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I didn't think wild and out would be the billion dollar conglomerate I was just
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creating a show because Kevin Hart needed money to pay his rent please welcome [Music]
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Mr host comedian true Superstar who's in Nick Cannon I'm me Nick you've been a Pioneer I read that
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one of your companies has generated more than a hundred million dollars that was
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just in our headphones sale we have a tour that makes millions a cruise line restaurants as a kid I learned that I
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may not be the most talented person in the room but I'll be the hardest worker
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in the world that's how you get it some people play basketball and that's a
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basketball players don't try it if you try it it's not gonna do it as if
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there's no other option so by the time I was 17 I started writing for Keenan and
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kale the youngest staff writer in TV history yeah I was like Harry Potter with the pig and then Will Smith signed
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to me I was living my dream life but I always felt like I had a ticking clock the latest on the health scare from Nick
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Cannon Nick Cannon has lupus if you don't catch it and control it it you can
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lose your life pretty quickly you said that you wouldn't be alive right now if
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it wasn't for Mariah Carey yeah it makes you question what are you going to do
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with the time that you you have on this planet what impact are you going to make
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when you're not afraid of dying you focus on living and then you dealt with the loss of your son at just five months
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old due to brain cancer you never know how strong you are to the only option [Music]
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Nick what do I have to understand about your earliest years to understand the man that you are today
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I'm gonna steal that question uh I'd have to say that uh optimism youthful optimism
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you know some call it imagination but I the world was just so big but yet so tangible for me you
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know uh I felt even as you I felt like I had this magic that I could just manifest anything
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uh good or bad you know what I mean it was a I I lived this life to where as small as
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the community was disenfranchised and maybe not as upwardly mobile as as uh one would see from the household I had this
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big imagination and in my mind is superpower that I could be do or whatever whatever I wanted I it was all
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in my grasp and I could I don't know where I got it from but I was just as a
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kid as a teenager I always felt like I had this ability to to walk in a room and get whatever I
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wanted but the environment that you were raised in wasn't one of yeah great abundance
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yeah that's what was so crazy about it like I would you know even growing up in
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the projects growing up in scenarios that we didn't have a lot but I felt like I had a lot I felt like
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I was always destined for to and it wasn't even like about Fame it wasn't
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about um money it was just about I like my life I'm gonna have fun I'm gonna have a good time I was always that
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you know you know let's let's smile about it you know what I mean uh even in some
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difficult and he had tumultuous times I would still find you know a silver lining I would still find a way to smile
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through pain and uh it's it's worked you know it's always kept me level-headed you know
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um even in the midst of having a a a abnormal and extraordinary life it's like
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even the thing that humbles me is the fact that I'll just enter spaces with gratitude and optimism
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even in pain what was your family home like see that's the thing like probably
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looking back at it one would be like it definitely wasn't Orthodox you know and we didn't come
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from much but it was joyous it was filled with love you know my parents had me you know as
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teenagers they were young I went to my dad's High School graduation like uh but
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you know his parents helped raise me my mom was constantly working you know school work my dad went off to college
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uh and then you know I kind of felt like I grew up with my parents uh and their parents assisted in raising us all so
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but it was households filled with love um but you know wasn't traditional by
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any means so there there were the obstacles of you know trying to figure it out and
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parents and grandparents putting food on the table uh but that I think that also
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gave me a different type of drive to say all right we're gonna we're gonna have
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to make something out of nothing your parents separated when you were very young obviously I feel like my
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parents had sex once just one time and then I showed up uh because they were kids man you know like I don't
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really know the intricate details of the relationship but I definitely knew they
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weren't together um it was a but not not enemies by any means you know what I mean they were they were
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just teenagers they were kids so uh after you know I was born they kind of went their separate ways but
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my dad's parents kind of kept kept everyone together and it was a close-knit thing and you know when when
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my mother needed assistance and uh my grandmother would would be there to help her out my father's mother and even
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though my father necessarily wasn't physically present for you know he was you know actually doing
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good things for himself where you know getting a college degree and trying to figure it out and have a family
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infrastructure elsewhere uh his mom would help my mom kind of keep me afloat he turned his life around
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quite significantly didn't he yeah yeah yeah my dad was definitely headed down a
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path uh of Destruction early on and then it clicked for him you know through some experiences of you know
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incarceration you know being able to kind of leave some of those substances out there that were you know
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kind of the downfall of you know the community in the 80s he was he was able to escape and get put his life on the
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right path and you know dedicated his life to his ministry and helping others it worked
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when you were you were a young man you nearly went down the wrong path yeah I went down there figured like it made a
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u-turn went back you know what I mean like uh I I think human nature we all kind of
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gravitate towards the unknowing sometimes and that usually is the past header are sometimes the darkest
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sometimes like you just want to you don't want to do the responsible thing you don't want to do what your
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parents may suggest so I I definitely have a rebellious nature I'm definitely
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an anti-authoritarian I'm definitely the kid that has to feel that the pot is hot
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you know they're like okay I'm not gonna I know what getting burned feels like so
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um I think it's probably just my you know nature of exploring and wanting to understand things
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it's cool it's cool to be a bad boy when you're young uh and especially when for
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me the mold wasn't necessarily presented that way so I I definitely went through a stage of I
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want to prove to people that you know I'm I'm not a Goody Two Shoe all the
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time and I would that took so much touring to do um but then it's also a lot of it is
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environment when you grow up in especially Southern California you know there's times where
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uh the life of gang violence was glorified and you know whether it's through music through entertainment
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through our culture you know uh when you come from the trenches you get a certain level of respect you get a
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certain level of uh reverence so I I grew up admiring a lot of that and therefore kind of took that path a
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few times but you know luckily I didn't get caught up you know like some of my my other friends and
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Associates did what saved you from that puff creativity like I said that optimism which then obviously was
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transmuted into entertainment when you're a young man say you're like between the age of 10 and 14. if I'd
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asked you what you wanted to be and what you thought you'd be when you were 42. yeah yeah what would you have told
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me uh same thing a rapper you know probably that if it was just as simple as like at
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10 years old what I was focused on I loved hip-hop I loved I knew I was in my mind I was
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famous in the hood like I just wanted to eat because I was already doing stuff there you know what I mean I always had
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demo tapes and I was already connected to our to our streets and our blocks just as
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being in the community somebody with a voice not always a positive voice I was you know I was considered a uh
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[Music] I try to think I wasn't a bad kid but I was a kid that everybody knew about you
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know but luckily my art my creativity allowed people to appreciate me um even at 10 years old like within my
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family within my community what did your art and creativity look like at that stage rap music yeah it was loud it was
