Can't Be Broken
Can't Be Broken
From Homeless In Studios To Producing Hits
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A lot of people dream about making it in music, but nobody talks about the part where you’re sleeping in studios, missing the “grown man” basics, and still showing up to create. My guest Matthew “FU” Day is a music producer and entrepreneur who goes from a tough childhood in Minnesota to getting left in Atlanta, then grinding his way into real rooms with real stakes. We trace how mixed culture, poverty, and hard love shape his mindset, and why he decides to stop chasing the mic and become the person building the records instead.
We get practical about what a music producer actually does: not just making beats, but shaping the full sound, guiding artists, working with engineers, and acting as final quality control before the song hits Spotify, Apple Music, radio, and playlists. FU also breaks down the music industry business that too many creators ignore, including publishing, leverage, royalties, and why someone can have massive streaming numbers and still be broke. If you’re a producer, artist, engineer, or manager trying to build a sustainable career, this is the part that can save you years.
We also talk about relationships and integrity: why “guest of a guest” energy can ruin a session, why learning people matters more than constant asks, and how golf becomes a crash course in honesty and character. FU closes with mindset and routine, faith, reading, training, and a plan of attack that keeps you moving when life gets heavy. Subscribe to Can’t Be Broken, share this with someone chasing a creative path, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway: what’s one change you’ll make this week?
What up, what up, what up, and welcome to another episode of the Can't Be Broken Podcast. I am your host, Sea Monster, and today I have a special guest that I actually met at an event. It was a golf event that was played out in Woodland Hills Country Club. And uh my partner and I were supposed to be teaming up with I don't know what what kind of uh two some group didn't show up. Uh right next was was supposed to be the Curries, they didn't show up. It was it was for an event of uh the NBA weekend, All-Star weekend here. And uh so my partner and I go, we're supposed to be a foursome, we don't have a partner, and on the second hole, uh a cart drives up, and uh the the guest that that I'm gonna introduce a little bit, he's like, Hey, they put me with you. He wasn't gonna play, and they said, Hey, do you want to play? And he showed up, and uh, which was a great thing. Uh, he's a very, very humble individual who said, Hey guys, uh, you know, I'm sorry, I'm here, I'm not the best in golf, but I love it. I'm picking it up, I'm going. And uh, we're like, hey, nobody is, let's go. And and we had fun. Uh, we loosened up, talked, and uh what a what a what a story he has. What an amazing individual, humble, like I said, you'll hear him just be himself. Um, but uh it's gonna be a great uh uh podcast, and um, I'm humbled as well to have him here. Uh he's a busy guy, and so I don't want to take up too much of his time, but I want to introduce uh a friend of mine, a golf buddy, here that I met and that we've stayed in contact. And and uh um he's a music producer and an entrepreneur, and welcome to the show. We're gonna his name is Matthew Day, but he goes by foo. F you, correct? Yes, sir, yes, sir.
SPEAKER_02F you f for foo uh producer. Welcome to the show. Hey man, thank you for having me. Um, glad I met you on that golf course because uh yeah, I wasn't even planning on playing. I just came to actually go to the range and see people, yeah, talk to a couple people I know, yeah, and that was it. And then they were like, hey, you gotta play. I'm like, uh wasn't warmed up or nothing.
SPEAKER_01It was fun, it was fun. We had a blast. Uh I think we were like the last ones out there, started getting a little chilly, but the event was put on great, started a little bit later than it was supposed to, which I think helped you out to play more holes with us. Um, but what an amazing um time of all the um brands and networking and people that were out there doing their thing. Right, right. You know, I mean we saw those guys do the long shot trick shots, remember?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, they did. Um, I forgot his name, but yeah, that was crazy. The jury at the one hole, the donations, um, the the the shoes, the water. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Growing Up Between Cultures
SPEAKER_01Everything was really cool. La Corsa was okay. It's my first time there. Um, but I hear they're doing some work to it, meaning like not to get it better, but they're gonna do something with it because the Rams are gonna be out there and uh one of the parts is contract, but who knows? Um, I've never played there. And uh that was my first time too. Yeah. No, it's a good spot though. Um tell us a little bit about yourself, um, uh where you grew up and whatnot. Give us a little big background history of like where you grew up as a kid, how was home life, and then what brought you down to LA?
SPEAKER_02Okay. Um, I grew up in uh Minnesota um as an adolescent to a teen, moved there to Atlanta. Um basically uh most of my upbringing was in Minnesota, so yeah, living in a life, you know, semi-poverty. I'm not gonna say that it was all the way bad, like, but it was. Um figuring that for figuring things out, like you know, um perseverance, seeing what my people were doing and saying, no, I'm not I don't want to go that route and yeah, trying things out and like and your nationality your nationality is Mexican or Hispanic and black?
SPEAKER_01Is that correct? Yes, okay.
SPEAKER_02So that's the crazy thing. So my father is uh my real father is Puerto Rican and my mother's black, and then my mother married a Mexican man named Paula Espinoza. So I had a stepfather, and so half my family is Mexican, other half is black.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_02So I grew up in a Spanish black environment. So it's like Saturdays I go with my family and we go to church sometimes, and then Sundays we go with my black family, you know? So it was very interesting to see different perspectives on life and hearing different stories from my uncles, from my dad, my stepdad's side, and uncles on my mom's side. So it's really, really interesting. And then did you uh do you know Spanish? No. Okay. That that's the thing. Like, I think that my stepfather was uh second generation, yeah. So he really wasn't on it like that. Like when my cousins actually sp spoke it, they went they actually wanted to learn it and they still do, but like, nah. You want to learn it? Of course. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I live in California, so I think I can get more money by learning Spanish. Yeah, yeah, a little bit, right? Especially some Puerto Ricans and like that. The Puerto Rican language is so chopped up, it's like uh bad bunny, you can't understand some of the stuff he says, you know. Yeah, is it like is it more slang? Is it yeah, it's almost like slang cut off, you know? Like um, I don't know. I I don't really know. Let me see. Like if you're gonna say food, you're like, yeah, let me get some food, you know? And it's like like like that. It's like just cut off a little bit, like really quick. Um, but that's like uh that's like Dominican, Puerto Rican. Uh they just really quick with it. And it's different. You know, everybody has it means the same thing, but you say it differently, like coche or carro. Right. You know, it's a car. Right. But it it's said in two different ways. Yeah, and then slang, a lot of slang. So especially the way Bad Bunny does it, you know, he he does it cool in the music and whatnot. So Right. I think that that's why he was able to do the Super Bowl. Yeah, yeah. No, that was amazing. Yes. That was amazing to have him perform and whatnot. And obviously, you know, it it's controversial because some people um that don't know Spanish are like, well, okay, well, what is he saying? What is he doing? But um, you know, uh, it's about entertainment and performance, right? And K-pop music, I don't understand some of the music that the you know, the language from I don't know, Korean music or whatever is happening, but I like the beat. And they might perform.
SPEAKER_02How does it make you feel? Correct. That's when music about. This is when Bad Buddy was up there performing and he's saying, My dear, whatever he's saying, you're like, How do you feel? How does the melody feel? Yeah, how does he look performing? How does he that's how I take it? I didn't care what he was saying. I was like, all right, look at the perform. He's tearing it up, he's putting emotion to it, you feel the words, you see the people smiling, you see him smiling. There was never a dull moment.
SPEAKER_01So nothing better than coming from a producer and a person in the business. Hell yeah. And and you're right, and not only that, there was messages behind everything.
SPEAKER_02For sure. Right.
SPEAKER_01All the flags he brought out, his country representing, um, the American flag, the the light poles, um, bringing in some uh some OG artists uh that from Puerto Rico, right? You know, uh bringing in Lady Gaga with you know, just different things that he had to say without saying it. Right, and a lot of people don't even understand that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Lady Gaga is Spanish. Yeah. And people don't even forget that she's Latin. They don't even they they just erase it. They're like, oh, it's Lady Gaga. It's not a, it's not a it's not a nothing. It's Lady Gaga.
