WEBVTT - Troy Taylor 0:00:01.960 --> 0:00:03.079 R and B money. 0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:06.040 Honey, we are. 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:16.080 Thanks take volatility. We are the authorities on R and B. 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:22.600 Ladies and gentlemen. My name is Tank and this is 0:00:22.760 --> 0:00:26.439 truly the R and B money pocket. This is the 0:00:26.520 --> 0:00:30.240 authority of all things. 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:32.280 R and B. 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:36.680 Yell like a motherfucker. You know what. 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:40.040 Let me, let me, let me switch, Let me switch 0:00:40.080 --> 0:00:47.120 to a more prestigious tone, because we have tone and accent. Yes, 0:00:47.159 --> 0:00:52.479 we have in the building. We have a master craft, 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:57.080 for sure. We have deity uh in the building. 0:00:57.800 --> 0:01:00.840 His uh. 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:06.880 His work is biblical. It is etched in stone a 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:10.720 book of songs, just as the Ten Commandments that is 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:17.200 etched in stone. I speak of a man who spans 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:24.039 decades of R and B excellence. He sits on the 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:29.280 board of the R and B Elders Association. He is 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:37.120 a rule maker in all things that are decided in 0:01:37.200 --> 0:01:40.160 terms of what R and B is and how R 0:01:40.200 --> 0:01:48.320 and B lives. This man is cultivated farms of produce 0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:54.120 that continue to serve and feed. 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:59.080 The R and B community. Ladies and gentlemen, we are talking. 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:11.040 None are then, His Excellency, Lord Troy Taylor. Wow, Lord, 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:16.240 I have never Taylor Lord himself. As you can tell 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:21.720 by the bed. That is a lord's beard. Thank you, brother, 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:22.639 Thank you. 0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:23.200 For having me. 0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:23.840 Welcome bro. 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:28.079 I appreciate it. Long time coming, Yes, sir, Yes, we've 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:28.840 been waiting on this. 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:29.200 Yeah. 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:32.040 Yeah, I've been waiting on it. Actually, we can't wait 0:02:32.720 --> 0:02:36.200 to really talk the ship. 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:40.520 You know what I'm saying, because because you know you 0:02:40.760 --> 0:02:48.360 are truly like your wingspan in this ship is crazy. 0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:53.320 It's deep, deep. We don't have to pause that. We're 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:57.919 gonna keep that. Oh yeah, technically okay, yeah, this fuck that, 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:02.000 it's real. So first of all, thank you for coming. 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:04.040 You are brother, you know what I'm saying, like your family, 0:03:04.120 --> 0:03:06.160 so that that goes without saying you know what I'm saying. 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:09.639 But you know, we thank you for giving us your time, man, 0:03:09.840 --> 0:03:12.680 and giving us the in depth of the things we 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:15.960 are all we're getting ready to talk about. Yes, I'm excited. 0:03:16.000 --> 0:03:19.120 I'm sorry. Just you know, it's feeling good about myself today. 0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:21.320 This is you know, not this is the Army Money podcast. 0:03:21.919 --> 0:03:24.440 This is one of those moments where they are yes, 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:29.799 where you know, let's let's to destroy because you were 0:03:29.840 --> 0:03:33.960 once a lad. You once a lad, and you were 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:38.400 once an aspiring lad. Yes, you aspire to be something 0:03:39.560 --> 0:03:43.640 within your aspirations. There had to be some confirmation somewhere 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:47.840 as a as a young boy where someone said, ah, 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:53.520 it is on you, you have that keep pushing, or 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:55.880 where you identified at yourself and said, you know what, 0:03:56.400 --> 0:03:57.680 I'm kind of that boy. 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:02.840 Definitely, Definitely, after church, we go over to the piano. 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:06.600 I'm like eleven, twelve ish, and I had this I 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:09.760 had this notion that the piano was easy, like it 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:14.680 seemed easy until I went over and hit the keys 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:18.640 and it wasn't easy. And at that point that's when 0:04:18.680 --> 0:04:21.520 I it became a challenge. I want to learn. I 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:24.120 want to learn how to do this, because it's how 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:27.120 do they do And from there I just started off 0:04:27.279 --> 0:04:29.520 like self talk, self taught. 