WEBVTT - QLS Classic: Babyface (Part 2) 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:03.239 Of course Love Supreme. It's a production of I Heart Radio. 0:00:03.680 --> 0:00:07.040 This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora 0:00:08.560 --> 0:00:11.000 Sweet On QLs. We're really excited to bring you a 0:00:11.039 --> 0:00:14.520 second part of our exclusive benefew with Kenneth's baby Face epodes. 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:18.880 Let's start in the show. How do you determine? Because 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:22.400 looking at your solo career from you know, tender Lover 0:00:22.560 --> 0:00:27.480 was eighty nine, was eighty nine and then uh, don't 0:00:27.520 --> 0:00:33.920 forget about lovers, your lovers, and but from that to 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:35.839 then you know, for the cooling you like, which is 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:40.239 my favorite, Like, how did you do video man? How 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:43.120 did you determine? Okay, this is for me and this 0:00:43.200 --> 0:00:46.440 is for my artists or or other people I'm producing 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:52.560 for how did you balance that workload? Um? Songs first 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:57.040 and whatever I would write it. I get asked that 0:00:57.120 --> 0:00:59.120 question many sense. Why didn't you keep in the road? 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:02.600 Why didn't you keep every little step? Because listen to 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:05.360 who sung it and and listen to the songs so 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:08.800 as became you know, so UM, I think the song 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:12.800 is ultimately find their right homes. And UM, for me, 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:14.760 there are certain songs that I could do and that 0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:16.560 I could do well in certain songs I wish I 0:01:16.600 --> 0:01:19.000 could have done better, but I couldn't, So I was 0:01:19.040 --> 0:01:21.160 honest with myself and gave him away for that reason. 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:23.720 What's an example of a song that you gave away 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:26.080 that you enter the road once? Once I finished and said, 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:31.880 oh man, was it your vocal that just didn't work out? 0:01:31.959 --> 0:01:37.440 Or yeah, I just didn't Well, I specifically wrote it 0:01:37.480 --> 0:01:39.640 for boys the man, so I was going for that 0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:43.520 whole old Philly sound, you know. And uh. And then 0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:45.920 when I and then when they started singing it, I was, 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:49.880 you know, because I really almost kept it. But when 0:01:49.920 --> 0:01:52.200 they those boys walked in there and started saying, I said, 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:56.720 damn home, it was like, you know, it was clear 0:01:57.240 --> 0:02:01.760 that Wow, that moment was clear they they were a 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:05.440 better group than I thought they were. And uh, and 0:02:05.480 --> 0:02:08.960 I knew that I would want to work with him again. Question. 0:02:09.960 --> 0:02:12.680 How many songs did you work on for the Dangerous 0:02:12.720 --> 0:02:23.280 Project for Michael Jackson. I'm here in no. Ten. We 0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:29.080 we got called to work with Michael right. We had 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:37.760 just signed Jermaine Jackson on the face and then Michael 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:42.040 heard a little song called word to the Bad and yeah, 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:52.360 R and B distrack. You wrote that Jermaine with Jermaine 0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:56.320 Jermine like left ife was on it. Okay, so so 0:02:56.400 --> 0:03:00.240 we got called. We got totally forgotten this story. We 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:02.480 when we signed him up. Then we got a call 0:03:02.919 --> 0:03:08.959 from the gloved One and wanted to meet us. And 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:12.800 I'm like, I had met I had met Michael, you know, 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:16.840 younger days, but he didn't know that. But so, um 0:03:16.960 --> 0:03:20.080 we got the call that, you know, I'd like to 0:03:20.080 --> 0:03:25.359 meet with you guys. So he sent a helicopter and 0:03:26.320 --> 0:03:30.840 we we we went out to Neverland and uh, we 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:33.359 were like, all right, we gotta go. We can't not go. 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:36.040 I know, we just signed Jermaine, but we can't not go. 0:03:36.240 --> 0:03:42.120 This is Michael. And Jermaine was like, this is crazy. Yeah, 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:45.600 he knew we No, this is no. This is my brother. 