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adhd-ish it was the kid who could do it all you know kind of also had a church background so I was you know I was
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always I was a Class Clown at school trying to be funny starting to just figure out oh there's careers in that
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space so I started to look up to a lot of people like the Eddie Murphy's uh even the you know at the time The
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Fresh Prince as we know is Will Smith but he was just he was just charismatic funny rapper at the time so those were
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you know but at the same time I was looking up to the ice cubes and two shorts and you know which was a whole
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different energy um so that was kind of like my makeup of like well I want to be like these guys
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and you start doing stand-up comedy at 11 years old I had 11. that's TV officially doing it at 11. I have been
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you know doing stuff in church and stuff you know trying to make people laugh but
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like first stand-up stage I got home was I was 11 years old strikes me as someone
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that grew up very quickly yeah because I I was always caught an old soul uh and I think it was because I grew up
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around older people with uh my grandparents kind of being you know Patriarchs for me
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um their children were my siblings my father who was you know a teenager was somewhat more of like a big brother type
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of uh thing so like even the way he dealt with me and even the people that I dealt with in my community I just I kind
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of had mannerisms and a jargon that was a little little wise beyond my years you're a big brother as well right yeah
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and then you know ultimately my dad had a my mother's only child but my dad had
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five five boys in total so you know I was the and I was the oldest and he and I's connection was different than you
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know the connection with my younger brothers because I was almost someone you know
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I was closer to my father then you know his parenting style was different with me than it was with you
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know his younger children it boggles my mind that someone at 11 years old starts
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doing stand-up comedy yeah because it takes takes some guts and some confidence to do that but I guess that
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speaks to who you were at 11 years old yeah by 15 years old you're at The Comedy Store
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yeah I mean I met so many comedians but Jamie was definitely one of the ones that kind of just because it's such a
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giving and loving individual kind of saw this kid and and was like I love it like come
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hang out like and because you know Hollywood was miles away from my neighborhood so uh
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figuratively and literally like it was just like I needed a place to stay a lot of times so you know catching
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catching car rides or even once I got my own vehicle I had nowhere to sleep so people would know that I was sleeping in
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my car or wouldn't have a place to sleep so people like Jamie Foxx would let me
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sleep on that couch Brothers like guy Tori if you've seen the Fat Tuesday documentary about you
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know the the black Side Of The Comedy Store he had a night that you know he would let me open up and as people were
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coming in I'd be entertaining the audience at like as a teenager you know and the guys like Chris Tucker and Damon
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Wayans and Eddie Griffin all these guys will be going on later on in the night but I was the guy I was the kid that was
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welcoming you know everybody into their seats and it'd be like Shaquille O'Neal
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and Kobe Bryant and Snoop Dogg and like all of these people in the audience and there's this 15 year old on stage you
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know rapping and telling jokes and you know everybody else saw something that I was just I was just having a blast I was
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I didn't think about what the future was going to uh to offer up I was just like
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yo this is this is a dream come true right now people might hear that and go oh he got
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lucky 15 years old whatever you know what was then talk to me about the intentionality behind that like if
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there's a 15 year old listen to listening to this right now yeah what did you do to put yourself there in
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hindsight it's not always easy to know in the moment yeah I was definitely a
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hustler like it what I don't think you know I don't believe in luck I believe
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in alignment you know what I mean like and you got to put yourself in those positions it's like you know some people
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say luck is preparation meets opportunity um I was always speaking myself into existence I would put myself
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in those environments like I I met Jamie Foxx because I walked up to him like yo
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what's up Jamie Foxx I'm Nick Cannon like ever since I was four years old I
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introduced myself as my full name like everybody used to think it was so funny like as a four-year-old I'm Nick Cannon
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like I just thought my name was cool I thought you everybody else you know you teach a kid to say their first name and
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it's funny I teach my children the same way like nah you got your full name your
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your your Monroe Cannon you're you know your powerful Canon you know what I mean
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like and I think maybe I got that from such a cool last name like I think my dad probably did that his dad probably
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did that like it's just like they called you know my grandfather they called him
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Cannon or daddy Cannon it was just like it's such a cool name so and that's why
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I was like I believe it's so much in the name but so even as I think those steps
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kind of ordered the personality so then when I would find myself in scenarios that I would
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take advantage of them I wasn't a shy kid wasn't overly outgoing kid either I
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wasn't like I I kind of my 80d kind of maybe shifted like made me always seeking attention or like I don't say I
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was seeking it I got attention because I was always doing something I was always
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in some because I was just trying to figure it out therefore I got a lot of attention and a lot of it probably
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wasn't positive attention but it was just attention um and then from there you know that
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shifted you know I grew up around Hustler so I was like all right we're gonna try to we're going to figure it
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out if it was a door over there I'm gonna figure out how to get in that door
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uh and that's how I was able to rub shoulders and you know I I studied rooms
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and I'm like all right I if I'm a if I'm a maneuver in here I gotta do it in a
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way that not just based off of instinct I gotta I gotta put a plan together and I I move
00:17:22
like that you know since since again I think this is fascinating I looked at the back end of our YouTube
00:17:28
channel and it says that since this channel started 69.9 percent of you that watch it
00:17:34
frequently haven't yet hit the Subscribe button so I have a favor to ask you if
00:17:39
you've ever watched this Channel and enjoyed the content if you're enjoying
00:17:41
this episode right now please can I ask a small favor please hit the Subscribe button helps this channel more than I
00:17:46
can explain and I promise if you do that to return the favor we will make the show better and better and better and
00:17:54
better and better that's the promise I'm willing to make you if you hit the
00:17:56
Subscribe button do we have a deal what did you learn from Jamie Foxx What What In lasting influence has he had on you
00:18:02
the way you are your career your perspective it's so interesting man I have so many great mentors coming up
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um I feel like a lot of my first part of my career I always acknowledge and bigged up Will
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Smith yeah because he was so influential to me uh you met him from Jake by through Jamie not well yeah yeah I guess
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yeah yeah but it wasn't directly like Jamie didn't introduce me to will but
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Jamie had a Comedy Festival called laughapalooza that uh Will Smith's company Overbrook saw me at that Comedy
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Festival and gave me a holding deal at the time what they were called and kind of signed me to Will's company which
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then I got to meet will you know a few months later after getting that opportunity in Atlanta at La for palooza
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um and then that's when will and I's relationship uh began when I was about
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16 years old so it's like I met Jamie when I was 15 and then I met will when I
00:19:05
was 16. it's hard to think of many more greater multifaceted entertainers than
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Will Smith and Jamie Foxx man that's what I'm saying like they they trained
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me like and it's it's so crazy because two of the nicest human beings you would
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ever want to meet like never seen like it's what you see on camera is that's
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who they are you know what I mean like like walking a room everyone gravitates towards them they they're
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they're loud they they know how to have a good time like that's just who those
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guys are so I don't think I'm naturally like that like I I I talked to Kevin
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about that a lot like when I come in a room I'm quiet Kevin Hart like like uh
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he's one of those guys that like they they're loud they're like everyone
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loves them like I'm more like I'm in the corner I'm watching I'm observing I know
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how to be that I can you know I can joke with the best of them and get as much attention and stuff but I'm I'm a little
00:20:02
more reserved uh and that's like to finally answer your question in a very long-winded way like the things I
