WEBVTT - Raheem DeVaughn 0:00:01.960 --> 0:00:04.960 R and B Money. 0:00:05.559 --> 0:00:06.120 We are. 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:14.800 Thanks take Malachi. We are the authority on all things. 0:00:15.560 --> 0:00:15.920 R and B. 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:19.400 Land is a gentleman. My name is Tank. 0:00:19.480 --> 0:00:20.439 I'm Valentine. 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:24.960 Oh and here's the old mother. 0:00:25.640 --> 0:00:31.040 Come on real anyway on this oh no thing. Yeah, 0:00:31.320 --> 0:00:32.720 alry be, come on with you. 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:35.479 I've seen the cries of the people. 0:00:36.240 --> 0:00:41.400 Yeah, the customers, the customer, Yeah, yeah, they wanted to 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:42.040 see him. 0:00:42.400 --> 0:00:44.560 You you you you you you you you you and you. 0:00:44.560 --> 0:00:47.160 Him who sings about a woman. 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:49.800 Huh, the mixtape man himself, him who. 0:00:50.040 --> 0:00:52.239 Who loves you more? You don't know who loves you? 0:00:53.479 --> 0:00:54.480 Who loves you more? 0:00:54.960 --> 0:01:04.240 Tell them my whole hotewn round John divide. 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:04.200 Whatever. 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:08.520 Oh, this one's special, broes, it is. This one's special, bro. 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:14.360 Like you know, being from the soil, bro and what 0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:16.240 we come from, who we come from? 0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:17.760 Yeah, you know what I'm saying. 0:01:18.040 --> 0:01:22.640 And to be able to have this conversation so many 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:28.160 years later and this conversation still matter, it's big, bro. 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:30.200 Yeah, it's big. 0:01:30.880 --> 0:01:33.440 I often say, man, you know, when we're doing interviews 0:01:33.480 --> 0:01:37.080 and still hitting radio stations or just you know, talking 0:01:37.160 --> 0:01:40.720 doing blog blogs, podcast things of that nature, to just 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:43.440 have it, you know, it's it's you look, you look 0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:47.800 up twenty years later, fifteen years later, eighteen years and 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:49.440 you're like, man, all right, my na ain't still in 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:52.480 the conversation. He's still in He's still in the conversation, 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:57.440 you know, top ten, top whatever, you know. I think 0:01:57.520 --> 0:01:59.640 that that's I think that's the greatest gift, you know, 0:02:00.560 --> 0:02:04.480 the gift of longevity, you know, and mastering that. And 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:07.800 sometimes we could get so convoluted and focus on other 0:02:07.840 --> 0:02:12.240 things as artists, or feel the pressure of social media 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:15.520 and keeping you know, or or looking at what the 0:02:15.560 --> 0:02:19.240 next person is doing that. You know, we sometimes we 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:24.400 don't celebrate even our smallest wins, you know what I mean, 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:27.639 or what somebody else might measure something that's not such 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:29.600 a big win for me. Around here, we celebrate all 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:31.919 the wins, you know what I mean. Here I am 0:02:32.200 --> 0:02:33.760 r B Money Podcast. 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:38.640 I also think, bro, like you've like even in you saying, like, 0:02:39.720 --> 0:02:43.720 you know, keeping those blinders on and focusing on what 0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:49.240 you do. You've been doing what you do consistently, and 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:53.519 everything you've added to that, every ancillary piece that you've 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:57.480 added to that, from foundations, your philanthropy, all that is 0:02:57.520 --> 0:03:01.720 on brand with who you are, and it's not just artistry. 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:06.520 It's you the human being that has transcended time, which 0:03:06.600 --> 0:03:11.480 is man. That's that's harder to do, you know what 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:13.359 I'm saying. It's easy to focus on one thing. I'm 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:16.680 just gonna try to nail these records. But now you're 0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:20.440 existing in so many other spaces, and all of it 0:03:20.560 --> 0:03:24.840 feeds each other, you know, And that's that's the congratulations 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:27.160 to you, brocase you you you do all of it, 0:03:27.200 --> 0:03:27.440 and you. 0:03:27.440 --> 0:03:27.880 Do it well. 0:03:27.960 --> 0:03:30.760 Thank you, Thank you, my brother. Give me the I wanted. 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:31.960 I've always want to ask you this. 0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:34.320 Where does Devon come from? You know? 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:37.840 I mean, of course you know get that from. It's 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:39.720 the background of slavery, of course. 0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:40.600 Yeah. 0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:44.760 You know, I traced my roots back to being half 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:48.280 Camerony and the Guinea Basa and the Ticar Belanta tribes. 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:51.680 You know, I think I think I say that again, 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:56.200 don't Yeah, so so African Ancestry dot Com. It is 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:56.880 some years ago. 0:03:57.200 --> 0:04:00.240 You know, I did the DNA s wid Man to 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:03.080 figure out you know, where I'm from, you know, so 0:04:03.080 --> 0:04:06.840 so technically on West Africa. Yeah, you know, and uh, 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:09.520 you know, shout out to all my Cameroonian family and 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:13.280 you know, uh uh the Tea car and belong to 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:16.640 tribes Guinea Bassa. You know which is you know, both 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:20.080 are considered you know west, you know west the coast. 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:22.240 One is right on the coast of West Africa and 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:24.640 uh and I believe the other is what Cameroon is 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:28.760 on the other side of Nigeria for not mistaken. So yeah, 0:04:28.800 --> 0:04:30.680 so that's so that's where that's you know, that's where 0:04:30.680 --> 0:04:33.640 I realized that my people come from. On my mother's 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:36.279 and my father. On my father's side, a lot of 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:38.080 the Divans are like you know, my dad was the 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:44.200 youngest of uh of twelve based out of Cleveland, Ohio, 0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:46.680 you know, and then my mom's side of the family 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:50.640 was down from like Florence, uh, Florence, the Carolinas and 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:52.440 Florence and uh. 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:55.200 Yeah, so I think we still kind of figured it out. 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:59.080 I think definitely definitely the West Indies or the or 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:03.320 the or the islands like you know, Jamaica, the Caribbean Islands, definitely, 0:05:03.360 --> 0:05:05.320 I think you know, with the where the where the 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:08.440 Devons uh routed from a lot of people think that 0:05:08.480 --> 0:05:12.520 William Devn is my dad and we haven't when when 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:14.640 in actuality, we haven't been able to figure out any 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:17.520 relation to the William So William. 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:20.719 Devon, Uh, what's what's uh dominant in the back? 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:27.839 Yeah, yeah, William Devon, Like what's the name of the group. Yeah, 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:30.080 he was in a group as well as Yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:32.320 I think he from now from what I told you, 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:34.080 I think he lives in the d V Like he's 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:36.240 in Virginia or in that area. 0:05:36.400 --> 0:05:36.599 Yeah. 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:39.880 So, but a lot of people have thought throughout my 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:42.120 career like that was my dad. My dad is actually 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:47.200 was a you know, child prodigy cellist who was heavily 0:05:47.240 --> 0:05:49.040 known in the in the classical. 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:50.679 Yeah, classical world. 0:05:51.080 --> 0:05:54.120 Yeah, he's you know, husic string of ranger, composer, like 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:58.360 crazy with that's why you're so music. The artist he's 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:02.680 known as. He has a lot of students that will 0:06:02.800 --> 0:06:05.240 you know, reach out and you know, I'll be somewhere 0:06:05.279 --> 0:06:07.720 and they pop up like, yeah, I'm such and such. 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:09.039 Yeah, I played the cello. 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:12.359 I play with you know this, yeah this orchestra, and 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:15.039 your dad taught me, you know, how to play. So yeah, 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:17.080 so yeah man, you know. 0:06:17.400 --> 0:06:19.520 So, so listen, since we're going there, since we're going 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:23.760 to the beginning of the origin the bloodline, you know, 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:27.000 how early did this start for you, Where did you 0:06:27.040 --> 0:06:27.960 just come out the wound? 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:29.160 I'll be honest with you. 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:33.800 So, so growing up, you know, Dad wasn't in my 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:35.760 in my household, but he was in my life, you 0:06:35.760 --> 0:06:37.400 know what I mean. So you know, I do I 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:40.560 technically come from what would be a single parent household, 0:06:40.600 --> 0:06:43.520 my mom, you know, between my mom and my grandmother 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:44.080 who raised me. 0:06:44.440 --> 0:06:44.599 You know. 0:06:44.760 --> 0:06:47.000 But I would spend summers with my dad, like going, 0:06:47.080 --> 0:06:50.360 so I'd be back and forth from like DC to Jersey, 0:06:50.400 --> 0:06:53.920 whether that was East Orange or Newark, New Jersey, Backe 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:58.760 Terrist projects, the colonnades just all kind of like landmarks, yeah, places, 0:06:58.960 --> 0:07:01.760 you know. So, so I spent with my dad, you know, 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:04.760 going to gigs, wake up, I wake up to him 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:08.160 hearing him practice the cello, you know, that whole the type. 0:07:07.920 --> 0:07:09.600 Of vibe he was. 