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Speaker 1: Yeah, story time with legendary Jerry. I am Jerry Clark

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Speaker 1: a k A d. Legendary Jerry, and I am truly,

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Speaker 1: truly man, truly excited to be sitting here with my brother,

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Speaker 1: my friend, colleague, one of Atlanta's one of Atlanta's really

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Speaker 1: unsung heroes. Man, I want everybody to give it up

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Speaker 1: for the incredible, amazing mister divine Stevens.

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Speaker 2: Tight Man.

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Speaker 1: With an introduction like that, Bro, I don't even know

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Speaker 1: not to say no, no, listen to Vine. Atlanta has

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Speaker 1: been the true driving force of the culture. And what

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Speaker 1: people don't know, but they're going to know after this

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Speaker 1: interview that we do today, is that you have been firmly,

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Speaker 1: firmly entrenched in everything from the beginning. Like people don't

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Speaker 1: know that when I say this all the time, outside

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Speaker 1: of the political regime of Maynard Jackson and everything that

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Speaker 1: happened post Civil rights, that the Face Records, Antonio La

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Speaker 1: Read and Babyface bringing a label here, that's that's what

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Speaker 1: really put Atlanta on a different trajectory of really running

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Speaker 1: this whole culture. And will the Face Records being here,

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Speaker 1: you the first fucking artist to be signed out.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, man, people don't know that you was the

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Speaker 2: first artist.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, all the other things people know about TLC, Tony

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Speaker 1: Braxton OUTCA, you was the first artist to be signed.

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Speaker 2: Man. Yeah, man, that's uh, how did all that come about? Oh?

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Speaker 1: Man? So I don't know how much time we got

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Speaker 1: to day, but we can get into it.

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Speaker 2: Let's let's right into a lot of shit. Yeah man.

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Speaker 1: So I think I want to take you a little

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Speaker 1: further back before the face because I'm going to show

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Speaker 1: you how we led up into that. I mean, so

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Speaker 1: growing up in Atlanta, there was a lot of before

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Speaker 1: the rapping, before the singing. You know, when breakdancing hit

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Speaker 1: and we was able to watch you know, Bach Street

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Speaker 1: break in and we was able to look at Crush

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Speaker 1: Groove at that moment that motivated that the culture because

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Speaker 1: Atlanta at some point was you know, chasing like New

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Speaker 1: York or chasing La just kind of things you may

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Speaker 1: have seen on television. But meanwhile that was going on.

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Speaker 1: That was a thing of underbelly thing that was growing.

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Speaker 1: And that was a group of guys by the name

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Speaker 1: of FDC that I was a part of, you know,

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Speaker 1: and this was like yeah man, and you know, some

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Speaker 1: people say, you know, what does that stand for? Well

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Speaker 1: it was Fresh Dance Crew. You know. Then for some

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Speaker 1: of the younger folks that at that time, it was

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Speaker 1: a female draws collective because we.

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Speaker 2: Went around just collected a collection player.

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Speaker 1: Because you know, everywhere we went it was like a frenzy,

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Speaker 1: like people would go crazy. We win every talent show

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Speaker 1: in Atlanta, south Fordton, Cob, you name it. We would

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Speaker 1: win every talent show and then we would take the

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Speaker 1: trophy and showcase and highlight at the skating rink at

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Speaker 1: jelly Beans on Sunday. So that's where you see jelly Beans. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: Landmark skating rink here in Atlanta. So that became the

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Speaker 1: melting pot for like all the kids from all over

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Speaker 1: got a chance to go to the skating rink. So

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Speaker 1: no matter what school you went to, if you went there,

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Speaker 1: you went to Maids, you went to doug even the

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Speaker 1: people from College Park end up going to jelly Beans.

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Speaker 1: So but when we came to jelly Beans, we the

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Speaker 1: superstars of the jelly Bean. So right around this time,

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Speaker 1: new addition is popping. You know, this is like early eighties,

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Speaker 1: So then that popped, then you start seeing FDC. So

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Speaker 1: it was kind of growing together, growing together. So this

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Speaker 1: group became so famous that we end up quitting doing

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Speaker 1: talent shows. We started doing lip syncs and then we

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Speaker 1: also start performing for Bruno Brothers. So I have to

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Speaker 1: give a big shout out to Brnner Brothers because Bronner

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Speaker 1: Brothers is who gave us our first break and also

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Speaker 1: let us model hair because back then we had the perms.

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Speaker 1: People didn't know why I was. They didn't know I

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Speaker 1: had to think aways, you know, they didn't know why

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Speaker 1: I was at the beauty supply store and the beauty

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Speaker 1: salon all but it was it was all a play

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Speaker 1: that was being set up because you start talking about

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Speaker 1: the culture of Atlanta, you start talking about fashion, you

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Speaker 1: start talking about the imagery, you start talking about staging,

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Speaker 1: you start all these things that played a role in

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Speaker 1: my life that creates this whole development thing. And it

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Speaker 1: started with these pieces. Started with Branner Brothers, started with

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Speaker 1: the nightlife. It started with us going to Charles Disco

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Speaker 1: and you know and watching you know, the contest of

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Speaker 1: the Mister Knockout Contest of the Nasty Girl. When those

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Speaker 1: listening this, this this nigga right here is this is real,

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Speaker 1: real Atlanta ship. I ain't even gonna say Old Atlanta.

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Speaker 1: This is real Atlanta ship and so I just want

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Speaker 1: to paint this picture because all these things is who

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Speaker 1: made it made me who I am today? Before the

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Speaker 1: Face got a chance to witness it, before La and

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Speaker 1: Babyface saw us, it was more like they was getting

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Speaker 1: this ball of fire that was already popular and blazing

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Speaker 1: in the city. It's kind of like how how you'll

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Speaker 1: see an artist that become uh like, right now we

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Speaker 1: in in in today's terms. They have all these streaming

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Speaker 1: numbers and that's the reason why you want to be

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Speaker 1: in business with them. Well, we already had the popularity.

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Speaker 1: We want the popularity contest way before La and Babyface came.

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Speaker 1: So end up, I'm gonna cut it short. End up

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Speaker 1: performing at Frozen Paradise on Old National, I went and

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Speaker 1: got a I went and got beats from Dallas Austin.

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Speaker 1: At the time, nobody knew who Dallas was. In this

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Speaker 1: dance group we used to make the show tapes. It

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Speaker 1: was Jermaine Dupree because he had all the records from

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Speaker 1: he used to be in New York.

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Speaker 2: So he's to dance with Houdini.

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Speaker 1: So we kind of like trade off a little bit,

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Speaker 1: you know, give him some moves or whatever. You know,

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Speaker 1: my man Anthony Francis, who was the leader of FDC,

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Speaker 1: spent a lot of time just you know, working with

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Speaker 1: Jamaine over there getting the records, making the show tapes.

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Speaker 1: And I would take Dallas songs instrumentals because you know,

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Speaker 1: we all went to high school together. And I went

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Speaker 1: to Raheem the Dream, and Raheem the Dream wrote me

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Speaker 1: a rap. So that's how I went from dancing to

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Speaker 1: rapping to your first record, ram Dream wrote. So Rahem

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Speaker 1: wrote the record, so I took down and put it together.

