Mustard, the mastermind behind the beat of Kendrick Lamar's smash hit "Not Like Us," is riding a wave of success. Hot on the heels of this triumph, he unleashed his own creation, ‘Faith of a Mustard Seed.’ But he's far from done. We spend a day with Mustard exploring his daily routine, diving into the profound cultural and personal influence of "Not Like Us," discovering what lies ahead for him, and more!
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00:00I am the Kendrick Lamar of tennis.
00:02There's nothing I actually can't do.
00:04My first splurge was not an I Made It moment.
00:06It was a dumbass moment.
00:08I bought a mustard bottle chain.
00:12What up, y'all? It's Mustard, man.
00:14Cover of Billboard, man.
00:16Who would have thought we'd be here today?
00:18But we are.
00:20So, today I'm gonna take y'all through my life,
00:22my daily life, talk to y'all about what I got going on,
00:24my music.
00:26For right now, we are going to the Thunderdome,
00:28a.k.a. the Red Court, where people don't want to come
00:30because they don't want to play me.
00:32We going there. Y'all beat me there.
00:34See ya.
00:46I'm like a person that's like anything that I do,
00:48I'm an extremist.
00:50So, I play every day.
00:52Sometimes two times a day.
00:54I think that I got so good
00:56that people don't want to play with me no more.
00:58I mean, YG's come here, but YG can't do nothing
01:00with me on this tennis court.
01:02He's not a guy that can do anything with me.
01:04His daughter comes and practices here.
01:06He can't do a goddamn thing with me here.
01:08So, let's just clear that out.
01:10He's really focused, really dialed in
01:12when he's on the court.
01:14And then sometimes, during breaks,
01:16he'll just be taking a FaceTime call.
01:18He'll be talking to Miko, his manager.
01:20He'll talk to artists that he's working on a song with.
01:22It's kind of surreal for me,
01:24but it also becomes so normal.
01:28How long have you been working on that project?
01:30Maybe like five years before.
01:32I was working on it way through COVID.
01:34That's a long time.
01:36I saw Young Thug as one of the features.
01:38Yeah, we did that in Atlanta, in the studio.
01:40Obviously, way before he went to jail and stuff like that.
01:42An unfortunate situation.
01:44Everybody that I did songs with,
01:46I did it with them at the studio.
01:48Oh, that's great.
01:50I only send beats to Kendrick.
01:54I don't really send beats.
01:56Have you done sessions with Kendrick before?
01:58I've never done music in a session with him.
02:00But I do remember sitting in
02:02a To Pimp A Butterfly session.
02:04And I didn't know what the fuck I was...
02:06I was just there because Terrence Martin took me.
02:08I remember seeing that shit and being like,
02:10whoa, there's a lot going on.
02:12Because, you know, with me and YG,
02:14we didn't have that many musicians around.
02:16That was the first time me seeing some shit like that.
02:18There's a lot of other people there.
02:20Shit was crazy.
02:22I always loved music.
02:24My mom sings.
02:26But I don't think my musical gene came until
02:28I started DJing around 12, 11.
02:32A lot of Luther Vandross.
02:34A lot of Frankie Beverly and Mays.
02:36Rest in peace.
02:38My uncle was a DJ,
02:40so I spent a lot of my time with my uncle.
02:42My dad got deported.
02:44So my uncle was like my dad.
02:46It's about all the Dr. Dre,
02:48all the Snoop Dogg.
02:52Yeah, I think it's If This World Was Mine.
02:54It's a song for mom.
02:56Literally a song dedicated for my mom.
03:02I think what Faith Over Mustard seed is like,
03:04this is something that you're going to be able to
03:06go back and play in 10 years and it's going to be like,
03:08ah, he was ahead of his time.
03:10My thing is like bridging the gap
03:12between real musical and simplicity
03:14and putting them together
03:16and getting a hit out of it.
03:22Alright y'all, thanks for coming to training with me.
03:24That's one part of my day.
03:26Now we're going to the third part,
03:28which is the studio.
03:30You.
03:32You.
03:34You.
03:36You.
03:38You.
03:40You.
03:42My process varies.
03:44As of lately, you know,
03:46I got my homeboy, he chops samples all day.
03:48He's really good at chopping samples,
03:50maybe adding some keys here and there.
03:52His name is Sean, similar to NotLikeUs.
03:54Go do some samples and maybe I'll speed it up,
03:56maybe I'll slow it down, but as of recently,
03:58in the last couple of weeks, I'll do jam sessions.
04:00So all the keyboards over there,
04:02I'll have a guy on each keyboard.
04:04I'll have a guitar player, I'll do drums.
04:06Kind of sort of like a band.
04:08You know, because now,
04:10it's like, okay, what is the next sound?
