WEBVTT - Joe Thomas 0:00:02.020 --> 0:00:11.220 R & B money. We are. Jake. Jake Valentine. We 0:00:11.400 --> 0:00:14.120 are the authorities on. 0:00:14.260 --> 0:00:15.440 All things R & B. 0:00:17.670 --> 0:00:21.310 Ladies and gentlemen, this is the R & B Money Podcast, 0:00:21.370 --> 0:00:22.030 and I'm your. 0:00:21.910 --> 0:00:23.610 Host, J. Valentine. 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:29.660 And today, man, you know what? I've been waiting so long. 0:00:29.800 --> 0:00:32.740 The people have been waiting so long for this gentleman 0:00:32.760 --> 0:00:33.559 to pull up. 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:35.380 And holler at a player, man. 0:00:35.420 --> 0:00:36.820 I mean, I know he didn't want to be a 0:00:36.860 --> 0:00:39.100 player no more, but he had to come holler at 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:43.740 his player partner and talk about all the things, everything. 0:00:44.340 --> 0:00:46.980 You know what? We're going to talk about power today. 0:00:47.790 --> 0:00:51.570 The power of R & B music, my brother, the 0:00:51.650 --> 0:00:55.490 voice of all voices, Joe. 0:00:56.070 --> 0:01:03.810 Motherfucking Thomas is in the building today. Yes. Appreciate you, man. Oh, 0:01:03.870 --> 0:01:07.610 my brother. Brother, listen, when I'm on this mode, but 0:01:07.630 --> 0:01:11.080 that's what's up. When I tell you the harassment. Yeah. 0:01:11.940 --> 0:01:15.140 That we receive. About Joe Thomas. 0:01:15.170 --> 0:01:15.720 Come on, let's talk. 0:01:15.750 --> 0:01:17.930 Being on the R & B Money Podcast. 0:01:17.990 --> 0:01:18.450 It's love. 0:01:19.730 --> 0:01:20.770 You are loved out here. 0:01:20.790 --> 0:01:23.270 I appreciate it. You know that? I do. I do. 0:01:23.290 --> 0:01:23.830 I appreciate it. 0:01:23.830 --> 0:01:26.910 Because if you don't, you're going to find out. I'm 0:01:26.930 --> 0:01:30.370 talking about everywhere we go. I mean, I'm sure you've 0:01:30.410 --> 0:01:34.080 heard when people do their top five lists. You are 0:01:34.100 --> 0:01:39.620 a constant. The way we feel about you and this thing, bro, 0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:40.560 that we call R. 0:01:40.450 --> 0:01:41.000 & B music. 0:01:41.020 --> 0:01:42.800 It's love, man. It's real, brother. 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:45.680 And I've been able to see it with my own 0:01:45.860 --> 0:01:49.030 eyes just from a fan and as a fellow brother 0:01:49.070 --> 0:01:49.690 in this game. 0:01:50.070 --> 0:01:50.370 Indeed. 0:01:50.630 --> 0:01:53.470 Side of the stage watching you, when I say cook. 0:01:53.890 --> 0:01:58.950 Yes, sir. 30 years, cook. Yeah, man. Yeah. Wonderful. 0:01:59.130 --> 0:02:00.060 How you feeling, bro? 0:02:00.580 --> 0:02:03.240 I'm blessed, man. I tell you, God is so good. 0:02:03.460 --> 0:02:06.060 You know, just the journey I've been on has been 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:09.220 an amazing journey. It's been an amazing ride. I've got 0:02:09.260 --> 0:02:11.660 a chance to express myself in this industry. 0:02:11.690 --> 0:02:11.780 Yeah. 0:02:12.430 --> 0:02:14.830 Make a mark, you know, and that's a beautiful thing 0:02:14.850 --> 0:02:16.930 for me. You know, I love what I do. I 0:02:16.970 --> 0:02:19.870 love the music. I'm passionate about it. You know, if 0:02:19.930 --> 0:02:22.329 I see a guitar or some drums, I may jump 0:02:22.410 --> 0:02:25.660 on that thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm one of those 0:02:25.700 --> 0:02:29.780 kind of guys, those artists that's really embedded into it. Absolutely. Absolutely. 0:02:30.180 --> 0:02:32.840 Man, so, you know, on our show, man, we like 0:02:32.880 --> 0:02:33.279 to go back. 0:02:34.290 --> 0:02:37.619 And, you know, I know you are a Georgia slash 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.720 Alabama from the deep south. 0:02:41.260 --> 0:02:42.300 But Jersey. 