WEBVTT - Mona Scott Young 0:00:18.180 --> 0:00:21.640 Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Jay Valentine and this is the 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:26.060 R & B Money Podcast. And today, I have a 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:28.340 young lady that I have been chasing down for a 0:00:28.420 --> 0:00:30.840 long time to get On this couch. 0:00:31.180 --> 0:00:33.440 I love the fact that you said Young. Of course. 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:35.100 Of course. 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:43.590 Legendary music executive, manager, all things, but also a multimedia mogul. 0:00:43.990 --> 0:00:49.010 She has pulled up on me today, Munami herself, Mona 0:00:49.130 --> 0:00:50.010 Scott Young. 0:00:51.540 --> 0:00:55.700 Oh, thank you. It's mon ami. Mon ami. Think about 0:00:55.740 --> 0:00:57.520 the French, my friend, mon ami. 0:00:57.680 --> 0:00:59.270 It's crazy because I took French in high school, but 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:01.450 I used to get kicked out of class every day. 0:01:01.470 --> 0:01:02.010 I can tell. 0:01:02.110 --> 0:01:02.930 I was bullshit. 0:01:02.970 --> 0:01:06.030 That's like the basic mon ami. That's like the first 0:01:06.069 --> 0:01:07.330 thing they teach you. You know, when you go to 0:01:07.370 --> 0:01:10.149 school and they're like the first words that mon ami, 0:01:10.209 --> 0:01:10.649 my friend. 0:01:11.050 --> 0:01:12.030 They never taught me that. 0:01:12.170 --> 0:01:14.569 They never taught you that? You had no friends. You 0:01:14.610 --> 0:01:15.390 had no friends. 0:01:15.830 --> 0:01:18.030 I felt like I did. Oh, well. Because they was 0:01:18.050 --> 0:01:19.530 trying to get kicked out with me because it sounded 0:01:19.550 --> 0:01:20.869 like it was fun where I was going. 0:01:20.890 --> 0:01:23.090 That is hysterical. So now you know. It's Mona and me. 0:01:23.530 --> 0:01:24.220 Mona and me. 0:01:24.530 --> 0:01:26.380 I thought I was being so clever with my name. 0:01:27.090 --> 0:01:28.190 And nobody can pronounce it. 0:01:28.250 --> 0:01:30.240 And nobody can pronounce it. They're like Mona and me. 0:01:30.620 --> 0:01:31.839 Mona and me. Including me. 0:01:32.340 --> 0:01:33.720 Including me. Hey, it is what it is. 0:01:33.740 --> 0:01:34.959 Think of it as Mona and me. 0:01:35.280 --> 0:01:35.980 Okay, Mona and me. 0:01:36.140 --> 0:01:36.380 Okay. 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:38.060 Mona and me. Got you. How are you doing today? 0:01:38.300 --> 0:01:40.060 I'm good. Thank you for having me. 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:41.960 Thank you for pulling up on me. This is a 0:01:41.980 --> 0:01:42.980 special moment for me. 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:44.320 Oh, my goodness. 0:01:44.380 --> 0:01:48.720 And I'll tell you why. Because as much as I've 0:01:48.960 --> 0:01:53.550 been a part of the artist, crazy people, creative side, 0:01:54.220 --> 0:01:58.050 I've always known that I was moving into an executive 0:01:58.090 --> 0:02:01.110 side and that I would be in the management side. 0:02:01.150 --> 0:02:04.710 So I used to just pay attention to great executives, 0:02:04.750 --> 0:02:09.500 great managers. And try to understand why y'all chose to 0:02:09.560 --> 0:02:10.980 do what y'all chose to do. 0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:13.980 Try to understand the madness, the method. 