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Memphis Rapper Don Trip Honors Three 6 Mafia’s Project Pat: “My Level Of Respect Is Astronomical”

Don Trip is a whole legend that took the time out to pay homage to another Memphis legend in Project Pat of the Three 6 Mafia.

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Memphis-based rapper Don Trip shared his profound respect and admiration for pioneering Memphis MC Project Pat in a recent interview with AllHipHop .

Don Trip, known for his in-depth and powerful narratives, dropped a song titled “Project Pat” in 2023, which was included on his Fireworks album.

During the conversation, he spoke candidly about his personal and professional relationship with Project Pat , highlighting how Pat’s consistent positivity and serious demeanor have influenced him and many others within the industry.

“Project Pat is the kind of person that I’ve never seen him in a bad mood,” he said. “I’ve never seen him have to react to something. But you can tell just by how he is on a daily basis that he’s a serious person. And he always embraced me, even when the name Don Trip didn’t mean anything. He always showed love. And even when I see him now, it’s a mutual thing. And my level of respect for Project Pat is astronomical.”

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Don Trip also shared the time when he was able to hop on a bill with Project Pat.

“I did a show not too long ago and I wasn’t expecting to run into Project Pat, and he just happened to be there,” he recalled. “He was on the same bill. And even that, just running into him is always a pleasure, and he’s one of them people that, as far as Memphis music. Project Pat is truly a pioneer.”

As the Memphis music scene continues to evolve, Don Trip continues taking the culture into the future. He recently dropped a new album, iHEARTStrippersTrois , in addition to several other projects.

New Artist Spotlight: Don Trip [Video]

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Don Trip Interview

Before releasing the viral hit “Letter To My Son,” Memphis, TN rapper Don Trip was the typical M-Town emcee with the same dream as Terrance Howard’s character in the 2005 Memphis-based film Hustle & Flow .

1 million+ Youtube views later, Don Trip is either a name you’ve heard or a name to know.

Check out our interview with the Tennessee rap newcomer, where he explains how he went from uploading sessions to Youtube to working with Cool & Dre to signing a deal with Interscope.

Hip-Hop Wired:  You’ve been grinding for awhile, but it seems as if people have been catching on to you more over the last few months. Why do you think people are checking for you now more than ever?

Don Trip:   I look at it like it’s the snowball effect, where it starts off small and gets bigger. When people check it out now, they tend to wanna go backwards and see my previous work. So I think that’s what makes people fans of my music, once they go back and see, like you said, I’ve been doing it.

Hip-Hop Wired:   Memphis has a long history in music. A lot of rappers came before you, from Three Six Mafia to Yo Gotti. What kind of influence has the city of Memphis and the rap scene there had on your music?

Don Trip:   Of course Memphis is my music. I don’t really know what goes on in other places. I know every hood is the same pretty much. But other than that, I don’t know what goes on outside my hood. My music is Memphis and Memphis is my music.

As far as the music scene in Memphis, it pretty much taught me that I had to create my own lane. Like you said, you can’t name but a handful of people that made it out of Memphis.

So, with that alone, it shows you that it’s not as easy as it seems. Atlanta had its time, Houston had its time. So you know with cities poppin’ off like that, every artist in Memphis felt like it was going to be our turn whenever somebody [from Memphis] breaks.

I always looked at it like, when it’s my time, it’s my time. I don’t look at it like, when it’s my time it’s the city’s time, or vice versa. It just happened to workout for me.

Hip-Hop Wired:   You put a lot of emotion and passion in your music. Why do you choose to be so personal in a lot of your music, when a lot of other rappers are not going in that direction?

Don Trip:   Actually, I’ve always been personal. Music is my form of ventilation. It’s another form of a poem or therapy. So I always used it like that.

It just so happened that an emotional song, was the most popular song, so people started looking forward to more emotional music, which I feel like that’s why people end up being fans. When you go back and see that I’ve always been passionate with the music.

Hip-Hop Wired:   One song in particular, “Letter To My Son” is that most popular song. Can you explain why you choose to put that situation on record, and the feedback you’ve been getting from the record?

Don Trip:   To be honest, the way I record, the beat pretty much dictates the way I go with it. It’s hard to explain…it sounds crazy if you’re not into music. But the way it works, when I heard that beat, it just so happened to put me in that zone.

That’s what I was going through, so it just worked out, it just helped. And when I went and recorded it, at that time, everything I was recording I was putting on Youtube.

And when it came to that record, I feel like if I held it back, then who would I be? So I went ahead and released it. You know, I was getting a lot of attention on Youtube, but I wasn’t getting as much attention as I am now.

That pretty much opened the gate. And me not holding it back, pretty much got me in the door.

Don Trip – “Letter To My Son” [Video]

Hip-Hop Wired:   The video has over a million views on Youtube. Are you surprised by the number of views it received on Youtube?

Don Trip:   I’m still surprised now. I’m surprised that it touched so many people. With it being a usual problem, you see so many people go through and going through what I’m going through, and it’s never been spoke on.

So, me seeing that and seeing that I pretty much…I don’t wanna be quoted as saying I’m the voice of the struggling men, but it kinda seems that way. It kinda seems like me speaking up, kinda lifted up a lot of men going through the same situation.

Hip-Hop Wired:   So you’re signed to Interscope through Cool & Dre’s Epidemic Records. How did you hook up with them and get your deal?

Don Trip:   I connected with Cool & Dre through First Family, that’s Frank Lopez. Frank took a trip down [to Memphis] and met with my DJ, and my DJ introduced me to Frank. And Frank fell in love with the “Letter To My Son” record.

And from there he felt like he needed to spearhead something. So he went to Cool & Dre, and sat down and worked it out. Shortly after that, Interscope stepped in the picture, and we’ve been moving forward ever since.

Hip-Hop Wired:   What’s it like working with Cool & Dre?

Don Trip:   It was actually more comfortable than I assumed it would be. I like to make music that has feeling to it, and they pretty much were the best bet, working with them when it came to working with producers, because that’s what they make.

They make the beats that got life it in already. So it kinda just worked out.

Hip-Hop Wired:   You just put out a mixtape with Starlito, who’s another artist from Tennessee and he’s with Cash Money. How do you hook up with him?

Don Trip:   I met him on the road with Yo Gotti. Ever since we met, we pretty much had a bond. And we have a friendship outside of recording.

So with both of us being in love with music as much as we are, it just made sense. So we sat down and put the project together.

It took like three sessions, and after that it jumped all the way off. Right now it’s still bubbling. We’re getting ready to release a couple more videos for it too. But it made sense, so we ran with it.

Hip-Hop Wired:   You’re planning to release a couple more mixtapes this year, right?

Don Trip:   The way I am, I believe in quality, then quantity…normally people just pick one, quality or quantity, I believe in both. So that’s why I keep releasing no matter what.

I’m releasing a project called I ♥ Strippers . That’s pretty much a female based project. Every record on there is for women only.

And on the same day that I drop that, I’m dropping Help Is On The Way , which is what you’d expect from Don Trip. So it’s like a his and hers. I’m dropping those this month.

Don Trip & Starlito – “Life” [Video]

Hip-Hop Wired:   After the mixtapes, what is the planning going forward? Are you working on an your Interscope album?

Don Trip:   I’m always working on an album, even when I’m working on mixtapes. With the way it works, I just record music.

And when it’s time for me to release a mixtape, I go in and I select what I feel like goes in the realm of the picture I’m trying to paint with that particular mixtape.

I’ve been recording for an album since last September. We’ve got over 50 songs right now. So when it’s time to pick the album, we’re pretty much done.

And I don’t put album songs on mixtapes, so it’s 50 songs that have never been heard. I don’t like to drop songs twice. I like to keep it fresh.

Hip-Hop Wired:   Looking forward in your career, what do you want people to take from you and say about your music?

Don Trip:   That he was him. That no matter what I was me all the way through.

No matter what happens, no matter how much money I got put in it, I’m still me. No matter whose record I’m on, no matter how many records I got, whether the records sell or not, I’m still me.

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Interview: Don Trip

The first time I really heard Don Trip was also the first time I saw him. Bearded, with no shirt on, he was rapping " Letter to my Son ," his now semi-viral song about not being able to see his kid. It's a harsh, openly emotional song. It's not subtle as much as it just feels and sounds real. Don Trip is a good writer and a good rapper, but he also has a great voice. It's the kind of craggy, uncomfortable thing that stands out whenever it pops up. Since the release of "Letter to my Son," Trip has released a whole lot of mixtapes, including one of my personal favorite releases this year, Step Brothers , an album with Starlito that is loosely based on samples from the Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly movie of the same name. Even at its darkest moments, (surprisingly there are plenty), it sounds like the rappers are having fun making songs together. It's not just another DJ Khaled-style cut-and-paste, but an actual in-studio collaboration done by dudes who aren't afraid to admit that they actually like rapping. Don Trip has a lot more music coming, so I decided to check in with him about how life's been since "Letter to my Son."

You’re extremely prolific. You released two mixtapes in the same day. Are you constantly in the studio? Yeah, I mean I’ve been this way for the last…well, probably like the last ten years, and now that I got that light—that people are starting to see that I’m like this—I actually got three tapes ready right now that I don’t even plan on releasing for a second.

Is it easier to keep working now that you know you’ve got an audience? I try to look at it like I got more work to do. I go places out of town where everybody don’t know me, and that makes me feel like I gotta keep going. The way I want to approach it, I want everybody to realize who I am and realize they been sleeping on it. I want them to go back and then say, Oh he got 17 tapes that we been slacking on.

How’s touring been? I’m on the BET Black College Tour right now. It’s been a learning experience. The kids have probably never seen me before besides probably like five people in the crowd. I get to see how they react to music they’ve never heard before.

You’re from Memphis, but you don’t sound similar to any other Memphis rapper I’ve heard. Musically I’d say I was like a sponge, you know? I listened to everything. I really didn’t listen to Memphis music as much. I was a really big Tupac fan and a big Jay-Z fan. When I started recording I didn’t want to sound like none of what was coming out from Memphis. I wanted to stand alone. I didn’t want anyone to say, Oh he sounds like he’s from Memphis. Either you like it or you don’t. If you do or don’t like it, it’s not just because I’m from Memphis, it’s because of me.

But you still work within the Memphis scene, right? Yeah, I like to work with everybody. I keep business and personal separate. When I meet people…if you grind like I grind then I feel like we can work it out. I’m never too difficult to work with.

