Talk about that side of it, because that's something that most people wouldn't have expected from a label that was bad

about it.

Oh, yeah.

And guess what? You do have to grow up.

And I want artists to know you don't have to be bad about it for the rest of your life.

I mean...

I was born and raised in poverty.

exactly would you like to do in the NBA? Um,

I'm going to produce as much music as

possible.

That was the mindset I had.

I never thought about money.

Think about it.

I was just spending money.

So I want artists to know, right, when you go get a deal, you're getting people to believe in you.

What did you look for

So, like, I have to ask, so when you were selling the music out of your trunk, what city, like, your music got, like, caught on fire that was real hot? What one or two cities, man, where, like, it was a big deal, your music was a big deal when you were selling music out of your trunk?

Yeah, like Atlanta, Texas, Kansas City.

Yeah.

Birmingham.

Man, I could go on and on with, you know, the Bay Area.

Right.

Because I put out the West Coast Bear Boys when I was there.

Yeah.

Take us through that.

Yeah.

So, you know, I'm from New Orleans, and then I went to Richmond, California.

I opened up a record store at 19.

So I'm a 19-year-old kid with my own record store, so that's why I tell people that it's important to, to own things.

And when you look at people look like us, we don't own nothing.

We, we just consumers.

Right.

so like I have to ask, so when you were selling the music out of your trunk, what city, like, your music got, like, caught on fire that was real hot? What one or two cities, man, where, like, it was a big deal, your music was a big deal when you were selling music out of your trunk?

Yeah, like Atlanta, Texas.

Kansas City.

Yeah.

Birmingham.

Man, I could go on and on with, you know, the Bay Area.

Right.

I've closed my shows out of performances

Hmm.

I'll be able to get some better resources.

And, and when I got to college, uh, my coach was like, "Why you so happy, son?" I said, "Coach, I've been sleeping on the floor all my life." I never had a bed till I...

I got my own bed when I went to college.

And so, but I never was angry and upset.

I'm like, that motivated me.

Like, I'm gonna change this.

Hmm.

I should have worn my camouflage today.

Guess what? If you come with the best camo, I'm showing you on the big screen and I'm giving you your $1,000.

Say, shorty, here, go ahead on, do your thing.

Because I call this one more time for the streets.

We don't know how many times we're going to see these people all on the stage at one time.

Because people are getting older.

My thing is, let's give these soldiers their flowers while they're here.

I'm

Mm

... with a retail record store.

And so I l- I learned the music business.

And so being in the Bay Area, and watch how they operate, you know, watching E-40, watching Too Short, you know, E-40 uncle, uh, Saint Charles.

So, you know, they going to stores selling their records once they make it.

I'm in the studio at JT The Bigga Figga house making a record, then go and put it out, sell it to the store, and going to these local distributors.

So at one time I went to City Hall Records with Saint Charles.

"Walk for you to run."

What that feels like to you deep inside knowing no matter how influential you is, you couldn't get him out?

Yeah, because, so think about it, right? You can't lie to yourself.

You are who you is.

Like, my grandparents thought that we was just basketball players, but we was on the block.

But I always kept it to as, like, you know, my grandfather and my grandmother, I didn't want them to know.

They, they sent us...

I went to Catholic school So my grandparents didn't have an idea what I was doing till I got caught up, right? But we don't know what the situation is because once you get caught up, it's in God's hand.

Mm

builder.

Yeah.

I'm a servant.

So that's who I am.

And that's all they need to know.

I don't care about who Master P and Percy Miller.

No. I'm here for something bigger than me.

200 more.

Yep.

And, uh, we both got a lot of respect for each other.

You ain't gotta agree with everything somebody do, but when you have respect for another man or your brother man, it's like, you know what, man? God has blessed both of us.

So if we could show these kids that we could come together and do something big like this and show them, you know, all this beefing gotta stop.

So this is the way we change lives and save lives.

What I love about this, right? This bigger than just a concert because we also are doing this for mental health to bring awareness.

