WEBVTT - ITS Home Edition: Aloe Blacc 0:00:01.160 --> 0:00:04.960 Welcome to Inside the Studio presented by I Heart Radio. 0:00:05.519 --> 0:00:13.119 I'm your host Joe Leaving. Okay, so, if you're one 0:00:13.119 --> 0:00:16.159 of the many folks out there creating music and you 0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:18.360 want to know if the song you've been working on 0:00:18.560 --> 0:00:23.400 is you know, working, you may want to run it 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:27.760 by Alo Black's kids, because that's what he does. In 0:00:27.800 --> 0:00:31.080 the latest home edition of the show, he explained that 0:00:31.120 --> 0:00:33.800 when he was recording his new album All Love Everything, 0:00:34.360 --> 0:00:36.839 he'd play the music for his two young children in 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:39.240 the car on the way to school, and if later 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:42.320 on he heard them humming it around the house, he 0:00:42.400 --> 0:00:45.800 knew he was onto something. The home edition of Inside 0:00:45.840 --> 0:00:49.199 the Studio is all about letting you inside the creative 0:00:49.200 --> 0:00:53.599 process of musicians during Lockdown, and although Alo told our 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:58.200 Quarantine correspondent Jordan Runtog that All Love Everything was recorded 0:00:58.240 --> 0:01:02.639 before the pandemic, he also said it's exactly the kind 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:04.959 of music we need right now. It's it's all about 0:01:05.120 --> 0:01:08.120 love and togetherness. If you want to know about his 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:11.880 process during the pandemic, one of the main things you 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:14.640 should know is that although he's still working on songs 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:19.600 right now during Lockdown, he does it after puzzle and playtime. 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:24.200 Kids come first. Alo Black also told us about his 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:27.280 social justice work and why he asked Bob Dylan to 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:31.280 change the lyrics to one of his most famous songs. 0:01:31.680 --> 0:01:34.840 Here's a fact checking side note. I'd never heard the 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:39.360 story that Alo told about Gene McDaniels one album, Headless 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:43.320 Heroes of the Apocalypse getting banned by the nix It administration, 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:47.560 but for sure I've heard the one about Spiro Agnew, 0:01:47.720 --> 0:01:52.520 Nixon's vice president, calling up Atlantic Records and complaining about 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:56.320 the lyrics. Anyway, if you enjoyed this episode, be sure 0:01:56.360 --> 0:02:00.000 to check out the I Heart Radio podcast that Jordan's hosts. 0:01:59.800 --> 0:02:04.720 It's called Rivals Music's Greatest Feuds, and it is available 0:02:05.040 --> 0:02:10.840 wherever you get your podcasts. Hello everybody, My name is 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:13.639 Jordan Runtud, Been enough about me? My guest today is 0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:15.919 a musician and activist who burst onto the scene with 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:18.800 songs like I Need a Dollar, the Man, and Wake 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:21.560 Me Up. His collaboration with a VICI because work fuses 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:23.840 elements of hip hop, soul, folk, and E d M, 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:26.440 but he doesn't care much for genre labels. Instead, he 0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:28.680 says his music fist into a theme that he calls 0:02:28.840 --> 0:02:33.880 am a I am that stands for affirmation, inspiration, and motivation. 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:36.720 That's the message behind his new album, All Love Everything, 0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:39.480 his first collection of new songs in seven years. I'm 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:42.840 so happy to welcome La Black. Thank you. It's so 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:44.680 great to talk. We met many years ago when I 0:02:44.720 --> 0:02:46.720 was at VH one and you or are you ought 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:48.440 to know Artists of the month. It is so great 0:02:48.480 --> 0:02:49.880 to talk to you again. Thank you so much for 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:52.240 taking the time today. How are you? Thank you? I'm 0:02:52.360 --> 0:02:55.240 very good. Oh man. Well, it has been seven years 0:02:55.280 --> 0:02:57.119 since your last album, or should I say your last 0:02:57.120 --> 0:02:59.840 non Christmas album? Uh, and that time you've become a father. 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:03.639 How much is family influenced all of everything? Well? Um, 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:06.560 family has been the supreme influence on all of everything 0:03:06.600 --> 0:03:09.600 because the album is about family. The first song on 0:03:09.600 --> 0:03:12.120 the album is called family, and a lot of the 0:03:12.120 --> 0:03:14.560 songs are about my wife. There's a song called Nothing 0:03:14.639 --> 0:03:17.119 Left but You. There's a song called Glory Days. There's 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:20.320 a song called the title track All of Everything, and 0:03:20.360 --> 0:03:24.240 then there is the first single that we released, I Do, 0:03:24.480 --> 0:03:28.080 which was dedicated to our tenure anniversary. Now, your personal 0:03:28.120 --> 0:03:30.200 life isn't something that really tackled much in your music. 