736. Lamar Riddick: Balancing Music, Faith, and Military Life | Praise Podcast

Holy Culture’s James “Trig” Rosseau sits down with Lamar Riddick for another episode of The Corelink Solution to discuss the significant changes in his life since their last conversation in 2021. The discussion covers various aspects of Lamar's personal and professional journey, highlighting his commitment to faith, family, and music. This blog post delves into the key themes and insights from the episode, offering actionable advice and thorough explanations for listeners and readers alike.

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[00:00:37] Hey family, welcome to another episode of the Coraline Solution where my goal is to empower you with the one.

[00:00:42] Awareness and actionable insight to help you go further in your career.

[00:00:47] Listen, I've got a wonderful episode as I discuss with Lamar Riddick how his purpose, passions, and such have merged as he's taken on the role as one of the first rappers in the army.

[00:00:59] Yes, you heard me correctly. He is filling the occupation of quote rapper, unquote, in the army.

[00:01:05] A unique position he walked into a few years ago.

[00:01:08] So we have the opportunity to unpack faith, unpack music, unpack military life, and unpack business.

[00:01:15] Let's jump in.

[00:01:16] I have the honor of speaking with a brother who is a dynamic artist who blends powerful messages of faith, empowerment, and personal growth.

[00:01:24] He's got a unique sound that transcends genres.

[00:01:28] This brother's made waves not only through music, but also his ability to inspire audiences around the world.

[00:01:34] That brother's flying around the world for free, by the way.

[00:01:36] So what makes his journey even more compelling is his service in the army, balancing his military career with his passion for music.

[00:01:45] Y'all, welcome to the show, my man, Lamar Riddick.

[00:01:48] What's up, man?

[00:01:49] What's up, brother?

[00:01:50] How you doing?

[00:01:51] You know I'm going to call y'all flying for free around the world, brother.

[00:01:53] That's your heavy week.

[00:01:54] Huh?

[00:01:56] Hey, listen, we all want to fly for free.

[00:01:58] What are you talking about?

[00:01:59] Hey, look, guy got a special hand on me because I don't like flying, so it had to be free.

[00:02:03] Hey, man, it's expensive out here in these inflation-ridden streets.

[00:02:06] Yes, man.

[00:02:07] It's expensive.

[00:02:08] How you doing, bro?

[00:02:09] Doing good.

[00:02:10] Yeah.

[00:02:10] It's been, I look back at my notes, the last time you were here was 2021.

[00:02:16] Wow.

[00:02:16] Yeah.

[00:02:17] Yeah.

[00:02:17] So it's been three years, bro.

[00:02:19] Hey.

[00:02:20] Yes.

[00:02:20] It's been three years.

[00:02:22] The Lord has kept you, obviously.

[00:02:23] Yeah.

[00:02:24] But, um...

[00:02:25] Wow.

[00:02:25] Yeah, exactly.

[00:02:26] So catch us up.

[00:02:27] What's been happening over those three years?

[00:02:30] Let's start with this.

[00:02:31] Let's start with this.

[00:02:32] What's most top of mind for you right now?

[00:02:34] Like, what, for Lamar Riddick and his life, what's most top of mind?

[00:02:39] Honestly, man, you know, I've always been very transparent.

[00:02:42] Yeah.

[00:02:42] You know, I think the most pressing matter right now is just walking with the Lord and strengthening

[00:02:49] my marriage.

[00:02:51] How many years you're up in marriage?

[00:02:53] We'll be 10.

[00:02:54] Yeah.

[00:02:55] Next.

[00:02:55] No, no.

[00:02:55] Sorry.

[00:02:56] Not yet.

[00:02:56] That'd be 2026.

[00:02:57] We'll be nine in March.

[00:02:59] Scratch that.

[00:03:02] You cannot get it wrong, bro.

[00:03:04] I just got off of work.

[00:03:05] Yeah.

[00:03:05] We got the work brain.

[00:03:06] It matters not.

[00:03:07] No.

[00:03:08] It matters not.

[00:03:08] Mrs. Riddick's going to say, and yeah.

[00:03:10] Okay.

[00:03:11] All right.

[00:03:11] So, um, walking with the Lord, strengthening your marriage.

[00:03:13] Okay.

[00:03:14] What's the second thing then?

[00:03:15] Um, I say the second thing, and this is just me being honest.

[00:03:19] Is looking at, um, ownership to create longevity for my family.

[00:03:30] So whether that's, whether that's real estate, passive income and those things to really create

[00:03:35] a foundation for legacy.

[00:03:37] Got it.

[00:03:37] Um, and then obviously the music and things funnel into that vision.

[00:03:41] Got it.

[00:03:42] But yeah, that's what I would say.

[00:03:43] Got it.

[00:03:43] Yeah.

[00:03:44] Got it.

[00:03:44] Okay.

[00:03:45] So, so right after you were here the last time, it was probably six months or so after

[00:03:51] that, that you joined the army as one of the first rap artists ever in an official capacity

[00:03:59] in the army, man, which is taking you to a lot of different places, man.

[00:04:02] You popping up on, uh, you know, NBC, CBS, whatever the case may be over in the UK.

[00:04:09] You know what I mean?

[00:04:10] With the, what do they call the, uh, the folks in uniform in the UK and whatnot, uh,

[00:04:14] who do the, you know, Oh, uh, I can't think of that name.

[00:04:17] I can't think of it right now.

[00:04:18] But you got pictures with them, you know, glossy, smiling and whatnot.

[00:04:22] What, what's the, what's the experience been like being the first, uh, in the army?

[00:04:27] What, what, what, what things did you expect versus like what's really happening?

[00:04:32] Yeah.

[00:04:32] I, it's, well, first of all, it's been very rewarding.

[00:04:35] Yeah.

[00:04:35] You know, to be able to do what you love full time in any capacity is a blessing.

[00:04:39] Yeah.

[00:04:39] Everyone doesn't get the opportunity and I'm thankful for my journey and my story that God's

[00:04:44] crafted for me to appreciate this platform.

[00:04:46] Yeah.

[00:04:47] Um, and that, I have to say that first and foremost, I would say it's been both rewarding and challenging.

[00:04:53] Of course, when you get to any professional level, you're getting paid to deal with the things

[00:04:57] that's off the limelight, not in it.

[00:05:00] Right.

