- [Gary] How you been?
- [Man With Blond Hair] Been good, just been busy.
Getting everything with Bans.
- Yeah, Bans seems to be doing well.
Dude, I love Bans, man.
I like that fuckin' kid.
I think he's talented.
- [Man With Blond Hair] Thank you.
- I fuck with him.
- [Man With Blond Hair] I know,
we're just doing the most we can right now.
- And it's all been all good?
- [Man With Blond Hair] Yeah,
everything's doin' really well for him.
- And what's been goin' on with you guys?
- A lot of stuff.
- Yeah, it seems like it.
- Bans, um.
- [Man With Blond Hair] Been a busy couple
of last days out here.
- So what do you want to happen?
- It's not like a open book, ya know?
Obviously you want to have a structure, long term,
for what you wanna do.
- [Gary] It's still early, how old are you?
- 21, yeah.
- (laughs) You suck.
It's so crazy, like, my life right now,
with everything that's goin' on, Doug!
Won't fuck with all you kids.
I said to my friend, my homie, was like,
"Yo, this shit's crazy."
I'm like, "Yeah, man."
He said something funny, he was like,
"You're more popular with 21 year olds
"than when you were 21."
(laughs) I'm like "That's for sure."
Yeah, it's so early, right,
takin' advantage of the opportunities?
- [Cole] Yeah.
- How'd it all go down?
Gimme the origin story.
- Started in high school.
The start of everything was the blog, ya know?
Did videos on the side.
- [Gary] Like a Tumblr blog or a WordPress, or?
- Like a WordPress, a WordPress.
- [Gary] And what was it called?
- Lyrical Lemonade.
- [Gary] Right from the get.
- Yeah, right from the get go.
- [Gary] And what was the first premise of it?
- The blog.
- [Gary] Meaning what was the blog about?
- Oh, sorry, coming home every day after school
and just writing articles
on new local Chicago hip hop music.
- [Gary] That's it.
- And I was living about an hour and a half
outside the city.
You know, did that through high school.
Built the brand, grew all my friends in school.
Went out to the city every weekend.
Passing out stickers, throwing small little events
with what I could.
Moved to the city after I graduated from College at DePaul.
Was just expanding everything, going to school.
- [Gary] Was always about that.
- Yeah, and then--
- [Gary] What was the first good moment?
- The first good moment?
Just like selling out, I think, the venues in Chicago
that I always went to
and just kind of building up the ladder.
Like I wonder if I could sell out that one
and then a couple months later,
we were sellin' out those venues.
- [Gary] And you were curating the talent?
- So yeah, we did Lyrical Lemonade shows
and I would curate the talent.
Just puttin' together a good show.
- [Gary] Who were you putting on?
- I put Lil Uzi's very first show in Chicago ever,
my sophomore year of college.
It sold out and after that, I think, in terms of shows--
- [Man With Blond Hair] Everything skyrocketed
so fast after that.
- [Gary] And how long have you guys known each other?
- I've known him for about three or four years.
It's crazy 'cause we had met, 'cause Lyrical Lemonade
was just starting in Chicago
and it was starting to get a nice little buzz.
And I was like, he's a year older than me,
so I was still in high school.
I was like just loved everything goin' on.
So I wanted to write for the blog.
And I remember he was throwing a show,
it was a 18 plus show, and I was only 17,
so I went.
Met him at some little venue he was doing
and I asked him, I was like,
"I turn 18 in a month.
"Is it okay if I come to the show?"
"Could you help get me in?"
Took my number down, text with me,
he let me in.
We've just been close ever since.
- [Gary] That's cool.
And what about you?
- This is another artist I manage,
his name's Ronsocold.
We just met through the Internet
so kind of the same way I met Bans.
I actually met both him and Bans
both through a group chat on Twitter
and we've all just been super close.
- [Gary] Where do you live?
- I live in Strongs, North Carolina.
- [Gary] Good man, good for you.
Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
- [Gary] Havin' a good week?
How long you been here?
- I just got to New York this mornin'.
- [Gary] First time?
- Naw, it's like, probably like, the fourth time.
- [Gary] And what's been goin on with you?
- I'm about to sign to a label.
- [Gary] Good for you, you excited?
- Yeah, I'm excited.