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:11.360 You know, I didn't know I was doing music. If 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:13.200 I know what I know now, I would have learned 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:16.920 every instrument I had. I had, but I was very like, no, 0:07:17.040 --> 0:07:18.120 I don't want to, you know, I just want to 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:21.840 go outside play, you know what I mean. You know, so, 0:07:21.840 --> 0:07:24.200 so even me being a father now, you know, with 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:27.000 my boys, you know, different periods of their life you know, 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:29.840 things they may pick up they want to do. I 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:32.720 learned to just let them figure out what your child 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:34.360 likes to do and what they like to gravitate to, 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:35.480 and you support. 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:35.400 It, you know. 0:07:38.040 --> 0:07:41.720 Absolutely, you know, you know, fast forwarding to like when 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:44.760 I became this, when I became this just this figure 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:48.320 rahiem Devone, like you know is you know, up until 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:50.840 the time he passed, like it was great to be 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:54.600 able to have conversations with him at least to be 0:07:54.880 --> 0:07:57.480 you know, definitely have that support system for both parents, 0:07:58.000 --> 0:08:00.640 but to have somebody that you can talk about, like 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:05.400 have conversations about publishing because of it, you know what 0:08:05.480 --> 0:08:08.800 I mean, Like, you know, for him to be able 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:10.480 to come to a show and be like, yeah, you. 0:08:10.440 --> 0:08:13.080 Know, yeah you might need to get a new bass 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:14.720 player you. 0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:20.680 Just relate to, you know, or or or I could 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:22.000 event and have a conversation. 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:22.280 You know. 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:25.520 So it wasn't until later on in my career, you know, 0:08:26.240 --> 0:08:28.200 discovering and figure out what it was, what it is 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:30.520 that I wanted to do that I that that I 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:34.000 realized the importance of the support that I had there, 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:36.719 you know, from you know, from musician fellow musicians to 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:40.640 musician and and even like now I'm finding out because 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:42.520 for me it was just like Dad, it was very humble, 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:45.320 you know, for for you know, he for a long 0:08:45.320 --> 0:08:48.280 period of time he retired. You know, I feel comfortable 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:51.320 talking about it now, but uh, you know my dad, 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:55.160 My dad dealt with mental health most of his adult life, 0:08:55.160 --> 0:08:59.200 you know, schizophrenia, which is something that that that you know, 0:08:59.760 --> 0:09:02.280 the family, you know, we. 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:03.320 Were highly supportive of. 0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:08.200 You had to get even now like even you know 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:10.400 now with the with the conversations of mental health and 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:12.280 how important it is like. 0:09:12.320 --> 0:09:13.199 Now, you know, back. 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:17.560 Then even a decade ago, you know what I mean, Like, 0:09:17.600 --> 0:09:19.079 you know, so. 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:21.800 Was that ultimately why you decided to get into that space? 0:09:22.040 --> 0:09:24.479 Oh? Absolutely, I mean absolutely. 0:09:24.520 --> 0:09:26.240 You know it could be because that was something that 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:30.240 that that I was carrying safe from like man from 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:33.920 like high school, twelfth grade on. 0:09:34.080 --> 0:09:36.240 You know when when I first started to notice. 0:09:37.640 --> 0:09:39.560 That that there was yeah, that there was something there, 0:09:39.640 --> 0:09:41.560 you know, trying to kind of figure it out. But 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:44.280 it wasn't until later on in my adult life where 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:46.960 where where it were like you know, you know, like 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:49.560 my sister, my cousins, my aunt like really broke down 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:51.000 to me, like what was going on? Where I was 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:53.559 able to connect the dots and say, oh, okay, ten 0:09:53.679 --> 0:09:56.360 years ago, that's why this was happening, you know, you 0:09:56.440 --> 0:10:00.440 know what I mean. So so yeah, it's definitely one 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:02.400 of the reasons why mental health is a is a 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:07.720 is AH initiative for me with the Foundation. Uh, you know, 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:09.959 it's an old saying, you know, never call anybody crazy 0:10:09.960 --> 0:10:13.040 because you don't know what they've been through that, you know, 0:10:13.120 --> 0:10:16.840 you know what I mean, So you know it definitely 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:20.920 I'm definitely been one of those people. Do not turn 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:23.800 a blind eye to, you know, the person that you 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:28.240 might see just just having a conversation with themselves or 0:10:28.360 --> 0:10:32.400 you know, like like like like altered reality, you know 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:34.200 what I mean. Like, you know, mental health is like 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:36.880 a really it's a It's a real thing, whether whether 0:10:36.920 --> 0:10:42.640 you're talking about from a space of uh, depression, anxiety, bipolar, 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:46.679 you know, whatever the case. You know, schizophrenia, you know 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:48.280 what I mean. I think that that's something in it. 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:52.840 And recently being at the White House right on a 0:10:52.880 --> 0:10:55.760 panel for it, one of the things we just kind 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:58.000 of do. We were just chopping it up. It's like, 0:10:58.040 --> 0:11:01.800 you know, for us in the black community, the we're 0:11:01.880 --> 0:11:04.600 often taught or that's something that where they did where 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:06.240 they feel like, oh, we just we'll just pray it 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:10.120 off for you, you know what I mean, like it 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:12.839 you know, in some cases it may be something requires 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:17.960 uh you know, therapy, medication daily, you know. 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:19.560 What I mean, to just get a grip on it. 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:20.600 And yeah, so. 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:24.359 I think it's one of the things or the taboos 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:27.520 that a lot of times that we, you know, in 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:31.200 the passive, turn a blind eye to, especially in our community. Yeah, 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:35.320 and you know it's I'm glad that the conversations are 0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:36.800 happening and I could be part of them. 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:37.679 Absolutely well. 0:11:37.720 --> 0:11:39.959 We commend you on that for sure. 0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:42.320 And being able to have that conversation with pops like 0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:46.720 that musical man like my father, Like I love my father, 0:11:46.760 --> 0:11:50.400 but he's a know nothing about music. He's all air force, right, 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:53.000 So he walks up to me one day. But now 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:55.320 we talk more as a kid growing up yeah yeah, yeah, 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:57.719 we had no conversations. Yeah, he's like, I'm grown as man, 0:11:57.760 --> 0:12:00.280 your last kid. Yeah, you know what I'm saying, don't 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:01.199 really have much time. 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:02.880 Now. 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:06.440 But once I assume responsibility of myself and he saw 0:12:06.480 --> 0:12:08.920 me as a man, like our communication just went through 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:10.600 the roof. And he came to me one they said, so, 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:17.520 uh so, how you publishers doing. They're doing alright, how 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:23.240 they making it through? I just say, you know what, yes, 0:12:23.320 --> 0:12:25.040 that my publishers of It's. 0:12:24.920 --> 0:12:26.360 Kind of like he might have heard pipeline. 0:12:28.720 --> 0:12:31.920 He thought publishers was some person for some people in 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:33.800 a room that was doing some cool ship. 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:36.120 I want to know how they was, And I was 0:12:36.160 --> 0:12:41.560 like that they good the real So when did you 0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:43.600 actually start singing? When did you? When did that? 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:47.680 I was told I always had a voice, like even 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.080 even young, Like there there are moments I remember, like 0:12:50.960 --> 0:12:56.600 first grade cave elementary music teacher can't remember the name 0:12:57.080 --> 0:12:59.520 and they're saying like me going up the scale and 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:03.440 her saying like you're going to do something amazing one day, 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:07.800 and like, okay, didn't really you know know that, you know, 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:10.480 I mean I didn't really until you know, I graduated 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:11.080 from high Point. 0:13:11.360 --> 0:13:14.319 You know you guys, reaated from County. He had a 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:15.160 good had a good game. 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:21.400 Yeah, yeah, a seventy six years. 0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:29.080 That's like what I've been telling my son about my 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:32.120 dunk contest when I don't believe it. 0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:36.839 That was on I was on TV at the house. 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:39.280 You know, we be on TV. I was on TV. 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:43.760 I was a distance runner. I did track of field. 0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:47.480 This is runner cross country. It was pretty good at it. 