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:29.880 And. 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:33.680 Just working it out. And then a couple of friends 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:36.760 would show me chords and I would work on those 0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:40.240 chords and work on those chords until it was fluent. 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:44.280 And then basically through our high school just in bands, 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:47.720 you know, in groups and stuff like that. And then 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:52.120 at the end of high school, my music teacher, oh, no, 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:55.240 excuse me. My mom told me that I needed to 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:58.640 get a job or go to school. And I don't 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:03.800 like school. I don't know the idea of graduating and 0:05:03.839 --> 0:05:07.359 going back to school was like, why would I do that? 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:08.960 I tried it. 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:25.280 So so so my music teacher, mister Bowie suggested because 0:05:25.279 --> 0:05:27.200 I told him what my mom said, and he said, 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:30.360 I have this school in Harford that you should check out. 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:32.520 It's a two year program because. 0:05:32.279 --> 0:05:33.080 You're from Connecticut. 0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:34.200 I'm from New Haven, Connecticut. 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:38.159 Yes, sir, jumping up to Hartford now, yeah, And it 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:41.159 was a two year program. So it's simple to two years, 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:43.280 get your diploma, and you out. So I thought that 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:46.440 was a great compromise. So my mom, Okay, I'll do 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:48.400 that because two years I'm done. 0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:49.440 That's it for me. 0:05:50.200 --> 0:05:52.839 But within that two years, that's when I it was 0:05:52.960 --> 0:05:57.960 jazz and record jazz theory and record production, Jazz. 0:05:57.600 --> 0:05:59.440 Theory and re record production. 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:02.800 So in that school is where I would learn two 0:06:02.800 --> 0:06:05.839 five to one. Once I heard what it sounded like, 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:09.640 I was able to, oh, that's what it's called. You know, 0:06:09.839 --> 0:06:12.280 my whole life, I hear it. You hear it in 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:15.440 Steven Wonder. You hear it, You hear the turnarounds, but 0:06:15.520 --> 0:06:18.760 you don't know what it's called. And then through that 0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:24.599 going to school, I learned what the language four coord 0:06:24.760 --> 0:06:27.080 the three chord, the six chord, the two you know, 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.320 and the record production. They were a little they were 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:34.440 a little behind on technology, so I didn't really learn 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:36.680 too much about that. I had already had my eight track, 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:40.720 you know, I was already ahead of them. But the 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:44.360 jazz theory is what clicked for me. And after that 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:46.200 I hit the streets. 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:48.279 Really, did you finish the two years? 0:06:48.520 --> 0:06:49.479 I did finish the two years. 0:06:49.480 --> 0:06:52.760 I graduated and then after it was after that that 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:55.400 I realized, oh no, no, this is what I want to do. 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:59.400 Of course, I was an artist first while in college. No, 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:01.240 I was an artist that all the way up to. 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:06.400 Twenty two. So after college, I was still in the group. 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:07.880 I was still in the group. When you get in 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:10.160 the group, I was in the group do our Hearts 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:13.600 I high school. What was the name of the group? Yeah, okay, 0:07:13.640 --> 0:07:16.040 So the first group I was in was called Sweet Attraction. 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:17.640 Sweet Attraction. 0:07:17.920 --> 0:07:21.600 Yes, that's absolutely armed, very very very arm b. 0:07:22.200 --> 0:07:27.480 And then baby, very baby sweet attraction. 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:30.520 Think of sweet attraction like La and baby Face. 0:07:32.040 --> 0:07:37.800 It was breed, it was curls ball was yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:07:37.880 --> 0:07:38.880 I did that. 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:39.920 I from jail. 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:47.520 I had I had a little Jerry Carl yeah. 0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:45.800 Yeah, yeah. 0:07:46.440 --> 0:07:50.160 And then I was in a band too. I can't 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:52.080 think of the name of the band, guys don't kill Me. 0:07:52.320 --> 0:07:53.840 I can't think of the name of the band, but it. 