It ain't hit me yet but--
- [Gary] Send me some links, I'd love to listen.
- Yeah, I got you.
It's always under Michael so I'll make sure--
- [Gary] I know, I'm sure.
Where is Boyd?
- He said he's at an Elton John event right now.
- [Gary] What the fuck?
(laughs)
That's the last thing I thought you were gonna say.
- Yeah, I thought he said a Elton John event
and that's why he couldn't be here.
But he said it's the first of many meetings.
- [Gary] Yeah, of course, of course.
Okay.
So that's what was happenin'.
- That's was what's happenin'.
I was doing music videos as well.
We were doing interview content.
You know, talking about the clothes and merchandise.
And I was working with a lot
of local Chicago acts at the time.
I worked with this guy named Famous Des, King Louie,
and I was workin' with these set of guys
and one thing kind of just led to another.
I was working with a lot of local acts
and things just started coming together.
And was able to start travelin' a little bit.
I went to L.A., worked on a video with Soulja Boy.
(laughs)
Which was fun at the time.
- Do you know Soulja Boy's probably the reason
all this is happening for me?
You know the Soulja Boy, Boyd, and my brother story?
Boyd met my brother, like, second day of college
at BU and like five minutes in,
they got into some sort of conversation where Boyd was like,
"I know who the next rappers are gonna be."
And AJ was like, "Yeah, if you're such a big shot
"why don't you tell me who's next?"
And Boyd went in his room, spent like two days on Myspace,
didn't go to class,
came out and was like, "This guy."
And it was Soulja Boy.
- [Lil Jake] That's so crazy.
- [Cole] That's insane.
- Crazy.
- [Lil Jake] Soulja Boy is such a legend.
- [Gary] Legend.
Especially for this genre, like he started like,
yeah, he's a different flavor that became the standard.
- Right, yeah, Soulja Boy
definitely paved the way for a lotta people.
- [Gary] For sure, okay.
- Yeah, I was working with a lot of people.
The music videos started to get big.
And we were really just puttin' all the videos out
through my channel, my YouTube channel.
And it kinda built to the point
where it was becoming a platform.
I've worked with a lot of artists
and it kept getting bigger and bigger,
kind of handpicking the artists we work with.
Make sure it's very organic
and stuff that we genuinely enjoy.
Started getting big,
the merchandise started selling out quick.
Shows got bigger
and it was kind of just a domino effect from there.
Got to start working with a lot of people.
And then early 2017, late 2016,
I started working with a lot of different types of people
from Lil Pump to Smokepurpp and Warhol.
- A lot of that No Jumper kind of vibe?
- Yeah, I had my No Jumper interview
and I was kind of working with all these people
and it was still a very much underground thing.
But a lot of eyes were on it.
But it wasn't to the point where it's at now.
And then over the course of a few months,
everything just kind of picked up.
And all the artists were gettin' big
and everything else went with it.
And now the YouTube channel,
we have two million subscribers within the next couple days
so that's really cool.
And just kind of building a bunch
of different types of content around that.
- What are you going to put all this energy against,
you think?
Do you want to build a media platform?
A merchandise platform?
Yes, yes, yes?
Do you want to start a label?
How are you thinking about putting,
so for example, if you ask me that question,
like what am I doing, people are always like,
"Are you starting a label?
"Are you gonna start a management company?"
Especially if,
I wanna buy brands.
Like I'm doin' all this, paying for
Rice Crispies
like the business, or like K-Swiss, which was like,
I wanna buy a business
and I'm gonna try to do what Champion did, right?
Take a brand that used to be something
then became bullshit
and bring it back.
So that's what I'm doin'.
Like the way I wanna really build my thing
is build a machine, but then point it against Snickers
or Yahoo.
And so I feel like in the same way that you go
"Oh, these people got big,"
I'm gonna try and do that with,
I'm gonna have relationships with everybody
and then there's gonna be a crescendo moment
when I buy Blow-Pops and I'm gonna want every athlete,
every rapper, every business person.
You know what I mean?
Kinda what's happened to my book.
This book is number three in the world right now, today.
This is the number three selling book
in the world on Amazon right now.
It's happenin' right now
and I'm not even hustlin'.
It's just all from the love.
Like every Instagram, ya know?