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:51.280 You really are Africa, I'm about to say, yeah, I 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:55.400 really am. Rather Yeah, they didn't know. He's just that's 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:56.360 just broth from down the block. 0:13:56.400 --> 0:13:56.480 Now. 0:13:57.360 --> 0:14:00.319 So I've always understood the concept of the marathon and 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:06.280 therrehip put it together. Never it's never been about a 0:14:06.320 --> 0:14:07.920 sprint for me, you know what I mean. So even 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:13.480 even in that space, I acquired an athletic scholarship with 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:16.200 copp and State, got red shirted for S A T. S. 0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:20.680 And never really and literally the first day on campus, 0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:25.920 ran into some guys singing, and we decided we're going 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:29.080 to be a group. And we were skipping class. You're 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:31.640 doing all the things. Besides, you know, we enjoyed the 0:14:31.640 --> 0:14:35.000 college experience, being away from home figuring it out. You know, 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:38.160 the original plan was to go in to to uh, 0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:42.320 you know, criminal justice or law enforcement, and and you know, 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:44.720 and and and do my do my four years or 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:47.640 and and and and you know what they say, you 0:14:47.640 --> 0:14:49.360 want to make your own you want to make God laugh, 0:14:49.440 --> 0:14:52.960 make your own plans, right, And I didn't last three semesters. 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:54.920 I dropped out. You know. Of course my mother was like, 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:57.960 what are you doing? You can't come back here? 0:14:58.240 --> 0:15:01.720 You you lasted almost one Yeah. 0:15:01.800 --> 0:15:04.880 Yeah that dad kind of got it, but I think 0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:08.720 he really wanted me to finish as well. And then 0:15:08.720 --> 0:15:10.720 from there, man, I just kind of just like started 0:15:10.720 --> 0:15:11.520 figuring it out. 0:15:12.080 --> 0:15:12.200 Uh. 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:17.040 You know infiltrated uh Chucky Thompson's camp at the time. 0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:19.920 This is at the time this Chucky has Chuck life. 0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:23.840 He's back in d C. He has artists like Frankie 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:26.680 and the Power Three, my Man Daoud and Constant and 0:15:26.720 --> 0:15:27.680 those guys. Uh. 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:28.520 Uh. 0:15:28.920 --> 0:15:32.680 Guru is at the time Young Guru is going to 0:15:32.720 --> 0:15:34.040 Howard and. 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:36.800 Working with and like DJ for like Tracy Lee and 0:15:37.040 --> 0:15:39.000 working with Non Chamant. 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:41.840 At this time. 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:44.360 And I'm like, I'm like connecting the dots from like 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:46.880 reading the album credits and like I'm just trying to 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:48.200 get trying to figure out how much. 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:48.960 You don't know any of them. 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:53.360 I don't know any of them personal and Andre by 0:15:53.440 --> 0:15:58.280 pure chance, I'm hanging out on on on on Hues campus. 0:15:58.320 --> 0:16:00.960 I'm in the Howard area and and it used to 0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:02.880 be the spot to just like I go hang out 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:04.160 with I didn't go to school there. 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:05.600 I'm just like kind of hanging out. 0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:07.520 Are you still at Compen State? Are you gone? 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:10.680 At this point, I'm gone back home and we and 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:12.760 so so you know, I'm doing like odd jobs here 0:16:12.800 --> 0:16:16.240 and there and things like that. You give us one job, 0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:18.360 oh man, I could get Look, I've been working since 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:22.080 I was fifteen sixteen because when I came back from 0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:23.880 there was a period where I lived. 0:16:23.640 --> 0:16:25.080 With my dad, like. 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:26.160 Like, hey, you got to go live with your dad, 0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:29.800 like it's just you know, and I got into some 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:33.320 heavy trouble in Jersey, which in. 0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:35.920 Landing me back in with my mom. 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:40.920 So we're talking like ninth grade, tenth grade, you know, transitioning, 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:45.240 summer school, that type of thing. So so I got 0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:46.720 a job when I came back to Maryland. So I 0:16:46.960 --> 0:16:49.840 so I worked from My first job was Giant Food. 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:53.880 Yeah, so Giant So that's like a grocery store, grocery store, 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:56.840 partial pick up, you know what I mean. Then you know, 0:16:56.960 --> 0:16:57.880 you learn the register. 0:16:59.160 --> 0:17:03.520 But as far as jobs, man, Giant Food, Chevy, Chase Bank, telemarketing, 0:17:04.040 --> 0:17:07.960 long Fence, I hated that job, like long Fence literally, 0:17:08.000 --> 0:17:10.560 so you literally get dropped off like they would they 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:13.159 would basically put jump in the van, you go to 0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:14.800 the office, they say, okay, we're gonna take you in 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:17.960 this neighborhood and just basically you go knock on strangers doors, 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:19.360 You're getting chased by dogs. 0:17:19.720 --> 0:17:22.960 You get your people. Who is it are you selling? 0:17:23.359 --> 0:17:27.719 You're trying to sell. You're trying to sell people fences, doors, windows. 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:30.960 So people can't knock on your doors. Yeah, so y'all 0:17:31.000 --> 0:17:32.720 don't want me coming back knocking on the door. Let me. 0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:38.960 Listen. I wouldn't be here if you have for action. 0:17:39.080 --> 0:17:42.080 That was a great job. You from the house. 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:45.560 So that's definitely, that is great. It's gonna be some cougars. 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:53.080 We're gonna be fly. My last job probably was my dopest, 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:56.359 was Tower Records, The last job I had before I 0:17:56.400 --> 0:17:57.640 went full time musician. 0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:00.840 I would I could. I couldn't say I. 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:03.200 Would have wrote the script any better than that because 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:07.879 I learned a lot about music. The consumers who buys, 0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:11.280 you know, how they buy. I learned a lot about music. 0:18:11.320 --> 0:18:13.960 I was just around music the entire time, you know, 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:15.960 so that was cool. 0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:22.119 You know. I went from the register to LP Lost Prevention. 0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:28.480 Just catching niggas stilling. Did you chase anybody. 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:32.440 I'll tell you this, man, we got to get the 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:36.680 table the people. It be the people you think that 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:38.080 you think are the thieves or not. 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:41.200 That Like my first, my first, my first, my first, 0:18:40.880 --> 0:18:44.879 uh person I grabbed and like chased down was a 0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:48.720 he was a professor at like g W what Yeah, 0:18:48.760 --> 0:18:50.920 he was like he was he was he was still 0:18:50.960 --> 0:18:53.320 in some gay porn. I guess he didn't feel comfortable 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:55.240 going to the playing porns. 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:57.280 So he was coming. So his thing was he was 0:18:57.320 --> 0:18:58.480 coming and he was coming there. 0:18:58.400 --> 0:19:03.720 With with with a newspaper right under on and he 0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:06.240 and he windows shop and when he you know, we're 0:19:06.240 --> 0:19:09.240 talking DVDs right. 0:19:09.160 --> 0:19:11.399 And he would just put the DVD in between the 0:19:11.440 --> 0:19:13.240 NewSpace stuff and just walk out. 0:19:14.240 --> 0:19:20.480 So my first day, I'm like, oh, go on, got what? 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:25.560 Oh man? That was exciting man, like that job was 0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:28.240 like you have to like chase that. I didn't realize 0:19:28.240 --> 0:19:29.879 the days. Yeah, he tried to run. I had to 0:19:29.920 --> 0:19:30.480 chase him like. 0:19:31.960 --> 0:19:35.600 On them, I'm on coming back, come on, please please 0:19:35.640 --> 0:19:36.560 don't please. 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:39.600 Don't nespaper opens so. 0:19:39.000 --> 0:19:46.399 So so a boy so so Tower Tower had a 0:19:46.440 --> 0:19:52.320 policy that like if it was over fifty dollars that 0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:55.520 you call those people. You gotta go. Yeah, you go, 0:19:55.560 --> 0:19:56.959 they come pick you up. You know, you go through 0:19:57.000 --> 0:19:59.080 the whole process, right, you're going to four A D, 0:19:59.200 --> 0:20:03.160 three D whatever. So it just so happened that where 0:20:03.160 --> 0:20:05.840 he where he had taken and when they did the 0:20:05.880 --> 0:20:08.600 tax on it, it came up to little like forty 0:20:08.920 --> 0:20:10.800 No way, you had. 0:20:10.680 --> 0:20:12.360 To let him go. So we had to let yeah. 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:14.760 So so so you do a paperwork, you take a picture, 0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:17.640 they put the now your you. 0:20:17.520 --> 0:20:20.040 Can't come around here, no more. You can't come around here. 0:20:19.920 --> 0:20:22.159 No more. Professors can't come Yeah, you can't come around here, 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:23.000 no more professor. 0:20:23.040 --> 0:20:23.879 And wow. 0:20:23.960 --> 0:20:25.520 So that was but yeah, that was my last job, 0:20:25.600 --> 0:20:28.560 me and Tower Records, you know, you know. In between 0:20:28.560 --> 0:20:32.040 that again, just like moving around, I would hang out 0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:35.159 with these with these girls that went the Howard and 0:20:35.200 --> 0:20:35.960 they put me on it. 0:20:36.160 --> 0:20:37.639 It's like it's like ninety five. 0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:42.280 And the reason I remember, you know music time timeline 0:20:42.280 --> 0:20:45.840 wise Badu had by Dude's album had dropped, and this 0:20:45.960 --> 0:20:48.760 was that was like the bible for like they playing 0:20:48.800 --> 0:20:52.120 they playing space, they got the wig burning. 0:20:52.320 --> 0:20:53.200 It's just the vibe. 0:20:53.240 --> 0:20:54.560 So we would just go there to just kind of 0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:58.080 like hang out and those group of those group. 