WEBVTT - Marques Houston 0:00:02.680 --> 0:00:13.160 Money. We are thank take Vali. We are the authority 0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:19.200 on all things and ladies and gentlemen, my name is 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:29.920 Tanking What the Money podcast, the authority on old thing. 0:00:30.280 --> 0:00:35.080 For a week on oh R and b y oh 0:00:35.120 --> 0:00:40.479 Man were talking all long jevity, yeah oh man, nigga 0:00:40.479 --> 0:00:42.000 and being here for a long time, a long time, 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:44.640 long long, long long time. Should have been out a 0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:50.080 long time ago back in Africa. Ye, this boy sang 0:00:50.120 --> 0:00:58.440 it eat he write it. Bucking niked to this this goes, 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:03.840 he goes. He danced it and then he get on 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:08.399 the screen and he acted, Okay, yeah, this boy always 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:15.319 has a fresh hairline, doesn't studying it for years working 0:01:15.360 --> 0:01:25.200 on mine. Giving up. Brother, I'm glad to be here. Bro, 0:01:25.240 --> 0:01:27.399 I mean your family, so you know it's good to 0:01:27.440 --> 0:01:31.600 see you. Thank you for being here with us. Then, um, 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:36.039 I want to go into a story. Kick right off. 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:41.559 I just started doing R and B music, not singing 0:01:41.600 --> 0:01:48.440 it but producing it and writing it. Um for um 0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:51.960 my ex wife sisters. Um. They had a little girls 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:55.320 crew and it's three them sing sing They tails off, right, 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:57.400 And so I was like, okay, I'll try, you can 0:01:57.400 --> 0:01:58.520 try to produce a little R and B and I 0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:00.640 used to do little Rmby music for him. And their 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:03.000 manager at the time was a guy named that that 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:05.560 is Edwards, who was like you know roal manager at 0:02:05.600 --> 0:02:09.639 first Winning Fire Ussher like you know, big guy, right, 0:02:09.800 --> 0:02:13.280 So he was like, I got an opportunity for the 0:02:13.320 --> 0:02:19.359 girls to open for Immature, right, so at the Baltimore Arena. Right. 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:21.880 So at this time, I'm like, Okay, that'll be cool. 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:24.519 Open up Immature. That's gonna be straight. I had heard 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:26.000 of you guys, but you know, I'm a church kid. 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:30.000 I'm you know, church musician. You know who. I got 0:02:30.040 --> 0:02:31.560 all that. I got all this stuff with me. You 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:36.000 know what I'm saying, whelujah, I got all that with me. 0:02:37.080 --> 0:02:45.120 I had no more different. So they're like Immateur. I'm like, yeah, 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:47.040 they cool, you know straight. You know I'm saying, be 0:02:47.040 --> 0:02:50.400 good opportunity for girls. Good opportunity for girls. So I 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:52.280 make my little show track for the girls so they 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:54.760 could perform, and they do some original stuff and then 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:58.320 they do the s w V color like all good stuff, right, 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:02.600 and so you know they opened, they do they do 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:05.400 awesome because you know, we're from Maryland. And then one 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:07.720 of one of the one of the little girls fallon. 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:11.440 She was actually from Baltimore. So they got mad love, 0:03:11.600 --> 0:03:15.560 major love, right and so um at this point, they're 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:19.080 singing in front of the curtain. Yeah right, because you know, 0:03:19.960 --> 0:03:23.320 I had never done an R and B show. I've 0:03:23.320 --> 0:03:25.040 never done a big show like that, so I didn't 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:27.480 know what that untail. I don't know why that was, 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:29.640 but I knew that there was a curtain right there, 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:32.560 and then they had space to do that and it 0:03:32.680 --> 0:03:37.360 was the major Yeah, I didn't know, but but I 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:39.720 was happy that they had the spaces they had, and 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:42.600 I was like, I wonder what's behind the curtain anyway, 0:03:42.840 --> 0:03:45.320 So they performed and I'm like, all right, well let's 0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:47.320 get out of here. Girls, good job, and they're like, 