WEBVTT - D-Nice 0:00:05.559 --> 0:00:14.800 Well, take Valachi. We are the authority on all things 0:00:15.520 --> 0:00:20.360 R and Hey, what's going on? I am Tank J. 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:23.680 Valentine and this is the R and B Money podcast 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:30.720 authority on all things all things in the building. Yeah, 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:34.120 he's here. He's here, not just on live, not just 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:38.240 on live, just a live where he is a super Yeah, 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:41.320 numbers are through the rule. Yeah. With his help, all 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:45.360 numbers will go through the room. Yeah, it's a little bit, 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:46.879 you know. This is this is our brother, I mean, 0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:54.040 super producer, super DJ, an extreme gentleman artists, artists. Yeah, yeah, 0:00:54.160 --> 0:00:58.120 ladies and gentlemen. Mr, I'm giving you, Mr. I'll take 0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:05.000 take that. That's sad. Yeah, when I'm sitting down on 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:07.199 my throne. First of all, a toast to you, my brother, 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:11.440 Thank you man man, Major, toast Major. It's been a 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:20.760 crazy three years man. Yeah, this is good, smooth and 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:27.560 for my last trick in what have you done? What 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:32.240 have you done? Nice? Mr d Knix has a mystique, 0:01:32.440 --> 0:01:35.559 he has an essence, has a style. He's a logo. 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:38.959 Here's a logoy. Too many ain't too many people I know, 0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:44.119 J westgo Michael Jordan's I really do have a logo. 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:53.360 Man in the logo. Yeah, in the logo, Yeah, in 0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:58.160 honor of my brother d Nice and his logo. First 0:01:58.200 --> 0:01:59.920 of all, I'm gonna look like uncle Ice Flood once 0:02:02.600 --> 0:02:08.320 uncle Ice I smell with money. Yeah great, I'm going 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:13.920 to go to my bag ye yeah and give some 0:02:13.960 --> 0:02:16.400 of this. Yeah you get y'all looking like Jim and 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:25.040 Jim and Terry. I'm loving this. Yeah yeah, yeah. Nice 0:02:25.080 --> 0:02:35.400 is here happy. I didn't want him to hold up? 0:02:35.520 --> 0:02:38.240 Did Juice? Emberries Man? This is Emberries man? This is 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:40.760 this thing. How are you feeling, my brother? I feel 0:02:40.800 --> 0:02:44.640 so blessed, broh. You know thirty this is what like 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:48.560 thirty six years in the music business. Thirty six Yeah, nineteen. 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:52.840 First record, South Bronx came out in uh, nineteen eighty six. 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:56.880 Thirty six years in the music business. How old were 0:02:56.919 --> 0:03:00.240 you when I was turning sixteen? You were turned earning 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:04.079 sixteen when your first record drop? Yes, it's fifteen two 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:09.480 and sixteen South South South. Yeah, it's crazy, man, I've 0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:11.799 been here a long time. Bro. It's like I want 0:03:11.840 --> 0:03:14.240 to like, we can we can start there though, we can. 0:03:14.480 --> 0:03:17.560 What what was that feeling like or what was that 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:21.560 process like even getting to where you're fifteen? Years old, 0:03:21.800 --> 0:03:25.440 getting ready to drop a record. So back then it 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:28.359 was different because the music, Um, you know, hip hop 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:31.280 was still in this infancy. You didn't have like many 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:34.359 major labels, you know, vying for like hip hop artists, 0:03:34.360 --> 0:03:36.800 you know, so we had to record everything. Um. The 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:40.080 guy who started my group, DJ Scott l Rock and Careres. 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:43.280 They Scott worked in the men Shelter and Caress was 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:46.320 homeless and he lived there and um, so that's how 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:48.920 they met up, you know. And Uh, I was only 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:52.040 at the shelter because my cousin was a security guard 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:54.600 at the shelters, So that I literally walked into the 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:58.000 music business like it wasn't. I was trying to write 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:00.760 R and B songs. I love like new Dishing growing up, 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:02.840 and I knew that I couldn't sing, and I was 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:05.720 just obsessed with like reading the credits, and I was like, man, 0:04:05.720 --> 0:04:07.200 I want to I want to be a writer, you know. 0:04:07.880 --> 0:04:11.520 And my cousin started working at the men shelter and 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:15.120 brought me I brought some food over to him, and uh, 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:18.320 and it's funny about that story. I literally I shared 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:20.360 this story with our buddy Dave Chappelle. I was like, yo, 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:22.400 he was like how did you get into the business. 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:25.200 I was like, ye'all. Took my cousin some food. He 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:27.080 worked at the men shelter. Then he introduced me to 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:30.080 Scott and Careress and he was like, do you hear that? 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:34.320 He said you walked, because I walked to get over there. 0:04:34.320 --> 0:04:36.279 It was like three miles and he said, you walked 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:39.440 three miles with food to feed your future. And I 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:42.880 was like, damn, like and that's that's really what happened, man, 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:47.159 Like I walked right there. I walked with this food 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:50.400 to feed my future. And like, you know, that's why 0:04:50.440 --> 0:04:52.480 I never take this business for granted. You know, like, 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:55.720 even through ups and downs, I know that I was 0:04:55.760 --> 0:04:58.320 supposed to be in this business. You know. It wasn't 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:02.000 about money. It was about influence and you know, bringing 0:05:02.040 --> 0:05:04.680 generations together. You know, when you think about it, my 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:07.159 fans are like literally from eight years old to eighty. 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:10.120 You know, not too many people can say that that 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:13.159 they've been in the in the business this long and 0:05:13.160 --> 0:05:15.640 and that you know we've had like this that kind 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:19.200 of success. You know. Um. I tried never to share 0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:22.120 that part of the story because because that's that's my 0:05:22.200 --> 0:05:25.040 book is dealing with that three mile Walk. But now 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:27.160 I love that I'm sharing it here. Yeah, thank you. 0:05:27.200 --> 0:05:29.640 B Yeah, Like I was like, I had to tell 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:32.680 that story because I know you know this, but that's 0:05:32.720 --> 0:05:34.720 probably I think I had heard I had heard before 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:43.080 about the about um like literally living in the sheltering. 0:05:43.400 --> 0:05:45.760 It's crazy story. The whole thing is crazy, man, Like 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:51.760 you know, um yeah, yeah, yeah, the whole story is 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:54.640 just you know, it's as as crazy as it sounds. 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:57.479 You know, back then it was beautiful to just not 0:05:57.600 --> 0:06:00.800 worry about record companies or worry about what your fans 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:03.960 are gonna think. It was just purely just making records 0:06:03.960 --> 0:06:07.320 for the love of music. And so where y'all making 0:06:07.360 --> 0:06:11.359 it just for the hood though, like just for your neighborhood, 0:06:11.360 --> 0:06:13.760 because obviously with a record like South Bronx, right, you 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:17.720 know that it's regional, yes, but are you are y'all 0:06:17.760 --> 0:06:20.200 even thinking anything of it other than we're about to 0:06:20.200 --> 0:06:23.640 turn the hood up. So it was always most most 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:25.680 hip hop in New York was always regional, you know, 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:29.039 ever being rock him, it was all regional regional music, 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:32.120 you know, especially Bis you know, God bless you know, 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:34.520 in rest in peace to business markets. This was one 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:36.840 of the people that reminded me even in terms of 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:39.760 like the way that our DJ, you know, Bis said like, hey, 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:43.159 when you go into these different cities, respect their music. 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:45.840 He was like, remember, we used to just be regional 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:49.840 South Bronx, Nobody, Beat Beats, the Bills, Those records were 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:52.080 really just New York records. You know. It took a 0:06:52.120 --> 0:06:54.280 while for it to kind of like you know, kind 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:56.800 of reach other markets. But that was because back then 0:06:56.880 --> 0:06:59.960 you had to be patient. Like right now, people aren't patient. 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:03.640 If that record ain't popping in like two months, it's over. 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:06.559 Everybody's onto the next. Then you can put a single 0:07:06.600 --> 0:07:09.279 out and that and rode that joint for like a 0:07:09.400 --> 0:07:12.280 year and it may not pop off. And mean, look 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:15.920 at the Wobble record. That record flopped when they dropped it. 0:07:16.000 --> 0:07:19.400 But it was something that I saw not long ago. 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:24.600 We're Tyler Creator, Tyler the Creator. I don't know the 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:27.640 exact thing that he said, but you know our paraphrase. 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:30.880 He was pretty much just like, why would I only 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:34.040 promote something that I put my pretty much my blossed 0:07:34.040 --> 0:07:36.840 sweat and tears into for a week or two weeks. 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:40.320 I've been promoting this last thing for a year, and 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:42.840 I think that's what it separated him, even in this 0:07:43.000 --> 0:07:47.360 new industry um from the rest of the the younger 0:07:47.360 --> 0:07:49.880 generation and the artist. He has a fan base that's 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:54.640 insane that just rise it out with him. But it's 0:07:54.720 --> 0:07:59.000 because he's showing them how passionate he is about his music. 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:04.680 And just you said, you can't like now if they're 0:08:04.680 --> 0:08:07.240 not on it in whatever the first couple of weeks 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:09.520 or a couple of whatever it is, then it's just 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:12.680 out the next thing or that didn't work. No, it's 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:15.280 a big world out here. It's a big world, and 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:18.000 there's someone out there that didn't hear that record that 0:08:18.040 --> 0:08:20.880 if they heard it, they may just love it. And 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:23.800 that's what used to be. That's what it was, discovery, 0:08:23.840 --> 0:08:26.400 the discovery of something. Man, we used to work like 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:29.560 even when I when I dropped my first single as 0:08:29.560 --> 0:08:31.280 a solo act. After doing you know, I had a 0:08:31.280 --> 0:08:33.600 couple of albums with b DP and mind you, we 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:35.360 weren't really making money back then and there were no 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:37.440 real budgets. You know. When I signed the Drive Records, 0:08:37.559 --> 0:08:39.719 you know, they signed me for grand I had to 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:42.440 make a whole album with dollars, you know what I mean. 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:45.560 But but as hip hop artists. We knew how to 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:48.480 do that, you know, Like we didn't go into I 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:50.080 mean I did go into like some of the biggest 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:52.360 studios that were around the power plays and did a 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:54.560 couple of things a hit factory, but for the most part, 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:57.920 I program everything at home. It's funny like back then, 0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:00.520 all of the rock stars used to be in all 0:09:00.600 --> 0:09:03.400 the big studios, and then the hip hop dudes used 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:05.240 to be in like these little small joints, and then 0:09:05.400 --> 0:09:08.679 at some point it flipped. The rock sudes were likehy am, 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:11.680 I spending this budget, then hip hop dudes because of 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:14.480 our egos and like wanting to feel like we made it. 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:16.760 When he had giving this budget back to the record 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:20.319 company who owns the studio, You're like, it's three six 0:09:20.520 --> 0:09:23.120 all over again, you know what I mean. So you know, 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:25.400 like so I kind of miss hip hop back then 0:09:25.480 --> 0:09:28.240 for me, which is why even now, like R and 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:31.720 B is just it truly is like the love of 0:09:31.760 --> 0:09:34.680 my life in terms of music genres, like R and 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:38.120 B is just everything. You know, Like when just growing up, 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:40.959 the records that I chose to sample or to to 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:43.760 have an interpretation of it was always like some R 0:09:43.800 --> 0:09:46.240 and B stuff that just felt good, like felt sexy 0:09:46.280 --> 0:09:48.840 and fun, and that's what made me happy. And I 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:51.480 was very different than Caress. And for you guys though, 0:09:52.040 --> 0:09:57.760 at that time, y'all was sampling crazy. It was like 0:09:57.840 --> 0:10:02.720 the West Trust, They're was no charge. Yet that was them, 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:06.280 that wasn't us, because by the time I started sampling, 0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:09.120 all of my records were cleared. Like no one will 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:11.320 ever go back and see me, like, you know, whether 0:10:11.360 --> 0:10:13.600 it was the Turtles, that's where I got the baseline 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:16.080 for called me d nice. I met those dudes, you know, 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:19.320 like they were happy. We split the publishing, like I 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:22.080 saw them in Minneapolis. Oh so by time, by time 0:10:22.160 --> 0:10:24.880 your records came out, yeah, we were clear. We're already 0:10:24.920 --> 0:10:29.240 having the clears yeah. Um, and yeah we were they 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:33.040 were fair, you know, like they were fair. Um. You 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:35.160 know sometimes things that I produced that I didn't get 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:37.160 credit for because I just didn't have the knowledge of 0:10:37.200 --> 0:10:39.360 the music business, you know, like I worked on a 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:41.559 lot of the music for b DP, whether it's something 0:10:41.600 --> 0:10:44.960 still number one, and you know my philosophy all these records. 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:47.120 You may not know, but these were like big records 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:49.960 back then, and you know, I have no publishing on it, 0:10:50.080 --> 0:10:53.520 you know, no producer royalty. But I don't care, like 0:10:53.559 --> 0:10:56.840 at this point in my life where I am. It 0:10:56.880 --> 0:11:00.200 took that entire journey to get here, you know, and 0:11:00.240 --> 0:11:02.040 I happen to like where I am right now. You know, 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:05.120 I could be you know, still in the studio trying 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:07.560 to shop and you know, wrap demo and I'm not there. 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:10.319 I'm like having the time of my life doing exactly 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:12.440 what it is that I love and it's music, you know. 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:16.360 And um So that process back then, right when when 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:21.360 you were fifteen sixteen years old, was it you didn't 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:24.480 even know what to ask? Are like, can you can 0:11:24.520 --> 0:11:26.400 you kind of give insight on that because we try 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:29.880 to we try to make this podcast as if as 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:32.960 informative as we possibly can. We want, you know, the 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:35.600 new generation to see these things. Obviously they got a 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:37.640 lot more information now because you kind of look up 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:41.320 whatever you want to if you want to now. But 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:44.040 back then, right where you guys are in the studio 0:11:45.520 --> 0:11:48.679 and you produce a record, does it even cross your 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:53.000 mind to say, do I get anything else for it? 0:11:53.400 --> 0:11:56.080 You know? So, because I'm sure you probably know what 0:11:56.080 --> 0:11:58.120 publishing was, and that time, no, I definitely didn't know 0:11:58.120 --> 0:11:59.880 what publishing was. I didn't know what those splits and 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:02.600 know anything about mechanicals. I didn't know anything about this stuff. 