In The Shadows of Independent Greatness: Sy Ari the Kid
INTERVIEW @KBTindal PHOTOGRAPHY @PHOTOS_CHASEGOZY
When it comes to being an absolute independent legend in this game, this native of the north side of Atlanta by way of the birthplace of Hip-hop, The Bronx is just that. He is a thoroughly respected artist, lyricist, singer, songwriter, battle rapper and podcast host, but don't let the titles and labels confuse you. This man is a pure artist with no restrictions. He has worked with the upper echelon and the who's-who, when it comes to top tier bars as well as some of the most popular artists in the game consisting of Jada Kiss, Travis Scott, Royce da 5’9”, T.I., Big K.R.I.T., Raekwon, Lloyd Banks, Birdman, Fuego Base, Nu Jersey Twork, Mickey Factz, Rick Ross, Bryson Tiller, Timberland, Future and many more. In the last decade as an independent artist he has released a total of 24 projects, and a total of 47 projects since 2011. He was formerly signed to Cash Money Records and Republic Records. He has over 100 million streams, 10 gold and platinum plaques, a Grammy nomination for The Allegory with Royce da 5’9” and an American Music Award. His latest release is the final project in the Shadow Trilogy entitled The Last Shadow in the Shade. Let’s give a well-deserved salute to this king and a high-spirited welcome from Validated Magazine to Sy Ari da Kid.
Validated: Let's jump right into it man. What is your earliest memory of hip-hop?
Sy Ari da Kid: Damn earliest memory of hip-hop, damn that's a good question, now do you mean in terms of like who I was listening to or like when you say memory?
Validated: Yeah. Your earliest recollection of Hip Hop like, Oh wow, this is something different that I've never seen that I want to be a part of.
Sy Ari da Kid: My cousin Randall when I was a kid was listening to Big L's album. That album that's out after he died and shit. Where he is on the front with the glasses. My cousin was playing that album a lot and that kind of made me go like, “Hold on like this is kind of-- this nigga is kind of nice you know what I mean? Like yeah I think that was the first.
My full beginning for me was Wu-tang. My brother had every Wu-Tang album known. I'm not talking about Wu-Tang Forever and 36 Chambers and Liquid Swords. I'm talking about the Shyheim album. I’m talking about the Sons of Man album. So for me it was a lot of Wu-tang shit and then the Big L shit that kind of was like my entry to like okay hold on those were the first albums I saw in the house and was like damn, because I was young as hell. I was legit young. I think that was like my intro. I hadn't been to a concert or nothing. My parents weren't really a fan of it because of the profanity and all the gangsta shit, the pants sagging and everybody acting ill-- they didn't want me listening to nothing. I couldn't listen to any of that. My parents were totally old school. My parents are from the projects too but they are old school. My parents were from Harlem. I remember distinctly, I was on a road trip one time and you know back then the headphones didn't really like, the music didn't stay in your ear. Like whatever you were playing if you played it loud everyone could hear it.
I was in the car. I had this Tasmanian Devil Walkman, and I had Biggie Life After Death and I had P. Diddy's No Way Out. I had that shit on blast. I think it was the “Victory” song. I will never forget this shit. My mom heard that shit and was like, “What is you listening to?” I threw that shit away like I could never listen to it again. That's how I really walked into like, damn I think I'mma have to go against the grain of my parents on this because this shit fire. You know what I mean?
Validated: No doubt. Absolutely. Who is the artist that made you pick up the pen?
Sy Ari da Kid: Pick up the pen. I'm gonna say Big L and Big Pun.
Validated: What part of the Bronx are you from?
Sy Ari da Kid: I'm from the South Bronx Grand Concourse. A couple blocks from Yankee Stadium. I idolized Big Pun and he was from the Bronx, not that I got shade against Harlem because I was actually born in St John's Hospital in Harlem, but I'm from the Bronx. Pun made me want to rap so much. I used to memorize his shit and rap it to my friends as if it was mines. I knew that they wasn't listening to it because I was in Atlanta so I knew they didn't really know like a lot of Pun’s mixtapes. So I would walk around and I'd be like “Dead in the middle of Little Italy / Little did we know that we riddled two middlemen who didn't do diddly” I was doing that shit like they was like “Oh that crazy” but they ain’t know it was Pun.
Validated: What’s the meaning behind the Shadow Trilogy?
