Logic ON: Stop Letting Your Past Define Your Future & How to Prioritize Your Mental Health

Bobby Hall sits down with Jay Shetty to talk about his career and family life. While recalling his abusive and violent childhood, he openly shares how he found light in the darkest times of his, how he draws inspirations from his roots to pursue his passion for music, and how being yourself can be good because your being open to others and why it can be disadvantageous because you’re showing vulnerability. Bobby a.k.a. Logic is a platinum-selling recording artist, author, actor, streamer, and film producer with two Grammy-nominated albums out of six. He is the first musician to sign exclusivity with Twitch. In 2019, Bobby released his debut and New York times bestselling novel, Supermarket which was accompanied by a soundtrack of the same name. This year, he released his second book, This Bright Future: A Memoir. Achieve success in every area of your life with Jay Shetty’s Genius Community. Join over 10,000 members taking their holistic well-being to the next level today, at https://shetty.cc/OnPurposeGenius What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro 02:53 Spending more time with family 04:31 Freestyling while solving the Rubix cube 07:44 Believing in a higher power mixed with common sense 10:28 There’s always something about music 13:48 Making it out of a mentally unstable household 18:38 Raising a child with compassion and open communication 20:31 Redefining anxiety and dealing with it daily 26:16 How do you deal with intrusive thoughts? 32:07 What it feels to be ‘white’ in the hip hop community 37:43 The inspiration behind This Bright Future: A Memoir 40:49 The power of words and learning things on the street 44:36 Having a mentor that speaks your language 46:49 Purposely slowing down to just be yourself 51:47 Drawing strength and positivity from your family 55:30 We all strive at different stages and phases in our life 58:07 Bobby on Final Five Like this show? Please leave us a review here - even one sentence helps! Post a screenshot of you listening on Instagram & tag us so we can thank you personally! Episode Resources: Bobby Hall | Twitter Bobby Hall | Instagram Bobby Hall | YouTube Bobby Hall | Books This Bright Future: A Memoir See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Jay Shetty?

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• 0:45Jay Shetty?

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• 1:28Jay Shetty?

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• 2:12Jay Shetty?

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• 2:18Speaker 01

  I've literally attained and accomplished any, everything that a musician could dream to attain. And so I had to look myself in the mirror and say, why? And I have purposely slowed down so that I can focus on my mental and physical health, so that I can focus on being there for my child and my wife, and that I can love and enjoy this life and this house that I've spent the last 17 years of my life building, and it is terrifying, Jay.

• 2:50Jay Shetty?

  Hey, everyone. Welcome back to On Purpose, the number one health podcast in the world. Thanks to each and every single one of you that come back every week to listen, learn, and grow. Now, this has been a year where we've been so fortunate to sit down with some incredible artists to share their stories, and they've opened up vulnerably, and you've responded as a community by sharing those episodes, loving those conversations. And today's guest is someone that I've wanted to speak to for a long time. I've been a fan of his music, been a fan of his flow, been a fan of his lyrics. And today, we're talking about his brand new book, which I'll introduce you to in a moment. But I'm talking about none other than Bobby Hall, aka Logic, a Grammy nominated, platinum-selling recording artist, author, actor, streamer, and film producer.

• 3:35Jay Shetty?

  In addition to his three number one albums, 10 platinum singles, and billions of streams, Hall's debut book, Supermarket, made him the first hip-hop artist to have a number one New York Times bestselling novel. And today, his new book that we're talking about is called This Bright Future by Bobby Hall. Bobby, thank you so much for making the time.

• 3:56Speaker 01

  Dude, that was the coolest intro ever. I feel so cool now. Thank you.

• 4:00Jay Shetty?

  That's very kind. It was, I mean, it's a great intro because it's all true. And so I feel like if the intro was cool, then the life must be really cool, because you had to live it to make it real.

• 4:10Speaker 01

  For sure.

• 4:12Jay Shetty?

  But we were just, we were talking about this before. The only time we've ever met is when we bumped into each other at an airport, which I loved because I saw you, I already knew who you were. And so when you came up to me, I was like, this is so cool, man. Logic's stopping me at an airport. But you can finish the rest of the story.

• 4:28Speaker 01

  Yeah, dude. I thought it was really awesome. And, and my security guard is also, he's just a huge fan of yours. His name is Pepe. He's literally freaking out right now over here. Say, what's up? Yeah.

• 4:41Jay Shetty?

  Hey Pepe, what's up?

• 4:43Speaker 01

  Oh man, he's so hyped. He loves you, man. Who doesn't? And so, yeah, I just, I just saw it as a really cool opportunity to say hello and then use him as a scapegoat to also say hello. So it was really, it was really cool.

• 4:53Jay Shetty?

  No, that's awesome, man. And lots of love to Pepe, but also I was a huge fan. And so it was nice to always just, it's always nice to just bump into someone in a very, you know, natural way. This was obviously pre pandemic. When, when we were all flying and moving around, but I wanted to start off just by asking you like, what, what's this time been for you? Has this been a time of deep creativity and exploration? Has it been relaxing? I know you just became a father as well last year. Like, what, what's this time been like for you personally?

• 5:21Speaker 01

  It's kind of been a culmination of all those things for sure. So I had planned to take off 2020 anyway, just to be there for, for my baby, because that's when he was born in February. And my wife and just really for the first time in my life, kind of slow down, which I'd never done in my entire career. So I got a little lucky in that sense where I didn't have some big tour planned and have to cancel it. And financially be dealing with, you know, situations that I'm glad I didn't run into. So that was nice. But also at the same time, it's like, yeah, I've constantly working. I was literally like, they were like, okay, you got four minutes. I'm upstairs like polishing the script that I'm going to shoot.

• 6:02Speaker 01

  Next year, which I'm really excited to, to work on. And so I'm, I'm constantly working. My biggest thing is balance. I think, you know, searching for balance and trying to find balance is, well, it's impossible, right? Cause it's, it just is what it is. But I think the search is very important and that's where I've been. And I kind of need to relax more, but my mind is always going crazy. But yeah, it's been full of creativity, working on music, books, you know, just, but my big thing is with my family. I just love spending time with my family because obviously I didn't really have one growing up. So yeah, that's, that's been my pandemic.

• 6:38Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, I definitely want to talk about that. And you know, for anyone who's listening right now, we are going to dive into Bobby's new book, This Bright Future. But I, I just recently found out that you can solve a Rubik's cube while freestyling. And I was just like, that is the craziest multitasking opportunity I've ever heard of. Like I've never thought of two things that are too diff, so different. Tell us about how you even discovered that you could do that.

• 7:03Speaker 01

  Well, I remember it was 2014 and it was Thanksgiving.

• 7:09Speaker 01

  And I was 24 and I was in my room and I was looking at this Rubik's Cube. And I feel like everybody has had a Rubik's Cube at some point. It's just kind of like a fun thing you have either when you're a kid or older and you throw it on a shelf. And so I really wanted to learn how to do it. So I took to YouTube and looked up a tutorial on all the algorithms. It's, I swear to God, this is random that I have one here right now. Like, I promise you, and I'll probably really butcher it while I'm telling the story. But yeah, basically what I wanted to do was, is I wanted to learn how to do it. And I'm a freak, like anything that I want to get into, no matter what it is, whether it's acting, whether it's music. I, I mean, just even video games, like I love mastering things or at least trying to, doing my best to.

• 7:51Speaker 01

  And so I sat down and I literally just studied this algorithm. And I mean, at this point, it's like, I was working on things until, like these algorithms, until my fricking fingers felt like they were going to fall off, which was insane. And like 10 hours later, or however long it was, I, I did it. And then I, I learned how to do it without actually having to look at the algorithms or how they were done. So then it had become muscle memory, which was really awesome. But it was a very, it was intense and pretty crazy. And then I got into like speed cubing and different things like that, which is also very nerdy, but also very fun. And yeah, man, so it was basically Thanksgiving. And before I knew it, I had learned how to solve it.

