WEBVTT - Usher: Super Bowl Bonus

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<v Speaker 1>Pushkin. Who would have thought that in the fourth decade

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<v Speaker 1>of his career, Usher would still be at the peak

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<v Speaker 1>of his powers. Since I spoke to him on this

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<v Speaker 1>podcast exactly a year ago. Not only did he add

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<v Speaker 1>more dates too incredibly successful Las Vegas residency, but he

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<v Speaker 1>spent most of those ADHA dates seducing all the starlits

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<v Speaker 1>who turned up, re establishing himself as the consummate R

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<v Speaker 1>and B lithario he's always been. And then there was

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<v Speaker 1>his super Bowl announcement. It only makes sense with the

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<v Speaker 1>Super Bowl coming to Vegas that the city's current biggest

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<v Speaker 1>star would be the halftime performer. So to commemorate the

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<v Speaker 1>year of Usher and his super Bowl performance this weekend,

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<v Speaker 1>and in anticipation of the announcement of his world tour

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<v Speaker 1>and the release of his new album Coming Home on

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<v Speaker 1>February eleventh, let's have a listen back to my conversation

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<v Speaker 1>with the one and only Usher. This is broken record

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<v Speaker 1>Liner notes to the digital age. I'm justin Mitchell, Hey, Hey.

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<v Speaker 2>That's going on.

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<v Speaker 1>How you guys doing good? How you doing? You know?

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<v Speaker 3>I really do wish I could complain, but I would

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<v Speaker 3>sound like a damn fool one because I don't think

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<v Speaker 3>anybody would care to hear that. Two, it's a waste

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<v Speaker 3>of time when you always have such precious.

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<v Speaker 2>Moments, right, that's right. Man. You can either use it

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<v Speaker 2>to complain or you can use it to compel, right.

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<v Speaker 1>And to propel. Man. You got a lot going man,

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<v Speaker 1>a lot going on, that's right. Since fourteen I remember

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<v Speaker 1>you busting out killing it. And now man, we're about

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five years later, and it says, if you're as

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<v Speaker 1>busy as you've ever been, man, tell me about what's

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<v Speaker 1>going on.

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<v Speaker 2>It's crazy, man, considering I'm only thirty years old. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>I've been doing it since I was five. Man, there's

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<v Speaker 2>been a lot going on. Actually, a lot of really

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<v Speaker 2>great things. A career obviously that's been you know, constructed

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<v Speaker 2>over all of this time, in all of these years.

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<v Speaker 2>But more than anything, a celebration over the last few

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<v Speaker 2>years in Las Vegas with my Vegas residency is I

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<v Speaker 2>go back night after night listening to the songs and

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<v Speaker 2>kind of relive in some of the emotions. Obviously the

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<v Speaker 2>choreography and all the things that come with it. But

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<v Speaker 2>more than that, man, it's fun and excitement that I needed,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, I think all artists need a bit of motivation,

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<v Speaker 2>and rather it's an audience or either just the love

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<v Speaker 2>and passion of what you do. But being in front

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<v Speaker 2>of a live audience really, you know, kind of reignited

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<v Speaker 2>my passion and the energy, which is part of the

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<v Speaker 2>reason that I'm now dropping the music and also too

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<v Speaker 2>in the process of putting out another album, working on

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<v Speaker 2>other products and other ancillary things to what I do culturally.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, if you see the way I dress, or

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<v Speaker 2>do you see the products I'm using, whatever it might be,

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<v Speaker 2>all of those things are really your product of a

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<v Speaker 2>career man that has been do as you said, over

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<v Speaker 2>twenty years. It's crazy because I don't feel it is. Honestly,

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<v Speaker 2>you don't realize how older you are, I guess until

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<v Speaker 2>you think about your children. I have fourteen and a

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<v Speaker 2>fifteen year old, so I'm like, okay, apparently i must

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<v Speaker 2>be a bit older. But I'm not feeling like I'm

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<v Speaker 2>losing a beat because rather I'm playing you know, football

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<v Speaker 2>or basketball or any of those things with them. I'm

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<v Speaker 2>keeping up.

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<v Speaker 1>That's right, man. The kids keep you young and old.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a little bit of both.

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<v Speaker 2>They keep you wise. That's what I will say. Kids

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<v Speaker 2>they will challenge you and at the same time, they

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<v Speaker 2>will give you purpose and the reason you know, you

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<v Speaker 2>think about the things that matter. It's that time that

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<v Speaker 2>you have with them, them finding themselves that becomes more

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<v Speaker 2>of a priority.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, the new album. What did that energy start

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<v Speaker 1>to come together?

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<v Speaker 2>The energy of working on an album started a few

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<v Speaker 2>years ago, and there has been, you know, some hiccups

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<v Speaker 2>that obviously have caused you know, me not to just

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<v Speaker 2>put music out one the pandemic kind of sent everybody

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<v Speaker 2>into like a holding pattern. And then just you know,

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<v Speaker 2>deliberating over you know, just the process of analyzing right

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<v Speaker 2>what expectations are out there. Then you just kind of

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<v Speaker 2>get to a place where you're like, you know what

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<v Speaker 2>this is, what it is that I've been working on.

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<v Speaker 2>This is a an offering, you know. Rather, I'm talking

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<v Speaker 2>about things that I obviously can relate to because I

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<v Speaker 2>went through them, or either you can relate to because

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<v Speaker 2>you're going through them. But you know, now I'm ready

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<v Speaker 2>to share. I'm ready to share the music, I'm ready

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<v Speaker 2>to share the emotion, I'm ready to share the creativity.

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<v Speaker 2>Some of the things that I picked up over the

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<v Speaker 2>time that I've been making this album now I'm ready

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<v Speaker 2>to share it. What that is. I made a directorial

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<v Speaker 2>debut with a song that is really only a snippet

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<v Speaker 2>at this point Google, But I have to say that

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of it has been spun as a result

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<v Speaker 2>of my Las Vegas residency. When I did that, it

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<v Speaker 2>just again, It's just reignited, you know, my passion and

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<v Speaker 2>my connection to my audience and also to my connection

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<v Speaker 2>to my music.

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<v Speaker 1>Were you as backwards looking before you started the Vegas residency?

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<v Speaker 1>Were you kind of yeah, typically in a mode of

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<v Speaker 1>looking back at your career and thinking about different albums

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<v Speaker 1>and eras, or did this kind of help you to that.

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<v Speaker 2>Las Vegas specifically has always been about celebrating the songs

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<v Speaker 2>that you've had in the past. For me, it was

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<v Speaker 2>a little bit of that, but it was a celebration

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<v Speaker 2>of a genre, celebration of music because R and B

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<v Speaker 2>in that capacity hadn't really been there. You've had a

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<v Speaker 2>few artists you've had, you know, Marian Carey and also

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<v Speaker 2>to the a few more new recent artists that were

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<v Speaker 2>working in Las Vegas like Bruno Mars and then this impact,

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<v Speaker 2>but that culture of R and B music and live

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<v Speaker 2>performance in the way that I do it. It wasn't there,

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<v Speaker 2>so I don't know if I ever looked at it

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<v Speaker 2>as looking back. I looked at it as let me

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<v Speaker 2>go back for a second to remind you of what

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<v Speaker 2>this level of performance and entertainment is ultimately about, and

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<v Speaker 2>the fact that this culture doesn't exist here. Things that

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<v Speaker 2>I on stage, you know, I mean, I don't know

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<v Speaker 2>if you've ever been to my show, but I take

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<v Speaker 2>you on a complete ride through Atlanta through black culture.

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<v Speaker 2>There's you know, certain views of like you know, jazz

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<v Speaker 2>and obviously live music, and the idea of like being

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<v Speaker 2>in this impromptu moment or improv that happens. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>these unexpected things and unexpected guests that might come out

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<v Speaker 2>on the stage. All of those things are part of

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<v Speaker 2>what an R and B show has always offered in time.