[00:05:00] You know, football, NBA, whatever the skill, the talent that's, everyone has that.

[00:05:07] It's how do you manage the pressures outside of that is what you're really getting paid for.

[00:05:12] So, you know, being in the military, obviously there's restrictions on travel.

[00:05:17] There's certain things you can and can't talk about.

[00:05:19] There's a lot of, um, I hate to use the word politics that puts a negative, you know,

[00:05:24] connotation on things, but there is a certain standard that you have to, uh, bear being

[00:05:29] a service member.

[00:05:31] Gotcha.

[00:05:31] You know?

[00:05:32] Um, and so I think the most surprising thing, good and bad, good is you get a lot of respect

[00:05:38] before you say anything.

[00:05:40] People just assume the best of you in uniform.

[00:05:43] Yeah.

[00:05:44] And that's been very humbling.

[00:05:45] Yeah.

[00:05:46] It's like, I grew up where it was the opposite, you know?

[00:05:49] Yes.

[00:05:50] I do know.

[00:05:50] You know?

[00:05:51] I do know.

[00:05:52] And it's just like, it breaks, uh, racial barriers.

[00:05:54] It breaks culture barriers, religious barriers.

[00:05:57] When a civilian sees a service member, honor, loyalty, uh, dependent, right?

[00:06:05] And, uh, dependability, sorry.

[00:06:07] And I'm like, wow, such a great tool to be able to use and me being a believer.

[00:06:12] Right.

[00:06:12] That's like a direct bridge to be able to speak into people's lives.

[00:06:16] Right.

[00:06:16] Um, I would say the hardest thing is just getting through the corporate ladder to make

[00:06:25] change.

[00:06:26] Hmm.

[00:06:26] What kind of change are you trying to make?

[00:06:28] So just like, I wouldn't say change.

[00:06:30] I would say, uh, additions.

[00:06:32] Okay.

[00:06:32] I think that's the best way to say it.

[00:06:34] Um, additions to music.

[00:06:37] Music, music and like different ideas where there's like, Hey, let's perform here.

[00:06:41] Let's go do this show.

[00:06:42] Let's do this.

[00:06:42] Well, can't do that because certain things come off as endorsement.

[00:06:47] Certain it's like, it's very business.

[00:06:50] Okay.

[00:06:50] Like you have to kind of learn the rules and guidelines of the army to be able to maneuver

[00:06:54] and to be creative while you're in the organization.

[00:06:58] Okay.

[00:06:58] So let's back up for a second.

[00:07:00] What was the army's intent of these roles?

[00:07:04] Yeah.

[00:07:04] Like as, as presented to you, when you went into the process for it, what was, what was

[00:07:09] their intention?

[00:07:09] Why, why even launch and have two rappers in the army?

[00:07:12] What was the intent?

[00:07:13] Yeah.

[00:07:13] I mean, from what I know is that they wanted to expand the brand of music, you know, they're

[00:07:18] always, uh, you know, at least from the military standpoint, there's music in all branches.

[00:07:23] And so it's just another way to relate to people, to the younger generation, to a diverse demographic.

[00:07:28] It's like, you know, you got classical and we have some amazing musicians.

[00:07:33] I mean, ultra talented.

[00:07:34] Seen bands over the years.

[00:07:35] Absolutely.

[00:07:35] Like, oh my goodness.

[00:07:36] So now it's like, okay, we've captured that audience that we were reaching for initially.

[00:07:42] Now we want to get the younger kids.

[00:07:43] We want to have them involved to be able to find their own identity within us.

[00:07:49] And so rap music has been doing that forever.

[00:07:52] You know?

[00:07:53] And so I think that was the goal.

[00:07:54] A lot of people like to say, oh, it's recruitment is everything is not recruitment.

[00:07:57] Some things are just relatability and retention.

[00:08:00] Yeah.

[00:08:01] Right.

[00:08:01] And, and enrichment.

[00:08:02] Yes.

[00:08:03] And, and diversity and diversity and relatability to brand.

[00:08:06] So when you went through the process, was it, I can't recall, was it a competition?

[00:08:10] So to speak.

[00:08:12] Yes.

[00:08:12] You can pretty much say that because 120 to 150 people submitted.

[00:08:17] Right.

[00:08:18] Yeah.

[00:08:18] And then how, how did it work?

[00:08:20] Did they call you in to do live sessions after that or how'd the process work?

[00:08:24] Yeah.

[00:08:24] So let's see and rewind.

[00:08:27] So found out about the job from my previous boss at West Virginia university, Dr. Scott

[00:08:34] Tobias.

[00:08:35] And he is a musical director in a national band association.

[00:08:40] So he gets ads, advertisements, job placements, opportunities for students all the time.

[00:08:45] Right.

[00:08:45] That came up, seen the ad, army wanted a rapper.

[00:08:49] Pretty much you had to submit video of, of you introducing yourself, what you're about,

[00:08:56] why you should be considered all that stuff.

[00:08:58] Music videos, some songs.

[00:09:02] And I, did we need recommendations?

[00:09:05] I can't, I can't remember if we had to get recommendations too, but all of that had to be sent in as your initial packet.

[00:09:11] Gotcha.

[00:09:12] Yeah.

[00:09:12] Um, and then after that they selected, I think maybe 25 out of the hundred or so to then submit something else.

[00:09:21] Got it.

[00:09:22] Then they invited, how many people did they invite?

[00:09:26] Oh man, I think it was six.

[00:09:28] Okay.

[00:09:28] Right.

[00:09:29] Out of a hundred something, six finalists, so to speak, come in.

[00:09:32] Yeah.

[00:09:32] Okay.

[00:09:33] Six finalists.

[00:09:34] And you had, we had the same, the star spangled banner.

[00:09:37] We had the same, my country tizzy with a choral group.

[00:09:40] Okay.

[00:09:40] We had to, uh, do a freestyle.

[00:09:43] We had to present a new song based on a topic they've given us the week before.

[00:09:49] Mm.

[00:09:49] We had to perform one of our own pieces and do an interview in front of the whole unit.

[00:09:55] Gotcha.

[00:09:56] Right.

[00:09:57] And we did all of that.

[00:09:58] They narrowed it down to two, which was me and another guy, Nico.

[00:10:02] Mm-hmm.

[00:10:02] Um, and they couldn't make a decision out of who to choose.