Sy Ari da Kid: So the whole precipice of the Shadow and the Shade is you know you got those niggas that they be like, you remember the nigga in the hood that that will bust Jordan ass but he never got the opportunity? He never had the spotlight or maybe he didn't conform to some of the bullshit in the industry, but he really just as nice or maybe influenced a nigga that you see now like Ginobli doing a Shammgod. Shammgod is an example of a shadow in a shade. He didn't have the opportunity and the spotlight, but he still got the influence on the culture and still got the skill set and attributes and work ethic to be up there with the elites. I exude that. I exude the hard work, the talent, but I might not have a lot of the spotlight that other niggas got but I still got my crazy fan base. A lot of the top niggas know me like but I'm not gonna deal with a lot of the shit.
If I name my top 10 artists right now 80 or 70% of those niggas was signed under niggas that they got a terrible story about. And I'm never going to be the nigga that got a bad story about a nigga 'cause I'm not staying long enough. No shade to them 'cause everybody you got to do what work for you. I've been a self-made nigga since I was a jit. Any niggas that know me, any school I went to I always been official. I always been a solid nigga not walking around getting played with always was a hustler. I've been selling niggas shit since I was in sixth grade. Any nigga that know me from middle school all the way up to high school as that niggas that was always selling something whether it was legal or illegal. Niggas know me for that. They know me from a jit for getting money. It always made me uncomfortable when niggas was playing with me to have opportunity because I'm like I really could get this bag maybe not as quick as I can get it with you but I'mma end up doing something that I don't want to do around you because I don't stand for this. I'm not gonna be disrespected. I'm not going to play like I'm not uncomfortable when I am uncomfortable. I think a lot of niggas they tolerated a lot of niggas while they didn't like what was going on and I'm just not that person. So, I'm always going to be a shadow and a shade.
Each album is just the stories of what I'm going through and what I went through to be where I am now whether it being hip-hop, my family, my homies, some niggas that I lost outside, just shit like that you feel me?
Validated: Tell me about an experience in your life that was challenging to you that you overcame and what the end result was and how that experience affected you and helped you grow as a man?
Sy Ari da Kid: I don't want to get into crime shit but I'll say in the music game. I'll say when I signed my deal. I signed my first deal, I think it was around 2017. My first major deal was with Cash Money/Universal. 11 months into that deal I didn't like what was going on and I can break it down simple. Now me and Birdman then and now have a great relationship. I was just with him the other day. We are still cool, always solid. It really wasn't him. It was some a middleman in between it that I didn't fuck with. I had to go through that situation in order for me to get the deal anyway so it is what it is. And also with the label I had certain budgets in my contract but then I learned through the business that just because something is in your contract doesn't mean that the label has to approve it. I wasn't aware of that before. I learned that the hard way. And maybe I did know but I didn't think that they would play with me with something that was already in my budget.
I got on a sold out tour on my own with Black and Sabrina Claudio. I got a $50,000 budget in my contract. I'm on a tour by myself. It's sold out. I just need some funding. You know I want to get my merch. I want to get my tour bus or whatever. They say, “Oh we're not clearing any budgets right now you know the budget is held up we're not cutting any dollars”. When I got told no to that I was like, Oh I gotta go like this ain't gonna work for me. Plus you know I already had all my own money so I ended up doing a tour anyway. I brought my sprinter on the road then I purchased my own merch. I did it myself. I said, “I'm damn near still independent. I might as well go back independent.” The issue was (and I'm going to be transparent) Birdman gave me $300,000.
I also gave a couple of my producers 50 grand out of that because I signed them under me and I gave them 50 grand because they ain’t have no money in their pocket, so I'm like, you know what I eat, y'all eat boom. So I gave my producers some bread. Keep in mind two of them niggas was homeless. None of them ever had a placement. This is all their first shit. All young niggas, boom gave them gave them a bag.
After that when I wanted to get out this deal was where it got difficult. The niggas in the middle they wanted like an interest of like $63-$64,000 and keep in mind at this time when I asked to get out, my music got froze up so I couldn't release any music until I got out this deal. That was a hard time for me because I had to make a hard decision and now I owe $360,000. First of all where we come from niggas don't even know how to pay back $100. So now I'm 360,000 plus in debt knowing that I got to return this bread. These niggas already done spent the money I gave them. Anyway, long story short and this is how I got out of my deal; I ended up facilitating another situation where basically I hit Bird up personally myself. I said, yo big homie, I know it's business. I'm not asking for no favors. Let's work something out. Let me put a down payment on this. I promise I'll pay you back. Put a down payment on it. Give me about 24 months, a 24 month plan to pay you monthly till this balance is clear. Give me a little minute to facilitate my music. Let me drop again. He said, “Nephew, whatever you want to do, put it on paper we'll get it done.” He kept his word.