For sure

... is about to come out.

Mm.

"And you said, Hold up, man.

I get 85% and y'all get 15%.

I can put out how many albums I want.

This my company.

I own it." Nobody sit in a boardroom, and that's gonna be in the movie, and telling all these white folks that I'm putting out 20 something records in one year.

And they all went gold and platinum.

[laughs]

Mm-hmm.

And I feel like without God I wouldn't be where I'm at right now.

Even I was on the streets, but I lost myself among the journey.

Had to find myself, and look how God blessed me when I found myself, and look where I'm at still today, to be able to do so.

My, my biopic is gonna be called Only God Can Judge Me.

You did that for free?

Yes.

Because I love New Orleans, I love our culture, and I knew what was about to happen, that LSU was about to take over in the next year.

We had a president who promised the opposite, you know?

Yeah.

I mean, it's definitely getting more and more expensive, and that's why we're constantly creating products in.

I feel like another fallback for me is these corporate, uh, gatekeepers.

... what you-

I mean, and giving back.

You know, uh, we've been giving back for over 30 years.

And to be able now to see my kids, my son playing for the University of Houston, and I can't wait to be able to go to his games and watch his games, so.

Yeah.

You know, because a lot of us don't get past that.

And I lived with my grandparents.

They had 14 kids.

Me and my brother made 16 in a three bedroom project.

So knowing that hunger, knowing I'm eating last, like I gotta get out here and go get.

I gotta get out here and go hustle.

Um, let's talk about a moment that quietly changed your life.

And so I'm wondering with someone of your stature who has the voice that you have, what advice would you give black folks about using their voice to make change?

Well, if you don't use your voices and you don't have one, you don't have an opinion, you don't have nothing.

So if you want to create change, then we got to stick together.

We got to talk about it.

We got to scream about it.

We got to stand on top of the mountain, tell the world that we're not going to quit.

We're not going nowhere.

gonna change

Do you want to coach? And if so, what kind of program, what kind of school are you looking at?

Yeah, I mean, I think I can coach in any program that need a marketing department with them too.

Because you look at a program like LSU, right? So the University of New Orleans is going under the LSU school system.

But my thing is I want to be at a program that focus on the kids, focus on the student athletes.

and I could bring the marketing and the coaching.

I could, uh, also, um, get out there and go do some recruiting, but, uh, help building, you know, the budget, raising money for, for a budget, but mostly the marketing because marketing is a big key.

I think LSU probably put together a marketing team that spends about $20 million a year.

Is it hurting you more than it's helping you because you're viewed a certain way?

Absolutely

... with a $1.3 million jumbotron.

We ain't had a jumbotron since 20 years ago when Hurricane Katrina came.

I made sure they had that.I, I redid the, uh, arena, I redid the, the practice facility, I redid, uh, our locker rooms, I redid the floors, and this is all on me.

This is a state-funded school.

Think about it.

No president at that school, no AD at that school has spent their own money and do the things that I did for the University of New Orleans, 'cause I love my city and I want it's- than basketball.

Okay

Yeah.

But we understand that, especially the ones that played the game.

We know one thing, we can't play the game for the players, so we only as good as we can make the players that we have better.

And I think a lot, a lot of coaches are not putting that type of potential back into the players.

It's all about them.

It's all about X's and O's.

But this is not a X and O business no more.

Okay

Come on,

tell him to get the transfer before he don't come on over to New Orleans.

That's what everybody was saying, but I want him to do what he need to do as a young athlete and go chase his dreams and his goals.

And I want him, he's making a name for himself.

Remember when we started this, he did that same dunk like that at Notre Dame in high school out here.

So he was average 30 points a game out here.

And so to just let God take him on his journey Everybody said, bring him back to California.

I

Yeah.

So I show up with my cassettes.

You know, I don't know nothing about out here with the gang banging and stuff.

