WEBVTT - Aloe Blacc 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:05.240 You know, Dash Run Dancer, Rance to Fixing comment and 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:10.400 Cuban and Donna indiction. Here's my question. When you watch 0:00:10.560 --> 0:00:14.600 movies about Santa Claus, you never see Rudolph. I'm just 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:19.200 watching the Christmas Chronicles with Kurt Russell. Rudolph wasn't there, guys. 0:00:19.960 --> 0:00:23.119 And then I was watching Noel with Anna Kendrick and 0:00:23.160 --> 0:00:26.119 Bill Hayter. Rudolph wasn't there. So it's Rudolph real or 0:00:26.160 --> 0:00:30.320 not in the grand scheme of realness of all of this. 0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:33.600 Is Rudolph reel or not? Or did someone just write 0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:36.360 that song? And then everyone else in the Christmas communities 0:00:36.400 --> 0:00:40.239 like you can't just add a reindeer guy, especially well 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:42.559 with plutonium on their nose. These are the things that 0:00:42.600 --> 0:00:45.120 I think about. This is what goes through the old noggen, 0:00:45.479 --> 0:00:47.720 and I'm not proud of it, but it just is 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:53.040 what it is. Last show before Christmas, which is crazy, right, 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:57.840 Merry Christmas everyone out there, Happy Holidays, all that stuff. 0:00:58.000 --> 0:01:01.480 I hope everyone has an amaze sing Christmas. I hope 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:04.960 your family doesn't start a crazy fight on Christmas night. 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:10.880 It's filled with amazing presence and a stimulus package, I suppose, 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:13.440 and a vaccine. That's what I hope everyone gets. I 0:01:13.520 --> 0:01:16.280 have a present for you today. I will say that 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:20.160 pumped for today's guest. And normally I kind of tease 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:23.479 the name of the guest, but I'll tell you we're 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:27.440 gonna have Egbert Nathaniel Dokins the third You know who 0:01:27.440 --> 0:01:30.040 that is, maybe saying no, Well, I have no, I've 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:32.440 never heard of that name. That sounds like someone who 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:36.120 probably signed the Declaration of Independence, and you would be wrong. Okay, Well, 0:01:36.200 --> 0:01:39.720 let me just say this. American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:43.120 philanthropist hit songs like I Need a Dollar, the Man, 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:45.960 Awake Me Up with a VICI starting to get it here. 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:49.200 Super Smart Cat graduated high school with a perfect four 0:01:49.280 --> 0:01:52.720 point o g p A, went to USC double major, 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:56.800 was thinking about going back for his master's when he 0:01:56.840 --> 0:01:59.560 got kind of fired, We're not sure about that, and 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:01.640 then said, you know what, I'm gonna pivot. I've become 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:04.440 a singer, dude, almost one mass singer last week. Yeah, 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:06.640 he was the mushroom. One of the nicest guys in 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:08.560 the world, one of the most talented guys that I've 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:12.680 ever had the pleasure of interviewing. On the Wells Cast today. 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:18.720 It's Alo Black. Seriously this one, guys, do not miss 0:02:18.840 --> 0:02:27.320 what I'm saying. Also, just for Rudolph. All right, welcome 0:02:27.320 --> 0:02:30.880 back to Wells Cast. Very excited to have on the show. 0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:34.160 The one, the only, the man, the myth, the legend, 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:36.960 the guy that wears hats better than anybody else in 0:02:37.000 --> 0:02:40.160 the world. Aloe Black. How are you, buddy? And I'm good, 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:42.080 Thank you, thanks for having me. You know, I watch 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:47.160 Mass Singer. Here's my thing number one. They've really upped 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:51.519 the celebrity level this season. I feel like I'm very 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:55.840 impressed with who's showing up to this thing. And I'm 0:02:55.840 --> 0:02:57.560 just gonna go ahead and say it. I can't believe 0:02:57.560 --> 0:03:02.120 you didn't win, dude. Well, you know what, I'm happy 0:03:02.160 --> 0:03:03.639 I got as far as I got, and I'm really 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:07.040 happy for Leanne Rhymes winning the Mass Singer. She's an 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:10.359 amazing person. Don't give me the can pr thing. You're 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:13.320 pissed just like I am. Dude, you got robbed. This 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:16.600 is ridiculous, you know what. Look, this is a it's 0:03:16.639 --> 0:03:19.600 actually such a dope show when you think about it. 0:03:19.880 --> 0:03:24.560 There's no there's no real you know, competition going on. 0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:27.560 It's an entertainment show. Like, really, at the end of 0:03:27.560 --> 0:03:30.360 the day, you're not competing for how well you could sing. 