From there a month or two later I forwarded him $100,000 cash. Boom. Go from there. Now I owe like $7,400 a month to this label until I'm out of my deal. Keep in mind I just bought my house. I just bought my sprinter, so I'm going through a lot at this time my nigga. I just put a lot of money into my cribs. Now I gotta pay $7,400 a month extra plus I just gave up $100,000. So that was a real hard time of my life but I had to keep my word.
Now I'm going tell you when Bird really got solid with me. I'm slowly paying. I get down to about 110,000. I said, “I’m going to hit Bird again” 'cause at that time I was sitting on like, even though I was like spending my bread, I say, 60/$70,000. I hit Bird I said, “Big homie I don't want to bother you with nothing man but yo I owe you about 100 something left. I know I do. But yo is there an amount I could forward you right now that you would just… yo if I give you 60 right now can we just end this shit?” He said, “Nephew if that's what you got, you got the 60 ready?” I said, “I got the 60 ready”. He said, “I'mma hit my lawyer. We gonna set it up and we gonna wash it away.” Word to my mom's, I got the money, the lawyer wired the 60, and the nigga let me go.
Validated: That was it.
Sy Ari da Kid: The true story bro. It was the hardest shit I ever had to do in my life because I had to really maintain and get it in but I paid my debt clear as day and I'm proud of that moment though because it took me a lot to get that done. You know what I mean?
Validated: Yeah man that's some solid shit though.
Sy Ari da Kid: Yeah. For sure.
Validated: The Last Shadow in the Shade I listened to the project. There's a few standout tracks that I like, one of them is “Do Black Men Need Therapy.” Man this is a subject that nobody talks about. I'm not ashamed to say I see a therapist on a regular basis. For me it's just something that works for me. Do you see a therapist or what made you make this song and tackle this topic?
Sy Ari da Kid: You know what's crazy bro? I haven't seen an actual therapist yet but I look at therapy in multiple ways whether it be via a therapist, music can be therapeutic. A big homie, an OG, your pops, your moms, your grandmother, your grandfather, a solid uncle that has been through some real shit. These are all therapists. I think therapy for black men (I don't want to say niggas. I just sat down with Dr. Umar, so I'm gonna say black men). Therapy to me for strong black men is just having the strength to open up to someone or something, that's the first of it. I think some of us might or eventually maybe need some actual therapy from somebody that's gone to school for it and has a degree in it. I think we all as men just struggle to ask for help, struggle to admit that we might need some help, struggle to admit that we are going through some shit. Even though we want to be strong and push through it, I just think that it's going to take some of the strong niggas that niggas respect. Where I'm from a lot of niggas look up to me so I always be like if I could say it then, now the weak niggas could come over and I can make them stronger. Now the strong niggas are like “Hold up Sy is saying that?” I could walk with him. It's different.
I made this point. Niggas make all these comments about, like you'll see certain niggas going in going on people and go, “Oh gangster music is bad” or they'll be like “Rappers don't need to be talking about drugs.” Bro no one's gonna listen until it come from a nigga that's doing it or done it. Don't nobody want to hear from no niggas, no offense like this sound bad bu, nobody gonna listen to a nigga that just look like a good Christian wholesome kid every day. Unfortunately, these are not the niggas that can get through to these kids. Now if a Future comes out and says, “You know what I'm not drinking lean no more, I'm not popping perks no more, I'm not doing no more drugs. Everybody clean up ya'll system.” He is not gonna save the world but it's gonna shift the culture and shift the word a little bit. It gotta come from the core. I feel like one of the niggas like me don't have the influence of a Future or maybe a niggas like say Benny The Butcher, Jadakiss but I feel like these niggas have told a lot in their story. They did a lot of reflection and projecting about it. Look, I did do these things but I also went through these things. I like that they have told that story and have evolved. I just like that. I like that side of it, you know what I mean?
