The Breaks

Confucius and Fresh cover the latest rap beef before weighing the importance of sex appeal in the modern era. Hear that, Hip-Hop Facts, Confucius Reads the News, and an Unpopular Opinion on industry politics.

The full transcript of this episode of The Breaks is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.

Fresh Knight I’m Fresh and you are now listening to the Breaks podcast. These are highlights from our Saturday night hip-hop show on KUTX 98.9 in Austin, Texas. My co-host Confucius Jones and I are native Austinites and we love  talking to hip-hop, Texas hip-hop, hip-hop history, and what’s going on right now. And just so   you know, the opinions expressed in the podcast are our own and do not necessarily reflect the position of KUTX  in Austin, Texas.

Deezie Brown We here to talk over the airwaves. No matter where you’re from or where you stay. 98.9 you in the place to be. Wake up, wake up, wake up this is the Breaks. You could be anywhere  but you ain’t. So let’s proceed with the wave. 98.9 You in the place to be wake up wake up  wake this is the Breaks.

Confucius Jones So we don’t trust you.

Fresh Knight We don’t trust you. Great album, great album. I was listening to it today.

Confucius Jones Yo yo yo yo yo, man, that that type stuff. Oh.

Fresh Knight I like Cinderella.

Confucius Jones Cinderella is good. But the song everybody’s talking about in the song looks like it might be number one.

Fresh Knight Is like that.

Confucius Jones Featuring Kendrick Lamar. So just give you context. Future in Metro Boomin, who is a producer, dropped an album called We Don’t Like It was the first of two albums they’re putting out in the next month or so. And Metro Boomin is one of future’s earliest collaborators. Metro stab one of his taxes. If Yung Metro don’t trust you, I’ma shoot you. Which in the line of future say it’ll do.

Fresh Knight Which is why. Because I saw somebody saying that he stole that. And I was like, man, well, y’all got to cut it out, man. Y’all gotta stop.

Confucius Jones And so this is one of the few hip hop album that have come out in the last few years that it’s just one producer and one artist. We talked about mad villainy last week when Madlib and MF doom. This is not that type of album at all. It’s a really, really good album. But like I was saying, like that is the song that got the most talk because it features Kendrick Lamar, who is clearly throwing shots at Drake.

Fresh Knight And Jay Cole.

Confucius Jones Now, Kendrick throwing shots at Drake isn’t new. He’s been doing it for years.

Fresh Knight You know, they’ve been on a little back and forth throwing shots for a while.

Confucius Jones What’s interesting about it is that it was on Future and Metro’s album, when Future and Drake have a lot of songs together, including a collaboration album. What a Time to Be Alive. They dropped, what, 2016?

Fresh Knight Oh, that’s like yeah, somewhere around there. Yeah.

Confucius Jones And so also when listening to the album, it seems to be that their shots at Drake from Future Now also for context, before we get into this whole thing. Metro and Drake don’t get along now. Apparently Metro at tweeted out that how unfair it was that her loss kept getting nominated for Grammys, but his album Super Heroes and Villains didn’t metro and put out an album last year. A great album was a really good album.

Fresh Knight Really good album.

Confucius Jones I’m still listening to it. And he tweeted, deleted it. Drake being the guy who sees everything and kind of being a passive aggressive self, put out a video mentioning. So, you know, if all the tweet to leaders and sneak diss isn’t all that which was shot at Metro, and when that happened, people were including me, were wondering how was future going to take this? Because Future and Drake are cool, but Metro in future cool.

Fresh Knight I kind of wanted the same thing, but I kind of saw it going away. Yeah. Has gone.

Confucius Jones Yeah, because that says producer Snoop Dogg can go against Dre. And so anytime somebody is disagreeing with Drake, Snoop, he’s made it very clear. I’ma pick Dre every time.

Fresh Knight Every time. And why wouldn’t you.

Confucius Jones That talk when Tupac and it was telling him disparaging things with Doctor Dre, Snoop Dogg like him, I got to do with it. So it played out like you assumed it would. Future took Metro side. So it now seems that Future and Drake, who would I would argue is the hip hop holdouts. Are now at.

Fresh Knight Odds.

Confucius Jones With you. At odds with hook.

Fresh Knight I knew that was coming.

Confucius Jones You did not know they battled with. So what do you think? I think this has the potential to get bad as just one of those. Good. Like I said, character in chat to Drake is a.

Fresh Knight New.

Confucius Jones Jay Cole shot to a new.

Fresh Knight The J. Cole shots were new.

Confucius Jones Because Kendrick and J always be really.

Fresh Knight Cool. I used to be real tight industry.

Confucius Jones They would do an album together credit. I didn’t believe it was gonna happen, but I mean, they talk, I.

Fresh Knight Think I kind of believed it, but I think that’s a whole nother topic for holding of the day with Kendrick and the Drake shots.

Confucius Jones But I’ll say this and even get you a Kendrick as the Kobe of rap game. He’s like, I don’t like none of y’all. Wikipedia.

Fresh Knight This is fair. True. And he said and he’s openly said it. He’s openly said it. But will this get bad? I think it all depends on your definition or gauge of what band.

Confucius Jones Will it go past music?

Fresh Knight I don’t think so. I think it’ll be shot somewhere, like on social media or whatever, but I kind of group all of that into the music beef. I think, you know, only be a rap beef. I don’t think like this is going to spill out into the streets or anything like that. I don’t think it’s that series and is apparently over a woman.

Confucius Jones That woman say that you don’t know what y’all talking about.

Fresh Knight She she said it was. She said she wasn’t. The woman was the internet did it speculation. And she said that I’m not the woman.

Confucius Jones That day Metro came by and said people are making stuff up and ever got.

Fresh Knight I believe it’s about a woman with those two.

Confucius Jones I don’t think so.

Fresh Knight But it could be deeper than that. Or it could simply be. Yo, you got an issue with Metro and Metro? You know, Metro was. My God. I’m the reason why you were working with Metro, and I’m gonna, like you, say it like when it comes to Snoop or Dre or Memphis Bleek to Jay-Z. Like I’m going to rock with Metro. This is my guy. This is my producer. This is my actual friend. Like, I know what’s up. My my bread is buttered on and I’m staying over here. Or it could have been just something that was building up. Yeah, you could have just simply been something that was building up that like the relationship has kind of been soured, which is why you haven’t really seen us together, which is why we didn’t get that second collab album that we were supposedly supposed to get from those two, and he ended up doing it with. 21 Savage.

Confucius Jones What did they try to say that future feels away about?

Fresh Knight I mean, if we were set to do one and you push that off to the side and deal with somebody. Oh, granite, I’m cool with 21 too. But like, yeah, I can see them feeling away. But I feel the way you push me to the side and push me to the backburner and do this. And then only kind of like featured 21 Savage, like, I mean, you push me to solve this.

Confucius Jones I don’t think it’s going to go to, like, nothing serious.

Fresh Knight Now, this is going.

Confucius Jones Granted, Drake sometimes takes things to a place that’s interesting. And I you know, the stories of the people around him being, you know, all about that action. Drake sometimes does come across to the guy who always has to prove that I’m not somebody to play with. Future kind of reminds me of Jay-Z in the sense of future. We’ll deal with an issue if it’s presented to him, but he’ll deal with it. In a very stylistic way. If I’m if I must say, like Jay when he was born, because that’s why he let people know social media now is Drake, if is any other artists have been tested like Drake. And everybody said, oh yeah, Jay-Z. But Jay-Z was so cool about it. Even the nasty happened. It wasn’t like, no, oh man, he’s got the fight in the street is like, oh man, he’s just like watching sports.

Fresh Knight Yeah.

Confucius Jones It’s like, oh, wow. You know, he’s really coming at him. Future moves to me like that. I don’t know.

Fresh Knight If he was the Jay-Z of the streets.

Confucius Jones I mean, 21 Savage said that when the savage future on the streets of Jay. So I don’t know about of the OVO crew, which is Drake’s crew. I don’t know how they’ll respond. I know they’re very, very protective of him.

Fresh Knight I know Barker says something.

Confucius Jones Of course he did. And, but future’s crew seems to be. Well, except for that one time. What was it? What are you going to tell that dude?

Fresh Knight Oh, no. What do you go deal with? oh, man, he told South Walker. Oh, I can’t remember who it was, but he told you what size halo you were.

Confucius Jones Yeah.

Confucius Jones You didn’t tell him that that.

Confucius Jones He.