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:31.880 Was that a struggle for you at all to go there. 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:36.360 You know, I, UM have always tried to be kind 0:03:36.360 --> 0:03:38.400 of a generalist in the way that I write my 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:41.680 songs and make songs about motivation and inspiration, and I've 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:46.120 avoided being deeply personal. So this was quite different, and 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:49.200 I found it liberating in a sense that I got 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:54.800 to share my relationships and the way that I engage 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:58.560 my family with my fans, finally kind of humanizing who 0:03:58.600 --> 0:04:00.600 I am in a way that I had done before. 0:04:01.160 --> 0:04:04.280 The video for I Do is so special, as she said, 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:08.360 it was the tenth anniversary You're reproposing with the help 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:10.280 of your children. That was so special. How did that 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:13.440 idea come about? Oh? Wow? Well, you know, I was 0:04:13.480 --> 0:04:16.600 just thinking about what I could do for my tenth anniversary, 0:04:16.800 --> 0:04:20.160 and um, I had been writing a song with some 0:04:20.240 --> 0:04:23.880 really talented songwriters who are very good at doing romantic ballots. 0:04:23.920 --> 0:04:27.360 So I figured, why not try making a romantic ballad 0:04:27.400 --> 0:04:30.680 with these talented songwriters, and I think it worked out. 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:34.719 They helped me put something amazing together. And then I 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:37.200 was playing the song you know for my kids as 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:41.080 I was driving them to school pre pandemic, and uh, 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:43.080 and they sort of let the secret out. The bag, 0:04:43.120 --> 0:04:45.160 but they were like, oh, what's the song about. I said, oh, 0:04:45.160 --> 0:04:46.920 it's a song I made for your mom. And then 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:49.320 they started singing around the house and my wife would 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:51.120 ask him, well, what are you singing and they say, oh, 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:54.239 that's the song Daddy made for you. So the song 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:56.159 was no longer a secret. But what we were able 0:04:56.200 --> 0:05:00.320 to keep secret was the surprise engagement and wedding and 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:02.120 that was beauty. I mean, you had her her mother 0:05:02.160 --> 0:05:04.599 fly up from Australia and everything. She had no idea. 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:08.279 Oh yeah, she had no idea. She's certainly was surprised 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:11.080 by seeing her mom. My mom was there, her best 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:14.000 friends from Australia. Her one of her best friends friends 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:17.719 is a designer named Weave, and she was able to 0:05:17.800 --> 0:05:22.159 create an amazing wedding dress for the occasion. So everything 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:24.960 was very very secret and private. Even me taking the 0:05:25.040 --> 0:05:27.640 kids out of school to do the surprise engagement was 0:05:28.200 --> 0:05:31.840 completely a secret and surprising. Beautiful. Do you often play 0:05:31.839 --> 0:05:34.320 your songs you're working on to your kids. I play 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:35.640 a lot of the music that I'm working on to 0:05:35.720 --> 0:05:38.200 my kids. They hear it either on the way to 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:41.320 school or um just in the car when I'm taking 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:44.400 them somewhere. They they're lucky they get to hear everything early. 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:46.760 They give notes like I need a little more reverb. There, 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:49.240 need a little more, not more reverb. They definitely tell 0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:51.880 me which songs are better than others, and and I 0:05:52.080 --> 0:05:54.680 can recognize it right away when they are either requesting 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:56.680 it or singing it. I guess that's true. I guess 0:05:56.760 --> 0:05:58.839 kids know a hook better than anyone. I guess they 0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:01.720 really do. They know good song. Tell me about the 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:04.320 album's title, all of everything. What are the significance of 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:07.800 those words? All love? Everything is to me painting love 0:06:07.839 --> 0:06:10.920 over everything that we do, from music and my art, 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:14.920 to family and two friends and even the activism that 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:18.880 I do, like leaning into life with love. It's just, uh, 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:22.920 you know, an interesting phrasing, but combining two separate phrases, 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:26.400 all love, which is how we'd probably say something to 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:29.800 someone when there's like when someone apologizes, instead of saying 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:33.920 I forgive you, say 's all love right or um? 