0:20:57.960 --> 0:21:00.880 Of individuals who I'm still with ends with some to this. 0:21:00.920 --> 0:21:05.760 Day, Remy and you know I met, I met artists 0:21:05.760 --> 0:21:08.440 like West Felton, who we now are you know we 0:21:08.440 --> 0:21:11.000 we We've put out various projects together under the group 0:21:11.080 --> 0:21:15.679 named Crossroads Bar None Open Mics was happening around at times, 0:21:15.680 --> 0:21:18.479 so U Street, you know, so I'd be I'd go 0:21:18.560 --> 0:21:21.360 there work on my craft. In fact, I think that's 0:21:21.359 --> 0:21:23.439 how we kind of got cool. I go by the 0:21:23.480 --> 0:21:27.560 house and one of they ended those those those those 0:21:27.600 --> 0:21:30.639 sisters from the house, they ended up like interning for 0:21:30.760 --> 0:21:34.840 Chucky CHUCKI Thompson. So then that became so like one 0:21:34.880 --> 0:21:37.360 day I just somebody just like randomly, I can't remember who, 0:21:37.440 --> 0:21:40.080 like yo, come over. Chucky had the studio on uh 0:21:40.160 --> 0:21:43.800 in Southeast on Pennsylvania Avenue, right down in the Eastern 0:21:43.880 --> 0:21:46.639 Market area, and I just kind of just would just 0:21:46.720 --> 0:21:49.560 like go and then like I never left. I'd go, 0:21:49.640 --> 0:21:54.840 I'd sleep on I sleep on the couch, you know, man, 0:21:55.280 --> 0:21:58.720 you know there there and at some point, you know, 0:21:58.760 --> 0:21:59.160 if you know. 0:21:59.200 --> 0:22:03.080 Chuck, you was like, hey, what what what what you do? 0:22:03.240 --> 0:22:03.280 Mo? 0:22:03.640 --> 0:22:06.000 So so I was, you know, my thing was songwriting, 0:22:06.480 --> 0:22:08.719 and uh he had a few groups that I started 0:22:08.720 --> 0:22:11.480 to write for, you know, took a couple of trips. 0:22:11.480 --> 0:22:14.000 First time I ever met Mary, her mother, you know, 0:22:14.440 --> 0:22:18.400 sitting in on Faith ev you know Faith Faith Eving sessions. 0:22:20.160 --> 0:22:21.919 Chucky was like the he was he was he was 0:22:22.000 --> 0:22:23.840 just to me, it was like he was he was 0:22:23.840 --> 0:22:25.680 the R and B like he was, he was the guy. 0:22:25.800 --> 0:22:27.560 He was like the producer God like you know what 0:22:27.560 --> 0:22:30.560 I mean. It's like so it's like this is the guy, 0:22:30.760 --> 0:22:32.680 Like he's right here in the city, and and and 0:22:32.680 --> 0:22:34.600 and and now I got that connection. I can sit 0:22:34.600 --> 0:22:36.320 here and just like learn, like like leave and I 0:22:36.320 --> 0:22:41.320 ain't leaving. I'm gonna be right here, sleep something, and 0:22:41.400 --> 0:22:43.840 I'm gonna get Yeah, I'm gonna be like you you 0:22:43.880 --> 0:22:47.480 know what I mean. So yeah, man, that that that 0:22:47.560 --> 0:22:50.919 became like my I think between those things, you know, 0:22:51.040 --> 0:22:54.800 doing doing bar none Monday nights became like the Bible 0:22:54.840 --> 0:22:58.199 for me. Doing one Wednesday open mics in Baltimore and 0:22:58.240 --> 0:23:00.919 then Black Lilies and Philly. So I would just rotate 0:23:00.960 --> 0:23:03.640 and hit that circuit. So after a while people thought 0:23:03.680 --> 0:23:05.919 I was from Baltimore because I was in Baltimore at 0:23:06.000 --> 0:23:08.159 least like once a week. I was in Philly at 0:23:08.240 --> 0:23:10.879 least once a month, you know, a few times a month. 0:23:11.760 --> 0:23:13.840 And it was my ties to bar None on Monday 0:23:13.920 --> 0:23:18.159 night producer underground producer by the name of cav Brown 0:23:18.560 --> 0:23:20.960 who approached me with the indie artist Si Young and. 0:23:20.880 --> 0:23:25.280 Said, hey, you know who DJ Jazzy Jeff is. 0:23:25.720 --> 0:23:29.560 I'm like yeah again because I'm reading the credits and 0:23:29.560 --> 0:23:31.720 they're like, well, yeah, we've been working on an album 0:23:31.720 --> 0:23:34.480 with him up in Philly and we just want to 0:23:34.480 --> 0:23:37.240 take you to me and we think he would really like, 0:23:37.240 --> 0:23:38.119 like really. 0:23:37.960 --> 0:23:38.960 Like to get to know you. 0:23:39.680 --> 0:23:42.560 So they take me up and I go up and 0:23:42.600 --> 0:24:02.320 I meet Jeff and it's like jackpot because this is 0:24:02.359 --> 0:24:05.639 a this is at the time when like the whole 0:24:05.680 --> 0:24:08.679 touch of jazz movement has already been moving though, Like 0:24:08.720 --> 0:24:14.239 this is like Jill's already out platinum selling artists. I 0:24:14.280 --> 0:24:16.720 want to say, like yeah, like I think music is 0:24:16.760 --> 0:24:19.439 out there, he is already out at this point of course, 0:24:19.560 --> 0:24:22.920 by do me being a huge roots fan, this is it. 0:24:23.080 --> 0:24:26.359 And I had never been in an environment where you 0:24:26.480 --> 0:24:30.000 go into a building and it's like seven, eight, ten 0:24:30.119 --> 0:24:34.199 studios going at the same time you can go the 0:24:34.240 --> 0:24:37.000 first first time I ever I ever met Eric Roberson 0:24:37.920 --> 0:24:42.280 was was was in this advice. You got, you got, 0:24:42.320 --> 0:24:44.320 you got, you got, you got carving, and I even 0:24:44.359 --> 0:24:46.560 in one room you got the dall and dre. In 0:24:46.640 --> 0:24:50.359 another room, you got oh my god. Like this was 0:24:50.440 --> 0:24:55.200 like this was like R and B neo soul, hip 0:24:55.240 --> 0:24:56.320 hop heaven. 0:24:58.760 --> 0:24:59.720 And I didn't. 0:24:59.520 --> 0:25:01.399 Leave one deal once again. 0:25:03.760 --> 0:25:04.400 Let me go ahead. 0:25:04.800 --> 0:25:07.880 You know, I got me a tooth fresh. I got 0:25:07.880 --> 0:25:10.359 me some wet whites, you know what I mean. Like, 0:25:10.480 --> 0:25:15.080 but I'm you know, saying close, I'm ten toes down, 0:25:15.600 --> 0:25:17.000 I'm you know, back and forth. 0:25:17.359 --> 0:25:19.680 You know. At this time, I have an indie group 0:25:19.720 --> 0:25:21.600 that I'm part of called Urban. 0:25:21.359 --> 0:25:24.359 After thirty one. We're doing college. We're doing a college circuit. 0:25:24.440 --> 0:25:27.800 So I'm making enough money to you know, to to 0:25:27.520 --> 0:25:30.200 to perform as an independent artist. But I never had 0:25:30.240 --> 0:25:33.240 that desire to stop pursuing to be a soul and 0:25:33.400 --> 0:25:35.360 R and B artist, you know. And I always kind 0:25:35.400 --> 0:25:37.480 of just like straddled the line like I was. I 0:25:37.520 --> 0:25:38.879 felt like I was just as much as an R 0:25:38.920 --> 0:25:40.640 and B singer as a. 0:25:40.280 --> 0:25:41.359 Soul artist, you know what I mean. 0:25:41.400 --> 0:25:44.840 I just had this appreciation for different genres of music, 0:25:44.880 --> 0:25:50.040 and being with Jeff just just intensified it because you know, 0:25:51.359 --> 0:25:57.720 touring and going going overseas, eventually meeting Kenny Dope and 0:25:57.800 --> 0:26:01.200 Louis Vega, who were like incredible DJ's matches at work, 0:26:01.800 --> 0:26:04.320 DJ Terry Hunter, who actually produced you. 0:26:06.760 --> 0:26:09.240 It just that period of my life it was. I'm 0:26:09.240 --> 0:26:10.120 so thankful for it. 0:26:10.080 --> 0:26:12.760 As a as a as a songwriter and as a musician, 0:26:12.760 --> 0:26:14.680 as an entertainer because I got a chance to see 0:26:14.680 --> 0:26:18.159 the world. I would me and Me and Me and 0:26:18.320 --> 0:26:24.760 Va Skills Mass Skills hosted Jeff's like parties like. 0:26:24.720 --> 0:26:26.080 He would, he would, he would. 0:26:27.000 --> 0:26:29.480 I remember I remember him taking us to Spain the 0:26:29.480 --> 0:26:30.520 first time were in Spain. 0:26:30.800 --> 0:26:31.560 We're on the beach. 0:26:31.760 --> 0:26:36.199 It's like m t V taping and he's DJing and 0:26:36.280 --> 0:26:38.960 like me and Skills are like the the I guess 0:26:39.000 --> 0:26:41.960 you could say that the MCS ceremonies for the You know, 0:26:42.000 --> 0:26:44.919 there be things I kind of like follow with and 0:26:45.240 --> 0:26:47.720 I'd be like, in all honesty, like you know, I 0:26:47.720 --> 0:26:50.200 always had a I think, a natural thing for the stage, 0:26:50.560 --> 0:26:53.600 but I was like following Skills, leading a lot of 0:26:53.640 --> 0:26:56.320 spaces and Jeff would give me a moment. You know, 0:26:56.400 --> 0:26:58.680 y'all was learning while in the process. You know what 0:26:58.720 --> 0:27:02.639 I mean and yeah, man, I like just thankful for 0:27:02.680 --> 0:27:08.320 those those those connections, so many, so many great relationships 0:27:08.359 --> 0:27:13.760 like brotherhoods, sisterhoods, and music has come from those connections, 0:27:13.760 --> 0:27:15.159 you know, when I when I when I, you know, 0:27:15.359 --> 0:27:18.719 back from like Lincoln with Chucky, back from you know, 0:27:18.840 --> 0:27:22.240 Lincoln with Jazzy Jeff, you know, those are definitely like 0:27:23.280 --> 0:27:25.440 my ogs, you know, me and Kenny, Kenny Dope was 0:27:25.480 --> 0:27:27.199 like a big brother to me, you know what I mean, 0:27:27.200 --> 0:27:28.800 I wouldn't know Ken if it wasn't for Jeff. 0:27:28.840 --> 0:27:28.960 You know. 0:27:29.960 --> 0:27:31.879 Legends, yeah, man, and they just legends. 0:27:31.880 --> 0:27:35.119 Man. It's just like you know, so, so I've so 0:27:35.160 --> 0:27:37.240 I've always been able to thrive in other genres or 0:27:37.240 --> 0:27:40.639 be part of things that unconventional things, you know what 0:27:40.680 --> 0:27:40.960 I mean. 0:27:42.119 --> 0:27:45.160 So you were so was your main thing at Touch 0:27:45.160 --> 0:27:47.520 of Jazz was to be a writer for the stuff 0:27:47.560 --> 0:27:48.199 that they were working on. 0:27:48.359 --> 0:27:48.879 Yeah, it was. 0:27:48.960 --> 0:27:52.479 It was writing. It was it was writing, definitely. I 0:27:52.560 --> 0:27:54.199 was just kind of just going with the flow. It 0:27:54.240 --> 0:27:58.720 was definitely writing because like you, I wasn't signed. I 0:27:58.800 --> 0:28:01.440 was and at the time at the time I still 0:28:01.480 --> 0:28:07.240 was going back to d C because I also was 0:28:07.320 --> 0:28:10.560 being was at this point, I was being managed by 0:28:10.680 --> 0:28:13.159 by By Juke, By Jerry and cliff you know what 0:28:13.200 --> 0:28:13.480 I mean. 0:28:15.400 --> 0:28:18.240 Now I met Clifford Jerry. I met Clifford Jerry. I 0:28:18.240 --> 0:28:21.680 want to say that. I mean I met Bob and 0:28:21.800 --> 0:28:22.800 Kurk first. 0:28:22.960 --> 0:28:25.119 I'm trying to remember how we I think we maybe 0:28:25.200 --> 0:28:29.560 met at maybe like maybe like knife Flight. It could 0:28:29.600 --> 0:28:31.840 have been like Knife Flight. I'm trying to remember the 0:28:31.880 --> 0:28:34.880 whole how I actually met Kurt and Bob. 0:28:34.880 --> 0:28:36.080 But it was Curt and Bob. 0:28:35.800 --> 0:28:38.560 That like took me under date, like like oh yeah, 0:28:38.600 --> 0:28:40.880 we gotta we gotta get him to the backwoods, you 0:28:40.960 --> 0:28:42.600 know what I mean. So this is so this is 0:28:42.640 --> 0:28:46.640 like you know, this is this is like uh, this 0:28:46.760 --> 0:28:50.280 is like they got the pub deal, you know what 0:28:50.360 --> 0:28:53.240 I mean. They've been you know, working with g you know, 0:28:53.400 --> 0:28:56.560 I'm seeing so I'm like you got your motion going, 0:28:56.920 --> 0:28:59.360 you know what i mean. So I'm so I'm just 0:28:59.440 --> 0:29:01.880 kind of just like and I would just like meet 0:29:02.320 --> 0:29:05.160 Kurt like at like random places, Like Kurt would be 0:29:05.160 --> 0:29:06.920 like I was living like a law at the time, 0:29:07.480 --> 0:29:10.800 and he would be like, yo, meet me at meet 0:29:10.840 --> 0:29:15.200 me at Capitol Heights station. So I'm like taking the 0:29:15.320 --> 0:29:17.640 bus to the train. I'll get you back, but you 0:29:17.680 --> 0:29:21.400 gotta you know, testing me, see like how bad I wanted, 0:29:21.520 --> 0:29:24.760 you know what I mean. So I'd get there right 0:29:24.960 --> 0:29:27.560 and and and they were just it was just it 0:29:27.640 --> 0:29:31.120 was just cool because it was an environment where one 0:29:31.160 --> 0:29:33.520 I had to pay for studio time, I was gonna 0:29:33.560 --> 0:29:37.040 learn something. And I think they were, I think they 0:29:37.080 --> 0:29:40.000 were they were early impressed by the way I worked 0:29:40.040 --> 0:29:42.960 because of the the fact that, like I didn't write 0:29:42.960 --> 0:29:47.040 anything now, so the process is just like I would 0:29:47.080 --> 0:29:50.320 just go in and listen and then go in the 0:29:50.400 --> 0:29:55.360 booth and then just start to create this storyline or whatever, 0:29:55.400 --> 0:29:56.960 and then and and and then and then and then 0:29:57.000 --> 0:29:58.960 we knock one out and be like, hey can we 0:29:58.960 --> 0:30:03.080 do another one? And they're like yeah, yeah, Like. 0:30:03.440 --> 0:30:04.320 Hey can we do another? 