SPEAKER_01It's because sometimes, you know what people do is they they look at a color. You know, and because she is maybe not as dark skinned or darker or I don't know. Right. Uh they dismiss it. Right. I mean, but how many, you know, you wouldn't know Canelo, the the boxer, what 100% from Mexico, but he's light skinned. That's why they call him Canelo. He's a you know the little cinnamon dude. Right. But that's a lot of people in a certain area in Mexico that are lighter skinned with red hair. Right. Right. It's different shades everywhere. Different shades, baby. Uh anyways, uh, so uh grew up in Minnesota. Yes. And uh, you know, you would say uh not the most affluent, but uh there was some poverty there, but also some some some.
Tough Love And Growing Up Fast
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean, like I said, like my mother, she worked a job. It wasn't like she didn't, but she had got laid off. She was working in like in computer uh building things, like she was doing um building the motherboards from computers at the time. And I think her company got shut down. Okay. So that's when things kind of turned differently and have to figure things out and say, hey, we're gonna move with your grandma, we're gonna have to move with your uncle, we're gonna live here, we're gonna live here, and then uh my stepdad finally figured it out. He had a better job, and that's when we moved to a house, and it's like, okay, well now we're here. But all in Minnesota. Yeah. Okay. And this, and then like even living in that house on Edmund, um, a house got broken into. Yeah. While we're there, um, I remember the dude downstairs grabbing shit. And my stepfather wasn't even there. He was at work because he had worked a late night shift. And my mother was um, she was she was um she had like medical problems then. Mm-hmm. Like she had like a heart condition that she didn't know about until later. So she was really in and out. So she'd she'd sometimes she'd asleep for ten hours, like knocked out cold, and she wouldn't hear nothing. Unlucky.
SPEAKER_01So your parents were good people, just a little absent, you would say, based on what based on a little bit of of of uh medical stuff.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. My mother was absent because I was a rebellious kid. I didn't stay home. I'm in the streets. Yeah. Like, I want to do what the homies are doing. I want to do what my cousins are doing. So my mother's like, oh, you want to be a man? Go be a man. And figure it out. She made it like consequences, like you must know there's a cause and effect. So if you're gonna do that. And I can't teach it to you by saying it, you better go, you're gonna learn it real quick.
SPEAKER_01Right, right.
SPEAKER_02She said, hey, if you get locked up, don't call me. That was one of the things. Don't don't bring no police in my house. If you have drugs in my house, don't make sure I don't see it. You know, stuff like that. And how do you feel about that now? I feel like it I feel like it was cool. I think it actually made me a better man in certain ways, but I also missed certain things too, aspect of love and learning to heal through that and not having that, you know, that bond or whatever. It was like more of a hard love, like, hey, you are a man, I don't give a fuck. You know, putting me out at 17 and moving to Atlanta, living, you know, and finding figuring out, you know, having family there too, but like figuring it out. Yeah. But still, it was like, girl, get the fuck out of my house. Yeah. You're a man.
SPEAKER_01Tough love. Tough. Tough love, tough. Yeah. And you kind of wanted a balance more. I mean, now thinking about it, think about this, yeah, yeah, yeah. And also say, hey, go fuck and grow up this way.
SPEAKER_02Now as I get older and older, and you know, um, I'd like to think about it like, wow, maybe it would have been have good to have both, you know, that affection from the parents and then have that tough love where it's like you're not being don't be a man, you're not a punk, but like having that too, you know, like you know, I played football for a little bit, my mom didn't, she came to one game. Yeah. She didn't give a fuck. It would have been nice to have had her support more. Yeah, certain things, but then that turned, but I think that happened for a reason. Because now her not supporting and nobody really supporting him big the sports shit, uh turned to music. No, 100%. Yeah, I was like, you know what? If nobody's fucking with this and I can fucking the music and I'm getting love from people, strangers, women, whatever, I'll just do this.
Choosing Producing Over Rapping
SPEAKER_01How how how did you guess I mean I know that that's one of the reasons you got started, but w what made you be a producer and not like an artist of rapping, or do you do that as well, or what was your first instrument, or how did you Well, actually the funny thing is that I did try to rap at first.
SPEAKER_02Okay. And being 15, 16, well, 14, 15, 16, and them the years, I was trying to do that. And about to get signed to a neighborhood cat and being around a group of people, rest in peace, my boy Jason, like being around these friends that were rapping for real, and like I'm like, oh man, I can break a rap, but I was like, nah, I'm better behind it. Like, let me be the orchestrator, let me make the music, let me put it together, let me be the guy behind the channel.
SPEAKER_01How did you know that you were better? Like, did you feel that the other cats around you you didn't have that that talent as much as them? Or did you feel that you wanted to take that step back because you were better at that? Or like how do you internally go, you know what? I love this, I'm going this path, I'm gonna about to get signed and all that, but I'm gonna I'm gonna go here. It takes a lot for a person, especially being young, right, to like for me as an example. I love playing second base, but I'm like, you know what? I'm gonna let this guy play second. I'm gonna go play the outfield kind of deal, right? Like humble yourself in a different way.
SPEAKER_02Well, that's what it was. I just knew it. I'm like, look at my friends that were doing it at the time, um, were more popular. You know what I mean? Like in a sense, like they had more of the like the street fame with the girls or whatever, and they had more of the the the magnitude of it. I had a little bit, but it was more of them, you know. That's like, yo, when they see my boys, like they ask about him. It wasn't me. You know, it was them first than me. So I'm like, all right, not no jealousy thing. I see the potential. I'm like, all right, let me not even be this because maybe I'll ruin it, or maybe I won't even let it get to where it's going. So I play the background. And then I played the background, I fell in love with it. I'm like, oh, I can just do this, I can just DJ McBeats, be in whatever, learn studio, and just not have to do that, not to do shows or whatever, none of that. I can just do this and be good.
What A Music Producer Really Does
SPEAKER_01For the people that don't know, and I'm kind of one of those that knows a little bit but not a lot, tell us what a producer does for music. Right. And um yeah, what they do.
SPEAKER_02Well we we actually uh it's a lot of uh different caveats of being a producer. People will say, My thought, and this is my opinion, yeah, you're putting together the soundcast. I'm presenting a final product to you. What you hear on the radio, what you see on TV, whatever, what you hear in your you know, Apple Music or Spotify, this is the product that I put out. To beat, to finish, to sitting there with the person that's mixing it, saying, No, let's do this, it's taste level. So it's like your taste level, what it is like, you know, it's like knowing the finest good restaurant, saying, Yo, I know this restaurant.
SPEAKER_01It's paired well together. Yes. Like, like uh this wine goes with this kind of meat, and it goes with this kind of pasta, and then before you do and indulge something else, there has to be something to cleanse your your palate to do the other stuff. It's putting it all in one place.
SPEAKER_02Putting all and go together. It's like meshing a glue, it's like the final boss. It's like, okay, I'm the say so, I'm the quality control. Like, all right, this is what it is. You did three songs, this is the best song, but let's change this. Maybe the hook needs to be shorter or add a word or take a word or say this, maybe you need to shorten this or take this bass out or whatever. So it's just like having that taste level. Yeah. As soon as it leaves, it's done being mixed, and it's in a world. Now it's done. So now you gotta live with it. So the producer has a much taste level to say it's finished. This is a finished product to give to the people.
SPEAKER_01And then uh, do you also um create beats? Yes. Okay. And that's a part of it.