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:36.960 And the either idea is that everything we do should 0:06:36.960 --> 0:06:39.600 come with love. So and love everything from the ecology 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:43.200 to your family and friends, you know, just love everything 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:46.080 and building off of that. Your music incorporates so many 0:06:46.080 --> 0:06:50.000 different elements from soul, E d M. Folks, you name it, 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:51.760 but you've said, you know, I don't really work in 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:53.960 a genre. I work in a theme, and that theme 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:57.440 is aim, affirmation, inspiration, motivation. Can you describe that a 0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:01.000 little more to me? Yeah? So in people ask me 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:02.880 what kind of music I make, It's hard for me 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:05.440 to pinpoint it because I use all different kinds of 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:09.200 genres in order to communicate the message of the song. 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:12.320 I grew up making hip hop music, so I've sampled 0:07:12.360 --> 0:07:15.680 from everything, and then I started learning to make everything. 0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:19.360 One through line, though, is thematic is that I make 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:23.200 songs that are motivating, that are inspiring, songs that can 0:07:23.280 --> 0:07:25.560 be the soundtracks you living your best your life and 0:07:26.000 --> 0:07:28.320 achieving your dreams. And that's what I want to do. 0:07:28.360 --> 0:07:31.000 I want to be the light within the darkness of 0:07:31.120 --> 0:07:34.280 the music industry or the media that you consume on 0:07:34.320 --> 0:07:37.680 a daily, weekly, monthly basis. Probably one of the best 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:40.120 songs on your new record, illustrate this is My Way, 0:07:40.160 --> 0:07:42.960 which is all about self determination and fighting for your 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:45.160 goals and dreams. Tell me about that song, Where did 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:47.440 that come from? For you? My way is certainly about 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:50.440 fighting for your your goals and your dreams. It's part 0:07:50.440 --> 0:07:53.880 of the aim theme for sure. It's a song that 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:58.320 makes me think about my time as um developing artists. 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:01.480 I was always engaging my art as a pastime, as 0:08:01.480 --> 0:08:04.640 a hobby, and never looking at it as this is 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:07.440 gonna be my career move. I was in business a 0:08:07.440 --> 0:08:11.040 business consultant for quite some time in college as an intern, 0:08:11.080 --> 0:08:13.720 and then when I graduated, spent two years as a 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:16.040 full time business consultant, and then I got laid off. 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:19.840 So this was my first real a bout with adversity, 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:23.640 and it was that that moment I had to decide 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:27.080 what it was I was going to do with my life. 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:29.520 I thought, well, I could go back to school, get 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:32.000 another degree, I could get another job, I could go 0:08:32.040 --> 0:08:35.280 into academia and teach. But music kept choosing me. It 0:08:35.480 --> 0:08:39.160 kept on showing me that the ten thousand hours I 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:42.320 had put in were valuable, and so I was able 0:08:42.360 --> 0:08:45.680 to use my expertise and my skill and my passion 0:08:45.920 --> 0:08:50.160 as my career. And I hesitate to use any genre language. 0:08:50.200 --> 0:08:52.240 But as you said earlier, you started off making hip 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:54.199 hop records. What sort of led you over to the 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:56.960 type of music that you make now? Well, I was 0:08:57.040 --> 0:09:02.199 inspired by singer songwriters, are r and B artists, folk artists, 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:06.760 soul artists who would touch the heartstrings in a different 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:09.240 way than what I was able to do with hip hop, 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:12.240 and I wanted to make music like them. So I 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:16.800 started listening to more of artists like Stevie Wonder and 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:21.040 Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin, and more artists 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:25.240 like Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, Cat Stephen and Elton 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:30.480 John And these were very inspiring singers, and most of 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:34.400 them write their own songs, so that was also inspiring. 