Fresh Knight Got on Instagram? It’s. That’s all that. I mean, what’s up? Halo? You were bro. I was like, yo, method.

Fresh Knight Okay, that’s.

Confucius Jones A way to threaten somebody. So I don’t think it’s over. Woman. Part of it. I think it’s Metro. I think future’s super loaded. Metro. And it’s also just this tendency what people that get close to Drake sometimes just. Back off because apparently Rick Ralston unfollowed him. Yeah. And there’s a clip of Rick Ross listen to Like That in his car. And then Drake Novia crew being to pay the crew that they are invited. Rick Ross’s last girlfriend to the Drake show the other day.

Fresh Knight And I, I’m liable to believe that Travis Scott knew the Kendrick verse was on there. I’m liable to believe he’s privy to knowing that Fugit and Drake have kind of severed ties with one another when he’s at Roland Lough, asking for that song to be played.

Confucius Jones I’m gonna, you know, give Travis pass only because somebody posted it. There was another version of that song that Metro, if you were performing.

Fresh Knight Okay with.

Confucius Jones Two future verses. So there’s a chance that Travis was like, oh, I heard that one. But it’s also the chance to. Travis knew about the kid version.

Fresh Knight Yeah, because.

Confucius Jones He also, I would be surprised that Metro told him like, bro, this.

Fresh Knight Yeah. Like this. Like the final version, this.

Confucius Jones Kendrick’s in in the verse this.

Fresh Knight Way. We want everybody get this. We waiting on the Kendrick vocals right now.

Confucius Jones Oh like soon they did come in. He told me that I did heard like this go get interesting. Yeah but like I said I don’t it’s just I will say it’s heartbreaking because Drake and Future make really good music together.

Fresh Knight Made like I’m still listening to What A Time To Be Alive.

Confucius Jones But, you know, somebody pointed out that the song from a by Drake, from his last album, For All the Dogs, Will What Pluto do with a shot at him?

Fresh Knight I saw it, I saw that as well. I also saw somebody, I don’t know, it could have just been pure speculation. That future’s track listing was kind of the We Don’t trust. It was kind of shots or rebuttals.

Confucius Jones Rebuttals to her loss. Yeah. Which was it? I said that might be kind of a stretch. Here’s my thing, because Jay did the exact same thing. That’s what I say. Future is the Jay-Z of the streets. Before the NAS beef blew up, Jay was throwing darts at NAS. On that show, chicken was the biggest. Everyone that came out. People like, yo, wait a minute, is this is.

Fresh Knight Yeah, by who?

Confucius Jones I think it is. And then finally when blueprint comes out, takeover is released in full because he, he, he did.

Fresh Knight It in Summer jam and.

Confucius Jones Summer jam. I think the next album is going to be the obvious clear cut answer to how future feels about Drake. I thought he was just teasing it. This was like letting Drake know, like, look, we ain’t cool no more. I’m letting it be known. You know what I’m talking about on this. So I’m gonna see what you how are you going to respond to this song when the second one comes out? It’s going to be clear as day.

Deezie Brown I can see that. And I think this album fully, I don’t I, which I think this album, We don’t Trust you with Metro kind of teaser to let everybody know, oh, he really don’t like them with the audio use from Prodigy of Mobb Deep. Like, if you listen to everything.

Confucius Jones That was put.

Fresh Knight You listen to everything in prodigy is saying it can be actionable and try to Drake like, yeah man, he took the whole expert when prodigy was talking about Joe Budden, saying, like, nobody, I don’t know what like little hood you come from, but nobody industries is rocking with that. Nobody. That’s that’s not what we own. And like you ugly, corny rappers like you’re not, man. You’re not real. We want that real stuff over here. And it’s like.

Confucius Jones Yeah. I mean, this.

Confucius Jones Could be we could tie this to dry. We could tie all of this to just being circled around to like. Yeah, I’m I’m I’m putting you on notice.

Confucius Jones But like I said, I think future smart enough to realize I can throw out the bait. Let’s see how you respond. That’s why everybody jumping out with Drake and said Drake also knows another album is coming and he might be waiting, said, let me see what they. Because if I jump out the window too quick.

Confucius Jones Then, well, I think he looks at it also, like you were saying, he’s not going to jump on it too quick. I think he realized this not meek and like, yeah, meek did all the talking on Twitter and then Drake throughout charged up and just to see like what was going to happen and then nothing happened. All right. Not going to put it on. Then I got a whole nother one ready to go and I’m far enough back to back. And then it took me like what, three months?

Confucius Jones Yeah. By then nobody.

Confucius Jones Cared. And then I had three months to put out and put out the first diss track. And then he started sending out all of the other records. But like you say, by then we had lost interest because you took rather long, my boy.

Confucius Jones Yeah. And it’s funny because I want to Pluto do. One of the verses is laugh my sprite deal because Wayne pulling up fives. You know, I’m beefing with much older guys for I catch up with them. They’ll probably RPF them. What? I really hate a rap Ian. Let’s not talk about them for eons. If them hit my line talking about what’s up, well what’s up then? And it’s song is called what? What plural do Pluto is your nickname. So in hindsight, like, maybe they aren’t as cool as we thought.

Confucius Jones Maybe they not me.

Confucius Jones It’s just interesting that people are turning on Drake. So it’s it’s one of two things, in my opinion. This is gonna be my final point on it. Either Drake is not as cool as people think he is.

Confucius Jones I don’t believe that.

Confucius Jones Or it is just a case of he just at the top and people are just throwing darts at.

Confucius Jones Two things gonna be.

Confucius Jones True. That’s very true. I don’t understand why Ross is trying to be petty. When your biggest song got Drake on it, you.

Confucius Jones Know, I.

Confucius Jones Don’t know, man, I don’t know, I don’t, I don’t, I don’t understand that aspect. But like, well, I was it two things could be true. He could just not be as cool as we think he is, which I think. The curtain has been pulled for us to see the lighting drapes. Just not as cool as we thought he or that we perceive him to be.

Confucius Jones I’m afraid to jump. I’m not from Jerusalem knowing I’d be like. He just. He’s a horrible person.

Confucius Jones Yeah.

Confucius Jones Whatever.

Confucius Jones And then you’re probably. You know what? Maybe he wasn’t that bad. I’m never gonna do that to him. I don’t think future looks at it like that. Future that look like he just the top dog. Let me throw shots.

Confucius Jones I don’t think so. I think I think it looks at it like I see he’s my ego. Isn’t that like he’s a tier above or anything? He’s my ego. It’s not me. It’s not me swinging a punch you up.

Confucius Jones I think whatever happened between them was personal. But it’s gonna get interesting. Us but future is not, he said. He said, what a time to be alive. All once he said, I’m not a battle rapper. I’m just a travel rep.

Confucius Jones I’m a fish for trouble.

Confucius Jones I’m a fish for travel. Yeah. So.

Confucius Jones I mean, Drake did respond via social media.

Confucius Jones I don’t care about those words of affirmation.

Confucius Jones I’m just saying say they rather go to war with me than admit they are their own worst enemy crying, laughing emoji.

Confucius Jones Let’s see.

Confucius Jones I think Drake is preparing to say something else in song.

Confucius Jones Oh, definitely.

Confucius Jones He’s the king of Lucy’s.

Confucius Jones Oh, he got off God, of course.

Confucius Jones I think that was just like, I see the shots I see, and I hear it.

Confucius Jones So, long story short, this issue is just starting. I think it’s going to go on for some time.

Confucius Jones It’s going to be a barnburner.

Confucius Jones As a hip hop fan and I’m excited. Shout out to kid. Like I said, kid Rock is the Kobe Bryant rap because the line is stuck out to everybody. What’s Kendrick saying after big three, which Jay Cole and Drake proclaim with Drake, J. Cole and Kendrick?

Confucius Jones And that’s kind of the consensus.

Confucius Jones And Kendrick had to remind y’all I’m not. None of y’all.

Confucius Jones I can’t hear you. The boogie man. You candy man. Stay outside. That’s all I got to say. Don’t smack nobody in the club and then run to the Carrboro. Stay outside. I don’t think when they fire, when coal fired back. Stay outside.

Confucius Jones No, no, I.

Confucius Jones Want him outside.

Confucius Jones Even when when Drake, Jay Cole respond, which they will. I would want Kendrick to respond back, but him throwing that shout out there first, I was all for it. I know you tried to make the argument. It’s a whole other topic we got.

Confucius Jones I gotta get out. I gotta get out of.