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Speaker 1: But even then, you know, I'm taking step back in

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Speaker 1: my high school days. Me and T Boss went to

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Speaker 1: high school together, and but T Boss was an apprentice

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Speaker 1: at Escape.

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Speaker 2: So the salon at the hair salons.

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Speaker 1: So big shout out to Carol because Carol was the

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Speaker 1: one that's doing that started doing all of the celebs

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Speaker 1: hair and t Bos used to shampoo my hair at

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Speaker 1: the at the spot, you know what I mean, at Carol's.

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Speaker 1: So that's how all of it kind of started. The

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Speaker 1: melting pot and that school.

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Speaker 2: Y'all hear this man.

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Speaker 1: Not to cut you off, but do y'all hear this man.

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Speaker 1: This is this is I'm gonna say it again. You're

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Speaker 1: talking about T Box shampoo in your hair. You're talking

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Speaker 1: about Raheem, the Dream Roach Traverse. You're talking again, beats

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Speaker 1: from Dallas Sauce and the JD Man.

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Speaker 2: This is this is.

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Speaker 1: That true ship of High Atlanta has been placed at

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Speaker 1: the forefront of this culture. It all started with all

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Speaker 1: this right here, correct from humble humble, humble beginners man.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely absolutely so. When you when you look at the story,

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Speaker 1: even in that time, it's like he was already popping.

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Speaker 1: I mean I used to go to school and I

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Speaker 1: show up to a talent show. When performed, I just

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Speaker 1: have ROTC with me. So I have like ROTC on

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Speaker 1: the left and the right, just so because the kids

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Speaker 1: were going crazy. That's how high school was for me.

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Speaker 1: And then I had a little brother in high school

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Speaker 1: that looked up to me.

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Speaker 2: He was like yo man.

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Speaker 1: And then when I first met this kid, I said,

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Speaker 1: that kid got something. This kid right here is talented.

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Speaker 1: But he became my little brother. And it was Rico

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Speaker 1: Wade of Hized Noise. And this is before Outcast. Actually,

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Speaker 1: when I signed to the face, I went back to

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Speaker 1: talk to Rico. And Rico worked at the beauty Supplos,

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Speaker 1: Dawn Heling and Delo, and he showcased outcasts for me

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Speaker 1: then and at the time, they you know, didn't really

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Speaker 1: have the identity. And I think they first song was

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Speaker 1: I even want a Benz or a Beamer, And I said, yo,

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Speaker 1: they sound like New York or something, you know. So

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Speaker 1: so Rico presented outcast to you in order to try

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Speaker 1: to take the face right. So I actually even took

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Speaker 1: I took Escape to the face before j D and

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Speaker 1: La passed on he passed on it. Yeah, yeah, so

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Speaker 1: I was always great, as great as an executive as

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Speaker 1: La is. I mean, you know, we ain't nobody. Nobody's

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Speaker 1: ears just perfect at the time. Plus we don't know

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Speaker 1: how that presentation was. So La passed on Ala at first, yeah,

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Speaker 1: even though they made history together later and he passed

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Speaker 1: on Escape.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: I mean sometimes when you when you you know, now

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Speaker 1: I'm an exec So I kind of I kind of

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Speaker 1: can see why you could pass on certain things. You know,

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Speaker 1: certain things have an acquired taste at the beginning, you

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Speaker 1: know what I mean, And the development of some things

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Speaker 1: is not what it is today that what it would

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Speaker 1: be tomorrow. You know, a lot of people passed on

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Speaker 1: a lot of great things, but for for you know,

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Speaker 1: for l A, I just think just being the the

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Speaker 1: pillow and the vessel, you know, to connect the dots.

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Speaker 1: I mean, what they was able to do was incredible.

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Speaker 1: But I have to go back and say performing at

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Speaker 1: Frozen Paradise, there was a young lady that was related

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Speaker 1: to Pebbles. Her name was Kimberly Smith. So Kimberly Smith

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Speaker 1: actually discovered me at Frozen Paradise and her mother and

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Speaker 1: father are named Zetra and Merle Smith. They was related

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Speaker 1: to George Smith, which was Pebble's first husband. So then

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Speaker 1: they actually she took me to a parents, her parents

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Speaker 1: took me to Pebbles, so Pebbles seen me first. Then

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Speaker 1: after that and we did the showcase. We flew to

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Speaker 1: LA and did a showcase for LA and Babyface and

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Speaker 1: ripped the studio down. LA said nothing to us. He

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Speaker 1: just got up and walked out, and I was like, okay,

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Speaker 1: what just happened?

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Speaker 2: I was like, man, this divine?

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Speaker 1: Now, this is divine in ninety miles per hour. So

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Speaker 1: I had them flipped it from yeah yeah, y'all go

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Speaker 1: back in YouTube flip jumping off remember that video. So

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Speaker 1: I flipped it from you know, after the dancing part,

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Speaker 1: the group kind of broke up. We was start getting

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Speaker 1: older kids start going to college because you know in

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Speaker 1: FTC that was real athletes and FDC. You know, so

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Speaker 1: when that dispersed, I end up getting with another group

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Speaker 1: of guys and created Divine Feature ninety miles per hour.

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Speaker 1: And the biggest break at that moment when I when

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Speaker 1: I really first really realized I was onto something big

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Speaker 1: and I was famous, is when I bust Bobby Brown

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Speaker 1: ass a sensation again. But when I bussed Bobby Brown

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Speaker 1: as a sensation, well when you say what dancing, Yeah, dancing.

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Speaker 1: He was like a battle, like a battle yeah, man.

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Speaker 1: Because so when Bobby come on the show, he gonna

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Speaker 1: say something different.

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Speaker 2: Was he gonna agree.

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Speaker 1: Divine Bobby gonna say something different? But everybody around Bobby

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Speaker 1: gonna bring him back to reality. You got that look

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Speaker 1: like yeah, yeah, years go, Yeah, that looked like yeah.

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Speaker 2: I got receipts.

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Speaker 1: So I don't know, I don't know how from early

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Speaker 1: nineties I got receipt from I got receipts from the eighties. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: this is real, this real true lobby story. It's not

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Speaker 1: it's so so barbricated as great as the dances Bible.

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Speaker 1: When he came to you, was like, not came to you,

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Speaker 1: but he was like, yeah, I hurd, no, no, no,

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Speaker 1: he ain't giving me no love at that moment, Like

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Speaker 1: he actually played me at that moment. So I get

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Speaker 1: him a paying a scene for you with club going up, sensation,

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Speaker 1: everybody there like you know, over on covering to highway,

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Speaker 1: coveting highway. This is my prerogative. Bobby Brown, he was

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Speaker 1: at this is in nineteen ninety Krim Krim.

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Speaker 2: Bobby Brown.

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Speaker 1: Oh, he was at the top of at the top

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Speaker 1: of his game, him and hard and soul, the whole club.

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Speaker 2: Go Bobby, go, Bobby.

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Speaker 1: Go, and Bobby just I mean he's getting it and yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean god. The only thing I'm saying is, man,

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Speaker 1: if I can just show Bobby one time what I

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Speaker 1: can watch, then maybe Bobby would let me go on tour.