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:36.160 And I wanted to tell stories in a way that 0:09:36.200 --> 0:09:49.560 could really affect people and last a lifetime. So many 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:51.840 of the songs on your new records seemed Taylor made 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:54.920 for this moment we're in right now of pandemic and protests, 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:57.080 But I know, I think all of it was completed 0:09:57.200 --> 0:10:00.520 before the fact, long before COVID hit. I'm thinking specifically 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:03.679 renew Single, Hold On Tight. Did the pandemic alter your 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:06.040 choice of singles in any way or just or how 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:08.680 you put together together the record in any way? No, 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:13.360 the pandemic um ironically is just it's a coincidence. It's 0:10:13.400 --> 0:10:15.240 just that, you know, the music that I ended up 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:20.480 putting on this project fits with this time where we 0:10:20.520 --> 0:10:25.800 are experiencing a huge social issue, and I'm hoping that 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:28.800 my songs can be comfort for people during this time. 0:10:28.840 --> 0:10:32.040 But many of the songs were written within a four 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:36.280 year period prior to the album. I compiled the songs 0:10:36.320 --> 0:10:39.079 that best fit the theme that I wanted to describe 0:10:39.160 --> 0:10:41.760 or that I wanted to share around love and togetherness, 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:45.319 and then they were all recorded prior to the pandemic, 0:10:45.600 --> 0:10:48.520 and I think mixing and mastering happened right around when 0:10:48.600 --> 0:10:52.640 the world shut down, so the song selection was already chosen. 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:56.600 It's just a real amazing coincidence that it's the kind 0:10:56.600 --> 0:10:58.720 of music I think we need right now. Have you 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:01.720 been writing much music well at home in in lockdown, 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:05.120 if you've been feeling productive musically, Yeah, I'm still writing 0:11:05.320 --> 0:11:09.560 songs and getting involved in songwriting sessions with other artists 0:11:10.040 --> 0:11:13.960 through virtual conferences, but um, for the most part, trying 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:17.640 to focus on family because you know, the day is 0:11:17.640 --> 0:11:20.800 is only so long, and I've got two kids and 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:24.679 my wife who all need attention to and and love, 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:27.320 So I try to do my sessions later at night, 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:31.160 after dinner and and time with my kids and time 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:33.680 with my wife. What do you all like to do together? 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:37.720 Anything and any any new traditions formed during this period. Yeah, 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:39.760 after dinner is um, you know, the kids take a 0:11:39.760 --> 0:11:42.520 bath and and then we do family time. So during 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:45.959 family times a lot of puzzles and games that we play, 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:48.320 you know, and go fish and then and then my 0:11:48.400 --> 0:11:50.680 wife and I may find after the kids go to bed, 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:54.400 we may find something on television to watch, or just 0:11:54.600 --> 0:11:57.640 kind of have a debrief of all of the current 0:11:57.679 --> 0:11:59.880 events that are happening, either in our lives or in 0:12:00.000 --> 0:12:02.080 in the world at large. I wanted to ask you 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:03.920 earlier this year. You were one of I think forderd 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:06.319 and fifty artists to sign an open letter to the U. S. 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:08.880 Congress calling for police reform in the wake of George 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:11.439 Floyd's murder. One of the major points outlined was putting 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:15.040 it into a system of qualified immunity, which effectively stops 0:12:15.040 --> 0:12:18.160 police officers from being held accountable for their crimes in 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:20.160 civil law suits. I wanted to ask you more about 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:22.560 qualified immunity, why it's harmful, and what people can do 0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:25.080 to put a stop to right So, the movement right 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:28.319 now that has been growing since the murder of George 0:12:28.320 --> 0:12:31.560 Floyd by the police in Minneapolis is one that has 0:12:31.640 --> 0:12:35.480 gained support from all kinds of allies and co conspirators 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:39.480 and accomplices. Black people have been screaming that there is 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:43.840 a problem for decades, if not centuries. It's now becoming 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:47.840 a much bigger voice with the addition of white allies. 