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:49.440 you don't want to stay for immature? One of them. 0:03:49.440 --> 0:03:50.920 I was talking to one of the band members and 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:52.400 he was like, man, that's a quid school little track, 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:54.760 you man track, just things I did. You know, I 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:59.040 work in churches here, local churches, you know, pretty big 0:03:59.120 --> 0:04:02.040 in the church circuit. Church game. Yeah, you know, they 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:06.960 mean appreciate what you guys gonna do your stuff out. Yeah, 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:09.880 we're gonna we're gonna do a little something. You like Immature? 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:11.400 Is that I don't really know the guys, you know 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:13.760 what I mean, I'm kind of into some different stuff, 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:16.440 you know, John P. K. Kimbarel, those people, you know, 0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:22.880 those people. I'm being a few full port ers, right right. Yeah, 0:04:23.279 --> 0:04:26.159 that's that's what we all areas like that. And so 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:31.240 like one of our biggest markets, they love but they 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:36.640 do it. So that was one of our biggest I 0:04:36.760 --> 0:04:40.560 was there, Yeah, that sold out? Yeah? Absolutely, um, And 0:04:40.600 --> 0:04:43.680 so we're trying to leave and it guess it's you know, 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:46.440 it's so much commotion in that in that back parking area. 0:04:46.480 --> 0:04:48.960 We're blocked in. So we're like, who's blocking us in? 0:04:49.720 --> 0:04:53.039 It's a sold out concert, ain't no telling who's blocking this? Yeah, 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:56.120 So we literally they're they're trying to fare out who's 0:04:56.120 --> 0:04:58.240 blocking us in? At this time We're like, all right, 0:04:58.240 --> 0:04:59.599 well we'll just you know, might as well just watch 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:01.760 the show while we're sitting here blocked in. Oh what 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:07.880 have you? And and the intro starts hmm and was 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:09.760 I think the first song was the first song? All right? 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:11.880 The girl was that? Was that? Was that a thing? 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:14.360 All right? Love is groove, love his groove? That was 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:17.839 that the first one? Yeah, the first song of the 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:20.200 first song, I think we intro with Yeah, that's crazy, 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:22.640 he still remembers, and listen. I'm sitting there and I'm 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:24.520 just I'm listening to the intro. I'm like, oh, that's big, 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:31.920 that's a big intro. Start getting crazy. I'm looking at 0:05:31.920 --> 0:05:35.080 the musicians like, yeah, why is this sounded? And then 0:05:35.080 --> 0:05:41.560 all of a sudden, booze explosion, the curtain falls. Three 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:45.440 these three niggas come running out. The crowd is going crazy. 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:49.839 Nise niggas do niggas just stepping this niggas singing. I'm like, 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:57.520 these little niggas is awesome. These little Yeah, I don't 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:01.720 know their songs, but I'm sitting here like this. Yeah. 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:08.200 I remember. And at the time, I had a gospel group, 0:06:08.240 --> 0:06:10.440 one of the biggest gospel groups like in that area. Yeah, 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:15.359 And I was watching y'all perform and sing and dance 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:19.720 and your showmanship, and it was so cold that I 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:23.839 was like, as good as we can sing, as important 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:27.600 as our message is, because we were a gospel we couldn't. 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:29.920 We would we would never be able to follow you. 0:06:32.760 --> 0:06:35.520 We would never. And I said, guys, I went back 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:37.600 to my guy. I said, guys, I just saw immature 0:06:37.640 --> 0:06:43.680 and They're like, you don't get it, you don't get it. 0:06:44.080 --> 0:06:47.479 We have to change this up. Yeah, we gotta, like 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:52.760 our entertainment value has to go up, Like we have 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:56.120 a great message. Why can't we talk about Jesus the 0:06:56.200 --> 0:07:00.360 way they're talking about what they're talking about. I can't 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:05.040 our showmanship or our sound. Why can't it be like 0:07:05.160 --> 0:07:12.840 that for Jesus? You you because we was you can't 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:16.240 you think don't know about the Pelvicts thrust. You don't 0:07:16.280 --> 0:07:19.000 think that God invented the pelvits to be able to 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:21.800 thrust and that he would get the glory in that 0:07:21.880 --> 0:07:27.160 in some way shape before. Yeah, let's get to it, huh. 