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Bay OG Richie Rich Talks Tupac's Mistakes, LaRussell's Genius, Richard And How Hip-Hop Saved Him
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Jan 14, 2025
đ¤ Richie Rich reveals why he left #DefJam Records & the truth about 6 cent deals in the 1990s! đ° Dive into this epic interview with the Bay Area legend. Highlights include: ⢠The real reason behind Richie's Def Jam departure ⢠Shocking revelations about record deal payouts ⢠Insights on the evolution of hip-hop and streaming ⢠Reflections on working with Tupac and other icons ⢠Richie's perspective on staying relevant in the game ⢠The Bay Area's influence on hip-hop ⢠Kendrick Lamar's new sound and how The Bay feels ⢠The importance of artist independence ⢠His car collection and love for classic whips đĽ Don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit that notification bell for more exclusive content from hip-hop legends. đ #RichieRich #HipHopLegends #BayAreaHipHop #MusicIndustry #TupacLegacy #2pac CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 01:34 - Richie Rich Selling Album for $500
View Video Transcript
0:08
yes yes indeed man it's your boy Richie Rich in the building man came all the way over to the other side of the bubble man to tap in with all hip hop you
0:16
already know what time it is it's your man Chuck Creek AKA jigsaw here at one world Studios and we got none other than
0:23
hip-hop Legend Bay Area icon Richie Rich man come on man all hi hop you already
0:30
what time it is yo respect of course much respect bro yeah man you know
0:36
listen it's all hip-hop for a reason bro it's not it's not East Coast hip-hop West Coast it's not South you know what
0:43
I mean not at all it's music man yeah it's I was tripping off that picture you got on the wall right there yeah I was
0:50
enough to be in the last one that they shot with mostly East Coast cats you know I was on Death Jam a good day in
0:56
good day for hip hop in Harlem yeah and I was always good me and meth DMX red
1:02
you know like we I'm a man that's where we from like that's where you stay at
1:08
right like and I get it you know we all come up representing but I I hope that
1:13
we finally get into a place to where a a win for you is a win for me yeah yeah
1:19
you hear me yes a win for you is a win for me oh I mean bottom line right you know and the faster we accept that then
1:25
we'll realize it don't always have to be about what happened with me if it happen happen to you it means it can happen for
1:31
me let me keep working facts absolutely well you have this new album Richard
1:37
dope album now before we get into the album you went a bit viral for your
1:45
commentary around streaming okay and why you have it as a pay album okay which
1:52
people should be inclined to to embrace right right but you actually had a
1:58
prolific comment can you talk a little bit about the atmosphere we're in and
2:05
how it relates to this comeback project basically I come from an era where the
2:11
the music was $20 CD was 20 bucks you know what I mean and uh people used to
2:16
buy them and lose one get it scratched and go buy another one you know what I mean like it it wasn't it never was a
2:21
problem to pay right for the music and since streaming
2:27
evolved um it's it's I mean if you really think about it if you spend $10 a
2:33
month with apple music you can listen to all the music your ears can handle M you
2:38
got to know that for that $10 all them artists can't eat off them 10 bucks you know what I mean I get it it's a
2:45
business thing but on this platform even which was introduced to me by L Russell L Russell shout out to him what their
2:52
goal is to do is to get the real fans in contact with the artist and you can kind
2:59
of pay what you want to pay I had planned on releasing a new album prior
3:04
to figuring out how I was going to monetize it I was just going to run straight to the you know you do you take
3:10
take the pimping as it come long as it's out then I can you know do shows and this that and the other but man this
3:16
this this even. beiz play is is smooth in the in the way you get to see I got a guy I could show you my phone pay me
3:22
$500 bro for the for the download yeah feel me yeah and then what dope about it is it gives you all their information
3:29
contact their name their email so now you can contact them let them know I got a show you not might want to come out
3:35
you get in half price like it's it's basically breaking that you know they severed us from the fans yes so they
3:43
could get in the middle yes you feel me mhm you you can't get in the middle if me and you in contact they got scoot me
3:49
out the way and it's seeming like this is a good time where people and although
3:54
don't get it twisted a lot more people need to download this album and pay for it but I'm happy with what's happening M
4:01
and I get you know some people are like man just we want it on Apple music you know I get it on Apple and I and it's
4:07
coming to Apple but it ain't coming there until the paying people say okay you know what I mean I do I do know what
4:14
you mean and I respect it and by the way you know the gentleman who paid the 500
4:21
right is generous in his admiration of you
4:27
right right and so there's nothing wrong with that that relationship and furthermore if you want to call him or
4:33
email him or give him a VIP at the show you can do that I can do that yeah you
4:39
feel me and that's dope yeah once again this just puts you directly in contact with the artist yeah so yeah and I think
4:45
we need more of that yeah definitely definitely um uh yeah I mean you know selfishly and
4:52
I I'm I'm working my brain differently okay um because yeah of course I want it
5:00
in a convenient place what saying exactly of course you do but I think we're hitting a mark now a point a
5:08
Tipping Point where it's like yo nah that's working for them right that's
5:15
not working for the culture exactly yeah and the people in it not even the fans
5:20
and I don't even ask somebody who may not like an artists to go spend the
5:25
money but if you're the guy who's riding around talking about this is my
5:31
if it's why you don't want the dude who made it or the female who made it isue
5:36
yeah you feel me like yeah cuz you going you run into that liquor store you f to cash out for that hocy you running to
5:41
get them JS you running to get them Tims when they told you they had that colorway you was over there right facts
5:47
go with my how much 250 240 facts tear it off facts tear it offo yo you you
5:54
talking right now I'm just saying like and as as people we got to get back to
6:00
that I was just telling my man over here where I live at I've never seen a
6:05
Mexican man or woman in the supermarket or in Asia they got their own supermarkets they they support
6:13
themselves yes you know what I mean we got to get back to that I heard David Banner say some cool he was like people
6:20
always talk about uh people being racist he said I think as a people we need to
6:26
be more racist in the effect that we put Our People First with whatever we doing
6:32
we're not being racist to harm nobody but let's just be more serious about our people and what we got going on yeah
6:38
absolutely cuz we holding the golden ticket we control everything with our buck absolutely we have the black people
6:44
have the spending power more than most countries what more than most countries
6:50
bro yeah and that's just American black that's not the global black community that's just America it's it's crazy that
6:58
it is yeah we we definitely got to get back to it now the bay the bay I love the bay bro because the bay and
7:05
Independence is like it's one in the same almost it feel you know it's a to
7:11
me at least my perspective is it's its own Universe it's own ecosystem right um
7:17
I know so many artists from there okay and sometimes it's like y'all don't want
7:22
to come out to see us like y'all just going to stay there y not coming right you know what I mean and I'll tell you a
7:28
lot I'm glad you said that so when they watch this interview that they'll know that they're welcome because a lot of
7:34
guys have that stigmatism still from that Old East Coast West Coast you know they think y'all don't like us we think
7:41
y'all we y'all think we don't like y'all you feel me like I said I was blessed enough to be on Death Jam so I came to
7:48
New York and enjoyed it and I didn't get nothing but love from cats out here you know what I mean so and when you talk
7:54
about the bay ecosystem we started independent music a long time ago with two short selling the Trump and then 40
8:01
and them start doing the same thing and then we did it with the 415 drop and we learned that even though it was on a
8:08
smaller scale that we didn't need you know too much support from outside
8:16
because we were getting it right and then things changed the radio switched up yeah you know and then all the
8:21
mainstream stations start only playing certain things and that what happens is
8:27
the people that split us up never get the blank you know what I mean when when I say split us up if you say a radio station
8:33
is owned by Clear Channel I'm going give you an example
8:39
all of down south music has always been stripper oriented and we don't do strippers in Oakland right not at all
8:45
but it was all we heard on the radio they just like stuffed it down our face because that's what it was yeah it's
8:51
crazy now people are all going back to Independent yeah everybody's like man we
8:56
can do this ourselves yeah and it's good cuz the people who the labels used to pay to work the music now they'll take
9:03
the independent do the dollar and we can get the same you feel me like I can call you and get up here I don't need leor to
9:10
call you to get me up here right you hear me I mean no disrespect to leor my guy but I'm just saying the channels are
9:17
opening up to where we can go direct yeah you know so what made you what made
9:23
you jump back into the the ring uh in in a in a time right you know hipop in a an
9:31
interesting space interesting space I never stopped making music I just stopped putting music out okay I lost my
9:38
flare for music once Russell and leor explained to me how much money I was not
9:43
going to make it kind of took the fun out of it I was like I can get more money than this doing my one twep like I
9:50
had been doing and but wait how did that how was that presented to you how did that so basically when I got my first
9:58
Death Jam deal and took the contract to my lawyer and he explained to me that I was getting six cents per sale so for
10:07
every unit I sold I would receive six cents and then I went back to Russell and Leo was like what is this bro that
10:14
and they was like well that's a standard contract but you know your next album is going to recoup and blah blah blah but
10:19
then my ly will also know that whatever they spend on you video budgets hotels rental cars whatever you use up you got
10:26