0:03:45.640 --> 0:03:54.400 He's trying to he's purposely whatever. So and uh so 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:59.160 we got to Neverland and uh sat in the living 0:03:59.200 --> 0:04:00.800 room waiting for a little bit from Michael. Come out. 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:04.120 Then Michael finally came out. Please meet you guys. How 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:08.400 are you doing? I said great? He says, um, So 0:04:08.800 --> 0:04:11.160 I wanted to bring you guys here because I really 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:14.200 wanted to know, you know, if you wanted to do 0:04:14.280 --> 0:04:17.480 some work with me and stuff. So I said that's great. Um, 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:22.640 you know, obviously we've been banned for years. Um so Michael, 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:24.760 so what we want to know is that what do 0:04:24.800 --> 0:04:28.359 you want from us? Right, because like, you know, what 0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:29.880 have you heard from us? What do you want to 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:32.920 what kind of music are you looking for? And he goes, well, 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:36.800 so I really love that thing that um what's that 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:56.080 song that Janit does um rhythm rhythm, so like so ago, 0:04:56.160 --> 0:04:59.120 so you know that Jimmy Terry right. I said, yeah, 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:02.840 I know, I know, but I like it. And then 0:05:02.880 --> 0:05:07.400 we said so, I said, so what is it of 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:13.520 ours that you like? And he goes, well, I particularly 0:05:13.520 --> 0:05:18.160 love that song? Uh a crime, it's no crime. Yeah, 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:20.560 I love the beat. I don't like the beat. I 0:05:20.600 --> 0:05:28.240 don't like the words. God. It's like, okay, all right, 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:31.200 all right, but you know me, Mr Positive and you 0:05:31.240 --> 0:05:33.280 know you can. I was like, okay, all right. So 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:36.200 that gives us a direction. At least, we no kind 0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:37.880 of where to go because it didn't matter. He could 0:05:37.880 --> 0:05:41.080 have said our stuff was crap and we would have said, 0:05:41.160 --> 0:05:46.440 well we'll make it well uncraffic and uh so we 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:50.800 got the you know, he said, let's go go to 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:53.400 the studio and work. Let's let's put some work together 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:56.359 and and do some studio, put some studio time together. 0:05:56.400 --> 0:05:58.240 And so we went out and work. I forget what 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:00.559 the studios we went out to work at. But prior 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:06.080 to that, right after that meeting, we had a we 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:09.520 went up to Lionel Richie's house. Perhaps have to be 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:12.760 friends with Brenda. Ritchie was very good friends with Brendi 0:06:12.839 --> 0:06:15.359 Richie and we went over to the house and the 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:19.200 Linel was there and Lionel said, and I'm gonna tell 0:06:19.200 --> 0:06:22.200 you something about Michael. He said, he's a nice guy. 0:06:22.720 --> 0:06:25.920 But don't get caught. Don't get caught in the web 0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:28.720 of you know, all the you know, the charm and 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:31.600 the magic stuff, because you you will be working forever 0:06:32.080 --> 0:06:34.920 and never come out with nothing. So just be careful 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:37.200 to not get caught up in that way, because you know, 0:06:37.600 --> 0:06:40.520 he's so magical that you be magic out and you 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:46.880 won't even know. So we went in there kind of 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:49.760 with a different attitude when we went to work with them, 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:53.640 because I would see the guys that could be so 0:06:53.720 --> 0:06:55.200 hard and stuff like that, and you get in front 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:59.640 of Michael Jackson, maybe suddenly they become little lambs. No 0:06:59.720 --> 0:07:01.800 matter how hard you are, you talking to Michael Jackson. 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:04.919 It's it's a whole another story. Michael just he's magical. 