• 8:35Speaker 01

  And then I just kind of did it constantly. And one day I was like, all right, I'm going to take my nerd sci-fi raps on the radio with Big Boy's Neighborhood. And I'm also going to do a Rubik's Cube while I freestyle. And it could have ended badly because I could have been so nervous, which I was, that it didn't work out, but it did. And that was really cool. I swear that's just right here next to.

• 8:56Jay Shetty?

  Dude, just hold that up again, because that was incredible. That was amazing.

• 9:00Speaker 01

  Thanks, man.

• 9:01Jay Shetty?

  That was phenomenal. I mean, like for anyone who's listening and not watching the podcast, he just solved, Bobby Hall, Logic, just solved a Rubik's Cube while explaining how he freestyles on Rubik's Cubes at the same time. So for anyone who didn't get to see that, please go over to YouTube or Instagram and watch that part because that was pretty epic. But I love that, you know, I love the idea of mastery. That's something that's always been fascinating to me as well. And I can geek out about mastery. But when I look at your childhood, which I got to explore through this book. You describe yourself as an orphan with parents. And I think right now in society, we're at this time where a lot of people have started reflecting more on their childhood and how it formed

• 9:46Jay Shetty?

  their habits, their behaviors, their ideologies. What are some of the, before we dive into your childhood specifically? Or let's actually, let's dive into that orphan with parents. And then what I really want to hear about is what were the ideologies that were created from that, that you found what healthy? And then ones that you found that were unhealthy? I want to hear about both. So, so tell us about growing up as an orphan with parents.

• 10:12Speaker 01

  Yeah, my dad's black, my mom's white, but I'm the only one who looks white. Um, but it was like, it's my culture, it's my people. So I fit in, it was, it was never an issue, it was never anything. It just was what it was. It wasn't really more so until I got into entertainment and hip hop that people wanted to kind of put you into this box. My father was addicted to crack cocaine. Uh, my mother had also done various drugs. She fell into prostitution when she was young, um, alcoholic. It just really wasn't a good, a good thing. She was very mentally unstable, bipolar. Um, I'd like to think borderline schizophrenic, which was really crazy too. Um, and yeah, I mean, I was surrounded by drugs and violence and guns and shooting guns and cooking crack and my brothers selling crack to my dad and them running around in the street.

• 10:57Speaker 01

  And it was just a really not like a good, uh, place to be. But the craziest thing is, is I am the only child between my mother and father. So I was like an only child. Um, although I have eight brothers and sisters, which is really crazy on both sides. But we were never together. It was never like a family situation. Um, and yeah, I mean, growing up, I think. I, I'd like to, you know, people say, oh, well, how did you, how did you make it out of that? How are you who you are today? And I always say it's like God and common sense. And I will further go on to say like, I'm not really a super religious guy, but I also don't. I don't hate on religion. I don't hate on people's faith. I think it's very important. I think it's beautiful.

• 11:38Speaker 01

  Um, I don't see it as like Sky Dad, like some white guy with a beard sitting on a cloud. I don't really, I don't know. I don't know if it's a, it's a guy, it's a girl, it's a this, it's a that, but I do believe in something. I believe in a higher power. And I think that mixed with common sense was like, oh, maybe don't smoke crack. Oh, you know, seeing my mother being beaten and bloody by men. Oh, don't put your hands on a woman. It was just a weird thing where another, any other child or most other children would see these things and go, oh, this is, this is life. This is what it is. You yell at a woman, you hit a woman, you do this, you do that. I was like, no, don't do that. And I don't know how or why, but I'm here and uh, I'm definitely not smoking crack or beating my wife. So I think I'm doing alright.

• 12:20Jay Shetty?

  I, I think that makes a lot of sense. That, that resonates with me deeply. I always feel like, you know, if someone grows up with alcoholic parents, if you had twins, one of them could become an alcoholic and one of them could never drink alcohol, right? It's like you, you get to make that choice when you have an experience. You made certain choices. Was there any lessons that you learned early from either of them? Do you think there was something that kind of gave you this desire for mastery, gave you this desire for uh, figuring things out, for living life in a specific way, or, or actually was a lot of it just survival? And, and having to find your own way at 17 years old when you, you know, finally left?

• 13:02Speaker 01

  It's funny that you ask that because I, I, when it comes to mastery, yes, like I absolutely do love making something my everything. Like just utterly allowing it to just engulf me. Um, and I think maybe a lot of that is because my parents didn't necessarily do that, you know, my mother, she had a lot of hobbies and things that she was into. She was into writing. She loved music. She loved dance. She did love a lot of things, but she never really focused on one thing. Um, with the exception of I guess like reading the Bible. But she was also very hypocritical when it, when it came to religion. Um, and I'd also just like to say, it's very important that I say this. When you hear me talking about my family, I want you to know that in no way is it with malice

• 13:46Speaker 01

  or hatred or anger. You know, I've forgiven these people for what they've done. And I look at them, especially now, I look at my son and I'm like, I couldn't, I don't know how, you know, somebody could do this to a baby or a child, the things that I went through. You know, my mom called me and the rest of her kids the N-word with a hard R. And I remember people saying like, oh, that doesn't really make any sense. Like, that can't be true. That doesn't make any sense. And it's like, one, first of all, don't dismiss my truth. And second, of course, it doesn't make any sense. And I've spent my entire life trying to make it make sense and then realizing, oh, it just doesn't. This is a mentally ill, broken person. This person is lashing out, not only at her children, but at people around. I mean, think about it. It's, it's kind of weird that my mother is systemically racism,

• 14:26Speaker 01

  racist, and yet all of her children are with black men because she finds black people so beautiful, which really just stems from her bringing, bringing a, a young black man home when she was a teenager and saying, this is my boyfriend. And then her parents being like, we don't mix with their kind. It's all really insane and there's levels of that. But back to mastery. Sorry, you'll find I go on tangents.

• 14:47Jay Shetty?

  I love the tangent. I love the tangent.

• 14:49Speaker 01

  I think the fact that she never necessarily focused on one particular thing made me want to focus on one particular thing. And when you're a kid, you try different things. You play basketball, baseball, you draw, you dance, you this, you that. But there was always something about music and I wanted to really make it my life. So I think, yeah, those examples that she kind of set or necessarily didn't set, made me want to do that.

• 15:13Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. How do, how do you get to that point, Bobby? When I'm hearing you talk about your family and I loved what you said that, hey, I'm not, you know, I'm not putting their dirty laundry out there. I'm not trying to put them down. I'm not being critical. I'm just sharing because I want to be vulnerable and share my truth and the experience. I think it would be very natural for people to have resentment, for people to have bitterness. You said, I've got to a place where I've forgiven them now. I want to hear, how did you get to that? What I loved, something that you did there, which was so beautiful, was you were able to disconnect her behavior from it being personal to you. You were like, this is just how she was with everyone because this was a condition she was struggling with.

• 15:55Jay Shetty?

  This wasn't about me, Bobby the kid, being a loser, being useless, being bad. How, how were you able to get to that process of forgiving some of these experiences that you had?

