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Kendrick Lamar Inspired Him In High School, Now OneTakeCarter Is Coming For The Crown
Nov 22, 2025
Meet #OnetakeCarter, the rapper everyone is starting to whisper about. From Long Island to Netflix to viral dominance, he’s been building a creative arsenal most artists only dream of. He shoots his own videos, makes his own clothes, engineers his own music, DJs for Ashanti and still finds time to out-bar half the industry.
In this exclusive AllHipHop interview, he breaks down how a backstage moment with Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky pushed him into rap, why OGs think he can carry the torch, the wild truth Trinidad James told him, and how he built a full creative empire from scratch.
If you care about real Hip-Hop energy, charisma, bars, visuals and raw talent, this is the artist you need to know right now. @ChuckCreekmur checks in with a future great.
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Executive Producers: “Grouchy” Greg Watkins and Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur
AllHipHop.com, a powerhouse in the Hip-Hop world, was established and brought to life by the visionary CEOs "Grouchy" Greg Watkins and Chuck "Jigsaw" Creekmur.
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0:04
What's going on world? It's your man
0:05
Chuck Creekman aka Jigsaw here at One
0:07
World Studios and we have in the studio
0:10
today a young rising talent, One Take
0:14
Carter. What's going on?
0:15
What's good, man? Thanks for having me,
0:16
fam. Appreciate you having me.
0:17
Yeah,
0:18
I'm chilling like always. How y'all
0:19
feeling?
0:20
Hey, man. It's It's good to have you
0:21
here, bro. Yeah, definitely. You've been
0:23
you've been consistently shaking up the
0:26
internet, shaking up social media with
0:28
your your freestyles,
0:30
visually, you know what I mean? You got
0:32
both sides of it, visually dope as well
0:34
as uh lyrically, too, you know?
0:37
I appreciate that. Thank you, bro.
0:38
Yeah. So, let's let's let's take a step
0:41
back just a little bit and give us a
0:43
little clue about your humble
0:44
beginnings. Like, how how did you get to
0:47
this place? like this. I I'm fascinated
0:49
a little bit because you have the what
0:52
do you call it by the way?
0:54
Hot top fade.
0:54
Okay. Okay. Okay. I I I read something
0:57
else and I was like that's a hot top
0:59
fade. Why they calling it a I forget
1:02
something else.
1:02
Yeah. No, it's a hot fade.
1:04
Okay. All right. Bet. Bet.
1:05
Definitely. Um I mean I started off
1:09
freestyling in my my room with my two
1:11
older brothers. um you know making drums
1:14
on the desk at like five
1:16
taking it from there years later
1:17
recording with um Johnny Juice from
1:20
Public Enemy at this like after school
1:22
program in Union where I'm from.
1:24
Shout out to Johnny Juice. He's nice
1:26
word. Started skateboarding, playing
1:29
football, stepping away from it and then
1:31
um found my way back into it like like
1:33
towards the end of high school and
1:35
taking it seriously like once once I met
1:37
um Kendrick at ASAP Rocky one night when
1:39
I was in 12th grade. I was like, "All
1:41
right, I'm gonna take this seriously."
1:42
And um
1:43
from there it was just I I was in film
1:45
school half day
1:46
and I was just using my skills from film
1:48
school to shoot my own music videos. So
1:50
I've been doing that for a minute. Like
1:52
so.
1:53
Did you rap for ASAP and uh Kendrick?
1:55
No, I wasn't ready yet. Like I knew I
1:56
could rap.
1:57
Yeah.
1:58
But I wasn't nowhere near where I am
1:59
now. And um
2:01
I was just inspired. It was like really
2:02
early. This is like before they both
2:04
really blew up. They were popping
2:06
like Kendrick was popping to people that
2:09
knew. Yeah,
2:10
in New York, but he wasn't who he is
2:11
now. And ASAP just had one maybe one or
2:14
two songs out that were like cool in New
2:16
York, but they weren't popping nowhere
2:17
else.
2:18
And um I had backstage passes to Irving
2:21
Plaza. Shout out to my aunt Amber. She
2:23
was working with Foot Locker at the
2:24
time. It was a sneaker pimps event and
2:26
um she had backstage passes and I was
2:29
the first person back there. Ran up on
2:30
Kendrick. I was a huge fan at the time
2:32
because I was on to him early and
2:36
I was just excited. Then I'm walking
2:38
down the steps with the whole ASAP.
2:39
Yeah.