Validated: On “The Unknown” you talked about talking to God when you are complacent, what is your faith like man? Is your faith based in religion or is it based in spirituality and how much do you rely on it?
Sy Ari da Kid: I mean in my opinion bro I think a little bit of everything bro. I was born a Christian, went to church with my family a lot and I'm also a realist as well. So it's like yeah I believe in God, I pray, I bless my food. I may not go to church every day like everybody else but I got a lot of faith in God. I know a gift from something and somewhere was given to me. Yeah bro like I still believe there’s such a thin line between it man. You see like I'mma tell you what side of the Christian stuff that I'm not with, like you see women walk around like “Oh God gon’ give me my husband.” I don't believe in shit like that. I believe God gives us gifts and opportunities. You as a man or woman have to wake up and earn that and maintain that and use it for good and if not it will be taken from you or you will never reach it, that's what I believe. I don't believe that any woman around here is gonna find her husband that's just gonna be faithful to her. It doesn't work like that. I don't believe in none of that type of shit. I don't even know if that's a story in the Bible. I believe that when I talk to God it's not more so for “Oh Lord bring me this,” no it's thank you Lord for giving me the gift and the strength in life and air to wake up every morning to breathe and now I'm going to go make this shit happen.
That's what I believe. I don't sit back like a lot of these motherfuckers do and say “Oh God gonna do all that,” I believe my gift is given and that we all got gifts, and you got to open that and give it to the world and your family at your discretion. I believe in shit like that and so that's my belief.
Validated: You also talked about a deal that you just turned down. Can you kind of elaborate on that a little bit?
Sy Ari da Kid: I ain't gonna say the company but I get offers all the time, but but yeah I said that on the song “they don't know I just got it offered a deal and turned it down” but that's me saying that to niggas because it's like everyone's so eager to sign something it's like niggas, you could tell these niggas no. Real talk. That was a flex for me man because I want a lot of niggas to hear that now. I'm really independent. I'm not just independent because nobody’s calling me. I'm independent because I choose to be. I love that line 'cause it was real. I was about to do a situation and I felt like they was playing with me in the paperwork and when my lawyer told me what they were trying to slip in there I said, Go fuck yourself. I just told y'all I wasn't doing that and y’all try to put it in there so now we no longer do business. You know what I'm saying?
Validated: Yeah that's easy.
Sy Ari da Kid: Facts.
Validated: I caught the line but I don't know what it meant. You talked about battling Van Lathanbefore TMZ, what was that about?
Sy Ari da Kid: Yo shout out to Van Lathan that's my man. He used to be on Twitter just talking shit. He might @ me, write a bar to me. So you know, I said you know what, I'mma burn this niggas on tweets. We had a little back and forth on Twitter with the bars and that's why I say you know “they don't know I battled Van Lathan before the TMZ.” True story too.
Validated: No doubt. On “Awakened Dreams” you said “Gillie found my camera in Philly and sent it in a Uber to The Bronx” Where did he find your camera?
Sy Ari da Kid: True story. So long story short I got a record. I got two records with Freeway and you see on the album me and Gilly were outside talking with Freeway talking on the little skit.
Validated: I heard that.
Sy Ari da Kid: I'm out there in Philly. I don't check in with whoever but I check in with niggas that have spoken to me before. I hit Gillie and Wallo while I was going to Philly like “Yo I'm shooting a video out here man. Anyway I could tap in? Wallo was out of town Gillie ended up saying, “Yo bet nef I pull up.” He pulled up in Philly, bought everybody Philly cheese steaks and shit. He was all in the video. Anyway around that time him and Wallo had just left Philly and moved to Jersey to build where they got their podcast. He was like “Yo nef if y'all want y'all come out the studio and come check it out.” So as we went with my cameraman, my other people brought it over there. We were talking to Gillie for so long and they were smoking and getting high. My man left the camera bag at the house. So when we left, we left to go to the Bronx and Gillie is still out there. So keep in mind we just realized we left the camera so it's like 1 in the morning. I'm like damn, now I gotta tell this rich ass nigga I don't even know where it is. I'm like maybe he could just check. I called Gillie, and he wakes up “What's up nephew?” He’s sleep. I said a man, listen I think we left our shit in your spot. I don't know if it's there. I don't want to wake you up but you know I mean if we got to come back and grab it or whenever you go back up there I can throw it in the Uber. I’ll pay 170 for the Uber whatever we got to do. He says, “Hold on nef I get up and check it for you right now.” Nigga got out of his bed, went back to the office, found it, waited for the lady to come outside for the Uber and then left. That's a true story. That's why I said ever since Gillie found my camera in Philly and sent it in the Uber to the Bronx. You know what I'm saying? All true story.