• 16:08Speaker 01

  Uh, I mean, definitely just maturity growth and I think my own personal journey as a, as a young man. And realizing

• 16:19Speaker 01

  what dysfunction is and was. So it's like, I, I was able to realize this is a sick person. I, once again, God, common sense, I don't know, but I just knew, oh, this isn't right, you know? It's like, you know, I only had a few places of, I guess neutrality, we could call it where I would go to like the skate park. And I would just see your normal, average person, right? And that has nothing to do with wealth or money or this or that, but just your normal kind of regular run of the mill kid and his parents. And I'd go, oh, like, like I would, I was realizing like, you know, that like my mother never really came to the skate park to watch me skateboard. And then this kid, you know, has, has his parents coming of all races and colors and, and, and people, and they're just there. And I just saw this and I was like, oh, this isn't right.

• 17:04Speaker 01

  But I also understand, now, don't get me wrong, there was times when I was angry, of course, like I'm angry, like I had to learn how to ride my bike by myself. I remember one of my earliest memories is choking on a sandwich and my mom then scolding me that I had thrown it up because I couldn't breathe and she made me clean it up. And I'm like five years old, like, no, I was like, you clean that up and then console me and hug me and tell me everything's going to be okay. You know, like, I didn't have that, but I think while I was going through it, even though there was that anger, there was this, this, these moments of like understanding, oh, there is something wrong here. And for a long time I, I was angry at her and her mental state and her this and her that.

• 17:45Speaker 01

  But then as I started to experience anxiety and, you know, just normal things that you do as you grow and age and mature, I realized, oh, wow, like this isn't really her fault. So it's, but I'm also not here to excuse her actions by any means. I mean, my mother, she almost, uh, she almost killed me when I was about seven or eight years old. She almost strangled me to death. Um, and then stopped in the middle of what she was doing and realized what she was doing. And I remember very vividly looking at her and seeing like, Oh, so much anger. And I didn't really do anything. I was just bouncing off the walls like a kid, having fun, you know, I wasn't, no matter what, a child shouldn't be met with almost being, you know, essentially strangled an inch from their life. And I remember crying and having tears in my eyes. And it was almost like I was looking at her, you know, through

• 18:29Speaker 01

  like underwater glasses. And then she stopped after realizing what she was doing. And I just told her, I said, It's okay, mommy. Like, I love you. Like, it's okay. And I look back at that now and realize that. But I'm more sad for her than me, because I made it out. I made it out. So I, I don't know how I did, but this woman still has to live with herself. And I wish I could have a relationship with her so bad. And I'm kind of on and off with my dad. Like, one of my dad's last requests was $800,000 so he could buy himself a studio for him and his band some house. Like, it's just like, it's ludicrous. It's like, hey, Dad, can I maybe, like, can we just talk about life for a second? Every time I talk

• 19:12Speaker 01

  to my father, it's always music this and music that. But I also realize that very much so like my mother, with my dad, that's all he knows. So he talks to music, about music to everybody, not just me. But I just think it's funny that I started to get a lot more phone calls once, uh, once the name logic started getting bigger. I thought that was weird. But when it comes to forgiveness and having this site, um, I, I don't know, man. I don't know. And writing this book was very cathartic and very beautiful. And it allowed me, um, to forgive even more. But I, I know, I'm sorry, cop out. I just don't know.

• 19:47Jay Shetty?

  That's, that's not a cop. I, I appreciate the honesty. And, uh, I, I love what you said there, because when you look at forgiveness, it doesn't excuse the other person of their behavior. It just exits you from the baggage of carrying it. And so, you know, I, I think that distinction is really important that you made there. That, hey, you know, I was put in pain. I was almost killed. This is as bad as it went. But I don't want to carry all of that with me. And I think the zooming out and the broader perspective of, hey, this is just how they're, they're interacting with everyone. It's not just me. I think those are really practical steps, actually, that whether you took them knowingly or unknowingly, consciously or unconsciously, they're, they're really powerful things for everyone to take away. I, I wonder now, as a father,

• 20:32Jay Shetty?

  You know, you've you've got your adorable son. We see a picture of him in the back of the book.

• 20:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, little Bobby.

• 20:38Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. I I wonder now, when you're as a father, which is such an amazing step, and you said it was February last year. So he's like, what, eighteen months old now?

• 20:48Speaker 01

  Yeah, nineteen months.

• 20:49Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, nineteen months old. Tell us about how you're approaching parenting. I want to hear about as a father, how you're thinking about it. What are some of the values or principles that you're hoping to teach him or you're hoping that he'll learn?

• 21:05Speaker 01

  My biggest thing is communication. I think it's so very important to be able to communicate with with your children and also not getting amnesia. My godmother, Mary Jo, who took me in for a nice time in my life when I was a teenager, she told me that, like, you can't get amnesia, like, you can't forget that, like, kids do stupid things or kids, you know, like, even just, I don't know, if you're in seventh grade and your heart gets ripped out by some boy or some girl that you were dating for like eight days and it feels like the end of the world and they they broke up with you just before the school dance and your life is over. And it's like, as an adult, it's so easy to brush that off and be like, oh, shut, you're fine, you'll be fine, shut up. But it's like, even though that's true, and even though you should say that, maybe not as callous, you know,

• 21:48Speaker 01

  but it's like, don't forget, man, don't forget that you were there and that seventh grade is your child's entire world. So it's kind of having those things in my mind while moving forward are are very important. Spending time with him is very important. And, yeah, but I think communication really is the biggest thing, you know, a lot of people will just get mad when like, he's he's in a slight hitting phase right now where he'll kind of like, if he's frustrated, he'll throw something, but it's and and somebody could be like, no, you know, you don't throw things, you don't, but it's like, he's so frustrated because he has, he he lacks the ability to be able to communicate with us.

• 22:26Speaker 01

  So it's like, okay, stop, pause, let him know, no, we don't do that, like, you don't throw things. No, you can say it sternly, but. Not choking them to death. Like, I think, I think that's what's really important. And, and once again, just seeing this little beautiful, perfect slate of a human being is, I just don't know how people can do some of the things that they do to children or that have been done to, to me. It's kind of very sickening, but I believe that it's up to me to, to break that cycle and be one of the first people in my family to do so. Not the only one, there's some great people in my family who have made it out. But yeah, so when I look at him, I think about that love, compassion, communication, and not getting amnesia.

• 23:11Jay Shetty?

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• 23:54Jay Shetty?

  That's indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. This episode is brought to you by Orange Theory Fitness. One of the best investments you can make is in your own strength. The choices you make today can help shape how you feel for years to come. Orange Theory Fitness provides a one hour workout to build strength, burn fat, and build muscle with an expert coach guiding you every step of the way. Head to orangetheory.com/onpurpose to learn more and get your first class free. Orange Theory Fitness, helping people live longer, more vibrant lives. Terms and conditions apply. See webpage and studio for details. This episode is brought to you by Vinted.

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• 25:23Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, yeah, I like that point about not gaining amnesia and the idea of, I feel like one of the biggest mistakes we all make as humans is that we keep communicating with people from where we are, not where they are. And so we forget that we were where they are right now. And if we just talked to them, recognizing that that was us 10 years ago, 20, 30, 50, whatever it is, that that would make all the difference. And now you have a vocabulary for it. We do. We understand mental illness better. We understand mental health. We understand these terms a bit better. We're getting there. How, how, when was it when you first started realizing that this was mental illness, this was mental health, this was their conditioning and challenges that were on a deeper level as a, just more than just a addiction?

• 26:09Speaker 01

  I think just simply, like I said, by being able to make the connection or lack thereof between a friend of mine's parents and my parents, like just seeing your kind of normal person who can go and hold a job. I think my mom only ever had like two jobs. I think she worked at a supermarket for a little bit and she worked at Chick-fil-A and she could not stand people telling her what to do. And I realized that and yet then she would tell me what to do and yet I had to just suck it up and take it.

