Episode 036: BUGUS - How Bugus & Russ Created DIEMON

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This is the Rise of the Young podcast, bringing you insights from the most innovative entrepreneurs and influencers of this era. Hosted by 17 year old entrepreneur, author, public speaker and branding expert, Casey Adams. Now let's get right into the show.

All right, what's going on, everyone? Casey Adams here. Welcome to the Rise of the Young podcast. Today, episode 36. Got the Man Boogas in the house. I'm super pumped up to get him on. I've actually been following him and Russ for a while now. But first off, everyone, if you don't know who Boogis is, him and Russ, they actually started diamond, which is their record label, when they were about 17 years old. And based on the research I did, they said it stands for do it everyday music or nothing. But Boogis, thanks so much for coming in, man.

Yo, thank you for having me, bro. I'm excited for sure, man.

Yes. The first thing I kind of like to go, like, kind of before we jump in depth, man, for the people that might not know who you are, what you've been doing, man, I'd love for you to kind of give your intro so you can let people know who you are, man.

No doubt, bro. My name is Bugas. I'm an artist. Nigerian. I'm a Nigerian kid. I was born in LA, grew up in Atlanta for like the last 20 years. I've been doing music since I was probably 15. But then, then at 17, 6, 16, 17, I got really, really serious with it and I got my own studio and stuff. So for the last seven, eight years, I've just been recording, making music, putting it out, just building a following, basically just sharpening my sword as an artist, just developing as an artist, building a brand, just learning as much as I can about the music business, like reading books about it. Like, watching interviews from anybody who's successful in the business and just basically preparing myself and just getting the most amount of knowledge I could, so I could, you know, have like, as minimal errors in my career as possible. Because you see how, like, a lot of people, they have, like, one fatal slip, and it's, like, done.

For sure. For sure, man. Dope, bro. So when it comes to. I know that you said you born in la, moved to Atlanta, so when it comes to, like, your childhood, like, you said, so you've been doing music for a while, but, like, what was like, like you said when you were 17, that's when you started getting serious about it. I know that you and Russ started Diamond, but what was that, like, transitioning period of, like, just from writing down music to actually, like, deep diving into it? Like, what was that whole transition period? Like?

That was like. I would say that was probably like a year. That period is probably like a year long, maybe a year and a half. It was like my. My junior year in high school. I. First semester, junior year, I was already going over to Russ's house because the way we started off was, like, Russ was already producing and stuff. One day he just walked in the class and showed me his head. He put. He put some headphones in my ear. No, no. Actually, no. Some other kid named Alex put headphones in and was like, yo, Russ made this beat. And I was like, that's Russ. Like, R Us. Like, Russ, we know. And he was like, yeah. So. So the next period, me and Russ had a class together. I was. I was like, yo, are you serious? This whole time you've been. You've been making beats? You didn't tell me, blah, blah, blah. He didn't even know I rapped anything yet. No one knew I rapped. I didn't tell anybody, but I was just, like, writing. So after school, Russ was like, yeah, come to my house. Blah, blah, blah. So at the time, there's this kid named. There's this kid we in our high school who was a rapper. So I brought him over to Russ's house with me because I wasn't really, like, recording songs yet. I was just writing. And then so I get to. We get to Russ's house, and I just see, like, he had a nice basement with, like, a. An imac and very minimal gear. All we had was an imac. A guitar amp was the speaker, a camera tripod was the mic stand. We had this, like, 15 ghetto microphone from Walmart, and we use, like, a hang. Russ had, like, a hanger. And pantyhose over the microphone. Like, it was just the most makeshift ghetto studio in the world, but it got the job done. And, like, I was at his house for, like, a year, six months, eight, like, maybe like eight, nine months ago. Like, two semesters worth of school recording there. And then after, I. After I got, like, serious and super confident with it, and I was just like, okay, yeah, I've made a few songs I really want. I've gone to a couple other studios, pay for studio time. Like, I really, really want to do this. So then my senior year, at the end of the first semester, for Christmas, I just got, like, a laptop, and I got an imac and microphone and speakers, and that's literally all you. That's all we really needed to record. Yeah, that. That was basically what it was. But, like, that period is like a. It was like a year long in between, like, when I started and then when I figured out, I really, really want to do this. It was just a year of going to. From Russ's house, working on songs. We. We. I was in a group at the time with Russ, was producing for a group, all the kids who rapped at our school. We were a group called tsg. And I wasn't even rapping yet. I was just giving people my verses. And I was like, literally. Because I. I. I don't know if I didn't have the confidence. I don't know what it was, but I was just kind of like, here, you're a rapper. You can do it. I have. I have raps, but here you rap them.

Okay.

I was giving, like, this dude who rapped at our school the raps, and. But then after a while, he just wasn't that serious with it. So I was like, yeah, I want to do it. And then. So I would go over to Russell's house by myself after school, and then we'd work on songs and. And download beats off the Internet, like, just the most struggle ever.