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<v Speaker 2>So it gave me the opportunity to do that and

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<v Speaker 2>then experimenting with other things like skating on stage, and

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<v Speaker 2>I just really I had fun. So again I didn't

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<v Speaker 2>look at it as looking back. The music from the

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<v Speaker 2>soundtrack of My life, which is the songs that are hits,

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<v Speaker 2>they take you back, But I'm moving forward in terms

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<v Speaker 2>of how I introduced this to you and how immersed

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<v Speaker 2>you are in this experience. You don't feel like you're

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<v Speaker 2>going to a show. You feel like you're having an experience.

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<v Speaker 2>You don't feel like you're watching a live experience. You

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<v Speaker 2>know that it's just singing and no, you were completely

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<v Speaker 2>immersed from the moment you walk into the theater to

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<v Speaker 2>the moment that you leave the nightclub. You're completely in

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<v Speaker 2>my passion. You're in the passion of what it is

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<v Speaker 2>that I created, both musically and also too as an experience.

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<v Speaker 1>I love that it's such a send up to like

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<v Speaker 1>R and B, such a celebration of the genre, man,

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<v Speaker 1>because you know, it's funny. I was having a conversation

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<v Speaker 1>for the podcast with Babyface a couple of weeks ago,

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<v Speaker 1>and it dawned on me through talking to him that

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<v Speaker 1>the era that you came up in the nineties really

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<v Speaker 1>was the era of like R and B just being

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<v Speaker 1>the mainstream popular music of the day, man. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>whereas at some point it was race music, at some

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<v Speaker 1>point it was segregated the black charts. By the nineties, man,

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<v Speaker 1>when you guys were what you guys were doing with

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<v Speaker 1>the face, it became like a driver of the culture.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, well, I'll say this, was it more relevant because

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<v Speaker 2>it became defiant and things and genres that were established,

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<v Speaker 2>like hip hop became more relevant. And then the mixing

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<v Speaker 2>of R and B and hip hop together made it

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<v Speaker 2>feel dangerous, I'd say that, but it was dangerous way before,

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<v Speaker 2>and it was those other coaches of music are genres

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<v Speaker 2>of music, if you want to call them that, that

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<v Speaker 2>were bastardizing in ways. You know, this incredible thing called jazz.

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<v Speaker 2>Jazz is the creation of all things man, all things musical. Rather,

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<v Speaker 2>it's rock. Rather, it's ideas of classical things. Right, we

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<v Speaker 2>think about how R and B was established, It was jazz,

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<v Speaker 2>and then from that all other things come. In my opinion,

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<v Speaker 2>I think that there was a formal way of listening

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<v Speaker 2>to music, which is orchestrated, and that's a different practice.

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<v Speaker 2>But the things that you feel, the emotion, the storytelling,

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<v Speaker 2>that's jazz. And rather, through the thirties, forties, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>and then making your way up into the fifties, sixties

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<v Speaker 2>and seventies, R and B was kind of on the

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<v Speaker 2>back burner, but it was always supplying. Jazz was always

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<v Speaker 2>supplying to all those other genres. Yeah, So in my mind,

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<v Speaker 2>I take ownership of that for those people. Even though

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<v Speaker 2>we were racially segregated and maybe black, you know, performers

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<v Speaker 2>were not celebrated. They couldn't even walk through the very

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<v Speaker 2>places that they were performing in. So yeah, I think

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<v Speaker 2>you're right. You know, through the nineties, R and B

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<v Speaker 2>had a moment where it was more relevant than others

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<v Speaker 2>and it felt dangerous. Rock and roll, for one, it

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<v Speaker 2>felt dangerous. If you look at DM and all of

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<v Speaker 2>those other things hip hop, it felt dangerous. So there's

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<v Speaker 2>a sophistication that R and B had and has always

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<v Speaker 2>had that popular music or popular genre has been able

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<v Speaker 2>to adopt. But it ain't ever went away. I think

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<v Speaker 2>that it's always been there. And so long as you

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<v Speaker 2>hear those those hues of what is jazz, those hues

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<v Speaker 2>of what is blue, those hues of what is soul music,

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<v Speaker 2>then that shit is R and B. That ain't what

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<v Speaker 2>you think. It's not the genre that was claimed, it's

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<v Speaker 2>the inspiration that was provided. You know what I'm saying.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll be back after a quick break with more of

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<v Speaker 1>my conversation with Usher. We're back with more from Usher.

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<v Speaker 1>You're right about, like R and B having this sort

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<v Speaker 1>of dangerous feel to it, too in the nineties, and

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<v Speaker 1>it was almost an accident because you get discovered by

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<v Speaker 1>La Reid and get signed on the face, but because

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<v Speaker 1>La didn't exactly know what to do with you in

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<v Speaker 1>the beginning, you get sent to go work with Puff

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<v Speaker 1>and it's like you kind of get immersed in a

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<v Speaker 1>you kind of have this dual world happening, man, between

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<v Speaker 1>the R and B that you aspire to do and

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<v Speaker 1>now you're hanging with Puff and even kind of more

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<v Speaker 1>dangerous R and B cats like Davante Swing, kind of

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<v Speaker 1>more edgy cats. You know, how was that moment for you?

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<v Speaker 2>Man?

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<v Speaker 1>It seems like real like the stars aligned to have

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<v Speaker 1>that moment happen for you. Man.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, before you get to like DeVante's Swing and New

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<v Speaker 2>York's contribution to be and hip hop, you got the Parliament,

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<v Speaker 2>you gotta go, you know those guys you got to

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<v Speaker 2>go to. You know, R and B was dangerous much

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<v Speaker 2>earlier than that, and my working with Puff was, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>a matter of La Reid's vision to see that the

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<v Speaker 2>entrepreneur that Puff was was going to grow. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>until La Reid introduced the world to Sean Buffy Combs,

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<v Speaker 2>you didn't know nothing about bad boy. You didn't even

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<v Speaker 2>understand what it had to offer it, which meant, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>you might have even glassed over, you know what he

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<v Speaker 2>did with Joe to See and Uptown Records. So I

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<v Speaker 2>think it was really the sophistication between La Reids helping

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<v Speaker 2>people like Puff to be able to find his life,

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<v Speaker 2>or Dallas Austin and Jermaine Duprie, or any of the

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<v Speaker 2>guys that he had hit records with, Rico Wade with

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<v Speaker 2>organized Noise, all of those things. That was a matter

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<v Speaker 2>of sophistication in La Reads, blending of the two worlds

0:12:07.236 --> 0:12:10.236
<v Speaker 2>to make it dangerous. Yeah, Joasy was hip hop. It

0:12:10.236 --> 0:12:12.116
<v Speaker 2>almost looked like a rock band that was R and B.

0:12:12.596 --> 0:12:16.156
<v Speaker 2>You know, Mary j has always been, you know, this

0:12:16.276 --> 0:12:19.556
<v Speaker 2>incredible soul singer that was just pulling her heart out.

