I used to throw mad parties because I had all this damn money! Some of them got out of hand. People wanted to fight, steal necklaces off of people's necks. A little weird. I had to have armed security at my house. I was young, 21, 22.

The key to success is to be easy to work with.

To be able to impress, you have to get to this middle ground where you're not too advanced so it goes over people's heads, and you're not too minimalist where people think you're just trying to rob the game and not stretch out.

Sometimes it's hard to listen to new music and get motivated, because it's elementary to me - no disrespect to new artists, because that's where we started, too. But it's like they're way back there in first grade, and I'm in college.

As a matter of fact it wasn't until after BIG passed and stupid rumors went around that I had something to do with it, and it's like I'm not a killer man , I'm a musician, I'm a DJ we got like a different heart. Ya know back then when rappin' was fun, and we could immolate being gangstas; ya know Dr. Dre made the hardest gangsta rap records in the world, that didn't necessarily make him a gangsta. It was all like ya know : character, we were all in character.

The parties happen when we book the studio. That's a safe place. Get alcohol, food, girls, homies, and have these small listening parties while I'm recording. And that energy always gets into the music.

I feel like if I'm not going to change the game or do something innovative, then I'm not motivated.