Speaker 1: R and B Money.
Speaker 2: We are.
Speaker 3: Take about that.
Speaker 1: We are the authorities on all this R and B.
Speaker 3: Ladies and gentlemen. My name is Tank. Yeah, I feel
Speaker 3: like that. This is the Army Money podcast.
Speaker 1: On all things R and B. You know, soothing, soothing.
Speaker 3: You know, as of recently, you know, a lot of
Speaker 3: a lot of artists, a lot of creatives have adopted
Speaker 3: a vibe you know now they now, they now they.
Speaker 1: Have a vibe. Yeah. Some of us are just the vibes,
Speaker 1: you know. Some of us are. Some of us have.
Speaker 3: Been the the vibe for quite some time. Very angelic
Speaker 3: on so many novels, all level visually, artistically, the gifts
Speaker 3: I mean, I mean they they span countries and she
Speaker 3: is not from this place.
Speaker 1: The world cred the world, craigh.
Speaker 3: Normally I'm loud during this part of you know, j
Speaker 3: just reminded me that this is this is a five episode,
Speaker 3: so we're gonna stay right in here. Makes noise for.
Speaker 4: Gap whisper intro.
Speaker 1: Yeah we got it. Set the moon.
Speaker 4: Candles, but still the energy.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, because they know what it is when they
Speaker 3: see you do this camera, that's your camera. Give me quappoly,
Speaker 3: what does where does Quoppoly come from.
Speaker 5: Well, it's my grandmother's maiden name, wow, and it's really.
Speaker 1: Pronounced say it again.
Speaker 5: You did excellent, But I would say since I was
Speaker 5: really little, it's been mispronounced in like a thousand different ways.
Speaker 5: It's a sound African names, So gap is how I've
Speaker 5: been saying it since, you know, association.
Speaker 1: Because what she was saying is that the money come
Speaker 1: along with the essence. You know what I'm saying, y'all
Speaker 1: don't really.
Speaker 5: Know, y'all don't I'm yes, yes, and it means go forward, and.
Speaker 4: I don't know.
Speaker 5: It took me a minute to grow into it. And
Speaker 5: I feel like that's kind of how my music has been.
Speaker 5: It's never really fit in exact like genres, just like
Speaker 5: growing into what I am and you know, hoping that
Speaker 5: people get it.
Speaker 1: Well.
Speaker 3: People have had to play ketch up on what you
Speaker 3: were doing because for me, my first time hearing you
Speaker 3: the only person that I could even talk about in
Speaker 3: that space or you know, put you kind of next
Speaker 3: to with shade.
Speaker 4: Yeah, well I love hearing that, you know, and.
Speaker 3: You know what that those two energy like that's it
Speaker 3: was it. Now everybody's you know, now everybody's picking picking
Speaker 3: the fruit of the vibe Tree, which is great. You
Speaker 3: know what I'm saying, Like we we we want that,
Speaker 3: we wanted to grow and become this thing, you know
Speaker 3: what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: But you know, I just I remember you.
Speaker 2: Being yeah, yeah.
Speaker 5: I feel like when I started, I was like I
Speaker 5: was really nervous about the industry because I was like,
Speaker 5: it's not straight up R and B. It's not st
Speaker 5: I don't even know if soul, like neo soul was
Speaker 5: like just about to be a category when I was recording.
Speaker 5: By the time I put out music, neo soul was
Speaker 5: a genre.
Speaker 4: But it's like I loved jazz and blues and everything in.
Speaker 5: Between, and I was like, I'm just gonna write these
Speaker 5: songs and I'm gonna start performing and.
Speaker 4: We'll figure it out.
Speaker 5: You love the music, yeah, And I loved hip hop,
Speaker 5: but I wasn't a rapper.
Speaker 2: And it's a certain thing of obviously being from the home,
Speaker 2: from being from the Bay Area and just that melting
Speaker 2: pot of music for sure, of so many things like
Speaker 2: you said that, there's there's jazz, there's hip hop, there's church,
Speaker 2: there's you know what I mean, there's Tony Tony Tony,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 1: What I mean they created.
Speaker 2: It's just when you start going and and all of
Speaker 2: those artists that you just named and groups are all different.
Speaker 1: Yeah, nothing the same.
Speaker 2: So imagine you know, you grow up in that and
Speaker 2: like you said, South South African parent, you know what
Speaker 2: I mean, Like you have a whole nother mindset of
Speaker 2: you know, where your music can go and what it
Speaker 2: can be and just and I think as much as
Speaker 2: you know they always regional wiss you know that with
Speaker 2: the you know, the whole area thing, we still we
Speaker 2: don't have a we don't have a seiling for ourselves though,
Speaker 2: Like we just try music.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and it's such like an indie vibe, and like because.
Speaker 2: We're gonna put it out, it's gonna come out either
Speaker 2: in the trunk.
Speaker 5: And that's how it started, you know what I mean,
Speaker 5: Like pressing up a thousand CDs and selling them as
Speaker 5: shows and out of the trunk and consignment at stores
Speaker 5: until it was like we don't just want to we
Speaker 5: want a box. And it was like they're going to
Speaker 5: buy a box of CDs. Oh more stores want them.
Speaker 5: We need real distribution, you know.
Speaker 2: So you guys were going, you and your team skyblaze, right,
Speaker 2: you guys were going from store to store.
Speaker 4: Yea, literally it was like a meeba.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I remember Balanced was Balance working at Rescue.
Speaker 4: Yes he was.
Speaker 3: He was.
Speaker 1: So he was an artist, super talented guy.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and he's now but now he's like a scriptwriter
Speaker 2: I want to say. I want to say he is
Speaker 2: one of the writers on like blind Spotting or something. Yeah,
Speaker 2: he's doing his ship. But he used to actually be
Speaker 2: like the purchaser at resputen. But he was an artist
Speaker 2: and he was like fully tapped into everything that.
Speaker 1: Was going on.
Speaker 4: To you life show.
Speaker 2: You got to hit Balance some you know, some hundred
Speaker 2: CDs over there and they would moving around their stores.
Speaker 2: So that was that was the cool thing about being
Speaker 2: from the Bay too, is that you could really there
Speaker 2: were there were places for you to be independent, for sure,
Speaker 2: but I didn't know y'all were for me. I always
Speaker 2: thought y'all had some form of distribution, So initially y'all didn't.
Speaker 5: It took it took a minute, and I think, you know,
Speaker 5: we presented in that way from the beginning and just
Speaker 5: wanted to have quality, like no one needed to know
Speaker 5: how small it was starting, you know what I mean.
Speaker 5: But the idea was like if we build it, and
Speaker 5: I can build a fan base that they'll be like
Speaker 5: a demand. So if I do a major deal, I
Speaker 5: won't be shelved or I won't have to prove myself.
Speaker 5: It won't be about the marketing. It'll be like people
Speaker 5: are already requesting something, you know what I mean, So
Speaker 5: it could be more empowering, you know. And there's people
Speaker 5: like from Digital Underground we knew Shock G and DJ
Speaker 5: Fuse and you know what I mean that had been
Speaker 5: just doing things in their own way and kind of
Speaker 5: mentoring from AFAR and just watching like how Too Short
Speaker 5: did it, How Lettucy did it, How Martin Luther did it, hieroglyphics,
Speaker 5: how they did it? And they we got distribution through
Speaker 5: them initially, Yeah, yeah, through Red Yeah, because I was
Speaker 5: just doing these collaborations and it just naturally happened.