2:39
And I go outside, I see Rocky, I get a
2:42
picture with you. He's like, "Yeah." He
2:44
took a picture. He walks away. I'm like,
2:47
"Oh, my [ __ ] rock gold teeth." He's
2:48
like, "You already know, my nigga." And
2:50
something just happened. It was like,
2:52
"I'm rapping."
2:53
Yeah.
2:53
So,
2:54
Oh, you were rapping then? I was just
2:56
rapping in general.
2:56
I was like, "I'm ra I made the decision
2:58
to myself like I'm I'mma do it. I'mma do
2:59
it. I'mma go for it."
3:00
That's what's up.
3:01
Hell yeah.
3:02
Now, you obviously have a old school
3:05
aesthetic to your look.
3:07
Um, what made you do that? What who who
3:11
impacted you or what impacted you?
3:13
So, I think it's two things. Um, I grew
3:16
up with like really close to my older
3:18
brother that's seven years older than
3:19
me.
3:19
Okay.
3:20
So, while he was watching Fresh Prince
3:21
Martin, I was sitting there right with
3:23
him, Save by the Bell, like I was right
3:26
there watching that house party and all
3:28
of that. And then, um, when I got older,
3:30
when I got into like seventh grade,
3:31
sixth grade, the retro kids became
3:33
really popular in New York. And I was
3:36
young, but I always felt tied to that
3:38
some way somehow. And I was like, "Oh, I
3:40
can do this." Yeah.
3:41
So since sixth grade, I've had a high
3:42
top like really. Yeah. And I would cut
3:44
it every year for football season, but
3:45
like other than that,
3:47
hell yeah. Like I had this is since then
3:50
I've been doing that.
3:51
That's crazy. The retro kids, they used
3:53
to
3:54
pull up to our events back in the like
3:57
back in the day, which
3:58
Underserved Fresh, man. He from Long
4:00
Island as well. But um hell yeah.
4:02
Yeah.
4:03
I seen that and I was like, "Oh, I can
4:04
do that. Cool. Let's do it.
4:06
How did you uh develop your style? Um
4:09
lyrics are not really the thing any
4:11
right now. Like they it it's never going
4:14
to not be the thing, but but a lot of
4:16
people don't feel like it's important
4:18
anymore. And and by the way, your name
4:20
one take
4:21
is is important from a a MC perspective.
4:25
Hilarious.
4:26
Yeah.
4:26
My my name has nothing to do with what
4:28
people think it has to do with
4:29
Okay. Okay.
4:29
I'm terrible at recording.
4:32
I wait for the one I always tell people
4:33
I wait for the one take I like you know
4:34
I wait for the one take I like or like
4:36
you get one take in life for real like
4:38
you know so this whole thing is a
4:40
journey but
4:40
you get one of these so that the whole
4:42
thing for me is better so it's not even
4:44
yeah it's not even what people think it
4:45
is
4:46
okay
4:46
but um lyrically no my my pops is a huge
4:50
hip-hop head my brother's a huge hip-hop
4:51
head um I grew up listening like the
4:53
first rapper that made me want to rap
4:54
was Big
4:54
Al
4:55
so it's like listening to Big Al's and
4:58
growing up and seeing Kendrick take off
5:00
and TDE and artists of that nature and
5:03
then seeing other rappers become popular
5:04
being themselves like your talented
5:06
creators. Um so that always inspired me
5:09
like oh like I can I don't have to
5:12
lyrics never went out of style. It was
5:14
just different people put their own just
5:17
on it and then not being lyrical came
5:19
became cool but that was a phase to me.
5:23
So I think that always been it's always
5:24
been important to be talented at
5:27
rapping.
5:27
Yeah. to me like if I was going to do
5:29
it, I was going to be talented and
5:30
actually show pimpmanship.
5:32
Yeah, for real.
5:33
Um, who who's whose high top fade did
5:35
you admire the most?
5:39
Yo, that's funny as hell. Kid had the
5:41
best high top fade though. His face.
5:43
It's outrageous. It was crazy. The
5:45
height of it was crazy. Word.
5:46
Big Daddy Kane might might debate you on
5:48
that.
5:48
Yeah. Yeah. Kids kid the height of Kids
5:50
Dirt was crazy, right?
5:52
Kane was like, "Oh,
5:53
Kane's super legendary." And Kane [ __ ]
5:55
was cool as hell, too. I ain't gonna
5:56
lie. Get that one barberh shop picture
5:58
is fire. You got that.