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:05.080 All I knew was, Hey, I'm in the studio doing 0:12:05.080 --> 0:12:09.880 what I love, you know, and the finished product, Um, 0:12:09.920 --> 0:12:12.520 that's what you looked at almost as if that that 0:12:12.600 --> 0:12:15.360 was the master. So even like in terms of photography, 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:18.280 like I've always been in the photography and I took 0:12:18.320 --> 0:12:20.760 a lot of pictures missed that you missed that on 0:12:20.840 --> 0:12:29.960 you Yeah that part digital, digital, creator digital, that that 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:35.720 could be included. But but even like back then, you know, 0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:41.240 like you know, like as a photographer, I thought the 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:46.079 value of the image was the actual print. M So 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:48.959 all the pictures that I shot on tours, I can't 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:51.120 even tell you that we have the digital cameras. Then, 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:52.480 you know what I'm saying that I don't even know 0:12:52.520 --> 0:12:55.280 what those negatives are. So it's like that's the way 0:12:55.480 --> 0:12:57.360 that was the way people thought back in the day. 0:12:57.440 --> 0:12:59.920 Like in terms of like artistry, like yo, we just 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:02.080 when the studio made these records, like we didn't know 0:13:02.120 --> 0:13:04.920 that hip hop was really gonna have longevity like this, 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:08.560 like because you know, I'm from that golden era, so 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:11.839 that era is right, I'm from the Bronx and then 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:14.320 that that era is right after the explosion of hip 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:18.199 hop with like the run DMCs in LLL and you know, 0:13:18.720 --> 0:13:20.720 you never I didn't know what you know those guys 0:13:20.720 --> 0:13:23.240 were making, you know what I mean, Like, you know 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:25.880 back then, I would I have you know, gold album. 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:28.920 I wasn't makingtllars a night to perform, you know, like 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:32.440 because people didn't want to ensure hip hop concerts. There's 0:13:32.480 --> 0:13:34.280 a lot you know, like when your song is that 0:13:34.360 --> 0:13:37.240 when they call me when they was getting like five 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:40.040 grand a night, that song was massive. It was massive, 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:45.680 massive number one song Billboard, like there making five grand 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:50.559 a night because that the opportunity to do shows weren't there, 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:55.800 you know, the hard pac venues too. Yeah, I mean, 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:58.040 but then you gotta think, like then people were like 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:02.960 killing each other hip hop concerts. You know, it was different. 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:05.160 You know, it was really the wild wild West, which 0:14:05.200 --> 0:14:07.240 is why I like the song I produced when I 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:18.040 was like eighteen, self Destruction. That record was birth self Destruction, 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:21.640 She Headed for self Destruction. Yeah, I was eighteen man 0:14:21.680 --> 0:14:24.560 when I produced that record, and um, you know that 0:14:24.680 --> 0:14:27.280 song was birth out of an incident that happened at 0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:29.840 one of our concerts we're touring. It was called the 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:34.000 Dope Jam Tour and it was headlined by Um Eric 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:37.160 being rock Cam, Dougie Fresh, Kumo Dietos were the three 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:42.240 headliners and then we had Bis Markee Iced Tea was 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:46.080 the opener and we went on second MICROUPDP like it 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:48.280 was the Dope Past Tour though it was a dope tour. 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:51.160 But someone you know at the concert with this girl, 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:56.000 you know, they robbed his gold chain and killed him. 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:57.880 So then you know, people were coming down on hip 0:14:57.880 --> 0:14:59.840 hop and you know it's very violent. West Coast was 0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:03.200 you had in way like it was just it was different, bro. 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:06.800 Like as much as people hate on on Puff, you know, 0:15:07.040 --> 0:15:09.080 like oh he changed it to the to the shiny 0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:11.840 suit yo. To be honest with you, it was kind 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:15.680 of necessary at that point to yeah, to to bring 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:17.560 some love and and it gets to the next level. 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:20.000 To get to the next level, man. You know. Um 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:22.400 but that record Self Destruction, Yeah, that was birth out 0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:25.000 of you know, that kind of incident. So you know, 0:15:25.000 --> 0:15:27.560 that's so nearly a million copies. You know, I did 0:15:27.640 --> 0:15:31.240 get mechanicals off of that, but we actually don't. We 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:34.200 donated all the money to the National Urban league. Yeah, 0:15:34.280 --> 0:15:36.720 like everybody, we just donated all of it. You know, 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:39.400 you still get your mechanicals and and you know, still 0:15:39.400 --> 0:15:42.280 get publishing off of it, but royalties, we don't neated 0:15:42.360 --> 0:15:45.040 like a million dollars close to a million dollars, which 0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:51.520 was a lot back then right now, Yeah, but now 0:15:51.520 --> 0:15:54.000 it's it's it's funny how how it all works though, bro, 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:56.720 because it as much as I love hip hop and 0:15:56.720 --> 0:15:59.520 that I was a part of hip hop culture, hip 0:15:59.560 --> 0:16:02.360 hop was and always good to me, you know what 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:05.120 I mean, like making the records. And then by the 0:16:05.160 --> 0:16:06.960 time I was like twenty three years old, you know, 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:09.000 I was considered old school because I've been in the 0:16:09.080 --> 0:16:13.000 business for so long and and you know, like what 0:16:13.040 --> 0:16:14.840 do you do when people stopped clapping for you and 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:17.800 no one wants to give you a shot? So that's 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:20.200 why I said, this journey is so special, bro, because 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:23.160 when people stopped rocking with me when I was like 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:25.280 twenty three, I don't want to say everyone, but like 0:16:25.360 --> 0:16:27.120 no record company wanted to give me a deal. You 0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:29.520 would think that I had, like, you know, like this 0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:31.440 whole negative background, and I had none of that. But 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:35.680 it was just the fact that even though I was Yeah. 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:38.080 When I was everyone wanted the new toys, the pretty 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:40.640 girl that walked into the room, you know, like and 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:44.080 because I was but I was still young, but it 0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:49.000 was I was old school twenty three, so it was Yeah, 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:52.280 that was a tough time, you know, like you got 0:16:53.720 --> 0:16:57.400 that's I think you know, that's a pivotal moment, moment 0:16:57.440 --> 0:17:03.080 for most artists deciding what to do in that dark 0:17:03.120 --> 0:17:06.120 place because the lights are not always on, like you said, 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:09.479 there not always screaming for you, and in that place, 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:12.720 you gotta you gotta make a hard decision. Am I 0:17:12.760 --> 0:17:15.240 gonna go home? You know what I'm saying? Am I 0:17:15.320 --> 0:17:19.320 just gonna be the musician at my family's church? And 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:21.320 it is what it was? I tried? Or am I 0:17:21.359 --> 0:17:24.920 going to figure out the way? Did you take in this? 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:29.200 Did you take like like what's the crazy is event? 0:17:29.320 --> 0:17:32.600 You may have taken in your opinion in that moment, 0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:35.560 like because you're DJ, you'r DJ, so you can always DJ. 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:39.040 I wasn't a DJ, so you weren't a DJ from 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:41.199 the roof. I was a DJ for Careress. I was 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:43.760 a show DJ before I put out my solo records. 0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:46.120 I was a show DJ and producer, meaning I only 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:48.159 had to play the songs that we were performing at 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:50.080 the show. You would never spending at the clubs. I 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:52.120 had never played in the club. I had never ever 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:55.439 played in the club until I became this guy, like 0:17:55.520 --> 0:17:57.360 I was never in Yo, I'm gonna do a show 0:17:57.400 --> 0:17:59.600 and then do an after party somewhere like no, I 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:04.280 was producer caresses DJ young playing those records that had 0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:08.320 that was it because I think me seeing you as 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:11.440 I'm a young young kid and your song comes out, 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:13.639 my name is z nice. I knew you as the 0:18:13.760 --> 0:18:16.200 B d P DJ, so I'm like, he's a DJ 0:18:16.760 --> 0:18:19.399 who just happens to have a song. That's how I 0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:21.000 looked at I don't know if that was promoted that 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:24.200 way through the label. I'm not sure that's all people 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:26.879 knew it. Yeah, it looked like, okay, he was on 0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:30.840 this because you would be calid or you know what 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:33.439 I mean, like a drama now stepping out onto the 0:18:33.520 --> 0:18:35.480 artist side. But I just looked at you as a DJ. 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:38.000 Ye I was a jack of all trades, you know. 0:18:38.840 --> 0:18:41.280 Before Scott passed his home, you know, I used to 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:43.439 be a little upset, like yo, when you're gonna let 0:18:43.440 --> 0:18:44.960 me rap on? Because I never really rapped on b 0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:47.239 DP songs man, you know, like it's like, yeah, when 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:49.840 you're gonna let me rapping. Scott was like, hey, you know, 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:52.080 your job is like if something would happened to Caress 0:18:52.119 --> 0:18:53.800 and you would be the rappers, something happened to me, 0:18:54.160 --> 0:18:56.080 you'll be the DJ. Literally, that's what he said to me. 0:18:56.560 --> 0:18:58.679 And you know, unfortunately lost his life and then I 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:01.960 became the DJJ. But I wasn't you know, compensated, like 0:19:02.240 --> 0:19:05.000 I was compensated like yo, I worked for BDB, you know, 0:19:05.080 --> 0:19:06.639 and I don't not that man. You know, I was. 0:19:06.760 --> 0:19:10.080 I was young, you know, seventeen eighteen years old, touring, 0:19:10.200 --> 0:19:12.760 got to experience the world and then it made me 0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:16.080 want to do my own thing and you know, doing 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:18.800 you know, doing shows back then as a as a 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:22.679 rap artist. I was just happy, you know, like I 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:26.199 was able to tour with you know, without cares, you know, 0:19:26.359 --> 0:19:29.640 no disrespect, you know, but to stand on my own, 0:19:29.720 --> 0:19:31.960 you know, my tour with you know, I did a 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:35.159 seventy five city tour with Ice Cube and Too Short. 0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:39.239 It's like me Cube, too short, poor righteous teachers, yo. 0:19:39.320 --> 0:19:44.160 Yo was the opener um like yeah, you know, yeah, 0:19:44.200 --> 0:19:46.280 you know, so I've seen all of that. This is 0:19:46.320 --> 0:19:49.439 all before. Yeah, but then, you know, it wasn't a 0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:52.840 lot of money being made, you know, because I said 0:19:52.880 --> 0:19:55.480 I was doing those shows for like five grand. You know, 0:19:56.160 --> 0:19:58.960 there were no corporate shows there. You know, you could 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:01.439 charge ten times out of mount you know, once your 0:20:01.440 --> 0:20:04.800 shows were over, that was it, you know. And when 0:20:04.800 --> 0:20:07.439 I was considered old school, you know, I had you know, 0:20:07.440 --> 0:20:08.960 I didn't own a home or anything at that point. 0:20:09.000 --> 0:20:11.080 I was renting, so I was able to like save 0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:13.480 some money. And then I bet on myself, which is 0:20:13.560 --> 0:20:17.679 which is another important moment in my career. You know, 0:20:17.840 --> 0:20:19.480 I had no health insurance and had none of that, 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:22.000 and I just had this money saved, and I was like, 0:20:22.520 --> 0:20:24.040 you know, I'm gonna try to put out my own 0:20:24.040 --> 0:20:26.640 record since no one wants to do. And I put 0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:29.560 out this record. I put out this record and it 0:20:30.040 --> 0:20:33.640 was like, yeah, the joint was on radio stations everywhere. 0:20:33.680 --> 0:20:35.800 I had no promo. They were just playing it based 0:20:35.840 --> 0:20:40.159 on nice. Back then, you didn't have MP three, so 0:20:40.520 --> 0:20:42.360 you literally have to do deals. You have to get 0:20:42.359 --> 0:20:45.879 your records printed, press it up, go through a distributor, 0:20:46.480 --> 0:20:48.240 and then they would shipping them to the record stores. 0:20:49.080 --> 0:20:52.680 I had a hundred thousand units printed ship and they 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:55.240 sold through all of them, but I never got the 0:20:55.320 --> 0:21:00.679 check because back then, back then, you know, distribution with 0:21:00.720 --> 0:21:05.359 some gangster ship, the straight gangster ship. So if you 0:21:05.400 --> 0:21:08.160 don't have something else coming through the pipeline, ain't trying 0:21:08.160 --> 0:21:09.840 to pay you, you know what I mean. And I 0:21:09.840 --> 0:21:12.399 didn't have another record coming back. The money that I 0:21:12.440 --> 0:21:14.440 was generating from that was what I was gonna use 0:21:14.480 --> 0:21:18.080 to to to record that next thing. But because I 0:21:18.119 --> 0:21:20.919 didn't have that that other record coming it was like 0:21:21.160 --> 0:21:23.840 they didn't answer the phones, you know what I mean, 0:21:23.880 --> 0:21:27.480 Like the distribution company didn't answer it. Yeah, that was it. 0:21:27.760 --> 0:21:30.120 And that that's when I went into the depression because 0:21:30.160 --> 0:21:33.560 I I really banked on started my own thing. You know, 0:21:33.680 --> 0:21:35.719 like back back in the in the in the eighties 0:21:35.760 --> 0:21:37.960 and early nineties, you had like Dick Griffy and like 0:21:38.480 --> 0:21:40.639 all of these R and B duos doing solo records, 0:21:40.600 --> 0:21:43.080 and you had Clarence Avant, but we all know that 0:21:43.119 --> 0:21:46.119 it started from somewhere, but like they definitely had a 0:21:46.160 --> 0:21:48.720 little bit more kind of muscle and background, you know, 0:21:48.800 --> 0:21:52.879 than I had my own, you know, and that that 0:21:53.000 --> 0:21:55.120 actually that kind of put me in like this real 0:21:55.200 --> 0:21:57.800 funk of like you know, I was depressed for like 0:21:58.119 --> 0:22:02.320 about seven years really, yeah, yeah, it's about six and 0:22:02.320 --> 0:22:04.439 a half year seven close to seven years, Yeah I was. 0:22:04.880 --> 0:22:07.200 I was in deep depression, not actually five and a 0:22:07.240 --> 0:22:11.359 half years because then I jumped into web development. So 0:22:11.480 --> 0:22:14.520 you're doing any music during that time? Yeah? Man, Like 0:22:14.600 --> 0:22:17.160 I had lost everything, bro, Like I was literally like 0:22:18.080 --> 0:22:21.119 just with my ex and you know, living. I had 0:22:21.119 --> 0:22:24.520 lost my crib, lost my car, like everything, And so 0:22:24.560 --> 0:22:28.520 you're not so you're not Djane either. No, So it's 0:22:28.560 --> 0:22:30.159 not like you're trying to go grab That's why I 0:22:30.160 --> 0:22:33.120 remember I asked him, like, were there anything any like 0:22:33.680 --> 0:22:37.400 random no bar mits for is that somebody can pull 0:22:37.480 --> 0:22:42.320 up and be like d nice? None? No, nothing. All 0:22:42.359 --> 0:22:45.440 I lived off of was that quarterly published in Check 0:22:46.080 --> 0:22:49.600 that you know, slowly slowly got smaller and smaller and 0:22:49.680 --> 0:22:52.200 smaller and smaller, you know what I mean. Where Like yeah, 0:22:52.280 --> 0:22:53.760 it was, it was. It was a rough time. But 0:22:53.920 --> 0:22:56.160 like I said, man, I have no regrets, bro, Like 0:22:56.560 --> 0:23:10.159 I'm not here without all of that, you know, like 0:23:10.280 --> 0:23:14.399 without those lessons because no one, no one believed that 0:23:14.440 --> 0:23:16.840 this was gonna happen for me or or the web 0:23:16.880 --> 0:23:19.520 development which saved my life, you know what I mean, Like, 0:23:19.680 --> 0:23:23.800 guess when I met you when I know, this was 0:23:23.840 --> 0:23:28.200 two thousand. At that point, I was already doing websites 0:23:28.240 --> 0:23:32.040 for for for Blackground, so like were you was? This 0:23:32.119 --> 0:23:35.560 was just your climb back up or like climb back up. 0:23:35.600 --> 0:23:40.040 So what happened with that was around my best friend 0:23:40.119 --> 0:23:42.360 who was managing me. Well he was a partner. I've 0:23:42.400 --> 0:23:44.880 always been like self managed, but back then we were 0:23:44.880 --> 0:23:49.560 partners in the management company. And yeah he was when 0:23:49.560 --> 0:23:52.679 we stopped doing music together, you know. Years later he 0:23:52.840 --> 0:23:55.320 formed a company called trend Setters with like four guys 0:23:55.320 --> 0:23:58.920 out of Toronto, which is very important. You have no 0:23:59.000 --> 0:24:01.240 idea how important you in your in the whole Blackground 0:24:01.320 --> 0:24:05.439 was to me, Like that moment was, um, you know 0:24:05.560 --> 0:24:09.280 he Tony is his name, still one of my best friends. Um, 0:24:09.480 --> 0:24:12.359 he called me up and he was like, hey involved him, 0:24:12.520 --> 0:24:14.960 Well have development you know, I know, you probably need 0:24:15.000 --> 0:24:16.679 to make some money, which was probably his way of 0:24:16.720 --> 0:24:19.120 like kind of repaying me for you know, we had 0:24:19.160 --> 0:24:21.000 some great times. You know, so now it is his 0:24:21.320 --> 0:24:23.399 it was his time to like look out, like yo, 0:24:23.760 --> 0:24:27.760 I got an opportunity, you know, maybe with your connections. 