WEBVTT - Devyne Stephens 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:07.120 R and B Money. 0:00:07.640 --> 0:00:10.320 Say, take voluntie. 0:00:11.039 --> 0:00:13.640 We are the authority. 0:00:15.560 --> 0:00:17.240 R and Ladies and gentlemen. 0:00:17.480 --> 0:00:20.720 I'm Jay Valentine and this is the R and B 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:25.640 Money Podcast, And today get your notebooks out. 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:28.040 We're about to do some developing. You know. 0:00:28.160 --> 0:00:30.520 It's it's just a lot of artists out here that 0:00:31.240 --> 0:00:33.760 they may be a little uncooked. I need to go 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:37.000 back into that oven. And I brought the perfect person 0:00:37.080 --> 0:00:41.680 today that's gonna get you right. I'm you know, I'll 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:42.960 you'll find out. 0:00:43.000 --> 0:00:45.600 You'll find out. I'm not. The intro is gonna be shorter. Today. 0:00:46.640 --> 0:00:48.960 I'm gonna introduce you to somebody you have to know 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:51.640 in this music business, the legend. 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:55.400 The architect, Divine Stevens. 0:00:58.400 --> 0:01:01.600 What's good, my brother, man, I'm excellent, man, Man, I'm 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:04.080 glappy to be here. Man, Man, you know I've been 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:07.600 chasing you down. Bro oh man, you definitely had an app. 0:01:07.319 --> 0:01:07.800 Out on me. 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:10.039 Listen. I'm not ashamed to say it. 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:14.000 I did get a few phone calls. Yeah, when my 0:01:14.040 --> 0:01:17.080 man Q Parker hit me up, I said, Man, tell 0:01:17.200 --> 0:01:18.760 J Man, I'm down. 0:01:19.040 --> 0:01:19.679 I'm down. 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:23.080 And then when I was answering that call, I said, oh, 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:24.680 hold on a second, Q, Let me click over. 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:27.360 Then there was a little running, so I was like, oh, Man, 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:30.040 so you know, just shout out man. 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:34.880 To you man for providing this platform man for people 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:39.880 to receive information about the industry. And I mean, I 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:42.880 know this is you know, it's a passion job. But 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:45.120 at the end of the day, I just want to 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:48.280 commend you and Tank for shed light on R and B. 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:51.520 That's the intention, man, is to have people like yourself 0:01:51.560 --> 0:01:54.080 on here, man, that you know that don't do a 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:57.640 lot of interviews but are very instrumental in this thing 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:00.320 we call music and entertainment. I want to say music 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:03.000 because yeah, and we're gonna get to that right right. 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:04.680 You know you do you do it all. 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:09.000 You've done it all man, and and and in our opinion, 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:10.120 you need to be celebrated. 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:12.480 Thank you, Thank you so much. I appreciate that. 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:14.839 So let's get into it. Man. Let's let's let's let's start. 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:17.600 Let's start that hold on how much time we got, man, Come. 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:21.120 I'm here with you, I'm here, we were hanging out. Okay, awesome, 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:25.400 let's start in Atlanta, man. And and you know, young divine, wow, 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:28.280 young divine man, Like, what did this thing all start 0:02:28.320 --> 0:02:32.400 for you? And who who who had the eye for 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:34.440 the talent of divine Stevens? 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:35.640 Who caught that first? 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:38.080 I want to say, man, at the age of five, 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:41.280 w A O K the radio station, I enter into 0:02:41.280 --> 0:02:43.400 a contest and you. 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:45.480 Enter a contest at five at five years old? 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:48.920 Okay, all yeah, and I was doing James Brown. Of 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:52.680 course you were black, and I'm proud. And you know, 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:54.400 some people say, well, how do you remember at five? 0:02:54.600 --> 0:02:57.079 You know, because my mom always kept the trophy and 0:02:57.120 --> 0:03:00.639 she had photos from back in the do you want oh, yeah, 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:02.600 absolutely one, absolutely. 0:03:02.840 --> 0:03:07.760 Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sure. Yeah. 0:03:07.800 --> 0:03:08.000 Man. 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:11.760 So it started then, you know, being from Atlanta, I'm 0:03:11.760 --> 0:03:14.400 a Grady baby for those who don't know, that's like 0:03:15.480 --> 0:03:19.720 the Premiere Hospital right in the heart of Atlanta. Grew 0:03:19.800 --> 0:03:24.639 up in projects, started out in Carver Homes, and from 0:03:24.720 --> 0:03:27.360 Carver Homes, we kind of bounced around. I'm kind of 0:03:27.360 --> 0:03:30.640 from all the projects. So I'm really like a project baby. 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:32.920 So when your grandmam would live in the projection and 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:36.880 then your dad, h yeah, so you get dropped off 0:03:36.880 --> 0:03:40.720 to all those places. So from Carver Home, the Kimberley Court, 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:44.880 the Hollywood Court, to high Point to Mchannisville. So I'm 0:03:44.920 --> 0:03:46.600 from all those places. 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:47.680 You got homies everywhere. 0:03:47.840 --> 0:03:51.440 Yeah, homes everywhere. So father lived in Capitol homes. So 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:56.680 that's really where it all started. So I was able 0:03:56.720 --> 0:04:01.600 to pull all these little different information and seeing creative 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:04.360 things in all these places, and at the age of 0:04:04.400 --> 0:04:09.160 five growing up performing in all these places. So I 0:04:09.160 --> 0:04:10.840 would put street performer first. 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:12.720 I mean I was as well brother. 0:04:13.320 --> 0:04:16.040 Yeah, for me it was it was Beijmon's Wharf in 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:16.720 San Francisco. 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:21.240 Yeah, so that was, you know, kind of doing the 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:26.840 breakdance era. So grew up doing all the popping and 0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:30.400 locking and rapping, and then you know how fast forward 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:33.200 the story in high school from the beating on the 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:36.280 table to rapping and the whole night and winning all 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:39.440 the talent shows. I heard you Parker talk about talent shows. 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:44.320 That's in a different era, but doing my yeah, yeah, 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:47.880 doing my era. I paint a picture for you. The 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:54.800 MC of that show would be Chris Tucker, so that 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:57.560 would be Chris Chucking. And then I give you the 0:04:57.680 --> 0:04:59.400 R and B part of that show Talent Show, And 0:04:59.400 --> 0:05:01.000 this was Columbus, your high school. So I'm just a 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:06.120 paint that picture for you. And Silk will be on 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:10.479 that show and then that would be this one group 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:14.280 that needs no introduction, okay, and that would be FDC, 0:05:14.480 --> 0:05:16.840 the group that I was a part of. And the 0:05:17.040 --> 0:05:22.440 f d C stands for Fresh Dance Crew, and you know, 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:26.159 if you're from Atlanta, you already know the FDC stands 0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:29.599 for Female Draws Collectors because we collected everything from them, 0:05:29.600 --> 0:05:33.440 throwing them. 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:38.080 Yeah hey man, yeah man, panties, yeah, okay, all right, 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:42.640 yeah yeah, So back there, okay, yeah, okay, back then, yeah, 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:45.320 Emale Draws collect. 0:05:45.279 --> 0:05:48.240 Yeah yeah yeah. 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:51.000 So were y'all singing and rapping tour? Just dancing? 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:53.680 Well, it started off dancing, then we moved it into 0:05:53.680 --> 0:05:57.480 the singing era and then the rap era, so it's 0:05:57.520 --> 0:05:58.920 kind of like transition. 0:05:59.000 --> 0:06:02.080 What made y'all transition, was it, Okay, we need to 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:03.520 add more to this thing. 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:06.160 I think what added to it just was the fact 0:06:06.200 --> 0:06:11.159 that we had won all the talent shows, so purely dancing. 0:06:11.160 --> 0:06:14.360 At first, it's completely dancing. So a lot of schools 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:17.440 wouldn't allow us to enter the talent shows, so they 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:20.200 started making us special guests. So then we were trying 0:06:20.200 --> 0:06:22.400 to figure out how to you know, kind of add 0:06:22.440 --> 0:06:24.960 different things to it, and so that kind of went 0:06:25.000 --> 0:06:28.760 on to lip syncing. So we started doing lip syn 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:32.279 that that was really huge back in the day. And 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:34.880 so when we started lip syncing, then that turned into 0:06:35.160 --> 0:06:36.880 the singing and the rapping. 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:38.400 Yeah, and really developing it out. 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:38.800 Right. 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:42.400 Okay, so now you're in high school. You got all 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:44.320 the draws, you collected all the draws. 0:06:44.440 --> 0:06:45.960 So let me tell you how my high school looks. 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:46.640 I have to tell you. 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:49.440 I have to tell you what high school looked. Likes 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:54.640 me so and the Talent Show era. So I went 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:58.360 to a high school where I met Dallas Austin. And 0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:02.039 this is right around ninth grade, tenth grade, and men 0:07:02.120 --> 0:07:05.800 Dallas used to hang out in the bathroom, Like we'd 0:07:05.839 --> 0:07:08.080 go to the bathroom. I'll see him in there here 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:10.000 and there picking his hair. He had the hot Top 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:13.840 fade and I had finger waves. This is this is 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:18.080 like we like thirteen, fourteen years old. So in school, 0:07:18.400 --> 0:07:20.720 I got finger waves. He got this hot top kid 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:24.320 and play fade and he rolling around with a keyboard 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:28.800 at school at school, right, and we and kids don't 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:32.240 do this, but we really wasn't going to class. Were 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:36.320 kind of at this age already kind of know what 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:38.600 we want to do and what we want to be okay, 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:42.080 all right, So that's one part. So the finger waves 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:46.960 part of it. I used to model for Bronner Brothers Switch. 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:51.960 Most people don't know, huge huge hair convention shows. 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:55.760 Yeah, so there. So it went on to performing at 0:07:55.800 --> 0:07:58.680 the Branner brother show. So I used to There was 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:02.040 a hairstyle that the name was Carol. She owned a 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:07.760 beauty salon called Escape, and Escape is a place where 0:08:09.280 --> 0:08:12.440 it was like a hub, a melting potway the glamour, 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:16.560 things about the imaging and things that I learned happened 0:08:16.600 --> 0:08:20.480 in that space. So that's where Brown Brothers. They brought 0:08:20.480 --> 0:08:22.760 that element to the table. So I was able to 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:26.160 be around that energy take a little bit of that. 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:28.160 So I'm gonna show you how I was able to 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:31.160 take all these different pieces. I took the hunger from 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:36.480 the projects. I took the imaging for Browner Brothers, the 0:08:36.520 --> 0:08:42.120 styling from Carol, and then from that part of it, 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:44.720 I was able to take that and know what an 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:50.640 artist should look like from actually listening to R and 0:08:50.679 --> 0:08:52.800 B records over and over again back in the day. 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:56.520 I think I may have Guy on repeat, new Addition 0:08:56.640 --> 0:09:01.800 on repeat, Tony Tony Tony on repeat and singing all 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:05.040 of those songs. To singing those songs over and over 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:10.040 again kind of helped me understand how to cultivate and 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:11.520 develop talent. 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:15.440 In your mind, are you doing this with the mindset 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:18.720 of developing other people's talent? Are you doing this like 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:19.960 I'm developing my own? 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:21.760 Like this is none of No. 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:23.640 I was developing the group that I was in, so 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:28.160 I would we would learn something. And how I became, 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:32.719 you know, and every group got the lead or this 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:35.000 person that person. So I was the understudy of a 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:38.040 god by the name Aunt Francis, and I watched him 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:41.000 put it all together, and then from him putting it 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:43.520 together and then from me being able to tap into 0:09:43.559 --> 0:09:48.400 all these other sources, is how I developed the love 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:53.160 and the passion to develop the presentation. Yes, and that's 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:57.199 what we became king and known for, was the presentation. 0:09:57.520 --> 0:10:02.240 Okay, how long do you guys have FDC before you 0:10:02.280 --> 0:10:04.360 decided you're gonna go do your thing? 0:10:05.040 --> 0:10:09.760 FDC last probably about a good five six years before 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:14.400 the group broke up. And the group broke up just 0:10:14.440 --> 0:10:17.360 because of you know, we was kind of managing ourselves. 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:21.600 We didn't have managers, and it was just so many women. 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:24.679 Man it was just I mean so many girls back then, 0:10:24.720 --> 0:10:27.600 it was just unreal. So you saw the older guys 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:33.240 start dating more and it just start slowly pulling everybody apart. 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:36.920 Yeah, and we used to have just went toward that more. So, Yeah, 0:10:37.080 --> 0:10:38.120 they were growing up different. 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:38.440 Yeah. 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:41.439 Yeah, a couple of guys went off to college and 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:44.440 then you know, other ones that start having kids and 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:47.160 just it just kind of separated life start having yeah 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:48.160 life for real. 0:10:48.600 --> 0:10:49.080 Yeah. 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:51.600 So for you though, you were, like you said, from 0:10:51.640 --> 0:10:55.680 thirteen years old, you already had really five But yeah, 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:58.080 you know, once, like you said, once you and Dallas 0:10:58.200 --> 0:11:00.760 was hanging out, you found a kindred spirit of somebody. 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:03.000 You're like, oh, well, this guy's walking around with a 0:11:03.080 --> 0:11:03.800 keyboard every day. 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:07.520 Yeah, he's gonna probably end up doing something in music 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:11.080 and staying to this Was it something for you once 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:13.480 you got into high school, regardless of the group, where 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:14.880 you just like, this is this is about to be 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:16.120 what I do in my life. 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:18.640 Nah, I didn't think, you know, at one point in 0:11:18.679 --> 0:11:21.800 high school, I thought I was going to be football player. 0:11:21.840 --> 0:11:24.320 So I played football, Yeah, played football, played basketball, So 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:27.319 I thought maybe I had a shot, you know what 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:33.000 I mean at playing sports. So this became natural. The 0:11:33.160 --> 0:11:37.600 entertainment side was natural, so I didn't take it like 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:43.280 if it was a challenge because it just became natural. 0:11:43.920 --> 0:11:48.320 But every time I had an issue or something didn't 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:53.040 go right in my life or things seemed uncertain, I 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:57.920 would always run to this, so it became more of 0:11:58.040 --> 0:12:02.760 an escape. Yes, I'm at peace when I'm developing. I'm 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:05.840 at peace when I'm creating, and that's when the passion 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:08.559 comes alive and in my darkest moments. 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:11.800 So the group breaks up, and now you're a solo artist, 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:16.600 but you've been developing. Like you said, you went from 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:23.320 all right, purely danced to now rapping, singing, and now 0:12:23.440 --> 0:12:24.440 are you do you go do? 0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:25.559 Do you go make a demo? 