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:28.840 And they looked at me like I was crazy. It 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:30.679 was like this. It was like, that's the flesh talking. 0:07:34.080 --> 0:07:37.480 It's not the flesh. So but you got you kicked 0:07:37.480 --> 0:07:43.559 out the out of the group. Look whoever. We tried 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:46.200 it and then it did. I had dancers tracks, everything 0:07:46.200 --> 0:07:49.040 we tried. You know, that was you know, that was 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:51.520 a blessing in disguise because now you know, well, at 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:54.040 the time, I'm like, you guys, don't see it what 0:07:54.120 --> 0:07:57.480 I'm trying to do. And guess what happened? So you know, 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:01.800 I think I feel like I kicked them out of 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:04.840 the group, but it was just me who was not 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:10.960 in the group. No more so, maybe I gotta whoever, 0:08:10.560 --> 0:08:15.040 whoever's the group. We're practicing it tomorrow. I'll see you there. 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:21.160 It was the only one in practice. So yeah, maybe 0:08:21.200 --> 0:08:24.240 it just a mutual It was a mutual decision, we'll 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:26.440 call it. It wasn't. I saw I was solo there 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:31.760 on my own, but that pushed me to the flesh 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:36.040 want to be. It pushed my flesh, flesh, It pushed 0:08:36.040 --> 0:08:39.599 my flesh one. But guess what, as I'm saying, I 0:08:39.640 --> 0:08:41.280 wanted to do all of that when we talked about 0:08:41.280 --> 0:08:45.920 this before. Then all of a sudden, here comes Kirk Cranklin. Yes, 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:50.840 and I'm like, I told you. I told you because 0:08:50.880 --> 0:08:54.800 I was a GP fane. I said, I told you 0:08:55.200 --> 0:09:00.800 that the Lord deserves that. You know, it's entertainment. You 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:03.160 guys pushed me to that. You guys pushed me to 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:07.040 develop in that way, to be entertaining. And then I 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:09.960 went and bought your music. They started listening to your songs, 0:09:09.960 --> 0:09:12.240 and I was like, Okay, first of all, I feel 0:09:12.320 --> 0:09:18.800 like they're adult. They're adults, they're midgets. Because where the 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:25.040 little people. The little people because people because because those 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:29.360 were grown records, you hadn't no business that's singing those 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:32.720 records because those were sexy records. You you know what 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:36.440 it is. It was crazy because when we um, when 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:39.920 we started as immature, we were signed virgin records were 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:41.760 like eight nine years old. We had the crazy hands 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:44.400 that that was. That was the flop. You know, we 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:48.200 had the kid half pint. Hold on, hold on, okay, 0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:51.880 because I like where you're at, go back before that 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:54.760 to even how you get there? How do you get 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:58.239 to being signed eight or nine years So here's here's 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:02.760 exactly what happened. I did a talent show um at 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:07.840 my school, and um, you know Chris was looking for 0:10:07.920 --> 0:10:13.440 a group to like kind of mirror ABC. So you 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:16.080 know he was he had produced for like BBD. He 0:10:16.120 --> 0:10:17.800 was friends with new editions and stuff like that. He 0:10:17.800 --> 0:10:19.320 can't because you know, Chris came up in the in 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:24.160 the entertainment business. So Chris Stokes, he was he was 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:26.040 saying he wanted to do a group kind of like ABC, 0:10:26.920 --> 0:10:30.199 Jackson five, that whole thing. So he found me at 0:10:30.240 --> 0:10:32.959 my talent show. He had already had wrong and um, 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:35.280 we were looking for another member. We went through like 0:10:35.320 --> 0:10:37.560 a couple of other members or whatever didn't work, and 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:40.120 I had um half punt. The little Asian kid that 0:10:40.200 --> 0:10:41.640 was in the group. He went to school with me. 