0:24:28.480 --> 0:24:31.280 You can go and make some introductions and then we'll 0:24:31.320 --> 0:24:33.119 give you a piece of it. And I was like 0:24:33.119 --> 0:24:35.919 all right, cool, you know, and you know, I started 0:24:35.960 --> 0:24:37.959 making some calls. It was weird at first, you know, 0:24:38.040 --> 0:24:40.679 like people thought that I was calling to sell a 0:24:40.680 --> 0:24:43.600 demo or something, and I was really on something like yo, 0:24:43.880 --> 0:24:46.040 like no, I'm a part of this organization. This is 0:24:46.040 --> 0:24:49.000 what we're doing. The one person that gave me the 0:24:49.080 --> 0:24:52.679 shot shot was Joe Moo Joe More Hankerson, which was 0:24:52.720 --> 0:24:55.280 Barry's son to all of you that don't know Barry 0:24:55.320 --> 0:25:00.040 Hankerson's son. He we were competing at that point. I 0:25:00.280 --> 0:25:03.360 didn't know anything about programming, but we were competing um 0:25:03.560 --> 0:25:06.400 this trend setter company which we renamed it Boom Digital 0:25:07.320 --> 0:25:10.719 versus an old company I mean they no longer exists 0:25:10.760 --> 0:25:13.879 called Razor Fish, which was like the top top. You know, 0:25:13.920 --> 0:25:17.359 they were killing everything, and you're talking. Those deals were 0:25:17.440 --> 0:25:21.600 like multimillion dollars web deals like now you've got like squarespace, 0:25:21.640 --> 0:25:23.800 you can just put up a website. Then you literally 0:25:23.800 --> 0:25:27.800 had to program. So, you know, Joe Mo told me 0:25:27.840 --> 0:25:30.080 he was like yo, you know, after meeting with him 0:25:30.080 --> 0:25:33.160 over and over again, he was like, you know why 0:25:33.200 --> 0:25:35.680 I'm going with you. He's like, I know you don't 0:25:35.720 --> 0:25:41.040 know how to build a website. He was like, but 0:25:41.200 --> 0:25:43.000 I know you will make sure that your guys give 0:25:43.040 --> 0:25:45.520 me what I need. And I'm not gonna go with 0:25:45.640 --> 0:25:49.240 Razor Fish. I'm gonna go with you guys. That change everything. 0:25:49.320 --> 0:25:53.280 That conversation changed everything for me because it is an 0:25:53.359 --> 0:25:55.240 R and B company, you know what I mean, Like 0:25:55.280 --> 0:26:00.119 this straight arm, legendary R and B. But those words 0:26:00.160 --> 0:26:03.399 someone betting on me, you know. And and you know, 0:26:03.440 --> 0:26:05.760 when you are when you've had like failure in the 0:26:05.840 --> 0:26:08.760 music industry, you felt like people turned their backs on you. 0:26:09.240 --> 0:26:12.119 To have a conversation like that when they were on fire, 0:26:12.240 --> 0:26:13.800 you know. Obviously I think at the time he was 0:26:13.920 --> 0:26:16.640 they were still managing R Kelly Um and they had 0:26:16.640 --> 0:26:19.560 a Leah and they had you your stuff wasn't out yet, 0:26:20.840 --> 0:26:26.280 Missy or no Timberland januine like they were so like 0:26:26.359 --> 0:26:29.120 to have the company. Oh what was the rap group? Though? 0:26:30.200 --> 0:26:33.520 Who was in that joint was? Was? Oh my gosh, 0:26:33.560 --> 0:26:35.720 it was like I remember the picture in the water, 0:26:36.840 --> 0:26:38.560 the rap group the White Boys. No, it was some 0:26:38.600 --> 0:26:40.880 black dudes. I don't know if two Chains was down 0:26:40.880 --> 0:26:43.280 with it. It was a rap group. Two chains might 0:26:43.320 --> 0:26:44.439 have been in the group. You know, it was a 0:26:44.440 --> 0:26:47.680 wrap group from back then. Oh my god, I'm black. 0:26:47.840 --> 0:26:51.080 Then of this conversation, I'm gonna look it was it 0:26:51.200 --> 0:26:56.119 was Statics. Uh it was Statics group, status group, you know, 0:26:56.720 --> 0:27:01.200 absolutely absolutely they was there was out of Louisville. Absolutely, 0:27:01.520 --> 0:27:04.760 ye was they called I can't remember what it was 0:27:04.800 --> 0:27:07.439 called to James wasn't in that, but it was. It was. 0:27:07.520 --> 0:27:10.119 It was Statics like conglomerate. They were like a coalition, 0:27:10.160 --> 0:27:12.560 like coalition like it was hard. It was like it 0:27:12.640 --> 0:27:15.480 was hard, and they had these pictures they were under 0:27:15.480 --> 0:27:17.840 the water, like coming out of the water like it 0:27:17.880 --> 0:27:21.080 was crazy. But anyway, so like, you know, that gave 0:27:21.160 --> 0:27:24.320 me my own confidence and I was like, man, he 0:27:24.400 --> 0:27:27.520 really believed like that. You know. So I went from 0:27:27.560 --> 0:27:30.359 like making like seven hundred and fifty dollars a month 0:27:30.800 --> 0:27:32.840 when when I was just like helping the guys out, 0:27:32.960 --> 0:27:35.360 and then I started making like twelve fifty a month. 0:27:35.800 --> 0:27:37.280 You know, like now I got a little bit of 0:27:37.280 --> 0:27:39.199 money to you know, I was still stay. I was 0:27:39.400 --> 0:27:42.000 moved back in with my family, but to take care 0:27:42.000 --> 0:27:43.639 of my kid, you know what I mean. Like I 0:27:43.680 --> 0:27:45.479 saw what was happening. I was like, because you had 0:27:45.480 --> 0:27:46.960 your daughter by this, my daughter was there, you know, 0:27:47.040 --> 0:27:49.479 my my daughters were in the ninety six and uh, 0:27:49.640 --> 0:27:51.560 you know, luckily for me man like I didn't have 0:27:52.640 --> 0:27:54.720 you know, my ex wasn't she wasn't on me about 0:27:54.800 --> 0:27:58.040 child support. You know, like she understood what I was doing. 0:27:58.200 --> 0:28:00.080 She was like, yo, you know, whatever you made and 0:28:00.160 --> 0:28:02.199 whatever you can give, you know, That's why I like, 0:28:03.160 --> 0:28:06.000 when I started making money, I gave. I gave it all, Like, no, 0:28:06.160 --> 0:28:09.240 we're gonna make sure our kids graduates and we're gonna 0:28:09.280 --> 0:28:13.320 do all of that. Because without that kind of like support, 0:28:13.320 --> 0:28:15.840 even though we didn't make it, but still without that 0:28:15.920 --> 0:28:20.000 kind of support, your mind isn't clear. Yea, she could 0:28:20.000 --> 0:28:24.159 have helped keep she helped ultimately get you out of 0:28:24.160 --> 0:28:27.919 the space, but she could have assisted keeping you in 0:28:28.040 --> 0:28:33.959 that space. About absolutely shout out to her the family, 0:28:34.080 --> 0:28:36.560 you know. Um. And the other thing that was important 0:28:36.600 --> 0:28:41.200 during that time was because Joe Moo said what he 0:28:41.280 --> 0:28:44.000 did about I know, you'll make sure that we get 0:28:44.040 --> 0:28:46.600 what we need. I used to sit in the office 0:28:46.600 --> 0:28:50.240 and watch the Guy's program and I was like, oh, 0:28:50.400 --> 0:28:53.560 so that's how you write cold. Oh, and then they 0:28:53.560 --> 0:28:56.280 didn't know like I was going Yeah, I was going 0:28:56.280 --> 0:29:00.640 out and buying books on htmail, you know, PHP flash 0:29:00.760 --> 0:29:03.200 was new at the time. You know, I was downloading 0:29:03.240 --> 0:29:05.960 source files. You know. They used to have these websites 0:29:06.000 --> 0:29:09.680 where somebody would write a code and just post it 0:29:09.720 --> 0:29:11.280 for free and then you can just pull it and 0:29:11.360 --> 0:29:14.560 like you know, kind of like make changes and do 0:29:14.600 --> 0:29:16.320 whatever you want to do. So I learned all of 0:29:16.320 --> 0:29:18.840 that stuff, you know, So within like one year, I 0:29:18.920 --> 0:29:22.120 knew how to write HTML and I just knew like 0:29:22.240 --> 0:29:24.680 just from learning. So then that gave me leverage, like 0:29:24.760 --> 0:29:27.280 with my within my own crew, because most of the 0:29:27.320 --> 0:29:31.520 deals that they were getting were deals that were and 0:29:31.560 --> 0:29:33.160 you know, and by the way, my my buddy Tony 0:29:33.240 --> 0:29:35.040 was always on my side, like, no, we gotta make 0:29:35.040 --> 0:29:36.720 sure we take care of you. The other guys are 0:29:36.720 --> 0:29:38.800 not so much because they that's what they did for 0:29:38.840 --> 0:29:42.560 a living. And then but here's my guy. He was like, no, 0:29:42.680 --> 0:29:45.600 we gotta make sure that he's a full partner. And 0:29:45.640 --> 0:29:47.560 those dudes didn't want to make me a full partner. 0:29:47.800 --> 0:29:50.320 And then I left and started my own and I 0:29:50.320 --> 0:29:54.280 both know about guys that you know, make your full 0:29:54.320 --> 0:29:56.720 partner sharing in the in the well, yeah you know 0:29:56.920 --> 0:30:01.200 we we've we've all been there. Yeah. I left and 0:30:01.240 --> 0:30:04.000 then I started. I started my own company called United Camps, 0:30:04.080 --> 0:30:07.320 and I never I didn't go to your clients and say, hey, 0:30:07.360 --> 0:30:09.800 don't work with them. I was like, I'm just gonna 0:30:09.840 --> 0:30:12.360 do my own thing, you know. And I went to Motown. 0:30:13.000 --> 0:30:16.360 My first the first project that I did from Motown, 0:30:16.440 --> 0:30:18.560 this was under United Camps with what we did for 0:30:18.600 --> 0:30:21.160 you guys was Boom Digital, but under my joint. The 0:30:21.200 --> 0:30:24.440 first artist was I didn't even have a computer. This 0:30:24.560 --> 0:30:27.640 is how like my life is. Just I didn't have 0:30:27.640 --> 0:30:30.480 a computer. I was using their computers to learn. But 0:30:30.520 --> 0:30:33.400 when I started my own thing, I didn't have any money. 0:30:33.840 --> 0:30:35.440 All I had was this good credit, you know what 0:30:35.480 --> 0:30:39.360 I'm saying, like Dell computers. First I went to Motown 0:30:39.400 --> 0:30:41.239 and I was this woman that used to work over 0:30:41.280 --> 0:30:45.640 the named Kelly. She was like Eddies assistant. I was like, listen, 0:30:46.880 --> 0:30:50.120 on the pop side, they're doing like these these flash 0:30:50.160 --> 0:30:53.800 e vites to promote artists where artists can you can 0:30:53.880 --> 0:30:56.200 use that these flash cards and like you can have 0:30:56.240 --> 0:30:58.320 your album one there like snippers of it, and you know, 0:30:58.360 --> 0:31:00.720 people can preview it in the emails, but they weren't 0:31:00.720 --> 0:31:02.080 doing that for hip hop and R and B, and 0:31:02.120 --> 0:31:04.960 I was like, yo, you know, this is it right now, 0:31:04.960 --> 0:31:07.120 this is how you're gonna market things, you know, like 0:31:07.200 --> 0:31:09.320 you should you know, let me do it, and should 0:31:09.320 --> 0:31:11.640 give me a deal with like five grand for me 0:31:11.680 --> 0:31:15.880 to make in the first artist was Rashida the rapper. Yeah, 0:31:15.960 --> 0:31:17.960 that was like the first project that I worked on 0:31:18.080 --> 0:31:21.640 the on the United Camps and man, I did that 0:31:21.760 --> 0:31:24.760 and then Motown gave me their account. So then I 0:31:24.800 --> 0:31:28.400 started doing like Queen Pen and like a couple of 0:31:28.440 --> 0:31:30.720 movie projects with them, and then I picked up J 0:31:30.920 --> 0:31:34.600 Records and I did Alicia Keys site Diary of Alicia 0:31:34.680 --> 0:31:37.200 Keys and Boys the Men and Luther and any Lennox 0:31:37.200 --> 0:31:40.160 And now now I'm making money because those sites used 0:31:40.160 --> 0:31:42.760 to cost money then it was like minimum six figures, 0:31:43.280 --> 0:31:45.360 you know. And it was all because of a conversation 0:31:45.400 --> 0:31:47.640 I have with Joe Moo, you know, like, yo, I 0:31:47.680 --> 0:31:52.120 know you'll make sure it'll be right, you know. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, 0:31:52.880 --> 0:31:55.240 there's so many phases to my career, man, it's crazy. 0:31:55.480 --> 0:32:01.080 So what moved you into for le d James? Well, 0:32:01.440 --> 0:32:04.680 I was gonna say, what movie into photography because ye yeah, 0:32:04.720 --> 0:32:06.600 yeah I skip a step. I did sip a step. 0:32:06.720 --> 0:32:10.600 Photography happened while I was It was a client. There 0:32:10.640 --> 0:32:15.080 was a men's underwear client. They were called down under gear. Damn, 0:32:15.120 --> 0:32:18.280 I remember that. That's crazy because this is about no. 0:32:18.440 --> 0:32:21.760 It was some black dudes out of Queen's. They just 0:32:21.800 --> 0:32:25.800 wanted they just wanted to call that thing and it 0:32:25.880 --> 0:32:29.479 was undergear, to call it doug and it was just 0:32:29.520 --> 0:32:34.960 like men's men's underwear. And then when they sent over 0:32:35.000 --> 0:32:37.760 the assets for me to use to build the website, 0:32:37.760 --> 0:32:40.880 I thought the pictures were just corny. So I was like, hey, 0:32:41.040 --> 0:32:43.640 just pad the budget with like a thousand dollars and 0:32:43.680 --> 0:32:46.320 I went and bought a camera, and then I hired 0:32:46.320 --> 0:32:48.880 a model like this black model, this dude that, this 0:32:49.000 --> 0:32:51.800 African guy. You know, he was handsome dude. I was like, oh, 0:32:51.840 --> 0:32:54.200 he looks like one of these like underwear models. You 0:32:54.240 --> 0:32:56.560 know what I'm saying. But I don't have Calvin Clein money, 0:32:56.600 --> 0:33:08.240 so he's gonna take this dog dollar. Just yeah, we 0:33:08.280 --> 0:33:11.479 went to Central Park. I'm photographed to dude, the Central 0:33:11.480 --> 0:33:13.480 Park with like it is underwear and bathroom. It was 0:33:13.560 --> 0:33:16.360 just straight up. I mean, looking back on it was 0:33:16.400 --> 0:33:19.160 so gorilla style. But all we needed was like a 0:33:19.200 --> 0:33:22.720 couple of pictures come out of that that was full 0:33:22.760 --> 0:33:25.120 of photo shoot. The lighting was all off, like I 0:33:25.160 --> 0:33:27.479 didn't have lighting, no assistance. I'm just out there like 0:33:27.800 --> 0:33:30.200 taking these pictures. But to me, the secret was to 0:33:30.280 --> 0:33:32.920 just turn everything in the black and white like then 0:33:33.080 --> 0:33:37.640 then those the lighting like you know, because yeah, it's 0:33:37.720 --> 0:33:41.000 more interesting the shadows. Like. So because of that, because 0:33:41.000 --> 0:33:44.000 of that experience, now I own the camera. I was like, 0:33:44.040 --> 0:33:47.520 all right, I kind of like this photography thing. So 0:33:47.560 --> 0:33:50.720 I went to school for photography while I was building websites. 0:33:50.760 --> 0:33:52.320 I went to this place in New York called i 0:33:52.480 --> 0:33:55.480 c P International Center of Photography, and I went there 0:33:55.480 --> 0:33:58.960 for like a year and you know, learn how to 0:33:58.960 --> 0:34:02.400 process film, learn composition and all of that. Like it 0:34:02.440 --> 0:34:04.520 was just great, Like that's what I would do at nights, 0:34:04.600 --> 0:34:06.360 like like I was a college student, you know what 0:34:06.360 --> 0:34:09.080 I'm saying. But it was just are you moving under 0:34:09.120 --> 0:34:13.080 the needle as you're doing this? Are you running into hey? 0:34:12.160 --> 0:34:16.040 Are you? No? No one No one knew I was, 0:34:16.160 --> 0:34:18.399 you know. They It was a while in the front. 0:34:18.760 --> 0:34:22.319 The transition from from from that part of my life 0:34:22.320 --> 0:34:24.560 into DJ and is when it when it hit me 0:34:25.000 --> 0:34:31.000 into that Yeah yeah you didn't know that, I know 0:34:31.280 --> 0:34:37.279 you web yeah, but um the photography which is which 0:34:37.680 --> 0:34:40.440 again my my buddy, God blessed dad, my man Chris 0:34:40.560 --> 0:34:44.440 Lydy he um, he was getting married in my in 0:34:44.680 --> 0:34:47.640 Miami at this museum and he invited me because at 0:34:47.680 --> 0:34:50.600 that point I was already like building websites. I was 0:34:50.600 --> 0:34:53.600 building the Violator website and Chris was like, you know, 0:34:53.640 --> 0:34:54.920 we had known each other. He was one of my 0:34:54.960 --> 0:34:56.840 one of my closest friends. You know, when I was married, 0:34:56.840 --> 0:35:00.799 he was my best man. Like the dude was like yo, yo, 0:35:00.960 --> 0:35:03.680 he took me an invitation to his wedding, so I 0:35:03.680 --> 0:35:06.440 didn't have you know, all your R and B and 0:35:06.960 --> 0:35:10.680 music industry dudes. Was making so much money. He was 0:35:10.719 --> 0:35:15.200 registered at like this crazy place ABC Furniture in Manhattan, 0:35:15.280 --> 0:35:18.239 Like everything on the registry was like five thousand. I'm like, 0:35:18.280 --> 0:35:20.480 I've got five thousands of VODs man a wedding gift, 0:35:20.520 --> 0:35:22.880 Like this is crazy. So I was just at the wedding, 0:35:22.920 --> 0:35:26.080 just taking pictures like no one even knew. I mean 0:35:26.080 --> 0:35:27.840 a couple of people saw me taking pictures because I 0:35:27.840 --> 0:35:29.960 would ask him to pose. But like Chris didn't really, 0:35:30.000 --> 0:35:33.279 he wasn't paying attention. Then my gift to him was 0:35:33.360 --> 0:35:35.879 just this photo album and I was like, yo, here's 0:35:36.040 --> 0:35:39.160 here's yo, here's a gift. Man like then he called 0:35:39.200 --> 0:35:40.960 me and was like, I guess he was watching it, 0:35:41.200 --> 0:35:43.080 you know, with with this with his wife, and he 0:35:43.200 --> 0:35:48.320 was like, yo, I paid all these people mad money 0:35:48.800 --> 0:35:51.400 and they caught none of these images. You should actually 0:35:51.440 --> 0:35:53.600 be shooting professionally. And I was like, no, I'm good. 0:35:53.640 --> 0:35:55.400 I don't want. I didn't want to be a photographer. 0:35:56.040 --> 0:35:59.640 He's like, man, take the bag. And my first photo 0:35:59.680 --> 0:36:03.359 shoot for him was one of fifties rebot campaigns, you know, 0:36:03.440 --> 0:36:06.359 so even on the photographer way, I was doing like 0:36:06.440 --> 0:36:10.319 that then and then um then Tyra hit me up 0:36:10.360 --> 0:36:17.920 and you know she she yeah, I saw what she did. Know. 0:36:18.800 --> 0:36:21.919 I started shooting out the covers. Do you feel that? Yeah? 0:36:21.960 --> 0:36:28.120 But because you got a handle, I don't, so yeah 0:36:28.160 --> 0:36:30.680 I might. I might get to Michael Jackson dropped her 0:36:30.760 --> 0:36:33.239 in a minute from the Champagne that's followed on my head. 0:36:33.600 --> 0:36:39.480 But yeah, yeah, you just Tyra. Yeah, what was was 0:36:39.480 --> 0:36:41.360 was the motto Tyson Beckford that you shot in the 0:36:41.400 --> 0:36:44.760 Central Park Man. No, he wasn't Tyson didn't look like 0:36:45.680 --> 0:36:48.759 you didn't have Tyson's money, man, but he took the 0:36:48.840 --> 0:36:52.640 Doug dollar. Yeah, he definitely took the Doug dollar. But yeah, Tyra. 0:36:52.760 --> 0:36:54.480 Tyra was awesome though, you know, she asked me to 0:36:54.520 --> 0:36:57.880 follow her around, you know from you know, she was like, 0:36:57.920 --> 0:37:00.120 I want you to come over to my house and 0:37:00.200 --> 0:37:03.920 just photographed me, you know, from like a full day 0:37:03.960 --> 0:37:06.880 in the life of Tyra. And I did that and 0:37:07.000 --> 0:37:08.799 she loved the images and she was like, Hey, I 0:37:08.800 --> 0:37:10.840 want you to can you shoot for my talk show? 0:37:11.520 --> 0:37:13.839 Then I went on. I photographed fifty for a talk show, 0:37:13.880 --> 0:37:17.680 on photographed Hallie for a talk show, and then tires like, hey, 0:37:17.719 --> 0:37:20.480 can you do America's Next Top Model? So I ended 0:37:20.560 --> 0:37:25.880 up being um cycle for me as a sore spot 0:37:25.920 --> 0:37:33.279 for why were you on there? No? But you're good? Good? 0:37:34.840 --> 0:37:41.280 Did you not win? But I didn't win. Tyra actually 0:37:41.320 --> 0:37:45.520 asked me to do the theme song. Oh wow, you 0:37:45.600 --> 0:37:57.480 have an opportunity. I never tells you that. Wait what happened? Why? So? Uh? Yeah, 0:37:58.080 --> 0:38:01.200 shout out to my brother she Cares Stewart and my 0:38:01.239 --> 0:38:06.560 brother Kenya Barriss, who at the time he was working 0:38:06.560 --> 0:38:08.840 with Tyra and we used to all, you know, we 0:38:08.880 --> 0:38:12.480 should be kicking it, and she cared put me on 0:38:12.719 --> 0:38:16.759 you know, connecting me with them, and we brought you know, 0:38:16.880 --> 0:38:19.000 Tyra was like she wanted to sing. She wanted to 0:38:19.000 --> 0:38:22.240 sing at that time, and she came to the studio 0:38:22.239 --> 0:38:24.080 a few times. We worked. We worked a little bit 0:38:24.680 --> 0:38:27.239 and she was like, yeah, you know, I'm I'm doing 0:38:27.239 --> 0:38:32.399 this this this TV show and I'm like, okay. She's like, yeah, 0:38:32.400 --> 0:38:35.080 it's spout like models and this whole thing. And I'm 0:38:35.080 --> 0:38:39.960 thinking to myself TV show models, like well, who's going 0:38:40.000 --> 0:38:41.600 to sing the theme song? And she was like, she's 0:38:41.600 --> 0:38:44.839 going to sing the theme song. I was like, um, 0:38:46.520 --> 0:38:51.120 you saying even though he had been already doing songs 0:38:51.400 --> 0:38:53.360 like you know, because I'm thinking it's you know, for 0:38:53.520 --> 0:38:57.440 fun and it's a whole thing, and I'm like, I 0:38:57.440 --> 0:39:00.279 don't know about just doing it because obviously on up 0:39:00.280 --> 0:39:04.400 you watch these shows and you watch different TV and 0:39:04.480 --> 0:39:07.719 you think to yourself, these songs aren't really songs, they're 0:39:07.719 --> 0:39:10.200 just kind of like and I think at the time, 0:39:10.280 --> 0:39:14.000 I probably have been watching the Jamie Fox Show. Remember 0:39:14.000 --> 0:39:17.879 he had he was he was making jingles, but it 0:39:17.920 --> 0:39:21.920 didn't seem cool, right, the jingle thing didn't seem cool, 0:39:22.600 --> 0:39:25.600 and I was writing real records for real artists. I'm 0:39:25.600 --> 0:39:31.399 thinking to myself, I don't write jingles, so I didn't 0:39:31.440 --> 0:39:35.160 write the damn jingle. And I end up running into 0:39:35.400 --> 0:39:40.920 Tyra a few years ago. Um, of all places that 0:39:41.040 --> 0:39:44.120 Jimmy Iveen's like Christmas party or something, I don't know 0:39:44.160 --> 0:39:46.520 what it was, and she was like, yeah, you remember 0:39:47.680 --> 0:39:56.000 the whole you know, we're like season twenties seven thousand, 0:39:57.200 --> 0:40:05.560 Like yeah, you definitely one. Yeah, yeah, so American type model. 