-What's up, Jimmy?
-It's good to see you, bud. It's always great to see you.
How you doing? How's the family doing?
How are the kids? -Everybody's good. Thank you.
Yeah, my kids are good. -Yeah.
How old are the kids now?
-My youngest, Marli, is 3. And Kensli is 6.
And they're both about to celebrate birthdays, so add one.
-You've been coming on the show for many years.
-Yeah.
-And you're usually wearing a hat.
-Typically, yeah. -Yeah.
With the number 3 on it. -This one. Exactly.
-Yeah, I think the first time you came on,
either you gave it to me or I took it.
And then I had to give it back to you.
[ Laughter ] -I do remember this.
No, because I introduced the hat on this show. You're so right.
-You only had one hat.
-That was the fir-- That was literally the prototype.
And I let you wear it. And then I was like, "Yo."
-"I need it back. Sorry." [ Laughter ]
-That was so embarrassing to ask for it back.
-That was years ago, yeah. -Yeah.
-It's been ten years, by the way.
Ten years ago -- your first mixtape.
-My first project, yeah. "10 Day."
-Yeah. "10 Day" came out.
What do you remember about putting that out?
-Um... -Where were you?
-I was -- I was in Chicago.
And I remember I was a year out of high school.
What I really remember was I was --
I had been, like, touring.
I started, like, opening up for Childish Gambino
because I had shown him my mixtape.
And I did a few dates as, like, an unknown opener.
And like three weeks later, my mixtape came out.
And it kind of just changed the scope of everything
'cause then people knew what they were coming to see.
And they were like -- They'd be a few more fans.
So it just gave me an opportunity to, like --
I don't know -- to give stuff to people.
'Cause I've always been a performer...
-Yeah. -...a song maker.
-Yeah. -But once you record it,
once you make it, once you have a project,
it just feels different.
-You're always doing something new,
and every time you come on, I'm so happy and honored that
you come on our show to announce stuff and talk about stuff.
But you're doing this new festival in Ghana...
-Yes. --...next year.
It's called the Black Star Line Festival.
-Yeah. -Talk to me about that.
-Yeah, I'm very, very excited. Yeah.
January 6th, we are going to West Africa,
to Accra, Ghana,
and putting on a very, like, important event and --
-What inspired you to do it? -That's funny that you ask.
I would love to talk a little bit about it, yeah.
Well, in the 1920s --
And actually in 1922, the U.S. government shut down
a very, very important vessel
and means of connection for Black people.
There was this thing called the Black Star Line.
It was created by Marcus Garvey and invested in by just,
you know, common Black people around on the East Coast.
And basically they had created a connection via trade
with this giant fleet of ships that he owned.
So he had these ocean liners that would go between the U.S.
and all the Black islands and the continent,
and it created, like, a network or connection
for Black people globally.
And he had a lot of, like, ideas about Black interconnectedness.
And so I'm inspired.
And there's a lot of people that are inspired by his works,
his ideas, and also just the idea of global Blackness
and being in connection.
And so we're giving a -- we're giving it an opportunity.
I'm very excited about it. -That's January 6th.
[ Cheers and applause ]
It's a lot to -- It's a giant thing to put on, a festival.
-Yeah. It's something I'm very, very excited about.
-Good for you. -As you can tell.
-Yeah, no, I like it.
-But January 6th, like you said, the Black Star Line Festival.
We invite Black people from everywhere, from --
not just from the U.S.
but from the U.K. and from the islands.
And, you know, we're everywhere.
So we invite you to come to Accra to be in a space of peace,
of connectivity, of music, of art
and just -- and just love.
And I implore you to look up the Black Star Line and to --
and to just, you know, get in tune.
-Yeah.
[ Cheers and applause ] That's why I love you.
You're always doing something like that.
You're always giving back
and always making people think, as well.
I love this. This is the -- "The Highs & The Lows."
-Yes. -Now, I like this because
now you're -- you're doing a thing now
with every song that comes out, every project that comes out,
you put a different piece of artwork with it.
-Yeah, yeah. So, this is the --
This is the cover art, I guess, for "The Highs & The Lows."
But it's also a photograph by Yannis Davy Guibinga,
who is a photographer from Gabon, West Africa.
And I met him in my travels as I've been doing this art stuff
and kind of, like, collaborating with more artists.
But, yeah, I've been trying to figure out ways to --
to make my music translate in more ways, you know what I mean?
I feel like I talk about sometimes things
that are really heavy or very detailed.
-Yeah.
-And some people are visual learners.
And so I've been getting way more into film
and into, you know, the --
the visual arts and working with artists like Yannis
or when I did -- -Where do you meet
these artists? They come to you?
-I -- I meet a lot of them through social media.
So, luckily, we live in the future,
like "The Jetsons."
And we can just -- You can just meet people online.
But I met -- The first artist that I did this with,
Naila Opiangah, I met in Ghana in January.
And she's a painter and architect
that has lived all over and had a lot of different experiences.
And me and her had some conversations about our art,
how it can be commodified,
how important it can be as a tool or a weapon.
And it kind of rolled out into this thing where now
every time I make a song, you know, I'm going to make sure
that people can receive it in as many ways as possible.
And making something that's sustainable like,
you know, a living piece of art
is the type of stuff that I'm into.
-Yeah. Isn't that kind of -- That's awesome.
Because it's kind of -- I love that, because it's almost
like what you were saying when you first started out
and you were opening up for Childish Gambino.
That's a big gig for you, and you're like,
"But I got to give out --" You got to give out your mixtape.
-Physical, yeah.
-And you go, "That's what I'm doing."
And you're still doing that in a different way.
Isn't that cool? -Thanks, man.
-Come on, man. We love you, man. -I love you, dude!
You're just a great friend. [ Cheers and applause ]
-Chance the Rapper, performing later with Joey Bada$$.
You want to stick around and play a game with me?
-I would love to play a game. -Let's play a game.
Come on back. Chance and I are playing
"Hey, Robot" when we come back. Come on, bud.