0:12:19.716 --> 0:12:22.356
<v Speaker 2>You know, I'll be sure you know, heavy D all

0:12:22.356 --> 0:12:24.076
<v Speaker 2>of those guys from that time that were setting a

0:12:24.116 --> 0:12:26.356
<v Speaker 2>standard that would be no Shaggy and all of those

0:12:26.356 --> 0:12:29.716
<v Speaker 2>guys if you didn't have a heavy D. So when

0:12:29.716 --> 0:12:33.916
<v Speaker 2>I think about what I gained from working with Puffy

0:12:33.996 --> 0:12:36.716
<v Speaker 2>and being in New York City and spending an entire

0:12:36.796 --> 0:12:39.116
<v Speaker 2>year with him making my first album, it gave me

0:12:39.196 --> 0:12:42.156
<v Speaker 2>all the fuel that I need to be not only

0:12:42.196 --> 0:12:45.796
<v Speaker 2>the creative but also to the innovator that discovers talent

0:12:45.836 --> 0:12:48.596
<v Speaker 2>and knows how to develop it as well using it

0:12:48.596 --> 0:12:51.756
<v Speaker 2>for myself or either helping them find their way. There

0:12:51.836 --> 0:12:56.236
<v Speaker 2>was something so fundamental about his creation and his idea

0:12:56.276 --> 0:12:59.116
<v Speaker 2>of branding. It wasn't just about being a singer. You

0:12:59.116 --> 0:13:01.676
<v Speaker 2>could be a great fucking singer. That don't matter if

0:13:01.676 --> 0:13:04.396
<v Speaker 2>I don't feel like I'm getting it. It's dangerous dealing

0:13:04.436 --> 0:13:06.756
<v Speaker 2>with you, and it's like, man, why am I looking

0:13:06.796 --> 0:13:08.716
<v Speaker 2>at you? Why do I care about you? I learned

0:13:08.716 --> 0:13:11.876
<v Speaker 2>all of that from the School of Puff, and then

0:13:11.956 --> 0:13:16.316
<v Speaker 2>from there it became relationship, and it became the life

0:13:16.356 --> 0:13:19.476
<v Speaker 2>story and understanding where the person was, what their views were,

0:13:19.516 --> 0:13:22.596
<v Speaker 2>and what, you know, choices they made, how they dressed,

0:13:22.996 --> 0:13:24.836
<v Speaker 2>you know, what type of shit they got into it.

0:13:25.636 --> 0:13:28.716
<v Speaker 2>It became something far more than just listening to the music.

0:13:28.756 --> 0:13:32.276
<v Speaker 2>You fell in love with the artist, so I wanted that.

0:13:32.436 --> 0:13:35.956
<v Speaker 2>I'm like, okay, great. So then we didn't make a

0:13:35.996 --> 0:13:39.836
<v Speaker 2>hit album together, but we had a hit record on

0:13:39.876 --> 0:13:43.476
<v Speaker 2>it working with DeVante Swim you know, man, believe it

0:13:43.596 --> 0:13:46.356
<v Speaker 2>or not being around Biggie earlier in the days when

0:13:46.356 --> 0:13:50.156
<v Speaker 2>he was being introduced Craig mag total being in New

0:13:50.196 --> 0:13:52.996
<v Speaker 2>York City, like going to Mount Vernon, being you know,

0:13:53.316 --> 0:13:56.356
<v Speaker 2>and being under the wing of Heady D and being

0:13:56.356 --> 0:13:58.836
<v Speaker 2>able to see how you move and work with these

0:13:58.876 --> 0:14:01.156
<v Speaker 2>genre work with like hip hop and R and B together,

0:14:01.556 --> 0:14:03.876
<v Speaker 2>all of those things. I gained. All of that now

0:14:03.996 --> 0:14:06.796
<v Speaker 2>left and after that made my way, came back to

0:14:06.836 --> 0:14:09.876
<v Speaker 2>Atlanta and worked with JD and we made it increndible music,

0:14:09.916 --> 0:14:13.516
<v Speaker 2>incrontable music together that now serviced all of what I

0:14:13.556 --> 0:14:16.236
<v Speaker 2>know about being an artist. But yeah, a lot of

0:14:16.276 --> 0:14:18.356
<v Speaker 2>hit records came out of that by Way eighty seven

0:14:18.396 --> 0:14:20.876
<v Speaker 2>oh one Confessions, and we kept going and we are

0:14:20.916 --> 0:14:24.956
<v Speaker 2>still going. But yeah, I think that the one thing

0:14:24.996 --> 0:14:27.556
<v Speaker 2>you might be overlooking is the danger and also to

0:14:28.236 --> 0:14:33.316
<v Speaker 2>the sophistication that La Red had to create a blend, right, Yeah,

0:14:33.396 --> 0:14:35.996
<v Speaker 2>because that man had insight. That man had the ability

0:14:36.036 --> 0:14:39.236
<v Speaker 2>to see for real before everybody else saw for real.

0:14:39.316 --> 0:14:42.036
<v Speaker 2>That man had the ability to see you know, Jay

0:14:42.076 --> 0:14:44.556
<v Speaker 2>Z and make him an executive that now we respect

0:14:44.556 --> 0:14:49.196
<v Speaker 2>as a businessman because he saw something more. The sophistication

0:14:49.316 --> 0:14:53.236
<v Speaker 2>of understanding how to grow black entrepreneurs and black creatives

0:14:53.236 --> 0:14:55.436
<v Speaker 2>to a place and lift them up is what I

0:14:55.476 --> 0:15:00.556
<v Speaker 2>think happened with La and really made what we celebrate

0:15:00.596 --> 0:15:01.716
<v Speaker 2>as a culture in music.

0:15:02.196 --> 0:15:04.316
<v Speaker 1>Where do you think your sophistication came from? Because it

0:15:04.636 --> 0:15:06.476
<v Speaker 1>just feels like you had it so early, like from

0:15:06.516 --> 0:15:08.916
<v Speaker 1>the beginning, like even though the first record wasn't hit record,

0:15:09.236 --> 0:15:11.076
<v Speaker 1>like you came just ready made.

0:15:11.156 --> 0:15:13.596
<v Speaker 2>Already made is in the work, my work ethic is

0:15:13.636 --> 0:15:16.076
<v Speaker 2>where that's what makes the difference. I learned the skill

0:15:16.276 --> 0:15:18.276
<v Speaker 2>of being in the environment of people. If you want

0:15:18.276 --> 0:15:20.316
<v Speaker 2>to be great, if that's surround yourself around great people,

0:15:21.116 --> 0:15:26.316
<v Speaker 2>La Reid, Sean, Puffy Combs, Jermaine Duprie, Dallas Austin, you know,

0:15:26.396 --> 0:15:30.076
<v Speaker 2>working with the greats, you know, and then creating really incredible,

0:15:30.156 --> 0:15:32.796
<v Speaker 2>amazing one offs, like you know, we did records with

0:15:32.836 --> 0:15:34.796
<v Speaker 2>Pharrell for the first time. But being able to have

0:15:34.876 --> 0:15:38.716
<v Speaker 2>access to these guys, and I look at my you know,

0:15:38.796 --> 0:15:41.316
<v Speaker 2>all of the reconsented things that I've been able to create.

0:15:41.516 --> 0:15:43.636
<v Speaker 2>I got a really really dope click of people who

0:15:44.276 --> 0:15:46.316
<v Speaker 2>have been a part of my legacy. It ain't just

0:15:46.396 --> 0:15:50.396
<v Speaker 2>one person, It's an entire world of people who who

0:15:51.036 --> 0:15:53.436
<v Speaker 2>have all of these different views of R and B

0:15:53.516 --> 0:15:55.756
<v Speaker 2>and hip hop and the way they play with it

0:15:55.916 --> 0:15:58.956
<v Speaker 2>and the way they may make things. It's like it's

0:15:59.036 --> 0:16:01.396
<v Speaker 2>like nothing else that you can't you can't compare it

0:16:01.436 --> 0:16:02.796
<v Speaker 2>to anything else.

0:16:02.876 --> 0:16:05.756
<v Speaker 1>Man, you really have multiple worlds of music colliding all

0:16:05.796 --> 0:16:09.516
<v Speaker 1>through your catalog, really, and cats like early and has

0:16:09.516 --> 0:16:12.036
<v Speaker 1>interesting points in the career, like when you're working with Jimmy,

0:16:12.076 --> 0:16:14.236
<v Speaker 1>Jame and Terry Lewis, Like you got them kind of

0:16:14.276 --> 0:16:16.476
<v Speaker 1>like a real interesting point in my view, and it's

0:16:16.516 --> 0:16:17.876
<v Speaker 1>just catalog's crazy.

0:16:18.476 --> 0:16:22.116
<v Speaker 2>You asked where the sophistication comes from. The sophistication comes from.