Confucius Jones This whole thing about, you know, he disappeared to come back, though. The shot disappears. Man, look at me, I really disappeared. He’s been on a team. Been on tour for the last year in some change.

Confucius Jones All right.

Confucius Jones So he ain’t like, he just. He ain’t Jay Electronica. That’s what I say. Like this.

Confucius Jones I ain’t Jay.

Confucius Jones Electronica was doing that. Disappearing and not putting down no Jay Jay Electronica put out what album and Jay-Z was on it.

Confucius Jones That’s cool. I ain’t worried about Jay.

Confucius Jones Like, I’m just saying Kendrick. It’s not fair to say, like he just put that loose on disappeared like he’s I there somebody else who I think like the album. Megan Thee Stallion. Did you see the clips you posted? That dancing type stuff?

Confucius Jones You know I did it.

Confucius Jones Megan sounds a very attractive person.

Confucius Jones Very.

Confucius Jones You know, in the history of hip hop, especially for female rappers. You see, in the beginning, female rappers kind of blended in with the male crews. They were part of Roxanne Shante, MC Lyte. And then you have a 9495 Lil Kim come out.

Confucius Jones Boom.

Confucius Jones And then, you know, you start seeing her dressed like supermodels that she was the fans of. So you see the sex appeal of female rappers kind of go, go in that direction. For male rappers, I would argue it started Big Daddy Kane. He was a smooth operator, you know, he was in the book. The Madonna.

Confucius Jones Book.

Confucius Jones Yeah, I would say the first like sex symbol rapper because Run-D.M.C. was in tracksuits. M.C. hammer was in the hammer pants. So I say, Big Daddy Gay.

Confucius Jones Hold on, hold on. I’m looking some. Okay. Long live the cane was 88.

Confucius Jones Because, please, I haven’t heard and was like 92.

Confucius Jones And men. Now we’re going to get in a hammer at some point, Joe. But this ain’t it.

Confucius Jones The gangster.

Confucius Jones Him and Mike could argue like huge.

Confucius Jones When he first album drop.

Confucius Jones His first album was 85, but bigger endeavor was 87.

Confucius Jones Yeah, I’ll give you.

Confucius Jones A low ELO. That was the album. What I love bigger endeavor was, was on.

Confucius Jones Your.

Confucius Jones Own?

Confucius Jones Yeah, definitely. I’m man, I forgot a little.

Confucius Jones Boy I was trying to figure out when at when? Yeah, when his album. When he started becoming that early and they were bigger endeavor.

Confucius Jones I would argue that the rise of Lil Kim, the rise of ELO, introduced the sex appeal aspect of rap because it was rough and rugged for sure. Genre before that, do you still feel like sex appeal is important in rap?

Confucius Jones Yes. Sex sales. And I think these days a lot of artists kind of have leaned into their sex appeal. They know they look good. They know they’re saying.

Confucius Jones There’s so many ugly rappers.

Confucius Jones I’ll say this, I, I really hate how much we bring her up and it just sounds like a knock against her. But, sweetie. Sweetie, I think. Sweetie. No, she looks good and knows everybody else. No, she looks good and she leans into it. And it kind of depends on her sex appeal to kind of push her forward.

Confucius Jones I feel that it’s not as important because, like I said, there’s a lot of ugly rap. A man and women.

Confucius Jones Somebody that’s an added beholder, man.

Confucius Jones Yeah, sure. That’s that’s something a mom would say. But reason I think is as important is because we consume so much of it.

Confucius Jones You think we’ve been desensitized to it?

Confucius Jones Well, not just that, but it’s hard to really hone in on how somebody looks when you’re trying to take in so much music. So if you go back in the 90s, yeah, when you had three active female rappers, yeah, Lil Kim stands out. Or if you have L.A. or when every other rapper looks like they just came walked out of a bodega, you see Elliott walk around and he can’t go with his shirt off. So that stands out. But nowadays it’s so much. And then two people, I think, more drawn to more power aspects of it because shout out to Drake. You know, he’s the biggest arts in the world. But I don’t know what Drake’s fashion choices will be. I think we’ll put this together.

Confucius Jones Him or him, I believe it’s just him.

Confucius Jones But you have that and, you know. But people, I think they’re more attracted to so much of who he is. Jay-Z, Jay-Z fanatics over here. Guys love Jay-Z. But the I’ve been making jokes about Jay-Z’s looks for years.

Confucius Jones Ye still.

Confucius Jones Making him. How do you get to be honest, I did it. But people like the fact he’s powerful. Jay-Z not walk around with a shirt off. I would say Jay-Z. We start off with year. I’ve never seen him.

Confucius Jones I have never seen him.

Confucius Jones Close up since we had to beat her.

Confucius Jones On.

Confucius Jones The streets with watch.

Confucius Jones I’m about to say that, but like about it and yeah, went on in like a beta on him big pimpin, but like like just no shirt. You know, I don’t think he’s not that he’s not.

Confucius Jones That’s what I’m saying. So I don’t feel like sex appeal. Is that because he was one of the biggest hits in the world at one time? And.

Confucius Jones Well, I think sex appeal is more about presentation. Didn’t like physical attraction. Like, I don’t think a male rapper has to take their shirt off for them to say, for somebody to say who they got sex. I think women can look at a male rapper and feel like he exudes sex, appealing the confidence. And like you said, the power kind of helps go with that.

Confucius Jones I 100% agree, which is why I think I’m the sexiest person in all of Austin. Got double. I want y’all to respect me as such. Sex appeal all through the breaks, all through it.

Confucius Jones But.

Confucius Jones I was not prepared for that.

Confucius Jones God, when you think about sex appeal, you take it. It breaks. Matter of fact, that’s our entire name. The breaks sex appeal.

Confucius Jones But.

Confucius Jones Yeah, you know what? I’m changing that on the Twitter and Instagram.

Confucius Jones You don’t want to start taking out show it off on stage. It’s not gonna happen. But, you know, not.

Confucius Jones Going to happen.

Confucius Jones You know, but I don’t think it’s as important as it was back then. I just feel like.

Confucius Jones This is not where I thought the conversation was going to go.

Confucius Jones Oh, I mean, I’m telling you, in terms of rap, I don’t think it’s as important when it comes to the breaks sex appeal. I want to be in GQ.

Confucius Jones I think when it comes to Women Rarities Day, like you say, when it’s the, mid to late 90s into 2000 and you only have so many female rappers. Yes, Little Kim stands out because Little Kim is stepping out and exuding a sex appeal and is showing you and showing you that she feels and knows that she’s sexy and attractive and gorgeous. And you have a Foxy doing the same thing like when you or E, but when it’s only like people are paying attention to those three, then in other ones is what Missy and Lauryn Hill they’re like, yeah, you stand out and you. It’s more important to push that these days. I think we kind of have been desensitized to it in a sense, and thinking that I was just what a female rapper was just supposed to do. A woman that raps a woman in music is supposed to exude some type of attractiveness and sex appeal. Which are we not? It kind of comes with the territory.

Confucius Jones It, to me, isn’t fair, because a woman should have to be esthetically good looking to get any type of attention for her music. Which, going back to your point about sweetie, sweetie is very attractive. I’m music and I hate it like this. No it doesn’t that clearly.

Confucius Jones Which is why I say I think she leaned into it, thinking that would carry her over and it just it has like one talking points but outside of the music.

Confucius Jones Because to me, it’s not even.

Confucius Jones Really translated.

Confucius Jones Because men who can dress like crap all of a sudden get, you know, a pass on having a sex appeal because they, you know, he just rightfully where he hasn’t put your money. The dude looks like a gremlin. What are you talking about? Like, that’s not fair, but it’s the confidence level, like you said. Like we brought a Megan. Megan is attractive, but Megan’s attractiveness to me doesn’t come from the fact that she loses the sex appeal, that it’s undeniable. It’s the fact that to me, her state just reminds me of Houston.

Confucius Jones Culture is mixed for me with Megan. Yeah, like it is. The fact that she exudes this Houston culture from the way that she presents herself, the way that she talks. But also you can’t deny that she is just physically gorgeous. And I think.

Confucius Jones There’s people out there probably admit that Nicki Minaj got a whole song about it.

Confucius Jones Yeah, whatever, man. I’m not getting the Nicki today. But even with Nicki, like, I think Nicki cool right there. I think Nicki Minaj is an attractive woman, but I think if she was the world look for a dress down, like if she did that to then I think people would still see that, like, yo, she’s just physically attractive, just like Megan, I think. Like it’s just hard to deny that. Like she’s physically attractive. Along with the confidence and the Texas culture that she exudes. I think she plays it well into her favorite.