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Speaker 1: Maybe I and be a part of his crew and

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Speaker 1: rock out with him. So after Bobby finished, I looked

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Speaker 1: at the DJ because I'm a hometown favorite. So the DJ,

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Speaker 1: he I looked at him. I said, yo, yo, Bobby

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Speaker 1: just finished drop it. He said, okay, got you. He

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Speaker 1: played that planet rock. The only thing you've seen was

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Speaker 1: the club going from side to side. I was about

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Speaker 1: to hit him with that yeek. So so when I

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Speaker 1: hit him with it, when I hit him with him

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Speaker 1: broke down, went to the floor, came back up, slid

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Speaker 1: over to right then and slid back to him, and

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Speaker 1: the whole club.

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Speaker 2: Went showed me up.

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Speaker 1: No, no, no, you know what he thought? What because

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Speaker 1: he understand the yeek, he says, yo, what was that? Oh,

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Speaker 1: that's some Atlanta ship n He said, hey man, these niggas,

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Speaker 1: sweet man.

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Speaker 2: What's all that? That's gay? That's what he said.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, he thought he thought we was gay because

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Speaker 1: we had the finger waves and the whole nine. And

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Speaker 1: then because of the dancing went like kind of you

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Speaker 1: know like that.

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Speaker 2: He was like, what kind of game? What kind of

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Speaker 2: gate shipped they on? Right? So then.

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Speaker 1: My man had to say, no, no, that's Atlanta. That's

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Speaker 1: the way they that's the way they rocked down. He's like, okay.

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Speaker 1: So I went to my man who owned the club.

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Speaker 1: I said, can I meet Bobby? You know? He was like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: let me take you out back. So I walk around

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Speaker 1: the back, all the people outside, Bobby getting in the

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Speaker 1: white Jaguar and I walked up to him, reached my

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Speaker 1: hand out and say, man, I just want to say

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Speaker 1: pleased to meet you. Bobby ain't shake my hand. He

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Speaker 1: just looked at me and said.

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Speaker 2: That was cute. Oh I said that was cute. He

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Speaker 2: was like, yeah, that was cute and then kept taking pictures.

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Speaker 1: That was my person. Yeah, So no Bobby Brown. So

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Speaker 1: I get a call the next day, I think, and

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Speaker 1: Marvin McIntyre and Jeff I think Jeff, Jeff his security guard.

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Speaker 1: I got invited down to Chester Studio in chester Bridge

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Speaker 1: and they said he man, this is the kid that

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Speaker 1: that showed Bobby Brown out And they was like what.

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Speaker 1: So then I got a chance at that moment to

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Speaker 1: kind of open up. But you got to think. Even

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Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety I started my artistry and then I

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Speaker 1: started developing talent. So then I started talking to Brooke Payne,

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Speaker 1: I was and Michael Business. So I was working on

285
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Speaker 1: Boys the Men. I did Boys the Men. I developed

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Speaker 1: Boys the Men in my garage along with another bad creation.

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Speaker 1: So Kevin Wells was the manager. But when it came

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Speaker 1: down to all of the dancing and all of that stuff,

289
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Speaker 1: that was me. Me even helping Kevin with ABC back then,

290
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Speaker 1: so they will all come. If Dallas produced the music,

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Speaker 1: they send me the artists to develop and with that,

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Speaker 1: you know, it kind of helped with whether the artists

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Speaker 1: fit in the marketplace. So that was the kind of

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Speaker 1: set up that we had. Dallas would do the music

295
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Speaker 1: and I would do the development. So that's why you see,

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Speaker 1: if Dallas did TLC, I did today say yeah, if

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Speaker 1: Dallas did Monica, I did Monica.

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Speaker 2: If Dallas a partnership with.

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Speaker 1: So it wasn't a partnership, it was just it was

300
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Speaker 1: a brotherhood. It was a brotherhood of talent. Because at

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Speaker 1: the time, I think, you know, before Dallas, I introduced

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Speaker 1: Dallas to La and Babyface did. He did the deal

303
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Speaker 1: over there with Highland placed mobsters, and he had his

304
00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:30,920
Speaker 1: artists over the Face at the beginning, right after you,

305
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Speaker 1: right right after.

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Speaker 2: Right after that.

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Speaker 1: But at the beginning, he was still signed to George Irvin.

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Speaker 2: HM. You know.

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Speaker 1: So then they worked them out of that situation into

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Speaker 1: the La Face situation. But this I'm I'm before all

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Speaker 1: of all.

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Speaker 2: Of that.

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Speaker 1: Now, you know, jumping into the artist development. I knew

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Speaker 1: how big you were, and I knew a lot of

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Speaker 1: the artists that you had placed your hands on and

316
00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:11,639
Speaker 1: developed them into superstar superstars. But I don't know if

317
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Speaker 1: you remember this. I'm sure you do. Mary J was

318
00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:17,199
Speaker 1: at chas Stain and she brought you up. And when

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Speaker 1: I tell you, man, she gave you your fucking flowers

320
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Speaker 1: divine And that's when I mean, I knew. But it

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00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:26,200
Speaker 1: really hit me on the importance of you and having

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Speaker 1: your hands on these artists, man, and taking them from

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Speaker 1: that embryo stage to superstar status. Man, she brought you

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Speaker 1: when Mary J brought you on that stage Chastain and

325
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Speaker 1: was like, this, dude, right here is the reason I'm

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Speaker 1: Mary J.

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Speaker 2: Blick.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Mary always had a beautiful soul and she never

329
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Speaker 1: mind sharing the light. So yeah, I was really grateful

330
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Speaker 1: for that moment in time.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, But I I'll tell you how the story went.

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Speaker 1: When I once I got all of Atlanta, I said,

334
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Speaker 1: I had the chance to work We'll probably like probably

335
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Speaker 1: eighty percent of urban pop culture that came out of Atlanta,

336
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Speaker 1: and then I kind of graduated from there and then

337
00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:08,400
Speaker 1: that gave me I think Puffy I did a deal

338
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Speaker 1: with La Reid?

339
00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:12,040
Speaker 2: What did deal deal with La Reid?

340
00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:15,840
Speaker 1: The he was ep over the first Usher Pro Project

341
00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:18,560
Speaker 1: Usher and did some videos or whatever. So he was

342
00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:22,399
Speaker 1: kind of like, you know, moving around in Atlanta at

343
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Speaker 1: the time. So once I connected with Puff, that got

344
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Speaker 1: me Mary. I end up doing heavy d you know,

345
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Speaker 1: rest in peace have I end up doing whole I

346
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Speaker 1: did the Hard Knock Life Tour, I got all of

347
00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:41,240
Speaker 1: New York, I got everything that was more came through Puff.

348
00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:43,680
Speaker 1: It came through Puff. So yeah, so Puff opened the

349
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Speaker 1: doors for New York. And then I graduated from there,

350
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Speaker 1: and then I got to Clive. Then I got a

351
00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:51,919
Speaker 1: chance to do Whitney, Houston, Carlos, Santana in terms of

352
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Speaker 1: just maybe it made have been music videos or a

353
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Speaker 1: television show or a war performance or any any kind

354
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Speaker 1: of way that they seemed fifty use my talent in

355
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Speaker 1: whatever capacity I was able to get all the way

356
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Speaker 1: to Clive. Now, once I realized I had probably did

357
00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,800
Speaker 1: over a billion dollars in billing. In terms of developing talent,

358
00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:12,640
Speaker 1: I might have had about two million at the time,

359
00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:15,200
Speaker 1: and I kept saying, these numbers ain't right, you know what.