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:35.240 It's like you're competing for like how well you play 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:38.920 a character. And it's not even a competition. It's just 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:41.400 let's let's have fun and see how far we can get. 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:42.880 That's what I was trying to do, just see how 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:45.240 far I could get and fool people. That was my 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:48.120 whole mission was how can I throw my voice in 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:51.000 different ways to make sure that the panelists don't guess 0:03:51.000 --> 0:03:53.280 who I am and so that the rest of the 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:56.160 home audience doesn't guess. I was shocked. I have to 0:03:56.160 --> 0:03:58.880 be honest with you. I did not think it was 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:02.040 going to be you. Did you have any idea or 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:04.280 did you just you didn't know? I just had I 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:07.480 had no clue. My fiance when I told her I 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:10.760 was interviewing you, she was because she hadn't seen the episode. 0:04:10.800 --> 0:04:14.240 She was like, oh, he's the mushroom. That makes total sense. 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:18.000 But the way you walked threw me off. I didn't 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:20.240 think I thought you were going to be like a 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:24.040 Broadway guy or like a dancer. The whole the whole 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:28.479 character and the whole stee was just me embodying the 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:31.040 spirit of my daughter. When I put on that mushroom costume, 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:34.520 it had a skirt as the stem, so it's like, Okay, 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:37.800 I'm picturing my daughter and dressing up in her princess dresses, 0:04:37.880 --> 0:04:40.800 dancing and singing around the house. And that's ultimately what 0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:44.719 I was reflecting through the mushroom costume. And then I 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:48.000 chose songs that were all female power ballads so that 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:50.039 I could just like way throw my voice in a 0:04:50.040 --> 0:04:52.760 whole different corner that nobody would guess. We've got a 0:04:52.760 --> 0:04:56.120 good friend who is a choreographer on that show, and 0:04:56.680 --> 0:05:00.440 you know, she always tells us how absolutely bonkers it 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:04.359 is backstage, like no one you're like always wearing a mask, 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:08.120 and so I guess my question is, is how much 0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:11.400 does that suck when you're just like constantly being like covered. 0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:13.760 So when I'm in my trailer, I don't have to 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:17.120 wear the covering. I'm good. When I'm backstage in my 0:05:17.480 --> 0:05:20.520 green room, so to speak, I don't necessarily have to 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:23.600 wear the mask because no one can see me until 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:26.080 I walk through the hallways. Then I have to put 0:05:26.080 --> 0:05:28.600 on the mask and it gets really hard to keep 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:32.839 you know, to make your steps in this very narrow corridor. 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:35.000 Somebody has to have a flashlight for you. You're wearing 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:38.640 this visor that's tinted. Um. All of that makes it 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:41.720 really complicated. But at the end of the day, it's 0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:43.960 such a fun show. Like those things don't even you 0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:46.600 don't even remember them, you know, after you get off 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:49.599 stage into your performance, like whatever par for the course. 