0:02:42.660 --> 0:02:44.040 Yeah, yeah. Sprinkled in. 0:02:44.060 --> 0:02:49.350 Sprinkled in. Man, tell me the original hometown. 0:02:50.530 --> 0:02:54.750 Man, I was born in a little city called Cuthbert, Georgia. Okay. 0:02:54.950 --> 0:02:58.510 Where's that by? What's the next major city? Well, yeah, 0:02:58.530 --> 0:03:01.859 it would be Columbus, Georgia. Or maybe a couple hours 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:06.030 from Atlanta as well. Okay. Yeah, so my grandparents, I 0:03:06.060 --> 0:03:09.470 lived there, and my father, my father's side of the family, and, 0:03:09.630 --> 0:03:12.810 you know, don't know much about the city, didn't live 0:03:12.830 --> 0:03:15.769 there or anything, so I moved from there. My father 0:03:16.090 --> 0:03:20.609 started ministering around 19 or 20 years old, married my 0:03:20.710 --> 0:03:23.710 mom a year after that, and my brother a year 0:03:23.770 --> 0:03:27.370 after that, and everything just became godly, you know? A 0:03:27.430 --> 0:03:29.750 minister at 19? Yeah, yeah, he was on. He was 0:03:29.790 --> 0:03:33.410 a crusader, man. I mean, he set up his... His microphone, 0:03:33.430 --> 0:03:35.610 his speakers, his guitar. That's why I learned how to 0:03:35.650 --> 0:03:38.290 play guitar. Got you. Got it. Yeah. He, I mean, 0:03:38.410 --> 0:03:40.470 they had me in the right environment. I mean, the 0:03:40.490 --> 0:03:42.470 church environment was the perfect place for me. I got 0:03:42.510 --> 0:03:45.480 a chance to really hone my skill. Yeah. Lock it in. 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:47.220 All the instruments. 0:03:47.460 --> 0:03:49.920 So it was, it was never a question for you. 0:03:50.480 --> 0:03:52.560 It was, it was always, you were going to be 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:55.220 a vocalist. You were going to sing from day one. 0:03:56.460 --> 0:04:00.830 Not really. No, not really. I remember doing a, auditions 0:04:00.890 --> 0:04:03.760 and talent shows when i was in columbus georgia once 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:06.640 i moved and graduated high school in atlanta in atlanta 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:10.720 diago and opelika um and i remember doing this uh 0:04:10.740 --> 0:04:15.040 showcase with babyface and and uh la reed brought my 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:17.120 guitar and everything so you know got in front of 0:04:17.140 --> 0:04:20.870 them yeah and they passed on me at that point 0:04:21.170 --> 0:04:22.990 you know but then i a year later i moved 0:04:23.010 --> 0:04:26.550 to new jersey and Man, I just started going from 0:04:26.589 --> 0:04:29.450 church to church and playing guitar for churches, and they just, 0:04:29.850 --> 0:04:32.190 nobody knew I could sing. Yeah. I wasn't the guy 0:04:32.210 --> 0:04:34.250 trying to go for the singing status. So what were 0:04:34.270 --> 0:04:36.110 you going as? Just a musician. I just wanted to 0:04:36.130 --> 0:04:37.310 be a musician. You just wanted to play. I just 0:04:37.330 --> 0:04:38.770 wanted to play. I just wanted to do music. 0:04:38.930 --> 0:04:43.200 So when you think about it now, many moons, would 0:04:43.220 --> 0:04:45.440 you have had a past on you? Do you think 0:04:45.460 --> 0:04:45.900 you were ready? 