That's crazy, man. That's crazy, because I know, like, one that's. That's insane, man. So when it comes to, like, you and Russ, like, when did y' all officially meet? Because I know that you said, like, in high school, you guys had some classes, but, like, does it go far back and, like, how did that whole journey start?

Yeah, it goes further than. Further back than high school. I met Russ on the first day of eighth grade. Like, I went to. I went to credible middle school, this middle school in Georgia out here. I went to middle school, sixth grade. I was at this middle school, seventh grade, I got kicked out. So I got sent to this military school. And then I come back for eighth grade. And when I come back for eighth grade, like, you know, you recognize all your friends. Like, all this. This is before fucking Internet and all that. Like, all my friends are just ecstatic to see me back. I missed all seventh gr. So I walk into homeroom, everybody's like, yo, everybody's, like, happy as hell to see me, and I'm happy to see everybody. And then, like, in. In, I. I pretty much knew everyone outside. Like, a couple people, like a girl or two I didn't know or whatever. But then in walks this new kid, and it's us. I'm like, yo, who is that? No one knows. So I just go up to him and start messing with him. And, like, we just start. We hit it off instantly. Like, I just start Joaning on Russ, and. And he just starts joining back. And so we met in eighth grade, and so we played on the same basketball team, like, 8th grade, 9th grade, 10th grade. We played at the same high school basketball team. And it wasn't like I knew him for three, four years before we ever got into the studio. We were, like, friends before we got into the studio. So when we got into the studio, there was just this already organic natural chemistry, because we talk shit to each other 24, 7. Anyway, so it's like. It's easy to tell your friend, like, yo, that shit's whack. Do it again. You know what I mean? But, like, when you're working with somebody who you don't really know, it's like, you. You're afraid to say the truth because you don't want to offend them, and you don't know what could lead to.

Okay, let's go.

But basically, I met him, and we met in eighth grade, and we were cool for, like, three, four years before we ever got into the studio.

That's dope. See, that's. That's crazy, man. So, like, before y' all even started rapping, y' all were just homies, right?

Yeah, exactly. Friends and teammates, too. Basketball team for, like, two, three seasons.

Okay, okay. That's dope. So my next question, man, so when it comes to, like, you guys. I know how you said you guys had, like, the studio. Y', all, like, y' all had to get us to you from the upfront. But then you guys started progressing, getting better equipment and stuff. Like, what do you think was, like, the major. Like, fuck it. Let's do it, like, real hard. Like, let's actually pursue it. What was that transition for you and him? Like, was it just you and him when it comes to starting the record label diamond? Or like, what was that whole, like, all right, like, let's actually do this. What was that like, whole pivoting point, like?

Well, well, the reason why we started diamond was because one, we. We were like, we need to have, like, our own website. We need to have like. Like, the intent at first wasn't to, like, start a whole record label or anything. It was just more so like, we need to have our own website. We need to have our own kind of, like, brand. Our own brand? Yeah, we need our own thing. So we're just chilling in the basement one day and it just kind of hit me. I was like, holy. Do it every day. Music or nothing. That's like a. We could, like, create something out of that. And then we came up with Diamond. Then I went online, looked for like, the. What's that called? I went to Godaddy or some fat cow, can't remember where it was. Yeah, I look for the domain name. Some guy had it. I bought it off of him and then created a website. And we basically just wanted to have our own digital headquarters, our own place where if blogs didn't want to post us, we'd still get posted somewhere. Yeah, we wanted to have our own spot, so. And basically have our own umbrella where we could, like, operate out of, have our own logo, have our own whole brand and image. So that was really what it spawned out of. And then, yeah, it kind of grew. I mean, it definitely grew, but at first it wasn't like, yeah, let's start a record label. It was just more. So we have a need. Let's fill this need.

Okay. Like, to kind of like, associate the entire music. What you guys are building, like, that was like kind of the brand from the upfront of like, we need to, like, kind of associate ourselves with something.

Exactly. We. We need something. We need a glue. We need like, something to stick to this. We need a logo to put on our. We need like, like. Because I don't know, I've always just studied successful people, like, from Diddy to Birdman, to like, yeah, all these guys have logos. All these guys have their own companies outside of, like, the major labels they work with. They all have like, like the Rockefeller logos, like a legendary logo, the Bad boy logo, the Cash Money logo, the Young Money logo, like the no Limit tank. Yeah, all these different logos and brands. We knew we needed something. We can't just be Rappers with, like, no brand savvy whatsoever, for sure.

No, that's. That's definitely smart. So was this, like, before social media or, like, what. What time period with this was this.