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probably learned from Jamie is I observed him so much that he's such a great Storyteller I've
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stolen all of the tricks of when he can get everybody around the table and tell the story he's he's such a great
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impromptu type of guy I could sit down at a piano and you know sing a song and get everybody like I know all of those
00:20:32
tricks and I'll probably learn that from him you know what I mean just watching
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how to you know Captivate a room in a very jovial manner uh no matter what's
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going on but uh man yeah he's and just his his his thespian muscle is so strong
00:20:50
you know what I mean and I think from whether he's being a silly character he's being something that's so tuned in
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uh and understanding the subtleties and really embodying you know all of his characters I learned a lot of that from
00:21:03
him as well too and will so you describe Willis you're mentoring you from 16
00:21:08
years old yeah the thing I learned from him is hard work and and really like obviously I've heard he said this quote
00:21:16
so many times like I may not be the most talented person in the room but I guarantee you I work the most challenges
00:21:23
in the room or or have also heard him say I'm you know I may not be the most
00:21:27
talented person in the room but I'll be the hardest worker in the room uh and he
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just if you want something he's not gonna stop until he figures it out you know and he dedicates himself in
00:21:40
that manner you know when this job is done he's gonna stop where everybody else is going to go
00:21:45
to sleep he's gonna go work 10 more hours to either perfect that craft or on
00:21:50
to the next thing and I saw that at you know as a teenager I'm like okay that's
00:21:56
how you get it that's what I'm gonna do I'm if you're not sleeping I'm not
00:22:00
sleeping you know and it'd be times like up in the studio all night and then
00:22:04
being on set early in the morning and you just you're so grateful and appreciative of the opportunity that you
00:22:11
want to be the best you could possibly be correct any of the errors in your ways
00:22:17
when you're a young man you're 16 years old you've got a perspective yeah
00:22:20
he thought I mean every I mean before I met will I didn't know how to even musically I know how to rap 16 bars
00:22:28
I didn't know what that was like I knew I knew music counting you know what I
00:22:33
mean but I didn't know a verse specifically a rap verse was supposed to be 16 bars and I think that culture
00:22:40
might have had just started to happen because everybody wasn't writing 16 bars
00:22:44
and 80s you know what I mean sometimes a song would be seven verses or sometimes
00:22:50
you know like people would just but I feel like they were there in the 90s they're beginning this uh infrastructure
00:22:57
of songwriting uh obviously most choruses and hooks are about eight bars uh and then therefore
00:23:06
you had to have a hot 16 double that was your verse and will taught me how to write because I was just writing he
00:23:13
would give me a beat or I get a track and I would just write and just memorize it and then be like oh well let me spit
00:23:19
this for you and he's like you need some infrastructure around that he's like you
00:23:23
got some good stuff there so even as you know simple as something like that is but then he also just life ways man I
00:23:31
learned a lot about Integrity character um obviously perseverance from him and then stuff that he went through as a
00:23:41
teenager he passed on to me and even I didn't listen but I learned you know he
00:23:46
went broke you know at 19. um after winning a Grammy and having a platinum album
00:23:55
just spending it all on cars and living fast he did I think my first check was somewhere from him like 150 200 000 and
00:24:04
I went and bought uh the exact same Range Rover he had and he's like I'm the
00:24:09
biggest movie star in the world like I'm he's got millions I got a hundred and
00:24:15
fifty thousand dollars and I went and bought a Ranger he told me don't do it
00:24:19
he's like man he's like I don't do that like you gotta there's other things to
00:24:24
do with that money and this is from the person who gave it to me um and he was right I totaled that Range
00:24:32
Rover six months within having it and ended up having to move back to my mom's
00:24:37
house probably a year later because thinking that you know all I'm signed to
00:24:42
Will Smith the opportunities but you don't like that's money that you're
00:24:45
supposed to survive on those everything that you know uh that was a time I I wrote uh and created a television sitcom
00:24:54
three wheels company called Loose Cannon and it was like me in a military school
00:24:59
a teenager in a military school thinking they was going to get picked up we got a
00:25:02
six episode commitment Will Smith the executive producer Quincy Jones is on set like everything Stan Lathan is the
00:25:10
director of the pilot like everything I'm like oh I'm set the entire network of the WB makes a
00:25:16
shift and they don't pick up the show so it's like I thought I was I was and it's
00:25:22
so funny I didn't ever even think about these correlations the one of the executive producers and writers was
00:25:28
Bentley Kyle Evans who's a writer and creator of Jamie Foxx at our my time slot was scheduled to come on my show
00:25:36
was gonna air right after the Jamie Foxx Show so I was like it was all together and it didn't happen and you howled at
00:25:46
that point 19. same age will was when he had to refigure it out I think we shot it when I was 18. uh but 19 is when they
00:25:57
let me know that it wasn't it wasn't gonna move forward probably one of the
00:26:01
biggest heartbreaks in my life I probably I cried for days uh because I didn't you know that's the
00:26:08
thing when you you think you're you've arrived uh and then it snaps from under you and
00:26:14
there's no plan I had nobody there even the people that is going to be all right I didn't
00:26:19
believe them like I was like I was just on the Warner Brothers lot but you know in my Range Rover and you know like I I
00:26:29
saw the millions I saw me being the biggest young star in the world everybody was rocking with me into
00:26:37
everybody's gone like that and it was just uh and it wasn't like they abandoned me it was more like
00:26:43
everybody had to move on to their next thing I had to be the one to figure it out so that was uh that was probably one
00:26:51
of my greatest life lessons that will even taught me in directly I mean because he was warning me the whole time
00:26:57
uh and he held me down you know time and time again since then you know I mean it was uh
00:27:04
it you know I wouldn't have got Drumline if it wasn't for him it was wasn't it
00:27:09
like I said it wouldn't have my first record deal if it wasn't for him so it
00:27:13
was I I truly it's funny I can get a little esoteric real quick but I I have this when it comes to like
00:27:22
akashic records and and you know energy I feel like you're placed in certain
00:27:29
it's it's the the law of synchronicity like I feel like certain things just
00:27:34
happen uh because they are constantly happening there's certain energies that just are
00:27:40
attracted to each other and I for whatever reason people like Will Smith Jamie Foxx like they're throughout my
00:27:49
career they're always there they're always even when they're not like we may not speak
00:27:55
every day we make but they we always connected like even the same thing like you know I call Kevin Hart my best
00:28:01
friend of me like it's just like we've all since day one even when we're not
00:28:06
trying to be connected we're connected like we're doing projects together we're
00:28:10
we're thinking of like he might he might create a car show and I would create a
00:28:14
car show he has a restaurant I have a restaurant like it's not like it looks
00:28:18
like competition but it's like oh no like we just we're on the same frequency
00:28:22
like we're just we just operate the same and those people kind of attract each
00:28:26
other they attract each other like and I think that's like when people talk about
00:28:29
like secret societies and I think it's like it's not it's not like this formed
00:28:34
meeting it's just like like-minded individuals like people who operate on the same frequency they they there
00:28:40
doesn't have to be this written rule book it's just like oh no we intuitively
00:28:45
this is we we move like this we gravitate towards certain things and it's it's unfortunate because people who
00:28:52
operate in low frequency that it's the same way and it's like you know you you
00:28:59
I was like damn that person not can't can't catch a break it's like Ah that's
00:29:02
because they're living in that frequency that well does that frequency look and
00:29:06
feel like it's slow it's thick it's heavy blame yeah yeah victimization is
00:29:14
anger it's it's it's you know what I mean it's like one of those things where
00:29:19
jealousy yeah all of that said like it and it's unfortunate because of people
00:29:24
who operate in it they don't know that they're in it and it's almost like they they almost
00:29:29
desire that and they feel like they have to have angst and anger to to get their
00:29:35
point across like man you know you're doing so much more damage to yourself uh and you're digging yourself Deeper by
00:29:44
pointing fingers at people who were on a completely different frequency and they
00:29:49
don't even hear you and you're you're clouding up your existence instead of just like
00:29:58
stepping out of that frequency you were the youngest ever staff writer right 17 years old yeah I think I mean
00:30:04
unless somebody's beat it before like I think TV history yeah I think because working on Keenan and kelbridge
00:30:12
by the way was massive in the UK yeah yeah I mean again two of the most beautiful people I've
00:30:17
ever experienced uh specifically Keenan Keenan is like my brother like my our mothers are like best friends yeah like
00:30:29
um he they they gave me the opportunity because they were kids too and I started
00:30:35
off doing warm-up in the you know kind of entertaining the the studio audience when you know they're moving the cameras
00:30:42
around and stuff and people are like yo that kid is something more entertaining than what's going on on stage so they're
00:30:48
like he has a voice so do my management you know Michael Goldman is still my manager to this day he's still Keenan's
00:30:54
manager like Keenan actually I feel like I don't know if Keenan introduced me to
00:30:58
because Keenan would hang out in the comedy clubs and I was in awe of him because he's
00:31:03
Keenan from Kenan and kale and we're in some he's a few years older than me but
00:31:07
I'm like he's doing what I want to do so we were kind of you know catch each
00:31:11
other and I would you know I wouldn't jock him too much but I'd be like ask
00:31:16
him questions and stuff so one night his manager came to um to The Improv on Melrose with and I was
00:31:25
doing stand-up and you know they produced Keenan and Kel and all that and all that stuff so they gave they allowed
00:31:32
me to do the warm-up job and then from there I'm in so I'm like you know I was
00:31:37
like yo we should write something so I went to Keenan wrote a couple episodes and he you know he was like yeah let's
00:31:43
do it I remember we wrote one episode with uh Keenan had a crush on Tamiya at the time
00:31:48
like like he was like well if we all had a crush on Tamia but he really liked you
00:31:53
know the singer to me and I was like yo let's write an episode about your crush
00:31:57
out to me and when you get to me on the episode and it worked you're like like
00:32:02
we got to Mia she was in the show I was like this is amazing like you mean I can
00:32:06
write something that actually happens like I was literally like I was like Harry Potter with the pin like like I
00:32:13
couldn't um I couldn't believe that I could write something in my mind and it
00:32:17
would actually come into fruition uh in that beginning so I just began writing everything and I figured it out and they
00:32:23
hired me as a staff writer for a bunch of different Nickelodeon shows uh 17 18 years after 17 yeah Jesus because I
00:32:30
think I wrote we wrote the Tamia thing probably when I was like 16. and then so by the time I was 17 I had like an
00:32:36
official job and then I started writing my own stuff and then hence I wrote my own television show that I would later
00:32:42
then pitch to Will Smith you know in that same time when you're 22 years old
00:32:46
which is the the Nick Cannon show right well no remember I said the the Loose Cannon shows that didn't get the big
00:32:53