Speaker 1: I remember meeting with.
Speaker 2: A guy and and.
Speaker 1: You. He had your CD on his desk.
Speaker 2: At this point, I had never heard of you yet,
Speaker 2: And I was kind of back and forth between LA
Speaker 2: and San Francisco and this before I started the whole
Speaker 2: City Boys music thing with Bailey, uh, and we were
Speaker 2: just kind of you know, I was taking meetings, yeah,
Speaker 2: you know, I had met with with the Italian gentleman
Speaker 2: who who was doing some stuff in the Bay Area,
Speaker 2: and he was like, yeah, you know this this new
Speaker 2: girl Scoppoly and I'm like he was talking about kind
Speaker 2: of you know, the numbers that you were doing, you
Speaker 2: know how you were just he was like, you gotta
Speaker 2: go see your live and you gotta see her perform.
Speaker 2: And I don't remember the first place I saw you before,
Speaker 2: but I was just like, oh, this is different, Like
Speaker 2: this is different. And with me being a barrier kidd
Speaker 2: of me growing up there, it was still different to me.
Speaker 2: I was like, oh, this this, this feels like so
Speaker 2: it's like Berkeley, Berkeley. It felt like Berkeley, so Berkeley
Speaker 2: for us about free it's it's it's the free love.
Speaker 2: It's the you know what I mean, everybody everybody's flower children,
Speaker 2: the flower Children.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's what it felt like.
Speaker 2: And if it made you smile, like when I heard
Speaker 2: your music, that's how it made me feel.
Speaker 1: And you know you're from this same era too.
Speaker 2: We come from mob music, very street, you know what
Speaker 2: I mean, the old forty days.
Speaker 4: Yeah, the the you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying, Like not just forty forty
Speaker 2: in the clique of those people don't know about click
Speaker 2: is mob music, you know what I mean. So growing
Speaker 2: up in that RBL posse and rapping Fote and Saint
Speaker 2: Quinn and you know what I'm saying, and JT de
Speaker 2: Big Figure all these things, and then when I heard
Speaker 2: your music, I was like, Yo, this shit makes me
Speaker 2: smile mm, Like this feels really good. And that's and
Speaker 2: that's what I've always attached personally to you and your music.
Speaker 2: Whenever I see you, I'm always like.
Speaker 5: Everything great, cause it's like for me, music that I
Speaker 5: relate to, like, I want the basslines and the drums
Speaker 5: to feel like you could hear it, you know what
Speaker 5: I mean down the street.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you want it to.
Speaker 5: But what I want to say and the energy I
Speaker 5: want to put out is I want a positive impact
Speaker 5: on the world. So it's like there's you know, certain
Speaker 5: stuff I'm not going to say in my music, but
Speaker 5: I want the feeling to be a combination.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 5: And I feel like all those influences are in me.
Speaker 5: But I'm happy that it that it felt happy inside.
Speaker 5: And I grew up I was born in Oakland, but
Speaker 5: I grew up in Berkeley and Oakland.
Speaker 1: So O, wow, that's what it felt like to.
Speaker 2: Slice of blindise Pizza girl out there.
Speaker 1: Better know where you're from here? So when did okay?
Speaker 1: When did you know that you were? Was?
Speaker 3: Was Wapa always going to be your stage name? And
Speaker 3: and when did you know that okay?
Speaker 1: Was she like little Rashita at first?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 1: Right?
Speaker 3: What was going on?
Speaker 1: What was the younger.
Speaker 3: Was?
Speaker 1: What was it was?
Speaker 4: I think when I was.
Speaker 5: I always like from a really young age, I'm gonna
Speaker 5: say like from eight years old, I felt like I
Speaker 5: wanted to be on the stage.
Speaker 4: And I would see like my.
Speaker 5: Parents' friends, like some of them were South African artists.
Speaker 5: I would watch my parents would bring us to live shows,
Speaker 5: you know what I mean. It was all ages, but
Speaker 5: we might be the only me and my siblings be
Speaker 5: the only kids in there, you know what I mean,
Speaker 5: Like I don't know if we're supposed to be here,
Speaker 5: but I was just picking up on the vibe. So
Speaker 5: I always felt like that's something I want to do.
Speaker 5: But I think I thought I was going to have
Speaker 5: an easier name, and I was like, I don't know,
Speaker 5: I was going to maybe be like Indigo or you
Speaker 5: know what I mean, something something easy to say, but
Speaker 5: that would be vibe. And then I just started performing,
Speaker 5: and you know, I was doing like singing at Riley's
Speaker 5: and protests and community events and parties, and it was
Speaker 5: just like there's me, there's my name, and it just I.
Speaker 4: Just kept moving.
Speaker 3: Yeah, when did you feel like you like really had something,
Speaker 3: because probably coming up, you know, with the family going
Speaker 3: to the shows and all those things, it was probably
Speaker 3: something that was normal. Yeah, yeah, yeah, were just singing
Speaker 3: having a good time.
Speaker 4: It is Yeah, my brother was a DJ.
Speaker 5: I would just like sing over a you know, hot instrumental.
Speaker 3: When did you realize it was something? Or when did
Speaker 3: somebody tell you, no, no, this is you need to
Speaker 3: take this serious.
Speaker 1: This is real.
Speaker 5: I think inside of me, I felt it from when
Speaker 5: I was really young, but I didn't know if I
Speaker 5: would have any success, but I knew I had that
Speaker 5: vision for myself, and I think I was just doing it.
Speaker 4: Like it was.
Speaker 5: You know, I would go to like a lot of
Speaker 5: conferences and stuff like that and I would just sing
Speaker 5: instead of talk because it was my comfort zone. And
Speaker 5: I liked the emotional connection and I liked seeing that
Speaker 5: it could affect people. And that they would feel something.
Speaker 5: But I don't know if I believed I would have success,
Speaker 5: like in doing my own music. But in high school,
Speaker 5: I was like, I'm going to take this seriously and
Speaker 5: like I went to Berkeley College of Music. It was
Speaker 5: like the only.
Speaker 4: School I applied to and.
Speaker 5: For a hot for a hot minute, you know, I
Speaker 5: didn't finish. I didn't finish, but I met some of
Speaker 5: the earliest collaborations. Like I went to school with Jeff Basker,
Speaker 5: who's like an amazing producer and songwriter. We did the
Speaker 5: first songs on my first album for school projects. I
Speaker 5: was like, you know what I mean. We only had
Speaker 5: to write like sixteen bars. But I was like, I
Speaker 5: want to write a song. I'm here to write a song.
Speaker 5: So I'm about to like find these talented people at
Speaker 5: the school and be like, will you sit down with me?
Speaker 5: Because I couldn't play anything. But I was like, I
Speaker 5: can humb a little idea. And I had a little idea,
Speaker 5: and I was like, let's I don't want to do
Speaker 5: this just with the teachers. Yeah, And it's like and
Speaker 5: I ended up using that later. I think Shaka Ramsey
Speaker 5: I worked with their Adam dt a bunch of really
Speaker 5: dope musicians.
Speaker 4: I forgot the beginning of the question because I.
Speaker 2: Started going off on though just about you, you know,
Speaker 2: really seeing if this was a real thing for you. Yeah,
Speaker 2: you know when you start feeling that for yourself.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean I think that doubt kind of creeps
Speaker 5: in in and out. But I was gonna.
Speaker 4: Make the steps, I feel.