This was right when this, like, Facebook was already hot. Like, all through high school. I got a Facebook ninth grade, but. And I. I got a Twitter, like, senior year, but this was. Instagram wasn't popping yet, and I. I don't think Instagram was out in 2011. And because we started. We started diamond officially in 2011. Like, that's when we got it registered with the state of Georgia. That's when we got, like, our llc, all that shit. Okay, so we were still using Facebook and Twitter. Instagram hadn't off yet. Yeah.

Okay, so, like, so when you guys started the record label, like, you got it going. Like, what was. Like, did you guys currently have fans putting out music and getting, like, tons of listens? Or, like, when y' all first started diamond, like, what was your music like? Did you already have tons and tons of listeners or what was that position?

Nah, bro, we had no listeners. We had to literally create our own audience. Like, even. Even before we had diamond, like, like I was saying, before we had. We were in a group. I was in a group called tsg, and Russ was producing for. For the group because we were making all the. At his house. And Russ, like, printed out a bunch of shirts for TSG one day and came to school with them and just passed them all out in the parking lot. And then. And then after that, like, when I got my own studio, we. I basically would make a project, and then I would print up 500 CDs, and then I would call. Then I would call kids from local high schools, like, off of Facebook, because putting out songs, I would get a couple kids from, like, a local. From, like, surrounding high schools outside of our high school. So I would just be like, okay, you fuck with my music, dope. I would call that kid, and I'll be like, yo, I want to give you 25 CDs. Come give me your address or come to my house and I'll give it to you. And basically, we had local high schools, like a high school called Centennial High School called Lassiter, Milton. All these different high schools in the area. Like, I would basically get a foot soldier at each high school and just, yo, since you my music, can I Trust you with 40 CDs? Only give it to kids who want it. Don't pass my out. Like it's a condom. Like, pass it out. People who want this like other kids who, you know, like rap don't. Don't just like give it out. Just give it to kids who, you know, would appreciate it. And that's kind of like. Yeah, that kind of helped build a. That we built our own. Like we. We actually still have footage of this, like driving around, pulling up at different kids house and just like opening it, popping. We have all this on camera, like popping the trunk and having a big box of 500 CDs and just being like, here's 20 for you. You go to Pope. Then we drive over to like a different city, hand it to this kid. And that, that just kind of helped us build a local buzz. And then, and then like the further step from that, when we graduated high school, everybody who went to our high school, not everybody, but a lot of kids went to college. And a lot of kids went to college out of state. So I took like 30 of my closest friends in my graduating class. And when they got to college, I was just like, yo, not even 30, like 50. I still have all the stubs from UPS. It's so crazy. I kept all this. It's like seven year old stubs. Yeah, I was, I was like, yo, just give me, send me your address. So we had kids at uga, Georgia, Southern Michigan State, ucla, usc, nyu, University of Florida, Georgia Tech. Like, just kids went all over the country. So I got. Whether it's girls or guys, I'd be like, yo, if you with my music and you're willing to send me your shipping address, you a bunch of copies and help me spread it out on your campus. So basically. Yeah, so basically, guys, basically I sent like 500 to a thousand CDs. Again, like once I got to college, saw my friends who went to college in different colleges. So basically we built like our first initial audience before it cracked on the Internet. And we found people in the Internet world was all just like word about. Yeah, we built a. We built a small fan base out of who was around us.

Okay, so when you were handing out CDs, like it's all the word of mouth or send it to people, you know, to send out to other people. Like, was there any like tracking who was listening or was it just like y' all sending out CDs and you like everyone just listening on the CDs like, like you said before, the Internet was just. Y' all were just hustling, sending out all the CDs and that was when you guys kept producing and staying consistent with everything.

Yeah, yeah. There was no way to track It. But I knew it was working because every now and then I would get like 10 mentions on. On Twitter, and it'll be like, hey, I'm in Michigan State. Got your CD from my roommate. Or it'll be like, yo, I'm at Ole Miss. Got your CD from my roommate. And I'd be like, okay, I know it's working because I have random kids who I don't know at these colleges hitting me up and yeah, they saw. They got campus and like that. And I had a lot of friends who joined fraternities and sororities too. So I would literally be like, yo, spread this throughout your whole frat house.

So it's just like you started getting some mentions on Twitter, people started hitting you up, you're like, damn. Like, I don't know these people. And that's when you guys started. Is that when you guys kind of transitioned to, like, the Internet scene of, like, SoundCloud and, like, really producing on that or like, when did that whole transformation really play into the effect?

Well, the. Okay, so all the, like, the buzz that came from passing out CDs like, by hand in the mail was on Facebook.

Okay.

From 2010 to, like, 2014, Facebook was like the main social media. Yeah. So all the buzz and came on Facebook. So I would see kids in different schools. I had, like, at one point, I maximized the amount of followers you could have on Facebook.

Yeah, whatever.

Friends. Because I had. I just had a personal page. I didn't have a music page yet, but I had like 5, 000 friends on Facebook at one point. And it got to even recognize anybody on my Timeline. I was just like, yo, this is crazy.