0:30:05.920 --> 0:30:08.000 And it might be like you know, it may so 0:30:08.000 --> 0:30:09.760 so in some days it might be two or three 0:30:10.320 --> 0:30:10.760 you know for. 0:30:12.880 --> 0:30:16.720 Crash out and wake up, you know what I mean. 0:30:17.160 --> 0:30:18.480 And it was just it was just, you know, it 0:30:18.560 --> 0:30:23.440 was they provided a space that was just like where 0:30:23.480 --> 0:30:26.840 I could just like shed and learn and grow. And 0:30:27.120 --> 0:30:29.520 it wasn't too many times that like they would shot 0:30:29.600 --> 0:30:31.600 shoot an idea down and be like, oh that's whack. 0:30:31.880 --> 0:30:32.760 It was just you rock out. 0:30:33.080 --> 0:30:43.959 Just let me rock out. Yeah, that track wack. So 0:30:44.000 --> 0:30:49.160 you got to work on your drums. And I think 0:30:49.200 --> 0:30:51.640 it's probably you know, well you had you had. 0:30:51.840 --> 0:30:54.320 What you had done is you had been to a 0:30:54.400 --> 0:30:57.520 different kind of school already that I hadn't been to. 0:30:58.080 --> 0:31:00.320 You know, when I got with Cliff and Jerry, I 0:31:00.440 --> 0:31:03.320 was literally fresh out of chick man, I know, you 0:31:03.400 --> 0:31:05.720 know what I mean. So in terms of like, you know, 0:31:05.840 --> 0:31:10.120 my R and B production and figuring out even my 0:31:10.240 --> 0:31:12.160 identity in an R and B space. 0:31:11.960 --> 0:31:14.840 I had none can play a different sounds completely different. 0:31:14.960 --> 0:31:18.360 And I'd say this like, you know, be like that 0:31:18.560 --> 0:31:22.320 environment versus like a jazzy Jeff, It's like night and day, 0:31:22.760 --> 0:31:25.920 and you would you would back then, there was already 0:31:26.600 --> 0:31:29.000 a division that had kind of been created in black 0:31:29.080 --> 0:31:31.960 music where it was like, okay, either you R and 0:31:32.000 --> 0:31:34.640 B or you neo. 0:31:35.320 --> 0:31:38.960 And my thing was like why can't can't I'm both? 0:31:39.520 --> 0:31:41.640 Like why can't you? Why can't you be both? 0:31:41.960 --> 0:31:44.440 So you got this so so so there was always 0:31:44.520 --> 0:31:49.280 this very R and B backpack I guess you know, 0:31:50.320 --> 0:31:53.800 R and B back that was there was this there 0:31:53.840 --> 0:31:56.400 was this very I had this very R and B 0:31:57.080 --> 0:32:00.720 one side is very jiggy vibe and then there's a 0:32:00.760 --> 0:32:02.800 but then there's a there's a very conscious vibe to 0:32:02.880 --> 0:32:04.680 me too, you know what I mean, Like you might 0:32:04.680 --> 0:32:06.760 you might catch me with some stones on one day, 0:32:07.000 --> 0:32:09.160 you might see me with some diamonds on the next day, 0:32:09.520 --> 0:32:10.200 Like you know what I mean. 0:32:10.320 --> 0:32:12.880 Like if that, it's just really about the vibe. 0:32:12.600 --> 0:32:14.880 Of what you know what I'm on a creative yeah, 0:32:15.000 --> 0:32:18.880 but so so musically again, to be in those two 0:32:18.880 --> 0:32:23.000 different environments like simultaneously, like kick it, you know, be 0:32:23.040 --> 0:32:24.760 in the studio with Curtain Bob for two or three 0:32:24.840 --> 0:32:27.080 days and then and then jump on the train and 0:32:27.080 --> 0:32:30.120 then be up in Philly with Jeff in them for 0:32:30.200 --> 0:32:34.920 a week. Yeah, it's just yeah, and and and and 0:32:34.920 --> 0:32:37.440 and and and and and the thing with like with 0:32:37.520 --> 0:32:39.920 the Jeff, with the environment, with like Jeff being being 0:32:39.920 --> 0:32:43.880 as though that he's a DJ, and the peers and 0:32:43.920 --> 0:32:45.480 a lot of his peers that he put me onto 0:32:45.480 --> 0:32:46.200 our DJs. 0:32:46.720 --> 0:32:47.680 I learned. I learned. 0:32:47.720 --> 0:32:50.800 I started to learn about this different like tempos and 0:32:50.840 --> 0:32:55.160 just music beyond just the things that the DJ. 0:32:55.360 --> 0:32:58.520 It's so important in music. 0:32:58.760 --> 0:33:01.880 And I you know, it's funny because people when you 0:33:01.960 --> 0:33:03.920 talk about it it's like, oh yeah, but I still 0:33:03.960 --> 0:33:06.440 don't feel as if the DJ gets the respect that 0:33:06.480 --> 0:33:10.520 they deserve. I mean, I mean ultimately there in other 0:33:10.600 --> 0:33:14.840 spaces they get it. Yeah, but they're also they're really 0:33:15.440 --> 0:33:19.600 they're the producers because they hear so much music, and 0:33:19.600 --> 0:33:22.720 they hear so many transitions, and they know how what 0:33:22.720 --> 0:33:25.280 what matching, what sound right on the radio and what 0:33:25.440 --> 0:33:26.880 they take record. 0:33:26.680 --> 0:33:30.360 Before the politics of you know, things everything getting corporated 0:33:30.360 --> 0:33:34.120 out and including you know, radio and to rest your 0:33:34.160 --> 0:33:36.080 radio the like DJ's that you know, they set the 0:33:36.120 --> 0:33:38.240 tone for the culture, like they diy tate, you know, 0:33:38.320 --> 0:33:41.160 even if it's to bring it back, you know, you know, 0:33:41.200 --> 0:33:43.680 to bring that good feeling back right to say, hey, 0:33:43.720 --> 0:33:47.080 this is the this is the BPM that that matters 0:33:47.160 --> 0:33:49.240 right now, you know, the ones that break the records 0:33:49.240 --> 0:33:51.200 and just just all of that. You know. So just 0:33:51.240 --> 0:33:54.480 being in those two environments was just like it was dope, 0:33:54.520 --> 0:33:57.840 man and really important, you know. But I but I 0:33:57.880 --> 0:34:01.840 still didn't, you know, going and working it just wasn't enough. 0:34:01.880 --> 0:34:05.560 So so one day I cornered Cliff and Jerry. I 0:34:05.600 --> 0:34:10.760 think I cornered Jerry at like Omega Studios in Rockville, Maryland, 0:34:10.920 --> 0:34:13.160 and I'm like, you know, I'm still kind of in 0:34:13.239 --> 0:34:16.040 between odd jobs. I just know it's something more and 0:34:16.080 --> 0:34:18.880 I know that I know the data plug, you know 0:34:18.880 --> 0:34:22.160 what I mean. So so I'm like, yo, I want 0:34:22.200 --> 0:34:24.400 to I want to do music like I want you to. 0:34:24.400 --> 0:34:25.880 I want you to manage me like I want you 0:34:25.920 --> 0:34:30.400 to manage me. And he was like, I, you know, 0:34:30.560 --> 0:34:32.640 kind of I think he was came him out of 0:34:32.680 --> 0:34:34.920 conversation with or like let me think about it, whatever, 0:34:35.600 --> 0:34:38.000 and and and then I just jumped out and I 0:34:38.040 --> 0:34:41.400 was like, and if it's any opportunities to same background 0:34:41.480 --> 0:34:44.600 vir ginuine, I want to do that too, or whatever. 0:34:44.840 --> 0:34:45.759 Like I was feeling balls. 0:34:47.840 --> 0:34:51.439 And then I got the call and it was let's 0:34:51.440 --> 0:34:53.719 say it was on a Tuesday, and it was like 0:34:54.960 --> 0:34:56.480 and I think I I think I kind of been 0:34:56.600 --> 0:34:59.399 you know, I went around, I met G. I had 0:34:59.440 --> 0:35:04.080 met G know G at this point, you know, and 0:35:04.080 --> 0:35:07.080 and and and and you know and G and Jerry 0:35:07.160 --> 0:35:09.759 used the introduction as a means to say like, hey, 0:35:09.800 --> 0:35:11.479 this is this like this the kid I've been telling 0:35:11.480 --> 0:35:14.160 you about. He may be interested, you know, we may 0:35:14.200 --> 0:35:16.279 bring him on to do some work that. So then 0:35:16.320 --> 0:35:18.800 I get the call. They had a show like in Baltimore, 0:35:19.239 --> 0:35:21.399 and it was like a Tuesday was like, Yo, so 0:35:21.719 --> 0:35:22.879 there's a show tomorrow night. 0:35:23.040 --> 0:35:24.200 It's gonna be there. 0:35:24.760 --> 0:35:27.120 You're gonna this is you want to sing background, it's 0:35:27.120 --> 0:35:29.480 your opportunity. Like so, I'm like, is there a rehearsals? Like? 0:35:29.640 --> 0:35:32.160 Nah, what I need to learn? All three albums? 0:35:34.360 --> 0:35:36.799 I was already I was already a fan the music. Yeah, 0:35:37.560 --> 0:35:41.239 I knew the music. I knew the music. I'm reading again, 0:35:41.360 --> 0:35:44.239 you know, I'm looking at the who did what static? 0:35:44.680 --> 0:35:46.520 I'm like trying to figure out who you know what 0:35:46.520 --> 0:35:48.759 I mean, I'm trying to figure it all out right. 0:35:49.520 --> 0:35:51.879 So I pull up, we we we, I. 0:35:51.840 --> 0:35:54.200 Pull up to the show. You know, they got the 0:35:54.239 --> 0:35:55.680 hand dog flying. It's like. 0:36:00.040 --> 0:36:03.560 And I'm like yo, and and so so that was 0:36:03.600 --> 0:36:07.359 my ricking red with this was this was this was 0:36:07.800 --> 0:36:10.080 this was my this was my audition. 0:36:12.400 --> 0:36:14.600 Our whole Lives concert. 0:36:16.040 --> 0:36:19.879 Yeah it is and and and and uh and then 0:36:20.000 --> 0:36:22.120 you know, after we were done. I remember coming in 0:36:22.160 --> 0:36:25.640 and she was like he was like he was nervous, 0:36:25.680 --> 0:36:26.280 he was scared. 0:36:27.640 --> 0:36:31.719 He was he was like, Noah, you did you did good. 0:36:31.960 --> 0:36:33.759 He was like man, he was like he's all right, man, 0:36:33.800 --> 0:36:35.960 you win or whatever and then and then you know, 0:36:36.080 --> 0:36:38.640 and that and that was my in my introduction to 0:36:40.880 --> 0:36:46.840 the music business singing background from GST Listen. 0:36:48.239 --> 0:36:48.719 Podcast. 0:36:48.800 --> 0:36:52.520 And and I already know the history, so I already 0:36:52.520 --> 0:36:55.640 know you know, like you know, you had already went 0:36:55.640 --> 0:36:57.040 through the machine of that, you know what I mean. 0:36:57.040 --> 0:37:00.279 So I'm like, oh, man, I want that, I said, 0:37:00.640 --> 0:37:02.320 so so on my mom, I'm like, yo, if he 0:37:02.360 --> 0:37:04.840 could do it, I could do it too, Like you 0:37:04.880 --> 0:37:06.000 know what I'm saying, you know, you know, you know 0:37:06.040 --> 0:37:08.560 what I mean, And and and and and man, man, 0:37:08.600 --> 0:37:10.560 I learned a lot. I had a lot of fun. 0:37:10.600 --> 0:37:12.440 And this is and this say, this is g like 0:37:13.080 --> 0:37:15.920 in this prime. This is like before we go on 0:37:15.960 --> 0:37:19.000 tour with like Jaded Jackson and Seek and just like 0:37:19.080 --> 0:37:22.439 all all the things, you know what I mean. Yeah, man, 0:37:22.520 --> 0:37:24.880 that experience man, and I and you know, and to 0:37:24.960 --> 0:37:27.319 go on the record and say that like he is 0:37:27.360 --> 0:37:30.680 one of the greatest entertainers man. That like if you're 0:37:30.680 --> 0:37:34.880 talking about Roses in terms of stage performance and being 0:37:35.000 --> 0:37:38.799 on and just like you know, like I had a 0:37:38.840 --> 0:37:42.239 front row seat and and and definitely I think I 0:37:42.280 --> 0:37:43.520 think a combination of that. 0:37:44.600 --> 0:37:48.239 Of course, our ties at home and as it relates to. 0:37:48.239 --> 0:37:52.440 The go go community and just and knowing the energy 0:37:52.520 --> 0:37:56.239 of the room when go gos happened, and and and 0:37:56.280 --> 0:38:00.600 how how how the bar is set for the entertainment aspect, 0:38:00.640 --> 0:38:03.560 the exchange of energy that like you know, from artists 0:38:03.560 --> 0:38:06.640 to music lever and back and forth. Like I've been 0:38:06.640 --> 0:38:10.200 able to pull from pull from that, and and and 0:38:10.200 --> 0:38:13.000 and and and put it into what I do, you know, 0:38:13.239 --> 0:38:16.719 like you know, the artistry of being on stage and performing. 0:38:17.120 --> 0:38:19.360 How long were you on the road with you, man? 0:38:19.920 --> 0:38:23.120 I think we I think what he did, I did. 0:38:23.120 --> 0:38:24.600 I was on the road with g at least for 0:38:24.719 --> 0:38:28.160 like I want to say, maybe two years, like you know, 0:38:28.800 --> 0:38:32.280 off and on, you know, talking about touring, spot date stuff. 0:38:34.600 --> 0:38:38.719 And then I remember doing a tour and there was 0:38:38.760 --> 0:38:41.040 a there was there was another young brother. 0:38:40.880 --> 0:38:43.440 That came in to do background singing. 0:38:43.640 --> 0:38:47.759 And he came in and he was the new guy, 0:38:47.880 --> 0:38:50.040 so he was like the rookie, and I remember kind 0:38:50.040 --> 0:38:52.879 of taking him in under the wing and he yeah, 0:38:52.880 --> 0:38:54.520 he kind of like falling my you know, kind of 0:38:54.600 --> 0:38:57.319 fall on my hands, you know what I mean. And 0:38:57.320 --> 0:39:02.239 and and then I remember seeing like the process of 0:39:02.440 --> 0:39:03.799 where you can be out there and that shit can 0:39:03.920 --> 0:39:06.040 change you too, you know what I mean? And and 0:39:06.200 --> 0:39:10.160 and I and I also and I also I also 0:39:10.239 --> 0:39:13.360 quickly learned that, like, you know, being in a position 0:39:13.480 --> 0:39:15.720 like that, you're gonna have people that like really depend 0:39:15.800 --> 0:39:19.240 on you, right, And I had to make a decision 0:39:19.239 --> 0:39:22.000 to say whether or not, you know, do I want 0:39:22.000 --> 0:39:23.960 to be Is this something that I want to do permanently? 