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:28.200 Did I go make a demo as a songo? Yeah, 0:12:28.240 --> 0:12:30.240 as a solo artist, I made a demo. It was 0:12:30.240 --> 0:12:36.200 funny because actually Dallas Austin made the demo. Okay, yeah, 0:12:36.200 --> 0:12:39.840 so it was funny. It was because I took the 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:43.000 beats from Dallas and I used to work with a 0:12:43.120 --> 0:12:47.679 rapper by the name of Raheem the Dream. So actually 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:51.280 I used to put Raheem shows together and Raheem actually 0:12:51.320 --> 0:12:55.200 wrote the raps. So that's how I started, and I 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:57.360 took those raps and put it to the beat, and 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:00.960 then I went and performed at Fat Tuesday Frozen Paradise 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:06.000 on Old National Highway and met a young lady by 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:11.400 the name of Kimberly Stewart who was related to Pebbles, 0:13:12.240 --> 0:13:17.040 and she saw me perform there and then took me 0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:19.160 to a Parents A Parents signed me up to a 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:24.400 production deal Platinum, and then from there took us to Pebbles. 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:27.240 So we had to perform in front of Pebbles. If 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:30.320 Pebbles approved, then you get a chance to meet La 0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:34.760 and Babyface. So right at that moment boom, Pebbles approved. 0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:40.000 We flew to LA and we performed, and it was 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:42.760 weird because when they came in, you know, you got 0:13:42.760 --> 0:13:44.920 to think, I'm listening to Babyface records all day in 0:13:45.000 --> 0:13:49.760 order to the Love of Adams on repeat. And they 0:13:49.800 --> 0:13:54.960 walked in, didn't speak, They had on shades like this, right, 0:13:55.480 --> 0:14:05.160 and they sat down. Pebbles is talking and press play. 0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:09.480 I mean, we went in you're talking about hunger at 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:12.080 a at a level where we felt like if we 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:16.600 can impress these guys, our whole life change, right, So 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:19.960 lead us to say they signed us on the spot 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:25.680 and so that makes me the first artist signed to 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:26.840 let Face Records. 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:32.080 Oh wow, So because I thought Damien Dame. No, no, no, 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:32.960 Damien Dame. 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:35.920 They was a part. 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:36.480 They were. 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:39.480 I think Dial was doing background vocals. She was there 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:42.280 before I got there. But I think they didn't sign them. 0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:45.800 They moved them to Atlanta. Okay, they're from Los Angeles, 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:48.120 so I think they came in. But the first thing 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:50.800 on the ground in Atlanta was US. 0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:53.280 So you said us, So you weren't a solo artist. 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:55.000 No, no, So it was Divine feature in Night in 0:14:55.040 --> 0:14:58.040 Miles Power. So yeah, so it was me and then 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:02.000 I had a couple of other eyes that dance for me. Okay, 0:15:02.120 --> 0:15:05.160 that was a part of the dance group prior that 0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:08.480 came from fd CA. Okay, got you, got you? 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:12.000 So what were you rapping and singing? 0:15:12.520 --> 0:15:14.440 Well, yeah, it was both. It was kind of both 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:18.560 because I give you a story about a couple of songs. 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:21.160 So they had some songs that was almost demoed out. 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:25.160 So I went in with Darryl Simmons to record, Yeah, 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:28.760 the ultimate silent partner with Daryl. So I went it 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:33.600 with him and uh, I cut baby Baby Baby TLC 0:15:33.680 --> 0:15:38.120 song and I cut this song something you want to know, 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:42.440 before TLC was even discovered. Yeah, yeah, and even on 0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:44.840 the songs that Dallas and then I went back in 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:47.080 the studio with Dallas and I had voiced the men 0:15:47.200 --> 0:15:49.800 singing yes, bro. 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:55.680 Time out, yeah, man, time out Yeah, Man. 0:15:56.200 --> 0:16:00.000 You sing baby baby baby before before TLC the first 0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:03.560 artist's sign to the yes and now you got boys 0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:06.440 to men just randomly singing on the song. 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:08.960 Yeah, Dallas had put them on a song just before 0:16:08.960 --> 0:16:13.040 they came out. Dallas would make some songs and then 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:15.480 he would bring them to my house. 0:16:16.280 --> 0:16:19.880 Okay, so are they signed at this point? Are they? Yeah, 0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:22.360 they're signing Michael Bimans at this point. Huh. 0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:26.640 And but they didn't have any identity at this point. 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:28.720 At this point, you know, he was figuring out the music, 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:30.800 and while he was figuring out the music, he would 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:33.040 bring them to me for me to work on the 0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:33.840 development part. 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:37.480 This is before or after you signed to the face. 0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:40.480 Right around all of the time. This all happened in 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:41.680 like nineteen ninety. 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:45.440 So this whole time you're being an artist. Yes, you're 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:48.880 steal in your development bag. You're like, all right, yeah, 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:52.560 people know you for that? Well, are your people know you? 0:16:52.600 --> 0:16:53.400 For that my people. 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:55.920 So Dallas grew up watching me from high school to 0:16:56.680 --> 0:16:59.520 being at the skating rink and the talent shows, so 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:03.880 they know me from that. So even one part that 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:07.119 I missed, like even with the hair, it was I 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:11.359 went to school with in high school was Ta Bars 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:16.440 and Rico wade Man and and who used to make 0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:18.720 the show tapes for the dance group I was in 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:19.480 was Jamaine. 0:17:20.400 --> 0:17:22.639 As soon as you did this, yeah, you about to 0:17:22.680 --> 0:17:25.000 say your man who was years old. 0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:27.720 Yeah, and then the trade off used to work kind 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:29.919 of vibe with JD back then while he was on 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:31.120 the Fresh Festival Houdini. 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:34.360 Yeah. So all y'all young Atlanta kids. 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:37.360 And that's the nucleus, yeah, the music scene. So that's 0:17:37.400 --> 0:17:41.159 why I feel like, you know, and it's not about 0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:44.880 the flowers. It's more so about the understanding how things operate. 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:49.359 Is when La and Babyface tapped into me, they tapped 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:53.480 into Atlanta, Atlanta the source. Yeah, because I just gave 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:54.879 it to him on a silver platter. 0:17:55.080 --> 0:17:59.159 Well, you're gonna get flowers here. You are to be 0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:05.360 celebrated because that's man amongst us as peers and comrades 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:08.040 in this thing we have to do that for each other. 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:09.560 Man, we have to celebrate each other. 0:18:09.800 --> 0:18:12.359 You know what I'm saying, And what you've been a 0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:16.640 part of and what you've done is man. 0:18:17.080 --> 0:18:18.680 And all those guys used to show up and watch 0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:25.000 me perform because and it's so interesting because I think 0:18:25.119 --> 0:18:27.399 now a lot of times people are like, oh, you 0:18:27.440 --> 0:18:31.760 got to choose something very early, right, right, even if 0:18:31.760 --> 0:18:33.520 you look at sports now, I look at it with 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:35.879 you know, with my son, he didn't play it. 0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:38.760 He just wants to hoop, and I'm like, you know, 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:40.239 you can run track if you want to. You know 0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:42.000 you can play football, and you know you can rap 0:18:42.080 --> 0:18:45.640 or saying it right. But I think now people are 0:18:45.720 --> 0:18:50.280 so focused on just doing one thing instead of like, no, 0:18:50.800 --> 0:18:53.560 I'm mostly talented. I can do as many things as 0:18:53.600 --> 0:18:56.000 I want to, because like you said, you're you're an artist, 0:18:56.080 --> 0:18:59.480 you're signed, but you're still lending your hand absolutely and 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:03.320 you're not being selfish with your talent and saying no, no, no, no, 0:19:03.480 --> 0:19:04.000 I can't go. 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:07.119 I can't gonna give them some of the sauce. 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:10.320 Well, you know what, I'll lend a little bit a 0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:16.320 bit of that confidence to pebbles in La because even 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:19.600 in the midst of doing that being an artist. They 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:22.960 asked me could I work with Pebbles on her presentation, 0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:26.320 So it was like not a you know, not a problem. 0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:30.159 Then I got a chance to put Pebbles a senior 0:19:30.240 --> 0:19:33.280 hall performance together, and then Pebbles actually let me wrap 0:19:33.320 --> 0:19:36.520 on a sen of your hall doing her performance. So 0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:41.359 she was providing a platform for me the whole time. Yeah, 0:19:41.440 --> 0:19:43.440 and she got it. She was like one of the early. 0:19:48.000 --> 0:19:50.960 Yeah Pebbles man, so she's to me. 0:19:51.480 --> 0:19:55.800 She set Atlanta off by believing, you know, and the 0:19:55.880 --> 0:19:58.439 younger talent because I think when I got there, I 0:19:58.480 --> 0:20:03.680 think La and Babyface all in Jermaine, Jamaine Jackson and 0:20:03.760 --> 0:20:07.879 a couple of other older guys that they legacy that 0:20:07.880 --> 0:20:10.960 they was probably trying to, you know, do businesses. 0:20:10.960 --> 0:20:13.000 When you got a new company too, you're you're trying 0:20:13.000 --> 0:20:15.480 to figure out how to connect names to it correct. 0:20:15.720 --> 0:20:18.320 It's tougher to say, oh, I'm just going to kick 0:20:18.359 --> 0:20:20.680 this off with new artists and just find new talent. 0:20:20.800 --> 0:20:23.640 Everybody wants to do that, but that's really expensive too. 0:20:23.840 --> 0:20:28.320 Well, Pebbles have the talent for that. So she was 0:20:28.359 --> 0:20:31.760 able to touch down on the ground and may always 0:20:31.760 --> 0:20:33.320 cause us Susander pass like. 0:20:33.280 --> 0:20:37.000 If you know sure she was that for the Atlanta scene. 0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:41.760 Absolutely, yeah, no, it's so many people that I've spoken to. 0:20:42.480 --> 0:20:46.679 Obviously we in Atlanta now, but just within our episodes 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:47.800 that are just like pebbles. 0:20:47.840 --> 0:20:51.600 Absolutely you have to because she jumped this off. Wow, 0:20:51.760 --> 0:20:55.399 she saw the youth in Atlanta and and start putting 0:20:55.400 --> 0:20:59.600 it in place. So so I end up doing television shows, 0:20:59.680 --> 0:21:04.320 a videos. So that gave me the confidence to say, okay, 0:21:04.400 --> 0:21:06.600 well I can I can do other artists too. 0:21:06.840 --> 0:21:07.280 Yeah. 0:21:07.320 --> 0:21:09.399 So that's when they started saying, well, let him do this, 0:21:09.480 --> 0:21:10.760 you know, bring him this, bring him that. 0:21:10.880 --> 0:21:13.720 So oh wow, you're supposed to be making your own 0:21:13.760 --> 0:21:14.280 album though. 0:21:14.400 --> 0:21:17.359 Yeah. But here's here's one of the early early artists 0:21:17.400 --> 0:21:19.000 that I developed that a lot of people don't know 0:21:19.040 --> 0:21:21.920 that he was even an artist. I developed Kevin Wells. 0:21:22.240 --> 0:21:27.240 He used to sing, so he was in a singing group. 0:21:27.280 --> 0:21:29.680 And I don't typically would dance behind an artist or 0:21:29.720 --> 0:21:33.360 do anything. I actually believed in Kevin enough to actually 0:21:33.720 --> 0:21:36.280 work with him and dance behind him because we just 0:21:36.359 --> 0:21:40.280 knew that, you know, we was in any talent show 0:21:40.359 --> 0:21:43.760 or any contest, we was gonna win, right, And you 0:21:43.800 --> 0:21:48.240 know that's how Kevin. This is before one twelve, This 0:21:48.440 --> 0:21:53.280 before any of the artists. ABC is me and him 0:21:53.359 --> 0:21:55.160 rock and I was spending time with him making sure 0:21:55.920 --> 0:21:56.680 he was up the park. 0:21:57.200 --> 0:22:00.840 Yeah okay, So you got to tell me, though, are 0:22:00.920 --> 0:22:04.360 you focusing on your album at all while you're doing 0:22:04.400 --> 0:22:06.240 all because it seems like you're being pulled. 0:22:06.840 --> 0:22:09.400 No, no, no, I'm in the company. 0:22:09.600 --> 0:22:13.520 No no. I was being creative, So then it really 0:22:13.560 --> 0:22:15.359 didn't matter. It all came with it. That's how I 0:22:15.400 --> 0:22:18.280 grew up. So it wasn't one particular thing. It wasn't 0:22:18.359 --> 0:22:23.080 just a record or a video or a live performance. 0:22:23.160 --> 0:22:27.000 I was always in this creative space. So I've been 0:22:27.080 --> 0:22:30.240 multitasking like this for my whole life. So that's even 0:22:30.520 --> 0:22:33.639 when you fast forward the story, how I was able 0:22:33.720 --> 0:22:36.760 to even go from zero to one hundred when I 0:22:36.800 --> 0:22:39.040 started my own production company and start putting my own 0:22:39.119 --> 0:22:42.240 artists out because I knew all the ins and outs. 0:22:42.320 --> 0:22:54.120 Okay, and we're gonna get there, Okay. I know how 0:22:54.160 --> 0:23:00.600 talented you are, and you've always been a star, you 0:23:00.600 --> 0:23:02.199 know what I mean, Like it's just in my opinion, 0:23:02.359 --> 0:23:04.200 you know what I mean, Like that's I'm like divine, 0:23:04.200 --> 0:23:07.520 seems a star like flat out. You know, I think, 0:23:07.640 --> 0:23:11.040 especially when you when you're in this business long enough, 0:23:11.800 --> 0:23:15.400 you're able to identify things respect no matter what position 0:23:15.480 --> 0:23:18.280 they're in. Right, It's like, you know, our brother, God 0:23:18.320 --> 0:23:23.400 rest his soul. Shaki Stewart, Yeah, my gosh, star. Yes 0:23:23.440 --> 0:23:26.600 he was on the business side. Shake was a star, 0:23:26.800 --> 0:23:28.160 absolutely out. 0:23:28.240 --> 0:23:28.880 You know what I'm saying. 0:23:28.960 --> 0:23:30.120 Yeah, I got a great story about Shake. 0:23:30.359 --> 0:23:32.920 I'm sure too, and I do too, but some of 0:23:32.960 --> 0:23:37.960 them I ain't gonna telling me, right, But I say 0:23:38.000 --> 0:23:41.960 that to say, like seeing that in you and now 0:23:42.240 --> 0:23:44.359 having more of an understanding, like, Okay, he had this 0:23:44.440 --> 0:23:46.520 record deal and this whole thing, and in my mind, 0:23:46.560 --> 0:23:49.800 the first thing I think is he wanted to give 0:23:50.040 --> 0:23:52.840 his talents to other people more than he really wanted 0:23:52.880 --> 0:23:53.920 to focus on himself. 0:23:53.960 --> 0:23:55.679 That's what That's what it feels like to me. 0:23:55.840 --> 0:24:01.160 It turned into that, okay, because you know it didn't 0:24:01.200 --> 0:24:05.200 work out at La Face. I got discovered again by 0:24:05.400 --> 0:24:10.119 a guy by the name Sincere, and Sincere took me 0:24:10.160 --> 0:24:13.800 to Rick Brown, and Rick Brown took me to Sylvia Room. 0:24:14.200 --> 0:24:16.960 Okay, so I ended up doing it another deal. 0:24:16.880 --> 0:24:22.840 Another deal, and with you, Me and ninety Miles Prower 0:24:22.920 --> 0:24:27.040 broke up doing a little bit. And that story is 0:24:27.160 --> 0:24:31.000 just you know, how you took childhood friends and and 0:24:31.000 --> 0:24:34.480 and was separated. It was almost like having siblings and 0:24:34.520 --> 0:24:37.679 they separated at birth. That's what that moment felt like, 0:24:39.880 --> 0:24:45.399 being separated from them. But it was also a growing moment. 0:24:46.280 --> 0:24:47.240 I learned the business. 0:24:47.640 --> 0:24:49.480 Now you getting a little bit of money by this time, 0:24:49.560 --> 0:24:49.920 like is. 0:24:49.840 --> 0:24:53.000 He well, you know back then I was making money, 0:24:54.160 --> 0:24:57.880 But how I really started making money was based from 0:24:57.920 --> 0:25:02.040 boys to men. Came to me when and when I 0:25:02.040 --> 0:25:05.400 got dropped from the face. He said, yo, divine man. 0:25:06.320 --> 0:25:09.399 He said, you know what you're doing for us, you 0:25:09.440 --> 0:25:11.679 can do that for other artists, and you know they 0:25:11.800 --> 0:25:15.880 paying And I was like, oh really He was like yeah, 0:25:15.880 --> 0:25:17.679 He's like we're paying Brooke paying a lot of money. 0:25:18.320 --> 0:25:22.040 And I was like okay. So I didn't know what 0:25:22.080 --> 0:25:24.159 the pricing fee was. I didn't know what the charge 0:25:24.280 --> 0:25:26.000 because I was doing this because it was just a 0:25:26.040 --> 0:25:29.639 part of that community in the circle. If Dallas had something, 0:25:30.080 --> 0:25:32.680 you know, like even me developing Monica at twelve, he's 0:25:32.680 --> 0:25:34.560 gonna drop it off to me. I'm gonna give it 0:25:34.560 --> 0:25:36.280 back to him. And when I give it back, I 0:25:36.280 --> 0:25:38.919 give it to him back with direction or how to 0:25:39.000 --> 0:25:41.280 market it on how does it fit in the marketplace. 0:25:41.840 --> 0:25:46.800 It's not just working on an eight count or it's 0:25:46.880 --> 0:25:50.720 working on a whole lifestyle and developing a human. So 0:25:51.359 --> 0:25:54.360 same case in point with JD JD have something, He'll 0:25:54.400 --> 0:25:57.439 send me escape, send me Jagged Edge, send me the 0:25:57.480 --> 0:25:59.960 things that he had Recoway, same thing, send me out 0:26:00.119 --> 0:26:00.639 casts and me. 0:26:00.920 --> 0:26:03.639 So we just went so for you. It also didn't 0:26:03.680 --> 0:26:07.119 matter was genre of music now you were just it 0:26:07.160 --> 0:26:09.560 was purely about artists. It was not like okay, yeah 0:26:09.560 --> 0:26:10.800 you got an R and B group or you got 0:26:10.800 --> 0:26:11.480 an RB singer. 