Yeah.

Yeah. But then. But then in like 2015, we started doing the whole SoundCloud thing, and that's what really broke the camels back. That was. That was because we were just looking and trying different things, like putting out albums, shooting video, just doing. Putting out as much songs and content and high quality shit as we could.

Yeah.

And in 2015, we found, like, the shit that worked.

Okay, I see. So with like. I know that you said, like, it was like Facebook from the upfront, sending all the CDs, and then when it came to, like, putting stuff out on SoundCloud or YouTube, like when you first started with SoundCloud, you and Russ, like, was it something that was. There was already people that were like, kind of blowing up on SoundCloud or what was like, the origin of SoundCloud when you guys hopped onto that platform?

It was the mindset was More so we're tired of putting out albums and then only the first song gets the most amount of plays and attention. Like, if you go on SoundCloud right now, you can go look at any artist who puts an album on SoundCloud. The biggest song is always the first song or the song that was released singly. Okay. If you notice on like, if you notice on like an album on SoundCloud, it'll have like, let's say 10 tracks.

Yeah.

And they'll all have the same artwork. But the only song that doesn't have the same artwork is the one that's dropped as a single. And you. We saw the trend that on everyone's projects, ours included the biggest song was the first one or the one introduced as a single. So we were like, you know what? We're just going to drop each song one by one and treat every song we make as the first song. Because a lot of times we make a fucking dope ass song and it's song seven buried under six songs. So you have this amazing song with 800 plays and you're just devastated.

Okay, I see. I see. When it comes to like, so I know because I follow like, Russ on SoundCloud and you as well. So I know that, like, the branding of it is like, whether there'd be a different color, a different logo. So y' all were just like, the strategy was just putting out each, like, single. And like, I know. I watched the interview with Russ and Gary V. It was like 60 days straight or 90 days straight. Just like a song a day sort of thing. Or like, what was.

It was just putting out a song every week until it worked. That was the mindset. It was just like, we're just gonna put out a song a week, every week until it worked. Because we learned about the Internet. We like, because being consumers yourself and being like, in it yourself, you can learn how to be a producer. You know what I mean? I basically use myself as like the number one test dummy because I'm such a hip hop fan and I'm such a fan of, like, pop culture and I know. I know what's going on. So, like, I study my habits and my behaviors and I know that if. If I do something, there's probably at least 100,000 other kids out there who do it too. And we can. And that's enough. We don't need to have the whole world.

Okay, I see.

So it's like we. I learned. We learned like on the Internet, like a week online is like a month in reality. Like, some people see so much on a timeline in one week that we were like, bro, this is like a month in real time. Like, so much you see so many images, so much content, so many clips. It's like a month has elapsed even though it's only been a week. So we were like, every week just drop a new song. There wasn't really any set, like, we're gonna do 50 or we're gonna do 100. It was just like, we're gonna do it till it works.

Okay. So it was just like it. We're gonna keep putting that music right. Yeah.

I mean, because we. We already have the songs. Like, it was back in, like before. Before we did the one song at a time approach. We'd make a 20 song album in two, three months. Okay, three months. We'd make a. In four months, three months, we'd make a 20 song album. But then we just drop it. With no promotion, no dollars, no marketing dollars. Like, because we didn't have any money. We didn't have any, like, way to like, push it. Couldn't get it on World Star. We didn't know any bloggers. So the only real marketing and advertisement for the last song you put out is your next song.

Yeah, for sure.

And where. Where, where. We couldn't beat you with marketing and advertising. We could beat you with consistency.

Okay, I see. So that's. That's crazy, man. So when it comes to when you guys started putting out like the once a week, like, how many on average, you'd say, like when you started first doing that, when it comes to plays on each song, like, what. Was there any songs that popped or was it just like, y' all just putting it out, not focusing on views at all? Or like, how did that kind of come about?

Well, yeah, for like, for Russ's situation, like, obviously what they want. Losing control, pull the trigger. All those songs popped off way more than the other ones.

Okay, but.

But like, a lot of the other songs on his SoundCloud got a good amount of plays and did well, but obviously certain ones just took off way more. And same thing on my SoundCloud and like my Spotify. And it's like, I put out 2017, I put out a song a week.

Yeah.

Out of the 53 songs, they all got received well.

And.

And how I gauge it is like, I like how people can be like, yo, my favorite song is this. And it's not the most played song because to me it's like, as long as you like my songs, any song Even. Even if it's a song I make and I don't love it as much as I love this song. Song. If it brings you to my concert or if it makes you a fan of my music, it's just job, job done.

Okay?

But for me, like, I just know Free Bird give thanks less and less. Like I've had in 2017, out of the 53 songs I put out, like, five, six, seven of them are just way bigger than all the other ones. Those are like, so. But, but, but. But it's. That's a natural thing. When. When you literally put out that much, you're going to have ones that stand up over the rest. And it doesn't mean the other ones are duds. It just means that these ones are fucking excellent. People really love them.