lesson I learned that I was still a teenager then so but it's the way I got back on my feet after Loose Cannon
00:33:00
didn't get picked up I then wrote my own show for Nickelodeon which is interesting because I was so I did that
00:33:07
out of to be honest I wasn't even proud or even I kind of did that out of just like
00:33:15
I don't have nothing else to do so let me create and produce my own show because I felt I was at a low point I
00:33:24
was 19 and you know how this game sometimes if it doesn't work they'll spit you out like that was my shot like
00:33:32
I was like oh I had I was signed to Will Smith I had it was the Protege of all of these big
00:33:40
comedians I had you know hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of holding deals with Networks usually that you
00:33:47
only get that shot once so I was like damn I blew my wad at 19. like I gotta go get a regular job now like that's
00:33:55
like that's what I was thinking like I was gonna go back to hustling in the streets and but it was
00:34:02
I was like all right well maybe it's nickel I I was doing Nickelodeon so I still got the relationships maybe I'll
00:34:08
just ride a kids show you know but I was thinking I was about to be the next Will
00:34:13
Smith the next Jamie Foxx all right I gotta go do children's television and through that I exercise these muscles as
00:34:22
a writer as an executive producer and even like now like I didn't I didn't have you know the
00:34:29
foresight to know how powerful you know Children's Entertainment is how it's one
00:34:36
of the most dominating forces to be able to entertain families that you know I utilize in every aspect of my business
00:34:43
now I used to look at Nickelodeon as like preschool you know what I mean but I didn't know that they were the billion
00:34:50
dollar conglomerate of you know Nickelodeon Disney like I didn't understand that then because I was in it
00:34:58
um so yeah I created the Nick Cannon show for Nickelodeon you know garnered a massive youth fan
00:35:05
base through through that when I look at you being 22 years old writing this then
00:35:10
it Cannon show you being 17 writing for Keenan and Kel I go like where did you get the repetitions like where did you
00:35:16
get the skill from and if I was to if you if I had like a a baby Nick Cannon here yeah and I had to do something to
00:35:23
give him the skills that you had at 17 where you're writing hilarious things
00:35:27
where did where does that skill come from I think stand up to be honest stand up
00:35:33
because writing my own jokes from 11 years old and then by the time I'm 12 13 I'm
00:35:40
seeing deaf Comedy Jam Comic View I'm seeing all of these things happen and I'm watching these individuals
00:35:48
become their own intellectual properties becoming their own business becoming their own producers one thing about
00:35:54
stand up you have to write direct perform promote Market all by yourself it's a one-man show so I think by the
00:36:05
time I had whole no skills at like 15 16. I knew how to do it I knew how to write
00:36:10
a script I knew how to write a great joke I knew how to you know hours of sitting in libraries and figuring out
00:36:17
words hearing stories like all of that stuff was starting to pay off uh and I knew like I just zoned in like you kind
00:36:25
of like again like when you know this is my space this is my flow you operate in your gift so I think just
00:36:35
you know trial and error as well too but like I just figured it out you know what
00:36:39
I mean like this is what is a gift that I have so I'm gonna continue to operate in it they say
00:36:44
you're gonna put in 10 000 hours to become a master or something yeah and actually when I run the numbers I go
00:36:48
listen you started at 11 yeah and then you wrote your own show at 22. that's
00:36:52
more than a decade yeah of repetitions in the gym yep and then even and to me then even then I was still just getting
00:36:59
started you know what I mean like again the beauty of like even Nickelodeon like
00:37:04
even I I mean it was because I think the Nick Cannon show was I was from I did it
00:37:09
from like age I started 19 and it ended right when I turned 22. um I was a baby I looked like I was 15 like
00:37:18
everybody thought I was much younger than how I even was so you know that's when everything else from like Drumline
00:37:25
and my music career began and I was a baby then too and then so it just like I said I lived so many
00:37:34
lives and learned so many lessons early on that even as I said here before you today I'm like I'm still just getting
00:37:40
started like I still got still got so many more movies that I got to do I still got so much more music I got to
00:37:46
produce I still got so many more television shows I gotta write so like uh a few kids come to you there and they
00:37:54
say Dad how do I become the master of my craft how do I become the top of my industry not only have you
00:38:00
become the top of your industry in many facets but you've been around people
00:38:03
that have got to the top of the industry so the things you point out and the similarities and the people that get
00:38:08
there what are those similarities if I'm your kid and I come to you and say Dad I
00:38:12
wanna I wanna get to the top of the industry what's the advice you give to them
00:38:16
do it I think especially now it's as simple as that sounds that's what it is today like
00:38:25
do it and stick to it like don't give up like do it efficiently do it because
00:38:31
this is don't try it if you try it it's not gonna work if you do it like that's even like even when people
00:38:40
always talk to me about acting like how do you know or become a great actor do it like it's not like it's not
00:38:50
believe it it's not uh acted you gotta actually every embody every aspect of it
00:38:59
like do it as if there's no other option like if you try something that's you
00:39:03
sticking your foot in uh if you believe it you're kind of like I think I yeah
00:39:08
like okay but when you do it when you live it when you operate in it where there's no other option of like like you
00:39:16
know it's like it's some people who like you know they play basketball and then
00:39:22
somebody's like oh no they they're a basketball player you know what I mean
00:39:26
like there's some people who who train or tried a box you're like no that's a boxer you know what I mean like
00:39:33
they embody it they live it you gotta and that's what my and even with my own
00:39:38
kids I'm like all right what do you just naturally do we're just swag naturally
00:39:43
at why naturally because it's like some of my kids are just natural athletes they're physical
00:39:49
build their what they gravitate towards and then all right I'm gonna water that I
00:39:54
must I'm a I'm gonna cultivate that seed and that's what because they have fun at
00:40:00
it then there's something on my kids that are just like natural musicians that just gravitate towards the piano
00:40:06
like they just they have fun on it yeah and then it's like okay I'm gonna I'm
00:40:11
gonna help you with that what is the fun Mata well I mean that's that's the
00:40:16
that's the battery like that's and that's what if they ever lose the fun at
00:40:20
least for me like when it's no longer be fun becomes fun and why are we doing it
00:40:25
you know are you doing it for money are you doing it for like no you got to do it because you enjoy it I find that fun
00:40:31
part so important but a lot of the time people don't appreciate it and I love
00:40:35
your your reference of the battery because a lot of people will be orientated because they come from tough
00:40:40
upbringings to go what's going to make the most money yeah and what I love about what you said about the fun thing
00:40:45
is ultimately well it's my belief that the thing that'll actually make you the
00:40:49
most money is the thing that you can Master anything that you can Master is the thing that you can do for 11 years
00:40:53
exactly which is the fun thing exactly it's like I always say uh money doesn't make you happy happy makes
00:41:00
you money and then it goes to the concept of happy money or good money because there's
00:41:08
definitely the opposite of there's bad money in their sad money be and I've seen so many people live in
00:41:19
that frequency sad money like like stingy fear that people only want you for your
00:41:30
money loneliness loneliness in this big Glass Castle by yourself you got all the money in the world like
00:41:39
we we know those entertainers you know what I mean like man they they put themselves in this this Glass Tower
00:41:46
and everybody could see him and they hate that everybody could see them and they're so lonely
00:41:52
and it's like they got more money than they know what to do with and then everything becomes
00:41:58
about a transaction hmm like and you can see they have the biggest yacht in the world
00:42:06
most Diamond studded watch ever and they're miserable and it's like that's sad money that's
00:42:13
and it becomes bad money you know what I mean like they're making and it's it's
00:42:18
vindictive they're they're not honest they get it in a way they're like man
00:42:23
how do you sleep at night like the music industry is filled with bad money and I've I've seen people they take
00:42:30
advantage like it's literally designed in these contracts that's why I never
00:42:35
really wanted to be I didn't want to thrive in it once I saw it I'm like oh
00:42:40
it's so manipulative it's about is one person robbing another Robin another
00:42:44
Robin another and it's like that's not a fun industry to be in like clearly
00:42:50
there's some people who figure it out but even as a as a music executive I'm
00:42:54
like I don't I don't want to operate in dishonesty I don't want to operate in
00:42:59
manipulation and it's just like that entire industry is designed off of that
00:43:04
and but it's it's ways to you know Farm few between but you can operate with
00:43:12
happy money and good money because the crazy thing specifically about music it brings so much joy to the world
00:43:19
that the industry shouldn't be in a low frequency place like everybody should be
00:43:25
able to thrive and win and provide for their families but there's a lot of people who aren't musically inclined who
00:43:31
aren't musically talented who don't know how to have happy uhness with music that
00:43:36
latch on and control the artists and then therefore they run the industry and they
00:43:46
operate on a lower frequency of like you know I'm going to control your your
00:43:51
intellectual property and I'll make more money off of it than you did even though
00:43:56
you made it from such a pure and happy place there's a balance it was a balance act or or a I don't
00:44:02
know a conflict between being selfish enough that you you get on and you get what you deserve but being generous and
00:44:10
kind enough so that you can stick around and yeah do you think about that the beauty of
00:44:16
narcissism I I am uh that balance I am a narcissist I I believe there's the balance of
00:44:24
narcissism um because you can go to you can go to an extreme of narcissism and becomes
00:44:31
dangerous it becomes uh maniacal becomes uh uh where you can be a psychopath way or you're an a
00:44:42
sociopath where you have no empathy that level of narcissism is unhealthy that's to the extreme of these the
00:44:49
Spectrum but uh the balance of confidence of self-love of there's no other option
00:44:58
but me I am the I'm him you know like LeBron James is him you know Kobe Bryant
00:45:07
him Michael Jordan him Michael Jackson him you know Mike Tyson him you know like all the mics you know the uh Will
00:45:16
Smith is him Chris Rock is him Jamie Foxx is him you know and he uh Mariah Carey is her Mary J Blige is her Beyonce
00:45:27
is her you know like all of those people know that there is there will never be another them
00:45:34
on the planet and that is worth its weight in gold so you have to have a level of self-love
00:45:43
self-promotion self-dedication all the self is the key word the common word and all of these things you have to love
00:45:51
self you have to know self not so much that you hurt others or you think less of others it's not because that's people
00:45:58
like oh you think you're better than everybody else I don't care about everybody else like it's not I don't
00:46:03
think I'm better than y'all I'm me like in that to to a point it's it's a fine
00:46:09
line because you don't want to disrespect anyone you still want to have compassion you still want to have
00:46:14
empathy you still want to enter the space of gratitude but this is my show this is my party this is my this is my
00:46:21
block that you you have to that's where that success lies because without these
00:46:28
narcissists we wouldn't have you know electricity we wouldn't have iPhones we
00:46:33
wouldn't have great music we wouldn't have great like the director of the
00:46:39
movie is the director for the reason he's the boss he knows he's the he knows his vision is the one that