Confucius Jones I just don’t feel like sex appeal is more important to me in other genres, like pop music, like you see like a Dua Lipa. Dua Lipa would tell you straight up like, I know what I’m doing like. But at the same time the talent is there. Same thing with Megan. Megan can really. Really ramp. So if making weather making this dress like she’s going to the rodeo in Houston with the short shorts and the crop top, or she’s dressed in baggy clothes, Megan still can rap no matter what she has on. Yeah. Do it. People can still sing and perform whatever she has on. What’s funny about a lot of rap male artist and sometimes male art in general? They can’t do anything and they dress like crap, like, well, you have no sex appeal in this regard. Like, at least try to look like you can’t.

Confucius Jones Nothing that is appeasing to the eye.

Confucius Jones Exactly. From anybody. So it’s just. But it’s not fair, though, that men can kind of tone it down. And women have to always seem like to be, look, walk around, look like supermodels. Which is. It’s not fair. That’s why I like Adele. Adele dresses like she was singing on the Titanic and still sells 20 million albums.

Confucius Jones And I thought Adele with sexy all arms.

Confucius Jones Yeah.

Confucius Jones 19 all the way to 21. I mean.

Confucius Jones Yeah, and data for me, I don’t. Look, I’m speaking for me. I might be in the minority.

Confucius Jones I’m saying.

Confucius Jones Hey, look for.

Confucius Jones Me. Clearly Black guys like a deal.

Confucius Jones Clearly shout know.

Confucius Jones Shout out RuPaul.

Confucius Jones Is blankety.

Confucius Jones Blank. I like it. I it live some to the imagination for me.

Confucius Jones Hey, I’m not mad at you. Is that something.

Confucius Jones That she has her own sex appeal?

Confucius Jones Maybe that’s what it is with male rapper.

Confucius Jones They all see, like the accent.

Confucius Jones I do, I do have a thing for accents. I do have.

Confucius Jones A British accent. When used properly. When used properly. Because you know something? You know, one hand you have, like, in the deal when she’s talking. Sounds very sensual, very sexy. And then you have Tom Hardy, whatever he got going on.

Confucius Jones And it’s just like, man, what? But yeah, I don’t know. I think maybe that’s what it is with male rappers is that they may not be physically attractive, but the confidence I don’t know helps exude. It’s because it’s a lot of dude. It’s a lot of male rappers that I’ve, I’ve seen women say that they thought was just so sexy. And I’m looking like, really?

Confucius Jones Well, I hope it did go. It does carry over because as male rappers, to me, if you lean into the sex appeal aspect of it to try to make yourself look presentable, it does help you look at 50. Thank you Richard. That’s right. He had his shirt off on the album cover. You can’t tell me that it help with them. Say leaned.

Confucius Jones Into it, leaned into it. So I think if you stop taking.

Confucius Jones He put his shirt back on about myself, I drop it.

Confucius Jones I think if you are a male rapper and you can exude the sex appeal, I think it helps women. Women to this day are still one of the highest buyers of music, period, across any genre.

Confucius Jones Yeah, they had no business having a career that long.

Confucius Jones I think if you can attract the women and get the women on your side through sex appeal like you say, you can be, you can be to put.

Confucius Jones Shirt off for 20 years.

Confucius Jones It’s still women who love and want to see 50 saying it. Can’t wait to go to a show to see him take his shirt off.

Confucius Jones I really thought you when you said really, really love. They say hello cool jazz. So ladies love cool J.

Confucius Jones I mean it went in and he played it up. Yeah, they need it I need love like we say. That was 87. Bigger endeavor. And then like you say the man was never seen without a shirt.

Confucius Jones Yeah.

Confucius Jones Usher at one point was taking his pants off on stage when he first came out.

Confucius Jones With my way, there was a lot of baby oil going down in the 90s. I say that.

Confucius Jones Like a lot of people was greased up.

Confucius Jones A lot of them, I don’t think. I don’t think just I put on a grease till confessions.

Confucius Jones Look at DMX.

Confucius Jones Oh, God. What’s funny about DMX is that DMX really was not trying to be a sexy.

Confucius Jones He wasn’t. But women, look.

Confucius Jones They loved him.

Confucius Jones They looked at him like.

Confucius Jones Barely did not help at all.

Confucius Jones It just increased him more. And I’m sure he saw an uptick in sales because of the women. The women like.

Confucius Jones DM on his biggest song, It’s Going Down, a song that he hates, but it’s a song about what? Women. So yeah.

Confucius Jones I think it’s more important for a man and a woman. Like I said, I think women, I think the.

Confucius Jones Women just naturally.

Confucius Jones Yeah. And I think women is kind of like you say, they naturally exude and it’s expected men, you have to kind of work to show it. But once it’s there and once women see it and get it, but it’s like, yeah.

Confucius Jones It’s not fair. They expected the women were making less love. But I say for men is.

Confucius Jones Is I mean, it’s still a very misogynistic.

Confucius Jones Yes. But it’s like, you know, like I said, DMX just, you know, walked around in overalls with no shirt. I was like, oh my God, it’s six men ever. And then Lil Kim has to dress exactly like Naomi Campbell to sell a quarter of that.

Confucius Jones Or be on a red carpet. What about you?

Confucius Jones Exactly. So, but, you know, I don’t think it’s important in it, but it’s still.

Confucius Jones I think is.

Confucius Jones Plays a part.

Confucius Jones In it. It plays a part. I think it is lessened in the years throughout hip hop’s evolution up until this point, I think is not as important today because I you say this a lot of dudes I did it matter what.

Confucius Jones Yeah. I don’t know what you.

Confucius Jones Know, like, what are you doing bruh?

Confucius Jones You got to go. But it is what it is.

Confucius Jones We’ll be right back after this quick break.

Confucius Jones Hip hop tracks. Yeah, you would definitely start this one off. All right.

Confucius Jones Yeah, that would start it off. First off, let’s give a happy birthday to the legend himself. MC hammer, he is.

Confucius Jones Tony Daley Burrell, right?

Confucius Jones Yes. Stanley Burrell is turning 62 today. I didn’t realize the hammer was that old. You know, honest with you. I thought he was, like, somewhere in his mid 50s.

Confucius Jones I’m not too spread, but.

Confucius Jones Yeah, I’m not surprised.

Confucius Jones I’m surprised, I’m not surprised.

Confucius Jones I’m not. I’m. Yeah, but I didn’t know he was in his 60s. Shout out to him but shout out. Yeah. Like like like I said, the legend.

Confucius Jones The kingpin of the California. Cool.

Confucius Jones The legend man. Well, I first faked my first fake. I don’t think it’s one that everybody knows, but if you don’t know, M.C. hammer is probably more famous for spending $33 million running through a $33 million net worth in just six months. That has to be in Guinness Book of World Records. I think it actually is, because that’s that’s a man.

Confucius Jones Look, man. Look, look, I don’t have the most vivid memory of seeing him in concert when I was younger, but I vividly remember a lot of people being on that stage.

Confucius Jones I mean, that was part that was part of him spending the $33 million being on tour and having to take care of the dancers, the entourage, the band, all the tour expenses.

Confucius Jones All of they say that M.C. Hammer’s untouchable in California.

Confucius Jones Yes it is. I mean, he took you out, little people. You better be.

Confucius Jones Exactly. So.

Confucius Jones But yeah, he had more fame that he’s famous for. I mean, he’s famous for, like, can’t Test is and the, the cartoon show. He is the first rapper to have an animated cartoon show and dog.

Confucius Jones And who had both me and.

Confucius Jones My brother had an MC hammer dog, and we woke up every Saturday morning to watch the hammer show.

Confucius Jones That was good show, which is crazy. The concept of time as a child is so different. You can have told me that show went on for three years, but in hindsight it was on for like what, six months?

Confucius Jones It got like one season ticket.

Confucius Jones So that’s how.

Confucius Jones The name of the hammer man.

Confucius Jones Earlier in the show, we talked about Beyonce on her album. Ekta Kapoor called her just dropped. So fun fact according to one of her producers, that album was finished before act one. But she decided to sit on it and work on the house music act one first instead of act two. Her mother also mentioned that the song Texas Hold’em had been done. She said yeah, that’s all like three years ago.

Confucius Jones I mean, that’s that’s kind of par for the course where artists, artists tend to work on things simultaneously.

