraby Studios with the little red circle on it. I'm like, man, why y'all be having that around? And there was always some orange juice around.

Speaker 4 I'm like, what is that? They're like, that's tang around.

Speaker 4 Eric, that was the thing back then. Yes.

Speaker 4 You don't hear nobody talking about that. No.
Nobody talking about. Hey, bring me 20 bottles of gin.
You don't hear that. Like, that's not the thing.
But yeah, I had no clue.

Speaker 4 I just knew this is green bottle with this red sticker on it yeah and it's always in the studio or it's around and it's always next to some damn orange juice i don't i don't get it but around that time tupac was around yeah and i i read that you tried to sneak in the studio oh absolutely when pop was absolutely i i just one thing about me i always remained like being a kid right no matter how big i got no matter what i was doing being a child meant everything to me right you know and yeah that's true pop was working and

Speaker 4 i'm i'm like i gotta see this i'm gonna i want to see it right i want to see him right i don't even know if he even remembers me because i opened up for him years years back but i don't even think he knows it's the same kid you know what i mean so definitely try to sneak in most definitely i wanted to see that up post but i'm glad i got the chance to watch snoop though right because to be there to witness watching him create one of the

Speaker 4 greatest hip-hop albums of all time and say you was in the same room and watched it I was and back then how the tracks were, you know, they used to have to get the Razors and

Speaker 4 cut the tape. Like, it was amazing watching how it all came together.
Yep, I was there for it. Like, I hear these.

Speaker 4 If I play Doggy Stop now, it's like, it's weird for me because every song, I just remember where I was. Like, I love, I'm glad that I was able to have that moment.
Was Shu around during that time?

Speaker 4 Oh, most definitely. Should was around.
Right. 100%.
Most definitely.

Speaker 4 So you left. So.
Snoop drops you off at Jermaine Dupree. Yep.
What was your first interaction? What was your first conversation with JD like?

Speaker 4 Why you late?

Speaker 4 Damn.

Speaker 4 Why you late? That was it. And he could believe it.
Because you got to think, I despise, like, I didn't really rock with JD at first because of the crisscross stuff.

Speaker 4 So I'm like, man, now I'm about to go work with the person who

Speaker 4 put them in motion. And I don't know, man.
What if he tried to sabotage? I don't know, man. I don't know.
I want to be with my man. I want a dog, man.
I want to be with Snoop.

Speaker 4 And I remember he picked me up in Buckhead, me and my mom from the Higher Hotel. Okay.
And an all

Speaker 4 JD, correct me if I'm wrong, I don't know if it was the black one or the white one. He had two Billies.
Right. Big boy Billies.

Speaker 4 And he picked me up in one. Never seen a Billy in my life.
So I'm walking to the hotel. I'm like, man, you late.

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Speaker 10 For the second season in a row, I partnered with T-Mobile's Friday Night 5G Lights, powering up hometown football across America.

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Speaker 6 The votes are in.

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Speaker 8 Congratulations again to Derek's high school outlaws.

Speaker 4 Man, he had me and my mama sent a dollar all day. He like, damn, that's crazy.
Like, this kid is a star. Like, this is the first thing he's telling me.

Speaker 4 I'm like, yeah, man, because he looked like a kid to me, too. Jermaine was fun and short.
I'm taller than him now, but

Speaker 4 like, I just. But y'all was closer to height back then.
He was close to the height back then. And I'm just like, that was it.
I was like, you late?

Speaker 4 And then the first question I asked him, I said, yo, why this car ain't got no logo on it? It's just a B on here. Like, what did I never seen?

Speaker 4 Coming from Columbia, I've never seen no car with just a B on it. Right.
There's a Billy. I'm like, I never, I don't know what that is, but all I know, Shannon, he had the thick rabbit fur.

Speaker 4 You know what I'm talking about? He's coming to Benny coming in. I mean, I was like, nah, this

Speaker 4 is different. This is this, this.
Okay, I like that. It's something.
Yeah, so

Speaker 4 we ain't got these.

Speaker 4 And then from there, he knew exactly what to do. He said, I went to the crib, went to his house, flexed it on me.
11 cars in the driveway. Never seen nothing like it.

Speaker 4 We had two Benley's, Porsche's Rovers, the 745 when they were out back then. I mean, Ferrari's,

Speaker 4 man, JD was wilding. And when I saw that,

Speaker 4 I'm wearing it. I was like, mama, I'm kind of glad.

Speaker 4 I ain't see this.

Speaker 4 This is different. You saw six foals out there, huh? Man, listen, I'm like, man, JD,

Speaker 4 he,

Speaker 4 he, I will say this.

Speaker 4 The first man

Speaker 4 that I seen, I'm on two eyes, that I seen myself. And I said, dang.

Speaker 4 I want him to be like, he's what I look up to him as a father figure.

Speaker 4 Jermaine filled that void that my father left you know i'm saying like when i saw him i knew man i want to i want to make i want to make him happy i want to i want to make him the most money so we can keep buying cars right i want he he he showed me the blueprint i want everything he got plus more right and you know that's like being the kid on the block and you see the dude come around the s5 figure you like damn that's gonna be me one right i just gotta know how to get to it and when i saw that i'm like all right this is how old were you at that time i'm probably like 11 now okay probably like 11 jd had me like 11.

Speaker 4 Right. So when I saw it, I was like, when we get in that studio,

Speaker 4 that's what I want to do. And he made me sit for a minute.
We did a song on the Wild Wild West soundtrack for Will Smith.

Speaker 4 It ain't do nothing. And the song ain't do nothing.
But it made it to the soundtrack. Right.

Speaker 4 It ain't do nothing. It wasn't.
He was just making sure I was ready. But I was so happy to do that record.
And I remember playing that song all the time. Like, all right.

Speaker 4 We got some chemistry. We're going to make some magic here.
This is up. This is me and you for life, for sure.

Speaker 4 You understood, you said he had

Speaker 4 Chris Cross,

Speaker 4 the Brad Usher. So you knew he had made big stars.
And you're like, well, hell, he did it for them. He can do it for me.
Yeah. Was that your thought process? You think that.

Speaker 4 And there's some times where it could be a top producer and it don't happen for you like that. Like I've seen cats come to social death and it might not work out for them.
Right.

Speaker 4 And I see him leave social death and they blossom. So every situation ain't

Speaker 4 totally different. You know what I mean? Yeah.

Speaker 4 But Jermaine just,

Speaker 4 he, it,

Speaker 4 I told him, I said, listen, if I'm not the biggest artist you ever had on your label, then I failed. Like, I want to be the biggest artist you ever had sitting next to you.
That's what I want to be.

Speaker 4 Why do you think you and J.D. had the chemistry that you guys, that you guys possess?

Speaker 4 You had it, you felt it right off the bat. Why do you think there was such great chemistry between you two? I think because Jermaine is an only child, and I am too.
Oh, okay. And also

Speaker 4 being that Jermaine was still

Speaker 4 twice that too.

