What’s up, y’all? I’m Jamila Mustafa
with BET Social and I’m here with...
David Banner and I’m Pullin’ Up.
Hey, Pull Up. So all right, let’s just hop right into it.
There’s a lotta transitions goin’ on in music.
Nowadays we’re watching as artists
are transitioning into apparel or even film
but you made such a sharp transition into activism
which is kinda rare. So, tell us about that transition.
For a long time I was really embarrassed
of the old David Banner
but now I understand that that was necessary.
That’s one of the reasons why these kids trust me
because my life,
I’m one of the few artists who life unfolded
in front of them, you know what I’m sayin’? So...
they can see that you can still be conscious
and make mistakes.
They can see that, you know,
you come from Mississippi,
you know, eatin’ every part of the pig
and then become a, you know, a vegan or vegetarian
or whatever I am today. It just depends.
I’m a -- I’m a --
what I wanna tear in, you know what I’m sayin’?
When I wanna tear in.
But, but what I’ll say is that activism isn’t--
it’s a lifestyle. It doesn’t have anything to do
with me makin’ an effort, you know what I’m sayin’?
That’s who I’ve always been.
So goin’ back to, to college when you talk about dreams and,
and decisions,
what made you say, okay, all right,
I, I did the undergrad thing, I did the SJ thing,
I’m gonna go pursue my master’s at UMBS and,
uhm, never mind, I wanna pursue music.
What, what happened for you during that time in your life?
So you want the, you want the --
I want the real, come on.
Don’t-- don’t even ask the question.
So I started hearin’ voices.
Like I had a 3.9987 in accelerated master’s program,
like I was from the hood and all that kinda stuff
but I’ve always been super smart. You know?
And, you know, the things that people think
smart people are smart in, I guess.
But, I started hearin’ voices and I --
all my friends are like, dude, you already out the hood,
like you got all As and one B in accelerated master’s program,
like why you still wanna rap? Like you already out.
I started hearin’ these voices. I’m serious.
And it felt like I was goin’ down the wrong path.
And-- although it seemed like a great path,
like ‘cause I probably would’ve been a doctor ‘bout right now
but I’d have been so unhappy, like I think hell to me,
hell is doin’ the same thing over and over again
for 20 years and don’t remember what you did five years ago.
Like you can’t differentiate the difference.
They all bleed together.
Like no matter how good or bad my life is,
every day of my life is different.
I work around people that I love and I care about.
And I have an opportunity to change people’s lives
and make a whole lotta money doin’ it.
So on the line of education,
not-- not to switch the mood up,
but, but it’s so we have to-- we have to talk about it.
Gun violence in the schools.
Mm-hm.
What are your thoughts on it?
Man, can I-- I wanna cuss one time.
I, I think, I think this shit --
I think, I think we good.
--I think it’s bull-- I think it’s bullshit.
And I tell you why, man. It’s big gun violence
in black neighborhoods and black schools and shootin’s.
Man, the only reason why people care about this
is ‘cause some white folks dyin’.
That’s just the truth.
And we don’t wanna admit that.
Like blacks been-- black violence--
gun violence, period
and we should just say what it is.
Like when, when black folks
started talkin’ about the recession,
that’s some bullshit.
It’s always been a recession for black people
since we got off of those boats.
So the only reason why it’s called a recession now
is because it’s affecting white people
who are used to having money.
So like for me, gun violence is not the problem.
it’s the psychological ramifications
of what slavery did to black people and black worth.
Like we live in the South. Guns ain’t never been a problem.
I had a gun since I was eight.
Like you never really heard of,
of people playin’ with guns in the South and,
and shootin’ each other by mistake.
If, if somebody got shot in the South,
we were shootin’ at you.
I just think we should be careful
to not allow people to manipulate our emotions.
And the way that we feel
based on something that has historically
always been happening
as of recent history in black schools.
And nobody wants to say anything when it happens to black people.
As a matter of fact,
that’s one thing that I thank Trump for.
Trump, if nothing else,
Trump took away the liberal white person’s ability
to say that this was a post-racial America.
You understand what I’m sayin’?
Yes, sir.
So like for, for me, I don’t get caught in the emotions.
If you wanna talk about gun rights and gun laws,
let’s just talk about that.
Let’s not use the death
of ̆innocent, you know, children in general,
to really push forward somebody’s agenda.
We’re still talkin’ about the same exact things
that our great-grandparents were talkin’ about.
As much as we say America has moved--
--that we moved forward,
we’re literally still talkin’ ‘bout the same exact things.
And this is the thing that I’m scared of,
so many people say
that I have the potential to be this great leader.
But I always ask people like
why would you want me to be a leader?
You didn’t listen to any of the ones that came before me.
Then you let people kill ‘em and you did nothin’.
Name one black person, name one, I’m not asking for two.
Name one black person who died in the public
that black people wanted to hear somethin’ about it, just one.
We can do Emmett Till, we can do Mike Brown,
we can do Malcolm, we could do Martin,
so I always tell people,
that black folks have somethin’ that I call the Jesus complex.
See, the reason why people wanted Jesus-- to me,
I always tell people, I scare black people.
I say Jesus is never comin’ back.
Black people go "Uh!" And I tell ‘em, I say, but,
I think the story of Jesus
was to show you that you could be God on earth
but the problem is,
is people don’t wanna put in the work that Jesus put in.
People don’t wanna fast for 40 days and 40 nights.
If your ass fasted for 40 days and 40 nights
you gon' hear some voice, it might just be, "I’m hungry."
But you’re gonna hear a voice.
And your ass might walk on water.
See, the problem is, is they want Jesus
because they don’t wanna do the work.
Well, let’s go ahead and talk about,
let’s get into the box, right?
So you, you think that it’s just the album
and it’s the music that you’re droppin’.
You got the single but then we’re watchin’ you,
like do cool giveaways
and then we’re like-- so what is it?
So, so this is what’s funny about the God Box.
I created somethin’ that was called the God Box
where I actually created a God box.
What really sold was the actual God boxes
and what I did was
is I went and got
all of the things that helped me become conscious
and I said if there was anybody, ‘cause there was a --
I don’t know if people are gonna like when I say this
but it’s the truth.
It’s a man who got the God box and changed his religion.
And he was 50 years old.
Wow.
I put the first book from the Broader Files,
I put that in there.
I put two DVDs in there, one about finances,
one was Hidden Colors,
the one with me and Nas on there.
I created our people flag, you know?
The actual God box,
I just put all of these things in there,
whether you watchin’ TV, listenin’, the clothes...
I wanted to surround people with consciousness.