But it’s a little harder and it hurts a little bit more when it’s personal. Like, when it’s about YOU and your life and your family and your friends and it’s not about your songs, it’s a little harder to sit back and deal with it when people say stuff or think stuff that you just KNOW isn’t true, because then it’s like: Well, I’m not leaving ME behind, you know? That’s not part of the deal. You can do whatever you want with my songs, but you can’t just do whatever you want with ME.

For example, nothing has brought more bullshit into my life than my relationship with Bob Winstock. Nothing. And I don’t mean to say that my actual relationship with Bob has brought any bullshit into my life—if anything, he’s brought me more clarity and perspective than, like, anyone else on the fucking planet—but the way people react to it and the way people deal with it is just like: What the fuck, guys? How can you possibly have an opinion about this?

I’ve seen what people say about him. I’ve read the articles. I know all the headlines: “Winstock Is a Bigot.” “Winstock Is a Crazy Person.” “Winstock Is a Dangerous Man.” And every time I see that, it’s just like: Do you people even know what you’re talking about? I mean, I KNOW Bob. Bob and I have had conversations. LOTS of them. And he’s honestly one of the warmest, kindest, most intelligent people I know.

Bob dropped backstage after my show a few years ago in Tampa, and he introduced himself, and he was like: Yo, I’m a fan. And I was like: Hey, man, I’ve heard a lot about you. And he was like: Forget it. Forget everything you’ve heard. Let me take you out for a meal and we can actually get to know each other.

And so he did. And we didn’t go anywhere fancy or anything—we just went to like, a neighborhood joint, like Bob’s favorite neighborhood spot where they serve Cuban food—and we were eating this next-level garlic chicken, and Bob looked me in the eyes and said: When was the last time somebody really TALKED to you? And there’s just a way Bob looks at you, you know? Like, even more than what he’s actually saying, just the way Bob looks at you is so … human. It’s like Bob really sees you, creature to creature. And I just thought about the question he had asked me, and in my head I was just like: Never. I can’t even remember.

And so we started talking about everything. Bob told me about his childhood—he had a really rough childhood—and I told him about growing up, you know, what it was like to be grinding since I was twelve, shooting up into the stratosphere and looking around and being like: Yo, is anyone up here with me? Am I all alone up here? And Bob just listened. I mean, it’s not like he blew my mind or anything with what he was saying, but he just listened to me. He just made me feel heard. And at the end of it, when I was telling him about my music and the new direction I was trying to take it in, Bob was just like: Let me ask you something. And I was like: Yeah, man, anything. And he was like: What do you really want to be saying with your music? What do you actually want to be singing about? And I thought for a long time, and then I was just like: The world, man. Humanity. The whole crazy thing. And Bob looked at me for a second, and then he was like: So what’s stopping you?