Transcripts For KQEH Tavis Smiley 20170512

And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you, thank you. Logic has very quietly become one of the brightest young stars in hip hop. Hes one of the top 25 streaming artists in the world with over one billion streams. He joins us to talk about his third album called everybody which has a unique concept. Lets take a look at some the video for the song black inspiredman i just want to be free, i know im in the i dont i dont want to be black i dont want to be white i just want to be a man today your fans of course know your by racial makeup and you arent the first artist in this general ray to be by racial. But to my mind, and listening to your work, i think this is the first time youve actually talked about it in this way. Yeah. And im probably the first by racial rapper who looks white as hake. So, yeah. You said that, not me. Thats its all good. But, because im comfortable with who i am. And i think sometimes, you know, ive heard things that even just within the community of hip hop hes always talking about being black and white, hes always talk about being by racial, whys he always talking about it. Im not always talking about this is the first time ive ever discuss today on an album. Its when i would go and be interviewed whats it like being a white rap per the to to me its like im black and white, im by racial. So i make it a statement to say this is who i am because im prid of who you am bauz and because of that hes pushing the whole biracial thing too much. And to me its like, lets be honest, if everybody whats it like being a white rapper oh its great and three years went by and then it came out my dads black, what are you ashamed . So you cant win no matter what you do. You cant win no matter what you do i take your point lodge irrelevant, but how have you become comfortable with the skin that you are in . Thats kind of a lot of footwear, you know. No, no. Im rhyming to you. But there are a lot of folk though who into adulthood, i know some of them, who still have not come to terms with who they really are . I think its because we focus individually on how society perceives us, its almost like our perception of how were perceived and that really affects how we act and how we mature and individuals. So for me, growing newspaper my household and being a student of peace, love, and positivity, which is my whole thing, i had to be able to look inward. Its like some somebody tills something, when youre so sure of something whether youre having a conversation and its a bet or this or that and youre so sure and then youre wrong. Have you to be able to go oh, damn, i was wrong and shake that persons hand and learn from it to be able to mature. Thats what i had to do. I had to look in the mirror andsy this is me, whether people like me or not and thats high i rap and solve rubics cubes and eye married and look how i look and represent peace and love. Those things dont necessary arent necessarily praised in the Mainstream Media that is hip hop or whatever you want to call rap today. Which i think is bs because hip hop was founded on dan versity. It was founded on love and peace and being who you truly are. So i dont know, man. Im still percent kutd every single day for being myself, but i just id rather be hated for who i am than loved for who im not, so thats kind of the motto. Thats nice too. We taking turns here is that how were going to do this . No, you got it. Youre the show. Youre the star, though. You said something a moment ago that got my attention, im paraphrasing but it takes a certain level of honesty and authenticity to admit that youre wrong. We live in a world increasingly where people dont do that from the president of the country on down. Yeah. People are unwilling to do that. So what youre saying is more than just its not even just a statement its more of a challenge to people, but people dont want to accept that. Yeah, i mean, be wrong, learn. Its all good. But honestly i also think that comes from open mindedness, because my whole sthing thing is everyone day im out there and say always, always, peace, love, positivity. Thats what this album is about, thats why its called everybody. I say the fight for because i believe that we are all born equal but we are not treated equally. So it is my job, you know, to be that voice and so, yeah, i think its like you just got to be you and learn and its okay. Its okay to fall and get back up because thats its almost like whats that saying . The reason the master is the master and the student is the student is because the master has failed even more times than the student has ever tried. And for the master to say i have failed and, you know, stand tall and say i have failed, is a big deal because, you know, when it comes to the masters of society, you know, its about always being right or always be perfect rather than admitting their own defeat at times. Three or four times now have you given us your mantra, which i love, peace, love, positivity. But knowing your backstory as i do, those three things could have been bitterness, resentment, and anger. Yeah. They werent. They arent. Tell me about your backstory and how it turned out to be peace, love, positivity and not three other characteristics that are not so admirable. I think, man, just kind of getting into it like growing up both of my parents were addicted to alcohol and narcotics. My father specifically to crack cocaine. And hes 62 years old now and hes been clean for a few years and hes doing well now, but back then he wasnt a part of my life. Having a black father and white mother father that wasnt there, being raised by my mother and then brothers and sisters of the half brothers they are my brothers and sisters but from other black men that my mother had them with, it was like a weird kind of place to grow up in my household specifically and then seeing like my brothers in