Confucius Jones Well, Beyonce is known. I think there was a song I want to say Covet on Act one had been because Raphael Saadiq said they gave her that song years ago and she just sat on it. But apparently, to be honest, he does. She’ll work on something, leave it and come back to it until she feels it’s writing.

Confucius Jones Which.

Confucius Jones Artist, which I respect. So yeah, act two was actually act one. But in terms of release date is exact two.

Confucius Jones Oh, man. All right. My second fact, apparently Joel Santana says that the Diplomatic Immunity album was originally his debut album.

Confucius Jones Which, before you finish, is it better than his debut album? Yes. Yes.

Confucius Jones Okay, good. Okay. Yes it.

Confucius Jones Is. Yes. Your true Gypsy fame.

Confucius Jones His debut album, From Me to You, is a bit spotty. There’s some fillers in there.

Confucius Jones Had that been his first album, that would have.

Confucius Jones Been because he said, we built this city.

Confucius Jones For him.

Confucius Jones At first he made like three songs. We built. This city was one, I’ll build the city, I’m ready in ready made. It wasn’t no, I came for me and I think Dipset Anthem were all originally his, on which he’s only one on Dipset anthem.

Confucius Jones Well, cameras on there. Yeah, at the end.

Confucius Jones Years, years.

Confucius Jones Yeah. You like me? I don’t get that goodwill. That’s all he ate. That’s all.

Confucius Jones Boy. But yeah, like I’m ready and built the city will say like I had he had already recorded verses to those songs, but Cam’ron thought it would be a great idea to turn this into like, a compilation to help push Jewell forward for what ends up being his actual debut album, From Me to You, which I think it helped. It was a lot of anticipation for From Me To You in I believe From Me to You went platinum. Yeah, it did help.

Confucius Jones Jim Jones echoed the same thing that maybe the whole purpose of the Dipset machine was to set up jewels. Yeah, like he was supposed to be.

Confucius Jones Like, I’ve heard camps. I’ve heard you, like, say, Jim, say that.

Confucius Jones So can you imagine Headies first album being diplomatic communicative. Mack mean it was good. It was two disc. It was.

Confucius Jones Two days. It was two days. I probably could break it down to one.

Confucius Jones But Joel’s as a soldier because I was like, bro, what are we doing this? What could this be? My album.

Confucius Jones So I’m probably here. I’m I’m sure he has some pushback.

Confucius Jones So much as Cam and Jay had their back at Fort Campbell. The same move Jay doing Rock la familia. It’s going to be complicated man.

Confucius Jones What a compilation. But I’m just gonna stand my name on. I’m gonna put that out on my album.

Confucius Jones Wow.

Confucius Jones Yeah. I mean, you never know.

Confucius Jones Yeah yeah yeah yeah, that was my second fat back.

Confucius Jones That ass up. Yes song is in the system classic by juvenile.

Confucius Jones 25 years.

Confucius Jones 25 will be 26 this year. Yes.

Confucius Jones I mean, technically, yes.

Confucius Jones Yeah, but it’s right now 25 juvenile just dropped a video for, 400 degrees, which I’m all for.

Confucius Jones I’m all for, man.

Confucius Jones Look, look, there’s a lot of songs that deserve videos. We still need video for Lovers and Friends with usher, Lil John, and.

Confucius Jones Not never too late, ludicrous, never too late.

Confucius Jones But in song. Back to add some features a little way. Lil Wayne comes in at the end of the song. Kind of just, you know, after you back it up didn’t stop. It’s got whatever. So apparently the reason why he’s on that song is because he just happened to be in the studio that day, made a fresh said that Wayne was a studio rat. He’s always been that, he said, when everybody else would be gone, doing whatever Lil Wayne was always. There is a metaphor, I say, when he was finishing up that song that he was just there, he’s like, hey, you want to say something out here? And then he’s like, hey, I guess. So that’s how mostly Wayne Features happen. You just have to be the.

Confucius Jones Primary driver like that and driving.

Confucius Jones I glad that was kind of the world’s first intro a little way.

Confucius Jones He was you know, he he catches in today’s time. Maybe it’s the generation that points it out. I think that’s those Gen Z ears they point out and act as if like, that’s just such a horrible thing to add to the song. But when you listen to the song in totality, like it’s a song about shaking, but what do you want from the guy? You want to even come on and be Super Carter two lyrical Lil Wayne? Like, who.

Confucius Jones Did that on the song?

Confucius Jones It’s a song. It’s a song about women shaking a bar. They high on boys, bro. Like, what did y’all want him to do? It’s like you say, if it’s if it’s.

Confucius Jones But he just happened to be there that day, so.

Confucius Jones Third fact, earlier this week, Run-D.M.C. celebrated the anniversary.

Confucius Jones RPG messaging.

Confucius Jones RPG message. They celebrated their anniversary of their debut album, run DMC, which came out March 27th, 1984. Fun fact about run DMC, which is why when people. It’s kind of a twofer, these bags are kind of why I whole run DMC in high regard when people talk about best rap groups, because run DMC was kind of the first to do a lot, and I don’t think people were people in this day and age really give them their crazy run. DMC was the first rap group to have a gold album, and subsequently that album going platinum. They were the first recruit to have a platinum album. Whether it’s what I read, I knew that I knew they were the first one to have a gold record, but I didn’t know, like when that went platinum. Subsequently, they become the first group to have a platinum out. I know the.

Confucius Jones First diamond with Missy. You’re right. Raising hell with the first album go platinum. Yeah.

Confucius Jones So like the first group to have a gold and platinum record, and they were the first rap group. I think the first rappers period on the cover of rolling Stone. To cover rolling Stone.

Confucius Jones I’m laughing because I keep thinking about Snoop Dogg to find ones I won’t be on a roll. I wouldn’t be on cover.

Confucius Jones The sort.

Confucius Jones I don’t know, Rolling Stones.

Confucius Jones But at the time with Run-D.M.C., there was no source.

Confucius Jones Yeah. I mean.

Confucius Jones I think they had already like the word ups and whatever other hip hop publication that was out. But like in the 80s, that was a big thing to be on the cover of the rolling Stone period and to be the first rappers to do it. Like, yeah, you just can’t exclude them from greatest rap group of all time. They’re always in the conversation. No matter how many years pass. We wouldn’t get an outcast with the accolades or the recognition that they get. Had it not been for the trio of run DMC and James the J.

Confucius Jones No I agree. Especially raising hell. It really set the tone for that type of sound as well, and just the cohesiveness of it. Cause before that, I would argue rap was still kind of finding itself and was kind of just so my hip hop fact. My third one is also about Run-D.M.C. raising hell. That album was the first one with production from Rick Rubin. They just come out of touring. And Russell Simmons, of course, being a reverend’s brother, said, hey, you know, I know a guy that’s pretty good. And so he brought in Rick Rubin to help cause they actually executive Deuce of them and Rick Rubin. And so they brought in Rick Rubin. And that’s one of the things that help elevate Rick Rubin, because of course he does little Beastie Boys. But Run-D.M.C. was already an established group. But according to Run-D.M.C., they, didn’t they did more than then. They get credit for it. They said Rick and Russell got production credit, but we, the group members, really did everything, DMC states. I can see that, he said. We did the album in like three months. It was so quick because every rhyme was written on the road and had been practiced and polished. We knew we want to do. Rick was all music and instruments, J was music and deejaying and me and run with lyrics. We definitely had a game plan. It was also our include the song walked us.

Confucius Jones I got to say that was the song. We walked out.

Confucius Jones We Walked Away, which ended up being a huge hit and hit number five in the top 100. But it wasn’t the first song that they ever done that included rock, because of course they have Rock Box and King of Rock kill me.

Confucius Jones They got it. You know, you can’t discount the greatness that is.

Confucius Jones If you don’t listen to anything else. Run-D.M.C. will listen to Raising.

Confucius Jones Hell, and honestly, Raising Hell was the one that had the hits like, yeah, I walk This Way, my Adidas is tricky. Peter Piper, like all the songs that people know from Run-D.M.C., they were all raising hell.

Confucius Jones On the phone. And I was like I said, it really helped Rick Rubin, you know, like he produced. It’s tricky. He produced.

Confucius Jones A sound like a Rick Rubin. And I listen back to it.

Confucius Jones Yeah. So after Run-D.M.C. got out to.

Confucius Jones Run-D.M.C., man.

Confucius Jones And now, ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for Unpopular opinion with fresh himself.