So, everything's--
- So the merchandise is going incredibly well.
Every release it's selling out incredibly quick.
But, ya know--
- And it's, you make money.
- Yeah, that's, you know, it starts out money.
But I kind of had an idea of what I want that to be
and then with the events,
we're working on a summer festival in Chicago right now.
'Cause every year we do a Lyrical Lemonade--
- [Gary] You know Saba?
- Huh?
- [Gary] You know Saba?
- Yeah.
- [Gary] I like that kid so much.
He's such a nice kid.
- [Lil Jake] He's a good guy.
- He's my man.
- Yeah, he's incredible.
- He was the first one
that like dropped my name in a song.
It was Monday to Monday.
- [Lil Jake] I did his interviews,
he's the first person we interviewed.
He's a super cool act. - Such a good kid.
- Yeah, no, he's awesome.
- I'm a big fan. - Out of the Chicago area.
- I know, I like Chicago.
The Chance thing musta been cool for you to watch.
That musta been the craziest,
right? - It's really the reason
I got into a lot of this.
- I believe it.
- Love all that.
Yeah, yeah, I see that.
Good stuff.
You gotta lotta cool stuff in here.
- [Lil Jake] I think for everybody
in Chicago, like Chance,
especially for artists, Chance has played such a big role--
- So much.
- It's like it's so inspirational watching
him just do everything.
- I don't know him like I know Saba
but like, from a far,
and I know his crew pretty well.
- [Lil Jake] It was crazy
'cause I've grown up with,
being in high school during the time
when Chance-- - He blew up?
- Not only just him, it was people like Keef, Josey,
coming up all at once.
- Oh yeah, it was crazy in Chicago.
- All the big, baddest stuff, ya know?
- Got inspiration, you know?
- Yeah, it just seems normal until you take a step back.
- It just happens, ya know,
when you realize once you're workin'
and things have come a long way.
That acted as a lot of inspiration for me.
You know I didn't even realize it at the time.
You know appreciate and refer to it as--
- [Gary] Is there anything I can help with?
- I had a loose idea.
So, like I said, the company's really big
and, in terms of what it is, growth,
what it was, ya know.
- [Gary] I get it.
- So it, like I said, the merchandise is so big
and it's just in such demand,
and it's like, the company and everything
is just like a very exclusive item
that I feel like it's just there's just a want for it.
And I've been wanting to,
I've been reaching out to people,
I think it would be crazy to make actual Lyrical Lemonade
and to even just do a small run just to show them--
- [Gary] That's smart.
- 'Cause I know there.
And I know you work with--
- [Gary] Brands.
- Yeah, everyone, pretty much.
I just wanted to toss
that idea out to you behind that.
I just wanted to talk to you--
- [Gary] Like partner in something?
Or just, do you want me to help you do,
like, I'm funny.
I can run the gamut of being really involved
or just really introducing you to the right people
and being a rabbi and gettin' you off.
- I was kind of just open to what you thought of--
- I think it's a really good idea (laughs).
Like, think about it, right?
- [Lil Jake] Do you want the prototype?
- And if you did it really right,
if you did it really right,
like this would be something that I would,
I would ask for favors.
Like this is where you cash in chips.
Whenever you launch it,
not only launch it the way everything,
'cause you know it's gonna be successful
'cause you got eyes,
but this is exactly like all.
Like if you and Uzi kept the,
like this is when you cash in the chips.
Because you have to understand,
that's a big business.
If you got a beverage business, it's big.
If this business was gonna do from zero,
which means it could sell for like,
you probably don't understand at this young of an age
how big successful beverage businesses are worth.
You can sell dollars worth of hoodies,
and worth of your lemonade
and your lemonade company will sell for a lot more.
- [Cole] That's insane.
- I know.
Because it's a two man game, Pepsi and Coke
and they don't want anybody entering.
Dr. Pepper's company just sold for.
- Since we have the
do you think it'd be cool handling
a little prototype of what we want it to look like?
It's just a little Lyrical Lemonade carton.
- Yeah, man, people would fuck with it heavy.
- I know, it'd be amazing.
I was talking to Boyd a little bit about it.
So I sent him that,
I can send you guys whatever else you need.
- I can help you.
I can help you.