Validated: Yeah. On “Institutionalized” you had the famous Boosie clip you know on the intro wher he says “most rappers die in their own city” and you talked about a lot of things that happen in the hood on a daily basis. young’ns outside getting high up to no good. How do you try to give back to some of these young’ns so that they can hear the positive message before it's too late outside of the music?
Sy Ari da Kid: You know bro honestly that’s a good question. I try to do my part, like and I say this to all people whether you got kids or not. I think it's a must that every adult involves themselves in some kids' lives. We all got a part to play. Even if it's a small scale like bro, first of all I got a son, my son 13. My son is on the basketball team so all his friends call me uncle. “Yo Unc.” I have a responsibility bro. There's been times when they parents going through shit, a lot of them niggas don't even got their father in their life. It's been times when Nef might hit me, “Yo Unc you got any way I can make money?” That's my job to make sure he make that money because if I say no he already got told no in his family. So now if I don't figure that out, it's not my job but it is. If I tell him no, I can't look at him wrong when he go outside and rob a store or he sell something because now he is trying to figure it out. Or he go steal something because he tried to ask for help.
Yeah. I said, “Neph you know what come over here I got some laundry, come over here clean up at the house real quick, fold all these clothes, I give you how much you need? All right boom, I give you enough to make this amount. That's a small scale. It's a lot of niggas not even doing that. Bro I done coached Rec Ball multiple times with kids. I had a team full of mixed race kids. I had an all black team that my son was playing on. This is me affecting children bro.
There’s nigga's doing much more than that but there’s nigga's not doing none of that. I think as men we got to find a way to touch base even if it's in the neighborhood. Even in my neighborhood like I'm saying what's up to all the little niggas. They look up to me. They see me pull off in a nice car. It's my job to talk to them, tell “Hey man, you can get this niggas one day. What are you working on? What you selling?” Some of these little niggas got something for sale. Believe in something. You see a little nigga out there hooping like I might see a young boy hooping, he playing with a ball from Six Flags, a cheap ass ball. I noticed so I go to Target real quick, and tell him, yo use this rock. How hard is that $30-$40. You see a nigga out there playing with a baseball, he got a cheap ass bat, get him a bat. “You like baseball, you gon’ take it serious?” All right, hold on. I'll be right back, come back and bring him a real joint.
What's wrong with that. I think it starts from shit like that. The other day (and I'mma shorten this story) I had a chick, a little girl come up to me and I seen her mom sent her. You know like the parents that be having their kids selling shit in public but the parents be in the cut? Little girl came up to me and my home girls and niggas and shit and she was selling dah-dah-dah. I asked, how much is this?” She had the price. I said, “Well what if I want four?” “I don't know. I'll be right back.” I said, “Now hold on. You got to know your prices.” I'm giving her the game. I'm like “If I get this right here for $5. Let me get two for the eight. Hold on I gotta ask. You need to have your prices down packed and have a deal ready for me if I want to get more than just this.” I'm giving her game. The mom got her out there doing it but she not giving her game that there's a way to really get this off. It's simple. I did that with hella kids outside. Anytime I see a kid selling something I might buy it and hand it to you. You see a kid selling something, buy it, give him some game. That little shit is important.
Validated: Yeah and they’ll remember.
Sy Ari da Kid: It matters. I try to do that much when I'm out and about and I'm with my young’ns and I'm doing what I'm doing outside.
Validated: I love the fact that artists like yourself and Graph are teaming up with Roc-A-Fella alumni artists bringing back that sound you know that we were all into in the 90s and the early 2000s, those Just Blaze, Bink, Timberland, and Kanye West type beats. On “Quote Unquote” featuring Freeway who we know you've worked with before and Nick Grant who in my opinion is an underrated MC, how did that come about and were you in the studio with them? What was that energy like?