How did the collaborations with Starlito come about? We met on the road with Gotti. We was both familiar with each other’s music and we sat down and said, You know, it’d be a good look if we did a tape together and from that instant we went to work. We both found time and in a matter of like three sessions we knocked out [ Step Brothers ].

How did you decide on Step Brothers as the concept? Was it just a convenient title or are you both huge fans? > It was a little bit of both. I like the movie, but I think that’s one of Star’s favorite movies. He knew it line for line. I’m like, Man, I don’t know what’s wrong with this guy. It was interesting because we could make certain things… Step Brothers is a comedy. It’s not serious at all. It was interesting for us to be able to take excerpts out and make them tie into actual life. On “A Time to Kill,” the sample sounds eerie, it sounds serious, when you hear it on the tape it sounds serious. Like, if you didn’t know what that movie was, you would think something tragic happened.

Is there going to be a sequel? Yeah, we’re going to do a Step Brothers II . We didn’t want to come out with a Step Brothers II a matter of months after Step Brothers , we’re going to let it soak in a little bit, we got a couple more videos to release.

The thing that struck me about the mixtape was that it really seemed like you guys were having fun rapping together. The number one thing we didn’t want to do was email each other songs back and forth. We do that with everybody else. We felt that the only way it was going to be significant is if we took time out of schedules to actually do it. It’s three hours from Memphis to Nashville, so I drive to Nashville for the first session and he drove down here to Memphis for the last two sessions. Actually, the third session was just mixing, so we worked it out to where we actually sat with each other. Every song on that tape—there’s no song I did and then waited for him to come hear the song. We did each song with each other present.

You can tell. Sometimes you guys are even going word for word. There’s a couple records we didn’t even write. “Hot Potato,” we was actually standing in the booth together and we went on the fly. He would sing a bar or half a bar and I would return with a bar.

Are you going to do the next one the same way? Of course. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I feel like the main reason people can rock with the tape is the fact that you can hear our chemistry, and the only way we got that is because we chose to actually sit in the studio with each other.

Are you freestyling or writing most of the time? Oh, no. I never freestyle. The way I work, I don’t write until I’m in the studio. I don’t like to write before it's time because when it's time to spit it, I don’t remember how I approached it. I don’t rap it like…if I can’t feel it, then I’m not doing it. I feel like that’s one of the few things I can offer that ain't being offered all around the board. I can show you that I feel this. I love music, so I’m expressing it instead of just rapping.

I think that’s why “Letter to my Son” made a lot of people take notice. It’s a very emotional song. Do you feel like there’s pressure on you to be the guy that is always making the serious, intense song? There are pros and cons to it. The good thing about it is that it opens they eyes and they see that I do pour my heart out when I record. But the con to that is that, that’s what people want. They want “Letter to my Son Part II” and Part III and Part IV…That’s like asking for me to be the most miserable artist ever.

Now that you’re signed to a major label, is there pressure to deliver a single? I don’t know how to go in and make one particular kind of song. I let my music do what it do. If I go in and the beats speak to me and I hear it…I heard “Letter to my Son” and that’s what came out. I don’t go in and say, Hey we gotta make the next radio single. I don’t even know how to do that.

We were talking earlier about how you don’t sound like anyone from Memphis. Is there anyone that was really influential to you that people might not expect? Jadakiss. I learned how to count bars from Jadakiss. He didn’t teach me a lesson and show me, but I used to study Jadakiss verses.

That’s interesting. He can be a great punchline rapper, too. I feel like when you want to, you’re good at that as well. I try not to do it as much. When punchlines are popular then it starts being all people will do. Like you could listen to a song and no two bars had anything to do with each other. They was just punchline after punchline after punchline. I could do that when I was younger, but now that I’m older I feel like every song is supposed to be a picture. If I’m showing you a picture, I’m not being a comedian. I would like to look at my music as a documentary, not as a comedy. Of course you want comedic relief in it, but I don’t want my humor to overpower the point I’m trying to make.

A lot of dudes seem content to not make any sense. If they said it instead of rapped it, you would look at them confused like, What are you talking about? You would think they was bouncing off the walls.

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Don Trip And Starlito Shine A Light On Bullying In “Leash On Life”

Two years ago, Don Trip and Starlito teamed up for Step Brothers , a mixtape that paid homage to the Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly comedy of the same name, but it was hardly a joke. The initial response to the surprisingly thoughtful and nuanced tape was big for two well-respected solo artists that hadn't quite launched their careers on a major scale yet. The former was selected as a 2012 XXL Freshmen (but was left in record-label limbo soon after) and the latter built a regional buzz during his time with Cash Money. Both have remained underground favorites in hip-hop ever since.

Last week, Trip and Lito rolled out Step Brothers 2, the hard-hitting and reflective sequel to the original. The 13-track effort includes “Leash On Life,” the revealing single that addresses ongoing issues of school shootings, bullying, poverty and more. The video follows a troubled child through these scenarios and aims to reignite the conversation around these sensitive topics. In our Train of Thought, we spoke with the pair about the song’s message, its inspiration, and how it came together.— Eric Diep

Previously: Train Of Thought With Scarface, Kanye West, Pusha T

Don Trip & Starlito "Leash On Life"

Verse One (Starlito) They shooting up movies They shooting up schools Young black fools Ain’t the only ones that suit up with tools Exercising my 2nd amendment and pleading the fifth With A fifth This my second this Remy I drink, I don’t sip And the reason is this It’s fucked up out here So we out here fucked up If you make it out then you lucked up Trying to save ourselves coming from What we raised ourselves Stuck between a rock and a hard place with the razor and scale Turn wine back to grapes and its raising hell Breaking down bales Just to make bail Catching sells off a cell until you in a cell I’m just trying to prevail But only time will tell Well, niggas telling over time It ain’t no telling I ain’t lying Ain’t trying to go out like my homies did I keep that on me and I put that on my homies kid Wonder if I gonna be missed If I did a lonely bid Got homies in the pen who only focus keeping a phone hid

Hook (Kevin Gates) I respect the time I keep my sneaks on tight Head-on collision can hope he see me right through Might be locked up tomorrow but we free tonight Praying to god I get a leash on life Leash on tight Only right that we know And please don’t judge us for the path we chose Looking up to heaven; no one sending me signs Only if this was a movie I would press the rewind

Verse Two (Don Trip) He got that strap in his bag See he get bullied at school Young nigga shot dead in his class He put his school on the news Now put yourself in his shoes Walking away didn’t help He got no friends to defend him He got to fend for his self And he to skinny to fight Running away just ain’t cutting it His daddy ain’t home His momma still struggling She juggle three jobs And get no help from the government You don’t know nothing about him But you trying to sucker him Heart of a giant I’m sorry he will never back down And they gonna keep pick on him till one day he blacks out And reach in that book bag and he pull that mag out Now he get the last laugh and you’re just the class clown Tool on deck Yes I can’t help that When momma was stressing I hit my block like a tailback See we trying to make it don’t got no suits Just got cases And I need more than this dope money to leave to my babies

XXL: What inspired the both of you to write this song and treat the video in this way? Don Trip: As far as the video, actually, the whole process of that record after we created the record, we both sat down and we decided that we wanted the video to premiere before you could have access to the song. So, your first time hearing the record, it would be seeing the video. It would be more like watching a TV show and hearing the soundtrack. With the “Leash On Life” record, it’s a record that we felt to show how common our lives are to other demographics. It’s not just black people going through adversity. We are not the only people that have situations where we struggle through. When we sat down and create the record, Lito had his verse already recorded. I don’t really know what mindframe he was in when he recorded his verse. But, when it came time for me, I pretty much just followed his lead. He already steered the ship where he needed to be. I felt like he was in a great path with it. When I heard his verse, I felt like in order for me to contribute to this record, I can give it this perspective. I took advantage of that. I felt like the contents of my verse are the things we overlook the most. We don’t really know the next person’s struggle. You can’t tell by shaking so-and-so’s hand or walking pass so-and-so. I felt like me giving that, I didn’t want to just say so-and-so did this, and so-and-so did that. I wanted to break it down, I wanted to take you through it.

Lito you say, "They shooting up movies/They shooting up schools/Young black fools aren't the only ones to suit up with tools". Why did you open with that? Starlito: There’s a part of what we do where we are the journalist for our environment. I really have a hard time watching the news because it is kind of scary. It is kind of sad. There’s not good news on the news. Considering where I come from … all my life I either end up dead or in jail. By 25, that was the cliche stat. As that shit echoes in your mind, as you flip through the channels, its to the point where a school shooting, a public tragedy of some sort, or a movie shooting, there’s mass killings going monthly. It’s almost like clockwork. It was just in a front of my mind, I’m not sure from when I recorded that or something just happened. It’s like Trip said, I recorded my verse after a show. We had a show together and we went to the studio afterwards.

It was like 4 in the morning when I heard that beat. It reminded me, it put me in the mindframe of Boyz n the Hood . The closing scene where Ice Cube’s character disappears, when Doughboy disappears. Tragic ending. Because that beat make me think about that, I was thinking about the hood. I was thinking about the untold story. I was thinking about where I am. I am from the hood and I making my way out of the that mindframe and everything else. But, I just thought about how often I am stereotyped. How often people operate what is clear and present to them. I heard Scarface say how you start your verse is the most important part of a song. That comes in the opening line.

Are you guys speaking from personal experiences? Starlito: Nah, I wasn’t bullied. Not that part of it. I just think with telling somebody else’s story ...

Don Trip: Every form of being aggressive ain’t being bullied. It ain’t always the same thing. For my take on it, I involved a bit of my real life in it too. I feel like you would be the one to relate what I am saying to you by putting things I actually know about in it. I don’t think I could wrote the verse if I didn’t know about certain aspects of that.

Starlito: Considering that, there’s elements of my verse that are directly come from me. There are parts of my story that I say are pretty straightforward. I got homies in the pen [who] only focus is to keep their phone hid. That’s their reality and by default my reality too. That is something that I know about. There are different struggles going on. It’s not struggle rap for the sake of struggle rap, but its moreso like, “Man, that’s somebody else going through something different than you." Or, I might be saying something you are going through and you understand it crystal clear. I am kind of in the middle of it because I come from the place from the kids that are doing the bullying. I could have been in that classroom that this kid came and shot up because my friends used to pick on people for no reason. Because I was a cool kid. And this kid might feel like its him against the world. I am on the other side of that. I think its real to everyone.