Speaker 5: Like, from early on, and when I was starting to
Speaker 5: write music, like I was saying, I didn't know if
Speaker 5: there was a place for me, but.
Speaker 4: I was just gonna do it anyways, you know.
Speaker 5: And I just feel like I've always tried to have
Speaker 5: my own measures of success because our ELSA is just
Speaker 5: like so intimidating.
Speaker 4: It's like almost anything can feel like not enough.
Speaker 1: Have you ever done anything.
Speaker 4: Else besides independent?
Speaker 5: You mean I'm talking about like like I've worked with kids.
Speaker 5: I used to work with kids a lot when I
Speaker 5: was younger. I considered being like a childcare provider, teacher.
Speaker 1: You could.
Speaker 3: Account trying to come up to the school all the time.
Speaker 3: I'm just checking on my kids, make sure it's the
Speaker 3: right thing. How you doing today? I thought, uh also
Speaker 3: brought these flowers. I don't you know, I don't want.
Speaker 2: To come up with as something organic organ as a.
Speaker 3: Gesture for just you know, teaching my kid the right way,
Speaker 3: you know, just really pouring into him, uh the way
Speaker 3: we pour into each other.
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 5: Anyway, No, I love that, and I was like, it's
Speaker 5: just that's tiring work, Like teachers need to get paid
Speaker 5: more money out. Absolutely, I am not going to be
Speaker 5: able to multi task working with kids and doing music.
Speaker 5: I was doing retail for a little bit. I was
Speaker 5: like working in restaurants, and honestly, I love all those things,
Speaker 5: but I think I would be sad if I wasn't
Speaker 5: also doing music. Yeah, yeah, and so all those little jobs.
Speaker 5: You know, when I was younger, it was just like
Speaker 5: when I can afford to quit, I will, and I'm
Speaker 5: just like thankful that I've had now like a long
Speaker 5: career in music.
Speaker 4: It's kind of crazy, like.
Speaker 1: When was that. It was that moment, you.
Speaker 4: Know what happened.
Speaker 5: I was like, I was working retail and I think
Speaker 5: I was like nanny and it was I was getting
Speaker 5: I was starting to do like background stuff. I was
Speaker 5: performing with Spearhead, and it was just like the scheduling
Speaker 5: was getting in the way. And then like for shows,
Speaker 5: the scheduling was just getting in the way. So I
Speaker 5: was like, I can't prioritize this over this, So it
Speaker 5: just was kind of natural.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you just took you took the steps to where
Speaker 3: like I mean, Jake, me and Jay talk about it
Speaker 3: all the time, like you have to make sure you
Speaker 3: can take care of yourself.
Speaker 1: Yeah, until it can take care of you.
Speaker 5: No, that's real, that's real, and I think sometimes people
Speaker 5: don't understand that concept. Yeah, it's like you can like
Speaker 5: a starving artists, Like you don't really have to be
Speaker 5: starving though.
Speaker 2: Like you can make sure for yourself, you.
Speaker 5: Know what I'm saying, do your art until it takes
Speaker 5: over and then quit whatever else you were doing, you
Speaker 5: know what I mean.
Speaker 2: Wow, Yeah, we've kind of we've kind of become advocates
Speaker 2: for that of, you know, taking care of yourself because
Speaker 2: you put yourself in a position where someone's taking care
Speaker 2: of you. Now it's more advantageous for them and everything
Speaker 2: is on their side.
Speaker 1: It not even might not be for free free.
Speaker 4: Yeah, but it seems like it is, I think to
Speaker 4: some people.
Speaker 2: And thank god because they're promoting it that way.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and thank god I was able to work like that.
Speaker 5: My family was like, let's do this, you know what
Speaker 5: I mean?
Speaker 4: Because guy, thank you.
Speaker 5: Shout out to Nmani and THEO. But I think it
Speaker 5: can be confusing when people are coming up because it
Speaker 5: takes putting in a lot of work until you start
Speaker 5: making cool money. Some people blow up overnight, but sometimes
Speaker 5: overnight is ten years, you.
Speaker 1: Know for sure?
Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. Multiple deals are multiple. I thought I
Speaker 2: had a deal, or I don't want to.
Speaker 1: Take a deal. Can you kind of give us because
Speaker 1: your your career.
Speaker 2: Has been based around your independence as well, Like you've
Speaker 2: done very well in an independent space. Like people look
Speaker 2: at you. They don't just look at you as an
Speaker 2: independent artist, so they just look at you as a
Speaker 2: as a major artist.
Speaker 1: It's neverthless like oh.
Speaker 2: Yeah no, well she's doing no. So you guys were
Speaker 2: able to build this thing up, like can you give
Speaker 2: us some of the you know, like the background in
Speaker 2: that and just spending your own money, yeah, you know,
Speaker 2: booking your own studios.
Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, building our own studio, building it, you
Speaker 5: know what I mean, Like with an advance, it's like
Speaker 5: we could have just gone to like the dopest, most
Speaker 5: expensive studios and been like, yeah, book it out for
Speaker 5: this month, Yeah, book it out for next month. But
Speaker 5: for me, I was always like to change, change to change,
Speaker 5: to change, Like that's more for me, you know what
Speaker 5: I mean? More recooping.
Speaker 4: What does this mean? Recooping?
Speaker 5: And so we were like, let's take some of that money,
Speaker 5: build our own studio out and then I can go
Speaker 5: as much as I want. I'm not on the clock,
Speaker 5: Like I don't. I don't need that pressure. And I
Speaker 5: love the idea of ownership. I like feeling empowered.
Speaker 4: I don't you know.
Speaker 5: I I like feeling like my own boss. So it's
Speaker 5: kind of like, however that can work.
Speaker 1: Hair makeup.
Speaker 4: Look, I'm still doing my I'm not doing my own hair.
Speaker 4: I'm still doing my own makeup except for like look
Speaker 4: for you know, photo.
Speaker 5: Shoots and certain things. Thank god, you know, I know
Speaker 5: all these great people that can work with me. But
Speaker 5: I think because of how I started, I was always
Speaker 5: aware of like there's a price to all of these things,
Speaker 5: and some of it is for sure worth paying for,
Speaker 5: but I know that on the back end, I'm gonna
Speaker 5: have to give it back. So like, if this is
Speaker 5: something I can do, you know what I mean, I'm
Speaker 5: gonna do it myself. Myself, myself, give.
Speaker 2: Us when that record first hits. When I say that
Speaker 2: record closer, the song that you close your eyes to
Speaker 2: and imagine that everything is gonna be all right.
Speaker 1: To this day, I've been in there.
Speaker 2: I remember after me and got met and got cool,
Speaker 2: she had invited me to a show.
Speaker 1: And what was that?
Speaker 2: It was that It's like it's a it's a legendary
Speaker 2: venue in l A.
Speaker 1: Too.
Speaker 2: It's like off of Centemony, not the l Rights. It's
Speaker 2: next to that legendary steakhouse Dan Tony's Trueba door, Truba
Speaker 2: door upstairs. I'm upstairs at the troupe door door. She
Speaker 2: comes on stage, she floats on the stage. Just put
Speaker 2: that there. She floats onto the stage. Everyone closes their
Speaker 2: eyes and looks up.
Speaker 5: I don't.
Speaker 2: I don't know how that really makes it like.
Speaker 3: You're gonna look up just when you do this, you
Speaker 3: do you do wander off until the whole building.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I was like, oh, this is amazing. Am
Speaker 1: I high? Yeah? I don't do drugs, drugs. I'm not high.