[00:10:07] So we was there for hours.

[00:10:09] Okay.

[00:10:09] The longest deliberation they have ever had, they said.

[00:10:12] Wow.

[00:10:12] We was there from nine in the morning, nine at night.

[00:10:16] Wow.

[00:10:16] Waiting, figuring out.

[00:10:18] And it's like, we need y'all to do one more song.

[00:10:20] Do you have something?

[00:10:21] He did his, I did mine.

[00:10:22] Um, fast forward anyway, they ended up giving it to us both because we advocated for one another

[00:10:27] through the process.

[00:10:28] And yeah.

[00:10:29] Look at that.

[00:10:30] Look at that.

[00:10:30] Okay.

[00:10:30] So then you get the gig, you're giddy, you're excited.

[00:10:33] You call your wife, you drive home, you have a great meal.

[00:10:37] And then they say, okay, great.

[00:10:39] We're going to start like this.

[00:10:41] Yeah.

[00:10:42] And do your onboarding and whatnot.

[00:10:43] What was that like?

[00:10:44] The like, the, you know, back.

[00:10:47] I'm, I'm, man.

[00:10:48] I'm excited.

[00:10:49] And then they say, okay, all right, great.

[00:10:50] Here's how it works.

[00:10:51] Yeah.

[00:10:51] So then after that point, they, they offer you the job, um, based upon the contingency

[00:10:58] that you pass your screenings.

[00:11:00] Okay.

[00:11:00] Right.

[00:11:01] So that is like the ASVAP.

[00:11:03] Don't ask me the acronym for that.

[00:11:06] I cannot remember.

[00:11:07] Um, but ASVAP pretty much to see where you can, what type of jobs you're qualified to do

[00:11:11] in the military.

[00:11:12] Okay.

[00:11:13] Um, and then you have to go through a medical evaluation.

[00:11:16] Okay.

[00:11:17] See if you're in good health.

[00:11:19] Wait a minute.

[00:11:19] What do you mean?

[00:11:19] What type of jobs you're qualified to do in the military?

[00:11:21] You're a rapper.

[00:11:22] You just, you just competed to be a rapper.

[00:11:23] What do you mean?

[00:11:24] It doesn't matter what you're going in to do.

[00:11:25] You have to take that general test.

[00:11:27] Okay.

[00:11:27] Make sure like.

[00:11:29] That you can read and write.

[00:11:30] That you can read and write.

[00:11:31] That they just want to see how, how your IQ, your education is.

[00:11:36] Okay.

[00:11:37] To see what your potential is.

[00:11:38] Okay.

[00:11:38] But it wouldn't be a disqualifier.

[00:11:40] Like you're in.

[00:11:41] I can't remember.

[00:11:42] I can't remember if I, if I were.

[00:11:44] Were you nervous at the time?

[00:11:46] Nah, really.

[00:11:46] It was funny because I took the ASVAP coming straight off of work and I was just like,

[00:11:50] yo, let's just get this over with.

[00:11:52] Okay.

[00:11:52] I didn't study or anything.

[00:11:54] Okay.

[00:11:54] I just didn't have time.

[00:11:55] I was a full adult, you know, and it was like, I don't have time to study for this test.

[00:12:00] Gotcha.

[00:12:00] Came in.

[00:12:01] Did it.

[00:12:02] Got an 88 on it, which is pretty high.

[00:12:04] And it was like, man, you could do any job you want to in the military.

[00:12:07] I was like, that's cool, but I'm only doing one.

[00:12:09] You know?

[00:12:10] And so that was that process.

[00:12:12] Gotcha.

[00:12:13] Yeah.

[00:12:14] So you do the medical evaluation.

[00:12:17] They check every cavity that you got.

[00:12:20] You know what I mean?

[00:12:21] Make sure you're healthy.

[00:12:22] Yeah.

[00:12:22] You're not coming in with no illnesses or ailments that.

[00:12:24] Right.

[00:12:25] You know, the military could be liable for.

[00:12:27] Right.

[00:12:27] And once you pass that, then they pretty much get you a swear in time and then they get

[00:12:34] you a basic training time.

[00:12:36] Mm-hmm.

[00:12:37] And that's when it all starts.

[00:12:39] Okay.

[00:12:39] Yeah.

[00:12:39] All right.

[00:12:39] So then to this point of the change you want to make, I assume then once you got in, they

[00:12:46] say to you, okay, do X number of songs and so on and so forth.

[00:12:50] Yeah.

[00:12:50] Did they, was creatively, did you have room or was it confining?

[00:12:56] It was both in certain circumstances.

[00:13:00] Okay.

[00:13:00] Because, you know, we're coming in new.

[00:13:03] We have first perspective on life.

[00:13:06] They have a certain directive of the program that they want to do.

[00:13:10] Okay.

[00:13:11] And they were, you know, honestly, you know, Nico and I had to lean on one another to help

[00:13:16] build a vision, really.

[00:13:18] Yeah.

[00:13:19] A vision because they pulled the trigger on the idea, but we had to kind of help support

[00:13:23] a vision that was developing.

[00:13:25] Okay.

[00:13:26] Right.

[00:13:26] And so with that, you know, we made songs, some songs they liked, some songs they didn't,

[00:13:31] you know, and we have different events that we have to prepare for.

[00:13:35] Okay.

[00:13:35] We'll make songs for that.

[00:13:37] And then along the way, which we'll talk about later, I was like, we're really making

[00:13:41] sync music because we're writing thematically.

[00:13:44] Gotcha.

[00:13:45] Right.

[00:13:45] And not really emotionally or logically.

[00:13:48] It's thematic.

[00:13:49] We have this event.

[00:13:50] We need to write and convey this type of emotion for that.

[00:13:53] Gotcha.

[00:13:54] We got this celebration.

[00:13:55] Well, how can we write to amplify this situation?

[00:14:00] Got it.

[00:14:00] Yeah.

[00:14:00] Got it.

[00:14:01] Yeah.

[00:14:01] We finally got a rhythm.

[00:14:02] So like we're celebrating Washington crossing, you know, getting to Valley Forge.

[00:14:06] You going to write about that theme and what that meant to the country and all that

[00:14:10] kind of stuff.

[00:14:11] Yep.

[00:14:11] And then make it creative, of course.