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:48.300 I was. You were ready, though. You feel like you 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:50.020 were ready. I mean, well, a year later, I was already, 0:04:50.100 --> 0:04:52.740 I'm in the game, damn near. Yeah. You know, so 0:04:52.779 --> 0:04:54.420 I was there. Someone saw that. 0:04:54.680 --> 0:04:54.820 Yeah. 0:04:55.330 --> 0:04:57.350 Particular point. And I never got a chance to talk 0:04:57.370 --> 0:05:00.240 to Face in LA about it. They were here about 0:05:00.279 --> 0:05:03.400 it now. Yeah, absolutely. I don't know. They watched the show. 0:05:03.420 --> 0:05:04.800 They've been on the show. Yeah, I don't know if 0:05:04.839 --> 0:05:07.660 they even remember that. But that's, you know, that's neither 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:09.779 here nor there. Yeah. So once I got the jersey, 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:12.540 everything just clicked. I mean, once you get around other musicians, 0:05:12.620 --> 0:05:15.360 everybody starts calling, hey, we need a guitar player. We 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:17.640 need this. We need a writer. And I was in 0:05:17.660 --> 0:05:21.030 the mix. Making it happen. You know, path trained from 0:05:21.070 --> 0:05:24.150 Jersey to New York every day. So what got you 0:05:24.170 --> 0:05:27.460 to Jersey? From down south. Some good friends. You know, 0:05:27.500 --> 0:05:30.620 God is so good, man. He sent some good friends 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:35.510 my way. My dad, obviously, is a minister. And some 0:05:36.029 --> 0:05:39.790 family members from down south had a church. And my 0:05:39.830 --> 0:05:41.330 dad would go to their church and minister. And I 0:05:41.350 --> 0:05:44.850 was a young kid playing the instruments behind my dad, 0:05:44.870 --> 0:05:49.240 supporting him. Yeah. And the family from up north came 0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:52.460 down from Jersey. Gosh. And they saw me, this young kid, 0:05:52.500 --> 0:05:54.680 on the keyboards. And it's like, yo, you want to go? 0:05:55.050 --> 0:05:57.850 play ball and hang out. We did that. How many instruments? 0:05:57.870 --> 0:06:01.240 I had a middle Jersey, everything but wind instruments. I'm not, 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:04.739 not a, I have asthma. I had it all my childhood. 0:06:04.779 --> 0:06:06.480 You would not be able to tell by the way 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:08.620 you sing, brother. I still got a pump. I carry 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:11.020 a pump to this day. No shit. Oh yeah. Yeah. 0:06:11.080 --> 0:06:15.020 I got to have that thing. But yeah, I enjoy instruments. 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:19.460 Instrument is a beautiful thing. Guitar is my favorite. So yeah, 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:21.880 I mean, I play pretty much all the, all the instruments. Yeah. 0:06:22.620 --> 0:06:22.820 Yeah. 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:26.130 So when you get to Jersey, How long does it 0:06:26.210 --> 0:06:30.070 take for you to get recognized? I'm talking about as 0:06:30.110 --> 0:06:33.170 far as either getting your first deal. Did you get 0:06:33.210 --> 0:06:34.730 a publishing or a record deal first? 0:06:34.790 --> 0:06:39.260 My first deal was publishing. Big shout out to Keith 0:06:39.300 --> 0:06:43.200 and Noel. Keith Miller, Noel Goring out of Jersey, Newark, 0:06:43.220 --> 0:06:46.620 New Jersey. Man, we got together and just put some 0:06:46.660 --> 0:06:50.810 music together and body work. Keith plays bass. Phenomenal bass player. Oh, 0:06:50.830 --> 0:06:53.110 my God. One of the greatest in the game. Noel 0:06:53.150 --> 0:06:56.789 Goring played keyboards as well. Phenomenal producers, these two. And 0:06:56.830 --> 0:07:02.510 we started a team called Black Hand Production. And we 0:07:02.570 --> 0:07:04.390 ran into a guy by the name of Vincent Herbert. 0:07:04.670 --> 0:07:07.300 I saw you guys do an interview with him. Yeah, yeah. 0:07:08.000 --> 0:07:09.100 So were you in the barbershop? 0:07:09.510 --> 0:07:11.900 I was going to correct that. Okay, all right, because 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:13.900 I heard you was in the barbershop, man. Yeah, no, no. 0:07:13.920 --> 0:07:15.320 I was going to ask for a fade or something 0:07:15.340 --> 0:07:18.980 while you were sitting. No, no, it wasn't a barbershop. 