0:26:11.600 --> 0:26:13.760 It's like when you first start playing ball, you didn't 0:26:13.760 --> 0:26:16.480 really realize how much money you can make playing ball. 0:26:16.680 --> 0:26:17.920 You know, you're just doing it because you got a 0:26:17.920 --> 0:26:20.119 passion for it, right, And then we all in the 0:26:20.119 --> 0:26:21.960 sandbox together and we want to see each other win. 0:26:22.080 --> 0:26:23.800 So it was more like, yeah, I got you, I 0:26:23.840 --> 0:26:25.159 got you sending me I got I'm a knock it 0:26:25.200 --> 0:26:27.240 out and send it back to you. So even tricky 0:26:27.720 --> 0:26:31.479 when I directed Sam Salts video, I did so let 0:26:32.359 --> 0:26:36.879 you know, it's just a melting pot of young talent 0:26:37.359 --> 0:26:40.480 and I was to go to for the artist development. 0:26:40.680 --> 0:26:44.080 So you mentioned boys to men, So you were working 0:26:44.119 --> 0:26:45.680 with boys men super early then. 0:26:46.000 --> 0:26:49.320 Yeah. When they first when one year, father didn't even 0:26:49.320 --> 0:26:50.800 want to be in the group, told me you need 0:26:50.840 --> 0:26:53.760 to go to school yea, yeah, yeah. And I used 0:26:53.760 --> 0:26:55.760 to have to do one on one sessions with one yeah, 0:26:55.880 --> 0:26:58.440 because he can only come on certain days. 0:26:58.440 --> 0:26:59.240 He was the youngest one. 0:26:59.280 --> 0:26:59.960 He was the youngest one. 0:27:00.800 --> 0:27:01.040 Yeah. 0:27:01.160 --> 0:27:01.640 Man. 0:27:01.880 --> 0:27:04.680 And then this around this time even and I got 0:27:04.720 --> 0:27:08.399 the call from Michael Bivens and when they put me 0:27:08.440 --> 0:27:11.080 on the phone with him, I think Vita Sparks was 0:27:11.119 --> 0:27:13.240 with them at the time and put me on the 0:27:13.280 --> 0:27:16.359 phone said, Mike, want to hollot you. So even at 0:27:16.359 --> 0:27:18.760 that moment, he was uncertain about what he wanted to 0:27:18.800 --> 0:27:22.320 look like because it was more like should they be 0:27:22.440 --> 0:27:26.639 like commissioned? Should they be like just a quartet for 0:27:26.720 --> 0:27:29.960 a guys standing there singing what can you do with this? 0:27:31.359 --> 0:27:34.879 And when I gave it back to him thirty years later, 0:27:36.080 --> 0:27:38.520 I just saw Motown Philly the same way it was 0:27:39.160 --> 0:27:40.640 when I did it in my garage. 0:27:41.119 --> 0:27:43.439 Wa wait, you did the choreography for Motown Philly? 0:27:43.520 --> 0:27:47.439 Yes, man, I did everything on the first album, and 0:27:47.480 --> 0:27:49.720 then after that point then it went over to Brook 0:27:49.800 --> 0:27:52.600 Brooke took over from there. But the thing about even 0:27:52.640 --> 0:27:56.480 Brook and big shout out to Brook because Brooke came 0:27:56.560 --> 0:28:01.320 back later. Brooke came back later and introduced me to 0:28:01.400 --> 0:28:03.880 a lady named Mary Joe Moa that worked at Motown, 0:28:04.680 --> 0:28:06.440 and then they gave me the whole roster. I had 0:28:06.520 --> 0:28:07.880 everything at Motown. 0:28:07.760 --> 0:28:09.840 Just developing all the artists there. 0:28:09.800 --> 0:28:12.639 Everything everything at the time that was on the roster. 0:28:12.920 --> 0:28:16.000 And then she left there and came to Atlanta and 0:28:16.080 --> 0:28:19.160 had UH and took on a job at Caper Records 0:28:19.200 --> 0:28:24.600 with Joe Katz and Don Perry, and that venture was 0:28:24.600 --> 0:28:28.879 through RCA, and then I started working on everything that 0:28:28.920 --> 0:28:32.040 she had there that was Black Girls, that was the Chronic, Chronic, 0:28:32.080 --> 0:28:35.160 Little Zane, a couple of other artists that was signed. 0:28:35.240 --> 0:28:37.680 So I had that whole roster. I had probably about 0:28:37.760 --> 0:28:41.400 five six rooms going at one time. So let's say, 0:28:41.480 --> 0:28:44.240 let's go back, say Darryl Simmons. While I was working 0:28:44.280 --> 0:28:46.960 with Darryl, Darrell had a deal at Electra. He had 0:28:46.960 --> 0:28:50.240 signed a girl group called the Dolls. You know them 0:28:50.280 --> 0:28:51.640 today as Destiny Child. 0:28:54.280 --> 0:28:56.560 We know them, not just I mean. 0:28:57.600 --> 0:29:01.200 We know them, that's Destiny Child. So yes, so that's 0:29:01.240 --> 0:29:05.080 how it kind of went. You know, it's like everybody 0:29:05.080 --> 0:29:08.480 had something, even when Babyface went off to Epic and 0:29:08.760 --> 0:29:12.920 Tracy started her thing. Yeah, yeah, I end up getting 0:29:12.960 --> 0:29:15.960 asked yet and the things that was actually on that 0:29:16.040 --> 0:29:19.600 label as well. So it's been a family. 0:29:19.840 --> 0:29:22.000 So how how did the you know, from a from 0:29:22.000 --> 0:29:28.240 an artist development space, how did the finances work? You 0:29:28.280 --> 0:29:30.360 know what I mean, because most people don't know that, right, 0:29:30.400 --> 0:29:32.960 And it's kind of a I hate to say it, 0:29:33.000 --> 0:29:35.600 but a lost art in the music business. 0:29:35.720 --> 0:29:38.280 Now, yeah, it's it's definitely a lost art, but which 0:29:38.400 --> 0:29:41.480 it's very much needed. So here's the thing. As an artist, 0:29:41.560 --> 0:29:45.000 I go back. The reason I kind of stopped being 0:29:45.040 --> 0:29:48.920 a recording artist is because I was making so much money. 0:29:49.400 --> 0:29:53.240 Okay, and you know the show is called Yeah I'm 0:29:53.560 --> 0:29:56.080 trying to find Yeah, I had. 0:29:56.040 --> 0:29:58.760 Became a millionaire so quick, man, it was it would 0:29:58.760 --> 0:30:01.840 have made your head spind that once based from Boys 0:30:01.840 --> 0:30:04.920 to Men told me that they paid for it. And 0:30:05.160 --> 0:30:09.520 I met a I was working with Arrest Development and 0:30:09.560 --> 0:30:13.440 I met a lady. Her name was Jula Andrews, and 0:30:13.520 --> 0:30:17.200 she began to teach me the business. Okay, and my 0:30:17.360 --> 0:30:21.280 first lesson was she asked me how much did you 0:30:21.400 --> 0:30:27.960 charge an hour? And at the time, I was like, uh, say, 0:30:28.000 --> 0:30:29.840 I was just going to say forty an hour, right, 0:30:29.960 --> 0:30:32.400 and she was like, okay, okay, all right, forty an hour. 0:30:32.720 --> 0:30:35.600 So then she said, well I need an invoice, probably 0:30:36.960 --> 0:30:38.720 right right now, we've all been there. 0:30:38.600 --> 0:30:41.200 In an invoice. I said, oh, okay. So I went 0:30:41.200 --> 0:30:47.560 to office Max right, yeah, got an invoice book, filled 0:30:47.560 --> 0:30:50.440 out the information that was on there. Yeah, put the 0:30:50.520 --> 0:30:53.280 number on there, added my numbers up, how many hours? 0:30:53.280 --> 0:30:55.640 I hit the number at the bottom, put it in 0:30:55.640 --> 0:30:58.680 the envelope, slid in an invoice. She looked at it 0:30:58.680 --> 0:31:01.520 and she said, okay, I don't see no tax ID, 0:31:01.800 --> 0:31:05.720 I don't see no social Security number. I don't see 0:31:05.720 --> 0:31:08.360 a former address. And then what's this number right here? 0:31:08.360 --> 0:31:09.920 I said, no, this is my beeper. You could just 0:31:09.960 --> 0:31:16.560 beat me because I was still in the street. She 0:31:16.600 --> 0:31:21.320 said like yeah, she said, I said yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:31:21.360 --> 0:31:25.800 And then and so I handed to her and she said, well, unfortunately, 0:31:26.360 --> 0:31:30.320 I can't give you the check until this is filled 0:31:30.320 --> 0:31:32.640 out correctly. Now, mind, I just tore a page out 0:31:32.640 --> 0:31:34.400 of the in voice book. 0:31:34.960 --> 0:31:35.880 I'm following you something. 0:31:35.960 --> 0:31:38.600 So now I got to go back. Yeah, yeah, do 0:31:38.640 --> 0:31:41.360 it again. Hand it to her and I did it. 0:31:41.440 --> 0:31:43.600 I put the number on their She's seen it. She 0:31:43.640 --> 0:31:46.280 looked at it, and she wrote a check for more 0:31:46.320 --> 0:31:50.560 than what it was. She said, your service was incredible. 0:31:51.280 --> 0:31:53.560 She said, you're timing. You was never late. You was 0:31:53.560 --> 0:31:56.160 always on time. She said, I just want to commend 0:31:56.200 --> 0:31:57.880 you and you did a great job. Thank you. 0:31:58.200 --> 0:31:59.320 How old are you at this time? 0:32:00.320 --> 0:32:04.800 Round about had to be probably like nineteen wow your baby, yeah, 0:32:05.040 --> 0:32:05.840 about nineteen. 0:32:06.320 --> 0:32:09.280 So from that moment, I asked her whih to take 0:32:09.280 --> 0:32:14.840 a meeting with me? And she said sure. So we met. 0:32:15.080 --> 0:32:18.280 She started to teach me the business. She started doing 0:32:18.320 --> 0:32:21.240 the invoicing. She said, well, you know, I'm going to 0:32:21.280 --> 0:32:24.240 take five percent. I said, sure, go right ahead. 0:32:24.640 --> 0:32:25.200 Yeah. 0:32:25.280 --> 0:32:27.280 So next thing, you know, probably in the course of 0:32:27.400 --> 0:32:30.520 six months, out of all these rooms going, I'm going, 0:32:30.600 --> 0:32:34.440 I'm going. I was up probably about five hundred thousand 0:32:34.640 --> 0:32:37.400 in six months. In six months, I took a meeting. 0:32:37.520 --> 0:32:41.400 This is crazy. I took a meeting with La and 0:32:41.600 --> 0:32:45.240 LA was like, yo, I think it's time you need 0:32:45.240 --> 0:32:51.080 to come inside. And I was like, okay, cool. So 0:32:51.160 --> 0:32:55.320 he said what's your number? I said five hundred thousand. 0:32:57.680 --> 0:32:58.720 I got about five. 0:33:01.520 --> 0:33:01.640 Right. 0:33:01.960 --> 0:33:04.920 So in my mind, I'm thinking, like, you know, business like, okay, 0:33:04.960 --> 0:33:06.840 you know, just just give me five hundred. You know, 0:33:06.960 --> 0:33:08.520 he's trying to pay me five hundred for a year 0:33:08.560 --> 0:33:11.520 and to be and to be exclusive. I'm only gonna 0:33:11.520 --> 0:33:14.520 be working full of face. So he said he couldn't 0:33:14.520 --> 0:33:17.120 get five hundred from corporate and none of his employees 0:33:17.240 --> 0:33:18.400 was making five hundred, right. 0:33:18.360 --> 0:33:19.400 They couldn't make it make sense. 0:33:19.480 --> 0:33:22.960 Yeah, I didn't understand that, and I said, so I 0:33:23.040 --> 0:33:26.480 declined the offer, okay, right, And then at that moment, 0:33:26.720 --> 0:33:28.200 I think he might have felt a little slighter. 0:33:29.240 --> 0:33:29.400 Yeah. 0:33:29.440 --> 0:33:32.360 Yeah, it felt a little slight because because because I 0:33:32.360 --> 0:33:33.920 think it felt like he put me in play, but 0:33:34.000 --> 0:33:35.920 I was already I was in play. I think I 0:33:35.960 --> 0:33:37.800 put him in play. So it was it was a 0:33:38.040 --> 0:33:41.120 you know, it was that back and forth thing, you know, disrespect. 0:33:41.240 --> 0:33:45.560 But I just felt like you just tapped in. I'm 0:33:45.600 --> 0:33:48.680 creating the sauce, you're making the record, but we're making 0:33:48.720 --> 0:33:49.040 it work. 0:33:49.560 --> 0:33:50.360 It goes hand in hand. 0:33:50.440 --> 0:33:55.240 So watch this. So business slows down at the face, 0:33:56.200 --> 0:33:57.560 but that picks up everywhere else. 0:33:58.640 --> 0:33:58.840 Hmm. 0:33:59.600 --> 0:34:04.720 And now down tea boss, like, hold on, I can't 0:34:04.720 --> 0:34:09.319 even I can't do nothing without divine. Then Monica stood up, 0:34:09.840 --> 0:34:13.040 I need the vine. So they you know, they start 0:34:13.080 --> 0:34:15.200 standing up for me, you know what I mean. So 0:34:15.239 --> 0:34:19.359 then I said, okay. So then Tea bos said, why 0:34:19.360 --> 0:34:22.080 don't you just come over here. We got you. They 0:34:22.200 --> 0:34:24.680 gonna pay you. This is what we're looking for. So 0:34:24.719 --> 0:34:26.840 then I was able to still keep the Little Faced 0:34:26.880 --> 0:34:30.279 things going while I start working on other things. And 0:34:30.360 --> 0:34:36.560 right around this same time, Puffy is growing in New 0:34:36.640 --> 0:34:40.360 York and starting to and then loses his job and 0:34:40.480 --> 0:34:44.480 he started going back and forth with La and he 0:34:44.600 --> 0:34:47.640 started making trips to Atlanta. So he wanted to see 0:34:47.640 --> 0:34:51.560 what was going on in the soil. Right. So that 0:34:51.640 --> 0:34:55.040 same night we que or whatever was talking about there 0:34:55.080 --> 0:35:01.200 was an altercation in the club. And I'm upstairs kind 0:35:01.200 --> 0:35:04.040 of like doing the choreography, but I'm in the streets 0:35:05.040 --> 0:35:07.160 because when I lost the deal with a Little Face 0:35:07.680 --> 0:35:11.520 and I just started, I went back to the streets, right, 0:35:12.000 --> 0:35:16.720 So in the streets, I'm hanging back out with the fellas, goons, whatever. 0:35:17.000 --> 0:35:22.200 So I'm upstairs at Club one twelve and Kay Wells 0:35:22.239 --> 0:35:25.880 come upstairs, said, yo, man. He said, y'all, I got 0:35:25.920 --> 0:35:30.799 a problem downstairs. I said, oh, what's up? He said, man, 0:35:30.800 --> 0:35:32.440 my man from New York about to get into it 0:35:32.480 --> 0:35:35.960 with these people. So I come downstairs all with all 0:35:36.040 --> 0:35:38.319 my guys. We walked downstairs. The only thing you heard 0:35:38.480 --> 0:35:42.480 was bottles cracking and they getting ready to go at 0:35:42.480 --> 0:35:47.800 the guy that's talking in front of this other little 0:35:47.960 --> 0:35:51.200 dark skinned guy that I have never met. But Kate 0:35:51.320 --> 0:35:54.680 was like, that's my man, and I'm like, okay, so 0:35:54.719 --> 0:35:57.040 then we're going at this guy over here. Before we 0:35:57.080 --> 0:35:59.200 even got up to the guy, he. 0:35:59.120 --> 0:36:01.040 Said, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, hold up, hold up, 0:36:01.040 --> 0:36:03.080 hold on, wait wait wait, don't care, yo, who is this? 0:36:03.360 --> 0:36:06.520 Hoo these guys and Kev's like no, no, no, my people 0:36:06.520 --> 0:36:08.319 and my people, you got a problem, will straighten it. 0:36:09.440 --> 0:36:12.000 And this was puff Puff was telling them, dude like no, 0:36:12.040 --> 0:36:14.200 I don't want none of these problems. No, no, no, no, no, 0:36:14.239 --> 0:36:16.120 I got this. I got this. So even when I 0:36:16.120 --> 0:36:18.759 approached the situation, even the club security came with me 0:36:18.800 --> 0:36:21.600 because you know, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here, I'm 0:36:21.680 --> 0:36:26.560 here all the time. So Papa's like, yo, who is 0:36:26.640 --> 0:36:31.239 that in case? Say no to my people's man. He's 0:36:31.320 --> 0:36:33.000 And then later on they got to talk and he said, 0:36:33.000 --> 0:36:37.239 you know that's the guy that through tlc Usher and 0:36:37.320 --> 0:36:41.920 he said, are you serious? He said, yeah, yeah, So 0:36:41.960 --> 0:36:47.000 when can I meet him? So they made one, twelve 0:36:47.040 --> 0:36:49.600 and the whole nine whatever, So fast forward to start. 0:36:50.800 --> 0:36:52.680 He's like, y'all, I want to meet him. So he 0:36:52.800 --> 0:36:57.839 met me, and at that moment he was looking at 0:36:57.840 --> 0:37:01.200 me like, yo, he wanted it, like he wanted in 0:37:01.320 --> 0:37:04.359 on this Atlanta. He wanted in on what La Reed 0:37:04.480 --> 0:37:06.600 was tapping into. He wanted in on it too. So 0:37:06.640 --> 0:37:08.880 it was like so he came and got in and 0:37:09.000 --> 0:37:14.239 from that moment we I stopped rapping and put my 0:37:14.360 --> 0:37:19.280 whole thing on him, uh everything. That's when the development 0:37:19.320 --> 0:37:22.280 started for him. And this was right after Supercat. 0:37:22.760 --> 0:37:26.680 Yeah, it is after the him starting to figure if 0:37:26.719 --> 0:37:28.560 he's going to start being an artist too. 0:37:29.160 --> 0:37:31.759 Yeah, got you, And he started being artists when he 0:37:31.840 --> 0:37:34.279 started right at that moment, right up the Third Eye, 0:37:34.280 --> 0:37:36.560 when he got the confidence. After he rapped on that song, 0:37:37.200 --> 0:37:39.719 we went into the next one. Biggie was still here, 0:37:39.719 --> 0:37:41.920 Craig Mac was still here, and. 0:37:42.080 --> 0:37:46.040 But you guys are developing and leading to him becoming 0:37:46.080 --> 0:37:46.839 an artist as well. 0:37:46.880 --> 0:37:49.480 And I just kind of met the same energy and 0:37:49.480 --> 0:37:52.000 the type of zone I was on, a type of 0:37:52.080 --> 0:37:53.600 artist where I felt like I can get it off 0:37:54.640 --> 0:37:58.480 and make sure because he understood, he understood the art 0:37:58.560 --> 0:38:01.279 of the development and all the components. So it was 0:38:01.320 --> 0:38:03.439 like it was an easy fix. 0:38:03.600 --> 0:38:05.520 You and k Wells take on twelve there too. 0:38:06.000 --> 0:38:09.400 Yeah, so K takes twelve there, and then I end 0:38:09.440 --> 0:38:11.680 up doing the only you videos. I started doing all 0:38:11.680 --> 0:38:14.880 the videos okay, and then from there even you know, 0:38:14.960 --> 0:38:18.880 even Biggie that turned into him. I'm even there to 0:38:18.960 --> 0:38:23.759 vibe night when Biggie dies. Are you fully I'm there 0:38:23.840 --> 0:38:26.279 the whole time part of the team. I'm there, I'm 0:38:26.360 --> 0:38:29.399 working on him, I'm developing him the whole time. 0:38:29.640 --> 0:38:31.440 Are you working on Biggie's project too? 0:38:31.560 --> 0:38:33.880 Working on that and working on puff Man? 0:38:35.640 --> 0:38:37.800 When you think you know some shit? Because I definitely 0:38:37.840 --> 0:38:39.640 didn't know that. Yeah, yeah, I know. 0:38:39.760 --> 0:38:41.200 I had known that you would work with puff I 0:38:41.280 --> 0:38:43.719 knew that you were, you know, developing artists with him 0:38:43.719 --> 0:38:44.720 and working with his label. 0:38:44.880 --> 0:38:47.160 But never like okay, because you don't think. 0:38:47.080 --> 0:38:50.080 Right, somebody's doing the rappers and you know what I mean, 0:38:50.200 --> 0:38:52.640 especially an artists like Biggie, He's like, okay, he's not 0:38:52.719 --> 0:38:53.120 your rapper. 0:38:53.840 --> 0:38:56.600 Guys. You see all the things Biggie was flashy We Yeah, 0:38:56.640 --> 0:38:59.319 Puff changed the whole direction of that absolutely. If you 0:38:59.400 --> 0:39:04.400 go back, like you know, the beginning juicy. 0:39:04.120 --> 0:39:06.040 On it was like car heart type stuff too. 0:39:06.120 --> 0:39:09.080 Now it's besides you now it's yeah, yeah that is 0:39:09.280 --> 0:39:09.839 wold bro. 0:39:10.040 --> 0:39:13.680 Yeah. So that's why you know, when you say the 0:39:14.040 --> 0:39:16.319 artistry part, I just put it on whole. 0:39:17.000 --> 0:39:21.160 Is your mindset starting to get onto the executive side too? 0:39:21.239 --> 0:39:21.560 Yet? 0:39:22.000 --> 0:39:24.680 Are you really just focusing on the development still, because 0:39:24.680 --> 0:39:27.480 it just it seems like right now from the story 0:39:27.480 --> 0:39:30.319 you're telling me, it feels like higher gun. 0:39:30.880 --> 0:39:32.560 You know what I'm saying. You're a mercenary right now. 0:39:32.560 --> 0:39:34.719 It's like, Okay, who do we need to get this 0:39:34.840 --> 0:39:36.000 artist to the next level? 0:39:36.239 --> 0:39:37.800 Right, divine Yes. 0:39:37.760 --> 0:39:39.719 So I'm in that. I'm in that space. But at 0:39:39.760 --> 0:39:43.720 the same time, my lady Lady drew the business partner. 0:39:44.200 --> 0:39:47.680 She's grooming me in business. Okay, So I'm learning as 0:39:47.680 --> 0:39:50.560 I'm going on the business side. So then I had 0:39:50.560 --> 0:39:58.440 the luxury of working with Teddy Riley early already my 0:39:58.520 --> 0:40:06.320 group of friends, right Eric Sermon, all of these people, 0:40:06.360 --> 0:40:09.600 all the producers. I'm on the inside, on the outside, 0:40:10.920 --> 0:40:19.440 And what Puff was doing. I started learning the business 0:40:20.840 --> 0:40:26.480 by sweeping floors, so to speak. While I'm developing, I'm learning. 0:40:27.440 --> 0:40:30.879 Even though he's paying me, I'm still learning, paying attention. 0:40:31.880 --> 0:40:35.160 So you think I graduated from the l M and 0:40:35.239 --> 0:40:39.799 Babyface to bad Boy, and then I worked my way 0:40:39.840 --> 0:40:42.680 all the way up to Arista. So then I got 0:40:42.840 --> 0:40:48.960 Clive's roster, Whitney, Houston, Colos, Sudan, Tanna, everything that was 0:40:49.360 --> 0:40:53.520 on his roster I got a chance to touch in developing. 0:40:54.840 --> 0:40:59.879 Are there certain key elements that you take and use 0:41:00.080 --> 0:41:01.680 with every artist? All right? 0:41:02.040 --> 0:41:05.480 No, it's every artist. You're fine tuning in a different way. 0:41:05.640 --> 0:41:06.480 Everybody's different. 0:41:06.880 --> 0:41:09.120 Everybody's you know, there's a certain thing that fits in 0:41:09.120 --> 0:41:11.799 the marketplace, but everybody's different. And what I try to 0:41:11.840 --> 0:41:14.960 do is, like Taylor, make your suit to fit you. Yeah, 0:41:15.280 --> 0:41:19.040 That's why I'm able to do an Escape and do 0:41:19.120 --> 0:41:25.040 a TLC and still turn around and do a Destiny Child, 0:41:25.120 --> 0:41:30.520 and none of it look alike, right, because each individual 0:41:30.640 --> 0:41:34.080 possessed a certain gift that I got to pull out 0:41:34.080 --> 0:41:34.640 and highlight. 