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:43.480 So I was like, you know, I got got a kid, 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:45.320 you know, one of my boys, you know, went to 0:10:45.320 --> 0:10:46.800 go to school and me. We put him in the group, 0:10:47.160 --> 0:10:51.920 put him in the group, and I met My dad 0:10:51.920 --> 0:10:54.520 took me to meet at Chris's studio. So I was 0:10:54.520 --> 0:10:57.040 a huge ABC fan. Another backgrader. You couldn't tell me 0:10:57.080 --> 0:11:00.559 nothing about ABC. So I went got a bucket hat. 0:11:00.640 --> 0:11:02.720 I told my dad like, I gotta, you know, dress 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:04.760 like ABC. This is my chest. I actually I don't 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:06.440 know why he was. I was a kid. I thought 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:08.360 I was gonna be in ABC. So I'm like, I'm 0:11:08.400 --> 0:11:11.199 gonna be in ABC. This is my chance. So I 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:15.280 went get a bucket hat, got the mismatch shoes and 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:19.960 the backwards overalls. Met with Chris is the studio. He 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:21.720 asked me, you know, can you sing him? Like NA, 0:11:21.880 --> 0:11:24.960 not really, but I could dance though, busting my dance moves, 0:11:25.080 --> 0:11:26.640 did a little bit of singing, but I wasn't really 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:29.079 that good. And he was like, okay, you know, he 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:30.679 talked to my daddy. He was, I can put together 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:34.360 the group. Whatever, fast forward, I'm in the group. We immature, 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:37.560 cut to we signed in Virgin Records. How do you 0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:39.800 just get signed? It was just his relationship was, yeah, 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:43.520 Chris relationships with with the Darryl Sudden. He was over 0:11:43.720 --> 0:11:45.480 at Virgin Records at the time. He signed as the 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:48.480 Virgin and it didn't work. You know, we tried a lot. 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:50.840 We did. I did the movie Baba's Kids because Chris 0:11:50.880 --> 0:11:54.400 was actually friends with the casting director Ailie Knight got 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:57.760 me the job or got me the audition and playing 0:11:57.800 --> 0:12:02.120 like the main baby kid. Yeah. I was so that 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:07.560 that that with, you know crazy that along with we 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:10.000 did a soundtrack to Baba's Kids and then Jamae Dupre 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:13.360 We worked with Jamae Dupre uh and you know, we 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:15.040 got to do all these things, but it just didn't work. 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:17.560 First album didn't work. That's why I call. I'm like, 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:21.280 that's the flop album. And what happened is we we 0:12:21.400 --> 0:12:24.600 lost our deal with Virgin and then Chris believed in 0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:28.280 us and half point his parents were like, you know, 0:12:28.360 --> 0:12:32.040 well we're used to him being in school seven or 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:33.720 six days a week, in the Philippines. That is how 0:12:33.760 --> 0:12:35.679 they do it. So they were like, you know, they 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:37.559 wrote us a letter, or wrote Chris. The letter was like, 0:12:37.559 --> 0:12:39.199 if he can't do a school six days a week, 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:41.000 actually go to school, he can't be in the group. 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:42.240 So of course we had to take him out of 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:44.600 the group. And that's where we found. I always wanted 0:12:44.720 --> 0:12:48.320 how how y'all lost the Asian niggas yep, because the 0:12:48.400 --> 0:12:58.160 Asian Hey listen, I'm black Asian. That's what happened. They 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:00.400 were like, you know, they wanted him to go to school. 