04:12I know I can do
04:14stuff like NotLikeUs every day.
04:16I can do that like with my eyes closed.
04:18That's like a thing that's like,
04:20it's second nature to me.
04:22So now I'm just like, I want to make different stuff.
04:24I want to be ready.
04:26Everything you hear is no sample, it's live.
04:28It would be,
04:30and this is like, you can imagine like,
04:34five different people in here
04:36and we're all jamming at one time.
04:38So they might play this
04:40and every new sound you hear
04:42will be a different person. So I'll be on the drums
04:44and you just hear
04:46different stuff, you know, like just like,
04:48this is like a vibe.
04:50Then I'll just chop everything down
04:52and make it how I want.
04:54So then you'll have this and you'll have this
04:56by itself, you know what I'm saying?
04:58You can solo stuff, you can take stuff.
05:00You know what I'm saying?
05:02You can solo more stuff.
05:10Put stuff back. So it's like, that's where I've been
05:12lately with like, trying to make music.
05:14Just trying to make the best stuff. I've been in the studio
05:16on and off for maybe like 10 years.
05:18Wow, okay.
05:20So have you made most of your songs in here?
05:22Almost everything, yeah.
05:24Favorite memories? I think at one point
05:26maybe when Nip did
05:28Perfect Ten, like the song, the last album, Perfect Ten.
05:30He did it here, he did it in that room.
05:32We actually have a picture where he's
05:34leaning on this wall and I'm like
05:36sitting at the desk. That was the night he did Perfect Ten
05:38and we used to just go in the kitchen and talk.
05:40Probably just like one of my favorite, most memorable
05:42moments here. That night is
05:44when he told me I should've named that album
05:46Faith of a Mustard Seed. And I was like,
05:48I already have the title for this album.
05:50And he was like, before it's all said and done, you gotta do an album called
05:52Faith of a Mustard Seed.
05:58Pray For Me is, it was a vulnerable song.
06:00I felt like it was time for me to tell my side
06:02of the story. For five years, you don't know what
06:04and for producers all around
06:06producers in the world. People don't actually
06:08know what's going on
06:10behind the scenes. They only know you from the music
06:12that you make. And those aren't words.
06:14You know what I'm saying? And I wanted to talk about something
06:16real instead of trying to make like some type
06:18of party anthem or some shit like that.
06:20I wanted to talk about something that meant something to me.
06:22And granted, it's not that many producer-producers.
06:24He looking like Metro and what he does
06:26for Future. He's producing Future.
06:28You know, like he's in
06:30with him. He's producing. Same with me and YG.
06:32It's like, I'm producing YG.
06:34I think at this point, I think that that's the
06:36only thing I'm gonna do. Is do a
06:38full album for artists. I'm not interested
06:40in just doing somebody's single. I like Doji
06:42a lot. I like Doja Cat.
06:44Doja Cat is like one of the ones
06:46that's like really loves music
06:48in a way that like I love music.
06:50Tyler, the creator, I would love to not do
06:52a full album because he's a producer too. So I would wanna
06:54definitely be there just to like
06:56learn shit and like
06:58him have me do some shit and just like,
07:00hey, I think you can do this. You know what I'm saying?
07:02My peers that's like really love this shit
07:04and like really can make my sound
07:06sound different.
07:12That's my one and only Grammy.
07:14So to have all these songs, all the songs
07:16I've done, I only have one Grammy
07:18with my artist signed to my label.
07:20Wow. What are the odds?
07:22I mean, a brand new artist. What are the odds?
07:24That's why I'm so special. Yeah.
07:26Absolutely. I mean, this year, NotLikeUs
07:28has been a phenomenon. So
07:30are you hoping for that
07:32nomination or is that not something that
07:34you're really putting in your mind
07:36right now? No, I think people play themselves
07:38and lie and say that, you know, and I don't wanna say
07:40play themselves, but they force themselves. I don't care.
07:42I actually care. I hope
07:44it does get nominated,
07:46let alone win a Grammy. I do music.
07:48I wanna compete at the highest level.
07:50The highest reward that we can get as
07:52musicians is a Grammy. I know
07:54that people make that like it's not a thing, but
07:56it actually is, and they do feel a way.
08:04That was an indescribable day. Kind of reminded
08:06me of like Dr. Dre and
08:08Tupac, California Love, like when we went to
08:10Thames. There was so many people
08:12out there, and it was just like,
08:14oh, this shit is crazy. It was just like
08:16an unexplainable day, man.
08:18For the city to come out like that
08:20and nobody got hurt, nothing happened. It was just
08:22like everybody was just happy to be there and be a part of it.
08:24It was cool times. I definitely
08:26can't wait to watch the Super Bowl, man.
08:28Can't wait. This year's gonna be
08:30really special.