0:16:22.476 --> 0:16:25.356
<v Speaker 2>You know the gurus like Jimmy, Jimmys, tay Lewis, like

0:16:26.076 --> 0:16:28.316
<v Speaker 2>l A. Reid maybe face you know, those are the

0:16:28.356 --> 0:16:31.636
<v Speaker 2>guys who were like they were like the oracles man

0:16:31.676 --> 0:16:35.156
<v Speaker 2>they would have They're like the Jedies. They they made

0:16:35.236 --> 0:16:37.636
<v Speaker 2>you understand what it was to be an artist and

0:16:37.676 --> 0:16:41.996
<v Speaker 2>how to make things last, being able to have ships

0:16:42.076 --> 0:16:46.516
<v Speaker 2>like Quincy Jones. And then you know the young Jedies

0:16:46.756 --> 0:16:49.916
<v Speaker 2>like you know, like Jermaine Dupree, He's avocate, you know

0:16:49.916 --> 0:16:52.436
<v Speaker 2>what I'm saying, Like, just, yeah.

0:16:52.876 --> 0:16:54.396
<v Speaker 1>When did you first meet Quincy Jones?

0:16:54.396 --> 0:16:57.956
<v Speaker 2>Man? I first met Quincy. I walked into a Tommy

0:16:57.996 --> 0:17:01.476
<v Speaker 2>Hill Figure. It was a Tommy Hill Figure show in

0:17:01.756 --> 0:17:04.356
<v Speaker 2>New York City. It was me and Leah, I think

0:17:04.356 --> 0:17:06.676
<v Speaker 2>it was. It was a ton of relevant artists at

0:17:06.676 --> 0:17:08.876
<v Speaker 2>that time. He had us walk in the show, and

0:17:08.956 --> 0:17:11.396
<v Speaker 2>that was the first time that Q kind of put

0:17:11.436 --> 0:17:14.316
<v Speaker 2>his crew together, so we were his crew for the night.

0:17:14.996 --> 0:17:18.876
<v Speaker 2>And from that it's find a really great relationship of friendship.

0:17:19.276 --> 0:17:22.156
<v Speaker 2>He's been a godfather to me ever since that day,

0:17:22.716 --> 0:17:25.396
<v Speaker 2>you know, and my conversations with him, believe it or not,

0:17:25.556 --> 0:17:28.556
<v Speaker 2>were not about music as much as it was what

0:17:28.716 --> 0:17:31.956
<v Speaker 2>is your contribution to life? He turned me into a philanthropist.

0:17:32.236 --> 0:17:35.716
<v Speaker 2>He began to help me understand that there's much more

0:17:35.756 --> 0:17:39.476
<v Speaker 2>of a responsibility to kind of lay groundwork and remind

0:17:39.476 --> 0:17:41.596
<v Speaker 2>people that it's not just about music. It's also to

0:17:42.276 --> 0:17:45.276
<v Speaker 2>about opening your eyes with the world's eyes to things

0:17:45.316 --> 0:17:48.236
<v Speaker 2>that need to be addressed, you know, advocating for things

0:17:48.276 --> 0:17:51.196
<v Speaker 2>that you think you know do matter and will matter

0:17:51.476 --> 0:17:54.636
<v Speaker 2>for you know, generations to come and even for the

0:17:54.636 --> 0:17:58.636
<v Speaker 2>current time. But yeah, a great relationship, So that's sophistication,

0:17:59.356 --> 0:18:02.436
<v Speaker 2>you know. It comes from those relationships, relationships with the

0:18:02.436 --> 0:18:05.836
<v Speaker 2>guys who've been here before, the elders, the guys who understand.

0:18:06.356 --> 0:18:09.836
<v Speaker 2>You know, it's odd and this time because everything's so young, right,

0:18:10.116 --> 0:18:14.236
<v Speaker 2>and everything's so vibrant, and everything's so defiant. But really, man,

0:18:14.476 --> 0:18:17.156
<v Speaker 2>our elders are the ones that matter. They got something

0:18:17.196 --> 0:18:19.996
<v Speaker 2>to teach us, and we really do learn from listening

0:18:20.036 --> 0:18:22.356
<v Speaker 2>to them. So you got to listen to the ogs.

0:18:22.996 --> 0:18:26.356
<v Speaker 2>You know, they are the gatekeepers and they make the difference. Yes,

0:18:26.556 --> 0:18:29.076
<v Speaker 2>there is a new frontier of people who are just

0:18:29.076 --> 0:18:32.636
<v Speaker 2>speaking out for how they feel and being loud about it.

0:18:32.676 --> 0:18:37.596
<v Speaker 2>But sophistication, man, longevity comes from listening to your elders.

0:18:37.836 --> 0:18:40.156
<v Speaker 2>You want to make it last forever, and you got

0:18:40.156 --> 0:18:42.556
<v Speaker 2>to listen to your elders, listen to the ones that

0:18:43.036 --> 0:18:45.236
<v Speaker 2>have been here. Even if you think what they're telling

0:18:45.276 --> 0:18:48.476
<v Speaker 2>you ain't relevant to what you think or what you feel.

0:18:48.556 --> 0:18:50.996
<v Speaker 2>Right now, they got something to share with you, and

0:18:51.116 --> 0:18:55.836
<v Speaker 2>that that sophistication and longevity comes from there, their will

0:18:55.876 --> 0:18:56.436
<v Speaker 2>of knowledge.

0:18:56.436 --> 0:19:00.236
<v Speaker 1>Man, it's beautiful to you already. That's such a young

0:19:00.316 --> 0:19:03.116
<v Speaker 1>tender age man. Just to accept that wisdom, man, and

0:19:03.156 --> 0:19:05.756
<v Speaker 1>listen because you know, and then also not to take

0:19:05.836 --> 0:19:08.476
<v Speaker 1>what they tell you, incorporate it and also find your

0:19:08.476 --> 0:19:11.756
<v Speaker 1>own way it your own way, man, because certainly, looking

0:19:11.796 --> 0:19:15.876
<v Speaker 1>at your catalog, your career, it's a totally unique path

0:19:15.916 --> 0:19:16.396
<v Speaker 1>that you took.

0:19:16.836 --> 0:19:20.596
<v Speaker 2>Their commitment and their dedication is what I saw, and

0:19:21.236 --> 0:19:23.836
<v Speaker 2>I become them in time. I don't know. Like I

0:19:23.836 --> 0:19:26.276
<v Speaker 2>said on Monday, thirty years old, you know what I'm saying,

0:19:26.316 --> 0:19:33.396
<v Speaker 2>So over time, hopefully I'll be able to share that

0:19:33.476 --> 0:19:37.036
<v Speaker 2>information that ends that wisdom with the artists that are coming.

0:19:37.396 --> 0:19:40.076
<v Speaker 1>Speaking of Quincy, is there any truth to the idea

0:19:40.196 --> 0:19:43.476
<v Speaker 1>that Tevin Campbell's second record, I'm ready some of those

0:19:43.516 --> 0:19:46.036
<v Speaker 1>songs a supposed to be written for you.

0:19:46.116 --> 0:19:48.596
<v Speaker 2>Now many people have said that, no, Tevin Campbell's songs

0:19:48.596 --> 0:19:51.476
<v Speaker 2>were Tevin cambell songs and my songs were my songs.

0:19:51.796 --> 0:19:55.276
<v Speaker 2>The reality is, I think La Reid and Baby Facebook

0:19:55.356 --> 0:19:57.716
<v Speaker 2>kind of going through a transition when they worked together

0:19:57.756 --> 0:20:01.076
<v Speaker 2>and when I first signed as an artist, so I

0:20:01.156 --> 0:20:05.756
<v Speaker 2>probably didn't get a chance to receive, you know, the

0:20:05.796 --> 0:20:11.236
<v Speaker 2>love and the benefit of what Baby Face offered my

0:20:11.316 --> 0:20:14.316
<v Speaker 2>first album. But I later on became great friends with him.

