D Smoke & Jay Taj Discuss Being Public Figures in Their Community: ‘You Still Gotta Take Care of You First’

D Smoke and Jay Taj take a trip down memory lane while splitting a few signature dishes at Two Hommés in Inglewood, Calif.

In the latest episode of Billboard‘s Takes Us Out, Smoke and Taj order grilled broccolini, plantain and crab, and lamb tacos, among other dishes. While the food was being prepared, the pair discuss their starving artist days and how they both handle now being public figures in their community.

“I think the balance comes in setting rules and structures in your life that protect you first,” Smoke says. “You still gotta take care of you first. I even have little scripts for given for situations. Your natural inclination is to wanna help people. So if somebody is like, ‘Hey, I got this idea and I wanna do this,’ one line that I have is, ‘Well, that sounds awesome! When do you need to know?’ Somebody else’s urgency is not your urgency.”

“Overpromising is real easy when everybody is hittin’ you,” Taj adds. “I find myself falling victim to that a lot.”

Billboard‘s latest episode comes after Ty Dolla $ign discussed being a tycoon while dining at his favorite West Hollywood eatery on the previous installment of Takes Us Out.

Check out the full convo with D Smoke and Jay Taj above.