Sy Ari da Kid: Yeah I wasn't even in the lab with them when I did “Quote Unquote” I had two verses on there. The beats by Stoic I thought it sounded like some old Roc-A-Fella shit. It sound like a Just Blaze or like a Bink beat like it just sounds like that. I hit Freeway because I'm like this the most solid Roc nigga I know. Beans reached out to me before but you know he losing his voice and stuff so you know that's hard to get right now. So I hit Freeway and he said, “I’ll get it to you in a few days.” This shit crazy. A matter of fact Freeway when I sent it to him he responded with a voice message of him rapping to the beat, freestyling to it. I got like a four bar joint with him just freestyling to it just because he liked the beat. So that's how I got it with him. Then me and Nick Grant got back in touch 'cause we had spared a minute ago when I was at a Sway’s joint and I always felt like we needed to connect and I was like “Yo I got a joint for you.” Sent them two joints and then he jumped on it last minute the day before I turned my album in and that's how it got done.
Validated: Nice speaking of The Roc I read your bio too and I know you draw inspiration from a few people. So knowing that Jay-Z's one of them, what's your favorite Hov song and your favorite Hov moment in time?
Sy Ari da Kid: Great question. Favorite Jay Z song of all time I'mma go, “You Don't Know.” Which arguably to me is the greatest hip-hop beat of all time. I don't think there's a better beat. When you hear it and you just like to make that face every time. It’s the greatest rap beat of all time to me. It's so good I don't even want to freestyle to it. Greatest Jay-Z moment of all time was when he did the freestyle with Funk Flex to the “Grammy Family” instrumental.
Validated: Oh that shit was crazy.
Sy Ari da Kid: He fucked up 20 times.
Validated: But still was crazy though.
Sy Ari da Kid: But he kept going. It was so crazy and the swag and the confidence to mess up that much and keep going, I never seen or heard no shit like that in my life and that hands down is my favorite Hov moment. Every time I do a freestyle I play that joint for inspiration.
Validated: “Rebellion” man I call that like an open bar cookout you know what I mean? Cyhi is another one that I don't think gets enough credit as a top tier lyricist and songwriter. What is the respect level like when you are on a track with dudes like that. I know you're a pure MC and there's no love lost when you get on the track.. If I body you I body you, it is what it is. No love lost with that. But what's the respect level like when you work with guys like that?
Sy Ari da Kid: It's hot bro. I think niggas know what time it is. I'm gonna say Cyhi had the advantage on that because when I created the record I created it for me. Then when I heard it I'm like, I don't even want to do a second verse. This sounds like something I would do with Benny. Benny was recording like literally like five minutes away from my studio so I'm like you know what, just see what's going on, I hit my nigga Harlem. They were there working. Benny already fuck with me so I'm like let's see if he got time to knock this joint out. Once I got Benny on there, I really actually sent it to Fab. I sent it to Fab first. That same night I sent it to Cyhi. I was like “Yo Cyhi you and Benny ain’t never did nothing?” He was like “No.” I said this gotta happen. This gotta happen, let's get this done. I'm saying like I got a pair of you niggas on some shit. So that's how the record came about. I think that as Emcees though, like Cyhi and Benny like they're confident. Him and Benny think they’re the best. That's the same way I feel so it's like everybody knows that when you hear it you're like “Okay I can't slouch”. Cyhi coming with that shit nigga. You know what I'm saying? Benny on there talking that like, we on there talking that struggle shit. Cyhi knew he couldn't play. Benny was like “I do this for the moms on WIC and stamps” “I'm coming in like I walk safe when approaching a court case, good lawyer money had you at home on them court dates you still in good hands like the slogan from All State.” Nigga we coming with that shit. It's different with me and Benny. I'mma point this out. Niggas can't play with niggas like me and Benny on songs because a lot of niggas is nice. Very rare do you hear niggas that's nice and that's gonna punch you but also bring out the struggle shit. See when you on a track with niggas that bring out that pain you got to be careful. It's easy to go in there and talk, all that lyrical-pyrical shit. I'll let niggas play with that shit all they want. If you listen to Cyhi’s verse he is really on there telling a story. He knows he got to be lyrical but he also got to talk that shit. That's why he brings up things like “I'm in a section when BMF was right next to me” He knew like okay let me give him some of this. Let me give him some of that shit. I like to bring that out of people. Niggas know don't come on the track with me talking about some shit that you never really did.