Confucius Jones All right, you know, you know what’s one thing I hear a lot now that we are on radio or since we’ve been on radio, you getting swallowed up? That followed that, but that’s okay. Yeah. More so than they come. Yeah, that’s the internet thing.

Confucius Jones That’s anything I could.

Confucius Jones Hear that’s like, what does that come.

Confucius Jones From. But no, that’s not that’s not where I was going with that at all is a lot of people. How a lot of people tout that, you know, they don’t play any. I don’t do this. I don’t play politics. I don’t do these industry games, man. I don’t do that, man. I don’t I don’t like playing the politics. So my unpopular opinion is everyone plays the industry politics game. Everybody does it. Everybody does in some shape, form or fashion because that’s just how the industry works. I think most people think that that means that they, as an artist or whatever their field is, an industry, that they have to compromise something that they are doing in order to get ahead. But that’s not how I look at it. I look at it is that’s just playing a game. You do what you deem is necessary for you to get ahead within your career, or to build your career, or to start your career. Now, if you want to go out there and step on the people that helped you out and gave you your start, that’s on you. That’s not what I’m saying to do. I’m just simply saying everybody plays into the system to their benefit. As I said before, in a, earlier unpopular opinion, how the industry doesn’t really need to change. You just have to figure out what you need to do within the industry in order to progress. This is pretty much the same thing. This statement is always saying it ain’t, man, I ain’t with politics. Mostly rappers say this, mostly rappers.

Confucius Jones And then it could pop up two years later. Man my money. Funny. Yeah.

Confucius Jones Mostly rappers, but at some point you have to play the game. Yeah, you just have to learn how to play it or figure out a way.

Confucius Jones It is the music business.

Confucius Jones Yes. To play the game that benefit you, you are going to have to you going to have to do some politicking. You are going to have to do some industry games or play the politics with your label, whether they be independent or whether that be a major label, because that’s, I think, is misconstrued that independents treat everybody fair and a business is a business. If a business don’t think that you are marketable or lucrative, yeah, they probably going to take you back and put you on the back burner and push who is. So you might it might be who you to play those industry games and do a little politicking with the folks at your label to get you where you need to be. I remember I heard Cameron Cameron and Jim Jones say, like when they signed a deal with Roc-A-Fella and they were up there at the Def Jam offices because Roc-A-Fella had a floor in the division as the Armory, and everybody.

Confucius Jones Had a good hip hop factor, they took over an empty space.

Confucius Jones Where Cam’ron and Jim Jones both say like, yo, the reason why we got the room. Everybody was looking at us and felt the way because we were getting the releases that we were getting. Well, it wasn’t it wasn’t anything that had to do with Dame or anything. It was just simply them walking around the Def Jam offices, in the Rockefeller offices, talking to people.

Confucius Jones Talking to people.

Confucius Jones And learning who does what, learning who in marketing, learning who controls the budget, learning who’s over to releases and building those relationships. You know what that is? You know what that is. Rappers out there that’s politicking. That is politics. If you know who controls the marketing budget and you know who the head of marketing is, you don’t think it behooves you to go in there and talk to them and take them out to lunch and buy them a drink, make sure they got coffee. That helps. So when it’s time to a lot some money to a lot of budget for your album or your single, hey, they like confused. Just came in here. You know, a confusion took me out like he’s a real good guy. He’s done all of this. He’s he. You know, he comes in here, just sits in here. You just talked with me? Yeah. Let’s just let’s just grind on. He said he needs this for his album. Let’s just bring it. Let’s. Let’s go home now. You know what I mean? You need some clear. You go to where do people clear it? And you, you politic with these people. You do something that is in your best interest. So everybody plays the game. Same with radio. Radio, especially commercial radio tends to play all of these artists that y’all say, y’all get sick of hearing a song. You know how that happens most of the time. Somebody at the label. Is canoodling with a radio DJ or engineer or somebody, or a program director or a station manager or somebody in marketing. Somebody at the station is friendly with somebody at the label that is helping get that song into regular rotation, because I believe that commercial radio is only a finite amount of spots for songs in rotation. So it’s a fight. It’s a dogfight to get in there. Politicking helps with that, the same as it goes with press. Getting press like your publicist is playing these games. So your policies is helping you get these placements a magazine. Well, I would say magazines, but does anybody read magazines?

Confucius Jones Do you? My mom.

Confucius Jones But they get you, like, radio interviews and get you on whatever it is that MTV does for artists these days, who knows? I have no idea what they do, man.

Confucius Jones I don’t need this all day.

Confucius Jones I don’t even know if direct the fake hostility, but, like to get you on TV to get you a guest feature in in a television show like that’s politicking, man, those are industry games. You just don’t get those because you are just so super talented. It doesn’t work like that. I’m sorry. Politicking is the way industry games help you progress. You just have to figure out what you feel like works best for you. In that aspect. Everything isn’t for everybody, so know the things you might see one artist do might not be what you want to do. Like I said, I ain’t with selling nobody else, stepping on people to help get you here, if that’s what you want to do. That’s your business, man. But it behooves you to play politics, man, to play those industry games so it can benefit you. You want to sit around and sit at home and not want to talk to anybody or ignore certain things. Then have fun with it and see how far your career goes. Because I guarantee you, every artist that you have seen, from a chance to rapper to a Kendrick Lamar to Drake, has played those games. They have politics and they are continuing to do so well. I don’t know chances. Who knows where he’s in?

Confucius Jones He’s on the boys, right?

Confucius Jones Oh yeah, he’s on the voice. He’s on the voice. How he got that? I have no oil pilot ticket. I have no inkling. Yes.

Confucius Jones Any chance for you? I think he’s sitting home all day. No answer.

Confucius Jones Calls. Yeah. And just sitting with his wife and his kid, Nami. He was out there working and politicking, and now he’s on the voice, which. Oh, man, I got to kind of stop that show. But anyway, that’s neither here nor there, man.

Confucius Jones That class of people who watch it, they keep, they keep.

Confucius Jones They call people the devil. People are definitely watching. I’m just waiting for them to actually create a star from this show. But yeah, man, that’s my own Bible opinion.

Confucius Jones I have no pushback. So when y’all hear us on the radio and see us, especially for us going out to different places shows, that’s politicking. We got on radio by politicking, talking to people, meeting people. There’s no such thing. Is everybody coming to you? No matter how good you are? Even the biggest artists in the world had to go somewhere, had to meet people. Drake doesn’t meet Lil Wayne. If he does, a pilot can run into Jay Prince and son. You don’t get a Snoop Dogg if Warren G is not in Drake’s face. His step brothers say like, hey, my friend can really rap. So yeah, you have to go out and meet people and talk to people and play the games that are in front of you the best way. I’ve always explained it to people. The best way to change things is to get into the system that you’re trying to change, figure out how it works, and then figure out what needs to be changed from there. Me and fresh weren’t happy with how hip hop was being represented, especially local hip hop in the city. And so we figured out, let’s go to a place where we could make some changes, and we landed a CD and we feel like we’ve made a substantial change to it.

Confucius Jones Very, very nice impact here.

Confucius Jones Now imagine we said, oh, my dad’s complaining on Twitter.

Confucius Jones Like most of y’all do.

Confucius Jones What’s that supposed to do? No, not Twitter Facebook. Oh my god. And what y’all be on on Facebook. Y’all just be complaining. Y’all family and friends.

Confucius Jones Like a self-loathing.

Confucius Jones Oh, my God, what they be? But yeah, you got to get out there and meet people and be surprised how many different opportunities happen because we go out there and meet people. Fresh MC a white glove it because of politicking.

Confucius Jones Politicking and playing the industry game and talking to people, meeting people, taking people up to BMI, BMI. Shout out to Mitch, man.

Confucius Jones To Mitch man.

Confucius Jones He’s the one that didn’t put my name out there and leave me in the light. That’s the industry you are in. The name of the game is is not what you know, but who you know. And if you don’t know nobody, your career will stay stagnant. You have to get out here and play the game.

Confucius Jones Not just that, you have to create relationships with people. So we have a friend of ours who works with South By. We’ve known him for years from blogging. We don’t just talk to him about South by stuff. We talk all year long about different things. And that’s not to say you need to be friends with people, but it does help to not only meet them, but also check in with from time to time. All for something. There’s a manager in the city where I can say what band he’s with that told me to my face. He told first to his face separately, that he’s not used to being in a city where when you talk to somebody or try to network, you don’t offer like take him out to eat or something.

Confucius Jones But he said that was brand new to him. He was like a. That’s how it works in.