[00:14:12] Make it creative.

[00:14:13] Do you get to express your faith in these songs or you have to kind of pull back on

[00:14:17] that?

[00:14:18] So I can't go into too much detail of that because I want to start a certain conversation,

[00:14:22] but I would say that I've had opportunities to express my faith.

[00:14:26] Yeah.

[00:14:26] But obviously being in the military, you have to tread along with that.

[00:14:31] Yeah.

[00:14:31] You know, that's just the brand.

[00:14:32] That's the organization.

[00:14:33] But I am explicitly a believer.

[00:14:35] Sure.

[00:14:35] When you know it, you know, you ask me, I'm going to tell it, you know.

[00:14:39] Right.

[00:14:39] There have been several interviews where, you know, the reporter or the journalists have

[00:14:44] done their research on me.

[00:14:45] They're like, oh, it says here you're a Christian.

[00:14:47] Yes, I am.

[00:14:48] You know what I mean?

[00:14:49] I will never deny it, but it's just more so of like steering the conversation and not

[00:14:55] making it solely about faith because it's not, this is a misconception.

[00:14:59] People think the military is against faith.

[00:15:01] They're actually for it.

[00:15:03] But as a brand, they don't have control.

[00:15:08] They don't have control of the narrative when it comes to that.

[00:15:12] So let's say someone professes a certain religion and something happens in the news.

[00:15:17] Now it's like, okay, now you, you allow this soldier to come out here and say, bah, bah, bah,

[00:15:23] bah, this happened.

[00:15:25] You're endorsing this.

[00:15:26] And you see how quickly that can turn into.

[00:15:28] So they try to take almost agnostic, not agnostic, but neutral.

[00:15:35] In other words, let's not beat our chest about it.

[00:15:37] Let's, let's, let's.

[00:15:39] Okay.

[00:15:39] Got it.

[00:15:40] All right.

[00:15:40] Should we have put you in like the Tony Tiger dark overshadowed thing?

[00:15:46] I want to get you in trouble, bro.

[00:15:47] No, it's okay.

[00:15:48] I mean, I have to, I definitely have to be careful about, you know, how I represent the

[00:15:54] army on my personal side and stuff like that.

[00:15:56] But, uh, and I'll say this for the record, if anybody's listening, like the army is not

[00:16:00] endorsing this, you know, interview.

[00:16:02] This is Lamar Riddick with Holy Culture talking about Lamar Riddick story.

[00:16:06] So just that's out there.

[00:16:07] Cause people, they take what they want depending on their motives, you know?

[00:16:11] So just to cover you and myself, like this is Lamar Riddick in Holy Culture.

[00:16:15] That's a good call.

[00:16:16] So what, um, so interesting.

[00:16:19] So the, the creativity that you want to express.

[00:16:24] And when you talk about these changes, I'll leave this changes thing alone.

[00:16:27] I assume you probably can't really talk about the changes you want to make, but in terms

[00:16:30] of, you know, Lamar Riddick, let's call it non army music.

[00:16:35] Where are you in terms of the music you're trying to create?

[00:16:37] Cause I listened to, you know, you and I have been rocking for a minute, man.

[00:16:40] So I was listening to some of the songs and live and am I alone and only one in to your

[00:16:49] point of having the right theme music in the army.

[00:16:52] Yeah.

[00:16:52] It definitely seems like you have a heightened sense of expressing emotions in your other

[00:16:58] songs.

[00:16:58] Yeah.

[00:16:59] Okay.

[00:16:59] Yeah.

[00:17:00] And so that's one thing that I can credit to this experience.

[00:17:04] Um, excuse me, is learning to dig deep even when you don't want to.

[00:17:10] Yeah.

[00:17:11] That I think that's been a big lesson.

[00:17:13] Cause there's things, there's times where we need to write something and I'm like, bro,

[00:17:17] I have no connection to this.

[00:17:18] Yeah.

[00:17:19] Where can I pull from to make this authentic, but relevant and relatable?

[00:17:23] Like that's, that's a hard skill.

[00:17:25] Yeah.

[00:17:25] You know what I mean?

[00:17:26] It's easy to just to write whatever.

[00:17:28] Yeah.

[00:17:28] Just to get a vibe going.

[00:17:30] Yeah.

[00:17:30] That's I'm past that.

[00:17:31] That's easy.

[00:17:32] Right.

[00:17:32] But now it's like, how do you put an emotion there to make each song its own world?

[00:17:37] Yeah.

[00:17:38] You know what I mean?

[00:17:38] Um, but anyway, yeah, man.

[00:17:40] And those songs, I was very intentional about it.

[00:17:42] It was like only one that was clearly that was for women, you know, to empower women.

[00:17:46] Am I alone?

[00:17:47] That was for men to empower men about loneliness and depression and mental health.

[00:17:51] And then we have life is very enjoyable, which is live because we forsake life with all of the responsibilities and all the things that distract us from enjoying the simple things of life.

[00:18:04] Yeah.

[00:18:04] You know, and that's, that was just an encouragement piece.

[00:18:06] So I'm with you on, uh, only one, the dedication of women.

[00:18:12] Like, and I remember even talking about it.

[00:18:14] I remember talking about it before you, you dropped it.

[00:18:16] And I've definitely felt like it was a, um, almost you being an ambassador for women and, uh, talking to them, but then also talking for them.

[00:18:26] Right.

[00:18:27] Right.

[00:18:27] That's what I felt when I listened to that one.

[00:18:29] But the other two, as I was listening to them, I had two reactions.

[00:18:33] One.

[00:18:34] Yes.

[00:18:34] What you said for the audience, but I also felt like you were ministering to yourself.

[00:18:38] Yeah.

[00:18:39] Yeah.

[00:18:39] See?

[00:18:39] Okay.

[00:18:40] That's why I love you, man.

[00:18:41] Because like you, you, everybody doesn't get that.

[00:18:45] Everybody can't see from that.

[00:18:46] It's almost like that third eye, but it's really spiritual.

[00:18:49] I listen to the lyrics and I listen to everything going on in the song and I'm like, I feel like my brother's crying for himself a little bit.

[00:18:57] Like he's ministering to himself.

[00:18:59] He's speaking to like being, uh, confined wings kind of clipped a little bit.

[00:19:07] Um, yeah, that's, I felt that man.

[00:19:09] Yeah.