Trip, you rap, "His dad aint' home/His momma still struggling/She juggle three jobs ain't get no help from the government.” Don Trip: That’s from my own experiences. I involve that because when you see people, you don’t know what they are going through. And a lot of times, we judge a book by its cover. That’s just how we format it for some reason. You don’t know the reason why he’s not wearing Jordans cause they can’t afford them. They just plainly can’t afford them. It’s a lot more involved in that. It’s a lot of things, a lot of misfortunes that happen in life that people never look past. People don’t understand that everything has a story behind it. Like you said, if their dad ain’t home and his momma is still struggling, she’s doing everything she can do because she makes too much to be assisted and not enough to make it.

With that being said, of course that burden falls on the child as well. Eventually, if the child is sheltered from the realities of what is going on as far as that. Eventually, at some age, it’s going to start to affect their child. If you add what is going on at home to what is going on at school. When they go to school and they are being picked on. They don’t know why he’s not sociable. He’s not cool, period. If they don’t understand that, like most people, the thing they don’t understand, that’s what people gather up and pick at. I just wanted to give a better look at that. Like I said, that’s something people don’t see. I guess the given end of the bullying, they don’t look at all that. Nine times out of ten, they going through the same thing. They just take it a different way. Those busy kids, they got all that going on at home. They lash out like that. The other kid, they got all that going on and he just keeps to himself. So, you know, that was to show that even though you going through what you are going through, somebody going through something similar or somebody is going through something that is the opposite of what you are going through. No matter what, we are all going through something. You can’t treat a person like a person is not a person.

Why did you guys reach out to get Kevin Gates on the record? Starlito: It was like a divine, almost like a far off prophecy. You know, people say the stars align. It just happened how it happened. We’ve been rocking ever since that day we recorded that song. That’s like the coolest thing in the world to me. I did that verse on his album, the “MYB.” I did that verse that day. Probably 12 noon, on my way to Atlanta to meet Trip so we can start working on Step Brothers 2 . I did the verse, strangely, I don’t work with people I don’t know. We don’t record any of our music in separate rooms. We don’t e-mail verses. We get in the studio together. And I prefer to work with people that I know. People that I am cool with, etc. I heard an interview on accident one day. I was in car and satellite radio came on. I heard somebody [say], “All I listen to is Starlito. I just prefer reality music. My favorite rapper is Starlito.” I’m like, I don’t have a clue who it is. I keep listening to the interview out of curiosity. Soon or later I figure out it is Kevin Gates. I wasn’t really too hip to his music. I heard his name, but I wasn’t that hip to his music. I started paying attention and heard some things I like. I think that was around that time he dropped that project the top of this year. I was intrigued. I gave it a fair listen. This is somebody that appreciates my music, so at least, I hear it out. I was like, “Man, this shit’s deep.” I liked it.

I did the verse. Him and his people reached out. Got in touch with him. I did that verse for “MYB” as an investment and good faith because I felt like he fucks with me, so I’ll kind of make an exception for what I normally do and mail this verse in. I dropped the verse that day and I called an A&R or whoever sent the song. I sent the song back, I have a song that I think he would sound cool. I have this beat that I want him to check out and have him do a chorus. It wasn’t “Leash On Life.” It was “Luca Brasi Speaks” on my Cold Turkey album. That’s another funny story cause I wanted him to do a singing chorus, but he ended rapping. That happened later on that day. I’m like, “Just hit me up when he checks out the beat and sings this track. He would be a good guest to it. No rush. I’m my way to Atlanta to see Trip and record.” He was like, “Oh, Kevin [Gates] is in Atlanta. He stays in Atlanta right now. Give him a call. I’m sending you his number.” And I called. He pulled up. He came in the studio by himself. I really respected that. I thought I was the only rapper that really is all by myself way out of town. I go to another city to work or otherwise by myself. I don’t have to move a certain type of way.

He pulled up one in the morning, we have been working. He kind of made himself at home. I could tell he genuinely like fucked with me. We just hit it off and started working immediately. Within 20, 30 minutes of him being there, we were pulling up “Leash On Life.” Or, what would become “Leash On Life.” And it was just a beat and my verse that I dropped at Don Trip’s studio. So, Trip’s putting his verse together and Gates is kind of like, “What’s that?” In the process of walking into the booth, I’m like, “You can fuck with this one if you like it. We don’t have a chorus yet.” He started humming some shit. It kind of sounded cool from a distance. He’s like, “Check this out.” What he sung out loud is the chorus that is on the song. Within him being in the studio with us 20-30 minutes, Trip went and cut his verse. Gates dropped a chorus. The rest is history.

In the last scene of the video, why end on an image of a school shooting? Don Trip: I think people need to understand. I think the only way for you to see the severity of what we was saying was for you to see that. Of course, we couldn’t show him walking in the school and killing people. I don’t think we wanted to show that anyway. But, we wanted to show the part that you do see. That you ignore. When we see that now, it’s just another shooting to us. I feel like that was something that was added for that. For the value of this is something that you recognize. This is familiar to you. Everything that happened before this scene in video is not familiar to you because we are oblivious of what led to that. So now you see what you have normally seen sitting in front of the TV. And what we showed you before shows you how it got that far.

Starlito: The impact of that scene. Part of it was supposed to come from … there were two subtle things within that closing scene. One, if you notice before the news report comes on, that’s the first time you see Don Trip. Both of us are in that video, just for like 5 seconds. You see Don Trip and its supposedly a music video. So the sick irony is that we are still crossing paths with these types of people. I’m coming out of a trap house and a kid is sitting on a porch looking lonely and thrown off. I’m looking at him like, “You’re out of place. What are you doing here?” And we are crossing paths in our day to day lives.

[Don Trip] is a rapper and he’s on TV. The other part that was the symbolism is that the dad. The big fat, overweight couch potato dad that’s abusive to his son and paying no attention to him is watching our music video. I know its kind of cliche because he’s watching the video about the same stuff. Our lives cross paths with these kind of people. We still in a roundabout way speak to these types of people and different walks of life. So, it wasn’t just we were showing a news report. We are showing the dad watching the news report. He’s so out of touch with his son and what’s going on in his son’s life that the first time he’s introduced to it is when its way to late. He’s seeing the tragedy he helped cause at the same time everybody else is seeing it. And its already affected who knows how many people. Like Trip said, we weren’t going to get graphic, simulate or reenact an actual school shooting, but to have the abusive dad watching the news report was actually the closing scene. So, it was a little bit further than putting a news report on there. Pay attention, before its too late.

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Sibling revelry: How Starlito and Don Trip bring out the best in each other on Step Brothers

Photo by: Zach Boisjoly

Nashville’s Starlito and Memphis rapper Don Trip first got together in 2011 to release Step Brothers , a somber back-and-forth between two of the world’s most underrated rappers. Andrew Friedman talks to the duo about Step Brothers 3 , a release finally winning the pair the recognition they deserve.

Starlito and Don Trip are somewhat confused when I bring up the idea that Step Brothers 3 , their third album together, is upbeat. I think my exact words were “less of a bummer than the other ones,” but either way the Tennessee rappers don’t agree.

I get why. Despite the silly cover art mimicking the 2008 movie of the same name , Step Brothers 3 is somber both in sound and subject. Lito points to ‘Remember’ and ‘Do What I Gotta Do’, particularly dark songs that deal with the alienation of success and desperate circumstances, as counterpoints. But after some thought, he considers the larger context: “Maybe we’re just doing better.”

“I had completely fallen out of love with music. I thought it was a shit business to be in” Starlito

After all, Step Brothers 3 is on pace to be the most successful release of either rapper’s career, surpassing 2013’s Step Brothers 2 (which itself topped the first Step Brothers mixtape). Prior to teaming up, both rappers had achieved some success as solo artists, but had been bouncing around the industry for years waiting for the next break.

Don Trip built a buzz in Memphis, then broke through in 2011 with the child custody lament ‘Letter To My Son’ . (In a particularly poignant clip of him on Sway in the Morning, he tears up while listening to callers tell him how grateful they were to hear their struggles put into song.) But despite gracing the cover of XXL as one of their 2012 Freshmen, labels were unsure how to capitalize on the moment and he languished.

Meanwhile, Nashville’s Starlito spent the 2000s as the hot commodity for a rotating cast of bigger rappers’ imprints, from Yo Gotti to Lil Wayne. But he grew increasingly disillusioned with each delay of Street Ball , his theoretical Cash Money Records debut. The lack of forward progress was exhausting, and Lito remembers wanting to give up on music completely. “I had completely fallen out of love with it. I thought it was a shit business to be in and I was at a point where I would rather do almost anything else.”

Working with Trip reenergized Lito. He had watched Trip come up (although they are the same age, Starlito got his start in rap a few years ahead of Don) and recognized a kindred spirit. And after meeting through mutual acquaintances in the Tennessee rap scene, a collaboration was inevitable. They released the first Step Brothers tape in 2011, and even as both rappers have continued to build their own solo careers, their collaborations (especially given their success) have served as a source of direction and reinforcement.

Don and Lito have some of the best chemistry going in rap at the moment. The duo ping-pong lines off each other, sometimes switching after as little as two bars, and regularly finishing each other’s sentences. It can sound like they are tagging in and out of the booth like wrestlers, and it helps that they actually are. The two are dedicated to recording in person (rather than emailing verses from distant studios), and frequently assemble their songs in real time, spitting lyrics written while or shortly after the other records. This type of process is rarely noteworthy, but Step Brothers is the exceptional rap project where the degree of difficulty actually makes the music better. It helps punchline-heavy, straightforward songs like the basketball-themed ‘Boomshakalaka’ maintain their energy, and propels story jams like ‘Good Cop, Bad Cop’ .

Listen to either rapper’s solo material and the pairing makes sense. Both are deft lyricists that make interesting choices in their writing. On a track from his Manifest Destiny mixtape, Lito spends two lines over-explaining why he featured a certain rapper on that song. Don Trip, on the other hand, loves non-sequitur metaphors – “spinning like a yo-yo with no string”. More notably, they both tackle the pitfalls of street life with unflinching honesty.

Beyond penitentiary chances and risk to life and limb, the duo actively bring up some of the more nuanced collateral damage they’ve experienced. Lito speaks openly about his mental health, addressing concepts like PTSD and self-medication. When I ask about therapy, he brings up the similarities between the confessional nature of the recording process and talk therapy. And both artists are as prone to brag about threesomes with strippers as they are to beat themselves up for how doing that shit makes it hard to hold down any kind of relationship.