SPEAKER_02You don't have to, though, specifically. I don't really have to, but you do. Yeah, because a producer also is somebody that can get a keyboardist and a guitar player or even a drummer and say, hey, I got this idea. This is what I want to sound like. And the drummer, keyboard, and guitar player can actually make that in your mind. You might not even know how to play the drums, or you might not know how to play the guitar at that well. And you're like, hey, I got this idea, can you play it? And then it's bring it to life. And then you just blew it together and voila, you have the finished product. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um and then how did you get started on that? Like, well, obviously, when you were rapping and doing all that, you had studio time or where were you? Oh, yeah, it was like more like because honestly, Cesar, I didn't take it serious at all. It was something to do. It was something to do. It was like it was like if somebody kid signs up to play rec ball, that was your rec ball. That was your like I'm gonna go do that.
Left In Atlanta And Going All In
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's all it was. And then me, you know, like I said, moving to Atlanta 17, 18, and being there, that's when things turn serious. Cause then I'm like, okay, I can I'm interning at affiliates, I'm around these bigger names. They see the talent, and then I'm like, okay, let me really do this. And that's when I learned, like, okay, this can really be something. Because if I'm seeing these guys, you know, work with the TIs and the ludicrous and all that right in front of my face, I can achieve this too. And then it didn't and then even at that time I didn't realize because I really wasn't even an aspiration of it. Cause I'm thinking this is just whatever. I'm just going through the motions until somebody gave me an actual contract and money. And it's like, oh, this is serious.
SPEAKER_01And now that's what changed me. Like, no messing around. I gotta, I gotta he gave me a contract to do this, I gotta do this, or else I you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'm like you gotta stand. I'm I moved, I got left in Atlanta. So coming out to Atlanta was on bullshit, you know. Um Minnesota to Atlanta. Yes. Got left in Atlanta. Left in Atlanta. What do you mean left? Like I came out there with a group of friends on bullshit. I'm not gonna, you know, we'll just say that. Bullshit. And one day, I woke up, they were gone. I asked one of my homies, hey, where'd they go? Oh man, they got on a plane. I'm like, what? What? And I like, I know they were talking about leaving. There was not a date yet, like, yo, we might rent a car, drive back, da-da-da, and then maybe come back. I'm like, all right, they left. So one of the good homies, he was like, hey man, they're gone. What are you gonna do? And I was like, I'm gonna bust. He's like, I'm gonna get you. You can stay here as long as you want, but like, let's do that. He's like, I don't think you should go back. No shit. He's like, I don't think you should even be with them people. And one of them was my cousin. Yeah. Yeah. And he's like, I don't think you should even be with me. You know, blood sometimes. Yeah, yeah. And I was like, Are you serious? He's like, nah, man. He's like, nah. He's like, stay here with me. And I was like, And what did he do? He was an engineer. Okay. Um he wasn't a producer, so he was more like an engineer. Um in the music industry. In the music industry. Okay. So he worked big names, he did a lot of big things. So even his house was paid for by a record label, and I didn't even know all this. Okay. Like the way things were set up business-wise and how things were paid for, and I'm like wondering how he's moving. I'm like, where's your money coming from? You don't have a regular job, you're just going to the studio, but your house is paid for, your bills are paid for. That's when your mind started going, like, oh, what the fuck? Maybe I can do something like that. Yes. That's when I was like, all right, let me stick by you. I'll go to this affiliate's what you want me to do. You want me to sweep the floor? Okay, fuck it. Yeah. Sweep the floor, clean the bathroom. Oh, you want me to go pick up mixtapes or go run here and do that? Alright, bet. I'll do it. So you were as an assistant, basically. I was just the intern for real, like a real intern. Like, so I was like, all right, well, I'll do this grunt work, even though I'm street, even though I know I can just go on the street and make it. And then I'm like, nah, fuck it. I'll just dial that back and myself and see where it goes. And then where did it go from there? Oh, it went crazy because as I was doing work, I was actually a good intern. I was actually liked and people started hanging around. So I started hanging around with the bigger people, like the Don Cannon and DJ Drama, you know. That's who I work for. Yeah. So it's like, they were like, hey man, we like your energy. And then I had other homies, and then one day I started DJing and making beats in the studio, and it was over with. They're like, hey, you don't have to be interned. We want you to work on the radio. And I'm like, what? I didn't know nothing about radio programming. I didn't know nothing about the actual equipment. So I went back to the homie's house and stayed up all night and watched YouTube videos. And the next day I came in there faking the funk like I knew what I was doing. And I worked.
SPEAKER_01Hell yeah. And then eventually eventually, without faking the funk, you were an entrepreneur of learning on hands learning. You didn't go to school for this shit.
SPEAKER_02No, I learned on hands. Yes, I knew how to make beats, but I got better, got better, got better, and then learning and learning and sending and tests and learning and learning, and I'm like, oh okay. And now, boom, here's the payday. Yeah. Now here's the big check. Here's the records with no Ray Stramer, here's the records with uh The Weekend, Kendra Lamar, and all this stuff.
Homeless While Working In Music
SPEAKER_01Snoop Dogg. That's when that started coming. You know, I want to go back really quick to something that you said that that'll tie into what you're talking about now. But if it wasn't for growing up quickly, the heart lessons, the hey, go figure it out, don't call me if you go to jail, your mom kind of throwing you in there, um, getting left in Atlanta, learning that lesson of like, and this guy actually saying, hey, don't go, you know, learn all that, things would have been differently. Yes. You know, we live in a society right now where we're coddling certain people, and they're not experiencing life, they have no street uh cred. And I don't say that in a weird way, I say that in like, go out and figure it out. You know, everybody thinks that they can learn it from from something, but you also said it part of your survival was fuck it. Fake the funk and and and stay up all night and watch YouTube videos and and let's see where it goes and then and grind.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah. It's just and it's funny because I take that to golf. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01That's why I love golf too, bro.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I take that to golf. It's like I didn't it's not like I'm 20 years old trying to learn how to golf. You know what I mean? How old are you anyway? I'm 85, baby.
SPEAKER_0141.
SPEAKER_0241? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Oh, you're young still though.
SPEAKER_02Well, still, that's still you're yeah.
SPEAKER_01You started late, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I started super late. Yeah. But it's like, who cares? And it's like, I I love it. I love the fact that it's like, yeah, I'm starting late, but I'm I'm about to get it. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01That's what I love about golf. People are like, Well, you love golf is it's a boring game. Anything that's hard, I try to approach. And golf is one of those things that it's never gonna end. Because you can always try to get better. Like even if you're like, I'm a ten handicap. Okay, well, can I become a five? I'm a five, well, can I become a scratch golfer? Right. Okay, I'm a scratch. Can I what the hell? Like, can I get better than that? Right. You know, can I hit a hole in one? That's that's the thing for me too.
SPEAKER_02That's the thing. And it's like, and but you're it's you versus you. So my whole life has been me versus me. So that's why I love golf.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah, that's great. Um, so then uh you started making it happen, you became a DJ out there. Is that called?
SPEAKER_02Oh, that yeah, DJing and producing was all hand in hand. Bam. So it was all like one time tanner's thing.
SPEAKER_01And then uh how long did that last? Because eventually you're here in LA. How did that all go about to how long were you there? Why did you leave? What happened?
SPEAKER_02Okay, short version of the stories. So yeah, um, LA, I mean Atlanta. There years, stayed in Atlanta, what, 13, 14 years?
