Built independent, by design
I came up on a ranch, working — chopping wood, building cars, out in the fields, mostly alone. That's where my ear comes from: the wind, the birds, the motors running. I'd pull my own rhythm out of those sounds. My mom put Bob Marley on when I was five, playing it while she cleaned — "Is This Love" still takes me right back. By the mid-90s it was 2Pac, Bone Thugs, OutKast. The energy back then was just different. I was freestyling by eight, and by nine I could hold a whole rap and keep the momentum going no matter what.
I don't write random words. Every line has meaning, every bar has a story behind it — almost everything I say is a double entendre. Even my name is. My words spread out like roots, so you can pull a different picture out of them depending on where you're standing. Sit with it and think, or just ride the wave and vibe — either way, I want you walking away feeling like that's real music. Something with a righteous element to it. Not vanity. Not mindless content.
I've had real interest from major labels. I turned it down. This music is my legacy — the tree I'm planting for my kids, my roots, my foundation. The second you sell it, they change it, they switch it, they control the narrative and they control your image. I'm not about to deceive the people who ride with me.
And I'm not walking through that door by myself. Everybody wants to be number one, but that's backwards thinking — every artist who ever made it built a team. If I can bring everybody with me, I'm bringing everybody. Unity is the goal. I'm a coach as much as I'm an artist — whatever I've learned, I'm passing it on.