Talent without work ethic, it was a wasted opportunity, i'm always curious about that like who was the greatest painter of all time, but she or he never decided to paint yo, estamos conchico right here in atlanta and the reason we are here today doing this interview. Okay with this carly head is because of garyvee well one of the main reasons we built this because garyvee motivated me to do it. Yo garyvee, you got ta talk to me man. I need your help, i'm still grinding, but we got ta.

Do it man all right, crazy and there they go? You were born in panama or your family's from panama, yeah. I was born in panama. You were yeah, i was born. I was raised in panama until i was 10.

yeah and yeah 2010. My mom ended up getting shot because of my family gang activities. I'm sorry, panama and she didn't hesitate, brought me in my brother she's like get the out of here yeah my dad's american. He was never in the picture, so it was good.

She took a shot. She just found herself immigrant came no papers, no job, no, no yeah just came and that's what's up yeah pretty much. I've been living in atlanta since 2011., how'd, the music gon na start, a friend invited me to his house. I just landed from visiting panama for the first time.

That's when i was in visit yeah. How old were you? Oh, if i was like 17. 17 17., i'm 19, now so just a couple years ago, yeah just a couple years ago, and he invited me and said yo there's some friends from school. Everybody will put in my basement.

If you want to come through. Do you want to make a song and you were like what oh yeah, but i ended up saying shirt for some reason i was like some intuitive yeah. Like sure i went sure i ended up recording a full song that day and then 30 minutes later i made a soundcloud uploaded that song soundcloud, but the next day the song had like almost 2000 streams, and i was like wow you were addicted. I was like okay, this is cool.

Did it come natural natural like i have and do you have do you have any relatives that are about music or anything like nothing on the radar? I think if i'm correct my grandma, she really likes singing, but she never pursued it. She never talked about it. So i was like oh yeah. I wasn't really a soccer.

I was going to be a soccer player, sounds like a good, panama, kid, yeah and yeah. After that, i really liked the community. I went home. I remember that day and i was like yo.

I really like this city. It was fun. I have fun and i go to school next day. I'm like yo, well, there's so many people in the front door.

Wait and as i get closer to the door yo your was fired. It's just fire. You should keep making music you're like what the i didn't know you could do. I was like i didn't know myself.

You didn't know, i didn't know. I was wow and then that friend his cousin was is actually a producer and he came through all the way from snowville, which is like an hour away from here. As we are right now, he can't he will come like every once a week or every two weeks, so we can record and we just kept doing that over and over and just getting better and better and throughout during the pandemic. Obviously we weren't allowed to go out right, so you have to really strict as far so what he did.

He snuck me into his house. I took a 50 uber, which i asked my mom for was 50, which she was gon na use to pay the light bill. She gave them to me still. I took that uber and that day i made a song called the move and that's the song.

I believe yeah and that's the only song i recorded during the pandemic, and i uploaded that song with my distro kit yep. I pitched the song to spotify and you know i'm gon na play. Instead, it's crazy, my friend pud from back in my early internet days. Um was the founder of distrokid created it, and i remember him telling me like what he was doing, and i remember thinking because i was me and boyd were already tight yeah and i was like this is gon na help all those people and to just like Sit here, 15 years later or whatever it is and hear you tell your story should just feel so emotional, it's crazy! It is crazy.

I i tell people i'm like: does it just? Do you right now or no? I write all my songs, even the first one. So the first one you were in there and you were just like trying to yeah - i just kind of got like a rhythm, and then it took me like a while, obviously get your cadence okay. I've never done this so of course, but you've listened to so much music music that i was like, and you always with it, like you always loved listening music, i was it was it felt more of like a passion listening to music for me, like you know, When you listen to music and you enjoy, for me, it was like a passion. You need the movie to come a friend to come in, like i would it's time for you.

Oh it's! Okay, like i would um. I would literally like it would be a passion. Listening to music, i remember on the way to school. I couldn't keep my headphones out in class.