Trying to think about who and what and where and what.
You can kill it.
It's a smart idea.
- I think--
- Non-alcoholic?
- Non-alcoholic.
- I think that's right.
- Once it becomes something tangible,
in the sense of you can drink it,
it's actual Lyrical Lemonade,
I think it just takes everything to a new level.
- I think it's super interesting.
I mean I think, here's what I would say.
Too many people rush to switch.
I like your general energy of not switching too early.
Just keep, you're 21.
The longer you can just keep doing it about them,
you win.
But yeah man, like,
your ability with the kinds of things I'm hearing
and I gotta do a little more homework,
I mean, I know about it, but like,
excuse me, your ability to build the Coachella
of this genre is real.
That's real fuckin' business.
You can do anything.
It's all about attention.
It just comes down to you.
I said in the last meeting,
some people want to make five million
and go to Jamaica and smoke weed for the rest of their life
and some people want to build empires.
Like, I don't know.
And then everything in between, right?
- Mmm-hmm.
That's what I want to do.
It's the empire game, just the authenticity of everything
that really keeps me going.
- You wanna still live, where do live?
- Chicago.
- You wanna stay there longterm you think,
or does L.A. or New York pull you?
- I like L.A., I like New York
but I like Chicago 'cause it keeps you grounded.
I can come to L.A. and do a ton of work
or come to New York and do a ton of work
then go back to Chicago, soak it in.
Fully work on it.
Then when I'm ready, come back out here.
Just keeps me organized.
- And what, do you guys have a relationship, like official?
- Yeah, with the--
- I work for (mumbles).
- Yeah, we have four or five--
- It's such a small team, man.
He's 21, I'm 20,
everyone we work with is our age, ya know?
And we've all been just working from home as kids,
on our computers.
- I get it man.
- Doin' shit here, doin' shit there
and now we finally recently just got our own space
so we're kinda all together for once
out of the whole time.
Just 'cause we've been together,
this is the first time we're all together
really putting our ideas together.
- Um, I really haven't thought about it.
It's just an idea.
- [Gary] How do you wanna sell it?
- I think selling it through--
- [Gary] Your website?
- The first round of everything
should be through the Internet.
Like a web store just so we--
- Like a Shopify?
- Yeah, just to kind of gauge what the potential of it is.
From there--
- And all these kids will fuck with you
and give you love, right?
- [Cole] Yeah.
- And everything we've ever put out sells out
within, how fast?
- [Gary] Hours?
- A few minutes.
- [Gary] A few minutes.
- Yeah, it's fast.
- [Gary] Sounds like you should be making a little more.
Sounds like you should be making a little more.
A few minutes is fast.
Like give me an examp, like what are we talking about?
How much volume?
- Well, what we do is,
I think that having the demand there's important.
- [Gary] Of course.
- So we never overstock.
You know, 1,500 hoodies in eight minutes.
- [Gary] That's fuckin' a lot.
- At $60 a piece.
- [Gary] That's a lot.
- Our last drop sold out so fast and,
are you familiar with Grailed?
- [Gary] Of course.
- So right after we dropped, within 15 minutes,
there was screenshots of people who bought the sweatshirt
putting it on Grailed already trying to re-sell it.
That's when I kinda realized like, wow.
This is real.
- Yeah.
That's what happened to my K-Swiss'.
They were on B Band stock.
- I was wearing them the other day.
We want you to, to spend more time with you,
and I want you to check--
- [Gary] You want some business mentorship
'cause you feel like you're going to the next place.
- Yeah--
- [Gary] You can taste it.
- I was getting lost in your YouTube videos.
I just find real inspiration from it.
And I just feel like there's a lot of overlap
that can be found that we haven't yet explored.
And I just want you to just look into everything
a little bit more-- - [Gary] Okay, I will.
- And see if you're actually interested in it.
- [Gary] Okay, I will. - And just check it out more.
- [Gary] I will, I will.
Okay, let's take some photos.
- Let's do it.
- You kids look seven.
- [Girl Taking Picture] Beautiful.
- All right, I'll dig in.
I will dig in.
My man, I'm really lookin' forward to some of your shit.
- Always good seein' you.
- Good to see you, man.
All right, talk to you soon.
(tranquil music)