to pay them back that out of this six cents MH and I'm like records is $20
10:33
yeah how do I only get 6 Cent I can see if you only $6 off album yeah I mean to
10:39
be honest with you if y'all making 20 $6 seems low but 6 cents is hideous yeah so
10:46
it it took it it hit me at a time where it kind of made me it's almost like
10:51
going to get a job that you always wanted man I want to be a pipe plumber or I want to be an electrician and you
10:57
go get your certificates and you get out and you start working and you realize there's not no money in it it it'll kind of you know you be a little upset and
11:04
that's kind of how I was with music and then I start losing people I lost Pac I lost Shakir in to the music yes so I was
11:11
like you know what I'm cool yeah but I was always making songs because that's really what I'm supposed to be doing
11:18
because people would say Rich you drop a lot of game in your records man that the game needs you like we need to hear some more that that that thing you do yeah
11:25
but I don't I don't keep score on myself I can't see me I've always been inis ible to me so people see things in me
11:32
that I can't see so I didn't think the game was needed me you know and then the new music guys came out and music got
11:39
younger and you know the sound changed I was like man don't nobody want to hear this thing I'm doing you feel me yeah
11:44
but it's like people kept hitting me on Instagram bro you're not dropping no music Rich when you you ain't dropping
11:50
man I wish you Dro some music so I'm like damn it's been 20 years they still asking you feel me yeah it's been a long
11:58
time and they still asking so I said okay I'm and then the thing happened with L Russell I was I posted something
12:06
on my Instagram a song called uh 615s and I'm kind of just performing it rapping it Russ hit me and was like bro
12:13
you still got it yeah need to come full with us yeah I went linked up with Russ one thing led to another and then the
12:20
infamous patella spill heard around the world the the tour patella on stage and
12:26
here I am you know and what I what I I got a out L Russell too because uh he's a
12:31
pivotal reason that I am monetizing the way I am cuz he I told him I said bro I
12:37
got tons of music but I just don't know how to release it right he's like bro I got you like you know that's what's up
12:43
yeah so that's dope man and then Nas is really the reason that I cuz he Nas made
12:49
a call he said man all you cats if you got Music Man drop that yeah out cuz he
12:55
had just did with Hit Boy you feel me and N we came up on NAS Nas always one of the coldest you feel me you know it's
13:01
it's it's a lot of guys from here that like I come up on EPMD Eric and Parish
13:09
them they raised me you feel me a lot of people don't know we didn't come up on West Coast R we came up on Cool J I my
13:14
era came up on Cool J mod D you feel me yeah all that all the old school KRS you
13:20
feel me I mean I can take it back spoony G like I can go all the way back right yeah and you know so like you were
13:27
saying earlier man good music is good music music man we wouldn't riding around like oh man we ain't bumping that East Coast [Â __Â ] it was never like that
13:34
right you know and now my thing is if I can still do it at this level I feel
13:40
like how they talk about LeBron they be like I mean he's he's still putting up numbers if I if I come here and I play
13:46
it and you'll be like Rich this trash then I'll fall back yeah you feel me
13:52
I'll fall back because you can time out I've heard some people who have just timed out you're listening to music you
13:58
be like bro it's over mhm that's and it it it's okay it happens every day and
14:03
it's it's actually okay because most of those artists have a CL a a run right
14:08
that you can't even it's Apex run right God tier run monetized to the fullest
14:15
right and and then and now you just go to her yeah go to her and be cool with it but you on the other hand I would say
14:23
you have like a classic style if that's accurate that that stays
14:29
you know stays classic basically some people have a a time capsule right style
14:37
and it's good for that time right and it's over what I do musically um is I
14:43
write to beats so each each song you hear from me the flow is going to be different because I write to the music I
14:50
don't write pling and then add it to the music so it doesn't sound so repetitious yeah but another thing that I think
14:56
holds me in is all I do is tell the truth the truth don't get old yeah it
15:02
pisses people off right A lot of people don't like to hear the truth but it don't get old we could play one of my
15:08
records that I put out in 1989 and it's talking about the is happening now yeah the truth don't get
15:14
old so I'm blessed with the fact like you said that the style is is staying you know but I have to work at staying
15:22
fresh sounding you know what I mean I got to work at it yeah I got to work at it you know I can't you know I can't be
15:27
out here see believe in keeping everything fresh you know what I mean I like nice cars I like nice
15:34
women I smoke good weed like everything is fresh keep it all fresh that's a great point and I've just been blessed
15:40
to yeah still be able to make music that resonates you feel me Lebron would not be a a the longest running NBA star or
15:49
whatever if he just took a year took a year and didn't work his body keep his
15:54
body together yeah he's serious because he still loves it you feel me cuz I think once you don't and like I told you
16:00
I fell out of love with her for a while and that was the time when Pac came up and 40 and short and everybody just kept
16:07
going and I just I kind of fell back yeah you know what I mean I had a sour taste in my mouth about it and then I
16:13
was able to spin back so I'm not burned out on it and now not only is the uh the
16:21
monetization starting to come back cuz what people what I don't understand about people is it's hard to do anything
16:27
for free yeah you got kids mhm okay so I got two kids me and my son
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went got two burgers two fries two shakes 40 something bucks mhm you feel
16:37
me so when I tell people hey go buy the download I'm I hate to be like hey support I'm don't I'm big on not say hey
16:43
support me I don't like when I hear people say that it kind of as a man there's a piece of me that's like
16:48
support me like support a woman a woman need support I'm a man like right but but I get people saying when they say
16:55
support the artist so it's hard I don't never jump out like hey support me support me cuz I've I've talked bad
17:00
about people who said that like dude you a man support yourself but what I'm saying is it's good to know that people
17:08
will pay you for your craft I mean it it ain't like I just wake up throw this behind my back and in the studio it's
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mix and on the tape cost some money you feel me so what I'm doing now is I fell
17:19
in love feel back in love with the music to where I'm not even doing it for money now now what I'm doing it for now is to
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just keep what I'm really trying to do is push the good music envelope back cuz
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it got downright not too good yeah fact for a while especially around my way
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right you feel me around my way it's it just got too easy to do yeah and anybody was doing it people I've been rapping
17:43
three months right that's the number one yeah he the biggest dude in the country he been rapping three months facts
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that's like a slap in the face to a [Â __Â ] been a gym in his whole life it is you feel me and and by the way no other
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culture uh m music genre can you do that no not at all uh
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not not a country not even pop nowhere nowhere we have the only sport that you can just walk on no experience and get
18:07
pushed all the way to the top and I'm not knocking if you that good but all the should knock a little bit all the
18:13
ones who walked on they walked right the yeah you know it Ain it ain't like uh someone from the D-League or whatever
18:19
that just happen to be super nice and just W to slam dunk contest and then oh yeah yeah yo you know what just give
18:25
them a shot right nah these people didn't even play pickup games bro I mean n that's just how I feel yeah yeah and
18:32
by the way you're right you know uh support is an interesting term you know there's people on the street right with
18:40
a CD and they want you to just buy because you know you're not going to play it right you just going to support
18:46
because you might feel like I'mma give you some money that's basically what you do but when you have a quality product
18:53
like any quality product right you pay for what it's worth or what you feel
18:59
it's worth sometimes it ain't worth what you pay but you you know what I'm saying right so when you talk about like
19:04
somebody spending 500 that was what he felt it was worth it was worth that to
19:10
him yeah L Russell started this pay what you want thing right yeah first I ever
19:17
seen do that right and I was like how do you make money like that right but what's crazy is he started giving it
19:25
away downn there because he knew what he was doing was for real yeah so you can get people you know when you tell people
19:31
free .99 they pulling up yeah but when you do offer
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based that guy who spends 500 allows you to sell some for $3 and $4 you know what
19:44
I mean and take this $2 and you never really know what it's worth to the
19:50
person right and if you making something good you you might look in there and be like damn they feeling it like this you
19:57
feel me yeah I mean it was it's really ingenious how he can't cuz all his is offer based like yeah so but also when
20:05
you do hear the quality then you feel bad about $2 you'll be like you know
20:11
right I don't even feel like that's that makes me feel bad right so let me do at least 10 exactly or up exactly yeah yeah
20:19
so it works you know um yeah um yeah and yo I just kind of want
20:25
to just shout out a few people okay you know we got yourself Snoop Dogg Dr Dre
20:34
exhibit common Pete Rock yes sir MC light um Master Ace M uh and Marco Polo
20:45
um who else we got that's crazy LL Cool J LL Cool
20:51
J feel like I'm missing some people but the point is is keeping it a buck you
20:58
mentioned it went you know mean went it dipped I think that and now and then and
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then so then you mentioned L Russell and you got other people from a younger era
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right who are bringing us all back we're all coming into the center right and