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_02Um was homeless there. You were homeless there? Yeah. While you were playing in the radio and all then? While I was working for radio people, while I was getting all that, yes. Why is that? Is that that Um It's just I didn't have well that that time I didn't have anything set up. You know, for years I was running around with no ID, no bank account, no nothing. So I was didn't have no structure, no, you know, grow grown man, whatever you were to call it, I have nothing, you know? Yeah. But then as soon as I got a deal, that all changed. I was like, all right, now I gotta let me do this, let me do this, let me get my license, let me do this, and then this and this and this. And credit, my homegirl was like my sister, almost like family to me. She helped me out when I was homeless, so I was like my sister. She was like, hey, you should do this. You just got a deal. You got some money. Go, go travel to like a couple places and make some music and see how you feel and come back. And it's if you don't want to be here, because you're like, you're not originally from Atlanta, you're not born here. You have no roots. You have no roots. Yeah, you have a couple family members here, yes. But that it's not like you went to high school here. So I'm like, all right. So I went to New Orleans. And this this girl, this friend, she uh was she in the music industry too? Yeah, she rapped. Um, she's more, she's rapping now. Um, she's like a real dope girl, graphic artist, her name is Red. Um, yeah, she's like a like my sister's sister. She was like, yeah, let's try it. And she's like, I got your back, let me come back, whatever. So I went to New Orleans. I was like, wait, I need to get out. And that's when I was like, all right, did the lots of music and stuff that actually came out and I went back to Atlanta. And then um the person I was signing with was like, hey, we're about to go work on race trim response. You can come. It seems picking out people, it's like limited people can come, not everybody. So I'm like, all right, well, if I got a chance, I'm gonna do it. So I went out there and I was like, I went out here and I'm like, this feels like more I grew up at. Like I love Atlanta, but like like as a kid, I was like, oh, this is way more like the the like the the values and people is more. Because in Atlanta I didn't see any really Spanish people at all. Maybe a couple. And here it's like, oh shit. Diverse than longer. This is like my house.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know what I mean? Felt home. Yeah, yeah. And then uh you know, you touched a little bit of bond, you were homeless. Like, what did that look like? Like, was it did you have a car? Like, where were you sleeping on?
SPEAKER_02In Atlanta, so we can homeless in Atlanta was studio. Studio. Studio, streets, sometimes streets. I stay on streets for sure. Um a lot of people didn't know that. Um Studio. I would bust my ass and be dope at what I do. So somebody would be like, hey, yeah, you can be here all night, not knowing that I'm actually staying there.
SPEAKER_01They're like, God damn, this motherfucker works a lot, but reality you had nowhere to go. Right. And and like I don't know how it all works, like deals. Is it like like that guy that said, hey, we're coming over here for a year and getting a house? Is he paying you?
Moving To LA And Learning Royalties
SPEAKER_02Does he say you're gonna make so I gotta advance you live, you know, on advances of what I can potentially make or whatever. Right. So that advances for me to live, walk around. But you hey, you got the house in LA, I don't have to pay bills. So the only thing I have to pay is my phone bills. So all right, cool. I'll come to LA. Your own personal things. Yeah, my own personal things, whatever I need. Food, food, whatever, you know, we, whatever, you know, so it's like, okay, cool. Stay there while I'm there, we're making records, you know, we're doing this, and then I'm in.
SPEAKER_01But how do you make money?
SPEAKER_02How do you make a little bit to pay your bills? That's the thing. I wasn't thinking at that time, I didn't think about it that far ahead. I'm like, all right, well, I'm here, I got this event. I'll make it work. I'll make it work. But I understand, like, oh no, this is not gonna last in California, you think it is. This little money you think that may last more in the South, you might have got away with it. Not out here. So then I start figuring it out more. I'm like, oh no, I gotta get into business. I gotta figure it out. I'm talking to people that are like, no, you gotta find an artist and this, this, and you gotta do this. They're guiding you in a certain way. Yeah, they're guiding me in certain people, and I'm like, all right, and then that's when I found the artist and I found Lil Xand, which went crazy in 2016, 2017. He was like, you know, Spanish rapper from IE. Yeah, you know, went crazy with Billboard, we're on TV T. We're on TV, we're on TV shows, he was doing everything. So that's when I started getting my residuals, and that's when I learned the super business.
SPEAKER_01Residuals are from things that come out that the artists get paid for the music.
SPEAKER_02That's how I started learning in the business and credit to Stat and DJ and these people that are around me, was like, yo, learn this and do this and this is this. And I started learning. I'm like, oh, this is how I get paid. This is how I, you know, okay, I'm assigned to a publishing company.
SPEAKER_01Because earlier when you were rapping and doing all that stuff, and just like I'll create beats and all, it was like a hobby without like a without a business. Like you're a business. You're maybe getting paid here and there, but now you're you're like, I better learn how to get in the business.
SPEAKER_02Yes. It's like, oh, before the deal, you have LOC. I'm like, what the fuck is the LOC? Yeah, protect yourself. Yeah, like you go get LC, you need to get a business bank, you need to get this, this. And I'm like, what? So I had to figure all that out on the fly.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And it's like, all right, now I get it. I'm like, okay, this is how you get paid. This is how I walk in to get paid. Then I start learning about my publishing deal and how I can use them to pay for things and how it's counted back against me, how uh uh there's options that I am, and then I can go. If I got this many records, I can go get money. And then I was in a deal, like the Simmerley is the hip boy um situation. If anybody's listening knows about that, when he was in, I was in that type of deal, in a in a shit deal. Wasn't shit for for them or shit for me, but that's this gave me this type of deal, and it's I'm good.
Business Advice For New Creators
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And uh for those listening, trying to be in your footsteps and going through the grind of trying to figure it out as well, uh, whether being in one all aspects of music, right? From producing to engineering to artists vocally or or whatnot, what advice would you give them and how to go about it? Because obviously you learned in a different way, right? Hands-on, staying at studios, probably learning more grinding, but you know, to to not make some of the errors or some of the things, what advice can you give some of these listeners like, oh my god, I didn't know that. I talked to so many people and they give me this advice, and I'm getting pulled in different ways, but you learning about it in different ways as well. What could you give them to kind of simplify that process?
SPEAKER_02First off, have your business in line. Like, you know, have your stuff order, your accounts, uh, you know, if you're assigned to ASCAP, BMI, CSAC, have all that in order so you can collect your money, you know, and then have a look. Those are all like banks or these all like Well, these are like BMI ASCAP or services that actually collect your royalties from music, you know. So, say if you put out a song, whatever, and it's streaming a million streams, they go out and collect that so you get paid quarterly. So it's like they send you a check. And you have to do your due diligence to make sure that happens. So it's like make sure you have a team, make sure you have a lawyer, make sure when you're if you're getting real money, make sure you have a business account and a business manager, and really stay on top of that because it's not your entity now, you know, your your your brand and corporation.
SPEAKER_01So it's like yeah, no, 100%. Um, and so then we're talking about um great advice, by the way, too. Because I think you're right. I think sometimes people will be like, I did all this. Well, where where did I get paid? Where's it at? When do I see it? Yeah, where does it go?
SPEAKER_02It's just like I just heard the other day, this guy's like, Oh yeah, I got um the top three number one stream song at Spotify, but I'm eating tuna sandwiches and living on my buddy's couch. I'm like, no, you don't have your business right. Uh-huh. Because that shouldn't be like that. Yeah. You shouldn't be the top dude on streaming service and not get paid for it. Something. You have something, something going on. No, that's business, and that's because you don't know how to do it. So in business, is it wrong if I walk in there and I don't know what I'm doing and somebody does, and they're like, hey, well, you didn't do your due diligence. I have. Yeah. And there it goes.
SPEAKER_01Um, and so then you you left, finally got that deal to come to LA and that house for a year, handling that. And uh and how did that go? And then and then uh what year was that? Um I've been in LA now. 10 years, so that was that was a good time in your 30s to be in LA then. Yeah. Because you're not too young to not know what's up, but you're yeah, you're grown, you know. Yeah, so that was 2000. So to go be young enough to go party and be in the business. For sure.