5:59
Yeah, that's a classic picture.
6:00
Yeah, Kane's a beast. But oh, hell yeah.
6:03
Definitely. Definitely.
6:03
They gonna argue about that one. Yeah.
6:06
Right. Right.
6:07
Um, do you like who who was your
6:11
favorite like who from from a let's say
6:15
classic era, who who did you
6:18
most like you said Big L, but who did
6:20
was there anyone else that you
6:21
gravitated to?
6:22
Um,
6:24
damn. I'm trying to think like really
6:26
was like I love Biggie
6:27
Biggie.
6:28
My favorite album is Ready to Die.
6:30
Okay.
6:30
Biggie, Snoop.
6:32
Top two albums, Ready to Die and um and
6:34
um
6:36
drawing a blank right now. That first
6:37
Snoop album.
6:38
Okay. Doggy.
6:39
Doggy style. Crazy.
6:40
Um
6:42
but yeah, like I'm a huge fan of West
6:44
Coast hip hop as well.
6:45
Really?
6:45
Yeah. Like I think early like West Coast
6:48
aesthetic like when it came to the
6:49
movies, when it came to just everything
6:52
that they was doing, I think I was super
6:53
influenced by that. Um and of course you
6:56
got your Means,
6:58
your Buster Rhys. Um
7:01
even before that, I'm trying to think
7:03
who was like influential is like without
7:06
a doubt. Biz Marquee.
7:07
Wow. Yeah.
7:08
People sleep on Biz, but he was a hell
7:10
of a
7:11
super dope, charismatic, funny. And he's
7:14
from Long Island. Yeah. Yeah. Now that's
7:16
a fact. Oh my god. I went to his funeral
7:18
and it was like the never ending drive.
7:20
It was like
7:21
Oh yeah. Yeah. Way out east. Yeah. It's
7:23
crazy.
7:24
It was deep out there.
7:25
Yeah, definitely.
7:25
I'm from like I'm probably 10 minutes
7:27
from Queens. 15 minutes from Queens.
7:29
Like
7:29
Yeah.
7:29
I ain't that far.
7:30
Does Long Island play a factor in your
7:33
career or how how does it?
7:35
Hell yeah. I mean I think
7:38
so. Originally I grew up in Queens. When
7:40
I moved to Long Island, I would say
7:41
during like my formative years. I rep
7:42
Long Island because I've been out there
7:44
longer. I think um a lot definitely made
7:47
me a lot more chiller than I was when I
7:49
was a kid. I think if I have stayed in
7:51
the burls, I'd have been a little bit
7:52
more aggressive.
7:53
I also feel like it also gave me um so
7:57
it gave me that duality
7:59
and
8:00
just
8:02
I don't know. I feel like I got
8:03
something to prove.
8:04
Yeah.
8:04
Like now because it's like you know
8:05
people be sleeping with us and it's like
8:07
when you really think about it a lot of
8:09
the dopest stuff in music comes from
8:12
especially hip-hop.
8:13
Absolutely.
8:13
Yeah. So like even I even realized even
8:15
sold for reals from Long Island like the
8:16
R&B I didn't know that
8:18
De
8:20
Rock him
8:21
EPMD I could keep going biz um you know
8:24
what I'm saying prodigy early in his
8:26
years met the man early in his years
8:27
Buster
8:28
went to my high school and middle school
8:30
so it's like a lot of that I said public
8:33
enemy already I think but
8:34
a lot of that is like K solo a lot of
8:36
that is
8:38
it's somewhere in there you know what
8:39
I'm saying I don't know if it was in the
8:40
water
8:41
yeah something in the water
8:42
something in the water Something's going
8:44
on, man. Definitely. You know, maybe
8:45
it's something in Jones Beach. Who
8:46
knows?
8:49
Um, when you um started your in entrance
8:54
into the game, um well, actually, you
8:58
let me back up just a second. You were
9:00
on that show,
9:01
Rhythm and Flow.
9:02
Yes, definitely.
9:03
Now, I'm not going to lie. I stopped
9:05
watching that second season. It didn't
9:07
hit like the first one.
9:08
Yeah, the first season was was a little
9:10
bit better. Shout out to my homie for
9:11
the second season. First season. First
9:12
season was way more entertaining.
9:15
Yeah. Yeah. I fell off my ass, man. I'm
9:17
sorry. I didn't even know. I would have
9:18
watched it if you knew you were on
9:20
there.