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:17.340 R & B artists especially, but just artists, period, are 0:02:17.380 --> 0:02:18.260 crazy as hell. 0:02:19.180 --> 0:02:24.400 I like to think of them as inspired, as special, right? Listen, 0:02:24.419 --> 0:02:26.280 because I say if they were normal, if they were 0:02:26.340 --> 0:02:28.750 like us, if they could figure it out and do 0:02:28.780 --> 0:02:31.070 it in the same fashion, we would not have jobs. 0:02:31.630 --> 0:02:32.130 This is true. 0:02:32.310 --> 0:02:33.070 Think of it that way. 0:02:33.210 --> 0:02:36.070 This is true. Somebody has to manage the crazy. 0:02:36.419 --> 0:02:38.320 And the crazy is what makes them genius. 0:02:38.520 --> 0:02:40.960 Absolutely. Absolutely. You can't have one without the other. 0:02:41.080 --> 0:02:41.460 Absolutely. 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:44.490 You cannot have one without the other. So here at 0:02:44.570 --> 0:02:47.910 R & B Money, we like to go back. We 0:02:47.930 --> 0:02:50.710 like to go through the journey of the people who 0:02:50.750 --> 0:02:52.930 sit down with us and have this conversation. So I 0:02:52.950 --> 0:02:54.669 would like to go back to New York City. 0:02:55.950 --> 0:02:59.410 I grew up in Manhattan, 85th Street in Columbus. Yes. 0:02:59.660 --> 0:03:03.880 Yeah. So Lil Mona, did you ever dream of any 0:03:03.900 --> 0:03:04.260 of this? 0:03:05.020 --> 0:03:06.799 Absolutely not. Absolutely not. 0:03:06.830 --> 0:03:07.740 So what was the dream then? 0:03:08.900 --> 0:03:09.919 What was the dream then? 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:12.400 You know, it's interesting because we moved around a lot 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:15.880 with my mother. So there really wasn't anything set. And 0:03:15.900 --> 0:03:17.700 I always talk about that. A lot of times you 0:03:17.720 --> 0:03:20.840 meet young kids who are like focused, right? They know 0:03:20.880 --> 0:03:23.139 exactly what they want to do. And I really, I 0:03:23.800 --> 0:03:26.940 came from, you know, Haitian single mom. So she wanted 0:03:26.970 --> 0:03:29.470 me to be a nurse, an engineer, all of the traditional. 0:03:30.010 --> 0:03:32.650 We lived in, like I said, I grew up in Manhattan. 0:03:32.690 --> 0:03:34.669 We lived in the Virgin Islands in St. Croix, lived 0:03:34.710 --> 0:03:35.290 in Puerto Rico. 0:03:36.370 --> 0:03:38.740 Oh, y'all moved around, meaning different countries? 0:03:38.750 --> 0:03:40.040 Oh, we moved around, around. 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:43.700 Oh, okay. Yes, yes, yes. I'm thinking different boroughs. No, no, no. No, no, no. 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:45.200 Different places, countries. 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:45.440 Yeah. 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:49.540 So I never really had that kind of traditional path 0:03:49.780 --> 0:03:53.860 of knowing exactly what I wanted to do. But watching 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:56.620 her and seeing how she had the hustle, if I 0:03:56.660 --> 0:03:59.800 had to say like what I saw, what I aspired 0:03:59.860 --> 0:04:03.450 to was that hustle heart. 0:04:04.010 --> 0:04:04.230 Okay. 0:04:04.730 --> 0:04:06.490 Didn't know exactly where it was going to take me, 0:04:06.530 --> 0:04:09.090 where I was going to land. But just that ability 0:04:09.130 --> 0:04:12.320 to move around and make things happen and figure things out. 0:04:12.900 --> 0:04:15.020 That was what I grew up witnessing. Yeah. 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:17.160 What pushed you toward music? 0:04:17.779 --> 0:04:20.240 It was interesting because I don't know that there was 0:04:20.300 --> 0:04:22.400 anything that pushed me towards it except that I got 0:04:22.540 --> 0:04:23.310 sucked into it. 0:04:23.320 --> 0:04:25.330 That's more how I would describe it. Okay. 0:04:25.410 --> 0:04:29.910 You know, I was working with the producers, trackmasters. 