360
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Speaker 2: I mean, said adding up.

361
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Speaker 1: But what was cool about all of that was putting

362
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Speaker 1: in that work and building that catalog The one person

363
00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:31,600
Speaker 1: that reached back and set up a meeting for me

364
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Speaker 1: was Monica. Monica arranged the meeting for me. Yeah, Monica,

365
00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:44,720
Speaker 1: I love Monica set up a meeting, uh with me

366
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Speaker 1: and Clive Davis. And this was, as you know, for

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Speaker 1: me to present myself as an exec as a businessman,

368
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Speaker 1: not as not just as an artist to development.

369
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Speaker 2: Right.

370
00:19:56,280 --> 00:20:00,639
Speaker 1: So you know, I took that meeting with Clive and

371
00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:02,840
Speaker 1: I learned a lot in the meeting. And it was

372
00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:06,120
Speaker 1: funny because one of the executives that was there who

373
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Speaker 1: was arranging it setting up was a guy by the

374
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Speaker 1: name of Ron Gilliard. And Ron Gilliard was the history

375
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Speaker 1: of Ron Gilly. He used to manage Damien Hall. So

376
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Speaker 1: uh yeah, so I forgot about that. I got to

377
00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:22,520
Speaker 1: go back to that because I end up I ended

378
00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,400
Speaker 1: up moving to Virginia working with Teddy Riley as well.

379
00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:30,840
Speaker 1: When I mean Teddy Hot, when Teddy was on Focker Hot. Yeah,

380
00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:33,600
Speaker 1: so I end up doing Black Street Guy. I ended

381
00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:38,040
Speaker 1: up working on everything Teddy was working on. You didn't

382
00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:42,439
Speaker 1: developed a lot of the fucking you turned a lot

383
00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,080
Speaker 1: of folks into Superstar. Yeah, it's been, It's been an

384
00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:50,200
Speaker 1: incredible run. And then but Ron Gilliard when he brought

385
00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:52,359
Speaker 1: me Damien Hall, It's like, Damon's going to be an

386
00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:54,359
Speaker 1: artist now. I was like, okay. He wrote me a

387
00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:57,280
Speaker 1: check for two hundred dollars. I thought that was the

388
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Speaker 1: biggest thing at the time, you know, and I said

389
00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,520
Speaker 1: not it was two hundred dollars and I say, okay, man.

390
00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:04,040
Speaker 1: He said, you know, Damon don't really have no budget,

391
00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:06,359
Speaker 1: but we don't start. I said, listen, Ron, it's cool.

392
00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:10,119
Speaker 1: So then flip it fast forward. Ron become an executive

393
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:14,000
Speaker 1: at Arista, and then Ron was like, yo, I gotcham

394
00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:17,119
Speaker 1: set this up with Clive. So I said, not a problem, boom,

395
00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:21,720
Speaker 1: So get there, Clive. I play my music. This is

396
00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:27,320
Speaker 1: when I become a record exec. I play my music

397
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Speaker 1: that I have created in my basement.

398
00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:31,080
Speaker 2: Right.

399
00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:33,920
Speaker 1: So in that batch of music was an artist by

400
00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:39,520
Speaker 1: the name of mister Rogers on the Grady Babies, and

401
00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:43,639
Speaker 1: Akon is in that batch of music, right, So I play,

402
00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:46,200
Speaker 1: I play what I have and it's done in my basement.

403
00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,800
Speaker 1: And he really don't say anything. He just let me

404
00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:52,000
Speaker 1: play my music. Then he stops and he asked me

405
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,000
Speaker 1: that I want to listen to something. So then he

406
00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:56,159
Speaker 1: started playing me all his music, the artists that he

407
00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:59,160
Speaker 1: signed at the time, and I'm listening to new Angie

408
00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:04,280
Speaker 1: Stone and but his music it is done at the

409
00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:10,720
Speaker 1: at the Hit Factory. The quality of the music mine

410
00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:12,800
Speaker 1: sounded like it was on a Fisher Price.

411
00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:18,600
Speaker 2: Mix, no mix, no nothing.

412
00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:24,639
Speaker 1: Not understanding the quality of sound, and not understanding frequencies,

413
00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:30,439
Speaker 1: not understanding anything. And he said, unfortunately, Divine, it doesn't

414
00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:35,320
Speaker 1: have you know anything better than you know what I'm

415
00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:42,240
Speaker 1: already creating. But uh uh, would you consider working with

416
00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:45,760
Speaker 1: me on some of my other talent? And I looked

417
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:48,680
Speaker 1: at him and I said, you know, I'm really trying

418
00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:50,560
Speaker 1: to digest what he's saying, but I'm disappointed.

419
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:54,119
Speaker 2: But I like, but I get it.

420
00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:57,119
Speaker 1: I stepped up to the plate not really prepared, not

421
00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:59,919
Speaker 1: even knowing what to expect. It's almost kind of like,

422
00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,480
Speaker 1: you know, let me just take the learning experience. But

423
00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:05,359
Speaker 1: at the same time, I'm gonna walk away with something.

424
00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:07,800
Speaker 1: So I walked away with yeah, yeah, I'll help you

425
00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:10,880
Speaker 1: with whatever you need me to do, sir, but whatever

426
00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:12,919
Speaker 1: that is, I'll help you with. So that's how I

427
00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:16,040
Speaker 1: end up doing Whitney Houston and a Colos Santana and

428
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:20,439
Speaker 1: those things. But After doing all of that, I learned

429
00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:23,920
Speaker 1: something from that moment was let me go back and

430
00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:25,960
Speaker 1: fix the quality of my music.

431
00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:27,240
Speaker 2: Let me fix the sound.

432
00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:30,720
Speaker 1: And a lot of the artists didn't really know a

433
00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:32,679
Speaker 1: lot of times when I was shopping the music and

434
00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:35,879
Speaker 1: was getting no buzz and it wasn't biting because at

435
00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:38,520
Speaker 1: the same time, I was learning how it really works.

436
00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:41,600
Speaker 1: Because if you go in a meeting with Jimmy Iveen

437
00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:44,400
Speaker 1: and you got to play music, you're not understanding that

438
00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:46,840
Speaker 1: before that meeting, before you got there, Jimmy already don't

439
00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:47,600
Speaker 1: listen to Doctor Dre.

440
00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:51,840
Speaker 2: You can't compete with you coming there with lesser quality. Shit.

441
00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:55,400
Speaker 1: Well yeah, but you you don't know that when you're

442
00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:59,040
Speaker 1: young and you in the game. But I was able

443
00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,240
Speaker 1: to get in those doors, so I was able to

444
00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:05,919
Speaker 1: now really respect Let me go back and listen to

445
00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:08,680
Speaker 1: Teddy's music differently, let me go back and listen to

446
00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,840
Speaker 1: La and baby Face music differently. So once I got

447
00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:13,280
Speaker 1: a chance to do all of that, I had the

448
00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:17,560
Speaker 1: cheat code, so I start fixing everything. I was, you know,

449
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,840
Speaker 1: moving around, but I was already in everybody's house. Yeah,

450
00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:25,160
Speaker 1: So it was maybe a six to seven year process

451
00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:29,199
Speaker 1: of developing my own talent, trying to get them up

452
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:33,000
Speaker 1: to the standard where I can walk it in and

453
00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:36,560
Speaker 1: it can be received. Who over the years of you

454
00:24:38,119 --> 00:24:42,480
Speaker 1: developing artists, who was the most difficult artist to work with?