Confucius Jones But down here in the city sometimes, yo. Once again we talk about this last show. Y’all wait till we do something to be like, oh, why can’t y’all brighter from you all year?

Confucius Jones Who are you.

Confucius Jones Again?

Confucius Jones Also our friend. It works for South By. I’ve physically seen him say like, yo, this is last time y’all probably gonna see me here in the city until Salva. Like, if you don’t come here, if you don’t come here now and talk to me as I was up there. Don’t ask me for nothing come march like. And so very well understand the game that is being played. Yo, yo, if you want help doing South by, you want into South by. Now’s the time to come out here and talk and is people man I ain’t going out and just to talk to him. If I don’t get it, I don’t get it. You just won’t get it.

Confucius Jones Don’t cry about it, Tito. For example, Tito has done some numerous summer jams, numerous side by side breaks with us. Take away the fact that him and fresh grew up together. We have gone on adventures with Tito like adventures. Adventures like.

Confucius Jones The else crazy.

Confucius Jones Adventure that we can’t even name. So when we start thinking of like stuff to do now when he’s he put that means we’re like, oh, we know to you like he’s a good guy. Like we’ve run into him. We’ve talked to him like he’s a great person. So and stuff like that, that plays into it.

Confucius Jones But I talk to him outside.

Confucius Jones Exactly. Music. Yeah. So yeah, you have to play the game. That’s why I call politics, because politics is a game you can’t always get what you want in politics. That was the case. We’d be a whole different republic, boy.

Confucius Jones Things would be running a whole different way.

Confucius Jones But I mean, somebody tell Trump you can do what you want, but yeah. No, but I agree. I agree with.

Confucius Jones You. Like I didn’t expect much pushback.

Confucius Jones Maybe what I said are you wrong as hell? But don’t talk to nobody. And I don’t think I talk to enough people. That’s my problem.

Confucius Jones I honestly don’t think I talk to enough people.

Confucius Jones Man. I know you ain’t want to know me.

Confucius Jones Which is crazy. They when they see me, they expect to see you and want to talk to you. And I’m just like, man confuses busy man. I mean, you know. Yeah. He’s he he work over here. He do. He deejay. He doing comedy. Yea, yea I mean I can’t keep up with the man. Hey man I ain’t is he. And he now my ward I don’t know.

Confucius Jones I don’t know what to tell y’all.

Confucius Jones See him when you see him. And now let’s get informed and have a few laughs while we’re at it. Here is Confucius reads the news.

Confucius Jones News? Yes, I’m gonna talk about duty because everybody keeps asking, how are we gonna talk about data, even though we already talked about it when it first happened? So this is more of an update to the case. Apparently, now Homeland Security’s involved.

Confucius Jones They have feds.

Confucius Jones They raided his home, and it is in L.A. Yeah. Los Angeles.

Confucius Jones Yeah. Los Angeles as part.

Confucius Jones Of a sex trafficking probe into the Bad Boys record. Founder. According to TMZ, federal agents did not leave the house in a tidy manner.

Confucius Jones They never do.

Confucius Jones You know, they don’t put your stuff back. A close up of the computer shows that the hard drives have been removed while a living area was turned upside down, with chairs lying on the sides and cuddly toys thrown on the floor.

Confucius Jones Oh, he knew some was coming.

Confucius Jones He wasn’t there.

Confucius Jones Hard drives had been removed.

Confucius Jones No, they took him. 0000, but they took him. Apparently there were cameras in every room in his house.

Confucius Jones Oh.

Confucius Jones Well, okay, let’s be fair. I have cameras everywhere. My house too. That’s cause I have kids, and I don’t trust them. That’d wander into place. They shouldn’t be. So.

Confucius Jones I mean, I understand having the cameras inside your house and somebody breaks.

Confucius Jones In because my kids like to go inside my bedroom, jump on my bed, which I tell them not to do. So I have cameras that get out of.

Confucius Jones There as kids.

Confucius Jones That’s really only reason, somebody does break in. I can see I know exactly where you at. But back to puff. As everything was happening with his, L.A. Home of two of his sons were in handcuffs.

Confucius Jones Kristen and.

Confucius Jones Justin. Justin. Which people were like, oh, my God, they go after the kid. I said, no, this is not the best thing to brag about, but if you’ve ever been a part of a raid, they take everybody out of the house, put them in handcuffs. Yes. God, if you did anything or not, they’re not gonna let you wander around the house. Veterinary surgeon. Yeah.

Confucius Jones They don’t do.

Confucius Jones That. That’s not a thing. So.

Confucius Jones Christian, let TV fool you.

Confucius Jones What? It’s looking like Justin a Christian. I’ve been charged with anything, and they probably won’t be. They just have to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Who was not there was their father, who apparently was somewhere else. I think they said he was in Miami at the time, but according to sources, he was pulled off a plane along with his quote unquote drug mule, and questioned. But they said he fully cooperate with authorities. So as it stands right now, he’s not under arrest for anything. But, once the feds get involved, they don’t they don’t come knocking for no reason. Yeah.

Confucius Jones Yeah, they they got enough to come knocking to get that warrant apparently.

Confucius Jones Is enough collection of people who have, you know, disparaging things to say it enough for them to feel it was necessary to go inside his house to grab and stuff. Do I think this is going to end well for puff Hale? No. It’s over. He’s. He’s also sold all his shares. A revolt to an anonymous buyer. Theories that might be Tyler Perry. Theories. It might be Jake theories. It might be. What’s that got? It was trying to buy Betty.

Confucius Jones I can’t remember his name.

Confucius Jones Byron Allen.

Confucius Jones Byron Allen. There you go.

Confucius Jones Who I who it could be, I don’t know.

Confucius Jones They said they steal what remains to be Black owned. So those three, I think, are kind of the go to because one they can afford it into Tyler Perry and Byron Allen just recently tried to buy two.

Confucius Jones And of course are going to remain anonymous like we tried to be friendly. Yeah, we saved you. And then of course, young Miami of the city girls was named in the indictment. Boy, the affidavit that they used to get inside his home, apparently she’s listed as a sex worker. And people are shocked, which is funny to me because. Have you not listen to any city girl song ever?

Confucius Jones Well, it was they was doing interviews and songs up all on Twitter.

Confucius Jones It made it very clear where they stand. It’s also interesting why JT is going solo. JT said yeah, I’m out of town.

Confucius Jones I got nothing to do with this over here.

Confucius Jones I just got out of jail for years. I’m not going back.

Confucius Jones It’s all making sense now.

Confucius Jones You know? Of course. It’s just seems like a case of a rich man. They could get away with it. And finally catching up.

Confucius Jones To him as most rich man.

Confucius Jones What I don’t like from Twitter and from people who look like me. Please stop trying to say that Jay-Z and Beyonce here next. Why y’all are wanting the downfall of other Black people who have so far have not been proven to do anything. It’s mind boggling. If they did do something, if Jay did something, then he will be held accountable like he should. But do not try to put that on him just because you just think powerful Black men are always doing something wrong.

Confucius Jones You know what I found funny? Not like funny, ha ha. But like funny. That’s weird. Is these same people who are calling. Yeah. I’ll say calling for, like, Jay-Z to be nice or trying to shout from the mountaintop that Jay-Z and Beyonce will be next are the same people who get on the internet and get online and on Twitter or on Facebook saying mean they help all Black people out. You they got all that money over there. They could get all Black people some money to make hip, all Black people be rich. I want to be saved by this man. But you also want him to be taken down.

Confucius Jones Well, because we have this.

Confucius Jones Which one is it from?

Confucius Jones Slavery. We have a bad mentality of saying Black people do better than us and think they didn’t sell their soul for it.

Confucius Jones Crabs in the.

Confucius Jones Bucket. So once again, if Jay did pick up people like, well, Jay, a puff of friends, well, friends is loose. Just because you see me stand next somebody over two years. I mean, I’m friends with him.

Confucius Jones I know him.

Confucius Jones Exactly. But Jay is also a married man with children, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t really hang around tough like that. And I don’t think Beyonce is going for that.

Confucius Jones I know Miss Tina.

Confucius Jones Exactly. So. Like I said, if he if Jason, if anybody’s involved in anything that thought they should be held accountable. Yeah. But don’t you start throwing them out there just because, like, stop doing that. That’s the same thing people say, like, oh, well, you know, Jay-Z and them have to be in Illuminati because how can you be that successful?

Confucius Jones Hard work.

Confucius Jones And being talented. But anyway, moving on to people who should be held accountable. That’ll Trump.