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having almost like a huddle up like a cultural huddle up say you know what we going to let's change this littleit
21:22
let's bring bring it back to some core values and also the music will also hold
21:29
right so the artists I just mentioned all of them have music right that holds
21:35
up that holds up and that's classic the difference between some of the old school right everybody that's old school
21:42
that come back is not worthy of a comeback I I do agree I've listened to some things and I'll be like bro I
21:48
respect you know your but you you you messing up the the Legacy for me real
21:53
yeah like you you messing up the way I like that other thing used to do with this new thing you doing you know so but
22:00
I get it but some certain people like Pete I would love to get on a Pete Rock track I follow Pete on uh on Instagram
22:07
you know good dude I tap in with but it's like like you say some just forever
22:13
yeah they just locked in forever just whatever they do is still working yeah you know what I mean that's what it is
22:19
music used to be for The Talented the people who loved making music and then
22:26
it turned into a Hustle turned into the thing to do and that's when it got
22:32
shitty yeah yeah you know mhm and I mean
22:37
and the companies don't want to pay so the people who have talent want to be paid and the people who don't need to be
22:46
paid nine times out of 10 don't have much talent and in the record companies making more money they push the quality
22:53
bar down and now that it's down there it's like we got to bring this up yeah
22:59
and then they come back to the OG hey what y'all doing y'all still working Y come on out and do something right right yeah yeah so I mean it's it's it's good
23:06
man now with your name Richie Rich okay I would imagine you had a manifestation
23:12
early on I know how you got your name but uh you step away from the game right
23:19
but you got these this car collection and you got you know you're not you're not hurting right uh how did you
23:27
continue on throughout the those non rapping periods
23:33
pivot pivoted back to the hustle yeah back to the hustle cannabis got legal jumped in there cuz I had been playing
23:39
it on the illegal side you know what I mean kind of just keeping my ear I've always been a hustler you feel me we we
23:46
we where I'm from we got Brothers we come up with a bunch of money we going to buy a couple tow trucks you feel me
23:53
yeah we going we going to wiggle our way into some paper coming my thing is I've
23:58
always been fresh like and I'm serious about my fresh and that's what one of my homeboy said when he saw me fall on the
24:04
stage with L Russell beit be say people was calling me talking about you fell on stage I asked him what did he do next
24:09
right and they was like cuz that boy serious about his fresh so where I come from it's a small knit place I I'm from
24:17
East Oakland it's his own world you know what I mean you you can make a living in there if you know how to move right so
24:25
outside of music I just kept cuz Richie Rich is not somebody gave me that name a
24:31
chick who used to work with me gave me that name I didn't pick that name to be a rapper and I'm I'm GNA tell you it
24:37
would have been a lot easier being Lou Lou you feel me cuz the the two RS man
24:43
it have been times where I done lost one of them and I be like man where that other r at you know like it get tough
24:50
but when I once I once I adopted the moniker I was like I gotta stay fresher
24:57
than most because I'm trying to sell them an item they can't pull up on me
25:02
and they car be whooping mine I'm richy rich so it was it was a constant Chase bro and I'll be honest with you that's
25:09
why I named this album Richard I'm trying to get off of that chase cuz you know you you get a little bit older you
25:15
could still dance with the best of them but you just might not want to you know what I mean so I I be honest with you I
25:21
hustled bro uh and just I kept doing my thing like I like toys boats cars
25:27
motorcycles the those the things that I'm into I've always been into those and I'm G have them until it's over with
25:33
yeah and that kind of keeps you lit on this internet right see see that on the
25:38
internet they' be like clean and so I came pre- interet when
25:43
there was no internet yeah but I was still having all these toys but people over there people over here and people
25:49
over here couldn't see the because we didn't have that kind of promotion right but people around me did so I the way I
25:55
stayed lit was I took it back to the street the who supported me first you
26:00
feel me and I always did clean business you know even though it was a hustle it was still clean business and that's how
26:07
I stayed fresh you know nice nice nice you uh you know L Russell is an
26:13
interesting guy because he just did a song with a boy homeboy of mine kg barley okay and he's a conscious rapper
26:21
well I I hate the term conscious rapper but you know he's on his family and positivity and at sometimes
26:29
Pro black stuff you know what I'm saying which is in the soil as well so I love the thread of him working with someone
26:36
like you and someone like him probably in some ways educating on some of the
26:43
Newber practices with with all all y giving away that type of game is is
26:50
clutch one thing about Russ he's just different man yeah he's
26:55
just different I mean he got so many many different kind of songs he got
27:01
where you can just party and jump too then he got that just have you I mean the boy is he's he's just a different
27:07
kind of individual and like you said you might see him he might go do a song with
27:12
a a most DEA and then might spin around and do one with Ice Cube and they both be dope he's got a lot of range and what
27:19
I like about him is he's bring to me L Russell is bringing back what started
27:26
here in New York orig hip hop dancing just having fun rapping about cool not
27:33
gun down you feel me and then he's bringing it back through the
27:40
ear as opposed music started coming through the eyes after while yep you needed all the chains you needed all the
27:48
rolls-royces you know you needed this uniform to be cool yeah Russy Don't Wear No jewelry yeah bro don't wear no
27:54
jewelry bro going to pop out in the Crocs he going to get on stage and he going to give it to you yeah and that's
28:00
a that's letting me know that okay so Talent is still appreciated somewhere
28:06
cuz it had got watered down to where people thought if you had nine bus Downs on you was better than the dude who had
28:12
three bus Downs yeah yeah and that ain't always the case right cuz we talking about music yeah music comes through the
28:18
ears first I get it as visual but yeah yeah he
28:23
he's what I like the most about rapping alongside with Russ is the boy is a dog
28:29
on the stage Yeah you mentioned earlier before we had the cameras rolling Dam you know the worst all your like I'm a
28:35
dog on stage like and I like that man I'm tired of the dudes right right and just jumping while
28:43
the lyrics is playing and they say three words like like uh who said that uh uh
28:49
Steve Harvey Steve Harvey say you ever been to a hip-hop show [Â __Â ] talking about pump it up pump it up somebody scream he said no but you scream right I
28:57
SP 649 F you scream you know but it's just like anything else it gets so big
29:03
so Global the sport went so big you going to pick up [Â __Â ] along the way
29:09
but like you say it's coming back to the real the sun is coming out the the the snow ball is melting it's going to get
29:16
down to the real once again yeah no no doubt speaking of the real you uh yo you
29:23
worked with Tupac Tupac was a friend yeah good friend of mine met him on a fluke mhm and did lots of work with that
29:30
guy uh first song I think we did was Heavy in the game which was on his uh uh
29:35
Me Against the World album yep classic went from there and we ended up on the all eyes on me actually when he recorded
29:42
all eyes on me he told me he said man I want some of your homies on the album I was like who you want he said just bring all your Bas yeah so I called 40 and
29:50
called Drew down and and D shot and vaa sibo and we all went down there and got on the record yeah and uh it's crazy cuz
29:58
I had a I had a spotty I call it a spotty career I wasn't I wasn't
30:03
consistent you know what I mean but the some of the records that I hopped on
30:09
were big records I got five on it did really well jumped on the remix yeah you know the the all the Tupac I'd rather be
30:15
a [Â __Â ] did well the the t-b remix to touch my touch myself I don't even know
30:21
if you was up with that uh Jermaine de pre-produced that okay that was a good record for me when I was on Def Jam so I
30:26
I was lucky enough to land on meaningful songs that lasted the test of time that
30:32
kind of kept me in the loop right you know what I mean yeah yeah um I
30:38
interviewed ice tea I interviewed him a lot ice te is a good brother yeah what ice that 6 in the morning turned us out
30:44
my God come on come on shout out ice shout out to Ice T he's one of the realest too come on Co but he he talked
30:51
about Tupac um a little bit differently than what I would say right right um he
30:59
most people don't realize he came to the Bay first right um I I always would like to he's a Gemini which I don't know if
31:06
you believe in that type of stuff right but he has different styles and different personalities almost that I
31:12
mean again I never met him right but um what version of him did you meet like
31:17
who was him who was he at that point let me tell you when I
31:23
first Digital Underground like doing the RO I think think he had to brend this got a baby he
31:30
always been with me he's always been the same dude super genuine super cool um
31:35
even when he blew up to the all eyes on me status yeah when I was trying to keep
31:41
up with him and and I I tell people in interviews he went from my being my little bro to my big bro you feel if
31:47
that makes sense yeah it does but he was always the same with me his mom aini
31:53
told me one time we were in LA and I came down popped in on them we sitting eating and a Pac got up to go grab
32:00
something and she said I always like it when you're here cuz when you're here he's my son like so he's always looked
32:07
up to me and he was just and I looked up to him like you feel me and and we can
32:13
do that you know yeah no he when he starts spinning out of control when I'm
32:19
I remember telling him after the rape case after the police shooting I said bro I said you need to just get off the
32:26
scene for a minute yeah just chill right mhm I was like dude you you he was like
32:32
get off the scene yeah out of here like that's just how he was with but with me
32:37
he was always bro and he was smooth now I would see him I mean I seen him get
32:46