Speaker 2: I feel high, amazing feeling, amazing feelings. So please tell
Speaker 2: us when that record first cracked or.
Speaker 1: What was the processing cracking?
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, because are y'all literally taking this record store
Speaker 2: to store.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know what.
Speaker 5: I was working with AMP Live from zion I and
Speaker 5: Mike Tiger from the Bay Area, and I that was
Speaker 5: just like the intro to the album.
Speaker 4: To my e P. It was the Yeah, it was
Speaker 4: the intro thing he's been you never know because those interlud.
Speaker 1: Pressure. I didn't know.
Speaker 4: It's like, it's not the pressure of a song.
Speaker 1: I got smoke I got a smokey one.
Speaker 2: Here wait to hear your.
Speaker 5: Inter It was like, I was pretty much done with
Speaker 5: the project, but this is like an EP.
Speaker 4: This is like no distribution.
Speaker 5: This is just like these are the songs that represent
Speaker 5: me and I'm gonna put them out into the world.
Speaker 5: And I have been working with AMP Live with for
Speaker 5: a Zion Eye project and he was like, I think
Speaker 5: you're gonna like this track, like.
Speaker 4: This is a cool vibe.
Speaker 5: And as soon as I heard it, I just kind
Speaker 5: of heard a little something like it's one of the
Speaker 5: only songs that it just felt like it was in the.
Speaker 4: Air, and I was like, I should go.
Speaker 5: To his studio and just put down a basic idea
Speaker 5: and I can come back and like flush it out
Speaker 5: because I'm like the Queen of overthinking things, you know
Speaker 5: what I mean. Yes, And so it's one of the
Speaker 5: few songs that I've ever done that I just kind
Speaker 5: of was like, just record it, like without me thinking
Speaker 5: it too much. It was just kind of like this
Speaker 5: higher like I know sometimes I feel like this, but
Speaker 5: it's just kind of this in between space of like
Speaker 5: I know I'm on my way, I'm not there yet.
Speaker 5: This is humbling, this is frustrating, it's not as good
Speaker 5: as I wanted to be, like, but I know that
Speaker 5: something is happening, and it just kind of captured that
Speaker 5: moment and it was just kind of a freestyle and
Speaker 5: I just did it a couple of times and and
Speaker 5: it's like the least takes I've ever done. And I'll
Speaker 5: do takes on takes on takes, you know, and they're like, okay, stop,
Speaker 5: we're gonna edit this now. Yeah yeah, no, no, no, no, no,
Speaker 5: You're good, and I'm like, just one more more, just
Speaker 5: one more.
Speaker 4: And so.
Speaker 5: It was not that because it was just a feeling.
Speaker 5: And then we were like, we'll just start the project
Speaker 5: out this way because it's a vibe. And then it
Speaker 5: was on the b side of childhood Drama was like
Speaker 5: the first single that we gave to came on.
Speaker 2: It was like, my emotion is childhood children trying to
Speaker 2: get no record?
Speaker 1: Youre trying to get no radio play.
Speaker 4: I don't know what I was thinking.
Speaker 5: I don't know what, but it was over that Dolly
Speaker 5: my Baby right and I got you know, we were
Speaker 5: into like dance hall and all that, and so closer
Speaker 5: was on the other side, just like to get a
Speaker 5: taste of the.
Speaker 4: Album and that song. I don't know.
Speaker 5: People were just gravitating towards it more. And when we
Speaker 5: were giving people.
Speaker 4: The project, they were just like this, like I.
Speaker 5: Really feel that, And then it ended up getting played
Speaker 5: on the radio.
Speaker 2: Was there a DJ that identified the record early?
Speaker 5: I would say my emotion, my emotion was on it
Speaker 5: Earth that was like a thousand maybe you know what
Speaker 5: I mean, And it ended up getting on radio like
Speaker 5: different cities, different years. Like talk about a slow burn
Speaker 5: and trust the process. That's like literally like two thousand.
Speaker 2: It's not like you had a radio run. It's not
Speaker 2: like you had a you know, team.
Speaker 5: Or not at that point, not at that point. And
Speaker 5: it would be like they do like the seven.
Speaker 2: And seven between two thousand and two thousand and four.
Speaker 5: I'm not playing And because I then did a deal
Speaker 5: with Sony or sky Blaze did a deal with Sony,
Speaker 5: and so then we put it. They wanted to put
Speaker 5: the song on the album again, and I was like.
Speaker 4: Oh, that song is old, blah blah blah.
Speaker 1: But I.
Speaker 5: I just was like, Okay, if this is like the
Speaker 5: only thing that I'm leaning on, just put it on there.
Speaker 5: And thank God, because some people would never hear my
Speaker 5: first album and you know, the second album. Yeah, and
Speaker 5: and so some people are like, I've been rocking with
Speaker 5: you since the beginning two thousand and five when you
Speaker 5: first put out that song.
Speaker 4: I'm like, but I'll take it, and I love it
Speaker 4: and I appreciate it.
Speaker 5: And then people have like, you know, remixed it, and
Speaker 5: so people come to it however they do. But it
Speaker 5: really was like, I don't know a phenomenon that I
Speaker 5: didn't imagine, and it's still going.
Speaker 2: It's like that record is still new to certain people,
Speaker 2: and it's one of those records. It's just it doesn't
Speaker 2: get old.
Speaker 3: It doesn't get old. It's like the mc introsion.
Speaker 2: To representation of when someone wants to play a Bay
Speaker 2: Area R and B. They you're the first choice. That
Speaker 2: is the first choice for the Bay Area R and
Speaker 2: B record, You're going to play closer.
Speaker 3: I know even associated that with like I mean now
Speaker 3: that we're having this conversation and feeling the vibes from it, Yeah,
Speaker 3: you know from somebody who was in d see and.
Speaker 1: Yeah, got Hit was a big supporter. Oh absolutely, no,
Speaker 1: You're you're tailor made. Se tailor made.
Speaker 4: And they supported so much live music, Like I feel like.
Speaker 3: We had a lot of like live like Blues Alley
Speaker 3: and those type of things. People could come and those
Speaker 3: those three hundred three hundred people and like it was
Speaker 3: like you could be Birchres.
Speaker 2: They foot this fire to what I ain't gonna the
Speaker 2: food is fire where the birch Mire at. I used
Speaker 2: to have a time at the Birchmere. Man, you took
Speaker 2: me back. Yeah, yeah that's a cool spot.
Speaker 4: Fun and live.
Speaker 5: And I always worked with live musicians since the beginning, and.
Speaker 2: Really you always had a band from the from the.
Speaker 5: From the well start, in the very very start, Like
Speaker 5: before my album came out, it would just be like
Speaker 5: me and DJs and I'm just performing over instrumentals, you
Speaker 5: know what I mean. I do like my own version
Speaker 5: over you know, Noriega.
Speaker 1: Over very hip hop records.
Speaker 5: Yes, maybe dance hall, but mostly hip hop records, and
Speaker 5: so it could be like it was just fit in
Speaker 5: the party, like you know how you want to get
Speaker 5: on right now?
Speaker 2: Yup.
Speaker 5: And then when I started writing music, it was super lot.