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:53.520 Were you wearing the hat underneath the mask the entire time? 0:05:57.200 --> 0:06:00.120 There's no way. I switched the hat. As soon as 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:05.400 I took off the mushroom helmet, I put my signature 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:08.080 hat on. I was wondering. I was like, damn, dude, 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:09.680 I don't even know how that fits in there. But 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:13.440 all right, it makes sense like a split second where 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:16.400 you get to see my receding airlines. Do you have 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:22.920 a favorite judge or panelists whatever you call him? Um, 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:26.000 I don't know if I have a favorite. Um. I 0:06:26.120 --> 0:06:32.320 really really dig Robin Thinks music. He's an amazing singer, 0:06:32.480 --> 0:06:38.039 amazing singer and a great songwriter. Um I I kind 0:06:38.040 --> 0:06:40.919 of missed out on the whole Pussycat Dolls thing. It 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:43.080 wasn't my wasn't my steevee When I was a kid, 0:06:43.360 --> 0:06:46.520 When I was younger um more of a hip hop 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:52.960 and soul artist guy. But Nicole's comments were so um, 0:06:53.000 --> 0:06:56.440 you know, so gracious to me that, you know, I 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:59.159 think she's definitely one of my favorite. And then Ken's 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:01.240 were just off the wall. I like Ken because he's 0:07:01.279 --> 0:07:04.800 great TV. This is a great TV. You know, he 0:07:04.839 --> 0:07:07.359 knows what he's doing there. I love Ken, but sometimes 0:07:07.360 --> 0:07:10.520 I'm like, maybe, Ken, did you take some mushrooms before this? 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:12.720 Like I don't even know what you're talking about. It 0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:18.720 doesn't make any sense. Prescription but cabinet. I also, every 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:20.880 time I look at Can, I think I've seen you 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:23.760 run around naked on the Hangover and I just can't 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:30.040 get that vision. You should stop thinking about that. Of 0:07:30.120 --> 0:07:32.760 all the songs you sang on the show this season, 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:35.320 did you have a favorite. I think my favorite was 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:38.200 singing Valerie. The version that I sang was the Amy 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:41.160 Winehouse version. It was Amy Winehouses back to Black. That 0:07:41.240 --> 0:07:43.880 kind of opened the door up for this new era 0:07:43.960 --> 0:07:46.360 of soul music. And I came right after that with 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:49.160 I Need a Dollar and the Good Things album, so 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:51.880 I wanted to sort of tip my hat to h 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:55.280 to Amy Winehouse with that performance, and at the end 0:07:55.320 --> 0:07:56.960 A little beatbox because I know she was a hip 0:07:56.960 --> 0:08:00.520 hop head as well. I know that masked dancers coming up? 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:03.200 You're gonna do that next? Or you are you done 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:06.320 with the masks shows? What kind of question is that? 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:08.280 How does that even make sense? Why would I say 0:08:08.320 --> 0:08:10.080 that I'm gonna do it? If I was gonna do it? 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:15.280 You know, you know the bis smart man. Well, it 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:17.840 was so much fun watching you on the show. Sarah 0:08:17.880 --> 0:08:19.760 and I were rooting for you, like I said, and 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:22.160 then opening the show, I thought you got robbed. I 0:08:22.200 --> 0:08:26.680 thought Leanne was fantastic and Nick was was really really good, 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:29.360 but I don't know. Something about your vocals got her 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:35.080 Billie Eilish song her uh cringe because I love you 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:39.360 bah blah blah blah. She killed every performance, And you 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:41.200 know I was. I was trying to play the game 0:08:41.240 --> 0:08:43.959 so hard that I was just trying to hide my 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:46.040 voice in different places. I think I would have been 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:47.960 found out first episode if I had to use my 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.480 regular voice like buster rhymes, like if you're Wendy Williams 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:52.400 and your bust of rymes, you can't hide your voice. 0:08:52.800 --> 0:08:55.920 It's there. It's like slapping everybody in the face. So 0:08:56.280 --> 0:08:58.400 I figured I didn't want to come in, you know, 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:01.120 like feeling my way through there with the rasp and 0:09:01.120 --> 0:09:03.560 the gravel and all that stuff. I just really try 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:06.240 to keep it, you know, way way different. Well, it 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:08.800 was fun to watch you man. What's next? What's going 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:11.960 on with you? Post mass singer? Well? I released my 0:09:12.000 --> 0:09:15.760 album in October. All of everything. I've been UM doing 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:19.840 some virtual concerts and stuff online to promote and share it. UM. 