Speaker 4 That too. And

Speaker 4 I just think that he might have always wanted a little brother. Right.
And I always wanted a big brother or father.

Speaker 4 And I never had it. Right.
And he never had it until we met each other. Right.
So at first it started out like, that's big bro. That's big bro.
That's a little bro.

Speaker 4 Then it's like, nah, that's really like your son, bro. Like that man, me, look up to you.
Y'all talk alike. Y'all walk

Speaker 4 everything.

Speaker 4 And it was true.

Speaker 4 And I think that's what made it so perfect. I was looking for something, and he was probably looking for something.
And then, boom, like to this day, he's like, I ain't got no son.

Speaker 4 I got, he is my son. Bow is my son.
That's my son. Like, he'll say it.
Say it proudly, too.

Speaker 4 Working with Usher, did you feel like he was going to be able to do that?

Speaker 4 Because you said a lot of times you see guys that be with these hip hop, these great producers, and they don't find success over there. They go somewhere else that the producer that's not as known.

Speaker 4 But he had Usher, and Usher was just

Speaker 4 fire. Exploded.
I was there for that. I was there.
Look, man,

Speaker 4 I had the Confessions album before anybody had it on a burnt disc. Like, coming, like, from the studio, though.

Speaker 4 Jermaine used to ride around to it before it even came out. We was, I knew, I knew what that was going to be.
And just, yeah, and not only that, just my projects that Jermaine has worked on, but

Speaker 4 being there for the Confessions album. and watching him and Brian Michael Cox, how they did it.
And, you know, it only inspired me more.

Speaker 4 And I remember Jermaine, like, he sent me to an Usher concert one time. Like, I need you to go get inspired.
I think you're just getting a little bit too relaxed. So he sent me off to Usher's concert.

Speaker 4 And I,

Speaker 4 I believe it's a confessions tour. I went, and I was just mind-blowing.
I was like, man, I got to,

Speaker 4 I got to feel it again. I got to get it.
I got to turn it back up. So Jermaine is just a wizard of, he just knows, right? He just knows how to put you in certain situations.

Speaker 4 He knows that each artist is different, but he knows how to tap into each one of his artists.

Speaker 4 But I definitely told him, if I sign with you, if I'm going to roll with you, I want to be the biggest artist you ever had.

Speaker 4 It did that. Did that.
When you started to blow up, Bounce With Me, you had That's My Name, Puppy Love, Ghetto Girls. How did that change your life? Now, you're in a different stratosphere.
Now

Speaker 4 did you act differently, or were you still the same? What about it? I was bad as hell.

Speaker 4 I was bad as hell. I was bad as hell.
I would go, listen, okay, so around this time, this triple platinum battle. This is the first album.

Speaker 4 Man, I'm pulling up to the SoSo Dev offices, going out, hitting the power surgeries, boom, boom, boom. Lights go off in the office, everybody's computers, meetings going on.

Speaker 4 They're like, what the hell? Jermaine banning me from the studio. Jermaine banned me from the office.
Damn, you cutting up like that. I was a bad kid.

Speaker 4 Like, I knew, that's, and that's why I believe when people ask me, like, how do you think you still have your head on your shoulders? I'm like, because I had my, I had my childhood. Right.

Speaker 4 You know, nobody took that away from me. I played, like I said, I played football, but even when I was famous, I remained a kid.
I was pulling pranks on people.

Speaker 4 Like I said, turn off the power at the office. I just had no care.
And

Speaker 4 not only

Speaker 4 being a superstar, a young superstar, but I'm still a kid. So I got that.
Haha, there's more than you can say right now. Right.
Because I'm paying your bills. I'm paying your bills.

Speaker 4 I'm paying your bills. I'm keeping the lights on so I can turn these lights off whenever I feel like it.
So, and I'm a kid. So it's only so much you're gonna do but call my mama.
Right.

Speaker 4 That's all you can do or tell Jermaine and Jermaine gonna be like, stop. And

Speaker 4 I ain't stopping. I ain't stopping.
So, yeah, I remained a kid, bro. And if Jermaine was was here, he'll tell you.
That's one thing that boy did.

Speaker 4 We could be anywhere. He just always, at that time, he was a kid.
Right. And he remained that.
What was your favorite? What's your favorite memory from that time?

Speaker 4 Favorite memory from that time.

Speaker 4 It'd be Salaman Masquerad Garden. Wow.
Yeah, MSG for sure.

Speaker 4 The garden. And it's so many moments.
Like, I'm just sitting there thinking, it's so many, me and Madonna. It's so many,

Speaker 4 so many memories. But

Speaker 4 that one right there was different for me. Right.
Cause I'm like, all the history that happens in this band.

Speaker 4 13, a little boy from Ohio, really. Wow.
16,000 kids in here. This is crazy.
And then to do it again, then to come back and do it again. And then to be 38, and we still doing it.

Speaker 4 It's a blessing.

Speaker 4 I never imagined. Did you think? I mean, because, I mean, I don't know.
I'm trying to think, is there a child star that's as big as you were that now, as big as you were back then?

Speaker 4 Because you had to, I mean,

Speaker 4 teenage girls follow you, small girls follow you, faint and just like wanted to take a picture, wanted to get a glimpse of you, wanted to see, just wanted to see bow wow.

Speaker 4 I mean, one person come to mind. The closest thing to Lil' Bow probably Bieber.
Okay.

Speaker 4 I'll give it a JB. That's my man.

Speaker 4 Only because he started young.

Speaker 4 I was 13, though. So I was the youngest.
I'm not sure. I think Bieber might be 13, 14, whatever.
But

Speaker 4 the closest that I've seen, because Chris started at 15, 16. Right.
He was already

Speaker 4 getting to it. Where, you know, me and Bieb was probably like 13 years old.
Right. Because when Michael blew up, he was in the group.
He wasn't solo like you,

Speaker 4 like you, like you were, like Bieb were. He was with the Jackson 5.
And then once he went on his own,

Speaker 4 good night.

Speaker 4 Good night. So, what was the craziest fan interaction?

Speaker 4 Now this

Speaker 4 is good. I'm in Chicago.
I had three sold-out shows in one day. That's how they used to do them.
Theater shows.

Speaker 4 We'll do

Speaker 4 like the one o'clock, then the matinee, and then we'll do the 7 p.m. one, right? Three sold out shows in one day.
It's crazy. So during,

Speaker 4 I want to say after the second show, yep, after the second show, I go out to my tour bus. And it's a loaded dock.

Speaker 4 And

Speaker 4 you just look up and you see all the fans waving their posters and screaming. And

Speaker 4 I just see legs, feet, and bottom of tennis shoes in there. Girl jumped off the loading dock, off the bridge, like the tunnel, and lands on the top of my tour bus.

Speaker 4 And she was, I've never seen nothing like that. And I was like, what the heck?