SPEAKER_02Um Damn, what what was that? 2016? 2015? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that was around there. Okay. Yeah, so it was like. Like I said, I come from nothing. So it's like, I don't have any uncles or anybody that's like, oh, he's a doctor, he's this. You know, luckily I do have uncle that's teaching piano in the hood in in Minnesota. That's dope. He has like a little school that's funded by the state. But like, that's it. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Like, yeah, because a lot of people, and a lot, I mean, it it happens in every profession. Um, a lot of people, if your dad was a football player or a baseball star or something, their kids are gonna kind of go in there. Yeah. Music, they're gonna kind of go, yeah, you had nobody. Nothing. No, not like that.
SPEAKER_02Like, not no, no, like it's like you should be a professional drug dealer. Yeah. I know.
SPEAKER_01That was a good business. Yeah, that's good. Right. You got the plug, I got the the clients over here. That's what that's the thing.
SPEAKER_02That's the that's the the the crazy thing is that the outlook of it is like, yo, my trajectory wasn't that. I wasn't, you know, in high school was you know, the kid that, you know, you do the production, you do the yearbook, and you're like, oh yeah, he's gonna be this, and he's gonna be no. I was the the shit. Yeah. I was the yeah, the written off. Like he's written off. Yeah. He's not gonna be nothing. Like, and that's that's what like amazes me to this day. I think about all the time. Like, I have survival remorse all the time. I think about like, well, how am I here?
SPEAKER_01Why am what? Well, the the you know, the the saying goes that uh necessity is the mother of invention. You know what I'm saying? And so if you are hungry, you're you know, that's what they what do they say? You're gonna you only win championships and are successful if you're hungry. But if you do it once and you lose hunger, that's when you get passed up, right? So staying hungry is even more important. Um and that's how two peats, three peats, you know, like the Dodgers hopefully do it this year. Oh, I'm sure that's right. You know, things like that. Yeah. You know, uh Michael Jordan, uh Kobe Bryant, those guys that do two peats, three peats, and and whatnot, and they do what they do. Uh they're hungry and they stay hungry. And and I think the same thing goes for you. You not only were you literally hungry, right? Trying to feed yourself, right, but you were hungry to get at the business to feed you, and you continue to be humble, go, I don't I know where I came from, I know where I'm going, and and stay hungry because the business can lead you in so many different ways.
SPEAKER_02I mean, like now, like I mean, um I'm you know, working with eardrummers, which is Mike Will and, you know, Ray Streamer and all these people, Swailee and them, to now where I'm with, you know, Room of Mirrors, I'm with Top Dog, Punch, TDE. So it's like making records with School Boy Q, making records, you know, with Kendrick, making records with J-Rock, you know, Ab Sol. So it's like from then to there. So it's like, I just want to keep going.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And this be around and whatever it is. If I don't I don't have to be the forefront. That's the thing about producing and being the background. You can do this to your older and nobody's gonna care. As long as you're producing, like as you like you said, as long as you're hungry and it's coming out great, nobody's gonna say nothing.
Ownership Goals And Relationship Building
SPEAKER_01Um, what is what is for you, obviously saying what you're saying and the people you've worked with and continue to grind and move. Well, what does the vision hold for you? Where where do you think that you're like, I'm I'm here, I've made it more, right? Because you've already made it, but what does that look like to you?
SPEAKER_02Ownership. That's what it looks like to me. Okay, like having my own label, having my own staff, that's what it looks like to me. You know what I mean? So I can power in somebody else. What would the name of it be? Um, flex on them.
SPEAKER_01Flex on them. Yeah. That's uh that's cool. And so what is what does that look like, the grind for you to get there? And the discipline and and the habits? Like, what does that look like for you to get there? And and and in reality, what is the time frame?
SPEAKER_02Oh man, I'm trying to like literally I have in my time frame goal book or whatever you want to call it, I have uh two years left. So like I just showed to a buddy of mine, he was like, Man, you need to do this and do this. I'm like, alright, bet. So now next couple weeks, I have a plan of attack to do something that's gonna elevate something else. I don't want to say too much, but like and it's like, alright, now I have this little Ooh, he's on the podcast moving with him. No, I just don't want to give up some secrets. Yeah, but like these two things I'm gonna do is gonna elevate it. I'm like, oh, I should have done this years ago. Uh-huh. Why didn't I do that? And it's like learning relationships matter. You know what I mean? Hey, yeah, I'll reach out, but like go kick it with this person. You know what I mean? Go have dinner with this person. Not just always studio, always sending them a song, or what do you feel about the song? Like, get to know them personally so they can know you personally, because if they know you personally, they might they're gonna know how good a person you are and give you more.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I learned something from my brother a long time ago when he was uh my my dad started his own trucking business, and then my brother was the salesperson once he got done playing baseball. So he went to go help out my dad and he was trying to create the business and blow it up even more and uh get more trucks, more business, more clients, more signed stuff for cargo. And he would go out there to the company, they'd just shut the door, hey, make an appointment. Okay, you made an appointment, he doesn't have time, and just close doors on him, close doors on him. He'd present something, they'd give him the time, and nobody would call him back. And he learned that if you um learned the person in front of you's um sandbox, that you'll get more out of it. And what he meant was everybody as a kid used to bring their favorite toy to the sandbox, you know, a little truck, G.I. Joe or something like that. Right. When you go into a person's office, they have pictures of their family, vacations, golfing, their favorite team, something that gives something about them.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_01And if you can you're in there for a business meeting, but if you can for a little minute talk to them about their interests, that raider team, that vacation in Hawaii, and go, oh man, you went to Hawaii, how was that? I've been there before. That's business. Because that's and he said if you want deals to go on, if if you're a Raider fan, I see that and we're like, no way. Next thing you know, it's like, dude, I like that dude. That guy's a Raider fan too. I'm gonna make a deal, I'm gonna give him some business. Rather than just presenting, hey, this is what we do, we're uh, you know, whatever. And and I think that's exactly what your friend's saying is hey, instead of just studio time, go hang out with this guy, see what, see what vibe he has, what interest in create that relationship. Right, right, because a lot of that, that's what I learned.
SPEAKER_02The sandbox. The sandbox.
SPEAKER_01All right, don't be throwing it on another podcast.
SPEAKER_02Nah, I'm never that's actually dope because that that learning that even listening to you right now about it. I'm like, yeah, it's like a lot of relationships. Well, now it's different. Yeah, but before, a lot of relationships are based on just music. So how much can you do, or how much music can you put out, or can you give me a hit, or can you do this song for me? Can you change this? And now it's like, nah, let me know. Okay, you like golf, or you like basketball, or you like football, your team's the Rams, or whatever. So let's do this. Oh, you like sushi. So hey, you have to come to the studio or you're at the office, let me order some sushi for you. I'll come there. Oh, you order sushi hour ahead? Yeah, yeah, let's talk it. Like, oh yeah, you have two kids. Mind you, I have no kids, so but it's like, hey, you know, but still.
SPEAKER_01Well, I think that's what happened with us when we first met, and that's why I love golf. Because you can go there first and just go, like, okay, I don't know this person, what do you want? I don't know, I don't know your personality. And then as you go, you loosen up. Right. Like, oh man, what do you do? Okay, what brings you to golf or whatnot? Like, what's up? And then you just kind of break down and go, boom, boom. Sometimes there's some alcohol involved, sometimes there's a weed involved, sometimes there's nothing involved. Right. It's golf. You're with that person and that team or for some for three to four hours. And you know, you somebody hits a great shaw and you give them a compliment, and that person next thing you know breaks down barriers, and you're just here we are doing a podcast.