0:20:14.356 --> 0:20:16.596
<v Speaker 2>I just seen him in Atlanta. You know, he's still

0:20:16.636 --> 0:20:19.156
<v Speaker 2>an og I love him, and rather he was writing

0:20:19.156 --> 0:20:21.196
<v Speaker 2>songs for me. He still was a motivation. I still

0:20:21.236 --> 0:20:24.316
<v Speaker 2>looked at Whipple Peel and was influenced by that. Matter

0:20:24.316 --> 0:20:26.436
<v Speaker 2>of fact, the song that actually, you know, spun it

0:20:26.476 --> 0:20:28.596
<v Speaker 2>off and started it off for me was a song

0:20:28.636 --> 0:20:30.956
<v Speaker 2>that he wrote. He and La Reed together wrote that

0:20:31.036 --> 0:20:33.476
<v Speaker 2>record End of the Road, End of the Road, Yeah

0:20:33.916 --> 0:20:38.676
<v Speaker 2>by buys Men, But I'm ready those songs they belonged

0:20:38.676 --> 0:20:41.916
<v Speaker 2>to Tavin Campbell. What I did with Puff and my

0:20:42.036 --> 0:20:44.836
<v Speaker 2>first album, it was what it was. I did not

0:20:44.956 --> 0:20:47.996
<v Speaker 2>get that record that I wanted my first album. When

0:20:48.036 --> 0:20:52.356
<v Speaker 2>I listened to Can We Talk? I felt slighted because

0:20:52.356 --> 0:20:54.356
<v Speaker 2>I was like, damn, I wanted that record. I wanted

0:20:54.356 --> 0:20:57.636
<v Speaker 2>a record that I wonder if that song was for me, Nah,

0:20:57.636 --> 0:20:59.836
<v Speaker 2>it wasn't. I think it was always Tavian Campbell's song.

0:21:00.396 --> 0:21:04.876
<v Speaker 2>And I know that, you know face he was going

0:21:04.916 --> 0:21:07.636
<v Speaker 2>through something, I guess at the moment with La and

0:21:07.676 --> 0:21:09.396
<v Speaker 2>we just didn't work together my first out.

0:21:09.756 --> 0:21:12.436
<v Speaker 1>It that goes to, like again it being sort of

0:21:12.436 --> 0:21:15.076
<v Speaker 1>serendipitous that you get to work, you get to be

0:21:15.156 --> 0:21:17.796
<v Speaker 1>on the face and have a lot of what comes

0:21:17.836 --> 0:21:20.716
<v Speaker 1>with that, but then also kind of get to kind

0:21:20.716 --> 0:21:22.436
<v Speaker 1>of go your own route and go work with Puff

0:21:22.476 --> 0:21:25.116
<v Speaker 1>and you kind of got the face plus more in

0:21:25.156 --> 0:21:27.716
<v Speaker 1>a lot of ways, which was I imagine must have been free.

0:21:28.196 --> 0:21:30.436
<v Speaker 2>It was out of my control. I would have wanted

0:21:30.476 --> 0:21:33.556
<v Speaker 2>to work with Babyface, they were just going through something

0:21:33.556 --> 0:21:37.676
<v Speaker 2>that wouldn't allow it to happen in the time. But yeah,

0:21:37.116 --> 0:21:40.916
<v Speaker 2>it's it's a manifestation. I remember being in Chattanooga, Tennessee,

0:21:41.716 --> 0:21:44.356
<v Speaker 2>and me and my mother talking about going to Atlanta

0:21:44.716 --> 0:21:49.116
<v Speaker 2>and potentially meeting La Reid and Babyface and signing to

0:21:49.196 --> 0:21:52.436
<v Speaker 2>their label. That's why we came to Atlanta. For me,

0:21:52.996 --> 0:21:55.356
<v Speaker 2>she came to Atlanta because it was a you know,

0:21:55.916 --> 0:22:00.036
<v Speaker 2>it was an elevation from Chattanooga, and it's more opportunity

0:22:00.196 --> 0:22:03.156
<v Speaker 2>for her as a as a woman and also to

0:22:03.556 --> 0:22:06.556
<v Speaker 2>her employment at the time. But for me, it was

0:22:06.596 --> 0:22:10.116
<v Speaker 2>a true opportunity to meet some executive and maybe turn

0:22:10.196 --> 0:22:12.516
<v Speaker 2>this talent into something that would take care of us

0:22:13.076 --> 0:22:15.156
<v Speaker 2>because I was not taking enough for an answer. In

0:22:15.196 --> 0:22:18.756
<v Speaker 2>my mind, I knew I would perform, but like I

0:22:18.836 --> 0:22:21.996
<v Speaker 2>had a red diet on where I wanted to be,

0:22:22.396 --> 0:22:25.596
<v Speaker 2>I was performing. We maybe faced the songs rather it

0:22:25.636 --> 0:22:28.436
<v Speaker 2>was Bobby Brown or Boys to Men or any of

0:22:28.476 --> 0:22:31.916
<v Speaker 2>the other artists that they've worked with, and rock Steady

0:22:31.996 --> 0:22:35.356
<v Speaker 2>was on repeat, you know, by the Whispers for my

0:22:35.396 --> 0:22:37.396
<v Speaker 2>Mom for my Mom. So I was always listening to

0:22:37.556 --> 0:22:39.956
<v Speaker 2>La Reed and Baby Faces production. I didn't realize it,

0:22:40.476 --> 0:22:43.996
<v Speaker 2>but I finally made it to Atlanta, and I didn't

0:22:43.996 --> 0:22:46.956
<v Speaker 2>know who La Reed was. I just knew that they

0:22:46.996 --> 0:22:48.916
<v Speaker 2>had a hit record on the radio and I loved

0:22:48.996 --> 0:22:51.076
<v Speaker 2>singing it, and if I could get people to pay

0:22:51.116 --> 0:22:54.516
<v Speaker 2>attention to me, maybe I could get to them. And

0:22:54.876 --> 0:22:57.316
<v Speaker 2>it happened. It was a manifestation I called it, and

0:22:57.356 --> 0:23:00.956
<v Speaker 2>to existence, I said it, and we went after it,

0:23:00.996 --> 0:23:03.116
<v Speaker 2>and me and my mother we made it happen.

0:23:03.756 --> 0:23:05.716
<v Speaker 1>We're going to take one last break and then be

0:23:05.756 --> 0:23:12.396
<v Speaker 1>back with more from us here. We're back with the

0:23:12.436 --> 0:23:15.476
<v Speaker 1>rest of my conversation with us here. What do you

0:23:15.476 --> 0:23:19.956
<v Speaker 1>think happened between making a really great first record that, honestly,

0:23:19.996 --> 0:23:22.076
<v Speaker 1>I think still holds up as one of the great

0:23:22.076 --> 0:23:25.036
<v Speaker 1>records of that early nineties R and B era, But

0:23:25.116 --> 0:23:28.556
<v Speaker 1>what happened you think between then and My Way where

0:23:28.596 --> 0:23:32.396
<v Speaker 1>you kind of were able to create a hit record.

0:23:32.996 --> 0:23:35.556
<v Speaker 2>I think, first of all, Buffy was ahead of his

0:23:35.716 --> 0:23:39.196
<v Speaker 2>time in terms of what he created with my first

0:23:39.196 --> 0:23:43.116
<v Speaker 2>album that would ultimately become the stable of what R

0:23:43.156 --> 0:23:46.156
<v Speaker 2>and B artists in my age group would go after.