Speaker 4 She wasn't hurt? Nope. And she said, I'm not getting down until you sign this.
Please, you got to sign this. We had to call the fire department at it.
Come out.

Speaker 4 put the ladder up to the bus, get her down safely. I signed it for an arrest history.
The funny thing is,

Speaker 4 i've met her and i know she's watching this i've met her again since and she always reminds me you know who i am i'm like

Speaker 4 the girl that jumped off your bus i'll be like oh my gosh and she's grown now and every time i see her is it's it's funny just she always bringing it up all the time but yeah that was wild but during that time also there was another little came out little romeo

Speaker 4 was that a healthy competition between you two guys i really didn't feel no competition honestly because I never really looked at

Speaker 4 him or nobody. Anybody else in your space? Yeah, and it's not even from like an arrogant or thing.
It's more of I was just focused on doing me. I didn't really have time to, you know what I mean?

Speaker 4 I feel big. I'm in 3 million records.
I'm touring arenas. Like, it's really no.
Right. I'm not trying to compete with nobody.
I'm just doing my thing and I'm winning.

Speaker 4 I think during that time with him and me,

Speaker 4 When he came out, it was a lot of, it was easy to compare. Right.
Because you're both young. Both young.
You little Romeo. yo, you look bow, wow.

Speaker 4 He got the, I got the Mickey Mouse, he got the Bugs Bunny. We both have two iconic hip-hop gurus behind us.
I got JD, he got P.

Speaker 4 It was just so easy to pin us together. And me and Rome never wanted the fans to pick and choose and do all that.
Like there's enough space for both of us. It's enough space to eat.

Speaker 4 And we always had a cool relationship. You know what I mean? And I remember

Speaker 4 as we got older, he told me like, bro, you know why I did all that, bro? I did that because I looked up to you, bro. Right.
Like, you know what I mean?

Speaker 4 Like, I was no different than every other little boy with braids bro it was you why you think I'm Harlem shaking in my videos I know that's yours why you think I'm doing the the seawalk movie I know that but I looked up to you bro and I never told you that and I want to say thank you and he gave my roses when we when me and soldier boy did verses he came on the stage and gave another speech like bow you to Jordan I'm the Kobe and you know soldiers the bron, however you put it.

Speaker 4 But yeah, I never in life had a problem with Romeo. Never in life.
I think it was more of, and if he was here, I'll say the same thing. It was more of the people.
The fans doing it.

Speaker 4 Trying to stir up something something to give the media and everybody something to talk about. But we ain't let it happen, though.
Have you ever been starstruck? Hell yeah.

Speaker 4 On two occasions. Okay.

Speaker 4 One of them, I was bow. Like,

Speaker 4 like me, I'm here now. Right.

Speaker 4 Barack Obama got me. Really? Man, to this day, I still feel like it was fake.
I feel like it was a cutout.

Speaker 4 Like, was it really him? Right.

Speaker 4 But I went to the White House. Like,

Speaker 4 that's a big flex for me. Because

Speaker 4 I remember, remember, like,

Speaker 4 we used to have to save up our money and ask our mamas for field trips. You know, you take the bus up to DC.
Yeah.

Speaker 4 Just so you can go 13-hour trip or eight-hour drive on a yellow bus to go stand outside the gate. Yeah.
Yeah. To see the White House.
To see it. Not going inside.
Not going inside it.

Speaker 4 I mean, nothing. I'm like, man, this the boy, this is the flex, but I'm gonna.
I'm in here. Right.
Like, I'm looking. I'm, man, what? I'm walking around.

Speaker 4 And they, and immediately they called our group. Bam, time to go downstairs and take pictures.
I'm like, all right. I ain't know what to expect.
I'm like, man, I'm, damn, it's crazy.

Speaker 4 Man, you see it on my face. I'm like, man, this is wild.
Like, I never thought. Man, I hit that corner.

Speaker 4 Ms. Michelle was right there.
Obama right there. First thing he said, roll bounce.

Speaker 4 You know, we shot it in Chicago. He's like, roll bounce.
You already know. Let go.
I'm like, oh, that's dope. You saw it? That's hard.
I appreciate that. That's hard.
And then we took the photo, bro.

Speaker 4 If we post a picture of myself,

Speaker 4 bro, I had the biggest smile. That's probably the biggest smile you'll ever see on my face because I just couldn't believe it.
And I sent the picture right to my mom. And,

Speaker 4 you know, that was a moment right there. That definitely was a moment.
And then the first time I met MJ,

Speaker 4 I call him Mr. Jordan, but Michael.
But Mr. Jordan, I call him Mr.
Jordan. He like he levitates nothing.
He don't seem real, does he? I've been trying to tell my boys that. It's different.
Y'all here?

Speaker 4 It's different. It's different.

Speaker 4 I know who your goat is. We're going to get to that later, but it's different.
He don't seem real. I'm trying to tell people it's different.
Dude, levitate. It's different.
It's different.

Speaker 4 And how we met for the first time is crazy because Marcus is one of my close friends.

Speaker 4 We pretty much grew up together. Every scream tour, I stayed at the house.
Right. The house that they just sold.
I will always stay there.

Speaker 4 And how we met was

Speaker 4 we didn't even meet during like Mike. Right.
So just imagine. So I'm over at Marcus Lim House.
I told you, I'm a big Duke fan. Right.

Speaker 4 That's a North Carolina. That's a Tar Hill house.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 4 He don't play that. I wore Reeboks to the house.
I wore some Obisons. That was my guy.

Speaker 4 After Marcus' dad retired, AI was my man that tapped the break. I just saw me.
So I'm in the house of the Obisons. I wake up, me and Marcus in his room.
We wake up in the morning.

Speaker 4 I just see that door crack open like a father, like a real dad.

Speaker 4 Hey,

Speaker 4 who bullshit is these?

Speaker 4 And Marcus looking like, I don't, you already know. Don't even look at me.
It's jump man forever.

Speaker 4 I'm on the floor asleep. I'm like, huh? He like, these bow.
I'm like,

Speaker 4 yeah.

Speaker 4 Shit's going in the trash. John Michael, man.

Speaker 4 Get a little man some kicks. Man, after that, I never saw my opponent ever again.

Speaker 4 Marcus said that. Somebody threw your shoes in the trash.
He threw my opponents away. Gone.
Gone. That was my introduction.
And ever since then, anytime you see me, it's...

Speaker 4 Sure shit. When you gonna grow, when you gonna grow some inches, short shit.
You still short as shit. Look at you.
It ain't gonna grow. It ain't gonna grow in.
Look, like, he always going to pop it.

Speaker 4 Yes. He going to pop it.
Yes. And, you know, that was probably

Speaker 4 the only two times I was like, oh, wow. Okay.
Okay.

Speaker 4 These photos. Oh, that's crazy.
I mean, people don't know this, but you do realize, like, LeBron is only two years older than you. I know.

Speaker 4 Do you see how tall he is?