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:09.680 So um so we kind of like stay strong because 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:12.640 of that. And so we went in and we started 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:15.360 working on tracks. I think we probably went through three 0:07:15.400 --> 0:07:19.840 or four tracks, and he'd come in. He listened to 0:07:19.960 --> 0:07:25.200 him nice, love love it, love it. Okay, now you 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:28.000 see that right there? Take this now and want you 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:30.680 to it's beautiful. But now I want you to go 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:34.000 to a place that you've never gone before. Reach inside 0:07:34.040 --> 0:07:36.120 and go to a place that you've never gone. We 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:47.200 were like, oh yeah, now' right, we haven't gone far enough. 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:49.840 So we went back and start going further and further. 0:07:49.880 --> 0:07:52.200 And then he'd come back and we we fixed up 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:54.200 the track. We like, we know we're there now. We 0:07:54.320 --> 0:07:56.120 just playing the track. We hadn't even done the top 0:07:56.160 --> 0:07:58.240 lines yet, but we're going for the tracks and stuff like. 0:07:58.240 --> 0:08:01.160 So he'd come in and listen, and it's like probably 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:03.400 about the fourth day he was supposed to come by. 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:05.440 Each day he didn't. What't he didn't come back to 0:08:05.480 --> 0:08:08.120 the fourth day and then he came in and he 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:17.760 listened to it. I love it. It's great. No, you 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:24.800 can figure out his steps right, beautiful. No, I love this, 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:28.200 I love now. No, this is perfect. But now what 0:08:28.320 --> 0:08:32.920 I want you to do is go even deeper, go 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:38.720 to a place that you never go. He's right, What 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:47.680 does that? What does that entail? Is that more patches 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:52.760 in the song? Is it more percussion? You know? It's like, 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:55.400 give me something different, give me something unique, give me 0:08:55.480 --> 0:08:59.720 something that you know we haven't heard before, pushing naws, 0:09:00.640 --> 0:09:04.000 even the rhythms, that could be anything. So he just 0:09:04.240 --> 0:09:07.240 he wasn't completely pulled in yet, and so we we 0:09:07.360 --> 0:09:12.199 ultimately did this song called Slave to the Rhythm, and 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:14.240 that's the song that we ended up with it that 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.960 we But then he was he was supposed to come 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:20.600 by the studio, wouldn't come by. And then me and 0:09:20.600 --> 0:09:23.040 Eli sat down one day we said, you know what, 0:09:23.400 --> 0:09:26.680 we've been here a week, he came down. He came 0:09:26.720 --> 0:09:30.000 here twice. Out of seven days he came here twice. 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:36.400 We out of here. So we left. We went back 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:39.160 over to another studio for getting he was d We 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:43.160 went to Michael, called l A and said what happened? When? 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:45.400 Where where did you guys go? Eli said, nope, we 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:47.760 got us stuff to do. We can't do it. This this, 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:50.600 this is our song, this is it and uh and 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:53.000 we were done and we pulled out of the project. 0:09:54.280 --> 0:09:57.040 So and you were flying with that. We were fine 0:09:57.080 --> 0:10:02.240 with it because what we didn't want to be is 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:05.480 those producers that would get caught with one artists and 0:10:05.520 --> 0:10:09.120 only have one artists. Our career was built on a 0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:11.560 number of artists and had we stopped at one and 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:14.720 just stopped there, then you just hang your flagship on 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:18.880 one and and that's what your Yeah, so we wanted 0:10:18.880 --> 0:10:20.520 to always be able to and at that point we 0:10:20.640 --> 0:10:22.840 started the label and then you know, Jermaine was pretty 0:10:22.840 --> 0:10:27.240 pissed at that particular point. Really you think that's what 0:10:27.400 --> 0:10:31.120 was asked, how do you do all this? And then yeah, 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:33.480 well that was I mean that was the thing. Look, 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:35.640 we were we had la face and we were supposed 0:10:35.679 --> 0:10:37.760 to be working on our arts at that particular point. 