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:54.200 Was just me. 0:07:54.280 --> 0:07:56.560 I was a keyboardist and we had a bass, guitar, 0:07:57.160 --> 0:07:58.760 guitar player, drummer. 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:02.200 Thing. I forget, uh the name of the group. 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:05.040 And then I was in my last group before I 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:07.160 went on my own, with Shamari. 0:08:08.120 --> 0:08:08.800 That's the name of the group. 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:14.480 Yes, it was like. 0:08:16.760 --> 0:08:22.160 Word, what does that mean? I don't remember. I know, 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:27.160 I know it's yes. I was in Shamari and just was. 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:28.600 Just in Africa so with somebody. 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:34.839 We've been waiting so so I got When I got 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:38.120 out of that, that's when I went on my own, 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:42.760 and being so anxious, I ended up signing this. 0:08:42.720 --> 0:08:46.600 Record deal that was horrible. It was the horriblest deal 0:08:46.640 --> 0:08:49.840 you could ever see, like a local records to New York. 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:52.720 Well, i'll tell your label, Indy. 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:54.640 It was an independent label. I'll tell you one thing 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:56.960 that made it so bad. I signed my publishing away 0:08:57.000 --> 0:08:59.520 for the rest of my life. Sure what, that's how 0:08:59.559 --> 0:09:04.240 bad it went ourpetuity period. I was anxious. I didn't 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:06.640 get an attorney to look at the deal because I 0:09:06.679 --> 0:09:08.480 was anxious. I was twenty years old and I was 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:10.840 trying to leave. I was trying to get out of 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:12.080 New Haven. I was trying to. 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:13.840 And do you remember how much money they gave you 0:09:13.880 --> 0:09:14.080 for this? 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:17.000 I don't remember. But it wasn't a lot of money. 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:18.079 It was a horrible deal. 0:09:18.160 --> 0:09:19.360 It was just enough to get out. 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:23.319 It was enough to leave. I don't even remember getting paid. Actually, 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:27.600 I tell this story because I like to tell people 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:31.199 so that they can know being anxious is. 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:33.120 Not rushing bad place to make a decision. 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:38.200 Rushing being anxious and being like. 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:40.880 It's almost under your own drest right if you put 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:44.360 this pressure on yourself, Yes, you know what I mean, 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:47.000 you back yourself up against the wall in a sense 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:51.480 to where anything looks good to get off this wall 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:52.640 and to get out of this corner. 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:54.280 Jesus Christ. Yeah. 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:58.800 So throughout my my teenage years, I did record stores. 0:09:58.840 --> 0:10:00.360 I worked at record stores, and. 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:01.600 I felt like, you know, if I'm going to get 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:03.400 a job, I'd rather work at a record stores, keep 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:06.360 me close to music, but I will recredits all the time, 0:10:06.880 --> 0:10:07.680 because you know. 0:10:07.640 --> 0:10:08.920 That's a that's an art in itself. 0:10:09.000 --> 0:10:11.840 Yes, And there would be one name that I would 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:14.760 always see that I would always see and it seemed 0:10:14.760 --> 0:10:16.800 like every time I saw his name, it was attached 0:10:16.800 --> 0:10:19.520 to something I liked. And his name was Timmy Register 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:22.440 m HM, and so that name always stuck in the 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:25.960 back of my head. So let's fast forward to this 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:29.600 record deal. I'm I'm signed to this label now and 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:35.199 they asked me for my single. Who did I want 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:38.800 to get to mix the single? I said Timmy Register, 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:43.600 not knowing that they would know him, and it said, hey, 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:50.959 get Timmy on the phone, like what what? So long 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:53.719 story short of course, fast forward, I'm going to meet 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:57.760 Timmy Register. I'm going to meet tim Registrate. So they 0:10:57.800 --> 0:10:59.960 scheduled the mix. I think it was on a Monday. 