0:41:35.120 --> 0:41:37.640 Yeah, like you told me before we even you know, 0:41:37.920 --> 0:41:39.880 we were just just just in conversation. 0:41:40.520 --> 0:41:44.080 You're like, Jay, it took six years to develop us here. Yeah, 0:41:44.160 --> 0:41:46.200 it took six years you gotta think the first album 0:41:46.239 --> 0:41:49.960 with Puff with Puffy didn't work, did one with Dallas 0:41:49.960 --> 0:41:52.080 Austin that didn't work. Then he went off trying to 0:41:52.120 --> 0:41:53.759 do one on his own that didn't work. Then he 0:41:53.840 --> 0:41:57.480 finally met JD. So in the course of that time, 0:41:57.640 --> 0:42:01.160 that's money's being spent, things happening, and. 0:42:01.120 --> 0:42:01.879 You're working with him. 0:42:02.280 --> 0:42:03.880 I'm working with him when it was money, when I 0:42:04.000 --> 0:42:06.359 know money he was around me. I'm giving him money 0:42:06.360 --> 0:42:08.720 to go to the movies with him his girlfriend because 0:42:08.760 --> 0:42:11.719 I got ten sessions going on. And he was used 0:42:11.719 --> 0:42:13.600 to feel slighted. He used to be like, yo, man, 0:42:13.920 --> 0:42:16.160 you know, like a big brother type thing, like spending 0:42:16.239 --> 0:42:18.319 time with him. I don't have time for him, and 0:42:18.360 --> 0:42:21.160 I'm working on these artists. And so he felt some 0:42:21.320 --> 0:42:24.200 type of way when he was growing up that I 0:42:24.280 --> 0:42:27.640 wasn't with him as much as he liked. So even 0:42:27.680 --> 0:42:32.239 when you make me want to jumped off of him. 0:42:32.280 --> 0:42:37.319 With Jamaine, he had already did six years of structured 0:42:37.400 --> 0:42:43.200 discipline training understanding the business. In the same time his 0:42:43.360 --> 0:42:47.840 voice was changing, so he knew what hardship felt like, 0:42:48.200 --> 0:42:50.000 and he knew what it was like to be in 0:42:50.080 --> 0:42:54.080 a light and get accepted and rejected at the same time, 0:42:55.760 --> 0:42:58.399 and then he had a support team that supported him, 0:42:58.719 --> 0:43:01.319 like his mom and certain things that he could go 0:43:01.400 --> 0:43:05.319 to like Keith, people that was around him, that was 0:43:05.360 --> 0:43:09.600 consistent in his life, that held him up and helped 0:43:09.640 --> 0:43:11.840 him up to his truth. You know. So everything was 0:43:11.880 --> 0:43:13.600 a challenge. You know, it wasn't an easy for him. 0:43:14.040 --> 0:43:17.120 So even when you see him today, it's like he 0:43:17.239 --> 0:43:21.080 understands every song starts with a thought and an idea 0:43:21.840 --> 0:43:24.600 that he has to execute and he has to go 0:43:24.640 --> 0:43:27.239 to the same steps all over and over again to 0:43:27.320 --> 0:43:28.760 bring that art to life. 0:43:29.080 --> 0:43:31.760 I've heard so many people, especially on our show, mentioned 0:43:31.840 --> 0:43:36.040 him about his passion, about his focus. 0:43:36.239 --> 0:43:38.239 Yeah, you know how he locks in. 0:43:38.719 --> 0:43:40.960 He's like one of the best understudies, one of the 0:43:40.960 --> 0:43:42.200 best students of the game. 0:43:42.560 --> 0:43:42.920 He is. 0:43:43.920 --> 0:43:45.760 And I would say, on the flip side, the hardest 0:43:45.800 --> 0:43:49.440 working person that understood the business and the game and 0:43:49.520 --> 0:43:52.680 put the work in double time would be puffed. 0:44:02.400 --> 0:44:07.040 Okay, So when you see an artist, would you rather 0:44:07.600 --> 0:44:09.600 have the most talented or. 0:44:09.600 --> 0:44:11.160 The hardest working, hardest working? 0:44:11.280 --> 0:44:14.799 The hardest working, Yeah, talent is diamond, doesn't I mean 0:44:14.840 --> 0:44:21.319 you could be you can be American Idol top vocalist 0:44:21.640 --> 0:44:26.919 critically acclaimed. Yeah, and still can't sell records. Right, I've 0:44:26.960 --> 0:44:29.640 seen it. You can be number one on the Voice, 0:44:29.840 --> 0:44:32.520 you could be number one on American Idol, and you 0:44:32.520 --> 0:44:35.920 can skip the artist development and the an R process 0:44:36.520 --> 0:44:39.200 and you'll go absolutely nowhere. He'll just be famous. 0:44:39.719 --> 0:44:39.920 You know. 0:44:40.000 --> 0:44:42.600 My dad always used to say practice makes perfect, right, 0:44:42.600 --> 0:44:44.000 Michael Jackson, Joe Jackson. 0:44:44.520 --> 0:44:46.120 It's a certain mindset of it. 0:44:46.920 --> 0:44:49.759 Do you think there is like a minimum that these 0:44:49.840 --> 0:44:52.000 artists should be doing? Like if you're if you're a 0:44:52.080 --> 0:44:54.880 new artist and you're talking to a new artist, a 0:44:55.280 --> 0:44:59.560 new artists talking to you, what would you tell them 0:44:59.680 --> 0:45:03.240 as as what it takes to perfect their craft? 0:45:02.880 --> 0:45:04.480 Like, like what is the. 0:45:04.480 --> 0:45:07.480 Minimum in your mind that like you got to practice 0:45:07.520 --> 0:45:09.719 this much every week or this What would be your 0:45:09.760 --> 0:45:10.439 advice to them? 0:45:10.480 --> 0:45:13.320 Well, it's not even free games, it's not even a 0:45:14.800 --> 0:45:19.239 matter of hours. It is a thing of where it 0:45:19.239 --> 0:45:23.799 becomes a lifestyle because it's nothing you can put on 0:45:23.840 --> 0:45:26.359 and take off. Yeah, it's something you have to wear 0:45:27.800 --> 0:45:34.080 all the time. And if you consistent with the work, 0:45:35.440 --> 0:45:41.200 then it becomes natural to you, and it becomes natural 0:45:41.200 --> 0:45:45.040 to you. Then when other people see it, it seems 0:45:45.080 --> 0:45:49.440 like it's obtainable. So that's when you connect. It's like 0:45:49.600 --> 0:45:52.319 step Curry, you know, like how can you come in 0:45:52.360 --> 0:45:58.000 and change the NBA without having a regiment right right, 0:45:58.040 --> 0:46:00.719 and then putting in the work. See what he did 0:46:00.840 --> 0:46:07.160 was with outwork everybody and people say was it's a secret. 0:46:07.160 --> 0:46:09.440 Well how did he get to this level of success? 0:46:09.480 --> 0:46:12.440 He outworked you who don't have the talent. They don't 0:46:12.440 --> 0:46:13.960 matter if you had the talent. He just outworked you. 0:46:15.719 --> 0:46:19.279 So he can exploit your talent. He can go right here. 0:46:19.320 --> 0:46:21.920 You can create a record, creat a beat. You're gonna 0:46:21.920 --> 0:46:23.680 sit on that record. You're gonna listen to that record 0:46:23.680 --> 0:46:26.960 one hundred times. The beauty that he had, you can 0:46:26.960 --> 0:46:30.040 have the whole hit man. Everybody here making records, all 0:46:30.080 --> 0:46:33.240 these companies offering them production deals, everybody got side deals 0:46:33.239 --> 0:46:35.880 and everything. The only thing y'all don't have is the 0:46:36.000 --> 0:46:39.640 hustle that he has. He gonna take that record and 0:46:39.680 --> 0:46:42.160 it's on Hot nine seven the next day while you're 0:46:42.160 --> 0:46:46.000 still listening to it. He's put it in motion. He 0:46:46.040 --> 0:46:47.799 done took that record and played it for twenty other 0:46:47.800 --> 0:46:52.040 people while you still sleep. He put it in motion. 0:46:52.880 --> 0:46:56.840 And that's what the game needs. 0:46:57.160 --> 0:46:59.040 And missing the hustle. 0:46:59.560 --> 0:47:04.600 Well, everything that you know they want to take away 0:47:04.600 --> 0:47:11.799 from our culture is the black exec Yeah, the lifestyle, 0:47:11.960 --> 0:47:17.279 the lifestyle, the culture. So I heard an interview when 0:47:17.800 --> 0:47:24.520 La was talking about there's no more us in the buildings. Yeah, well, 0:47:25.120 --> 0:47:27.799 a lot of us didn't start in a building. So 0:47:27.880 --> 0:47:31.440 we just got to get back to the art and 0:47:31.480 --> 0:47:32.239 the discipline of. 0:47:32.280 --> 0:47:34.840 What it takes to take over the building. 0:47:34.960 --> 0:47:36.920 To take over the building, we are the building. 0:47:37.480 --> 0:47:37.719 Yeah. 0:47:38.200 --> 0:47:40.319 I didn't operate from a building. I didn't take a job. 0:47:40.920 --> 0:47:44.239 I became a multi making there without a job in 0:47:44.320 --> 0:47:51.120 a building. Yeah, just through the hustle and the creator. Yeah, 0:47:51.160 --> 0:47:51.680 and that's it. 0:47:52.160 --> 0:47:54.720 Wow, Now that it's amazing. 0:47:54.760 --> 0:47:57.720 And the way you broke it down is it's perfect 0:47:57.760 --> 0:48:02.600 in my eyes, of giving somebody the playbook of do 0:48:02.719 --> 0:48:05.560 the work, get to it. 0:48:05.080 --> 0:48:08.040 It's no quick way and it's no easy it's no 0:48:08.280 --> 0:48:12.440 cheat code. People think that, oh, well she cheated because 0:48:12.480 --> 0:48:14.879 she's sampled. Oh this person, she didn't know. They still 0:48:14.880 --> 0:48:18.319 put in the work, right, does a matter They went 0:48:18.400 --> 0:48:20.520 to work and if they still here today, they understood 0:48:21.920 --> 0:48:24.680 that that takes a certain kind of work ethic to 0:48:24.760 --> 0:48:27.880 stay in this game. And right now, the problem I 0:48:27.920 --> 0:48:33.680 have with the new kids today. I mean, true talent 0:48:34.040 --> 0:48:37.720 will always rise, but at the same time, quick fame 0:48:38.520 --> 0:48:41.640 mm hmm. I've seen that happen in this business where 0:48:41.680 --> 0:48:45.799 you inquire all these things from quick fame and crash 0:48:45.880 --> 0:48:48.960 and burn. That's why so many suicides, so much mental 0:48:49.680 --> 0:48:53.480 a lot of mental health, because people are watching other 0:48:53.480 --> 0:48:56.400 people's success. It's not really putting in the work, and 0:48:56.920 --> 0:49:01.720 they're actually you can strike, you can get a spike 0:49:01.760 --> 0:49:06.720 off social media, and you can think that that's where 0:49:06.760 --> 0:49:11.120 you should be. That you'll see like, let me give 0:49:11.120 --> 0:49:14.080 you an example of something. So you'll see an artist go, 0:49:16.280 --> 0:49:17.840 they like this post. 0:49:18.680 --> 0:49:21.840 I know you're going, right, yeah, yeah, yeah. 0:49:21.320 --> 0:49:25.560 But you don't know why they like that post. Okay, 0:49:25.600 --> 0:49:27.759 well you just made an ass of yourself. They love it. 0:49:30.840 --> 0:49:35.960 On this side of it, here you grinding and you 0:49:35.960 --> 0:49:38.640 didn't make an ass of yourself, and you got the talent, 0:49:39.200 --> 0:49:42.560 but you're not getting many likes long right, so you 0:49:42.680 --> 0:49:44.280 thinking this is not working. 0:49:44.400 --> 0:49:45.760 You got to make an ass of myself. 0:49:46.280 --> 0:49:48.160 I got to make an ass out of myself. So 0:49:48.200 --> 0:49:49.840 then you turn around make an ass out of yourself 0:49:49.840 --> 0:49:52.879 and they like it, and then I turn around and go, 0:49:54.400 --> 0:49:58.920 why do you feel better ass and then you'll look 0:49:58.920 --> 0:50:00.239 at me like, what are you talking about? I know 0:50:00.280 --> 0:50:02.360 they like this post, let me do more of these, 0:50:02.800 --> 0:50:07.120 and I go and this is no disrespect. I seen 0:50:07.160 --> 0:50:09.200 one of the artists do one of the biggest songs 0:50:09.680 --> 0:50:11.359 and it came out and when it as soon as 0:50:11.400 --> 0:50:14.120 it hit, I said, oh, that's the wrong song for him. 0:50:14.360 --> 0:50:15.760 And that was the thong song. 0:50:17.280 --> 0:50:19.840 For Cisco incredibly talented artists. 0:50:19.920 --> 0:50:26.320 Yeah, Verry, And I said, that's off brand. Yeah, hmm hmm. 0:50:26.520 --> 0:50:30.799 That's off and it's going and it's going and it's 0:50:30.800 --> 0:50:34.040 going and it's going. And I said, damn, Now he's 0:50:34.040 --> 0:50:38.320 suspended mid air. Do you got another thong song in him? 0:50:38.400 --> 0:50:42.120 Is there another record in that space in that atmosphere? 0:50:42.520 --> 0:50:46.919 It didn't have one because he's very soulful kid, right, Okay, 0:50:47.000 --> 0:50:49.200 up there, you suspend the mid air. It's no soul 0:50:49.320 --> 0:50:52.520 up there, So now how do you go from there 0:50:54.120 --> 0:51:00.399 back to this base? Could never find his way from 0:51:00.400 --> 0:51:03.839 the thumb song. I'm not saying he ain't. He's one 0:51:03.840 --> 0:51:07.319 of the greatest performers, yeah, but he couldn't find his 0:51:07.400 --> 0:51:12.480 way back. The song took him out, And for me, 0:51:12.719 --> 0:51:14.520 I would have said, that's a great song, but they don't. 0:51:14.320 --> 0:51:16.719 Fit you, and it's not many people that do that. 0:51:16.800 --> 0:51:19.399 I would have said the same thing too, and there's 0:51:19.440 --> 0:51:21.960 no disrespect here. I would have said the same thing 0:51:22.000 --> 0:51:26.799 to Ralph Tresvant. I love sensitivity, but I don't think 0:51:26.840 --> 0:51:29.160 no woman want to say that out loud, that they 0:51:29.160 --> 0:51:37.040 want a man with sensitivity. They won't. Bobby Brown, I 0:51:37.080 --> 0:51:37.600 don't give. 0:51:37.480 --> 0:51:39.600 A fuck, right, it's my progative. 0:51:39.600 --> 0:51:44.120 It's my parrogative. Wanted a bad boy boom takes off. Yeah, 0:51:44.120 --> 0:51:46.120 I know Ralph is the voice and the energy of 0:51:46.160 --> 0:51:47.800 no addition, But I still think. 0:51:47.600 --> 0:51:50.520 That particular record from a solo standpoint. 0:51:50.400 --> 0:51:55.000 Slowed down the solo process because even Michael Jackson, I'm bad, 0:51:55.840 --> 0:52:01.759 Even Michael Jackson, Billy Jeanie, that ain't mine, right, you 0:52:01.760 --> 0:52:04.279 know what I'm saying. So, you know, sometimes you got 0:52:04.280 --> 0:52:07.640 to know how to navigate through the space. Sometimes it's 0:52:07.640 --> 0:52:10.520 just not a good song. Sometimes it's your brand. Sometimes 0:52:10.520 --> 0:52:13.000 that's certain things of off brand, and it's just the 0:52:13.080 --> 0:52:15.319 way I kind of put it together in the way 0:52:15.320 --> 0:52:15.960 I think about it. 0:52:16.000 --> 0:52:24.160 There's a certain bravado from male artists that the public wants, Yeah, and. 0:52:24.120 --> 0:52:26.000 I've seen it with female artists too. And I've seen 0:52:26.040 --> 0:52:29.080 where some people when they come in and they tie 0:52:29.160 --> 0:52:34.480 relationships in and you know, they expose, you know, they 0:52:34.480 --> 0:52:37.040 want to show you who they are, and then the 0:52:37.080 --> 0:52:40.080 consumer don't buy into it. We still live in a 0:52:40.640 --> 0:52:41.800 very magical. 0:52:41.360 --> 0:52:44.160 Space, yes, and what we do is magic, right. 0:52:44.320 --> 0:52:46.600 People still love magic and you got to know how 0:52:46.640 --> 0:52:47.160 to create it. 0:52:47.440 --> 0:52:47.680 Yeah. 0:52:47.840 --> 0:52:52.879 Okay, So in creating it and now learning the business, yes, 0:52:53.000 --> 0:52:56.960 as you've been doing. At this point of your journey, 0:52:57.880 --> 0:53:01.560 when do you say to yourself it's time for upfront, 0:53:01.920 --> 0:53:04.239 It's time, it's time to start this. 0:53:04.560 --> 0:53:05.360 Uh. 0:53:05.480 --> 0:53:08.600 I think when I work, I think, I think when 0:53:08.600 --> 0:53:10.040 I worked my way all the way up to Clive 0:53:10.120 --> 0:53:13.760 Davis and big shout out to Melinda Dancer and Monica 0:53:13.800 --> 0:53:17.880 for setting that meeting up. And I get there with 0:53:17.960 --> 0:53:22.640 Clive and this was like, this was the eye opener 0:53:24.239 --> 0:53:27.160 I'm playing in my music now. I made my music 0:53:28.200 --> 0:53:31.680 in my basement studio on a basement. This is my 0:53:31.880 --> 0:53:32.560 upfront moment. 0:53:32.600 --> 0:53:34.760 But this is also Atlanta, so I'm sure that basement 0:53:34.840 --> 0:53:38.160 is expansive and it's I mean, I'm. 0:53:37.960 --> 0:53:39.880 In I'm in a million dollars, I'm in a million 0:53:39.920 --> 0:53:42.840 dollar crib in the Fourth War So I'm standing in 0:53:42.840 --> 0:53:46.080 the unclayed and it's and it's and it's like it's fly. 0:53:46.640 --> 0:53:48.359 Yeah, it's in the middle of it's in the middle 0:53:48.400 --> 0:53:49.960 of the hood. It's at the regular basement. 0:53:50.040 --> 0:53:52.320 Yeah, I'm on Boulevard and in the middle of the 0:53:52.360 --> 0:53:56.480 hood with a million dollar house and and I'm making music, right, 0:53:56.760 --> 0:53:58.799 So I take this music and I play it for 0:53:58.840 --> 0:54:01.399 Clive and then this batch of music, you know, it's 0:54:01.560 --> 0:54:07.120 very artists and Cloud listened and then he turned around 0:54:07.160 --> 0:54:08.719 and asked me, and then he wanted to play me 0:54:08.760 --> 0:54:12.800 some music. And then he started playing me all the 0:54:12.880 --> 0:54:13.520 music that he. 0:54:13.520 --> 0:54:19.000 Had and I'm listening and the quality of it. 0:54:21.600 --> 0:54:24.400 This was made at the Hit Factory, so sonically, he 0:54:24.560 --> 0:54:27.760 just out beat me in the meeting. And I'm sitting 0:54:27.800 --> 0:54:32.520 there like, wow, this is incredible. And at this moment, 0:54:32.560 --> 0:54:36.080 I'm thinking he's about to give me a production deal. Right. 0:54:41.400 --> 0:54:44.239 I come from the face, I come from bad boy, 0:54:44.920 --> 0:54:48.400 I come from rowdy Boom, I'm next. 0:54:48.239 --> 0:54:53.640 Up baby, Yeah, yeah, for sure, he shot me down. Okay, Boom, 0:54:53.680 --> 0:54:55.719 did you give one of those letters? Not those letters though, 0:54:55.800 --> 0:54:57.879 because you know, have you heard about those? 0:54:58.000 --> 0:54:58.160 Now? 0:54:58.160 --> 0:54:58.799 I get the letter? 0:54:58.920 --> 0:55:02.880 Yea letter when he would turn down songs back in 0:55:02.920 --> 0:55:05.759 the day, like probably before our time, even because then 0:55:05.840 --> 0:55:08.760 O G showed me one he would he would handwrite 0:55:08.760 --> 0:55:09.880 a letter to you. 0:55:09.920 --> 0:55:11.920 No, no, no, I didn't get not wanting to. I 0:55:11.920 --> 0:55:14.759 didn't even get by you. I didn't even get you. 0:55:14.880 --> 0:55:15.560 I didn't get that. 0:55:16.040 --> 0:55:19.560 What he said was he asked me, do I mind 0:55:19.600 --> 0:55:23.560 helping him with his talent? So then I end up 0:55:23.600 --> 0:55:28.200 picking up work, but as a production company, No, he said. 0:55:28.280 --> 0:55:30.280 I didn't have anything better than what he was playing. 0:55:31.880 --> 0:55:35.480 So I said, okay, great, all right, cool, So boom. 0:55:35.080 --> 0:55:36.000 Are you discouraged? 0:55:36.640 --> 0:55:39.560 Oh I'm in pieces. I'm shocking. So it's like a 0:55:39.600 --> 0:55:41.560 Spike Lee movie for me. I'm moving like this now 0:55:42.239 --> 0:55:43.160 in the streets. 0:55:42.800 --> 0:55:44.439 Of New York, the buildings, the movement. 0:55:45.920 --> 0:55:48.799 Yeah, I'm floating. So I'm like, man, how do I 0:55:48.840 --> 0:55:51.600 go back home and tell all the artists that's in 0:55:51.640 --> 0:55:52.240 the basement. 0:55:52.920 --> 0:55:55.600 Ah, now in. 0:55:55.560 --> 0:56:01.160 The basement is akon in the basement ship it's future 0:56:01.160 --> 0:56:07.840 in the basement. I have countless of artists that's depending 0:56:07.920 --> 0:56:13.960 on me. Yeah, and producers and writers to go back 0:56:14.000 --> 0:56:18.319 and say it didn't work. Yeah, And I never really 0:56:18.360 --> 0:56:20.480 said it didn't work. I said, guys, let's switch this up. 0:56:20.520 --> 0:56:22.240 Give me this, give me this, give me this. Because 0:56:22.239 --> 0:56:24.719 now I've been in all these rooms, I know what 0:56:24.800 --> 0:56:25.120 it is. 0:56:25.440 --> 0:56:25.840 Yeah. 0:56:26.840 --> 0:56:29.719 Right, So I went and tuned it, fine tuning I want. 0:56:29.719 --> 0:56:33.160 I fixed it. Never discouraging the artists, I just start 0:56:33.200 --> 0:56:36.000 asking for different things, and over a course of time, 0:56:36.040 --> 0:56:41.200 I start getting it. And then I realized I was 0:56:41.280 --> 0:56:45.279 ready to play. So then I went. Then I went 0:56:45.320 --> 0:56:51.719 to other companies and I got rejected. Probably. I mean, 0:56:51.800 --> 0:56:53.600 I went to a lot of record execs, man. 0:56:53.480 --> 0:56:56.960 And everybody's turning your deal down. Everybody wants to give 0:56:57.000 --> 0:57:00.160 you a production label deal, anything of the sort now. 0:57:01.000 --> 0:57:02.399 But they're still hiring you. 0:57:02.760 --> 0:57:04.440 Yeah, they still hired me to do their talent, but 0:57:04.440 --> 0:57:05.680 they're not giving me a production deal. 0:57:05.719 --> 0:57:09.400 Okay, so are you questioning like in for transparency? Are 0:57:09.400 --> 0:57:13.160 each question like maybe I don't. I started thinking that 0:57:13.520 --> 0:57:15.520 I don't know about what I got. No, not that 0:57:15.600 --> 0:57:18.600 I didn't have it. I felt like outside of timing, 0:57:18.920 --> 0:57:19.640 they didn't get it. 0:57:19.920 --> 0:57:20.240 Okay. 0:57:20.400 --> 0:57:22.600 I wasn't really discouraged. And you know, I felt like 0:57:22.640 --> 0:57:25.919 if it was easy and if what I was doing 0:57:26.080 --> 0:57:28.919 was common, everybody would be doing it correct. I felt 0:57:28.960 --> 0:57:30.960 like it was different and at the time when I 0:57:31.040 --> 0:57:36.960 came through with the music, even shopping Acon, it wasn't 0:57:37.040 --> 0:57:39.800 your norm. People didn't understand what it was. If I 0:57:39.800 --> 0:57:41.960 showed you a photo of what he looked like and 0:57:42.000 --> 0:57:44.160 then I played the music, you didn' quite didn't understand 0:57:44.160 --> 0:57:47.400 the tone, didn't understand the look. I say, he's African. 