0:04:30.190 --> 0:04:30.409 Oh, yeah. 0:04:30.770 --> 0:04:31.350 Yeah, exactly. 0:04:31.410 --> 0:04:33.990 But actually, before trackmasters, I was working with the artists. 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:37.260 that the track masters were working with. And then that 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:39.180 led to me working with them. And then that led 0:04:39.220 --> 0:04:41.790 to me meeting my, you know, late partner, Chris Lighty, 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:45.170 which is how I got pulled into management because it 0:04:45.210 --> 0:04:47.349 really wasn't something, like I said, that I went after. 0:04:48.190 --> 0:04:51.210 So you weren't managing track masters, though. I was. 0:04:52.330 --> 0:04:56.010 Well, let's go back, right? I started out doing artist development. 0:04:56.430 --> 0:04:58.350 So I was working with some of the artists that 0:04:58.430 --> 0:05:02.529 they were producing. And then through that interaction with the artists, 0:05:02.870 --> 0:05:05.820 they asked me to manage them. And so that's how 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:09.070 I got into and I always do air quotes because 0:05:09.130 --> 0:05:10.390 at the time I didn't know what the hell I 0:05:10.430 --> 0:05:10.849 was doing. 0:05:11.250 --> 0:05:13.150 Right. So it was like, what does that mean exactly? 0:05:13.190 --> 0:05:14.190 What are we talking about? 0:05:15.250 --> 0:05:17.130 So there was an education there that had to take 0:05:17.190 --> 0:05:21.029 place with me understanding not only the business side of things, 0:05:21.130 --> 0:05:23.690 but like what they did in the studio and how 0:05:23.750 --> 0:05:26.460 they made the music and all of that stuff. And 0:05:26.600 --> 0:05:30.760 that led me to, you know, meeting Chris and working 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:33.060 with him eventually and forming Violator Management. 0:05:33.940 --> 0:05:38.260 When you guys started Violator Management, was there a mindset of, 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:41.800 we want to do a lot of artists? Or was 0:05:41.860 --> 0:05:44.520 it just specific things at first? Because I think when 0:05:44.540 --> 0:05:47.780 people launch companies, everybody has these dreams of grandeur of 0:05:47.820 --> 0:05:51.300 some kind. For you two, was it like, all right, 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:54.100 we're about to take over this industry from a management side? 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:55.540 You know what? 0:05:55.580 --> 0:05:58.930 Chris was already doing Rush with Russell and Lior, right? 0:05:58.940 --> 0:06:00.230 So that company existed. 0:06:00.690 --> 0:06:01.190 They were. 0:06:02.310 --> 0:06:04.870 disbanding the company, so to speak, because everybody was moving 0:06:04.930 --> 0:06:07.870 over to Def Jam. And Chris was getting ready to 0:06:07.910 --> 0:06:12.150 start Violator Records right over there at Def Jam. And 0:06:12.430 --> 0:06:15.140 it really just started out as a place to like 0:06:15.240 --> 0:06:17.960 take in the artists who were now no longer managed 0:06:18.020 --> 0:06:22.180 under Rush that Chris had the relationship with. So there 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:25.550 wasn't really a plan for a management company as much 0:06:25.890 --> 0:06:29.820 as it came about as a result. Of these artists 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:33.680 not having managers, and we just decided, like, why not 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:36.339 start Violator Management and take these artists in? 0:06:36.820 --> 0:06:37.600 So you guys had both? 