0:07:19.020 --> 0:07:21.820 What I worked at was a music store. It was 0:07:21.880 --> 0:07:25.240 a record store. Okay. It was on Chancellor Avenue. And 0:07:25.300 --> 0:07:30.160 anybody that's from Jersey, from Newark, know Chancellor Avenue. Valley Fair. 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:35.960 I lived in between Lyons and Chancellor in Jersey. So 0:07:36.000 --> 0:07:38.390 I worked at the music store and Vince came in. 0:07:38.410 --> 0:07:42.990 I can't remember the conversation, but there was an invitation 0:07:43.030 --> 0:07:45.370 to a session, I believe. And then we showed up. Yeah. 0:07:46.290 --> 0:07:50.150 You know, one was Vanessa Bell Armstrong, gospel singer. Absolutely. 0:07:50.170 --> 0:07:54.330 Doing background vocals on a song called Everlasting Love. Wow. 0:07:54.450 --> 0:07:57.570 Co-wrote that record with Vince. And then we went on 0:07:57.630 --> 0:08:00.910 to do some stuff with Tony Braxton. We don't have 0:08:00.930 --> 0:08:02.950 the credit for it, but we wrote How Many Ways 0:08:03.430 --> 0:08:06.180 for Tony Braxton. Yeah. Me keeping it well. 0:08:06.580 --> 0:08:06.840 Yes. 0:08:06.940 --> 0:08:09.600 All right. All right. We had our early, early hands. 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:12.620 Army money exclusives. Yeah. Army money exclusives. 0:08:12.640 --> 0:08:12.880 Yeah. 0:08:12.960 --> 0:08:17.020 Yeah. So really, really cool, man. Really cool industry that 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:20.840 I started out in. Just on the back burner. Learning 0:08:20.860 --> 0:08:23.190 the game. Behind the scenes, learning the game, learning how 0:08:23.230 --> 0:08:27.350 to produce. Yeah. How to work the controls and how 0:08:27.370 --> 0:08:29.910 to produce, you know, how to learn, you learn how 0:08:29.950 --> 0:08:30.990 to work the drum machine. 0:08:31.030 --> 0:08:31.210 Yeah. 0:08:31.610 --> 0:08:34.770 Things like that. I really was really invested in everything 0:08:34.790 --> 0:08:37.380 when it came to the studio. The mixing, all of 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:39.199 the above. I want to know everything. Most people don't 0:08:39.260 --> 0:08:41.490 know that about you, right? You got to really be a... 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:42.360 Push the buttons. 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:43.920 You got to really be a student of the game 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:48.860 to know that you've chosen when you wanted to be 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:51.679 or when you didn't want to be a 100%er. 0:08:51.700 --> 0:08:52.870 Yeah. 0:08:53.179 --> 0:08:56.490 Like, you're one of the guys. And it's not many 0:08:56.530 --> 0:08:58.750 of y'all. You're one of the guys. You know what 0:08:58.770 --> 0:09:01.590 I'm saying? That literally, we could all walk out this studio, 0:09:01.630 --> 0:09:03.530 leave you in here, and we'll come back and you 0:09:03.550 --> 0:09:03.990 got a record. 0:09:04.030 --> 0:09:07.050 Yeah, finished. Everything done. Yeah. Where are the instruments, by 0:09:07.070 --> 0:09:10.890 the way? I know Tink plays kicks. Where are the instruments? Well, 0:09:11.010 --> 0:09:14.559 I don't play no instruments, man. You don't play? No, 0:09:14.580 --> 0:09:17.500 I don't play. I don't play, man. So, you know, 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:19.800 ain't no instruments here today, man. It's all good. It's 0:09:19.880 --> 0:09:20.199 all good. 0:09:20.340 --> 0:09:21.880 I mean, we probably can go find you something if 0:09:21.920 --> 0:09:22.760 you want to get out. 0:09:22.860 --> 0:09:25.949 It's all good, man. I just enjoy the music and 0:09:26.110 --> 0:09:29.329 I would love to see, you know, the industry, the 0:09:29.370 --> 0:09:34.670 music industry embrace, you know, musicians and Artists that sing 0:09:34.710 --> 0:09:35.210 and play. 0:09:35.290 --> 0:09:37.290 Yeah, that's why I love Leon Thomas so much. 