0:40:05.640 --> 0:40:08.600 You know, that's just you know, it happens. It happens. 0:40:08.640 --> 0:40:10.680 I think I don't know if it happens. It doesn't 0:40:10.719 --> 0:40:20.200 always know. Okay, okay, he's a fumbler. Fumbled two man ship. 0:40:20.800 --> 0:40:23.719 What what did you fumble? Know? His fumbles are way 0:40:23.719 --> 0:40:30.759 crazier than mine. Give me one of yours. Um. I 0:40:30.840 --> 0:40:36.200 fumbled an audition. I fumbled two auditions. Probably the worst 0:40:36.280 --> 0:40:44.279 fumble was the stumped yard audition. W wait what, hold on, 0:40:44.400 --> 0:40:47.479 hold on, hold on, hold on. If I tell the story, 0:40:47.560 --> 0:40:51.800 let me let me get a drink, because you stumped 0:40:51.840 --> 0:40:56.120 the yard. First of all, this is already very tricky. 0:40:56.920 --> 0:40:59.759 At the time it was, I was thinking, of course, 0:40:59.760 --> 0:41:02.120 I had the must say you above, okay, buff dance 0:41:02.120 --> 0:41:05.520 and go ahead, go ahead? Um, so I literally shout 0:41:05.560 --> 0:41:09.759 a twinkie. Um. I literally I had the part. I 0:41:09.800 --> 0:41:13.920 was playing the part of Darren Hinton. Okay, okay, I 0:41:13.920 --> 0:41:18.680 can see that. Yeah. That knocked all the all the 0:41:19.239 --> 0:41:21.799 um all the audition down. Knock it down. He's like, 0:41:21.840 --> 0:41:24.400 oh you're in. You're the guy, You're the guy, You're in. Okay, 0:41:24.480 --> 0:41:27.040 so um last thing, We're gonna do this dance audition 0:41:27.120 --> 0:41:29.080 and then and you'll be good. I was like, okay, cool, 0:41:29.160 --> 0:41:30.560 I can I can knock that out. I got a rhythm, 0:41:30.600 --> 0:41:34.080 you know what I'm saying. Um, I had rhythm, but 0:41:34.920 --> 0:41:38.959 I don't want a freestyle. Okay. So in my mind, 0:41:39.000 --> 0:41:42.080 I'm like, okay, this is a dance movie. I can step, 0:41:42.080 --> 0:41:45.520 but I gotta be able to really, you know, deliver it. 0:41:45.680 --> 0:41:49.480 So you know I saw I called Christie and Dave Scott. Listen, 0:41:49.600 --> 0:41:52.239 I need an eight count. I need a real eight 0:41:52.280 --> 0:41:57.480 count so I can dazzle him. He wants to dazzle 0:41:57.560 --> 0:42:01.240 niggas for stump the yard, but go ahead, I mean yeah, 0:42:01.880 --> 0:42:08.440 he wanted to, and so I go in. We get rehearsals. 0:42:08.480 --> 0:42:11.040 Rehearsal a couple of days, no rehearsal to day before 0:42:11.120 --> 0:42:14.120 day up. I learned the routine and I learned the account. 0:42:14.239 --> 0:42:18.040 I'm killing it in rehearsal, killing it right, But I'm 0:42:18.200 --> 0:42:22.640 very like I'm O c D in a lot of ways, right, 0:42:22.960 --> 0:42:32.719 And so go ahead, and I have severe O c D. Right. 0:42:32.760 --> 0:42:38.359 And so you know with the choreography, once you teach 0:42:38.360 --> 0:42:41.200 it to me in a certain space, it has to 0:42:41.280 --> 0:42:45.280 be in that space. It has to be in that space. 0:42:45.640 --> 0:42:48.719 It has to start exactly where that one is, exactly 0:42:49.080 --> 0:42:51.719 at that measure where the music does whatever it died 0:42:51.840 --> 0:42:55.880 I have, it has to be there or or a malfunction. 0:42:57.400 --> 0:43:00.160 And so they said, all right, let's go. And when 0:43:00.160 --> 0:43:03.520 they started the music, it was okay, No, give you 0:43:03.560 --> 0:43:06.600 some backstory. This will really help you with the fumble. Okay, 0:43:07.000 --> 0:43:13.680 E League game on Sunday. Okay, I'm going crazy. The 0:43:13.719 --> 0:43:17.000 guy checking me. You don't want this body, get off, 0:43:17.040 --> 0:43:19.400 but you can't hold me. Huh, you know you're dealing 0:43:19.440 --> 0:43:24.879 with Yeah, maya business win game? Go home? Right? Next day, 0:43:25.320 --> 0:43:31.200 dance audition, Guess who's the director? M who got the buck? 0:43:31.360 --> 0:43:37.960 Who got the black? Oh? And he's giving me this 0:43:40.800 --> 0:43:44.439 and I'm like, you're in my house now. Yeah, I say, hey, man, 0:43:45.440 --> 0:43:50.320 hey brother, Hey, how do you mean of that? Was 0:43:50.360 --> 0:43:53.880 that Tim Tim story? Director? We're gonna find out. We're 0:43:53.880 --> 0:43:57.879 gonna google Yeah, he's a director. And I'm like, oh 0:43:57.960 --> 0:44:03.040 my god, right, I didn't know. So they're starting the 0:44:03.200 --> 0:44:05.960 music and they start the music low. I'm turned to 0:44:05.960 --> 0:44:07.799 turn up, turn up. By the time they turn up 0:44:07.840 --> 0:44:11.560 the music, I've missed the one, missed the one, the 0:44:11.600 --> 0:44:13.320 one that I need to start on in order to 0:44:13.360 --> 0:44:17.600 be dazzling. I was like, I said, oh, no, no no, no, 0:44:17.600 --> 0:44:19.359 we got we can start off. No, it's fine, just 0:44:19.400 --> 0:44:20.959 to start where you are and said, no, I really 0:44:20.960 --> 0:44:22.919 need to start up. Just start where where we are. 0:44:23.040 --> 0:44:35.040 I'm like ha ha ah ha ah, and everybody, everybody's 0:44:35.080 --> 0:44:41.239 going and they turned the music off. They turned the 0:44:41.320 --> 0:44:43.520 music off, and I just I just looked at everybody. 0:44:43.520 --> 0:44:51.400 I said, thank you. I just walked the fuck you 0:44:51.440 --> 0:44:53.600 wanted them to believe that that was your freestyle And 0:44:53.640 --> 0:44:58.040 they never called me again. I love it. There's some 0:44:58.880 --> 0:45:01.719 there's somewhere just take was gonna come out and it's 0:45:01.719 --> 0:45:05.000 gonna be bad. I hope they've been directed. They see 0:45:05.040 --> 0:45:09.160 this and be like the country might know she was there. 0:45:09.200 --> 0:45:13.040 And she was like she called Christie and and damon, 0:45:13.120 --> 0:45:18.080 she said, what the fuck happened? I was so great 0:45:18.560 --> 0:45:23.440 in rehearsal. I said, I missed the one. I can't 0:45:23.480 --> 0:45:25.680 do it. I can't do it from any other place. 0:45:25.880 --> 0:45:29.480 I need the one, And I fumbled stumped the yard. 0:45:29.520 --> 0:45:31.840 I would have been dancer, I mean, but Darren Hinson 0:45:31.920 --> 0:45:34.120 is a dancer. So dar is a dancer. Of course 0:45:34.120 --> 0:45:35.719 he got you know what I'm saying that he killed it, 0:45:35.840 --> 0:45:39.280 but yeah, so I guess I'm kind of a fumbler, 0:45:40.320 --> 0:45:42.680 not as much as him. Though. It's a great phone story. Yeah, 0:45:42.680 --> 0:45:45.200 that's a great final story. Your residuals wouldn't have been 0:45:45.200 --> 0:46:03.799 the same as his. His phone was crazy. Gonna keep 0:46:03.800 --> 0:46:07.719 this money. I didn't know, nibe, you didn't know what 0:46:07.760 --> 0:46:17.560 post you was was teen. You gotta keep bringing up 0:46:19.880 --> 0:46:23.239 bringing that story up that was back then, Stop bringing 0:46:23.320 --> 0:46:32.600 up motion. So you become the amazing photographer, extraordinary for 0:46:32.760 --> 0:46:37.319 many great things that we won't even continue to mention. Um, so, 0:46:37.360 --> 0:46:40.560 how how long is that spending time for you? I mean, 0:46:40.560 --> 0:46:43.279 because I was you still you still shoot, you still 0:46:43.320 --> 0:46:48.799 do your thing. But were you were purely focusing on photography. 0:46:49.040 --> 0:46:52.160 It was a short, short period, always collected, like you 0:46:52.320 --> 0:46:54.840 always had a camera. It's always a camera today. I 0:46:55.200 --> 0:46:57.160 totally forgot to bring the camera because I was doing 0:46:57.160 --> 0:46:58.799 an interview. I was like, yeah, I gotta get a shot. 0:46:58.800 --> 0:47:02.520 These stud dues really left my camera like in the house, 0:47:02.560 --> 0:47:06.279 and I was like, we're not that important. Go ahead, no, no, no, 0:47:06.480 --> 0:47:09.160 I know, I'll see you guys again and go back 0:47:09.200 --> 0:47:13.480 and get that day. We're gonna still be here. So 0:47:13.600 --> 0:47:15.640 that wasn't like a long period where you were know, 0:47:15.760 --> 0:47:17.960 that was like three years, a good three year run 0:47:18.040 --> 0:47:21.680 of like because then DJ started. So how did that 0:47:21.760 --> 0:47:27.560 kick off? So DJ and started? Um, you know, I 0:47:27.640 --> 0:47:31.040 started promoting parties. Um. When I returned to the scene 0:47:31.040 --> 0:47:34.759 as a web developer of photography, I started to get 0:47:34.800 --> 0:47:37.880 the music itch again, not as a performer, but just like, 0:47:37.960 --> 0:47:39.600 you know, I just want to do something with music 0:47:39.760 --> 0:47:42.719 because it's just everybody I couldn't get into parties even 0:47:42.760 --> 0:47:47.000 though I was making money. They weren't letting you in. Now, 0:47:47.000 --> 0:47:49.080 they wouldn't let me in. That's why I started DJ. 0:47:49.200 --> 0:47:52.080 I mean, that's why I started throwing parties because the party, 0:47:52.160 --> 0:47:54.520 the party scene in New York was very like and 0:47:54.560 --> 0:47:56.440 by the way, this is not I'm not even being funny. 0:47:56.480 --> 0:48:00.239 He was like mainly like like black promoters, like one 0:48:00.280 --> 0:48:02.719 of the biggest promoters back then. I won't mention his name, 0:48:02.760 --> 0:48:04.880 but like yeah, he was like, oh, I know who 0:48:04.920 --> 0:48:07.759 you aren't, but you can't come in. And I was 0:48:07.800 --> 0:48:10.160 like those are his words, those were I brought it 0:48:10.239 --> 0:48:12.160 up to him like maybe about four or five years ago, 0:48:12.280 --> 0:48:15.640 like remember that and um, and then I thanked him 0:48:15.800 --> 0:48:19.360 because I wouldn't have had that desire, you know, to 0:48:19.360 --> 0:48:21.840 to do this. But they used to like make people 0:48:21.880 --> 0:48:25.400 come in with like if you're a dude, dude, you 0:48:25.440 --> 0:48:28.080 have to bring two women with you. And you know, 0:48:28.280 --> 0:48:30.600 I never really traveled with anybody. I'm always by myself. 0:48:30.640 --> 0:48:32.040 You know, I'm the same way, you know. You know. 0:48:32.800 --> 0:48:34.799 He was like, yo, you gotta get to the back 0:48:34.880 --> 0:48:37.759 line and YouTube two girls, and I'm like wow. Then 0:48:37.760 --> 0:48:39.800 I left, and then I went over to like a 0:48:39.920 --> 0:48:42.200 q Tip party. Q Tip invited me to it, like 0:48:42.280 --> 0:48:46.200 his birthday party, and that's when I started to see 0:48:46.239 --> 0:48:49.160 what DJ and like really was like in terms of 0:48:49.200 --> 0:48:52.680 that style of djan. So I started throwing parties because 0:48:52.680 --> 0:48:54.920 no one. No one wanted me to DJ, didn't, I 0:48:54.920 --> 0:48:57.279 mean rightfully, so they had never heard me DJ. I 0:48:57.360 --> 0:48:59.600 just had this desire like yo, I want to spend 0:49:00.400 --> 0:49:03.600 and you know, I ended up becoming a party promoter. 0:49:05.160 --> 0:49:07.200 The thing that I hated about the New York party 0:49:07.239 --> 0:49:11.799 scene was every party that people did that you know, 0:49:11.880 --> 0:49:14.360 like that was like the cool parties. They were always 0:49:14.400 --> 0:49:17.080 named after like a candy bar, some ship. It's like 0:49:17.160 --> 0:49:20.719 juicy fruit Tuesdays and good and plenty of Sundays. I'm 0:49:20.719 --> 0:49:26.839 not making this up Tuesdays, you know what I'm saying. 0:49:26.840 --> 0:49:28.440 Like it was always like that, and I was like, 0:49:28.480 --> 0:49:31.760 man I joined in on one of them, the juicy 0:49:31.760 --> 0:49:39.919 Fruit Tuesdays. But I just wanted to. I just wanted, 0:49:42.320 --> 0:49:49.920 you know, And then uh, that is rich juicy frud Tuesdays, 0:49:49.960 --> 0:49:52.840 did you know? And then um I went from that. 0:49:52.960 --> 0:49:54.960 I was like, after about six or seven months, I 0:49:55.000 --> 0:49:58.600 was like, man, I just wanted I want a djell. 0:49:58.680 --> 0:50:01.239 I couldn't get any parties out Here's where this is. 0:50:01.280 --> 0:50:05.319 Everything for me was overlapping. So you know, web development 0:50:05.400 --> 0:50:09.200 and photography overlapped, and then those two things overlapped with 0:50:09.560 --> 0:50:12.760 me becoming a party promoter slash DJ, so I started 0:50:12.760 --> 0:50:15.520 phasing the web stuff out because I was having a 0:50:15.560 --> 0:50:17.800 good time, like on this party scene. I was like, 0:50:17.840 --> 0:50:21.040 all right, and and what what prompted the move was 0:50:21.280 --> 0:50:23.400 this meeting. I had this meeting and I was building 0:50:23.440 --> 0:50:28.120 the website for UM for Vitamin Water for fifty. I 0:50:28.200 --> 0:50:31.640 was shooting part of that campaign and UM and I 0:50:31.680 --> 0:50:34.319 had to meet with Reebok so I'm in this. I 0:50:34.400 --> 0:50:38.600 was in this meeting with UM, Chris Lady, Steve Stout, 0:50:39.960 --> 0:50:45.160 Paul Fireman, who was the CEO founder reebok Um Q Gasson, 0:50:45.239 --> 0:50:49.719 who was like Allen Allen Iverson's liaison between Reeboking and 0:50:50.000 --> 0:50:53.480 and Alan Um. And then this one guy walks in 0:50:53.840 --> 0:50:56.200 and he walked around the table. He said what's up 0:50:56.239 --> 0:50:58.560 to everyone? And then he stood in front of me. 0:50:58.719 --> 0:51:01.719 This white dude sit in front of me, and he 0:51:02.080 --> 0:51:03.680 he just stood there. He didn't say anything, and I 0:51:03.760 --> 0:51:05.600 stood up and I was like, hey, I'm Derek Jones. 0:51:05.680 --> 0:51:07.600 And then everybody started laughing because they were all in 0:51:07.680 --> 0:51:10.279 on the joke. And he said, hey, you know, I 0:51:10.360 --> 0:51:12.240 went to I think he may have gone to like Boston, 0:51:12.320 --> 0:51:15.240 you whatever, But he was like, I wrote my thesis 0:51:15.680 --> 0:51:18.399 on the song from your first album called A Few 0:51:18.440 --> 0:51:20.360 Hours More. It was like on my first solo album 0:51:20.480 --> 0:51:22.800 and um, and then that that was the moment for 0:51:22.880 --> 0:51:26.000 me when I was like, holy shit, like the people 0:51:26.320 --> 0:51:28.719 I was running from the music industry, you know, I 0:51:28.760 --> 0:51:30.120 didn't want to be d Nice. You know, when I 0:51:30.160 --> 0:51:32.320 was building a website, I didn't introduce myself to his 0:51:32.400 --> 0:51:34.680 D Nice. I was like, yo, I'm Derek Like but 0:51:34.800 --> 0:51:38.120 in that moment that what he said to me resonated. 0:51:38.120 --> 0:51:40.440 It was like, man, you spend all this time running 0:51:40.520 --> 0:51:43.279 from who you are, and why not just embrace it? 0:51:43.880 --> 0:51:46.560 You know, like be maybe not be that same person 0:51:46.760 --> 0:51:49.600 like you know, shopping demos or anything like that, but 0:51:49.760 --> 0:51:52.400 like be who you are. And because of that conversation, 0:51:52.600 --> 0:51:54.120 I was like, you know what I'm gonna do. I'm 0:51:54.120 --> 0:51:57.040 gonna start. I'm gonna go find a club because I 0:51:57.040 --> 0:52:00.480 remember I was promote promoting a juice fruit Tuesdays and 0:52:00.520 --> 0:52:02.520 ship like that. I was trying to I was like, yo, 0:52:02.719 --> 0:52:05.520 I'm trying to forget to choose. I was like, I'm 0:52:05.520 --> 0:52:07.840 gonna go find a club that would give me a 0:52:07.920 --> 0:52:11.440 shot to throw my own party. But then I went 0:52:11.480 --> 0:52:15.319 to DJ's and you know, your cats wanted like back then, 0:52:15.360 --> 0:52:17.040 they wanted five hundred dollars and I was like five 0:52:17.120 --> 0:52:20.319 hundred dollars for DJ like that crazy, I know, right, 0:52:20.360 --> 0:52:23.640 I'm bugging. You can't even come to me with that. 0:52:23.800 --> 0:52:30.080 Like I was over here like five hundred dollars J part. 0:52:30.960 --> 0:52:34.160 I was like, man, I'll do this myself. And then 0:52:34.239 --> 0:52:36.960 the club. I will never forget this. The club was, 0:52:37.080 --> 0:52:38.880 you know that in New York City as a hotel 0:52:38.920 --> 0:52:44.120 called the Chelsea Street legendary hotel where where Donnie Hathaway 0:52:44.960 --> 0:52:48.000 Um not too far No, actually no, Donny, Donnie didn't 0:52:48.000 --> 0:52:49.920 die here. Donnie died on like fifty seventh Street, I 0:52:49.920 --> 0:52:52.920 believe where you know, committed suicide. But like something crazy 0:52:53.000 --> 0:52:55.000 happened at the Chelsea I can't remember right now, but 0:52:55.760 --> 0:53:00.480 iconic hotel. They had this lounge downstairs, downstairs called Serena, 0:53:01.960 --> 0:53:04.360 and they hired me. They paid me a hundred and 0:53:04.440 --> 0:53:08.040 fifty dollars to drink tickets and that's a DJ for 0:53:08.120 --> 0:53:11.719 six hours six But I didn't care because I had 0:53:11.800 --> 0:53:17.080 my daytime web money. That's why. Okay, okay, it all 0:53:17.120 --> 0:53:19.080 makes sense. Yeah, So I used to DJ for like 0:53:19.200 --> 0:53:21.880 six hours for a hundred and fifty dollars. Nobody was 0:53:21.960 --> 0:53:25.680 in there. Another another buddy of mine, actually, right before that, 0:53:26.560 --> 0:53:28.839 a buddy of mine gave me his club in New 0:53:28.920 --> 0:53:31.960 York was on twenty thirt three as well, called cull True, 0:53:32.800 --> 0:53:34.560 and I would I would throw parties there and I 0:53:34.560 --> 0:53:37.000 would occasionally DJ with my cousin. But the first time 0:53:37.080 --> 0:53:41.000 that I actually was a DJ was that Serena's and 0:53:41.760 --> 0:53:44.960 the guy that managed Mark Ronson at the time, um 0:53:45.560 --> 0:53:48.240 Damon the Graft, still a great friend, you know, owns 0:53:48.280 --> 0:53:50.160 a company called d G I and they managed a 0:53:50.200 --> 0:53:53.759 lot of big DJs. He brought me over to this 0:53:54.000 --> 0:53:56.239 club with Q Tip and Mark Ronson with DJ and 0:53:56.440 --> 0:53:59.200 called Table fifty. And I used to watch them and 0:53:59.280 --> 0:54:01.319 I was like I would standing in place was small 0:54:01.440 --> 0:54:04.600 help like seventy five people. Their drink was on Thursday. 0:54:05.160 --> 0:54:07.600 Their joint was packed. My joint on Wednesday was empty. 0:54:07.640 --> 0:54:09.400 It was like ten people. But it didn't matter. I 0:54:09.520 --> 0:54:12.359 was like, yo, I'm playing music having And then one 0:54:12.440 --> 0:54:17.080 day Tipp and Ronson didn't want a DJ. So Damon 0:54:17.160 --> 0:54:20.600 was like yo, you know, Tips said you should do 0:54:20.719 --> 0:54:23.399 Table fifty on their night and I was like, oh, 0:54:23.520 --> 0:54:27.239 that's dope. And I went and I tried the DJ. 0:54:27.520 --> 0:54:30.440 Like Tip has a very unique style of DJ, and 0:54:30.600 --> 0:54:32.759 so it does Mark. You know, Mark plays a lot 0:54:32.800 --> 0:54:35.360 of like pop stuff now, but then Mark was a 0:54:35.440 --> 0:54:37.760 straight up hip hop dude. It was like brand Nubians 0:54:37.800 --> 0:54:39.840 and you know, then he was mixing the eighties and 0:54:40.360 --> 0:54:44.080 and Q Tip was strictly sold James Brown and all 0:54:44.200 --> 0:54:47.520 that vibe. So when I went, I tried the DJ 0:54:47.760 --> 0:54:50.200 like them and then and Um and Damon was like 0:54:50.400 --> 0:54:53.800 a man, just be yourself. Do what you do as Serena, 0:54:53.920 --> 0:54:56.640 but do it here. I would only play R and 0:54:56.680 --> 0:54:59.720 B like eighties R and be Tina, Marie, Rick James 0:55:00.080 --> 0:55:01.920 when nobody was really rocking all of that, you know. 0:55:02.080 --> 0:55:05.040 So I started playing like that in the crowd was 0:55:05.160 --> 0:55:08.360 like crazy. I was like, Oh, this is this is 0:55:08.440 --> 0:55:10.840 what it's supposed to feel like, you know. Yeah, And 0:55:10.920 --> 0:55:12.640 then I went from that, and then I started I 0:55:12.719 --> 0:55:15.640 had UM had a night and and UM like a 0:55:15.800 --> 0:55:18.000 legendary night in New York City at a club called 0:55:18.120 --> 0:55:22.320 Kane on Street, and that became like my residency. I 0:55:22.400 --> 0:55:24.240 did that for like three years, and then I started 0:55:24.239 --> 0:55:26.919 to build my name, you know as a private event DJ. 0:55:27.680 --> 0:55:30.640 With the first private event I did was UM it 0:55:30.760 --> 0:55:34.239 was Puff. I went to Puff. I was like, bro, 0:55:35.120 --> 0:55:36.920 I got a vibe on the streets right now, Like 0:55:37.239 --> 0:55:40.000 he's like, think, I've never heard of DJ day by Life. 0:55:41.280 --> 0:55:42.920 He was like, you're not DJ, and my white part 0:55:42.960 --> 0:55:45.640 of you crazy, Like come on, bro, He's like naughty, 0:55:45.880 --> 0:55:49.439 I'm good. He was just like that. Never saw him again, 0:55:50.120 --> 0:55:52.920 but I was always friends with his assistants because I 0:55:52.960 --> 0:55:54.279 was always trying to get in there. I was like, 0:55:54.360 --> 0:55:56.120 I'm gonna figure this out, Like I'm gonna do this 0:55:56.200 --> 0:56:00.920 white man. I ended up with like a night planning 0:56:00.960 --> 0:56:03.920 a night at this legendary club in New York called Lotus. 