So it does take some context to see how Step Brothers 3 could read as anything other than an hour of exceptional but grim raps. But coming back to the original question, Lito brings up ‘Yeah 5X’, the first track on the album. A friend had told him he expected the track to be something more personal, not the punchline-fest that it ended up being. But the beat reminded him of old Diplomats, Just Blaze beats, and Cam’ron and Jim Jones trading verses – the stuff that made him want to be a rapper in the first place.

Starlito and Don Trip are both in a better place than they were six years ago, when they first teamed up for a mixtape. They are currently on a 30-city tour in support of Step Brothers 3 . While still fully independent, and still gauging their progress by the ever-changing metrics of modern indie music, their success is evident. And while that stability might not have Don and Lito making Billboard hits, their new-found chill is there if you know where to look.

Step Brothers 3 is out now.

Andrew Friedman is on Twitter

Read next: How Joey Bada$$ came of age to make his best album yet

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Don Trip Talks About His 9th Project of the YEAR “1207 James St.”

Don Trip is on a roll with his 9th project of the year “1207 James St.”, which is now available on all streaming platforms. Recently, he had a chance to talk about his project on Sway In The Morning about what this project means to him. If you’re a fan of Don Trip or just curious about the project, keep reading to find out more!

Don Trip has been busy this year, releasing one project a month and “1207 James St.” is just the latest addition. During his interview with Sway, he talked about his motivation behind dropping so much music this year. According to Don Trip, he wanted to take advantage of the streaming era and make sure that people don’t forget about him. Well, with over 55 million streams this year, it’s safe to say that he’s achieved his goal.

But what about the new project? “1207 James St.” has already made waves, peaking at #15 on iTunes hip hop chart and #26 on Apple Hip hop charts. Don Trip explained that the project was inspired by his childhood home, where he and his mother struggled to make ends meet. The project’s title is the address of that home. He went on to say that the project is a reflection of his journey and where he came from.

Don Trip also talked about his previous project, “The Devil You Know”, which has done over 11 million streams since April. He explained that the project was meant to be a representation of the devil that we all have inside of us. Don Trip said that he wanted to show his listeners that they’re not alone in their struggles and that he also has his demons to battle.

Don Trip’s interview with Sway In The Morning gave us a glimpse into the mind of a hardworking and passionate artist. It’s clear that Don Trip is not just interested in making good music, but he also wants to use his platform to inspire others and make a positive impact. If you’re a fan of Don Trip or just looking for some motivation, we highly recommend checking out his interview. And don’t forget to listen to “1207 James St.”, which is out now on all streaming platforms.

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Interview: A Discussion With Starlito and Don Trip On Independence, the Evolving Industry, and "Step Brothers 2"

We spoke with two of Tennessee's most slept on lyricists about grinding in the 2013 music industry.

Image via Complex Original

Starlito  and Don Trip  released the first Step Brothers  mixtape in 2011 to small but passionate critical acclaim. Both artists had grown modest underground followings. The former was a longtime Nashville rapper who'd built regional buzz and had become involved, for a time, with Cash Money records. The latter had a viral story song that went viral, attracting the attention of Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine at Interscope.

Neither of these relationships would last. Despite receiving some high-profile attention from the press—'Lito, then known as All $tar, was written up in the New York Times , and Don Trip was put on XXL 's Freshman cover in 2012—both have remained, by and large underground favorites. 

Last week, Step Brothers 2  was released, and garnered more attention than their previous release. The album was bankrolled by an independent Step Brothers tour this past spring. "Probably 75% of the shows we put on ourselves," 'Lito explained. "Booked the venue, sold the tickets, promoted the show." Being independent isn't so much about an identity for the duo, as it is a financial reality of the era in which they work.

We spoke with Starlito and Don Trip about being the new face of the underground, independent hustle, the recording of Step Brothers 2 , and what happened to Don's deal with Interscope. 

As told to David Drake ( @somanyshrimp )

Do you think the kind of music you make is undervalued right now, relative to how it used to be? Starlito: Hell yeah. I think there's a wide open market for it.

Why do you think it's like that? Don Trip:  Because it’s honest music. And in order to make honest music, you have to the audacity to say, "Fuck you if you don’t like what I’m saying." Period. And a lot of people don’t really have that bone. That’s something you can’t grow, that’s something you’re born with. I think that goes everywhere, it’s not just music, it’s just how you are.

And two people I can speak on personally, Star and Kevin Gates. Those are two people that, no matter what, if he feels like saying it, he’s going to say it. And Gates is the same way. If he felt like saying it, he’s going to say it.

In that regard, I’m the same way. If I feel like saying it, it’s going to get said. And when it comes to the music, that’s pretty much how we take it. I can’t give you no other story than mine. Me giving you so and so’s story is watered down already, because it’s his story. I couldn’t tell it like he could tell it anyway.

Starlito:  I think the lane is wide open, also, because so many people have achieved massive success doing the opposite. And I’m not taking away from no one else’s success story, but a lot of people have made names for themselves, established careers, made hits, made tons of money off lying, off giving half truths, off commercializing the whole hood experience, or giving some jaded perspective.

Everybody’s not rich. Everybody I know that had bricks, the majority of them are locked up. None of them are rapping. None of them are running around, fresh as hell, driving around foreign cars and shit. That’s not my reality.

That’s to say that some of that music isn't good, but when we pan across and show you the rest of the picture, I think it’s like, "Oh shit, what is this? What are they talking about?" You’re not going to get a “Leash on Life” from a whole host of other street rappers. You’re not going to get “Caesar and Brutus” from street rappers that talk about the same types of things.

I don’t think we talk about the drug trade nearly as much as a lot of rappers. But a song like “Caesar and Brutus” is about two dope boys—this is a dope boy song. The difference is we sprinkled that reality in, that’s about how a bitch that can undo that whole tie. Like everybody else’s song is, "I got this, I got this, we got this—"

{ "id": 132760380 } We offer the ugly part of the picture. Because everything’s not cute. And we don’t have Lamborghinis, so I can’t—I hate to keep saying Lamborghinis, but the fact that I’m not rich in that regard and I don’t have all of this, I can’t speak about all of that. - Don Trip

Don Trip: We offer the ugly part of the picture. Because everything’s not cute. And we don’t have Lamborghinis, so I can’t—I hate to keep saying Lamborghinis, but the fact that I’m not rich in that regard and I don’t have all of this, I can’t speak about all of that. And really when it comes to music now, that’s pretty much how they approach it. They take the pretty element of what’s going on and give you that, but that’s not really what’s going on everywhere. That’s really not going on nowhere that I’ve ever been.

Starlito:  The disconnect is finding the audience that would be the most receptive to it, so they gravitate toward what we’re doing. And I think the disconnect is that they’re not online. The people that our music would most closely appeal to aren’t searching for a download link, don't probably don’t have a clear understanding of how to get digital music.

So it’s a wide open lane, we just have to meet in the middle of that demand curve. We have to find that audience, because you have to filter through the noise that is just music everywhere. But we’re right there next to—our music is going to be right next to somebody who’s not making the same type of music or aesthetic.

Like Trip said, I don’t think we’re afraid to be ourselves, I don’t think our music cares at all for acceptance. I think our music will be accepted because of that. But we’re not seeking out a spin, we’re not seeking out a positive review, we’re not seeking out a certain type of fan. We’re not catering our music to just this demographic or that one.

Like we’re being ourselves and we’re already a part of this one particular demographic because of who we are or where we come from and we’re just trying to let the reality of that come to the surface. I think that is it’s own lane and it's underpopulated.

What was the process like for recording the new tape? Don Trip:  For this tape we took more of a thought-out approach. The first tape was done in three studio sessions. [This time] we didn’t want to go in and say "Hey, let’s do it in three sessions and call it an album." We wanted to work at our own pace, so to speak. Throughout the recording process, we’ve been on the road, together and separately.

So we were doing a lot. The traveling time had to weigh in, too. And for the most part, we booked the majority of our sessions to record this album out of town. When I say out of town, I mean out of Nashville, and out of Memphis. The first tape we recorded one session in Memphis, one in Nashville, and one in L.A.

Starlito: We finished the album and mastered it in L.A. It was just three sessions. This time, I say we started in April—this Spring we did an independent tour, Step Brothers Tour. Probably 75% of the shows we put on ourselves—booked the venue, sold the tickets, promoted the show. Don Trip and Starlito, not a staff. Literally an independent tour. That allowed us to finance the album. We scheduled sessions around our travel schedule. But the ultimate part of it was that we were traveling together.

It was super cool that we released Step Brothers  on July 25th, 2011, and here we are this July, still performing songs from two years ago. It allowed us to really take in how much demand we have for a new project. For crowds of people to still be screaming word for word, the first one, it gave us the energy and put us in the right creative space to make a new one, because it’s tangible.

{ "id": 132760379 } The people that our music would most closely appeal to aren’t searching for a download link, don't probably don’t have a clear understanding of how to get digital music. - Starlito

It’s one thing when people respond to it, it’s another thing to see it and actually feel it. That was the difference. The time before, we were just picking up on the good vibes we had working together. This time, it’s like okay we’re on to something, we need to do it right, we’re going to take our time, and also within taking our time we learned a lot from the business side of things, what you get from throwing your own tour, what you get from going to seven or eight different states together as friends.

A lot of these shows we were having to balance the books and throw a good show. Sometimes we were just getting booked and getting paid and pulling up. All of that just made for a better album. It made a more complete project, as Trip said: thought-out. We were able to outline where we were trying to go with the project, as opposed to just rapping, which is the easy part for us.

What do you guys see as the big hump for you to get to the next level? Starlito:  Awareness is the biggest hurdle. It feels worthwhile to be doing this interview, considering you got caught up to speed with my music from something similar, a sit-down interview [ Ed. Note—he's referring to this article ] where someone took the time to ask me some questions, get some insight into what I had going on. And that turns into a fan or someone that gravitates toward us. I had made 20 CDs before that interview. That CD was done, out and had been for a month. I sold thousands of copies of that CD that week. You know, hand to hand, from my website, just because there was an awareness for it.

Same way with this project—I released three CDs that year, but when this one came out, we had the three videos serviced, we had writeups from publications such as this, and before you know it it was like, ‘wow, who are these guys, what’s up with these guys?’ You are able to make the decision on whether or not you buy into it. I feel like our body of work will do the rest.    Is radio something that you guys pursue? Is that still a goal? Don Trip:  I mean it’s on the list, of course, of course. Radio would be vital. I think it helps a lot with records being in rotation. But that’s the thing. Even with radio, there’s more to it than just being on the radio. Cause if we just in mix shows, then that don’t really do nothing for us. But once it’s in rotation—and to get to that point in our music, that’s a whole other hurdle, that’s a whole other ball game. That’s not just awareness, that’s when politics comes in, as well as other variables. But I think that the radio is something that is very important. I think that if we can get radio, that will maximize what we’re doing. 