0:39:24.560 --> 0:39:26.360 Is it something that I want to do for three years? 0:39:26.440 --> 0:39:29.759 Is this something that I want to like like not 0:39:29.920 --> 0:39:33.440 do and pursue like figure figure figure out my thing? 0:39:34.000 --> 0:39:36.239 And I just remember being on that that particular tour 0:39:36.360 --> 0:39:39.960 and just having an epiphany that like, like, yo, this 0:39:40.040 --> 0:39:41.959 is gonna be my last you know, this is gonna 0:39:41.960 --> 0:39:46.960 be my last tour, like like I wanted, like it's 0:39:47.000 --> 0:39:48.759 trying to you know, they had to push him out. 0:39:49.000 --> 0:39:54.000 You're better than me, I had and look and I 0:39:54.239 --> 0:39:55.680 and I and I and I and I and I 0:39:55.719 --> 0:39:56.239 and then it. 0:39:56.280 --> 0:39:59.719 Was some stuff that happened, you know what I'm saying, Well, 0:39:59.719 --> 0:40:03.719 it it's like yo, like, yeah, I ain't trying to 0:40:03.760 --> 0:40:06.040 do this no more not And it wasn't for it 0:40:05.800 --> 0:40:08.200 wasn't because of g you know what I'm saying. It 0:40:08.280 --> 0:40:11.200 was just like, yeah, this ain't this ain't I want 0:40:11.200 --> 0:40:12.480 to be I want to see what the other side 0:40:12.520 --> 0:40:14.759 of this feel like too, you know what I mean. 0:40:14.960 --> 0:40:18.120 And that ain't no disrespect to nobody that stays because 0:40:19.840 --> 0:40:22.000 you know, just jumping off of this tour with Lettocy, right, 0:40:22.480 --> 0:40:24.640 you realize and I'm sure you can relate to this 0:40:25.320 --> 0:40:28.799 that whether whether it's the band or the Light Man 0:40:29.000 --> 0:40:30.919 or the m D or like, like, man, we can't 0:40:30.960 --> 0:40:33.160 do this ship without ourselves. I mean, we can't do 0:40:33.200 --> 0:40:34.600 this shit without other people. 0:40:35.080 --> 0:40:36.920 Being being involved. You know what I mean. It's no 0:40:37.040 --> 0:40:39.080 it's no I in the world tea. 0:40:39.280 --> 0:40:41.880 Yeah, so so so to have you know, you know, 0:40:41.960 --> 0:40:43.680 there's some there's people in my circle that I look 0:40:43.760 --> 0:40:47.560 up that's like, you know, been around a decade longer whatever. 0:40:47.640 --> 0:40:49.640 They see me go through management, they see me work, 0:40:49.800 --> 0:40:51.480 go through these different business. 0:40:51.239 --> 0:40:52.520 Transitions, and they're still here. 0:40:52.560 --> 0:40:56.799 And I'm like, I'm like, man, it's crazy to see 0:40:56.800 --> 0:40:58.480 you dedicate your life to me in this way. 0:40:59.000 --> 0:41:01.439 Mm hm, you you know what I mean, Like that that. 0:41:01.400 --> 0:41:04.000 Level, that level of commitment, you know what I mean. 0:41:04.480 --> 0:41:08.480 And and again, so I think you know, the time, 0:41:08.760 --> 0:41:10.239 for the period of time that I was out there 0:41:10.239 --> 0:41:12.960 with g it served its purpose, Like I look, you know, 0:41:13.040 --> 0:41:16.439 I'm so thankful for it to that ship. It ain't 0:41:16.600 --> 0:41:19.440 I can hear, I could be in the I can 0:41:19.520 --> 0:41:23.600 be in a I can be anywhere, and A and 0:41:23.680 --> 0:41:32.640 a dude and a G record to come on. It's 0:41:32.640 --> 0:41:36.839 like it's like it's like being shell shocked, man. But 0:41:36.840 --> 0:41:40.400 but like some of the best times of my life 0:41:40.440 --> 0:41:44.600 on the road total rock star R and B rock 0:41:44.640 --> 0:41:49.200 star moments. Man, like this before, the before, the the 0:41:49.320 --> 0:41:53.240 you know, the I G before and the social media 0:41:53.239 --> 0:41:56.120 and the phones and just like all of that, man, 0:41:56.320 --> 0:41:59.399 like just you know, just memories man. 0:41:59.680 --> 0:42:02.120 You know valuable though, yeah yeah, yeah yeah, because that 0:42:02.200 --> 0:42:04.160 was a that was a that was a. 0:42:04.000 --> 0:42:09.960 Real school genuine wasn't a guy that that hoarded the 0:42:10.000 --> 0:42:12.360 information or even the spotlight for that matter. 0:42:12.920 --> 0:42:15.200 He was like he genuine was like, let's get it. 0:42:15.239 --> 0:42:19.200 That's giddy. Yeah, it's giddy. You get some of this. 0:42:19.280 --> 0:42:22.280 My first video he pulled up, Yeah, did a cameo 0:42:22.320 --> 0:42:25.959 in the video. I feel like we needed we needed, 0:42:26.120 --> 0:42:30.560 we needed a vehicle for I think another another video. 0:42:30.760 --> 0:42:33.319 He gave us a car to youse Like he just. 0:42:33.320 --> 0:42:37.040 Always been solid man, you know, and and you know, 0:42:37.120 --> 0:42:40.920 I definitely you know again you want you can't you know, 0:42:41.080 --> 0:42:41.719 I don't know. 0:42:41.920 --> 0:42:43.239 I'll say it. You can't. 0:42:43.280 --> 0:42:48.480 You can't talk Usher Chris Brown. We can go down 0:42:48.480 --> 0:42:50.759 the list and not talk about g. 0:42:53.000 --> 0:42:53.520 Chimberlake. 0:42:55.480 --> 0:42:58.879 They finally got in the same room in Atlanta and 0:42:59.000 --> 0:43:03.359 seeing Genuine and Chris Brown in the same moment at 0:43:03.400 --> 0:43:07.760 the same time, like like I almost got emotional because 0:43:07.800 --> 0:43:13.000 of how how close in spirit and animal them two. 0:43:13.040 --> 0:43:16.040 Guys are bro Like, yeah, you want to talk, you 0:43:16.080 --> 0:43:16.840 know you want. 0:43:17.120 --> 0:43:19.719 We're talking roses and we're talking like talent and we're 0:43:19.760 --> 0:43:24.279 talking dancing and we're talking like entertaining and diving out 0:43:24.320 --> 0:43:27.279 in the crowd and just like like we're talking. We're 0:43:27.280 --> 0:43:30.920 talking like you pull up to the hotel and they 0:43:30.960 --> 0:43:33.400 wrapped around the ready. 0:43:33.400 --> 0:43:37.360 Read it's hell left, Hell left. 0:43:38.200 --> 0:43:41.440 Like you're talking, you talking, You're talking like R and 0:43:41.520 --> 0:43:45.400 B movie the nineties, what you see or what you 0:43:45.400 --> 0:43:45.759 would think. 0:43:45.880 --> 0:43:56.400 It has to be a movie. Man, Listen, I'm doing Listen. 0:43:56.440 --> 0:44:01.480 Week between the two of us, we like we got movie. 0:44:01.160 --> 0:44:04.840 Yeah on the wine and me to the grade with it. 0:44:04.920 --> 0:44:07.520 You know what I'm saying, It's understood, don't need to 0:44:07.560 --> 0:44:11.400 be Yeah, we gotta we gotta tell tell the movie. 0:44:11.520 --> 0:44:15.160 Yeah, the saving for the for the movie. 0:44:15.200 --> 0:44:18.239 What we do because he's he's one of one, Yeah 0:44:18.280 --> 0:44:18.680 for sure. 0:44:18.760 --> 0:44:22.120 Man, So get me from because you said genuine pulled 0:44:22.160 --> 0:44:25.600 up to the first video, Get me to the first love? 0:44:25.800 --> 0:44:27.520 How do we get how do we get the deal? 0:44:27.600 --> 0:44:30.480 So so okay, So so again I'm going back and 0:44:30.520 --> 0:44:33.439 forth from I'm I'm working on what what what would 0:44:33.480 --> 0:44:36.239 be the love experience at the time, not knowing, you 0:44:36.280 --> 0:44:38.400 know what I mean. A lot of the songs that 0:44:38.440 --> 0:44:42.880 I recorded with Curtin Bob in the Backwoods made that, 0:44:42.920 --> 0:44:45.080 you know, work that that was a love experience, and 0:44:45.080 --> 0:44:46.919 and and the reject and and and the other half 0:44:46.920 --> 0:44:48.799 of us what I did in Philly, you know, like 0:44:48.840 --> 0:44:49.839 with Jeff you know what I mean. 0:44:51.880 --> 0:44:54.319 Cliff Cliff Jones goes into. 0:44:54.840 --> 0:44:59.240 Uh Job Records at the time for a totally different meaning, 0:44:59.360 --> 0:45:04.480 like to a whole nother artist. And he was meeting 0:45:04.480 --> 0:45:10.120 with Jamie Jimmy Mainis at the time and who who 0:45:10.160 --> 0:45:14.680 eventually became my A and R. They meet, he's playing records, 0:45:15.840 --> 0:45:18.880 he plays he plays a record that I that I 0:45:18.920 --> 0:45:22.359 did or demo, don't know what the record was, and 0:45:22.360 --> 0:45:24.839 and and then he plays something else and He's like, yo, 0:45:24.960 --> 0:45:26.719 go back to the other thing, like what was that? 0:45:27.280 --> 0:45:31.520 And that kind of kept happening in the meeting, and 0:45:31.920 --> 0:45:34.400 you know, I think Jimmy kind of like simultaneous like 0:45:34.440 --> 0:45:37.920 steps out, makes a call to DC, you know, hey, 0:45:38.000 --> 0:45:42.120 yours anything about this kid, Rahien? And and at this point, 0:45:42.160 --> 0:45:44.800 like I'm buzzing like the piece of man at home 0:45:45.920 --> 0:45:49.400 because because I'm already moving around like I'm moving around 0:45:49.480 --> 0:45:52.000 like I'm doing, people are already familiar with me with 0:45:52.040 --> 0:45:55.560 the open mics, like you know, I'm in this, I'm 0:45:55.560 --> 0:45:59.680 in I'm in two groups that's like socially conscious groups. Yeah, 0:45:59.680 --> 0:46:02.680 I'm in Urban at thirty one. I'm in the Crossroads 0:46:02.719 --> 0:46:06.400 with West Felton, which is a duo group. I'm hitting 0:46:06.719 --> 0:46:10.279 this open mic. I'm up in Philly with Jeff. I'm 0:46:10.320 --> 0:46:18.240 in the Backwoods with Kurt. Yeah, so so so so 0:46:18.239 --> 0:46:19.960 so they say, Yo, we want them to come up 0:46:20.000 --> 0:46:20.800 and do a showcase. 0:46:20.800 --> 0:46:22.120 So I get a call and Mayo. 0:46:22.200 --> 0:46:25.719 This is after we've hit like every label, like you know, 0:46:25.760 --> 0:46:28.960 a couple of times we thought we had to deal already. 0:46:29.040 --> 0:46:31.200 Yeah yeah, yeah, so I'm calling. So I'm so why 0:46:31.320 --> 0:46:33.040 all this is going up going on? 0:46:33.160 --> 0:46:35.080 You know, every so often I'm getting a call from 0:46:35.080 --> 0:46:36.920 like Juke or Cliff and it's like, yo, r c 0:46:37.040 --> 0:46:38.839 A want to come once you come meet with him 0:46:38.880 --> 0:46:42.000 due showcase. So we're getting up, were calling up Bob, 0:46:42.000 --> 0:46:45.279 were taking the train up, we do the showcase. And 0:46:45.280 --> 0:46:47.080 they'll be like yeah, you know, and then and then 0:46:47.160 --> 0:46:49.279 and then and if they be like right there and 0:46:49.320 --> 0:46:51.799 it don't happen. Right, So at this point we think 0:46:51.840 --> 0:46:55.960 we pretty much have exhausted all the possibilities of who 0:46:56.000 --> 0:46:59.279 can call and who wants to meet and then and 0:46:59.320 --> 0:47:00.799 then job record says they. 0:47:00.680 --> 0:47:01.960 Want me to come do the showcase. 0:47:02.560 --> 0:47:03.680 So do you second guess that? 0:47:04.200 --> 0:47:04.439 Never? 0:47:04.719 --> 0:47:07.600 Not, not at all because because this again love that 0:47:07.719 --> 0:47:12.279 like I'm on five, I'm already doing shows, our show, 0:47:12.400 --> 0:47:15.120 sixty minute joints for you. It's just another yeah, it's 0:47:15.160 --> 0:47:17.480 just another thing. So it's just like so it's an opportunity. 0:47:17.560 --> 0:47:19.799 So they so they say so they kind of like 0:47:19.840 --> 0:47:22.279 pre prap me, like, hey, this is you know, this 0:47:22.320 --> 0:47:23.840 is it. This is just just you know this, you 0:47:23.920 --> 0:47:25.440 know you you don't get no bigger than this. And 0:47:25.480 --> 0:47:28.279 the people that's in the meeting at the showcase, you're 0:47:28.320 --> 0:47:29.720 only going to do like three tunes. 0:47:30.440 --> 0:47:30.799 That's it. 0:47:31.400 --> 0:47:34.160 I end up performing for like sixty minutes where they 0:47:34.200 --> 0:47:39.279 were just like, yo, don another another, listen more they 0:47:39.719 --> 0:47:43.759 and at that point they were like, yo, we want 0:47:43.760 --> 0:47:45.040 to do a deal with you, Like we want to 0:47:45.040 --> 0:47:47.000 offer you a deal. When to offer you a record deal? 0:47:47.040 --> 0:47:49.480 When your publishing deal. I think I said something like 0:47:51.920 --> 0:47:56.120 I said something like all right, cool. All I'm saying 0:47:56.239 --> 0:47:58.160 is like, you know, if y'all make fifty, can I 0:47:58.160 --> 0:48:02.520 at least make five or something like that? Everybody can'd 0:48:02.600 --> 0:48:06.600 bust out laughing and then and then yeah, man, like 0:48:06.800 --> 0:48:08.520 it really, you know, it got real. 0:48:08.719 --> 0:48:10.160 We got real, We got real. 0:48:19.760 --> 0:48:22.879 Okay, my brother, she got over there. Man, listen, man, 0:48:22.920 --> 0:48:24.520 you know Raheem is here man, so. 0:48:24.440 --> 0:48:27.400 You know I had you know, he got the information. 