0:56:05.400 --> 0:56:09.320 Lotus had a Sunday night party with the drummer and 0:56:09.440 --> 0:56:10.880 all that vib That's why I use the drummer now 0:56:10.920 --> 0:56:13.840 because it reminds me of that night and like the 0:56:13.960 --> 0:56:16.960 party was crazy on Sundays. So I was the guest 0:56:17.080 --> 0:56:20.920 DJ and I got a text from the girls that 0:56:21.040 --> 0:56:23.160 worked for Puff and they said, Puff just asked us 0:56:23.200 --> 0:56:25.960 where held where should he go tonight? We sent him 0:56:26.000 --> 0:56:29.080 there you gotta put on the show. And they sat 0:56:29.120 --> 0:56:31.080 Puff right at the table right in front of like 0:56:31.160 --> 0:56:33.719 this is the DJ booth. There was one table right here. 0:56:34.640 --> 0:56:36.919 Puff is on it. He's at the table. Now, I'm 0:56:37.640 --> 0:56:41.680 most people, most DJs that were hot midnight, you're playing 0:56:41.719 --> 0:56:45.160 whatever the new records are. Me, I'm totally reversed, Like 0:56:45.840 --> 0:56:48.120 I'm putting Stevie one that midnight when his pack and 0:56:48.160 --> 0:56:50.600 I know everybody's dancing, Do I Do is coming on? 0:56:51.040 --> 0:56:53.480 And then that drummer Puff was then on the table. 0:56:53.520 --> 0:56:57.840 He was like, oh my gosh, that's the year he 0:56:57.920 --> 0:57:01.480 was hosting the VMAs. In my mean, he was like, yo, 0:57:01.800 --> 0:57:04.520 you're doing all my parties and he kept his word 0:57:05.200 --> 0:57:06.920 I d I didn't headline them, but he had other 0:57:07.000 --> 0:57:10.320 DJs had flex yet, you know, a couple of DJs. 0:57:10.360 --> 0:57:12.680 But I was on those parties. And then that was 0:57:12.760 --> 0:57:16.040 like my first time like like really seeing what it 0:57:16.160 --> 0:57:18.120 was like to be at the private events. And then 0:57:18.600 --> 0:57:20.840 I just went private event heavy, you know, super Bowl 0:57:20.960 --> 0:57:24.160 stuff and and yeah, and slowly phased out the web 0:57:24.240 --> 0:57:27.400 stuff because it's not that I wasn't interested in it. 0:57:27.520 --> 0:57:31.040 What I realized about the web stuff was, um, it 0:57:31.160 --> 0:57:33.040 was just a means to an end for me. It 0:57:33.160 --> 0:57:36.000 was something that made me happy because music wasn't being 0:57:36.080 --> 0:57:38.040 kind to me, and I didn't want to lean on 0:57:38.200 --> 0:57:39.920 music and I wanted people to accept me for who 0:57:39.960 --> 0:57:41.840 I am, so I taught myself that, But that wasn't 0:57:41.880 --> 0:57:45.560 my passion. My passion has always been music and to 0:57:45.960 --> 0:57:49.480 to have an opportunity to DJ these events that I played, 0:57:50.120 --> 0:57:51.680 and I played R and B. Man, you know, I 0:57:51.760 --> 0:57:53.800 played hip hop, but like manly my sense of like 0:57:55.680 --> 0:57:59.400 R and B or pope, you know I'm playing, I'm 0:57:59.400 --> 0:58:03.240 getting in there. You know you can play the police 0:58:05.360 --> 0:58:08.280 that I'm getting that in there. But like that, that 0:58:08.680 --> 0:58:11.800 all happened because you know, the hip hop dudes wren't 0:58:11.800 --> 0:58:14.360 really let me in. They won't let me in the clubs, 0:58:14.720 --> 0:58:18.439 they wouldn't let me open. Yeah, I have to find 0:58:18.440 --> 0:58:24.000 my only and now I play my own lane. Yeah yeah, 0:58:24.080 --> 0:58:27.720 that your story, bro. It's nuts, but it's it's a 0:58:29.200 --> 0:58:35.200 it's a testament to not giving up one but also 0:58:37.360 --> 0:58:41.080 breaking through that glass ceiling of people saying, oh, this 0:58:41.280 --> 0:58:43.080 is what you do. No no, no, no, no no no, 0:58:43.440 --> 0:58:47.920 I do what I want right that, And that's for us, clearly, 0:58:48.760 --> 0:58:53.680 it's what's been our savior, is doing what we want 0:58:53.680 --> 0:58:57.840 to do and in taking on whatever comes along with that. 0:58:58.920 --> 0:59:02.040 But know the earlier, you know, when we before we 0:59:02.080 --> 0:59:04.400 start feeling you were like, man, y'all think it's crazy 0:59:04.400 --> 0:59:05.880 after I played you this song, and I was like, yeah, 0:59:06.280 --> 0:59:10.040 my manager, you're like, but to a certain degree, yes 0:59:10.080 --> 0:59:12.480 we are crazy. But on the flip side of that 0:59:12.840 --> 0:59:17.960 is we're just enjoying the process and we're enjoying the 0:59:18.120 --> 0:59:20.880 journey and this music thing that we get to do 0:59:21.040 --> 0:59:26.440 for a living. There's you can't just say that, oh, 0:59:26.480 --> 0:59:29.360 I can only play one position in this game. I 0:59:29.400 --> 0:59:33.240 can do what I want to because music, for me, 0:59:34.320 --> 0:59:35.880 I don't know how you guys feel about it, but 0:59:36.000 --> 0:59:39.080 music is the last thing that you can purely be 0:59:39.320 --> 0:59:44.120 completely free in. You get fresh out of jail, do music, 0:59:44.440 --> 0:59:48.080 you come off Wall Street, do music. Like there's no 0:59:48.600 --> 0:59:51.800 You don't need any formal education, which sometimes hurts us, 0:59:52.160 --> 0:59:57.800 but you don't need anything other than your gift, a 0:59:57.840 --> 1:00:00.640 little luck to for sure, some hard work. Your gift. 1:00:01.200 --> 1:00:04.080 Your gift will get you through the music business. If 1:00:04.160 --> 1:00:07.080 you let your gift get you through the music there, 1:00:07.920 --> 1:00:10.720 you let your gift get you through the music business 1:00:10.840 --> 1:00:15.040 in so many other ways, in so many other ways. 1:00:15.040 --> 1:00:19.760 Because everything that you spoke about it's still creative, that's 1:00:19.760 --> 1:00:22.600 all I mean. You were just being you were being creative. 1:00:22.680 --> 1:00:27.360 The entire time. But other guys would have just been like, ah, man, 1:00:27.440 --> 1:00:30.520 I just gotta go. I don't know about this, and 1:00:30.560 --> 1:00:33.400 I'm getting away from that. And and like you said, 1:00:33.480 --> 1:00:36.640 you had your dark moments in it, but the light 1:00:36.760 --> 1:00:41.240 of it was that you let your gift guide you. Look. 1:00:41.280 --> 1:00:44.080 I had my dark moment in this just before the pandemic, 1:00:44.200 --> 1:00:48.240 you know, like just being very honest, like supposed to 1:00:48.280 --> 1:00:50.720 be my last year of DJ. I didn't want a 1:00:50.800 --> 1:00:52.840 DJ anymore. I was tired. I was like, you know, 1:00:53.800 --> 1:00:57.080 I kept feeling like you look at certain DJs and 1:00:57.200 --> 1:01:02.120 they were not judging them, but it's like, yo, why 1:01:02.240 --> 1:01:05.160 is that person playing there and I'm not on that 1:01:05.320 --> 1:01:09.360 same stage. I'm a big DJ with my mind, I 1:01:09.440 --> 1:01:12.080 felt that I was. I played great music, Like why 1:01:12.120 --> 1:01:14.280 am I not giving these opportunities? And I realized that 1:01:14.320 --> 1:01:16.280 a lot of it had to do with like ages 1:01:16.320 --> 1:01:19.200 and you know, like that's some real ship man, whether 1:01:19.280 --> 1:01:21.080 it was being black and trying to play in like 1:01:21.200 --> 1:01:24.280 this kind of mainstream world because I never just saw 1:01:24.360 --> 1:01:28.160 myself playing just urban events. I was like, no, because 1:01:28.160 --> 1:01:30.000 if you go to a non urban event, they're playing 1:01:30.040 --> 1:01:33.080 the same exact song. So why am I not playing there, 1:01:33.800 --> 1:01:36.680 and like, you know, I remember going to some of 1:01:36.760 --> 1:01:39.200 these big clubs and like these dudes with like literally 1:01:39.640 --> 1:01:41.960 give me half the budget or maybe a third of 1:01:42.000 --> 1:01:44.440 the budget that they were giving DJs that didn't look 1:01:44.480 --> 1:01:46.280 like me, and I was I was okay with it though. 1:01:46.280 --> 1:01:48.000 I was like, all right, I just want to be 1:01:48.080 --> 1:01:50.280 in the room, because my goal was never to just 1:01:50.440 --> 1:01:53.600 be a resident as someone's club. It was like, no, 1:01:53.960 --> 1:01:58.120 I want to be seen as the person that's playing 1:01:58.160 --> 1:02:02.520 in places that you don't typically see black DJ's, you 1:02:02.560 --> 1:02:04.880 know what I mean, like playing a night that you 1:02:04.960 --> 1:02:08.520 don't typically see an old school black DJ. You know. 1:02:08.760 --> 1:02:11.280 Like but then after a while, you know, I just 1:02:11.360 --> 1:02:15.080 became exhausted, bro of like the constant battle, you know, 1:02:15.240 --> 1:02:17.960 constantly fighting, you know, even with with our own with 1:02:18.080 --> 1:02:20.080 our own promoters, you know, like the people that would 1:02:20.120 --> 1:02:22.320 promote more R and B. It was still a constant 1:02:22.360 --> 1:02:25.800 like oh we don't have that budget and you still 1:02:25.880 --> 1:02:28.280 do the same job. And then like after fighting and fighting, 1:02:28.360 --> 1:02:33.360 I was like, man, I'm over these clubs. I remember 1:02:33.440 --> 1:02:36.200 calling Live Nation and I never worked with a company 1:02:36.280 --> 1:02:39.360 like Live Nation. I had done like Jill Scott's Picnic, 1:02:39.480 --> 1:02:41.800 which was that was a pivotal moment for me. That 1:02:41.960 --> 1:02:44.760 was like, you know, maybe like seven months before the 1:02:44.800 --> 1:02:49.400 pandemic and I played the Jill Scott picnic. It was me, well, 1:02:49.640 --> 1:02:53.240 I wasn't headlined, but it was Jill Scott, Jasmine Sullivan, Music, 1:02:53.320 --> 1:02:56.640 Soul Child, Mace and I was the opening act. And 1:02:57.560 --> 1:03:02.000 we're in Philly, Mace Smith his flight. So now they're 1:03:02.040 --> 1:03:04.080 scrambling trying to figure out what to do to keep 1:03:04.160 --> 1:03:08.080 people happy. And then the president of Live Nation Urban 1:03:08.160 --> 1:03:11.120 came to me and said, hey, we're gonna switch. You're 1:03:11.160 --> 1:03:13.919 not gonna open music, so was gonna open, You're gonna 1:03:13.960 --> 1:03:15.440 go on after him? And I was like, are you 1:03:15.560 --> 1:03:21.800 fighting crazy? Like this man's town he's singing. Yeah. He 1:03:22.000 --> 1:03:26.520 was like, no, trust me on this one. You're gonna 1:03:26.640 --> 1:03:30.120 change the whole thing. We can't we that's that's the 1:03:30.120 --> 1:03:31.280 way you want to do it. And I thought he 1:03:31.360 --> 1:03:33.960 was out of his mind. And music went on and 1:03:34.040 --> 1:03:36.000 he killed it, and when I got on for my set, 1:03:36.120 --> 1:03:39.160 it was ridiculous. It was like by that time, it 1:03:39.240 --> 1:03:42.280 was packed, the energy was crazy. And then I went 1:03:42.360 --> 1:03:44.680 into it because you know, Jasmine was gonna sing slow 1:03:44.840 --> 1:03:47.360 RM and B songs and Jills, you know, she got 1:03:47.440 --> 1:03:50.360 something not really up tempos, but yeah, she's on Jill. 1:03:50.400 --> 1:03:53.840 It's gonna be very vibe, vibe, sitting down vibe like 1:03:54.000 --> 1:03:56.400 some instnse and like you know. But from my set, 1:03:57.640 --> 1:03:59.360 it was like, he's gonna go up for a minute, 1:03:59.360 --> 1:04:02.480 if nuts for like an hour. And I was like, Yo, 1:04:02.720 --> 1:04:04.560 this is what I need to be doing. I don't 1:04:04.600 --> 1:04:07.440 need clubs. And then I hit them up like towards 1:04:07.480 --> 1:04:09.560 the end of the year, like in November, and I 1:04:09.680 --> 1:04:12.320 was like, look, man, I just I don't want to 1:04:12.360 --> 1:04:15.360 do clubs anymore. If you guys have an opportunity for 1:04:15.480 --> 1:04:18.280 someone like me to just be an opening act for 1:04:18.400 --> 1:04:21.840 someone like, yeah, I would. I would prefer to do 1:04:21.960 --> 1:04:24.040 that now because I was I was. I was tired, bro. 1:04:24.720 --> 1:04:27.160 And then they gave me Jill Scott's tour. They gave 1:04:27.240 --> 1:04:29.680 me ten dates on Jill's twenty anniversary tour, but we 1:04:29.800 --> 1:04:33.520 only did one did Radio City Music Hall. And it's 1:04:33.560 --> 1:04:36.160 funny how how this whole thing works. And this is 1:04:36.240 --> 1:04:38.840 no knock to anyone. This is really about how how 1:04:38.960 --> 1:04:41.720 life works. I was the opening act. I was the 1:04:41.760 --> 1:04:45.200 warm up act, so my DJ booth was in front 1:04:45.240 --> 1:04:55.480 of the curtains. Yeah, that was the front. No, you cannot, 1:04:55.560 --> 1:04:58.040 that's left. But the stage looks like I don't knock it, 1:04:58.120 --> 1:05:00.680 you know what I'm saying. But I did that one 1:05:00.760 --> 1:05:03.400 show and then did a couple of more shows and 1:05:03.720 --> 1:05:06.480 then you know obviously like super Bowl and everything, and 1:05:06.560 --> 1:05:11.320 then and then pandemic hit. So before that though, before that, 1:05:11.800 --> 1:05:13.680 because this is this is this is something that was 1:05:13.840 --> 1:05:16.840 very near and dear to me and watching what y'all 1:05:16.960 --> 1:05:20.960 were doing, you and our brother Kenny Burns Nice the 1:05:21.080 --> 1:05:23.840 nice and Burns right, because that was something that kicked 1:05:23.840 --> 1:05:27.160 off before the pandemic. And that was when I say, 1:05:27.240 --> 1:05:31.440 y'all was burning ship down. Yeall was like on some 1:05:31.720 --> 1:05:35.200 real fly, we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna look good, 1:05:35.280 --> 1:05:37.960 the music gonna sound good, and we're gonna turn this 1:05:38.120 --> 1:05:41.320 thing up right. So that so is this is that 1:05:41.480 --> 1:05:44.800 before you start doing the opener stuff. No, No, it 1:05:44.960 --> 1:05:47.600 was always Kenny and I've been doing this since like 1:05:47.680 --> 1:05:51.160 around two thousand and ten. Okay, we started doing it 1:05:51.240 --> 1:05:54.280 with the party in Atlantic Soul Fusion, and then we 1:05:54.360 --> 1:05:57.880 would do it every every like quarterly in Detroit. It 1:05:58.040 --> 1:06:00.600 wasn't like the way we do quarterly. Inded Troy, Yeah, 1:06:00.680 --> 1:06:02.360 because we had a buddy out in Detroit by the 1:06:02.440 --> 1:06:05.360 name of Dennis Archer, and Dennis would throw a party 1:06:05.400 --> 1:06:08.840 out in Birmingham, Michigan, and he was just you know, 1:06:08.920 --> 1:06:11.520 he's an attorney. His wife at the times to judge 1:06:11.560 --> 1:06:15.120 and yeah, yeah, yeah they had it. Yeah, they had gone. Yeah. 1:06:15.240 --> 1:06:17.880 So but he was like he was the dude. He 1:06:18.000 --> 1:06:20.520 was like he was on the scene, like yeah, he 1:06:20.560 --> 1:06:22.520 would do these Flis parties and he was like, Yo, 1:06:22.920 --> 1:06:25.920 I need you and Kenny, It's gonna be flot And 1:06:26.400 --> 1:06:28.360 Kenny and I are like, all right, cool, Kenny's going host. 1:06:28.600 --> 1:06:31.080 This is when we really started doing it together. But 1:06:31.200 --> 1:06:32.920 the thing about Kenny and I, which was dope, we 1:06:33.040 --> 1:06:35.640 both had our own We're both unique, we had our 1:06:35.640 --> 1:06:38.360 own background, our own stories. So we didn't do every 1:06:38.360 --> 1:06:41.280 show together. We just found like a few, like the 1:06:41.360 --> 1:06:43.680 wedding and a few things like that that we would 1:06:43.680 --> 1:06:48.560 do together. But yes, but whatever we did, whenever we 1:06:48.680 --> 1:06:51.280 did something, it was special, you know, and we would 1:06:51.520 --> 1:06:53.840 kind of reserve that for like Essence Fest or something 1:06:53.920 --> 1:06:56.960 like that to do like the parties, but like, yeah, 1:06:57.040 --> 1:06:59.760 but that stuff, you know, Rocke McKenny is is the 1:07:00.000 --> 1:07:03.560 easiest thing, man, because we know each other's sensibilities and 1:07:03.720 --> 1:07:06.720 music sensibilities, like I know when to switch that up. 1:07:07.240 --> 1:07:09.240 I know when to change it up because I know 1:07:09.720 --> 1:07:12.160 if I echo something now, Kenny's gonna say the right thing, 1:07:12.560 --> 1:07:14.720 and then I could just bring something totally different than 1:07:14.760 --> 1:07:17.880 that would just excite everyone. So we never talked about music. 1:07:18.440 --> 1:07:21.280 We never talked about what he's gonna say. It's strictly 1:07:21.360 --> 1:07:23.960 based on here, based on this feeling that we trust 1:07:24.040 --> 1:07:26.960 each other. And you know, sometimes he'll come over and 1:07:27.040 --> 1:07:29.520 be like, yo, trust me, this is the one right here, 1:07:30.120 --> 1:07:32.840 you know, like and then I'll play a swag surfing 1:07:33.440 --> 1:07:35.400 like I was never really in this wag surfing, you know, 1:07:35.520 --> 1:07:41.720 like because that wasn't my scene. He's going he's going 1:07:41.800 --> 1:07:45.960 to surfer. Yeah, but like yeah, but you know, our 1:07:46.080 --> 1:07:49.320 vibe was always dope man, and you know we were 1:07:49.640 --> 1:07:52.800 we were continuing to build it even more. But then 1:07:52.880 --> 1:07:56.280 that pandemic hid and then it's like we were separated. 1:07:56.720 --> 1:07:58.920 And then, you know, because of what happened, it just 1:07:59.760 --> 1:08:02.800 to my career to like some crazy, crazy heights man. 1:08:03.600 --> 1:08:07.000 And so when the so when the pandemic hits, yeah, 1:08:07.240 --> 1:08:11.280 let's talk about that. Let's talk about the initial right, 1:08:11.360 --> 1:08:15.480 because there's the conversation that a lot of us don't 1:08:15.520 --> 1:08:19.400 talk about of the full shutdown, Like it was so 1:08:19.800 --> 1:08:24.600 different for a lot of other other industries, but for 1:08:24.720 --> 1:08:27.280 the music business, where we had to literally get out 1:08:27.320 --> 1:08:31.559 and touch the people, it went quiet. I'm talking about 1:08:31.680 --> 1:08:36.280 radio silence. So when that first hits, right, because y'are 1:08:36.360 --> 1:08:40.280 doing nice and burn show, you're doing your own shows, y'all, 1:08:40.439 --> 1:08:43.840 y'all like y'all really cooking. You're cooking, y'all cooking, y'all 1:08:43.920 --> 1:08:46.960 moving around. This money seems like it's never ending because 1:08:47.000 --> 1:08:50.720 it's just it's like a continuous hit record. You can 1:08:50.760 --> 1:08:55.040 always go get a bag, and then they say the 1:08:55.120 --> 1:09:00.680 story is closed. The store is closed. The store was closed, bro. 1:09:01.400 --> 1:09:04.479 It wasn't closed for me for long, but it did 1:09:04.600 --> 1:09:08.439 feel that way because that's when the you know. So 1:09:08.560 --> 1:09:10.360 the reason why I went on and played it wasn't 1:09:10.400 --> 1:09:13.080 that I was trying to find like I wasn't trying 1:09:13.080 --> 1:09:17.280 to find hobbies, you know, Like I was really just frustrated, bro, 1:09:17.439 --> 1:09:19.800 because I you know, I'm self managed. I've always been 1:09:19.840 --> 1:09:22.120 self managed. I got a team, but like it's me, 1:09:22.360 --> 1:09:24.600 I handled the deals, you know, like I talked to 1:09:24.720 --> 1:09:28.080 everyone because you know, for someone like myself. You know, 1:09:28.320 --> 1:09:31.240 I just always a new win to make the right deals. 1:09:31.320 --> 1:09:33.360 Like A knew when to say no, I'm not going 1:09:33.439 --> 1:09:35.240 to charge that person that amount of money because I 1:09:35.280 --> 1:09:37.600 see what this deal is gonna do. Who's gonna be 1:09:37.680 --> 1:09:40.400 in that room. They may not have this budget. You know. 1:09:40.520 --> 1:09:43.439 Sometimes when you have representation, they just people just want 1:09:43.479 --> 1:09:45.719 to take, take and take. And I never really operated 1:09:45.800 --> 1:09:50.320 that way. I was always like nahnu, yeah for you, 1:09:50.640 --> 1:09:53.439 what makes sense for me? You know. And then you know, 1:09:53.600 --> 1:09:57.000 and when when the pandemic hit, you know, when I 1:09:57.080 --> 1:09:59.760 was home by myself. Look, you guys traveled a lot, 1:10:00.000 --> 1:10:01.920 you know, Like I know who you are and what 1:10:02.080 --> 1:10:06.519 you both accomplished in your careers. We're never home, you know, 1:10:07.680 --> 1:10:10.519 but you were also in relationship, you know, married at 1:10:10.560 --> 1:10:12.400 the time. I don't know what your status is, but 1:10:12.560 --> 1:10:16.200 like there was always someone home making sure that home 1:10:16.439 --> 1:10:20.280 was great. I was another at home, you know what 1:10:20.360 --> 1:10:21.840 I mean. Like I had moved to l A a 1:10:21.960 --> 1:10:26.080 year before, so a pandemic, I wasn't home until the 1:10:26.160 --> 1:10:30.559 day before the shutdown, so I had no food. Everybody 1:10:30.640 --> 1:10:32.960 had broken into the stores, you know, So I was 1:10:33.040 --> 1:10:34.720 in the stories and I'm you know, at the time, 1:10:35.000 --> 1:10:37.400 you know, I had a little bit of paper, it 1:10:37.479 --> 1:10:40.040 didn't matter. I had to buy a line of beans, 1:10:40.120 --> 1:10:42.320 you know what I mean, and protein bars, you know, 1:10:42.520 --> 1:10:45.560 and and you know, just things that I don't know, 1:10:45.680 --> 1:10:47.560 you know what I'm saying, whatever it is that I 1:10:47.640 --> 1:10:50.040 could get for for this two weeks because everything was 1:10:50.080 --> 1:10:52.880 shutting down. And you know, when I was sitting at 1:10:52.920 --> 1:10:55.080 home and I was looking around, I was like, man, 1:10:55.920 --> 1:10:58.280 I didn't like where I lived because I had moved 1:10:58.320 --> 1:11:00.880 to l A a year before, but I was never 1:11:01.000 --> 1:11:03.559 home to take time to, like, you don't know where 1:11:03.560 --> 1:11:06.800 you lived, like decorate. I had like four pictures on 1:11:06.880 --> 1:11:09.360 the wall when you walked through the door. That's literally it. 1:11:09.600 --> 1:11:13.040 No art, nothing. I didn't personalize anything, you know. The 1:11:13.160 --> 1:11:15.479 sofa that I had in there was was the sofa 1:11:15.560 --> 1:11:17.240 that I had in my New York apartment, which was 1:11:17.360 --> 1:11:19.599 much smaller. Now I'm in the spacious kind of loft. 1:11:19.880 --> 1:11:21.680 So when I was looking around, I was like, man, 1:11:22.600 --> 1:11:24.920 I mean, I gotta sitting here for like for weeks 1:11:25.000 --> 1:11:28.680 by myself. This is what I did. And I was frustrated, 1:11:28.720 --> 1:11:30.360 you know, Like so when I got up that morning 1:11:31.360 --> 1:11:33.280 and um and I went live for the first time 1:11:33.320 --> 1:11:37.240 on Instagram um, because I never used Instagram Live. I 1:11:37.360 --> 1:11:41.479 used Facebook Live, you know, um for the Essence Fest. 1:11:41.600 --> 1:11:43.280 But I never did all of the lot of stuff. 