I wrote my verse fresh out of having a court date. To my actual point which is what Dr. Umar said, “We must reflect and project”. I'm not bragging about having a court date because I did something illegal. I'm reminding niggas “Hey, I was doing this, I caught a case but I had lawyer money to make sure that I don't got to do time. I ain't using no public defender. Young niggas are you listening? If you gonna do this type of shit make sure you got lawyer money. Don't have your mom hitting your homies up for a GoFundMe. If you going to bust this move because you don't got a choice, okay respect, but here's what you're gonna go through. That’s why I like to say that. See niggas will look over that linen but be like “Oh hold on, you ain't have to go to court?” Yes I didn't because I had good lawyer money. “Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it?”, “I’m influenced by the ghetto you ruined the same dude you gave nothing’, I made somethin’ doin’” You heard me?
Validated: Hov was talking that shit in ‘96 and had to bring it back and tell niggas again multiple times.
Sy Ari da Kid: Facts.
Validated: What's your favorite track on the album?
Sy Ari da Kid: I'm gonna say this bro: I never had favorites. I don’t bump my own shit like that. The most personal track to me is “Do Black Men Need Therapy” that song hurt to write. That song brought me to tears mid verse, creating that verse talking about my uncle that passed away, the only hustler in my family, talking about my pops, talking about the struggles of never meeting my grandfathers. I needed them niggas but I don’t have them because they ain't take care of their self. My grandpa, my uncle passing, my pops him being so tough on me that I didn't understand it till he told me his dad didn't hug him or tell him loved him 'cause he was trying to be so tough on him. Then that turned into my brother acting that way and then I'm like hold on, I don't know if I want this to come to me. So it was like I described it from that, because this stems from something. That's why I said, we went through slavery, poverty, great depression, they freed us but they suppressed us, say the question now.” So I went through all the things from my family to what niggas is going through to slavery. I broke down every reason why these niggas have issues. It starts in the family. It started from poverty. It started from slavery. It started from like niggas got so much shit to prove because we never had nothing, yeah so I bring up all that you know what I mean yeah and so that to me I'm not gonna say my favorite but I'mma say it damn near is because it's so personal to me dog. You know what I mean?
Validated: Yeah no doubt. Word. If you had to pick one person, if you could only pick one person, one MC or one producer that makes you actually elevate your pen game when you're in the studio with them, who would it be?
Sy Ari da Kid: My dream collab till this day and I got to make it happen I don't care if I pay for it and a lot of niggas probably won't even pick this. I want a beat by Alchemist and I want the feature byCommon. I want us to do one record for the streets and one record for the black queens and I might retire the next day.
Validated: You gonna speak that one into existence right there.
Sy Ari da Kid: Oh no I'm making that shit happen. I'm gonna get a joint. I done told multiple niggas like, yo I need a joint with Common yo. Word up. I need that.
Validated: What's your most memorable moment as an artist so far?
Sy Ari da Kid: Memorable for me, probably sitting down and doing that video shoot with Jada Kiss. He’s one of my favorite rappers of all time. Grew up studying him and him sitting down looking me in my face telling me “Yo you one of us. Like nigga you cut from my cloth nigga, like we fuck with you. Let me know what you need” Having him sit in my sprinter and tell me that to my face and then seeing him go up there and say, “Yo niggas when you hit the stage memorize your lyrics” that's it for me fam. That's Jada top five dead or alive niggas. I’ll never forget that that nigga, that right there just changed my life you feel me?
Validated: So I know you had started your own label Arrogant Music in 2006. You went through the major label machine in the system with Cash Money and Republic. At this point in your life I know you're independent but do you prefer independence over major labels?
Sy Ari da Kid: Yeah independent all day. Between me and you bro no matter what deal I get offered I would never sign another record deal again ever. I don't care what the-- never. I will never be in any situation where someone else could tell me yes or no.
Validated: And control your art, yeah.
Sy Ari da Kid: Yeah that will never happen so those days-- I know a lot of people be talking that independent like for real. I'm independent like for real, to the point where like I there's not even an amount of money somebody can sign me. It's that serious.
Validated: I know you draw inspiration from Kobe and Muhamad Ali.
Sy Ari da Kid: Yes sir.
Validated: So what's your favorite Kobe and Ali moments in time?
Sy Ari da Kid: Damn! Ali moment man this thing got a lot. To me Ali is the definition of gangster. For me when Ali told them people when they tried to send him out to the Army and he told them niggas no go fuck yourself. I'm not fighting for this country. That was the most gangster shit ever. Fuck what he did in the ring. Not to mention in the ring he fought the biggest punchers, bigger than him he didn't give a fuck. He fought everybody, all these new boxing niggas, the shit tank and them be doing, I don't fuck with that shit. These niggas ducking too many fades.