way out and I'm like bro what is that yeah oh no I'm don't worry about it man I a tri cuz he'd be like oh I forgot
32:52
Rich was over there like you feel yeah I don't seen him get I mean he'll take it there me he was always bro just the same
32:59
dude I met him over a sack of weed that's I met him right and he just was always a cool dude Super Creative yep he
33:08
never wanted nothing never had much and never needed he wanted people to feel
33:15
him yeah the material wasn't really his thing he started to have some cars and
33:20
[Â __Â ] but that wasn't his thing yeah yeah it really wasn't his thing he he wanted to be felt and he wanted people I he
33:28
cared about people in a way that a lot of people probably don't understand you know what I mean he cared a lot about a
33:34
lot of people yeah yeah but you got you got to understand in this business you
33:39
can get lost in the sauce yeah mhm and the sauce is thick yeah you can get lost in the sa you got to be a bad indiv you
33:46
got to be a super sharp individual to walk through this business and come out
33:52
unscathed yeah do you feel like he kind of did get lost and so definitely I
33:58
definitely I feel like let me tell you I moved to LA in
34:05
96 when I was on Def Jam I came to New York I stayed in Jersey City then I went back to LA and when I tell you I ran
34:13
back up the freeway to the to the Bay with my tail between my legs cuz it was
34:19
scary how much of everything I wanted was just coming my way right it was
34:24
moving fast right the girls the money the drugs I mean it was coming fast
34:30
right you know what I mean it was coming fast right right you know and you got to think about it when you got guys
34:36
who the The Motto was to get up and make it and then you finally get on it's hard
34:43
to see straight yeah when you in it you ever been in a relationship and then when you get out of it you look back you
34:50
be like I was tripping yeah until you can pull yourself away from yourself and
34:55
look back in a lot of times you can't see how you moving yeah you feel me yeah
35:01
and I don't think Pac had a problem with how he was moving because at one point he just even told me he like I'm going
35:08
I'm going to die he died on my album on on on the season veteran album he told
35:13
him I've been shot and murdered can't tell you how it happened word for word and I'm listening I'm like did this
35:19
[Â __Â ] been shot and murdered like at some point he just went into martyr mode
35:26
just yeah you feel me and I don't I wasn't there like I told you he got away from me when I say got away I don't mean
35:33
like hey I don't want you know I'm talking about he he was thrusting so fast I couldn't keep up with him yeah
35:39
he's doing movies you know I used to call his phone be like what's up he be like you in La I'm like no hit me when you get there like yeah and I'm like
35:45
damn phone but he busy you know yeah so a lot of times man when you in it you
35:51
can't I've been in that I've been so deep entrenched in the street to where
35:56
it took me that jail to sit back and be like damn I was tripping you feel me yeah yeah so I get
36:03
I I put some of what he was going through with attempting to be successful
36:09
then trying to find out what successful really meant and in between all that
36:14
still trying to ball yeah you know what I mean still trying to ball and being young too like very young and to deal
36:21
with everything thrown at you yeah come on man yeah that I mean the the '90s you
36:27
know 80s the late ' 80s and the '90s was was an interesting time first of all
36:32
hip-hop was just it was changing so much and then it was so much money being
36:37
thrown at everything thrown at Russell thrown at Leo thrown at profile records
36:42
Death Jam records Death Row Records everything was going down you know Warren G Dr Dre Snoop Dogg then you had
36:50
everything on the East and down south was coming up yeah Germaine Dupri I mean it was a crazy time you were in the
36:56
middle I was in the middle I me I shot dice with Jermaine depri shout out JD I think JD had a ATM in his
37:04
room yeah cuz he kept losing and he kept coming back was he coming back he kept coming back with Crispy hundreds he hold
37:11
on give me a second and he go in this room and he come back out I'm like that boy must got a money machine back there
37:18
shout out JD but yeah that's when Dude I remember when the track masters and all
37:26
the Beats was 200 100K Jermaine charged me like he wanted 190 for that tby we
37:32
end up getting it for like 85,000 I mean they was paying people back there artists wasn't getting paid
37:38
the producers were getting paid like you said that's when they started throwing the money and cash money came in and it
37:44
got stupid big like yeah had give him all that money yeah you now one thing
37:51
not to harp on this Tupac thing but you mentioned something in one of your songs and IC te said something to me about
37:59
Tupac and um it's this is not I'll just I'll just say it
38:05
straight he said that Tupac was mixing energies that was that was his term
38:11
that's what I said in the bay it was one type of energy and it was it was gang energy I'm going keep energy right he
38:17
said it was kind of blue in the bay obviously red in La okay and you
38:23
mentioned something on your album about the the Gang type situation right I'm
38:29
trying to piece I'm trying to like okay so figure out like in the bay I don't
38:35
know what ice meant by when he said blue cuz we saying [Â __Â ] no but so we we never
38:40
had Crips or bloods in Oakland period okay okay okay so it cripping and blood and gang banging came up the highway
38:46
came up through Fresno and all the way jumped right over Oakland and San Francisco and went right on up to
38:53
Sacramento and kept going okay we never gain bang now we have gangs but it's not
38:58
[Â __Â ] and blood okay they just name themselves you know whatever their name is okay you know and it's just kids who
39:05
link up with each other okay and and do dirt but they're not claiming red and blue it's not that okay so but but they
39:11
do have but it it might as well be that cuz they it's the same activity yeah
39:16
it's the same decimation of the people yes you feel me it's it's young black men killing other young black men in the
39:22
name of I'm from over here and you from over there okay got you so but prior to that that in Oakland we always we were
39:30
from in La they call it sets in Oakland we we from different blocks so if you from 89th and D Street I might be from
39:36
96 in Plymouth and so that's what we claiming I'm I'm from 96 or I'm from 106
39:42
you feel me so so we was we was Turf banging but it wasn't red and blue but
39:47
it was more like block banging okay maybe I misunderstood what he was saying or well the well I'll be honest with you
39:53
I didn't hear what I said but I can kind of see basically it sounds like he was
40:00
saying he was kind of straddling between this and that I do
40:06
remember Tupac coming up to me in La asked me to give hand him the weed
40:13
and I said give me a minute blood and he said amen watch that b word and I said huh cuz we've been
40:20
saying blood up in the Bay Area like but it was like young blood my brother yeah yeah but we not banging but we said the
40:26
word all time actually you know by the okay I want you to finish that but that goes back like Vietnam they used to call
40:32
each I got a book that says Bloods and it's Vietnam yeah like my brother and them it's it was a it was an
40:38
abbreviation from Young Blood right okay get get your ass in the house Young Blood yeah you know and and then it so
40:44
blood is something that we've said in Oakland forever and we still say it yes you feel me but it wasn't tied to a gang
40:52
thing mhm but I would come to LA and I'm still talking like I'm talking so Pac
40:57
was really trying to give me a heads up like you know but I asked him I said you
41:03
banging and he was like No And I was like well what you tripping for cuz you know where we from like and that's when
41:10
I I said okay something something has changed yeah cuz he really was like it was like checking me on it hey hey watch
41:17
that b word around you know got I was like but they know where I'm from they cuz I done been in La before and got
41:22
jammed up at a 7-Eleven with a little dude we had on my boy had on a Kansas City starter dude come out whistling and
41:30
and next thing there was three or four of them he was like man you disrespecting me that Casey stand for killer [Â __Â ] or something and we didn't
41:35
know we didn't have a clue we like bro we from Oakland it's respected we we
41:40
didn't he said yeah just you know from now on bro you don't want to wear that down here because it it'll get you in
41:45
you don't know nothing about yeah right so I didn't know nothing about gang bang but I respect the culture it's where they from and they serious about it you
41:52
feel me very much serious about it so yeah maybe that's what he was talking about okay okay you uh yo Oakland has
42:01
you know the Black Panthers are from Oakland like I met a dude the other day
42:06
and he had a whole Oak he in Dallas had a whole Oakland black panthers jacket on
42:11
right I I was going to buy it cuz I've seen it online it's pretty expensive I said maybe I'll make my own or something
42:18
maybe I'll just support the black business though stop being cheap um but n nevertheless Oakland has a interesting
42:26
history um I feel like and correct me if I'm wrong that um the we we don't see as
42:33
much hip-hop with that sting tone coming out of out of Oakland am I wrong no no
42:39
you you're right um that element of music is there but like you say it's not
42:46
seeping up to the top yeah for you know I we got artists from there that say
42:52
we've been black balled we got artists from there that say there's a lot of I don't know
42:57
why things happen the way they happen but what I like to explain to any artist
43:03
who's trying to be an artist is at the end of the day the people have to pick you I don't care how dope the record is
43:11
I don't care who produced it I don't care how Saucy your flow was it still has to be picked by the people yeah the
43:19
fans are who light you up yeah cuz they like what you're doing yeah yeah you could do the same Nas was doing and be
43:25
even Tighter and they may not take to you like they took to NAS yeah you know what I mean it it's just that's
43:32
just what it is but there are artists who believe that no it's just we need a push or we need more promotion or we
43:39
need more and there's a certain truth to that like uh exposure is always going to
43:47
get you you know but you can expose trash and it's still trash yeah you know
43:53
what I mean so that level of music is still there's so many talented people in
43:58
Oakland who are talking that type of thing but like I used to tell my homeboy you know black power lasts for an hour
44:05
you know I used to say that that is black power lasts for an hour I remember when I was young new music Tuesday you