0:57:47.880 --> 0:57:49.880 That wasn't even a thing, you know what I mean, 0:57:50.080 --> 0:57:53.240 just like the first African African American to break in 0:57:53.280 --> 0:57:57.480 the US. So I'm doing something totally left from what 0:57:57.480 --> 0:58:01.400 they're accustomed to doing, and I felt like it was unique. 0:58:01.680 --> 0:58:04.880 But one thing about it, I said to myself, I said, 0:58:04.920 --> 0:58:09.360 once this pop, it's gonna go. It's gonna go all 0:58:09.400 --> 0:58:13.200 the way. It's gonna be international. And that kept me 0:58:13.320 --> 0:58:17.680 going more so than the nose. There was more so 0:58:17.880 --> 0:58:20.360 my belief. And then plus I have done so many 0:58:20.440 --> 0:58:22.280 artists that I kind of had the hot head in 0:58:22.360 --> 0:58:24.880 terms of, oh what I'm doing gonna work. You just 0:58:24.880 --> 0:58:26.480 don't get it. Give me a second, I'll be back. 0:58:27.000 --> 0:58:31.120 So then I went on my own, pressing up cdsake 0:58:31.200 --> 0:58:32.800 the Independence I mean records. Yeah, I did the whole 0:58:32.960 --> 0:58:35.000 I did the whole Independent, I mean, I bought a 0:58:35.040 --> 0:58:35.800 conversion van. 0:58:36.680 --> 0:58:38.560 I've been there wrapped the van. 0:58:39.200 --> 0:58:42.320 Yeah, street teams up and down the highway, taking a 0:58:42.400 --> 0:58:45.120 com music at a different places. It was funny story 0:58:45.160 --> 0:58:50.720 because I was actually doing Mary's tour and I used 0:58:50.760 --> 0:58:53.440 to go to the after parties and I would have 0:58:53.600 --> 0:59:00.920 them play Acon's music at Mary and say, hey, man, 0:59:00.920 --> 0:59:03.560 can you play this? Yeah, So even at all the clubs, 0:59:03.600 --> 0:59:05.760 so everywhere I went, I was working on another artist. 0:59:05.960 --> 0:59:08.840 I was asking to utilizing your network right to play 0:59:08.920 --> 0:59:10.800 to play the music. While I'm doing that, I got 0:59:10.840 --> 0:59:15.960 to kind of frustrated why people ain't really get it right. 0:59:16.040 --> 0:59:18.040 I was kind of like, man, this is crazy. So 0:59:18.080 --> 0:59:22.680 I called the friend up. I called Bernard Alexander. Ah, yeah, yeah, 0:59:22.720 --> 0:59:25.000 my god. I called Bernard. I said, oh, Bernard, check 0:59:25.040 --> 0:59:27.080 this out. I need you to come to the house. 0:59:27.240 --> 0:59:29.880 So Bernard came to the house, Men Bernard. Before we 0:59:29.960 --> 0:59:32.439 even got all the way into it, we went to church. 0:59:33.720 --> 0:59:36.560 So men Bernard went to church uh with my mom 0:59:36.880 --> 0:59:42.600 and spent the night. And then I played him what 0:59:42.680 --> 0:59:46.080 I had. I played him Acons music and then I 0:59:46.120 --> 0:59:50.680 played in this song called Lonely and he said stop, stop, stop, stop, 0:59:50.680 --> 0:59:53.200 stop right there and stop right there. He said, give 0:59:53.200 --> 0:59:55.959 me that give me, give it to me, and he said, 0:59:55.960 --> 0:59:58.080 give me, give me a few days. I'm gonna come back. 0:59:58.160 --> 1:00:00.280 I got you, I got you. He said, we get 1:00:00.280 --> 1:00:04.160 to this song right here. It's out of here. In 1:00:04.160 --> 1:00:05.640 my mind, I was like, all right, bet if you 1:00:05.760 --> 1:00:08.760 got something, let me know. But in the midst of that, 1:00:09.880 --> 1:00:13.280 let me go back. Because I did get a production deal. 1:00:14.880 --> 1:00:17.640 I missed this one piece that I cannot miss. I 1:00:17.680 --> 1:00:21.000 had one guy to believe in me early on, before 1:00:21.040 --> 1:00:23.560 the records even popped, before I even did that, and 1:00:23.600 --> 1:00:36.160 it was Hiram Hicks shout out. So I had I 1:00:36.200 --> 1:00:39.640 was working on Kelly Price, Drew Hill, Mona Li some 1:00:39.800 --> 1:00:43.080 other things that he have signed, and he was at 1:00:43.240 --> 1:00:49.120 Island Death time and he gave me a three act situation. 1:00:50.080 --> 1:00:52.120 But he gave it to me right on the end 1:00:52.320 --> 1:00:58.240 of what it was, making a shift. I think at 1:00:58.240 --> 1:01:03.920 this time, Kevin Lyles and le Or was coming. Yeah, 1:01:04.200 --> 1:01:10.920 so at that moment he stepped down. They came in 1:01:11.920 --> 1:01:16.600 and if I can recall taking a meeting. 1:01:16.320 --> 1:01:19.520 With Kevin, it was it was just it was crazy. 1:01:19.960 --> 1:01:22.880 Uh, it was crazy. It was crazy. Tina and Tina 1:01:22.960 --> 1:01:28.200 Davis was sitting there, you know, she was having a meeting, 1:01:28.760 --> 1:01:33.520 and she she was talking to me. I was playing 1:01:33.520 --> 1:01:36.160 the music. Kevin was on the phone. It's the meeting 1:01:36.200 --> 1:01:39.480 with Kevin. So Kevin is talking on the phone. Every 1:01:39.480 --> 1:01:42.440 time the phone and he goes Tina looking at me 1:01:42.520 --> 1:01:45.320 like this. She said, one second, divine. One second. She's 1:01:45.320 --> 1:01:47.760 trying to be nice. She said, one second, divine. So 1:01:47.920 --> 1:01:50.560 I'm probably on the third or fourth song. Kevin's on 1:01:50.600 --> 1:01:52.760 the phone, and the meeting is for Kevin. But I 1:01:52.800 --> 1:01:54.160 came in the door with hire them. 1:01:54.280 --> 1:01:54.960 Yeah. 1:01:55.360 --> 1:02:00.320 So by the time it got to and I'm playing Acon, 1:02:00.440 --> 1:02:03.920 I'm playing Acon, I'm playing a couple of artist artists 1:02:03.920 --> 1:02:07.640 I have signed Cha Cha, I'm playing this music and 1:02:08.280 --> 1:02:11.040 I stopped it myself. I said ten, excuse me, I 1:02:11.080 --> 1:02:14.920 stopped it. I got the CD, grabbed my bag. He 1:02:15.040 --> 1:02:17.240 on the phone, and I'm getting ready to walk out, 1:02:18.080 --> 1:02:21.720 and Tina was like, divine, just wait a second. I said, no, no, no, 1:02:21.600 --> 1:02:23.520 it's not a problem. It's not a problem. I said, 1:02:23.600 --> 1:02:25.280 this is cool. She said no, no, no, no, just 1:02:25.320 --> 1:02:27.400 wait a second. He'll be off in a second. 1:02:27.760 --> 1:02:29.480 I said, don't worry about it. 1:02:29.800 --> 1:02:32.440 I call you. Got up when I'm and when I 1:02:32.440 --> 1:02:34.360 got to the door, he looked up and he's like, yo, yo, yo. 1:02:35.840 --> 1:02:38.680 He said, divine you ever you ever you ever thought 1:02:38.680 --> 1:02:44.320 about working inside? I said, no, sir, nah, I never 1:02:44.360 --> 1:02:49.240 thought about it. All right, all right, I said no, no, no, 1:02:49.200 --> 1:02:51.520 it's not It's cool. We'll talk. We'll talk in a minute, 1:02:52.040 --> 1:02:53.919 we'll talk. Thank you, thank you for your time, sir, 1:02:54.480 --> 1:02:58.560 and I walked out, and then fast forward back at 1:02:58.560 --> 1:03:02.840 home creating. Then that's when Bernard came. Bernard took the 1:03:02.960 --> 1:03:09.040 music to Barry Hankinson. Okay, so Barry wanted to do 1:03:09.120 --> 1:03:12.520 the deal. And then he said, I got this other play. 1:03:13.040 --> 1:03:14.520 And I don't know how it happened. I know him 1:03:14.560 --> 1:03:17.000 and Kenny Burns go back and forth about who who 1:03:17.040 --> 1:03:20.320 took it to Steve Rifkin, but I know Bernard had it. 1:03:20.360 --> 1:03:23.520 And Bernard went into Rifkin's office played in the music, 1:03:23.560 --> 1:03:26.360 and Rifkin wanted to meet Akon wanted to do the deal. 1:03:27.320 --> 1:03:30.400 But when he came to Atlanta, came to my house, 1:03:30.440 --> 1:03:34.000 the million dollar house in the hood, and he saw 1:03:34.640 --> 1:03:39.120 Usher there, he saw Eric Sermon there, he saw Candy 1:03:39.160 --> 1:03:41.960 and tiny downstairs writing met Acon. 1:03:42.280 --> 1:03:44.720 So he's like, yo, what is this factory going on? 1:03:45.080 --> 1:03:46.960 Like what is this and then then I said, no, no, man, 1:03:47.040 --> 1:03:50.280 let's go we're talking business. I said, let's go play basketball. 1:03:50.440 --> 1:03:54.120 So I walked him through the hood and fourth Ward 1:03:55.000 --> 1:03:58.880 basketball court. Everybody takes off running because they thought I 1:03:58.920 --> 1:04:00.480 came to the hood with white boys. Thought they were 1:04:00.480 --> 1:04:06.160 the Feds. I thought they were the police. You got 1:04:06.200 --> 1:04:08.560 Steve Rifkin with you. I got Rifkin with me. We 1:04:08.600 --> 1:04:11.320 got to I'm taking and go play ball. We're going 1:04:11.480 --> 1:04:14.960 down here to talk. So we do that, and then 1:04:16.320 --> 1:04:18.720 I still wasn't all the way sold on doing a 1:04:18.760 --> 1:04:21.400 deal with Rifkin. I had to go make one stop. 1:04:21.440 --> 1:04:24.440 I had to go back to hire them, and I 1:04:24.480 --> 1:04:26.600 took Rifkin up to hire them and then hire them 1:04:26.640 --> 1:04:29.360 green lighted it. And then that's what made me take 1:04:29.360 --> 1:04:31.040 the deal because Hiram is the one who gave me 1:04:31.080 --> 1:04:34.240 the money to bail a coon out of jail the 1:04:34.280 --> 1:04:38.280 second time. Yeah, I paid for the first one and 1:04:38.320 --> 1:04:40.080 the second. Yeah, they gave me the money for the 1:04:40.080 --> 1:04:40.560 second one. 1:04:40.920 --> 1:04:48.800 So, connecting of episodes, DJ More Milly, DJ Okay Jimmy's nephew. 1:04:49.080 --> 1:04:53.800 Yeah yeah. So he says he had Polo he got yeah, 1:04:53.920 --> 1:04:56.520 and Polo wanted to do the deal. 1:04:57.000 --> 1:04:58.560 Also so I just go. 1:04:59.040 --> 1:05:02.360 I discovered Polo and it was sixteen been around me 1:05:02.400 --> 1:05:02.960 since then. 1:05:05.880 --> 1:05:09.880 So because I guess was singing hook hooks. 1:05:10.040 --> 1:05:15.320 So how we even was working. There was Billy I 1:05:15.440 --> 1:05:18.240 forget Billy last name, and he'll kill me for this. 1:05:18.720 --> 1:05:23.560 I gave Billy a CD with nothing but hooks on 1:05:23.600 --> 1:05:27.040 it with Acon because we were trying to figure out 1:05:27.320 --> 1:05:30.040 how to get these songs out, and then we was like, 1:05:30.080 --> 1:05:32.040 if we give it to some rappers, give it to 1:05:32.040 --> 1:05:35.240 certain people that just thought the verse on it, and 1:05:35.400 --> 1:05:38.200 give it back or put it out. So that's how 1:05:38.240 --> 1:05:44.360 we began to use other marketing strategies to get Acon's 1:05:44.360 --> 1:05:44.800 boys out. 1:05:44.880 --> 1:05:47.480 Yeah, so that's how you end up on the rich 1:05:47.480 --> 1:05:49.760 boys stuff. Right. But but in. 1:05:49.760 --> 1:05:55.040 That group of people's Polo still producing. Yes, right, So 1:05:58.080 --> 1:06:01.560 Polo had the CD and was shopping it too, right, 1:06:02.120 --> 1:06:04.840 and wasn't getting a bite, so he didn't come back 1:06:04.880 --> 1:06:06.439 to me with anything. So I was like, okay, boo. 1:06:06.640 --> 1:06:08.480 The only person came back was. 1:06:08.520 --> 1:06:12.160 Riff because he brought Rifkin. He brought Rifkin. Was it 1:06:12.200 --> 1:06:14.760 immediate for Rifkin? Was he like I get it? Yeah? 1:06:14.840 --> 1:06:17.120 I mean he came down right away, you know. Bernard 1:06:17.240 --> 1:06:19.000 called and he was like, yeah, yeah. 1:06:18.680 --> 1:06:22.080 And how long had you been working with KHN before this? 1:06:22.280 --> 1:06:24.440 Oh? Man, it's probably about ten years prior to that. 1:06:24.600 --> 1:06:26.560 He waited ten years. Yeah. I moved him in my 1:06:26.600 --> 1:06:30.480 home and he kept going to jail. Yeah. 1:06:30.760 --> 1:06:32.920 Oh, so what happened is we kept going to jail 1:06:33.120 --> 1:06:34.360 when he wasn't in my home. 1:06:35.600 --> 1:06:36.520 Okay, right, so. 1:06:37.960 --> 1:06:40.000 What made me move in my home? I think I 1:06:40.040 --> 1:06:42.720 was at a tribe called Quest concert and I came 1:06:42.760 --> 1:06:53.360 outside and my security was like, akon, want to holler 1:06:53.400 --> 1:06:55.200 at you now. The whole time, I'm thinking he's still 1:06:55.240 --> 1:06:58.160 in jail because the third time I left him in there, 1:06:58.200 --> 1:07:01.000 I didn't even go back. Mother, everybody pissed off. I 1:07:01.040 --> 1:07:02.880 didn't even I just like, he gonna have to set 1:07:02.960 --> 1:07:08.320 that out right. So I'm walking outside the concert and 1:07:09.600 --> 1:07:12.040 security said some you know the kid, Hey, come on 1:07:12.120 --> 1:07:14.920 to hollt you. I'm like, yo, where is that. He's 1:07:14.920 --> 1:07:17.520 across the street. I look across the street. He's like 1:07:17.600 --> 1:07:22.800 yo yo D yo D and I'm like so he 1:07:22.880 --> 1:07:23.400 walks over. 1:07:23.680 --> 1:07:25.400 He said, yo, man, I just want to tell you man, 1:07:25.720 --> 1:07:26.320 I'm sorry. 1:07:26.360 --> 1:07:26.560 Man. 1:07:26.640 --> 1:07:29.880 I apologize, you know. He apologized and everything. I was like, yeah, yeah, 1:07:29.880 --> 1:07:32.040 it's all good, man, I said, I tell you what, Man, 1:07:32.080 --> 1:07:35.000 you got my number right, just just call me. Because 1:07:35.440 --> 1:07:37.080 you got to think how I met him. I met 1:07:37.160 --> 1:07:40.560 him through Little Zane, so I didn't discover him. What 1:07:40.720 --> 1:07:43.600 you met a khan through lil Zane, Through little Zaye. 1:07:43.640 --> 1:07:47.040 Litle Zane brought him to me. Okay, So at this 1:07:47.120 --> 1:07:51.160 at my rehearsal at my studio rehearsal hall. In order 1:07:51.160 --> 1:07:56.280 for me to hear him, they got crafty and rented 1:07:56.320 --> 1:08:00.360 the space out so I can hear it. And you know, 1:08:00.440 --> 1:08:02.120 for a minute, I was just walking past the rooms. 1:08:02.160 --> 1:08:03.959 I never went in the room, and what he saw 1:08:04.200 --> 1:08:07.680 was pink coming out of the studio. He's seen all 1:08:07.680 --> 1:08:09.360 these artists coming, so he was like, I want to 1:08:09.400 --> 1:08:11.200 be in there. So Zaye was like, yo, you got 1:08:11.200 --> 1:08:11.960 to just meet my man. 1:08:12.840 --> 1:08:14.680 So he brought him. 1:08:14.680 --> 1:08:17.120 I heard it, and the only thing I thought about 1:08:17.160 --> 1:08:19.679 when I first heard it, when I heard the tone 1:08:19.720 --> 1:08:24.200 the pitch of his voice, I said, that's it. That's 1:08:24.240 --> 1:08:28.000 it right there, Yeah, that's it. And then but I 1:08:28.040 --> 1:08:31.160 still in budge on it, so they come would keep 1:08:31.240 --> 1:08:34.639 coming back. But then he started asking me business questions 1:08:35.280 --> 1:08:37.760 and he had did a deal with famous music publishing 1:08:38.840 --> 1:08:41.280 and did I yeah, yeah. 1:08:41.520 --> 1:08:43.040 So he had did a deal and he asked me 1:08:43.080 --> 1:08:44.080 about the deal and I. 1:08:44.080 --> 1:08:47.200 Was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. So he told me how 1:08:47.280 --> 1:08:50.400 much money it was. And back then, you know, he 1:08:50.560 --> 1:08:54.680 was really on this car thing heavy, right. So he 1:08:54.720 --> 1:08:56.760 had a car think it might have been a Corolla, 1:08:57.479 --> 1:09:00.800 and he had flags on it, rim on it, like you, 1:09:00.960 --> 1:09:05.439 I mean a Corona, Corolla, Corolla something like that. 1:09:05.520 --> 1:09:08.040 With flags and rims on it, flags. 1:09:07.680 --> 1:09:11.040 Rims, the whole none. I'm like, yo, what is this money? 1:09:11.360 --> 1:09:14.479 So he ended up and I said, yo, man, check 1:09:14.520 --> 1:09:17.720 us out. Don't spend all your money. Don't spend all 1:09:17.760 --> 1:09:21.639 your money on this man investing yourself. And I said, 1:09:22.400 --> 1:09:26.120 you're a producer, you're a writer, you know, a singer. Yeah, 1:09:26.160 --> 1:09:28.240 And at the time he wasn't really he was trying 1:09:28.240 --> 1:09:32.640 to sing. He had just got dropped from Electra and 1:09:32.720 --> 1:09:35.519 being him both was there at the same time. So 1:09:36.800 --> 1:09:38.880 I said to him, I said, listen, I'm just giving 1:09:38.960 --> 1:09:41.080 him game, giving him game about the business. And he 1:09:41.120 --> 1:09:43.599 just kept coming back, kept coming back, and then I said, 1:09:43.600 --> 1:09:45.080 you know what, man, I'll tell you what. Let's lock 1:09:45.120 --> 1:09:48.040 in and let's do this. I got you, and then 1:09:49.439 --> 1:09:53.479 we locked in and just giving him game, but the 1:09:53.560 --> 1:09:58.320 music wasn't quite there. He was part of the refugee 1:09:58.360 --> 1:10:02.280 camp with wy Cleft. Okay, so he used to run 1:10:02.320 --> 1:10:04.599 back and forth, you know, in the Book of Basement. 1:10:05.160 --> 1:10:10.639 So Fuji comes out boom, and I'm thinking, like, man, 1:10:12.280 --> 1:10:18.720 that sounded like what we're doing. Takes off. He's like, nah, man, 1:10:18.920 --> 1:10:20.800 why Clefts gonna do this? Why Clef's gonna do that? 1:10:20.840 --> 1:10:24.360 And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, okay, it 1:10:24.479 --> 1:10:26.680 never happened, you know what I'm saying. So one day 1:10:26.680 --> 1:10:28.680 we at the Source Awards. We're sitting there. He's like, man, 1:10:28.680 --> 1:10:30.599 why Clef gonna pull me up on stage? Watch this? 1:10:30.680 --> 1:10:33.400 Watch this. We're sitting there and I'm with shake, I'm 1:10:33.439 --> 1:10:37.880 with secure and uh man shake, we tripping. Little John 1:10:38.120 --> 1:10:39.840 eats all of you know they have in a moment. 1:10:40.240 --> 1:10:42.400 And I was the creative director of a Source that year, 1:10:42.439 --> 1:10:45.960 so I'm standing on the side and why Cleft do 1:10:46.040 --> 1:10:52.040 this big number? Then call him up? He destroyed. I 1:10:52.120 --> 1:10:54.800 was like, man, I'm looked at him. I said, man, 1:10:54.800 --> 1:10:56.960 don't worry about it. Nobody wanted to take a picture, 1:10:57.040 --> 1:10:59.080 you know, no interviews, no nothing, I said, Man, don't 1:10:59.080 --> 1:11:00.960 worry about the next year. Man, you're going you'll be 1:11:01.040 --> 1:11:03.400 up there. You're gonna kill it. He looked at me, 1:11:03.439 --> 1:11:05.680 he said for real. I said, yeah, next year, you'll 1:11:05.680 --> 1:11:08.200 be up there and little and behold, next year he 1:11:08.240 --> 1:11:10.880 was up there. But very next year, the very next year, 1:11:10.960 --> 1:11:14.360 I'll show your clip of him performing at the Source 1:11:14.360 --> 1:11:20.760 Awards Standing Ovation. And from those moments going into that 1:11:21.200 --> 1:11:28.360 doing a deal with Rifkin. Still they promised me up 1:11:28.400 --> 1:11:32.240 front megatainment situation, but they only gave me a deal 1:11:32.960 --> 1:11:36.840 for Acon. Now in this deal, you still I got 1:11:36.840 --> 1:11:42.840 another group called FA and Future is in that group, right. 1:11:42.840 --> 1:11:43.920 Yeah, he said he was. 1:11:44.080 --> 1:11:50.880 He was in the basement, okright in the deal. Yes, 1:11:50.960 --> 1:11:53.559 so amazing that it's just in this deal as well. Yeah, 1:11:53.600 --> 1:11:54.479 you get a deal for them too. 1:11:54.520 --> 1:11:54.720 Okay. 1:11:55.200 --> 1:11:58.519 So then I had an outside studios called RETZ one 1:11:59.400 --> 1:12:01.559 where all the dudes in the hood. I just let 1:12:01.640 --> 1:12:05.840 her run through that studio. So that's why the street 1:12:05.880 --> 1:12:10.240 dudes being over there and at Red Swan. But how 1:12:10.240 --> 1:12:17.040 it flipped was more so when Akon came out. It 1:12:17.120 --> 1:12:21.679 came out with belly Dancer, right, and the whole time 1:12:21.720 --> 1:12:25.920 I'm like, yo, what's this man? You know you know, 1:12:25.960 --> 1:12:28.160 we we shot the video, did every you know whatever, 1:12:28.160 --> 1:12:32.160 and I kept saying they wanted to recoup whatever money 1:12:32.160 --> 1:12:34.799 they gave us, and just so you know, the album. 1:12:35.000 --> 1:12:37.320 What they gave me for an album was two twenty. 1:12:37.040 --> 1:12:38.679 Five to make the first album. 1:12:38.960 --> 1:12:42.519 First album, and it was fourteen points. That's what we. 1:12:42.479 --> 1:12:44.960 Started with split amongst Yeah, that was the. 1:12:45.760 --> 1:12:48.880 Production company, the artists, and I probably was already one 1:12:48.960 --> 1:12:56.320 hundred thousand in out of my my pocket. So doing 1:12:56.360 --> 1:13:01.040 that deal turned around. I'm trying to find a fast 1:13:01.080 --> 1:13:03.000 forward and slow it down at the same time. So 1:13:04.280 --> 1:13:08.080 doing that deal at the time wasn't an idea. Deals 1:13:08.160 --> 1:13:11.280 more about the opportunity on what I really believed in, 1:13:11.320 --> 1:13:13.320 because I could have easily went with Barry. Barry had 1:13:13.360 --> 1:13:17.599 more money, and and I could have also waited because 1:13:18.200 --> 1:13:21.040 I wasn't really stressed for money. I just really wanted 1:13:21.040 --> 1:13:23.559 to get going. I wanted to get it going, but 1:13:23.600 --> 1:13:25.720 I only wanted to get it going because of what 1:13:25.880 --> 1:13:26.560 was promised. 1:13:27.000 --> 1:13:29.160 Ah got you, got you, got. 1:13:28.920 --> 1:13:32.280 You, Okay, So belly Dancers come out. I look at 1:13:32.280 --> 1:13:35.120 the CD, I look at everything, Boom boom boom, snow 1:13:35.200 --> 1:13:38.280 upfront on anything, everything set src. 1:13:40.080 --> 1:13:40.360 Right. 