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:41.420 Violator Records and Violator Management. Yes, at the same time. 0:06:41.540 --> 0:06:45.330 So were these artists going through the same system, or 0:06:45.410 --> 0:06:46.890 was it separate? No, no, no. 0:06:47.010 --> 0:06:51.110 It was totally separate. And what's interesting about Violator Management, 0:06:51.150 --> 0:06:53.109 if you think about the way that we set the 0:06:53.150 --> 0:06:56.570 company up, it was probably one of the first examples 0:06:56.790 --> 0:06:58.270 of an umbrella brand. 0:06:58.790 --> 0:06:59.050 Right. 0:06:59.110 --> 0:07:01.570 There was there was like Flavor Unit and there were 0:07:01.589 --> 0:07:04.250 a couple of others like that where you thought about 0:07:04.310 --> 0:07:08.210 the artists associated to that brand and not necessarily the labels. 0:07:07.870 --> 0:07:08.930 They were actually signed to. 0:07:09.270 --> 0:07:09.690 Absolutely. 0:07:09.710 --> 0:07:12.190 So, you know, we did that compilation album. When you 0:07:12.210 --> 0:07:14.730 think about that cover, remember that caricature? 0:07:14.790 --> 0:07:15.600 I remember the most. 0:07:15.830 --> 0:07:16.190 What's that? 0:07:16.500 --> 0:07:21.520 I mean, the V. No, the V for sure. But 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:23.220 the Q-tip Vibrant thing. 0:07:23.620 --> 0:07:24.320 Oh, there you go. 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:24.520 Yeah. 0:07:24.540 --> 0:07:28.440 That video is stuck in my head to this day. 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:31.640 And you probably thought Q-Tip was signed to Violator. 0:07:31.900 --> 0:07:32.140 I did. 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:33.460 Busta was signed to Violator. 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:33.870 I did. 0:07:33.900 --> 0:07:35.130 Missy was signed to Violator. 0:07:35.270 --> 0:07:35.390 Yeah. 0:07:35.410 --> 0:07:37.050 LL was signed to Violator, right? 0:07:37.290 --> 0:07:37.530 Yeah. 0:07:37.750 --> 0:07:40.750 Because that was, like I said, that first example of 0:07:40.830 --> 0:07:44.190 the brand, right? The artists are all in their own 0:07:44.250 --> 0:07:48.260 right exceptional, but the brand has its own personality and presence. 0:07:48.860 --> 0:07:50.240 And obviously that was done on purpose. 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:52.500 That was done on purpose, right, exactly. 0:07:52.700 --> 0:07:56.400 And it, you know, I think set the tone for 0:07:56.500 --> 0:07:59.020 what we saw a lot of Coming out of that 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:01.970 with all of the camps that started getting created. 0:08:02.210 --> 0:08:07.710 Yeah. What's something that during your partnership with Chris is 0:08:07.730 --> 0:08:09.590 something that you still hold on to this day? That's 0:08:09.610 --> 0:08:12.650 something that maybe you implement in your business and always have? 0:08:13.220 --> 0:08:15.820 The family environment that we created. 0:08:16.100 --> 0:08:16.540 Yeah. Right. 0:08:16.740 --> 0:08:20.320 It didn't end at the office. Right. 0:08:20.420 --> 0:08:22.920 We were at each other's crabs. We were there for 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:25.520 the weekends. We took family vacations together. 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:27.330 Oh, wow. You know, we would go. 0:08:27.430 --> 0:08:27.710 I mean. 0:08:28.380 --> 0:08:31.060 You know, and that's where we got to see, at 0:08:31.100 --> 0:08:34.420 least for me, another side of Chris, because everybody knew 0:08:34.470 --> 0:08:36.000 him as baby Chris and hitting the gym. 0:08:36.030 --> 0:08:37.650 But when we were in St. 0:08:37.710 --> 0:08:40.189 Barts or wherever we went to vacation with our families, 0:08:40.250 --> 0:08:44.170 that was our just kind of family time. So I 0:08:44.250 --> 0:08:47.809 tried to, even to this day, impart that. 0:08:47.950 --> 0:08:48.350 It's so funny. 