The Exchanges

Q So you grew up with your mom, um, mainly, and you would see your dad from time to time, and was he, would he sort of go in and out of, of bad spells, or was he constantly, you know, using drugs?

A Yeah, he was, he was pretty much constantly using drugs. Um, you know, a lot of my childhood was in AA meetings, like, you know, I, you know, um, just kind of reciting the prayer at the end of it, and Listening to all these people talk about all the things they go through, which is so hard, and it's so difficult, and seeing people, um, you know, just kind of using again, and then getting clean, and this and that, and my dad was like that. One of my earliest childhood memories. I was about five, and my dad, I don't know why I was with him, but I was with him for, I think, the weekend, and my dad took me to Southeast D.C. and left me in a car, back of a car for five hours, while him and some woman I didn't know Uh, went to go smoke crack, uh, in this, in this house, which was insane. It's crazy.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, he was, he was pretty much constantly using drugs.”

Q And this was like a low budget, right? A video you were doing, like, yeah.

A There's low budget, and then there's no budget, and that's what we had. You know what I mean? Literally, you know, just a camera, and, you know, point and shoot, as we call it. Um, and so, yeah, I, I go to New York, and Chris had, like, a friend who had a rooftop, and we're like, rooftop? You know, that's, that's content right there. So we're like, yeah, let's get a rooftop in New York. And, And we go there, and the music video is called Mind of Logic, and it's like skeleton me rapping at like a 120 pounds a long time ago, just like winging it. After the shoot, he was like, hey, I want to buy you lunch, and I'm like, free food? You ain't gonna say less. Yeah, I'm ready. I'm like, okay, let's do it. Um, and so, we're kind of near Times Square, I'm like, yeah, I've never been to Times Square before, man, like, this is great, let's go somewhere, and he's like, uh, uh, okay, and I'm like, yeah, there was like a Ruby Tuesday or something like that, and I'm like, let's go, man, I'm about to get a free chicken sandwich or something, and he's like, nah, you know, yeah, I mean, it's just tourist stuff, you know, and you want to go somewhere else, and like, what I didn't realize is, You know, looking back, it's like, I'm talking to a broke college student with maybe a 150 dollars in his account. Like, if that, like, it's gotta last him the next six years of his life. And yeah, I mean, we…

AI assessment note: “There's low budget, and then there's no budget, and that's what we had.”

Q So you grew up with your mom, um, mainly, and you would see your dad from time to time, and was he, would he sort of go in and out of, of bad spells, or was he constantly, you know, using drugs?

A Yeah, he was, he was pretty much constantly using drugs, um, you know, a lot of my childhood was in AA meetings, like, you know, I, you know, um, just kind of reciting the prayer at the end of it, and Listening to all these people talk about all the things they go through, which is so hard, and it's so difficult, and seeing people, um, you know, just kind of using again, and then getting clean, and this and that, and my dad was like that. One of my earliest childhood memories. I was about five, and my dad, I don't know why I was with him, but my, I was with him for, I think, the weekend, and my dad took me to Southeast D.C., and left me in a car, back of a car for five hours, while him and some woman I didn't know Uh, went to go smoke crack, uh, in this, in this house, which was insane. It's crazy.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, he was, he was pretty much constantly using drugs”

Q How, how did you avoid, like, getting into drugs and, and alcohol?

A It just really, really, really scared me. You know, I ran around, I've done a lot of stuff. I've shot guns, I've robbed people, I've ran from the police, I've done a bunch of stupid things because I was around other stupid people because I felt that they were my family. You know, it's why a lot of young men and women join actual, like, real gangs. It's because they have nothing at home and here's a family who will protect them. And it's kind of sick and twisted because it's like, okay, we're going to hurt other people, but these people won't hurt me. So we'll hurt others together. And then at least that way I'm safe. But there was that voice deep down that was like, Yo, like, this isn't right, and for me, when I got into music for real, and I was 18, and I was like, I'm not gonna let anything hold his back. My father is an incredible musician, singer, percussionist, playing go-go in Chocolate City, DC, I mean, amazing, and I saw what cocaine did to him, and, and I was like, I can't let this happen to me, so that's why I steered clear from it.

AI assessment note: “I saw what cocaine did to him... that's why I steered clear from it.”

Q I read that, I read that when the movie Kill Bill came out, um, you got, you got the soundtrack to that, to that film, which was, um, which was produced and composed, uh, by, by RZA, um, from Wu-Tang Clan, and that was, like, a huge, like, turning point for you. You heard this, and you were like, what is this?

