This is Mouse Jones for BET Social.
And I’m here with...
I’m DJ Esco and I’m pullin’ up.
Ayeeee.
- Appreciate you comin’ out, man. - Appreciate it, man.
- How you doin’? - All good, how you been, man?
- Kolorblind, the album, is in stores. - Kolorblind, first album, yes.
So what’s the reception been like since this came out?
Man, it’s been...
You know, I got a better reaction than I thought.
I been... hard nights of sleep
wondering how the people are gonna react.
You work on your music so hard and no one heard it but you.
‘Cause I... no one works on the beat.
When I make beats, I don’t let no one in the studio with me.
- None of that. - Yeah.
None of those pictures, none of those Instagrammers.
I don’t want no opinions.
Whether it’s good or bad.
I don’t want nothing. I just want what’s in my brain.
So it's real nervous when it's gonna come out to the world,
because you don’t know how they gonna react to it.
You know what I’m sayin’?
But the fact that I’m getting a positive reaction...
and Nas blessed me with three verses,
which was really like... I’m really proud of that record.
You know what I’m sayin? On that album.
How did you get to a space like that,
where you’re just comfortable with “Whatever I’m about to put out,
this is what y’all gonna deal with”?
Well, working with Future was really where I learned
the most to trust myself.
Because I did 56 nights one time.
When I came home from prison, from Dubai, from 56 nights,
I made a mixtape called 56 Nights.
And it was so personal,
I didn’t want anyone to be involved with it
because of my story through music
that no one really could’ve went through but me.
So I didn’t want no one’s opinion on 56 Nights.
So, that was the first time I made an album or mixtape
without letting Future hear nothing.
He didn’t hear anything.
He just heard the finished product.
Now, 56 Nights, that’s the joint that had
that "March Madness" came out of.
- Yeah, "March Madness", right. - So what was your--
Yeah, you know what I’m sayin’? So...
Yo, that’s one of the craziest records to drop.
I think that might be... like, later on when our kids is older
and they talk about hip hop records,
they gonna talk about "March Madness".
So, how you even--
Yeah, "March Madness" was, like, it's one of those records that,
when I was in prison,
you kind of lose memory because your mind’s on different things.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - So, all the music that you know
and all the lyrics... you can’t remember none of them.
I couldn’t rap a Future song for nothin’
when I was in Dubai prison because my mind couldn’t...
couldn’t come up with it.
It was thinking about other things.
And, at that time, how long had you been working with him?
We’d been working with each other seven years now.
So, it was about to be ten years now.
So, this is seven years in, my mind’s going blank,
but the only thing I can think of was this "March Madness".
This melody. It’s the only music
that was in my... I could hold on to.
So, as soon as I got off the plane
and we got to the studio, we laid down "March Madness".
And then when you’re at a party or you’re at a concert
and that record drops, how does that feel,
watching people go crazy?
It’s emotional because you know where the song stemmed from.
- Right. - You know what I mean?
So to see the reaction...
And it wasn’t a single, like, it was just...
It was a song that just touched people.
You know what I mean?
We didn’t push it. It wasn’t on the radio.
It wasn’t like we made a major video.
It was a song on a mixtape.
♪ Dirty sprite in my cup ♪
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know-- - That’s crazy!
That’s cra--
Yo, that’s the first record. Like, I used to look at...
- I’m from New York. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So, you know, it’s a little bit different.
But that was one of the first records that I heard
that made me do these things.
Like, this is what I started doing.
“What am I doing? Oh, whoa, whoa, I’m in New York, no!”
Yeah, you’ve got a million records sold!
- You got Rich the Kid, - O.T. Genasis--
O.T. Oh, I love O.T!
Nas, Ty Dolla, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie...
So, we in New York.
Yeah, we in New York, you know what I mean?
Like you say, A Boogie, Nas...
How big is that, to have Nas on your record, man?
It was like bridging a gap for the people that don’t know
that Nas used to be named Nas Escobar.
So it was like going from DJ Esco to Nas Esco.
‘Cause the newer kids just know him as Nas.
Yeah, the newer kids just know him as Nas.
But he used to be Nas Escobar.
I wanted to bridge that gap.
I like hip hop history so I wanted to bridge that gap.
Featuring what’s going on with the young artists, older artists,
really we ain’t putting it together like I think we should
- Right, right. - be in hip hop, we ain’t...
We ain’t getting’ along like we should be.
And I wanted to personally do a song with Nas.
We were on a plane one day coming from San Fran
on an early morning flight, and he was sitting behind me.
And I turned around. I wanted to talk to the big homie.
- You know what I mean? - Right, right.
There’s the real Esco. There’s DJ Esco and OG Esco.
And he was down to do a record.
And, you know, I put Future on it, so he blessed it.