44:13
could go pick up a a two short album a NWA and an ex-client yeah you feel me we
44:19
had a choice yeah right then they took the choices from us they just start making all one feeding us all one kind
44:26
of music yeah to where then that music that you're asking about it don't have the sting people look at it with oh that
44:33
ain't it man to hear that positive ass like it turns to that so somebody called
44:39
Kendrick Lamar and Doshi like Harriet Tubman music and I was like what are you
44:45
talking about that's that's how [Â __Â ] up we are bro what are you talking about right now how [Â __Â ] up we are bro so
44:50
disgusted I got off the whole internet at that point I said you know what I need a break from all of y'all
44:57
everything see but you you come up in a different time you come up in a time where you say that to somebody you can
45:02
get punched in your mouth sure the internet you can just and it's just whatever you feel me and that's the
45:09
thing dude I feel like like I said back then when we was coming up you had
45:14
choices you didn't have to buy the same kind of music yeah you know what I mean
45:20
but Oakland what I will tell you is we're a Melting Pot of talent that everything just doesn't break through
45:26
out of there but the reason what I understand about that that the average artist doesn't understand is leor and
45:31
Russell explained to me how the music industry work and they gave me an analogy they say Richie so this is the
45:37
music industry it's a helicopter and it's flying over the Bay Area and it's looking down it's like damn there's a
45:43
lot of people down there maybe we can get an artist out of there make him famous and get all that money and that's
45:49
what they do they come sign Richie Rich they put me on the song with you know somebody from that's more famous than me
45:56
to [Â __Â ] the light on me to make all the people who know me from my area spend the money on the album right so and what
46:03
that helicopter has done is it started here in New York it was base hip hop
46:09
yeah everything was coming from New York the helicopter was just circling here it didn't know California had nothing and
46:14
then when it made it over to California went to LA circled over Los Angeles oh we can grab these guys and Los Angeles
46:21
is a bigger Market than oak flew over Oakland oh we can grab a few things out of here let's get short
46:27
Rich then it flew to the South and it never came back home right The South was
46:33
the last people to get on yeah and their Market is so big cuz you can get on the
46:39
freeway for 20 minutes and go state to state difference so the the the music
46:46
that you're hearing is the music that they can monetize the most right you feel me it ain't that they don't want us
46:52
own from Oakland but they like we already got that little bit of money you guys you guys are a small Market you're super talented but you're a small market
46:59
right we're over here in the South where look at all these people who are buying
47:04
it they love it so when you look at it like that as a businessman you look at
47:09
markets and you look at okay say I did go monetized Oakland again how much money could I get out of
47:15
there versus could I what could I get out of Los Angeles right you know what I mean versus what can I get out of
47:23
Atlanta what I can get out of Memphis Yeah you know and that's what it is it's exploitation at its finest that's just
47:29
what it is what it now we listen to it and be like Oh rap is H but it's exploitation the labors are trying to
47:35
find out how many units can we sell out of this Market that's the only reason they giving me a record deal they're not
47:40
giving me a record deal because they think I'm talented right how many of your people will come spend some money with us right and that's what it is yeah
47:46
so sometimes people will see oh man what how is that that music's not breaking through and the artist might be like
47:53
well we don't get no push it's bigger than that yeah this thing is a controlled business it's a controlled
48:00
business and it's just what it is yeah wow you know wow this it's heavy and let
48:06
me add this being from Oakland A lot of the music that we make we've made it so
48:13
long for Oakland yeah heavy laden baselines this that and the other
48:18
sometimes you have to make National Music to get a national look yeah yeah
48:24
cuz everybody just you know some sounds foreign yeah to people yeah be like I like what he's saying but I don't like
48:29
that beat it's true so sometime you got to play over a more National yeah track
48:35
you know but it's I still tell people all the time the fans have to pick you and if they
48:41
don't you it's going to be tough yeah how did you feel okay I don't I hope you
48:47
know some you know everybody don't want to make no mistakes but but if if I'm correct Kendrick Lamar has sonically
48:54
borrowed from the bay is that correct now you know what it's funny you say that because there are a lot of that
49:00
chatter is in the bay right now heavy I'mma Be honest with you I don't
49:06
listen to enough of anybody else's music to know because it seeps in when I
49:11
listening to listen to somebody else's music it subconsciously seeps into my pen yeah oh and then I'm writing
49:19
somebody else even though I might think that was me they flow patterns all that you know what I mean cuz the brain is a
49:25
it's a vacuum it's G to so I don't listen Kendrick's album came
49:30
out and everybody was talking about it I listened to like two songs My Buddy played for me the whacked out murals and
49:36
another one Kendrick is an amazing kid dope super dope but I didn't pick up on
49:44
the sound and so people are saying hey man that's our music that's our sound
49:49
and blah blah blah so music I get where they coming from
49:56
kind of get it but then I kind of don't right you know what I mean because I'm looking at it like so SE Kendrick didn't
50:02
put out this album at all and didn't use any of the whatever people are saying sounds like the
50:08
bay is his pocketbook gonna be missing a beat I don't think so so I don't look at
50:13
it like he needed to do that to further anything he had going I looked at it
50:19
like he was paying homage to the whole California card and his influences
50:24
things that influence him things that he likes it's two ways to look at a cup half full half empty it's going to
50:30
always be like that yeah you feel me you going to always have be oh man he took our W well this is my
50:38
thing if indeed he can use something that we made
50:45
and win with it and we can't then where's where does the problem lie right
50:50
right where does the problem lie it's almost kind of like when they was talking about uh D Dame said he made
50:56
Jay-Z and then D Jay was like that people was like well make another one then I just I just and this is me and
51:03
some of my people from my area they might get mad at me but I feel like nobody cares about they woman till
51:10
somebody else start they good right I'm just saying you she just was
51:18
over there you wasn't really paying her much attention right you feel me yeah yeah you if dude if we're g to say
51:24
Kendrick Jack the bay for it sound and is winning
51:29
then I started rapping because of Modi I started rapping because of Cool J I
51:35
probably didn't take their style but they motivated me to want to rap so if we going to say that then music should
51:42
have just stayed right where it was at when it first was created and nobody else should have came after nobody yeah
51:48
you feel me so I haven't listened to his whole album but I heard some of the but why can't he
51:54
be just influenced by like Luss Luss is Young so Luss is Ping
52:02
homage to he enjoyed growing up L Russell sounds like m Drake sounds like
52:08
40 you can hear some me in his rap and he'll tell you yeah I'm a mixture of all of that yeah why do we always have to be
52:17
upset with each other about something right I I don't know why it pisses me
52:23
off right because look first first things first these artists that you're mentioning are students of the game if
52:30
you listen to sum of Kendrick's projects it's Jazz influenced uh Terrace Martin shout out to him and shout out to
52:36
whoever else has been in that creation sometimes you might even hear a little DMX Andre 3000 you might hear a little
52:43
Eminem in there you might hear obviously Dr Dre and Snoop and you know he might have a song with
52:49
MCA I don't black it's okay this might just be a black thing it might be a
52:55
black people thing no it's it's just something that we do now I I came up we
53:00
biting used to be illegal you know what I mean biting B yeah just somebody style yeah biting this style yeah but when
53:07
someone says like that's our sound the only way he could have got
53:13
away with using our sound is if we wasn't using it I don't
53:19
see me doing it well with my and then
53:24
somebody else doing it man the man is probably influenced but he's a young man
53:30
yeah he's probably you know and he with the bay heavy he been mentioning 40 and Bea and songs and you could you can just
53:36
tell and when you're from a place he's probably soaked up everything he can soak from where he's from yeah because
53:42
he's that's who he is he's from there I didn't take it that he was yeah taking the I take I looked at it like if he can
53:51
you take our sound and show you the world or take it then that's letting you know okay so the world does like this
53:56
sound now all you got to do is give it to them yeah and be serious about it it for me dude I'm just
54:05
over identifying the problems let's get some solutions going yeah let's let's
54:10
Identify some solutions because at the end of the day we are the only ones who bicker back and forth about whatever it
54:18
is none of these other genres are doing that none of these other races are doing
54:23
that yeah you feel me nobody's doing that absolutely but that is what you said is actually that is the chatter
54:32
I've heard it up there about that's our sound yeah they said it like when mustard first started doing it
54:39
but what you got to understand is man this is music man it's like when you go fishing they catching fish over there
54:47
let's go see if we can catch one over there yeah you feel me and he made it look good though yeah definitely I mean
54:53
talking about it's the hottest okay so that mean if that is indeed what we do we halfway
54:59
there all we got to do I feel like this to anybody create some good music man make some good music make good music
55:07
make some good music you feel me you might be the creator of the spin move but you you ain't got no no
55:12
three-pointer you a your your your free throw is off man I I identify your take your spin move W and put that with the
55:19
rest of my game hey man it was it's a sweet spin move bro I need that in my
55:24
Arsenal facts and if you look look at Kobe Bryant you can line him side by side with Jordan and he put his spin on