Starlito:  I think radio just adds to presence. The awareness is there, people know that you’re good. It’s like, what is your calling card? What do I have to do, as a regular fan, to create more of a stir? What can I say—"Don Trip and Starlito are the truth"? That may mean something as a reference. But: "Have you heard that 'Life' song on the radio, the one where they talk about this?" It substantiates what you’re doing. It makes it real. Because that is, for some people, the only place to get music. It creates a presence that accelerates the rest of it.

{ "id": 132760381 } For the last three years I’ve prided myself on pushing my career off the fact that it’s people—it’s not politics, it’s not a system, it’s not something I’m programmed into or accepted—it’s people latching onto my music. - Starlito 

Me personally, I hate to say it like this, but I don’t cater and I don’t concern myself with radio programming. For the last three years I’ve prided myself on pushing my career off the fact that it’s people—it’s not politics, it’s not a system, it’s not something I’m programmed into or accepted—it’s people latching onto my music. They’re finding it, they’re seeking it out, they’re crossing paths in a natural, organic way. And it’s growing. And it means so much more to me than to have a song with 400 spins or a song with up to 500 spins. Where, yeah, I may be noteworthy here or there, but the connection is a little bit thinner. I could go to the city and perform, they go nuts over this one song on the radio. But I like it way better going to the college, and they go nuts for every song on my last three mixtapes, and none of them are on the radio. Because they’re locked in to my artistry and not the song.

I don’t concern myself with it, but like Trip said, it’s definitely a plus. I wouldn’t shun it. If someone in that programming world said, "I want to take this song and take it here, or we’re going to add this song or come play our show," I’m with all that. I can’t get wrapped up in it. I did that. I’ve spent a lot of money chasing a hit, trying to turn a song into a hit as opposed to serving music and letting people choose hits for you.

How important is touring for you guys? Is touring the bulk of your income? Starlito:  Touring is the number-one income stream in commercial music these days, period. It’s not his number one income stream [points to Don Trip], so I guess he could tell you how it’s different. But for me, for the last two and a half years, touring has been the bulk of my income. Different people have different routes. There’s a million ways to eat within music. You gotta think—and this is just more insight—I was running with Yo Gotti from 2004 to 2011, the beginnings of 2011. I was in the company of an artist I watched—his blueprint was release a single, get shows for days, and when that single starts to tail off, you come with another one to stay afloat. And I watched this guy become a millionaire doing that.

Now true enough, I also watched him get three different record deals, so don’t get me wrong. It’s not as if he’s making music strictly to do shows. But that was definitely a part of his business model. And even that was part of what helped leverage those label situations, because it’s tangible. You can see it in black and white—a song is moving at this point, and so will the show price. The thing is, like I said, you can hit or miss with those songs. So that’s not going to be every artists’ formula. His situation, he’s fortunate enough to keep making those songs to keep him on the road. And in that way, shows will probably stay consistent as an income stream, if you’re writing. If you’re a writer and you’ve got money coming from here you may have publishing situations.

Like you said, now that I’ve got a couple distribution situations and I can actually put my music out for sale and maybe even see a profit off of that. Now I’m starting to balance out my income stream. I want to seek out more consistency on the touring front. In 2011 I did eleven shows in December, that’s the month of my birthday. I made like $60-70,000 in three weeks, you know on the road. But then there’s been two or three months where I’ve had no shows. Like 90 days making no money off of my number-one income stream. So that’s where it comes to like, "Alright how many units could I sell? How much do I have to spend on an album to sell it and see a return on it?" When you start letting your business model evolve and conform to what’s going on, you start seeing—I’ll put out an independent album for a profit and it does okay, but then the shows pick up. Or I get added to a 15 city tour.

{ "id": 132760382 } It means a whole lot to me to, not to stay independent, like "I don’t need anybody," not to exclude anybody, but to stay an independent thinker, to stay a free thinker. - Starlito 

And that’s what I’m trying to get to, working with agencies, doing more festival-type shows, and more traditional hip hop concerts. You know we play nightclubs. I’ve done a nightclub for $15,000 where it was hard to tell if anyone was even there for the rap part of it. You know what I’m saying? It’s my show, it’s a Starlito event, but just the same, I’ve done a free festival show where everybody was there for the raps. 

Don Trip: By the same token, we’re men before we’re rappers. So of course, he’s got priorities, he’s got responsibilities as well as I do, so we can’t do it for the fun. We can’t put records out just because we love putting records out. Of course, at the end, there’s got to be some kind of incentive. It’s got to flourish some kind of way. I can say that we’ve become fortunate enough for us to have different avenues for it to actually work out. At this point, I can feel like I can speak for both of us, we’re at a point where we don’t need a major label to do anything. We do what we do, especially when it comes to finances. When it comes to finances, we take care of ourselves. You know, we don’t need that. And I think that’s one of the most important things about our craft. We get to create and just genuinely create. I’m not going into the studio and saying, "I’m going to make this record for the club." And he’s not going in to do the same thing. We go in and we work. If this is what pour out when I go in, then so be it.

What artists do you see doing what you’re doing on another level? The first one that occurs to me is Macklemore. LA Reid had even approached him and said that he'd distribute Macklemore's record for free if he'd just consider signing with them. Starlito:  I think it’s inspiring. To know that it’s possible to create your own line, to do your own stuff your own way, to do it yourself, and there’s no ceiling for it. But in terms of following, I think we just follow our own lead, not to sound cliche. It means a whole lot to me to, not to stay independent, like "I don’t need anybody," not to exclude anybody, but to stay an independent thinker, to stay a free thinker. 

Don Trip: To stay in control.

Starlito: Yeah, definitely that. To maintain control over what we’re doing. I’ve been relatively sheltered, as far as other artists’ situations. Like the Macklemore thing is relevant to me because like I watch the NBA All Star game, and his song is like the theme song for it and his videos are popping up everywhere and he performs at events. Things like that—where music crosses paths with my lifestyle, things that I enjoy—especially rap music—slaps me in the face. I start paying more and more attention.

Like Wiz Khalifa, when he had his rise with  Kush and Orange Juice,  that was a situation where I was forced to pay attention. Because in one way it seemed like it came out of nowhere, and in another way—I study trends, I study statistics, I pay attention to things really close. So when I’m seeing 50-something city tours, 60-70 city tours and shit, I’m having to figure out like—what is he doing to go to 60-70 cities without being on the radio? Same as what I was saying with Macklemore. Those kinds of things let me know, "hey this is possible." I may be able to do this the way I wanted to and not have to conform to things being so systematic.

Don—What was the transition like coming from Interscope going back to being independent? Don Trip:  The basis of the Interscope deal was with Epidemic/Interscope, so it was more than just Interscope involved. It was more than two parties. It was a three-party situation. And actually it had become a five-party situation. But just saying that I’m sure you understand how that got a little difficult. I learned a lot, being involved with the major labels just because I got involved. I study what’s going on, and I learn new things everyday. And being with a major label, there was a lot I didn’t know. There was a lot I already knew, but there was much more that I had no clue about. I learned a lot from it. I can’t say it’s the same as being independent, but I think it’s better for me because I have the control. And there's not so many people in it that don’t belong in it. Not doing no fingerpointing, none of that. But I think for the most part, the fact that I have control of what’s going on. If it fails it’s my fault, if it succeeds it’s my fault. I feel like having that burden is the best for me. Other than that I think it was a great opportunity. I think any situation with a major label is a great opportunity if it’s structured in the right way. With that one it was just unfortunate that—it didn’t work out for either party.

Did you guys have rap star dreams as a kid? What was the moment that you realized that recording music might not be like the fantasy you had in mind when you were younger? Don Trip:  As a kid, you know, I grew up watching Cash Money. To become a rapper, you have Ferraris and Bentleys. But shortly after my later teenage years, it was time to provide. So I learned early on that being involved in the music business wasn’t going to guarantee me four Ferraris, for the most part. I just wanted to get to a point where I could provide for my family and not need it. For the most part, that’s what I did. I sought out to do that. And even now I’m seeking to do that even further and to become a bigger artist, and of course make money on a bigger scale. And for the most part, I’ve become a larger artist. Even when the money does come and I can buy 19 Ferraris—I think for the most part, everything that’s happened to me now and the fact that it’s happened at 28 and not at 19, I think that’s a great thing for me and my family. The fact that I didn’t get the opportunity to blow $40 million when I was 19.

So being the age that I am now, and having a family and kids I have to provide for, I think that gives me a better mindframe when going further with this. And for the sake of not even wanting those things. Like when I wake up I’m not saying, "Hey, I want the Ferrari that Rick Ross got." I’m waking up thinking that when I’m 75, my kids are still straight. With that, I think that’s the best aspect of growing up and actually seeing success while you’re growing. I think it makes for better finances for the most part. Because we know a lot of people who got it when they were young, and they don’t have it right now. 

Starlito:  I can remember the first time I recorded myself—or the first time I went to a recording studio—and I wasn’t that good of a rapper, and I was just making beats. And strangely, I got invited to get on the song. And after I delivered a verse, there was no thrill like people telling me it was good. Even if I didn’t feel like that, I was probably even then, just like now, extremely critical of myself. But being able to go play that for somebody else, riding around and calling myself like, "This is me on this CD." That thrill, the rush of that, that original feeling is still the feeling I get today.

We were riding earlier, stuck in traffic, and I started playing my Fried Turkey album, because I’m finished with it and I’m proud of it for being finished. I’m sharing it with people whose opinions are valuable to me. And the first time I got paid to rap was just the same. I hadn’t had shit out, I had no CD out. I was the guy that could rap real good at Tennessee State University. I had no music out in like, "here’s my CD" kind of thing, but people knew I could rap real good. Rapping out loud for whoever would listen, or I had little demo type CDs. And somebody paid me $500 to get on their song, it was 2003 or something. I’d do a whole lot of other stuff to make money at the time. So like, the fact that this $500 is pure profit? I don’t have to do anything but pull up to the studio and rap on the song? I was like, "Oh shit, I wanna do this.I want to put out my music for people to hear it and enjoy it. I want to get paid from this."