Speaker 4 Yo, I got one of the coldest pictures. That's crazy.
Beyonce's five years older than you. That's insane.
So how old do you think you are in this picture? I'm probably like 13.

Speaker 4 And that pair like 14. No, 13, probably.
13 or no 14. Or I might be 14.
That's it. I think.
No. Look at this.
That picture is incredible.

Speaker 4 Is this when you're like six? How old are you here?

Speaker 4 That's holding you. I'm like 13 right there.
Hold on. That's probably all in the same time.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because was my album out then? I want to say, no.
I don't think beware of dark.

Speaker 4 We were probably working on my album at the time because I got the iced out Mickey Mouse chain. So I got the chain already, but but I don't think Bounce When Me came out, it was about to come out.

Speaker 4 Right.

Speaker 4 Yep. This around Money Ain't a Thing era because I came out and performed with Jay-Z and JD in Atlanta here at the A-Troop.
So, yeah, yeah. That's around that time.

Speaker 4 When you see those pictures, what goes through your mind?

Speaker 4 Is that kid 78 years old now?

Speaker 4 Or yet?

Speaker 4 Legacy. Legacy.
Do you remember how old are you in this picture? 13? 16. 16.
16 in that picture. Yep.
Brown was about to go to the Brown at 18. Oh, 16.
And I was at a TRA when we did that.

Speaker 4 I got a cold picture of LeBron after that when he got to the league that I never shared with nobody. Right.
And I told myself, my boy knows this.

Speaker 4 The day he retired,

Speaker 4 I'm going to post it. I got a fire picture.
In Atlanta, too. Wow.
With Bron. Fire.
Can't wait to. I can't wait to post it.

Speaker 4 You did the remix, Jumping, Jumping,

Speaker 4 Destiny's Child's remix. Mm-hmm.

Speaker 4 What was your interaction with them?

Speaker 4 I mean, the meet Beyonce, because because at the time they're Destiny's Child, Beyonce hadn't gone off on her own yet, but they're still there, the hottest women's group out. Absolutely.
Absolutely.

Speaker 4 And so you meet them. So what's going through your mind? I go to Houston for the first time with J.D.
and Brian Michael Cox.

Speaker 4 We go down there. They worked on the record.
I'm in the studio with them. Beyonce was younger back then, was a thrill to work with.
And the thing is, we were labelmates.

Speaker 4 So Destiny's Child was on Columbia. I was on Columbia.
So we always intertwined. Like, always was moving through each other.
If I'm at the Wars, they're there.

Speaker 4 If I'm in the office having a meeting and I'm in New York, the girls are there too. So I will always see them.
And that's how me and Solanz was able to have our own friendship and our own thing.

Speaker 4 And you even see her play a little part of my career.

Speaker 4 And we did a movie together, John's Family Vacation.

Speaker 4 And then she was in one of my videos. And that's how that whole thing kind of stemmed.
And then Yvette, who works very close to Beyonce, was also overseeing some of my projects too.

Speaker 4 So we were label mates. So it was just so easy to have that blend.
But yeah, man, it was a pleasure working with them. And even to this day, when I see B, she's always the same.

Speaker 4 Kelly as well, they're all, Michelle, they're always the same.

Speaker 4 I can say that, like, never changed, never switched up. And I was happy that I got a chance to work with Destiny's Child, the group.
Like, that's something I hold dearly.

Speaker 4 Your song, Bounce With Me, it was in the soundtrack Big Mama House.

Speaker 4 How did that, how does a, if you get a song on a soundtrack and it's obviously the movie, how does that help a song? Does it help or does it really take it to the next level?

Speaker 4 If it's a hit. Yeah.

Speaker 4 If it's a hit, yeah.

Speaker 4 But also, I mean,

Speaker 4 soundtracks were so big back then. They were.
Talking about men in black soundtracks. Soundtracks doing double, triple platinum, right?

Speaker 4 And yes, there were the first single off of a soundtrack, usually nine times out of ten, was a smash record. Right.

Speaker 4 And I guess that's what happened with Big Mama's House of Bouncing because it became a number one record. Right.

Speaker 4 And it definitely jump-started everything, having placement in the movie, hearing it, and then bringing it to life with the video and how Jermaine presented me to come.

Speaker 4 Because the first single off of that Big Mama's House soundtrack was him and Monica and Nas.

Speaker 4 And he ushered me in at the end of that video. It was like, he's the future.
Who is this? And I come busting through the door. It's the beat to the oat.
They like, whoa, like, who is this little kid?

Speaker 4 And it was the perfect setup. And Jermaine teased him.
And I remember the screen blowing up off of it. And then that's how we segged way into bounce with him.

Speaker 4 He He let me do a little bit of bounce with him at the end of that video. Right.
And then we went and shot the real thing.

Speaker 4 Now, okay, you're blown up. You're doing your rap thing.
You're singing. How does this transition

Speaker 4 takes the little right, and now you're doing movies?

Speaker 4 Did you always want to do that? Did you see that in that direction?

Speaker 4 I had no idea. I had no idea.
That wasn't even in the plan.

Speaker 4 By me playing so much basketball and incorporating sports into my videos.

Speaker 4 Once Beware of Dog came out and we went triple platinum, it's like all eyes on this kid. He's the biggest thing in music right now.
And then 20th Century Fox is working on this movie about a kid

Speaker 4 who could play basketball pretty good.

Speaker 4 We got to get a little bow out. There's only one kid.
And it was because of how hot I was over here, brought their attention. And they came and got me.

Speaker 4 So John Schultz, the director like Mike, he came to Columbus, Ohio.

Speaker 4 Now I'm 14. I did like Mike at 14.
I'm 14 now. Yeah.

Speaker 4 We're in the gym. Then I have to try for the movie, cast me.
I was cast before they came down. We're just in the gym shooting, talking.
It's like how we are.

Speaker 4 And

Speaker 4 you know you got the part or something cooking when they're like, okay, cool. So, you know, we got to get the schedule right and get you out here to LA.

Speaker 4 Think about this. I'm not taking none of this stuff he's saying serious.

Speaker 4 Like, nothing he's telling me.

Speaker 4 I'm so ghetto in my mind that when he says movie, I'm thinking baller block and I'm thinking we about to go shoot a DVD, like strike the DVD.

Speaker 4 like when you say movie to me like at the age I'm at that's how far off from Hollywood I was I'm thinking like the movies that I like to watch right because the movies I like to watch it don't look like you know how to make them type of movies so it just don't so

Speaker 4 we get to LA I'm I still don't know how big this thing is

Speaker 4 I reported to set

Speaker 4 and I was like

Speaker 4 What is going on? I am lost. Like, I knew nothing.
I never had an acting coach.

Speaker 4 I thought I had to memorize my whole script, Shannon.

Speaker 4 Like, I didn't know we break it up in days and we shoot three scenes. No, no.
I thought we were going to shoot the whole movie in one day. And I thought I had to memorize this whole script.
Right.