• 26:37Speaker 01

  And then even even with myself, like I said, me going through anxiety was like a big eye opener. And I remember my first panic attack. I was like 13 years old. And it was really scary and my mom had gone away. Well, I mean, she just went to the store for like an hour, but I had this panic attack and I started to realize I was I was dealing with like separation anxiety from my mother. And that a lot of our relationship was more based on brainwashing, which sounds crazy, but the the having this feeling that I needed her and that if she wasn't there, like my entire world would crumble. And I didn't know how to deal with anxiety. And honestly, I only really learned how to deal with anxiety much later in life, like in my late twenties, I'm 31 now.

• 27:19Speaker 01

  And even right now, Jay, like I'm I'm pretty anxious right now. I don't know why. It's really weird. I felt fine before I got on in front of the camera and even right now, like I have this like feeling of anxiety and maybe it's a number of things. Maybe it's I'm recounting my childhood. I just I have a book that's come out. You know, so many things that are going on in my mind. I'm fine. I know I'm fine. I'm drinking water. I'm talking to an amazing human being. I'm everything is okay. And yet internally, there is still is a part of me that feels a little jittery and a little nervous and a little this and a little that. And I've learned how to deal with that. And instead of like freaking out,

• 28:03Speaker 01

  I just go, you're fine. It's okay. Feeling this way is normal. I remember speaking with my therapist and she told me, I was like, I hate the fact that I feel anxious. I was like, there's people out there that don't really, you know, they they just have kind of general anxiety, but they don't have that anxiety where it can also affect them physically, where they feel weird or they feel like they could pass out or this, and she was like, yeah. And then sometimes it happens to them like Tony Soprano when they're in their 50s trying to feed the ducks and, you know, in their pool. And then that's just their life after that. And she said, the thing is, is not Like you, you have to accept that that's just who you are and that's the way your life is now and do the best that you can to combat and deal with that anxiety and

• 28:48Speaker 01

  those emotions in the most positive manner possible. So it wasn't until I started truly understanding what anxiety meant and how much it can affect your day to day, personal and professional life, that I, I even grew more sympathetic towards my mother and all the things that she was dealing with.

• 29:05Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, well, I want to thank you for sharing that and also just to say that I do think it's natural and extremely brave when you're sharing such personal accounts of things in your life and you're putting them out there. And we, we know the world we live in where everything we say is, you know, it's natural for you to feel that way. So I, I really appreciate you even opening up and sharing that. And I just want you to know that I think you're sharing your story, not just on this interview, but in this book, in a way that is going to help so many people with their perspective. So I want you to know that. And I also want you to know that we, yeah, we all have anxiety. I, I officiated someone's wedding this weekend, the wedding that, the weekend that just went.

• 29:46Jay Shetty?

  And my wife said it to me. She was like, yeah, I've never seen you this anxious or stressed in your life with anything you do. And I was like, because it's someone's wedding day. I was like, and people were like, oh, but you've done this a million times and you've done. And I was like, it doesn't matter how many times I've done it. It's someone different and it's their wedding day. And this is an important moment for someone. And what I've realized, and I love what you said there, because I do something similar, I've redefined my relationship with anxiety, that I feel anxious when I care. So I know that when I'm feeling anxious, it's because it's something good about me is that I care. I'm a human that loves and cares and is compassionate and wants to serve these two

• 30:28Jay Shetty?

  beautiful people that I wedded, that I love and that love me and I have a relationship with. It's because of that. I'm not scared about. What someone thinks about it or how it goes, I'm anxious because I care about these two people and I feel they deserve something special.

• 30:42Speaker 01

  It's funny you say that because another thing that I had dealt with for, I mean, everybody deals with it is intrusive thoughts. You're aware of this, right? Intrusive thoughts. So it could be the craziest thing. It could be your baby falling to its death. It could be you, I don't know, punching a store clerk and you're just like, oh my God, why would I think that? How could I think something so despicable or whatever the case may be, these dark thoughts? And I remember talking to my therapist and she was like, well, one, those aren't really your thoughts. You're not thinking that. She was like, that's kind of douchebag brain, as she put it. She was like, it's just these thoughts that pop into your head. And you need to understand that that's also like conscious, like your conscious recognizes that and is then terrified.

• 31:25Speaker 01

  And so I think when it comes to anxiety and the things you care about, it's like, oh my God, if I think about my baby dying, it's because that's the most precious thing to me. If I think about, I don't know, like I said, punching some clerk in the face, it's like violence. I hate violence. So it's these things that my brain is doing that that I'm kind of then freaking out about. But it's about how we deal with that. If we then focus on it too much and obsess, why would I think that? Why would I think that? Why would I think that? Then every time we're in a situation where that thought is then triggered, then it just becomes more intense. And the real, the key there is to not really focus on it, is to really not think about it, understand that it's a thought. It's a disgusting thought that you didn't even think in your head. It just somehow popped in and you were like, oh my goodness, you know, to hell with you.

• 32:08Speaker 01

  And that's also how I feel about anxiety. I think there's a difference between legitimately like, oh, I'm starting to see stars or I feel like I need to sit down. Like that could be different, even though it may be anxiety, but it's like, ask yourself, have you been working really hard? Have you drank enough water today? Have you eaten? Have you this? Have you that? And having the, the, the mind. The mindset to be able to just ask yourself, what is going on? And that was something I couldn't do for a long time. I was very unhealthy, both physically and mentally. And once I really learned how to utilize these tools, my life became better. But I mean, I still get anxiety, like it sucks.

• 32:46Jay Shetty?

  Yeah.

• 32:47Speaker 01

  But it also is great. I mean, I'm not gonna say anxiety is great. Anxiety just sucks, but, but it's, look at this great conversation we're having because of it. I've made songs about it. I've written parts in scripts about it. I've like, I get it and I understand it. And because of that, it's actually allowed me to connect with people on such a deeper level and being willing to go. Cause I'll tell you this, man, I love rap. I love hip hop. It's a beautiful place. It's also a negative place, just like the world is. And, but I have met a lot of rappers where I try to have like deeper conversations with them. And they just don't do it because I think they're also scared and to internalize how they're feeling. But I did have one guy and he, I'll never forget. He was like, bro, I wish I could be you.

• 33:32Speaker 01

  And I was like, what do you mean? I'm like the nerd rapper who solves Rubik's cubes and raps about sci-fi. You're like, you're that dude, you know, you got the cred, even though low key I've shotguns and cooked crack. So I guess I have the cred as well, but I don't really perpetuate that life. And he was like, look, man. He was like, I'm scared. He was like, that was so long ago. That's not who I am anymore. And he's like, I like video games. I like this, I like that. I wish I could just be myself. And when he said that to me, I realized that all the years and time that, times that I'd been made fun of in hip hop or this or that, well, at the end of the day, I may have been made fun of by a certain sect or quote unquote, cool group or the jocks of rap. But at least I was always myself and never had to pretend to be somebody I was not. And then that led to, you know, just saying, I'd rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I'm not.

• 34:17Speaker 01

  Which I think like Kurt Cobain or somebody said.

• 34:19Jay Shetty?

  Yeah.

• 34:20Speaker 01

  But yeah, there it is.

• 34:21Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, no, that's a beautiful message, man. I think that's something everyone can relate to. And what you were speaking about there about the douchebag brain. In, in, in the monastery, we used to call it the monkey mind and the monk mind. So you have the monkey mind that's, you know, saying all these intrusive thoughts, as you said, saying all these self doubt, anxiety. And then you have the monk mind, which is the, the calm, distilled, the balanced. And to bring that monkey mind back under control. And so, yeah, for me, that was always a, that was always a fun way of thinking about it. It's just like, oh, I've just got this monkey that's jumping from branch to branch in my head. And, you know, it doesn't know what it wants and it's confused and it's moving fast, but the monk mind can kind of ground it. So that, that aligns very strongly.