SPEAKER_02Right. I would never even knew you or even knew nothing about this if I didn't go to that tournament. Yeah. And that's and I think that's the beauty from the golf music, it all brings different cultures together. Like I just played, what, uh, a week ago on Roosevelt, and no, no, Bob Oa last weekend, and I met the guy that does the Survivor series. He's the producer. Oh, okay. And I would have never like honestly, I didn't even think he was gonna talk to us. Like me and my homie, and I was like, he's just he's just gonna join our group because it's just two of us. Yeah. They just stuck in one of them. We're just gonna play golf this whole time, this whole two hours, and he's gonna say a couple things. No, it wasn't like that. He was cracking jokes. He's like, look, man, he's like, this is the greatest place to meet different people. And he's like, also, this is integrity building. He's like, golf will make you an honest man. He's like, there's no referees out here. Yeah, there's nobody watching you. You can literally tell your buddy, oh yeah, I got a birdie. You know what I mean? So it's like, what type of person you are to playing golf?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. There's a lot of shit that golf does. And you know what though that's true? Because some people will go out there. I played yesterday I went now with as a single. And the other two people that I was playing with were single also. I met this kid who's on the on the US amateur tour. Oh, wow. Oh, kid was playing from the tips, bro. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Like he can bang it. Legit, right? I'm like looking at him like, I'm just looking, like, how can I learn? And next thing you know, I'm playing from the tips with him. I'm like, listen to go. Yeah. I I just want to play because you I need some advice. Like, just tell me. And he was just like, dude, don't overswing. Do not swing hard. Swing smooth. Like, just, you know, don't try to when you swing hard, your face opens up, ball goes to the right. Like, he was just giving me advice, like simple things. He goes, You have a good, you have a good swing. Everything's good. You're just sometimes you just want to kill a ball. Don't kill the ball. Just let it let the let the club do the work. Just little things, you know? Right. Um, and then the other guy, Tom, uh, used to be in the NASCAR business that I met. Like has a big old property, huge. Uh, did uh the I don't know much about NASCAR, but those cars that uh the crew chief, yeah. He was a crew chief. He did everything around to he became crew chief for big time. He was showing me pictures and stuff. I'm like, you just meet people from all he's retired. Crew chips is a big thing.
SPEAKER_02It's a big thing. Yeah, mechanics are on time, everything, everything is a clockwork. It's weird, it's weird how I kind of know about car racing.
Golf As A Teacher Of Character
SPEAKER_01Yeah, right now you're going off on it. But see, that's the thing, it's like that's what golf does, you know. Um, and that's what it did for us too. And then these cats, now I got the Xander, uh, what's his name? Xander forgot his last name, but Xander, shout out to Xander from uh Plainless Robles yesterday. Uh Kids and Animal. Um so he's on the US amateur tour right now. Um shout out to him. Um let's keep going. So I'm very interested, you know, uh you think that people in the music industry have it in their blood or something like that, or they have a special talent, or do you think that uh uh, or both, that it could be um you don't have to have the talent, but you can grind so hard that you become that talent. It could be both. Okay.
SPEAKER_02It depends on the person, you know? Yeah. Think about it. Like if you have if you're that person, it's like, oh, I don't care, I'm gonna figure this out. I'm gonna sit in front of this computer for two days to figure out this program or what have you, you can make it. Because grind over always overtends talent. This is like the the story of um what's the golfer that made it professionally at 45 years old? Recently? No, this is a long time ago. Uh they played um why am I drawing the blank? Um we played Tiger.
SPEAKER_01Um, I did hear that. Yeah, yeah, I heard that song.
SPEAKER_02Uh Rocky, Rocky something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes. Oh, I don't know his last. Yeah. He uh I know I'll find the name. I got it. So he entered the tour playing against Tiger at 40 some years old and became an amateur.
SPEAKER_01Let me see. You know what? The funny thing is that the weekend we have Chad GPT, but I can look it up right now, real quick. Right. Let me see while we're doing this.
SPEAKER_02Uh yeah, because this is that's that's the stream.
SPEAKER_01Who is the golfer that became pro at a later age that played Tiger? What's his name? My wife always trips out that I asked the questions. That's what it's doing. It sounds like you're thinking of Tom Watson. Is that Tom Watson? I thought it was the name was Rocco, but maybe it is Tom Watson. Tom Watson. For having uh at 59 years old, Danieli won the open. No, I think this is took a like.
SPEAKER_02It's another guy, but that's that's even crazier, too. At 59 years old, almost winning it. Coming in late and almost winning it. So it's not about preference. Like, what do you want to do? Like, I think about it too. Like in my mind, I was thinking like, uh, I love golf, and I'm like, where do I want to take this? I'm like, nah, I really want to get this. So I'm like, maybe I'm gonna have to get lessons, get a PGA lesson, and I'm gonna start um doing some mobility things and start learning. And I'm like, yo, I'm running my goal in golf now. Amateur project, let me get into creator's classic. Let me get into the creator's classic. Oh, you don't know about that? Barstool's creator's classic? No. It's Barstool. So Barstool does this. Yeah, so they do the creator classic where they have all the YouTube golfers, all the influencers, golfers pretty much play each other. It's fucking dope. What?
SPEAKER_01And then you gotta get invited there or what?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you get invited. Do you have to have a certain handicap or I don't know if they name golf handicaps because uh it's not like I mean there's some fire, like you know, they got Grant uh, what's his name? Grant Horvat in there, a couple other people that's dope. You're trying to get in there through the like get invited to somebody. Okay. Yeah, like I'm trying to do that. Like, all right, yeah, I'm just getting my golf content up, start you know, play some more, getting better, and like I want to get invited to that. I want to be able to play in that. I just found out about it. Me too now. Yeah, like why not?
SPEAKER_01If I get invited, I'm inviting you. Come on, let's go.
SPEAKER_02Let's go. Because they are playing what they play for? The purse is what 150,000 or something like that?
SPEAKER_01Oh shit. Okay, it's messing around. Right now there's uh one coming up called the Industry Open. I I don't know who's all in and stuff, but uh it's 10,000 the purse. 10,000 is good enough. 150? That's a lot of money.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but like think about it. Like you go up there, you know. I mean, my handicap's 30. I need to get better, but you're up there and you're are you on uh are you on the gin on the S E G A?
SPEAKER_01Do you have a No? I need to get that. Yeah, because that's rated. So the course is rated, right? Like it's difficulty this or that, right? 63 or whatever. So Balboa is a simpler course, right? Compared to, I don't know, let's say Porto Valley or something. So if you score a hundred at Porto Valley, and then at Balboa you score a 90, right? Well, your hundred at Porto Valley is gonna be like if you scored a 90 because it's such a harder course. And this one's gonna be like, well, it's an easier course, you didn't do as well, you should have shot this. So then it averages it all out and gives you your handicap.
SPEAKER_02The reason why I have the handicap, I know what it is, is because of the birdie app, the birdie T app.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, yeah. So that's what it told me. Like but yeah, get that one because a lot of places are people that tell like if you enter tournaments or what they want you to turn in your index. They call that handicap index. So I gotta do that. So it's a player, what's it called again? It's called the Gin. G-H-I-N. The Gin? Yeah. It's an app for it. Okay. Yeah. Download, um, put your info in real quick. It's free. Yeah. And then when you play a course, you just enter your your score hole by hole.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And then it'll start giving you a handicap. It'll update it by itself.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, because I use the birdie app or whatever. You heard of that? 18 birdies. Because it gives you distant and whatever, and then tracks your uh ball. You can do that too, or it can actually track your ball.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah. I have uh the speaker, uh speaker that I use that gets g uh you know gives me all that the distance and all that stuff. But they track your ball too. That's what it says.
SPEAKER_02I don't know how well it does. You got a GPS on that basically. Yeah, so I'm like, how do you track it? I guess. I think it's tracking off where the cart is going. That's what I'm thinking. So you hit the ball and your cart goes and it tracks from there.
Routine Mindset And Staying Grounded
SPEAKER_01So you stop and it says, okay, this is where your ball is at. My balls are always in the fairway, so I know where to go. I know, I've seen the shoot. Um all right. Uh what would you do? Uh what would you do differently, like now? Uh looking back a little bit, uh some advice that you would you would give s somebody and saying, you know what, don't do that. Do this instead. What would you do?
