WEBVTT - Questlove Supreme: Ne-Yo 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:07.880 Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. 0:00:10.000 --> 0:00:13.520 Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Quest Love Supreme. I'm your 0:00:13.520 --> 0:00:18.000 host Quest Love. Yo, it's a hot summer. It's hot, man, 0:00:18.320 --> 0:00:18.800 that's talking. 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:23.520 Take I know that. Fonte and why are not in 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:24.599 New York City right now? 0:00:24.800 --> 0:00:24.920 Yo? 0:00:25.000 --> 0:00:27.560 It's hot everywhere, y'all. I just love DC. It's hot. 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:28.840 I'm in LA. It's hot. 0:00:29.040 --> 0:00:33.240 It's just it's just wet, hot, hot hot. 0:00:33.600 --> 0:00:33.800 See. 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:37.239 I'm on hiatus right now, so you know, if I'm 0:00:37.280 --> 0:00:40.479 at work, then it's always sixty seven degrees, so I 0:00:40.520 --> 0:00:43.280 always have a sweater on. But you know, this is 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:46.920 one of the rare times in which I'm not under 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:48.040 freezing conditions. 0:00:48.640 --> 0:00:51.279 Sugar Seed? Are you? Are you an uber driver right now? 0:00:51.360 --> 0:00:52.400 Sugar Steve, what are you doing? 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:57.960 I'm in a limousine heading to power lunch. 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:00.320 Uh time? 0:01:00.640 --> 0:01:00.840 Sure? 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:06.000 And I was telling Neo and about this earlier before 0:01:06.000 --> 0:01:06.919 the interview started. 0:01:06.959 --> 0:01:07.840 I can't dispose. 0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:13.320 It's a very big thing, very big thing happening. 0:01:13.400 --> 0:01:17.240 And so you're basically going to see Elvis scot Stella right, oh, ship, 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:20.680 it's bigger than that. 0:01:21.080 --> 0:01:23.720 Whenever he gets a secret of it, it's always Elvis 0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:26.440 Scots Stella, I met I met one of your comrades 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:27.280 on the play this morning. 0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:29.760 He kept waking me up out of my sleep. Who 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:30.039 was that? 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:33.360 Jeffrey Miller is a great, great trombone player. 0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:36.400 So he's on one of our records on JMI Recordings 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:37.400 dot Com check it out. 0:01:37.840 --> 0:01:38.080 Yeah. 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:40.200 He he woke me up twice, once to tell me 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:41.319 that he records to you. 0:01:42.400 --> 0:01:44.319 Uh. The second time he woke me up out of 0:01:44.319 --> 0:01:45.880 my sleep to share a. 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:49.160 Joke with me about carrying his uh, his plunger, his 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:52.320 toileble plungers that he uses for his sex for his 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:56.800 uh trom boones. Well, you know you could have You 0:01:56.800 --> 0:02:01.440 could have bumped into worse friends of mine. 0:02:02.760 --> 0:02:05.480 Anyway, y'all we're here today. 0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:11.480 I will say that our guests probably doesn't need I 0:02:11.800 --> 0:02:14.760 won't say I will say that he doesn't need an introduction. 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:19.680 But he's one of my favorite bridge writers. Bridges, Yo, 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:23.320 you're now rare bridges and undefeated. 0:02:25.520 --> 0:02:28.720 Our guest is indeed, he's a three time Grammy Award 0:02:28.720 --> 0:02:35.040 winning singer, songwriter, producer, actor, collaborated with the best of them, 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:39.760 from Jiga to Beyonce, to Pitbull, to Rihanna and to 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:41.040 Kanye the Fabulous. 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:42.920 I mean, the list goes on and on and on 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:44.040 and on and on and on and on. 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:49.680 Uh. He's released seventh albums and his eighth, which is 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:55.080 entitled Self Explanatory, will be out by this recording in July. 0:02:55.280 --> 0:02:59.600 I believe the platforms Yes July fifteenth eight track as well. 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:04.919 Here three platinum albums. Prolific songwriter and producer and entertainer. Yo, 0:03:05.560 --> 0:03:07.480 ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for the one 0:03:07.560 --> 0:03:10.880 and only, the one, Neil, the one. 0:03:11.000 --> 0:03:13.440 What's loves to pree? What's up? Brother? How you doing? 