1:13:40.439 --> 1:13:42.040 So I'm gonna tell you my first RAMDMA when I 1:13:42.080 --> 1:13:44.200 learned the business the hard way, right at this moment, 1:13:45.360 --> 1:13:49.280 that moment that I was waiting on now, mind you, 1:13:49.320 --> 1:13:53.360 prior to all this, I pressed up final I pressed 1:13:53.400 --> 1:13:57.519 up CDs. So in my house, I have all of 1:13:57.560 --> 1:14:00.680 this with upfront on it front. It okay, but they 1:14:00.720 --> 1:14:05.880 have the machine. So it's start seeing everything. Man, I'm 1:14:05.880 --> 1:14:10.360 like going places, I'm looking, I'm listening. Man, my name 1:14:10.360 --> 1:14:14.000 ain't nowhere like man. Then they start blocking it where 1:14:14.680 --> 1:14:18.280 they say it ain't no budget where we couldn't travel 1:14:18.320 --> 1:14:21.320 together because it ain't no budget, so I would have 1:14:21.320 --> 1:14:22.840 to pay for my own flights if I want to 1:14:22.840 --> 1:14:28.280 be there. So you start seeing the separation. And I 1:14:28.320 --> 1:14:29.800 told him, I said, look, man, I've been doing this 1:14:29.840 --> 1:14:32.519 for ten years. Man, I'll tell you what you go ahead, 1:14:33.720 --> 1:14:36.160 you go ahead and fly. I got this. I hold 1:14:36.160 --> 1:14:38.639 this down while you do that. He said, I bet. 1:14:38.800 --> 1:14:40.280 I said, I don't need to hold your hand, nigga. 1:14:40.360 --> 1:14:42.599 If you've been with me for last ten years ago, 1:14:43.200 --> 1:14:46.759 you're like nah, yeah. So he kind of reluctant about 1:14:48.120 --> 1:14:50.519 going and not me not being there, but at the 1:14:50.600 --> 1:14:51.960 end of the day, wasn't going to pay for me 1:14:52.000 --> 1:14:54.160 to be there, so and I was sudden there saying 1:14:54.200 --> 1:14:55.960 I ain't need to sit with you to do this, 1:14:56.360 --> 1:14:58.719 and plus there was a lot of disrespect in terms 1:14:58.720 --> 1:15:05.280 of not including me. So I said to myself, while 1:15:05.360 --> 1:15:07.519 they do this, I'm going to press up this record. 1:15:07.800 --> 1:15:12.000 So I press up locked up. I knew because I 1:15:12.040 --> 1:15:14.360 realized they was going in the wrong direction anyway, I 1:15:14.360 --> 1:15:16.120 said the belly Dance record. They were saying they just 1:15:16.120 --> 1:15:18.160 trying to get their money back. I said, it's too 1:15:18.200 --> 1:15:22.080 soon for the record. But at this point they're not listening. 1:15:23.040 --> 1:15:25.439 So I got the version that styles P is not 1:15:25.520 --> 1:15:27.839 even on that I'm working in the street. 1:15:27.640 --> 1:15:30.720 And that's okay. So that's it's just this record is 1:15:31.320 --> 1:15:35.040 just con just con version. 1:15:35.280 --> 1:15:38.559 On this version. That's the same record I'm playing in 1:15:38.560 --> 1:15:42.479 the clubs when I'm on tour with me. So as 1:15:42.479 --> 1:15:45.479 I'm playing the records, I'm doing my part. Then I 1:15:45.560 --> 1:15:49.760 see them doing their part. And then the an R 1:15:49.880 --> 1:15:52.320 is like, yo, let's put somebody on the record. So 1:15:52.360 --> 1:15:54.800 the n R guy, his name is nobody, he went 1:15:54.840 --> 1:15:57.920 and got styles P. Put styles P on the record. 1:16:00.640 --> 1:16:04.439 They reshipped the record. Still not on the record. 1:16:06.240 --> 1:16:09.280 Okay, okay, right. 1:16:08.520 --> 1:16:12.560 The record goes out boom record catch. 1:16:12.840 --> 1:16:14.519 But no upfront on the record at all. 1:16:14.439 --> 1:16:17.960 No upfront nowhere now and what they not understanding creatively 1:16:18.840 --> 1:16:22.320 how the record was even created, which could have caused 1:16:22.320 --> 1:16:25.120 a pause if I wanted to cause the pause. So 1:16:25.560 --> 1:16:27.280 out of that group of guys that I tell you 1:16:27.439 --> 1:16:30.040 was how a whole bunch of guys and making records 1:16:30.080 --> 1:16:33.040 or whatever they come was in the studio at that time, 1:16:33.439 --> 1:16:39.040 may have had about twenty other guys in the studio, writers, producers, rappers. 1:16:39.479 --> 1:16:42.080 So that song was inspired by another group that I had, 1:16:43.360 --> 1:16:46.120 and they had a song called Lockdown in the Pin, 1:16:47.640 --> 1:16:51.240 how Let Your Boy? So that's how it was a 1:16:51.320 --> 1:16:55.920 jail song, okay, right, And the song went, now I'm 1:16:55.920 --> 1:16:58.679 locked down in the pin, nigga, how let your boy? 1:16:59.400 --> 1:17:02.280 How let your boy? Y'all on the outside looking in, nigga, 1:17:02.680 --> 1:17:05.680 I'll let your boy. So it was a whole jail thing. 1:17:05.680 --> 1:17:06.920 And I was like, hey, can you need to hop 1:17:06.920 --> 1:17:10.679 on us? So Akon took it and flipped it. I said, 1:17:10.680 --> 1:17:12.920 they're trying to find no more whatever. I was like, 1:17:13.000 --> 1:17:20.400 oh now, So then that whole campaign around it. So technically, 1:17:20.400 --> 1:17:22.519 while they're making that move doing that, I already know what, 1:17:22.560 --> 1:17:25.360 the records inspired by I could have stopped the record, 1:17:26.640 --> 1:17:28.880 could have stopped your whole motion. These kids could have 1:17:28.920 --> 1:17:32.880 even soothed if they wanted to, because we just took 1:17:32.880 --> 1:17:35.800 the idea you got it. But because they with me 1:17:36.200 --> 1:17:41.080 and they believe in that, I got this upfront situation 1:17:42.240 --> 1:17:50.000 that they next lo and behold. Whole time. Bernard is 1:17:50.000 --> 1:17:54.040 still in my ear. He said, if you can just 1:17:54.080 --> 1:17:58.280 get to that Lonely record, he'll be fine, because that's what. 1:17:58.240 --> 1:18:00.000 He's been telling you from the beginning. You got it. 1:18:00.320 --> 1:18:02.600 You got to get to Lonely. That's what you just 1:18:02.600 --> 1:18:09.080 get the Lonely. So they put out Ghetto did okay. Meanwhile, 1:18:09.080 --> 1:18:14.160 while they're doing that, that CD is circulating with acon 1:18:14.640 --> 1:18:19.600 hooks on them. So and in the batch of that 1:18:19.680 --> 1:18:25.080 CD is I want to Love you the rich Boy. 1:18:25.160 --> 1:18:38.160 Like it's a whole lot of hooks flying right. So 1:18:39.120 --> 1:18:44.080 Lonely comes. I pop back on the scene finally for singers, Yeah, 1:18:44.080 --> 1:18:45.479 I'm in a video the whole night, like I pop 1:18:45.520 --> 1:18:47.400 back up like he yeah, I pay for everyone to 1:18:47.400 --> 1:18:50.720 get there or whatever. But gonna his was going to 1:18:50.760 --> 1:18:55.599 blow you away. So why while that's happening and the 1:18:55.600 --> 1:18:58.280 Lonely record is coming. I'm telling Acon, like, yo, man, 1:18:58.280 --> 1:19:00.920 how these people just gonna disrespect the situation? They already 1:19:00.960 --> 1:19:01.519 knew what it was. 1:19:01.960 --> 1:19:04.200 He was like, yeah, man, but don't worry about it. 1:19:04.240 --> 1:19:06.200 When you get the Lonely, I'll tell you what, because 1:19:06.200 --> 1:19:09.000 we had this plan when you get the Lonely, When 1:19:09.000 --> 1:19:11.640 you get the Lonely, you just come in. Man. I 1:19:11.680 --> 1:19:16.160 was like, I bet now he told me I can 1:19:16.200 --> 1:19:18.519 come in, But now he's telling me just get the 1:19:18.520 --> 1:19:22.160 way to this record. And then and then I really discovered. 1:19:22.200 --> 1:19:25.120 I called the attorney and I say, look, man, they 1:19:25.200 --> 1:19:27.120 keep leaving me out of everything. I'm not on this, 1:19:27.200 --> 1:19:31.120 I'm not on that. Why is it a problem. And 1:19:31.160 --> 1:19:38.160 then I realized that the attorney was Rifkin's attorney attorney. 1:19:40.080 --> 1:19:49.880 It's Kenny Mersalis. Oh oh shit. Kenny was like, yo, Rifkin, 1:19:49.920 --> 1:19:56.479 why don't you fix whatever? Whatever? Okay, Boom deluxe, whatever came. Yeah, 1:19:56.920 --> 1:19:58.360 they put it on there, but they put it in 1:19:59.120 --> 1:20:01.080 they put it in a little civil font where you 1:20:01.080 --> 1:20:04.880 could barely see it, but it's on there. Oh yeah, fixed, 1:20:04.960 --> 1:20:06.479 we fixed it. So now I'm realizing I got the 1:20:06.479 --> 1:20:12.000 same attorney. So in terms of my renegotiation and negotiation. 1:20:14.040 --> 1:20:16.720 I had to make a switch, but Kenny set me 1:20:16.800 --> 1:20:21.640 up right. I left from there, still waiting on this 1:20:21.720 --> 1:20:26.000 lonely thing. Lonely came, Wow, I need to go in 1:20:26.080 --> 1:20:29.080 and have a talk. I took a meeting with Melo, 1:20:29.160 --> 1:20:33.840 went to Smellow, went to Doug Marris running point at Universal. 1:20:37.280 --> 1:20:41.040 Melo went to didn't even know I existed. He didn't 1:20:41.040 --> 1:20:44.559 even know acme was scientist production coming right direct. I mean, 1:20:44.600 --> 1:20:48.200 it's too low talking about and it wasn't introduced properly, 1:20:48.880 --> 1:20:49.559 so it was all that. 1:20:49.600 --> 1:20:54.559 It was all rifkin. So I said, cool to meet you. 1:20:55.040 --> 1:21:00.080 Meanwhile, they didn't promised ak on everything, like did you 1:21:00.160 --> 1:21:03.000 own studio? We're gonna set you up like everything that 1:21:03.640 --> 1:21:08.080 I had. A coon wanted it, all the artists and 1:21:08.080 --> 1:21:09.640 the studio to set up. So this is how he 1:21:09.720 --> 1:21:12.439 was groomed. So he want what he saw. You know, 1:21:12.479 --> 1:21:14.719 if you got them, you know, we get them ja's, 1:21:14.720 --> 1:21:16.760 He want them ja's. You know, it's like he want 1:21:16.800 --> 1:21:19.599 what he saw. So I wasn't mad at that they 1:21:19.640 --> 1:21:22.400 offered him that. So then he came to me and 1:21:22.640 --> 1:21:25.720 asked me could I co sign for him to do this? 1:21:26.080 --> 1:21:30.240 I said, yeah, once they give me what they promised. 1:21:31.840 --> 1:21:38.080 And then I realized another business part of it that 1:21:38.240 --> 1:21:46.759 Akon couldn't sign that agreement without my signature because technically 1:21:46.800 --> 1:21:49.479 he was because he was signed to a production company 1:21:49.479 --> 1:21:56.880 and they said exclusive. So boom, he's asking me to 1:21:57.000 --> 1:22:00.400 sign this. I said, Man, I'm not sign than that. 1:22:01.640 --> 1:22:04.240 I'm not I'm not signing. They gotta figure this out, man, 1:22:04.760 --> 1:22:12.760 they got to make this right. He's screaming. So now 1:22:12.800 --> 1:22:15.160 he starts to we start to see the divide and 1:22:15.160 --> 1:22:18.800 conquer happen. Like he's screaming top of his lungs. Did 1:22:18.840 --> 1:22:21.040 I go back have a conversation with my godfather and 1:22:21.040 --> 1:22:23.719 I said, look, man, this is what's going on. He said, okay, 1:22:23.720 --> 1:22:26.280 well let's have a meeting and that's what we're going 1:22:26.360 --> 1:22:33.960 to do. So that's what I shift is shift. Hey, 1:22:34.000 --> 1:22:35.920 cong what if I tell you I got a better 1:22:35.960 --> 1:22:44.800 situation for you that believes in producers and songwriters because 1:22:44.840 --> 1:22:47.080 you're a producer and a songwriter, you more than just 1:22:49.320 --> 1:22:55.840 you make hits. Yes, he says, oh d man, I 1:22:55.880 --> 1:23:00.200 mean I mean whatever, do whatever you think said? 1:23:00.240 --> 1:23:03.439 You did tell me I can come in. So since 1:23:03.439 --> 1:23:04.519 you're telling me to come in, this. 1:23:04.640 --> 1:23:08.400 The move I got how about if I just take 1:23:08.400 --> 1:23:10.519 you across the street. I don't think Doug would be mad. 1:23:12.280 --> 1:23:17.799 We're just gonna We're gonna switch Wardens. He says, okay, 1:23:18.960 --> 1:23:24.200 take you to Jimmy Ivan. He looked at me, says, 1:23:24.200 --> 1:23:28.080 no way. You don't know Jimmy. You can't get to Jimmy. 1:23:29.360 --> 1:23:32.360 I said, are you cool, I'll make the play. He said, yeah, 1:23:33.439 --> 1:23:36.599 run the play. I said, now only that, let's look 1:23:36.640 --> 1:23:40.400 at Universal ROSSIP. At the time they had Nelly Lil 1:23:40.479 --> 1:23:43.599 Wayne was bubbling a little bit, trying to figure out 1:23:43.920 --> 1:23:47.479 what the next move. The Hot Boys broke up, you know, 1:23:47.520 --> 1:23:49.439 they was trying to figure out what was next. Want 1:23:49.560 --> 1:23:52.720 nothing really major at Universal at the time, so a 1:23:52.840 --> 1:24:00.080 Kon had leverage. So I move it to Endoscope and 1:24:02.240 --> 1:24:06.040 Jimmy welcome them with open arms. At the same time 1:24:06.040 --> 1:24:14.200 they're ushering in Tubby. So Tubby became the an R 1:24:15.000 --> 1:24:21.040 for the company. So I switched it from Convict Music 1:24:22.160 --> 1:24:24.160 because it had people that have tied him and I'm 1:24:24.200 --> 1:24:30.880 not to con Live distribution, and that's who did the 1:24:30.880 --> 1:24:35.519 deal with Jimmy with me as the manager running point 1:24:37.120 --> 1:24:37.799 on the business. 1:24:37.920 --> 1:24:41.360 So now it's no longer a production deal. You've moved 1:24:41.360 --> 1:24:42.559 over to the management side. 1:24:42.720 --> 1:24:48.360 Yep, I moved over to management. Production is still at Universal. Hey, 1:24:49.479 --> 1:24:53.400 gotcha con deals now as a label head? 1:24:53.760 --> 1:24:53.920 Is that? 1:24:54.120 --> 1:24:54.760 Andoscope? 1:24:54.960 --> 1:25:00.960 Yeah? So now ripkin heat it pissed. 1:25:02.520 --> 1:25:06.680 Ah, I'm building and I did this. I spent my 1:25:07.600 --> 1:25:09.680 and how are you gonna take Crushret? Well, we're in 1:25:09.720 --> 1:25:12.160 the same boat. I spent more money than you. I 1:25:12.240 --> 1:25:14.400 spent way more money before we even got to this point, 1:25:15.280 --> 1:25:18.880 before even I met you. I've spent money. These relationships 1:25:18.920 --> 1:25:22.760 are already done. So it wasn't honorable. So I said, not 1:25:22.800 --> 1:25:27.200 a problem. Got to Jimmy. Doug ain't gonna be mad 1:25:27.240 --> 1:25:29.599 because we're getting ready. We're gonna make Dugs some money too. 1:25:30.280 --> 1:25:32.960 I mean, we're gonna keep making duck. We get to 1:25:33.040 --> 1:25:36.400 Jimmy and I tell Conn. I said, here's what we 1:25:36.439 --> 1:25:40.559 gotta do to crack the code in this building. We're 1:25:40.560 --> 1:25:43.639 gonna look at the roster of everything that Jimmy has 1:25:44.080 --> 1:25:49.000 that he's in debt with, and we're gonna furnish them. 1:25:49.160 --> 1:25:51.800 So we took on brick and lace. Nobody know who 1:25:51.800 --> 1:25:56.240 it was. They have put Ron Ferns in place. So 1:25:56.280 --> 1:26:01.000 we went to Ron checked out his roster, tapped into 1:26:01.080 --> 1:26:06.000 that where he was struggling. Swiss Beasts had a deal 1:26:06.040 --> 1:26:12.879 there he was struggling. He had signed Bone Thugs and Harmony. 1:26:13.520 --> 1:26:15.200 I think the last hit they had is the one 1:26:15.240 --> 1:26:20.720 I gave them that we gave them Swiss Bone Thugs 1:26:20.760 --> 1:26:23.840 and Harmony was signed the Swiss. Pharrell was working on 1:26:23.880 --> 1:26:28.280 gwen Stefani. We came in and gave Gwynn Sweet Escape. 1:26:31.760 --> 1:26:34.360 Moved over. We said, okay, Jimmy struggling with the pussy 1:26:34.360 --> 1:26:41.599 Cat Dolls. Hmmm, let's give Jimmy something with the pussy 1:26:41.600 --> 1:26:46.200 Cat Dolls. But before that, we gotta make our rounds 1:26:46.200 --> 1:26:52.519 because I'm still working on a CON's album. Right. We 1:26:52.560 --> 1:26:56.679 want Eminem, but we got to make a play. Let's 1:26:56.680 --> 1:27:01.120 go do Obie Trice. Yeah, So I'm gonna show you 1:27:01.200 --> 1:27:04.400 the strategy. There's a mind behind a business strategy behind 1:27:04.439 --> 1:27:08.479 the talent that people don't honor, and these business moves 1:27:08.520 --> 1:27:13.519 what set the talent up wasn't just the talent. So 1:27:15.439 --> 1:27:18.839 we knock got Obi trace the whole time. Now Eminem 1:27:18.880 --> 1:27:21.760 goes in and give a con smack that. Now, how 1:27:21.760 --> 1:27:25.840 are we going to get this cleared? We got to 1:27:25.880 --> 1:27:29.360 go get doctor Dre. So then we do cush with 1:27:29.439 --> 1:27:32.920 Doctor Dre. Then we turn around and do he had 1:27:32.920 --> 1:27:35.880 a rap artist by the name of Hayes. We do 1:27:36.040 --> 1:27:38.760 Hayes had a couple more things that he had, So 1:27:38.800 --> 1:27:40.640 then we furnished. 1:27:40.200 --> 1:27:41.840 Doctor Dre and buildship. 1:27:42.240 --> 1:27:46.559 Right now we're presenting our own talent. Now that we 1:27:46.720 --> 1:27:52.480 covered the bases on. We came here to work together. 1:27:52.360 --> 1:27:55.360 Right right right right, we're an asset. 1:27:55.640 --> 1:27:58.479 We step up to bat with Kobe o'donna's. 1:27:58.640 --> 1:28:00.799 Shout out to cove Man. Because I have. 1:28:00.720 --> 1:28:06.760 A indie background of how to work a record from 1:28:06.760 --> 1:28:10.080 the ground up. We started Kobe's record. 1:28:11.160 --> 1:28:11.240 No. 1:28:12.040 --> 1:28:15.960 We did Ray Lavender first. Oh yeah, girl got a girlfriend, 1:28:16.040 --> 1:28:20.639 Ye dope record. Yeah, So then we worked that record 1:28:20.640 --> 1:28:23.680 from the street. So then we came with Kobe and 1:28:23.680 --> 1:28:28.280 then we came with Cardonell Official. Right so now we're 1:28:28.360 --> 1:28:30.639 just kind of working our way and then we signed 1:28:30.720 --> 1:28:32.880 rock City. 1:28:33.280 --> 1:28:37.240 Yeah. So now we have. 1:28:37.280 --> 1:28:44.000 A roster about eight artists. Acon can't even believe it, 1:28:44.560 --> 1:28:45.920 Like what is like hot? 1:28:45.960 --> 1:28:47.000 Did no? No? 1:28:47.000 --> 1:28:48.559 No? The only thing I need you to do. 1:28:49.080 --> 1:28:52.240 Let's keep working, be great. You can stay in the studio, 1:28:53.240 --> 1:28:54.120 stay creative. 1:28:54.840 --> 1:29:00.720 We got this. Things are moving. Everything that's in Jimmy Building. Yeah, 1:29:00.720 --> 1:29:04.800 I'm taking it and putting it on Acon's album. 1:29:05.120 --> 1:29:09.479 Oh okay, now you get all your features. Now you get. 1:29:09.439 --> 1:29:13.759 Features, the whole nine. And I'm collaborating with the other artists, 1:29:13.800 --> 1:29:14.599 so they're coming. 1:29:14.400 --> 1:29:16.559 Out right, So it's not one sided. Right. 1:29:17.120 --> 1:29:21.439 So while all this is happening, there's a business model happening. 1:29:22.240 --> 1:29:24.360 And we keep putting out these records and putting out 1:29:24.360 --> 1:29:32.280 these urban records, and we'll catch the first one, second 1:29:32.280 --> 1:29:38.960 one of flop, go to the next one. Catch the 1:29:38.960 --> 1:29:43.320 first one. We'll work the first one independent, the second 1:29:43.320 --> 1:29:47.519 one flop. We'll catch Cardinal Dangerous, then the second one flop. 1:29:48.280 --> 1:29:51.000 Kobe had dunnas just dance is his right? Yeah, yeah, 1:29:51.040 --> 1:29:53.400 so Ray, even Ray Lavender, even when we got the 1:29:53.400 --> 1:29:56.240 Tank records stay, it didn't go as far as we 1:29:56.520 --> 1:29:59.599 wanted it to go. So but I'm working and working 1:30:00.280 --> 1:30:04.360 like damn, something's off, and at the same time, but 1:30:04.479 --> 1:30:07.920 this is going on, I'm getting extorted. So the extortion 1:30:08.080 --> 1:30:10.840 was coming from Yeah, it was coming. It was heavy, 1:30:10.880 --> 1:30:13.040 it was thick, it was coming from so many different areas. 1:30:14.439 --> 1:30:20.599 So I said to myself, hmmm, we got switched this up, 1:30:21.840 --> 1:30:24.640 because now I ran up a bill. They ran me 1:30:24.720 --> 1:30:28.599 up a six million dollar tab and scu I seen 1:30:28.640 --> 1:30:31.519 the play. I seen it clear as day, and I said, 1:30:31.720 --> 1:30:33.120 what's going to happen? And we're going to get a 1:30:33.120 --> 1:30:39.120 call from ran Hoffman and he's just gonna say no more. 1:30:39.240 --> 1:30:39.680 This is it. 1:30:40.479 --> 1:30:43.160 So I said, before we get to that point, let's 1:30:43.200 --> 1:30:49.080 switch this up. Everybody go pop because I realized we 1:30:49.120 --> 1:30:51.720 had a problem with the Urban staff. So from the 1:30:51.760 --> 1:30:54.880 Gwen stuff Funny Escape record, a kind of goes on 1:30:54.960 --> 1:30:58.240 tour with Gwen, we come in and and at that moment, 1:30:58.280 --> 1:31:01.040 that's that was happened for real because for executive producer 1:31:01.080 --> 1:31:06.040 of that project, and that's the only record popped off 1:31:06.080 --> 1:31:10.800 that project. So we had all the bases covered. And 1:31:10.840 --> 1:31:13.840 then we went in to work on the Pussycat Dolls 1:31:15.240 --> 1:31:18.000 and we zoned in on a producer by the name 1:31:18.000 --> 1:31:21.840 of Red One, right, so it was getting the business 1:31:21.840 --> 1:31:24.479 with a Red One go in the studio to work 1:31:24.479 --> 1:31:30.200 on the Pussycat Dolls. We needed somebody to demo the songs, right, 1:31:31.479 --> 1:31:39.960 so read new artist that was on Death Jam, but 1:31:39.960 --> 1:31:42.880 I think she had just got dropped from Death Jam 1:31:43.280 --> 1:31:50.160 and was working on a new deal and moved her 1:31:50.200 --> 1:31:54.479 over to Eno scope. But she was in the studio 1:31:54.840 --> 1:31:58.640 and I walked in Record Plant while at working on 1:31:58.640 --> 1:32:04.720 the Pussycat Dolls, and I hear the songs. I go, yo, 1:32:05.040 --> 1:32:11.599 who is singing that? And a concess girl right there, 1:32:11.680 --> 1:32:15.080 she's sitting she's sitting down on the floor. She kind 1:32:15.080 --> 1:32:22.400 of lives, had fishnet stockings with holes in them, with 1:32:22.520 --> 1:32:29.040 Doc Martin's hair of mess. And he said she's singing it. 1:32:30.479 --> 1:32:34.360 I said wow. And immediately when I looked at her, 1:32:36.240 --> 1:32:47.320 I said, she's a star. It's Lady Gaga. And I said, 1:32:49.439 --> 1:32:50.960 ain't no way in the hell we're giving these songs 1:32:51.000 --> 1:32:52.320 to the pussy Cat Dogs. 1:32:54.360 --> 1:32:54.679 Nowhere. 