00:46:45
everyone else has to align with to make a great film was there a point in your career where you realized that you
00:46:50
needed to change in some way to get what you deserved and to get what you're
00:46:53
worth ah nah I don't think so really I had to learn lessons because you're 15 I see
00:46:59
you coming up I go He's Got Talent yeah I could you know get him to sign a bad
00:47:03
contract yeah I can take his money yeah that's like I've learned I've learned
00:47:07
all of those lessons um and people have tried to forewarn me and stuff like that but uh
00:47:13
the thing I think the beauty that you know the the aura that everybody's seen
00:47:18
is that's been consistent it's what you do with it you know I've never let no
00:47:23
one put out my Flame you know it's it's constantly burned for the type of individual that I want to be
00:47:30
that I you know the my purpose um so you know we all have trials and tribulations
00:47:39
uh I you know you got to learn how to Bob and weave but you're still the the
00:47:45
fighter in which you're supposed to be you know like the whatever made you jump
00:47:49
in the ring from that day one you're going to cultivate those skills you know I mean you may be a defensive
00:47:56
fighter and that's how you win your fight sometimes then you know uh you but
00:48:00
early on in your career you know you are a puncher you know then you had to be more of a thinker you know but at the
00:48:07
end of the day you're still a fighter so I think guys whatever I I am I still
00:48:11
have this desire in me to to be a winner I have this desire in me to to beat the
00:48:19
odds to some there's something about like when someone tells me I can't do
00:48:24
something or tells me no I'm that fuels me and it's been that way since day one since you know my my 80d since
00:48:34
my anti-authoritarian behavior like it's just like I'm gonna push through I'm
00:48:39
gonna persevere I'm gonna do what I want and I'm not gonna let Society or
00:48:45
individuals tell me I can't 22 years old you start writing well done out yeah you start writing at that point
00:48:54
I think it you you then self-fund the pilot yeah at 25 years old yeah probably before that because I self-funded in
00:49:03
2004. so that might have been I might have been 23 uh and again I had just seen some success with film and music and
00:49:14
um I just started I was kind of one of those guys that Drumline was out and I had you know my album and stuff so
00:49:22
people but I was still doing stand-up and I was like everybody's like oh he does so many things and he hosts it and
00:49:28
I had a a deal with you know Viacom at the time obviously they had Nickelodeon and then you kind
00:49:36
of like graduated from Nickelodeon go to MTV so I was in that stage of developing
00:49:40
things for MTV uh and they didn't understand what I wanted to do when I was saying that I want to get all my
00:49:45
comedian friends together and all my rapper friends together and we just like do improv and play games and they're
00:49:52
like we don't get it so I was like all right so I rented out one of the comedy
00:49:57
clubs that me and my guys would normally frequent uh got some cameras together uh I think I man I want to say it was
00:50:05
somewhere around like a hundred thousand dollars that I put into like that night
00:50:08
uh promoted it had everybody come out you know got some beautiful people to stand around and look beautiful and you
00:50:17
put a hundred thousand dollars of your own money into the pilot yeah to show MTV yeah and then uh once we put it all
00:50:24
together you know edited creating logos showed it to them and they're like oh we
00:50:28
get it now but you know I had by then I created the intellectual property had you know copyright and patented the name
00:50:38
of wilding out uh the logo so when it was time to negotiate when I knew that they wanted the show
00:50:44
we we had the you know the the strong side of the table because we knew they wanted it and we had already created it
00:50:51
and that instantly was like oh this is the business model that I want to continue to operate under most people
00:50:57
don't figure that out until much later in life if at all by owning their IP is
00:51:03
key to getting the value that they deserve for their work yeah well now I feel like everybody knows the Secret's
00:51:09
out you know I mean when you look at YouTube and yeah you know the ability of that we could create great content you
00:51:16
know for a very cost effective amount like you know wilding out that probably wouldn't cost me a hundred thousand
00:51:23
today yeah you know because everything back then to get a cameraman yeah that was a couple thousand dollars you know
00:51:32
what I mean and you know doing my own thing now yeah like exactly um yeah everybody knows now to if they
00:51:39
create it and they'll come and then you build your fan base on your own and then
00:51:42
you can sell it to a larger corporate so I feel like that model is being you know
00:51:47
kind of a little bit look at Mr Beast you know I mean like I'm so I'm so
00:51:51
jealous so all like everything that he's doing at 24 25 like I was trying to do
00:51:57
back there but there was no there was no YouTube I got I was doing this you know
00:52:02
on VHS you know yeah but uh I love it you know what I mean I love watching what even I mean the beauty of
00:52:12
my brand now is what I started in 2004 is still going strong and probably more popular today going into 2024. it's
00:52:22
crazy you know what I mean you're about to film series 21. we just filmed 21 so
00:52:27
we're going into 22 and 23. I figured out a model now how to do two seasons in
00:52:32
one so um most shows don't last for a season let alone 21 Seasons yeah I think my
00:52:39
goal is 25. so what happens at 25 it'll be the 20th year 25. do I gracefully bow out is 25 25
00:52:50
Seasons like do I hand it off to somebody else to like I'll probably be getting close to 50 by then like
00:52:59
I can't while out forever no no I gotta stop at some point I think I'm probably
00:53:05
too long in the tooth now I mean that's why I even created the old school new
00:53:08
school it's funny everybody when I first created it all little while and out girls all of the
00:53:14
cast members all of the crew were older than me and it was weird that everybody was listening to this kid
00:53:22
tell them what to do and like even the my OG's like you know Katt Williams and
00:53:28
you know a lot of the guys who are on the show and right Chris Spencer and Daryl Heath like these guys were guys
00:53:33
that I looked up to uh that were on my show uh and now I'm the overhead and I got
00:53:42
all of these other young kids like the DC Young flies and everyone I'm like it's so crazy to have the same brand and
00:53:50
I literally grow up on you know like I remember being a kid trying to get these comedians to listen to me and like what
00:53:58
do you know and now I'm the guy telling with the platform yeah so give me a few into into that platform
00:54:05
that you have and that you've built the entertainment company that sits behind
00:54:08
it the talent that you have because it's not so obvious to people yeah you know
00:54:12
people kind of probably think okay while they're now he's he does this whatever
00:54:14
he's the host whatever but when I did the research on the company that you've
00:54:18
built behind it it's a pretty it's a huge business behind all of that and
00:54:22
you're involved in a lot of things yeah I mean there's so many aspects of it I
00:54:26
mean I I truly look at it as a blessing I'm so grateful for it because it was on
00:54:30
a job job training I didn't say I didn't think wild and out would be the billion
00:54:35
dollar conglomerate that it is because I was just creating a show to give my friends jobs because Kevin Hart needed
00:54:42
money to pay his rent like because he's being like it's just real you know like we were trying to
00:54:49
create something because I was the only one that was you know seeing some success out of our you know our
00:54:56
generation at the time and I was like oh let's Let Me Shine a Light on these
00:55:00
dudes that are way funnier than me that are way more talented than me you know like uh and then I built a business out
00:55:07
of it of incubating of uh cultivating young Talent so much so that when they're ready we we see Pete
00:55:16
Davidson go on to become one of the biggest stars in SNL in a movie star we we see same thing with like Mikey day
00:55:23
and Tara and kill him and you know uh the Katt Williams and Kevin's to become
00:55:29
some of the biggest stand-up comedians to ever tour the world like they they got they you know they they feet wet
00:55:39
they they skills honed on one of the toughest stages like if you look at what wild and out is if you if you Excel and
00:55:46
survive there you're going to be a star yeah because you're in a this is The Godly this is
00:55:52
the combine this is the best of the best in the grimiest of of this we're going
00:55:58
to test your insecurities we're gonna test your anxiety and then you succeed and you get the love from
00:56:05
people that you respect and then once the industry sees that do whatever you want so I I didn't
00:56:14
I couldn't have designed that but it happened and I was like wow I didn't
00:56:18
know I was literally right I did we were just in the trenches but it's like it's
00:56:23
so much so like we create an environment that most entertainers are scared to come to they're like man I don't want to
00:56:29
go a while now they're going to talk about my mama are they going to talk about my last Scandal or I don't know
00:56:33
how to rap her I'm not that funny off the top of the head and it's like it's
00:56:37
intimidating so when you throw a kid in there or whoever is in it and they Excel
00:56:44
they they've earned their stripes so now they can walk into any room and like
00:56:49
yeah I was the man on wild and out and now because it is a platform to propel now you can go become a movie star now
00:56:56
you can go become a rapper or a singer like so so that was really if I could I'd be lying if I say I designed that
00:57:06
but yeah it became that and that's like the blessing of God but then the business behind it
00:57:13
you used to use the b word billion yeah yeah I mean if you and it's I it's funny
00:57:19
I didn't even that was told to me after they did all of the research and of you
00:57:25
know obviously what the IP is worth because one I mean we're looking at 500 episodes of Television that alone
00:57:33
when you just do the math charge however much you want to charge per episode what
00:57:39
that what you know and then the the careers that it's launched and you know then go to where the money
00:57:51
really is in the actual intellectual property so we have a tour that makes millions
00:57:59
every year um now even turning into a cruise line you know the wild and wet like we have
00:58:07
restaurants that are being franchised you know all over the country you know we just expanded our our South Beach
00:58:14
location and on on Ocean Drive in Miami um the the logo in itself the amount of t-shirts where then we're probably uh
00:58:24
Paramount's number one uh selling yeah Merchant uh t-shirt merchandise is that
00:58:31
everybody knows that wild and out logo and it's it's on everything from t-shirts to bikinis to underwears to
00:58:37
coffee mugs uh to toys uh it's things like that that I was just trying to make
00:58:43
a cool t-shirt like I didn't think you know for 20 something years people would
00:58:48
be buying wild and out t-shirts so stuff like that that when and then even stuff
00:58:53
I never even thought of you know we created wild and out before there was a YouTube it's probably uh one of Viacom
00:59:03
if not V I think maybe The Daily Show is probably right there but the biggest digital brand that Paramount has
00:59:11
through Tick Tock YouTube you know I feel like I think we might we're somewhere north of 12 million YouTube
00:59:17
subscribers on the Wild and out page uh 12 million something subscribers on Tick
00:59:25
Tock seven million on Instagram and that's just that's a TV show you know
00:59:31
what I mean when you think about it like not the individuals who are on the TV show yeah have even more followers this
00:59:37
is just the shows page so what you think the brand is worth I've heard different things I I mean
00:59:43
like I said when I initially when the research back there was like a 1.3 billion but then that was years ago so
00:59:49
like I'm pretty sure it's grown because now it's even more popular now so it's a
00:59:54
it's you know I try not to get caught up in that because then I'm two things
00:59:59
happen like one I get in I start gloating I'm like built this billion dollar business and then the second
01:00:06
thing I was like Hey where's my billion dollars like somebody owes me some money
01:00:10
like so I try not to get caught up in that so like I I know I just know it's
01:00:15
very successful and I'm grateful that it's still going I mean I can't wait to