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:40.579 Yeah, Leon is incredible. Yeah. I mean, you don't have 0:09:40.620 --> 0:09:42.580 to do that. I mean, you know, Michael didn't play. 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:44.380 You know, he didn't play any of Smith's, but everything 0:09:44.420 --> 0:09:46.090 was on the inside. He can articulate it. 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:46.440 Right. 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:50.020 And he understood it. He can tell you what he want. Yeah, 0:09:50.040 --> 0:09:50.960 he can tell you exactly that. 0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:54.490 And I think that's a big thing with artists is 0:09:55.290 --> 0:09:59.109 being able to, like you said, articulate what you're looking for. 0:09:59.470 --> 0:10:00.620 Yeah. You know what I mean? 0:10:00.880 --> 0:10:02.560 And sometimes you just got to find the right people 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:04.380 that can help you convey that. 0:10:04.420 --> 0:10:07.070 Pull us together. Quincy was his perfect, you know. Yeah, 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:11.870 his muse. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, I was 0:10:11.910 --> 0:10:13.790 so fortunate and blessed to just be able to know 0:10:13.850 --> 0:10:16.860 music in a way where I can You know, have 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:20.180 that conversation with anybody that is a musician and say, 0:10:20.220 --> 0:10:21.660 this is what I need. This is what I want. 0:10:22.220 --> 0:10:23.820 If it's something that needs a little bit more bite, 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:26.089 a little bit more edge, I know what it is. 0:10:26.140 --> 0:10:27.130 I can point it out. You know how to get 0:10:27.150 --> 0:10:28.270 to it. I can know how to get to it 0:10:28.330 --> 0:10:31.229 right away. Yeah. I like recording my own vocals, too. 0:10:31.990 --> 0:10:34.010 I don't like engineers and people in the room. I 0:10:34.030 --> 0:10:36.310 like to do my own thing. Okay. So, you know, 0:10:36.350 --> 0:10:38.140 my system is set up where I can just work 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:38.930 and go for it. 0:10:38.940 --> 0:10:39.080 Right. 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:40.920 You just push record. You get to it. I just go. Yeah. 0:10:40.980 --> 0:10:43.020 Anytime of the day and as quick as I want 0:10:43.040 --> 0:10:44.220 to go. Yeah. It's fun. 0:10:45.460 --> 0:10:49.089 So before you make that jump, was there ever a 0:10:49.179 --> 0:10:52.830 point where you thought of being a gospel artist? 0:10:54.090 --> 0:11:00.100 Never. Never? Never. Our respect to the gospel singers, that's 0:11:00.130 --> 0:11:02.520 a tall order, brother. Yes, it is. That's a tall order. Yes, 0:11:02.580 --> 0:11:04.220 it is. I feel like for me, the reason why 0:11:04.260 --> 0:11:06.980 I didn't do it is because if you're going to 0:11:07.020 --> 0:11:09.080 sing about God and You know, I feel like you 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:10.700 got to take that walk with him, too. You got 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:13.580 to be on that same page. Yeah. And knowing that 0:11:13.620 --> 0:11:16.500 I wasn't there, you know, I felt it might be 0:11:16.520 --> 0:11:17.220 a little hippie. 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:18.300 You had jumped off the porch. 0:11:18.660 --> 0:11:23.710 Yeah. He was like, ah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So the 0:11:23.750 --> 0:11:25.870 respect of it all was for me to, you know, 0:11:25.929 --> 0:11:27.590 if I'm going to do it, you better be all 0:11:27.610 --> 0:11:29.170 the way in. Got you. You got to be all 0:11:29.190 --> 0:11:30.210 the way invested. Yeah. 0:11:31.010 --> 0:11:34.010 So what leads you to your first record deal? 