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:17.160 That was a hell of an introduction. I needed done 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:18.480 like that from now on. 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:23.680 Hey man, every every hero needs is its theme music 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:24.720 and his own fanfare. 0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:26.400 I love it. I love it. 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:27.240 Greeting brother. 0:03:27.720 --> 0:03:31.600 So for our listeners who can't see you right now, Yes, 0:03:32.000 --> 0:03:35.320 you're in a house that looks like it's nothing but 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:37.680 art deco lights. 0:03:37.200 --> 0:03:41.520 Like, yeah, I'm at home currently. This This is my 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:45.240 recording studio that I'm currently And I tell people all 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:47.040 the time that they be like, so what do you 0:03:47.040 --> 0:03:48.360 do with your spare time? What do you do when 0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:53.200 you're not doing music? I'm like music, That's that's that's 0:03:53.200 --> 0:03:55.240 pretty much. I do this because I love it, man. 0:03:55.280 --> 0:03:58.160 And with that being said, I couldn't have a house 0:03:58.160 --> 0:04:00.280 without a studio and it had to happen, so I 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:00.920 built my own. 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:03.720 I love it same as I'm in my mind. 0:04:03.760 --> 0:04:04.320 That's dope, man. 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:06.880 Yeah, I was about to say, fante you you got 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:08.640 your your blue light on as well. 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:11.480 I feel like I had to keep the vibe going. 0:04:12.040 --> 0:04:12.400 Got to. 0:04:14.800 --> 0:04:17.119 Where where are you from? Where were you born? 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:21.640 Was born in Camden, Arkansas? Yes, deep deep deep South. 0:04:23.240 --> 0:04:24.919 Don't feel bad if you don't know where Camden is. 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:27.560 No one knows where Camden people people from Arkansas don't 0:04:27.560 --> 0:04:28.279 know where camp I. 0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:30.680 Always thought it was vague, the Nevada, That's what I 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:31.240 was confused. 0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:33.800 Why did the majority of my growing up in Vegas? 0:04:33.800 --> 0:04:35.600 Like I went to high school in Vegas, whole nine, 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:37.240 Like all of that happened in Vegas. My dad was 0:04:37.279 --> 0:04:38.000 a truck drive. 0:04:38.360 --> 0:04:39.760 Oh that's a cool that's a cool job. 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:40.880 You rode in the back of the camp He had 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:42.520 one of those cats with the beds in the back 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:43.160 and everything like. 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:47.839 With the reason he wasn't ever because he was driving 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:49.200 trucks and doing other stuff. 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:52.560 Yeah, yeah, do. 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:55.839 You have any siblings. Your parents are they musically inclined? 0:04:56.440 --> 0:04:56.640 Uh? 0:04:56.760 --> 0:04:59.880 My, everybody in my family does something in regard to 0:04:59.880 --> 0:05:03.120 you music. Did playing an instrument or singing or rapping. 0:05:02.960 --> 0:05:04.279 Or with whatever what happened? 0:05:04.520 --> 0:05:07.040 Everybody does something like my mom used to sing, my 0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:11.760 dad plays bas he sings, My sister sings ridiculously. She's 0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:13.000 she's a she's an alien. 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:15.960 Well I have I have two two sisters and a brother. 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:19.200 One one sister sister and one one half sister and 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:21.279 half brother. You know, Papa was a bit of a 0:05:21.360 --> 0:05:23.480 rolling stone. 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:25.960 We passed no judgments. It is what it is. 0:05:26.400 --> 0:05:31.040 But but yeah, yeah, closest closest to my my main 0:05:31.440 --> 0:05:33.039 I don't know if I call it my main sister. 0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:37.440 How does that work? The sister that I share a 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:39.800 mother and father with that that system where the where 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:40.800 the we're the closest. You know. 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:43.520 No, I have that situation too, So. 