55:32
what Jordan I look at it as an appreciation whenever somebody does something that I'm doing I don't look at
55:38
it like all the [Â __Â ] trying to be me I'm it's like he paying homage that's just me though that's how I look at it
55:45
but I was raised to look at a cup cup as being half full as opposed to half empty yeah now you uh uh and correct me from
55:52
wrong but you had both parents growing up yep what what did that have impact how did
55:59
that impact you man I had a great uh upbringing um I come from up the hill
56:05
I'm I'm I'm not from the hood but all my homies was from the flats the ones I enjoyed hanging with yeah so I went down
56:12
the hill yeah you feel me and the that was going on down there was so exciting
56:17
yeah that I stayed down there yeah you feel me that's damn near like what we talking about with the Kendrick the up
56:22
the hill it was wasn't doing it for me I went down the hill where the action was
56:28
and I had a very good household parents were married you know dad passed away
56:33
mom never dated again like I come up in a in a perfect situation and it's just proof that you can come up perfect and
56:39
still end up you know into I just was always I was an action type of kid I
56:45
liked it to be where the action was at yeah you feel me so you know it what I
56:50
would say is it rooted me my mom used to tell me my job is to tell you what right
56:56
from wrong what you do with that is going to be on you Richard but I know when the opportunity presents itself you
57:01
going to do the right thing and she was right yeah so she what they did having that unit let me know that I was loved
57:08
and I was all right mm so I couldn't get nowhere else and couldn't nobody sway me on who I was and how I felt about me
57:16
yeah and I think that's the best thing about when you have a strong parenting structure yeah you know you're not
57:22
missing anything you got everything you need now what you going to do with it yeah yeah we have a lot a lot in in
57:27
common from that point of view now when you went to jail right how how did that
57:32
impact them or your mom okay my mom had my mom told me how was going to pan out
57:39
she she was upset told yeah she was upset the first case I caught the half a thing case with for the coke uh I
57:46
remember going to jail and I remember the first time my mom came up there to visit me and they called me out for a
57:53
visit I went out there and you sitting in behind this glass and you could see people walking up and she walked in and
57:59
she had this look on her face and it wasn't the like I'm happy to see you look yeah and I was like damn like Mom's
58:06
is up here but like she ain't looking too smooth right so she said how you doing I said I'm good she said all right
58:12
she said uh I ain't going to be able to make come back up here she said you going to be all right I was like yeah
58:18
she said I ain't coming up here no more I said why she said cuz ain't nobody going to be feeling on me and digging through my purse and running through my
58:24
pockets I don't I don't deal with all that mhm and she was just firm like that you feel me but she came made sure a
58:30
[Â __Â ] was straight you good I see you when you get on yeah so I come up under like some serious Louisiana sh out of
58:39
Louisiana my dad was out of Texas it was always firm it was loving but it was firm yeah you know my mama played
58:45
context work she that you say it once next time you getting fired on that's I
58:51
mean that's just how she do her [Â __Â ] me yeah yeah so no that's dope that's do yeah that helped me weather the street
58:59
storms knowing that I had a you know a cool support system but I love being out there in the streets I ain't nothing
59:05
like just it make your blood boil man just when you just that action you know yeah like now I look back at people tell
59:13
me stories i' be like no way right you be like no that that couldn't have been me yeah but yeah that's doe now um you
59:22
know you know you know the thing the thing that I like about you know Gen X and and the in the in the
59:31
Golden Era of hip-hop right we know how to stay fresh it's it's hard it's
59:37
actually hard to get old right older old right um but we do it right it's crazy
59:43
you do ity yo yo my man came in with I ain't going to lie I'mma buy a pair of
59:49
these I'm not I'm just going to keep it real he said you got to add your I'm going keep it real I'm going to get a pair of these Uggs that he has
59:56
right now I'm a Tim I'm a veteran of Timberland right I got plenty of pair of
1:00:02
Tims right I knew I was coming to New York right Kims don't keep the cold out they bring the cold in right then you
1:00:08
got to have some thick socks or something going on you know and and I'll be honest with you you know I just hurt my knee okay right at the Luss yeah you
1:00:15
know how heavy them joints be oh you put them joints on I got pairs of them but I was looking for something warm my
1:00:22
homeboy put me up on these when I first looked I said that looked like them SP boots to youngers be wearing and then I
1:00:28
put my foot in them dude they furred out and I was I said this is and they soft you feel they easy to wear yeah yeah I
1:00:35
like that you know here's the funny thing um Uggs came out but they were
1:00:41
selling to us right you know and I and what they were selling right I was like
1:00:47
man you're selling to me right I don't really know how I feel about that first
1:00:52
of all we rock with Tims you're not going to you can't compete with that right but now I look at it a little
1:00:59
different it's just a random oh those are nice let me well see that that boot
1:01:05
is a statement right when I signed the Death Jam I came home wearing Tims I had never wore Tims before but that's when
1:01:12
the rough neck thing was in you feel me the overalls the I mean it was a look you feel me D when I first started
1:01:19
wearing them they was knocking the skin off the top of my toe Hey cuz it was it
1:01:24
was a little too big my fo was moving in there I really didn't know how to work them right right right as far as this
1:01:30
not get old thing you're talking about people run up on me all the time they be like Rich you don't have no wrinkles bro
1:01:35
what's up like what is your regimen I don't have no regimen you know I really don't um I know my spirit is Young
1:01:43
though yeah you feel me like I'm I'm not an old dude trying to be no young but I just I'm I'm not F to put on no
1:01:49
suspenders my I'm just not I don't think that'll ever be me yeah and it's like
1:01:54
that's that's what I like about hip up it kind of made everybody you know we
1:01:59
could all just be cool you know sweats I wear sweats all the time your man who had just walked out from the last
1:02:05
interview I heard you heard you telling him the same thing like boy you don't look like you age today yeah I'll be
1:02:10
honest with you I have an exhaust and what I mean by that is I
1:02:15
don't hold nothing in whatever is on my mind is coming out my mouth yeah right
1:02:20
so I don't keep nothing bottled up I think that's one of the things I have an exhaust whatever I take in I blow out
1:02:26
yeah it's it's out of there just as quick as it came in another thing is I'm
1:02:31
just genuinely a nice guy I'm a happy dude yeah I'm just genuinely happy I'm not mad at anything I hav been up I done
1:02:37
been down my my my temperature does not change because my money ain't where it
1:02:43
once was I'm I'm happy to be having this Human Experience you feel me yeah and
1:02:48
and I'm okay with me right you know and then I guess I got some jeans some good jeans you feel me because I got some
1:02:53
homeboy that's 20 years younger than me that look older than me yeah another thing about them streets them streets will beat you up yeah yeah you feel me
1:03:00
they fun to hang around in but them streets will beat you up that alcohol will beat you up that's a fact that weed will beat you up that that the constant
1:03:08
being outside and outside it'll beat you up and I have always had a place to go
1:03:14
sit down and chill you feel me yeah and I be honest with you ain't nothing like
1:03:21
sitting down and chilling sometimes it's cool to get out there and move around but I think the youth comes
1:03:27
from your perspective on [Â __Â ] one thing I will tell you and this is real I have
1:03:33
seven Fridays in my week and it's always been like that cuz I always hustle and I had jobs when I was young but I've
1:03:39
always been a hustler so I'm I call myself the King of the Seven Fridays cuz I wouldn't know what day it is I don't
1:03:45
celebrate any nothings no holidays no Valentine's is no Christmases not even
1:03:51
my birthday I'm not attached to this Gregorian calendar that's
1:03:56
calendar I'm not attached to the calendar and I'm really not attached to time because I was a hustler so I didn't
1:04:03
have to punch a clock I didn't have to be anywhere at 9: I didn't so for me it's just daytime and night time right
1:04:08
that's it you feel me and when you take that restraint off of you then you
1:04:13
realize ain't no such thing as age right you feel me cuz if you think about it
1:04:19
anytime that you can hear the sound of your voice is it's right now right right so we're always in the right now yeah
1:04:25
you can't reach back in yesterday and grab nothing off the table and you can't take nothing off the chair from tomorrow
1:04:31
right so if you live in the moment right and you don't press yourself about what
1:04:36
I'm going to do tomorrow or what I did yesterday yeah you going to be young cuz you are always in the right now you feel
1:04:44
me and I just living it now bro yeah I'm similar I don't celebrate my birthday or none he people call you be like it's
1:04:49
your birthday what you doing nothing right chilling yep I ain't never had a birthday party hey my mom stopped mine
1:04:55
when I was like eight or nine years old she shut that down yeah she was like the only birthday is December 25th you know
1:05:01
you know I was like damn really but I ain't going to lie if the kind of Life I Lived I might jump up and go buy a
1:05:07
motorcycle on Wednesday like every day was to be celebrated and I had my homeboy tell me some real say you only
1:05:13
got one birthday the day you was born that's your birth date right the date
1:05:18
you were born you you only get that one time yeah but I know some people who they they be serious they do two three
1:05:24
weeks on that yeah you feel me y I mean every day is yeah every day man is is is
1:05:29
a day to be celebrated you feel me and I think if we start treating ourselves more like that then it you know you
1:05:36
don't have to wait until your birthday to go have some fun you feel me but to
1:05:42
to each his own people do it how they want to do it but I don't know bro I just try to stay fresh you know I keep myself clean brush my teeth I stay in
1:05:48