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:39.200 So when you get a call from Michael, we was like, 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:42.640 we're not going to not you know, we gotta do Michael, 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:45.240 and so we we we tried it. We went there, 0:10:45.240 --> 0:10:47.319 but we knew we couldn't stay there forever to keep 0:10:47.360 --> 0:10:49.480 doing it, and we felt like we were going to 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:52.640 run into that. Um it was it was more of 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:55.280 a thing of thinking Michael, well, maybe we don't, maybe 0:10:55.280 --> 0:10:57.760 we don't see the same things, and maybe we're not 0:10:57.840 --> 0:10:59.880 the guys for you, so we don't want to go 0:11:00.040 --> 0:11:01.880 with this whole process. Did you feel in your heart 0:11:01.880 --> 0:11:07.120 of hearts that you had a good song What's Lave? Yeah? 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:10.160 I thought it was pretty good, but I think I 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:12.199 didn't think we got a chance to work it too 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:15.920 to make it the best. You know. Um, I think 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:18.200 that with any artists that you start to work with, 0:11:18.240 --> 0:11:20.960 you're gonna go through some songs that aren't great. But 0:11:21.040 --> 0:11:22.959 if you get more time with them, then you will 0:11:23.000 --> 0:11:24.920 get to that greatness. But you gotta have that time. 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:26.679 You gotta have the time to have the bad songs 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:29.720 in order to have the great songs. So when you 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:35.520 started let face, uh, I mean, I guess it's impossible 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:39.160 for any black entrepreneur to not have thoughts of Motown 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:41.560 in their heads. As an lake course, what's my label 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:47.280 gonna be the new Motown? Um? What were your Well? 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:53.720 I mean, by this point, at least like you Ellie's, 0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:56.240 you and l A are are about to separate and 0:11:56.559 --> 0:11:59.559 you're about to produce on your own, and he runs 0:11:59.559 --> 0:12:01.360 the label like, how did you guys come into an 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:08.120 amicable Um. It was the label became the thing for that. 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:11.560 He had to run run the label. Um we were 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:16.840 Um it was a little little card for him to 0:12:16.920 --> 0:12:20.560 keep producing and be a writer and all that and 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:23.200 and actually run the label business. Couldn't really do that. 0:12:23.360 --> 0:12:25.200 You have to you have to make a choice. You're 0:12:25.200 --> 0:12:29.079 neither gonna be a businessman or you gonna be an artist. Um. 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:31.440 And the truth is is l A was always kind 0:12:31.480 --> 0:12:33.560 of the businessman. He was always that was his role, 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:35.880 you know, going way back to the deal. He was 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:39.800 like the guy that made sure everybody everybody got to eat, 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:42.679 going back to his days, you know, like too you 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:45.840 know essence and the deal, living in Indianapolis and making 0:12:45.880 --> 0:12:48.440 sure he made some deals with some people at Church's 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:52.080 chicken to make sure they could eat every night. So 0:12:52.200 --> 0:12:55.640 it was that was his gig. And uh and he 0:12:55.840 --> 0:13:02.360 basically became, you know, the manager of you know, Leface Records. Um, 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:04.439 it was he had to be. He had to make 0:13:04.440 --> 0:13:08.480 sure everybody got chicken. But how does that work from 0:13:08.480 --> 0:13:10.840 an artists Like when y'all decided which artists would be 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:12.600 that did it? Ever? Did at least say okay, so 0:13:12.640 --> 0:13:14.240 this is this group good? In mob? I just want 0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:16.760 you to hear. So you know, we were always on 0:13:16.800 --> 0:13:18.800 the same page in terms of we never fought in 0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:23.080 terms of artists and uh whether something was good or not. 0:13:23.400 --> 0:13:26.640 That's where we were always good together, is that, you know, 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:29.280 our taste are very simular, so we kind of would 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:32.560 support eachaln what was your relationship like with without casts? 