9:20
It was a little entertaining still.
9:21
Shout out to Sra.
9:22
Yeah.
9:23
Uh, how was that experience?
9:25
Oh, man. It it it taught me so much. It
9:28
was amazing experience. It was super
9:32
important to like my career where I'm at
9:33
right now. Um,
9:34
like it
9:36
it did a lot for me. It showed me the
9:38
game and made me understand like what
9:40
I'm going up against
9:41
and what I have to bring to the table.
9:43
It's not just about rap.
9:44
Yeah.
9:45
You know, so I learned so much from it.
9:46
It's amazing experience. If I could do
9:47
it again, I would 30 times.
9:50
Yeah.
9:50
You know. Yeah, man.
9:52
And and your film making side is is a is
9:56
a cheat code in a lot of ways.
9:57
Oh, hell yeah. I'm cheating.
9:59
All right. So, let me tell y'all how I'm
10:00
cheating. Go ahead. Finish.
10:01
No. No. Go ahead. Tell us how you cheat.
10:03
So, I learn I know how to cut hair.
10:05
Okay. So, I'm able to like have a fresh
10:07
haircut and then there all of my um
10:09
videos, right? So, that's one, which is
10:11
super important if you got to be in the
10:12
camera all the time. So, I was literally
10:14
a barber.
10:15
Um I make my own clothes.
10:17
So, I can print stuff if I want. I can
10:19
make another one of these before I run
10:20
out the house real quick.
10:21
Okay.
10:22
And hats and stuff like that. Um also, I
10:26
went to school for film.
10:27
So, like in high school, half the day
10:28
for two years, 11th and 12th grade, I
10:31
was going to the Long Island High School
10:32
of the Arts
10:33
as a film student. and then coming back
10:35
and going to football practice and [ __ ]
10:37
like that. So,
10:38
I got to shoot my own stuff. And then me
10:40
and my homie, my my brother Bam who
10:42
shoots most of my stuff. We was in that
10:44
same my first film class ever together.
10:46
So, it's easy for us to come through and
10:50
you know make a make a video in two
10:52
seconds, have it edited by the time we
10:54
pull off
10:55
and just post it.
10:56
So, we definitely cheating and I record
10:58
myself which is super important. So, if
10:59
you're an artist and you don't know how
11:00
to record yourself, you're winging. I
11:02
went to school for audio engineering as
11:03
well. So
11:04
I'm cheating.
11:05
So you basically took everything that
11:06
you are and poured it into music.
11:09
In music. Exactly. And um had fun with I
11:11
also DJ as well. So
11:13
and produce. But we cheating.
11:16
You DJ for Ashanti.
11:18
Yeah.
11:19
How was that? Cuz you know we all have a
11:20
little crush on Ashanti.
11:22
Ashanti is amazing. Yo, she has great
11:23
energy. Mad chill.
11:25
Long Island again.
11:26
Yep.
11:27
Um she's super dope. It was super cool.
11:29
I did like a few tour dates on a
11:31
Millennial tour when um when a DJ
11:34
couldn't pull up. He's the homie, too.
11:36
Um but word, super dope. Like super
11:39
cool. It was a crazy experience. I'd be
11:41
like I remember being in my room
11:44
and getting a call at like 10 a.m. Like,
11:46
yo, are you available tonight? Can you
11:48
get to Tampa? Yeah, your flight's in
11:50
like an hour and a half. Can you
11:52
All right. Like throwing [ __ ] in the bag
11:54
and just running to the airport,
11:56
whatever. And you know what I'm saying?
11:57
being um being like the new kid out of
12:00
nowhere and then not even knowing how to
12:01
use the equipment,
12:02
right?
12:03
DJ just showing me what to do or um a
12:05
[ __ ] who's bow DJ
12:08
or um
12:09
DM Marco helping me out right before a
12:11
show.
12:12
Like
12:13
crazy experience, bro. Backstage, you
12:15
got Bow Wow, you got Soulja Boy Walker
12:17
Pass, you got Lloyd.
12:19
It's crazy, bro. Now, in hip-hop,
12:21
there's always like a year or two where
12:24
we're like looking for a savior, looking
12:26
for somebody to bring it back, take it
12:29
back, bring it. You know what I mean?
12:30
Save it. Um, I get I I get the vibe that
12:35
you're one of those guys.
12:37
That's dope.