01:00:19
find the next comedic Superstar can't wait to find the next big rapper that Grace is The Wild on stage what are the
01:00:26
other businesses or the business ventures that aren't obvious that people might not know about so you talked about
01:00:29
restaurants you sign Talent yeah obviously wild and out brand is there anything else going on that from the
01:00:36
business side of things that are isn't obvious specifically and wild out of everything
01:00:40
else everything well I mean I've created incredible entertainment uh in 2009 it was more of
01:00:47
a conglomerate where because I had always had a record label but it was separate from my television company uh
01:00:53
film a film I would produce the films that I was in and stuff so I was like I want everything
01:00:59
in-house I read that incredible entertainment generated over 100 million dollars in Revenue in 2009 and that was
01:01:07
I think that was just in our headphone sales like because we did I had you I did a headphone brand very similar to
01:01:12
Beats by Dre monster was the parent company they did Beats for 300 and they did Incredibles for a hundred dollars so
01:01:20
we were the more cost effective headphones while Beats by Dre was making all the noise we were quietly
01:01:27
making noise in Walmarts and the Radio Shacks for selling an affordable product that was pretty much the same product
01:01:32
except for we made ours uh affordable so yeah just so that alone that was just in
01:01:38
consumer electronics that I would never thought I was going to be uh you know selling Electronics
01:01:44
um so but yeah incredible and ultimately I created a One-Stop shop that could be
01:01:50
everything from consumer products to entertainment to so and it's been thriving man it's been uh and it's kind
01:02:00
of I I guess my brand is somewhat known of giving people opportunities uh and finding that next
01:02:07
big things of where we're cultivators we're curators we're uh incubators uh
01:02:14
and so a lot of the the content that I've created I found my niche I was going to say you
01:02:22
have a Simon kind of the entertainment world but you're in fact just the Nick
01:02:25
Cannon of them yeah it's funny man keilani is a um me and Simon talk about that often
01:02:33
because I found her on America's Got Talent on his show my show our show but
01:02:39
he wasn't paying attention you know what I mean and it was like you know he was
01:02:44
focused on One Direction or whatever on one of his other shows and I was like you know kehlani came in
01:02:50
um and it was she was an amazing talent she was and like I hate to say found because she was already talented once
01:02:56
you get to America's Got Talent you're already proven you know uh and she was the the
01:03:04
lead singer for a group called Pop Life which was put together I Believe by Dwayne Wiggins from Tony Tony his sons
01:03:12
were in there too but she was clearly the the star of this group and I remember Piers Morgan uh was being an
01:03:20
as he does so very well and he was he was telling a 15 year old little chubby keilani uh to that she
01:03:31
should leave the group and the only way that he would put her through and not Buzz her off is if she left her band
01:03:38
because she was the talent clearly he was right but like how do you put a 15 year old in that scenario and she stuck
01:03:44
to her guns and she said I'm not leaving my brothers and everybody else on the
01:03:48
panel was like we're gonna you know we we love that you stuck to your gun so even though Piers
01:03:54
was being an ass they put through they went all the way through to uh to the finale I think they performed
01:04:01
with Stevie Wonder on the finale as Pop Life and then unfortunately you know when you don't win life goes on she had
01:04:08
to go back home to Oakland and probably met some hard times and I remember it's
01:04:14
funny uh the father of her you know as we know I knew as Gabby uh who also grew up in
01:04:22
that same music over and he called me and said hey man you know that girl that was on America's Got Talent she's
01:04:30
homeless now she's not doing so well I was like what it's like yeah she's
01:04:35
you know not doing she's being a teenager but like she needs help like I didn't really know her background of you
01:04:43
know her father you know being murdered when she was a child and a mother you know uh dealing with substance abuse and
01:04:50
a lot of she has a very compelling story of just the resilience of her and her family and he they were explaining all
01:04:57
that and I was like yo give me your information find who's our guardian and kind of went and talked to the family
01:05:02
and say yo I'll move you to LA but first we got to finish High School like the
01:05:06
one promise finish school I'll take care of everything else a year later her
01:05:10
mixtape was nominated for a Grammy so it's just like just and you know so it's stuff like
01:05:17
that to where you know I was like I put in the work to you know help her out or tell Simon yeah you missed that
01:05:23
one you got a lot of other ones right but you missed you you know you missed that one and uh did you sign her uh see
01:05:29
that's the thing how I feel about signing I don't I'm weird about that
01:05:34
I don't like signing people uh and people everybody in my life is like that's what you have to do I I would say
01:05:42
I didn't ask for anything I I I was the uh impresario you know what I mean I I funded scenarios because I
01:05:52
could so she didn't have to worry about anything you know what I mean she had
01:05:57
uh roof overhead food on the table anything she wanted studio time you know we we figured it out I I introduced her
01:06:06
to you know the good people over at Atlantic Records uh and the rest is history so hindsight's a wonderful thing yeah
01:06:16
yeah I didn't want no money from it you know what I mean I do I do that for a
01:06:20
lot of people uh and it's created you know me and Craig Coleman over at Atlantic that's my man you know uh but
01:06:27
where a lot of people would be you know kehlani would be signed to them forever I don't want that you know I mean I want
01:06:37
her to be able to provide and do like I always tell everybody I work with from the beginning
01:06:42
whether you make it or you don't make it my life is still going to be the same
01:06:46
so I don't want anything from you but to see you win I just want to see like I
01:06:51
don't but you could have I could there's a lot of people and that that is their
01:06:55
business so where like I need my percentage of every song that you write from here on out because I found you I
01:07:02
discovered you I signed you my spirit I don't sit well with my spirit I uh and that's this future Superstar show my
01:07:12
inner struggle when you watch it because I'm on the show as well I struggle with
01:07:17
signing these kids it's funny because we go from City to City and I give a local artist anywhere from five to ten
01:07:25
thousand dollars a city and a lot of times that's what these record labels are signing these kids up
01:07:32
for someone signed my publishing away when I was a teenager for ten thousand dollars one of the biggest mistakes one
01:07:42
of the biggest lessons I've ever learned so now I'm giving that ten thousand
01:07:47
dollars away to these kids and I don't want nothing from you but to see you win
01:07:52
and that's me paying it forward that's me correcting what this industry has
01:07:58
done to people so for so long so I don't want if you want to sign with Incredible that's your choice
01:08:08
that's I get you I you can sign to me if you want to but I'm good like I almost
01:08:14
still be rich so I don't need anything from you if you want to join the gang
01:08:18
let's go like you know there's benefits and parts to be an incredible but
01:08:26
um I don't I I it's a lot of people even you know from my attorneys and people in
01:08:32
my my circle like man you gotta sign these people how are you going How You Gonna function how you going
01:08:37
allow your business to thrive if you don't sign well it's been working thus far so I
01:08:44
don't I don't wanna I don't like signing people I don't like having ownership in
01:08:48
someone else's brand now we could be collaborative we can write a song together and we just split the
01:08:53
publishing we can you know yeah it costs money to keep the lights on you can use my studio yeah like and
01:09:01
you I get reimbursed you know down the line when it's time but I'm not gonna
01:09:07
take something from you I'm not gonna charge the artist like I said that's a
01:09:11
up concept that we just been operating in and no one's ever corrected it like why should we this is this is an
01:09:20
artist who's making brilliant art and someone who had nothing to do with it gets to own it forever in perpetuity
01:09:28
the this perpetuity like like there's these terms and these words that we just signed up for that is
01:09:37
just it's wrong but it's made a lot of people a lot of money so they don't want
01:09:42
it to change but it has to change like technology is making a change these next Generations of people who have more
01:09:49
empathy and giving Spirits are gonna allow it to change because I don't p i don't believe people are are as
01:09:56
animalistic or are they're not they don't have a Savage mentality like and what's used to require I believe
01:10:04
we're more empathetic we're more compassionate and it's starting to show
01:10:08
even in business I think you're right though I think because of platforms that middle man has less power than ever
01:10:15
so you say like oh maybe they're becoming more empathetic maybe they have no choice yeah because a Kalani or a you
01:10:20
or whatever now has all these platforms where if you've got art and You've Got
01:10:23
Talent that's just gonna go viral yeah and you're gonna have the followers yeah
01:10:27
on your account with and you own the password exactly so they're going to come with a different value proposition
01:10:32
is like oh I can introduce you to that person I was telling people like networking is stupid like like if you're
01:10:39
like focused on being the best you they'll come find you like but there are some people who made a lot of money
01:10:48
by networking that concept is like oh this I know this person I can introduce you to this
01:10:55
God bless you you know what I mean like if that's how you like connecting I'll
01:11:01
get it but if we're really trying to get the artist or the IP or the the genius
01:11:08
to the people now technology is doing it for us I have this debate with my assistant all the
01:11:15
time because she tells me to network more and I say to I say like my networking is doing my thing yeah and
01:11:22
then you become a peacock or a magnet versus me having to small talk in a room for three hours exactly which I can't do
01:11:27
that I hate small talk in that maybe we're just different type of individuals
01:11:30
yeah yeah yeah because there are other people to be like your network is your network yeah yeah I don't care who who I
01:11:38
know it's more about who knows me it's it's I'm I'm gonna go over here and
01:11:44
figure it out and you're welcome to the party like but I don't want to go to
01:11:48
your party like I don't want to hang out with everybody dressed in white and got
01:11:53
on billion dollar watches I don't that's not fun to me yeah like to each his own
01:11:58
but some people can do that yeah and I and like I maybe because I've been in it
01:12:04
so long I've been to the white parties before and wanted to show off and and
01:12:10
they were fun but like I'm at this point like I don't I don't want to do that
01:12:14
that feels that feels like work to me I'd rather be in a studio I'd rather be
01:12:19
with my children I'd rather be riding somewhere uh and not to say that those
01:12:23
people don't do that as well I just like that world is I I don't have a place in
01:12:31
it that's not where I could be my best self I low-key though do Envy the people
01:12:35
that can do it and enjoy it and that can be that Network and connect this person
01:12:39
to that one and just because it's an energy that I just don't have I think as
01:12:43
an introvert I don't have that muscle to like show up small talk my way to a
01:12:47
lunch with someone and yeah yeah I'll tell everybody I'm an outgoing introvert like like I am and that's what
01:12:56
me and Kevin Hart go back and forth about all the time because he has that gift he walks in a room and lights it up you
01:13:05
know what I mean he know he knows this person and this person and I'm like yo
01:13:09
that looks exhausting and this um that's coming from a person who like my my
01:13:15
personal bandwidth is overloaded constantly but my spiritual bandwidth I keep like I don't I don't give everybody
01:13:22
my energy like and that's probably why I am a little bit more subdued in rooms
01:13:27
that's why I may not go to every event and most of the time if somebody asked
01:13:33
me to come something it's like nah I'm good and it's not because I just like my piece I just like being