the water you know yeah you you got to take care of yourself yeah facts real fact especially as men as black you got
1:05:54
to take care of yourself yeah you got to stay in the water straight
1:06:00
up it's life it's tough enough to Har on you can't do about yeah no that's a fact
1:06:08
no that's what happened yesterday is gone yeah it took me it took me a long time to get to that point a long and it
1:06:16
took me stuff like divorce to realize yeah I can't make you do nothing nothing I
1:06:24
don't even own you yeah yeah as much as I want to just control this I don't have
1:06:29
no control yeah basically and then don't even get me started with God or right other things like people passing away or
1:06:36
whatever the case may be yeah n this life thing is life yeah n that's a fact that's a fact now the other thing you're
1:06:43
into cars shout out to DJ thorough he he's uh our car Enthusiast and he's not
1:06:49
here he was normally you know normally he'd be here but right talk about your car collection and and and the cover of
1:06:56
Richard is the 69 Cougar yeah so I got a 69 Cougar XR7 convertible I got a 72
1:07:03
cutless uh which is a convertible also um I've always liked drop tops when I
1:07:09
first got them I used to have the tops down all the time now I don't even put the tops down unless somebody asked me to I can't put the top down I really
1:07:15
don't like to put the top down cuz now it's like that's a rookie move when you ride with the to like you never had a
1:07:21
drop top before we just I got the option you know it's up but I don't have to to put it down right plus when it's hot
1:07:27
that's you put that top down that sun will kill you yeah you feel me you know this melanin attracts the sun facts so
1:07:33
I've been playing with these cars since I was probably 1920 and um I don't know it's just
1:07:39
something about a car with me I enjoy getting something and fixing it up putting my own twist on it and trying to
1:07:46
see how clean I can make the car what color you going to paint it you know this that and the other and it's just something that kind of stuck with me but
1:07:52
it's trippy when I was planning this trip and I rode to the
1:07:57
airport I was like damn you ever ride in the car with somebody you drive okay you
1:08:02
ever ride in the car with somebody be like damn I didn't know they had a 7-Eleven over there yeah cuz You' be too busy looking this way when you're
1:08:08
driving right I for the first time I was like you know what maybe I don't want no more cars maybe I need to get a Suburban
1:08:15
or a mayback and let somebody drive me around right yeah but there was always this sense of I don't I'm not in control
1:08:22
if I'm not driving fact know me facts yeah so but the car thing for me dude is
1:08:28
uh the cars always kept me in the game even when I wasn't making music whenever
1:08:34
people saw me you couldn't tell that I wasn't still on cuz I'm always in something clean you feel me the car is
1:08:39
kind of preserved and like right now I'm living off of two cars that I done have for with the cutless I had forever but
1:08:45
it's not like when you go out and buy the new bins and people be on you for the new no these is old cars I've been
1:08:50
have these cars and they getting more press and pop in the new yeah feel me
1:08:56
but I I just was a car fanatic man um just whips just I don't know something about whips and bikes and boats and to
1:09:02
I'm a big kid bro like you know and they used to say the kid who has the best toys wins that's what now now let me ask
1:09:09
you um specifically and I this could be a general statement but Dodge is coming
1:09:16
out with the Challenger and the charger okay two muscle cars okay electric right
1:09:22
do you have any uh opinion on that well let me tell you electric is the future
1:09:27
and you're not fixing to get around it and I figured that out cuz I my son wants a dirt bike so I
1:09:35
went to the shop to try to buy him a two-stroke dirt bike and dude was like you should wait for the electric ones wow and I said they doing the dirt bikes
1:09:41
and electric he said man everything's going to be electric M right so I I'm still like the sound of yeah right but I
1:09:48
bought a Tesla I bought a model X plaid and I ain't going to lie to you despite
1:09:55
everything but having to charge it so often if they could make them go 800 miles without a charge M it's the way to
1:10:01
go bro yeah I mean the power is instant you know you know what I mean they claim they good for the what's it called but
1:10:07
now I'm hearing they not I'm batteries and all worse than but um that's what
1:10:13
they doing bro like and then they they got a a sound that the car will make to
1:10:18
sound like it's an engine yeah that's exactly what the uh the muscle cars do now be like like it's kind of just a
1:10:25
fabricated noise but gives you that feeling you can't beat that electric fast I mean and quiet it can be quiet
1:10:33
yeah it could be quiet that's they trying to turn it I just was in uh Lowe's which is like a Home Depot trying
1:10:39
to buy some gas for my lawn more and they don't even they don't sell gas mowers no more really they said we don't
1:10:44
have gas or anything that uses gas everything is electric okay it's crazy yeah they
1:10:50
trying to take it there yeah yeah yeah okay man tell me what's the what's what
1:10:55
what's in the future for Richie Rich are you you know are you going to continue
1:11:01
with this this I'm I'm you know what what I'm going to do my plan musically
1:11:07
is to create good music with as many good people that I like like what I
1:11:13
started doing with L Russell I plan to do some music with G Paro I don't know if you upo Paro me and him been tapping
1:11:21
back in on you know on Instagram he likes what I do I like what he does what I want to try to do is more of what L
1:11:27
Russell did with me keep bridging The Young and the old to where we can have
1:11:33
our own infrastructure yeah we can and as far as
1:11:38
culture-wise goes because I can teach pero I can teach L Russell and Perico
1:11:44
and L Russell can teach me yeah you don't always know at all you feel me yeah you don't always know at all so
1:11:51
yeah I got a lot of music that I hadn't put out that I'm starting to release and I'm always making new music people
1:11:58
tell me that I got a cool voice that's what I hear the most dope yeah you got a dope voice so I'm like okay and then
1:12:06
when these beats come on when I write like I always feel people I got a Ghost
1:12:11
Rider cuz my pen will just it'll just start going you know and then it'll sometime take me three or four months to
1:12:17
be like damn I wonder what I was on when I said that so I believe that these messages are meant for people to hear M
1:12:24
and was being selfish because I had a a music heartbreak and I was taking it out
1:12:32
on my fans you feel me and then now I drop this record and people like damn
1:12:37
I'm glad you back so I'm like this [Â __Â ] is medicine and people need this you know I don't Listen to As Much music as
1:12:43
I make I can ride from Oakland to La 500 600 miles and may never turn the radio
1:12:50
off there A lot of going on up here that I'm listening to yeah but there are people who need music I mean they live
1:12:57
that you know and they want it so I feel like if I can contribute as long as I can
1:13:03
contribute and it's good I'm a stand up and the fact that I started and stopped
1:13:08
I stopped in 96 yeah put out a couple independent Pro between I took a lot of time off like I
1:13:16
said with what I've been doing with L Russell younger people are like bro you
1:13:22
dope yeah bro you dope I didn't I wasn't up on you I heard you on five on it but I didn't know you was this dope so it's
1:13:29
cool that can be older and still be dope so my thing is I'm doing new music man
1:13:35
I'm just gonna keep doing music and also trying to not so much uh Mentor young guys but
1:13:45
if it's anything that I can show them about this industry that can let them
1:13:51
know that dude it it ain't as easy as you might think it is you know you got
1:13:57
to love this for this to love you yeah period That's a you got to love this for
1:14:03
this to love you it's just not going to love you back you see these artists who are now just making this surge because
1:14:11
they never stopped right they just kept on feeding kept on feeding no matter how
1:14:17
big it wasn't they just kept on feeding I told exhibit that the other day well I
1:14:22
I made a post and he reposted it but I was basically like y'all might not know but he he
1:14:28
never stopped never stopped yeah kept going kept going and that's all you got to do you know if if you got a a goal
1:14:35
you're trying to get here start walking toward it eventually you'll get there you know what I mean and um that's what
1:14:42
I'm seeing happening with a lot of these artists people get out there get discouraged quit yeah like L Russell
1:14:48
said man if you only perform you got five fans and they love you give them five some music yeah you know and
1:14:55
that'll grow to 10 grow to 15 a lot of people don't want to take the time it takes to another kid
1:15:03
Larry June yes I didn't know that Larry had been working as long as he had been
1:15:08
working at his craft but if you go back and listen to his catalog Larry been doing this for a minute yeah yeah people
1:15:14
think he just came well I thought he just came out of nowhere no June been working yeah been working shout out to
1:15:19
him that's how 40 stayed so long 40 be working yeah you know short going work like it's about the amount of work you
1:15:26
put in and like I told you I was the seven Friday so I wasn't trying to [Music]
1:15:31
work shout out shout out to to seven Friday s Friday yeah man shout man I
1:15:38
appreciate you man let me um I want to get one more bit of information before we wrap this is what we ask everybody we
1:15:49
interview I think we going to turn this into a book a definitive book if
1:15:55
somebody steal this idea I will kill you he said your top five dead or alive so
1:16:01
we've been asking people for probably 20 years bro got 20 years I
1:16:07
hate the topes you know why cuz it took I'm just going to be honest with you because to me it's so many that's dope
1:16:14
that's fine but let me make it simple for you though okay give me your if you can right your top five influences your
1:16:22
your uh you know damn come on you already set him I mean
1:16:28
I don't want to I be I'll be honest with you if I start going top five it's going to come from my era and two two of them
1:16:34
gonna be Eric and Parish change my life one of the few Squad teams with what three four class
1:16:42
in a row yes so yes and and like I said but it's like EPMD was huge for me okay
1:16:53
uh I mean dud there a lot of dope people all right there a lot of different ways to be dope I mean cuz I I could I don't
1:17:00
want to get on there and say no weird sh and be judged but I'll be honest with you let me see if I go from my era to
1:17:07