12:37
A lot of a lot of people, especially
12:39
older heads, they're looking at you
12:41
like, "Yeah, yeah, him him." You know
12:43
what I'm saying? And I think, you know,
12:45
I have mixed feelings about it because I
12:47
don't think anything should be trying to
12:48
go back and I definitely don't think
12:50
that
12:51
um even to this day like that pressure
12:54
is a lot
12:55
um to put on any one person.
12:58
But I think that you give people
13:00
current vibes,
13:02
but also clearly,
13:05
you know, make people feel like, yeah,
13:07
this guy can carry the torch.
13:09
How do you feel about that? And do you
13:11
are you like do you
13:13
have any leanings to do that?
13:16
Um honestly I don't think about it.
13:18
Yeah.
13:18
I just think about like yo make music
13:19
that you like.
13:21
Obviously people will [ __ ] with what
13:22
you [ __ ] with. You know what I'm saying?
13:24
Like I don't never try to prove you
13:25
can't can't please everybody at the end
13:26
of the day.
13:27
But as long as
13:28
if I like it, I guarantee somebody else
13:30
is gonna [ __ ] with it. And if I believe
13:32
in it that much, I'm putting it out
13:33
there.
13:34
You know, I don't really
13:35
it's for me it's like yo, am I proving
13:37
myself right?
13:39
Not trying to nobody wrong. I'm not
13:40
trying to prove nobody else right, but
13:41
am I proving myself right? My whole idea
13:42
is like, can I take something that's in
13:44
my head and make it a real thing
13:46
every time?
13:47
If I have an idea that that's for a song
13:49
that comes from a voice memo, this
13:51
become a good song. Let's let's do that.
13:53
Cool. That's done. Check. Next small
13:56
project. I just feel like if I win every
13:58
little battle that's in my notes or I
14:00
check off every goal, I'm good.
14:02
Yeah.
14:02
I'm not here to [ __ ] please nobody.
14:04
Like
14:05
that [ __ ] is cool though. I ain't going
14:06
to lie. Shout out to all the oldheads
14:07
that be like or OG's that be like, "Yo,
14:10
son is nice. He got it." Like, I
14:12
appreciate that [ __ ] because that means
14:13
more to me than anything because y'all
14:15
were there when this [ __ ] started or
14:17
y'all were able to see the early
14:18
development of it. So, y'all understand
14:20
the standard that has to be held to. So,
14:21
when people look at me to hold that
14:23
standard, I'm like, "I'm going to do
14:24
that regardless."
14:25
Yeah.
14:25
Like, I'm a fan as a fan. I'm gonna do
14:27
that.
14:28
Yeah.
14:28
Um, but um, no pressure. Like, let's go.
14:31
There's no [ __ ] pressure. That [ __ ]
14:32
is all mental.
14:33
Now, what about the other pressure? the
14:35
other side of it, this just being
14:36
successful side. Um,
14:39
we're in a weird time. Like, I mean,
14:42
when we look at albums, album might come
14:45
out today and like within a week it's
14:47
gone.
14:48
Or
14:50
a song might drop, but it might be a hit
14:53
record, but there's no forces working
14:56
that song.
14:56
You know what I'm saying? Um, how do you
15:00
how do you react to that? How do you
15:01
respond to that from a from a career
15:03
perspective?
15:05
I feel like
15:07
you can't wait for you got to continue
15:08
to create opportunities for yourself.
15:11
So, I'm working on other stuff. Like,
15:12
I'm working on albums, but I'm also
15:14
working on film projects.
15:15
I'm also building a clothing brand. I'm
15:17
also,
15:18
you know, I'm raising my son. I don't
15:19
care about none of this superficial [ __ ]
15:21
you can't take with us. For real. For
15:22
real. Like, I'm having fun putting out
15:24
music, but at the same time, being a
15:25
good dad is more important to me than
15:27
any of this [ __ ]
15:28
That's good.
15:29
So, for me, it's like, yo, this [ __ ] is
15:30
dope, but like if it all crumbles, I'm
15:32
going to be a filmmaker.
15:34
Yeah, I like that. Like
15:35
I'm happy just I'm happy just being able
15:37
to create period. Yeah.
15:38
So people responding to it is fire.
15:40
That's but that's like the icing on the
15:42
cake. That's not the cake for me. It's
15:44
like idea, real thing.
15:47
I'm I'm successful with that because
15:49
that tells me
15:50
any other ideas I have, I can make them
15:52
tangible. If I really put the energy
15:53
towards it, I can make it real.