08:32I might shed a tear.
08:34I am grateful
08:36for him to perform it on stage. If he
08:38performs it on stage by himself,
08:40doesn't call me, I wouldn't give a shit.
08:42Just perform it. Don't get me wrong.
08:44Call me. If you want me,
08:46I'll slide. But I'll be there regardless
08:48and fucking going
08:50crazy, acting like I'm on. If I'm in a box,
08:52they might show me on TV
08:54from how crazy. I might stand on a chair.
08:56They might show me on the TV like,
08:58he's going berserk.
09:00The hardest part of this whole thing is
09:02actually getting the song.
09:04I already won.
09:06I couldn't ask for no more. That's just a cherry
09:08on top. Alright, Billboard.
09:10That was the studio. Now we're
09:12gonna get some food. We're going to
09:14the district. My uncle restaurant, family
09:16on. Don't eat up.
09:18Let's get it.
09:22I don't know if my car opened. It might be fucked.
09:34Thank you, Shay.
09:36Is this separate?
09:38That's the extra shot.
09:40Just in case.
09:42Wait, so there's something in here already?
09:44Alright. Shay, yo ass is
09:46crazy.
09:48You can't be drunk on a Thursday.
09:50This is literally on Crenshaw.
09:52If anybody from here, you know Sunday,
09:54fun days where all the cars came.
09:56You look at fucking Boys in the Hood.
09:58It's just normal LA shit.
10:00This is my uncle restaurant that taught
10:02me how to DJ, just like my dad.
10:04This was always his dream
10:06to have his own place where he could
10:08do his own parties. We connect on music
10:10in general. My uncle DJed all of
10:12Dr. Dre's parties. I DJed
10:14Snoop Dogg Kid's banquets when I was a child.
10:16When I was young and coming up.
10:18That's something we're gonna always
10:20connect on.
10:26When that show happened
10:28under the stage, I came from under the
10:30stage. I was having a panic
10:32attack. I was like, damn, I'm really finna
10:34go on stage at the Forum, sold
10:36out. And then that's Englewood, so I grew
10:38up later on when I was
10:40a teenager with YG, right in Englewood,
10:42across the street where he used to live right there
10:44across the street. And that's where I made
10:46Rack City, across the street. And I was just like, oh my god,
10:48this shit is crazy.
10:50The man with the master plan.
10:52What's up, papa? Honestly,
10:54Mustard as a child is the same
10:56Mustard as he is as an adult.
10:58He's always cared about
11:00his craft. He's cared about people.
11:02He's always been the same
11:04individual as a kid
11:06all the way now to being a father.
11:08My biggest speech was always
11:10this business is 60%
11:12skill, 40%
11:14is relationship and business.
11:16Keep it cool. Do what you're
11:18supposed to do. And you fired
11:20the first day you hired. Oh, he was fired
11:22the first day a million times.
11:26Usually, I'm going
11:28text mix. He tries to tell
11:30them to hide the text mix from me,
11:32but they listen to me.
11:34The DJ, we control a room.
11:36And for you to be able to control a room, you want to be
11:38able to control the goods and the bads.
11:40You just understand that.
11:42And the funniest part, we were in
11:44Palisades, and there was a house
11:46and we went to go set up. He thought
11:48I was DJing. I already knew I
11:50had four parties to go do.
11:52So I said, all right, bro.
11:54I'm going to go set this up. I'll be back.
11:56Don't leave me. I said, man,
11:58you'll be all right. Just play this, play that,
12:00play this. You got it. And he had DJed
12:02many times before, but this is his first party by itself.
12:04About
12:06three hours later, I got a call. Come get me.
12:08The party was so cracking, they busted
12:10all the windows.
12:12They busted a shattered window.
12:14The window, like, tall as this thing.
12:16And they danced and shattered the window.
12:18Pretty crazy.
12:20Was that on purpose? No, I think
12:22they were dancing so hard. I'm saying, was that on purpose that you
12:24left? That was definitely
12:26on purpose, bro, because you didn't want to
12:28do it by yourself, but I knew you could.
12:30I want them to know that I'm never going to
12:32stop, and I'm super, like,
12:34inspired by everything that's
12:36going on in music right now. Whether
12:38it's country, whether it's fucking pop, I don't
12:40care what it is. I'm just in an
12:42inspired space, and
12:44it's more to come, man. I don't know what's going to come,
12:46but I know I'm going to work every day until something comes.
12:48And if you are
12:50young and producing, you know, never
12:52give up and just, you know, bet on yourself.
12:54Thank you, Billboard. It's been a long day.
12:56This is how my days usually go.
12:58Now, I gotta eat. I'm here with my uncle.
13:00I ain't seen him in a while, so we're going to chop it up.
13:02I'll see y'all next time. You dig?