0:23:46.636 --> 0:23:49.636
<v Speaker 2>So he was way ahead. I think it just it

0:23:49.716 --> 0:23:52.636
<v Speaker 2>might have been a little bit too mature, and now

0:23:52.716 --> 0:23:55.636
<v Speaker 2>looking at things, it's like they busting it wide open

0:23:55.676 --> 0:23:57.556
<v Speaker 2>and that pussy with you know what I'm saying, this

0:23:57.756 --> 0:24:00.716
<v Speaker 2>crazy type of shit that they say now, which, hey,

0:24:01.236 --> 0:24:03.156
<v Speaker 2>it's an interpretation and you should be able to say

0:24:03.196 --> 0:24:05.596
<v Speaker 2>whatever you want, wet ass pussy and all that other shit.

0:24:06.196 --> 0:24:09.196
<v Speaker 2>But you know, I think can you get with it

0:24:09.236 --> 0:24:11.916
<v Speaker 2>was a bit that was a bit much for a

0:24:11.996 --> 0:24:14.196
<v Speaker 2>fifteen year old to say, can you get rided to

0:24:14.276 --> 0:24:17.676
<v Speaker 2>a girl? That means it's a sexual thing. But you know,

0:24:17.756 --> 0:24:19.636
<v Speaker 2>I think he was just ahead. He was just ahead

0:24:19.636 --> 0:24:22.676
<v Speaker 2>of the curve. I think that he got there before

0:24:22.716 --> 0:24:24.756
<v Speaker 2>everybody else did and was willing to push me in it.

0:24:24.876 --> 0:24:27.436
<v Speaker 2>So long as I was willing to allow myself to

0:24:27.436 --> 0:24:30.996
<v Speaker 2>be produced as an artist, that I would get something valuable.

0:24:31.396 --> 0:24:33.556
<v Speaker 2>Now going back and listening to those songs, they're way

0:24:33.636 --> 0:24:37.636
<v Speaker 2>way better then I could even understand at the time.

0:24:37.956 --> 0:24:42.076
<v Speaker 2>I missed that that Davante's swing production. There's no songs

0:24:42.116 --> 0:24:43.956
<v Speaker 2>on the radio that sound like any of that stuff.

0:24:44.276 --> 0:24:46.756
<v Speaker 2>What he was creating and what they were working on,

0:24:47.276 --> 0:24:50.276
<v Speaker 2>you know, Timberlin was doing those beats. Man, like, there's

0:24:50.316 --> 0:24:52.436
<v Speaker 2>no music that sounds like that type of R and

0:24:52.476 --> 0:24:54.356
<v Speaker 2>B even to this day, and as great as R

0:24:54.396 --> 0:24:57.556
<v Speaker 2>and B is, nothing is great like that. That man

0:24:57.636 --> 0:24:59.156
<v Speaker 2>was creating something that was amazing.

0:24:59.916 --> 0:25:01.796
<v Speaker 1>What was it like being in the studio with Davante's

0:25:01.796 --> 0:25:03.316
<v Speaker 1>swing man, if.

0:25:03.196 --> 0:25:05.916
<v Speaker 2>I could even remember, because I only saw so much,

0:25:05.916 --> 0:25:09.036
<v Speaker 2>and obviously my focus was on performing and singing. Yeah,

0:25:09.116 --> 0:25:10.996
<v Speaker 2>I wasn't really paying attention to the type of things

0:25:10.996 --> 0:25:14.076
<v Speaker 2>that were going on. But he was a star and

0:25:14.236 --> 0:25:19.076
<v Speaker 2>something about living and breathing and being the star at

0:25:19.516 --> 0:25:23.596
<v Speaker 2>all moments, that's what I saw. I watched him work,

0:25:23.676 --> 0:25:25.396
<v Speaker 2>and when I watched him go over to the piano,

0:25:25.596 --> 0:25:27.996
<v Speaker 2>I watched him turn the knobs. So he directed me

0:25:28.076 --> 0:25:30.356
<v Speaker 2>how to sing when he walked over to his car,

0:25:30.436 --> 0:25:33.636
<v Speaker 2>when he directed how he wanted his crew to produce,

0:25:33.796 --> 0:25:35.476
<v Speaker 2>or he to work on songs, because it wasn't just

0:25:35.516 --> 0:25:37.316
<v Speaker 2>can you with it? He worked on a few songs

0:25:37.316 --> 0:25:40.876
<v Speaker 2>on the album. I was just so impressed with the

0:25:40.956 --> 0:25:45.036
<v Speaker 2>star that he was. How he you know, how just

0:25:45.076 --> 0:25:48.316
<v Speaker 2>how he carried himself. I just he was a rock star. Man.

0:25:48.636 --> 0:25:51.636
<v Speaker 2>It was it was like that dude is just super

0:25:51.716 --> 0:25:55.356
<v Speaker 2>duper freaking cool. And then you got jo to Sy

0:25:55.436 --> 0:25:58.876
<v Speaker 2>in the background, literally Casey is singing backgrounds on Can't

0:25:58.876 --> 0:26:01.556
<v Speaker 2>You Get with It? I'm like, Yo, who am I?

0:26:01.636 --> 0:26:04.156
<v Speaker 2>What have I manifested to be able to have Casey

0:26:04.196 --> 0:26:07.556
<v Speaker 2>and Jojo here listening to me perform in the booth?

0:26:07.636 --> 0:26:10.036
<v Speaker 2>You know what I'm saying? And also to and backgrounds

0:26:10.476 --> 0:26:13.276
<v Speaker 2>on my song the cood Side of This World?

0:26:13.356 --> 0:26:17.396
<v Speaker 1>Man, At what point did you working with JD realize

0:26:17.516 --> 0:26:19.956
<v Speaker 1>Confessions was going to be confessions? In other words, that

0:26:19.956 --> 0:26:22.956
<v Speaker 1>it was going to be such a like a personal record.

0:26:23.836 --> 0:26:26.516
<v Speaker 2>When me and JD lock in, we lock in, you know,

0:26:26.596 --> 0:26:30.076
<v Speaker 2>we become one in that moment, right, Rather we're talking

0:26:30.116 --> 0:26:33.556
<v Speaker 2>about things that we as men sitting and talk about.

0:26:34.076 --> 0:26:36.116
<v Speaker 2>Rather we were talking about things that he was going

0:26:36.156 --> 0:26:38.836
<v Speaker 2>through or things that I was going through. I think

0:26:39.276 --> 0:26:43.196
<v Speaker 2>that was an AHA moment between he and I because

0:26:43.196 --> 0:26:46.636
<v Speaker 2>we the album title was called Real Talk when we

0:26:46.676 --> 0:26:48.476
<v Speaker 2>first started, and it was all about that was like

0:26:48.516 --> 0:26:51.596
<v Speaker 2>a catch tone, you know, catch phrases. Time let us

0:26:51.636 --> 0:26:54.236
<v Speaker 2>like real talk. So I was like, let's name it that.

0:26:54.356 --> 0:26:56.436
<v Speaker 2>We named it that, and that was a motivation. Like

0:26:56.476 --> 0:26:58.476
<v Speaker 2>all the conversations on this album are going to be

0:26:58.556 --> 0:27:03.076
<v Speaker 2>real like complicated things. Rather it was dealing with the

0:27:03.116 --> 0:27:06.516
<v Speaker 2>emotion of complicated in the complications of emotion. Or rather

0:27:06.516 --> 0:27:09.396
<v Speaker 2>it was dealing with the complications of love and what

0:27:09.476 --> 0:27:12.836
<v Speaker 2>happens when you you know, you're in a toxic situation,

0:27:12.996 --> 0:27:14.996
<v Speaker 2>or you have a girl on the side, or you're

0:27:14.996 --> 0:27:16.516
<v Speaker 2>in a relationship and you're trying to figure out how

0:27:16.556 --> 0:27:19.756
<v Speaker 2>to balance as a man. You know, when he and

0:27:19.796 --> 0:27:24.756
<v Speaker 2>I lock in, it becomes something special. So Confessions as

0:27:24.796 --> 0:27:29.356
<v Speaker 2>a title or as a song, it really just happened organically.