Yeah. Yeah, for sure. That's what's up, bro. So when it. When it comes to diamond in general, like, when you guys started getting more buzz, like, was there a point for. With you or Russ as a team that, like, you got. You guys kind of, like, felt, like, different when it comes to, like, putting out music, when it comes to, like, damn, like, we actually got to take this more seriously or, like, did you guys ever have, like, a transformation of, like, just stepping up in a different way, or was it always just, like, being the same thing, putting out the same music and just, like, seeing how things would change over time?

We were taking it seriously. From the time. From the second we left high school, we were taking it seriously. I remember I. I chose to go to college in Georgia. I got into. I went up. I went up to Purdue. Yeah, I got in. I got accepted by them, so I went up to Purdue to visit it. I could have gone to Purdue if I wanted, but I chose to go to Morehouse in Atlanta because I wasn't about to leave Atlanta. This. This is the rap capital of the world. You know what I mean? It's like, I'm not. I'm not about to go be in being Indiana. It's like, who's out of Indiana? I'm not going up in Indiana. But that's how serious I knew this was. And that. That's how. That's how. That's how much I believed in it. Like, summer, going into college, I was like, no, I'm not going to Purdue. And many people, like, were like, yo, you're missing out on a big educational opportunity. Blah, blah, blah. I still graduated from college and everything, but I wasn't about to go live in Indiana and go to Purdue when I could Literally go to college, stay in Atlanta, stay at home, have the studio constantly crammed up in a dorm room where I can't make noise. Okay. I'd much rather, you know. And then Russ got in. Russ was in college in Valdosta, which is like Southern Georgia. Yeah, we were taking it seriously since we left from the second. I mean, even while we were in high school, we put out a lot of songs. Okay, second semester of senior year and senior year before music. But like, when college. When that summer before college comes around, like every year you're about to experience it. Every senior, every high school is going to. Is going to experience it. Like, there's that summer before college, and that's the summer where it's like, you're free. You just. You just finished fucking high school, but you don't really have any obligations to college yet. So you just have this three months of like, yo, I could do whatever I want. I can get a job. I could sit on my ass. Your parents are really that up your ass because that's proud that you finished high school. So they're. They're not really. So you have all this free time. So we knew at that point, like, yeah, bro, this is what we're doing. Like, I'm not going to college. I'm gonna stay in state, so we could do this. Russell's like, I'm gonna stay in state. So Russ went to college like two, three hours outside of where we grew up. So on. Not on. Not on weekends, but on breaks, like winter break, president, holiday, whatever. Like any of those four day weekends, he would. He would. He would drive up, and it kept the grind alive. Like, we just. And even while he was there, he was always sending me beats and I was always writing songs. Like, we literally. We'd literally be rapping songs to each other over the phone. Russ would send me this beat. He'd be like, check out this beat. Check out this hook. He'll sing the hook and do the beat. And he'd be like, yo, I'm about to send it to you. Blah, blah. You know, write some shit to it.

Yeah.

Even the whole time we were in college, first semester, like, whole first year of college, too, before Russ dropped out, like, we were still working, making music. He was making beats, I was writing. And then when we did get a chance to get together on holidays and breaks and, you know, long weekends, we just got in the studio, like one time, we had a long weekend. And I have a project called 18. Yeah, Spotify and iTunes and shit. It's nine songs. We did that because we got snowed in. We had a. The same way we got snowed in today. We had a long weekend and we got home on Friday and we're supposed to go back to school on Monday night because we didn't have classes till Tuesday. But we ended up getting snowed in until like Thursday or Friday the next week. So we had from Friday to Friday and we made like 15 songs and I chose and we turned it into a project and that. And like. Yeah. And basically we just kept the grind alive. Like, we didn't let the distance of being in college and shit really slow us down. And then. So then after that first semester, Russ transferred to a school that was like next door to me.

Okay, so it was close.

Yeah. So like, he transferred to the Kennesaw State University, which is like, right. 10 minutes from where we grew up type. So I was already living at home, just driving down to the city to go to college anyway. So it was basically like, okay, perfect. Wrestlers back at home. I live at home. Nothing's changed. We just have way more free time now. We're not in school from nine till fucking four.

Yeah, I feel that. So. So you said you graduated and he dropped out, right?

Yeah. Okay.

That's what's up. So when it comes to, like, going through college, was there, cuz, like, the question was, like, what did he drop out just because, like, he's wanted to kind of transition and focus or like, what was his reasoning for dropping out?

Yeah, just so he could focus because it was getting in his way. Like, he couldn't make beats in class. Like a beat idea will come to him and you can't pull out your laptop and start, like, you know, even for me, it's like something comes to my head, I can write it down. But him as a producer, like, as a producer, first you would get a melody or a beat and there's no way to, like, start on this. He'd have to literally shut his laptop and leave the class.