Speaker 5: Some of it was like straight up live and some
Speaker 5: of it was over tracks. But I wanted to have
Speaker 5: you know, probably from going to Berkeley in Boston, I
Speaker 5: really wanted to have live musicians. And thankfully, like I
Speaker 5: got to work with some really dope people. And I
Speaker 5: also was someone that like, even though I love dancing,
Speaker 5: I don't know, my music isn't really like the dance
Speaker 5: you know, like something you would dance to necessarily, So
Speaker 5: I was like that part of the show, you know
Speaker 5: what I mean. And I didn't have a fan and
Speaker 5: all of that. So it's kind of like I need
Speaker 5: something dynamic. So yeah, and then sometimes it'll be like
Speaker 5: DJ and a live musician or whatever.
Speaker 1: But I.
Speaker 4: Can dance for you know, for.
Speaker 2: Fun, because you know he wants it, because I can.
Speaker 1: Dance, because I can dance, and you know, we should
Speaker 1: be able to dance.
Speaker 4: I feel like, yeah, for sure, I want to.
Speaker 3: Do if you want to do some fivey dance, it's closer,
Speaker 3: I see.
Speaker 5: But it's like the thing is like all my stuff,
Speaker 5: what I gravitate to sing to, It's like it's gonna.
Speaker 4: Be slow, it's gonna be back.
Speaker 5: It's not gonna be the same stuff that I'm like
Speaker 5: driving around dancing.
Speaker 4: You know what I mean.
Speaker 1: I'm s I would respect it.
Speaker 4: I wouldn't mind if I broke into a little something.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't.
Speaker 2: He wouldn't be mad his damn dance on CD I
Speaker 2: do that ship was coming off of that as an
Speaker 2: indie artist, when closer breaks for you, what is the
Speaker 2: process of now these labels coming. Did y'all have a
Speaker 2: full like bidding war going or were you guys just
Speaker 2: on some you know what, we're not taking none of
Speaker 2: these meetings. We're meetings.
Speaker 5: Yes, what they're saying, I'm taking all the meetings because
Speaker 5: it's like the more you take, the better the option
Speaker 5: of Like, well this person is offering this, so what
Speaker 5: are you offering? Yep, I'll come to New York and
Speaker 5: have a meeting.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 5: L A like I was down to meet with everybody
Speaker 5: because I just wanted the best option and I wanted
Speaker 5: to feel at home. I wanted to feel like I
Speaker 5: wouldn't have to compromise. I wanted to feel like, I
Speaker 5: don't know, like they believe in me and they trust
Speaker 5: what I'm doing. And really it's just like faith and luck.
Speaker 2: You know what made you decide on going to Sony?
Speaker 1: What's the bag or was.
Speaker 5: It the I don't I'm gonna be honest with you,
Speaker 5: I don't know exactly. Like the people that I was
Speaker 5: meeting with were nice. What was it over some of
Speaker 5: the other labels. I'm not exactly sure, to be honest,
Speaker 5: I think they were still gonna like, let us do
Speaker 5: our own thing.
Speaker 2: And that's a that's a big part. When somebody makes
Speaker 2: that investment in you, you lose freedom. You do lose freedom, Yeah,
Speaker 2: because now you playing with somebody else money. Yeah yeah,
Speaker 2: so I get that. And were you guys able to
Speaker 2: have that freedom once the project came out?
Speaker 5: Yeah yeah yeah, because like I said, we were like, Okay,
Speaker 5: let's get all this equipment, you know what I mean,
Speaker 5: like for our studio and build headquarters and like and
Speaker 5: continue to.
Speaker 4: Build it out. And I had an A and R
Speaker 4: that I feel like was so open.
Speaker 5: He wasn't controlling and I was willing to put I
Speaker 5: had the drive, you know what I mean. So it
Speaker 5: wasn't like someone had to be like, come on, you
Speaker 5: know what I mean, get in there. So it was
Speaker 5: just like we're just gonna keep doing things as we
Speaker 5: have been, you know, but like with some more support.
Speaker 2: So that process for you, if you could go back
Speaker 2: on it, would you go and do a major deal again?
Speaker 2: Or like looking at it because you know, like we've
Speaker 2: talked about it, you've been an independent artist, You've done
Speaker 2: a major deal. When you look at the you know,
Speaker 2: the landscape and if there's a you know, a young
Speaker 2: artist watching this and how you've gone about it, what
Speaker 2: were the positives and the negatives in that space?
Speaker 5: I don't feel like looking back, I don't have much regret.
Speaker 5: I think that I would still do it for the
Speaker 5: most part the same because there was more exposure, you know,
Speaker 5: and just like a way bigger team, you know, working
Speaker 5: with a major. It wasn't a trading It was kind
Speaker 5: of a partnership. So it was different for me than
Speaker 5: maybe it would be for an artist. Singly, going in.
Speaker 3: Partnership was based on you already have having six success Yeah,
Speaker 3: and there.
Speaker 4: Was still sky Blaze. So there was still like.
Speaker 5: A unit around me that was helping regardless you know,
Speaker 5: of Sony. But of course we didn't have the money
Speaker 5: that Sony had, you know, like there was some radio
Speaker 5: support and some tour support and and all of those
Speaker 5: things that just seemed natural that when I went back
Speaker 5: to being independent, I was.
Speaker 4: Like, Okay, you know what I mean, it can.
Speaker 5: Be it can be humbling sometimes, you know, not having
Speaker 5: all of those extra things, you know, and that those extras. Man,
Speaker 5: I'm saying because it's just like things just happen, and
Speaker 5: it's just like, oh, this is just how it is.
Speaker 5: Like when your song starts getting played more, you just
Speaker 5: have all these things, you know.
Speaker 1: You think it's just the record.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and there's like you know what I mean, like
Speaker 5: people are opening those doors, you know. So I recognize
Speaker 5: all of that. So I think I wouldn't do that different.
Speaker 5: I think if anything like in my career that I
Speaker 5: regret is like not collaborating more like that kind of
Speaker 5: stuff used to just make me nervous.
Speaker 4: And yeah, a.
Speaker 1: Feature she was just nervous. Guys, she didn't.
Speaker 4: I think it probably comes off like.
Speaker 5: I don't know how it comes off, but I know that, like,
Speaker 5: I've gotten some amazing tracks from people that I was
Speaker 5: fans of, like big producers that I was fans of,
Speaker 5: But I just it was hard to rise to the
Speaker 5: occasion sometimes, you know, or different artists that I could
Speaker 5: have worked with that I.
Speaker 4: Was just like, I just don't feel like I have
Speaker 4: the right thing for.
Speaker 1: This Victoria's Secret commercial.
Speaker 5: Oh my gosh, I forgot about that because I love
Speaker 5: Victoria Secret and that was like one of the that
Speaker 5: was like one of the goals. Yeah, play made it
Speaker 5: into that. Wow, this song I did that, I felt
Speaker 5: like that was perfect.
Speaker 4: I hope that happens again.
Speaker 1: Video. You were in the video. I was there. What
Speaker 1: you mean talk about it? Did you edit you out?
Speaker 2: What is that?
Speaker 1: When this is going even way all day? Did? Wait?
Speaker 1: That was a nice lobry? Wait day. I didn't bring
Speaker 1: it up. I didn't bring it out. I was at
Speaker 1: the video shoot. It was there there. You know it is.
Speaker 2: I probably said, jake up a picture of me at
Speaker 2: the video. In the video, you didn't make the in
Speaker 2: the video.
Speaker 4: Wow, this is like selective memory.
Speaker 1: It happened.
Speaker 3: If you went to the editing bank man, just just
Speaker 3: slide over. Just that's the shot we need. That's the
Speaker 3: shot we need right.
Speaker 4: To see, like what if that was?