0:48:28.280 --> 0:48:32.239 You don't have to get to this Piana, the Piana 0:48:36.360 --> 0:48:39.160 brother Raheem. 0:48:39.480 --> 0:48:39.839 M hm. 0:48:51.560 --> 0:48:55.040 You've been privy to a lot of great music as 0:48:55.080 --> 0:48:59.800 you are from the soil. Indeed, you've written some of 0:48:59.840 --> 0:49:01.919 your own break music. But now we want to talk 0:49:01.920 --> 0:49:03.120 about the music. 0:49:04.520 --> 0:49:05.160 That has. 0:49:07.320 --> 0:49:10.200 Inspired the divine. Yeah. 0:49:09.440 --> 0:49:12.319 Yeah, the people want to know what they want to know. 0:49:12.320 --> 0:49:13.279 What the people want to know? 0:49:14.200 --> 0:49:15.319 People want to. 0:49:15.280 --> 0:49:20.520 See people me. 0:49:25.400 --> 0:49:31.800 Yeah, top fun yeah, your top five. 0:49:32.000 --> 0:49:34.680 That's right, that's where we at. That's where we at. 0:49:35.800 --> 0:49:36.080 Fun. 0:49:37.800 --> 0:49:40.320 Come on saying your top fun. 0:49:40.600 --> 0:49:47.719 That's what the sing Yeah what else are so come on? 0:49:48.920 --> 0:49:54.439 We all to know you got to show West. 0:50:00.400 --> 0:50:04.560 Yes, R yes. 0:50:15.640 --> 0:50:29.480 Five yeah yeah, and this is your top five moment 0:50:29.480 --> 0:50:31.680 with the Less King of sold R and B rahoem 0:50:32.120 --> 0:50:38.920 divie dialog dialog dialog R. 0:50:39.800 --> 0:50:42.920 Yes, your top five R and B singers. 0:50:43.040 --> 0:50:52.840 Oh man, I'm gonna play in no particular, no particular 0:50:53.680 --> 0:50:54.160 your world. 0:50:54.239 --> 0:50:54.839 I'm gonna play. 0:50:56.040 --> 0:50:58.439 I'm gonna put a ritha Franklin on there. Yeah yeah, 0:50:58.719 --> 0:51:05.040 but you better bea Franklin on there. I'm gonna put 0:51:05.440 --> 0:51:06.680 I'm gonna put Mic on there. 0:51:06.920 --> 0:51:10.800 Why not all four voices? Mm hmmm. 0:51:10.920 --> 0:51:13.640 I'm putting Mic on there for for for for a 0:51:13.640 --> 0:51:16.960 couple of reasons. I'm gonna put a wild card and 0:51:17.000 --> 0:51:18.440 I'm gonna put Bob Olly on there. 0:51:19.200 --> 0:51:32.560 Yeah mm hmm yeah, i'mnna put the infectious vocal man. 0:51:32.680 --> 0:51:35.200 That's three right, Yeah, damn. 0:51:36.880 --> 0:51:42.040 I realized the hardest well episodes was like run it off. 0:51:42.840 --> 0:51:44.120 Once you're in the hot seat. 0:51:44.600 --> 0:51:45.960 It's different, it's different. 0:51:46.040 --> 0:51:46.640 It is different. 0:51:46.680 --> 0:51:50.719 It's different when you're in the hot seat. I mean, 0:51:50.760 --> 0:51:55.880 these are my top five. I gotta put prints on there. 0:51:56.000 --> 0:51:57.640 Yeah, mm hmmm. 0:52:02.640 --> 0:52:04.560 And I got and then I gotta put Margaret. 0:52:05.239 --> 0:52:08.319 I was waiting for that. Yeah, I was waiting for 0:52:08.360 --> 0:52:09.319 you to say Mark, and. 0:52:09.640 --> 0:52:12.880 It's and it's and you know it's personal. Yeah, reasons, 0:52:13.160 --> 0:52:13.680 you know what I mean? 0:52:14.560 --> 0:52:16.520 Yeah, Okay, your top five. 0:52:16.760 --> 0:52:22.239 My uniable mention, I mean seven, I mean I gotta 0:52:22.280 --> 0:52:33.280 do you know Stevie? Yeah, yeah, And I'm gonna stop there. Okay, okay, stop, okay. 0:52:33.320 --> 0:52:34.799 That was good. That was good. 0:52:34.880 --> 0:52:38.040 Now now now, if you're talking entertainers and just the 0:52:38.120 --> 0:52:41.200 other different your top. 0:52:41.000 --> 0:52:47.719 Five R and B songs mm hmm. I'd go with. 0:52:50.719 --> 0:52:54.880 Blame It on the Sun mm hmm by Stevie, Wonder 0:53:01.320 --> 0:53:04.239 What's going On by Marvin Gay mm hmm. 0:53:04.640 --> 0:53:04.759 Uh. 0:53:08.960 --> 0:53:13.560 I don't know if that counts R and B. I'm 0:53:13.560 --> 0:53:15.360 gonna go with Uh. I'm gonna go with. 0:53:17.280 --> 0:53:22.160 H Let's fall in Love by the Ozzie Brothers, which 0:53:22.160 --> 0:53:26.560 I just remade top top fifteen right now, top ten. 0:53:27.520 --> 0:53:31.240 Take it out the way he is, the way. 0:53:32.239 --> 0:53:35.800 He's always in the way. 0:53:34.440 --> 0:53:38.360 It's a D n B thing. You know what I'm saying. 0:53:39.840 --> 0:53:45.520 You know, what I mean. All right, So so those 0:53:45.560 --> 0:53:47.640 are what that three? That's three? What was my three? 0:53:47.719 --> 0:53:48.000 Just now? 0:53:48.040 --> 0:53:49.960 It's just like, uh, I used to smoke a lot 0:53:50.000 --> 0:53:55.240 of weeta. Uh wonder yeahs blaming on the sun. 0:53:55.560 --> 0:53:56.080 What's going on? 0:53:56.120 --> 0:54:00.960 What's going on? Going on? Marvin Gay? Uh? Brother brothers. 0:54:02.760 --> 0:54:04.480 We are the world? Wow? 0:54:05.080 --> 0:54:08.120 Yeah, Fire, You're the first person in the name we are. 0:54:08.680 --> 0:54:12.840 We are the work Yeah yeah, yeah, I mean the 0:54:12.880 --> 0:54:14.880 greatest selling all times. 0:54:15.040 --> 0:54:16.319 Big Yeah. 0:54:16.360 --> 0:54:23.319 We are the technical and the commodore zoom, the common door. 0:54:24.360 --> 0:54:25.040 Yeah. 0:54:26.920 --> 0:54:29.880 And I'm so mad because I want to say, like 0:54:31.040 --> 0:54:32.840 I got like I got like Switch records. 0:54:34.840 --> 0:54:41.640 You're making him happy. I got switched right, I got 0:54:41.880 --> 0:54:44.920 I got, I got I got. 0:54:44.719 --> 0:54:50.800 Uh not that I got Spinners, I got the Spinners. 0:54:53.120 --> 0:54:54.600 What's the least single from the Spinners? 0:54:54.880 --> 0:54:55.720 We're talking about Cadillac? 0:54:55.960 --> 0:54:58.239 He was, he was, he was, He was like a finisher. 0:54:58.600 --> 0:55:00.560 I think I feel like Rob study him a lot. 0:55:01.600 --> 0:55:01.880 Uh. 0:55:02.680 --> 0:55:05.400 The lead singer from the Spinner from Yeah, from you, 0:55:05.640 --> 0:55:08.520 not from the Spinders from because the Spinners. 0:55:08.200 --> 0:55:11.319 Was Yeah, no is the Spinners. It was a mighty love. 0:55:12.840 --> 0:55:14.400 What's the lead singer on the Spinners? 0:55:14.440 --> 0:55:14.640 Man? 0:55:14.840 --> 0:55:17.560 I can't it won't come to me, right. But I saw, 0:55:17.600 --> 0:55:19.759 I saw, I saw, I saw, I saw. 0:55:21.080 --> 0:55:24.160 There was like a documentary on him and the Spender. 0:55:24.440 --> 0:55:28.920 But the finisher Man, he's the finisher of records. 0:55:29.440 --> 0:55:31.759 I mean, you know, I think, I think, I think, 0:55:31.800 --> 0:55:32.960 I think. You know those. 0:55:35.760 --> 0:55:39.600 Bobby Steel Smith, Yeah, was it Bobby maybe Bobby Smith 0:55:40.280 --> 0:55:47.799 principal lead singer, Yeah, for the Spinner, Yeah, yeah, Googles. 0:55:48.080 --> 0:55:52.759 But I think you know, we're in, We're we're in. 0:55:53.000 --> 0:55:54.719 We're in the era now it's kind of harder to 0:55:54.840 --> 0:55:58.759 termine who's who because things are like sonically a lot 0:55:58.880 --> 0:56:01.320 the same. We talked the newer R and B you 0:56:01.360 --> 0:56:07.799 know what I'm saying, the vibe, whereas like the bbs, 0:56:08.760 --> 0:56:12.080 you know what I'm saying, and and and but but 0:56:12.080 --> 0:56:15.120 but but but there was an error you know with artists. 0:56:14.920 --> 0:56:17.240 Just sounds like very distinct, you know what I'm saying, 0:56:17.320 --> 0:56:21.080 Like like there was a time where it wasn't like woman. 0:56:21.000 --> 0:56:23.200 He wasn't gonna catch Rick James sounded like Prince, you 0:56:23.239 --> 0:56:23.760 know what I'm saying. 0:56:24.280 --> 0:56:26.919 And if you call Prince sounded like Rick James, James 0:56:26.960 --> 0:56:27.479 is gonna pull. 0:56:27.440 --> 0:56:31.600 Up closer, like the closest thing you they may have 0:56:31.640 --> 0:56:34.440 in common is the heels or the you know what 0:56:34.480 --> 0:56:34.879 I'm saying. 0:56:37.160 --> 0:56:37.640 You know what I'm saying. 0:56:37.680 --> 0:56:39.360 I know you stole left from nigga. 0:56:39.480 --> 0:56:40.279 Yeah, you know what I mean. 0:56:40.360 --> 0:56:43.719 So yeah, stepping on my toes. 0:56:44.080 --> 0:56:49.320 You heard stepping on my toes nigga. Yeah, Yeah, Jerald 0:56:49.360 --> 0:56:51.560 was cold. We got to get back to that Jerald. 0:56:51.640 --> 0:56:53.960 I seen Gerald rest is soul. Jerald. 0:56:53.960 --> 0:56:56.080 We was I forgot. We was like an ample theater. 0:56:56.440 --> 0:56:58.480 And Gerald used to have him teddy bears. So he 0:56:58.480 --> 0:57:00.799 get those cheddy bears out and girl went from one 0:57:00.880 --> 0:57:01.879 into the stage and. 0:57:01.840 --> 0:57:02.799 He rolled. 0:57:04.320 --> 0:57:10.200 What you mean like like like like roll like yeah, 0:57:10.320 --> 0:57:12.759 like like he was on fire, like like from one 0:57:13.320 --> 0:57:17.600 up the state and singing, singing the whole time. 0:57:17.880 --> 0:57:23.200 I will be rolling on the Army Money Tour and 0:57:23.360 --> 0:57:27.240 the big homie crazy bro to roll. Yeah, he was 0:57:27.240 --> 0:57:30.560 the one, not the two man. Let's build your Vultron, 0:57:30.640 --> 0:57:32.920 your super r and b artists. I want to know 0:57:32.920 --> 0:57:34.960 who's gonna get who You're gonna get the vocal from 0:57:35.280 --> 0:57:39.440 the performance style, the styling, the passion of the artists. 0:57:39.480 --> 0:57:42.560 And since you are a song writer, who's gonna write 0:57:42.560 --> 0:57:45.000 for this artist? We're gonna get the one vocal from 0:57:45.040 --> 0:57:47.280 to build your super R and B artist in terms 0:57:47.280 --> 0:57:49.840 of like who's building a super artist? 0:57:50.680 --> 0:57:57.560 What voice? What voice? You still in the building. I'm still. 0:58:00.200 --> 0:58:00.960 Ship man. 0:58:01.920 --> 0:58:06.760 You asked all the other people this, Yeah, who vocals? 0:58:06.760 --> 0:58:09.200 Whose voice? I'm stilling to do it? Build it, you 0:58:09.320 --> 0:58:10.280 build it, build it. 0:58:10.760 --> 0:58:11.320 Uh. 0:58:14.760 --> 0:58:17.240 Ship let's be let's live out the box. I'm gonna 0:58:17.280 --> 0:58:19.000 I'm gonna take's voice. 0:58:20.480 --> 0:58:23.880 No box. Yeah yeah, yeah, I mean like you know, yeah, 0:58:24.280 --> 0:58:26.520 that's that's that's international. 0:58:27.080 --> 0:58:28.080 You want to heal somebody. 0:58:28.520 --> 0:58:32.480 Let's do you talk about a vibe before it was 0:58:32.520 --> 0:58:34.600 even called a vibe, we. 0:58:34.600 --> 0:58:39.240 Don't even know what to call the angel. There's something. 0:58:39.680 --> 0:58:44.920 So let's do performance style on stage, performance style on stage. 0:58:46.200 --> 0:58:54.040 Let's do Prince Okay's voice Prince performance. So it's gonna play. 0:58:54.080 --> 0:58:58.280 Because listen, because Prince said, the vibe a lot of 0:58:58.280 --> 0:59:00.960 different vibes though I used to get hes gonna set 0:59:00.960 --> 0:59:01.400 the vibe. 0:59:01.720 --> 0:59:05.080 He's gonna take you on a on a He's gonna 0:59:05.120 --> 0:59:06.360 make you wanna play patty Cake. 0:59:07.000 --> 0:59:13.720 He gonna he's gonna you know what I'm saying, He's 0:59:13.720 --> 0:59:18.160 gonna make you wanna touch yourself. Yeah, he's gonna know 0:59:18.760 --> 0:59:20.240 but he's gonna also get You're gonna give you moment. 0:59:20.240 --> 0:59:22.240 He's gonna give you tear Jersey, the moments where you cry, 0:59:22.760 --> 0:59:24.640 you're gonna you're gonna you know, you're gonna connect with 0:59:24.680 --> 0:59:27.080 God up in there, you know what I mean. 0:59:27.520 --> 0:59:29.640 Uh yeah, he's gonna give you. 0:59:30.360 --> 0:59:33.360 He's gonna give you moments if do you appreciate the 0:59:33.480 --> 0:59:35.840 instrumentation and there's no vocals. 0:59:35.880 --> 0:59:38.160 You don't get your rock and roll ro like, you 0:59:38.200 --> 0:59:38.680 know what I mean? 0:59:38.800 --> 0:59:44.240 So yes, I would So I would say styling, styling. 0:59:45.640 --> 0:59:50.680 I would say, Briar Stinson, who is good my people? 0:59:51.120 --> 0:59:55.040 If you know real styling? Yeah yeah, yeah, she made 0:59:55.040 --> 0:59:56.360 this this leather piece right here. 0:59:58.320 --> 0:59:58.880 Yeah yeah. 1:00:02.040 --> 1:00:04.960 Yeah, so b I would say, you know she came 1:00:05.000 --> 1:00:11.360 up under like Tamika Foster. Yeahma as well, you know 1:00:11.360 --> 1:00:13.080 what I mean. So like, yeah, I would think, yeah, 1:00:13.080 --> 1:00:15.200 she would have her taking care of her, taken care 1:00:15.200 --> 1:00:16.880 of the stops. She's gonna have a band, she's gonna 1:00:16.880 --> 1:00:19.560 have an artist looking like yeah, you know from you 1:00:19.680 --> 1:00:20.439 name it, from us. 1:00:20.520 --> 1:00:21.480 The Lizo or whoever. 1:00:21.600 --> 1:00:24.480 Like she's killing it and she she's a black own business. 