0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:36.600 Because I wasn't around as much without casts, and so 0:13:36.640 --> 0:13:38.240 I would kind of see the guys because at that 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:39.960 point I was kind of like doing a lot of 0:13:39.960 --> 0:13:43.160 producing out this way and kind of making the l 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:46.160 A connection, so to say. And so you were working 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:50.520 in Los Angeles while he stayed in Atlanta. Yeah, what 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:55.360 was it about Atlanta that attracted or made that the official? 0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:58.480 We we were living here in l A. And we 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:02.079 felt like we needed to get out of here in 0:14:02.240 --> 0:14:06.120 order to like, you know, be a big fish in 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:09.040 a little see. We tried to start a label here. 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:11.800 Then we would they never know we were here, and 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:15.960 uh Stlanta as Minneapolis or yeah, okay, And so in 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:19.760 going down there, we you know, we we were right 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:23.200 to go there, and uh we got we got very lucky. 0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:25.880 You know that the talent came to find us there's 0:14:25.880 --> 0:14:29.320 some talent that we lost doubt on. You know, um 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:32.640 who almost didn't get signed to the label or who didn't? 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:34.880 Who did you miss out on? We had an A 0:14:34.960 --> 0:14:38.320 and R person that um had got something that we did. 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:40.320 We found out after the fact. I got to make 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:44.200 sure that's true, that the story in fact is true, 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:49.000 because it's sad if it is um but R Kelly 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:54.280 what and they this is bull stuff? So this bull 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:56.400 craps are on So we never got it. We never 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:58.360 got to even hear it. But he did. He did? 0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:00.440 You guys do the music together to he you wouldn't 0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:02.560 have told you y'all missed out on me. You know 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:07.360 that right in the midday, in the middle of Canbrie. 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:12.240 That's crazy. So okay, one one of your clients that 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:17.360 were particularly curious about, uh who who's done our show before? 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:23.800 H Usher? Raymond Oh Yeah, says one of his career 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:29.240 regrets was the fact that he did not get a 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:33.840 freshly pinned baby faced classic when he first signed to 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:36.880 the label. When when and went so far as to 0:15:36.920 --> 0:15:40.480 tell us that can We Talk was initially his song. 0:15:49.040 --> 0:15:55.880 To this day, he believes that he believes that um 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:58.320 U Usher came when Usher came. He came out of 0:15:58.360 --> 0:15:59.600 time when me and l A were going through this 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:09.400 like Cam and jay Z and Usher came in and 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:11.800 Usher came, He's this bad little kid came and sang 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:14.160 into the road and it's demo and he was bad 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:19.240 its little kids bad um. Bad isn't good or bad 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:25.040 like badass? And uh, I certainly, you know, I thought 0:16:25.080 --> 0:16:28.320 he was an amazing kid. He came out of time 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:29.840 with me in l A were like kind of like 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:33.840 had our issues and uh so I kind of like 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:37.200 ended up being out here in l A a a lot um. 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:41.280 I got a call from Quincy Jones two write a 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:47.680 song for Devin Campbell and it's Quincy Jones. I was like, 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:52.400 it's Quincy Jones. So I wrote can we Talk Um? 