I couldn't get my headphones on. I made a deal with my teachers to have one headphone and one now and because she was like you seem like you can't let it go, and i was like i don't know what it is like. I just can't stop this. It's amazing and she made a deal with me.

She said fine, one headphone in one out and good for her. I love teachers that can yeah teachers that can adjust to a kid have like i admire them. So much not just following the direct path and when you think about your journey, like it's teachers like that that matter yeah, i went back to my school um. I think late last year and i saw some of the teachers and it was like wow.

I'm so shook that's right here, i'm like why i was like i had to come back and just say thank you so much, and then i explained to them and everything and i was like wow - that's so crazy, like it's literally. What are you thinking about now? Right now, yeah at this moment, not write this exactly like within the macro like. How are you thinking about the lab? What do you think about the last couple weeks and what are you thinking about like for the rest of this year? Wow, that's a lot. I mean in the last couple weeks i've done things i never thought i was going to do like i was never.

I never thought that i'll have like people organizing this stuff. For me, and that's like yo, you have this and you have to go here to do this video and this this and meet so many people and get so much love from people. It's like almost like surprising, like people come home and the store. If people come out yo, i love your music.

Like honestly, thank you so much people text me like yo. Thank you so much because of you. I'm actually learning how to speak. Spanish, so i can communicate with my friends it's like outside of just making music.

It's like actually making an impact, yeah. 100 percent. My goal - i was like that's the best part about music. It's a medium that just transcends everything yeah, it's so powerful.

It is like which artist did you really did? Any artists come like when your teenage years really hit you. What was my love post, i loved it. It was real yeah, it's real and all points, it's just real. It's one of those guys that i really like look up doing.

That has actually inspired me. A lot it's nice and i will also say in the last like year or so, saint john man yeah that guy's fine, that guy's, like the guy that i'm like this guy, is different. He is different, super different and i'm like stylish flow yeah. I i think, like when you're capable of being comfortable being your complete self, you can win no matter what you could look like the last 30 people in a row.

Look like a prototypical like when they were doing all the you know. Everybody looked like britney spears and jessica simpson or everybody looks like boys to man or everybody looks like you know: 98 degrees or everybody look yeah or everybody look, you know, but if, if it's actually you you'll still be the knockoff that breaks out if you're crazy Left field completely different. If that's authentically you like you're, going to win yo, you got to tell gary about how you're trying to bring like latin trap with atlanta with rsvp, because people been saying i heard you say you love that bunny whatever but you're trying to do your own life. Yeah, well, you have such an advantage.

You actually you legitimately, like i was listening carefully. You basically lived half your life yeah and half and half in the two places that are dominating popular culture. Yeah, like i tell people i'm like, i literally grew up like you literally couldn't, have made up a better situation and he wants to be such bro. You love him he's.

First of all, he's just warm as seriously oh yeah he's a warm ass dude. He gives me back possibly he's a warm ass dude he's like a teddy bear, he's like good people and he's talented as yes, that's the first one from panama, 100 100. So it's like he's the better show, though you got to support the man, it's cool. It's huge and he's really about it, like he's talented kid and he works hard.

That's the thing i with sex with he works. Yeah work ethic is so underrated he's on everyone now, yeah he's out. I mean he just consists. Tell us about the music tap talent without work ethic.

It should was a wasted opportunity. You understand, yeah, it's a wasted opportunity yeah! I just think about that all the time how many people had loads of talent that either didn't fight to find it. I'm always curious about that like who was the greatest painter of all time, but she or he never decided to paint, gave up yeah not even gave up just no, it didn't even didn't even go uh novak djokovic. When i was chopping with him.

Had there not been a tennis court behind his family's um, he never went out restaurant. He would have never gone there and instead he would have been into skiing he's the greatest he's gon na, be when it's all sent down the greatest male tennis player of all time. The serendipity of a tennis court, like i think about that. This is why i push curiosity so heavy like try just try some you were if you said no, i don't sing and just stayed home and played video games or whatever you don't know what would happen.