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:23.880 But there's this remake UM of one of the songs 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:26.839 on the album. Steve Aoki heard my way and so 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:28.880 we collabed on a new version of it and that's 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:32.599 dropping UM in in a in a week. And I 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:36.360 love this new version of it. I think Steve, you know, 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:38.600 he did his thing and it's gonna it's gonna be 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:41.920 a bot for people. That's kind of an m for you. 0:09:42.160 --> 0:09:45.280 Is uh is getting big massive hits with like really 0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:48.120 well known DJs. Is that something that you've always kind 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:51.400 of like gravitated towards what you know? I never I 0:09:51.440 --> 0:09:54.600 never expected it to happen. And you know, God rest 0:09:54.679 --> 0:09:58.320 his soul. A VICI was, you know, the opportunity that 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:03.839 basically keeps UM you know, showing and blossoming. It's the 0:10:03.840 --> 0:10:07.600 flower that Keeps Blooming. UM My song with him, Wake 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:11.439 Me Up ended up introducing me to a lot of 0:10:11.480 --> 0:10:16.280 the dance music world and and these DJs. But um, 0:10:16.320 --> 0:10:20.280 about ten years ago, twelve years ago, I was in 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:26.520 the middle of Siberia doing a concert and I was 0:10:26.600 --> 0:10:30.560 at the pub with with the promoter, and I saw 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:35.400 on TV this huge concert in a stadium and there 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:39.079 was one guy standing at turntables and I was like, 0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:43.360 who is that and how does he get to do that? 0:10:44.120 --> 0:10:46.360 What's going on? And he was like, Oh, that's Tisto. 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:50.520 He's a you know, he's a trance dance DJ. And 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:53.720 I was like, I'm gonna do that one day. That's 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:56.600 I'm gonna do that. I'm just gonna figure this out. 0:10:56.679 --> 0:10:59.560 So I went home and started trying to figure out 0:10:59.559 --> 0:11:01.320 how to be a dancey J. I didn't go it 0:11:01.320 --> 0:11:05.240 didn't go far. It really didn't go far. But I 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:07.520 think the next best thing was getting in the studio 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:10.600 with Tim and riding Wake Me Up and sharing that 0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:12.920 with the world. You know, Yeah, that was the I mean, 0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:15.000 that was the first time I was introduced to you, 0:11:15.800 --> 0:11:18.840 uh years ago, back on my radio days, and I 0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:21.320 remember hearing that in a music meeting being like, whoa, 0:11:21.400 --> 0:11:24.520 this is gonna be a big one. So I'm glad 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:27.280 you're still uh, you're still doing it, and I'm excited 0:11:27.320 --> 0:11:30.839 for this new release. Um with Aoki. Um, is there 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:33.000 anything that we didn't talk about that you want to 0:11:33.040 --> 0:11:35.840 talk about before I switched gears into like what this 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:38.640 show is? I think we got it. Well. I don't 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:40.800 know if anyone told you, dude, but I'm kind of 0:11:40.840 --> 0:11:45.080 obsessed with people's origin stories, like how they got to 0:11:45.120 --> 0:11:47.880 where they are, what their roads success was, what's the 0:11:47.920 --> 0:11:52.000 blueprint for them for their fame and fortune? And I'm 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:55.400 so excited to talk to you because I know, like 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:57.480 I said, I came from the radio world, So when 0:11:57.520 --> 0:12:01.240 I do actors or reality TV people, I really don't 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:04.160 know their background. But I do know a little bit 0:12:04.200 --> 0:12:08.200 about your background just from working in radio and needing 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:10.720 to have like good bits in between songs. So I'm 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:13.600 so pumped to talk to you about where you came from. 0:12:13.880 --> 0:12:16.200 Quick break we come back. Can we find out where 0:12:16.240 --> 0:12:18.800 the hell Halo Black came from? We can do that. Yes, 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:30.479 