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:02.480 It was like, we don't want him to be you know, 0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:05.200 if he can't make six days a week in public school, 0:13:06.200 --> 0:13:10.400 and we like that, you can't do my protitutor. So 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:13.520 they took him out. And I'm like, well, my neighbor 0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:16.720 the right down the street from me can play the drums, 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:21.200 and that was Ldbow and we put Kelton. He was 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:23.880 he was a drummer. It actually in our band because 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:25.679 we had a kid band and we had like the 0:13:25.679 --> 0:13:28.240 whole immature the Virgin Records day. It was like big, 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:32.880 we get our cells. He was in the band. He 0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:36.160 was he was the bass player or no, no, he 0:13:36.200 --> 0:13:38.560 was the guitar player. RAYJ was the bass player. Who 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:42.040 was ray J was a bass player. Brandy was the 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:45.960 background singer. Ray J is always gonna find his way 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:55.640 into the story. Was the background singer. What we break 0:13:55.679 --> 0:13:57.720 that down one the time? So so we get this 0:13:57.840 --> 0:14:00.040 right in the immature band and the immature band and 0:14:00.840 --> 0:14:04.640 that was the guitar player. Ty's dad was the orchestrator. 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:07.000 He was the production manager of all of it. Okay, 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:09.959 he did all the like band stuff. Ray J was 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:13.679 the bass player. He didn't play bass though, I don't 0:14:13.720 --> 0:14:19.000 think definitely was the gimbick and he would he would 0:14:19.000 --> 0:14:21.120 we we would perform and we would be like ray 0:14:21.160 --> 0:14:22.840 J on the bass and he would hit this note 0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:25.640 and he would like and he would do this run 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:30.880 like yeah yeah something like that. That was his moment, 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:33.880 and Brandy would do her thing. So Brandy was a 0:14:33.920 --> 0:14:36.680 background vocalist. Ray J was the bass player. Ty Doller 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:39.120 was a guitar player, and Kelton was the drummer. Yeah. 0:14:39.320 --> 0:14:41.840 So then when when uh, but kell would always get 0:14:41.880 --> 0:14:43.240 in the front of the pictures and he would like, 0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:44.480 you know, you could tell you when to be in 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:47.960 the group. So I was like, you know, Kelt just 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:51.880 naturally step into to place. And then Chris put his 0:14:51.920 --> 0:14:54.320 money together and recorded a whole album on us. And 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:57.600 that's the album the I Don't mind Never Lie all 0:14:57.640 --> 0:15:01.360 those yea, And we took it to Arnie Singleton an 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:03.440 NCA and we got signed and shout out to Arnie Singles. 0:15:03.520 --> 0:15:07.440 Come on man, come on man, what year is this? 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:11.400 This is ninety two? I think I was twelve? Yeah, yeah, 0:15:12.600 --> 0:15:14.960 what was the was was was? I don't what was 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:17.920 the first single? First single was never Lied? Never Never Lied? One? 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:20.680 YOUNI is in like a tree or so Yeah, it 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:23.720 was a tree with the like a tree. I remember 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:27.440 it was recording song christ you gotta give me more feeling, 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:29.320 you gotta give you more feeling. At that point, I'm like, 0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:32.400 I don't know what I don't. Yeah, but record even 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:36.240 the grown record a lot of you again, this is 0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:40.160 line of twelve right the girls, so you do it twic. 0:15:40.320 --> 0:15:42.080 I didn't. I didn't know a lot of girls yet 0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:46.240 I was still telling the truth in his army. Yeah, yeah, 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:56.400 I ain't. Wasn't for the color, wasn't How did they know? 0:15:57.200 --> 0:15:59.000 How did they do they know? Them? Not lying anymore? 0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:05.000 And yeah, like literally going from like us trying all 0:16:05.040 --> 0:16:07.200 this stuff and not really being successful and it never 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:10.200 lie hits and we played it and the we we 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:15.440 debuted in DC WPGC, Washington, DC, and it lit up, 0:16:15.760 --> 0:16:21.920 blew up, and from there it was just it was pandemonium, pandemonium. 