0:08:48.370 --> 0:08:50.569 I was just having a conversation. I'm starting a production 0:08:51.330 --> 0:08:55.510 and the welcome email. That's an important thing for me, right? 0:08:55.650 --> 0:08:58.540 It's just, Making sure that everyone not only has a 0:08:58.780 --> 0:09:01.370 chance to connect with each other, but I have a chance. 0:09:01.590 --> 0:09:01.790 Right. 0:09:01.850 --> 0:09:06.069 To welcome everyone personally who's coming into the fold, even 0:09:06.090 --> 0:09:07.330 if it's just for a project. 0:09:07.929 --> 0:09:10.450 Right. So creating that kind of family environment has always 0:09:10.470 --> 0:09:11.330 been important for me. 0:09:12.070 --> 0:09:15.250 So there was one specific artist that sticks out to 0:09:15.290 --> 0:09:20.980 me that you have built an amazing business with. Missy Elliott. 0:09:21.380 --> 0:09:21.880 Oh, yeah. 0:09:23.260 --> 0:09:26.480 Were you managing her as a writer first? Nope. 0:09:26.740 --> 0:09:31.059 As a matter of fact, Missy and I connected twice 0:09:31.120 --> 0:09:35.160 before we actually connected. I remember early on when she 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:37.440 first did that record with Gina Thompson. 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:40.020 Was it The. 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:40.000 Things You Do? 0:09:40.640 --> 0:09:42.960 Yeah, I think it was The Things You Do. 0:09:43.420 --> 0:09:47.230 Chris came into the office and was like, yo, there's 0:09:47.260 --> 0:09:47.730 this girl. 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:51.010 Did you see this? Did you hear this Gina Thompson record? Yo, 0:09:51.070 --> 0:09:52.210 we need to find her. 0:09:52.230 --> 0:09:53.490 We need to find Missy, though. 0:09:53.950 --> 0:09:54.280 Missy. 0:09:54.670 --> 0:09:55.170 Exactly. 0:09:55.210 --> 0:09:58.090 That's who he was talking about. And, you know, one 0:09:58.110 --> 0:09:59.510 of the things that I always do is I can 0:09:59.550 --> 0:10:01.600 figure it out. Six degrees of separation. 0:10:01.880 --> 0:10:02.500 Let me find her. 0:10:02.580 --> 0:10:04.760 And I literally tracked her down at a hotel room 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:08.160 and got them to, you know, connect the call into 0:10:08.200 --> 0:10:10.219 her room. And she picked up the phone and I 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:14.319 was like, hi, I'm calling from Violator Management. I just 0:10:14.380 --> 0:10:17.579 wanted to, you know, introduce myself because we think you're 0:10:17.600 --> 0:10:18.950 amazing and we'd love to talk to you. 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:25.540 She was like, Nah, I'm good. Click. And then fast forward, 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:28.679 I was working with Sylvia because of Busta, because Busta 0:10:28.700 --> 0:10:31.180 was signed to Elektra at the time. And Sylvia was like, 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:34.400 I've got this artist. Remember that girl, Missy Elliott? 0:10:34.490 --> 0:10:38.490 I was like, oh yeah, girl, I've been there, done that. 0:10:38.710 --> 0:10:39.590 She's like, no, no, no, no, no. 0:10:39.610 --> 0:10:41.810 I'm telling you, I'm about to do this whole album 0:10:41.830 --> 0:10:45.449 with her. I want you to meet her. And she 0:10:45.490 --> 0:10:48.699 sent me out to Palm Springs to Lilith Fair. Because 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:52.059 Missy was performing on Lil' Fair. And yeah, I've told 0:10:52.100 --> 0:10:55.360 that story. Followed her around for three days. Ignored me 0:10:55.400 --> 0:10:59.020 the entire time. And then finally, you know, we had 0:10:59.059 --> 0:11:02.579 a moment of connection, which has led to, what, 30 0:11:02.580 --> 0:11:03.079 years now? 