interviews

IDK Talks NBA 2K22, Having A British Passport & Creating His Very Own Rap World

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Image via IDK
Image via NBA 2K22

COMPLEX: Your song “Santa Monica Blvd” is featured on the NBA 2K22 soundtrack, which is a really great look. How did the connection come about?

IDK: I remember: it was, like, 2019, and I made it a goal of mine to be in NBA 2K for the first time, and I got cool with Mike—I forgot his last name—but he’s a guy that used to work up there. I was cool with him on Instagram. I was like, “Look. I’ll come up to the office and meet you.” And from there, our relationship became what it was. So, you know, we’ve been in the game for the past three years now.

How nice are you on NBA 2K?

Truthfully, I’m not the greatest player. I think a lot of any skill that I have comes from playing it for years—since I was younger. But I know so many people who are better than me so I have to be honest and say that I’m not that nice.

Have you played NBA 2K with any of your rapper friends? If so, who’s the nicest that you’ve played against—and, be honest: who won?

I don’t remember, but I’ve watched KD play—all day, for hours—and I feel like he’s the nicest person I know, in general.

You grew up in Maryland, but a lot of people might not know that you were born in England. Do you feel any affinity to London? Is it special when you come out here?

I feel like it’s special when I come to London because, you know, the roots of where I’m from definitely exist there. I’m very proud of the fact that I have two passports. I think that’s cool. It’s an interesting fact that many people don’t know about me. But yeah, I feel good when I come out there—there’s a lot of family that I visit and there’s a particular vibe, musically, that we don’t have in America. 

Are you tapped into the British music scene? Anyone you’d potentially collaborate with?

Yeah, I love the British music scene. Pa Salieu is somebody I’ve been listening to for a while!

Over the years, we’ve heard many rappers say they had two options growing up: rap, or aim for the league. Was it the same for you?

No. I think going to school was an option because my parents went to school and had degrees, and that’s what they pushed on me. So I had that in my mind, to be honest.

What do you think, if any, are the transferable skills between rap and basketball?

I think, from problem-solving, strategically putting things together in a fast manner and working with a team, they’re all transferable things.

If you played pro ball, what would be your position? 

I would probably be a point guard or shooting guard.

What’s the rap starting 5, and what positions do they play?

I’ve played ball with 21 Savage, Quavo and a few other people. I think Quavo would be a good point guard, me shooting guard… Damn! Who else would be good? Who’s tall? I don’t know. Anyway, all rappers are short. I have to come back to that question.

Who’s the best rap-basketball player that you’ve come across?

That I’ve come across and actually played with? I’d say Pressa. I played with Pressa at 24Hour Fitness in North Hollywood and he was pretty good. I didn’t even know who he was—I didn’t know him as a rapper. He was just good when I played against him.

If you were on an NBA team, which team would it be and why?

If I were on an NBA team, I would probably play with the Lakers because it is the best franchise in basketball history.

What is it about musicians that athletes idolise and vice versa?

I think it’s the ability to do something that we both think is very hard. But it’s very easy for us, you know? So seeing someone make music as a basketball player probably seems challenging, fun, and cool. And then seeing someone play basketball is also a similar thing. 

Tell me more about SubTrap.

SubTrap is a project that I put out many years ago that is basically trap music from my perspective as a suburban kid.

Where does IDK fit in amongst today’s rap music industry?

I don’t know if I fit in with anybody. I think I’m cool with everybody, but I think I’ve been focused on creating my world and inviting people if they want to come and hang out.

What do you have coming that we should be tapping into this year?

This new album that’s about to come out any day now! 

NBA 2K22 is available now on PS4 and PS5.

West Coast Weed Legend Berner Shares His Secrets To The Perfect Joint

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Cookies/Uproxx

West coast rapper and weed legend Berner went from spitting on tracks with other California weed rap icons like Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, and B-Real to founding one of the world’s biggest cannabis brands and retail spaces, Cookies. Now, the rapper-turned-entrepreneur has his sights set on developing the best cannabis rolling papers that a stoner could ever long for. Developed over a three-year process, Berner “put a lot of shit in my lungs to find the right paper.” That dedication shows with his newly released VIBES.

Available in four varieties — including Organic Hemp, Hemp, Ultra-Thin, and Rice — VIBES presents different rolling papers geared towards specific needs. That level of care and attention to detail ensures your joint comes out a bit better than it would with your standard zags.