1:32:54.760 --> 1:33:04.920 Now, it's impossible. So call set up a meeting. We 1:33:05.080 --> 1:33:11.639 march Red One in Jimmy's office and we played the songs. 1:33:12.840 --> 1:33:19.000 We introduced Red One to Jimmy played the song. Jimmy like, oh, oh, 1:33:19.080 --> 1:33:22.880 this is great, and the whole time he think the 1:33:22.920 --> 1:33:26.240 pusgether dogs and Nicole is out of here. You know 1:33:26.800 --> 1:33:33.040 that's what you're thinking. As soon as it stopped, I said, Jimmy, 1:33:33.040 --> 1:33:37.759 it so only one problem, man, So only one problem. 1:33:38.080 --> 1:33:41.800 He said, who is this singing it? I said, already 1:33:41.800 --> 1:33:45.599 by the name of Lady Gaga. I said, but you know, 1:33:47.160 --> 1:33:50.720 she signed here. She's here with Vincent Herbert and he 1:33:51.200 --> 1:33:55.120 was like yeah, I said, Jimmy, is just one problem though. 1:33:57.400 --> 1:34:00.240 We would like to keep these songs on her. Mm 1:34:00.320 --> 1:34:05.720 hm oh really, Jimmy, she's a star. You need to 1:34:05.720 --> 1:34:06.080 meet her. 1:34:06.479 --> 1:34:09.360 She signed there, she is there already. He has not 1:34:09.520 --> 1:34:09.920 met her. 1:34:10.000 --> 1:34:12.879 He don't really know it like that, okay, all right? 1:34:12.920 --> 1:34:16.000 He annoy it because she was doing cabaret music, jazz music, 1:34:16.080 --> 1:34:21.880 music game. It wasn't there yet. So first thing I thought, Oh, 1:34:21.960 --> 1:34:23.879 this is the next share, this is next Madonna. 1:34:24.000 --> 1:34:24.559 We got it. 1:34:24.600 --> 1:34:29.000 We got it. And at the time, Vincent is on 1:34:29.040 --> 1:34:32.880 the on the bench, Troy Carter on his way out. 1:34:33.200 --> 1:34:35.840 I think he had just got fired from EVE and 1:34:35.880 --> 1:34:38.280 he was on his way moving to Atlanta, and I 1:34:38.320 --> 1:34:41.799 was helping him look for a house, and we said, 1:34:42.040 --> 1:34:46.040 hold on a second. Jimmy says, y'all believe in it 1:34:46.080 --> 1:34:49.960 that much? All right, let's do a deal. So we 1:34:50.000 --> 1:34:52.439 did a three album deal with Jimmy. We partner with 1:34:52.520 --> 1:34:57.280 him to do Lady God Got And they're like, what 1:34:57.280 --> 1:35:00.800 about Vince, Oh, I don't worry about Vince. Will you 1:35:00.880 --> 1:35:02.880 worried about Visceda? We're not worry about this. We will 1:35:02.920 --> 1:35:10.000 make Vince Gonna. I'm so, I said, okay, back boom paperwork. Meanwhile, 1:35:11.360 --> 1:35:18.439 Rifking heated there's a artist that they working on that 1:35:18.560 --> 1:35:21.160 Doug Marris signed. Her name was Tammy Chen. 1:35:21.880 --> 1:35:22.559 I'm pay for me. 1:35:22.880 --> 1:35:26.679 Okay, So Tammy Chen going back and forth with Sylvia 1:35:26.680 --> 1:35:29.920 and Riffkin. You know, I think Sylvia had it first, 1:35:29.960 --> 1:35:33.719 and then Doug thinks Riffing got a hot handle because 1:35:33.720 --> 1:35:35.800 of Akon, So maybe Akon can do some record, so 1:35:36.000 --> 1:35:39.120 switch it over to Rifkin. But the whole time, Doug 1:35:39.200 --> 1:35:41.360 not Doug don't even know me. He not knowing that 1:35:42.080 --> 1:35:44.679 it ain't a Riffking play. It ain't a Sylvia play. 1:35:44.720 --> 1:35:47.519 It's if you talk to me, I'm going to deliver it. 1:35:48.760 --> 1:36:00.439 I never got the call. So a Kon John On 1:36:02.040 --> 1:36:06.000 Just Dance got Go's first single, and so that wasn't 1:36:06.040 --> 1:36:09.479 Kobe's first single. No, No, that's Kobe. That's Kobe singing 1:36:09.520 --> 1:36:10.280 a cons verse. 1:36:10.680 --> 1:36:12.760 Okay, okay, because I know Kobe's on the song. 1:36:13.320 --> 1:36:16.919 Yeah, you singing a cons verse. We just told Kobe because. 1:36:16.680 --> 1:36:18.080 They wouldn't clear, because the wouldn't clear. 1:36:18.200 --> 1:36:22.599 How you're not gonna clear a kN on his on 1:36:22.640 --> 1:36:29.639 his own artists. Yeah right, So somehow they tell Vincent 1:36:30.880 --> 1:36:34.160 that I wouldn't clear it, so to create this thing 1:36:34.160 --> 1:36:39.280 between me and Vince, and now Vince is thinking, oh 1:36:39.360 --> 1:36:43.040 the vinest no hate, so no I hate, man, How 1:36:43.040 --> 1:36:45.080 are we gonna clear all these I'm a clear Obie Trice, 1:36:45.479 --> 1:36:48.800 how I'm a clear song on own Thugs and Harmony. 1:36:48.800 --> 1:36:49.800 I'm gonna clear all these songs. 1:36:50.120 --> 1:36:52.920 I had a vested interest in got it was, yeah, 1:36:52.920 --> 1:36:54.080 we get this. 1:36:54.120 --> 1:36:56.280 We've got three albums with this. Why wouldn't I clear this? 1:36:56.880 --> 1:36:59.920 So needless to say, we had the herb and throw 1:37:00.040 --> 1:37:03.479 Kobe on the record because so then we went to 1:37:03.560 --> 1:37:08.080 twenty markets promoting go Go. 1:37:09.960 --> 1:37:14.880 To just Dance record and then it popped here and 1:37:14.920 --> 1:37:15.960 now we're in the big box. 1:37:16.080 --> 1:37:19.640 Yeah, and they never talk about those parts. They just 1:37:19.680 --> 1:37:22.600 talk about They don't talk about if it wasn't for 1:37:22.640 --> 1:37:25.960 the sound sonically. 1:37:25.720 --> 1:37:25.960 No A. 1:37:26.080 --> 1:37:30.720 Kon Akon was one of the hottest producers in the 1:37:30.800 --> 1:37:32.040 game at that point. 1:37:32.080 --> 1:37:36.759 Absolutely absolutely between him and T Pain, and the ultimate 1:37:36.840 --> 1:37:37.400 goal was. 1:37:37.439 --> 1:37:39.960 In T Pain. Yeah, same family for y'all. 1:37:40.040 --> 1:37:42.840 Yeah, See, the ultimate goal was to cover the hip 1:37:42.840 --> 1:37:46.000 hop R and B sector. Then to cover the international 1:37:46.160 --> 1:37:49.000 sector and then cover the global sector. And we had 1:37:49.040 --> 1:37:52.639 that within the big three. So my big three was Ga, Ga, 1:37:53.200 --> 1:37:54.160 Acon and T Pain. 1:37:54.520 --> 1:37:54.760 Yeah. 1:37:55.600 --> 1:37:58.080 And and before I can wrap that and give it 1:37:58.080 --> 1:38:03.280 a hug, they can't, man and just dismantled it and 1:38:03.439 --> 1:38:04.320 pushed me out of the way. 1:38:04.760 --> 1:38:05.960 And why do you think that was? 1:38:06.360 --> 1:38:08.640 I call it a kid because they do it to 1:38:08.680 --> 1:38:12.360 all of us. Just hit me with the kid. That's all. 1:38:13.080 --> 1:38:15.559 Anybody's having that much success, everybody want. 1:38:15.439 --> 1:38:18.720 In right, how do you maintain it all? If you 1:38:18.800 --> 1:38:22.240 look back at it now and you're giving that advice 1:38:22.520 --> 1:38:25.639 to a young executive who wants to be a Barry 1:38:25.640 --> 1:38:29.240 Gordy wants to be a divine Stevens wants to be 1:38:29.280 --> 1:38:31.519 a baby and slim, you know what I mean? 1:38:31.560 --> 1:38:35.960 How do you keep it under one roof? 1:38:39.000 --> 1:38:41.800 It's all about the team. It's all about the team, 1:38:41.960 --> 1:38:47.760 and it's all about the development. It goes back to that. 1:38:47.840 --> 1:38:50.080 It goes back to your level of understanding about the game, 1:38:50.920 --> 1:38:54.960 you know, and it goes back to educating artists about 1:38:54.960 --> 1:38:59.720 the business because they can't get to a certain point 1:38:59.720 --> 1:39:01.760 where they is surprised about business and they think and 1:39:01.800 --> 1:39:05.439 they just want a lottery So what that means is 1:39:05.439 --> 1:39:09.519 if I educate about how the game goes, when you 1:39:09.640 --> 1:39:13.400 finally touch some money, you'll know how to utilize your 1:39:13.400 --> 1:39:16.040 bunds it. And then once you get to that point, 1:39:16.080 --> 1:39:18.800 do you know how to make better business decisions? You 1:39:18.840 --> 1:39:22.000 don't have to tear down a mansion to build a 1:39:22.040 --> 1:39:25.720 hood home. And they kind of put us in that 1:39:25.800 --> 1:39:30.320 same circle. Yeah, you know, as production companies. And that's 1:39:30.360 --> 1:39:33.080 the reason why the black exec and the creator and 1:39:33.600 --> 1:39:37.000 the an R is extinct. So I don't take it 1:39:37.439 --> 1:39:40.160 like I was targeted. I just feel like this is 1:39:41.200 --> 1:39:44.880 it comes with the industry. But also we don't own 1:39:44.920 --> 1:39:48.360 the platforms, we don't own the infrastructure, so we're playing 1:39:48.439 --> 1:39:53.760 somebody else's game on they turf. Yeah, and anything can 1:39:53.840 --> 1:39:56.320 happen when you know, it's also. 1:39:56.080 --> 1:40:01.639 Shifting now right with you know, with more distribution companies 1:40:01.640 --> 1:40:07.879 popping up, with you know, more funded upstarts, and obviously 1:40:07.920 --> 1:40:12.280 the access is different because now it's a click away, right, 1:40:12.360 --> 1:40:14.640 So if you put the and if they're you know 1:40:14.720 --> 1:40:17.680 the right people, the right business minded people who are 1:40:17.720 --> 1:40:22.160 tenured in this thing and understand how to develop and 1:40:22.200 --> 1:40:25.799 create the way that you have and you know, people 1:40:26.280 --> 1:40:28.840 of the same cloth have over the years. I think 1:40:28.920 --> 1:40:33.439 now we don't have the same system as far as 1:40:34.360 --> 1:40:36.160 distributing things to the public. 1:40:36.800 --> 1:40:39.720 Yeah, but but it's not also just the distributing, it's 1:40:39.720 --> 1:40:45.000 the mentality of the people and how business. So let 1:40:45.000 --> 1:40:48.760 me give you an example. The contract that we may 1:40:48.840 --> 1:40:54.080 sign to enter into the institution, those laws and everything 1:40:54.120 --> 1:40:57.479 that's there hasn't changed. It's the same contract James Brown did. 1:40:59.280 --> 1:41:00.960 So do you have to say sign that contract? 1:41:01.160 --> 1:41:03.400 Well, if you want distribution, let's say if it's fifteen 1:41:04.360 --> 1:41:08.479 let's say if it's only fifteen percent. Those laws hasn't changed. 1:41:09.120 --> 1:41:12.920 And we're not taught. We don't understand politics, we don't 1:41:13.000 --> 1:41:16.680 understand laws, and certain things, you still sign that distribution fee. 1:41:16.680 --> 1:41:19.280 Even to use your AT and T phone, there's fees, 1:41:19.320 --> 1:41:21.960 there's certain things, there's certain things that they got access 1:41:21.960 --> 1:41:24.679 to if you use an Apple phone. So my point 1:41:24.800 --> 1:41:30.080 is it's that platform, it's they tools that we use, 1:41:30.400 --> 1:41:33.599 and we'll still govern and control by a certain thing. 1:41:33.760 --> 1:41:36.200 And if you take the mentality of a person that 1:41:36.320 --> 1:41:40.479 never had anything and you give them money, that's the 1:41:40.520 --> 1:41:42.599 problem with the game. Now you look at that right now, 1:41:43.479 --> 1:41:47.800 last Big Records was Drake and Kendrick Lamar. But here's 1:41:47.800 --> 1:41:51.920 the thing. Give us a whole lot of money and 1:41:51.960 --> 1:41:57.880 then watch us be disrespectful for the clicks that likes 1:41:57.880 --> 1:42:00.479 to views the whole nine. That's disrespect But even if 1:42:00.479 --> 1:42:03.000 you're going against the people that gave you the money, 1:42:03.520 --> 1:42:05.800 even if you're trying to teach the next generation how 1:42:05.800 --> 1:42:10.200 to do it, there's still ways you have to govern 1:42:10.240 --> 1:42:15.600 the information. And it's still by law. So if you 1:42:15.600 --> 1:42:17.799 don't know the law, like you just said, you're teaching 1:42:17.840 --> 1:42:22.879 people about perpetuity, they're not reading that in the contract. 1:42:23.439 --> 1:42:25.519 But why is that. 1:42:25.439 --> 1:42:27.160 Clause even in there? 1:42:27.840 --> 1:42:30.880 But you can't change the law by saying you bringing 1:42:30.920 --> 1:42:34.760 awareness to it for us to remove it. How do 1:42:34.840 --> 1:42:37.160 we get to change that law? That's got to go 1:42:37.240 --> 1:42:41.559 through Congress's got to go You see the steps. Now 1:42:41.560 --> 1:42:44.800 we are here campaigning. Now we're standing on the front 1:42:44.800 --> 1:42:46.680 line when naturally the only thing you want to do 1:42:46.720 --> 1:42:51.120 is feed your family. How much enagey you got for 1:42:51.200 --> 1:42:55.439 it to prove to somebody else that we need to 1:42:55.520 --> 1:43:01.639 change this and do something about it. Which the first 1:43:01.640 --> 1:43:05.000 thing was you brought awareness to it. Cool, Now it 1:43:05.120 --> 1:43:11.479 steps to getting what we observe as we move through 1:43:11.520 --> 1:43:14.640 this maze. But as they continue to make us extinct, 1:43:15.160 --> 1:43:17.400 you and I both know only thing we do is 1:43:17.439 --> 1:43:22.080 get more creative, right, So that's why you'll see boom. 1:43:22.320 --> 1:43:25.760 While they destroy one thing, something else can pop. That's 1:43:25.800 --> 1:43:28.320 why there's a Tyler Perry. You see, he's not using 1:43:28.320 --> 1:43:33.320 the same infrastructure. It's a whole different infrastructure. Boom you got. 1:43:33.360 --> 1:43:37.040 You see little things. And right now in Atlanta, like 1:43:37.080 --> 1:43:40.520 they said, it used to be a DTP, a CTE. 1:43:41.560 --> 1:43:44.600 I can and I can just name all these subsidiaries, 1:43:44.640 --> 1:43:48.559 all these companies. They just moved them all to artists base. 1:43:49.640 --> 1:43:54.400 So they take advantage of artists of not knowing how 1:43:54.439 --> 1:43:55.120 to do business. 1:43:55.400 --> 1:43:58.599 So they moved, they moved, they removed it executives. 1:43:58.920 --> 1:44:01.200 Same thing. You don't you know who did Rihanna? Them 1:44:01.240 --> 1:44:04.639 guys came in, delivered something and was wiped out before 1:44:04.720 --> 1:44:09.479 they even got across the water. And it happens time 1:44:09.520 --> 1:44:15.960 and time and time again, and people not interested and 1:44:16.040 --> 1:44:21.240 the cure of why that's happening. They just want to 1:44:21.280 --> 1:44:22.960 make fun, make jokes. 1:44:23.520 --> 1:44:24.160 Ah. 1:44:24.200 --> 1:44:26.760 You know, they came on the island by itself. Do 1:44:26.880 --> 1:44:29.439 y'all think that's cool when you ain't had a hit 1:44:32.000 --> 1:44:34.759 in ten fifteen years. How you go from the hottest 1:44:34.760 --> 1:44:37.000 thing on the block to you're not hot? 1:44:37.040 --> 1:44:37.120 No? 1:44:37.160 --> 1:44:40.640 More like, how you get that amount of money and 1:44:40.640 --> 1:44:42.400 then say, oh, well you make this amount of money? 1:44:43.280 --> 1:44:50.559 He distracted? No, he's not distracted. It's a system. How 1:44:50.560 --> 1:44:56.000 are we not hot? How all of a sudden what 1:44:56.120 --> 1:45:00.000 he comes up with? He knows more about what's going 1:45:00.160 --> 1:45:02.360 on in the streets and what's happening out here then 1:45:02.439 --> 1:45:06.559 somebody pushing buttons at Apple. Absolutely okay, but why that's 1:45:06.600 --> 1:45:14.040 not surfacing. It's way deeper than the creatives. It's the platforms. 1:45:14.080 --> 1:45:15.960 It's the tools that we're using. So we are going 1:45:16.040 --> 1:45:21.280 to have to some point get together and create new tools, 1:45:21.840 --> 1:45:25.559 new platforms that and new ownership because right now everybody's 1:45:25.600 --> 1:45:29.120 talking about own this on that, which is the worst 1:45:29.160 --> 1:45:29.559 thing ever. 1:45:29.680 --> 1:45:32.479 Yeah, because if you don't know how to, for lack 1:45:32.520 --> 1:45:33.960 of a better term, exploit it. 1:45:34.479 --> 1:45:37.080 Well, if you don't know how to, well, some people 1:45:37.120 --> 1:45:39.479 don't possess these other things. 1:45:39.600 --> 1:45:43.640 I'm not a good administrative person, so I have to 1:45:43.720 --> 1:45:47.160 hire somebody that does administration. I don't know too many 1:45:47.280 --> 1:45:51.200 artists that I work with throughout the years to understand. 1:45:50.760 --> 1:45:54.400 Admin So how are you going to own something you 1:45:54.439 --> 1:45:59.040 don't know right, how you gonna My grandma said to 1:45:59.080 --> 1:45:59.600 me one time, She. 1:45:59.600 --> 1:46:03.120 Said, back, baby, could you? Could you? You know, she 1:46:03.200 --> 1:46:06.960 worked at a dry cleaner for over thirty something years, 1:46:07.320 --> 1:46:11.120 but she worked on the pressing machine, and she says, 1:46:11.479 --> 1:46:15.400 can I invest in a dry cleaner for it? I said, sure, 1:46:15.400 --> 1:46:18.920 I could do that. I said I need a business 1:46:18.960 --> 1:46:24.479 plan and a P and L. She thought at that 1:46:24.600 --> 1:46:31.719 moment I was being disrespectful. I just insulted her. Oh no, baby, 1:46:31.760 --> 1:46:34.960 I've been doing this for I said, yeah, I know, 1:46:34.960 --> 1:46:36.960 you've been doing it for thirty plus years, bab. I 1:46:37.000 --> 1:46:39.800 do know that, and I'm willing to invest, but I 1:46:39.800 --> 1:46:42.400 don't know anything about it right. So only way I 1:46:42.479 --> 1:46:43.840 need to look at the numbers. I need to look 1:46:43.880 --> 1:46:45.280 at the business plan. I need to see how these 1:46:45.320 --> 1:46:49.400 people ran this dry cleaner for years. And she didn't 1:46:49.439 --> 1:46:55.479 get that. Artists don't get that. So you saying you 1:46:56.000 --> 1:47:00.080 own something, but you don't know anything about the business. 1:47:00.080 --> 1:47:00.720 Or how to run it. 1:47:01.000 --> 1:47:03.719 Oh you're own your masters? Oh one hundred percent of zero, 1:47:04.240 --> 1:47:09.120 that is phenomenal. I became a multi millionaire of fourteen cent. 1:47:12.160 --> 1:47:12.439 Yeah. 1:47:13.439 --> 1:47:15.559 Oh no, jay Z, say on your masters, that's not 1:47:15.600 --> 1:47:18.599 what jay Z did at the beginning. And if jay 1:47:18.680 --> 1:47:20.720 Z had the opportunity to go do a deal with 1:47:20.800 --> 1:47:24.599 Live Nation in the beginning, I guarantee jay Z would 1:47:24.640 --> 1:47:27.840 have done that deal differently. The jay Z now would 1:47:27.880 --> 1:47:29.599 do a totally different deal when he took that two 1:47:29.680 --> 1:47:33.240 hundred and fifty million dollars. But only thing he did 1:47:33.280 --> 1:47:39.240 when he took that he wanted out of his situation. Now, 1:47:39.280 --> 1:47:42.080 how you give a bundled deal. So let's say you 1:47:42.080 --> 1:47:44.280 rent their venue, you go, you're play in their venue, 1:47:45.280 --> 1:47:51.720 and I guarantee you if they got AT and T, 1:47:52.120 --> 1:47:56.960 Coca Cola, whatever mobile carrier, whatever sponsors that they had 1:47:57.680 --> 1:48:00.400 at that moment when he did that deal, guarantee you 1:48:00.439 --> 1:48:00.880 here and get. 1:48:00.760 --> 1:48:03.679 A back end because you got to recoup that deal. 1:48:03.920 --> 1:48:05.880 I guess, I guarantee it. I bet you're bundled in 1:48:05.920 --> 1:48:08.639 the two fifty Let him go do a deal now, 1:48:09.520 --> 1:48:10.519 it's not going to be the same. 1:48:11.040 --> 1:48:13.080 That's the point I'm making. Yeah, he learned the game. 1:48:13.120 --> 1:48:15.280 He learned the game right, And what I'm saying to 1:48:15.320 --> 1:48:19.840 you is, so it's not fair for us to say 1:48:20.000 --> 1:48:26.880 you should be an owner and own everything you do without. 1:48:26.320 --> 1:48:29.400 Having the information because you don't know. 1:48:29.479 --> 1:48:34.719 Right, and without having the capital and having the finances, 1:48:34.760 --> 1:48:38.560 because in any business, if someone puts up the finances, 1:48:39.040 --> 1:48:42.240 the deal is more advantageous to them. You go to 1:48:42.320 --> 1:48:45.720 a bank and now you got a loan and that's 1:48:45.720 --> 1:48:50.000 what that two fifty was, and you're paying that off first, right, 1:48:50.120 --> 1:48:53.600 And that's why you saw the packaging. Packaging with your 1:48:55.400 --> 1:48:56.280 things got slow. 1:48:56.560 --> 1:48:59.280 Shit, let's package it with justin timberlake, whatever we got 1:48:59.320 --> 1:49:02.080 to do the packages. Get this money down so I 1:49:02.120 --> 1:49:05.439 can get out of debt to get to this next space. Yeah, okay, 1:49:05.439 --> 1:49:08.960 but let me just go with my wife. So you're 1:49:09.000 --> 1:49:10.760 not seeing it behind the scenes. You're just seeing what 1:49:10.800 --> 1:49:13.439 they're putting in front of you. And my point is 1:49:13.560 --> 1:49:16.439 the person that knows the business behind not just having 1:49:16.479 --> 1:49:22.200 resource but being sourceful. You gotta have both, yeah, and 1:49:22.240 --> 1:49:24.760 that's what these kids are really lacking. So right now 1:49:24.760 --> 1:49:26.320 today they'll tell you we're gonna throw this out, we're 1:49:26.320 --> 1:49:27.880 gonna do this, We're gonna do this, and then you'll 1:49:27.880 --> 1:49:31.080 spike a little success and then it goes away. So 1:49:31.160 --> 1:49:34.320 are you working with newer artists now? Yeah, I work 1:49:34.360 --> 1:49:37.360 with new artists. I consult I consult with companies, I 1:49:37.400 --> 1:49:40.879 work with new artists. I'm more like the quiet Storm 1:49:41.040 --> 1:49:41.800 because it's you. 1:49:41.760 --> 1:49:43.080 Know, artists, silent giant. 1:49:43.200 --> 1:49:46.240 Yeah, yeah, I learned differently, you know the days of 1:49:47.840 --> 1:49:49.680 you know, the way it used to be done. I 1:49:49.800 --> 1:49:51.400 just do it a little different today. Yeah, you have 1:49:51.439 --> 1:49:53.919 to just but yeah I still. 