Digital Nas: ‘I Wish I Never Became Famous.’ The Dark Side of Success | DSH #1694

Speaker 1 You making a lot of music lately in the studio a lot? I just dropped the album today. Nice.
What's it called? Separate from success. What was the inspiration for that?

Speaker 1 You feel like success brings a level of negativity? Envy. It's like envious.
Yeah. Did you expect that when you, like before you were successful, that would come? No.
Came out of nowhere.

Speaker 1 Looking back now, do you feel like it was worth it? No. I wish I would have stayed in school and like finished law school.
I don't want to make music no more. Like I don't really.

Speaker 1 That's why I'm dropping these three albums and I'm going to retire. Damn, that's pretty nuts.
I'm about to be a basis of a band. Play the background because I don't like fans.
fans.

Speaker 1 You don't like the spotlight anymore? Did you ever like it? No. That's why I was a producer.

Speaker 2 All right, guys, we're at ComplexCon here with Digital Nas. What's new with you, man?

Speaker 3 Bro, I just got fucking sucker punched. Had to file a police report.
I thought I got stabbed. Got punched twice at my booth.
The dude ran off. My security tried to fight him.

Speaker 3 They didn't want to fight. My day is all right.
It's going all right. Holy shit.

Speaker 2 So he came from behind?

Speaker 3 Wow.

Speaker 2 That's pretty nuts at an event like this.

Speaker 2 You think they wouldn't do it here with all these cameras and everything, you know?

Speaker 3 Yeah, nah, I fought a police board. I'm about to sue him for like 200 grand.
Jeez.

Speaker 2 No idea who it is?

Speaker 3 I know who it is. Oh, you do? I have him on camera doing it.

Speaker 3 Fucking Kuhn.

Speaker 2 Was he in your DMs before?

Speaker 3 No, I don't know him. I don't know him.
He just surrendered.

Speaker 3 I know who did it. He just got arrested.
Damn. Yeah.

Speaker 3 He thought he was tough, and he like walked around after he hit me. He was like,

Speaker 3 I wouldn't tell the police.

Speaker 2 So no words, just nothing. He just came out of nowhere.
That's pretty crazy. Well shit, man.
How's the booth going other than that? You selling a lot of merch?

Speaker 3 Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 Any releases here?

Speaker 3 Yeah, we released season two of Circus here. Nice.
Those are awesome.

Speaker 2 You make these shoes too?

Speaker 3 Nah, these CDG. Okay.

Speaker 2 Those are sick, man.

Speaker 2 You making a lot of music lately in the studio a lot?

Speaker 3 I just dropped the album today. Today? Yeah.
Nice. What's it called? Suffering from success.

Speaker 2 What was the inspiration for the album?

Speaker 3 Suffering from success.

Speaker 2 You feel like success brings a level of

Speaker 2 yeah a lot of negativity envy yeah mostly it's like envious yeah did you expect that when you like before you were successful that that would come no came out of nowhere bam

Speaker 3 do you looking back now do you feel like it it was worth it no i wish i would have stayed in school and like finished law school

Speaker 3 I don't want to make music no more. For real, really.
That's why I'm dropping these three albums and I'm going to retire. Damn.

Speaker 3 That's pretty nuts I have to be a basis of a band play the background because I don't like fans you don't like the spotlight anymore no

Speaker 3 did you ever like it no that's why I was a producer wow that's pretty crazy because a lot of these kids look at you and they look up to you and want to be you yeah I tell them look up to Jesus Christ wow

Speaker 2 yeah I've seen you say on another show like you don't recommend people get into the music industry anymore

Speaker 3 A lot of leeches. Yeah.

Speaker 2 It's one of the dirtiest industries, right?

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Speaker 3 Yeah, like I found out my managers charged me 20% the whole time when we agreed on 10. Holy shit!

Speaker 2 You didn't know the whole time?

Speaker 3 Damn.

Speaker 2 When did you find out? Today.

Speaker 2 It's been a rough day for you today.

Speaker 3 It's been a rough

Speaker 3 dude. Fuck away.
Shit.

Speaker 2 So three albums and you're done. You're going to be in the background.

Speaker 3 Basses.

Speaker 3 We just signed this deal with Sony. I'm playing bass.

Speaker 3 I don't want to really do this through the wow, be the main

Speaker 3 shit, man. But the one thing about fame is like you can't really run from it.

Speaker 3 It's happened.

Speaker 3 Yeah.