These were landmark moments. I’m in New Orleans at Birdman’s house, and Lil Wayne’s upstairs recording and it’s like, "Okay, I’m a whole lot closer than where I used to be to where this tangible success is." In the same way, like hearing Trip express how he’s grateful that he’s reaching and achieving what he’s doing now at 28 and not 19. Strange thing is, and one of the things that makes our situation work, is that I was doing that shit when I was 19. You know what I’m saying? Like we’re the same age. We grew up different places, but experienced probably similar things at similar times, and I was 19 doing what I did today, jumping on and off planes, having people like court me as an artist, wanting me to sign with their record labels. 

{ "id": 132760384 } Cause at 19 or 20, a lump sum would probably breed complacency more than drive. You get a lot of money at one time, it’s like okay this is the way it’s supposed to be, it’s going to keep coming. - Starlito

I got a decent sized check to rap when I turned 20. But I didn’t really have the wherewithal to know what to do with it. I got a check to rap and all I could think about was what to spend the money on. On a personal level, if I had had the insight that I do now, I would have multiplied it by ten, just because of where the game was then. Or I would have never got the check to begin with. Cause at 19 or 20, a lump sum would probably breed complacency more than drive. You get a lot of money at one time, it’s like okay this is the way it’s supposed to be, it’s going to keep coming.

I’ve got a different appreciation. I’ve got a check right now for Cold Turkey that I refuse to touch until I put out my next solo album. This is discipline. Yesterday that shit would’ve been gone twice. You know what I’m saying? Those were the moments that stick with me and I have to remind myself of that. Even now in the space that we’re in, I have to approach this shit like nobody’s heard of me. Like I have no audience, there’s no awareness, there’s no presence. That’s the only way I stand out is to have that same edge about myself because that’s what made people reach out to me at 19 and 20. I was like, "Fuck it, I’m putting out another CD. It’s going to be better than my last one." And I’m going to go further in trying to sell it. Because back then, I had a backpack or a trunk and we’d load up the van and go where people were going to be. Now it’s the internet. Now I have to figure out ways to make our 5x5 CD cover stand out above yours.

How competitive are you guys on Step Brothers 2 ? Who won? Don Trip: I think that’s what makes our records as great as they are.

Starlito: The competition—I’m sure he’s going to bring it. So the competitive energy is that I cannot sell myself short. I cannot sell myself short because I’m gonna get killed.

Don Trip:  It goes both ways. It’s the exact same thing. When we go in the studio, I get asked the question a lot: do we hear each other’s verses before we record? And we don’t. If he came up with the idea first, and it’s an idea we can both agree on and correlate with, then he goes in to record. And while he’s recording, I’m working on what I’m working on. So by the time he comes out, I’ve got something for him. Even the “Leash on Life” song took forever. Not because it took forever to write it. But when I heard the “Leash on Life” record, the only thing that was on it at first was Lito’s verse. So when I heard his verse, that put me in the space of where I thought I needed to go with it. Because even with that record—we had a rapper vs. rapper kind of competition with that record. He gave you the perfect story. How can I give you a second story that’s the perfect story? It’s almost impossible to do it without keeping in mind that he actually is great at his craft as well.

So I couldn’t go in there and do the dah dah dah dah dah dah. I couldn’t just go in there and do the simplest thing. Of course, I got my fan base, he’s got his fan base. The fan base is going to be biased no matter what. There’s going to be people who say I’m better than him and vice versa. The way I look at it, if anything, he’s equal to me when it comes to doing what we do. Because when I go in the studio with him, he’s not in there just chilling. He’s in there trying to work too. Even when we’re not paying for studio time, even when we’re in our own studios, we go in as if every second counts, as if we’re paying for every second in there.

{ "id": 132760383 } For Kendrick Lamar to push me competitively, is just the same, reminding me that I can make an album that tells my story and represents my region. - Starlito 

And that makes me appreciate our music more. And that’s why, of all the artists I’ve ever worked with, I’ve worked with him the most. Even outside of our Step Brothers projects, we might have enough records together to do two extra Step Brothers without going back in the studio. That’s just how we work. But I think that comes from us being competitive with each other, not in a personal sense. I know he goes in and he’s going to give it his all, so I have to give my all, period. 

Starlito: The people I’m most driven by competitively are the same people that inspire me directly. So even if there were an artist I didn’t know—for Kendrick Lamar to push me competitively, is just the same, reminding me that I can make an album that tells my story and represents my region. I can redefine the times for my area because I just watched him do that. It’s not like I got to sell this many, I got to get this look or that look. It just reminds you that it’s possible. Rather than trying to compete and keep up, I think that’s what people would take out of the competition. It’s like, ‘just give me something to strive for.’

We were talking about OJ Mayo and Michael Jordan, talking trash at a basketball camp, like nowhere in OJ Mayo’s mind should he have felt like he could fuck with Jordan, but where are you in your game if you don’t feel like that? If you don’t push yourself, like, "I’m just as good as that guy." That’s natural. But it’s more knowing what we’re trying to get out of this shit. I think we’re probably most competitively driven by each other. Because the harder I push him, the harder I push myself, the further we’re both going to go. So just the same, I think we demand excellence from one another by default.

What was the first rap tape you ever bought as a kid? Mine was by Kris Kross, ha. Don Trip: When I was younger, my mom’s boyfriend was a bootlegger. So I got all the tapes, of course, you know before they came out. I didn’t buy any of them. I think the first cassette tape I acquired was NWA. I don’t remember which exact album it was, but it was the first time I heard somebody cuss and shoot so many times and it was thrilling. "I fucks with this. I think I’m gonna rock with this." And after that of course, you know more and more genres of music. And Kris Kross. It was an awkward blend to put Kris Kross and NWA together, but you got to keep in mind I was like, what, seven or eight or some shit. And Kris Kross—that’s what gave me the admiration of wanting to be a rapper, because I saw kids do it. This is 20 years later, but you know. That’s what instilled it in me. I saw kids doing it. I wanted to be a rapper right then. So I had been doing it since then. And really, like I said, the NWA tape was really—I guess that’s the reason I cuss now.

Starlito:  I can’t remember the first tape or the first thing that I owned, but I remember getting in trouble for trying to scratch a Kool Mo Dee record. Probably from my uncle or somebody like that. I’m sure I was listening to NWA and all of that, but the first tapes that I can remember being a fan of were The Chronic and the Menace II Society soundtrack. If it wasn’t my tape, it might as well have been mine, because that’s what I prefered to listen to. The strangest part about it is that artistry made sense to me. I was a child, but the things that they were talking about was my reality. Or it was the people I was growing up amongst, raising me. First of all, my mom was 19 when she had me, so like when stuff like that hit, it was what she was listening to. Menace II Society and Boyz in the Hood , all of those movies, none of that shit was hidden from me, because that’s what was going on outside.

So hearing those projects—like, The Chronic , even looking back, that shit was just put together really really well. The skits were nowhere near age appropriate for me, but in terms of how it felt, in terms of the sound of it—it was just a feeling. The thing about Menace II Society soundtrack is that is introduced me to artists from UGK to Spice-1, E-40 might have been on there. I consider that one of the my first times falling in love with rap and gangsta rap especially. Even though it was West Coast-themed, it wasn’t just limited to that. It was about culture, it was about lifestyle. And these cats in Texas were living just like these cats in California. You know, like you said, Kris Kross, you know—cause I was a fan of Kriss Kross too, obviously. Seeing kids do it made me feel like I could do this too.

One of the things that I was always drawn to was people telling their story. Like even if your story ain’t the good story, it’s like, I can make this shit rhyme, I can make this shit real to you, even if it’s not where you live. That was always my rap. That’s the way I always thought rap should be. So when the tide started changing, as a fan of the culture you just rock with it. Even to now, I like my music because it’s somebody’s story. It’s not just music to sell. It doesn’t just have commercial integrity to it—it means something to somebody. And that’s what I get, that’s what I get from my audience.

RELATED: Album Stream: Starlito and Don Trip "Step Brothers 2"

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Exploring Don Trip and His Brother: An Interview with Don Trip’s Brother

By Happy Sharer

Introduction

Don Trip is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is known for his hard-hitting lyrics and unique flow. He has released numerous albums, mixtapes, and singles that have all been well-received by fans. He is also known for his close relationship with his brother, who goes by the name of Don Trip’s brother.

In this article, we will explore Don Trip and his brother – their relationship, shared experiences, and the impact of Don Trip’s music on his brother’s life. We will also learn from Don Trip’s brother about how to balance a career and family and explore the benefits of having a brother like Don Trip. Finally, we will take a look into Don Trip’s brother’s personal journey to success and the strategies he used to overcome obstacles.

Interview with Don Trip’s Brother

We had the opportunity to sit down with Don Trip’s brother to discuss his relationship with Don Trip and the impact of Don Trip’s music on his life. Here’s what he had to say:

“My relationship with Don Trip is one of the most important things in my life. We’ve grown up together and shared many experiences. We were always close, but it was the music that really brought us closer together. I’ve seen firsthand how much work he puts into his craft and the positive impact it has had on my life.”

“I think the biggest thing I’ve learned from Don Trip is how to balance a career and family. He’s shown me that you can still be successful in your career while making time for your loved ones. I’m grateful for that lesson, and for the fact that we can share our successes with each other.”

“Having a brother like Don Trip has been a huge blessing. He’s always been there for me, both as a friend and a mentor. He’s taught me so much about the music industry and has been a great support system throughout my own journey to success.”

Learning from Don Trip’s Brother

Don Trip’s brother has a lot to teach us about balancing a career and family and finding happiness despite obstacles. He has faced many challenges in his life, but has managed to stay focused on his goals and find success. Here are some of the lessons we can learn from Don Trip’s brother:

First, it’s important to make time for your loved ones. Don Trip’s brother has made sure to prioritize his family even as he works toward his goals. He understands that family is essential to achieving true happiness and fulfillment.

Second, it’s important to focus on the positives. Don Trip’s brother has managed to see the good in every situation, no matter how challenging it may be. This has allowed him to stay motivated and keep pushing forward.

Finally, it’s important to have a reliable support system. Don Trip’s brother has relied on his brother for guidance and support throughout his journey to success. Having someone to lean on and confide in is essential for staying focused and achieving your goals.

A Look into Don Trip’s Brother’s Personal Journey to Success

Don Trip’s brother has faced many challenges in his personal journey to success. He has had to overcome obstacles such as financial struggles and personal setbacks. But, despite these challenges, he has stayed focused on his goals and worked hard to achieve them.