1:49:53.680 --> 1:49:58.000 Do That's great, bro, because a lot of times you 1:49:58.080 --> 1:50:02.680 find that, you know, the pillars of our community and 1:50:02.680 --> 1:50:07.800 people who have literally built this thing get to a 1:50:07.800 --> 1:50:10.680 point where you're just like, I'm cool, right, and you know, 1:50:11.040 --> 1:50:11.920 it's a different business. 1:50:12.000 --> 1:50:13.479 I don't want to I don't want to be a 1:50:13.520 --> 1:50:14.720 part of that. No. 1:50:14.960 --> 1:50:18.360 No, I think for a moment, what it did was 1:50:18.439 --> 1:50:22.679 it robbed me up my energy because you know, doing 1:50:23.120 --> 1:50:29.000 so much, plugging into so many different vibes and people, 1:50:29.240 --> 1:50:33.360 and sometimes when you to go to it gets it 1:50:33.400 --> 1:50:34.480 gets a little tough. 1:50:34.320 --> 1:50:34.880 You know what I mean. 1:50:36.040 --> 1:50:40.599 And then when you need something that you know are plugging, 1:50:42.040 --> 1:50:42.639 it's not there. 1:50:42.680 --> 1:50:43.240 It's not there. 1:50:43.680 --> 1:50:47.920 So sometimes that's tough. And then when you start seeing 1:50:48.000 --> 1:50:52.760 all this chaos and and people dying over this and 1:50:52.960 --> 1:50:58.360 people going to jail, it starts to get put you 1:50:58.400 --> 1:51:01.439 in a dark place because the only thing you want 1:51:01.479 --> 1:51:03.479 to do is be creative. And this was your go 1:51:03.560 --> 1:51:05.840 to you know what I mean, if you go and 1:51:05.880 --> 1:51:07.840 this is what this if this is what you was 1:51:08.000 --> 1:51:11.439 escaping too, right, and then all of a sudden you 1:51:11.479 --> 1:51:12.520 start seeing. 1:51:12.600 --> 1:51:15.080 That it's putting you there. Yeah, what's coming. 1:51:14.800 --> 1:51:17.839 Out of it? You know? These you seeing childhood friends 1:51:17.880 --> 1:51:23.000 being divided, you seeing people getting shot up, people going 1:51:23.040 --> 1:51:27.479 to jail. You know, it's it's it's so much energy 1:51:27.520 --> 1:51:30.600 in a negative space to be in the space that 1:51:31.240 --> 1:51:33.479 it took a minute before I said, you know what, 1:51:33.600 --> 1:51:37.240 let me let me tap into this again, because I 1:51:37.280 --> 1:51:41.240 realized my purpose was to serve and help people, whether 1:51:41.280 --> 1:51:45.040 it came back or not. So I literally just kind 1:51:45.040 --> 1:51:49.160 of pushed back. Started a private school, went from K 1:51:49.240 --> 1:51:55.040 through twelve. It's now yeah, so it's it's education and 1:51:55.080 --> 1:51:55.519 the arts. 1:51:55.760 --> 1:51:56.000 Okay. 1:51:56.680 --> 1:52:01.720 So and I'm also in the process working on a 1:52:01.840 --> 1:52:02.800 larger facility. 1:52:03.680 --> 1:52:06.240 Is how many students do you have as it how 1:52:06.240 --> 1:52:07.040 many students do you. 1:52:07.000 --> 1:52:13.720 Have currently three hundred? So now just working on bigger facility, 1:52:14.360 --> 1:52:18.960 more partners. I kind of incubated behind a head master 1:52:19.080 --> 1:52:24.320 that she's been doing education for eighteen years. Private school, 1:52:25.080 --> 1:52:28.760 So learning the space, learning the politics, kind of just 1:52:28.800 --> 1:52:33.040 taking the energy, moving a different direction, yeah, but still developing. 1:52:34.360 --> 1:52:36.519 So still in my craft, but I catching it early, 1:52:36.680 --> 1:52:38.800 you know, So I got this whole thing that's still 1:52:38.840 --> 1:52:44.040 playing in my head. I'm still chasing Disneyland, Walt Disney, 1:52:44.600 --> 1:52:49.400 you know. And that's how throughout the years, the facilities 1:52:49.439 --> 1:52:55.040 and the properties from Dreamland to Starland to Victory Land, 1:52:55.120 --> 1:53:00.519 these are all properties where entertainers I developed talent. 1:53:01.040 --> 1:53:01.280 Yeah. 1:53:02.160 --> 1:53:09.200 So now I'm working on something a little bit mostrositytrosity, Yeah, 1:53:09.479 --> 1:53:14.160 something special for this generation and the next generation. So yeah, 1:53:14.200 --> 1:53:17.920 I'm in a great space creatively. And the beauty about 1:53:18.000 --> 1:53:22.559 all of it is that even in my darkest moments 1:53:22.920 --> 1:53:25.599 in this business is when I saw the most light, 1:53:27.400 --> 1:53:30.880 I was able to create better. Yeah, And that's the 1:53:30.920 --> 1:53:34.519 part that kind of hunts me. It's almost like going 1:53:34.560 --> 1:53:38.760 to being a football player. But you got to go 1:53:38.800 --> 1:53:41.559 to mini camp, then you got to go to training camp, 1:53:41.920 --> 1:53:44.000 then you got to go to summer camp, then you 1:53:44.040 --> 1:53:46.200 got to go to preseason. 1:53:45.880 --> 1:53:49.120 To get to it every year, yeah, every year. 1:53:49.240 --> 1:53:54.400 Yeah, So I put myself in the same program. So 1:53:54.479 --> 1:53:57.000 if you don't see me right away, just know probably 1:53:57.000 --> 1:54:00.559 in mini camp. But that don't mean I ain't coming. Yeah. Yeah, 1:54:00.800 --> 1:54:01.320 I'm coming. 1:54:01.640 --> 1:54:02.400 Nah. I love that. 1:54:02.400 --> 1:54:02.639 Man. 1:54:03.600 --> 1:54:10.479 Man, your story is amazing, your path is amazing. And honestly, bro, 1:54:10.560 --> 1:54:13.479 we need you. I think the game needs you and 1:54:14.040 --> 1:54:17.080 the game appreciates you. And I don't think that is 1:54:17.160 --> 1:54:20.080 always you know, that's not always said. You know, maybe 1:54:20.120 --> 1:54:22.720 monetarily at times, you know, you get you know, you 1:54:22.760 --> 1:54:24.519 get your just due, you get your you know, you 1:54:24.560 --> 1:54:26.960 get your bag. But as far as like you know, 1:54:27.120 --> 1:54:38.320 just from but even that community speaking to you, and. 1:54:38.400 --> 1:54:40.560 Just so I want to say this to young generation. 1:54:41.200 --> 1:54:43.680 You know, I know we live in a money, money 1:54:43.680 --> 1:54:50.160 grab environment and you you need money to live, to live. 1:54:51.240 --> 1:54:56.000 But one thing I can really tell you that the money, 1:54:57.440 --> 1:55:06.280 it's not gonna you can't buy happiness like I have 1:55:06.520 --> 1:55:11.200 tempted to buy the surroundings of it. And I remember 1:55:11.520 --> 1:55:14.320 one day I was in a club and I was 1:55:14.320 --> 1:55:18.120 sitting there and I don't drink. I don't drink alcohol, 1:55:18.120 --> 1:55:20.200 I don't smoke, I don't pop pills, I don't do 1:55:20.240 --> 1:55:25.200 any stuff. And I'm sitting there and because the promoter 1:55:25.320 --> 1:55:28.480 and the owner, you know, they know me, They're bringing 1:55:28.520 --> 1:55:31.040 all these bottles because I got a bunch of people 1:55:31.080 --> 1:55:33.680 with me, and I'm sitting there and I don't really 1:55:33.720 --> 1:55:36.720 know these girls, and the security guy got with me. 1:55:36.840 --> 1:55:39.760 I probably hired them for the night. And if a 1:55:39.800 --> 1:55:43.320 fight breakout, I don't know if this stick is gonna run, Oh, 1:55:43.400 --> 1:55:46.640 you're gonna help. I know he's paid. And I had 1:55:46.640 --> 1:55:48.840 a couple other people with me and I'm sitting there 1:55:49.280 --> 1:55:51.040 and I got to say, it had to be one 1:55:51.080 --> 1:55:54.760 of the most loneliest feelings I ever had. I mean, 1:55:54.800 --> 1:55:56.640 they was trying to talk to me in one ear, 1:55:56.720 --> 1:55:59.440 this person's saying this, ask me. They pawing, and the 1:55:59.480 --> 1:56:08.560 girls taking ass everywhere, and I'm like, a shift happened 1:56:10.400 --> 1:56:12.040 that I no longer want to be in the space. 1:56:13.920 --> 1:56:16.800 I don't know, it's just something came over me. I 1:56:16.840 --> 1:56:22.200 felt lonely and I felt unprotected. And then I stopped 1:56:22.240 --> 1:56:27.360 going out, and then certain other things start happening, and 1:56:27.400 --> 1:56:31.520 then I started going into and then I ran into 1:56:32.080 --> 1:56:34.920 issue with the IRS. And the way I ran into 1:56:34.960 --> 1:56:39.880 the issue was it was deep. It was deep, and 1:56:39.920 --> 1:56:43.520 it was strategic from a side that placed me into 1:56:44.520 --> 1:56:48.960 the situation. And as things start layering back and I 1:56:49.000 --> 1:56:52.400 started learning more, learning more like, Okay, how I'm gonna 1:56:52.400 --> 1:56:56.600 teach my artists about the IRS? If I don't really 1:56:56.640 --> 1:56:59.760 know it, how I'm going to teach them about financing 1:56:59.760 --> 1:57:01.160 if I don't know it how much. 1:57:01.320 --> 1:57:02.720 So now God has. 1:57:02.640 --> 1:57:05.400 Taken me through all these little things, removing me from 1:57:05.480 --> 1:57:11.120 the things I once knew into unfamiliar territory. So I 1:57:11.200 --> 1:57:16.800 got very lonely. I'm talking about extremely lonely, where I 1:57:16.840 --> 1:57:20.400 felt like, God, what's going on? Why, what's what's happening? 1:57:20.800 --> 1:57:24.360 And then he realized that I was winning too. I 1:57:24.440 --> 1:57:32.080 literally went into god witness protection program and it was 1:57:32.120 --> 1:57:37.840 the most amazing thing because all these years I carried 1:57:37.920 --> 1:57:46.120 all these people and then there was nobody I sense 1:57:48.160 --> 1:57:56.480 when I say crickets. I didn't know what peace was, 1:57:57.800 --> 1:57:59.320 and I ain't even I didn't even know what it 1:57:59.360 --> 1:58:06.720 felt like. And then a shift happened and he kept 1:58:06.720 --> 1:58:08.840 talking to me. He kept talking to me, and then 1:58:08.840 --> 1:58:17.000 he showed me. He showed me everything and every person 1:58:17.400 --> 1:58:19.880 that was in my life and why they was in 1:58:19.920 --> 1:58:26.440 my life and the reason for being there. And at 1:58:26.440 --> 1:58:31.600 that moment, I said, Okay, I got this. I got this. 1:58:32.520 --> 1:58:42.040 I fell in love all over again with myself because 1:58:42.080 --> 1:58:47.160 I ain't seen that kid since he was five. I 1:58:47.200 --> 1:58:51.200 plugged into everything that I thought I could possibly plug into. 1:58:51.960 --> 1:58:57.240 So he just unplugged it off. I'm talking about unplugged everything. 1:59:00.280 --> 1:59:12.360 The cars, the houses, the women, all the clothes, like 1:59:12.400 --> 1:59:15.040 they said, all the shoes, but couldn't take a step 1:59:15.040 --> 1:59:15.879 in the right direction. 1:59:19.720 --> 1:59:20.960 Anything you could think of. 1:59:22.440 --> 1:59:28.120 I got access to and would let anybody use it. 1:59:30.600 --> 1:59:33.560 Man take the car, Hey, yeah, you can have a house, 1:59:34.320 --> 1:59:36.680 you know, beautiful thing. Even Jamie came and got the 1:59:36.680 --> 1:59:38.840 house for the whole week while he was shooting Baby 1:59:38.920 --> 1:59:41.320 Driver here, like, you take the house, you could take 1:59:41.320 --> 1:59:46.640 the house over there. I got so detached to material 1:59:46.720 --> 1:59:54.640 things because none of it made me happy. None of it. 1:59:56.000 --> 1:59:57.520 I didn't even like what was coming with it. I 1:59:57.560 --> 2:00:03.480 pull up to the stoplight, women hanging out like, oh man, 2:00:04.760 --> 2:00:08.480 they blowing. I got the top down. They loving the car, 2:00:09.560 --> 2:00:14.640 they love in the rims. I'm moving. I go pick 2:00:14.680 --> 2:00:17.400 up the raggedy pickup truck. I come back same light. 2:00:18.440 --> 2:00:20.680 Seen some girls coming that I saw when I went 2:00:20.680 --> 2:00:22.280 to park the car and came back in the regular 2:00:22.320 --> 2:00:27.000 truck to go move something. I say, bump. They sped 2:00:27.080 --> 2:00:35.800 past me. I said, this is beautiful. You start seeing things, 2:00:36.880 --> 2:00:40.120 start finding purpose. So I say to the young people, 2:00:42.440 --> 2:00:47.720 enjoy yourself. Enjoy your life, put something back, save as 2:00:47.800 --> 2:00:52.280 much as you can. We are in a recession. You 2:00:52.360 --> 2:00:56.720 don't know the law, you don't understand things and things 2:00:56.760 --> 2:00:59.720 that they put in front of you. It's not necessarily 2:00:59.760 --> 2:01:04.720 to try truth. So we got to do more of this. Yeah, 2:01:05.160 --> 2:01:10.000 gotta do more of coming together, more unifying. And I'm 2:01:10.000 --> 2:01:12.600 not saying in large groups, but in small groups to 2:01:12.680 --> 2:01:15.640 be effective. And I know I just went on the 2:01:15.680 --> 2:01:18.960 whole thing, but I just want to tell you, thank you, 2:01:19.240 --> 2:01:21.760 thank you, bro. Yeah, because I was getting ready to 2:01:22.680 --> 2:01:26.080 take that somewhere and I stopped because it was it's 2:01:26.120 --> 2:01:30.800 all good. Yeah, Okay, it was about to go into somebody. 2:01:31.680 --> 2:01:34.400 No, it's all good. Well this is about you, bro. Now. 2:01:34.480 --> 2:01:36.680 Now I want to get into the mind of you musically. 2:01:37.320 --> 2:01:41.520 Musically, Yeah, so I got something we'reben play something for 2:01:41.600 --> 2:01:42.200 him man. 2:01:43.840 --> 2:02:01.440 Fin Yeah, your top five, man five, your R and 2:02:01.600 --> 2:02:02.480 B songs. 2:02:04.520 --> 2:02:08.840 We got to know before you go there, WRO on 2:02:09.000 --> 2:02:09.520 this show. 2:02:09.960 --> 2:02:36.840 Your body want to know. Yes, it's tak crazy. So 2:02:37.000 --> 2:02:37.520 we want to know. 2:02:39.440 --> 2:02:43.120 The top five R and B singers and R and 2:02:43.200 --> 2:02:46.120 B songs. Let's start with the singers. Who are your 2:02:46.200 --> 2:02:48.280 top five R and B singers? 2:02:48.560 --> 2:02:50.720 Okay, I would say this guy because he went R 2:02:50.760 --> 2:02:57.720 and B and turnpop. Michael Jackson, Prince, Prince, Whitney Houston. Yeah, 2:02:57.960 --> 2:03:02.680 Michael Jackson, Prince R Kelly, Yes, And I'm gonna say 2:03:02.720 --> 2:03:04.240 this one because they like to leave him out of 2:03:05.640 --> 2:03:13.840 conversations sometimes. Teddy Riley Top five R and B singers, Well, 2:03:14.000 --> 2:03:18.000 it's not Teddy as guy, it's it was just that 2:03:18.160 --> 2:03:21.680 whole time period. Yeah, yeah, I would say that. I 2:03:21.720 --> 2:03:26.120 would say, yeah, usher. 2:03:27.960 --> 2:03:31.520 So eight, can I go back and do it? 2:03:32.080 --> 2:03:32.120 No? 2:03:32.320 --> 2:03:36.600 No, no, no, you got it. It's yours. Okay, it's 2:03:36.640 --> 2:03:40.560 yours absolutely, Okay, Top five R and B Songs. 2:03:41.240 --> 2:03:45.280 Here we go, Adore by Prince, Yes, Michael Jackson, out 2:03:45.320 --> 2:03:49.120 of my life, She's out of my life, baby Face 2:03:49.560 --> 2:03:55.400 one love saw it Ah, Yes, okay, okay, R Kelly 2:03:56.480 --> 2:03:57.320 when a woman's. 2:03:57.080 --> 2:04:02.600 Fed up amazing, Okay, that's that's right. Yeah, one more more, 2:04:02.720 --> 2:04:08.360 what's going on? Perfect song for the Times All timer. Okay, 2:04:08.440 --> 2:04:10.040 So that showed your top five songs. 2:04:11.080 --> 2:04:15.880 Got another segment. It's called the Voltron. Okay, where you build, 2:04:16.000 --> 2:04:19.000 which is is what you dow? 2:04:19.080 --> 2:04:25.600 You build the ultimate R and B superstar superhero. You 2:04:25.760 --> 2:04:32.120 take four elements, the voice, the stage performance, the styling 2:04:32.920 --> 2:04:33.680 and the passion. 2:04:34.160 --> 2:04:37.800 Okay, and build one artist. And build one artist that's 2:04:37.880 --> 2:04:40.040 Chris Brown. Chris Brown, Chris Brown, and Chris Brown. 2:04:45.080 --> 2:04:47.680 I take the voice and style of the choreography and 2:04:47.840 --> 2:04:48.720 change before. 2:04:50.040 --> 2:04:51.000 It's all Chris Brown. 2:04:51.160 --> 2:04:54.360 And I'm going to say it, but I know, so 2:04:54.440 --> 2:04:57.120 who's going to develop this artist? Who would you choose? 2:04:57.680 --> 2:04:59.920 I would say me and a team, Okay, because I 2:05:00.000 --> 2:05:02.040 I still think, even to this day, I could still 2:05:02.120 --> 2:05:04.600 take Chris to another level that he hasn't reached yet. 2:05:05.360 --> 2:05:10.080 Huh yeah, yeah, yeah, Okay, all right, all right, all right, 2:05:10.560 --> 2:05:12.000 we got we got one more, we got one more. 2:05:12.000 --> 2:05:13.400 We got one more thing for you man before I 2:05:13.480 --> 2:05:13.800 let you go. 2:05:14.000 --> 2:05:22.480 Okay, A saying no nigga, saying no names, saying no names, 2:05:23.120 --> 2:05:27.840 saying no names. Who you was, what you did? 2:05:28.480 --> 2:05:29.000 Don't say? 2:05:29.160 --> 2:05:43.120 She said? Very important part of the show. Okay, Will 2:05:43.160 --> 2:05:47.520 you tell us a story funny or fucked up? Are 2:05:47.640 --> 2:05:51.080 funny and fucked up? The only rule to the game 2:05:51.480 --> 2:05:52.720 is you can't say no names. 2:05:52.960 --> 2:05:56.360 Oh wow, I need one. Okay, So I give you 2:05:56.400 --> 2:05:58.240 a story about I think I might have been. 2:05:58.800 --> 2:05:59.040 I was. 2:05:59.160 --> 2:06:05.080 I was working on an artists and at the record 2:06:05.120 --> 2:06:07.640 company has spent probably about two million dollars on the artist, 2:06:07.840 --> 2:06:10.760 and they was kind of chasing this sound, chasing this vibe, 2:06:11.600 --> 2:06:12.680 and I kept saying. 2:06:13.920 --> 2:06:14.840 Nah, no, no, no. 2:06:15.000 --> 2:06:18.240 And this artist was actually in a group, so I 2:06:18.320 --> 2:06:23.160 kept saying, man, I kept saying, like, why y'all can't 2:06:23.200 --> 2:06:27.040 get this right. She's a superstar. And I know she's 2:06:27.640 --> 2:06:30.440 you know, maybe standing next to a superstar, but she's 2:06:30.440 --> 2:06:32.680 a superstar. And then when I listened to the music, 2:06:32.720 --> 2:06:38.960 I kept saying, man, why y'all not making no real 2:06:39.160 --> 2:06:47.360 chocolate music because she's chocolate, But you can't make no 2:06:47.480 --> 2:06:50.120 chocolate music on her. You keep chasing this big thing. 2:06:50.240 --> 2:06:52.720 This big thing. Can't chase the past, got to chase 2:06:52.720 --> 2:06:58.200 the future. Gotta go. So I managed for probably about 2:06:58.200 --> 2:07:03.040 a good six I had that contract, and when I 2:07:03.120 --> 2:07:05.320 got it or whatever they signed it, I just put 2:07:05.360 --> 2:07:08.880 the contract on the desk. I never signed it. So 2:07:09.080 --> 2:07:12.640 one of the producers take an executive meeting and we 2:07:12.760 --> 2:07:19.360 walk in there and they upset because I start changing 2:07:19.440 --> 2:07:24.520 the direction of the artists. And I brought the artists 2:07:24.520 --> 2:07:28.160 to Atlanta, set them up up in one of my 2:07:28.240 --> 2:07:33.880 homes and started working and changing it. And then I 2:07:34.040 --> 2:07:38.760 take it back and the producer who who brought her in, 2:07:39.000 --> 2:07:42.840 and the executive. They upset. They're like, oh man, and 2:07:42.920 --> 2:07:44.920 they want me to play this music. So I played 2:07:44.960 --> 2:07:47.800 them a couple of songs. Can't tell you who did 2:07:47.840 --> 2:07:51.920 the songs, all right, So so I'm playing the songs 2:07:52.400 --> 2:07:55.360 and then they get upset. You know, it's the ubsess 2:07:55.440 --> 2:07:57.920 a heated argument. I'm in there arguing back and forth 2:07:58.000 --> 2:08:01.640 with this guy with the executive sitting here. We having 2:08:01.680 --> 2:08:04.800 a heated conversation. Now I know the guy and known 2:08:04.880 --> 2:08:09.760 him on his come up. Yeah right, he gets so 2:08:09.960 --> 2:08:15.760 upset with me, takes off, go back to his city 2:08:17.000 --> 2:08:25.920 and turns around, write a song. They send the song 2:08:26.000 --> 2:08:28.920 to the exact and then they send it to me. 2:08:30.240 --> 2:08:32.760 It sits on the exact desk for about a month. 2:08:34.440 --> 2:08:36.560 I got the record. When I got it, I listened, 2:08:37.880 --> 2:08:42.400 I leaked the record, put the record out, put the record. 2:08:43.440 --> 2:08:47.720 We're going record goes top five. I get a call 2:08:47.840 --> 2:08:51.360 from the attorney that I've been released. I got fired, 2:08:51.440 --> 2:08:54.080 But yeah, I got fired the record. 2:08:55.040 --> 2:08:56.560 You got fired for putting out a hit. 2:08:57.200 --> 2:08:59.480 Yeah, and then never got the credit for the hit. 2:09:01.840 --> 2:09:02.040 Man. 2:09:02.600 --> 2:09:06.000 You know what I might need to take the simple 2:09:06.080 --> 2:09:11.600 to steal gin Man, and then I realized I couldn't even. 2:09:11.960 --> 2:09:16.360 I couldn't do anything I was. I wasn't even. I 2:09:16.480 --> 2:09:18.320 went back and I looked. I said, oh, I didn't 2:09:18.320 --> 2:09:20.280 even sign a contract whatever. I just tore it up 2:09:21.720 --> 2:09:26.640 and moved on. And the artists haven't had a hit 2:09:26.680 --> 2:09:27.200 record since. 2:09:27.800 --> 2:09:34.040 Yeah, you know what man, Like I said, Bro, I 2:09:34.200 --> 2:09:35.360 appreciate you coming here. 2:09:36.000 --> 2:09:38.200 This has been a great time. I'm glad you shared 2:09:38.200 --> 2:09:41.040 your story. I'm glad you shared your knowledge. Respect, you 2:09:41.120 --> 2:09:43.200 know what I mean. With with our audience, with the world. 2:09:43.800 --> 2:09:45.280 You know what I mean, because they need to hear you. 2:09:45.480 --> 2:09:48.480 And like I said, once again, Bro, thank you, thank you, 2:09:48.640 --> 2:09:51.640 thank you, thank you, saying I'm Jay Valentine Yah the 2:09:51.800 --> 2:09:55.480 RV Money Podcast and this is the legend himself. 2:09:57.360 --> 2:10:01.680 Yeah, man, mistake, there are who you a