Speaker 3 You know, Ye was a big part of me becoming famous, and I regret it. Really? Yeah.
You regret working with him, meeting him? I regret becoming famous. I don't want to be famous.
Wow.

Speaker 2 I think to make it in music, though, you kind of have to be, right?

Speaker 3 No. You can make a lot of money from publishing, writing, background.
Most people who make the most money are writers, really. I wrote the last six Kanye albums and produced her Ye albums.

Speaker 3 Wow, I made a lot of money. Dang, yeah, that's nuts.

Speaker 2 I didn't know that. I thought the artist made the most money.

Speaker 3 I wrote it and produced it. Okay, holy crap.

Speaker 2 Yeah, you worked on Donda, Vultures, and Donda 2?

Speaker 3 And In a Perfect World.

Speaker 3 And

Speaker 3 In a Perfect World, that's about to drop. Donda 2, Donda, Vultures, Vultures 2.

Speaker 2 You work on Yachty as well?

Speaker 3 I started with Yachty, yeah. They don't work anymore.

Speaker 2 So if Ye hit you up?

Speaker 3 I dropped the Ye every day. Okay.

Speaker 2 But since you're retiring, if he hits you up right now, you think you'd turn it down?

Speaker 3 No, I will produce for

Speaker 3 and write, but I don't, I wouldn't. After I dropped these last albums, if I'm gonna drop my last one Christmas, I'm done.
Like, I'm not dropping any solo work ever again.

Speaker 2 So are you set for life financially, though? You think you could just...

Speaker 3 Yeah, I got, I guess you could say that here.

Speaker 2 Yeah, I guess once you reach that level, money loses some significance.

Speaker 3 Yeah, I don't.

Speaker 3 I don't really know what money is at this point.

Speaker 2 What do you mean by that?

Speaker 3 It's like water. It's like drinking water.
It's like wake up, spend 100 grand.

Speaker 2 When you were younger, though, that was what you worked for, right? Money?

Speaker 3 I guess, you know what I'm saying? I don't know. I like music.

Speaker 3 I didn't work for money. Like, I've never had a job in my life.
Damn, I don't know what money is.

Speaker 2 So, this has been your whole life, music?

Speaker 3 Unfortunately,

Speaker 3 unfortunately.

Speaker 3 Wow.

Speaker 2 But you, at one point, had a lot of love for music.

Speaker 3 I still do. That's my first love.
Yeah. A little skateboard is my first love, but music, yeah, I love music.

Speaker 2 You just don't like the, I guess, the side of the leeches.

Speaker 3 The leeches, yeah.

Speaker 2 Do you think you can make it in music without leeches, though?

Speaker 3 No. Isn't it possible? I think it's what comes with it.
Damn. Yeah.

Speaker 2 Damn, that's some, I guess people watching this, they got to to realize you're speaking from experience.

Speaker 3 I'm literally speaking from full experience.

Speaker 3 I thought I got stabbed.

Speaker 3 Yeah, when I got hit, I was like, fuck. I got stabbed before.
Holy shit. So when I got hit, I'm like, oh, I got stabbed.
Like, fuck again.

Speaker 2 Do you feel like you're always looking over your shoulder whenever you travel?

Speaker 3 No, I got like mass security. Yeah.
But they caught me. The security was slipping too.
Like, how the fuck did I get hit? I don't know. Yeah, that's pretty nuts.

Speaker 2 That kind of sucks, though, that you got to roll with security everywhere, right? Can't just be like a normal person.

Speaker 3 Nah. So we would.
Yeah. They're like following me to my hotel now, taking pictures of me, going in to my hotel.
Like, it's weird.

Speaker 2 Holy shit. Yeah, that level of fame, I don't fuck with, though.
I don't like it.

Speaker 2 Well, where can people listen to

Speaker 2 the music and everything?

Speaker 2 Untitled.

Speaker 3 I've been dropping on a title because the streaming services pay shit. So I might as well drop it for free.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 All right. Well, check them out on Title, guys.
We'll link your socials. Thanks for having me.

Speaker 3 I dropped the album Poetry three days ago, and I dropped another album today. It's called Suffering from Obsessed.
I dropped another album in June called Tampering with Sound.

Speaker 1 Yeah, check out

Speaker 1 Apple Music. Yeah.
Thanks for being real and honest. Yeah, that's all I know out of it.

Speaker 2 Check them out, guys. Peace.

Speaker 3 Yeah, thanks for the day.

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