15:55
Yeah.
15:55
But um in this time period,
15:59
we can get lost in numbers.
16:01
We can get lost, you know what I'm
16:02
saying, in followers. We can get lost on
16:03
somebody commenting or or you know
16:06
following us. Just random [ __ ]
16:08
Yeah.
16:08
And I just continue to remind myself
16:10
like of like that mama mentality like
16:12
the job's not done.
16:14
You know what I'm saying? Like job's not
16:15
done.
16:16
Keep going crazy and just stay focused.
16:18
What got you here is not what's going to
16:20
keep continue continue to get you there.
16:22
So just keep setting the bar.
16:24
Yeah. It's funny. When I used to rap,
16:27
I would do one dope thing and be like,
16:29
I'm done.
16:31
Real [ __ ]
16:31
Yeah. I be like, "Yo, this high, I'mma
16:34
end right here."
16:35
No, for real.
16:35
I don't want no lows.
16:37
I made it on the rhythm and flow. And
16:38
like for the first few years, even after
16:40
the show, I just kept talking about it.
16:42
Yeah.
16:42
And and I started to hate hearing myself
16:45
talk about it.
16:46
And I'm like, yo, like why do I keep
16:47
talking about that? Like, well, that's
16:48
the last dope thing you've done.
16:50
Yeah.
16:50
It's like, yo, [ __ ] that. Like,
16:52
let's make more dope [ __ ] right now,
16:54
right?
16:54
And um that just always bothered me at
16:56
the time. And I was like, nah, I got to
16:57
continue to do my thing, you know, so or
16:59
I'm going to be known for that thing. M
17:02
like not people know me for freestyles
17:04
and don't even remember I was on the
17:05
show which is dope you know so
17:07
let's make more dope [ __ ]
17:10
So how how hard is it for you to to
17:14
get people to see you as a legitimate
17:16
song maker creator in that respect
17:19
because your your freestyles are so
17:21
popular sometimes that can keep people
17:24
from exploring the other parts.
17:27
I think it's just more so just continue
17:29
to create. I know when it's gonna hit. I
17:30
know I got hit records on my phone right
17:32
now.
17:32
Yeah.
17:33
I just um have to continue to just
17:35
create.
17:36
Whether it be a visual, you never know
17:38
because the freestyles caught wind
17:40
because of the visual.
17:41
Yeah.
17:41
You know what I'm saying? Like or the
17:43
reals is hitting right right now at this
17:44
moment. You know, a few years ago, it
17:46
could have been a YouTube video.
17:48
A few years before that, it could have
17:49
been a demo tape.
17:50
Yeah.
17:50
You know, the format is changing, but
17:52
it's still the same thing. At the end of
17:53
the day, it's good hip-hop.
17:54
Yeah.
17:54
So, you got to figure out how to present
17:56
it. The people who win are the people
17:58
who communicate their value the best.
18:00
So that's always my
18:01
in my mind like communicate your value
18:03
better.
18:03
I like that.
18:04
When it comes to your songs, if you got
18:05
to put some money behind it, put money
18:06
behind it.
18:08
If you got to pay these these [ __ ] ass
18:10
producers,
18:11
pay these producers. Um, whatever you
18:13
got to do to pretty much push your
18:15
message forward, you got to do whatever.
18:16
Just
18:17
do that to get your [ __ ] out there.
18:19
I like that. Communicate your value
18:21
better.
18:21
Hell yeah.
18:22
I gotta do that
18:23
for real though. Like it's like you
18:25
might have I don't know. You might have
18:26
the best cake in the world, right? But
18:29
if your sign for your shop is trash or
18:31
your building looks like something I
18:32
don't want to walk into, I'm like, never
18:34
try your your [ __ ] red red velvet.
18:36
Like,
18:37
right word. So, let's let's clean the
18:39
desk off. Let's let's brush up the
18:40
windows. Let's let's sweep.
18:42
That's how I look at this [ __ ]
18:44
Do you want to sign to a label or do you
18:47
want to stay independent? How do you
18:48
want to
18:48
I would I would love to partner with a
18:51
label if it makes sense. I would love to
18:54
stay independent if it makes sense and I
18:55
build enough um leverage. I feel like
18:57
right now I'm just continuing to build
18:59
leverage.