455
00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:43,959
Speaker 2: Well, I wouldn't.

456
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:48,080
Speaker 1: I don't have that problem because I think everybody develops

457
00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:51,080
Speaker 1: in a certain kind of pace and it all depends.

458
00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:52,520
Speaker 2: On what they maybe maybe difficult.

459
00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:54,960
Speaker 1: Who was the most challenging from the beginning that wind

460
00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:58,719
Speaker 1: up being challenging at the beginning that you saw at

461
00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:01,240
Speaker 1: the end, like look at this, I would have to

462
00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:04,400
Speaker 1: say one twelve really, And the reason why I say

463
00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:09,840
Speaker 1: that is because you know the prereference man, they don't

464
00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:12,119
Speaker 1: really they don't do this, man, But you know, if

465
00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:14,320
Speaker 1: you can get anything out of them, you know, you know,

466
00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:16,000
Speaker 1: just le's see if we can find a groove. And

467
00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:18,000
Speaker 1: I said, I tell you what. And the reason why

468
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,960
Speaker 1: I said, I don't have that problem because every suit

469
00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:25,520
Speaker 1: is designed different. I'm gonna make it fit them versus

470
00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:28,439
Speaker 1: the versus what you think it should look like. So

471
00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:30,080
Speaker 1: what I do is go in and pull the best

472
00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:32,280
Speaker 1: out of the artists. I don't have to go in

473
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:34,399
Speaker 1: there and say, let me give you me. That's like

474
00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:40,040
Speaker 1: when I put on a puffy presentation, and Puffy got

475
00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:44,240
Speaker 1: a bop. Puffy ain't the Michael Jackson dance of the world.

476
00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:46,600
Speaker 1: Puffy got a groove. So I have to find a

477
00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,119
Speaker 1: groove that's in Puffy. I don't go in there and say,

478
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,720
Speaker 1: let me put Michael Jackson's type steps on Puffy right.

479
00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,080
Speaker 1: He ain't gonna get it right, so and he'll be

480
00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:56,800
Speaker 1: in there struggling all day trying to learn that. So

481
00:25:56,840 --> 00:25:59,960
Speaker 1: I find the nugget that's in you and polish that up.

482
00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:04,359
Speaker 1: I don't have to create something from the ground up.

483
00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:06,879
Speaker 1: So with one twelve, it was more like trying to

484
00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,640
Speaker 1: find a lane and an identity. So I was able

485
00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:13,680
Speaker 1: to do that. And they said Dorn can't dance at all.

486
00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,880
Speaker 1: He has two left feet. And I said, I said, no, no, no,

487
00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:18,440
Speaker 1: I asked Arn when I first seen him. I said,

488
00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:20,359
Speaker 1: I'm gonna play this song and I just want you

489
00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:22,520
Speaker 1: to walk from this side of the room to that

490
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:28,400
Speaker 1: side of the room on beat. What do you mean,

491
00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:30,520
Speaker 1: I said, I'm playing, Just walk across.

492
00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:31,480
Speaker 2: I walked.

493
00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:33,679
Speaker 1: He walked right on the beat, He walked right on rhythm.

494
00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:35,480
Speaker 1: I said, I gotta go.

495
00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:36,320
Speaker 2: Not a problem.

496
00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:38,200
Speaker 1: Here we go. This is how we're tapping in. We

497
00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:42,680
Speaker 1: tapping in this way. And then he worked the hardest,

498
00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:46,040
Speaker 1: he put in more hours. So that's how I was

499
00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:47,840
Speaker 1: able to get when I got out of one twelve

500
00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:51,440
Speaker 1: and even to this day, right now, they're still performing

501
00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:55,320
Speaker 1: the same, the same I went to a bad boy.

502
00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:57,760
Speaker 2: I just saw Q Park performed the other day.

503
00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:01,320
Speaker 1: He's doing the same thing that I gave him and

504
00:27:01,359 --> 00:27:02,840
Speaker 1: his show.

505
00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:05,399
Speaker 2: This show is great, Yeah, it's awesome.

506
00:27:05,440 --> 00:27:07,160
Speaker 1: But when you first got them boys, when they when

507
00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:10,160
Speaker 1: they walked in man puffs say here, no, but let's

508
00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:12,600
Speaker 1: go back. Michael Bimins call and said he wanted boys

509
00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:15,640
Speaker 1: to men. They was like commission. They wasn't standing around

510
00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:18,920
Speaker 1: just do wopping. He was cool with that, and I said,

511
00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:20,480
Speaker 1: and I'll give you a minute. I'm gonna fix this

512
00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:22,720
Speaker 1: and I'll come back to you. So me and my

513
00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,280
Speaker 1: guys went to work individually on each one of them,

514
00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:28,240
Speaker 1: and then that's when you see Motown Philly now now

515
00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:31,679
Speaker 1: their household. They became the biggest boy band, the biggest

516
00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:34,280
Speaker 1: boy band in the history and againness book of war Rickords.

517
00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:39,040
Speaker 1: So I have the number one boy band and number

518
00:27:39,119 --> 00:27:43,919
Speaker 1: one and two girl group from Destiny Child and TLC

519
00:27:45,119 --> 00:27:47,320
Speaker 1: and the biggest groups in the world. And then you

520
00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:48,920
Speaker 1: hear this right here, man, And if you want to

521
00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:52,880
Speaker 1: talk about this is this is divine Stevens.

522
00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:54,399
Speaker 2: Say that again. Man, I need I need you to

523
00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:55,880
Speaker 2: pat that the.

524
00:27:55,920 --> 00:28:01,720
Speaker 1: Number one develop artists that I developed, number one boy

525
00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:05,560
Speaker 1: band which is Boys to Men, number one two and

526
00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:12,880
Speaker 1: number one and two girl groups Destiny Child TLC right,

527
00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:19,800
Speaker 1: all came through the vine, steven And not only that,

528
00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:23,520
Speaker 1: So then we can fast forward that too. So the

529
00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:26,560
Speaker 1: number one rap album in the world, that's what we

530
00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:28,440
Speaker 1: let's let's get into it. Let's get into the number

531
00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:33,440
Speaker 1: one so then you can say, Rico, my little brother

532
00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:40,160
Speaker 1: the conversation, what about the biggest international and then I

533
00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:44,000
Speaker 1: created the biggest international pop star that started the African

534
00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:48,440
Speaker 1: movement that when they told me so being African. So

535
00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:51,280
Speaker 1: let's jump into that perfect segway. So you mentioned a

536
00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:55,800
Speaker 1: minute ago that a coon was in the group. Uh,

537
00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:58,400
Speaker 1: what's what's the group that he was in? A coon

538
00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:02,920
Speaker 1: was part of the refugee camp with why class. No,

539
00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,160
Speaker 1: you just mentioned when you took the project to Clive

540
00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:07,800
Speaker 1: Davis day. When I took that project, he was in,

541
00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:09,920
Speaker 1: he was a part of He wasn't in the group.