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:50.840 And one of the things that I've identified through the 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:53.520 help of my friend Brandon Paradise, who is a legal expert, 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:56.880 a legal scholar at Rutgers University, is that qualified immunity 0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:59.360 is a Supreme Court doctrine, the highest court in the land, 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:04.040 that blocks any accountability, civil accountability for police officers who 0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:07.120 violate your civil rights. And so when you have a law, 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:11.520 a rule, a doctrine that is so strong, it is 0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:16.400 ultimately creating and supporting this culture of abuse. There are 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:18.520 a lot of things that we are trying to change, 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:24.480 and some people are asking for removing chokeholds and removing militarization. 0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:27.400 But even if an officer still uses a chokehold, it 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:29.480 may be against the law, but he can never be 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:33.520 punished for it because he's immune. So until we remove 0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:38.120 the immunity and install accountability, this culture of abuse will continue. 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:40.719 So many of these elements very state to state. This 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:42.720 sounds like one of the few top down changes that 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:45.960 can be made at a federal level. Right qualified immunity, specifically, 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:48.520 as a federal statute, this is a doctrine coming from 0:13:48.520 --> 0:13:51.400 the Supreme Court. It's an interpretation of an actual civil 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:54.240 rights law which was meant to protect citizens, has been 0:13:54.280 --> 0:13:57.080 perverted by a judge, potentially a racist judge who knew 0:13:57.080 --> 0:13:59.840 exactly what he was doing when he created the judgment, 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:02.160 and it has become precedent, so all the lower courts 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:05.120 must follow it for federal cases. On a state level, 0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:08.080 every state has their own measure of immunity for police 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:11.040 or other state agents, and in California, we're trying to 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:14.960 overturn that. Unfortunately, the police unions use their money to 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:18.840 either demean and belittle candidates who are standing up for 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:22.560 citizens and to support other candidates who are just puppets 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:25.640 for the police unions. UM. Some states have made this change. 0:14:25.680 --> 0:14:29.000 Colorado has made the change. They have passed a law 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:32.680 to remove the immunity from police on civil cases. And 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:34.760 the reason why it's important is because you know, district 0:14:34.760 --> 0:14:39.680 attorneys will never really charge police officers in a criminal case, 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:42.680 so you won't get any justice on the criminal side. Um, 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:45.600 we're hoping to at least get justice on the civil side. 0:14:46.160 --> 0:14:48.280 And you've been speaking to so many people, people like 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:51.680 Harry Belafonte's legend of the civil rights marches in the 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:53.920 fifties and sixties. What kind of insight did he share 0:14:54.000 --> 0:14:56.280 in at the present moment on making these kinds of 0:14:56.320 --> 0:15:00.280 positive social changes. For Harry Bellefonte, my relationship with him 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:03.840 has been extremely instructive and very inspiring. What I understand 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:07.440 from him is that we cannot stop. It's about constant vigilance. 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:10.160 The darkness in the world will continue to try to 0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:12.480 swallow up the light, and we have to continue to 0:15:12.520 --> 0:15:15.600 be the light and continue to fight for justice and equality. 