Speaker 4 I was thrown off. But I've always been the type of person, throw me in the water, let me figure it out.
I'll learn how to swim. Right.

Speaker 4 Man, you look at all these movies,

Speaker 4 all about the Benjamins. Like Mike, Johnson's Family Vacation, Roll Bounce, The Fast and the Furious, Tokyo Drift, Lottery Ticket, Medea, Big Big Family, Big Happy Family, Scary Movie 5, F9.

Speaker 4 You've been in TV shows with Steve Harvey, Medicaid, Entourage, CSI, Cyber.

Speaker 4 Now,

Speaker 4 you having to like, okay, I got this music career and I got this acting career. Did you, would you ever torn like,

Speaker 4 I feel like I'm cheating on one or the other. Earlier I was.
Early in my career, I was because, you know,

Speaker 4 to sustain that hotness in music, you got to stay with it. But then as I got older and I started started figuring the music business out and the ups, the downs, the stress,

Speaker 4 I was like, This Hollywood thing is Hawaii. Yeah,

Speaker 4 this is a mess. Once I got to that point, I could let go of that feeling because then

Speaker 4 acting and being on this set brought me so much happiness because of the stability. Right.
Rapping, I'm moving, I'm on the road, I'm touring, I'm in a different city every night.

Speaker 4 The sleep patterns are off. I'm in the

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Speaker 4 Club, I got to host. I got to do this.

Speaker 4 It's just sometimes it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. It just becomes a lot.
With the acting side of things,

Speaker 4 you know what you're shooting Monday through Friday schedule. You know what time to wake up.
It's the same thing. It's like a nine-to-five that just pay like an unnine to five.

Speaker 4 You know what I'm saying? That's all it is.

Speaker 4 And that's what made me love

Speaker 4 acting more than the music music at that particular time.

Speaker 4 I can't say, I can't, it's not the same now. You're not the same now? Nah.
The first movie you were in, if I'm not mistaken, was all about the Benjamins with Mike Elps and Q?

Speaker 4 Correct. And if that's not correct, then it's Carmen with Beyonce and Most Deaf.
Okay. I did Carmen.
Robert Townsend directed that movie. So you do the Mike Elps and Q.

Speaker 4 How did that come about?

Speaker 4 Being Bow Wow, being the hottest kid in the world and Q, wanted a badass boy to play that part and

Speaker 4 similar like Mike, go get Lil Bow Wow.

Speaker 4 I remember being in Miami. That was the first time I went.
It was hot as hell. Yes.

Speaker 4 And I was sitting all day.

Speaker 4 We played this interview back. People were like,

Speaker 4 set of labels, set on, just, yeah, definitely was. But it was, it was cool.
It was fun. It was fun.
I remember like it was yesterday working with Mike Epps.

Speaker 4 and working with Cube and then to fast forward time and now look, it's like, damn, you mentioned lottery ticket. And now they're in my movie,

Speaker 4 Cube and Mike Epps. Like, full circle.
I went from having three lines with Mike to

Speaker 4 him starring in my movie with me. So, wow.
God is good. And then you do like Mike, and you have NBA players.

Speaker 4 You have AI, Benz Carter, Tracy McGregor, T-Mac, Steve Francis, Dirk, Gary Payton, Gary Payton.

Speaker 4 What's your favorite moment about being on the set? And now all of a sudden, these NBA players, because at once upon a time, you wanted to be a basketball player.

Speaker 4 Oh, and so now you got your own movie and you're on the set and you got NBA players. Some of the best NBA players.
I was doing to them what

Speaker 4 cats do to me. If I go to a URL battle or if I go somewhere, yo, battle, let me rap for you.
Let me get that. What? Man, I was challenging them left and right.
I need that. I need that one-on-one.

Speaker 4 I got to see it in my screen. No cap.
Jason Kidd played me. Gary Payton played me one-on-one.

Speaker 4 I beat Lonzo, even though he wasn't, just talking about NBA players in general. Beat him, that's recorded, that's documented.
Lonzo Ball. You beat Lonzo Ball? Did I? With no shoes on.
You cooked him?

Speaker 4 With no shoes. You got the footage? It's everywhere.
You cooked him? Wow, you cooked him. They were talking about this own ESP.
I don't know about that. Oh, man.
What?

Speaker 4 Lakers came down here to Atlanta when he was playing with Lakers. All of them.
Brandon Ingham, everybody was at the studio.

Speaker 4 Jermaine got a, we got a gym inside, full-court basketball court.

Speaker 4 Playing around.

Speaker 4 Okay.

Speaker 4 I need that.

Speaker 4 I need that.

Speaker 4 Bow, no shoes on. Bow.
Bow. I beat him in the first round.

Speaker 4 The second round, he came back. He did his thing.
Hey, yeah, he might have took it serious. Yeah, he took it real seriously.
He wasn't playing. Because we was filming, so I knew.
He was like, this.

Speaker 4 They about to put that out. Of course.
Of course.

Speaker 4 Of course, we're going to put that out there.

Speaker 4 Being at your height in the movie you dunked. Yeah.
What's that feeling like? Because you have to be in a battle. Like, I want to know what it feels like to dunk.
I was nervous. Really?

Speaker 4 I was nervous because we had to test it. Like, I was on this harness, so this rig.

Speaker 4 So as I'm running,

Speaker 4 I remember they pulled it too hard.

Speaker 4 And it's like, whoa, and I got to the rim too fast. And it was like, yo.
And all right, we got to slow down a little bit. But once we got it, I really had to run.
And then they would do it.

Speaker 4 And then I would go up. It was, I loved it.
It was fun. You doing all kinds of crazy dunks.
Oh, my God.

Speaker 4 I was ready for the league, then I was ready.

Speaker 4 What about, you know, LeBron did a remake of Space Jam. Would you like LeBron to do a remake? Is there somebody out there that could do a remake of like Mike?

Speaker 4 Would you like to see a remake of like Mike?

Speaker 4 Or is it too soon?

Speaker 4 I don't think it's too soon. I think it should have happened already.
Right.

Speaker 4 And they try to do a part two. They try to take it to the street ball aspect.
That's when N1 came into the mix. It didn't do good.

Speaker 4 To this day, I don't. And the fans don't consider that a part two to nothing.
I don't even like talking about it. You know what I'm saying? But I definitely feel that there is something.

Speaker 4 There's been ideas that we've been playing around with.

Speaker 4 Just talking, nothing locked in.

Speaker 4 Even if it's my daughter or, you know, does Calvin have a son now?

Speaker 4 Does, you know,

Speaker 4 I like that.

Speaker 4 Am I now

Speaker 4 is Morris Chestnut now the head coach or he's the owner? Am I still playing? And I'm now the, yeah, like, what's the dynamic? And we definitely can do it now.

Speaker 4 I feel because even women's basketball is dominating, too. Yes.