SPEAKER_02I would wait it um a little bit longer before I signed my publisher deal just to have more leverage. So I wouldn't have got a a like a a little deal or I'm like I said, I love my company, it's not no no shade. Um, but like having more leverage so that I couldn't make more money at the time. You know what I mean? Then it wouldn't have been more lucrative. Now like I pushed through the deal, but still like at that time, walking in there with leverage, leverage. Yeah. Walking away with, you know, some changing, life-changing money.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um let's go a little bit about because obviously the podcast is about can't be broken, overcoming adversity, which you're doing all that now. Uh um something in the studio or something outside of the studio?
SPEAKER_02In the studio, Pep Peev. Um giving unsolicited advice. Oh. Bringing people.
SPEAKER_01You don't like you don't like oh, okay. Okay. That's what I was gonna ask. Sorry, go ahead.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, this is a little bit advice. If I'm in here making music, I'm saying say if I'm doing a RB song and I'm like trying to figure out chords and I have a piano player in there, and there's a somebody in there that produces or whatever, and they're like, hey, you should do it like this. I didn't ask you. Yeah. And you came with somebody and you're a guest. So it's like, come on. It's different if I ask you and I put you involved into the session. Then it's like, all right, yeah, tell me whatever, like, give me it to me raw.
SPEAKER_01But if I don't know you, you're in there, I don't want to hear your solution. So if you're inviting them and saying, hey man, I invite you to listen to this. I'm having trouble with something, can you give me your advice? That's different. Oh, good to go. Good to go.
SPEAKER_02Or if, like I said, I know you, you came with somebody, you're reputable, and I know your work, and I like you're a good person, and yeah, I'm gonna listen, but it's like, I don't know, I don't want you in here. Who are you? You're in here with such such, and you are a guest of a guest, so why would I listen to your okay?
SPEAKER_01Um what kind of music do you prefer producing?
SPEAKER_02Oh man, um I love it all, but my wedge. So wedge is like you get a four-air and you're like, shit, where's this gonna go? Right. The wedge you know, like all right, 100 yards out, 50 yards out, 75 yards. I might go right, I might go left. I'm gonna hit it. I'm gonna hit it. You know what I mean? But like, no, uh hip hop. Hip hop, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's like my bread and butter. Yeah. Yeah. And then what have you done that you would like to do? Like what kind of music?
SPEAKER_02Um, I like to dive more into dance music? Like, you know, not EDM all the way, but dance, you know, like uh, you know, like a beat music. Even like uh what's your name? Sherelle Chaperon, or I think I'm saying the wrong name wrong, you guys know what I'm talking about. Um even Madonna-ish, like that. You know what I mean? That type of vibe, where it's like good film music, like dive more into that.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Um, do you have a like a favorite scene or credo or anything you live by? Or something that you heard that you just sticks by you all the time? Oh man, do the knowledge is my favorite.
SPEAKER_02Do the knowledge, yeah. Stop, look, listen, and observe.
SPEAKER_01I like that. Where'd you f where'd you get that one from, or how'd you come about that? My uncle. Some of the people that you've mentioned, do you want to say their names? Or I know you gave props to that guy that kept you in Atlanta.
SPEAKER_02Oh, I'm yeah, I can give names. I'd just be like, um, you know, certain people, you know, uh, because that person, I'd caveman, um, yeah, he kept me in Atlanta. Um you still talk to him now?
SPEAKER_01Once in a while. Yeah. I mean, we grow we grow differently. You know, sometimes uh you move and you're like, oh shit, I didn't talk to him, but they're still there, obviously. They're still homies or friends. Caveman, um the girl's red. I said red, I said her name, of course.
SPEAKER_02Um you still talk with her, obviously. Yeah, yeah. Of course, she just texted me two days ago. Yeah. Like, um shoot. Uh uh Jeff Dixon, Shock LaZool, these are men in Atlanta that actually shaped me too. To know, like, hey, you're signing, this is what you do, this move like this, get your producer, I guess you mean get your artist, and this is how you become a producer, and it's how you get taken seriously, do this, do this, you know. Um just stay out the way, treat people with dignity, you know. When you walk in a room, shake everybody's hand, make sure you greet women, um, don't co-twish in rooms, like be yourself in front of everybody, and you know, that's what I learned from shotgun.
SPEAKER_01It seems like just like in today's world now, like it's like it's it's called being a good human. And and unfortunately, we live in this in this thing where um common sense is out the door and being a good person and shaking people's hands, looking them in the eye, and all that has gone out the door. It's gone.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Uh our kids, our younger generation are all off the phone. Yeah. They don't have to interact with humans. So that is gone. And it's gonna get worse. So it's like you'll be around. I will have a lot of people.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, hopefully. Hopefully. But like I'm older than you, so we're good. But my handicap's gonna get lower. I'll tell you that right now. Hey, man, mine better get lower soon. Yes. You know, I believe uh sometimes we need less I've never taken a lesson, uh, but uh I should, and I talked to my wife, and I think we should uh take a lesson. Just because I've always been a visual learner. Like when I played baseball, I never had a lesson, a hitting lesson, feeling lesson. Whatever coach I had would teach me something, or my brother or something. But golf is a different animal.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it is, but you know what's funny about that? So when somebody showed me something at the range or whatever, like uh last week, somebody showed me something and it worked. And like you said, visually, so I can see it. You know what I mean? Because when I first started playing golf, I was watching YouTube videos, looking at swing. So that's how you swing. But it's like, I know I need to be there in person. I need somebody to like, I need to see it in person. I want to see them hit the ball. I want to see the feeling of, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01And that's what I'm seeing. Yeah, no, I you know, I think you said it right earlier about the pet peeve. When I play golf sometimes, somebody will be like, hey, close your shaft up or close that head, you know, or something. I'm like, you know, I don't know you really, but this guy is banging, right? And I'm like, and I'm like, oh yeah, tell me as much as you can, brother.
SPEAKER_02You know the feeling when you've seen it, like, okay, I can trust him. I want to know what he's doing. Yeah. Not some guy, yeah, you're cool, but bro, I don't even have the feeling with you. I don't even react. We don't even click. I don't even like it feels like you're kind of talking shit. Yeah. That's how I be feeling sometimes.
SPEAKER_01Like, are you talking shit? And the the reality of it's like, bro, you're a you're like me, a fucking 15 handicapped. You hit the ball to the left, right, chunk, but the kid that I was playing with yesterday, I'm like, well, yeah, no, I gotta play with this kid. No, he's probably straight, straight, straight, straight. Straight and long. I mean, he was playing from the furthest T's back, the T's, you know, the blacks. And uh I'm like, well, I would I just want to play with him because then he would shoot, then I would shoot, and then Tom was playing from the whites, I was playing from the blues. And uh, well, I'm like, I want to go back there so that I can ask and I did. I'm like, say, hey, do you mind looking at my swing and just kind of seeing what I'm doing and whatnot? Absolutely, no problem. So I asked, you know, he and people that know would just kind of shut, you know. If you want me to because he could definitely give everybody advice, but he just shuts.
SPEAKER_02I would love to go out with him and you and just fucking shoot around. Because I love that. I love I want to play with people that are way better than me. Yeah. Because I'm no shade. I've some like Rector. Um, we play a lot, but sometimes we want to play with better people too, because we'll go to Roosevelt. You have to play with better people. We'll go to somewhere else. And one time we went to Roosevelt and we're like, bro, why are we better than the people that paired us with? Yeah. He was like, he's like, man, you're hitting it better than all these people in a way. This is amazing. I'm like, I felt like a fucking champion. It's good to do that too. No, I felt crazy. Like getting almost a chip. I almost got two chips. Yeah. Oh, almost a hole in one. Oh, yes, almost. It bounced, hit the flag, bounced out. They were like, You can count it. I'm like, nah, I count it. Yeah. I wanted to go in a couple.
