The Hip-Hop vet from the Bay explains how to have stay and prosper in the rap game.

E-40 has put in over two decades in the game, and he’s imparting some wisdom on the younger artists. He recently spoke to Hard Knock TV about how to maintain a career with longevity, teaching that it’s about staying hungry and humble.

“All the MC fly-by-nights gotta understand that if you do catch a hot song and you blossom, you must remain hungry and humble,” he stated. “Key words, words to live by. You must remain hungry and humble, so you stay hungry, you gotta stay on the gas pedal. You gotta stay all gas, no brake pads. And you gotta stay humble. You can’t get bigheaded, start burning bridges, start high-siding on people that helped you get to where you at. That’s how I’ve always paced myself, and I love everybody who helped me, I remember everything. I’m just grateful, because I’m before rap."

With his business ventures outside of music including a restaurant and an energy drink line, E-40 explained that longevity is about building your brand. “It’s always one of them situations where they think rappers just want to buy cars and jewelry and flash. [...] They always think that rappers just don’t have no knowledge of business,” he said. “My whole thing is to try to supply myself with a security blanket and a safety net, and like I always tell people, the biggest chances you can take is not taking a chance at all. So you gotta stay rolling the dice, flipping the coin. You gotta really try to do something different than just rap.”