“It just compliments the herb,” Berner says, “and that’s what our whole mission is. We want to make the ultimate experience when it comes to blazing. We took our time to find the right resources, to find the right materials, to find the right paper… it’s stuff not in the market.”

You might not think all that’s totally necessary, and if you’re a casual smoker you’re unlikely to notice a major difference in the experience. But if your preferred smoking method is the classic joint, you’re going to want that fine attention to detail. I’ve tried out both the Rice and Organic Hemp VIBE papers and the Rice has quickly become my go-to, anytime I’m rolling a joint. I don’t use a roller, I grind up my weed and roll it myself and the texture of the Rice VIBE keeps the stickiest weed from becoming a hassle to roll. It’s a hack I didn’t know I needed!

This week, I linked up with Berner to talk about VIBES’ new products, how bud-tending has changed for the worse, and his secrets to rolling a perfect joint.

Cookies

Why do we need a better rolling paper at all?

I’ve been smoking cannabis for over 22 years, maybe as long as 25 years. In that time, people like Raw came to the table and brought quality rolling papers and educated the market on the difference between materials in the paper, what makes paper special, and what compliments the flavor of herb. All that time, being a connoisseur, understanding what was in the market gave me a chance to understand what wasn’t in the market.

When we came out with the Ultra-Thin VIBES and now with the Organic Hemp VIBES, that quality of paper is just next level. How thin it is, how clean it is, how pure it is. We took our time to find the right resources, to find the right materials, to find the right paper, and also come up with some innovative SKUs like the Cubano; the Cali, which we are dropping soon — it’s stuff not in the market and that’s what we’re working focusing on right now.

What makes a rolling paper perfect?

My thinking is it all starts with what you’re smoking. What makes a perfect paper to me is pairing it with the perfect herb. Certain bud I’ll get that’s extremely flavorful, it’s perfectly cured, I’ll put it in a Hemp VIBE knowing it’s not tough to roll. That’s the biggest thing, how is your rolling experience going to be? That’s why we have our different SKUs.

For instance, our rice paper is for that stickier, thicker, crazier herb that’s just gonna be a problematic roll. The paper is just a little thicker, it burns a little better with a stickier bud. And Ultra-Thin and the Organic Hemp is perfect for that connoisseur head sesh that you tuck away and hide for yourself. For me, it’s all about pairing.

COOKIES

I know you have your history as a Bay Area bud tender. Has bud tending changed for the better or worse? These days there is a lot less interaction because of prepackaged products.

For the most part, it’s changed for the worse — because everything is on a screen. You wait in line, you look on a menu, and pick what you want. But at the Cookies store we tried to implement some of that old school 215 vibe, that’s why when you come into our stores you have a dedicated budtender that sits with you through the whole experience, helps you look at things, that’s why we have the jars on top of the table, we’ve designed those custom for you to pick up and smell the bud and look at it. Fully transparent, not like some of those square jars out there.

When you’re done with the experience they send you to the cashier, and the cashier’s sole purpose is to ring you up, but that personal experience with the budtender, we try and keep that there. And its cool to be able to implement that in all our stores around the world because we don’t want that shit to go away.

As a budtender, you use to be able to open up a jar, let people smell it, even give them a bong hit if they weren’t sure they wanted to buy it and that’s missing big time. It’s changed for the worse but we’re trying to keep that vibe alive.

Walk us through the steps for how to roll the perfect joint

First step is you need the best bud possible. You need something you like and enjoy, if you’re gonna smoke you might as well do it right, start off with the best bud you can find that fits you and your body.

Second, you’ll need a tool like our Santa Cruz Shredder — the teeth are designed by a NASA engineer, it’s next level, it’s produced here in the US. I’ve been using our hemp shredders and that gives you the perfect fluff. You need to grind it right, you don’t want to be left with chunks or dust, there is a fine balance. You get the perfect bud, shred it to give it the perfect fluff.

I take a tip and put it in a cylinder, I take an Ultra-Thin VIBE or my Organic Hemp VIBE and I roll that bitch nice and loose. I like it nice and loose for air flow, I hate a pregnant joint. A tight joint that you have to hit hella hard is a bad joint. I want to pull on it softly and get nice rips, so a perfect joint is all about airflow!

Cookies