Recently St. Louis artist J-Kwon sat down with BET to discuss his life after the fame that came from his hit song “Tipsy.”

Reflecting on his painful childhood that led to being thrown out of his home at the age of 12, J-Kwon talked about linking up with the Trackboyz, who had previously produced for Nelly and the St. Lunatics, and how the last record recorded for his album, Hood Hop, changed his life. A club banger that rose to #1 on the Hip Hop charts and #2 on the Billboard 100, the single energized the city during the height of St. Louis’ popularity through the early 2000s.

One interesting soundbite is when J-Kwon adamantly states that for reasons unknown Jermaine Dupri tried to stop the record, and how the label went directly to L.A. Reid who ultimately greenlit “Tipsy.” “I shouldn’t even be telling y’all this man,” the artist says emotionally in the video, who also describes what it was like when Reid was let go from Arista Records during his album’s release.