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:08.120 Yeah, just about 28 years. Yeah, worked consistently together for 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:08.939 28 years. 0:11:08.940 --> 0:11:12.200 28 years. Never a break. Because I know a lot 0:11:12.220 --> 0:11:15.330 of times managers, you know, they find their way back. 0:11:15.330 --> 0:11:16.970 28 straight. 0:11:17.210 --> 0:11:18.790 Mm-hmm. Congratulations. 0:11:18.990 --> 0:11:19.570 Thank you. 0:11:19.610 --> 0:11:23.350 That's amazing. And for the artists that you've done it with. 0:11:24.870 --> 0:11:28.320 Absolute legend. Yeah, she is incredible. And the brand and 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:33.920 business that you all have built together is kind of unexplainable. 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:36.719 I mean, I don't think anyone has ever seen what 0:11:36.980 --> 0:11:37.750 y'all have done. 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:39.690 That's because she's a phenomenon. You know what I'm saying? 0:11:39.710 --> 0:11:40.630 She's a phenomenon. 0:11:40.710 --> 0:11:44.270 It's like those artists that you meet that you don't even... 0:11:45.309 --> 0:11:50.069 understand how it all comes together, but there is something 0:11:50.110 --> 0:11:54.469 that you know is otherworldly, if I had to put 0:11:54.670 --> 0:11:55.210 one word to it. 0:11:55.470 --> 0:11:59.910 Was there ever fear of people not understanding what y'all 0:11:59.929 --> 0:12:00.550 was about to do? 0:12:01.350 --> 0:12:04.809 There was clarity that a lot of times we knew 0:12:04.870 --> 0:12:07.189 we were going out there with things that people weren't 0:12:07.210 --> 0:12:08.390 going to understand. 0:12:09.030 --> 0:12:10.949 I don't know if fear ever. 0:12:12.070 --> 0:12:15.670 fully factored into it right because we wouldn't have done 0:12:15.710 --> 0:12:17.850 half the shit that we did if there was you 0:12:17.870 --> 0:12:22.709 know fear involved but it was a constant knowledge like 0:12:22.770 --> 0:12:25.069 missing we're always like okay we know where we're ahead 0:12:25.590 --> 0:12:28.330 let's figure out how to package this and frame this 0:12:28.830 --> 0:12:29.989 in a way that they're going to be able to 0:12:30.030 --> 0:12:33.100 wrap their heads around but we can't not do it 0:12:33.760 --> 0:12:35.860 because then we're just going to be sitting around with 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:37.660 all of this amazing talent that's never going to see 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:39.700 You know, the light of day. So we just got 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:43.040 to go out there and hope they, you know. And 0:12:43.110 --> 0:12:46.790 the thing about her is her music connected in such 0:12:46.830 --> 0:12:49.410 a way that all of those other things that we 0:12:49.450 --> 0:12:52.190 were maybe thinking about, concerned about, would fall away. 0:12:52.250 --> 0:12:55.550 Because at its core, it was just good shit, right? 0:12:55.590 --> 0:12:56.790 The music was good music. 0:12:57.090 --> 0:13:01.490 Amazing. Yeah. Do you feel like since Busta had already 0:13:01.570 --> 0:13:05.220 been at Elektra... Mm-hmm. There was a better understanding that 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:07.820 Sylvia had as far as what it was going to 0:13:07.900 --> 0:13:12.030 take to do something as abstract as a Missy Elliott. 