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:37.710 Just playing around, man. Was it Polygram? It was Polygram. 0:11:37.730 --> 0:11:42.350 Your first deal? Polygram. Mercury Records. Polygram. Polydor was the 0:11:42.390 --> 0:11:45.410 parent company. And that's where Dave McPherson was. Dave McPherson. Yeah. 0:11:45.570 --> 0:11:48.569 Our guy. Yeah. The guy that believed in me, saw me, 0:11:48.830 --> 0:11:53.400 and took a chance. He started out first as an 0:11:53.640 --> 0:11:56.219 A & R as well. First time out. First time 0:11:56.280 --> 0:11:57.940 out for him. First time out for me. Okay. Okay. 0:11:58.260 --> 0:12:00.160 And that's just how well God works. I mean, he 0:12:00.179 --> 0:12:03.120 puts people and things in your, in your, in your path. 0:12:03.360 --> 0:12:05.059 That's going to work out for you. Yeah. You're a 0:12:05.059 --> 0:12:06.020 great artist. 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:08.260 You're a great artist to be the first artist you 0:12:08.300 --> 0:12:09.140 go inside. 0:12:11.580 --> 0:12:13.610 We, we both had no idea what this was going 0:12:13.620 --> 0:12:17.350 to become, but hard work, perseverance and, and, and the 0:12:17.429 --> 0:12:19.150 faith and belief that, you know, things are going to 0:12:19.190 --> 0:12:22.050 work out and God put you in a situation, you know, for, 0:12:22.070 --> 0:12:25.429 for the right things. And, Just trust the process. Even 0:12:25.450 --> 0:12:27.070 with this album that I'm working on right now, it's 0:12:27.090 --> 0:12:30.530 been taking, it's taken me about 10 years to, to do. But, um, 0:12:30.750 --> 0:12:32.589 I tell my team, listen, I'm not just going to 0:12:32.610 --> 0:12:34.870 throw anything out there. Trust the process. You know, God 0:12:34.929 --> 0:12:37.880 has his hands on all of this. Trust it. You know, 0:12:37.900 --> 0:12:40.480 just let it happen. Absolutely. Absolutely. 0:12:40.520 --> 0:12:44.840 So when you get your first deal, does your life 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:48.260 change immediately with the deal? Or was it, you know, 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:50.640 cause some people got a certain bag, some people got, 0:12:50.679 --> 0:12:52.780 you know, a little bit of none, just enough to last. 0:12:53.010 --> 0:12:53.130 Yeah. 0:12:53.290 --> 0:12:55.190 Did you, did you, were you in a position now 0:12:55.230 --> 0:12:58.610 to be like, okay, I can, I can freely do music. 0:13:00.050 --> 0:13:01.630 Not at all. And I might, can buy me something. 0:13:01.820 --> 0:13:05.040 Not at all. My first deal was a publishing deal. Okay. 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:09.679 45 K was the check. And I had to split 0:13:09.700 --> 0:13:13.220 it with my two guys. So I spent 45. Can 0:13:13.700 --> 0:13:17.560 you dig it? Yeah. Team five or 13, something, right? You, you, 0:13:17.580 --> 0:13:20.260 you were close. The math is good. And I took 0:13:20.540 --> 0:13:25.850 that money. And I bought a recording studio. That was 0:13:25.870 --> 0:13:27.910 the first thing I bought. I bought a recording studio. 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:31.219 And I bought a little whip. I needed something to 0:13:31.260 --> 0:13:33.079 play my music. You got to get around. Ride around 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:35.819 and listen to music. I still do that to this day. 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:39.500 The car test. Yeah, the car test. I can't just 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:42.960 make music and not listen to it. And it's got 0:13:42.980 --> 0:13:44.900 to be a nice whip. I just can't do it 0:13:45.080 --> 0:13:47.140 in any kind of whip. So what was your first whip? 