542
00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:13,080
Speaker 1: He was just a part of my production company at

543
00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:15,320
Speaker 1: the time when I had just three year I had

544
00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:17,480
Speaker 1: multiple artists and me and you must have met it

545
00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:19,560
Speaker 1: because when I first met Cohn, it was out of

546
00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:22,400
Speaker 1: Ali Cat's house when he was in school going to

547
00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:26,160
Speaker 1: hoop Okay, so that's when I met him. Okay, So

548
00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:28,200
Speaker 1: me and you had you were around then back at

549
00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:30,920
Speaker 1: the beginning beginning of Akon, at the very beginning, I've

550
00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:33,240
Speaker 1: been around the whole time I've been around before he

551
00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:36,800
Speaker 1: even signed to lecture as a solo artist. See the

552
00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:39,640
Speaker 1: whole time I've been around, But he wasn't actually really

553
00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:43,920
Speaker 1: signed to me, so I didn't find a Kon. Little

554
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,920
Speaker 1: Zaane brought Akon to me, and then Akon start coming

555
00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:51,920
Speaker 1: around me. Men ACoM became friends before I actually said

556
00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:55,880
Speaker 1: I would sign him more investment in his career. He

557
00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,760
Speaker 1: would ask me questions about the business. He came to

558
00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:01,800
Speaker 1: my spot because when he came there, he saw us

559
00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:03,920
Speaker 1: you're going out. He saw a pink leaving out, he

560
00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:06,160
Speaker 1: saw a TLC leaving He was like, who is this guy?

561
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:09,000
Speaker 1: He got all these people, so he wanted to know

562
00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:10,920
Speaker 1: me because he wanted to be a part of that

563
00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:14,040
Speaker 1: m So that's how I met Acon.

564
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,800
Speaker 2: It wasn't. I wasn't. Y'all made a lot of great

565
00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,120
Speaker 2: history together. Yeah. Yeah, we made a lot of hit records.

566
00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:22,040
Speaker 1: We made a lot of hit pim tight and you know,

567
00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:25,280
Speaker 1: I've seen and talked to akon a million times and

568
00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:28,760
Speaker 1: of course you know, it just it hurts me, man,

569
00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:31,960
Speaker 1: to see in the media man with y'all, you know,

570
00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:35,920
Speaker 1: having this rift, especially over some bread man. Oh man,

571
00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:38,280
Speaker 1: I mean, I think it's a kid man. I think

572
00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:40,680
Speaker 1: it's a kit for all culture. I think, you know,

573
00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:43,640
Speaker 1: I think a lot of us feeling that success. I

574
00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:46,400
Speaker 1: don't think it's because y'all chemistry man as a team man,

575
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:48,880
Speaker 1: like I like over the years of me working with

576
00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:52,880
Speaker 1: with Steve Rifkin at SRC and me working the well,

577
00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:54,880
Speaker 1: I won't say the first record, but belly Dancing, you know.

578
00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:55,360
Speaker 2: I love that.

579
00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:57,280
Speaker 1: That was the first one. Oh okay, yeah, I worked

580
00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:01,040
Speaker 1: that record. So I always, you know, admire y'all chemistry man,

581
00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:04,640
Speaker 1: personally and professionally. So to see it come to the

582
00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:07,600
Speaker 1: point where you know, it's shit being said in the

583
00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:09,560
Speaker 1: media and y'all got to go to court, Man, that

584
00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:12,320
Speaker 1: shit hurt me. Dog, Yeah, I mean hurt. It's a

585
00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:15,760
Speaker 1: painful thing. But I think for the most part, it's

586
00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:20,920
Speaker 1: just been an incredible learning experience because this is Acon

587
00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:24,800
Speaker 1: and my first time around the track, you know, and experience.

588
00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:28,440
Speaker 1: In that magnitude of success and money, a lot of

589
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,120
Speaker 1: things came to play, and a lot of people came

590
00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:34,280
Speaker 1: to play, and a lot of dividing came to play.

591
00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:37,360
Speaker 1: But the cancer, like you know, it starts from the inside.

592
00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:42,480
Speaker 1: So a lot of jealousy, envy jumped off from the inside.

593
00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:45,080
Speaker 1: And it's not just in my house. It's in other

594
00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:48,560
Speaker 1: people houses too. You know, it happens in a lot

595
00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:50,640
Speaker 1: of artists. You know, when we go back and we

596
00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:53,360
Speaker 1: look at the story, I just thought me and Acona

597
00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:59,480
Speaker 1: treated differently because I already had the answer, already seen

598
00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:02,200
Speaker 1: this are ready. I've been around Teddy Riley, Jean Griffin.

599
00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:04,200
Speaker 1: I've been around La and.

600
00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:10,200
Speaker 2: Babyface and Pebbles and go down that same road.

601
00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:15,240
Speaker 1: I saw success. I had success already. I can show

602
00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:18,280
Speaker 1: you how this is divided. I've been with Usher and

603
00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:24,000
Speaker 1: Janetta Patton. Janetta Patten says, I've been with Matthew Knows

604
00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:27,640
Speaker 1: and Beyonce. I've seen this. I even seen Michael Jackson

605
00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:28,640
Speaker 1: and Joe Jackson.

606
00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:31,240
Speaker 2: We know the game.

607
00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:34,200
Speaker 1: We've seen this happen. So at the end of the day,

608
00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:37,960
Speaker 1: when you allow money.

609
00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:40,640
Speaker 2: To dictate.

610
00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:45,320
Speaker 1: How this really works, then that's when you know you've

611
00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:49,800
Speaker 1: been captured. And my whole thing is I have to

612
00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:52,000
Speaker 1: pray for my brother at this point because he's captured

613
00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:56,520
Speaker 1: and he doesn't understand the game. He thinking that, you know,

614
00:32:57,080 --> 00:32:59,520
Speaker 1: we're gonna run off with the money and go to Africa.

615
00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:04,480
Speaker 1: And what I'm saying to you is, we ain't from Africa.

616
00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:08,040
Speaker 1: Now we can go back into history and you can

617
00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:10,880
Speaker 1: say whatever, I'm from College Park, Georgia, and Nigga'm from

618
00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:14,240
Speaker 1: now ancestors and all that, we can talk about that,

619
00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:22,040
Speaker 1: but nigga, I'm from Atlanta and you from Saint Louis

620
00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:28,800
Speaker 1: by Way, New Jersey to Atlanta. Pem tight, At what

621
00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:31,120
Speaker 1: point what dollar am I did to get with? Y'all

622
00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:32,640
Speaker 1: had to go to court? He was like, all right, man,

623
00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:36,560
Speaker 1: it's like, come on, my nigga, Like was it millions?

624
00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:39,320
Speaker 1: I'm sure, but like they had to take this ship

625
00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:42,440
Speaker 1: to court and where did where how did this all

626
00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:43,000
Speaker 1: build up?

627
00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:44,480
Speaker 2: Where was it?

