Lessons in Success with SilkktheShocker

SilkktheShocker: If, you know, back in the days it was big of the car.

SilkktheShocker: Speaker like 16 by nine and all that.

SilkktheShocker: And our stuff hit the hardest because K imagine Doctor Dre producing all your stuff. Imagine a regular local producer producing it is going to sound.

SilkktheShocker: And so if you ride and, and it's all about the bass if I, if the whatever they barely know what you're saying. The music are going to bass is good, they're going to buy your stuff.

David Adams: All right, guys, thanks for joining us on the podcast today.

David Adams: Well, we enjoy exhilarating euphoria through creation and collaboration. We're here with the shocker. Yes, sir. What's up man. Good to see you bud. A long time coming. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've known each other for a long time. Yeah, we got it right. We know that a lot of time. I've seen you go through a lot of things and I know you see me go through my ups and downs, so it's just.

David Adams: It's good to have you here. But, let's talk a little bit about where you're from and and what school you rep, and let's go for that because, you know, it's always come down to New Orleans with school you went to. Right? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And they always mean high school. Nobody means college. It's all about the high schools.

SilkktheShocker: I would say I started and was born and raised, went to Richmond, California. You went to went there for like a year, then came back to, New Orleans. Kind of pursued it, pursued the music. Just crazy after that point. So school I grew up is, a, in 73. Yeah. Those is my two stomping ground.

SilkktheShocker: You know, people don't know me. You know, they don’t know I’ve been down well. And and before you were in the music, you play basketball and you play basketball is pretty good. Yeah, that’s what I heard. That’s what I heard. You know, you know, you were silk in many ways, you know, silky smooth in many ways. But what happened in basketball?

SilkktheShocker: Well, what was good about is that I pursued it, was pretty good at it. But then you get hurt at some point early on. I know I didn’t get hurt. I kind of just took a break from it. But I was really good. So where I got to, I kind of got an NBA offer, but when they offered it to me, it was.

SilkktheShocker: It was really low. Okay, I think I was making it in one day and the players aren’t making they weren’t making the same money. That and, it was back, you know. But all right. So, so you decided to go to California and and start music? Yeah, we did what? We did it here. But, you know, it was just a certain type of music here.

SilkktheShocker: And then I think we wanted to make, like, real music, like, you know, because I’m the boss was in pop and was in all that. So we want to make like this kind of two part type of music, like where it’s like real music, like talking about the neighborhoods. And they wasn’t really adept at that point yet. Okay.

David Adams: We took you to California. We went to California based on just because we had to go. We had to change of scenery, just a whole bunch of stuff in between that. But, going to California was, was a, culture shock, so I bet. So the funny thing is, so coming in New Orleans, you know, we represent all the projects, you know, all those projects and stuff.

David Adams: And it was bad. But, you know, when you enter your own, you don’t think is that bad, right? So one day I was like, reading, I was, I was, I was looking at magazines all the time. So I’m like, oh, man, California got palm trees. The big ocean all makes me beautiful. So I’m looking at California like, yeah, we can’t wait to get to California, get to California, get to Richmond.

David Adams: It’s just like, yeah, it’s just more poverty. It’s not worse. Is that worries? Right? You worry. So, you know, it’s funny and and people always, you know, I guess they see racism in different moments. But so for me, I never because I grew up here like, like, like we were all part of the culture, like. Yeah, I had you on my walls, on my, you know, grade school, you know what I mean?

David Adams: Like, like, this was a part of us, like, we didn’t see different sides. I mean, there was different sides, but we didn’t see it in a in a color sense. I think if we saw it more in a culture sense, but not but least we had a color sense. But when I, when I got to LA, I saw the first real racism.

David Adams: Awesome. It sounds good. Well, thank you guys for joining us today on The Nation podcast. Please follow, like, subscribe if you would like any more content like this.

David Adams: And I'll see you next time. Thanks. Let's go.