let's do that back in the Welles cast. So excited 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:33.319 to have well one of the guys who was top 0:12:33.440 --> 0:12:37.559 three on the Mass Singer but Huge hit Maker Amazing 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:41.920 Singer radio topper Alo Black on the show I want 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:44.200 to find out where you came from and how the 0:12:44.240 --> 0:12:47.840 hell you got here. You weren't born Aloe Black, though, 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:50.679 were you? No? No, no no. I I have a 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:55.360 very colonial name. Um My my legal name is Egre 0:12:55.440 --> 0:13:00.200 Nathaniel Dawkins, the third. It comes from Jamaica. Um, my 0:13:00.679 --> 0:13:06.320 great grandfather moved to Panama, had my grandfather than my 0:13:06.440 --> 0:13:09.040 dad and my they you know, we all got the 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:12.080 name and I'm the third. But because I grew up 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:14.720 making hip hop music, like I started writing rhymes at 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:16.960 nine years old, I thought I was I thought I 0:13:17.000 --> 0:13:23.000 was the the the answer to um to the West 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:25.480 Coast version of L cool J. Basically when I was 0:13:25.559 --> 0:13:29.960 nine years old and I started writing hip hop music 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:32.960 and rhymes, and then by fifteen I was recording and 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:36.720 I chose the name Alo because I felt like my 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:40.640 whole style was so smooth like lotion that that Alo 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:43.920 was the best name for me. And you know, fortunately 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:46.840 or unfortunately, it followed me into my singing career. This 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:49.960 is uh, this is the name I've chosen A flyer 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:53.240 or saying kids that's the one. What does your family 0:13:53.280 --> 0:13:56.800 think about it? Because obviously you know you're being a 0:13:56.840 --> 0:13:59.640 third that is an important thing. So do they like 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:01.959 that you a stage name where they like you are 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:06.959 always going to be Edburgnette Daniel Dawkins, the third. Never, 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:09.560 they've never really said anything about it. I think I 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:13.280 think they get it. They understand that as as an artist, 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:18.160 you have this artist name in pseudonym persona UM. So 0:14:18.760 --> 0:14:21.400 they're cool about it. There's no other restrictions. When I 0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:23.920 named my son UM, there was a bit of a 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:29.200 conversation of whether I'd name him the fourth. Nah, we're good, 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:31.600 We're good. We we took it far enough. I'm gonna 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:34.600 start a whole new legacy now. He talked about Panama 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:37.400 and South America. But were you born down there? Were 0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:39.680 you born in the States. I was born in southern California, 0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:41.960 so I've lived in southern California my whole life. I 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:44.880 don't do snow and I try not to do the desert. 0:14:44.960 --> 0:14:47.920 He tried to keep it as as simple as California weather. 0:14:48.000 --> 0:14:50.200 And do you have siblings. I have two sisters, an 0:14:50.240 --> 0:14:52.680 older sister a younger sister. My older sister was the 0:14:52.720 --> 0:14:55.000 singer of the family. I wasn't supposed to be singing, 0:14:55.240 --> 0:14:58.360 turned out this way, and now she's she's managing lawyers. 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:01.520 If you're the singer of the family, I got to 0:15:01.600 --> 0:15:05.080 hear this chick's voice. That's ridiculous. And I have a cousin. 0:15:05.400 --> 0:15:07.800 I have a cousin who has my middle name, Nathaniel, 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:11.720 who graduated from Harvard, who is one of the most 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:17.920 amazing voices I've ever heard. And boy, if if I 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:21.120 don't write an album with him or do something, then 0:15:21.160 --> 0:15:25.640 I've failed my family legacy because his voice is literally 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:28.080 his voice is a hundred times better than my beautiful 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:32.360 piano player, great songwriter. His name is Nathaniel Maynard and 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:34.760 just and and he's and he runs a church, runs 0:15:34.760 --> 0:15:37.600 a church out in Boston. So I was reading up 