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:55.840 And did a demo of it. And Eli had heard 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:59.120 the record of thinking Um and he wanted it for 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:02.240 us your but I had already given it two uh 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:05.600 to Tevin. And it was a question, will you know 0:17:05.720 --> 0:17:08.159 us just us you can sing better and and you 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:09.840 know the thing is good, And I said, well, but 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:13.040 I can already did this deal with with Quincy, and 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:15.720 I ain't gonna like tell Quincy no at this particular point, 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:18.640 so the song ultimately went to and so the song 0:17:18.720 --> 0:17:24.200 was never really four Usher. But but from the way 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:29.560 that probably l A talking, because I'm sure l A 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:35.440 said it differently, that's supposed to be your song went 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:37.920 that way. That's I'm sure that's kind of how it went. 0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:39.960 And so Usher is not wrong in terms of how 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:43.439 he how it came to him. He just don't know 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:49.560 the real story behind it. Do you. Okay, you don't know. 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:57.879 But between nine four and ninety nine, did you personally 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:02.240 get tired of hearing you on the radio? No, because 0:18:02.280 --> 0:18:07.320 I wouldn't listen how I would if if something came 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:09.000 on that I did, then I turned the RADI off, 0:18:09.000 --> 0:18:16.800 I listen then you obviously Yeah, So like because during 0:18:16.800 --> 0:18:19.160 that time, because it's like, wait, next hill is ninety five? 0:18:19.520 --> 0:18:23.080 And then producing you produced everything on the way into Excel. 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:27.080 How hard was that too? It was it a good 0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:31.320 idea at the time versus getting to the end point 0:18:32.600 --> 0:18:35.920 it was? It was it was a huge undertaking, only 0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:40.320 because it wasn't about it when I did the project. Uh, 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:43.199 Forest Whittaker came to me and asked me to do 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:47.600 it when he um and then not only did he 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:49.120 ask me just to do that. But he also asked 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:52.480 me to score the film m and I said, well, 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:55.000 I've never done that, and he said that's it. And 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:56.480 I told him I can't do that because I don't 0:18:56.600 --> 0:18:59.000 that's not what I do. And he said, you can 0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:01.639 do it, and I'll get you some help to make 0:19:01.680 --> 0:19:03.879 sure you can do it. But initially, I want you 0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:05.520 to come and I want you to write the songs 0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:07.879 for this film, and I want you to watch the 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:10.680 movie as I'm doing it and and write the song. 0:19:10.840 --> 0:19:14.600 So I ultimately kind of took all my gear over 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:17.640 to a studio with him as he was editing the film, 0:19:17.680 --> 0:19:20.200 and and I also watched him film of it film 0:19:20.200 --> 0:19:21.800 it as well, and then he gave me a kind 0:19:21.800 --> 0:19:24.160 of sense of where he wanted to go, and as 0:19:24.160 --> 0:19:29.320 he sent me scenes, I'd write songs to it. And 0:19:29.320 --> 0:19:31.400 and the truth is, I think every time I wrote 0:19:31.440 --> 0:19:35.000 a song, he liked it. And uh, and so I 0:19:35.040 --> 0:19:36.960 didn't really go through a bunch of different songs and 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:38.840 that was just kind of like hitting hitting the scenes, 0:19:38.920 --> 0:19:41.720 and and then we had to figure out who was 0:19:41.720 --> 0:19:44.800 going to sing it. And Uh, initially when we were 0:19:44.840 --> 0:19:50.280 doing the um doing the music, it wasn't even we 0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:52.639 wanted for sure that Whitney was going to sing anything 0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:56.840 at all. Um, she wasn't necessary. She she might sing something, 0:19:56.880 --> 0:20:00.520 she might not. We didn't know. And then because it 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:03.560 wasn't it wasn't gonna be a Whitney project. They just 0:20:03.600 --> 0:20:05.879 wanted me to do the do the music for it. 0:20:06.040 --> 0:20:09.240 So then Whitney decided that she was going to sing something. 0:20:09.280 --> 0:20:12.280 And then then Whitney decided that if I'm to be 0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:14.600 a part of it, then I get to have sakes. 0:20:14.680 --> 0:20:18.679 So who gets to sing? Who? Who don't get to sing? So? 