Speaker 4 But I just see it. I see the Steph Curry.
I see Braun. I see KD, D-Book.
I just see that cover of with the new guys. And I think that'll be dope to do it if done right.
Right.

Speaker 4 And I think that it's highly possible. What if Nike released a like Mike Shoe?

Speaker 4 Me and Nike spoke about this and then we did it. I'm going to be happy as hell.

Speaker 4 What? To come out? Because a lot of people don't know the light Mike Shoe was the converse, the Dr. J converse.
Yes. You have no idea.

Speaker 4 Like, they had, we had the Blazer, which is the shoe I actually wore in the movie. Yes.
And then we had the Converse. Right.
Tar Heel with the star, with the Dr. J joint.
Yes.

Speaker 4 And

Speaker 4 we was torn between the two. Twinnish's Rock.
They could not pick. Fox could not pick.
They were like, yo, I'm like.

Speaker 4 You got to go with the Nike. Like, what are we talking about here? So,

Speaker 4 and they dropped the Blazer. People still rock the Blazers.
They come in different flavors. But

Speaker 4 I definitely felt like being that that movie was so iconic and so monumental, right?

Speaker 4 The Blazers should have come out immediately. Can you imagine how much money Nike would have made if they would have sold a light mic shoe?

Speaker 4 Yeah, like right in time of the movie release and put that shoe out, right?

Speaker 4 That would have been crazy. Another guy that you played one-on-one was Kobe.
Rest his soul. I knew he was gonna bring this one up.
You got it?

Speaker 4 Hell no.

Speaker 4 See, Kobe don't take cover that He don't take it easy. He's going for the gut.
Yo, let me tell you, man. Yo,

Speaker 4 I thought

Speaker 4 I was going to have a cool moment for the internet. Like, I'm about to go play Cobe.

Speaker 4 I'm about to, you know, do my little thing, make a little couple buckets, and, you know, it's going to be what it's going to be.

Speaker 4 I went. The only reason why we played was because Jermaine's assistant at the time played Kobe

Speaker 4 and got smoked. Yeah.
I mean, bad. So I'm like, man, hold up, hold up, hold up, hold up, hold up.
I ain't, no, no, no, hold up. And at the end at that time, I'm big on Bron.

Speaker 4 Like, I think Bron is like, right. And I wore my Cleveland Indian hat to the, to the to the, to Kobe camp, all that.
I'm like, man, you ain't about to do him like that. I'm like, it's team heat.

Speaker 4 I'm like, you like, what, you want? I'm like, man, yeah, if you still playing, I want to play. So Jermaine, like, all right, hold up, hold up, hold up, hold up.

Speaker 4 And I'm going to tell you something.

Speaker 4 All that, he bow wow, and he, nah, he took it for real.

Speaker 4 I left, yo, I left that gym and I I said, I will never play in the NBA, nor do I want to. I was so sore.

Speaker 4 Then I went to Orlando. That's right.
I went to Orlando to go hang out with Chris. We go to a Magics game.
Big Baby lands on me.

Speaker 4 Now, this is the next day after I play cold. I'm sore as hell.

Speaker 4 His big ass lands on me. Like, I'm like, this,

Speaker 4 I just couldn't do it. Like, cold.
When you get on cold, none.

Speaker 4 He skunked you? None. He smothered me.

Speaker 4 He had his thumb in my waist. He was doing like...
He was playing you like you a real hoop.

Speaker 4 He was hand checking and doing all the stuff that if Kobe, I promise, God rest his soul, if he was alive right now, if he was allowed to play defense like he played defense on me in the league or the league could play defense like that nowadays, it'll be a problem.

Speaker 4 Like he literally had his thumb like in my side. He was telling me, you're going to go wherever I'll tell you to go.
You're going to go where the domino is. I'm like, I'm doing this.

Speaker 4 He's like, yeah, slap me, push me, push me. I like that shit.
Push me.

Speaker 4 And then what was so dope about the one-on-one is people got a chance to see Kobe in a light that they never got a chance to see Kobe.

Speaker 4 Yeah, you hear about the mama mentality, but it's hard to hear when you're watching TV. Right.
But when we did the YouTube, we play one-on-one. You hear him, my condolences.

Speaker 4 Man, man, we can't play like that. I don't give a shit.

Speaker 4 Who said you can make rules? You can't make no rules.

Speaker 4 He talking to me, talking to me crazy. He talked to me like I'm not Val.
He talking to me crazy. Like, my mother, you in the middle of the morning.

Speaker 4 Yeah. And the bet was $1,000, or if I made one shot, he was going to pay for two floor seats for the entire year for me.
He was going to eat that. Damn.
You know them Lego tickets cost you.

Speaker 4 That's why he went so hard. Because you know, we coursed him gang them.
We know how much

Speaker 4 they up there. So to pay for two for the whole year, what? I was trying my best to outline.
You tried to get one basket. Look, it's a clip.
All you had to get was one basket.

Speaker 4 Listen, man, there was a clip. If we watch it, we play it back where he misses the ball.
The ball go over here. I go get the ball.
I swear to God. I grab the ball.

Speaker 4 You're going to hear Jermaine saying, let's go, Bal. Shoot it.
Shoot it.

Speaker 4 I wanted to, but by the time I raised up,

Speaker 4 it was no time. Like, even though it was probably space, the way he closed out, that 6'6, that man, it turned into like 7-1.
I'm like, oh, hell no.

Speaker 4 I said, I ain't shooting it. Then he just slapped the ball in my hand.
He pushed me around. He throwing me.
I'm like, man, I can't do it. Then he dunk thrown me.

Speaker 4 Damn. But all you had to do was get one basket and you get floor seats to the Lakers game for the whole year.
I tried my hardest. He wouldn't let me do it.
He wouldn't let me dribble.

Speaker 4 Said he wouldn't let me dribble.

Speaker 4 I'm having the ball, man. He reaching over me, grabbing me like.

Speaker 4 God rest his soul.

Speaker 4 Yeah, man,

Speaker 4 that meant something to me. That's something I can look back at my life.
That right there is like a bucket list.

Speaker 4 like every kid would love to play kobe bryant one-on-one play kobe right and then for that to tragedy happen um

Speaker 4 yeah that's something i'm gonna always hold dearly to my heart yeah for sure you do johnson family vacation steve said salon and um

Speaker 4 you had new you knew salon before you did johnson yep yep So that's what it made it easy. So what was it like on the set? Because you got two great comedians, Said and Steve.

Speaker 4 They probably kept it light the entire time. They did.
They did. They was always joking around.
And especially when when you work with comedians, the best part is they go off script.

Speaker 4 That's when they're at their best. They don't even pay attention.
You'll be watching them and miss your turn. Like, oh, damn, it's me.
It's my line. My fault.
They went off script.

Speaker 4 And that's when comedians at their best.

Speaker 4 No story really sticks out really crazy because Steve came and shot all of his parts in one day, if I'm not mistaken. Really? Yep, he was in, out.
Yeah, Steve was in and out.