I'm trying to sell my CDs, [chuckles] you know? Dude like, "Man, where you from? What you got on?" I said, "Man, I'm from New Orleans, man." He said, "What you selling?" I say, "I'm selling a CD." He say, "You know where you at, huh?" I say, "No, sir." He say...

I say, "I'm just trying to sell a CD and make it." He said, "Man, how much you want?" I said, "I want $20." He said, "Man, I'll give you 10." I seen the gun, I'm like, "I'll take the 10." [laughing]

The lake.

Yeah.

So nah, man, but it's, it's knowing those different cultures and then taking that, uh, and getting on the road with it.

Uh, where do you see New Orleans going? Or what do you see for the future for these kids since you stepped into that position?

Yeah, so, oh, for us in New Orleans, what I see, right, and I know a lot of people talk about what went on before I got there.I just got there.

So we going to be way better than, I mean, we was last year.

But I'm giving kids second chances that I know that deserve it, that done changed their lives.

Think about like none of us are perfect.

All of us done did something that we could hide from or- or go and act like or whatever.

But think about it, how do you get to the league if nobody really pull you to the side and believe in you? So I- I told you I coached Lance Stephenson, right? So y'all know Lance Stephenson out here in New York.

(laughing)

Oh yeah.

So I've always been teaching and helping the next generation, the ones that wanna listen. I done went from NFL players, to NBA players, to Major League Baseball. I've been helping showing them like, you know what? We have to understand the importance of financial literacy. And now to be able to help brothers, uh, in this sport to be successful, because everybody's not going to the NBA, right? So now, I'm, I'm gonna show these kids why they wanna come and play for me, because not only that this is a basketball game, but most of these kids are feeding they families right now in college. It's no more time waiting to get to the league. You know, I know what it is to be hungry. My, my grandparents sent me to college with $5. Like, "Go on. I hope you make it, baby." And guess what? I came back and, and made it and bought her a house, bought my grandmother a house. And so I know what these kids, you know, feel, what they been through. Me and Brandon Jennings talked about this last night. I said, "What made you so good, Brandon?" He said, "Man, look. I know the conditions where I was at. Nobody wasn't gonna outwork me, even though they was bigger than me. You know, I was just a dog on the court, and then I got a chance to be around you, P, and see mansions and see all these nice things. And, and then that even motivated me even more so." So imagine these kids around me gonna see that I come from the gutter, I come from nothing, and look where I'm at now. Now they get a chance to touch me and, and, and play for the, the, the team that I'm coaching, but I'm gonna coach them hard, I'm gonna coach them tough because you, we're not gonna win if we don't create toughness.

Every time.

But what... I'm gonna tell y'all, we got a great arena, we got a great atmosphere. And, uh, we gonna put the best product on the floor. And we gonna put the best character, 'cause we, we wanna build character at the same time. We want people to come here to, you know... We, we wanna have those testimonies where, where, where now a kid could say, "Man, I went out there with Coach P., and, uh, my whole life changed because he stayed on me, he held me accountable. And now, you know, I one of the top players in the NBA right now." Like, I, I wanna create those testimonies. And so I want any kid out there that's watching this right now, if, if you, if you a real basketball player and you a real dog, and you want a opportunity to get to the NBA, you also want a opportunity to graduate from a great university, and also have a great staff, uh, of people around you. Because, you know, that's what it takes, too. You wanna have a good team, a good team around you, people that really care about you. And that's what this is about. Once you a part of this family, you a part of our family for life. So everybody that been around me, we still family for- forever.

Oh, yeah.

So I've always been teaching and helping the next generation, the ones that wanna listen.

I done went from NFL players to NBA players to Major League Baseball.

I've been helping, showing them like, you know what? We have to understand the importance of financial literacy.

And now to be able to help brothers, uh, in this sport to be successful because everybody's not going to the NBA, right? So now I'm, I'm gonna show these kids why they wanna come and play for me, because not only that this is a basketball game, but most of these kids are feeding their families right now in college.

Mm.

It's no more time waiting to get to the league.

Yeah.