[00:19:10] Yeah.

[00:19:10] And that's crazy.

[00:19:11] You picked up on that.

[00:19:12] Cause that was the initial route.

[00:19:14] Okay.

[00:19:14] And I was like, man, I got all this stuff that I feel, but I know I'm not the only one that feel it.

[00:19:19] Yeah.

[00:19:19] And I think me making this song, whether everything in this is relatable, somebody going to relate to something in this may not be everything.

[00:19:27] Yeah.

[00:19:28] But there's going to be a lot of people that relate to a lot of different things in this song.

[00:19:32] Right.

[00:19:32] And that's why, that's why I released it.

[00:19:34] So am I alone?

[00:19:36] You go through some different things.

[00:19:37] I think that's the one where you go through.

[00:19:38] Yes, for sure.

[00:19:39] Where you talk about leaving, leaving a job.

[00:19:42] Like I'm, I'm making the boss fat and happy.

[00:19:45] I'm both o'clock out at five and I'm leaving at four.

[00:19:47] I'm breaking out of this piece.

[00:19:48] I'm turning up my music.

[00:19:50] I'm doing these different things to, to me, it was an expression of I'm, I'm going to be free.

[00:19:55] Yeah.

[00:19:55] Like I'm going to like, and even if I got to convince myself first and then act that I'm going to be free.

[00:20:04] What, what caused you to write that deeply, man?

[00:20:07] Where was I?

[00:20:07] I mean, I gotta, I gotta go back and look.

[00:20:11] What, what season was I in?

[00:20:14] I think it was just one of those days where, you know, we all have that long work week.

[00:20:18] Yeah.

[00:20:19] And all those thoughts of just like wanting more, feeling like no matter how hard you work, things don't seem to change.

[00:20:31] Yeah.

[00:20:31] Um, and so I just tapped into that.

[00:20:34] That's what it felt like.

[00:20:35] That's all.

[00:20:35] This felt like, this felt like you caught me just before I totally lost it.

[00:20:40] Cause there's some, no, there's some, there's some words in there.

[00:20:43] You caught me just before I bought the, just before you caught me.

[00:20:48] You caught me like ice cube leaving NWA.

[00:20:51] When I found out I got jacked up and I hooked up with the bomb squad and did this album.

[00:20:55] And instead of hurting anybody, I put some lyrics down.

[00:20:58] Okay.

[00:20:59] I felt like it was righteous.

[00:21:01] It was righteous.

[00:21:02] I don't want to call it righteous anger, but it was.

[00:21:05] Yeah, man.

[00:21:05] It was righteous dissatisfaction.

[00:21:09] And talking about how you're going to get to satisfaction.

[00:21:12] Yeah.

[00:21:12] Mm.

[00:21:13] Mm.

[00:21:13] Yeah.

[00:21:14] And interesting fact, I have to say this.

[00:21:16] Um, so while I wrote that song, I was going through a leadership course at work.

[00:21:24] Yeah.

[00:21:24] It was violent, violent, no voluntary base.

[00:21:26] Like it wasn't a requirement.

[00:21:27] It's something I wanted to do to be a better leader.

[00:21:29] Yeah.

[00:21:30] And I learned a lot from it and we had a final project and it was basically to, basically

[00:21:38] to wrap up leadership versus leader.

[00:21:40] Yeah.

[00:21:41] And if you don't know anybody that's listening or watching leadership is a structure based

[00:21:46] on rank and titles and bureaucracy.

[00:21:49] In the army?

[00:21:50] No, just organizations.

[00:21:52] You think so?

[00:21:53] I know.

[00:21:54] So after this course, Oh, explain more leadership.

[00:21:56] Say more, right?

[00:21:58] We're going to talk about this one over dinner.

[00:21:59] We ain't going to have enough time to finish this show.

[00:22:01] Being a leader is the intangibles.

[00:22:05] Yeah.

[00:22:05] Are the things that you're not required to do.

[00:22:07] Can you connect with people?

[00:22:09] Can you be the example when you don't have the title?

[00:22:11] Yeah, that's right.

[00:22:12] You hear what I mean?

[00:22:13] 200% agree.

[00:22:14] Leadership is a structure.

[00:22:15] 200% agree.

[00:22:16] And being a leader is, it can't, it has to be morphed.

[00:22:22] It can't really, it's not something you could just open a book and learn to be a leader.

[00:22:27] You can look at remnants of a good leader, right?

[00:22:32] To structure your leadership off of principles.

[00:22:35] Yeah.

[00:22:35] You know?

[00:22:36] And so with that being said, we had to do a final project of expression of what does leadership mean to you after this whole, I think it was 10 week course.

[00:22:45] Yeah.

[00:22:45] And so I did a PowerPoint presentation, all that good stuff.

[00:22:48] But then I performed in my alone because a lot of leaders feel lonely.

[00:22:52] Got it.

[00:22:53] And I tied it in.

[00:22:54] Yeah.

[00:22:54] And because of that, the kernel of that course was changing command, basically passing his, you know, his command over to the next person.

[00:23:03] Mm-hmm.

[00:23:04] Wanted me to perform that at his change of command.

[00:23:07] Oh, wow.

[00:23:07] That's the first time rap had been performed at a change of command on the base.

[00:23:13] Yes.

[00:23:13] And yeah, 200%, leadership can be lonely, right?

[00:23:15] Because someone has to be the place where the buck stops.

[00:23:21] Yeah.

[00:23:21] Someone has to have that ultimate level of accountability, right?

[00:23:23] Yeah.

[00:23:24] The only thing I want you to clarify is when you say it's a structure, what do you mean by it's a structure?

[00:23:28] Say more.

[00:23:28] So like ranks, right?

[00:23:31] So when I say structure, I'm just talking about really just a combination of command and chain.

[00:23:39] Yeah.

[00:23:39] Right?

[00:23:40] No matter what organization, not just military.

[00:23:41] Just the org chart.

[00:23:42] Yes.

[00:23:43] Yeah.

[00:23:43] But do you see leadership not being able to happen absent structure?

[00:23:52] Say it again.

[00:23:53] Do you think leadership cannot happen absent org structure?

[00:23:57] Sure.

[00:23:57] I think leadership.

[00:24:00] And titles.

[00:24:02] I think that is necessary for the order of operations.

