So what was the inspiration of "Father of Four"?
Of course, my kids.
I wanted to apologize to them, you know what I mean, for things they probably don't even remember.
You know, I had time, missing out them.
I just wanted to praise them to let them know that they are the key to me, and that's what
I do it for.
I'm an adult, and I stepped forward to my mistakes and I stepped forward to what I did
wrong and I corrected it, so that's what always make it better.
I just wanted to get a message across to the fathers, bro, you could've been missing 15
years of their life, bro.
It's never too late.
Was the process different making Father of Four?
I had to think, hard about what I was saying because it's like so personal.
It's almost scary to just like jump back to it.
I didn't want to offend nobody bro.
But, it's just the truth.
I needed to be able to just say the truth one time.
Growing up, being seventeen, I wouldn't had no where to go, but I go make sure I pull
up on my son Jordan and make sure that I'm handling that business.
But, when I was seventeen man, I was scared as hell boy.
I had never ran from it, it just made me go harder but it was making me go harder and
doing the wrong things.
Breaking the law, breaking into houses, trying to do things like to get money.
Was there a particular birthday when I'm talking about Jordan's birthday?
Yeah, his born day.
I was incarcerated while he was born.
I had got out, and then I got incarcerated again when he was just one years old.
And then I got incarcerated again when he was two years old.
It was like three, four, five month stretches, but you know, to your child, you know that's long.
I remember one time he was like, "I know I know him, but he been locked up."
And it killed me bro, broke me down in jail.
I feel like he don't even know his daddy 'cause I'm locked up.
I know I got a big, big, big, big, big influence on him.
Sometimes I just walk in the room, and he's just rappin' in the mirror, but he not really
puttin' the words together but he puttin' ... like the word he tryin' to pronounce might
not be a word, but it's rhymin'.
I could tell it was rhymin'.
He might be like, "Dit dit dit dit dit."
Pause.
"Dit dit dit dit dit."
He got cadences.
I'm like, "Man this man's crazy."
And he'd have my jewelry on in the mirror, just rockin' out on his own self.
And he's confident so crazy, he three years old, his confidence is crazy.
"I'm fresh, daddy, right?
He'll ask, "I'm fresh Daddy."
I'm like, "Are you fresh?"
The lines about my daughter, Kalea ... that was one of the hardest things to do.
It's in the beginning of the song, so I paused for a minute when I was recording it.
It's the truth, bro.
It was a crazy situation.
I thank God he gave me this situation.
That's my beautiful daughter.
That was like the icing on the cake.
I already had the police to the house.
I already had been arrested.
I already had been getting in trouble.
That's why I'm glad I can explain it ... she ain't never do me like, "Oh, you got a baby
on the way?
Get out of my house." Nah.
It was like, "You bucking on everything I'm saying.
You not going to school.
You 17 though.
During that time, my brother had probably been in about three years, but on a 15-year
sentence, so she was feeling bad as a parent, like, "I'm losing my sons.
My one son doing 15 ... he been in jail two, three times ... he on the way back ... he
get warrants, these folks come to my house, now he got a kid," and I just feel like she
just kind of went into a ball.
Me being able to provide for my kids I can do what I need to, but I need to go harder.
I need to go 10 times harder, 'cause I ain't have it.
And I remember not having it.
The feeling of not having it, lookin' in your face of your kid when you know you really broke.
My grandma is like the hearts of the family ... you know how the grandma do.
I told her first about rappin'.
She like, "Well you got it.
You been a star."
She always call me to the house, "You need to stop robbin'.
You need to stop breakin' in houses.
Don't do it this week, son.
Give it a break.
And if I won't listen, I'd get locked up.
She had like a intuition.
Kulture remind me, 'cause Kulture got her cheeks.
We got high cheeks and she got her dimples.
My grandma had dimples.
Her spirit is just happy.
When I pick her up.
And she grab my face, she's like ... I get an opportunity to see my grandma features is
like crazy, bro.
Through all the things that be goin' on, she still stay by my side.
I know she still feel crazy, and she might not wanna be seen with me all the time.
She love me though.
She understand the value of family.
'Cause her family big and she run her family.
I feel like I could be a monster, more than what I am right now.
This album like, showed that inner monster in me.
I'm glad I was able to unleash that.
'Cause I was searching for that myself, like, it's time to grow up, grow this craft up.
If I don't be on top, it's going to be a crusher to everything.
I always pray to God to just watch my kids because I'm famous, people know my kids.
I put them on my thing now.
I just want God to be with them because I can't always be with them every second.
And that's why I said that at the end.