A Yeah, um, man, that movie, like, there's just something about it. It was probably also the fact that my mom was like, You can't watch this. It's too bloody. And then, you know, your parents say don't do something, and then you want to go do it. When I heard that soundtrack, I was like, who the hell is the RZA? You know? And like, this was like back in the time, like, where it was like, uh, pop, lock, and drop it, and do that, laugh it, tap it. It was like the, like the whole South, like, fun turn up music, but I, I wanted something a little deeper. I'd listen to AT, AT Aliens, and, you know, uh, So, Outkast, UGK, like, hearing those stories. So, after being introduced to the Riz, I found Wu-Tang Clan. And obviously we've all heard of Wu-Tang Clan.

AI assessment note: “When I heard that soundtrack, I was like, who the hell is the RZA?”

Q And just to clarify, this is twenty-twelve. The record deal you signed is with Def Jam?

A Yeah, this is twenty-twelve. Yeah, no ID comes to you, you know, legendary producer who's, you know, new executive at Def Jam, and Def Jam in general, like Def Jam Records, the most iconic hip-hop rap Sure. Label is willing to sign you, give you great money, give you creative control. It was kind of like, if there's a time, like, now's the time, and yeah, but I'll tell you this, it was very difficult, you know, looking at a check and seeing, you know, lower six figures, very lower, just six figures, uh, in an advance, which is still great, and then literally going, okay, well, you know, after X, Y, and Z takes their percentage just on my team management and lawyer at that time, I have to put all of this into a tour. And, and that was, that was a hard thing, but it was, it just as a young man who's like, oh wait, I just got this check, and now I gotta let it all go, but it was worth it.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, this is twenty-twelve. Yeah, no ID comes to you”

Q You guys released, um, the second studio release was The Incredible True Story. That debuted at number three on the Billboard charts. Your third album, Everybody Debuts at number one, and I think a huge turning point in terms of, like, your mainstream performance. Popularity, and maybe I think it's fair to say superstardom, was a song, one-eight-hundred-two-seven-three-eight-two-five-five, that came out in 2017. Um, how did that song come about?

A Oh man, it's so crazy. So earlier with the second album, uh, we did a tour where, you know, we paid six figures for a tour bus for fans to go to their homes and surprise them and play them the second album before it was even out. And, you know, we ate dinner with these people and met their families and their friends and, and I heard about their hopes and dreams and hard times and happy times and the biggest thing. That I heard, you know, when they would talk about my music, they're like, yeah, dude, I love your music. Like, it's, it goes without saying, like, you make great music. And I'm like, wow, well, thank you. But they're like, but that's not it. The reason I love you, like, Logic, and your brand, and what you represent, is because of the message. You know, there's people who are like, you know, you've saved my life. Your music has saved my life. And I, after that, I thought about it for a long time, and I was like, yo, I didn't even try to do that. And I actually have the power to do that. Could you imagine what that would be like? And, and, and so when I, when I wrote it, I knew it had to be simple, man. It had to be, and it just came. It just was, we were just in the studio and I, I had the hook and I, I sang it and then I did the verse and then I knew in my heart, I was like, man, I need other people on this and I need other young, influential people Um, you know, tha…

AI assessment note: “Your music has saved my life. And I, after that, I thought about it”

Q And I guess at the end of that, sort of towards the end of that, just long stretch of touring, this is in, in, in sort of the fall of 2017, you actually had a breakdown, like, on, on a concert. Yeah. What, what happened? This is in Pittsburgh. What, what happened?

A Yeah, it's crazy, man. So I'm backstage throwing up before I'm going on. I'm malnourished. I'm completely unhealthy. Uh, you know, were you nervous or was it? No, I wasn't nervous. No, I was like, uh, you feel like you're out of your body. Like you, you, you feel like, like a little person in your brain, kind of like you, you take a swig of water and you're like, wait, did I, did I actually drink that water right now? And I, what, what I've come to realize, I think it's a hope, a hyper analyzation of, Uh, the world around you in real time. And, and, and that was really hard. So I'm going through all this and, you know, won't really get too much into it, but obviously I was dealing with like relationship issues and I'm trying to manage a company and my business and make albums and go on tours. And, and there was a time where I was even like, like, I love Chris, he's my partner and I want to like quit, not quit rap or that, but I just, I just want to run away, but I can't cause we got multimillion dollar deals on the table. And if I don't do this, then it's all going to crumble. And he's sacrificed, sacrificed his life for me. I'm up here. It's all the weight is on my shoulders. I can't, I can't, I can't do this. I can't do that to him. I can't. And then I start realizing I'm, I'm doing shows for other people, not just him for myself and for my, my future family. And I have to st…

AI assessment note: “I'm backstage throwing up before I'm going on. I'm malnourished. I'm completely unhealthy.”

Q How, how did you avoid, like, getting into drugs and, and alcohol?