Confucius Jones Who is I know his name would pop at some point.

Confucius Jones Was supposed to pay back $484 million to the state of New York for losing that case, for fraud, and to his businesses. That number dropped significantly to, I think, 174 million, I want to say, which he claimed he will be paying. He has ten days to pay it. So I think it’s dead down to five days. But Truth Social like it might be sold, which is his social media service that only him and a bunch of other crazy folks are on. And journalist. It’s value I last saw was 4.5 billion. But something’s weird about something. Somebody inflated that because that whole thing’s been like a puppet dump scheme. But the man that he’s in trouble for right now is that he assailed the judge of his daughter after a gag order in the New York case, hush money criminal case was issued, according to the AP. Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge, who put him under a gag order ahead of his April 15th hush money criminal trial, making a fallacious claim about his daughter and urging him to step aside from the case. I’m convinced Donald Trump has dementia, so I’m gonna give him a pass on this. I don’t think he knew what he was saying, and I also don’t think he understands what the gag order is. And for those of you that say, well, dang Confucius, your eyes, you know, Donald Trump, the man said the other day that Joe Biden would get us into World War two.

Confucius Jones Wait, wait, wait.

Confucius Jones How about a time out I went, I saw that, and I thought somebody misspoke. I thought somebody misspoke. So he really said World War two. Yes. The war that we fought in the 40s. Yes.

Confucius Jones I did.

Confucius Jones I’m telling you, y’all cracking jokes about Ronald Reagan not knowing who the night’s the next day wasn’t Nancy Reagan. That Trump’s gonna be worse if he gets back again. So, you know, all these cases that are going on with him. He ain’t got the money. He says he does. So we’ll see how it plays out. But, you know, chat to him in honesty. They ain’t got no money. Moving on to local news. Deep Eddy cabaret. You ever been there?

Confucius Jones No.

Confucius Jones Me neither. But they are now known as dive bar royalty because they secured historic designation. According to QC and Deep Seated Cabaret, a local tavern with the legacy spanning seven decades, has been officially designated an historic site by the City of Austin. The status, approved by city council during its March 21st meeting will provide the long running establishment, once dubbed Dive Bar royalty, by Bon Appetit, with tax breaks aimed at helping to preserve it while also making it eligible for local, state and federal grants. I hope the drinks are affordable.

Confucius Jones From what I’ve heard, they are not. I know at one point BMI was having their weekly mixer there. I think when they first started, it was happening in the 80s and I just know it’s not anywhere close to where I stay, so I wasn’t making it out there.

Confucius Jones Yes or no? I mean, but shout out to them, seven decades, a long time for that.

Confucius Jones For 70 years. That’s wow.

Confucius Jones I’m not gonna lie to you. When I hear about stuff being open and long, I think Black people have their.

Confucius Jones First 70 years.

Confucius Jones No. Definitely not. Definitely not.

Confucius Jones It’s been open for seven decades. No, we were not. Not at the beginning.

Confucius Jones So we should go there just off GP.

Confucius Jones Yeah. Just because we can.

Confucius Jones This is for my ancestors. And finally Ice Cube. Legendary rapper founder of the Big Three, announced this past Wednesday that his basketball organization offered college basketball player superstar Caitlin Clark $5 million to suit up for the league, and.

Confucius Jones She’d be open.

Confucius Jones She’d be calling it a historic offer to a generational athlete. Ice cube said he’s still waiting for Clark, the University of Iowa Guard, to respond to the opportunity. I saw an interview with another college basketball player saying, well, why does it have to be her? Why can’t it be other people? To which Ice Cube’s son responded on Twitter. You don’t know what other options be put out. That one just we had to talk about because got leaked. And she is a generational talent.

Confucius Jones So yeah. Yeah.

Confucius Jones You know what we just realized you Ballard recently because I wonder what the hell he got going on. But I do agree that. Yeah, that’s I think that’s a fair offer because the WNBA, unfortunately, is not able to pay the players what they should be paid.

Confucius Jones She they’re not going to make $5 million in the WNBA.

Confucius Jones He made that college doing denial. But I think it has to start somewhere.

Confucius Jones And she’s a senior like she has already said that she’s not like. I think her eligibility to play is either up or nearly up like. Yeah, she got to do something after this.

Confucius Jones And so, you know, it starts where. And it could trickle down to other female athletes and basketball players. So do I think she’ll take it? Hell no. But I applaud Ice Cube for it. Women athletes a.

Confucius Jones Great move.

Confucius Jones Are traditionally undervalued when especially the professional level. So I think it’s cool for them to have another option if it’s a big three, whatever. And also the WNBA, which is also owned by the NBA, does not like Ice Cube. You forget that they got they’re getting sued. So, so I mean, I’m all for it.

Confucius Jones I think that undervaluing women in athletics stops this year, because if you have not been paying attention to the NCAA women’s tournament, you are missing out on some great basketball man. Yeah, that’s a huge shout out to the horns, man.

Confucius Jones Look, my mom, I was in my mom’s house and she was watching the men’s play. And I was like, oh, I made it. I got weird, I got.

Confucius Jones To go off.

Confucius Jones So, you know, think that said the women as well as women.

Confucius Jones Look, man, look.

Confucius Jones Shout out to women’s basketball.

Confucius Jones And not Juju Watkins all in her face last week. And they still got the dudes.

Confucius Jones Man I’d be watch that. I’d be I’d be glued to the television.

Confucius Jones Man. I’ve been waiting all week to watch women’s college.

Confucius Jones And to be fair, women’s basketball. It’s not like it just got good. It’s just the storyline that she goes is amazing man. Also shout out to the Knicks. I thought he.

Confucius Jones Won. We did it man. You know we all we got and we got we got the third. We got the earthy.

Confucius Jones Row go by y’all.

Confucius Jones Let’s get let’s get. We got Mitch Robinson bag. Let’s get the rest of them guys back. Maybe we might be in the Eastern Conference finals.

Confucius Jones Maybe I’m gonna say this week and this is it for the news, I hope, just so I can see it the next winter finals. I just want to see fresh. If y’all think I’m bad with the Eagles.

Confucius Jones Look, the Knicks win this year. You come here every week. You mention it every week. I’m gonna find some Knicks apparel to wear every week.

Confucius Jones I think the only competition I really have is Philly in Boston.

Confucius Jones I’m not worried about Philly.

Confucius Jones Yeah. Philly.

Confucius Jones I’m worried about Embiid is still out. And he is. He might miss a lot of the players. I’m only worried about Boston at this point I’m only worried about Boston.

Confucius Jones Yeah Boston. But I say Cleveland Cleveland’s too young.

Confucius Jones So I’m not. Once again we’ve smoked them every time we played them this season. I don’t care. They didn’t do they haven’t changed their lineup. I’m not worried about Cleveland. I’m only worried about Boston. I’m not even worried about Milwaukee because Dame Little is as great as he can shoot.

Confucius Jones Yeah, he’s not doing it.

Confucius Jones He plays defense even worse.

Confucius Jones Yeah. No.

Confucius Jones Yeah. No no I, I would even think about Milwaukee. But I will say this I almost can. I don’t want to say guaranteed the sports, but it’s a really good chance to at least get past the first round like I did.

Confucius Jones I think we made it to the conference finals. I think so we and we, if we can hold on to the third seed, I think we make it to the conference.

Confucius Jones And if I have to end up going against.

Confucius Jones Boston, and if we get Julius and OG Anunoby back, we make it to the conference finals.

Confucius Jones Well, I’m rooting for you in the next because my Eagles didn’t do it. So I know how it feels to be a fan of a sports team that has traditionally just let you down.

Fresh Knight Yeah, boy, to.

Confucius Jones Finally go all the way through.

Fresh Knight 20 years of suffering in silence.

Confucius Jones I was watching The Last Dance and they were talking about the Knicks, gift the bird, and they were saying, yeah, the Knicks have the chance to finally take down the Bulls. They didn’t so shoutout to you, man.

Confucius Jones This episode of The Breaks podcast is a production of KUTX 98.9, The Austin Music Experience. You can listen to the Breaks radio show every Saturday night from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.. This podcast is produced by Confucius Jones,  Fresh Knight and Elizabeth McQueen with editing help from Jack Anderson. Additional production help provided by Zahra Crim. You can  follow us on Instagram and Twitter. We are at TheBreaksKUTX and you can find more episodes at KUTX forward slash The Breaks. Our theme song is by Austin artist Deezie Brown.

This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.