1:11:43.320 --> 1:11:47.360 And what was the other one periscope? Ever did any 1:11:47.400 --> 1:11:49.200 of that? I'm like, who wants to look at me? 1:11:49.720 --> 1:11:51.519 You know what I'm saying? Like I didn't. I didn't 1:11:51.560 --> 1:11:53.800 see what what it what it could have become, you know, 1:11:53.920 --> 1:11:56.080 Like I was just on some wants to sit there 1:11:56.080 --> 1:11:58.439 and like spying someone's life, you know what I mean. Like, 1:11:58.880 --> 1:12:00.920 so it wasn't my vibe and hill. I sat there 1:12:00.960 --> 1:12:04.000 at that counter and I was like, man, I'm just 1:12:04.040 --> 1:12:07.320 gonna play some music and tell some stories. And over 1:12:07.400 --> 1:12:11.920 my laptop up selected a song and I started, I 1:12:12.040 --> 1:12:13.760 know what the first song was. I was just about 1:12:13.760 --> 1:12:15.960 to ask you. Yeah, it was a song called Rising 1:12:16.000 --> 1:12:19.760 to the Top Kenny Burke, And that was my first song. 1:12:20.400 --> 1:12:23.200 And I started my I g queue that up, and 1:12:23.280 --> 1:12:25.880 I started telling stories about being a kid, like yo. 1:12:26.680 --> 1:12:28.200 I was like, oh my gosh, there was two hundred 1:12:28.200 --> 1:12:31.000 people in here. This is kind of cool, like yo, yo. 1:12:31.160 --> 1:12:32.920 And then I would see like my friends in there, 1:12:33.000 --> 1:12:35.519 Chuck Bone, and this is when I was like we're 1:12:35.560 --> 1:12:40.280 all in there Blue Williams, and like I was like, oh, yo, no, 1:12:40.560 --> 1:12:42.880 you know, no, DJ gives just my laptop with the 1:12:42.920 --> 1:12:44.840 phone sitting and I'm looking at it reading like yo, 1:12:45.000 --> 1:12:47.479 this is crazy, Like yeah, I'm gonna play this song 1:12:47.600 --> 1:12:49.920 from like when I used to walk into clubs in 1:12:50.040 --> 1:12:52.599 like nine six when I first came on the scene 1:12:52.600 --> 1:12:55.439 and Bruce b was playing this and this is this 1:12:55.640 --> 1:12:57.720 was like the anthem. This was the Queen's anthem and 1:12:57.800 --> 1:12:59.519 this was what they were playing Hallom with Bruce b 1:12:59.560 --> 1:13:01.639 B was jan at the roof top and I play 1:13:01.680 --> 1:13:04.880 a song and then people were like commenting like yo, 1:13:05.080 --> 1:13:08.120 this is dope. Yeah, and I was like yo, And 1:13:08.160 --> 1:13:09.880 I wouldn't even play the full song because I knew 1:13:09.920 --> 1:13:12.760 you could you you couldn't play music on Instagram. I 1:13:12.800 --> 1:13:14.479 would just play a little bit of it. Then I 1:13:14.520 --> 1:13:17.040 would switch it up, like yo, remember you know this 1:13:17.160 --> 1:13:19.280 Dennis Edward joint was just rocking, and I would play 1:13:19.280 --> 1:13:21.040 a little bit of that. That's literally how it started. 1:13:21.320 --> 1:13:23.439 And I did that for like hours, like three hours 1:13:23.479 --> 1:13:26.519 in the first day, and it was like two people. 1:13:27.479 --> 1:13:30.479 And then I knew John Legend had started doing his 1:13:30.600 --> 1:13:34.680 thing too, So the next day I hit Hassan Smith up. 1:13:34.720 --> 1:13:37.439 I was like, Yo, I just noticed that you can 1:13:37.479 --> 1:13:40.360 go live with someone. You think John would go live 1:13:40.439 --> 1:13:41.640 with me? And he was like, yeah, I'll call just 1:13:41.840 --> 1:13:44.360 your man, I'll call him. So he called John and 1:13:44.439 --> 1:13:46.679 then I started calling all my old school hip hop friends, 1:13:46.760 --> 1:13:49.599 like YO called Deggie Fresh. I was like, Doug, Yo, 1:13:50.200 --> 1:13:51.840 go live to me and say hi to the people 1:13:52.479 --> 1:13:56.800 like I've never done a lot yet people. I was 1:13:56.840 --> 1:13:59.920 just trying to make the ship fly. Yo, just come 1:14:00.000 --> 1:14:02.720 in and Doug was like, I don't even know how 1:14:02.840 --> 1:14:05.760 he tried. He didn't know how to join the conversation. 1:14:06.040 --> 1:14:08.559 It's way more people didn't Doug. That did Junk try 1:14:08.640 --> 1:14:13.120 to get on there, you know, Duncan figured out. Then 1:14:13.200 --> 1:14:15.680 the first person that I went live with was I 1:14:15.760 --> 1:14:18.280 believe I'll be sure. It was I'll be Sure that 1:14:18.360 --> 1:14:19.960 went live with me first, and he was, you know, 1:14:20.120 --> 1:14:29.320 he was all on his outbeat. Then Kane went live 1:14:29.439 --> 1:14:32.280 with me. Dave Chappelle went live with me, but not 1:14:32.479 --> 1:14:35.960 he didn't have Instagram, so it went from his wife's account, 1:14:36.040 --> 1:14:38.599 you know what I'm saying. So they was just watching 1:14:38.800 --> 1:14:40.720 TV and they were they had the music going on 1:14:40.760 --> 1:14:42.920 in the background. Me on the background when they was 1:14:42.960 --> 1:14:45.479 his partying. But Dave went live and talked to the people, 1:14:45.560 --> 1:14:48.519 and then um the one that I noticed because I 1:14:48.640 --> 1:14:51.120 wasn't paying attention to how it works. Now I remember 1:14:51.320 --> 1:14:54.599 I'm a programmer. When I went live with John Legend 1:14:54.880 --> 1:14:57.960 and he had his daughter Lula on his shoulders and 1:14:58.080 --> 1:14:59.679 we were just he was just saying how to the people. 1:15:00.200 --> 1:15:03.040 I looked at the numbers, and my numbers went from 1:15:03.120 --> 1:15:05.080 like that. It was like at that time floating around 1:15:05.160 --> 1:15:08.720 three hundred. That joints the six thousand, and I was like, wait, 1:15:08.840 --> 1:15:12.639 what the fund just happened? And then usually like when 1:15:12.680 --> 1:15:15.280 I'm done, I just analyzed everything and I was like, 1:15:16.080 --> 1:15:21.240 oh my gosh, it's telling people. It's notifying that other 1:15:21.360 --> 1:15:27.160 person's like whoever they're on with telling their people, because 1:15:27.160 --> 1:15:28.840 that joint went to six thousand, and then when he 1:15:28.920 --> 1:15:30.720 left it went down to one thousand. Like now I 1:15:30.800 --> 1:15:32.360 got a thousand people in there, and I was like, 1:15:33.360 --> 1:15:36.960 oh ship, Like no one knew all of that. This 1:15:37.160 --> 1:15:39.880 was early. No one was using I g Live like that. 1:15:40.800 --> 1:15:43.920 There didn't no one like in that week it increased 1:15:44.800 --> 1:15:48.479 because of what I was doing, like no bullshit, So 1:15:48.640 --> 1:15:51.000 no one knew what was going on? Like, and I 1:15:51.120 --> 1:15:53.160 saw that and I was like, oh my gosh, this 1:15:53.360 --> 1:15:55.960 is crazy. And I was indeed and this was now 1:15:56.040 --> 1:15:58.240 I'm just having like conversation and playing songs and then 1:15:58.680 --> 1:16:01.960 back to the and then I decided to call it 1:16:02.000 --> 1:16:04.800 a party because I called I called Clark kent up 1:16:04.880 --> 1:16:08.160 and I was like, yo, bro, like this actually feels real, 1:16:08.680 --> 1:16:12.479 you know, like you know, I don't know, like I'm 1:16:12.520 --> 1:16:14.720 happy and here my speakers allowed, so it felt like 1:16:14.800 --> 1:16:16.960 I was in the club. It was like at this point, too, 1:16:17.000 --> 1:16:19.839 you're in an apartment. I was in an apartment. Neighbors, 1:16:22.040 --> 1:16:24.320 how did you? How did you deal with that? I mean, 1:16:24.360 --> 1:16:25.920 I couldn't kick you out of the pandemic, so it 1:16:25.960 --> 1:16:27.760 wasn't like they could give me out, but they were 1:16:27.840 --> 1:16:30.360 banging on the walls and it was like, yeah, very annoying. 1:16:30.960 --> 1:16:33.840 It felt uncomfortable because I'm not I don't like confrontation 1:16:34.320 --> 1:16:37.719 and I also like respecting people's space. But they didn't 1:16:37.720 --> 1:16:40.080 see what I was seeing. But I was seeing what 1:16:40.120 --> 1:16:45.400 they did. They know that, yeah, but they don't even 1:16:45.600 --> 1:16:47.680 they didn't even know who d Knights was because I 1:16:47.800 --> 1:16:49.599 ended up meeting the neighbors. They had no idea who 1:16:49.640 --> 1:16:51.640 I was, which is a funny story too. But like 1:16:52.520 --> 1:16:55.120 when I called Clark, I was like, I'm gonna call 1:16:55.200 --> 1:16:59.000 I'm gonna name this a party because before that people 1:16:59.040 --> 1:17:02.200 started reaching out to me. Now like you know, you 1:17:02.280 --> 1:17:05.479 know chicken spots, you know, I got the call from 1:17:05.560 --> 1:17:08.400 like someone from wingstop. That was like I knew, I 1:17:08.479 --> 1:17:12.519 knew it was cracking. When a girl asked me, she 1:17:12.720 --> 1:17:17.040 was like, and she knows you too, but she was like, 1:17:17.560 --> 1:17:18.760 do you know where? Do you know where? Do you 1:17:18.840 --> 1:17:23.559 know where there lives? No? Listen, listen, listen, it's crazy, 1:17:23.600 --> 1:17:27.880 but I don't. She's like, would you would you mind like, 1:17:28.080 --> 1:17:30.599 you know, just calling him and getting his address because 1:17:30.640 --> 1:17:32.200 I want to. I just want to take him something, 1:17:33.320 --> 1:17:34.880 so I just want to deliver it. I'll just leave 1:17:34.920 --> 1:17:36.680 it at the door. I just you know, he's just 1:17:36.760 --> 1:17:43.000 over there by himself. I'm like, oh, he's craggy, jaty 1:17:44.000 --> 1:17:51.720 get him jaety, oh ship. We just want to drop 1:17:51.800 --> 1:17:54.800 off the food. Yeah. Then I started getting food. Yeah, 1:17:55.000 --> 1:17:57.599 I'm pretty I'm pretty listen. We won't say, but I'm 1:17:57.600 --> 1:18:00.320 pretty sure I called you got your address? Ye sitting 1:18:00.600 --> 1:18:03.280 they were sitting food. They would have the chefs make 1:18:03.400 --> 1:18:06.479 like yo. It was that first week was like things 1:18:06.760 --> 1:18:11.320 flipped quickly, like and it was really because I never 1:18:11.520 --> 1:18:14.000 I didn't ask anybody for anything. Like I was just like, 1:18:14.240 --> 1:18:16.200 I'm just gonna play some music because this feels good, 1:18:16.360 --> 1:18:19.200 like I was. Then I became addicted to it. Then 1:18:19.280 --> 1:18:21.560 I was like, yo, I'm gonna When Clark said that, 1:18:21.920 --> 1:18:23.360 I was like, I'm gonna go and get some gear 1:18:23.360 --> 1:18:24.920 because I didn't have DJ gear at home. And I 1:18:25.000 --> 1:18:26.920 made it to like guitar Stan I like thirty minutes 1:18:26.960 --> 1:18:29.040 before they closed. If I didn't make it there, I 1:18:29.040 --> 1:18:31.439 wouldn't none of this happens, you know. But I made 1:18:31.479 --> 1:18:33.920 it there. You had no gears. No, I didn't believe 1:18:33.960 --> 1:18:35.840 in having like gear at home, you know what I'm saying. 1:18:35.880 --> 1:18:37.880 Like I lived in an apartment. I didn't want to 1:18:37.880 --> 1:18:40.879 walk in my living room and see like like turn tables. 1:18:41.560 --> 1:18:43.720 That just wasn't sexy to me, you know. Um So 1:18:43.800 --> 1:18:45.560 I didn't have anything. But like now I'm stuck in 1:18:45.600 --> 1:18:49.519 the house, I need something, and um man, I bought 1:18:49.560 --> 1:18:53.320 that controller. And then that's when I posted home school, 1:18:55.160 --> 1:18:57.639 and this dude right here was like call it home school. 1:18:59.240 --> 1:19:02.160 That's terrible. Man. I was like it's homeschool. Because by 1:19:02.240 --> 1:19:07.720 that guy, I thought I was you know, I thought 1:19:07.720 --> 1:19:09.799 I was warting something. I was like, this home school, 1:19:10.280 --> 1:19:12.840 I'm teaching these cats about music. You know what I'm saying, like, Yo, 1:19:12.880 --> 1:19:15.799 I'm educating you on the classics right now. He's always 1:19:15.840 --> 1:19:18.720 gonna call you with it. That ain't their chick. Yo. 1:19:18.840 --> 1:19:21.160 He definitely said that, and he was like, what do 1:19:21.240 --> 1:19:23.600 you mean, I'm hot. He was like, no, it's not 1:19:23.720 --> 1:19:27.360 in like homeschool. Like that's cool. You should call it 1:19:27.439 --> 1:19:32.679 club quarantine. Wow. Yeah, yeah, I owe you on that one. Brother. 1:19:33.160 --> 1:19:50.400 He was like, you should call it club quarantine. People 1:19:50.439 --> 1:19:52.719 thought I sold the name club quarantine from other people, 1:19:52.760 --> 1:19:54.760 and I'm like, yo, I really just got it from this. 1:19:56.360 --> 1:20:01.240 Maybe he did, but I didn't listen. No disclaimer, no, 1:20:01.360 --> 1:20:06.639 no disclaimer, no disclaimer, no. I just for me, that's 1:20:06.720 --> 1:20:09.560 what it was. It was club quarnine. It was you 1:20:09.720 --> 1:20:13.080 literally brought the club to the quarantine. It was. Now 1:20:13.200 --> 1:20:14.880 if someone else was saying that, I don't know either 1:20:14.920 --> 1:20:17.560 because I but I wasn't watching anybody else since so 1:20:17.600 --> 1:20:20.320 I wouldn't even know. People were definitely like I had 1:20:20.400 --> 1:20:24.080 club quarantine and I didn't know if you did if 1:20:24.120 --> 1:20:29.880 you started a Yeah, your first day we was on 1:20:31.080 --> 1:20:34.600 and we was telling everybody body, y'all, make sure you 1:20:35.800 --> 1:20:38.320 know who was he who was a heavy promoter for you. 1:20:39.600 --> 1:20:44.400 Tyrese Gibson was really And that's crazy because you probably 1:20:44.439 --> 1:20:49.320 just didn't even know, but Tyrese was promoting Club Quarantine 1:20:49.479 --> 1:20:53.240 as if he was because he was just so excited 1:20:53.880 --> 1:20:56.800 and he loved what you were doing that much. I 1:20:56.960 --> 1:21:01.360 just I remember that. I remember that, and and that's something, 1:21:01.400 --> 1:21:03.360 like I said, that's something you should know because as brothers, 1:21:03.720 --> 1:21:06.519 a lot of times we don't understand sometimes the people 1:21:06.560 --> 1:21:08.760 that are pulling for us, and we think we're doing 1:21:08.960 --> 1:21:11.680 you know, we think we're out here by ourselves, right, 1:21:11.760 --> 1:21:14.680 we think that, man, I'm just I have somebody, and 1:21:14.960 --> 1:21:18.800 there are people that are literally pushing you forward without 1:21:18.880 --> 1:21:21.360 even you know, without absolutely I mean that's how we 1:21:21.479 --> 1:21:24.760 got excuse me, so many people in there, you know, Um, 1:21:25.760 --> 1:21:27.640 there were a lot of people like that, Yeah, that 1:21:27.720 --> 1:21:32.000 were literally sending sending to each other, sending d ms 1:21:32.040 --> 1:21:35.880 like oh d nights on, getting like reminding each other everything. 1:21:35.960 --> 1:21:39.000 But like it was really the conversation started. Yeah, it 1:21:39.080 --> 1:21:43.759 was a community. Then it took on a whole another. 1:21:44.600 --> 1:21:46.920 It became a whole of the monster were like you 1:21:47.000 --> 1:21:50.000 were actually talking to people and telling people what you 1:21:50.160 --> 1:21:52.360 was drinking and what you're about to order from the bar, 1:21:52.840 --> 1:21:55.240 and like like I'm doing the running Man right now, 1:21:55.360 --> 1:21:59.000 what you do. Like it became that the commentary was 1:21:59.040 --> 1:22:02.960 the better, the commentary the best. You see real different 1:22:03.080 --> 1:22:06.800 people tap in, you see them blue checks and people 1:22:06.920 --> 1:22:10.519 like it was going up. It was it was going up. 1:22:10.880 --> 1:22:15.760 And I think aside from your gift, which obviously drove it, 1:22:16.800 --> 1:22:20.599 it was the fact that people were genuinely they were 1:22:20.680 --> 1:22:25.760 genuinely happy for you because all of us that had 1:22:25.920 --> 1:22:30.160 encountered you in real life, I knew the guy you were, 1:22:31.000 --> 1:22:36.439 and we were really happy about something good happening to 1:22:36.840 --> 1:22:40.320 a good person, And I think that was something that 1:22:40.520 --> 1:22:45.840 pushed us to promote, to talk about it, to tap 1:22:45.960 --> 1:22:48.519 in to you know what I mean, like like just 1:22:48.600 --> 1:22:50.679 like you said you just like man, I just be random. 1:22:50.720 --> 1:22:54.439 I've randomly called j about different things, but just even that, 1:22:54.560 --> 1:22:56.800 it was like, no, this is my friend, but yeah, 1:22:56.840 --> 1:23:00.400 he cracking, And we've all had friends who get cracking. 1:23:00.960 --> 1:23:05.920 But it was different, I think for everybody associated with you, 1:23:07.080 --> 1:23:11.599 because we were just like he deserved this because everybody 1:23:11.680 --> 1:23:15.519 hadn't experience the d nice party either, because you became 1:23:15.640 --> 1:23:18.800 very corporate for a minute, were you was you was 1:23:18.840 --> 1:23:21.560 getting your corporate back. You just weren't you know what 1:23:21.560 --> 1:23:23.759 I mean, You wasn't at every single club. They couldn't 1:23:23.760 --> 1:23:30.040 experience you like that. So now everybody and every Middle 1:23:30.080 --> 1:23:35.880 America and and you put R and B in a 1:23:36.000 --> 1:23:39.720 different heaven, heavy heavy, heavy, R and B. You put 1:23:39.880 --> 1:23:43.560 R and B and out. I love the record you 1:23:43.640 --> 1:23:47.160 and Neo did. Yeah, like you was really tapping in. 1:23:47.920 --> 1:23:52.400 It's yeah, you did so much with with that one thing, 1:23:52.600 --> 1:23:55.840 like you. I mean, it's monumental. So to see how 1:23:56.600 --> 1:24:01.439 it grew into like going to the Hollywood ball a man, 1:24:01.800 --> 1:24:08.679 Yeah that was crazy, bro, the Hollywood Bowl rocking like that. Yeah, 1:24:08.720 --> 1:24:15.040 it's crazy going back next year too, Yeah that was crazy. Yeah. Yeah, 1:24:15.200 --> 1:24:19.840 that's to me, that is where that's what CQ represents 1:24:20.680 --> 1:24:24.800 because that was like the entire pen the entire early 1:24:24.840 --> 1:24:28.120 part of the pandemic all I imagine. I couldn't think 1:24:28.120 --> 1:24:32.040 of any other place that that felt like I was like, man, 1:24:32.120 --> 1:24:34.400 when the world opens up, I just want to play 1:24:34.439 --> 1:24:36.719 the Hollywood Bowl because the Hollywood Bowl was the reason 1:24:36.760 --> 1:24:38.519 why I moved to l A. I had gone to 1:24:38.600 --> 1:24:41.439 a concert there, like a Lauren Hill concert, and I 1:24:41.560 --> 1:24:43.800 was it was Lauren Hill and like Dave Chappelle, and 1:24:44.960 --> 1:24:48.120 I'm like, yo, you mean you can party outside, but 1:24:48.200 --> 1:24:50.320 I've never been there, Like wait, you can sit here 1:24:50.360 --> 1:24:54.200 and party and drink wine in your own box in 1:24:54.439 --> 1:24:59.640 order food. Yo, they had blankets. I was like, my 1:24:59.760 --> 1:25:03.360 part with blankets. You know, got blankets and listen, you 1:25:03.439 --> 1:25:07.479 got some offering. And he was. He was the full 1:25:07.600 --> 1:25:13.519 kicker of club Quarantine, the prettiest women in the entire world. No, no, 1:25:13.640 --> 1:25:16.400 I definitely have some beautiful phones. Oh my god. Like 1:25:16.520 --> 1:25:22.320 I'm like, I'm like Tank one night one night, because 1:25:22.520 --> 1:25:24.600 because one night, you know, I used to be I 1:25:24.720 --> 1:25:26.960 just be fooling around and I'm in there playing music. 1:25:27.040 --> 1:25:30.000 I always get kicked off for playing songs so way 1:25:30.120 --> 1:25:33.760 too long, playing songs in a way too nasty. And 1:25:35.160 --> 1:25:39.120 one night d Nice literally brought his people. I was like, yo, 1:25:39.240 --> 1:25:42.320 go there, we're gonna go. Let's flood his page. I 1:25:42.479 --> 1:25:46.880 turned all the way up. What I was like, Oh yeah, okay, 1:25:47.000 --> 1:25:50.040 y'all didn't know I could get this. I didn't know 1:25:50.120 --> 1:25:56.559 he was a nasty I'm like, yeah, I'm just happy 1:25:56.640 --> 1:25:58.680 that you know some of the corporate people maybe they 1:25:58.720 --> 1:26:01.080 were there, maybe you know now. But you know what's 1:26:01.120 --> 1:26:04.320 so funny though, there's I Menna leave her name out, 1:26:04.400 --> 1:26:07.439 but she's a huge, huge She's huge at one of 1:26:07.479 --> 1:26:11.000 the film companies, like huge, like CEO type huge like. 1:26:12.200 --> 1:26:13.960 And I had a chance to speak with her and 1:26:14.360 --> 1:26:17.439 like about a week ago, and she was with a buddy. 