I know what would have happened. All the good. That's time. Last two years, wouldn't the happen, that's why i know that part wouldn't have happened like yeah yeah nah, it's crazy.

I spoke to that friend yesterday for the first time in a couple months, you got to make a song about him. Oh for sure, i'm a big fan of like music that, like paints a picture of a moment. That's the turning point in your life. Yeah, you got ta.

You actually have to actually really think about that day and like while it's still fresh because it's only a couple years, you need to like remember that day to like you need to actually like sit down and try to remember that day. Yeah like what you had for breakfast, like you know like what did i do, and what did i do? Was it friday after school or was it on saturday or sunday? It was a sunday. It was a sunday. The next day we had to go to school.

You got to make a song of the first time you went to church, that's a good one, i'm creative! You know i'm going to. I can't wait to drop my mixtapes. Oh man, we're good for you. So young whole life in front of you yeah.

I'm excited for myself, i'm excited for you too yeah, there's nothing like the moment when you find yourself that happened to me like in fourth or fifth grade, because i, like really turned on school yeah, sounds like this ain't gon na be for me yeah, and i Was like what the am i and then baseball cards hit in fifth grade early sixth grade, and that was it. My life changed forever, i'm like, even though i was already doing lemonade and shoveling snow and washing cars. That was like grunt work. Baseball cards was like thinking like, i think this player's gon na be good.

I'm gon na buy 10 of those i'm going to sell that i became a trader instead of a you know. I always had like. I still have the grunt work grinder in me, but in sixth grade i was i learned how to trade markets. Why does everybody want don mattingly, daryl straw? I started learning really changed the course of my life and, like i knew i was home.

You know i'm 46 nft same. I learned in sports cards saying. Should i learn selling wine? You know collecting why people give a why people want to wear jeans with rips in them now but didn't seven years ago, but did fit 25 years ago the cycles? What what what like logos? Why hairstyles? Why why you know yeah, that's interesting, i think about that. A lot sixth grade and six, i think about why people give a about.

No, i don't think about sixth grade that often, but when i hear something like your story where, like you found yourself two years ago, you found what you were supposed to be. I got lucky, i found it real early mo some people don't find it ever. That's what me and drock were just talking about yeah, there's literally things that still find out about myself every day. I don't like this.

That's a hundred percent. You know two years ago, yeah you got a little one yeah. So, in the middle of that pandemic, my son was born and yeah. It was it's like the craziest.

It's like you'll think that shit's moving man like a real movie, my son, was born. The only song i recorded throughout that whole year was the song that opened up the first door and i'll, never forget too, because at that time i was playing broke. I had no job, no nothing and that someone was able to make me a thousand dollars and i was like oh, i pulled it right out of my district head and i was able to give my son everything yeah. I love that yeah.

I'm able to do that you with this mom yeah, it's good yeah, she's great super supportive. It's amazing! When i told her i was like yeah, they invited me to me. You know this guy. She was like, of course i was like yeah.

I think they invited me to meet him today. She was like no way i was like i'm serious. I can't make this up look at the mess. What was that moment like for you when you got a dm like from garyvee's management team like oh, by the way we heard your ep and we want to meet you? I would probably freak out for me, i was like um.

I remember i went up to my brother yeah. He was like yo. Do you know garyvee? He was like garyvee. I was like yeah.

He was like garyvee. I was like yeah yeah. He was like. He was like why yeah i was like yo.

His team actually wants me to link up with him he's like no way i was like i'm like what do you mean? She was like that's so crazy. She was like it's crazy because we never they wanted any of this stuff. The internet yeah, the internet, is so powerful, it's so powerful. If this is 1974, there is no disregard.

There is no uploading, there's no virality yeah. None of this there's no monday playlist. We saw we playlist the whole project. I was like damn.