19:00
I'm telling y'all right now, y'all. Wait
19:02
too long, boy. It's out of here. At the
19:05
same time of me building leverage, I'm
19:06
also figuring out the infrastructure of
19:08
running my own situation, you know? But
19:10
I but I'm not
19:12
too big in my head where I'm like, I can
19:13
do this [ __ ] on my own. Everybody needs
19:14
somebody. Everybody needs some type of
19:16
help.
19:16
And I know there's sometimes you can't
19:18
take it where the major can take it. And
19:20
sometimes sometimes you can you can
19:22
figure it out. Like shout out to the
19:23
artists that are independent that are
19:24
figuring out the Russes, the Russells,
19:26
but even even they sometimes partner
19:27
with different people or whoever might
19:29
have might partner with different
19:30
people. So
19:31
yeah, definitely
19:31
I'm willing to partner with whoever it
19:33
makes sense to partner with brandwise
19:35
and um you know just makes sense for me.
19:38
Yeah. Uh speaking of partner, you part I
19:42
hate pause. Damn,
19:44
I hate pause by the way. I hate it. It's
19:45
just like part of us. But you working
19:47
with Trinidad James a little bit. Um can
19:50
you talk about that?
19:51
Yeah. Hell yeah. Let's talk about it.
19:53
Um, so shout out to Trinidad James. One,
19:56
one of the homies named Ree I was
19:58
connected to in Atlanta. He tagged
20:00
Trinidad James in a a post of mine, one
20:02
of my reals,
20:04
and he was like, "I would buy this."
20:06
And then this is like back in like
20:08
April. And
20:11
then Reese hit me. I was like, "So
20:12
what's up?" He didn't respond. And Reese
20:14
hit me like, "Yo, send him a song or
20:16
something. Let me I'm like, "Yo, that's
20:18
your man. Let him know I'm with it." At
20:20
first I'm like, "Yo, let me know what
20:22
number he went." Then I'm like, "Just
20:23
let him know I'm with it." Like, he's
20:25
like, "Yo," he said, "Send the song."
20:26
I'm like, "Oh [ __ ] dope."
20:27
Yeah.
20:28
And he [ __ ] sent the song back like a
20:30
week or two later and that [ __ ] was
20:32
fire. And um, you know, we moved some
20:35
stuff around and it just came out super
20:37
fire, bro. He's just been a genuine
20:39
person. One of the first people that's
20:40
like on that level to reach out and
20:42
genuinely just for no reason like, "Oh."
20:45
Yeah.
20:45
And then I met him. He came out here for
20:47
fashion week a few weeks ago and we shot
20:49
a real for it. Okay,
20:51
both our schedules been crazy. We've
20:52
been trying to catch each other, but we
20:53
finally quit each other and probably
20:55
about to shoot the music video like end
20:57
of this month or next month. But
20:58
good,
20:59
super dope, man. Super super ill
21:00
individual.
21:01
Somebody I had seen an interview with
21:03
somebody said that he's mad majestic.
21:04
That [ __ ] is mad majestic. That [ __ ]
21:06
is like
21:07
he's like super fly. One of them [ __ ]
21:09
like out to Trinidad James, man.
21:11
Shout out to him. He's a character, too.
21:12
And I like that. I appreciate that.
21:13
But he's very himself. Like I remember I
21:16
asked him I said um
21:17
this is some funny [ __ ] I said of yo,
21:20
I'm about to have a meeting with this
21:21
label.
21:23
What are some things I should like I
21:25
just asked him to ask like what are some
21:27
things I should um keep in mind or like
21:30
you know just
21:33
I just asked him some like random I
21:34
forgot exactly how I worded it and he
21:36
the first thing he said this is the
21:37
voice number he sent me. The [ __ ] said
21:39
um well one you lack capital. I said
21:43
damn. I said [ __ ] [ __ ] This [ __ ] said
21:46
you lack capital. said, "God damn,
21:48
[ __ ] Damn, I look broke." Like [ __ ]
21:50
Right. Right.
21:50
Like [ __ ]
21:51
Oh, he said lack.
21:52
He said, "You lack capital." So he said
21:54
like that's that's something the label
21:55
can see and they're going to, you know,
21:57
that's something that they like they
21:58
would want to
22:00
they have money they're going to have
22:01
money to offer if anything because they
22:02
can tell probably that you lack capital.