Validated: And your favorite Kobe Bryant moment in time.
Sy Ari da Kid: Oh no bro Kobe. I mean we all know about “the jobs not finished line” For me there was a game that Kobe was playing the Knicks, he was dead tired, it was like between a timeout he sat down and this white comedian and Chris Rock was like talking to him like two seats away all in his a like telling jokes and shit. Kobe was looking straight. Bro, you know how important it is to focus my nigga you got all these distractions and all these motherfuckers saying this. Bro that nigga's the epitome of, lock the fuck in. That shit reminded me bro, lock your ass in bro. For me to see that I was like, oh no we ain't got no excuse. This nigga's ignoring one of the greatest comedians of all time. He not worried about that shit, my niggas got a job to do.
Validated: The mission is more important.
Sy Ari da Kid: Yeah I ain't gonna lie like when I saw that I was like “Nah Kobe is my mans”. Yeah that's my favorite Kobe moment of all time yo.
Validated: That's what's up. Sy Ari Not Sorry show you know I've watched a few episodes. What do you hope to bring to the table that's different and fresh that's going to make people really tune in and really catch on to what it is that you're trying to do without even being a fan of you as an artist?
Sy Ari da Kid: I’m gonna say that the consistency of what I'm doing with my show is gonna continue to keep working. I'm going to take a little longer because I'm not going to do click bait and do the bull shit that a lot of other people are going to do. I just had to tell a nigga the other day, hey, homie I'm not going to be able to drop that part of that because you being disrespectful to another nigga. And the way you wording it, it's different if you disagree with him but you disagreeing in a disrespectful fashion to where say if y'all see each other and he want to see about you about or vice versa the clip that they gonna pull out when it all unfold it's my shit. And I'm not exuding none of that type of negativity on my platform. I know these are some shows I might end up on later on 'cause I'm about to get it cracking. I don't give a fuck. I'm about to check all these niggas that been on these platforms laughing at the negativity of other niggas. Y'all niggas sitting back giggling but you know what it is though? A lot of these podcast niggas like even even if they from the hood they was the niggas in the hood that was walking past the block that had the action. They never was really able to dap niggas up outside and really what happen when niggas go left. That's why they laughing it's funny to them because these niggas are clowns. They know y'all clowning. They know y'all clowns and they gonna let y'all continue to it but I'm not gonna let a niggas do that on my platform. I'm not gonna pull a Vlad TV and let you come in here and say, oh fuck this nigga. No this niggan might be with some niggas that's really with that. You might be with some niggas that's with that. Now this niggas feel like he got to prove something 'cause y'all at the same concert or festival. Nah bro, we not doing that my nigga. We're not doing that. I wish y'all to find peace not because I'm scared but because I don't want to see y'all go down that hole. We losing enough niggas and we don't got enough niggas. It's even niggas that I know that's official that I know, that know better, that's letting these niggas do it. And I'll be sitting back like, Nah not you my nigga. I haven't seen that on Gillie or Wallo platform one time. They don't let them do it.
Yeah that's why I need my platform to keep going because I'm not going to allow that. I've been doing a lot with my platform like I'm involved in the streets. I'm involved in the ladies. Everybody get on there, we split our opinions and we go for it so forth, and so forth.
Validated: What does hip hop mean to you?
Sy Ari da Kid: Hip hop is everything bro. Hip-hop is culture, creativity, energy, mood, the future, the now. It's the influence on the entire world. I literally went to Beijing, China and had a tourist guy that talked and walked like us and he was Chinese and I said, “Where did you learn this shit from?” He said, “Hip hop.” He has never been to America. His name was Mustafa. I lie to you not. I said, “Bro how did you learn to speak English?” He said “hip hop.”
And if that don't tell you enough about how much this is an influence and you niggas just think that it's just freedom of speech, it's not, it's bigger than you, it's bigger than your ignorance my nigga. You have a job and you have an opportunity and you have a responsibility and we all got to take advantage. And it don't mean you got to be a Christian rapper. It's your job to reflect and project where we need to be moving as a culture from your good decisions and your bad decisions. And if you're not doing that you are against hip hop.