1:26:18.200 --> 1:26:20.160 She was like, you know, she knew that we knew 1:26:20.160 --> 1:26:22.760 each other, and he put her on the phone and man, 1:26:22.840 --> 1:26:26.040 this woman, she was like, you have no idea. I 1:26:26.320 --> 1:26:29.400 love you like I listened to you in the middle 1:26:29.400 --> 1:26:31.479 of the night. So that means she was listening to 1:26:31.760 --> 1:26:34.920 the slow songs that I was playing, was extra nasty, 1:26:36.240 --> 1:26:37.760 Like she was like, yeah, I would wake up, I 1:26:37.760 --> 1:26:40.759 would shower them. You were on. Like it really became 1:26:40.880 --> 1:26:43.000 u it became a thing, and it was something that 1:26:43.080 --> 1:26:45.600 people really look forward to, you know. And that's and 1:26:45.680 --> 1:26:48.240 to me, that's what made like the Hollywood Bowl and 1:26:48.560 --> 1:26:51.519 these gigs that I have so special. That when you 1:26:51.640 --> 1:26:55.280 look into that audience, you see a little bit of everyone. Yeah, 1:26:56.080 --> 1:26:58.360 you know, you see a little bit of everyone different 1:26:58.400 --> 1:27:02.479 backgrounds and coaches and because that's what it represented, man like, 1:27:03.360 --> 1:27:05.960 you know, And the thing that made it easy was 1:27:06.439 --> 1:27:10.320 the music that I played represented love. You know. I 1:27:10.400 --> 1:27:14.040 didn't really thug it out. I think I went in 1:27:14.120 --> 1:27:15.680 your comments and tried to get you to drag it 1:27:15.720 --> 1:27:20.200 out a couple of times. You up, because in my mind, 1:27:21.040 --> 1:27:22.920 what I saw on the other end of the phone 1:27:23.120 --> 1:27:25.920 was people listening with their families, and I wanted to 1:27:25.960 --> 1:27:27.960 be respectful of that. You know, I haven't you know, 1:27:27.960 --> 1:27:29.439 at the time, she was eight. You know, I haven't 1:27:29.439 --> 1:27:30.840 eight year old. You know, I don't want to hear 1:27:30.960 --> 1:27:36.080 like crazy with the kids. Sure we danced with kids, 1:27:36.200 --> 1:27:39.080 you know. Like so that was that that that was 1:27:39.160 --> 1:27:41.840 on my mind. And I remember, like, um, a few 1:27:41.880 --> 1:27:44.160 months ago, like one of my friends was in town 1:27:44.200 --> 1:27:47.040 and she came over and she just stopped by. She 1:27:47.200 --> 1:27:48.720 was like, do you mind if I stopped by for 1:27:48.760 --> 1:27:51.280 a minute. I want you to meet this kid. And 1:27:51.680 --> 1:27:54.760 she pulled up. Her friend was driving. They pulled up 1:27:54.800 --> 1:27:58.280 and I went outside the hat on. I'm thinking, I'm 1:27:58.280 --> 1:28:01.000 gonna meet like a kid like, you know, eight or nine, 1:28:02.080 --> 1:28:04.120 roll down the back window on his kid turned around 1:28:04.160 --> 1:28:06.040 and his eyes lit up, and she said, who is 1:28:06.120 --> 1:28:08.800 that baby? This little kid was two years old and 1:28:08.840 --> 1:28:11.720 he was like, it's d nice, and I thought about it. 1:28:12.680 --> 1:28:14.600 I was like Elmo to this kid because I was 1:28:14.680 --> 1:28:17.600 always probably on his mother's screens or on that you 1:28:17.640 --> 1:28:20.880 know in the kitchen. You know, like that's all he 1:28:21.040 --> 1:28:24.720 saw for like two years. So like it too, even 1:28:24.760 --> 1:28:27.680 to the kids, it means something, Yeah, yeah, that's wild, bro, 1:28:27.920 --> 1:28:29.800 it's wild, and it's it's I don't want to say 1:28:29.800 --> 1:28:32.120 why in the negative way, it's just it's just beautiful. Man, 1:28:32.400 --> 1:28:37.559 Like to know your music, your music, you know, Stevie Wonder, 1:28:38.280 --> 1:28:42.000 David Bowie, you know, Level forty two, Like all of 1:28:42.080 --> 1:28:44.760 this music kept people dancing. You're dancing your kitchen and 1:28:44.840 --> 1:28:47.720 ship that you probably didn't even know, but it just 1:28:47.800 --> 1:28:50.280 felt good and your kids were dancing. You're just having 1:28:50.320 --> 1:28:52.120 a good time and you know you probably were in 1:28:52.160 --> 1:28:55.040 there kick in the kitchen cooking and the vibes felt good. 1:28:56.040 --> 1:28:57.640 And the next thing, you know, like now you know 1:28:57.800 --> 1:28:59.920 that song, like not too many people was playing Melbourne more. 1:29:00.560 --> 1:29:03.640 You know right now, shout out to Melbourne more like 1:29:03.720 --> 1:29:09.320 Melbourne because now I now interact with Melbourne more because 1:29:09.400 --> 1:29:14.800 of Club Quarantine. Stephanie Mills and Legends she was in 1:29:14.920 --> 1:29:17.160 there every day. Now rogers forget about it. Now, I 1:29:17.280 --> 1:29:20.760 was in there everything like yo. And then now it's 1:29:20.800 --> 1:29:23.560 like when they see me out, they're like yo. You know, 1:29:23.840 --> 1:29:26.599 like Melbourne. Melbourne just she's getting her star in Hollywood 1:29:26.880 --> 1:29:29.320 Walk of Fame and when she posted about it, she 1:29:29.439 --> 1:29:31.439 was like yo. Oh. A lot of this to d 1:29:31.600 --> 1:29:34.920 nice because he reminded people who I am, you know, 1:29:35.240 --> 1:29:38.360 like you see an icon leave comments like that. It's 1:29:38.400 --> 1:29:41.040 like wow, like you know, I don't want to make 1:29:41.080 --> 1:29:43.160 it light, you know that. I was just playing music, 1:29:43.280 --> 1:29:46.559 but I selected those songs to play when the world 1:29:46.720 --> 1:29:48.800 was listening because I wanted to remind people of what 1:29:49.520 --> 1:29:52.639 what love felt like musically, Like sonically this this feels 1:29:52.680 --> 1:29:54.800 like love, you know, even if you didn't know what 1:29:54.880 --> 1:29:58.519 they were singing, that rhythm something. How could you not 1:29:58.800 --> 1:30:01.400 How could you put on David Boy's fame and not 1:30:01.640 --> 1:30:03.280 feel like you want to lean your hat to the 1:30:03.400 --> 1:30:07.680 side or something like the drums and that guitar like 1:30:08.520 --> 1:30:10.280 or you just want a head not you know what 1:30:10.320 --> 1:30:13.920 I mean? Like, how could you not play like you know, um, 1:30:14.439 --> 1:30:17.559 Marvin Gaye Distant Lover and I feel like you want 1:30:17.560 --> 1:30:19.720 to pour a glass of wine in front of the world, like, Yo, 1:30:19.840 --> 1:30:22.000 this is what we're listening to right now. Let's this 1:30:22.200 --> 1:30:25.160 is it right now? We used to slow dance. Let's 1:30:25.160 --> 1:30:29.080 slow dance together all over the world in your living rooms. Yeah. 1:30:29.439 --> 1:30:32.040 So I couldn't have like a Hollywood Bowl without having 1:30:32.120 --> 1:30:35.160 Tank you know what I mean? Because I was playing 1:30:35.200 --> 1:30:38.400 those records in the middle of the night, like everyone 1:30:38.520 --> 1:30:41.960 knew what Tank record I was playing. I was playing 1:30:42.000 --> 1:30:49.760 dirty like crazy, yo, dirty record. I was like, I 1:30:49.840 --> 1:30:53.280 played one that I was like, God, damn ye. This 1:30:53.320 --> 1:30:56.840 ship is nasty, but it's sexy. All types of what 1:30:56.920 --> 1:31:01.240 I'm doing with this pillow and a pregnancy music. I 1:31:01.400 --> 1:31:09.120 put your face to the pillow, so listen, so listen 1:31:09.200 --> 1:31:12.160 on that note, on that note. Nice, You're a superstar, 1:31:12.920 --> 1:31:16.360 right and you've you've had success before, You've been known before, 1:31:16.800 --> 1:31:21.519 but now you are, you're an international star. How does 1:31:21.920 --> 1:31:26.920 that feel? Because it's it's it's different and managing that 1:31:28.280 --> 1:31:31.800 it's different. It's different, you know, like before before the 1:31:31.840 --> 1:31:34.599 world opened up and when this thing was like blowing 1:31:34.680 --> 1:31:37.840 up crazy, I was on the zoom call with like 1:31:38.120 --> 1:31:42.000 it was like puff Jay. Then he asked it was 1:31:42.040 --> 1:31:43.720 Lenny asked his birthday and we're all in this and 1:31:43.920 --> 1:31:46.040 I was I was still on c Q DJ and 1:31:46.439 --> 1:31:48.000 but I would play a song and run back to 1:31:48.040 --> 1:31:51.439 the laptop, like and I'm in this whole conversation with 1:31:51.520 --> 1:31:54.760 everyone and like and then Jay kept going, Yo, how 1:31:54.760 --> 1:31:57.680 does it feel? And I'm like, you're talking about bro. 1:31:58.520 --> 1:32:01.040 He's like, how does it feel? He's like not not really, 1:32:01.080 --> 1:32:02.760 I'm not trying to be an asshole, like how does 1:32:02.840 --> 1:32:06.360 it feel? It's like, yo, bro, I had success before. 1:32:06.439 --> 1:32:10.200 He was like, no, you had success, and you had 1:32:10.200 --> 1:32:13.880 a couple of hit records, but this is different. I 1:32:13.960 --> 1:32:16.800 didn't know what he meant because I was still at 1:32:17.640 --> 1:32:21.040 Z asking Jay Z like yo. I was still at home, 1:32:21.160 --> 1:32:22.800 So I'm like, I don't know if this dude is 1:32:22.800 --> 1:32:27.680 talking about your new fan. Yeah at this point, right, 1:32:28.320 --> 1:32:30.439 you know, I was like, Line was like, yo, Jay, 1:32:30.560 --> 1:32:32.960 chill man Shi Like he was like, no, I really 1:32:33.000 --> 1:32:36.160 want to know because this is different. I didn't know 1:32:36.479 --> 1:32:42.080 until until we put that Hollywood Bowl on sale. Give 1:32:42.160 --> 1:32:45.519 the people how fast that thing? So that thing sold 1:32:45.560 --> 1:32:48.920 out in like four days? Man, Like the Hollywood Bowl. 1:32:49.080 --> 1:32:51.320 Oh yeah, like in like four or four or five days, 1:32:52.040 --> 1:32:55.680 sold out, sold out, and then they were reserving some 1:32:55.840 --> 1:32:58.760 tickets because it was selling so quickly that they held 1:32:58.800 --> 1:33:00.960 a bunch of tickets because they were like, yo, we 1:33:01.040 --> 1:33:03.720 gotta make sure like artists got tickets or whatever. But 1:33:03.840 --> 1:33:06.400 then when they released the artist tickets, those drinks sold, 1:33:06.479 --> 1:33:08.880 you know what I'm saying, it was like, holy sh it, 1:33:09.200 --> 1:33:11.600 you know, and like the one thing that mattered the 1:33:11.640 --> 1:33:13.960 most to me, well, one of the things that mattered 1:33:14.000 --> 1:33:16.400 the most, not even the one thing, but it goes 1:33:16.479 --> 1:33:21.040 back to the days of like opening for Jill and 1:33:21.200 --> 1:33:23.920 remembering where they had me, not jail per se. I 1:33:24.080 --> 1:33:25.640 just never want to say it's about the artist, but 1:33:25.680 --> 1:33:27.320 like you know, when they set up everything, they're like, oh, 1:33:27.360 --> 1:33:30.280 he's just the DJ, and having that DJ booth in 1:33:30.400 --> 1:33:33.479 that corner, I was like, my joint is going to 1:33:33.520 --> 1:33:38.439 be front and center the castle at L E. D One, 1:33:38.640 --> 1:33:41.479 I was like, yo, I'm gonna have every top on top. 1:33:42.040 --> 1:33:44.040 But I also wanted to make sure that every artist 1:33:44.120 --> 1:33:46.880 felt love when they came out, that it switched from 1:33:46.920 --> 1:33:49.519 my logo to big gas tank on you know what 1:33:49.560 --> 1:33:52.120 I'm saying, and every time someone walked out because it 1:33:52.320 --> 1:33:56.400 was that's what I personally feel like I represented inclusion 1:33:56.520 --> 1:33:59.120 and love and like you know, we're all doing this together, 1:33:59.560 --> 1:34:01.800 you know, so you know, I just remember sitting in 1:34:01.840 --> 1:34:04.000 that dressing room and take to sit there. He was like, 1:34:05.200 --> 1:34:11.559 you're DJ, You're sold out the Hollywood Like what the hell, 1:34:12.160 --> 1:34:15.439 I've never played the Hollywood Bowl. Hollywood. He's like, Yo, 1:34:15.800 --> 1:34:18.840 you got the Hollywood Bowl. Like this is wild and 1:34:18.960 --> 1:34:20.960 that's that's why I'm playing, Like, you know, like when 1:34:21.080 --> 1:34:24.240 you know I'm playing Carnegie Hall next week, man, and 1:34:24.360 --> 1:34:28.000 that you know that that feels crazy too, where I'm like, man, 1:34:29.120 --> 1:34:32.040 I got my own night at Carnegie Hall. Like I 1:34:32.840 --> 1:34:36.000 went specifically to Carnegie Hall to see, you know how 1:34:36.040 --> 1:34:38.360 they have like the little billboard posters on the side 1:34:38.400 --> 1:34:40.639 of the on the side of the building. And as 1:34:40.680 --> 1:34:44.080 I walked up, and it's funny. As I walked up, Um, 1:34:44.200 --> 1:34:45.760 one of the guys from New Kids on the Block 1:34:45.920 --> 1:34:47.600 was walking up at the same time, and he's just 1:34:47.600 --> 1:34:50.240 like yo. D turned around him and I was like, yo, 1:34:50.320 --> 1:34:52.120 I'm trying to find my poster. He was like, I'll 1:34:52.120 --> 1:34:54.439 go with you. And then we walked over and just 1:34:54.479 --> 1:34:56.439 stood there together and we were both sitting there like 1:34:56.479 --> 1:35:00.479 because they had never played Carnkie all either. And I 1:35:00.520 --> 1:35:02.600 think he's working on something right now for Carnegie. But 1:35:02.720 --> 1:35:04.680 like we just stood there and we just looked at 1:35:04.720 --> 1:35:07.360 and I was like, man, this is wild. This is 1:35:07.439 --> 1:35:10.200 some wild ship. Man. Like, so not only did it 1:35:11.040 --> 1:35:13.280 it makes me or you know, kind of put the 1:35:13.320 --> 1:35:15.599 spotlight on me with fans and like I was able 1:35:15.640 --> 1:35:17.840 to just play all of the music. But I've also 1:35:18.000 --> 1:35:20.880 met a lot of artists that I just personally adore, 1:35:20.960 --> 1:35:23.400 you know what I mean, Like, you know, like you 1:35:23.479 --> 1:35:25.639 and I, all three of us, we've always been cool. 1:35:26.400 --> 1:35:28.840 But like I think the pandemic slowed everything down, and 1:35:28.960 --> 1:35:31.599 like seeing your names popping all the time, it was like, Yo, 1:35:31.720 --> 1:35:33.280 these are my brothers, you know what I mean, Like 1:35:34.080 --> 1:35:35.800 you could have just been doing your own thing, but 1:35:35.920 --> 1:35:37.680 you chose to come and you chose to be Like, yo, 1:35:37.720 --> 1:35:40.320 you should call it quarantine or whatever. You know. The 1:35:40.400 --> 1:35:43.200 first person I hear about, you know, doing the bowl. 1:35:43.240 --> 1:35:46.200 Because I didn't know how to ask artists. I didn't know, like, 1:35:46.880 --> 1:35:48.200 ye know, I want I want to see if some 1:35:48.280 --> 1:35:49.960 artists will come out. I didn't know how to ask. 1:35:50.040 --> 1:35:52.920 I was like, man, I didn't know I had your number, 1:35:52.920 --> 1:35:54.320 But I was like I can't call this man, Like 1:35:54.479 --> 1:35:56.200 I don't I want him to say no. So I 1:35:56.320 --> 1:36:00.639 called him. He's like, take to that, man, I think 1:36:00.680 --> 1:36:02.880 it to it and you did. You did most of them, bro, 1:36:03.000 --> 1:36:04.720 And you know, like I got somebody didn't want to 1:36:04.760 --> 1:36:08.000 be not on anything like Jay. So when what's what's 1:36:08.240 --> 1:36:14.679 what's the schedules, what's the schedule. I'm pulling up. I'm 1:36:14.760 --> 1:36:19.280 pulling it up. I'm pulling up. He's like, don't even 1:36:19.320 --> 1:36:21.320 worry about it, you know, like I just want to 1:36:21.360 --> 1:36:23.880 be there and that come on, man, Like now, but 1:36:24.000 --> 1:36:28.439 we're we're really about brotherhood, man like seriously, Like we don't. 1:36:28.560 --> 1:36:32.959 We don't say that as just some you know, slogan 1:36:33.120 --> 1:36:35.960 or something little, you know, tagline, Like we really mean it. 1:36:36.080 --> 1:36:37.640 Like when we fool with you, we fool with you. 1:36:37.680 --> 1:36:41.880 I mean obviously you've seen that with us, and I 1:36:42.000 --> 1:36:44.639 think we've been we've been in this industry long enough 1:36:44.720 --> 1:36:48.760 to see the other side of it, the foolishness, the 1:36:48.880 --> 1:36:52.280 dark side, you know, the crabbing, the barrel of the 1:36:52.360 --> 1:36:56.760 whole thing. And instead of complaining about that, we're just like, 1:36:56.880 --> 1:37:02.200 we'll just operate different. What operate friend, and the people 1:37:02.280 --> 1:37:04.640 that we choose to deal with will operate different with 1:37:04.840 --> 1:37:08.040 them so that they know Oh, these guys moving a 1:37:08.120 --> 1:37:11.880 different space and hopefully, you know, as corny as it 1:37:11.960 --> 1:37:15.200 may sound, hopefully somebody will experience that with us and 1:37:15.320 --> 1:37:18.679 then pass it and move it and pay it forward. 1:37:18.800 --> 1:37:20.559 That's not corny at all, bro, Like that's the way 1:37:20.600 --> 1:37:24.600 it's supposed to be. Pay it forward, you know, Like, 1:37:24.760 --> 1:37:27.640 and that's that's the vibe. I'm one man, Like I 1:37:27.800 --> 1:37:29.439 just want to share it with people, you know, like 1:37:30.080 --> 1:37:32.200 even even the artists that I select, you know, like 1:37:32.280 --> 1:37:34.080 a lot of artists, you know, when you talk about 1:37:34.120 --> 1:37:37.479 like a Hollywood Bowl or talk about the Carnegie, you 1:37:37.520 --> 1:37:39.760 know what that many like hip hop artists and most 1:37:39.800 --> 1:37:41.960 black artists that played the stage weren't really are be 1:37:42.160 --> 1:37:45.240 they were doing like jazz or or you definitely want rap, 1:37:45.720 --> 1:37:48.880 definitely right, and you're incorporating all of that. So I'm 1:37:48.920 --> 1:37:51.560 incorporating that, you know, like you know, I got I 1:37:51.640 --> 1:37:54.680 got Kane, and I got Jada Kiss. He's gonna do 1:37:54.800 --> 1:38:00.280 We're gonna make it Carnegie with the orchestra what yeah, yeah, 1:38:01.920 --> 1:38:03.960 you know what I'm saying, Like I'm on that mission. 1:38:04.000 --> 1:38:07.360 I'm like, how do we how do we like started 1:38:07.439 --> 1:38:13.599 corporating real music and not just the drummer like because normally, 1:38:13.600 --> 1:38:16.439 if dudes aren't on tour with a string section at 1:38:16.479 --> 1:38:20.280 all and a horn section, that's all synthesizer, you know 1:38:20.320 --> 1:38:23.360 what I mean, Like in Stems and No. Bro, I'm like, 1:38:24.160 --> 1:38:26.920 we're still gonna have the elements of that record because 1:38:26.920 --> 1:38:29.880 I'm still DJ, and but I you know, I created 1:38:29.880 --> 1:38:32.000 a whole set list for like the artists in the 1:38:32.040 --> 1:38:34.200 way it's gonna flow so they can write charts to 1:38:34.360 --> 1:38:38.080 it so they understand like I want this, yeah, and 1:38:38.160 --> 1:38:41.400 it's like a DJ experience, but with these live elements 1:38:41.520 --> 1:38:48.280 that so you're still gonna hear. Yeah, it's bro that part, Like, man, 1:38:49.240 --> 1:38:52.479 I wake up every day thinking about that. Man, Like, man, 1:38:52.560 --> 1:38:55.560 this is going to be like the whole thing. You know, 1:38:55.640 --> 1:38:58.880 see how smooth do when they reminisce over you with 1:38:59.080 --> 1:39:03.120 real horns out of here with the strings on top 1:39:03.200 --> 1:39:09.679 of it. I'm excited, Bro, we gotta pick your brain. 1:39:09.960 --> 1:39:12.000 All right, Let's do it a couple of seconds. You 1:39:12.080 --> 1:39:15.200 know you play a lot R and B, Yes, a 1:39:15.280 --> 1:39:21.000 lot plethora. Okay, I want you to give me your 1:39:21.120 --> 1:39:25.920 top five R and B artists, My top five R 1:39:25.960 --> 1:39:30.639 and B artists that I love to play. Um Stevie 1:39:30.680 --> 1:39:35.240 Wonder Prince. I love playing Michael Jackson, I love playing 1:39:35.479 --> 1:39:40.160 um Marmon Gaye, and I love shot Com. That's a 1:39:40.280 --> 1:39:43.519 cold list. Yeah, that is a cold list. Yeah, yeah, 1:39:43.520 --> 1:39:45.920 that's what that's what I love playing. Yeah, you know 1:39:46.000 --> 1:39:50.600 they're gonna be some Beyonce in terms of like what 1:39:50.880 --> 1:39:53.680 I love from my spirit and I play that as 1:39:53.720 --> 1:39:55.800 a DJ. Hold on, let's get into that. Let's get 1:39:55.840 --> 1:39:58.799 into that top five R and B songs or albums. 1:40:00.000 --> 1:40:01.040 You can mix it in or you can just go 1:40:01.160 --> 1:40:08.400 songs from from a DJ S perspective, song not through songs. Um, 1:40:10.120 --> 1:40:12.920 there's a Prince song that I I don't it's it's 1:40:12.960 --> 1:40:15.720 something about these core progressions that I just love. It's 1:40:15.720 --> 1:40:19.080 a song called dirty Minds. Like you probably don't know 1:40:19.200 --> 1:40:22.080 that song. Do you know that I love you dirty Minds? 1:40:22.120 --> 1:40:25.400 I love Prince. Oh yeah, dirty Minds. You know there's 1:40:25.479 --> 1:40:27.840 just something about that record that when I play that, 1:40:28.160 --> 1:40:30.800 you know, Tank gre Up in the church, so he 1:40:30.800 --> 1:40:34.680 didn't get you here. My mama's favorite artist and the 1:40:34.840 --> 1:40:36.760 only light skin man she was ever in love with. 1:40:38.400 --> 1:40:40.679 My mama, you know, she high yellow. She she only 1:40:40.720 --> 1:40:43.880 loved dark skiing man. But Prince, he was the one 1:40:44.120 --> 1:40:46.840 Light Skin so yes, I record. I grew up listening 1:40:46.840 --> 1:40:51.000 to Prince. That record moves me, Um, Alexander O'Neill, Charelle 1:40:51.080 --> 1:40:57.560 stay love that moves me like that? You know? Uh me? 1:40:57.640 --> 1:41:00.639 Think of another old Stevie Wonders. Do I do? Yeah? 1:41:01.160 --> 1:41:03.160 That that moves it? I mean, am I the only 1:41:03.200 --> 1:41:05.360 one that here? Is Ja Rue? Every time that comes 1:41:05.400 --> 1:41:10.519 on now though I don't hear Joe, Okay, I find 1:41:10.560 --> 1:41:17.519 it fine. Um that's three. That's three, um man, and 1:41:18.080 --> 1:41:20.519 there's a shocker in there. I'm just trying to decide 1:41:20.560 --> 1:41:23.800 which Shaka I know you, I live you. Do you 1:41:23.880 --> 1:41:26.679 know that song? I don't know that record. Oh my gosh, 1:41:26.720 --> 1:41:29.519 Shaka Khan, I know you, I live you. You play it? 1:41:29.600 --> 1:41:33.200 I know it? Yeah, I know your settlers, you play it. 1:41:33.280 --> 1:41:35.840 I know. I just can't and I can't sing because 1:41:35.840 --> 1:41:37.720 I would I would be singing right now. Sure you 1:41:37.720 --> 1:41:39.040 don't want to try. I don't want to try to 1:41:39.439 --> 1:41:42.519 just do like I did with y'r route No. No. 1:41:43.120 --> 1:41:46.559 Number five, number five, number five songs that I enjoyed 1:41:46.600 --> 1:41:52.240 playing all about the Benjamin's I can't even like I'm 1:41:52.240 --> 1:42:00.200 gonna take that every time I play that every where 1:42:00.320 --> 1:42:02.720 you are. I know we said R and B, but no, no, 1:42:02.960 --> 1:42:06.480 not come on, Puff needs to be in the conversation. 