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:41.160 on you. There's some story about a trumpet. Yeah, yeah, 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:43.400 I started playing the trumpet when I was nine years old. 0:15:43.880 --> 0:15:47.640 I guess the story on on Wikipedias that it was broken, 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:50.960 but that was like a bad translation from you know, 0:15:51.240 --> 0:15:54.080 a German interview. It was just a rented trumpet and 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:57.120 it's not broken. I still have it. Actually, it broke 0:15:57.160 --> 0:15:59.680 recently and I had it fixed, but it wasn't broken 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:03.120 back in and I played trumpet up until high school 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:06.920 marching band because I wasn't down with the marching band 0:16:06.960 --> 0:16:09.400 suit anymore. And I was too cool because I was 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:13.240 making hip hop music and changing my name to Alo Black. Okay, 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:17.040 so you're nine years old, you're writing hip hop tunes 0:16:17.160 --> 0:16:21.680 and into high school you're, you know, playing trumpet and stuff. 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:25.240 Were you also learning other instruments? No, back then, I 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:28.280 wasn't learning other instruments. I mean, everybody does the recorder, 0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:35.560 but that's that's the other thing. One I got into college, Um, 0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:37.200 I would come home on the weekends and my dad 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:40.120 but had bought a piano. So that's when I started 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:46.160 playing piano. And I took a course at the university 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:48.480 for one semester of piano, and then I took one 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:50.640 semester and then he bought a guitar, so then I 0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:53.240 stole the guitar and I took a semester guitar just 0:16:53.280 --> 0:16:55.840 so I could learn. Because I'd seen this TV commercial 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:59.720 with Cat Stevens playing guitar and singing and the look 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:02.680 on his face was just so real. He just looked 0:17:02.680 --> 0:17:06.399 so passionate about what he was saying. I felt it. 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:08.040 I was like, I don't know if I've ever made 0:17:08.040 --> 0:17:10.680 anybody feel this way with my rap songs. So I'm 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:13.080 gonna try to sing now. And I got a guitar 0:17:13.119 --> 0:17:15.520 and tried to try to sing. Were you good at 0:17:15.560 --> 0:17:17.879 first or did it take some time? I was not 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:20.400 good at first at singing. I still I'm still working 0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:22.760 on it, trying to figure it out. You know, I'm 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:26.639 selling records, but you know, I'm doing my thing. I 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:28.440 think I can write a better song than I can sing, 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:31.760 and I think that's what ultimately is is. Um the 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:35.320 saving grace in my career is that I can write 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:39.320 what works for my voice and uh and you know, 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:43.320 you'll see, we'll see where it goes ultimately. Like I'm 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:46.119 not going to be the best piano player or best guitarist. 0:17:46.600 --> 0:17:49.080 I have musicians and friends that are way better, and 0:17:49.080 --> 0:17:51.639 that's that's what they focus on. I like to focus 0:17:51.640 --> 0:17:54.359 on the words, the letters, the writing, because that's what 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:57.119 I was trained in as a hip hop artist, just 0:17:57.560 --> 0:18:00.920 writing with no music, just coming up with great ideas, 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:06.520 great concepts, and pulling and pushing on emotion and language. 0:18:07.320 --> 0:18:09.439 I mean, you're obviously a smart guy. I was reading 0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:12.440 up that you had a four point oh in high 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:14.800 school that earned you a scholarship. Where did you go 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:17.560 to college? I went to the University of Southern California. 