• 35:02Speaker 01

  I've always, I always saw this guy who looks like, I want you to imagine like a cartoon. There's this episode of Futurama, it's one of my favorite cartoons, but um, I forget the episode. But there's like this liquid guy and he's like blue and he looks like just kind of moving water and his head's all back and he looks kind of cool. I imagine that guy in a, in a leather jacket, sitting on a, like a, a beach chair in my brain. And he's responsible for these thoughts. He's, like you said, the monkey mind. It's like this monkey, but it's like, that's how I see this guy. And I've actually had conversations with this guy. Like, get out of here, dude. Like, like, it's like chill, like stop. And then he'll say something to me that I hear, and it almost sounds like I'm crazy, right?

• 35:46Speaker 01

  Cause it's like I'm having a conversation with myself in my head. But I have had this and I'm like, no, like not today, man. And sometimes he really, he'll, he'll hit me with some crazy images or me freaking out or going to the emergency room or just all these things. Cause I'm always constantly thinking about my health. And um, I have to have those conversations until the water blob or monkey man or whatever to calm down and, and do my best to be in control, which is actually really funny. Because I'm not in control. We're not really in control. And I think accepting the fact that you're not in control in some weird way gives you a bit of control at the same time, but yeah.

• 36:21Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, yeah, it definitely, it gives you more control over what you can control. If there's any of that that you can do. So, no, I, I like that. And I love the Futurama reference, all, all Futurama references. What, what's, what would you say was your early, you referred to this earlier, so I'm, I'm bringing it back. What would you say was your earliest memory of becoming aware of racism? Uh, and, and experiencing it for yourself or trying to understand it as a young person who obviously has a very diverse childhood, but people not being able to understand, contextualize. I, I want to know what that's like from your perspective.

• 36:57Speaker 01

  Like I, I say in the book that, that racism for me, when I first experienced it, wasn't outside in, it was inside out, right? Because it was my mother, uh, who used this word. I mean, it's really disgusting, but, but the way she would, she would do it, she would do it in a, in a way where, uh, it, it's just. Whatever would cut deep, you know, like if you were fat, she'd call you fat. If you're ugly, she'd call you ugly. If you were black, she would, you know, use these slurs. Anybody, any race, any this, any that, which I always just thought was so disgusting because she would like say this. And then next week she'd take me to the library and we'd be getting like Black History Month, like DVDs and VHS. And she's like, you need to be proud of your, of your heritage. And I'm just like, what is wrong with you? So like, there was that.

• 37:39Speaker 01

  Um, and then the crazy thing about racism is like, okay, first of all, it's a hundred percent. It exists, it's a real thing, but like especially kind of like in the hood and where I grew up, it's just different. It's like the white boys are hanging out with the brothers and, and, and, you know, the Mexican cats and everybody. We're all just hanging out together, like unless it's like gangs who are like, just don't mess with a certain demographic of other people. But for the most part, man, like, oh, everybody was just hanging. It wasn't really like that. And then once you start growing up is where you realize like these sects and these, like this division really comes in. So for me, it was very weird to, to enter hip hop, a place that I love and loved and, um, is built on, on positivity.

• 38:23Speaker 01

  And all the way from Sugar Hill Gang and KRS-One and, you know, it's, it is built on a message. Run DMC, like be yourself. And it was also a lot of fun braggadocio. But for the most part, it was like, you know, this is the story that we're here to tell. Um, and so for me, I was like, oh, wow, I can tell my story. So it's, I was like there in these last 10 years at the cusp of hip hop becoming like low key, the most popular genre of music. And the more quote unquote pop that it got, the more attention was brought on all of the people who were heading it at the frontline. And I being one of those people, um, received a lot of hate that was basically all based on my, uh, race.

• 39:04Speaker 01

  Which was very difficult because it was like a double edged sword and there was really no winning. You're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't. I'd go in an interview and they'd say, okay, yeah, so we here with this rapper named Logic. So what's it like being white in hip hop and blah, blah, blah? And I have to go, well, first of all, I'm not, I'm black and white. So I'm mixed and then that turns into comments on the internet like, why's he always gotta be proving himself? Why's he always gotta explain? Why's he always getting, it's like, well, one, I'm just telling you who I am. So first and foremost, like, you know, for you to look at me and just claim that I'm one thing. No, I am proud to be this thing, which the double edged sword is then, what if I never said it? And then you find out that my dad's black and then a year later you're like, so what? You ashamed to be black?

• 39:47Speaker 01

  You trying to use this whole white thing to get, and then it's that. And you know, you have incredible artists like Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Killer Mike, Black Thought From The Roots, talking about they're black in every song. How they're, they're happy to be black, they're proud to be black, I'm black, I'm black and I'm black, I'm the blackest. And then for the first time in my career, on my third album, after constantly being called this thing that I didn't necessarily identify with, on three songs, I go, hey, I'm biracial. I'm mixed, I'm actually black and white. And they turned it into this like biracial meme. And then I have white kids and black kids and brown kids and all these other people trying to tell me what I am or what I'm not. And it was a very difficult time in my life until I realized it's literally just a meme. It has nothing to do with anything.

• 40:32Speaker 01

  The music is so good, the music is getting billions of streams, the music is platinum, da, da, da, da. I'm in arenas, I'm selling out. Oh, this is just a talking subject. It's low hanging fruit. It's easy for these people to try to identify me for what they claim me as, put me in that box and leave it at that. And that was a big part of me stepping away from the internet and realizing, oh, it doesn't even matter.

• 40:53Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, and it's almost like, it's almost like you were repeating what you had to do as a child. Like as a child, you had to be like, okay, this is not my mom, this is her illness, this is her challenge. It's not about me. And so now it was like, mom is kind of like the internet where it's like, okay, look. Right?

• 41:08Speaker 01

  Yeah, like, whoa, actually, like, the way you said, it's kind of insane. Because, yeah, I then had this, like, very negative, but also beautiful relationship at the same time with the internet and social media and all this, which in many ways was constantly berating me and harassing me and yelling at me and screaming at me, the same way my mother did when I was a child. Wow, nice pull, you're a genius.

• 41:31Jay Shetty?

  No, yeah, no, it's just interesting. I just, I love seeing how like patterns repeating people's lives and how we have to, it's almost like you, you've overcome the first challenge of their upbringing and then it's like, well, here's the escalated challenge of it with now like millions of people who don't know you. And then, as you said, you're selling out arenas, people love the music, the music's awesome. You know, you're getting to see the real version of that. Tell us about how you, with all of this that we've already talked about, and I saved this for this part of the interview, and you write a book called This Bright Future, which is your memoir. And I'm like, I love that. Like, I just, I want to know how much I love that. Like, how, tell us where that title comes

• 42:10Jay Shetty?

  from and why This Bright Future, when, was that a, I'm, I'm asking this, was that an imagination? Was that a vision? Where, where did that come from?

• 42:21Speaker 01

  So there's a, there's a band called Manfred Mann's Band, and they have a song, I've actually had tried to sample them for years and years and years, because they, they have some really cool stuff. No ID sampled, who, who I'm homies with, sampled them for a bunch of Kanye West songs and things like that back in the day, Beautiful Twisted Fantasy. And so, I'd been searching and searching and searching. And finally, in 2020, I found this sample. And it's called Lies Through the Eighties. And there's this lyric, and it goes, "I saw a boy with no smile on his face today. Where is my bright future in this world?" Or whatever. So, I loved that. And I sampled that and chopped it up for

• 43:06Speaker 01

  a song called Heard Him Say, on my last album, No Pressure. And that, to me, is like the epitome of what the book is about, my place in rap is about hip hop, like, it kind of sums that up. And then we just had this idea, like, wow, what if, what if that was the title? And I love it, because if you look at the cover, you'll see, it's, it's actually, so, the under, or, excuse me, the No Pressure cover is me kind of levitating. In a basement that's breaking up into space. Now, nine albums before that was my debut album, Under Pressure, and that was me in a basement, in my homie Lenny's basement. Um, when I was broke in College Park, just trying to get a record deal, which I eventually got, and we all moved to LA, and that was awesome.