[00:24:06] There you go.

[00:24:06] All right.

[00:24:06] We're on the same page.

[00:24:07] All right.

[00:24:07] We're on the same page.

[00:24:08] I just want to clarify.

[00:24:10] Yeah.

[00:24:10] Because I do think sometimes people feel like they're not a leader unless they see themselves in a certain box on the org chart.

[00:24:17] Or unless they have a certain title.

[00:24:19] Or unless they have an office.

[00:24:20] And leadership is the ability to get people to desire to follow you.

[00:24:26] Mm-hmm.

[00:24:27] And your title, your role, your office, you can do carrot and stick leadership.

[00:24:32] Yeah.

[00:24:32] You can make people do things because you have it.

[00:24:35] Or you can bait incentives.

[00:24:37] But that's not sustainable for long-term leadership.

[00:24:39] Mm-mm.

[00:24:40] People have to want to follow you.

[00:24:42] Yeah.

[00:24:42] And if you have, and I'm not trying to put a dark cloud over the word leadership.

[00:24:48] Yeah.

[00:24:48] I'm just trying to make a fine line difference between the perception of what we think it is versus what it really is.

[00:24:57] Yeah.

[00:24:57] Especially in corporate America.

[00:24:58] Yeah.

[00:24:58] Because I feel like most places, middle class, lower class, we kind of gel them together.

[00:25:05] Yes.

[00:25:05] Like, we can kind of tell.

[00:25:06] I agree.

[00:25:07] But the higher you go up being in an organization like I am.

[00:25:10] Yeah.

[00:25:10] There is a difference.

[00:25:11] Like, there's a lot of leaders that aren't in leadership.

[00:25:14] Yep.

[00:25:14] You know what I mean?

[00:25:15] And that's unfortunate.

[00:25:16] But that's because leadership is based on titles, structures, prerequisites.

[00:25:22] Right.

[00:25:22] You know what I mean?

[00:25:23] Right.

[00:25:24] Being a leader is just being who you are all the time.

[00:25:28] Right.

[00:25:29] Consistency.

[00:25:30] Yep.

[00:25:30] Hard work, the things that don't go on paper or don't really mean much on paper to certain people.

[00:25:36] You know what I mean?

[00:25:36] This is, man, you got to come back so we can finish this.

[00:25:39] Because you're drawing out some things that they are fine lines of demarcation, but they're so meaningful.

[00:25:47] You get what I'm saying?

[00:25:47] Yeah.

[00:25:48] These lines of demarcation are, they seem really fine and like, oh, why do it?

[00:25:53] The implications of them are huge, right?

[00:25:55] So to the point of what you're talking about, it's almost like looking at, it's like, here's what a car is meant to do.

[00:26:03] Yeah.

[00:26:03] It's meant to be transportation.

[00:26:05] If someone goes and uses the car as a weapon, obviously that's wrong.

[00:26:10] You got a 10,000 ton or whatever it is.

[00:26:12] Yeah.

[00:26:13] You know what I mean?

[00:26:13] Vehicle.

[00:26:14] And somebody's just ramming into people.

[00:26:16] I say that to say any role, title, office can be misused.

[00:26:20] Yeah.

[00:26:21] And then leadership takes on this look of being bad.

[00:26:27] Yeah.

[00:26:27] You know what I'm saying?

[00:26:27] Versus where you have places where, nah, leaders are living into it for real.

[00:26:31] Yeah.

[00:26:32] Right?

[00:26:32] Like, you ever been in a company where you can tell that guy must have the corner office?

[00:26:39] Yeah.

[00:26:39] Right?

[00:26:40] Versus you going to other places and you're not totally sure.

[00:26:43] Yeah.

[00:26:44] Right?

[00:26:44] You walk in the lunchroom, the CEO could be sitting at a table somewhere and you're not, he's comfortable.

[00:26:49] He or she is comfortable in themselves.

[00:26:51] Yeah.

[00:26:52] Just to be with everyone.

[00:26:54] Yeah.

[00:26:54] Right?

[00:26:54] And just be a part of the group.

[00:26:56] And when it's his time to make something happen, right?

[00:26:59] Yeah.

[00:27:00] Without having to say, y'all, you know, he's just able to say, hey, y'all, it's time to get after it.

[00:27:06] Yeah.

[00:27:07] You know what I'm saying?

[00:27:08] So, man, that's good, bro.

[00:27:09] That's good.

[00:27:10] Good observation.

[00:27:11] So, with all that being said, leader.

[00:27:16] So, all right.

[00:27:17] So, Am I Alone was that one.

[00:27:19] Talk about happy.

[00:27:22] Because, you know, when I listen to the chorus of happy, say the chorus for me real quick.

[00:27:26] Oh, you're talking about live?

[00:27:27] You're talking about live?

[00:27:27] Yeah, live.

[00:27:28] I'm sorry.

[00:27:28] Live.

[00:27:28] If you're happy and you know it, you know what to do.

[00:27:31] If you're happy and you know it, they can't take from you.

[00:27:34] If you're happy and you know it, life's a better view.

[00:27:38] Right.

[00:27:39] Life is.

[00:27:39] I remember hearing that and going, well, of course it's a better view if you're happy.

[00:27:42] Yeah.

[00:27:42] Of course.

[00:27:44] So, then I kept listening to the lyrics.

[00:27:45] I'm like, okay, what, where was your head writing that?

[00:27:50] Was your head in a place of, I've got to, again, minister to myself or I've got to help people around me realize that there is the possibility of being happy?

[00:28:01] Where was your head?

[00:28:02] It's the same thing with Am I Alone, Step on the Ember.

[00:28:05] So, Am I Alone is the moon and that song is the sun.

[00:28:07] Mm.

[00:28:08] Mm.

[00:28:08] You get what I mean?

[00:28:09] Mm.

[00:28:10] So, it's the same type of conversation with a different mood on it.

[00:28:13] Got it.

[00:28:14] So, it's like, it's a reminder to myself.

[00:28:17] Yeah.

[00:28:18] Of being free.

[00:28:19] And you can find happiness.

[00:28:21] You know, obviously, this is not talking in the context of Jesus and faith and stuff like that.

[00:28:26] Right.

[00:28:26] Because that's joy.

[00:28:27] That's joy.

[00:28:27] We're talking about emotional.

[00:28:29] Right.