One of the strategies he has used to overcome obstacles is to break down his goals into smaller, more manageable steps. By taking small steps, he has been able to stay focused on the task at hand and make progress towards his goals. He has also been able to use his failures as learning opportunities, which has helped him become a better version of himself.

Another strategy he has employed is to surround himself with people who inspire and motivate him. He has found strength in the people around him and has used their support to stay focused on his goals and push through difficult times.

Don Trip’s brother has had an incredible journey to success. Through hard work and dedication, he has been able to achieve his goals and find fulfillment. He has also managed to stay connected with his brother and enjoy the benefits of having a supportive family. The lessons we can learn from his experiences are invaluable and can help us on our own journeys.

Don Trip and his brother have a strong bond that has been forged through shared experiences and mutual respect. Their relationship is an inspiration and provides powerful insight into the importance of family and the power of music. We can all learn from their story and strive to create meaningful relationships with those we love.

(Note: Is this article not meeting your expectations? Do you have knowledge or insights to share? Unlock new opportunities and expand your reach by joining our authors team. Click Registration to join us and share your expertise with our readers.)

Hi, I'm Happy Sharer and I love sharing interesting and useful knowledge with others. I have a passion for learning and enjoy explaining complex concepts in a simple way.

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Starlito On ‘Love Drug’, Young Dolph, Don Trip, NoCap, Rod Wave Using His Lyrics, Charleston White

Starlito “Off The Porch” Interview We recently took a trip out to Nashville for a very special “Off The Porch” interview with Starlito! During our sit down he talked about this past weekend where he dropped his new album ‘Drug Love’, celebrated his birthday and had a concert with Don Trip in his hometown, fans reacting very positively to the new album, this being his first solo album in 42 months, the inspiration for his song “I Ain’t Gon Lie”, explaining the concept for the album in a letter he posted before he released the album, how he feels when fans tell him that his music has moved them or helped them get through a difficult time in their life, recording music being very therapeutic for himself, the inspiration for the song “Last Time”, the third verse about Young Dolph, revealing that Dolph’s passing made him not want to be a rapper anymore, expressing that he isn’t happy with what rap represents right now, having a moral responsibility to not lead his listeners down the wrong path through his music, explains how the song “Put The Gun Down Craig” with Don Trip was created, reveals Don. Trip is his favorite artist, his thoughts on Trip dropping a new project every month this year, working with NoCap on “Don’t Cry” & “Pocket Full On Pain”, reveals they have a couple more unreleased songs together, Rod Wave using some of his lyrics on his new album, putting Charleston White on “iH8RAP”, his fatherhood journey, his truthful with his daughter about his past, the inspiration for “Retire My Jersey”, what’s next for Grind Hard, shares an update on ‘Step Brothers 4’, give his flowers to DGB, and much more! Starlito https://www.instagram.com/starlitogrindhard/ Interview by Haze https://www.instagram.com/mike_tall Shot by Bcpbrandon https://www.instagram.com/bcpbrandon DGB Media https://www.dirty-glove.com https://www.instagram.com/dirtyglovebastards https://www.instagram.com/dgb_offtheporch/ https://www.twitter.com/DGBastard_ https://www.facebook.com/dirtyglovebastards “Off The Porch” Interviews Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGZpaFw4cQ6PLtV-w_-9To6I7yrhShcGr “Dirty Glove Weekly” Playlist http://hyperurl.co/v3kt4h “Off The Porch” is Dirty Glove Bastard’s exclusive interview series where artists, producers, DJs & industry insiders are given a platform to tell their unfiltered story. Dirty Glove Bastard was created in 2007 to shine more light on the buzzing, regional music scenes in the South & Midwest. 🔔 PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, LIKE, COMMENT & SHARE!

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Pope Francis visits Venice in first trip outside of Rome in seven months

April 28, 2024 / 3:18 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Pope Francis made his first trip out of Rome in seven months on Sunday with a visit to Venice that included an art exhibition, a stop at a prison and a Mass.

Venice has always been a place of contrasts, of breathtaking beauty and devastating fragility, where history, religion, art and nature have collided over the centuries to produce an otherworldly gem of a city. But even for a place that prides itself on its culture of unusual encounters, Francis' visit on Sunday stood out.

Francis traveled to the lagoon city to visit the Holy See's pavilion at the Biennale contemporary art show and meet with the people who created it. But because the Vatican decided to mount its exhibit in Venice's women's prison, and invited inmates to collaborate with the artists, the whole project assumed a far more complex meaning, touching on Francis' belief in the power of art to uplift and unite, and of the need to give hope and solidarity to society's most marginalized.

His trip began at the courtyard of the Giudecca prison, where he met with women inmates one by one.

"Paradoxically, a stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute," Francis told them.

The 87-year-old pontiff then met with Biennale artists in the prison chapel, decorated with an installation by Brazilian visual artist Sonia Gomes of objects dangling from the ceiling, meant to draw the viewer's gaze upward.

The Vatican exhibit has turned the Giudecca prison, a former convent for reformed prostitutes, into one of the must-see attractions of this year's Biennale, even though to see it visitors must reserve in advance and go through a security check. It has become an unusual art world darling that greets visitors at the entrance with Maurizio Cattelan's wall mural of  two giant filthy feet , a work that recalls Caravaggio's dirty feet or the feet that Francis washes each year in a Holy Thursday ritual that he routinely performs on prisoners.

The exhibit also includes a short film starring the inmates and Zoe Saldana, and prints in the prison coffee shop by onetime Catholic nun and American social activist Corita Kent.

Francis' dizzying morning visit, which ended with Mass in St. Mark's Square, represented an increasingly rare outing for the 87-year-old pontiff, who has been hobbled by health and mobility problems that have ruled out any foreign trips so far this year.

"Venice, which has always been a place of encounter and cultural exchange, is called to be a sign of beauty available to all," Francis said. "Starting with the least, a sign of fraternity and care for our common home."

During an encounter with young people at the iconic Santa Maria della Salute basilica, Francis acknowledged the miracle that is Venice, admiring its "enchanting beauty" and tradition as a place of East-West encounter, but warning that it is increasingly vulnerable to climate change and depopulation.

"Venice is at one with the waters upon which it sits," Francis said. "Without the care and safeguarding of this natural environment, it might even cease to exist."

in the exhibit as tour guides and as protagonists in some of the artworks.

Ahead of his trip, Francis sat down with "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell during an hourlong interview at the guest house where he lives in Rome. 

During the interview, Francis pleaded for peace worldwide amid the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza .

"Please. Countries at war, all of them, stop the war. Look to negotiate. Look for peace," said the pope, speaking through a translator.

He also had a message for those who do not see a place for themselves in the Catholic Church anymore. 

"I would say that there is always a place, always. If in this parish the priest doesn't seem welcoming, I understand, but go and look elsewhere, there is always a place," he said. "Do not run away from the Church. The Church is very big. It's more than a temple ... you shouldn't run away from her."

The pope's Venice trip was the first of four planned inside Italy in the next three months, Reuters reported. He is scheduled to visit Verona in May and Trieste in July, and is expected to attend the June summit of Group of Seven (G7) leaders in Bari.

In September, he is also set to embark on the longest foreign trip of his papacy, traveling to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore.

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An extended version of O'Donnell's interview with Pope Francis will air on "60 Minutes" on Sunday, May 19 at 7 p.m. ET. On Monday, May 20, CBS will broadcast an hourlong primetime special dedicated to the papal interview at 10 p.m. ET on the CBS Television Network and streaming on  Paramount+ . Additionally, CBS News and Stations will carry O'Donnell's interview across platforms. 

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Dua Lipa is releasing her third album, “Radical Optimism,” on Friday. The Grammy-winning pop superstar says its creation was informed by what she’s learned from touring the world over the last few years — drawing influence from trip-hop and Britpop and including newfound interest in live instrumentation. She sat down with AP music writer Maria Sherman to talk about crafting psychedelic electro-pop with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, her Service95 newsletter, “baby roles” in movies — and creating a “safe space” with dance music.

Dua Lipa on ‘Radical Optimism’ | AP full interview

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Timberwolves fans deserve to celebrate a rare trip to Round 2: ‘This is one step’

Maybe you sat in front of a projector screen in your home theater, marveling at Anthony Edwards’ fourth-quarter dunk so much that you had to freeze it on the screen and gather with your buddies to take a photo to commemorate the event.

Maybe you were watching Karl-Anthony Towns deliver one of the best performances of his life to help your Minnesota Timberwolves — yes, they are YOUR Timberwolves — sweep the Phoenix Suns with a 122-116 Game 4 victory on Sunday night and had to wonder if this was all a dream because you were so used to Wolves seasons ending in April.

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Maybe you were lucky enough to be in the Footprint Center in Phoenix, wearing a wolf on your head while you cheered for the road team or swiping away the offer of a Suns T-shirt while supporting your brother-in-law , Jordan McLaughlin .

Maybe you had to set your alarm to get up for a 3:30 a.m. tipoff in France because there was no way you were going to miss seeing your favorite team win its first playoff series in 20 years.

Maybe you cradled your newborn in your arms in Northeast Minneapolis or r eminisced at your crib in Los Angeles about how far you have come since the last time the Timberwolves have come this far.

Wherever you were, whatever you were wearing, whoever you were with, I hope you took a moment on Sunday night to soak it all in.

For 20 years, the Timberwolves have been the butt of jokes across the league, and deservedly so. Michael Beasley once showed up to a game with scratches on his face and later said that they came from a Tasmanian Devil that had gotten out of its cage at his home. Kevin Love once said he broke his hand while doing knuckle push-ups. David Kahn passed on Steph Curry … twice, Jimmy Butler detonated the organization from the inside and Gersson Rosas was fired days before training camp opened.

That is just a sliver of the dysfunction and embarrassment that Timberwolves fans have had to endure over the years. You have watched your team change general managers more often than Mario Andretti changed tires at the Indy 500. You have seen players come and go with the frequency of cast reboots on “The Real Housewives” franchise. To be honest, you’re not even sure who owns your team .

None of that mattered on Sunday night. It did not matter that Kevin Durant and Devin Booker , for the first time this series, showed some real determination to not lose a game. It did not matter that the Wolves could not hit a shot to save their lives in the first half of the game. It did not matter that Scott Foster was the crew chief.

The only thing that mattered was that this Timberwolves team is different than any that has come before it over the last 20 years. This team has a superstar exploding onto the NBA landscape , a supporting cast as tight-knit and talented as any in the 35-year history of the franchise and a coaching staff that is capable of building a game plan to turn a team that dominated the Wolves in the regular season into a frustrated, flopping mess of a group that never stood a chance.