• 43:51Speaker 01

  Um, so when you're looking at the No Pressure cover, you'll see I'm facing you, and I'm levitating, and you see my feet in the air. For This Bright Future, the Memoir cover, um, you'll see it's actually from the back of my legs. And then it's a reflection. So I'm this grown man, kind of like, rising and heading in towards, uh, towards the light, you know, not the darkness. And then you see a child falling into darkness, which to me kind of represents my birth and where I spent my entire childhood. But somehow, falling into darkness, I levitated into lightness, and I don't know, or into the light, excuse me, and I have no idea how that happened, but that's what that all means.

• 44:33Jay Shetty?

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• 45:17Jay Shetty?

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• 45:41Jay Shetty?

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• 46:26Jay Shetty?

  Wayfair can handle delivery, installation and assembly. Join Wayfair Rewards today to get 5% back on every purchase and start saving on your next home upgrade. Head to wayfair.com to shop all things home. That's W A Y F A I R dot com. Wayfair, every style, every home. Means to me. I love that. I want, I want people to see that because I do think it's, it's beautifully artistic and uh, Thank you. and absolutely stunning. And I wanted to hear you describe that to everyone because, yeah, I just love symbolism and I love visuals that can make you feel something and I think when you see this, everyone can, I'm looking at it right now and I'm going, I can relate in my own way to what it feels like to be that kid that's falling.

• 47:11Jay Shetty?

  And I can relate in my own way to what it feels like that person that's elevating. And I wondered this, you know, when I speak to you, you want to read the book, Bobby, it's like, you have such a great understanding of psychology, thought, the mind. I want to, when did you get fascinated with how this all works? What were you reading? What were you listening to? Who were you speaking to? That helped you understand that the way you speak is so structured and thought out and you recognize where things sit and how they are. Where did that come from? Where did it get nourished? And, and how did you grow that?

• 47:47Speaker 01

  Well, thanks, man. You make me sound like smart or something.

• 47:52Jay Shetty?

  Dude, you're very, I meant it. I really mean it. I really mean it.

• 47:55Speaker 01

  Um, I, I think, uh, I've always loved language and I think it's a beautiful thing. Um, I wish I had a, a doper vocabulary like Neil deGrasse Tyson or something. I was hanging out with Neil deGrasse Tyson and he was like saying equivocal or whatever. I was just like, I need to step my game up. When I was younger, though, I, I, I saw the power of words and I would study the dictionary and I would study the thesaurus. Um, I also wanted to separate myself from any, you know, of my contemporaries or even my predecessors in, in hip hop as well. Now, I'm not saying that I think I'm this like, you know, oh, I use words they don't use. Not at all. You take somebody like Nas. I mean, this dude was doing the same thing back in the day in the projects on Queensbridge and he was using like the, he was using words like cerebral. Like, nobody would say that.

• 48:39Speaker 01

  Like, he would be, the other cats were just like, yeah. You know, take a gunshot to the head. He'd be like, take a gunshot through the cerebral cortex and the spine. And I'm just like, yo, this is so cool. Um, I, I also have always just been so inspired by Quentin Tarantino. And, you know, he didn't go to film school. He just did it. And he was like, he, he made movies his life. He studied film in a way that you just couldn't even do at film school. He learned things like on the street. And that's how I felt when it came to, um, I guess just my mentality about life. Like, I looked at people like Alan Watts, who has one of the greatest quotes I've ever heard personally. Says, "Anything you can be interested in, you will find others who are."

• 49:23Speaker 01

  And that in and of itself alone is what inspired me to be me, is to be this guy who did, yes, has come from being surrounded by drugs and guns and violence, but wanting to rap about anime and sci-fi. And I think studying great minds and reading and uh, I'm mainly a visual audio person, honestly. But yeah, taking the time to read and just study.

• 49:49Speaker 01

  Is what helped me grow as a man and a musician. I mean, I didn't even graduate high school, man. I got kicked out. So it's like, um, I, I think formal education is awesome and it's important depending on where, you know, the trajectory of your life and where you see your path going and your career. Um, but not for me, man. School of hard knocks, dog. Like, I don't know how it worked, but I'm glad it did. But I also think that it's like, I'm just like a regular dude who made some kind of okay decisions. And I also love that, you know, I, I always hated teachers who spoke down on you. That, that like when you ask a question, they, they almost made you feel stupid for doing so. So it's like, I'm a professional at my craft. I'm a master at what I do. But in no way do I ever want

• 50:34Speaker 01

  anybody to feel either intimidated or like, I think I'm so knowledgeable in my world that they feel like we can't even have a conversation. So I think there's levels to also the vocabulary that you use, um, when having conversations with people because it's like, dude, you want to be down to earth. You want to be regular, but you also want to let people, you know, you know that you know what they're talking about. So.

• 50:55Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, for sure, man. It's so, it's, it's a great, I was literally just about to ask you about school after when you mentioned it. I was gonna say, because you felt like school gave up on you. And, and I think there's a lot of young people that feel that way, where school gave up on them. And I loved what you said. You're not discouraging anyone from following a traditional school pattern or whatever it may be. But when you, when you think about school, I wonder if, if, if logic was to set up a school, inspire a school, what would be some of the exciting classes and lessons that would go on in that school?

• 51:26Speaker 01

  Video game testing? That's the number one. I'm serious, man. Cause think about how long all these parents were always like, video games will rot your brain. There's no future. And now you've got pro video gamers making millions, hundreds of millions of dollars playing video games and having fun and doing this thing. So it's like, I sucked at math, but me and these teachers, we didn't speak the same language, you know? These are people who like, want to make a difference in a kid's life, but has no idea that his mother is suffering from this insane mental illness or how to deal with that. It's like, there was no real line of, of communication and understanding between me and these people who were supposed to essentially teach me not only about, you know, academics, but life in many ways. So I wish I had somebody who spoke my language. I wish I had somebody who.

• 52:10Speaker 01

  Understood, oh wow, like this kid really likes video games. Have you ever thought about coding video games? What do you mean? What are you talking about coding video games? Well, creating this world. What are you talking about? Well, it's all binary. It's ones and zeros. It's math. Yeah, but if you actually focus on math, you could engineer an entire world that a video game takes place in. Well, you don't say. Like, it's like, I never had that conversation. It was just do algebra or drop out. And that was very difficult.

• 52:38Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, I think that's smart. I couldn't agree more. I think I always grow up thinking, I didn't know that any other industries existed from medicine, law and finance. Like beyond that, I didn't even know there was a potential to have another job because I didn't meet anyone outside of those industries. And I didn't know anyone who had been accomplished or successful outside of those industries. And so you end up just going, well, well, then these are just my three options. And, and I think there is such a limitation placed on that because you're just unaware. When you think about now, obviously you've made it in an industry which is highly competitive. It's difficult. It's saturated.

• 53:20Jay Shetty?

  It's like every kid's dream to want to be a rapper, have their music or their song be heard.

• 53:25Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 53:26Jay Shetty?

  When you go back to the days when it wasn't working musically, what was the thing that kept you going? Was it that you were chasing a deal or a hit? Or was it that you just loved it so much that you just believed in it anyway? Where, where was that? What kept you going?