0:27:29.476 --> 0:27:32.196
<v Speaker 2>You know, we were just living and talking and living

0:27:32.236 --> 0:27:34.596
<v Speaker 2>with each other and trying to find the way to

0:27:34.636 --> 0:27:36.476
<v Speaker 2>write the songs of what we were living through.

0:27:36.556 --> 0:27:39.396
<v Speaker 1>You know, talking about dangerous, that record really felt dangerous

0:27:39.396 --> 0:27:41.396
<v Speaker 1>in a different way man, because it felt like harkening

0:27:41.556 --> 0:27:44.396
<v Speaker 1>back to like Marvin putting it all out there, like

0:27:44.396 --> 0:27:46.156
<v Speaker 1>in the like when he was going through his love

0:27:46.196 --> 0:27:48.956
<v Speaker 1>troubles in the late seventies, and just I don't know

0:27:48.996 --> 0:27:52.116
<v Speaker 1>that there was records R and B Records two thousand

0:27:52.116 --> 0:27:54.556
<v Speaker 1>and three, two thousand and four that felt as personal

0:27:54.636 --> 0:27:56.796
<v Speaker 1>as that Man, that felt powerful even as a kid,

0:27:56.876 --> 0:27:58.596
<v Speaker 1>I mean I was a freshman in high school and

0:27:58.596 --> 0:28:00.596
<v Speaker 1>that came out and I was like it just felt

0:28:00.636 --> 0:28:01.796
<v Speaker 1>was like, yo, this is different.

0:28:02.116 --> 0:28:04.716
<v Speaker 2>Well, by the way, as a young boy, right, you

0:28:04.756 --> 0:28:07.556
<v Speaker 2>don't necessarily have a lot of songs that you know,

0:28:07.636 --> 0:28:11.716
<v Speaker 2>speak to the emotions that we feel and that they are.

0:28:12.436 --> 0:28:16.356
<v Speaker 2>You know, maybe it's disconnected from you know, the reality

0:28:16.396 --> 0:28:18.996
<v Speaker 2>of the facade that we as men have to put on.

0:28:19.156 --> 0:28:20.956
<v Speaker 2>You know, I don't want to be emotional. I don't

0:28:20.956 --> 0:28:23.276
<v Speaker 2>really want to let you know that my heart is

0:28:23.356 --> 0:28:26.956
<v Speaker 2>broken or I'm really broken in this moment. We always

0:28:26.956 --> 0:28:29.916
<v Speaker 2>found very unique ways to be vulnerable. And that was

0:28:29.956 --> 0:28:31.836
<v Speaker 2>the point. It was like, no, let's talk about the

0:28:31.876 --> 0:28:37.236
<v Speaker 2>things that are complicated. Let's talk about the complications of

0:28:37.676 --> 0:28:42.196
<v Speaker 2>like passion and love man and make it all right

0:28:42.316 --> 0:28:44.956
<v Speaker 2>for men to listen to it and women to respect

0:28:44.996 --> 0:28:48.036
<v Speaker 2>it because it's articulated in a way that's clear for

0:28:48.076 --> 0:28:50.316
<v Speaker 2>them to know what we're dealing with. Yeah, you know,

0:28:50.716 --> 0:28:54.676
<v Speaker 2>and un necessarily you know, like what we're saying. And

0:28:55.036 --> 0:28:58.076
<v Speaker 2>I think the nineties kind of found this way of

0:28:58.156 --> 0:29:01.276
<v Speaker 2>doing that. There were artists that did it other than Jabi,

0:29:01.556 --> 0:29:05.956
<v Speaker 2>like Danielle Jones. You know, being in love with when

0:29:05.996 --> 0:29:08.316
<v Speaker 2>you love someone, you just don't treat them bad now

0:29:08.356 --> 0:29:10.356
<v Speaker 2>I feel so sad that I want to leave. She's

0:29:10.396 --> 0:29:12.836
<v Speaker 2>crying the hard to me. How could you let this be?

0:29:13.036 --> 0:29:14.716
<v Speaker 2>I just need time to think where I want to be.

0:29:14.916 --> 0:29:18.156
<v Speaker 2>That's a conflict, Like living in this place of conflict

0:29:18.636 --> 0:29:22.756
<v Speaker 2>is what I think we were really focused on with Confessions,

0:29:22.996 --> 0:29:25.556
<v Speaker 2>And every time me and JD worked together, you know,

0:29:25.636 --> 0:29:27.796
<v Speaker 2>and it became a really good practice of all of

0:29:27.836 --> 0:29:30.916
<v Speaker 2>the art that I've created. I make that like, what

0:29:31.076 --> 0:29:33.516
<v Speaker 2>is that conflict? You remind me of a girl that

0:29:33.556 --> 0:29:35.396
<v Speaker 2>I once knew. You don't have to call because I'm

0:29:35.396 --> 0:29:37.916
<v Speaker 2>out with my homies. I can't. You know, I'm gonna

0:29:37.956 --> 0:29:39.636
<v Speaker 2>be all right. We broke up and I'm cool. I'm

0:29:39.676 --> 0:29:42.276
<v Speaker 2>gonna keep it moving. I gotta get back on my feet. Confessions,

0:29:42.276 --> 0:29:45.036
<v Speaker 2>I got a baby on the side. You know, you know,

0:29:45.476 --> 0:29:48.036
<v Speaker 2>I don't mind you know, you know I'm looking at

0:29:48.036 --> 0:29:49.796
<v Speaker 2>a girl in the strip club like I don't mind

0:29:49.956 --> 0:29:51.396
<v Speaker 2>that you do what you do. I ain't got no

0:29:51.476 --> 0:29:53.956
<v Speaker 2>judgment for you. You dance on the pole, they don't

0:29:53.956 --> 0:29:56.396
<v Speaker 2>make you well, you know what I'm saying. All of

0:29:56.436 --> 0:29:59.396
<v Speaker 2>those those things of conflict like that, you got it

0:29:59.436 --> 0:30:03.916
<v Speaker 2>bad climax. I reached the climax of this relationship. I

0:30:03.956 --> 0:30:05.676
<v Speaker 2>know it's not gonna be more than sexual if I

0:30:05.716 --> 0:30:08.396
<v Speaker 2>get it, and I'm letting it be what it is.

0:30:09.196 --> 0:30:11.316
<v Speaker 2>You got it bad, let it burn. These are things

0:30:11.316 --> 0:30:15.316
<v Speaker 2>that were real. I can remember, you know, feeling the

0:30:15.356 --> 0:30:18.276
<v Speaker 2>emotions of like you know, I'm out of control. I

0:30:18.436 --> 0:30:23.916
<v Speaker 2>cannot deal with the emotional like internal burning that I'm

0:30:23.956 --> 0:30:28.436
<v Speaker 2>going through, Like I can't stop crying. I can't stop

0:30:28.516 --> 0:30:31.716
<v Speaker 2>what I'm feeling. That's like a burning sensation. We go

0:30:31.836 --> 0:30:35.556
<v Speaker 2>to a song called Burn. So living in or finding

0:30:35.596 --> 0:30:40.596
<v Speaker 2>ways to articulate conflict is what is in those songs

0:30:40.636 --> 0:30:42.516
<v Speaker 2>and what you know was in confessions.

0:30:42.796 --> 0:30:45.036
<v Speaker 1>So just to wrap things up working on a new record,

0:30:45.116 --> 0:30:47.396
<v Speaker 1>do you still find inspiration and conflict or what do

0:30:47.476 --> 0:30:49.956
<v Speaker 1>you find yourself find an inspiration these days in terms

0:30:49.956 --> 0:30:51.476
<v Speaker 1>of songwriting and emotion.

