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Jay-Z on Hopeless Future and Hip Hop's Future
Sep 25, 2025
Xzibit returned to rap this year and he's got a few words for those that casually use rap music or exploit it. Stream" Kingmaker" or listen wherever music is found. #shorts
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0:00
So, with that being said, do you have to
0:01
be inspired to put out a project?
0:02
Because that's a lot of time to go by.
0:04
Why has it been so long since you
0:05
dropped music?
0:06
Well, I mean, I've I've I've been doing
0:09
other things. Uh, you know, film
0:10
television projects. I was on Empire for
0:13
like three years. I was, you know, I
0:15
was, you know, opening different
0:16
businesses in California, right?
0:18
Um, and I have to be inspired to do
0:20
music, right?
0:21
I just don't want to be out there to be
0:23
out there,
0:24
you know? I feel like and and it took me
0:26
a long time to figure out what I wanted
0:27
to say. You know what I'm saying? Like I
0:30
could do a whole bunch of gunslinging
0:31
raps and whole, you know, like Yeah.
0:33
Yeah. Yeah. Talk just talking.
0:36
Yeah. Yeah. But I don't think the game
0:38
needs that now, right?
0:39
Uh I think uh I think there's a lot of,
0:42
you know, you can sit back and be,
0:44
you know, disgruntled about the state of
0:46
hip-hop, right? And you know, for you
0:48
know, especially from from our era, from
0:51
our graduating class, right?
0:52
Or you could do something about it. I
0:54
think that you know, it's like put up or
0:56
shut up time, right? There's a lot of
0:57
mindless music out. There's a lot of uh
1:00
filler out. And and I think the message,
1:02
you know, and there's nothing wrong with
1:03
that cuz even when we were first putting
1:05
records out, it was like fluff music out
1:07
too,
1:07
right?
1:08
But I think the issue is is, you know,
1:10
like uh the the the the senior voices,
1:14
the people who've been through this, the
1:15
people are who have already traveled the
1:18
path that these new artists are trying
1:20
to go, right? um are not getting the
1:23
information that they need in order to
1:24
feel confident about being original and
1:27
being different. You know what I'm
1:28
saying?
1:28
I got you. So, like like to piggyback
1:30
off what you're saying, like when we was
1:31
coming up, you you you had a choice. You
1:33
know what I mean? It was it was it was
1:34
portionately even like you had you had
1:36
soft rap, but then you had like I could
1:38
listen to Ice Cube, but then I could
1:39
listen to Tropical Quest.
1:40
Correct.
1:41
I can listen to the Alcoholics, but then
1:42
I can listen to Dea Soul. Now,
1:44
everybody's on the same level in terms
1:46
of the mainstream music or whatever. So,
1:48
I think a lot of people feel that they
1:49
got to do that. can't be themselves, be
1:50
original or represent what they are.
1:52
I think uh I think people are chasing
1:55
the success, right?
1:56
And not chasing the creative, you know,
1:59
elevation,
2:00
right?
2:00
Um I think I think the diversity of what
2:04
the voices were and the messaging was in
2:08
hip-hop has changed dramatically. Um
2:11
everybody wants to to to have this this
2:13
super roller coaster ride to success and
2:16
the oh hey look at me contest. You know
2:18
what I'm saying? like like I just I've
2:20
just never been that guy. But, you know,
2:22
I pride myself on on on loving the
2:25
music. Right.
2:25
Right. Not loving the success. If the
2:28
money comes, right?
2:29
If you if that's what you here for, then
2:31
you know, put something in the game that
2:33
doesn't exist and the money will come.
2:35
Yeah.
2:35
You know, but but if you just if you
2:37
just doing whatever and however and the
2:39
antics are more are bigger than your
2:41
music, then I don't know if I don't know
2:43
if if hip-hop needs to be turned into
2:45
like the the World Wrestling Federation.
2:47
You know what I'm saying? Uh-huh.
2:49
Yeah. I I don't need I don't know if
2:50
that needs to happen,
2:51
right? And then you um spoke about doing
2:54
other things like your businesses. You
2:55
want to speak on your um involvement
2:56
with the cannabis business because
2:57
you've been very successful with that.
2:59
You know what I mean? Like I think you
3:00
open up a dispensary or you have things
3:02
like that going on. Speak on that.