the streets and selling crack and hustling and getting locked up and shooting and, you know, guns and doing all this crazy stuff. And i, you know, ive held guns and run around with knives and gotten in fights and done dumb things. And im so happy that ive never done anything that haunts me. Ive never taken anybodys life, ive never done anything that i look in the mirror and am truly ashamed of. I mean, everybodys done stuff theyre not proufd but im just really happy it never went there. And so kind of having to fight through all that, you know, Domestic Violence and abuse and seeing my mother beent by men and blood on the Kitchen Floor and my sisters being sexually assault and raped, my mother included an my mother dealing with bipolar and anxiety. Its just so crazy. I dont know, but i saw all of it. I saw it all and i saw it and i saw it as a child. And in my mind every time i saw it it was like dont do that, thats whatnot to be, you know, dont hit a woman, love a woman, nurture a woman. Dont yell, do your best do zblet ple me cut in. H. How did you know not do that because as you know most people end up emulating the behavior that you see. Where did z this moral comp tus come from. Midst of all that . I dont know. People will ask me that its common sense or god or whatever it may be, the energy of the universe. I dont know. I felt bad. You know, i sthee and i was just like like thats why i always say im so basic. Like i just come basic. Everything about me is basic and its intinkual to be myself, just be you. So i think as a whooild child that was me. It was me to not want to hurt i want or force a woman do something or, you know, i dont know. I dont know. To me it makes sense. And you know what i think it comes cown to snps . Its just this mentality. A few years ago when i first started just to be completely honest with you there is people that would say hurtful things like youre a cracker, youre gay, youre stupid, youre this and just these hurtful things to try to tear me down because i was just being myself. And i never understood. I asked myself, how could somebody hate me, right. And im not trying to be like im just like how would you hate me, peace, love, positivity. I came from nothing, i Social Security welfare section 8 household and i made attend cant believe it and its incredible and im here to wave the flag for everything that we can all do this. And theres people that say shut up youre this and that and your musics terrible. I would always trouble myself, high do people hate me . Why do people hate me . And then it clicked i dont understand why people hate me because im not a hater im a lover. I dont have the hater mentality. I dont lincoln look at things and try to die sept secretary them in a negative way and talk about what i dont like or what could be better, i talk about the things that i enjoy or love first. There are a couple things you said i goont back and get you to unpack about f we company. One of them is this notion of people listening to your music and saying its whack. There may be some of that that youre getting because of the way that you look, and there may be people who legitimately dont like you sound. We all have to be happen to critics ive got them youve got them where he all have critics. The question is how did you get comfortable with your musical stielgz when there were people telling you legitimately or illegitimately that youre whack. I love that. How did you its just its just perseverance and knowing that, so the biggest thing that you have to snrs is lying or i had to understand is i dont make music for people that dont like . Right in the like you dont do this show for the people that are like, oh, i dont agree with that or this or that. Away dont have to agree but we dont is there v to argue about it. So for me when i came to the realization for acceptance, when i stopped looking for acceptance in others, when i stopped going on twitter, oh youre great, i know im grait, i know im talented, amazing, special, just like you, just like the people watching thats a real thing. And once i knew that abd could tell myself that, thats when i truly found that balance. So for me, now thats not even where my mind is when it comes to an album like this because its like i didnt make the music stylistically for somebody thats not going to enjoy it. If you dont like it thats cool youre not invited to this party. Million of the people around the world who are are here and thats siem happy because thats who i made the music for. The thing ways zroird r scared about was the subject matter because ive never talked about this ever before and i was just scared, scared out of my mind. I discuss things politically like ive never done before, race, mental health, suicide, anxiety, like so many things and it was very scary and im glad i did. I have my buddy jordons over there right now and i have people who love me from my wife and best friends to push me and support know do something i was scared do. You mentioned this a second time i want to go there so lets go there now, tell me about this track anxiety. Oh, man. This ones all right. So anxiety all right. So last year im trying to think about how to, like, not sound a certain way. Lets put it this way. This year i just paid a Million Dollars in taxes, so thats that shows you how great last year was. You had a great year. At the same time i was unhappy. I was the most unhappy id ever been in my life. And the reason was theres a few reasons but the first one i was work myself to the ground. I was not enjoying the moment. I wasnt in the moment. And ill never forget, i mean literally constantly working, working, no time to myself. And i was standing in line, it was twist and i was standing in line to see star wars with my wife in hollywood downtown and i start having this crazy physical feeling like ways going to faint. Id never had this feeling before. I felt like my soul was