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:04.040 I came up with this plan, this plan to play 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:11.880 three tracks, three beats that I did have songs to them, 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:16.800 but I won't play that. I'll play the music, hoping 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:20.240 that he will say where's the song. Then I would 0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:22.000 say I have the songs, and then he would say 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:23.439 let me hear the songs, and I would say, I 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:25.319 don't have them with me, but I can come back. 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:30.240 To get a meeting. Well, that was in my head. 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:34.920 So through the mix, during the inter the break he 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:37.840 broke for to get something to eat for lunch, and 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:41.200 so when he went to the lounge, I asked him 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:43.040 if I could play him some more music. First of all, 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:47.520 I thanked him for, you know, doing the mix, and 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:49.240 I said, can I play some music? I had the 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:52.760 boombox you know, you know when that was with the 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:56.520 cassette that you know, And so he said yeah, he 0:11:56.600 --> 0:11:58.080 was eating and I played him. 0:11:58.120 --> 0:11:59.200 I gave him the cassette. 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:01.480 He put in. He got in the middle of the 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:05.040 second beat, and he was like, where's the song? So 0:12:05.120 --> 0:12:06.440 I'll have songs todays. 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:06.600 Let me hear. 0:12:07.760 --> 0:12:09.199 I don't have them, but I can, you know, I 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:13.320 definitely can come back. I can, you know. He was like, okay, 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:16.880 and you scheduled a meeting for Wednesday at Motown because 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:20.040 he worked at Motown. He was a Motown executive and 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:21.040 R did. 0:12:20.840 --> 0:12:22.400 You not know this yet or you did know? 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:24.960 I did know, but I didn't pay attention to that 0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:26.720 because I was just looking at the fact that this 0:12:26.800 --> 0:12:29.200 is timmy register, whose name is on the back of 0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:33.400 so many things at Motown, and I didn't think about that. 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:39.120 And so I came back Wednesday, took the train, came 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:45.640 back and UH had a bag full of cassettes and 0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:50.480 I played him all my music. He got so into 0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:54.560 the music and so into me as an artist that 0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:59.280 he bought me out of that contract what and signed 0:12:59.320 --> 0:12:59.920 me to Motown. 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:05.240 Wow, and and this and this turnaround for let's just 0:13:05.440 --> 0:13:06.880 you know, said indie label. 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:08.640 How long was that? 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:11.680 It was only about It was a little under a 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:16.480 year because I wasn't on it long now during the 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:20.720 course of this horrible deal. The reason why I found 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:23.200 out how bad this deal was because at that time 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:25.560 I was working with who would then become my partner, 0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:28.800 Charles for our m H. I met him at this 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:32.560 horrible label. He was just there using the phone. What 0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:35.000 he was just there using the label to use the 0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:38.240 phone and do meetings. He didn't use the phone, yeah, yeah, 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:40.040 because he would just go there to to you know, 0:13:40.120 --> 0:13:43.560 have meetings and stuff just to use He knew the 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:45.760 people there, so he would just use the office phone 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:47.720 and you know meetings. 0:13:50.280 --> 0:13:51.480 Yeah, it's popping. 0:13:52.080 --> 0:14:00.920 Yeah here it's new kid pulled out. We them so 0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:02.000 so so so. 0:14:02.600 --> 0:14:04.840 One of one of the persons that did actually work 0:14:04.880 --> 0:14:07.480 there was his friend. That's how he you know, And 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:10.880 so it was him who has suggested to Charles, Hey, 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:13.520 why don't you have this kid who came up here, 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:15.800 you know, you should have him play keys for you. 0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:20.080 And so Charles got my number and called me and 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:22.920 asked me to come to New York to do keyboard work. 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:25.920 I didn't really know him, but he paid me, so, 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:28.600 you know, and then I would do that a few 0:14:28.640 --> 0:14:30.960 times before I realized, like, dude, what do you want? 0:14:31.440 --> 0:14:32.480 What is it that you want? 0:14:32.520 --> 0:14:33.840 But are you on Motown at this point? 