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:46.159 You know, I go no disrespect to my to my 0:05:46.240 --> 0:05:48.039 other sister and my other brother. You know, they just 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:50.560 they they moved around and did their own thing, and 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:54.200 it is what it is. But but yeah, I grew 0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:57.720 up in Las Vegas under a very very musically inclined mother. 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:00.440 She did everything the music, every sing the thing you 0:06:00.440 --> 0:06:03.040 can think of being cleaning up the house to watching 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:05.520 TV with the stereo playing type type situation. 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:09.159 So yeah, it was just always there, right, just all there. 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:13.159 What was your first musical memory. 0:06:13.040 --> 0:06:15.520 First musical memory sitting in this sitting in the living 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:18.800 room in front of the stereo, crying and not understanding 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:21.520 why as I was listening to Billy Ocean's sudden. 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:27.159 Steve that is. 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:29.800 An eighties baby. That is an eighties baby. 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:30.159 Right though. 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:36.320 I know I know, Steve, he is hitting your he's 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:37.440 sitting your groove right now. 0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:39.080 Has no meaning to me. 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:43.719 Suddenly, No life has new meaning. 0:06:44.440 --> 0:06:46.760 Mean, that's what I meant. That's what I said. 0:06:46.960 --> 0:06:49.440 He wasn't suicidal, His life has new meaning. 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:52.000 You know I always fuck it up a mirror. You're right, 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:53.480 I fed it up. 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:54.880 Wow, I'm good. 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:59.679 No, No, that's actually dope to hear it, because oftentimes 0:07:00.800 --> 0:07:03.200 I think people were rather shame that. I think that's 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:07.560 the purpose of music is to either document a time period, 0:07:08.720 --> 0:07:10.840 like music to me is always like a musical polar 0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:14.080 y because it helps me remember what year it was, 0:07:14.160 --> 0:07:16.640 or what time it was, or what happened at a party, 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:20.560 like oh yeah, like whenever I hear, you know, ironic 0:07:20.560 --> 0:07:23.240 by Lance Marsette, I'm forever gonna remember, like, oh, my 0:07:23.320 --> 0:07:27.440 first car accident. You know, I'm just giving an example, 0:07:27.520 --> 0:07:30.880 but I'm just saying that music does that. What do 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:34.600 you think it was about that song that touched you? 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:35.000 You know what? 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:38.280 To be completely honest with your man, I might have 0:07:38.320 --> 0:07:41.400 been maybe maybe five or six or something somewhere in 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:43.760 there when this happened, but even now as a forty 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:45.600 two year old man, it's something about some of the 0:07:45.640 --> 0:07:46.720 melodies that just gets you. 0:07:46.760 --> 0:07:46.920 Bro. 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:49.840 It's just I think it was just I think that 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:52.840 was the first time I realized the power of melody. 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:56.520 You know what I'm saying that hitting a certain chord 0:07:56.560 --> 0:07:58.920 on a guitar or a certain note on a piano 0:07:59.040 --> 0:08:01.920 could like I put goosebumps on your arm type thing, 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:04.000 you know what I mean. Like I didn't in mind 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:05.560 at the time, I didn't know that's what it was. 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:08.920 But but thinking back now, it's like that's that had 0:08:08.960 --> 0:08:10.560 to be what it was because I couldn't have understood 0:08:10.560 --> 0:08:12.200 what he was talking about him from five, I don't 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:14.960 know what I'm talking about, but the music, the way 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:17.040 the melodies was hitting me. I think that's what it was. 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:20.520 Again, And I have to ask in light of what 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:24.480 what I what I lovingly d up as the versus 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:25.240 Comedy Hour. 0:08:28.320 --> 0:08:30.560 Hey, bruh, you going there? 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:33.079 I didn't know. I'm not. 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:33.600 I'm not. 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:34.120 I'm not. 