[00:28:30] You know, right.

[00:28:30] Phases that we go through as humans.

[00:28:32] Absolutely.

[00:28:33] And that's kind of what this was about.

[00:28:34] Yep.

[00:28:34] But, yeah.

[00:28:36] And I was just like, man, you know what?

[00:28:38] Like, I know there's that side of me where I'm very reserved.

[00:28:40] I'm very closed off.

[00:28:42] You know, it can get dark sometimes.

[00:28:44] Mm.

[00:28:44] But then there's another side of me.

[00:28:45] I'm happy, man.

[00:28:46] Right.

[00:28:47] I'm joyful.

[00:28:47] I'm always jumping around joking.

[00:28:49] Right.

[00:28:49] I said, well, I need to write that out, too, so people can see that, hey, these are seasons.

[00:28:54] You know what I mean?

[00:28:54] You don't have to be pigeonholed to one emotion for your whole life.

[00:28:58] Yeah.

[00:28:59] But anyway, yeah, so like in the song, I'm just like, I went from being grim to aiming

[00:29:05] at the rim, okay?

[00:29:06] I spent some time with him away from them and found my way.

[00:29:09] It's like, I'm talking about the things that I struggle with.

[00:29:14] Yeah.

[00:29:14] I was like, I went from being grim to aiming at my goals.

[00:29:17] Yeah.

[00:29:17] I spent some time with the Lord away from the people so I could find my way.

[00:29:23] You know what I mean?

[00:29:23] And so everything I say in that song is literal.

[00:29:26] Yeah.

[00:29:26] You know what I'm saying?

[00:29:27] About things that I was going through.

[00:29:28] Yeah.

[00:29:28] Once again, somebody going to relate to something.

[00:29:31] Absolutely.

[00:29:33] To that point of being away from people, I've noticed on some of your social channels, you've

[00:29:38] kind of pulled back.

[00:29:39] Yeah.

[00:29:39] Not kind of pulled back.

[00:29:40] You pulled back a lot.

[00:29:41] Yep.

[00:29:42] That was intentional.

[00:29:43] Yeah.

[00:29:43] Okay.

[00:29:44] That was intentional.

[00:29:45] Because it's like, now I have to shout her out because this girl has been my social media

[00:29:51] manager since she was a freshman in college.

[00:29:54] And she's been rocking with me ever since.

[00:29:56] So we shoot the content.

[00:29:59] Eli, my boy Eli, he's editing.

[00:30:02] And Joshua Production Studios did the filming for the most recent stuff.

[00:30:07] Mm-hmm.

[00:30:08] But anyway, we just said, look, we are going to continue to be consistent with content.

[00:30:15] That's it.

[00:30:16] Yeah.

[00:30:17] Yeah.

[00:30:17] I'll post on my story things I want people to see, whatever, whatever.

[00:30:21] But as far as trying to conquer the algorithm.

[00:30:24] Yeah.

[00:30:24] Trying to grow this following.

[00:30:26] And I started to think also from a business perspective.

[00:30:30] Yeah.

[00:30:30] What's the return on that?

[00:30:32] Mm-hmm.

[00:30:32] Like, okay, you spend this money on ads and stuff.

[00:30:34] Yeah, your numbers look good.

[00:30:35] Right.

[00:30:35] But what is that turning into?

[00:30:38] Yeah.

[00:30:38] Are you, am I planning to go on tour?

[00:30:41] Right.

[00:30:41] Am I planning to convert that over to what?

[00:30:44] Mm-hmm.

[00:30:44] And then I just pulled back.

[00:30:46] I was like, yo, this is where people usually get caught up.

[00:30:49] Right.

[00:30:50] I won't get caught up.

[00:30:51] Right.

[00:30:51] And so I was like, look, I have a following.

[00:30:54] I want to respect my following.

[00:30:55] Right.

[00:30:55] I'm going to continue to give them music and content.

[00:30:58] Yep.

[00:30:58] And if the algorithm choose not to show it, that's not on me.

[00:31:01] But when you go to my profile, you can see that I've been consistent.

[00:31:03] Oh, yeah.

[00:31:04] Yes.

[00:31:06] Yes.

[00:31:08] I feel like I need to insert a thing here so people also understand.

[00:31:11] Man, so you have a degree in music business or have taught music business.

[00:31:17] I've taught some music business.

[00:31:18] I have a certificate from NYU in music business.

[00:31:22] There you go.

[00:31:22] So just a course.

[00:31:23] So that's important for people to understand because some of the decisions you make, I feel,

[00:31:26] are informed, not just watching what's happening in culture, but informed by formal studies.

[00:31:31] Yeah.

[00:31:31] Right.

[00:31:32] And so to that point and your earlier point about building the business and so on and so forth,

[00:31:37] where do you see yourself in three years?

[00:31:39] Yeah.

[00:31:39] Just to remind you, you'll be married for 13 years at that point.

[00:31:42] Yeah.

[00:31:43] Okay.

[00:31:43] Yeah.

[00:31:43] I got a call on you when we start getting close.

[00:31:46] It's true, man.

[00:31:47] What you're all.

[00:31:48] No.

[00:31:49] Yeah, man.

[00:31:50] Three years.

[00:31:51] Moved into a house.

[00:31:53] That's a big goal for me.

[00:31:54] Uh-huh.

[00:31:55] Where are you now?

[00:31:56] I'm in an apartment.

[00:31:57] Okay.

[00:31:57] You know, Maryland is very expensive.

[00:32:00] Bro, I've been down there.

[00:32:01] Oh, my goodness.

[00:32:02] Yes, Lord.

[00:32:02] You sneeze, you in debt.

[00:32:04] Yes, Lord.

[00:32:05] Maryland's no joke.

[00:32:06] Yeah, man.

[00:32:07] You're going to pay to be close to them crabs.

[00:32:08] Bro, I'm like, yeah.

[00:32:10] So we've just kind of been laying low, tackling some debt.

[00:32:13] Just got a little bit left.

[00:32:15] But yeah, we're definitely going to try and make that transition within the next three years.

[00:32:18] Right.

[00:32:18] Looking at two.

[00:32:20] Having my own in-home studio.

[00:32:23] Kind of like, big as this, what you have here, or maybe a little bigger in the basement or something.

[00:32:27] So I can be self-sufficient.