So tell us about this collaboration you’ve got with Diesel.
Oh, yeah, that’s dope, man. Diesel, uh...
You into the fashion now.
Yeah, I kind of come into the fashion.
- It’s more style for me. - Okay.
You know what I’m saying? Sometimes, fashion...
I can’t even pronounce some of the fashion,
you know what I mean?
So, I wouldn’t say I was a fashion guy.
But I’m definitely a style guy, you know.
And Diesel’s definitely my style.
I spent a lot of money on Diesel before we even connected.
Before we even reached out, or they reached out,
it was just genuine.
I always post without even adding them or anything.
-You just have some Diesel. - I was just wearing Diesel.
That’s just what I was wearing, you know?
Performing on stage, they had some jogger jeans which felt like--
- Like the fabric... - Like jogging pants, yeah.
The fabric was, like, I could jump around.
I’m real energetic on stage.
So I was, like, I wasn’t worried about my pants.
It was looking right. So, yeah, Diesel’s right for me.
They call you the coolest DJ in the world.
But somehow, we never hear about none of your personal life.
Unless it’s something you’re telling us, right?
How do you do that?
Like, how are you able to be at this level of fame
and not have your business all out on the streets?
I know we’re in the age where privacy is weird.
- Right. - Because you’re supposed
to show everybody everything you’re doing
or you’re not doing it.
Right, right. It’s almost frowned upon,
like “eugh, why you actin’ like that for?”
So, I like to just...
I like to chime in and let people know things that I think
is important with my work, but when it comes to personal,
I go home and I separate the two.
So, no love & hip hop. They’re not for you.
Yeah, no love & hip hop for me.
None of that.
- No high-profile relationships. - None?
Nah, man.
Speaking of which,
you got this dating screening process that I heard about.
You gotta break this down
‘cause this was some of the most player stuff I ever heard.
So, like, explain this to the people.
So you’ve got this screening process when you date.
- Yes. - When women shoot their shot at you
what is the screening process?
2%. 2% make it.
- Like milk. - Like milk.
2%.
If it’s 100 girls I’m screenin’... Two. 98 ain’t making it.
They ain’t makin’ my cut. Now, the homies...
[laughing]
I gotta be DJ Esco homie. We homies after this, aight?
You gotta put me on.
Yo, real fast. Give us your favorite BET moment.
This don’t count. ‘Cause this gonna be one of them.
Damn, my favorite BET moment!
- Remember, we got-- - That basement was just...
- The basement was-- - Ill!
Yeah.
You know, my favorite BET moment
actually was Tigger freestyling in there.
- You liked Tigger’s action? Oh, OK. - Uh-huh.
I was always waiting to see what he was gonna do.
I was like...
- Because he was bold. - Yeah.
He was going in there with legends, like,
“Yeah, my turn”. Like, “yo”, you know?
And sometimes you’d be like “Alright, I’m doing too much”,
you know what I’m sayin’?
- And they were real freestyle! - They were freestyles, yeah!
Like, maybe... I don’t know, I didn’t account for every else,
but his, he was coming off the top.
He was getting nice every day.
You gotta mess with Tigger, man.
But, nah, my favorite BET moment, man,
is got to just be, like you said, it’s got to be the freestyles.
- Just hearing it. - Yeah, freestyles.
- Whether it was the Booth, - Yeah, the Booth.
Freestyle Friday, which is back now, uhm...
Oh yeah, that’s the whole Freestyle Friday bit.
There’s the Freestyle Friday where the champion hold it down.
- You know what I’m saying? - Yeah, that used to be a thing.
The champion used to hold it down.
Yeah, I remember on Freestyle Friday we used to be
in the lunch room, like “Nah, it’s Freestyle Friday!”
“It’s Freestyle Friday, what’s up right now?”
Yeah, no, no, no, that was real, yeah, culture.
Before you get out here...
you’re a producer, we’re talking about Freestyle Friday,
did you ever like, were you ever at the lunch table
making a grindin’ beat?
- Yeah. I was that guy. - You could do it right now?
If I got you a pen, could you do it right now?
Uh... uhm, I can.
We got a pen? I just seen a pen.
- Go ahead, let’s see it. - Want me to do it with a pen?
- Yeah, yeah. The grinding beat. - Ah, the grinding beat!
[beating]
I can’t get it. I can’t get it.
- Yo, that’s cool. - Yeah, I got it in my head. No.
I love that album. Everybody that mess with that album...
Thank you, man. Kolorblind.
Appreciate you comin’ out, man. For real.
Appreciate your support, BET. You know what I’m saying?
Pullin’ up on y’all. I’m here. DJ Esco.
This has been Mouse Jones from BET Social.
My man DJ Esco, he just pulled up.
Come on, man.