Oh, okay.

So after a while. After a while, you miss X amount of classes, you're just wasting money.

Yeah, for sure. For sure. That's crazy. So when it comes to how you guys are currently flowing now and like, how you guys. When it comes to, like the first. Just having an actual. What's it called, Like a concert, having people come. Was that something that took time or when did that kind of start happening?

It took a lot of time, bro. We've done so many shows with nobody in the crowd. We've done. We've done over 25 performances with a total of maybe 30 people each time. Like, we. We did one show. We were so gassed. We in Atlanta in 2012. We pulled up to the show, we rented a limo. Like, we were just 19, killing ourselves. We rented a limo. We get to our own show that we're headlining, and there is seven people in attendance.

Okay, okay. Yeah, bro.

We pull up like rock stars, like, in a limo. Just this about to be sold out. We get there, bro, there's six people in the crowd.

Damn. So is that like local homies or like, what.

It was literally like people who were fans on Facebook and like three friends we knew and four. That was the whole show.

That's crazy, though. I feel like that's like, it's dope interviewing me, man. Because, like, I feel like a lot of people don't get to see that sort of stuff, you know, especially with social media nowadays and like, coming from you and like the concert or having seven people, like, was that at all, like, I'm sure, like, discouraging, but what was like, was it just kind of like a mental focus of like, keep on doing it, Keep on doing it till it works or like, was there any, like, damn, like, this is like, not good or what was like the whole entire process of going through those first 25 shows?

I mean, we weren't even tripping on the, like, obviously, like, sometimes we look right before you go on, you peek through the curtain, you see that there's not that many people there, and you have a slight half second of disappointment. Like, fuck. But it leaves you instantly. Because you still got to go out there and represent. You still got to go out there and give a great show because you could still turn six. I mean, we used to perform like, we used to perform in front of six people. Like we were at the Garden.

Yeah.

Like, giving it our all energy. Wailing on the mic, you know, just ripping. And there's seven people in the audience. But. But like, yeah, so you're disappointed for like a half second, but it was never, like, the audience would never see that. I'm slightly disappointed in the turnout.

That's dope. So when it comes to that period of time, so now, like the sold out shows and you and him like going on tour and stuff, like, what. When would. When did that happen? Like, what was like, was it a huge just kind of transition or like, when did everything really start picking up to where you guys are today?

Well, so, like, how Russell's putting out a song week in 2015. All that momentum, like we put out a song a week, all 2015 and then 2016 in the summer. What happened? And that was because some of the songs, like losing control, what they want had popped off and they'd gotten enough traction globally. And I'm digitally and they had built a demand globally. So it was, you know, we could go, we could book shows in Europe. Even the first Europe show we did in Glasgow, only like 60 people came. It wasn't that crazy. But then a year later we had 2, 000 people come. You know what I mean? So like, because Russ had become a star then, but like the first time we went to Europe and. And did Glasgow, it wasn't as. It wasn't like a super sold out show. We had like 150 person venue and only like half of it was full.

Okay.

But then, but then there were certain cities on that tour that was like a nine show tour. And there was certain cities like and belgium that had 1100 people come out. That was because in 2014 we got booked in. We got booked in Paris and Belgium before and the Parish show we did maybe like 50, 60 kids came. And the Belgian show we did about 2, 300 kids came. So the second time we came back to Belgium, there was 1100 people there and it was crazy.

That is crazy, man. That's. So when it comes to now, like what you guys are both doing, like, are you guys currently, like, when do you see each other? Is it like still you see all the time or like what's like the relationship between you guys now? Coming from eighth grade to growing, getting the record label to now like how you guys, like, what's that kind of standpoint on both of you? Because I know you guys are both killing it.

Yeah. I mean, if we're not on the road, I see Russ basically every day or every other day. Like, because the studio where we make all our music is my house. So we. Yeah, we still work every single day. Like I saw Russ not yesterday, the day before.

Okay, that's dope. That is crazy, man.

It's the same thing, bro. Like we grew up together, so nothing's really changed. Like Russell, we. We. We see each other literally every once. If we're not out in the world, like doing shows out of town, if we're in Atlanta in a seven day week, I'll probably. Russell come over four out of seven days.

That's dope. So it's like still like, like you said, like nothing's changed. But it has. But when it comes to like the mentality of like how you guys met in seventh grade, you still have that same flow just from like relationship standpoint?

Yeah, 100%. Like we're, we're still doing the same long ass studio sessions from at night till 7am four times a week. It's the same regimen. Like if it's not broken, don't fix it. We just keep the same.

That is clean, bro. So when it comes to. I was like asking people because I know regarding the music industry in general, like it's not just like the music, it's like the mentality wise of like putting out, putting out.