Speaker 4 But I spent a lot of time with Sed, learning from him, talking to him, and Sed knows how to turn it on and off. Right.
Like, Sed is a real cool St. Louis cat.
Like, he's just laid back, super cool.

Speaker 4 And, you know, he'll say things and it'd be funny, like, man, you know, that dude over there, that she,

Speaker 4 he'll say, like, something, but he was always super cool. And I remember just being in school all the time.
That's all I was doing. Working on movies, and it was school.

Speaker 4 I spent more time in the classroom than I did on set.

Speaker 4 That's how I go. You're right.
Roll Bounce. You got Nick Cannon, Megan Good, Mike Epps, Charlie Murphy.
What was it about that? How was that set?

Speaker 4 Rolebounce set

Speaker 4 was,

Speaker 4 I'm trying to find the words to describe it.

Speaker 4 To me, it was work. It was work.

Speaker 4 I was in a different place in my life. I was 16, going to 17, living in Chicago on my own,

Speaker 4 becoming a young man now. Smelling myself a little too big.
I was in a weird space in life. That's why I was able to do that role

Speaker 4 and do it because I wasn't acting. You know what I mean? I was just getting paid to show my real raw emotions.
And that's how I was feeling. The scene with the car, me breaking it, crying.

Speaker 4 It was intense. Like that movie brought, that movie turned me into an actor.
Working with Sean McBride. I remember before we,

Speaker 4 the day before we shot that scene, the garage scene with the car, he told me, look, tomorrow I'm not going to talk to you.

Speaker 4 I was like, what?

Speaker 4 He's like, I'm not going to say a word anymore.

Speaker 4 I need you locked in. I'm going to need you.
I need you tomorrow. Wow.
I didn't understand what that meant.

Speaker 4 Came to set next morning, went in the trailer. Good morning, everybody.
What's up? What's up, Shai?

Speaker 4 No, good morning back. Okay, cool.
He's in character. So

Speaker 4 I'm going off your energy then. I'm on what you on.
So I did the same thing, too. I locked in.
I didn't want to talk. And when we got to that set,

Speaker 4 he drove himself down. He drove his car and sat in the car and said, don't call me out here until y'all call Roland.

Speaker 4 And he told me right before they called action,

Speaker 4 I'm about to bring it out your ass today. I'm bringing out you today.
I didn't know what he meant. It's like, you about to see a different you today.

Speaker 4 Action, bam, right into it.

Speaker 4 Looking at him, my mom,

Speaker 4 I just started crying. I just, I don't know.
It was just he,

Speaker 4 and he just gave me the biggest hug after he was done doing it. I said, I'm so proud of you.
Then he, that was his real tears then. Right.
He really cried with me like, I'm so proud.

Speaker 4 You are an actor, boy. And that day was the day I i said oh yeah

Speaker 4 and i never had an acting coach nothing but that was the day that was the day that you said okay i'm an actor i can finally say i'm an actor i'm not a rapper who acts i'm an actor yeah yeah yeah i'm not getting these roles because of the rap stuff no more i'm getting them because i can do it and i'm going on tape and i'm killing it and i took it very seriously very serious

Speaker 4 you did fast in the furious

Speaker 4 but like van diesel luda

Speaker 4 those guys i worked with them you did the last one yo yo i finally got a chance to work with him.

Speaker 4 Yeah, yeah, I was waiting on that. Like, I was like, okay, we got to meet up at some point.
Because the movies that Luda wasn't in were the ones that I was in.

Speaker 4 I felt like the Luda of those movies, pretty much.

Speaker 4 I was the rapper. Right.
You know what I'm saying? And

Speaker 4 for me to get that opportunity to be in the scene with Reese and Luda, I always visioned that to happen. I always figured Twinkie has to meet.
Luda's character. This is only right that they meet.

Speaker 4 And that was the dynamic of that scene was us, this was the first time we've ever seen each other in life, but we've heard of each other, but we've never met. So that was dope.

Speaker 4 And then to work with Vendiesel, he's so, I worked with Vendiesel twice. Such a good dude, stand-up dude, easy to work with.
The whole family, easy to work with.

Speaker 4 Like, fast, fast, and fear sets is, it don't feel like work because everyone's been together for 10 plus years. Right.
So it's just, we get it. You don't have to worry about nailing that the way.

Speaker 4 You don't have to worry about coming to set

Speaker 4 that scene. I carry my line.
Man, it's normal. Like, it's just so normal.
It's so easygoing. And working with Justin Lynn, who I feel is the greatest, Fast and Furious director.
Right, ever.

Speaker 4 I feel that deeply in my heart. And I had the chance to work with him on his first one, which was Tokyo Drip.
Right.

Speaker 4 Now, there's the last one coming up. They're bringing The Rock back.
You going to be in that one? If they call, we're there. We there, Andy.

Speaker 4 If they call, we there, we there. Right.
You worked at

Speaker 4 Medea's, what, Big Happy Family? Happy Family with Tyler Perry. What's Tyler?

Speaker 4 Because, you know, I've heard only great things about Tyler, about, you know, his set and how professional it is, how he pays, how he takes care of his.

Speaker 4 Woo!

Speaker 4 Put it this way.

Speaker 4 You know how, like, you might play for a team? Yeah. And let's say you get traded, you're about to go to this team.
Yeah.

Speaker 4 And you get like a,

Speaker 4 let's see, a Bill Belichick. You don't went from having a cool, fun coach to you doing it your way.
And then you get traded. Now, Bill Belichick, your coach.
You like, ah, damn. Yeah.

Speaker 4 Okay. I got to be on my

Speaker 4 best behavior, yes. I got to be on my

Speaker 4 TP like that. Really? Mr.
Perry. Oh, yeah, most definitely.
Because his style is, he comes from plays. So he's used to things moving very, very quickly.
Right. Quick.

Speaker 4 So when I got to set, I'm always prepared, so I'm never worried.

Speaker 4 I'm ready for whatever.

Speaker 4 First scene was the hardest scene of the day. He gave us the, I'll never forget.
First scene was the backyard scene with the fellas. It was a long scene.
I said, damn, he's giving us this scene first.

Speaker 4 This is the first scene we should have done.

Speaker 4 Like, out the gate. Like, he don't want us to crawl into it.
No. And he wants you to move fast.
You got to know it. Oh, next.
Close. Next.
So it's like, you got to get it. And he's so hands-on.

Speaker 4 And he's a genius.

Speaker 4 He is the person that came in with the Byron.

Speaker 4 That was TP. He did that.
Because I remember Tiana going off of me in the scene. And

Speaker 4 all you hear is Mr. Perry behind the thing going,

Speaker 4 Pat's a wee bit, you got to pat it a little harder. Pat it like that.
Pat it like this, Tiana.

Speaker 4 Get in and get there. Bye.
I want to say, Byrene. The crew laughing.