Turned Me Out yeah EPMD okay Eric B and rockim okay
1:17:15
uh Co G Rap yep like hard like that's the I was listening to yeah cuz on the
1:17:22
west coast when I was young it wasn't West Coast rap but but if you want to talk about just nice I mean Pac was
1:17:30
phenomenal yeah biggie to me was phenomenal yeah Big Pun was phenomenal
1:17:35
like I like to can rap you feel me so if I had yeah if I had to
1:17:41
say top five of all times and it's weird because people be like Jay-Z Jay has
1:17:48
done a lot of things but I would have to say top five I'mma go I'mma put Pac up
1:17:56
there just based on his range and the the amount of stuff he could pull off
1:18:02
uh I don't know but to me Method Man was the cleanest
1:18:08
moving to ever rap those move the way he used to Glide and meth was hard as to me
1:18:15
too um Nas is is is hard and I'm not just saying this because I'm in New York yeah
1:18:23
uh I can still turn on doine Beat by two short and it still just do something to
1:18:28
me based on just the way he was talking that so if I only could get five I
1:18:34
spread it around I I go I put Pac in there okay I like biggie just like that
1:18:41
uh I drop EPMD in there as a group as just one dude
1:18:51
um I mean this I hate bro cuz I like so many people I like so
1:18:57
many people um damn let me just let me just do just a blanket Pac
1:19:06
big [Music] Nas uh EPMD I'm not taking them off that's
1:19:13
fine I love man listen L I love I'm not taking them off my list I still and by
1:19:19
the way I I I know EPMD and I I still feel like a one fan when I meet him I I
1:19:26
can't shake it shout out to p and then and then if I had one more that I could just put in there let me think Richard
1:19:34
who just was Monumental to you I mean I mean Lauren Hill was a bad to me
1:19:42
too was killing too man it's it's so many dope people man you're right the
1:19:47
top five is Richie Rich Richie Rich Richie Rich that other Richie Rich
1:19:55
and then this dude named Richie Rich got you no doubt fair fair enough fair enough
1:20:01
hey a cut music out there bro I it's I every time people ask me my top five
1:20:08
it's hard because I heard Jade could say this it really depends on what I'm
1:20:13
riding on and that I didn't even mention him yeah hands down one of the CEST ever
1:20:20
touch a microphone I just feel like it's so many different things that cuz you could be are we talking sales I never
1:20:26
talk sales I'm just talking about skill set like you know to just make good
1:20:31
music but it's it's a lot of them yeah yeah if I missed anybody man yeah I think it's it's a lot of dope people out
1:20:37
there no you good it's a lot of dope people out did you ever meet big yeah what so we to Big a few you so we to Big
1:20:44
biggy bought some Zips from me in front of uh in front of uh lady Esters it used to be called Southern Cafe it used to be
1:20:50
lady Esters but it's called Southern Cafe oh wow so he pulled up to the spot to get some food I was coming out it was
1:20:57
him C and somebody else they was in the car where was this again though this was in Oakland at a restaurant called uh it
1:21:03
used to be called lady eser famous Soul Fu spot but it's called called it's called Uh the Southern Cafe now M they
1:21:10
pulled up in a black car I remember coming out of there and seeing the black car I was like damn who is that and when the they rolled the window down Lil SE
1:21:17
was in there so I walked P like what's up like you know I'm cool like what's up and then I seen big s in there and then
1:21:23
C's like you know where to get some weed I said what do I right so I got weed on me I got ounces on me and and somebody
1:21:31
probably heard this interview for the ounces I think they was I think they was 325 at the time you you from out of 10wn
1:21:37
450 right he it off like it was he I'll take
1:21:44
two of them right pocket won't and uh yeah I I remember that now dude have you
1:21:51
ever seen him perform well yeah in a fullblown show for a big fella
1:21:59
moved very well and I like who can sound like the record on stage yeah you know what I hate the
1:22:05
yelling cuz you got your lyrics plann that's why you yelling take the lyrics off did you could lower your V vocal
1:22:12
down I just like to can sound like the record yeah you feel me like I missed
1:22:17
like juvenile to me and still one of the cold that's why say there's so many dop I just don't give me the space good you
1:22:25
good yeah yeah and be trying to see you didn't put me in the five what's up see you out on the street blood you with me
1:22:33
you told me you like M I didn't get a men no it's all good no
1:22:38
it's all good were you uh I know I this is like a random random question but you
1:22:43
know fans you know were you around when that 40 big situation yeah I was actually at that
1:22:50
show wow yeah I remember that vividly we were in the parking lot and then like it's going down oh my and I was like huh
1:22:58
because 40 is usually pretty mellow Earl don't really you know he he's a pretty
1:23:03
mellow dude but boy was serious yeah it was serious and big was in 40's backyard
1:23:10
yes and that's what I used to love about this Rapp used to be competitive yeah you feel me it used to be competitive
1:23:17
like wasn't dying right you'll get ran up out of here like you know what I mean it was competitive and I thought that
1:23:22
was cool yeah and they glazed it over with this auto tune and turned it into
1:23:27
this goddamn sweet poly pbridge you know what I mean and it just got different
1:23:33
but yeah I was I was around there and 40 them had a presence up there man listen they had a presence up there for real
1:23:40
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah shout out to 40 I was in his um bet unsung episode oh
1:23:46
that's I'm in that dream yeah yeah yeah shout out to him man shout out to the whole Bay man shout out to you bro I'm
1:23:51
happy you're back man it's a man I'm happy to be back time to be alive and
1:23:57
and and got some wisdom uh to go with the energy right that you you still have
1:24:04
man you know what I'm appreciative man uh whenever I get in these interviews you know my team they say make sure you
1:24:09
every five or 10 minutes you say go to even. Biz and get the record okay but once we start talking and talking and
1:24:16
talking it's just this is what it is to them but I do believe that a good interview is going to make somebody say
1:24:23
Let Me Go research just thing you know I could sit here all day and be like hey go get my album go get my album hey go
1:24:28
get my album and guess what when you finish doing that go get my album but man we sitting here we choing absolutely
1:24:34
people do know you know the record is out and we'll provide and I'll say this man and we don't do this all the time
1:24:41
because we're an ad-based uh Independent Media Outlet right yes sir but I will
1:24:47
provide a link to your album for people to buy I appreciate you yeah I appreciate you yeah I appreciate you you
1:24:53
guys sched me in last minute I know it's Christmas time this is what's crazy
1:24:59
y'all working everybody on vacation that's what I told I said sway the real ones are still working that's a fact you
1:25:05
know the industry closed down they all in the Hamptons and wherever else they going you hear me hey real ones are
1:25:11
still working we see what happens when you in them hampt thems too long man a lot of things happen BR listen bruh all
1:25:18
I'mma say to that is BR that's what my son say my son be like br
1:25:24
hey right yes sir yes sir shees I was glad I didn't do them parties man I used
1:25:29
to get invited that it's it's crazy it seemed like my career came and then I stopped and I went around this way and I
1:25:36
went around this way and then I went around this way now I'm back home and they like you know see that bomb they dropped back there when you was back
1:25:41
there yeah oh no what happened look back oh yeah like it's getting man it's
1:25:47
getting crazy God God works in mysterious ways brother it's getting Manny out there man you know that and
1:25:55
I I the one thing I don't like is kicking a man when he's down you know
1:26:00
what I mean I do believe if a if a man has done something that he needs to pay for that probably will end up happening
1:26:07
I don't think we need to crush yeah because because that's what we good at
1:26:12
you know what I mean we gonna kick a man when he down oh you heard what happened so and then we just going W not even
1:26:18
knowing the true story yep you feel me and really hating like hate hate like
1:26:24
not like jealousy hate like the hate the other hate exactly I like was dancing to
1:26:29
that yeah you you I seen you in the party when that [Â __Â ] came on that was and now it's like we got to get out of
1:26:36
that we got to get out of the self-inflicted [Â __Â ] that we inflict on even if one of our brothers did some
1:26:43
super foul we still need to hold them up and and then if whatever is going to be
1:26:49
is going to be but I don't know what none of these people are if they did what they said they did but I do know some people who did the same things that
1:26:56
I ain't heard nothing about right you hear me that I haven't heard nothing about that's an absolute so you know
1:27:01
like I don't I don't wish nobody into the arms of them people but I do believe that if you out there fou you know the
1:27:07
truth always comes to the light yeah you know what I mean definitely but yeah I I I want to see everybody win I know
1:27:12
that's not going to happen it's not going to always happen but I mean at the end of the day I believe until we start
1:27:18
holding each other up cuz it and like I tell them it ain't no fun when the
1:27:23
rabbit the gun cuz when it's on you then it's different yeah yeah when spin around and land on you like man ain't
1:27:30
nobody helping out come on brother it could happen to anybody that's AB could happen to anybody I tell people all the
1:27:36
time if they put a camera on me 24 hours a day for 10 months oh they could show you some that's going to make you be
1:27:42
like tripping and I'm sure everybody in this room if the camera followed you for a year straight it's going to be a clip
1:27:49
in there that could end you yeah you feel me or at least make you look crazy yeah exactly and that's all you need now
1:27:56
is just enough to make you look crazy sir and the Piranhas going to do the rest absolutely straight up yeah man
1:28:01
well thank you man appreciate you and don't make it the last time man oh man I'm pulling up you feel hey man shout
1:28:07
out all hip hop man if you want to know anything about this music game if you want to know anything about this culture
1:28:13
you need to tap in with the people who are with the people like I told you man it's December 10th around here it's
1:28:20
going to be Christmas St Nick is mounting up and these boys is in here working yeah hear me straight up
1:28:26
straight up yeah salute salute
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