SPEAKER_01No, it's got a game. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not counting.
SPEAKER_02They should know. Like you said, what is this? You know? Well, the give me's the give me's that people give is crazy. Oh, yeah. Like seven foot out, ten foot out give me's is crazy. Who is that? I'm not gonna name names. Okay.
SPEAKER_01But I've seen it. I mean, that's a give me for me, but that's different. No, but it's like, come on.
SPEAKER_02Like, I like the other day, they were like, you know, give me. No, no, I'm like, no, I'm gonna put it out. If I gotta do this in three putts, I'm gonna put it out because it's not gonna make me better.
SPEAKER_01I missed one footers, you know what I'm saying? I'm like, what the fuck is happening here? But it happens. Yeah. It doesn't happen in Tiger Woods or some shit, but they get paid to do it, not us. Yeah, they get paid, man. Um man, I really appreciate your time. Uh, you know, I I appreciate all the knowledge, everything you you dropped, uh, I appreciate uh, you know, taking taking everything of what we talked about. Of course, we talked about the uh uh opinion, but also uh your experience and and and and whatnot to everybody, but your life and how you grinded and how you grew up and uh and um and how you're at where you're at in the future and what you see coming and how to do that. And so um that's what it's about. The people listening out here on the Can't Be Broken podcast want to know how how things are done and how they can move forward in their own life, right? Um what would you something that maybe we didn't talk about or whatnot, what advice would you give? You know, what's your daily routine? What would you say if people are struggling and they're not where they're supposed to be, what advice would you give them to overcome that and to keep going?
SPEAKER_02Man, one be whatever religion, whatever you want to say, whatever God or whatever, get right with that. Whatever faith, whatever faith you have. That's get that, get right. If it's yourself, get right, read, get a routine, get up and work out. When you get in the rhythm of routine, it's like, okay, I got up and read, I read a book, I'm about to go work out, I'm going here, I have to do this. It changes your mind frame. It sets you apart from everything else. Because that you know, you know the old saying, idle time is devil's time. So it's like the more you sit there, the more your mind will wander off, the more you won't get shit done, the more you get caught in the cycle, you get comfortable. You know, just think about homeless people. You see this person on this corner for hours and hours and hours, right? You're like, why is he just sitting there? You know what I'm saying? Because he's stuck. He has no way out, there's no routine. It wasn't like I gotta go here, I gotta do this. I wasn't, there's no, there's no, there's nothing no aspiration. So it's he doesn't want to sit on the curb, he doesn't want to sit in the grass or whatever, whatever the hell he's at for hours or days or weeks, but there's nothing, no other option. There's nothing. He's you know what I mean? Yeah, it's comfortability.
Final Advice And Where To Find Him
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I always tell people, um, when you walk, walk like with intention. Don't walk aimlessly. Right. People walk like just take their time, like, where am I going? Yeah. What am I doing? Hey, I gotta go to the store, I gotta get some shit. Walk with an intention. Boom, boom, boom, boom. Sure, there's time for leisure and all that stuff, but I think you're saying it correctly. I uh you know, just um stop being out of getting stuck and keep moving forward, man.
SPEAKER_02Man, you can you can be stuck. Like I think when you're stuck and you're in this rut and like, oh, I can't do this, or just keep coming and keep coming, because you're thinking it's gonna come and you're bringing that negativity with your thoughts. So I think positive thinking creates positive outcomes. And like the word we used to say, peace, like positive education always corrects errors, right? The word peace. Break it down. Positive education always corrects errors. So if you're being positive, you know what I mean? So it's like if you have positive education, it's gonna correct that error. So you're like, oh, on the the green, or if I walk on the red, I'm gonna get hit by a car. So when it's green, I can walk. You know what I mean? I know that if I go on the store and I don't pay for this, I have two obvious two things that can happen. I can get arrested, you know, or I'm never gonna come back in the store. Yeah. So it's like knowing that and knowing right from wrong is say, okay, let me make a better choice.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Let me make the the right choice.
SPEAKER_01I have a question before we kind of kinda end off on this, but uh how hard is it or or uh like being in the in the industry that you're in to get easily influenced in the wrong way? Super easily. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02If you're not strong-minded, you're not saying, no, this is my market.
SPEAKER_01It's happening a lot, huh?
SPEAKER_02What? It happens a lot. You see the the the the the you might see the most beautiful person. You know that that person you see is beautiful. It's like, oh, they're beautiful like a flower. Uh-huh. And they turn into a dead rose.
SPEAKER_01Soulless. Yeah. Is that Hollywood? Is that what they call Hollywood or Hollywood? Oh, you're whatever you want.
SPEAKER_02This is whatever. It could be anything. It's street to street life to whatever. That's just the person's like you just lost the sense of human human humanity. Yeah. You lost all sense.
SPEAKER_01Do you think it could be sometimes you lose it your way that way because you have power or money or certain things? Like, how do people get lost like that, you think? Um man, uh and and what kept you from not getting lost?
SPEAKER_02What keeps you? What keeps me from not getting lost? Yeah. Because I have knowledge of myself. If I know who I am, how can you get lost? You know what I mean? There's no external uh happiness there, it's internal joy. Right. If you take Caesar and put him in Sikya in New York, right? You're gonna be happy. You're gonna figure it out, you're gonna make life, you're gonna do whatever. That's the difference. And that's what certain people don't have. They don't have that. They're like, you stick them somewhere, they're gonna cry and sit there and go, Why? Why am I here? You know, like the person on the side of the road, the car broke down. They're just sitting there. Yeah. There's not a plan of attack. You know what I mean? Yeah, there's no, oh, I gotta walk to the gas station, or I gotta change the tire, I gotta go to none of it.
SPEAKER_01Oh my god, you're awesome to pull over. What? Especially now that shit is out of the time. That's out. Yeah. Yeah, man. It's 100% true, man. I I appreciate your time once again, man. What a great conversation, what an impactful uh conversation we had. Um, and I appreciate your time. Um anything else you want to leave our people with that that you want to say? Man, and then how can they find you?
SPEAKER_02Um, all right, before I leave, this really does um even though it's a super cliche, treat people how you want to be treated. Yeah. You know? Um Heartbreak, you know, at Heartbreak at fool. At Heartbreak Fool on Instagram. At Heartbreak Fool.
SPEAKER_01And then that's it. That's there. Yeah. That's it. Um, thank you. Yeah, what an what an inspiring conversation. Thanks for being on here. Uh, thank you for I guess thank you know the universe for putting us together at that golf course. That's why I love golf. Uh, not only for that, but so for so many reasons. And obviously, we're gonna continue to play golf. For sure. Um, get on that gin. Um, there's some tournaments I'll set you up with and and see if you want to play and stuff. Um can't wait to continue to listen to your music out there. If you ever need anything, you know where I'm at. Oh, yeah, we're gonna stay in touch for sure. And I'm gonna read this book. Yeah. And then uh maybe soon enough, uh, maybe next year on our lead, you'll join the league with a partner. Try to win that, try to win that money. Um, definitely. That's that's my goal. There it is. You gotta get on the agenda and we're we're there. Yeah. Um, I appreciate you. Thank you so much. Uh, and to everybody listening, just remember, um, there's people out there just making it happen. Make sure that you're uh uh keeping one foot at uh in front of the other, keep moving, stop being stuck, uh strength through adversity, um, have your daily routines. Um happiness and joy comes from failure is really, really good because that's where you're gonna grow. And uh success equals overcoming any obstacle. So uh no matter what's thrown at you, remember you can't be broken. Yes, sir.