Speaker 5: What if you had a grudge on me? Ever took
Speaker 5: it in a certain kind of way.
Speaker 3: And wait until everybody podcast to bring it up. I've
Speaker 3: been wanting to talk to you, you know about some
Speaker 3: ship that went down.
Speaker 1: Listen, that is great?
Speaker 4: What was that about?
Speaker 3: No?
Speaker 1: No, no, listen.
Speaker 2: And it wasn't like I was the interest in the
Speaker 2: video you're going to make?
Speaker 1: It came, making came.
Speaker 4: And then the direct captain and your.
Speaker 1: I'm just saying, made me a full video.
Speaker 4: Full video hotline confusing. The director was like to distraction.
Speaker 2: We can't have all of this because that niggabout here.
Speaker 1: I don't remember who the director was. Now I know
Speaker 1: what they want me in her video? It's her video. Okay,
Speaker 1: what is what is right now?
Speaker 5: What is right now? Well, I'm finally about to put
Speaker 5: out a new project. And thank you. I didn't realize every.
Speaker 2: Five years, what's maybe maybe it's not been on purpose?
Speaker 4: I think I don't know.
Speaker 5: I like to marinate. I want to have something to
Speaker 5: write about. I want to have something to say a
Speaker 5: little bit. I want to be inspired.
Speaker 1: She makes us way. Just let them wait, let them wait.
Speaker 5: And it's gonna be a lot of feeling right it
Speaker 5: comes up, but I do so sometimes wish I worked faster.
Speaker 4: It's a goal, but I don't know.
Speaker 1: You're here, So I'm here.
Speaker 3: Apparently what you're doing and the way you're doing it.
Speaker 4: It's working in some kind of way.
Speaker 3: So I had a dream about this too, you did.
Speaker 3: I don't call it daja who, I call it confirmation.
Speaker 1: Okay, Okay, this has happened. It's happening. Okay, Yeah, I
Speaker 1: told you how to dream about it. And I.
Speaker 5: Like that when that happens, because it feels like you're
Speaker 5: in the right place. So I started writing these songs
Speaker 5: like during the pandemic because I had nothing but time
Speaker 5: on my hands and sitting still in no distraction. And
Speaker 5: it didn't happen right away, but after like a couple
Speaker 5: of months, it was like, oh.
Speaker 2: I get it.
Speaker 4: It's going to be a while.
Speaker 5: I don't have that many zoom meetings, so I should
Speaker 5: be doing something and you know, like recording on my own,
Speaker 5: like reused, like relearning how to use pro.
Speaker 4: Tools and logic.
Speaker 1: That's how it was.
Speaker 4: To excuse me, I'm stuck.
Speaker 1: I can't do it.
Speaker 3: Come on, man, you gotta he said, But but bro
Speaker 3: the COVID I said, Man, come on over here. Man,
Speaker 3: I'll stay by the microphone. You stay by, we'll be fine.
Speaker 3: At some point, Ruby just said, Bro, I can't do it.
Speaker 3: I can't. I can't do it. You see what's going on.
Speaker 3: I'm not coming over.
Speaker 4: You probably have parties over there too.
Speaker 1: No, I wasn't. No, it's just me.
Speaker 3: It'll be Ruben after we did the second EP, said
Speaker 3: I'm done, Tank, I'm done with this.
Speaker 1: I'll be back when it's safe.
Speaker 3: I'm going back to the mountain. I'm going back to
Speaker 3: the mountains. I'll be back when it's safe.
Speaker 4: He's showing up. You did two projects. Yeah, yeah, it
Speaker 4: was just it.
Speaker 1: Was just you know, vocal. It was super easy.
Speaker 4: Wow, how I do?
Speaker 1: Is that where you go?
Speaker 4: Okay?
Speaker 5: So it took me a little longer, you know, but
Speaker 5: it let me just like really have my guard down
Speaker 5: and just really think about what I want to say
Speaker 5: and just really be in the moment and work with
Speaker 5: different musicians to like build songs up. I would sit
Speaker 5: with Errol Cooney, who I've been working with guitar player
Speaker 5: for years, and Bedrock would send me tracks and Mike's
Speaker 5: Tiger and all these people, and it got to be
Speaker 5: a slow, unrushed process that I was that I could
Speaker 5: feel like, Okay, I'm done with this. I'm at peace.
Speaker 5: I feel like I got to say everything I want
Speaker 5: to say. Please, I love that. Please send me some stuff. Okay,
Speaker 5: how about the melodies too?
Speaker 2: So are you almost done with the project now?
Speaker 5: Yes, I'm done with this project. Colors color because it
Speaker 5: because I just want to get more into the sensory world.
Speaker 5: I'm like one of those synesthigic people. I don't know
Speaker 5: if you guys heard it, you know where Yeah.
Speaker 1: I don't even know what that word is.
Speaker 5: It's like where you're senses. I didn't know that was
Speaker 5: a name for it.
Speaker 1: It's like you know, your sound.
Speaker 4: Bathing, I know what's going on.
Speaker 5: You can make anything sound good. It's like we're your
Speaker 5: senses mixed together. So when you hear music, you see
Speaker 5: it in a certain way, and it's like certain colors
Speaker 5: and certain and so I just want to express that
Speaker 5: more with this album.
Speaker 1: So is it like color is a colore?
Speaker 2: So you know, it's just colors.
Speaker 1: Use your talents, man, my talents.
Speaker 4: Man.
Speaker 1: Ston't want to.
Speaker 3: Just be all chest one, you know, you fee. You've
Speaker 3: been doing this music thing for quite some time. I'm
Speaker 3: sure there are people who've been inspired and their gifts
Speaker 3: have You're magnificent your own things. So from there, I
Speaker 3: think you can probably give.
Speaker 2: Us a.
Speaker 1: Top five, your top five, top five, your top five.
Speaker 6: Ray singers, A Rangy Songs, Crawdle Lace, top crawmle l
Speaker 6: paulsy Don.
Speaker 1: Yes, Rumbling h.
Speaker 6: Yes, your top.
Speaker 1: Clapping Leise top Fi.
Speaker 2: Wow, wow, yeah wow here a week did you clap
Speaker 2: for yourself a little bit?
Speaker 3: A little bit, a little bit there was a void needed.
Speaker 3: One more hand.
Speaker 5: Out?
Speaker 1: Your top five R and B singers. Mhm, I can't
Speaker 1: wait to hear this.
Speaker 4: Okay, my genres are going to be at New York.
Speaker 1: That's what I expect. That's what I expect.
Speaker 5: But there's always R and B in it, Okay, okay, sure.
Speaker 5: So I would say Stevie Wonder, I would say Prince.
Speaker 5: I would say, I'm gonna put DiAngelo in there.
Speaker 1: Why wouldn't you?
Speaker 5: Yeah, And I'm going to put.
Speaker 4: Anita Baker and baby Face in there.
Speaker 1: Come on, that sound like a tour. That sound like
Speaker 1: a tour, don't I don't see it. I'm standing the crowd.
Speaker 1: I ain't going back, going back there.
Speaker 2: That's a great top five. That is an amazing top five.
Speaker 4: I mean there was really so much more.
Speaker 3: But yeah, right, okay, right now, that's the five top
Speaker 3: five R and B songs.
Speaker 5: I would say, Adore Prince, join inside my tears, Stevie,
Speaker 5: wonder you're going there? I know I like the I
Speaker 5: like the sad stuff, but I'm like, what would I
Speaker 5: never want to fast forward through? I would say angel
Speaker 5: Anita Baker. I would say, right, so beautiful every time,
Speaker 5: let it burn. Jasmine Sullivan, M one more again, D'Angelo
Speaker 5: hm hmm.