• 53:47Speaker 01

  Probably craziness. Cause it's like, you have to be crazy to think, oh, I'm going to make it as a rapper. But the difference with me though, is like, I looked at it from a business standpoint. Like, I was like, okay, if I could take a brand, myself, be myself, be honest, I feel like there's not really a lot of me in rap. And there's not really a lot of me in major rap or major music, mainstream music. So. I want to fill that void. And as I started to write these songs where I'm like, believe in yourself, peace, love and positivity. You can do it. You can be whatever you want. Like people started engaging with that. And we're like, wow, this isn't just the traditional, what is rap or what is this or that, or whatever the case may be.

• 54:29Speaker 01

  And I don't say that in any, with any negative connotation or anything, you know, it's like literally, there's a bunch of rap that's kind of negative. There's rap that's really good, but I felt this kind of nerdy sci-fi me could break through. I don't know why, and I think it was insane that to even begin to think that. But it was just like week by week, little by little, things were improving, whether it was 10 extra followers on Twitter. I was also utilizing and using social media in a way that these platforms hadn't known about it. Or they weren't ready for what was coming. Because it was cats like me, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Mac Miller, Wiz Khalifa. We were utilizing this as a space where we didn't need a major label.

• 55:11Speaker 01

  And if we put out a song that was catchy enough, people could decide what they wanted to listen to. And so radio was dying, MTV, all that stuff was kind of out of there. And there was just this pocket of where you have these like blogs, like this song is sick and two dope boys. And people could go to a blog to find what they want and what they love. And that allowed me to shine and do it. And the bigger I got, yeah, there were certain things that I was chasing. I was chasing being able to go on tour by myself, being able to make a lot of money, hopefully having a hit record. But it's funny, I had a very slow burning career and I amassed a lot of fans.

• 55:55Speaker 01

  I was, I was playing arenas before I ever had a hit song with 1-800. And it's funny, because when I gave up trying to chase the hit, I ended up making the song from my heart. The last, nobody, trust me, nobody was like, In the studio like, yeah, song about suicide, about to take over the club, dog. Like, nobody was thinking that, okay? So I made this thing from my heart and it blew up. And then after that, I was just kind of like, well, I'm here. I made thirty million dollars that year. I was doing records with Marshmello and Eminem. And I was just like, let's go, go, go, go, go. And then I realized after over a decade, I was on this hamster wheel. And I was doing it and it's like, how many number ones can you have? How many platinum plaques can you have? How many this can you have? How many that can you have?

• 56:38Speaker 01

  I've literally attained and accomplished any, everything that a musician could dream to attain, with the exception of winning a Grammy, which is merely just a glorified pat on the back. And so I had to look myself in the mirror and say, why? And I have purposefully slowed down so that I can focus on my mental and physical health, so that I can focus on being there for my child and my wife, and that I can love and enjoy this life and this house that I've spent the last seventeen years of my life building. And it is terrifying, Jay. I'm just gonna be me and do me. And it, it's not about the money. It is about value over fear.

• 57:20Speaker 01

  And I used to value money and success and being that guy, um, over my health. And I will never do that ever again.

• 57:31Jay Shetty?

  That's beautiful, man. Well said. I actually, I picked out a few of your lyrics that were my favorite. I want to read this one. It's from Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. You said, "Such of a bliss only led me to searching for hits, only led me to battle depression. I done learned my lesson, cause fame never lessen the pain." And, and you know, that lyric for me, uh, is, is so powerful to what you just said right now. And I think, you know, for someone who has had so much success, it's, it's incredible because I feel, no matter how many times you hear that, you have to go do it for yourself. Right? No matter, the oldest successful people I speak to in the world, I'm like, every one of them feels exactly how you do, but every one of them will say, I had to go there to be able to accept it.

• 58:15Jay Shetty?

  But it seems like you've really allowed yourself to accept it genuinely and your family's become such a focus. I want to hear more about, what is, what does it feel like to you to be a husband, to be a father? Like, we, we started there when we were talking about your child. How have you prioritized that relationship in your life? Like, what does that mean to you to, you know, be in a relationship in a way that you'd never seen before growing up?

• 58:40Speaker 01

  Well, one, I just want to say you quoted one of my favorite albums and an album that was actually commercially my least quote unquote "successful" album because of the things I was discussing on that album. And yet it's still to this date, my most popular album. It's really funny how that works. So I just want to say that.

• 58:58Speaker 01

  My relationship with my son and my wife, just family, it's the greatest thing in the world. Because when I was going through things or feeling a certain way, you just look at this child and you go, "My kid is healthy." So what if somebody on the internet's like, "You're not black." You know what I mean? It's like, "My wife is happy." So what if somebody on the internet's like, "You suck at rapping?" Like, it's, these things are so miniscule and they don't matter. And I'm looking at what actually matters. But it is difficult, once again, to know. But it comes down to value over fear.

• 59:40Speaker 01

  There is fear that me stepping away, I may not be as big because I'm focusing on my family and my personal and physical and mental health. But I value that so much more than the fear of what could come. I mean, I haven't been on the internet in two years and I've only ever jumped in if I like grabbed my assistant's phone just to like tweet something. And I could tweet something and as soon as it goes up, I get like auto responses. And a couple of weeks ago, I was posting, um, because I did the, I narrated the entire book, This Bright Future. And I posted something and somebody immediately was like, "You fell off hard." And I'm in my head like, "I just dropped an album last year

• 1:00:21Speaker 01

  and it sold 250,000 units in a week. Is that falling off?" Like, you know what I mean? And then I remember what the, what the internet does to you and it makes you question yourself and second guess yourself. And it's also very pay to play. The less time I spend on Instagram, if I have six plus million followers, every time I post, I don't see the same amount of love or this or, or, or likes or views that I used to because I'm not constantly on it anymore. So now I literally either have to pay for ads and space to get all this. It's just kind of like a sick thing where if you pull away... You can't leave where you kind of left off.

• 1:01:02Speaker 01

  But once again, I look at my boy and I realize that it's the matrix, man. Like, none of that matters. Also, I'm excited for that new Matrix movie coming out.

• 1:01:11Jay Shetty?

  Yeah. Yeah, shout out to the Matrix movie. But no, I really appreciate, I really appreciate hearing that from you because I think as creatives, whatever space we're in, everyone, everyone focuses on that feeling of being, becoming irrelevant. And I personally believe that the time you take out to rediscover yourself allows you to reinvent who you are and your new creativity and define a genre and change a genre and upgrade. And I feel like it's all levels, right? Like, you can have someone who does the same thing every day, all day, every year. Or you see those people that have been relevant every decade because they took it to another level.

• 1:01:55Jay Shetty?

  Right? They did something different. They did something more innovative. They did something surprising. And both of them, I respect both of them. I'm not saying one's better than the other. But what I am saying is-

• 1:02:05Speaker 01

  Yeah, but I want the latter, man.

• 1:02:06Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, right.

• 1:02:07Speaker 01

  I want to be Bowie and Queen. Like, I don't want to just, you're right. Like, I don't want to just be out here, like, working myself to death. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off, but I just so, I agree with what you're saying. But it's just so scary, especially in rap, where it's like you're either on all the time or you're not. But I'm gonna be honest, Jay, like, I haven't, I'm not excited. There's no, there's not an ounce in me that feels like touring right now. That feels like really going hard and like promoting an album. Like, I don't want to do that. And if I don't want to do that, then I shouldn't. I should wait until the music is there. I am excited and I cannot wait to go out and do it. And I think I've dropped up one minimum, sometimes two projects a year for the last 12 years of my life.

• 1:02:51Jay Shetty?

  Wow.

• 1:02:52Speaker 01

  I think I'm gonna chill out.