01:13:40
with where I can be my authentic self where I can be my best so I don't like
01:13:45
having to turn it on but I understand when it's time to like I and it it's
01:13:51
award season you got you got to go do this so you gotta like all right and I I know how to do it with the best of them
01:13:57
but that's not who I naturally am as you guys may know we are a sponsor of this podcast and I'm a shareholder in
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you try this out he is old Nick and at 32 years old you got a diagnosis that changed your life yeah
01:16:08
tell me for a super Loop like literally pardon the plan with lupus yeah man lupus nephritis specifically uh
01:16:17
in 2012 and here live in my dream life you know married to the most gorgeous beautiful super
01:16:28
talented person to ever step on the planet literally my dream girl we got two kids we're in Aspen I never like I'm
01:16:35
from from the hood I'm from the projects you don't go to Aspen who are you
01:16:38
married to Mariah Carey but it's like I'm in Aspen with my with my wife uh and thinking I mean probably
01:16:48
some of the best shape of my life go to boxing three times a week you know what I mean got my own home gym in Aspen
01:16:59
yeah I mean like uh and I had the weirdest pain in my uh in my right side I'm like I'm thinking like a muscle
01:17:08
cramp or like like I'm gonna just jog through it here I'm in high out uh you
01:17:14
know altitude jogging in the snow thinking I'm gonna do like it's my Rocky moment I don't
01:17:20
know what I was thinking uh and by the time I got back to the house passed out like and I didn't know like
01:17:27
like literally Mariah came in and found me uh they called her you know rushed me
01:17:32
to the ER in Aspen how did she find you I was I don't know I was laid out like and
01:17:39
I I think everybody because you know I think it was that bad because I had just came from jogging in Aspen after like oh
01:17:46
he probably got altitude sickness you know what I mean like I was just dehydrated so that's what the narrative
01:17:51
we were going with so once I got to the hospital like I just need some fluid IV I'll be all right you know because that
01:17:57
happens because it happens on the ski slopes people like my dumb ass was jogging and up a mountain I'm probably
01:18:04
gonna pass out um and I was only doing it to try to rid this crap that I had I thought I could
01:18:11
like work it off uh and then the longer I was in the hospital they were like oh well maybe
01:18:17
you have a kidney stone because there's something going on back there and I was like no it wasn't a
01:18:22
kidney stone and you got the fluid you're no longer dehydrated all right well you know maybe we got a
01:18:29
kidney infection and then they wanted to do a biopsy and then through the biopsy
01:18:35
I think at the time it's kind of like acute kidney failure like it wasn't full like
01:18:41
I was I had caught it early enough to where my kidneys didn't completely fail
01:18:47
and then they were and they found out the reason why is that my immune system was attacking my kidneys therefore the
01:18:55
my autoimmune condition Lupus and lupus nephritis to where you know where your immune system can get out of whack based
01:19:04
off of whether it's levels of stress uh things that you're putting into your
01:19:08
body you know a lot of times it's not hereditary they don't really know what
01:19:12
the cause of it is uh it's definitely related to stress which I didn't think I
01:19:18
was stressed out but it's like obviously there's various types of stress or
01:19:21
physical stress emotional stress but this just can send your immune system uh out of whack and therefore your immune
01:19:30
system then starts to you know self-destroy you know it starts to attack the whatever organs different people's lupus
01:19:41
attack different things mind uh specifically where my kidneys uh which then created a bunch of other stuff like
01:19:48
pulmonary embolisms and so like the lupus started I started having these flare-ups and it was doing a bunch of
01:19:54
stuff to my body and that if you don't catch it you know in in control you could lose your life pretty quickly so
01:20:02
it was a scary time I didn't understand it uh but we got it in order you know
01:20:08
and even I feel like I got a good hold on it now but every once in a while it's a great
01:20:13
reminder that health is wealth health is currency health is the most important thing uh next to time
01:20:23
that we possess and we we don't we can't control the time we can control our
01:20:28
health we can control what you put in your body you can control what you how well you take care of yourself so
01:20:35
um my little pissed is my alarm clock every morning letting me know you better do the right thing you better
01:20:41
drink your gallon of water you better take your supplements you better you know not eat too much sodium or process
01:20:46
they're like just a a constant measuring stick to keep me alive how did that diagnosis change your your
01:20:55
life so if I was if I was in your life at that moment yeah before that moment and then during that moment you're
01:21:00
married you're you're still contending with work and it changes it so much I
01:21:05
became a different person both you know um certain things didn't matter anymore
01:21:15
other things matter too much you know uh I started to overly value relationships
01:21:22
in time but then I that made me get rid of relationships that were taking up time and wasting my time
01:21:28
um but it all became I always felt like I had a ticking clock but the ticking clock became more
01:21:36
apparent in 2012. uh that I gotta make the most out of today because tomorrow isn't promised my relationship with my
01:21:44
children all of my children you know what I mean like a lot of that all comes into play
01:21:50
to where like what are you going to do with the time that you have on this planet
01:21:55
what impact are you gonna make so that's kind of that that's where in a nutshell what it did
01:22:02
emotionally if I'm if I'm Mariah at that time and I'm dealing with a Nick that's
01:22:07
contending with this new diagnosis and an uncertain future yeah yeah she was my rock man she was
01:22:15
um she went hard you know probably probably wouldn't even be honest probably
01:22:21
wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for how hard she went you know with the doctors with me my stubbornness
01:22:29
you know um she was the the perfect help mate the perfect matriarch the perfect mom the perfect wife in those scenarios
01:22:38
because granted she's who she is in dealing with all the pressures of being Mariah Carey but then uh being
01:22:46
loving enough to take on all of my stuff uh and you know we it probably took a toll
01:22:56
on us just because of the person I was in my head and the struggles that I was dealing with uh so I probably took a
01:23:03
toll on our relationship but it definitely brought us closer together the struggles you were dealing with
01:23:09
man just like was I gonna live uh what was life all about had I wasted my time up until this point
01:23:16
and if I get another shot what am I gonna do what type of am I going to be able to be
01:23:22
here for my children am I not going to be able to be here for my children so therefore what am I leaving them
01:23:27
uh what am I leaving the world when I when I exit you know staring up at that hospital bed or from the hospital bed
01:23:34
standing at the ceiling all alone when everybody else is kicked out and you gotta
01:23:39
you gotta just you know be be face to face with your higher power asking all those tough questions
01:23:48
am I done you know uh a lot of people we we don't do that because we get caught up in the constant race of just
01:23:59
living day to day but it slowed down for me on many occasions of like it's just a rap he's almost out of here
01:24:09
um and I wasn't scared that's the crazy thing when you get to that point where
01:24:13
you're like oh okay I had a good run were you happy I was in that moment when
01:24:19
you're looking up at the ceiling I was content I wasn't scared and it happened you know more than once
01:24:26
and even you know it continues to like I'm probably reminded of my physical mortality
01:24:35
all the time uh and when you're when you're not afraid of dying you focus on living
01:24:44
you know it's a it's a anyone who's ever had a near-death experience or anyone who've been in
01:24:51
those quiet places of dealing with thoughts of afterlife and what this current life was for you
01:25:00
uh you live the rest of your days differently and at least for you know a certain amount
01:25:08
of time until you're reminded again um but yeah man I I would say I want that life
01:25:17
I've had I've lived several lives and I won them all you know so it's like
01:25:22
I'm not a I'm not afraid to go like and even all of the things that I I study uh
01:25:29
and have prepared myself for it's you know one thing it's inevitable we all got it's gonna happen to all of
01:25:36
us at some point and I think others just deal with it better and it makes you appreciate this life like I'm wanna when
01:25:43
it's all said and done I guarantee you they're gonna be like yo he wrote that
01:25:47
to the wheels fell off like like he got he got the most out of life um and you know I'll be known for
01:25:56
smiling big uh loving hard you know and you know what more can you ask for you said you don't think you'd be here if it
01:26:05
wasn't for Mariah going hard do you really believe she saved your life oh absolutely
01:26:10
absolutely but I think that's what you do uh when you when you find a help mate when
01:26:16
you find uh someone that you're in matrimony with you know you you go hard for him I feel like I
01:26:24
went hard for her and we'll still go hard I lay down my life for her today you know it's just that's what you do
01:26:30
it's just it's family it wasn't and I just want to make it clear it wasn't
01:26:33
just that moment where you had to contend with health and mortality it's an ongoing conversation I was in and out
01:26:38
of the hospital I mean I was in the hospital this past December you know uh is not as frequent you know but and it's
01:26:47
just because I have the right doctors and I'm hopefully doing the right things
01:26:51
now that it doesn't find me but you they lupus you have what they call flare-ups
01:26:56
and it happens when certain times of the year Seasons stress uh and some can be worse than others uh so
01:27:06
early on when I was trying to understand it between like 2012 and 2016. I was in
01:27:11
the hospital like a couple of times a year for instance of like three weeks to a month just trying to figure it out
01:27:18
so those and like I said the flare-ups would cause things from everywhere from like blood clots pulmonary embolisms
01:27:26
inflammation and not have the ability to walk to kidney failure organs not doing what you
01:27:33
know they're supposed to do so you know I had blood clots in my lungs and my
01:27:38
heart like things that would have normally killed other people you know the doctors would be like man I don't
01:27:45
understand how you didn't get affected by that you know having to do you know infusions that are
01:27:51
you know similar to chemotherapy and you know my hair falling out stuff like that
01:27:57
like uh it's been quite the journey but you know you gotta you gotta you never
01:28:03
know how strong you are just being strong is the only option you just got to push through
01:28:09
crazy how that changes perspective and you as you say all of that having not been through that myself yeah I'm so
01:28:16
hungry to understand the perspective that it's given you because I don't want
01:28:19
to have to go through that to get the person I don't wish it on anyone yeah yeah I mean it's funny you say that
01:28:25
sitting there 30 years old yeah and this is why it's ah but man you know what I
01:28:29
used to do even before I was diagnosed with lupus it's funny um and I don't even just put on my heart
01:28:36
but I I knew it helped my perspective every month uh started off every month and it started
01:28:45
to be like once a quarter but I would go to Saint Mary's Children's Hospital
01:28:52
and read books give toys uh and really just hang out um and I wouldn't do it for publicity or
01:29:05
it was just it was a reset button for me to put everything in perspective because
01:29:10
you would see these children who were dealing with life altering sometimes just chronic and detrimental disease
01:29:24
and they would have these Smiles on their faces and they would just be so happy and like hooked up the tubes and I'm
01:29:34
like man if they're having a good day I have no complaints I can I'm gonna
01:29:41
walk out of here in good health and this I would I you know I was still on the board of St
01:29:47
Mary's children's hospital and I did a lot of work with like the Children's
01:29:50
Miracle Network and stuff I probably started that in like I was in my mid-20s um
01:29:56