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:22.200 I got a full tuition academic scholarship because I was, um, 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:25.440 really really into school, you know, I wasnto into hip 0:18:25.480 --> 0:18:27.720 hop as well. Like my I did so well in 0:18:27.760 --> 0:18:29.560 school that my parents were like, do whatever you want, 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:32.520 so I'd go and I'd go to clubs on weeknights, 0:18:32.960 --> 0:18:36.040 come home to three in the morning, um, and then 0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:39.800 get to zero period, you know, at seven am the 0:18:39.880 --> 0:18:44.080 next day and still be you know, up for the 0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:47.080 challenge of doing well in school. But that was in 0:18:47.160 --> 0:18:48.959 high school. That was in high school, and then when 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:52.000 I got to college. I still continue to make music, 0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:53.840 but I focused way more because I didn't want to 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:56.920 lose my scholarship. So I focused way more on academia 0:18:57.600 --> 0:19:02.639 and UM and study communication. And I wanted to do 0:19:02.680 --> 0:19:05.520 a neuroscience minor, but they didn't they didn't have it, 0:19:05.600 --> 0:19:07.680 so I had to kind of like piece together my 0:19:07.680 --> 0:19:13.359 own minor of or a double major actually of linguistics psychology. 0:19:13.760 --> 0:19:16.240 So I ended up doing a bunch of you know 0:19:17.000 --> 0:19:20.760 what they call the dry side of neuroscience. West Side 0:19:20.760 --> 0:19:26.800 would be opening brains. Jesus dude sucking smart man. Okay, 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:30.880 so so you graduate, You graduated like, Okay, I'm gonna 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:34.040 go I'm gonna go play music. Now I could be 0:19:34.080 --> 0:19:37.040 a neuroscientist, but now I'm gonna go play music. No. No. 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:40.800 I graduate, And while I was at university, every summer 0:19:40.800 --> 0:19:44.320 I had an internship with Ainsteon Young. So every summer 0:19:44.359 --> 0:19:46.320 I was in either Chicago or I was in Phoenix 0:19:46.640 --> 0:19:49.959 or here in l A doing an internship. And when 0:19:50.000 --> 0:19:54.840 I graduated, I walked straight into a job basically UM. 0:19:54.960 --> 0:19:57.840 But music was always tugging on me. It was, you know, 0:19:58.760 --> 0:20:01.080 my passion, it was my past time, it was my hobby, 0:20:01.560 --> 0:20:03.520 it was my expertise. That's where I had ten thousand 0:20:03.600 --> 0:20:08.920 hours already devoted UM to learning and practicing something. And 0:20:09.320 --> 0:20:13.400 there was this um new higher hazing that they did 0:20:13.880 --> 0:20:17.240 at one of the quarterly meetings where the new hires, 0:20:17.520 --> 0:20:19.879 the new associates had to do some sort of talent 0:20:19.920 --> 0:20:23.000 sing say a poem, or do an interpretive dance, or 0:20:23.280 --> 0:20:25.439 draw a picture or something in front of you know, 0:20:25.520 --> 0:20:29.600 the entire company. I decided to sing a song that 0:20:29.640 --> 0:20:33.160 I wrote, and when I got off stage standing ovation, 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:35.320 and one of the partners came up to me it 0:20:35.359 --> 0:20:38.320 was like, you might be in the wrong business, and uh, 0:20:38.359 --> 0:20:40.359 I was there. I was there for two years before 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:42.280 they let me go and then I went to just 0:20:42.320 --> 0:20:45.680 focus on music. So do you get fired? I don't 0:20:45.680 --> 0:20:48.560 know if I want to call it fired or made redundant, 0:20:49.280 --> 0:20:52.440 reduction of force. There's a lot of euphemisms. But I 0:20:52.440 --> 0:20:54.360 I just said, yeah, I was fired. You know, if 0:20:54.359 --> 0:20:56.240 they wanted me, if they really wanted me, if I 0:20:56.280 --> 0:20:58.359 was worth what they were paying me, they would have 0:20:58.440 --> 0:21:01.280 kept me. I'm glad that I left because now I 0:21:01.400 --> 0:21:06.480 probably make more than most of the partners. So you're 0:21:06.480 --> 0:21:09.920 doing business consulting, you leave there, or you get into music. 0:21:10.359 --> 0:21:12.440 You're a guy who had a four point oh g 0:21:12.680 --> 0:21:15.280 p A. You had a scholarship to USC, you were 0:21:15.359 --> 0:21:17.680 double major. You're like, all right, you know, I'm not 0:21:17.680 --> 0:21:19.960 gonna do I'm gonna become a musician. Now are your 0:21:20.119 --> 0:21:22.840 are your is your family like wait? What? What? Hold 0:21:22.840 --> 0:21:24.959 on a second? Kind of yeah. My mom was like, 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:28.560 why aren't you gonna get a job? You know? She's like, 0:21:28.600 --> 0:21:32.040 you know, and my dad was like, you know, music, Yeah, 0:21:32.200 --> 0:21:36.320 it's not really a career. UM, and there was you know, 0:21:36.560 --> 0:21:40.679 there was a good span of time between leaving the 0:21:40.720 --> 0:21:44.760 corporate world and having my first hit. It was a 0:21:44.760 --> 0:21:47.880 good span of time. So I was even getting colfie. 0:21:47.920 --> 0:21:50.120 I was like, you know what, I'm gonna just go 0:21:50.359 --> 0:21:54.359 and take this uh this little g r e here. 0:21:54.560 --> 0:21:56.600 See if I'm gonna go to graduate school because I 0:21:56.680 --> 0:22:00.560 might have to go teach somebody something. I had signed 0:22:00.560 --> 0:22:03.560 a deal with an indie label called Stone's Throw where 0:22:03.560 --> 0:22:06.800 I got to uh make this transition from making hip 0:22:06.840 --> 0:22:11.280 hop music too singing and then release an album called 0:22:11.320 --> 0:22:14.399 Good Things, which was a soul throwback soul album that 0:22:14.600 --> 0:22:16.080