A It just really, really, really scared me. You know, I ran around. I've done a lot of stuff. I've shot guns. I've robbed people. I've ran from the police. I've done a bunch of stupid things because I was around other stupid people because I felt that they were my family. You know, it's why a lot of young men and women join actual, like, real gangs. It's because they have nothing at home, and here's a family who will protect them And it's kind of sick and twisted because it's like, okay, we're going to hurt other people, but these people won't hurt me. So we'll hurt others together. And then at least that way I'm safe. But there was that voice deep down that was like, Yo, like, this isn't right, and for me, when I got into music for real, and I was 18, and I was like, I'm not gonna let anything hold this back. My father is an incredible musician, singer, percussionist, playing go-go in Chocolate City, DC, I mean, amazing, and I saw what cocaine did to him, and, and I was like, I can't let this happen to me, so that's why I steered clear from it.

AI assessment note: “I saw what cocaine did to him, and... that's why I steered clear”

Q I read that, I read that when the movie Kill Bill came out, um, you got, you got the soundtrack to that, to that film, which was, um, which was produced and composed, uh, by, by RZA, um, from Wu-Tang Clan, and that was, like, a huge, like, turning point for you. You heard this, and you were like, what is this?

A Yeah, um, man, that movie, like, there's just something about it. There's probably also the fact that my mom was like, You can't watch this, it's too bloody, and then, you know, your parents say don't do something, and then you want to go do it. When I heard that soundtrack, I was like, who the hell is the rhythm? You know, and like, this was like back in the time, like, where it was like, ah, pop, lock and drop it, and do that, laugh it, tap it, it was like the, like the whole South, like, fun turn up music, but I, I wanted something a little deeper. I'd listen to AT, AT Aliens, and, you know, ah, So, Outkast, UGK, like, hearing those stories. So, after being introduced to the Riz, I found Wu-Tang Clan. And obviously we've all heard of Wu-Tang Clan.

AI assessment note: “after being introduced to the Riz, I found Wu-Tang Clan.”

Q And just to clarify, this is twenty-twelve, the record deal you signed is with Def Jam?

A Yeah, this is twenty-twelve. Yeah, no ID comes to you, you know, legendary producer who's, you know, new executive at Def Jam, and Def Jam in general, like, Def Jam Records, the most iconic hip-hop rap Sure. Label is willing to sign you, give you great money, give you creative control. It was kind of like, If there's a time, like, now's the time, and yeah, but I'll tell you this, it was very difficult, you know, looking at a check and seeing, you know, lower six figures, very lower, just six figures, uh, in an advance, which is still great, and then literally going, okay, well, you know, after X, Y, and Z takes their percentage just on my team management and lawyer at that time, I have to put all of this into a tour, and, and that was, that was a hard thing, But it was, it just as a young man who's like, oh wait, I just got this check, and now I gotta let it all go, but it was worth it.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, this is twenty-twelve. Yeah, no ID comes to you... executive at Def Jam”

Q But you would just put, you just put your mixtape out there of your own music, and anybody could put, put their music on the site?

A Uh, yeah. Anybody could put their music on the site. I think you had to pay like 50 bucks or something to upload it, but that was the time, that was the moment. Step to the mic and now I gotcha, call me young There's actually a song on there called Young Sinatra, which then inspired The series. So then my following mixtape was Young Sinatra, then Young Sinatra, one, two, three, four. So, that's when I said, I was working at a supermarket, I quit, and I was like, this is it. This is everything. I'm just gonna do it. Now is the time. I'm young. It's okay to fail now. It's okay to fall down, because I don't want to look back in my fifties, like, with regret. Can you imagine being, you know, 50, 6070 years old, filled with regret? There was that voice in my head, like, nah, man, you can do this, and that's when I went to go live with, with Lenny in his basement in, uh, College Park.

AI assessment note: “Anybody could put their music on the site.”

Q and it was about your music that connected with people? Like, it's rap, it's hip-hop, but generally, like, You know, you're described as, as having positive messages, and, and, you know, talking about things in an open way about your own emotions, and about injustice, and about anxiety, and depression, all these things, um, I mean, do you think that's what was connecting with, with people, even from the beginning?