0:30:52.556 --> 0:30:55.236
<v Speaker 2>A little bit of both. It is what I feel

0:30:55.676 --> 0:30:59.636
<v Speaker 2>in my songmaking. Yeah, as a man, I'm going to

0:30:59.676 --> 0:31:03.396
<v Speaker 2>always be conflicted because that's passion and we're kind of

0:31:03.396 --> 0:31:06.236
<v Speaker 2>working against the natural nature of man. It's like I

0:31:06.276 --> 0:31:09.116
<v Speaker 2>want to be in love, I want to be happy,

0:31:09.556 --> 0:31:11.636
<v Speaker 2>but then I also too, am going to sabotage myself

0:31:11.636 --> 0:31:14.636
<v Speaker 2>because I'm passionate, you know, I want to be happy,

0:31:15.036 --> 0:31:17.996
<v Speaker 2>but I've been so unhappy for so long that i

0:31:18.116 --> 0:31:21.756
<v Speaker 2>just end up sabotaging myself because that's just what I'm

0:31:21.756 --> 0:31:26.356
<v Speaker 2>accustomed to, toxicity in life. And by the way, it's

0:31:26.356 --> 0:31:28.476
<v Speaker 2>not just men. Women are going through this shit too.

0:31:29.076 --> 0:31:30.076
<v Speaker 1>It's a human condition.

0:31:30.356 --> 0:31:33.476
<v Speaker 2>There's a human condition, and it's a human experience. What

0:31:33.516 --> 0:31:37.516
<v Speaker 2>we are all doing is having a human experience. Music

0:31:37.596 --> 0:31:41.396
<v Speaker 2>provides an opportunity to jot it down, to make it

0:31:41.476 --> 0:31:44.476
<v Speaker 2>last forever, to listen to it and continue to think

0:31:44.516 --> 0:31:47.116
<v Speaker 2>about where you were and maybe get something from it.

0:31:47.276 --> 0:31:50.116
<v Speaker 2>Rather you like, Okay, I acknowledge it. I got this problem,

0:31:50.196 --> 0:31:52.196
<v Speaker 2>I got this issue. Now I got to get past it.

0:31:52.396 --> 0:31:56.036
<v Speaker 2>Or either man, I'm going through that right now. All right, Well,

0:31:56.076 --> 0:31:57.476
<v Speaker 2>what's on the other side of it? You got to

0:31:57.516 --> 0:32:00.076
<v Speaker 2>first acknowledge it and deal with it. Sit with me.

0:32:00.436 --> 0:32:03.116
<v Speaker 2>Don't just go go get another love or go go

0:32:03.276 --> 0:32:05.876
<v Speaker 2>you know, buy another thing, or go and run away

0:32:05.876 --> 0:32:08.916
<v Speaker 2>from it and go put your attention in time somewhere else. No,

0:32:09.236 --> 0:32:11.996
<v Speaker 2>that shit with it, But that conflict, yes, is still

0:32:12.036 --> 0:32:15.596
<v Speaker 2>there to this day because I'm human, you know, even

0:32:15.636 --> 0:32:18.596
<v Speaker 2>if it's just a thought. You know, sometimes we need

0:32:18.636 --> 0:32:21.276
<v Speaker 2>a little space to be able to find that sometimes

0:32:21.316 --> 0:32:24.236
<v Speaker 2>we need to slow down and sit with discomfort. Maybe

0:32:24.316 --> 0:32:27.076
<v Speaker 2>sometime we need to find balance. And I'm happy that

0:32:27.116 --> 0:32:29.676
<v Speaker 2>I've been able to be that balance in music, to

0:32:29.716 --> 0:32:31.076
<v Speaker 2>be able to help people get through that.

0:32:31.676 --> 0:32:34.276
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely, Man, thank you always for finding that in your

0:32:34.316 --> 0:32:36.516
<v Speaker 1>music and not being afraid to be vulnerable, because you've

0:32:36.516 --> 0:32:38.796
<v Speaker 1>helped a lot of people process a lot, man, a

0:32:38.796 --> 0:32:40.716
<v Speaker 1>lot of different things, a lot of different emotions, good

0:32:40.716 --> 0:32:44.116
<v Speaker 1>and bad and in between. So appreciate you always, man.

0:32:44.196 --> 0:32:45.996
<v Speaker 1>And it's so I have my math wrong up top

0:32:46.036 --> 0:32:49.236
<v Speaker 1>two right, it's fifteen years, been in the game about thirty.

0:32:49.036 --> 0:32:52.276
<v Speaker 2>Now now, But you know I claim all of my years. Man,

0:32:52.436 --> 0:32:54.396
<v Speaker 2>I don't look forty four, you know what I'm saying.

0:32:54.396 --> 0:32:57.356
<v Speaker 2>But I'm definitely loving the wisdom that has come with

0:32:57.476 --> 0:33:01.076
<v Speaker 2>this time and the celebration in Las Vegas. Man that

0:33:01.756 --> 0:33:03.436
<v Speaker 2>I get out of it, the fact that people are

0:33:03.436 --> 0:33:05.996
<v Speaker 2>paying their hard earned money to come out there. I

0:33:05.996 --> 0:33:08.876
<v Speaker 2>ain't bringing you there to disappoint you. I'm going to

0:33:08.916 --> 0:33:12.116
<v Speaker 2>give you an experience and you're going to have a

0:33:12.156 --> 0:33:15.356
<v Speaker 2>celebratory moment. Rather, it was the beginning of my career,

0:33:15.636 --> 0:33:18.156
<v Speaker 2>or rather it's the current moment that just makes you

0:33:18.396 --> 0:33:23.196
<v Speaker 2>enjoy the process. Come come to Las Vegas, come enjoy you.

0:33:23.596 --> 0:33:25.516
<v Speaker 2>Be on the lookout for new music because it's coming.

0:33:26.036 --> 0:33:28.476
<v Speaker 2>And Man, I thank you, Thank you for this moment

0:33:28.516 --> 0:33:30.556
<v Speaker 2>to be able to share. Thank you for this moment

0:33:30.596 --> 0:33:33.036
<v Speaker 2>to be able to just talk about that thing as

0:33:33.076 --> 0:33:34.796
<v Speaker 2>a guy geting gift that I get to share with

0:33:34.876 --> 0:33:35.996
<v Speaker 2>that audience every day.

0:33:36.756 --> 0:33:38.636
<v Speaker 1>Yes, sir, can't wait to see you out in Vegas.

0:33:38.676 --> 0:33:39.836
<v Speaker 1>I'll be out there in June.

0:33:39.916 --> 0:33:41.596
<v Speaker 2>And thank you, man, Man, thank you.

0:33:44.476 --> 0:33:46.796
<v Speaker 1>Thanks again to Usher for jumping on zoom despite his

0:33:46.916 --> 0:33:49.316
<v Speaker 1>busy schedule. You can hear all of our favorite Usher

0:33:49.396 --> 0:33:53.436
<v Speaker 1>songs at Broken Record podcast dot com. You can subscribe

0:33:53.476 --> 0:33:56.516
<v Speaker 1>to a YouTube channel at YouTube dot com slash Broken

0:33:56.556 --> 0:33:59.556
<v Speaker 1>Record Podcast, where can find all of our new episodes.

0:34:00.716 --> 0:34:04.236
<v Speaker 1>You can follow us on Twitter at Broken Records. Broken

0:34:04.276 --> 0:34:07.036
<v Speaker 1>Record is produced with help from Leah Rose, Jason Gambrel,

0:34:07.396 --> 0:34:11.116
<v Speaker 1>Ben Tolliday, and Eric sam There. Our editor is Sophie

0:34:11.116 --> 0:34:14.996
<v Speaker 1>Crane bro Conrect with this production of Pushkin Industries. If

0:34:14.996 --> 0:34:17.836
<v Speaker 1>you love this show and others from Pushkin, consider subscribing

0:34:17.876 --> 0:34:21.716
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0:34:21.836 --> 0:34:25.436
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0:34:31.636 --> 0:34:34.396
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0:34:34.836 --> 0:34:37.716
<v Speaker 1>A theme music expect Kenny Beats. I'm Justin Oshman.