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:18.360 And speaking of civil rights marches, he recently performed a 0:15:18.400 --> 0:15:20.960 really beautiful version of Blowing in the Wind, which Bob 0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:24.280 Dylan performed at the March on Washington in there. What 0:15:24.400 --> 0:15:26.240 led you to that song? What would have impact does 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:28.640 it have on you? Well, Harry Belafonte has you know, 0:15:28.720 --> 0:15:31.840 a part in that as well. So he's recorded version 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:36.800 of Blowing in the Wind, He's recorded the instrumental to it. Um, 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:38.680 he has not recorded his vocal yet, and this was 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:40.760 decades ago that he was supposed to do it. He 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:43.000 never did it. So his daughter, who's a friend of mine, 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:45.320 Gina Belafonte, contact of me and said, Dad would like 0:15:45.400 --> 0:15:48.200 for you to sing his version of Blowing in the 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:50.480 Wind that he never got around to. And I said, 0:15:50.520 --> 0:15:52.520 you know, I'd like to do that, but can we 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:56.400 contact Bob Dylan and ask for a lyric change. The 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:58.920 answer is not blowing in the wind. If we continue 0:15:58.960 --> 0:16:01.600 to say that, then that's just like saying, oh, racism exists. 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:04.040 The answer is somewhere out there, will never find it. No, 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:06.400 the answer is right here within. So I asked for 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:08.720 the lyric change, and he obliged, probably the first time 0:16:08.760 --> 0:16:11.480 he ever obliged the lyric change. And I'll record that soon. 0:16:11.680 --> 0:16:13.760 So the answer, my friend is not blowing in the wind. 0:16:13.840 --> 0:16:16.760 The answer, my friend is right here within. Wow, I 0:16:17.480 --> 0:16:20.480 did not realize any of that. I didn't realize that, Harry. 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:22.280 I wonder why he didn't get around the recording it. 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:25.480 That's so fascinating. Yeah, I don't know why either, but 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:28.600 I know that, Um, it's something that inspired Sam Cook. 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:30.720 That song inspired Sam Cook to write change is going 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:34.240 to come, and it's a really important song. I just 0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:37.080 believe that we need to be at this point more 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:40.640 specific and not so general, like when Marvin Gay said, 0:16:40.760 --> 0:16:43.040 what's going on? You know you can ask that question. 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:45.640 But one of my favorite soul artists Eugene McDaniels, he 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:48.720 wrote an album in one called Headless Heroes Are the Apocalypse, 0:16:48.760 --> 0:16:52.400 which was banned by the Nixon administration, which is why 0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:54.520 you don't really know. Nobody knows who this guy is, 0:16:54.600 --> 0:16:57.600 but he wasn't asking what's going on. His album literally 0:16:57.640 --> 0:17:00.440 talked about police brutality, him being beaten by police in 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:05.720 a supermarket. His album talked about genocide and colonialism, with 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:09.040 a song called the Parasite talking about the Native Americans, 0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:11.399 the plight of the Native Americans. So, you know, I 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:15.160 tried to find ways with my music and the music 0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:16.919 that I listened to and that I want to share, 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:20.440 to be specific at this point. Some symbolism is important. 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:22.800 We all need it. It helps to inspire us. But 0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:25.320 more than symbolism, we need action. If you're out in 0:17:25.320 --> 0:17:28.120 the streets protesting, then you need to convert that protest 0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:41.640 to policy and polls you did in your own life. 0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:44.200 You're You're working on the ground for so many causes. 