Speaker 4 I'm trying not to laugh. But

Speaker 4 he saw it. He's watching the monitor and he's like, something's missing.
In the middle of the scene, he'll just throw stuff at you. Like, and you got to be able to get with it and go.

Speaker 4 And Tiana grasped it. She got it.

Speaker 4 She's like, get ghetto even more ghetto with it by man i want you to annoy people wow and boy did she she she did not disappoint she did not disappoint so that was a tyler thing he's like i said he he knows how to he mixes that play right

Speaker 4 stuff with the movie and and i love it i i love working with tyler because i love to work fast i love to move on and tyler is the only person i know in the film business who can shoot a movie a big production movie in seven days and it's gonna come to the theater and you'll think it took three months he knows he changed the game man i'm telling you that man changed the game i've seen it it's i'm like i'll be on sets i'm like oh my god i wish this was a tyler perry studio production

Speaker 4 they move fast so yeah how would it work with tt tell yama taylor oh fun been doing tt for

Speaker 4 ever like super cool person talented um now she's directing which is dope uh and i want to say that was her first movie yeah that was her first movie she did she did really really really really good and um

Speaker 4 i expected to see her more stuff i think she should have did more right after that right but like i said she's very talented and uh i i wish nothing but the best for t that's my dog bow do you remember the first time you opened up your bank account and you saw a thousand a hundred thousand a million dollars in your account

Speaker 4 nope but i remember turning 18 i had to go back to columbus and i had to sit in front of that judge he's like okay I'm about to turn over your finances. I was like, okay.

Speaker 4 Because you know, when you

Speaker 4 it was like the jacket, so in the beginning, you saw the trust. Yep, can't touch it.
Can't touch it. It's got like a Jackie Coogan account or something like that.
Did I say that right?

Speaker 4 Yeah, I think that's what they call it. Correct me if I'm wrong.
But yeah, you can't touch it. Like your parents can't, nobody.
The judge oversees it. And then when you turn 18, he turns his

Speaker 4 turns it over to you. Here you go.
And

Speaker 4 I was so happy because the judge never understood why I I needed a Ferrari at 17.

Speaker 4 I had to go to him for every major purchase. Wow.
He had to approve it. I'm like, I am a rap star.
Yeah.

Speaker 4 And it's my money. Yeah, I need a Ferrari.

Speaker 4 Yeah, I need a Ferrari. It's not safe.
He can do something like

Speaker 4 a three-series BMW. It'd be perfect.
It's like, bro, like, you are. Bro, you know who I am.

Speaker 4 Hey, you talking about a three-series? Three-series beamer. So me, that's what I can get or get, you know.
I'm like, you don't understand the culture, dog.

Speaker 4 I can't wait till I turn 18 and get it. But, um, yeah, of course, man, you always remember seeing that.
And even to this day, I still get excited. Right.

Speaker 4 Like, my manager, we'll go over numbers, and you know, I'm saying, we'll handle business. And he always shows me stuff.
And I'm like, damn,

Speaker 4 God is good. Yeah.

Speaker 4 That's all I can say. God is good.

Speaker 4 When they turned the account over to you, what was your first major purchase?

Speaker 4 I went car crazy. Because remember, jermaine yeah i had to catch his ass yeah so i went

Speaker 4 my first purchase was a um i wanted i started out small but i really wanted this car the nissan 350z when they first came out okay i wanted them it was cool uh everybody that's your favorite fast and furious or something like that nah did i do fact i did fast i after fast yep i wanted that car just thought it was cool yeah

Speaker 4 got that you know how it is you start getting more money see different thing i went from there i gotta go i want a maserati maserati second car and I kept calling it Maserati Ferrari because you know, they sell Maserati at the Ferrari dealership.

Speaker 4 So I used to tell them, I got a Ferrari Maserati. They like, what?

Speaker 4 I'm like, I got a Ferrari Maserati, black on black. They like, you got a Maserati, right? No, no, no.
It's a Ferrari Maserati. They go, and it don't exist.

Speaker 4 I didn't like them telling me that don't exist. So you had to go get it.
Took it back. Got it.
Got a yellow 360. Got a Ferrari.
So at the time, when I had the Yellow 360, I had that.

Speaker 4 I had

Speaker 4 the Billy, Rover, Hummer.

Speaker 4 Maybach. Took the yellow Freud back.
Got a drop. Red F-030 Spider.
Had that for a minute. Got rid of that.
Then got an Oris Lambo, Mercy Lago, bought that. I went car crazy.

Speaker 4 That's all I loved was cars. I already had the house.
I wanted the whips. Yeah, because what was that

Speaker 4 your reality show, you and your mom, and you went and got the Maybach? Yep.

Speaker 4 That was my second Maybach I bought.

Speaker 4 My mom bought me my very first one for my 21st birthday.

Speaker 4 And then I didn't really see a point of having one then. It was a waste of money.

Speaker 4 But when I went and bought my Maybach on the show, I bought that one. But I really, now I could enjoy it because the lifestyle is different.

Speaker 4 I don't want to get caught having a DUI when I'm going out hosting and I'm working or if it's a late night at the studio and I'm trying to make it all the way back to the other side of town, which is, you know, Atlanta traffic.

Speaker 4 Yeah. Crazy.
55 minutes. Yeah.
I'm far. So it's like, I never want to be put in them situations.
So I've got the Maybach just for comfort reasons. And it just makes sense for me.

Speaker 4 I live far filming every day, traveling, just moving and grooving. And besides, even after this, I used to love just getting in my car, taking my shoes.
You got to get back. And kickback.

Speaker 4 You ain't got to worry about that. You ain't got to worry about nothing.

Speaker 4 Nothing. So, yep.
This concludes the first half of my conversation. Part two is also posted, and you can access it to whichever podcast platform you just listen to part one on.

Speaker 4 Just simply go back to Club Shether profile, and I'll see you there. Ah, greetings from my bath, bath, festive friends.

Speaker 4 The holidays are overwhelming, but I'm tackling this season with PayPal and making the most of my money, getting 5% cash back when I pay in four. No fees, no interest.

Speaker 4 I used it to get this portable spa with jets. Now the bubbles can cling to my sculpted but pruny body.
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Speaker 24 This is the fifth time Kat has heard this song in her office today,

Speaker 24 which is a clear sign she needs a Diet Coke break.

Speaker 24 That's right, Kat. Make time for you time.
Let's head out to the patio.

Speaker 24 Enjoy that Diet Coke. Enjoy the silence.

Speaker 24 Wait, does that mean I have to stop talking?

Speaker 4 Can you hear me?

Speaker 21 Diet Coke.

Speaker 24 This is my taste.

Speaker 24 America,

Speaker 24 Carnival is here with world-class crew and ropes, course to and comedy and snorkeling and dining like everything

Speaker 24 from sea to shining sea.

Speaker 4 Find your fun again at carnival.com. Carnival is calling.
Ships ready to speak the Bombs and Panama.