0:13:12.050 --> 0:13:15.849 Because from the videos, how much money was spent. Like, 0:13:16.050 --> 0:13:17.350 y'all weren't playing no games. 0:13:17.550 --> 0:13:19.960 I never even thought about it that way. But you're 0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:23.540 probably right. Because we always say that those two are 0:13:23.580 --> 0:13:26.859 like yin and yang. Siamese twins, right? Very different in 0:13:26.900 --> 0:13:27.740 their own right. 0:13:27.900 --> 0:13:29.680 But... Both. 0:13:29.900 --> 0:13:34.400 Extremely unique and different and disruptive. 0:13:34.460 --> 0:13:34.700 Yeah. 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:35.200 Right. 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:37.760 In terms of what they represent in the industry. So, yeah, 0:13:38.179 --> 0:13:42.160 she had Busta right before. So it probably was. But 0:13:42.179 --> 0:13:43.910 I think it says something about Sylvia as well. 0:13:44.170 --> 0:13:44.510 Yes. 0:13:44.670 --> 0:13:44.910 Right. 0:13:45.110 --> 0:13:48.970 Her ability to kind of not only understand it, but 0:13:49.050 --> 0:13:52.250 nurture it and package it in a way that, you know, 0:13:52.710 --> 0:13:54.720 allows the masses to kind of get it. 0:13:54.910 --> 0:13:55.170 Yeah. 0:13:55.210 --> 0:13:56.790 So, yeah, I would probably say, yeah. 0:13:56.990 --> 0:13:58.090 Yeah, shout out to Sylvia Rohn. 0:13:58.110 --> 0:14:00.530 Shout out to Sylvia Rohn. I just had the incredible 0:14:00.570 --> 0:14:03.010 honor of putting together this celebration. 0:14:03.030 --> 0:14:03.790 I was there. 0:14:03.929 --> 0:14:06.230 Oh, there you go. But they wasn't, so I'm talking 0:14:06.250 --> 0:14:06.510 to the people. 0:14:06.530 --> 0:14:08.450 Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I'm saying, I'm telling the people. 0:14:08.490 --> 0:14:10.250 I was there. I saw it with my own eyes. 0:14:10.860 --> 0:14:11.939 It was an amazing moment. 0:14:12.360 --> 0:14:12.660 It was just. 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:14.760 It was an amazing moment. Such a room filled with 0:14:14.860 --> 0:14:16.200 love and respect. 0:14:16.220 --> 0:14:16.720 Yeah, yeah. 0:14:17.240 --> 0:14:20.480 To see you all get up and celebrate her the 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:24.660 way you did, it was heartfelt. You know what I mean? 0:14:24.820 --> 0:14:28.170 In an industry where people are always like, Trying to 0:14:28.230 --> 0:14:31.730 act like we don't have emotions and we don't really care. 0:14:32.390 --> 0:14:35.460 So to see people really care and really show up 0:14:35.820 --> 0:14:39.200 and really celebrate her the way everyone did in that 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:40.360 room was special. 0:14:40.760 --> 0:14:44.100 It was a labor of love, literally. Literally. 0:14:44.260 --> 0:14:51.330 That was incredible. 50 Cent. I remember flying to New York. 0:14:51.670 --> 0:14:54.290 At this point, I was strictly just kind of songwriting. 0:14:54.310 --> 0:14:57.390 It's my underdog days. I'm taking trips back and forth. 0:14:57.410 --> 0:14:59.970 I think Ethiopia was at Universal Publishing at that time. 0:15:00.530 --> 0:15:02.310 And I was on a writing trip. And I was 0:15:02.350 --> 0:15:05.560 going to CE, doing some writing for some artists she had. 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:10.040 And I get in a cab. And the cab driver says, 0:15:10.420 --> 0:15:13.040 as it's playing, this is the hottest. 0:15:12.760 --> 0:15:15.979 Guy in the streets. I'm like, who is this? 0:15:16.870 --> 0:15:19.970 And I think it might have been from the, maybe 0:15:19.990 --> 0:15:20.870 the How to Rob mixtape. 