What was your initial reaction when you saw the Alton Sterling footage?

Some bullshit. I’m mad at the whole situation: the cops, the people, everything—the whole shit is just depressing, bro. I’m just sick of seeing that over and over and over and over again. In the Castile video, you see the little girl in the car crying, comforting her mother. Dude in the front seat slumped over, this cop still aiming his gun at them. So much stuff going on, it’s just not right. There’s no reason to shoot this man in the passenger seat. He even had his seatbelt on. It’s too much.

How do you feel whenever the cop situation or Black Lives Matter comes up, people always want to bring up black on black crime?

No, black on black crimes does need to be mentioned. A lot of black folks be like, “why you trying to mention that?” Because it’s really happening. My homies are dying every month over gang banging. Let’s not forget we are killing each other. Our community is still, to me, the bigger picture, bro. We’re preaching unity but as soon as we get back to the hood dudes are still killing each other. We need to stop that also.

Did you know about Jay Z’s protest song “Spiritual" and Punch’s involvement in getting it finished and released?

No, but I’ve heard about it. I haven't listened to the song yet.

He talks about being a black parent in the lyrics. Even Jay, someone with so much money, says he has to worry about his daughter and her safety.

Eventually my daughter’s going to leave the nest. At the end of the day, you really don’t know what’s going to happen. You never know what’s going to happen. That’s why I said I’d die before my daughter’s got to fight this fight. Nobody is willing to put their life on the line for a cause. If me dying means my daughter gets to live peacefully, I’m with it. It’s not about me no more.

How does taking care of your daughter keep you grounded?

She keeps me out of trouble, she got me out of the streets. Hanging out, doing stuff I don’t need to be doing—she got me out of that and changed my life.

How do you manage being away from her when you’re traveling and touring?

FaceTime—that’s really it. That’s why I took a break from music for a little bit. Because I’m not missing soccer games. Certain things I can’t miss. I have to take break from music every now and then, because I’m not going to be that rapper that hit the road for years and years and next thing you know his daughter’s 18 and all she knows is to ask him for money.

Has being a parent helped you keep up with your sobriety?

“Prescription/Oxymoron” [from Oxymoron] was a true story. My daughter used to try to wake me up and I’m in a Xan coma or a lean coma. I’ll be sitting there for three, four hours, and she just sitting there looking at me like I'm crazy. That don't sit well with you. And that’s where all the weight loss came in for me. I’m about to be 30 in October, and there comes a time where you just gotta update yourself. You can’t stay the same person.