0:14:33.920 --> 0:14:35.080 Ya? I went back. 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:36.680 I went back a y'all. I went back on y'all 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:38.400 because I went back to how I got out of 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:42.920 the deal. And so by the time I ended up 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:45.400 signing that deal because I didn't know him enough. You know, 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:48.760 when we started working, it started becoming regular. I started 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:52.040 getting on the train a lot more, and so he 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:56.320 was the one that had the contract looked at, and 0:14:56.400 --> 0:14:58.200 he was the one that told me how bad. 0:14:58.040 --> 0:14:58.640 The deal was. 0:14:59.840 --> 0:15:02.600 The that's how I found out. So in the course 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:07.800 of that we became the characters. And yeah, that's how 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:08.800 I introduced the characters. 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:10.360 Became the characters. 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:13.720 And so by the time Timmy signed me to Motown, 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:15.960 we were, you know, we were kind of together. 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:17.120 And he just bought you completely out. 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:19.360 He brought me completely out. I got my master's back, 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:20.760 I got my publishing back. 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:21.280 Everything. 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:27.640 Well, y'all know that was God. Nothing But yes, that 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:30.200 don't happen, not at all, not at all. 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:34.120 So the testimony of that and being anxious, rushing and 0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:38.280 you make a mess, still, God can get you out 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:40.680 no matter how deep that is, because that's deep that 0:15:40.800 --> 0:15:41.240 signed up. 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:42.320 The publishing was done. 0:15:42.360 --> 0:15:45.800 It wasn't no reversion, reversions or revisions or nothing. 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:46.680 It was done. 0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:48.520 It was like, because you know, you gotta get your 0:15:48.520 --> 0:15:51.520 attorney to negotiate that, there was no attorney to negotiate nothing. 0:15:51.520 --> 0:15:57.040 So my publisher was done. So yeah, gesus, I tell that. 0:15:58.320 --> 0:16:02.280 Now I'm on motown the name why the characters? 0:16:02.400 --> 0:16:02.880 Okay, So. 0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:09.600 When I was on that label, I was with a 0:16:09.720 --> 0:16:15.200 rapper who I produced him. It was because of him 0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:17.600 that we even got to that label in the first place. 0:16:18.600 --> 0:16:21.160 I was the producer, but I had sang backgrounds on 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:25.640 a couple of his songs, and so they kept gravitating 0:16:25.680 --> 0:16:30.400 towards the person singing. So that's how technically we both 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:33.240 got signed. And then we came up with I came 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:37.480 up with the name smooth characters. So when I got 0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:39.640 out of that deal, both of us got out of 0:16:39.640 --> 0:16:42.760 the deal, the rapper and I. When me and Charles 0:16:42.760 --> 0:16:47.320 became the partners, I dropped this move and just said 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:48.480 the characters. 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:52.080 That's pretty much how it all began. 0:16:52.440 --> 0:16:55.560 That's wow, because. 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:59.360 You know, of course my idols Jam and Lewis, l 0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:01.160 A and Face Yeah, gambling huff. 0:17:01.240 --> 0:17:02.120 Yeah, you know what I mean. 0:17:02.760 --> 0:17:05.040 So that's that's that was the that was the vision. 0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:08.720 That was the vision, and so that was the motivation. 0:17:09.000 --> 0:17:11.280 So the characters I thought it was. I thought it 0:17:11.320 --> 0:17:16.080 was you know, it rang, Yeah, it had a ring 0:17:16.119 --> 0:17:16.320 to it. 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:18.440 Yeah. I heard about y'all in church. 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:21.920 Yeah, I was still in church, you know what I'm saying, 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:24.879 and just hearing about producers that was doing what they 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:28.000 were doing. Yeah, yeah, your name was was the characters? 0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:28.479 The characters? 0:17:28.520 --> 0:17:30.600 Okay, yeah, that's what we want to be. 0:17:32.920 --> 0:17:36.160 Lain, Face, yeah, Jam, Lewis, Yeah, gambling huff. 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:38.240 So what was your what was your first moment as 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:41.200 the characters? Now you're this this group, you're signing the Motown. 0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:43.080 I'm signing the Motown and I'm working on my album. 