628
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,360
Speaker 1: I mean, because y'all were your business partners. Yeah, well

629
00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:50,040
Speaker 1: you became artists. You know, you grew in the situation

630
00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:52,880
Speaker 1: he was signing me as an artist, and then you know,

631
00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:56,360
Speaker 1: you graduate, so you know, you become an artist, then

632
00:33:56,400 --> 00:34:01,520
Speaker 1: you become you know, a business, business partner, you know

633
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:04,120
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, and then you become a leader. And

634
00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,160
Speaker 1: all of that was still the tuolage and the knowledge

635
00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:09,560
Speaker 1: that I would give him along the way. So at

636
00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:13,520
Speaker 1: the end of the day, you can't stop. It's sometimes

637
00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:18,600
Speaker 1: just the outside influences that come in that separates it,

638
00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:23,160
Speaker 1: because everybody got away. You can get somewhere faster, and

639
00:34:23,239 --> 00:34:26,279
Speaker 1: if you're the kind of person that assessive and you

640
00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:28,680
Speaker 1: want to get there fast and you don't want to

641
00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:31,719
Speaker 1: take your time to get there, then you're subject to

642
00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:35,320
Speaker 1: listen to whatever somebody tell you before you do the

643
00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:36,920
Speaker 1: due diligence on the business.

644
00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:38,640
Speaker 2: So when it comes to.

645
00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:43,840
Speaker 1: The whole universal and the whole aspect of it, it

646
00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:47,880
Speaker 1: was a lot of divide and conquer because of the money.

647
00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:52,400
Speaker 1: Everybody's trying to find a position. Whoever think that the

648
00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:56,440
Speaker 1: artist is the business, they get closer to the artists.

649
00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:59,080
Speaker 1: So the whole time they was trying to push me out. Anyway,

650
00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:02,800
Speaker 1: you're trying to take something that I think Akon is

651
00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:04,920
Speaker 1: trying to push you out of it, like it outside it.

652
00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:07,400
Speaker 2: And his ears.

653
00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:12,160
Speaker 1: And my point is he just fell for the trick.

654
00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:17,680
Speaker 1: It's a trick because it ain't about the money right now.

655
00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:20,120
Speaker 1: What we're planning for right now is if we build

656
00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:23,640
Speaker 1: a catalog together, we build history together. Let's say that's

657
00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:26,160
Speaker 1: a whole African movement going on that he's not running,

658
00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:30,120
Speaker 1: but he's the first. He had his finger on the

659
00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:33,759
Speaker 1: post of that. But when people see, when they see

660
00:35:33,800 --> 00:35:36,120
Speaker 1: the business, they see the model, they able to divide it.

661
00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:39,560
Speaker 1: So the best thing to do, let's divide how it starts.

662
00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:41,360
Speaker 1: So it's going to start with me and him, So

663
00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:44,760
Speaker 1: let's push divine over to the side. Now we got Akon,

664
00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:47,399
Speaker 1: we got it. We just con Yeah, but they don't

665
00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:50,000
Speaker 1: know what make Acon tick. They don't understand how to

666
00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:52,120
Speaker 1: pull the best out of Acon. It's not about pulling

667
00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:56,279
Speaker 1: the best out of Akon. Akon don't even I mean

668
00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:59,080
Speaker 1: as an art itinerary and trying to follow on our itenerary.

669
00:35:59,080 --> 00:36:01,480
Speaker 1: They don't even understand how that works for him. So

670
00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:05,800
Speaker 1: let alone the security God becomes the manager at the

671
00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:08,560
Speaker 1: end of the day, because he's the one that's there

672
00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:13,520
Speaker 1: the most. It happens in every situation. Let's take your

673
00:36:13,719 --> 00:36:18,359
Speaker 1: night for instance, security guard. Just because he was there,

674
00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:23,120
Speaker 1: he becomes the manager. It happens in everybody house and

675
00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:27,200
Speaker 1: not just in minds. The divide and Conker has always

676
00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:31,520
Speaker 1: been the number one thing when people become successful, because

677
00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:32,680
Speaker 1: people are insecure.

678
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:35,000
Speaker 2: Did you get the money though?

679
00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:39,640
Speaker 1: That that I made a lot of money and a

680
00:36:39,719 --> 00:36:42,239
Speaker 1: lot of money was stolen and then a lot of

681
00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:45,520
Speaker 1: money how much money you think was stolen? We talking

682
00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:47,040
Speaker 1: millions of millions and millions of dollars.

683
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:49,600
Speaker 2: So but at the end of the day, did you

684
00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:51,120
Speaker 2: get that back from court? Divine?

685
00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:56,040
Speaker 1: I haven't gotten my money yet. I'm still in court

686
00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:59,640
Speaker 1: and certain things I can't. I thought y'all settled out

687
00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:00,280
Speaker 1: and everything.

688
00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:02,400
Speaker 2: We're still we're still in court.

689
00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:07,279
Speaker 1: Damn, pimp tight. But but you know, at the end

690
00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:09,080
Speaker 1: of the day, we're gonna pray for my brother because

691
00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:11,960
Speaker 1: so you know coming it ain't no divine to Akon

692
00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:13,960
Speaker 1: coming back together because y'all was a dream team. Man.

693
00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:16,520
Speaker 1: I mean, it's not even it's not even a coming

694
00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:22,800
Speaker 1: together because it's like I would always love Akon, but

695
00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:26,360
Speaker 1: I think Acon has grew up I don't know. I

696
00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:29,799
Speaker 1: don't know Acon. I don't know this Akon. I never

697
00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:31,960
Speaker 1: met that Acon. We all gonna grow up, we all

698
00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:34,680
Speaker 1: gonna turn into something. You know, as you get older

699
00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:37,239
Speaker 1: and you mature, how you handle success, it's gonna be

700
00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:39,920
Speaker 1: probably totally different than the way I handle success. So

701
00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:42,920
Speaker 1: I don't know this Acon. I have to reintroduce myself,

702
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:45,520
Speaker 1: re meet this guy, re meet the people around them

703
00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:48,000
Speaker 1: to even know that that isn't something that my spirit

704
00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:50,600
Speaker 1: will allow me to even be a part of. I'm

705
00:37:50,680 --> 00:37:52,560
Speaker 1: in a different space in my life, you know what

706
00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:55,960
Speaker 1: I'm saying. So I don't know if that works for me.

707
00:37:56,640 --> 00:37:58,520
Speaker 1: But at the end of the day, it's always been

708
00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:01,160
Speaker 1: my brother. You want that bread, Well, now I want

709
00:38:01,239 --> 00:38:04,040
Speaker 1: business to be resolved, and we're gonna always make money.

710
00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:06,920
Speaker 1: I just think, I just think the debt of what

711
00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:10,759
Speaker 1: happened has to be cleared up because there's a lot

712
00:38:10,800 --> 00:38:13,319
Speaker 1: of people that play the role and there's a lot

713
00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:18,160
Speaker 1: of people that it's still all money, So that has

714
00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:18,880
Speaker 1: to be taken care of.

715
00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:20,960
Speaker 2: Him had a talk like a man. The man have

716
00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:22,879
Speaker 2: y'all got on the phone. It cost the talk.

717
00:38:23,080 --> 00:38:24,640
Speaker 1: It costs the talk. I could tell you the last

718
00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:27,480
Speaker 1: conversation we had. We're close to twenty thousand dollars.