leaving my body, i was freaking out, i felt like i needed to throw up and low and behold i ended up finding myself in a hospital bed momentarily later. I didnt know what was going onnd the doctor tells me its anxiety. Im like im feeling like i have no idea whats going on. And ever sibs i was beginning to experience something called derealization. Now derealization is the sense of being out of ones body all the time. And what ive later come to realize its actually a hyper an lie zation of reality and realtime. That just means youre overanalyzing every moment that you per seaver in realtime, which sounds kind of wild. But this exists. And i didnt know la it was. So i thought i had like a disease or there was something going on with my brain or i was dying. And i didnt realize that it was anxiety. And this term, like driving like oh youre driving me crazy say real thing. Like i auld most drive myself to the brink of insan knit if i and i didnt even know why. Why am i doing meet and greets where im meeting a hundred people every day three hours before a show and then a sound check and then im performing for two lourz a night and then my off day isnt really an off day its traveling on a bus for 18 thundershowers u hours and just over and over and over. Last year nine straight months on the road away from my wife and dogs and home. So i say all of this to say i didnt understand what it was and i had the craziest anxiety it was ruling mefr day. And i was having these dark thoughts about death, not killing myself but oh my god, im mortal i hope im not going on too much. But i had all these real zagsz and they were all negative things. And once i ate better, once i said no, im not going to do that show or, no, i have to postpone this tower for me, my anxiety began to get better and better and better and that song, thats what its about. The first half of the song is a very beautiful voice from my friend lucy rose and then the second half is when anxiety hits you and comes in im going to get newspaper your mind right now and make you feel like dying right now. Im giving im gonna let everybody know im in your mind right now. So it was a culmination of a year from hake for me that i put into a song. Take away from that experience was what . Lifes awesome. Stop overthinking it. Just enjoy the moment. And make balance yourself. Thats why i got this tattoo. It says balance yourself. This one says happy wife happy life, and this one says balance yourself and those are the only tattoos i have. Those things go to together, dont they. Thats real, man. You think about it they kind of go together. Yeah. Let me go there im just following you because youre moving so fast and i love this. Oh, cool. Ive lost count, im usually pretty good at this i lost count at six as the number of times you have referenced your wife including happy wife happy life. Yeah. So heres the heres the parallel for me. Maybe even a disconnect until you explain it for me. Okay. Which is how you come out of that familial environment where all hake was break loose growing up and at such a young young age you find yourself married. Yeah. And in a marriage that youre apparently happy in and you love your wife and shes gorgeous, ive seen poet foez toes. That helps. Yeah. I guess what im getting at you could have gone the other way given those. Of course. So how did this the short answer you met somebody you fell in love with i get that. Yeah. Tell me how you end up in such a Stable Family environment when what you came out of was the exact opposite and youre there at such a young age. Maybe deep down at some subconscious level in the depths of my mind that was something i always looked for and searched for, mo nothingmy and not being a woman nierz and from seegt things that i did maybe deep down i was looking for a good woman, deep down i want to be a great father. So maybe thats just been the goal this whole time and im like having this realization on the couch with you right now, a real thing. I never really thought about it but, wow, look at this. I got married at 25, im 27 right now. My wife is only 24, so like we were both very young. With you we knew what we wanted. And people are like youre too young, youve got your whole life ahead of you why are you getting married. But nobody should rush anything. But we didnt rush anything, we were happy, not content, we were happy to be with each other and theres hard times, man, in any relationship. But i believe that communication is the biggest thing. As long as you can truly communicate with someone, whether its your spouse or your Business Partner or your friend and transparency, and being honest, you have to be honest, it really works. But i dont know, im just in love and shes bad and shes fine, thats what that means. Yeah. And shes a great person. And i honestly im going for a hundred percent, ive never been so attracted to a woman before i met them. So and thats me, you know. Youve got to wage next to this person for the rest of your life. No matter what may happen but i love her. And its really funny because when i was single id rap about girls just for fun you just rap about girls whats up, tina, and wlafr and this and that and just kind of like having fun. But its really cool now to have that like rapper esthetic within my music but im talking about my wife. Its kind of cool and i like it. Not that you or i would ever encourage kids to drop out of high school, but how does all this enlight enenment, im asking seriously, where did this come from . What do you watch, read, listen to . For a kid who didnt finish high school this is pretty impressive. One thing i will say is i believe education is dprooem extremely important, you know what i mean. Unfortunately my system where i was failed me and then my home was just and thats no excuse because i remember i actually went back my high school had me come back and speak to the kids and that was really