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:51.090 What's your first whip, man? My first whip was a 190E. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 0:13:51.110 --> 0:13:53.230 I was trying to be big dog. I see what 0:13:53.250 --> 0:13:56.290 she was doing. Without big dog money. Big dog without 0:13:56.330 --> 0:13:57.110 big dog money. 0:13:57.150 --> 0:13:57.390 Yeah. 0:13:57.429 --> 0:13:58.770 I was trying to live the life. It was on 0:13:58.790 --> 0:13:59.910 the way. I was on the way. 0:13:59.929 --> 0:14:00.010 Yeah. 0:14:00.030 --> 0:14:02.990 Yeah. I had to see what it felt like. But 0:14:03.030 --> 0:14:05.300 it was, it was a wonderful thing, man. Um, you know, 0:14:06.100 --> 0:14:07.700 when you dream and, and I used to play that, 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:10.140 that's my car when I was a kid. Uh, I 0:14:10.179 --> 0:14:12.559 don't know if people in any are old enough to remember. 0:14:12.580 --> 0:14:15.560 That's my car. Absolutely. That's by you. Yes. And, uh, 0:14:16.100 --> 0:14:18.000 So when I got a chance to buy me one, 0:14:18.380 --> 0:14:21.720 it was a Mercedes. I had a Mercedes. So that's 0:14:21.740 --> 0:14:24.240 what you got with the first deal. That's right. So 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:28.040 now you're working on that first album. 0:14:28.160 --> 0:14:28.980 What is your focus? 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:31.400 Because when I listened to the first album, I felt 0:14:31.420 --> 0:14:35.600 like you was in the New Jack Swing stage. Was 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:37.300 that what you were going for? Was that what the 0:14:37.420 --> 0:14:39.740 industry was pushing for at the time? Because that's what 0:14:39.780 --> 0:14:40.380 was going on. 0:14:40.940 --> 0:14:42.660 That's kind of what I was going for. And the 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:46.130 industry was doing that as well. In hindsight, I didn't 0:14:46.150 --> 0:14:48.370 know that it was on its way out, you know, 0:14:48.410 --> 0:14:51.270 in terms of that style of R & B music. 0:14:52.730 --> 0:14:55.840 But what I really was going for was just good music, man. 0:14:55.860 --> 0:14:58.100 I just wanted to make something that felt good. Yeah. 0:14:58.440 --> 0:14:59.740 My first album, you know. 0:15:02.170 --> 0:15:05.690 Man, it's one of those critically acclaimed from the music community. 0:15:06.030 --> 0:15:08.590 Because it's one of those records when your first album, 0:15:08.610 --> 0:15:10.240 you want to just show out. You want to just 0:15:10.250 --> 0:15:12.080 go as hard as you can. You give your whole 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:13.800 life to make it. Show people your chops and what 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:15.920 you got. So when I did that album, I was 0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:18.860 trying to go at everybody's neck. I didn't care who 0:15:19.140 --> 0:15:22.060 it was. I felt I was a better singer than 0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:25.420 everybody out there. So I was coming at everybody with 0:15:25.450 --> 0:15:30.920 that first record. Kelly, Aaron Hall. Bobby Brown, you name him. 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:31.340 Right. 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:33.300 I was going after him. Right. Y'all ain't got nothing 0:15:33.360 --> 0:15:35.840 on me. And that was my mindset. 0:15:35.860 --> 0:15:37.360 But that has to be the mindset. 0:15:37.760 --> 0:15:40.460 It's still that way. It's still that way. It has 0:15:40.500 --> 0:15:42.500 to be the mindset. I'm sorry, fellas. Y'all my dogs, 0:15:42.540 --> 0:15:46.820 but I'm still coming at them. Like, I believe in collaboration. 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:49.420 I believe in showing love. But there also has to 0:15:49.460 --> 0:15:50.820 be a competitive fight. 