1:42:08.920 --> 1:42:14.320 I mean, because he's not only a rap legend. You 1:42:14.400 --> 1:42:17.519 gotta really go and figure out Puff Daddy and what 1:42:17.680 --> 1:42:22.920 he's done in a shout out to love, Let's make 1:42:22.960 --> 1:42:25.240 an R and B votron. Who are you gonna take 1:42:25.280 --> 1:42:29.560 the vocals from? Who are you going to take the 1:42:29.800 --> 1:42:34.439 artistry from in terms of style and and the visual? 1:42:34.520 --> 1:42:36.479 And who are you going to take the performance from? 1:42:37.160 --> 1:42:40.880 Those three pieces? Let's start with the vocals. Who you 1:42:40.920 --> 1:42:49.400 can get the vocals from? Prince? For the vocals, Prince 1:42:49.479 --> 1:42:55.599 could do anything with vocally. He was anything you know, Um, style, 1:42:56.520 --> 1:42:58.160 do you want your artists to look like you want 1:42:58.240 --> 1:43:03.400 to put on any crack it? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, Lenny, Lenny, 1:43:04.479 --> 1:43:10.160 Yeah yeah, yeah. I see what you're doing now with 1:43:10.280 --> 1:43:14.680 the whole Prince vocal No, no, didn't see what you 1:43:14.720 --> 1:43:24.680 ask Yeah. Performance performer, performance, Um damn, that's that's a 1:43:24.840 --> 1:43:29.200 that's a tough one for me. Michael was a dope performer, 1:43:29.320 --> 1:43:32.599 but like it wouldn't go with that style like old Michael, 1:43:33.040 --> 1:43:35.000 like young Michael when he was a kid. That Lenny 1:43:35.040 --> 1:43:38.800 Kravitz looked was his style and used to stuff like 1:43:38.920 --> 1:43:40.920 I used to like I was never really into like 1:43:41.640 --> 1:43:44.840 big stadium, Michael Jackson, young kid Mike with the hat 1:43:44.920 --> 1:43:50.040 to the side like he was, yeah and man like 1:43:50.520 --> 1:43:53.800 with a child's heart. Yes, exactly, I knew exactly what 1:43:53.880 --> 1:43:56.840 you're talking about. So like that, that style of performance, 1:43:56.920 --> 1:44:01.000 but but not with the Prince vocals. And then Lenny Look, 1:44:01.080 --> 1:44:08.679 so who would that be Jeesus transfer, Oh my goodness, 1:44:08.760 --> 1:44:13.080 Teddy Pendergrass when he was like when he was because 1:44:13.960 --> 1:44:17.360 he made he made women. Yeah, with the open silk shirt, 1:44:17.439 --> 1:44:20.759 with the open silk shirt, might be three po chains, 1:44:22.479 --> 1:44:28.760 might see taco me little husky voice, and it was aggressive. 1:44:29.200 --> 1:44:33.640 He was aggressive, Yo, you got you got just thing 1:44:33.760 --> 1:44:36.840 about the way he's sang turn them off the scream 1:44:38.280 --> 1:44:40.320 he's about to play that in the car headed back home. 1:44:43.040 --> 1:44:45.080 But he was a performan. I don't turn him goddamn 1:44:45.160 --> 1:44:48.920 like it was a performan like I don't even think 1:44:48.960 --> 1:44:52.000 you could do what he did back then, throwing all 1:44:52.120 --> 1:44:57.080 women concert. You can't, you can't, you can't, can't, you can't, 1:44:57.320 --> 1:45:02.080 you can't the man listen, it's it's it's coming back. Yes, 1:45:02.640 --> 1:45:05.600 it's coming back. Yeah, it's coming. It's going back. We 1:45:05.840 --> 1:45:10.240 were We've gone through it. We're gone through this stage 1:45:10.479 --> 1:45:14.160 of trying to be cool for each other instead of 1:45:14.240 --> 1:45:16.360 being cool for who we need to be cool for 1:45:16.840 --> 1:45:19.320 the woman that's who we really need to be cool 1:45:19.360 --> 1:45:22.519 for because everything revolves around man and we've been in 1:45:22.600 --> 1:45:25.160 this space. But it's it's coming back. I got put 1:45:25.240 --> 1:45:29.920 on suits in front of Instagram Live for you I hope. 1:45:34.280 --> 1:45:36.040 I was like, Yo, this was one of my friends 1:45:36.120 --> 1:45:38.640 called me and she said this was probably like the 1:45:38.760 --> 1:45:41.640 first after the first weekend of like really blowing up. 1:45:41.680 --> 1:45:44.559 And she said, I'm gonna say exactly what she said, 1:45:44.720 --> 1:45:48.479 so excuse the language, ladies. She was like. She called me, 1:45:48.560 --> 1:45:53.320 she said, Yo, you're gonna have these bitches falling in 1:45:53.400 --> 1:45:55.080 love with you. I'm like, what are you talking about? 1:45:55.479 --> 1:45:59.320 She was like, d your whole audience nothing but women. 1:46:00.080 --> 1:46:02.599 And at that point nobody was connecting it to their TVs. 1:46:03.280 --> 1:46:05.519 You were literally holding it on your phone. And she 1:46:05.720 --> 1:46:08.720 was like, these women are just looking at you, like 1:46:08.960 --> 1:46:12.920 for hours, that's all I'm looking at this you. This 1:46:13.160 --> 1:46:15.439 is crazy, and you're playing the music that they love. 1:46:16.280 --> 1:46:18.360 They're gonna think you'll sing these songs and I was 1:46:18.400 --> 1:46:25.600 like the essence or word. They definitely did. Like, you know, 1:46:26.160 --> 1:46:28.200 women used to find where I lived and show up 1:46:28.200 --> 1:46:31.080 downstairs with the kids waiting, like what did you say 1:46:31.120 --> 1:46:34.120 with the kids? Yo? With the kids, like these are 1:46:34.200 --> 1:46:39.960 our kids now? I like how he said, but he's 1:46:39.960 --> 1:46:41.760 about to say something that you had to tell one 1:46:41.800 --> 1:46:43.960 what I had to tell one woman? Because I went downstairs, 1:46:43.960 --> 1:46:46.640 I thought, um it was I thought it was like 1:46:46.880 --> 1:46:49.479 l L was kind enough to like have a chef 1:46:50.600 --> 1:46:53.120 make food for me, you know what I mean, because 1:46:53.160 --> 1:46:55.599 at one time gift like yo. So then I ended 1:46:55.640 --> 1:46:57.800 up and don't even chef sugar for She's always on 1:46:57.880 --> 1:47:03.240 I g but like, oh yeah, she gets busy. But 1:47:03.439 --> 1:47:07.360 you know when when I was expecting this delivery from her, 1:47:08.120 --> 1:47:10.920 So when concierge's called and was like, hey, there's someone 1:47:11.000 --> 1:47:13.200 here for you, if that person was coming at the 1:47:13.280 --> 1:47:15.160 same exact time, so I was like, oh, let me 1:47:15.200 --> 1:47:17.439 go down and get food. So I was hungry, you know, 1:47:17.439 --> 1:47:19.120 I didn't had a real home cooked meal like that. 1:47:19.200 --> 1:47:21.800 So and I'm looking for a woman with food and 1:47:21.880 --> 1:47:23.880 all I saw I was like this woman with like 1:47:23.960 --> 1:47:26.120 two kids. And then I went over and I was like, hey, 1:47:27.400 --> 1:47:29.360 you here from me. She was like, yes, it's me. 1:47:31.280 --> 1:47:33.840 Like during the pandemic, a lot of people are lonely, 1:47:33.960 --> 1:47:36.679 and dudes used to pray on women, so they would 1:47:36.720 --> 1:47:38.720 create like a fake d Nice account and be like, oh, 1:47:39.120 --> 1:47:41.200 this is my private this is d Nice, this is 1:47:41.280 --> 1:47:43.800 my private account. You know, I'm gonna talk to you 1:47:43.880 --> 1:47:46.599 from here. So it made them think that they were 1:47:46.640 --> 1:47:48.120 talking to me, and I was like and then she 1:47:48.200 --> 1:47:51.400 had a kids, and I was like, man, you weren't 1:47:51.439 --> 1:47:54.400 talking to me, you know, like unfortunately, you know, plus, 1:47:54.439 --> 1:47:56.400 you shouldn't bring your girls out to just meet someone 1:47:56.520 --> 1:47:59.080 like that, you know, like it doesn't really you know, 1:47:59.200 --> 1:48:00.960 it's not gonna be good for them. You know, it's not. 1:48:01.439 --> 1:48:03.760 It's very dangerous out here. But it used to be 1:48:03.800 --> 1:48:06.000 a lot of things like that. You know. Like one woman, man, 1:48:06.080 --> 1:48:09.320 she moved from Chicago, she left her husband. I'm not 1:48:09.439 --> 1:48:11.320 making this up. I had never spoken to this woman ever, 1:48:12.040 --> 1:48:15.880 not wanting not one conversation, and she moved to l A. 1:48:17.600 --> 1:48:19.360 So I made the mistake. This is why I moved 1:48:19.400 --> 1:48:22.400 into my house because when I first moved to l A, 1:48:23.240 --> 1:48:26.320 I only had like a hundred and fifty thousand Instagram followers. 1:48:26.400 --> 1:48:29.320 So you know wherever I took pictures didn't matter. You know. 1:48:29.360 --> 1:48:31.280 I remember sitting on my sofa and I lived across 1:48:31.360 --> 1:48:32.840 the street from the Stable Center, and I took this 1:48:32.920 --> 1:48:36.879 lit picture. But if you had gone back through my Instagram, 1:48:37.040 --> 1:48:40.000 you knew exactly where I was there. And I was like, 1:48:40.120 --> 1:48:42.800 oh my god. I wasn't expecting what happened to happen, 1:48:42.920 --> 1:48:46.240 you know, to like pandemic kids. And then millions of 1:48:46.320 --> 1:48:48.760 followers now like I would have never done that, um 1:48:49.040 --> 1:48:52.000 but this, you know, women, there were so many crazy 1:48:52.040 --> 1:48:54.400 stories man, like you know, one of my favorite ones was, 1:48:56.240 --> 1:48:58.519 you know, this woman sent me a video because I 1:48:58.640 --> 1:48:59.880 used to when I would do like my c Q 1:49:00.040 --> 1:49:04.120 after dark and I was playing tain dirty and I 1:49:04.800 --> 1:49:07.760 dimmed the lights. I'm licking my lips and ship you 1:49:07.840 --> 1:49:13.360 know what I'm saying. People, I hold, I'm breathing back, 1:49:13.640 --> 1:49:15.880 I'm playing with the buttons. They started calling me spirit 1:49:16.000 --> 1:49:19.800 fingers and I'm like, I'm doing this and I'm talking yo. 1:49:19.880 --> 1:49:22.479 I'm over here, like yo, I'm gonna play with it. 1:49:22.479 --> 1:49:24.479 I'm gonna let this breathe. I'm gonna play with it. 1:49:24.720 --> 1:49:28.000 Then I slow it down and stop the record. Boom boom. 1:49:28.680 --> 1:49:33.479 Now pressing the past boom boom boom, two fingers faby 1:49:33.520 --> 1:49:36.360 two figures like that was I was out of control, 1:49:36.400 --> 1:49:39.960 bro I was entertaining myself ro a couple of beverages. 1:49:40.040 --> 1:49:46.080 In definitely need beverages. You know. This woman sent me 1:49:46.160 --> 1:49:50.840 a video. She was naked, she had the iPad, she 1:49:50.960 --> 1:49:53.240 was holding the iPad up with her with her knees. 1:49:54.560 --> 1:49:58.360 She had her phone, and then she was masterbating with 1:49:58.600 --> 1:50:01.360 me in the background when I'm like yo, and you 1:50:01.400 --> 1:50:03.560 can hear me saying, yo, let me play with it. 1:50:03.720 --> 1:50:05.880 And she's like, yeah, play with the baby, and she's 1:50:05.880 --> 1:50:08.840 like master me And I was like, Yo, this is wild. Yeah, 1:50:09.320 --> 1:50:13.760 this is wild. I'm so excited for I was like, no, 1:50:13.880 --> 1:50:16.720 I gotta chier with this man DJ for presidents. I 1:50:16.760 --> 1:50:26.320 gotta chill every he said the R and B life 1:50:26.400 --> 1:50:29.120 is crazy, man. Thank god. I couldn't sing, and then 1:50:29.160 --> 1:50:31.040 I would probably be out of control. Listen you you 1:50:31.360 --> 1:50:34.200 you are fine the way you are. Yeah, yeah, I'm good. 1:50:34.240 --> 1:50:37.439 You pay to play the red car. Let's say we 1:50:37.560 --> 1:50:40.400 had another segment for you. But no, no, no, no, no, 1:50:40.600 --> 1:50:45.160 no no no no, yeah, he's not getting out of outright. Wait, 1:50:45.200 --> 1:50:48.639 what's the segment so we have a segment. It's called 1:50:48.720 --> 1:50:51.920 iin't saying no names because there's some names that he 1:50:52.040 --> 1:50:55.639 cannot say, yeah, but there's some stories he can tell. Yeah. 1:50:56.280 --> 1:50:58.320 So the name of it, like I said, this is 1:50:58.600 --> 1:51:01.599 the segment is called I no names, and the story 1:51:01.680 --> 1:51:06.120 can either be funny or fucked up or both. The 1:51:06.280 --> 1:51:09.840 only rule you don't saying no names. I can't say 1:51:09.880 --> 1:51:14.519 no names. I ain't saying no names. Damn. I don't 1:51:14.520 --> 1:51:17.680 know if I have one of those stories. Yes you do, Yes, 1:51:17.800 --> 1:51:22.560 you do. I ain't saying no stories. I don't know 1:51:22.600 --> 1:51:27.600 if I have Damn. No. I really don't even have 1:51:27.680 --> 1:51:30.560 to be from you don't gotta be from Club Quarantine. No, no, 1:51:30.720 --> 1:51:33.759 because you know what I mean, You've lived five different lives, 1:51:33.880 --> 1:51:36.760 my brother a lot of lives. Yeah, but I don't 1:51:36.800 --> 1:51:42.200 retain the information though. That's the problem. Though I'm being serious, like, yeah, 1:51:42.240 --> 1:51:46.160 I don't keep it. It's like, I mean, there's somebody 1:51:46.200 --> 1:51:47.960 who I'm still trying to figure out if I slept 1:51:48.000 --> 1:51:51.320 with her back of the day because I'm like, I'm like, 1:51:51.439 --> 1:51:54.320 did I I don't know because the way she showed 1:51:54.360 --> 1:51:57.280 me so much love and like sometimes you just gotta ask, 1:51:58.840 --> 1:52:01.759 just gotta ask him, Like I sometimes you just gotta 1:52:02.240 --> 1:52:05.000 just left it alone. I was like, I'm gonna assume 1:52:05.080 --> 1:52:07.600 that we did. But you know, I want to know 1:52:07.760 --> 1:52:10.360 what I'm like, you know, yeah, I don't know, but 1:52:10.400 --> 1:52:11.880 I don't. I don't. I don't know, man, I don't 1:52:11.880 --> 1:52:14.640 know if my stories. You know, I've always been in relationships, 1:52:14.680 --> 1:52:16.400 you know what I mean? No, but no, no, no, no, 1:52:16.479 --> 1:52:18.840 no no no. The other thing, it's not it doesn't 1:52:18.880 --> 1:52:21.320 have to be those type of stories. They can literally 1:52:21.320 --> 1:52:24.360 it could be a business story. It could be you 1:52:24.400 --> 1:52:28.000 know what I'm saying, like even telling them earlier. Obviously 1:52:28.040 --> 1:52:30.320 it was earlier things and we'll we'll cut this part out. 1:52:30.400 --> 1:52:33.200 But like even like when you talked about records you 1:52:33.280 --> 1:52:36.880 produced or what those situations might have actually like the 1:52:37.000 --> 1:52:40.439 full stories in a sense of how those situations might 1:52:40.479 --> 1:52:42.880 have went down with somebody stealing, you're publishing somebody, you 1:52:42.920 --> 1:52:44.479 know what I mean. Like, I really don't have any 1:52:44.600 --> 1:52:47.080 those stories, bro, Are you serious? I'm dead as serious. 1:52:47.080 --> 1:52:50.200 I would tell you if I had one, Like you know, 1:52:50.920 --> 1:52:53.840 I have one that that happened recently, but I can't 1:52:53.880 --> 1:52:56.519 say that because it's too recent, Like and there's a 1:52:56.560 --> 1:52:58.360 little bit of issue with that one. But other than 1:52:58.479 --> 1:53:00.280 you can't be the only person to come on here 1:53:00.280 --> 1:53:02.280 and not tell us a story, though you know you 1:53:02.320 --> 1:53:04.240 would be the only person who ever come on here 1:53:04.880 --> 1:53:07.320 and didn't say I ain't saying no names. I'm the 1:53:07.400 --> 1:53:10.320 only one that you know. I don't start the ship, 1:53:14.960 --> 1:53:17.120 which I wish I could, like, I mean, honestly can't 1:53:17.160 --> 1:53:20.400 even think I'm like having like a fucking brain for it. 1:53:20.520 --> 1:53:23.439 Like I don't know, like I don't know a story 1:53:23.600 --> 1:53:27.280 like you know, publishing wise, I only worked with cares, 1:53:27.400 --> 1:53:29.439 So I'm just using that as a but like, yeah, 1:53:30.600 --> 1:53:37.400 um man, you know I really don't have one, bro, 1:53:38.280 --> 1:53:43.040 that's crazy. Yeah, I've had a good life though. Yeah, 1:53:43.680 --> 1:53:46.040 I'm looking you in your eyes and I'm trying. Really, 1:53:46.680 --> 1:53:49.280 I really don't have one. I don't have anything that's 1:53:49.360 --> 1:53:52.040 like I think that's why people rock with me. Man 1:53:52.960 --> 1:53:57.879 dead as serious. So yeah, there's no no creeping stories. 1:53:57.960 --> 1:54:01.240 No I got over in some on, no business deals, 1:54:01.439 --> 1:54:04.599 none of that ship man, So I can't say any names. 1:54:07.200 --> 1:54:13.360 And d Nice is just our first ale Nice and 1:54:14.400 --> 1:54:21.519 throw some tomatoes at n He gave all the good stories. 1:54:22.800 --> 1:54:24.920 He was another one where he just did see no 1:54:25.680 --> 1:54:29.439 man you know what. Listen, I know it's somebody crazy, 1:54:29.520 --> 1:54:31.479 that's Lily your DM. Man. You don't want to say that. 1:54:31.560 --> 1:54:36.240 It's fine, it's us, you know, give us no no information. 1:54:36.880 --> 1:54:41.760 We'll walk away on top. It's fine. Uh. You know, listen, 1:54:43.280 --> 1:54:47.560 flowers to you, my brother, nothing but flowers, nothing but 1:54:48.800 --> 1:54:55.920 admiration man, and in salutes. And you know I I personally, um, 1:54:57.400 --> 1:55:01.640 thank you. You know you played my wedding and you 1:55:01.720 --> 1:55:05.360 know the circumstance going into that. You were actually a 1:55:05.480 --> 1:55:09.440 savior in that space for me. So um from me 1:55:09.560 --> 1:55:13.680 and my wife like like thank you, Like that was 1:55:15.000 --> 1:55:18.240 I never expected you to do that. I never expected 1:55:18.240 --> 1:55:23.480 to say I'll do it what I'll do it? Yeah, 1:55:24.360 --> 1:55:25.720 I remember when he told me. I was like wait, wait, 1:55:25.720 --> 1:55:28.320 he said he's gonna do if you renewed your vials, 1:55:28.600 --> 1:55:31.400 do it then too. The nicest gonna be my DJ. BRO, 1:55:31.520 --> 1:55:33.880 I said, I don't. I didn't even know what to say. 1:55:33.880 --> 1:55:35.200 I didn't even know how to thank you. I know 1:55:35.240 --> 1:55:37.160 how to pay I didn't know what to do. But 1:55:37.840 --> 1:55:40.800 you know just know that, um that that meant. That 1:55:40.880 --> 1:55:44.040 meant everything to me, Bro and everything. So I appreciate it. 1:55:44.480 --> 1:55:49.680 Thank you for that and continue man, continue to keep um, 1:55:50.320 --> 1:55:54.760 continue to keep love first, because um, you're in a 1:55:54.920 --> 1:55:57.640 you're in a very awesome space to where you're able 1:55:57.720 --> 1:56:01.960 to spread that all over the world. And if if 1:56:02.080 --> 1:56:05.920 anything is going to change the world or the dynamic, 1:56:06.320 --> 1:56:10.640 the negative dynamic that seems to be plaguing everything social 1:56:10.720 --> 1:56:13.800 and everything of all things, it's gonna be love to change. 1:56:14.720 --> 1:56:16.400 And it's more it's more likely going to be a 1:56:16.480 --> 1:56:20.400 song and you're probably gonna play I like that And 1:56:20.560 --> 1:56:24.880 before before we say goodbye, UM, I do have a 1:56:24.920 --> 1:56:28.000 story that I'll tell because this is actually an important story. 1:56:28.520 --> 1:56:33.200 So and I and I won't say any names. When 1:56:33.280 --> 1:56:35.640 I when I was on the scene, like really just 1:56:36.440 --> 1:56:40.280 starting to bubble hard in New York, a person that 1:56:40.360 --> 1:56:42.880 I know was playing like a huge, huge event for 1:56:42.960 --> 1:56:46.960 the Oscars, like huge and you know, and uh, and 1:56:47.080 --> 1:56:50.200 he was extremely arrogant, but we were cool. But when 1:56:50.240 --> 1:56:53.280 he got that gig, he was like, I was like, man, 1:56:53.320 --> 1:56:57.080 you're gonna play that? And I say, yo, one day, 1:56:57.120 --> 1:56:59.800 I want to play that. And he said You'll never 1:57:00.040 --> 1:57:04.680 laid hmm, like literally said that. And then you fast 1:57:04.720 --> 1:57:06.760 forward and I'm not gonna tell you which Oscar party, 1:57:07.520 --> 1:57:09.920 but it was one of the I played four of them. 1:57:10.360 --> 1:57:12.520 This last oscars, I played the Oscars. I played the 1:57:12.560 --> 1:57:15.080 Governor's Paul, and played Vanity Fair and I played the 1:57:15.120 --> 1:57:18.440 guy Siri Madonna party. And that guy was my opening 1:57:18.520 --> 1:57:21.320 act at the very party. You know what I'm saying, 1:57:22.240 --> 1:57:26.360 like people, Yeah, you gotta be nice to people. You 1:57:26.440 --> 1:57:30.160 gotta be nice to people, you know, like and I 1:57:30.280 --> 1:57:33.320 did get a kick out of that, like of now, 1:57:33.440 --> 1:57:36.120 you guys have to honor my ride of request, even 1:57:36.120 --> 1:57:39.240 though I could have, you know, removed a couple of things. 1:57:39.320 --> 1:57:42.440 I was like, no, no, no, no, no, because I 1:57:42.600 --> 1:57:46.440 remember that conversation like a decade ago and then here 1:57:46.520 --> 1:57:50.200 we are and I was like, oh, I made it. Yeah, 1:57:50.600 --> 1:57:52.520 but I won't say any names. So that's my story. 1:57:54.440 --> 1:57:55.960 So you didn't take the l you didn't take the 1:57:56.040 --> 1:58:02.280 Eloh folk pockets full and that's what a little baby, 1:58:02.280 --> 1:58:06.680 because that's what all of the pockets, yeah, is full, 1:58:06.960 --> 1:58:12.160 ladies and gentlemen. Um man I the brother man just 1:58:12.400 --> 1:58:16.720 just an amazing brother, beautiful brother man um brother we've 1:58:16.800 --> 1:58:20.600 all been rooting for and you're getting who all deserved. Yeah, 1:58:23.280 --> 1:58:26.880 you get I am taking. I'm Jay Valentine and this 1:58:27.440 --> 1:58:30.600 is Mr Mr d nice and this has been the 1:58:30.760 --> 1:58:46.600 Army Money pockets. Y R Money, R and B Money 1:58:46.720 --> 1:58:49.800 is a production of the Black Effect podcast Network. For 1:58:49.880 --> 1:58:53.240 more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the ir Heart Radio, 1:58:53.320 --> 1:58:56.640 Apple Apple Podcast, or wherever you're listening to your favorite shows. 1:58:57.000 --> 1:59:00.360 Don't forget to subscribe to and rate our show, and 1:59:00.520 --> 1:59:03.720 you can connect with us on social media via at 1:59:03.840 --> 1:59:07.040 Armby Money Podcasts or at the Real Tank or at 1:59:07.160 --> 1:59:07.920 j Valentine