Consistent.

Consistent through like the hardships and shit. And I have a lot of like a ton of young entrepreneurs as well as other people that are in different industries. Like what would you say when it comes to an advice standpoint of like giving people a tip or something that has kind of kept you going through everything and what's that one thing that you think has always stuck with you?

I mean, I would say just keep going, keep on creating it. Because at the same time, a lot of times when you first start, it's natural to like want to be seen and want to be known and want to be heard and want to be loved and coveted like your favorite artist. But a lot of times your artistry is not ready for that shit yet. You're not even good enough. Most of the time you're just not good enough. Like we thought we were ready when we were 18, but the reality is that we weren't. Okay, but, but you have to believe in yourself and you have to think you're ready and. But what I would tell any artist is to just keep on recording, keep on making shit and just stay focused on and, and don't be in it for. If you're in it for the money and you're in it for the attention, then that's a wrong reason to be in it. If you're in it because you love making songs and you love and you're chasing greatness and like you're chasing. Just making the most dope song possible. Like in my mind, I'm trying to. I'm trying to like top Jesus Walks by Kanye West. I'm trying to like, I'm trying to make just. I'm just trying to like create sonic dopeness.

Yeah.

And that's like a task in itself. And it takes a while to be good enough. It takes a while to like get used to using your own voice. Your voice is an instrument. So it takes a while to like. Unless you're like a natural singer or a vocalist. It takes a while to, like, learn your pocket on the. On what beats work for you, what style? Like, you know, developing your style, developing your tone, developing your brand, Just developing yourself before you present yourself to the whole world. It's a process because a first impression lasts a lifetime.

100, man. 100. So in regards to that, I have a few more questions before we end this, man. But when it comes to just the current mentality you guys are in, especially with, like, artists listening or people that wanted to create music, would you say there's like one platform that you would like, if you had to start again, that you'd focus on now with the social world? Or coming from your standpoint, like, what would be the main focus to someone listening that wants to put out music? What's, like, what's that number one thing, you think?

I would say YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud.

Okay, dope, dope, go ahead.

Yeah, I would say Spotify. If you. I mean, YouTube. YouTube is the biggest website and the most visited website in the world. If you. If you take time, if any artist takes time to do a little research, go look up YouTube's facts. It's the biggest and most. It's like the third most visited website in the world or something like that. And it's the biggest video platform in the world. And there's so many people on YouTube. So if I was an artist, I would put my music. I mean, I am an artist, but if I was giving advice to an artist, I would say, YouTube, man. Put your music on YouTube. Put your videos on YouTube and you can. I mean, look at all these kids, like Jake Paul and all these different kids. Like, these kids are YouTube stars. Because if you're on YouTube, you're global, you have a record deal. When you're on YouTube, YouTube is a record deal. That's worldwide distribution for free.

Definitely. Actually, one of my good buddies, Zay Hilfiger, he made a song like, Juju on that beat or whatever. He was telling me, like, he recently hit like 300 million plays on YouTube or whatever. And like, he was telling me because we linked up in la and it was just like, when it comes to that song for him, like, he was literally like DMing people all the time. Like. Like, you guys, when it comes to, like, sending out CDs, he was doing the same thing, but like, Instagram DM now, because it's like a different generation, you know? So I would say it definitely comes down to just like utilizing the platforms, which Is like, when you guys are first coming up, the CDs handed stuff, word of mouth. I feel like for Zay, I just kind of brought up that because, like, the. The same type of correlation of, like, putting it out there, doing the work internally to actually make it, like, explode. I feel like that's, like, that kind of correlates to each platform for sure.

No, 100%. 100%. Like, now, I wouldn't be. If I was starting from ground one. I mean, from step one right now, I wouldn't do CDs because nobody. Even laptops don't even come with CDs anymore for sure. And no one really. Everyone's ox cord now. So I would definitely be doing more. So what he was doing. And that's what I was doing at the beginning, too. I was. I was the annoying Facebook friend. Remember? Facebook chat? I'm the annoying kid on Facebook who pops up. Hey, listen to my song. Like, I was just spamming. I see. Oh, I got 98 friends online. Well, 98 friends are about to get this song link.

Okay.

I was just, like, hitting up, like, yo, what's up? Check out my song.

Okay.

That's the sound people, bro. Spamming. I was going on people's. I was annoying as shit. I was going on people's. I was going on people's Facebook walls and just slapping my music video on it. Like, yo, yo, check it out.

That's a subject for granted, though, because, like, even, like, from learning from Gary Vee and people like that, like, that's the hustle, you know, when it comes to nowadays with technology, with everything, like, is getting in front of people. I feel like a lot of people just, like, underestimate the power of that. Like, for me and you, for example, like I said to a DMs, we connected. And then now we're doing this interview now. And I feel like for Gary Vee, like, that's how I've been able to meet a lot of people just from a dm. Like, you brought up Jake Paul or Zay Hill for, like, I brought up, like, just every. Like, a message to someone nowadays, I feel like is so crucial to whatever thing, you know what I'm saying?