Speaker 1: One more again. That was a di'angelo fanatic.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you're making an R and B voltron Okay, super artists.
Speaker 3: You got to get the vocals from somebody, the performance
Speaker 3: style from somebody, the styling from somebody, and the passion
Speaker 3: of the artists, the heart of it.
Speaker 1: Who are you getting the vocal from? Wait?
Speaker 4: Where you say styling.
Speaker 1: It the drip we get into it. There we go.
Speaker 1: Who are getting a vocal from to build your perfect artist?
Speaker 5: That one vocal maybe Jasmine Sullivan. I think her voice
Speaker 5: is so beautiful, she.
Speaker 3: Get on under her no flaws in her voice. Yeah,
Speaker 3: nothing performance style.
Speaker 5: You can get that from performance style?
Speaker 1: How do I interpret that on stage? How they you
Speaker 1: know what they do on stage?
Speaker 4: I'll say, Rihanna, mm.
Speaker 1: Hmmm, styling the drip of the artists.
Speaker 4: Oh see, maybe I.
Speaker 1: What do you think?
Speaker 5: Okay, I want to put her there?
Speaker 1: You will put her in the styling space.
Speaker 5: The performance that I'm gonna have to come back to
Speaker 5: that one, I would say.
Speaker 4: Oh, because I don't want to.
Speaker 5: Can I come back to the performance one?
Speaker 1: Okay? So in the drip you want to go Rihanna? Nice? Okay, Well,
Speaker 1: now let's go back to the performer.
Speaker 4: No, I want to go to the other.
Speaker 1: She's pointing at my finger. I'm trying to That's where
Speaker 1: I want to. That's where That's where I want to be.
Speaker 4: I'm trying to keep up.
Speaker 1: You're great.
Speaker 3: The heart of the artists, the passion of the artists, Prince,
Speaker 3: I can argue that.
Speaker 5: Yeah, staring, but see maybe his performance probably.
Speaker 3: Okay, So which one. Let's go back to the performer
Speaker 3: mm hmmm.
Speaker 4: No I would put him.
Speaker 5: I would say, for the heart, like the passion, I
Speaker 5: would put shot in there in one of those performance.
Speaker 5: But see, I like the passion of Prince's performance, but
Speaker 5: I like some of her delivery, so it's.
Speaker 3: Like a Prince performer with Prince passion or Prince.
Speaker 2: Rihanna's close with Rihanna's close. SU's voice, I'm rolling, I'm okay,
Speaker 2: what else.
Speaker 1: You got over here?
Speaker 2: Segment before we let you a body dance too fast
Speaker 2: because you might you know, don't you might get nervous.
Speaker 1: I don't want you to get nervous. I ain't saying
Speaker 1: no names. I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying
Speaker 1: no names. I ain't saying no names. Who you was? Who?
Speaker 1: Don't say she? I ain't saying no names.
Speaker 5: I want to do a TV show and YouTube.
Speaker 1: Definitely, he's definitely man. He's definitely man. So very important
Speaker 1: part of the show. Segment.
Speaker 2: Yes, it's called I ain't saying no Oh yeah, you
Speaker 2: know you might need another wat because that okay, you
Speaker 2: probably running water?
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2: Because this this segment is about the travels, the journey
Speaker 2: of Cooppola and some ship you might have seen, some
Speaker 2: ship you might have experienced. You tell us a story
Speaker 2: funny or fucked up? Are funny and fucked up? The
Speaker 2: only rule is you can't say no.
Speaker 5: Names, Okay, will you guys tell me yours later?
Speaker 2: It is like if I show you guys my diary,
Speaker 2: I can't be by myself. I got some funny ass
Speaker 2: stories stories.
Speaker 4: I think I got one.
Speaker 1: Okay, So right now.
Speaker 2: We are going into Gowopola all the way from the bab.
Speaker 1: I ain't saying no names.
Speaker 4: There was.
Speaker 5: I would say, this is like a early on Maybe
Speaker 5: this is like early early two thousands and I was
Speaker 5: probably just starting a tour and I got invited to
Speaker 5: do a show in Selma, Alabama for Bloody Sunday.
Speaker 4: It was like a.
Speaker 5: They redo the march across the bridge right like community festival,
Speaker 5: and it was probably you know, balling on a budget.
Speaker 4: We probably had like a red eye.
Speaker 5: Had to get ready like at the spot because it
Speaker 5: was like an early show and all of this stuff,
Speaker 5: and I just remember getting ready. I remember it was
Speaker 5: hella hot and it was like a good sized crowd
Speaker 5: out there, you know, but people work hot, and we
Speaker 5: might have been running, like we weren't running behind schedule,
Speaker 5: but the thing was running a little bit behind schedule,
Speaker 5: and so I remember the organizer came back and they
Speaker 5: were like, is it cool, Like if you're not in
Speaker 5: too much of a rush. We might have to switch
Speaker 5: things around a little bit. There's this brother that has
Speaker 5: to catch a flight, and so you know we might
Speaker 5: is it okay if he goes on before you?
Speaker 4: And blah blah blah blah.
Speaker 5: And I was just like okay, you know, like of course,
Speaker 5: I all roll with it. And sometimes it can be nice.
Speaker 5: You're moving up in the in the water. Yeah, right,
Speaker 5: So it's kind of like even though I was, I
Speaker 5: was ready.
Speaker 4: To go, but maybe because it's hot, but maybe.
Speaker 5: You know, this is a better look. And they didn't
Speaker 5: tell me who the person was, and then said artist
Speaker 5: you know, gets announced and it was a really warm reception.
Speaker 5: You know, it's mainly women in the audience, and this
Speaker 5: artist is killing it, proceeds to take off their shirt
Speaker 5: all grease, suck work the crowd, get into the audience.
Speaker 5: I'm telling you. It was like the show was coming
Speaker 5: to an ending and I was like, what.
Speaker 4: The what type of what are we about to do?
Speaker 4: And we're just watching this amazing artist.
Speaker 5: Yeah, and then I had to go on after that,
Speaker 5: you know what I mean, And I just felt like
Speaker 5: I couldn't rush to closer soon enough, you know what
Speaker 5: I mean.
Speaker 1: I gotta kill this.
Speaker 4: I gotta because you don't want the energy to go down,
Speaker 4: you know what I mean? And like, you know what
Speaker 4: I mean when I met you later familiar.
Speaker 1: Familia, you asshole.
Speaker 2: But it makes it great is when you were saying it,
Speaker 2: I've been out there.
Speaker 4: That sounds like.
Speaker 3: This is an amazing yo.
Speaker 5: Name you know this brother if you don't mind, he's
Speaker 5: just gonna go beforehand because he needs to catch a fight.
Speaker 4: And we're like, hey, this is what.
Speaker 1: As you started telling the story, I'm like, that.
Speaker 4: Sounds from it killing it? Yes, shirt off?
Speaker 1: No.
Speaker 3: Even before you got there, I was like, Selma, I
Speaker 3: was like, I've.
Speaker 1: Been there, and I just I wanted to act. I
Speaker 1: wanted to.
Speaker 3: Remember that we were on the show, but we've been
Speaker 3: on so many shows together.
Speaker 5: I want to know you were gone by the time
Speaker 5: I got on stage, so you want to remember my part?
Speaker 1: Oh man, that's awesome.