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:26.280 And so at this point you're Batman. Yeah, yeah, why 0:16:26.280 --> 0:16:29.920 are you Batman? Well there's another story to that. I 0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:35.800 got stories great, so I used to, Right, So we 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:39.480 went to convention BR. So we went to the BR 0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:42.200 you conventioned this is the Virsion days. And I'm in 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:44.680 the hotel room and you know, our image was wild, 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:48.040 we had like you know, before a TLC. It was us. 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:50.960 We was wild and crazy all this like crazy big 0:16:51.040 --> 0:16:53.720 hats and stuff like that. So I'm in the room 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:55.280 and play. I'm getting dressed and I put on my 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:57.680 beatie right, and you know, I had my uh my 0:16:57.760 --> 0:17:00.000 pair of Batman draws. I used to love Batman draws. 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:02.560 The Batman was my favorite superhero. Don't ask me why 0:17:02.600 --> 0:17:04.959 I had my Batman draws and why I put them 0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:07.080 over my beattie, but I did. I'm like this is 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:11.240 this would be just crazy, you know, over my Beatie 0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:15.520 playing in the room like hi, Hi, We go out 0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:18.359 and it was like everybody was like looking that we 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:20.280 had caught a lot of attention because we was little 0:17:20.359 --> 0:17:22.480 kids and I got Batman underwear in my head and 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:24.120 they're like, hey, you know, what's your name? And I'll 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:29.800 just be like Batman. That's how I started. I don't 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:31.960 ask me why I did it. I don't know why 0:17:32.080 --> 0:17:37.600 I referred to the draws as my name, but I 0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:41.000 was being funny. But it worked. Batman was great. It 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:44.840 was that's when that was the beginning of the Batman. Okay, 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:50.040 so what what's the first major show you do where 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:54.960 you see the effects of um, I will never lie. 0:17:55.160 --> 0:18:01.560 It was Constitution Hall watching the Boy talking to Right Talk. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:05.480 we sold our show. Who I was on it? I 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:08.959 don't even remember the opening act. I know we did 0:18:09.000 --> 0:18:11.760 a tour and we had Usher as an opening act 0:18:12.080 --> 0:18:15.560 on one of our tours. We had Drew Hill as 0:18:15.560 --> 0:18:17.760 an over and act on one of our tours. Monica 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:20.720 like all these these people that are just huge because 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:24.760 if you were if you were either a teenage our 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:30.879 young kid act, you had to go yeah, and if 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:33.800 you mean because you knew that's where all the kids 0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:35.399 were going to be. All the Kids was going to 0:18:35.480 --> 0:18:39.680 be so and we did Constitution Hall and the level 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:44.200 of it was just crazy, like people was fainting and 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:48.639 it was just like I remember when we when we 0:18:48.760 --> 0:18:51.719 were in Immature, the first when I was like nineteen, 0:18:51.800 --> 0:18:53.440 we first got in the Mature and when we're going 0:18:53.440 --> 0:18:55.360 to the grocery store. I grew up in the hood, 0:18:55.480 --> 0:18:58.320 you know, Baldwin Hills, Crisshaw applies that I was like 0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:01.159 my hangout spot. I would go over there like whatever. 0:19:01.240 --> 0:19:03.080 So I went. I would go to the grocery store 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:05.040 and I was like, I wonder if I'm gonna get 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:09.680 noticed today? Never got noticed that whole time. I would 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:12.080 go to the grocery store and I'm just like, wait on. 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:14.080 I would wait like for somebody to be like can 0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:19.159 the autographs? I'm just like looking like, yeah, never happened, 0:19:19.400 --> 0:19:25.360 you know? If do you know? But after Never Lie 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:29.080 came out, after that album, I couldn't go nowhere. So 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:31.440 did y'all ever because I know you wanted to be 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:34.240 in a group, did y'all ever get to perform with ABC? No? 