1:00:24.480 --> 1:00:26.400 So you know, shout out the bridge bre he. 1:00:26.400 --> 1:00:34.800 Look piece, the passion of the artist, heart of the artists, 1:00:36.120 --> 1:00:37.480 the passion of the artists. 1:00:38.080 --> 1:00:40.640 Does it have to be an R and B artist 1:00:41.120 --> 1:00:50.440 could be Okay, so your ship, the passion of fantage shoes, 1:00:50.520 --> 1:00:55.480 fantas shoes, kick them off, fan. 1:00:57.080 --> 1:01:01.680 Swept the hair outage. 1:01:00.160 --> 1:01:06.520 Hit every note while you're doing crazy legendary get on 1:01:06.600 --> 1:01:07.320 my nerve? 1:01:08.480 --> 1:01:12.680 Yeah, so cold? And who's writing for this artist? 1:01:13.440 --> 1:01:14.160 Leon Ware? 1:01:15.360 --> 1:01:23.240 You're gonna write this drops Mike, the sensual Minister. Yeah, 1:01:23.680 --> 1:01:25.720 rest in peace, he said. 1:01:26.200 --> 1:01:30.160 Forever forever with the sensual Minister leon Ware. I spent 1:01:30.200 --> 1:01:31.360 that I spent the old day. 1:01:31.400 --> 1:01:34.280 Will Yeah, what she got over there champ. 1:01:36.000 --> 1:01:36.280 Here? 1:01:36.760 --> 1:01:37.480 It's that time. 1:01:40.040 --> 1:01:43.600 I ain't saying no, nick, I ain't saying no. Next 1:01:43.600 --> 1:01:50.640 saying no. I ain't saying no. Was what you did? No, 1:01:54.120 --> 1:01:55.560 I ain't saying no name. 1:02:03.320 --> 1:02:05.000 I think you got to make a go go version. 1:02:05.120 --> 1:02:07.160 I sharing no name you give me. 1:02:07.360 --> 1:02:08.880 I think you gotta make a go go version of 1:02:08.880 --> 1:02:09.520 that song too. 1:02:16.160 --> 1:02:21.320 Oh yeah, yeah, we gotta take up in here. 1:02:21.680 --> 1:02:26.840 I say what I said, what now? No no name? 1:02:27.240 --> 1:02:32.600 Hold it now now, no name? 1:02:35.920 --> 1:02:41.440 Say no names out side of here? 1:02:41.520 --> 1:02:47.480 Say what now? No name? Shout the big G from 1:02:47.480 --> 1:02:48.360 B y B. 1:02:52.160 --> 1:02:54.320 The go go version man, I listen, I'm here with 1:02:54.440 --> 1:02:55.440 my brothers from the DV. 1:02:55.480 --> 1:02:58.680 But I had to requested answers to say what say 1:02:58.720 --> 1:02:59.160 what now. 1:02:59.440 --> 1:03:00.760 To start saying sexy ladies. 1:03:01.200 --> 1:03:05.120 Yes, indeed, just hold sexy ladies out there. Yes, indeed, 1:03:06.360 --> 1:03:12.120 that's the old school talking boy. You gotta do what 1:03:12.960 --> 1:03:16.320 you know. I got go go band, Go go man? 1:03:16.560 --> 1:03:18.440 How many group I gotta go? God? 1:03:18.480 --> 1:03:20.000 Even any more groups than Johnny Gills? 1:03:20.200 --> 1:03:23.360 Like Yo, got I got a go go band. We 1:03:23.400 --> 1:03:25.520 called the Crank Crusaders. We do shows when I'm off. 1:03:25.800 --> 1:03:28.400 You know when I crank Cruise Crusaders. 1:03:28.800 --> 1:03:31.920 I know you're cooking too. Bob just sent me some 1:03:32.680 --> 1:03:39.160 some joints from backyard to do too. Yeah, that's got 1:03:39.200 --> 1:03:41.760 the cook Okay, give me get so. 1:03:41.880 --> 1:03:45.480 Yeah, we're at the very important segment of the show. 1:03:46.840 --> 1:03:48.560 I ain't saying no names. Will you tell us a 1:03:48.600 --> 1:03:52.640 story funny or fucked up? Are funny and fucked up 1:03:53.280 --> 1:03:55.760 throughout your travels in this thing, man, in all your 1:03:55.800 --> 1:03:57.440 fifty seven groups that you'd have been in. 1:03:57.720 --> 1:03:59.080 I ain't saying no names. 1:03:59.520 --> 1:04:01.560 Oh he could, right, but but but I can't. 1:04:01.640 --> 1:04:02.800 But but I could have been on. 1:04:05.480 --> 1:04:07.600 I was, I was, I was I was baited to 1:04:07.680 --> 1:04:13.840 be on one of the largest reality shows to play 1:04:15.280 --> 1:04:16.680 someone's boyfriend. 1:04:17.240 --> 1:04:18.040 Okay, and. 1:04:20.600 --> 1:04:24.680 The woman that I was dating at the time that 1:04:24.800 --> 1:04:28.520 I'm not saying her name that everybody on the planet knows, 1:04:29.640 --> 1:04:30.200 was like what. 1:04:31.800 --> 1:04:35.200 You was not fit to go do that? Like, you 1:04:35.320 --> 1:04:37.040 ain't going to do that reality show? 1:04:37.480 --> 1:04:40.000 Like that ain't happening, So you thought about doing the show? 1:04:40.040 --> 1:04:43.440 Now you know what it's like. 1:04:43.560 --> 1:04:46.200 I never, I never, I never considered doing the reality show. 1:04:46.720 --> 1:04:49.640 It was it was the thought of what it gave me, 1:04:49.720 --> 1:04:52.440 what it would give me, access to visibility, you know 1:04:52.480 --> 1:04:55.280 what I'm saying. And that's always a challenge, right. And 1:04:55.720 --> 1:04:58.320 as bad as I and I am doing some this 1:04:58.440 --> 1:05:01.640 some some television and things happening films, you know, I've 1:05:01.640 --> 1:05:05.080 done a few movies and stuff like that, right, But 1:05:07.280 --> 1:05:10.560 it ain't about you know, typically when you do reality TV, 1:05:10.840 --> 1:05:13.640 it's for one of three reasons. It's one, it's for 1:05:13.760 --> 1:05:18.160 the visibility, of course, if it's something involving dating, it's 1:05:18.160 --> 1:05:21.680 because you're actually looking to to publicly date and you 1:05:21.800 --> 1:05:24.400 want to be part of that machine. Right, And it's 1:05:24.880 --> 1:05:28.000 for money, you know what I mean, right, And you know. 1:05:30.280 --> 1:05:30.520 Money. 1:05:30.600 --> 1:05:33.120 Never I've never been I never made a decision based 1:05:33.200 --> 1:05:36.480 upon like money, Like that's you know, when you make 1:05:36.520 --> 1:05:40.000 a decision based upon the bag, you might make some 1:05:40.080 --> 1:05:41.760 of the worst decisions of your life, you know what 1:05:41.760 --> 1:05:42.160 I'm saying. 1:05:42.720 --> 1:05:47.000 So just saying like you know about the money, right, And. 1:05:47.040 --> 1:05:50.240 Then you know, I've always just been, like I think 1:05:50.320 --> 1:05:54.200 because of being a parent, being you know, so I've 1:05:54.240 --> 1:05:58.360 been conscientious about just what I want to be perceived, 1:05:58.440 --> 1:06:01.640 and just like having a have a conversation, you know 1:06:01.680 --> 1:06:04.040 what I'm saying with my son, Uh, that might but 1:06:04.160 --> 1:06:07.880 you know, anything that's compromising in that space. And and 1:06:07.960 --> 1:06:09.840 then more poorly though, like you know, I know what 1:06:10.000 --> 1:06:14.480 I want to be, and in every other aspect of 1:06:14.520 --> 1:06:16.880 my career, I make control. Like I'm my own boss, 1:06:16.920 --> 1:06:22.120 you know what I'm saying, own masters, you know, you 1:06:22.200 --> 1:06:26.320 know what I mean, you know what I mean. And 1:06:26.360 --> 1:06:28.880 then and then and then I still understand the culture 1:06:28.920 --> 1:06:33.439 of like the mystique of you know, there's something that's 1:06:33.480 --> 1:06:35.640 there's an art to still there's an art to being 1:06:35.880 --> 1:06:41.720 to being accessible but not accessible that comes with you know, 1:06:42.920 --> 1:06:45.320 with what we do in social media. And it's crazy 1:06:45.320 --> 1:06:48.080 because people can just like you know, it's this concept 1:06:48.160 --> 1:06:51.080 of like oh, I follow you, I like your picture, 1:06:51.080 --> 1:06:54.479 and then somebody run up on you and be like, yo. 1:06:54.560 --> 1:06:59.000 Hey you remember me, Like hey, I'm your friend or whatever. 1:06:59.200 --> 1:06:59.800 And it's not that. 1:07:01.360 --> 1:07:04.120 It's not that that that's not the case, right, but 1:07:05.400 --> 1:07:08.520 you know, a lot of what we do and see 1:07:08.600 --> 1:07:10.240 is the perception of the reality of it. 1:07:10.280 --> 1:07:13.040 You know what I'm saying. So you know what I mean. 1:07:14.400 --> 1:07:15.840 You know, at the end of the day, we're just 1:07:15.920 --> 1:07:21.280 all human trying to exist, and but we also like 1:07:22.040 --> 1:07:24.920 being a public figure is a different thing. You know 1:07:24.960 --> 1:07:25.400 what I'm saying. 1:07:25.480 --> 1:07:27.120 You gotta you gotta think it out, you know what 1:07:27.120 --> 1:07:29.040 I'm saying. I just try to think out the worst 1:07:29.080 --> 1:07:31.680 case in best case scenario and everything. So you know 1:07:31.680 --> 1:07:33.920 what I'm saying, not knocking nobody who's done one or 1:07:34.120 --> 1:07:36.080 or you know, you got you know, do to just 1:07:36.160 --> 1:07:38.360 how we talk about using it, using you know, the 1:07:38.480 --> 1:07:42.720 DSPs to the you know smarter or wiser, you know, 1:07:43.480 --> 1:07:47.800 algorithm wise or what platform works best for us musically, 1:07:47.960 --> 1:07:50.520 you know, we have to that that applies to you know, 1:07:50.680 --> 1:07:52.920 television and the decisions that I'm gonna make that like 1:07:53.120 --> 1:07:55.560 especially if you're going like this, because you make the 1:07:55.640 --> 1:07:59.440 wrong move and then you're looking crazy. Crash they all 1:07:59.480 --> 1:08:03.240 come crashing down, you know what I mean. So shout 1:08:03.280 --> 1:08:05.400 out to her and them and all the names we never. 1:08:05.360 --> 1:08:06.400 Mentioned ye. 1:08:09.240 --> 1:08:15.480 With my brother Raheem Devon. Yeah, you know, I appreciate you, man, 1:08:15.520 --> 1:08:19.640 We appreciate you. You know, I've I've always looked at 1:08:19.640 --> 1:08:22.000 you as a brother, you know what I'm saying, As 1:08:22.680 --> 1:08:25.599 I mean as a family member more so because it's 1:08:25.680 --> 1:08:32.160 like we literally we literally walked damn near the same 1:08:33.160 --> 1:08:36.040 same walk and journey, and I think I think, you know, 1:08:36.160 --> 1:08:39.200 I think you were smarter early on in your journey 1:08:40.720 --> 1:08:42.519 than I was, Like the way you were able to 1:08:42.680 --> 1:08:45.400 utilize things and create the mixtapes and things like that. 1:08:45.560 --> 1:08:47.960 Like I commend you for that, brother, like you you 1:08:48.160 --> 1:08:50.960 really like you really like took control of that thing 1:08:51.040 --> 1:08:53.840 in a way that I had no concept about that 1:08:54.000 --> 1:08:54.680 early in the game. 1:08:54.720 --> 1:08:55.280 You know what I'm saying. 1:08:55.360 --> 1:08:57.600 But you know, we come from that terrain and we 1:08:57.680 --> 1:09:03.240 come from that place man where you know its like 1:09:03.320 --> 1:09:05.640 you said, it's like a love hate relationship, you know 1:09:05.640 --> 1:09:07.640 what I'm saying, depending on how you can view it, 1:09:08.200 --> 1:09:10.360 and as a as a brother from that place. 1:09:10.240 --> 1:09:13.479 With you, I love you brother than you I love 1:09:13.520 --> 1:09:15.760 you too, man, and and thank you for that. 1:09:16.280 --> 1:09:19.479 I want nothing but the best for you. And and 1:09:19.600 --> 1:09:22.080 at some point, you know what I'm saying, we got 1:09:22.200 --> 1:09:24.360 to figure out how to this is. This is the 1:09:24.400 --> 1:09:26.800 first step in the people seeing us together, no doubt, 1:09:27.000 --> 1:09:29.080 you know what I'm saying. And now I think the 1:09:29.200 --> 1:09:32.679 city needs to see more of that. Oh no, for sure, 1:09:32.880 --> 1:09:33.519 you know what I'm saying. 1:09:33.560 --> 1:09:35.280 And here we get in that. We get in that 1:09:35.360 --> 1:09:39.679 dojo and put something but also do some touring and yeah, 1:09:39.880 --> 1:09:42.720 man like like they deserve that. Man. 1:09:42.760 --> 1:09:44.519 And we done worked hard enough man, in between the 1:09:44.560 --> 1:09:47.040 both of us, man to put something cool together, something 1:09:47.080 --> 1:09:47.519 ship man. 1:09:48.080 --> 1:09:51.200 So you know, I think I think I get people 1:09:51.280 --> 1:09:54.160 what they want. Get people. Man, that's the gentleman. 1:09:54.200 --> 1:09:55.800 Not even take Valentine. 1:09:55.920 --> 1:09:57.920 And this is the R and B Money podcast, the 1:09:58.040 --> 1:10:05.080 authority all things R and B. And this has been him, man, 1:10:05.160 --> 1:10:06.960 This has been my brother from another mother. 1:10:07.120 --> 1:10:07.320 Man. 1:10:07.439 --> 1:10:11.599 This is one of the MP's finance of all times, 1:10:11.840 --> 1:10:17.639 rocking Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, R and B Money. 1:10:18.760 --> 1:10:20.519 R and B Money is a production of the Black 1:10:20.560 --> 1:10:25.320 Effect podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the 1:10:25.479 --> 1:10:29.280 iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 1:10:29.320 --> 1:10:33.200 favorite shows, don't forget to subscribe to and rate our show, 1:10:33.560 --> 1:10:36.120 and you can connect with us on social media at 1:10:36.240 --> 1:10:40.440 Jay Valentine and at the Real Tank. For the extended episode, 1:10:40.560 --> 1:10:44.760 subscribe to YouTube dot com, Forward, slash r, and b 1:10:44.880 --> 1:10:45.120 money