0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:53.060 Man, without that, I don't think music is going to 0:15:53.100 --> 0:15:56.120 be as exciting. Yeah. You know? And that's why I 0:15:56.200 --> 0:15:58.710 miss Kel sometimes, because he used to push me. 0:15:59.090 --> 0:15:59.250 Yeah. 0:15:59.630 --> 0:16:01.550 That was a motivation tool for me. It's like, this 0:16:01.590 --> 0:16:03.710 dude does not miss when it comes to these. Yeah. 0:16:03.730 --> 0:16:04.690 His run was crazy. 0:16:05.290 --> 0:16:07.810 He doesn't miss. Yeah. And he's such a genius. And 0:16:07.850 --> 0:16:10.450 he got, God has his hands on always music career. 0:16:10.470 --> 0:16:13.270 You can just feel it. So yeah. 0:16:13.310 --> 0:16:16.510 How, how was that during that time where you're like, 0:16:16.530 --> 0:16:17.250 all right, man. 0:16:17.810 --> 0:16:17.970 Yeah. 0:16:18.620 --> 0:16:22.010 You got another one, dog. This shit is crazy. I'll 0:16:22.030 --> 0:16:24.700 tell you this. I mean, being on, on Mercury and 0:16:24.740 --> 0:16:27.580 he was on job records. Correct. And that's the only 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:33.380 person I could see. That reminded me of myself. You know, self-contained, 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:36.500 can play the instruments, sing the instruments, produce them, write them. 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:41.510 And I watched the label. I watched Jive. I said, yo, 0:16:41.590 --> 0:16:43.630 I love what they're doing, but they understand this guy. 0:16:43.930 --> 0:16:45.650 They know what to do with his career as an 0:16:45.710 --> 0:16:48.610 R & B singer. So I said, all right. I 0:16:48.650 --> 0:16:51.860 left Jive. I mean, I left Mercury after the first album. 0:16:52.510 --> 0:16:55.700 And I was solo for about maybe a year. I 0:16:55.720 --> 0:16:58.140 didn't have a label. Then I released All the Things 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:01.540 Your Man Won't Do on a soundtrack. 0:17:03.320 --> 0:17:06.110 So that song is released before you have a deal? 0:17:06.130 --> 0:17:10.050 Before I got a deal. Yeah. Because I was freelance 0:17:10.170 --> 0:17:11.050 after Mercury. 0:17:11.109 --> 0:17:11.449 Yeah. 0:17:11.670 --> 0:17:14.129 Yeah. And yeah, they was throwing money at me. I 0:17:14.150 --> 0:17:15.930 was about to say. They was throwing crazy money. 0:17:15.970 --> 0:17:19.190 Now you was a big dog driving the big dog car. 0:17:19.740 --> 0:17:22.760 Yeah. But I didn't take the money. I didn't go 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:23.140 for the money. 0:17:24.050 --> 0:17:25.909 So Jive wasn't, they didn't offer you the most money. 0:17:25.930 --> 0:17:28.949 I didn't go for them. No, they didn't. Nah. He 0:17:28.970 --> 0:17:31.290 took the best deal for you. I believed in them. 0:17:31.350 --> 0:17:34.420 I said, you know what? I understand it. I understand 0:17:34.440 --> 0:17:37.679 how God's system. And I know this is going to 0:17:37.700 --> 0:17:40.060 work for me because it works easily and simply for him. 0:17:40.660 --> 0:17:43.540 Just follow the same blueprint in terms of promotion and 0:17:43.619 --> 0:17:46.140 everything we need to do. This is simple. Y'all got 0:17:46.180 --> 0:17:46.609 it already. 0:17:47.070 --> 0:17:47.290 Right. 0:17:47.430 --> 0:17:48.169 And they understood it. 0:17:57.440 --> 0:17:59.840 I don't want to breeze over what I consider, and 0:18:00.840 --> 0:18:02.080 I'm going to say this out loud. 0:18:02.420 --> 0:18:02.600 Yeah. 0:18:02.900 --> 0:18:05.980 I think you have the greatest sophomore R & B 0:18:06.090 --> 0:18:07.930 album of all time. Wow. 0:18:08.490 --> 0:18:10.629 In my opinion. All that I am. All that I am. 0:18:10.770 --> 0:18:14.050 Thank you, sir. It is a 10 out of 10. Man, 0:18:14.130 --> 0:18:14.449 thank you. 0:18:14.490 --> 0:18:17.530