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:38.879 We actually had beef with ABC. Oh Man. So the 0:19:39.040 --> 0:19:42.760 thing was because we worked with Jermaine and the whole 0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:47.200 criss Cross. Yeah, yeah, it was. It was like you 0:19:47.240 --> 0:19:49.080 know what I'm saying, It was natural. So then we 0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:51.040 did we did a video tear it up for the 0:19:51.080 --> 0:19:54.200 baby ass kids, and we tore up the mental side 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:58.760 because I think BIV and everything BBD and yeah that 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:01.840 was like yeah mental right, So we was that was 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:03.880 those like our big brothers, Chris Cross. We was close 0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:07.000 to Chris Cross because Jermaine or whatever. So because of that, 0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:10.960 I think ABC didn't really like us. So yeah, we chose. 0:20:11.040 --> 0:20:14.400 So we did this thing and I remember were kids 0:20:14.440 --> 0:20:17.080 and ABC was they was bad, like there was another 0:20:17.119 --> 0:20:19.280 bad creation was not just their name like they were. 0:20:20.320 --> 0:20:25.680 They really wanted to smoke. So now we do this 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:29.280 little function somewhere and they banging on us, like we 0:20:29.400 --> 0:20:34.280 walked to the car and they're like we was like what, Oh, 0:20:34.560 --> 0:20:39.800 I got Batman's draws on my baby broo. After Playground, 0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:42.880 I did the playground and the show play grab come 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:46.080 on it. So we just never you know what I'm saying, 0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:49.160 We never connected with ABC, so you know, it never 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:52.040 got to do that show that did show that would 0:20:52.040 --> 0:20:55.160 have been a crazy showmagine it would have been ABC 0:20:55.720 --> 0:20:59.920 Immature and Chris Criss Cross. Yeah, you know that could 0:20:59.920 --> 0:21:11.840 have sold out. They had a meeting with us to 0:21:11.960 --> 0:21:13.960 be on SIS when they were doing a pilot, but 0:21:14.000 --> 0:21:15.520 it didn't work out. So they were like, you know what, 0:21:15.680 --> 0:21:17.359 it doesn't work for the whole group to be on 0:21:17.480 --> 0:21:22.520 the show, but we want him to read for the 0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:25.360 role of Roger. Made it all the way to UM 0:21:25.760 --> 0:21:28.399 Network and I got the role of Roger. And then 0:21:28.560 --> 0:21:32.600 I seen Darlene. She on my way into the audition. 0:21:32.680 --> 0:21:34.320 She was like, I put in a good word for you, 0:21:35.000 --> 0:21:37.560 so you know, yeah, so I think she might have 0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:39.520 put in a good work. Yeah, I hope she did. 0:21:39.560 --> 0:21:41.440 I don't know she did that, but you know, Darlene, 0:21:41.440 --> 0:21:42.800 thank you if you did put in a good work. 0:21:43.040 --> 0:21:46.200 I ended up being Roger. How many seasons? I did 0:21:46.320 --> 0:21:50.480 four seasons and then I left the show, okay, because 0:21:50.520 --> 0:21:54.320 I just didn't want to be uh you know. It 0:21:54.400 --> 0:21:57.720 was it was difficult to to to be here with 0:21:57.920 --> 0:22:01.840 this huge, successful group and we're running things with the 0:22:01.960 --> 0:22:04.280 ladies and and this and that, and then I have 0:22:04.359 --> 0:22:07.240 to come get this to set and be Roger. It 0:22:07.359 --> 0:22:09.440 was mentally it was just kind of it was like 0:22:10.640 --> 0:22:13.920 I really got yeah, I mean, but I mean, me 0:22:13.960 --> 0:22:16.399 and Tia had a little a little something you know, 0:22:17.920 --> 0:22:21.800 behind the scenes, you know, but uh, I just felt 0:22:21.840 --> 0:22:25.280 like I didn't want to be old and be Roger, 0:22:25.480 --> 0:22:29.359 Like I didn't want to be like Jalil White was 0:22:29.440 --> 0:22:31.879 what I felt like, you know. I was like, I 0:22:31.960 --> 0:22:34.320 don't want to get to a point where I'm eighteen 0:22:34.480 --> 0:22:37.080 nineteen and I'm still playing Roger. And then I went 0:22:37.119 --> 0:22:39.520 to the executives and I was like, you know, do 0:22:39.600 --> 0:22:41.840 you mind writing me to be a little bit cooler. 0:22:41.920 --> 0:22:43.440 So then one one season that like they had the 0:22:43.520 --> 0:22:46.280 cool Roger and it didn't end up, it didn't really work, 0:22:46.359 --> 0:22:48.280 and it was just like it was just too much 0:22:48.320 --> 0:22:51.119 with that kind of how with with family matters. Jalil 0:22:51.240 --> 0:22:58.160 went in and wrote step yeah exactly, and I wanted 0:22:58.160 --> 0:22:59.680 to do that, but it just didn't work with such 0:22:59.680 --> 0:23:02.200 a just couldn't work out, you know. So it was 0:23:02.280 --> 0:23:04.520 just like I left the show because I didn't want 0:23:04.520 --> 0:23:06.440 to keep I didn't want people to remember that and 0:23:06.520 --> 0:23:09.080 I know where I was going musically. That's what I 0:23:09.160 --> 0:23:11.560 wanted first. That was my first love and that's what 0:23:11.640 --> 0:23:13.480 I wanted to do, and I felt like it was 0:23:13.600 --> 0:23:15.760 getting in the way of my music. So now you're 0:23:15.800 --> 0:23:19.040