A series that opened with the belief that the Suns would exploit Minnesota’s size ended with a quickness so overwhelming that it led to the conclusion that it wasn’t even all that impressive for the Wolves because they were the ones who had the mismatch so heavily in their favor. A team with Durant, Booker and Bradley Beal would presumably be the kind of shooting-rich, small-ball roster that could run circles around Rudy Gobert , Towns and the bigger, slower Wolves. Instead, the Suns were suffocated by them.

The Suns have flaws, no doubt. But they won 49 games during the regular season, including 10 of their last 14 to avoid the Play-In Tournament. Two of those were decisive victories over the Wolves. But the script flipped in the postseason with Minnesota exposing Phoenix as a glass-jawed opponent, one that couldn’t withstand the pressure of Edwards on the perimeter and Towns and Gobert at the rim.

You heard the questions about Edwards’ love of the game before he was drafted and then you watched him deliver his latest jaw-dropper in Game 4, putting up 40 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two blocks in 41 minutes.

MUST. SEE. TV. 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/RfyEyTIZO5 — Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 29, 2024

You have seen Towns take all manner of criticism and derision for his lack of success on the court, his battle with Butler, even for the tone of his voice in interviews. Then you watched him deliver one of the very best games of his career, hitting shots early when no one else could to keep the team afloat and finishing with 28 points, 10 rebounds and three assists to close out the Suns.

T O U G H 😤 pic.twitter.com/FN2M1oikqL — Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 29, 2024

You endured last season, the rough entry of Gobert and the ridiculing from national media about what was surely a foolish decision by president of basketball operations Tim Connelly to pair Gobert and Towns in the frontcourt. When they re-signed Naz Reid , another center?!?,  last summer, the jokes kept flying. Typical Timberwolves, always a step behind the rest. Now here they are, advancing to the second round to face the winner of the Denver Nuggets – Los Angeles Lakers series.

With the way the Wolves played in this Suns series, with how connected they were on defense and how versatile they were on offense, the possibilities are endless. They have an alpha wolf in Edwards who breathes life and confidence into his teammates daily. They have a generational defense anchored by Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker that can tear a team apart. They have a true point guard in Mike Conley to smooth things out when the going gets tough.

The way this team is playing right now, and the way the rest of the Western Conference looks, this could be just the beginning for these Wolves, your Wolves.

“ It’s great, but at the same time, we’re trying to get that championship,” Gobert told reporters in Phoenix. “And this is one step of the way. It’s not gonna get easier. So we just gotta stay focused, keep putting in the work every day and keep taking care of ourselves and we’ll be alright.”

The biggest concern at this point may be the health of coach Chris Finch, who ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee late in the fourth quarter. But the sweep gives the Wolves some time to come up with a plan. The earliest the next round would begin is on Saturday if the Nuggets defeat the Lakers in Game 5 on Monday night. If the Lakers win Game 5, Game 1 of the next series will begin on Monday.

There will be people who snicker at your elation, who look down their noses and point at the folks celebrating a trip to the second round of the playoffs. Pay no attention to the Lakers fans and Boston Celtics fans who haven’t walked through the same fire you have for the last 20 years. They are the same holier-than-thou wet blankets who laughed when Patrick Beverley jumped onto the scorer’s table after the Play-In win over the LA Clippers two years ago. Basketball is supposed to be fun, and you have had precious few moments in which to revel over the last two decades.

You don’t want to hang a banner for this one. That would be silly. But you should enjoy this. It has been a long road to get here. The last time was in 2004, Kevin Garnett’s MVP season. This team is better than that one, deeper, more talented and just as capable of coming out of the West.

Maybe you allowed yourself to think about that while wearing a Stephon Marbury jersey in Phoenix, watching nervously until the last second ticked off the clock to make sure this was happening. Maybe you played some Prince at your home in San Diego while Ian Eagle narrated the closing seconds on TNT.

Or maybe you don’t have any rooting interest in this team at all. But maybe you’ve spent the bulk of your career chronicling the stories of the people in the jerseys , the coaches leading them and so many of the the anonymous folks behind the scenes . Maybe you would bristle when you would tell people that you cover the Minnesota Timberwolves and they would furrow their brows and ask, “Why would you waste your time with  them? ” Maybe you always knew this was a basketball state, and that all the people here needed was a reason to watch.

Maybe you didn’t make the trip to Phoenix for Games 3 and 4. Maybe you watched the Wolves complete the first best-of-seven sweep in Minnesota pro sports history in the quiet of your basement with the flat screen on mute (sorry Grady and Jim Pete), while your boy, who has had to deal with health issues that no one his age should have to face, sleeps soundly on the couch next to you. Maybe you understood that as fun as it would have been to be there for a historic moment, it felt even better to be right where you needed to be.

And maybe you smiled and started to think about all the stories that this team has left to tell.

(Photo of Karl-Anthony Towns: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)

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Jon Krawczynski is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Minnesota Timberwolves, the NBA and the Minnesota Vikings. Jon joined The Athletic after 16 years at The Associated Press, where he covered three Olympics, three NBA Finals, two Ryder Cups and the 2009 NFC Championship Game. Follow Jon on Twitter @ JonKrawczynski

• Donald Trump

Exclusive: Donald Trump Says Political Violence ‘Depends’ on ‘Fairness’ of 2024 Election

Read our full cover story on Donald Trump here . You can also read the transcript of the interviews here and a full fact check here .

In an exclusive interview with TIME, former President Donald Trump raised the specter of potential political violence if he loses the 2024 election. “I think we’re going to win,” he says on April 27 when asked about the prospect of political violence tied to November’s elections. “And if we don’t win, you know, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of an election.”

Trump left office in January 2021 after an unprecedented assault on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters who believed his false allegations that the 2020 election was "stolen" from him by widespread voter fraud.

Read More: Public Officials Face Surge of Threats Ahead of 2024 Election

Trump says he doesn’t think that’s going to happen again. “I do think we're gonna win,” he says. Alluding to his unfounded claims that the last election was "rigged" by his political rivals, he says: "I don't believe they'll be able to do the things that they did the last time. I don't think they'll be able to get away with it."

Trump also tells TIME he might pardon the more than 800 men and women charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, most of whom have pleaded guilty. The assault left more than 140 law enforcement officers injured and sent lawmakers into hiding. More than 120 people have been accused of using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer, and members of extremist groups were found guilty of seditious conspiracy.

Trump has sought to recast the insurrectionist riot as an act of patriotism. "I call them the J-6 patriots," Trump tells TIME. When asked whether he would consider pardoning every one of them, he says: “Yes, absolutely.”

Read More: The United States of Political Violence

Trump is facing criminal cases in both Washington, D.C. and Georgia over his alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election. Trump and his allies have denounced his mounting legal battles as a “political witch hunt.”

After the FBI searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in August 2022, there was a surge of violent threats, with some supporters calling for “civil war.” Despite federal officials warning Trump to refrain from rhetoric that could "incite violence or civil unrest,” Trump has continued to attack prosecutors and judges, many of whom have now been assigned additional security protection.

Read More: Trump Attacks on Prosecutors and Judges Heighten Security Concerns

Trump’s false claims of voter fraud have also led to harassment and intimidation of election officials, many of whom have left office. One in five U.S. adults believe Americans may have to “resort to violence to get the country back on track,” according to a PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll published April 3.  

Data tracking the uptick in politically motivated threats of violence shows “the numbers basically rise steadily from 2016 to 2021, then often dip a bit after Trump retreats more from the scene,” says Rachel Kleinfeld, a political violence analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “But they are all higher than they were before Trump took office, sometimes astronomically so.”

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Write to Vera Bergengruen/Washington at [email protected]

Biden says he would be 'happy to debate' Trump

President Joe Biden said Friday during a one-on-one interview with radio host Howard Stern that he is willing to debate Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

"I am, somewhere, I don’t know when, but I am happy to debate him,” Biden said in the interview.

Biden and his campaign have deflected in recent months on the question of a debate. When asked in February about Trump's calls for debate, Biden merely said , “If I were him, I’d want him to debate me, too. He’s got nothing else to do.”

In response to Biden's remark on Friday, a Trump campaign adviser, Chris LaCivita, said in a post to X, "Ok let’s set it up!"

A few hours later, Trump responded in a post on his social media site , calling on the president to do the debate as early as Friday night.

"Crooked Joe Biden just announced that he’s willing to debate! Everyone knows he doesn’t really mean it, but in case he does, I say, ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, ANYPLACE," Trump's post said.

The post went on to suggest the pair debate "Monday Evening, Tuesday Evening, or Wednesday Evening at my Rally in Michigan," or — since both were in New York City Friday — to do it Friday night at the courthouse where Trump is currently being tried in a criminal hush money case.

Biden's new openness to debate comes after Trump has been advocating for a chance to go head-to-head with the president on stage as polling on the two presumptive presidential nominees tightens.

Despite Trump's refusal to participate in any of the Republican primary debates, he has repeatedly called on Biden to debate him throughout the election cycle with posts to his social media site and at his rallies.

A dozen major news organizations also urged the two rivals in joint statement earlier this month to commit to debating one another.

During the nearly 75-minute interview with Stern, Biden spoke in depth about his family's history, being candid about his father's prior business struggles, the loss of his first wife and infant daughter in a car accident, and the death of his son Beau to cancer, at which point his voice caught with emotion.

Later, Stern pushed the president to speak about recent rulings by the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, including three justices appointed by Trump. The radio host specifically mentioned the court's ruling in June 2022 that overturned its landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 that guaranteed women the right to have abortions — which Biden and Democrats consider a winning issue for them in November.

“Does it drive you crazy?” Stern asked, prompting Biden to reply, “It’s a really extremely conservative court, maybe the most conservative court in modern history.”

Biden went on to say, “This is not your father’s Republican Party,” adding that several Republican senators have come to him saying that they agreed with some of his criticisms of Trump, including over his actions surrounding the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, but felt threatened by the former president's influence.

“Over the last few years, I’ve had seven senior Republican senators — but two are gone now — seven senior Republican friends call me to tell me, ‘Joe I agree with you, but I just can’t do it. He’ll go — he’ll get me,’” Biden said.

When Stern asked Biden why he thought some longtime Republican politicians, like former President George Bush, hadn’t more forcefully criticized Trump, Biden responded, “I don’t think the election is over yet on that score.”

Kyla Guilfoil is an intern for NBC News Digital Politics.