weird and they were like they handed me the mike just before i talked to the kids and they were like whatever did you dont say you didnt graduate. Im like oh, and i take the mike and im like, you know, im going everythings going fine halfway through and some kids like how come you didnt graduate. And i was like oh, and i look at my old counselor and im like damn. Moment of truth. And i was just a hundred. Whatd you say . I was like i didnt graduate because of all the things that was that were going on in my household, i didnt graduate because at that point in mooi my life i didnt have people there to push me and guide me and work me to get that education. And i was like, there are so many people here that have loving parents and guardians that are pushing them and there are so many people here as well that dont and that are skil still getting their education and youre stronger than even i was. So thats how i feel about that. And another thing is like dont be lays decide. So when i was 17 years old and unfortunately i wasnt in high school so i got two jobs that i worked in the morning and the evening and then i would go home what were they . I had all types of jobs. At that specific time i was working at jiffy lube so im changing oil and then in the evening i worked in a flower shop. Okay. But then i would come home and record. So i would write and wrielt and write and i would record myself and work on myself. So i was worth this and i just say that to say if at 17 years old i can live on my own, work two jobs and still follow my dreams like then just chill, you can finish high school and do what you love. But i think, i dont know, what pushed me to kind of get to where i am today, it is others. Its others, man, sure are, i read some books. Like think and grow rich and just the true secret of this unspoken its exactly like i was theres a language of success, and when i was explaining about haters, right, i dont understand why people hate because im not a hart. Its also like go get it, like go do it, theres nothing should ever stand in your way. You know, when it comes to success, you have to want success more than your next breath. It takes determination, persistent and realism and wanting success more than your next breath to attain the goals you want in life just in general. And so i feel a lot of people go, well you know i would do it but, and thats it right there. Id go to skol school but i but unfortunately like my mothers sick or but this vand to be there. Its like i get it and this is the part of life, but if you want it, you have to do it because i think the worst thing in the world is looking back in your elder years being filled with regret. Speak of success, if there is one thing that indicates that you are on your way, it is when other giants in the rap game, in the hip hop game put their tower on your project. Youve got some great collaborations on here. Yeah. Its impressive. Theres some secrets i wont even tell you who some of them are but when you know them youll know who they are. But say a word about the colab about oigss on this. I never had i never had features on an album so, like, you know, big features so i wanted to wait. And i have killer mike, i have chuck d from public enmip, Black Thought from the roots. No idea rapper was an incredibly emmy producer for jay z. And the others, rapping for the first time on this album. And my friend neil de grass. Thats the crazy thing. The fun nibny thing is hes playing the role of god. Yeah. One thing i would like to say to wrap all this up is this album its a concept album and the elevator pitch is this guy adam is walk willing home from work where he walking home from work and gets hit and dies and he walks up to this guy who tells him that hes god and that hes died and that hes about to be reincore it nad and hes been reincarnate sod many times in fact that its every human being that has exist and its not until he has lived in the shoes of every man, woman, child, and of every operation and creed, can he get to the next level. So efr one of my songs im rapping about one of the lives that this mans lived in 21 years. Ive heard this thing from top to bottom and its an inciteful piece of work, it is called everybody by logic. Honor to have you on this program. First time hopefully not your last. This smie first talk show. See, i feel honored. This is crazy. Ive done this a few times now. Weve put a few people out in the stratosphere. Kanye came here years ago. Hopefully youll let me come back. Let you . What you doing tomorrow . Thank you so much. Good to see you man. Thats our show tonight thanks for watching and as always, keep the faith. For more information on todays show, visit tavis smiley at pbs. Org. Hi, im tavis smiley join me next time for conversation about one of europeans prominent thinkers dreb bra winger on her next film, thats next time. Well see you bra winger on hert film, thats next time. Well see youd bra winger on he next film, thats next time. Well see ye bra winger on her next film, thats next time. Well see yb bra winger on her next film, thats next time. Well see yo bra winger on her next film, thats next time. Well see y bra winger on her next film, thats next time. Well see ya bra winger on her next film, thats next time. Well see yh bra winger on her next film, thats next time. Well see ybra winger on her next film, thats next time. Well see yra winger on her next film, thats next time. Well se then. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you, thank today, on americas test kitchen, dan shows julia a Game Changing roast turkey recipe, lisa reviews oven thermometers, bridget and julia share clever thanksgiving shortcuts, and becky uncovers the secrets to foolproof boiled corn. Its all coming up, right here on americas test kitchen. Americas test kitchen is brought to you by the following Fisher Paykel. Since 1934, Fisher Paykel has been designing