0:17:44.240 --> 0:17:47.679 You're also involved with a really wonderful program called Music Units, 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:50.680 which is a nonprofit program that provides musical education to 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:53.720 UM schools in New York, l A, Chicago, and I 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:55.920 think other places as well. You've been a role model 0:17:55.920 --> 0:17:58.200 to so many who have been some of your role models, 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:01.560 either musically or otherwise through about your life. Musically, I'd 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:03.760 say Bill Withers rest in peace. You know. I had 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:06.000 the opportunity to meet him and become a friend. His 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:09.200 vocal style and music, songwriting, all of that was really 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:12.480 inspiring to me UM and instructive. It gave me a 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:15.159 sense of how to use my voice. I really do 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:18.280 appreciate Quincy Jones and all of the music and artist 0:18:18.400 --> 0:18:21.600 lives that he's touched has been quite inspiring to me. 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:24.439 Has been part of my development for sure. Listening to 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:27.040 Sinatra and all the crooners over time. I know that 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:30.400 that Quincy worked with Sinatra. UM, listening to Michael Jackson 0:18:30.400 --> 0:18:33.199 as a youngster, and listening to some of the R 0:18:33.240 --> 0:18:35.760 and B music that Quincy was instrumental in making in 0:18:35.800 --> 0:18:40.440 the in the eighties and nineties. For me, another inspiration 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:45.160 would be, of course, the three Ms Mandela Mahatma Gandhi 0:18:45.280 --> 0:18:50.200 Martin Luther King. These three individuals are my m icons 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:53.840 of civil rights and activism. A few months back in 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:55.840 the spring, you were part of a twenty four hour 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:59.159 live stream honoring the life of of vich your collaborator 0:18:59.200 --> 0:19:00.800 that you worked with on on Wake Me Up. I 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:02.760 was wondering, is there anything that you learned from him 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:05.760 that that you take with you when you're making music. Now, Yeah, 0:19:05.920 --> 0:19:10.439 Vici was an amazing musician. He had a huge dedication 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:13.760 to craft. And what I recognized in what he did 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:16.159 was that he didn't rely on the lyricists or the 0:19:16.240 --> 0:19:19.800 vocalist to make the song catchy. It's icing on the 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:22.920 cake for him. What he was doing was making instrumental 0:19:23.359 --> 0:19:26.120 music that was catchy in and of itself. And when 0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:28.440 you add on a great lyric and a great vocal melody, 0:19:28.520 --> 0:19:30.680 then you have way more elements that make the song 0:19:30.720 --> 0:19:32.439 even better. But if you listen to a song like 0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:35.359 Wake Me Up, there was a musical melody that you 0:19:35.400 --> 0:19:39.520 can sing that you know exists and you it's it's 0:19:39.600 --> 0:19:43.800 part of the attractiveness of the song. And then there 0:19:43.880 --> 0:19:46.199 is the lyric, which stands alone, and then there's the 0:19:46.280 --> 0:19:49.520 vocal melody, which stands alone. And when you combine all 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:53.119 of these elements, it really makes for great, great timeless music. 0:19:53.520 --> 0:19:55.480 I loved your your track that you did on his 0:19:55.760 --> 0:19:59.439 posthumous album tim S O S. Yeah, s OS was 0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:02.639 a tough song to sing. I had received it because 0:20:02.760 --> 0:20:05.879 the label and the family had informed me that his 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:08.520 notes mentioned he wanted me to sing s OS and 0:20:08.680 --> 0:20:11.000 it was unfortunate that I didn't get a chance to 0:20:11.080 --> 0:20:14.040 work on that particular song with him. I wonder if 0:20:14.680 --> 0:20:17.639 if just the idea of even writing a lyric s 0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:20.239 O S would have made me ask some questions, you know, 0:20:20.520 --> 0:20:22.920 but you know it's there's there's no way to tell 0:20:22.960 --> 0:20:26.160 at this point. The last few months have been hard 0:20:26.200 --> 0:20:29.119 on all of us for so many different reasons. Has 0:20:29.160 --> 0:20:31.399 there been a favorite distraction for you when when you 0:20:31.480 --> 0:20:33.880 just need to unplug and reset for a moment, if 0:20:33.880 --> 0:20:37.040 it's going for walk, meditation, watching something on Netflix, is 0:20:37.240 --> 0:20:40.280 what's your favorite way to sort of just recharge? Favorite 0:20:40.280 --> 0:20:42.000 way to recharge is just hanging out with the kids. 0:20:42.080 --> 0:20:47.440 They definitely are a great way to avoid whatever is 0:20:47.480 --> 0:20:49.840 going on in the real world, and they don't have 0:20:49.880 --> 0:20:52.520 a care about any of the stuff that's happening. Of course, 0:20:52.560 --> 0:20:54.639 they are aware that there's a pandemic. They know we 0:20:54.680 --> 0:20:57.399 have to wear masks. But when they're in play, they're 0:20:57.400 --> 0:21:00.679 completely present, and so we play together and that takes 0:21:00.720 --> 0:21:03.400 me into their world, so I don't have to worry 0:21:03.440 --> 0:21:05.919 about my world. Something very zen about play. My My 0:21:05.960 --> 0:21:09.320 girlfriend has been taking clown classes, which I, on the 0:21:09.359 --> 0:21:12.480 surface I thought sounded funny, but she's sort of explaining 0:21:12.480 --> 0:21:14.119