[00:32:28] I don't have to rely on anybody.

[00:32:30] And then from the music standpoint, I really want to be at least part-time in synchronization, music synchronization.

[00:32:40] And for those of you that may not know.

[00:32:43] Please express.

[00:32:44] Let me explain.

[00:32:44] Yeah.

[00:32:44] That's basically when your music gets used in some type of digital or media format, right?

[00:32:51] So that's syncing your music with some type of product, whether that's a commercial, video game, movie, television show, ad, things like that.

[00:33:02] So, and I realized because I've been doing thematic music at work, I've been expressing more of my emotions and a lot of universal ideas through my expression.

[00:33:14] I'm like, man, you know what?

[00:33:14] I think I would be very good at sync because the songwriting I have, I've been doing that.

[00:33:18] That's not the hard part.

[00:33:20] Now it's like, how do you write specifically for somebody else's thing?

[00:33:23] Which is what the army kind of required you to do.

[00:33:26] Yes.

[00:33:26] Prior to that, you could do it when you quote unquote fear like it.

[00:33:29] Yeah.

[00:33:29] Now you're, hey Lamar, we need this in two weeks.

[00:33:32] Yep.

[00:33:33] And so, um, which, which I like, I like deadlines.

[00:33:36] I love deadlines because it's a challenge.

[00:33:39] Matter of fact, I just called you Lamar.

[00:33:40] Like what do they call you?

[00:33:41] No, they call me, I mean, Lamar as well.

[00:33:43] Okay.

[00:33:44] I mean, like formerly is, you know, Staff Sergeant Riddick, you know, when we're out in public and stuff like that.

[00:33:50] But like, you know, your co-workers and stuff like that.

[00:33:53] You know, it's Lamar.

[00:33:54] Okay.

[00:33:54] All right.

[00:33:54] I'm just checking.

[00:33:55] Um, yeah.

[00:33:56] When I'm outside of uniform is.

[00:33:59] Oh, I wasn't going to call you.

[00:34:00] Yeah.

[00:34:01] Yeah.

[00:34:02] I just wanted to know.

[00:34:03] But yeah, man, uh, doing sync music and providing opportunity for others.

[00:34:08] That's a big thing for me.

[00:34:09] How can I employ somebody?

[00:34:10] How can I get somebody else an opportunity based on what I've been giving myself?

[00:34:16] Why sync though?

[00:34:17] Talk about the, um, because again, I just want to connect it to something you started with.

[00:34:22] You want to build something sustainable for your family.

[00:34:25] Yeah.

[00:34:25] Sync is a path to that for you.

[00:34:27] Yes, it is.

[00:34:28] Um, and so I won't get into too many details about the month monetary, um, regiment of what

[00:34:34] it looks like and the scale and all that.

[00:34:35] But if you do enough, if you, if you are consistent enough, you can live off of synchronization because what happens is you get paid an upfront fee for the publishing side and the master recording.

[00:34:49] Right.

[00:34:50] So that's the actual audio file as well as the underlying, um, uh, intellectual property.

[00:34:56] There we go.

[00:34:57] Uh, and so you get paid for that and you get back in royalties for every time that broadcast,

[00:35:03] that show, that ad, that whatever is streamed or consumed.

[00:35:07] Right.

[00:35:08] That's reported quarterly and you get paid as long as that's out there.

[00:35:11] So it's like, yeah.

[00:35:14] Yeah.

[00:35:15] Yeah.

[00:35:15] It's like stacking, building, building layers of, uh, of income stream or building layers within

[00:35:21] that income stream.

[00:35:22] Okay.

[00:35:23] Okay.

[00:35:23] So, so for the artists who are coming up that say, okay, you know, cause you, you've got a different journey than most, man.

[00:35:31] I mean, you know what I'm saying?

[00:35:33] You've got the educational piece and not to say that, you know, people haven't gone and got education, but I don't think, I don't think that's a, what's what I'm looking for.

[00:35:42] I don't think that's the normal course, right.

[00:35:43] To, to do, to take a course and get certification.

[00:35:46] No pun intended.

[00:35:48] Obviously the, the artistry thing in the army again is a whole nother thing because the exposure that it brings to you and the, um, I think, you know, income and such to be in a place where they're paying you to do this stuff.

[00:36:02] Yeah.

[00:36:03] Right.

[00:36:03] Is, um, is different as well.

[00:36:05] So you get a little bit of, I don't, I don't want to call it cushion, but you get a little bit of room to operate in your gift.

[00:36:11] Right.

[00:36:12] But those who don't have those things, if you had not done this right.

[00:36:15] Knowing what you know, otherwise, what's your advice to the young upstart artist?

[00:36:22] I'm gonna go back to what I always say.

[00:36:24] You know, you have to follow the Lord because he's going to make the path clear.

[00:36:30] Everyone's journey will look different.

[00:36:33] I had no clue.

[00:36:34] You know what I mean?

[00:36:35] Right.

[00:36:35] Like I was planning to just do this from the ground up.

[00:36:39] Right.

[00:36:39] You know, I started my own events in Morgantown, West Virginia, started my own clothing brand.

[00:36:44] I was just going to build my own business and ministry wherever God had me.

[00:36:48] And that was my goal.

[00:36:50] I am going to maximize and utilize all the resources around me that God has given me and see if he wants me to have more.

[00:36:57] Right.

[00:36:57] And that's what I did.

[00:36:58] And I'm telling you right now, I was in Morgantown, West Virginia.

[00:37:01] I love Morgantown.

[00:37:02] It was great to us.

[00:37:03] But it's a small town outside of the university.

[00:37:06] Not much, not many resources for rap.

[00:37:09] I had to create opportunity to show my gift.

[00:37:14] And knowing that God took that from me from Windfall, North Carolina as a little kid in the sticks to Morgantown, West Virginia in the hills.

[00:37:22] Yeah.

[00:37:23] To national television, to traveling the world and seeing countries I never thought I'd see.

[00:37:27] Yeah.

[00:37:28] He can do it for you.

[00:37:29] Yeah.

[00:37:29] I'm telling you right now.

[00:37:30] So if you're listening, you just have to trust him.

[00:37:33] Don't trust the process.

[00:37:34] Trust what God says.

[00:37:35] Yeah.

[00:37:35] You know what I mean?

[00:37:36] Yeah.