• 1:02:54Jay Shetty?

  Well, I think that's the trade off, right? Like, when people hear that, if you're at the beginning of your journey and you're listening to Bobby right now and you're going, "Oh yeah, he's right, let me just lay back and let me take my time," that probably is bad advice because at that time in your life, at that phase, and I always say that we don't look at what people are doing at their stage, look at what they did at your phase, like, look at what they did in your, in, in, when they were your age, when they were in your time, when they were just beginning, because, you know, that's the difference, that you've now earned a platform, you worked hard for that, you built that, and that now gives you the flexibility to adapt and reinvent and recreate and focus on your family, whereas there was a time when all you had to do was

• 1:03:37Jay Shetty?

  give it all you had because you had to be present, and so, and I think the mistake is what you said, it's almost like what you call like, like broke mindset almost, where you continue to live like you don't have anything, right? And, and if you continue to live that way mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually, then you can't sustain that, and I think that's what happens, is that when you're on that journey upwards, if you don't at one point realize, "Oh no, now I do need to start investing in my health, I do need to start investing in my mind, I do need to start," it's like athletes, the athletes that have lasted are athletes that realized after they won everything that they needed to eat right, they needed to sleep right, they needed to change their fitness schedule, and that's why there's, and people like Tom Brady, still playing,

• 1:04:19Jay Shetty?

  right, or Cristiano Ronaldo in Europe, if you're a soccer fan, still playing at thirty-six at the top of the game, so I feel like that's what you see these shifts in, in leaders, if that makes sense.

• 1:04:29Speaker 01

  Yeah, you just snapped so hard, that makes all the sense of the world, yeah, I wholeheartedly agree with that statement.

• 1:04:37Jay Shetty?

  Thank you, man, well, I appreciate you, we're gonna, we're gonna go to, you've been very generous with your time, we end every On Purpose segment with a final five, so this is a fast five, rapid fire round, where every question has to be answered in one word, or one sentence maximum, easy for a freestyle rapper and a musician, but, and you can answer in lyrics if you like to, so, so the first question is, what is the best advice you've ever received, or given?

• 1:05:07Speaker 01

  Be yourself.

• 1:05:08Jay Shetty?

  What is the worst advice you've ever received?

• 1:05:11Speaker 01

  Be yourself. I'm serious.

• 1:05:15Jay Shetty?

  So, so that depends on who you are. No, tell me, explain, explain the, why it can be the worst. I'll give you more words.

• 1:05:22Speaker 01

  Um, I think it's the best and it's really incredible because you are not a fraud. You are yourself undoubtedly, you are you, and that is amazing. But also when you are yourself, at least in my genre, and you put your whole life in a book and you put your whole, everything that you are, your love, your passion into records and it's you, it's not a persona, it's not, you're not an actor playing, uh, you know, a role that just wasn't received well in this movie and you're Brad Pitt and you go on to make a bunch of other, like you're you. So when your highs are high, they're high and when they're low, they're low. And when you are yourself, you're not always loved or you might be kicked and, you know, pulled down to the pits of hell.

• 1:06:07Speaker 01

  But at the same time, being yourself can open up heaven's gates. So it's, it was, I, I know it's crazy, but you said fire off rapidly.

• 1:06:15Jay Shetty?

  I love it, man.

• 1:06:15Speaker 01

  Those two are difficult, yeah.

• 1:06:17Jay Shetty?

  It's great. All right. Question number three, if you could have a dinner party with three other people, dead or alive, who would they be?

• 1:06:23Speaker 01

  Be yourself. No, I'm just kidding.

• 1:06:26Speaker 01

  It would be, um, I would have to say Quentin Tarantino. Um, ooh, hold on, let me think. Dinner party? Um, um, Freddie Mercury. Oh, man.

• 1:06:42Jay Shetty?

  Oh, dude, I'm so happy you said that. I love Freddie Mercury and Queen. I, I was not expecting that.

• 1:06:47Speaker 01

  They're the best. And probably,

• 1:06:53Speaker 01

  Carl Sagan.

• 1:06:55Jay Shetty?

  Uh, I wanna, I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be a fly on the wall at that dinner party.

• 1:06:58Speaker 01

  Either Carl Sagan or Malcolm X. That would be the most, yo, Tarantino and Malcolm X, that's a wild conversation.

• 1:07:04Jay Shetty?

  Yeah.

• 1:07:05Speaker 01

  Anyway, sorry.

• 1:07:06Jay Shetty?

  That'd be, no, that'd be amazing. I, I, I was asked that question this week by, uh, I was doing a, a corporate event Q and A with Target and Reham from Target asked me that question. And I was like, oh, that's a really cool question. I want to know who else everyone would want to sit down with. I said,

• 1:07:21Speaker 01

  What was yours?

• 1:07:22Jay Shetty?

  I said Steve Jobs, Einstein and Martin Luther King. Those were my three.

• 1:07:26Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 1:07:26Jay Shetty?

  Uh, I was like, those, those minds in the same room would be, would be fascinating. All right. Question number four. Uh, what is the biggest lesson you've learned in the last 12 months?

• 1:07:36Speaker 01

  Really being happy with yourself and, and knowing like,

• 1:07:42Speaker 01

  Knowing your self-worth and just knowing what's important. And that's what I my, my time, my family, my health. That's what I've really, really learned in these last 12 months.

• 1:07:53Jay Shetty?

  I love that. All right. And fifth and final question. If you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?

• 1:08:02Speaker 01

  There's so many things, but honestly, the first one that comes is to just abolish guns. I just wish guns didn't exist. I wish I didn't need them. I wish people didn't need them. It would be amazing if they were just all gone. It'd be a lot of stabbing. But at least, you know, it wouldn't be like, yeah, so I would, that'd be great. If all these mass shootings and things like that could stop and wars and, but I mean, it's a fairy tale, but that's what I would do.

• 1:08:26Jay Shetty?

  Amazing. Thank you, man. Everyone, Bobby Hall, AKA Logic, This Bright Future. That's the book. We're gonna put the link in all the comments, the captions. I want you to go out and grab a copy, read it, devour it. You're gonna love it. It's, it's poetry. It's, it's vulnerable and it's a book that I truly think is gonna change the way people think about parenting, relationships, and how they spend their life and their legacy and what they chase. So Bobby, I want to say a big thank you to you for not just doing this podcast, but for writing this book. I appreciate you. I hope we get a bump into a few, bump into each other, a few more airports, but also some dinners and whatever else. And give my love to Pepe and the rest of the team. And send me his address. I want to send him something, but thank you so much, man. I appreciate you and

• 1:09:11Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 1:09:12Jay Shetty?

  Thank you for this time.

• 1:09:13Speaker 01

  I just want to say thank you for having me and thank you to everybody watching and listening. It means a lot. Sometimes I wake up, I can't believe that I even get to have conversations with people like you. I feel lucky. I'm super blessed and I just want to thank you all, everyone involved, producers, people behind the camera, everybody. Thank you so much for making this possible and I really appreciate you guys. So hopefully we could do this again. And yeah, man, I'd love to have dinner sometime.

• 1:09:37Jay Shetty?

  Yeah, man, it'd be good to get together. Thank you so much. Thanks, everyone for listening. I want to make sure that if you've heard anything from Bobby that resonated today, make sure you do tag us on Instagram and Twitter. Let us know what connected, what resonated. Any of the wisdom bites that he shared with you, we'd both love to see. Well, he won't see it, but I'll definitely see it. I'd love to see what resonated with you. Thanks, everyone for listening on purpose. We'll see you again next week.

• 1:10:10Speaker 02

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• 1:11:19Jay Shetty?

  I'm not the first daddy.

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