719
00:38:27,880 --> 00:38:29,880
Speaker 2: It costs the talk. We can't just it's not a

720
00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:30,880
Speaker 2: phone call. It's not that.

721
00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:33,319
Speaker 1: It's people and you know you got to call this person.

722
00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:35,400
Speaker 1: To call this person, then we have to have mediation.

723
00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:40,280
Speaker 1: It's not it's not a pick up the phone. I'm blocked.

724
00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:41,680
Speaker 1: I'm blocked.

725
00:38:41,719 --> 00:38:44,040
Speaker 2: If I call this right now, you can call.

726
00:38:44,040 --> 00:38:46,280
Speaker 1: Him, but I call him, it's gonna go straight to voicemail.

727
00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:51,279
Speaker 2: It's blocked. I'm blocked on. I'm blocked on the IG None.

728
00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:52,120
Speaker 2: I'm blocked on IG.

729
00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:54,480
Speaker 1: I'm blocked on. I can't call this phone. I can't

730
00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:56,040
Speaker 1: even call his sister phone. I'm blocked on there to.

731
00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:58,560
Speaker 1: I can't call Boo. I'm blocked on there too. And

732
00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:02,400
Speaker 1: these are people that I bred life into. These are

733
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:04,640
Speaker 1: the people had zero dollars. These are people that I

734
00:39:04,719 --> 00:39:08,080
Speaker 1: bought vehicles and provide a shelter. But at the end

735
00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:12,680
Speaker 1: of the day, I won't even say it's all them.

736
00:39:13,280 --> 00:39:17,680
Speaker 1: I'll just say that sometimes the business can turn you

737
00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:24,839
Speaker 1: into this, and it ain't just happened in my house. Yeah,

738
00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:27,120
Speaker 1: it's a part of the business that you hate. But

739
00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:31,680
Speaker 1: for me, I just learned from it. It's it's a lesson.

740
00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:36,240
Speaker 2: I'm not bitter. I'm not I'm not I'm still moving.

741
00:39:36,640 --> 00:39:38,000
Speaker 2: God is still doing.

742
00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:43,279
Speaker 1: And for my brothers and them, you know, we we

743
00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:46,160
Speaker 1: we pray for that, you know, we pray that, you know,

744
00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:49,880
Speaker 1: somewhere along the line, that God deliver him. You know

745
00:39:49,920 --> 00:39:53,400
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, you know where it's not so obsessive,

746
00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:59,440
Speaker 1: you know, and you know, and and hopefully he can

747
00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:02,000
Speaker 1: really find this way back to the music, because you know,

748
00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:05,320
Speaker 1: he's a great talent. He's a great writer and producer.

749
00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:09,359
Speaker 2: First, Oh, he's one of the best best ever do it. Yeah,

750
00:40:09,719 --> 00:40:10,480
Speaker 2: that's that's.

751
00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:14,760
Speaker 1: Originally what he started doing first before he came an artist.

752
00:40:15,600 --> 00:40:19,880
Speaker 1: And and then he you know, I was able to

753
00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:24,360
Speaker 1: package it the music. Even when you talk about you

754
00:40:24,480 --> 00:40:27,320
Speaker 1: work belly dancers. While you was working belly dance, I

755
00:40:27,400 --> 00:40:30,200
Speaker 1: knew that was the wrong record. Yeah, that wasn't the one.

756
00:40:31,360 --> 00:40:34,000
Speaker 1: But you you probably don't remember this. I remember us talking.

757
00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:35,920
Speaker 1: I was like, and you told me to be straight up.

758
00:40:36,680 --> 00:40:39,239
Speaker 1: You said, do you think this is a hit? I said, no,

759
00:40:39,400 --> 00:40:41,640
Speaker 1: it's not a hit. I thought it was a cool record,

760
00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:45,239
Speaker 1: but I didn't think it was a smash. But while

761
00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:47,400
Speaker 1: they was working that record, they thought that was the

762
00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:51,520
Speaker 1: money record. They thought that that would Who picked that

763
00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:56,600
Speaker 1: record Universal, I'm not even gonna says collect a collective.

764
00:40:56,600 --> 00:40:58,760
Speaker 1: It's a collective, you know, Steve ain't just picking records.

765
00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:02,040
Speaker 1: It's people that comes in there, like opinion and it's

766
00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:04,520
Speaker 1: an r. So at the end of the day, while

767
00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:06,680
Speaker 1: they was working that record, I was working Locked Up.

768
00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:10,680
Speaker 1: I took my dancing money, was pressing up records. I

769
00:41:10,760 --> 00:41:14,640
Speaker 1: took my dancing money with the record. That's the record

770
00:41:14,680 --> 00:41:17,239
Speaker 1: that took off, that took it there. Yeah, So at

771
00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:20,680
Speaker 1: the end of the day. But before that record, the

772
00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:24,319
Speaker 1: development of teaching him how to write songs, teaching him

773
00:41:24,360 --> 00:41:30,960
Speaker 1: how to produce, giving him the right subject matters, developing

774
00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:34,520
Speaker 1: him as an artist. All that came from me being

775
00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:37,080
Speaker 1: with Clive Davis, me being with La and Babyface, me

776
00:41:37,200 --> 00:41:40,080
Speaker 1: being with Teddy Riley, oh number one person, being with

777
00:41:40,239 --> 00:41:41,640
Speaker 1: Eric Sermon mm hmm.

778
00:41:41,960 --> 00:41:43,080
Speaker 2: So being with the Green.

779
00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:44,839
Speaker 1: Yeah.

780
00:41:44,960 --> 00:41:45,680
Speaker 2: So he played a.

781
00:41:45,800 --> 00:41:49,359
Speaker 1: Very very him and BERNARDA. Alexander played a very very

782
00:41:49,800 --> 00:41:53,800
Speaker 1: instrumental role in Akon success at the very beginning. So

783
00:41:54,880 --> 00:41:59,440
Speaker 1: I had some of the best producers and executives in

784
00:41:59,520 --> 00:42:03,440
Speaker 1: the game that I learned from and gave the information

785
00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:07,640
Speaker 1: and other artists too, but it come was the one

786
00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:08,080
Speaker 1: that comes to.

787
00:42:08,239 --> 00:42:09,600
Speaker 2: Make a beneficiary. Yeah.

788
00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:18,440
Speaker 1: Story Time with the Legendary Jerry's hosted by me, the

789
00:42:18,600 --> 00:42:23,520
Speaker 1: one and only, Jerry Clark. Music has been provided by

790
00:42:24,080 --> 00:42:29,120
Speaker 1: July the producer. If you haven't already, please please make

791
00:42:29,160 --> 00:42:32,480
Speaker 1: sure you subscribe to Storytime with the Legendary Jerry on

792
00:42:32,680 --> 00:42:36,239
Speaker 1: YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts, and make sure

793
00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:39,960
Speaker 1: you follow us on all social media platforms at the

794
00:42:40,080 --> 00:42:43,640
Speaker 1: Legendary Jerry podcast. For more podcasts from my Heart Media,

795
00:42:43,719 --> 00:42:46,520
Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen

796
00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:47,520
Speaker 1: to your favorite shows,