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, it was very memorable. It was very memorable.
Speaker 5: I was like, I need the details when they switch
Speaker 5: up these lineups next time.
Speaker 2: Make sure it's not a nigga who's gonna take his
Speaker 2: shirt off.
Speaker 5: Okay, the oil up in the sun.
Speaker 1: It was definitely up in the sun.
Speaker 4: Walking through the crowd.
Speaker 5: He was like serenading everybody individually.
Speaker 4: Oh my god, it was.
Speaker 1: Correct.
Speaker 3: You can touch this is great. That is that is
Speaker 3: a It might be the greatest of all times.
Speaker 5: Yes, I think about that every time I see that.
Speaker 1: You never told you, never told me that. I ain't
Speaker 1: saying your name. If I tell you the.
Speaker 4: Story to you, it sounds familiar.
Speaker 3: I just started crying because I was like, I know
Speaker 3: where this is going now.
Speaker 1: I didn't have to go.
Speaker 4: It was a good show.
Speaker 1: Though.
Speaker 4: It was a good show.
Speaker 1: You want to thank her for it. Thank you for
Speaker 1: your flight flight. You were awesome. You were awesome for that.
Speaker 5: You were awesome, even though it was it was painful
Speaker 5: at the time.
Speaker 1: We'll do another showy.
Speaker 5: Yeah, but I was like, man, okay, be ready, put
Speaker 5: your game face on, get out there and do not disappoint.
Speaker 5: After this man just left the stage like with They
Speaker 5: were kind of just like, okay, but.
Speaker 1: You knew this was coming.
Speaker 4: That's how it goes, you know.
Speaker 2: But that's also part of being a professional in this business.
Speaker 2: Those type of things happen.
Speaker 1: All the time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you were just gracious enough, But sometimes artists are
Speaker 2: just like no, no, Jahams said no, he said, James
Speaker 2: said Jahams said.
Speaker 4: No because they probably said your name.
Speaker 3: No. After I performed, I got back to the spouse like,
Speaker 3: are you supposed to be on stage?
Speaker 1: No? You can have a champ that's all you. Baby.
Speaker 1: I was like, what, sure, turn, it's your turn.
Speaker 4: I heard that I.
Speaker 1: Ain't on that tonight. I ain't on that tonight.
Speaker 5: Okay, but see, you're right, it is it. It's such
Speaker 5: a roller coaster in this industry, and it's like you
Speaker 5: can't burn bridges. You can't get too comfortable being treated
Speaker 5: a certain way, or even in humbling situations, you might
Speaker 5: have the next day or the next moment be this
Speaker 5: like amazing moment, or you never know who's gonna be there,
Speaker 5: that's gonna you know, you just never know, and you
Speaker 5: gotta just rock with it and try and have the
Speaker 5: best attitude possible because it's like the circles come back around,
Speaker 5: right if you're lucky to be in it long enough. Great,
Speaker 5: I remember we go back to now. I don't have
Speaker 5: no crazy story, though.
Speaker 1: I get his ass moment. I actually got kicked out
Speaker 1: of the video. Okay, that's true.
Speaker 4: But you would make all the dopest remixes, right, I was.
Speaker 2: None for stealing people's records, but that was I wasn't
Speaker 2: making money off of them.
Speaker 5: But you know what, but you were still but you
Speaker 5: were still building your brand. For me, it's like you're
Speaker 5: making money, Yeah, I know what I mean.
Speaker 2: But ultimately, the funny thing is I didn't do a
Speaker 2: lot of shows, so I really wasn't making.
Speaker 4: I was just getting played on the radio.
Speaker 2: I was getting paid, but but I wasn't. I also
Speaker 2: wasn't submitting the songs as my record, so I never
Speaker 2: got in the way of anybody else's publishing. So for
Speaker 2: those songs, which.
Speaker 1: It just wasn't it wasn't my thing, you know. I
Speaker 1: was purely doing it.
Speaker 2: To have fun and like, oh this would sound dope
Speaker 2: more so than oh, I'm gonna use this record to
Speaker 2: try to become big off of somebody's record or I
Speaker 2: was just like, but you were.
Speaker 5: Doing and that's like kind of how we came up. Yeah,
Speaker 5: it's kind of just like how to.
Speaker 4: Version because it's.
Speaker 5: Like a bunch of rappers basically, and it's like, how
Speaker 5: can you keep the vibe high but.
Speaker 4: Do your version?
Speaker 5: You know, like I'm sprung and all that, you know
Speaker 5: what I mean, All of those and like I was
Speaker 5: just doing this show me and Dougie freshmorn it the
Speaker 5: other day, and he was afterwards just talking about like
Speaker 5: the importance of rocking a crowd. He was like, whether
Speaker 5: it's your music or a cover or whatever, it's about
Speaker 5: like when we do live shows, it's about the energy
Speaker 5: of the crowd, you know what I mean, and lifting
Speaker 5: that up more than us trying to, you know, do whatever.
Speaker 5: So like we loved all.
Speaker 1: Those songs, you know, I was just trying to have
Speaker 1: a good time.
Speaker 2: You were having a good time, not to get sued,
Speaker 2: and shit, I feel you.
Speaker 1: He's back now.
Speaker 2: Now he's gonna put up his own yeah, now you know,
Speaker 2: and somebody can still my then I'm fine with it.
Speaker 1: I'm not sading nobody. Season. It's just half rock out,
Speaker 1: half of rock out. Keep the music on, keep the
Speaker 1: energy going, more the better.
Speaker 2: Yeah, this shit gonna live on one way other Are
Speaker 2: you hope that did that?
Speaker 1: Thank you?
Speaker 4: Thank you for having me.
Speaker 5: I honestly like, I love your guys' show. I love
Speaker 5: you guys individually and just what you've done in the
Speaker 5: different ways. And I remember, like even you doing I
Speaker 5: can't make you love me, you know what? I mean
Speaker 5: and putting your own twist on that. And I remember
Speaker 5: you hosting some stuff some years ago and I was like,
Speaker 5: he has a knack for this. I hope he does
Speaker 5: more of it, you know. And I just love seeing
Speaker 5: you transition in all the different ways that you have
Speaker 5: and then like you're putting out music again too. It's
Speaker 5: just like I appreciate the evolution.
Speaker 3: Yeah, evolution, I like that word. I'm not retiring. Well,
Speaker 3: we appreciate you, your your family. You are always welcome.
Speaker 4: Thank you.
Speaker 3: You know what I'm saying. We are we are edge
Speaker 3: of disposal whatever you need. And I'll be sending your
Speaker 3: tracks for colors. I'm very excited about that where I
Speaker 3: get to just be creative, you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 3: to have some fun with my sounds and paint and
Speaker 3: use all of my colors. That's gonna be dumb, ladies
Speaker 3: and gentlemen. I'm Tank Valentine and this has been the
Speaker 3: R and B Money Podcast. The authority of all things
Speaker 3: R and B with the vibe has been Assi. That
Speaker 3: has been heaven.
Speaker 2: It is.
Speaker 3: We have a guidance as a goddess among steps and
Speaker 3: we have been so blessed to be here today.
Speaker 1: With her Guampala.
Speaker 2: Get Money, R and B Money is a production of
Speaker 2: the Black Effect podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio,
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Speaker 2: to your favorite shows. Don't forget to subscribe to and
Speaker 2: Radar Show and you can connect with us on social
Speaker 2: media at Jay Valentine and at the Real Tank. For
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