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:20.640 So what someone kicked off the album that we don't 0:20:20.640 --> 0:20:22.680 know about? There were some people that she didn't they 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:27.359 want to sing? Um there we ask who? I just 0:20:27.960 --> 0:20:32.560 WV made it now? She liked that and uh so, 0:20:32.560 --> 0:20:35.200 so the list came up of of the of the girls. 0:20:35.400 --> 0:20:38.040 I wrote out a list and and then she I 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:41.400 just wrote out the Listen. She just kind of said nope, nope, nope, yep, yep, 0:20:42.240 --> 0:20:51.400 And uh because I know she loves everybody, well everybody 0:20:51.440 --> 0:20:57.040 was everybody was who in black music? Was? Was it 0:20:57.160 --> 0:21:01.960 a black artist that got rejected? One of them? Oh? 0:21:02.040 --> 0:21:06.080 Some pop artists got rejected? M hmm. Nor Madonna. I'm 0:21:06.080 --> 0:21:08.960 sure it couldn't be the bus. Did you go for 0:21:09.040 --> 0:21:13.160 a big non black names on the black movie about 0:21:13.160 --> 0:21:14.680 the black This is fun for us to guess this. 0:21:15.080 --> 0:21:17.919 You don't have to name anything. You don't name anything. Uh, 0:21:18.640 --> 0:21:29.560 there was another huge artist that Jackson. You're not confirming, 0:21:31.280 --> 0:21:35.240 you're not confirming or denying den that's no way. Okay, 0:21:37.520 --> 0:21:40.679 she wasn't there, she wasn't on there. Okay, that's all right. 0:21:41.640 --> 0:21:43.720 But I feel like a mount like I feel like 0:21:44.160 --> 0:21:47.960 the that's two major people. I feel like I'm Mount Fiji. 0:21:48.240 --> 0:21:51.800 That could have that could have been on my Hello. 0:21:51.920 --> 0:21:54.960 I'm not confirming or denying that makes sense. Yeah, that 0:21:55.040 --> 0:21:58.800 makes lessense. Mariah was not on that soundtrack, but would 0:21:58.840 --> 0:22:05.960 Tommy led her on a client project problem? Probably not? Okay, 0:22:06.000 --> 0:22:10.200 So obviously Mariah was one. Although I'm certain in my 0:22:10.400 --> 0:22:12.760 in my I to believe that before the Prince of 0:22:12.960 --> 0:22:17.480 Egypt project that maybe perhaps there was an idea thrown 0:22:17.520 --> 0:22:20.760 around that Mariah and Whitney do something together on their 0:22:20.800 --> 0:22:26.840 Waiting to Excel soundtrack. Yeah, I'm gonna give myself right, 0:22:26.960 --> 0:22:31.520 I'm gonna give myself up. I told you we were 0:22:34.359 --> 0:22:38.520 spen spent too many times reading album credits. We would 0:22:38.520 --> 0:22:41.680 have this conversation if you weren't here. That wasn't a 0:22:41.920 --> 0:22:44.680 big conversation, big piece, But there were other people that 0:22:44.760 --> 0:22:48.560 were kind of mentioning um. But so the people that 0:22:48.720 --> 0:22:51.000 she did pick were the people that she actually she 0:22:51.200 --> 0:22:56.480 liked their voices um and more. And and we were 0:22:56.960 --> 0:23:02.320 we were just kind of in searching me saying no, total, 0:23:04.080 --> 0:23:06.119 y'all never gonna let me live that down. I'm sorry, 0:23:06.119 --> 0:23:09.879 I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I love you, total. What about 0:23:09.960 --> 0:23:15.560 us as a damn look soul food soundtracks that time? 0:23:16.560 --> 0:23:20.119 How long how long did it take working on that? 0:23:20.320 --> 0:23:23.760 Because that's I mean, that's a lot of songs, you know, Um, 0:23:25.040 --> 0:23:27.359 I can't even remember. It was a couple of months probably, 0:23:27.440 --> 0:23:30.200 you know how long did it take to do Arethas? So? 0:23:31.119 --> 0:23:34.760 I love that. That's one of my favorites. Really. Yeah, 0:23:35.359 --> 0:23:38.320 I figured she would be the hardest client. She came 0:23:38.359 --> 0:23:42.800 in and sank that in three takes, damn. So the 0:23:42.920 --> 0:23:44.960 Mavericks just knock it out. Let me find like Faith 0:23:45.000 --> 0:23:51.920 Evans took twelve weeks to she I just meant like 0:23:52.600 --> 0:23:59.160 just Aretha basically, we'll come in you got three times 0:23:59.280 --> 0:24:02.159 and then out of here. You know, it's like so 0:24:02.400 --> 0:24:07.280 all the Mavericks are just like yo back man w 0:24:07.560 --> 0:24:10.159 went no pro tools and and that was saying I 0:24:10.600 --> 0:24:13.479 actually went to England and recorded her there in England. UM. 0:24:13.680 --> 0:24:18.520 So that was fun um And that was it was um. 0:24:20.480 --> 0:24:23.200 As you're putting the project together, you feel like it's special, 0:24:23.359 --> 0:24:28.600 but you don't you don't completely know. Um. And when 0:24:28.640 --> 0:24:30.720 it was all when it was all put together, it 0:24:30.840 --> 0:24:33.359 was the first time I handed something in the clive 0:24:33.560 --> 0:24:36.879 and he had no comments. Was that a good or 0:24:36.920 --> 0:24:41.000 bad fan? It's amazing thing has like really sure you 0:24:41.040 --> 0:24:44.280 don't want me try to do something? And so there 0:24:44.359 --> 0:24:47.359 was there was questions about you know, from a lot 0:24:47.400 --> 0:24:49.399 of different people. There was questions. I remember I had 0:24:49.440 --> 0:24:53.040 a say this, had a big debate with Andre Herrell 0:24:54.080 --> 0:24:58.320 about you know Mary song, UM not gonna cry because 0:24:58.359 --> 0:25:01.680 he he felt like that was Mary was too young 0:25:01.760 --> 0:25:06.239