0:15:20.890 --> 0:15:21.610 The How to Rob. Yeah. 0:15:21.670 --> 0:15:23.430 Yeah. I think it was from like the How to 0:15:23.450 --> 0:15:28.500 Rob mixtape. And I'm like, He's like, he's the most 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:33.420 dangerous guy. Everybody's after him, but everybody loves him. I 0:15:33.420 --> 0:15:36.740 was like, that don't really make sense, but okay. And 0:15:36.780 --> 0:15:39.600 I remember when I got back to L.A., I heard 0:15:39.620 --> 0:15:40.420 about the bidding war. 0:15:40.800 --> 0:15:42.320 Mm-hmm. 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:47.100 50 and Dre and Eminem and Jimmy offering a million 0:15:47.140 --> 0:15:50.580 dollars and all this crazy stuff. And obviously they were like, 0:15:50.940 --> 0:15:54.250 he's managed by a violator. Mm-hmm. And all the story 0:15:54.310 --> 0:15:56.550 of the original things. And I'm just like, oh, this 0:15:56.570 --> 0:15:57.370 is a phenomenon. 0:15:57.690 --> 0:15:57.930 Yes. 0:15:58.030 --> 0:16:01.850 This is absolutely a phenomenon. Did it feel like it 0:16:01.870 --> 0:16:04.820 was a phenomenon to you all when y'all were doing it? 0:16:05.740 --> 0:16:06.620 You know, it's so funny. 0:16:06.650 --> 0:16:08.840 As we're sitting here talking, I'm thinking about all of 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:11.300 the artists that came through and the impact that they 0:16:11.340 --> 0:16:14.780 had in their own right. Yes, because there was always 0:16:14.960 --> 0:16:19.360 so much energy around everything that was going on with 0:16:19.360 --> 0:16:23.030 50 at the time. But with 50... There was always 0:16:23.090 --> 0:16:26.970 this like kind of harness special energy. So with 50 0:16:26.970 --> 0:16:30.170 at the height, I mean, coming off a mixtape, having everyone, 0:16:30.610 --> 0:16:34.000 you know, bidding and wanting it. You definitely got the 0:16:34.050 --> 0:16:36.700 sense that this was some special shit. And that's what 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:38.180 I'll give Chris credit for as well. 0:16:38.260 --> 0:16:41.440 Right. He had that ability to not only recognize it, 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:42.120 but attract it. 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:42.520 Yeah. 0:16:42.700 --> 0:16:45.300 Because then you'd have everybody wanting a piece of it. 0:16:45.660 --> 0:16:49.860 But Violator is where they all came. Y'all were a destination. 0:16:50.620 --> 0:16:50.820 Yeah. 0:16:52.210 --> 0:16:56.150 It felt like, to me, from the outside, if you 0:16:56.190 --> 0:16:58.990 were represented by a violator, you were a hit artist. 0:16:59.570 --> 0:17:03.950 Yeah. It didn't feel like, oh, yeah. Maybe, maybe not. 0:17:03.970 --> 0:17:05.670 Maybe, maybe not. It was like, oh, no, they're a violator. 0:17:05.950 --> 0:17:06.330 Mm-hmm. 0:17:06.650 --> 0:17:10.139 I'm talking about from Mobb Deep to LL Cool J. 0:17:10.630 --> 0:17:12.760 Tribe Called Quest. Tribe Called Quest. Yep. 0:17:12.930 --> 0:17:15.000 Maxwell, Fantasia. 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:15.659 Fantasia, yes. 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:16.760 Mariah at a point. 0:17:16.780 --> 0:17:18.620 Mm-hmm. Y'all couldn't miss. 0:17:19.550 --> 0:17:26.310 It was a crazy, incredible moment, right? Those 90s, that 0:17:26.350 --> 0:17:29.429 was a moment that I don't think can ever be replicated. 0:17:29.650 --> 0:17:30.730 No, I can't see that happening. 0:17:30.750 --> 0:17:31.530 I can't see it happening. 0:17:31.550 --> 0:17:33.850 I can't see that happening. I mean, I pray it does. 0:17:34.730 --> 0:17:36.950 Being in this industry as long as I've been in 0:17:37.030 --> 0:17:39.970 it is that I'm a person that wants to see 0:17:40.030 --> 0:17:43.630