and it just I almost want to say help prepare me for the mindset of when I have my own
01:30:04
diagnosis I mean ultimately ended up losing my own child you know even a decade later after that it was like
01:30:11
you got to enter these spaces with empathy with compassion because then that reminds you that we're
01:30:20
all human that and make the most out of this day because you might not be able to walk tomorrow you might not you might
01:30:28
take a loss of someone that you thought was going to be there forever that you thought was going
01:30:33
to outlive you and you're talking you're talking about Zen yeah yeah and it's like and moving so
01:30:41
fast if you you start to regret like man I didn't I didn't do what I should have done in
01:30:48
that moment so it's a constant reminder you know what I mean and I think perspective perception
01:30:55
a lot of those things help us daily you dealt with the loss of your your son at just five months old due to brain
01:31:07
cancer yeah something that no parent ever conceives yeah as a possibility and so I it's
01:31:17
it's a it's an awful Club to be a member of uh but I I can understand where
01:31:27
it's um it's hard to relate it's I've learned a lesson in that to
01:31:36
where when other people are going through stuff never use the word I understand because you don't you know
01:31:43
um it's it's just it's so many things that go through your mind of you know even in even in a short period
01:31:54
of time of five months the the level of pain the level of guilt the level you know like that one
01:32:03
struggles with because you know you think like oh well that child would have got to Crow this
01:32:12
see five years or 25 years or you know you start asking all of these questions that of Concepts you just you struggle
01:32:22
to understand so when you go through it you kind of have to just create this fog that protects you but at the end of
01:32:35
time like again you just got to keep pushing through and then you know they do say Time Heals all wounds I
01:32:40
think you know you feel it's just something that you you'll never completely heal from but you live
01:32:48
in in your you learn to operate and you you learn to smile you learn to be appreciative if you're a jovial and
01:32:56
optimistic person like I am you know you push through but you know that pain never leaves you did you have space and
01:33:02
time to grieve his his loss grieving is forever it's not a time period like that's what
01:33:09
I was talking about like it's not about times like that's something you're going
01:33:13
to grieve daily and grieve it daily oh absolutely and I think we all and then any loss you know
01:33:20
what I mean and it's learning how to turn your grief into purpose learning how to turn your grief
01:33:28
into a badge of honor in your character um because we all experience it we all it's
01:33:38
instead of because sometimes grief can turn into anger and sadness I don't think that's what it's meant for uh I
01:33:45
think that may be the innate feeling but when you can turn oh man I lost my grandmother I lost my
01:33:52
mother so therefore it makes me more compassionate to women uh I lost my child so that makes me
01:33:58
appreciate other children um I lost my father I never knew my father so that makes me want to be a
01:34:04
greater father you know like when you learn that that pain or that grief can actually turn and make you
01:34:13
uh fulfill you in in with strength in those spaces that once were empty I think that then allows you to figure
01:34:22
out why we're here in the first place if I was to fly on the wall in your household
01:34:28
during that period what would I have seen a lot of Silence from me at least uh when I'm dealing with stuff I get
01:34:37
real quiet I don't talk I keep to myself therefore that makes the whole room
01:34:44
uncomfortable because everybody else has to be quiet especially someone like me who is loud you know especially in my
01:34:52
own home when it becomes Eerie silence so and you know it's internalizing it's
01:35:00
thinking it's taking the time it's being appreciative of of the time of the of the energy
01:35:09
but uh you see a lot of love a lot of compassion but a lot of Silence we have a closing tradition on this
01:35:17
podcast where the last guest leaves a question for the next guest not knowing who they're going to leave the question
01:35:21
for and they write it into the diary I don't get to read it beforehand Jack does he just checks it's not completely
01:35:26
crazy so okay here we go okay I'm gonna have a guess okay so I've got this thing then what's
01:35:36
the next word okay this thing you're upset about you're hanging on to that you've been
01:35:46
ruminating about resenting what would happen if you just let it go if you just never thought about it again
01:36:00
and let it go did you did you interview my therapist as much as I may like internalize things
01:36:08
and like over analyze because I I would say I'm a perfectionist on one and I'm also
01:36:18
fly by the seat of my pants Carefree whatever happens happens type of person so in therapy
01:36:27
I have to figure out which box I'm gonna put my issues in because there are the ones like over
01:36:33
analyze about and you know those usually have to deal with like my children and you know
01:36:39
relationships based off of like wanting to be the best me in that space uh and then there's the stuff that was like
01:36:48
I can't control that like whatever like and those are the things that keep people up at night and you just lost how
01:36:55
many millions of dollars or like I don't care like like uh so to answer that very
01:37:02
uh insightful question um nothing would happen like like I I it would be very similar to
01:37:14
and that's what I've learned like the the things that I over analyze stress about
01:37:22
uh usually the same result happens when I'm carefree and don't really put too much emphasis on
01:37:32
the issue but is there anything that you could let go of that you think would have a positive impact on your life
01:37:39
just let it go hmm not really I mean because I'm kind of that type of person like I don't let
01:37:46
things there's not an idea or a resentment or a grudge or a maybe maybe before you know I think I've I'm kind of
01:37:55
doing the work so I kind of know that about myself but I'm also I've never
01:38:02
been one to take life seriously like that and it's almost to my detriment you
01:38:07
know sometimes or like I need to take something seriously like my health or you know even some certain relationships
01:38:14
but um I used to care what people think thought about me you know because we're
01:38:19
in an industry of that we'd be lying if like I still pay attention to what people say about me but I don't I don't
01:38:25
allow it to you know make decisions for me so I don't deal with that anymore
01:38:33
um and that's why I said now I'm probably at this space to where even if it's the
01:38:39
small things you know I kind of know how to compartmentalize even for the moment like I spent enough time on
01:38:47
that you know we got to move off it as a father I mean I'm pretty sure I'm gonna
01:38:53
learn so many more lessons uh with all of my children having to they're all gonna deal with things in a
01:39:03
completely different fashion so hopefully whatever their Hang-Ups are don't necessarily become my Hang-Ups
01:39:10
because I know as a parent we do that you know that's that's the compassion of
01:39:16
parenting uh you got any kids no yeah yeah that's the thing they don't tell you that their
01:39:24
problems become your problems how'd you mean immediate whatever they have an
01:39:28
issue is now your issue from the spot if they got diarrhea you got diarrhea like
01:39:34
like if they're crying you're crying if they can't sleep you can't sleep and it
01:39:40
happens forever if they have a problem getting in if they're stressing about
01:39:44
school you're stressing about their school I'm right there and I'm about to
01:39:48
have kids yeah I imagine I've got a partner we're settle down we've got a
01:39:52
place together we're talking about it what advice have you got for me do it yeah
01:39:58
I mean but that it's because it's what life is all about like it's like
01:40:04
um you're gonna do it the way you want to do it like I said the one other thing
01:40:07
I never and me having so many kids I'm like man so many 12 12 kids yeah yeah so
01:40:14
I'm the artist is 12. yeah the oldest 12 year old twins yeah and every all of their problems
01:40:23
they come they're my problem that's a lot of problems yeah like it's not and
01:40:27
they're not they don't care about their siblings problems you got to deal with
01:40:31
this one right now dad my chameleon has an eye infection we have to rush to the vet now like what it's a lizard all
01:40:44
right like other things and it's life or death the chameleon can't die like or to
01:40:51
you know you know that's is that one's fun and silly but you know taking us back to Zen
01:40:56
and what we were talking about like those were my issues those are my problems those brought out things that I
01:41:02
never thought I would ever have to deal with because as I watch my five-month-old sit here and deal with
01:41:09
life so it's like their problems become your and what you think about um for me and I was thinking about this
01:41:18
this morning you're just grateful for always like wow it's quiet everybody's good let's
01:41:26
Embrace this moment uh and then you know when problems are issues challenges obstacles arise we all deal with it as a
01:41:35
family and that you know so that's you you you appreciate life for you become a problem
01:41:41
solver you become an individual who every day wakes up and overcomes whatever challenges in front of them
01:41:50
sounds like a lot of a big weight to carry it's but it's life it's fun it's
01:41:56
have fun with it whatever that challenge is whatever issue that that child brings
01:42:03
have fun with it find the story in it find the lesson what's this what's the happily ever
01:42:09
after to this because it's the happily ever after every day you just gotta focus on it don't don't you know eat
01:42:17
even the villains have happy ever afterwards like it's like you just got to figure out at the end of the day how
01:42:22
am I going to say I learned this or I got this out of this even though I went through the fire to get there I'm go or
01:42:31
I'm still going through it it's you gotta find the enjoyment and the journey
01:42:36
do you care about Legacy I thought I did I had to Define what it was I'm still
01:42:42
defining what it is I I've realized that my children aren't my legacy um
01:42:48
my children are my children my children aren't necessarily mine they're their
01:42:52
own uh I've been giving the stewardship and uh the privilege for a certain amount of time
01:43:02
to be able to guide them to the best of my ability for 18 to 25 years but they're their own people uh so I've
01:43:13
learned that that's not my legacy um what we can build together as a family can become a legacy so what's your
01:43:20
legacy my compassion my uh my gratitude which then probably then turns into my humility that's then turns into my
01:43:31
humor which then turns into my comedy which attaches to my art form I mean that's built into the compassion and
01:43:37
stuff as well too so to be able people say man he made the world a better place by
01:43:45
making people smile and if I could do that through my humor my music my art my movies my
01:43:55
finances I want to make people smile so hopefully even when I'm gone the things that I left behind make
01:44:02
people smile I certainly believe that's the case um you've made me smile over the years I
01:44:08
started watching uh wilding out on MTV and then on YouTube throughout my entire life I mean MTV was the only felt like
01:44:14
the only show on in my household growing up in Plymouth and seeing it was kind of
01:44:18
my window into hip-hop culture and commenting all those things and in every respect of the word not only have you
01:44:23
put countless people on that you'll never get credit for nor do you really care about the credit clear but um
01:44:28
you've been a Pioneer um in so many different art forms and created this wonderful platform to put
01:44:35
other people on and that's something that I look at and I really aspire to do
01:44:38
with my life as well like if I if I'm able to help people reach their full potential in the way you have for so
01:44:43
many people that people have no idea about across comedy and entertainment and music then I think that's a life
01:44:49
worth living and a life worthwhile yeah that's exactly what you have yeah so thank you thank you for
01:44:57
doing that that's another title um life worthwhile sounds like a book let's get
01:45:02
that trading let's keep that open thank you appreciate it man this has been beautiful thank you for the experience
01:45:07
pleasure to meet you thank you Nick [Music] Zoe you're a sponsor of this podcast and
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