Cody Johnson once worked in a maximum security prison, and the country singer-songwriter shared what he learned from that experience (including navigating “the business world”).

Johnson appeared on the latest episode of Biscuits & Jam, a podcast hosted by Southern Living Editor-in-Chief Sid Evans. During that conversation, the Texas-born artist opened up about what he learned about the “intense experience” of going to work with his father in a maximum security prison when he was 18, including “how to read people, and one that also found its way into his songs,” per Biscuits & Jam.

“I can tell within about four words of talking to somebody what their intentions are and really decipher pretty quickly what they’re after,” Johnson told Evans. “I can tell genuine people from, you know, not-genuine people very, very quickly, and I developed a way to not only notice it, but to monitor it in a way that they don’t know that I’m monitoring it…Especially in the business world. I’ve played dumb in front of a lot of big business meetings and walked away from it and looked at my manager and went, ‘Nope, absolutely not.’”

Johnson also noted how he and reigning iHeartRadio Best New Artist in Pop and Country categories, Jelly Roll, have shared conversations about their experiences with prisons. Jelly Roll even suggested the pair find a maximum security facility in Texas, Johnson’s home state, “and go put on a concert.”

Throughout the conversation with Evans, Johnson spoke about growing up in Sebastopol, Texas, being labeled as “too country” when he was building his career, teaming up with Carrie Underwood on a powerful duet on his deluxe album and more.