0:17:43.080 --> 0:17:45.639 You're working on your album, and are they letting you 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:46.600 guys do the album. 0:17:46.840 --> 0:17:49.080 Yes, Timmy, Timmy was everything. Timmy was. 0:17:49.880 --> 0:17:52.359 I've mentored and I still mentor a lot of people, 0:17:52.400 --> 0:17:54.959 and people often ask me, Troy, have you ever had 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:59.240 a mentor? And I have to say, you know, Timmy 0:17:59.320 --> 0:18:01.480 was my mentor. He was the one that taught me 0:18:01.640 --> 0:18:04.960 song you know, how to make the song pop out, 0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:08.120 the verses, pop out, the hook nah, change that change 0:18:08.160 --> 0:18:10.000 you know what I mean. He was the one that 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:12.000 kind of like taught me how to make a good song, 0:18:12.800 --> 0:18:15.000 what a format a good song. So I have to 0:18:15.040 --> 0:18:17.399 say that that was then, and within that time he 0:18:17.440 --> 0:18:19.719 already heard all my music. So he trusts me, so 0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:21.280 he let me. He let me do the songs that 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:23.280 I wanted to do and make the album and everything. 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:25.280 So you made it full the album while you're there, 0:18:25.440 --> 0:18:28.040 I was making the full album, okay. 0:18:28.800 --> 0:18:32.600 And then he took some of my songs. Wat's this 0:18:33.880 --> 0:18:38.440 and he had a meeting with Cheryl Busby who. 0:18:38.440 --> 0:18:41.920 Was the president. Was the president already you already because 0:18:41.960 --> 0:18:44.080 she was Jael Bobs. Yeah, So. 0:18:45.800 --> 0:18:50.040 Gerald came in. Timmy played Gerald some of my songs 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:52.520 and Gerald took a pad, sat on the couch, kicked 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:54.520 the shoes off and he would write the names of 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:56.639 the songs down because they had groups and they have 0:18:56.840 --> 0:18:59.840 people other artists. So if I'm not keeping it from 0:18:59.840 --> 0:19:02.320 my self, who did a lot of songs, right, And 0:19:02.400 --> 0:19:05.119 at that time, I did a lot of harmonies. I 0:19:05.200 --> 0:19:07.080 was known like you listened to my music, it was 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:09.159 all harmonies. You thought it was a group anyway, but 0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:11.679 it was all me. So that's what gave Timmy and 0:19:11.760 --> 0:19:15.240 Gerald like, yo, these songs are yo you you know what? 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:15.560 Yeah? 0:19:15.640 --> 0:19:17.720 Yeah, So you did a list and it was this 0:19:17.840 --> 0:19:22.360 two groups that they had signed there. So Gerald came 0:19:22.440 --> 0:19:25.359 up with four songs for this group and four songs 0:19:25.400 --> 0:19:30.879 for this group out of my kettle mm hmm yeah 0:19:31.400 --> 0:19:35.159 for this and for this They had these kids that 0:19:35.320 --> 0:19:38.120 were there for about a year or so and they 0:19:38.160 --> 0:19:42.440 hadn't recorded yet. So Timmy told Gerald, like, this would 0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:47.520 be good for these kids, and Gerald agreed, so he 0:19:47.640 --> 0:19:50.119 wrote down the four songs. He worked down three songs. 0:19:50.320 --> 0:19:54.800 The fourth song that Timmy played, I had to interrupt 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:59.600 and say, hey, this one's for me, this this is mine. 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:02.480 They can't can't You had your artist moment? 0:20:02.720 --> 0:20:03.840 Yeah yeah, yeah yeah. 0:20:04.640 --> 0:20:08.320 And he was making a cassette for Gerald at the time, so, 0:20:08.440 --> 0:20:12.199 you know, so he had to rewind the tape to 0:20:12.240 --> 0:20:15.000 take it off and put it and cover it with 0:20:15.040 --> 0:20:15.640 another song. 0:20:16.680 --> 0:20:17.600 And so that's what he did. 0:20:17.840 --> 0:20:22.200 And so now it came time to meet these groups 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:24.800 and you know, to set up a meeting to work 0:20:24.840 --> 0:20:25.160 with them. 0:20:25.920 --> 0:20:27.520 So first came the kids. 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:30.719 The kids. The kids they did. Yeah, I would go 0:20:30.760 --> 0:20:33.440 down and meet these kids. Came back to Motown. They 0:20:33.480 --> 0:20:37.720 were in the conference room and it was four of them, 0:20:38.480 --> 0:20:40.919 and the youngest one was fifteen, and then the other 0:20:40.960 --> 0:20:43.120 one was sixteen, and then two of them were seventeen. 0:20:44.119 --> 0:20:48.040 So I sat down and they were very excited and 0:20:48.040 --> 0:20:50.480 they were telling me the songs that they really liked. 0:20:51.040 --> 0:20:55.159 And the youngest one he said he liked a song, 0:20:55.880 --> 0:20:58.520 but he didn't know the name of it. And so 0:20:58.600 --> 0:20:59.160 I'm like, what. 0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:01.719 Do you what do you mean I didn't hear all 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:03.719 of it. I'm like, what do you mean? Didn't hear 0:21:03.760 --> 0:21:07.360 all of it? Yeah, we just caught the end of it. 0:21:07.920 --> 0:21:08.960 What is he talk like? 0:21:09.000 --> 0:21:10.520 I didn't understand what he was talking about. I said, 0:21:10.520 --> 0:21:14.399 did you remember any of the words? He's like it 0:21:14.520 --> 0:21:16.280 was like your love or something like that. 0:21:16.640 --> 0:21:20.080 I said, Oh, piece of the joint was still on. 0:21:22.080 --> 0:21:24.560 They caught the end of it because the song that 0:21:24.600 --> 0:21:27.280