3:04
I started with some brands. The brands
3:05
were the brands were were fire. You
3:07
know, I got the experience from there.
3:09
Um and retail um was the the natural
3:13
next step. I ended up um partnering with
3:16
a group of guys that um really know what
3:18
they're doing. And so my marketing
3:20
branding, you know, I was like, you
3:22
know, instead of selling one brand,
3:23
let's just sell everybody's stuff,
3:24
right?
3:24
You know what I'm saying,
3:25
right?
3:26
So we got two stores um currently in LA,
3:28
West Exhibits, West Coast Cannabis.
3:30
Okay.
3:31
You know, um
3:32
Yeah. Yeah.
3:34
All right.
3:34
Yeah. We got the first store in Bair um
3:37
and the second store is in uh
3:38
Chadzsworth.
3:39
Nice.
3:40
Yeah.
3:40
Nice. You said that properly.
3:43
Chworth. Yeah.
3:46
Anything else? All right. Similar.
3:49
Right. Right. Right. Right. No, that's
3:50
dope. Do you know um when you talk about
3:56
how do I say this without being
3:57
disrespectful, but I feel like it it was
3:59
a shift last year.
4:01
I feel like, you know, not to bring up
4:02
Kendrick and Drake because, you know,
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it's a dead horse in a way,
4:06
but at the same time, I feel like it was
4:08
a a culture war. It was um ideologies
4:12
clashing. You know what I'm saying?
4:14
And unapologetic, you you said that word
4:17
and I think you did, but unapolog
4:22
apologetically hip-hop is something that
4:24
I don't think enough people stand on.
4:27
Or being like, "Yeah, I'mma sit this out
4:30
for a few years or I don't really have
4:32
nothing to say right now. Let me just
4:33
relax and just enjoy the ride."
4:35
Um, how how hard is it for you to do
4:38
that? Um, and also on the same tip, you
4:42
like I love how you put messages in the
4:44
music. This just just it's not corny.
4:46
It's not
4:47
You said y'all need to read some books.
4:49
And I I love that line, bro, cuz I got a
4:52
stack of books by my nightstand. I ain't
4:54
reading every one of them at the same
4:56
time, but I got them on in the queue.
4:58
Yeah. Um, I know that's like three
5:01
questions in one, but it's dope seeing a
5:03
mature but not corny, not preachy dude
5:08
rapping still.
5:09
Well, we're the first we're the first
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we're the first generation of, you know,
5:13
hip-hop is only 50 years old.
5:15
Yeah. Facts.
5:15
So, we we're the first like we there's
5:18
nothing before us to compare it to.
5:20
Yeah.
5:21
So, now you got to go back. Part of that
5:24
question is, you know, hip-hop is the
5:27
only thing that has agism, right?
5:29
Yeah. I'm glad you're speaking on that.
5:31
And and so, so, you know, you don't hear
5:33
that in country. You don't hear that in
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R&B. You don't hear that, you know, the
5:36
rock and roll, the Rolling Stones are
5:37
still touring to this day.
5:39
Um, but for some reason in hip-hop, if
5:42
you, you know, live past, you know, 25,
5:45
then [ __ ] you a old head. You know
5:47
what I'm saying? Yeah.
5:48
And I'm like, yo, you know, I think it's
5:50
I think uh first of all, nobody owns
5:53
hip-hop.
5:54
Mhm.
5:55
Nobody tells you when to start. Nobody
5:57
tells you when to stop.
5:58
Yeah.
5:58
Right. As long as I have the inspiration
6:01
to make music, I'm going to make it
6:03
right now. Now, you can try to compare
6:05
it or tear it down or do whatever you
6:07
want to do. Compare it to, oh, well, he
6:09
didn't sell like this guy. You know what
6:11
I'm saying?
6:12
you know, but but you know, we living in
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an age where things can be manufactured,
6:16
things can be altered, things, you know,
6:18
perception is king.
6:20
And so I feel like me putting out music
6:23
right now is because I have something to
6:26
say,
6:27
right?
6:27
I don't know if this going to be my last
6:29
album, my second to last. I don't know
6:31
what what it is, but I'm going to be the
6:33
one to figure out when that time is is
6:35
to transition into something else,
6:37
right?
6:37
Um, but for right now, I I love I love
6:39
the music. I still love it. I still
6:45
push myself harder.
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