100%. Like, the technologies, it's made the whole world a global village. Like, everybody is like, a second away. Like, I get DMs and messages from kids in Europe, kids in Canada, all across America. It's crazy everywhere.

And.

And it's literally like. And it's literally just. It's just crazy because before I Couldn't see what? Like, now I could see kids playing my music all over the world.

I couldn't.

Five years ago, for sure.

Yeah. I see you post on your story all the time, like, the people, like, rocking to your music, and I feel like that's a good way for when it comes to, like, recognition of you for their standpoint as well as in return of, like, you see the people nowadays when it comes to, like, the current technology and the state of music industry, in a sense, like, that's huge. Especially with, like, the. The different types of routes that you have and avenues to, like, for actually getting it out there, you know?

Yeah, man. Technology is literally crazy. The whole world's at your fingertips. Like, you could push a button and be talking to somebody in fucking China. It's nuts. Like, it's crazy.

Dope. Dope. Yeah, man. I got one last question. And when it comes to just. I know at the beginning you talked about, like, high school when it comes to you as a student as well as. I know that you said, like, you've seen. Studied. When it comes to reading books about the industry, when it comes to, like, your current standpoint of learning about the music industry as well as, like, you as a student in college or in high school, like, what was that old journey for you? Like, were you a good student? What was, like, your mentality towards school or, like, what was your entire education process like?

Well, I can just tell you what my mom always says. My mom always says, like, once I apply myself, I do well. Like, I was. I was the kid who, like, if I'm not interested, I could still get a B minus and coast. I could just coast with ease. But if I apply myself, I'm an A student. Okay. You know, I just didn't. I wasn't super interested. Like, put it like this, I didn't really give a. About my academics as much as I could have. And I still got into Purdue if I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really would have cared about academics. Yeah, I honestly believe I could have gotten into, like, an Ivy League school or some shit, but that just wasn't my main focus, so. But I finished high school with like a 81 or 82 average. Like, because at the end of the year, it's like a cumulative, not a cumulative. They gave us the cumulative gp. I can't remember what mine was, but they gave us the cumulative. Just like your average all through high school. I have like an 81 or 82, and that's from somebody who came to school. Maybe I Missed two weeks. I missed at least two, three days of school every month. Okay, so I didn't, I wasn't in love with school. I just didn't like waking up early. I hated that. I didn't like the whole like authority figures, all the people at like the resource officers at schools. It just wasn't high school, just wasn't my vibe. And I was already taking AP classes. Like I was taking AP classes since sophomore year.

Yeah.

So I, I was already doing college level work in, in high school. And I just already felt that high school's all this shit's beyond like behind me. I don't need to be here for eight hours a day. I liked getting suspended and getting ISS because I could go through my work. They would hand you your packet in the morning at like 9. I'd have all my done before lunch and then I just talked to the teacher from 12 till 3 until we get out. But I hated having to be on other people's schedule, other people's time. I have to sit in this class for 50 minutes when it only takes me 15 to do the work. So I was always getting in trouble for like talking and, and being disruptive in class. And it was mainly because I wasn't challenged. Like the work was easy. It's like I always did work. Like I, you know, I was a good student. And because being a good student, it's more so about being diligent and, and about. Because the way it works is like if, if a teacher sees you try, if you're that kid who comes to school every day, you're always in class. If you're that kid who asks questions, you act like you come after school if you need help or whatever, a teacher's not just gonna flunk you. Like they're gonna be like, this kid is trying. So if you just try, you're diligent, you'll make it through high school for sure. Don't get away for sure, for sure.

Because I graduate in June. Now. It's funny because, like I'm taking like four classes this year because like I had the kind of mental change of like, I, I'm already getting my advanced plumber, whatever it may be, but I get out of like 10, 15 and 11 this year. That shit's slight. But yeah, regards to, I'm definitely gonna have all the information of where people can follow you, all the links to everything. But for the people listening right now, like, what's the best place to get in touch with you? Or if they had a question for you. What's the best place for them to do that?

Instagram. Follow me on Instagram boogis at bugus. Perfect.

Yeah. And then everyone listening, they'll also be in the link in the description. But that being said, boogers. Dude, I really appreciate you coming on, dropping your story, letting the people know what's up with what you got going on, man. I. Honestly, man, I appreciate it.

Oh, thank you, bro. This was dope. Thank you for having me.

For sure. And then everyone listening right now, if you have not subscribed to the Rise of the Young podcast, make sure you leave a review. Make sure you drop a rating. Subscribe, share it with a friend. That's the best way that this is going to grow as a community. But that being said, everyone, thanks so much for listening and I will see you guys on the next episode.

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