A Yeah, I think I was the every man, or every kid, or every person, or every whatever, it was like, people were watching me grow up, Like a child star. You know what I mean? Like, they were, they listen to this, and they hear me say, I can't wait to make it. I can't wait to have fans. I can't wait to beat a man with the master plan. I can't wait. Like, da-da-da. And they're like, me too. Like, I can't wait to graduate college. I can't wait to, you know, raise my children. I can't wait to follow my dreams. I'm gonna do that. And I'm like, follow your dreams. Like, no matter what. And hate is gonna hate. I said it once, had to say a dose. I remember living in Mary Jo's. Now I'm living like pharaohs. I work like a slave. Live like a king. Even today, like on a mainstream level, like all, so much of the things I talk about openly from anxiety, depression, uh, just all the, like you said, injustice, the things going on. One, I'm scared to talk about, or I was scared at a point because I was scared that of how people would perceive me or this or that. But two, it's like, now it's become a trend. You know, you've got, you've got, you've got rappers, hardcore rappers, and people talking about depression and mental health, and I ain't the first one. I think it's just time, place, you know, a bit of image, just, um, there was this nerdy young kid that other people felt they could relate to…

AI assessment note: “Yeah, I think I was the every man, or every kid”

Q and it was about your music that connected with people? Like, it's rap, it's hip-hop, but generally, like, you know, you're described as, as having positive messages and, and, you know, talking about things in an open way about your own emotions and about, Injustice, and about anxiety, and depression, all these things, um, I mean, do you think that's what was connecting with, with people, even from the beginning?

A Yeah, I think I was the every man, or every kid, or every person, or every whatever, it was like, people were watching me grow up, like a child star, you know what I mean? Like, they were, they listen to this, and they hear me say, I can't wait to make it, I can't wait to have fans, I can't wait to be the man with the master plan, I can't wait, like, Da da da. And they're like, me too. Like, I can't wait to graduate college. I can't wait to, you know, raise my children. I can't wait to follow my dreams. I'm going to do that. And I'm like, follow your dreams. Like, no matter what. And hate is going hate. Even today, like, on a mainstream level, like, all, so much of the things I talk about openly from anxiety, depression, Uh, just all the, like you said, injustice, the things going on. One, I'm scared to talk about, or I was scared, uh, at a point, because I was scared that, of how people would perceive me, or this or that, but two, it's like, now it's become a trend. You know, you've got, you've got, you've got rappers.

AI assessment note: “Yeah, I think I was the every man, or every kid, or every person”

Q Did you, um, I mean, I, I, I understand that you were singing on that record from different perspectives of sort of embodying different voices, but, um, did you ever feel that way? Did you ever, Were you ever suicidal in your life?

A Here's the crazy thing. I've never thought, uh, I've thought about killing myself. I've, you know, I've thought about punching a cash register. These are intrusive thoughts that just happen. We're human. Like, they, they happen, and it wasn't until I was, like, I experienced true depression and didn't even know I was depressed while I was touring and working that song, because everywhere I was going, it's suicide, suicide, suicide. Talk about killing yourself. Talk about this. Let's, let's talk about this. Oh, death. Death, death, death. And I mean, can you imagine doing a solid year of talking about killing yourself, even if you're aren't like talking about killing yourself in particular as the artist singing the song, but it's like, yo, and that is, is crazy. And going from like, I'd given up on trying to get a hit record. And I remember telling Chris before that album, I was like, I'm done. I don't want to do it. I was always like in the studio trying to make hits. That doesn't mean I wasn't trying to make something from the heart, but it's like, man, I wanted to be Drake and Rick Ross and this, I wanted to be that popular guy too. And when I gave up, I ended up making the song that did it, and then I kind of was like, oh, man, like, I love this. I love being in the spotlight and being in the spotlight for a positive message, but I just worked it and worked it and grinded an…

AI assessment note: “I've thought about killing myself. I've, you know, I've thought about punching a cash register.”

Q Did you, um, I mean, I, I, I understand that you were singing on that record from different perspectives of, sort of embodying different voices, but, um, did you ever feel that way? Did you ever, Were you ever suicidal in your life?

A Here's the crazy thing. I've never thought, uh, I've thought about killing myself. I've, you know, I've thought about punching a cash register. These are intrusive thoughts that just happen. We're human. Like, they, they happen, and it wasn't until I was, like, I experienced true depression, and didn't even know I was depressed, while I was touring and working that song. Because everywhere I was going, it's suicide, suicide, suicide. Talk about killing yourself. Talk about this. Let's talk about this. Oh, death, death, death. And I mean, can you imagine doing a solid year of talking about killing yourself, even if you're aren't like talking about killing yourself in particular as the artist singing the song, but it's like, yo, and that is, is crazy. And going from like, I'd given up on trying to get a hit record. And I remember telling Chris before that album, I was like, I'm done. I don't want to do it. I was always like in the studio trying to make hits. That doesn't mean I wasn't trying to make something From the heart, but it's like, man, I wanted to be Drake, and Rick Ross, and this. I wanted to be that popular guy, too, and when I gave up, I ended up making the song that did it, and then I kind of was like, oh, man, like, I love this. I love being in the spotlight, and being in the spotlight for a positive message, but I just worked it, and worked it, and grinded, and did…

AI assessment note: “I've thought about killing myself. I've, you know, I've thought about punching a cash register.”