You guys played this at the whole project, not two songs, we're gon na wake him up. Man, oh yeah, we know something's about to happen. We got ta, go crazy, yeah man nah, i was just i was just like well. Thank you guys so much for that.

Mike we've been doing this for 13 years, i was down on typical everything back matt taylor. It was khalifa man. People need to hear this, especially with us recording it. You got to talk about what you're trying to do with the wave music.

I think it's really important man, especially with you being in atlanta, yeah, okay, so literally like nobody has ever merged the american culture and the latino culture together. It's where both coaches feel like wow. This is fine. It's not a lot of people that are 20 years old, that live 10 years there, 10 years here; yeah that have musical talent 19, if i'm being correct yeah, but i round up yeah, but i mean yeah man, you stepped in the talk about time and jesus.

My goal is to literally merge both cultures, of course, because it's huge people feel like you are that you don't even need to do anything you just need to, but there's this friend that introduced me to making music he's african, and i just lived and experienced this Culture for like the last five years - oh so i i ate their food, i went to their parties, i dressed like them, so it was like part of me, feels like i have this african, it's nice part of it, so it was like. What's his name, his name is joshua yeah, good people yeah, it's my guys. His family is like family. They help me in my life.

So it's like kind of shocking. How do you see your age? Yeah he's my age. I spoke to him yesterday. Where is he here, no he's in the military hawaii stationed in hawaii, so he went to the military a year ago, yeah yeah and yeah pretty much.

I spoke with him yesterday, he's great just making sure he's great honestly if he needs anything. If i can help him with anything, just people really help me and supported me, but none of this was going on 100, just keeping it real just being real. That's what i just had dinner with really good friend of mine long before any of this there's nothing like those people, yeah man, i feel like those people are like they're, the most special people, if somebody's lucky enough to have a journey that takes them to special Places, there's always a feeling you have towards the people that were there before it started, there's just no other there's just no matter what amazing love or friendship you can make along the way, there's just something about it: yeah yeah, like that's my god, my god guys. I remember one day i had to take my son's mom to her appointment.

We were in school and i was obviously i didn't have a car and he literally stole his parents car just to give it to me. So i can take it like that's my real you're nasty at soccer. Oh man, you got it like that. Yeah panama's also big-time baseball yeah.

They i, i would say outside of soccer baseball's like right, there right there and it's growing a lot yeah. I like it, because it's taking a nice turn, instead of it being more street. More people like wanting to be on the streets people are like yo. I want to play soccer, which is way better to see that then people like yo, i'm gon na, go it's evolving a little bit yeah it's it's involved.

You've been in studios. Yeah. I've been in studio, i prefer to record at home yeah, but the studio is like the same. I loosen up it's like yeah.

This is what i do so it's like own. It 100 because you're wrong, you take control of it, create and yeah pretty much and but yeah like the project that i just dropped. It was like a half and half. I recorded some of the studio, some of the airbnb's um, one of them.

I recorded it in my boys like living room literally. It just depends where you've been to the studio yeah this one we're going through right now by the way oh yeah dirk, wants everything recording and uh. The crazy part is. I was able to learn english in like two or three years yeah.

You were still young, you know, but i wanted to learn that i was like yo. I really want to learn english, so i got super into it. He focused focus just focusing what about tv and music helped or you were like more in the books nah. I helped a lot yeah right, yeah like i never had to like really pick up a dictionary and be like i was so i was born in this.

I was born in belarus in the soviet union, oh wow, by russia yeah, so i never um. I never uh. I also had to learn it, but i was so young. I was five, so super easy for me.

I like learn by watching scooby-doo, and the flintstones like batman price is right, also taught me that i just watched talking about learning something. Oh yeah, you go ahead, need to have into it in a way that i feel comfortable using it, and that's like interesting to me. I was like nah, i got ta use it. I got ta use it.

Yeah we'll show your process. Man yeah just got ta. Think of ideas like yo: this is cool. Why not? Let's do it just put it out? People are interested in everything.