22:04
I'm like, "Shit, [ __ ] Let me let me
22:06
pull out the budget on these [ __ ]
22:07
right?" But uh like that was the realest
22:09
[ __ ] like somebody said to me and I was
22:10
like damn. And at the time I was like
22:13
I appreciate that. I appreciate people
22:14
giving it 100. like what do you what do
22:16
you think and even if it's real or it's
22:18
not like if it's if that's your vision
22:20
there's a reason why you said what you
22:21
said whatever let me up it you know what
22:23
I'm saying so
22:24
and um just went through some legal [ __ ]
22:26
with the song not on his end but um
22:29
some some other on the production side I
22:31
had to take care of go in my pocket and
22:32
take care of
22:33
you know what I'm saying [ __ ] thought
22:35
I lack capital
22:36
right you got you got it
22:37
so the song is going back up super soon
22:39
so great day is out it'll be out
22:40
probably by the time this airs but um
22:43
hell yeah great day featuring that James
22:44
is out, man.
22:45
All right. Now, the um industry is is a
22:48
is a is a it's crazy right now. It's
22:52
always been crazy, but now it's even
22:54
crazier because I think because the
22:56
money has dried up, or at least it seems
22:59
like it's dried up. The labels are not
23:01
hurting at all.
23:02
But
23:04
without the systems, artists are, um
23:07
people are, producers are. How have you
23:12
how has the industry part of Not not
23:15
like the labels, but the art the other
23:17
artists like do you get along with other
23:19
artists? Do you have have they reached
23:21
out like do you have
23:23
have any like other artists like bigger
23:25
artist like that?
23:26
Yeah. Have you had like good experiences
23:27
in that regard?
23:29
I mean we've had both good and bad
23:30
experiences. Um I'll tell like a few
23:33
stories real quick. Um
23:35
I remember early on I had opened up for
23:38
Dave
23:39
and um I had just got off stage. I had
23:42
killed the show. I had a band with me.
23:43
It was dope. Killed the show. I'm young
23:45
at the time.
23:46
I get off stage. I go backstage. I see
23:48
Davies. I'm like, "Yo, East, I just
23:50
opened up for you. My name is One
23:53
Carter, bro. Um, hit my hit my album."
23:55
He was He has his hands in his pockets.
23:57
He was like, "I ain't got nowhere to put
23:58
that right now." And I was like, "And in
24:00
my head, I was like, man, [ __ ] this."
24:02
Like,
24:02
I was tight.
24:03
Yeah.
24:03
And then I I go through more [ __ ] you
24:05
know what I'm saying, as an artist
24:06
trying to make it.
24:07
And this is like when he was like first
24:09
like popping off
24:10
and for a minute I was tight. Then I end
24:12
up being a video guy for um Superstar J
24:15
at Series XM.
24:16
Okay.
24:16
He interviews East
24:18
and I'm filming it.
24:19
And after the interview, I'm like, "Yo,
24:20
East, I opened up for you a few years
24:21
ago in Long Island." He's like, "Where
24:24
we at?" I'm like,
24:25
"In AMDville." I'm like, "You dubbed my
24:26
shit." I tried to give you my mix. You
24:28
dubbed my [ __ ] He was like, "Where my
24:29
for homie?" I'm like, "Nah, you told me
24:30
some real [ __ ]
24:31
Nobody owes you anything in this
24:33
industry." And he taught me that at a
24:34
young age.
24:35
Yeah.
24:35
And um let me get this pick. I took the
24:38
pick with him. [ __ ] was smooth. And then
24:41
um I've had other experiences where I've
24:44
ran into K camp at the radio station and
24:46
he's like, "Nigga, I just seen you on
24:47
Netflix. What up?"
24:49
Or Baka Faka DM me like, "I'mma send you
24:51
something." Or Bizarre hit me up from
24:53
[ __ ] D12. Like random cool people.
24:56
It's I've been getting love from um
24:58
a lot of comedians
24:59
really
25:00
like more than like rappers and [ __ ]
25:02
Hell yeah. Like Mike, Tin, [ __ ]
25:05
Anthony Anderson, Rudy Rush. Like a lot
25:07
of dope comedians been like showing
25:09
love. JB Um JP JB Smooth J [ __ ] [ __ ]
25:13
his name JB Smooth just [ __ ] follow
25:14
me. What the [ __ ] Am I funny, man? Like
25:18
crazy.
25:19
But they they hip-hop. They love hip-hop
25:20
too. They love hip-hop too word. So it's
25:22
dope. That's the that's the illshit. All
25:24
the OGs that I looked up to growing up,
25:25
it's like been tapping that in.
#Urban & Hip-Hop