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:36.960 I'm not about gotcha journalism, not about putting the next 0:08:36.960 --> 0:08:37.400 man down? 0:08:37.520 --> 0:08:43.120 But are you rather perplexed? And the thing is, I 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:44.880 don't believe that music is dead. 0:08:45.080 --> 0:08:48.040 I just believe that the particular music I like, I 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:52.160 have to search, like very very far and wide for it, 0:08:52.200 --> 0:08:54.280 like I have to search for it. But for you, 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:59.640 are you kind of perplexed at what what passes for 0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:00.360 music now? 0:09:00.440 --> 0:09:03.520 The fact that. 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:05.880 That type of melody might not necessarily be exposed to 0:09:06.040 --> 0:09:07.480 a mainstream audience as. 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:10.880 It once was. Mm hmm uh. 0:09:10.920 --> 0:09:12.600 That that's a beautiful question. 0:09:12.760 --> 0:09:16.920 And I have to say I definitely share in and 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:18.080 where you are with that? 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:18.839 You know what I mean? 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:22.880 Now? Mind you, I've I've put myself in a place 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:25.400 where if I'm going to be a part of this industry, 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:27.320 I have to find a way to. 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:31.160 Like a little bit of everything, you know, maybe not 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:31.600 love it. 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:33.520 I probably I wouldn't turn around in my car, But 0:09:33.559 --> 0:09:35.560 if it's on, I'm not gonna sit here and bad 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:37.520 mouth it or sit here and not have a good time, 0:09:37.559 --> 0:09:39.240 because then not playing a kind of music that I 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:40.480 want to hear quote unquote. 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:42.160 Do you still listen to the radio? 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:46.079 Not as often as I once did. Uh nah, not really. 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:50.000 Normally I'll go on you know, one of the streaming 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:52.160 streaming joints or whatever and pull up what it is 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:54.400 I'm looking for it. That's that's that's easier for me 0:09:54.800 --> 0:09:57.880 than then sitting and trying to tolerate some of the 0:09:57.920 --> 0:10:00.200 things that because I mean, I'm I'm I'm from that 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:03.719 place too, I'm from the place where you know it was. 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:09.640 It was the intricacy of that that three part harmony, 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:12.240 like that place and and and that's just you said it. 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:14.520 You said it in my intro bridges Like nobody writes 0:10:14.559 --> 0:10:17.400 bridges anymore. It's like people like people ain't got time 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:18.680 for it to be good no more? 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:20.560 Like which like what are we all rushing towards? 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:23.440 Songs are like a minute long? Now, Like where are 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:25.400 y'all going so fast? 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:27.120 No? 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:28.640 I mean they fast? 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:29.280 Yeah. 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:31.480 My son, my son, he has a I don't know 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:33.679 if you're up on her. He has an artist. He 0:10:33.760 --> 0:10:36.199 listens to is his girl, Pink Pantherist. I don't know 0:10:36.240 --> 0:10:38.640 if you're up on her. She put out an album 0:10:38.800 --> 0:10:42.720 I think it was last year, ten songs, eighteen minutes. 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:46.200 That's like fantastic Volume one. 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:46.880 And this is the whole album. 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:51.880 Yeah up, but he this my sixteen year my youngest son. 0:10:51.920 --> 0:10:54.839 But yeah, that's that's kind of where the young is. 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:55.520 That's what it is. 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:59.360 I'm really I'm really curious as to why that is, Like, 0:10:59.360 --> 0:11:02.400 like because even even when I was even when I 0:11:02.440 --> 0:11:06.640 was sixteen, like it was about it was about. 0:11:06.360 --> 0:11:08.520 The story of it, you know what I mean, Like 0:11:08.520 --> 0:11:09.960 like I don't know, maybe maybe I was. 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:12.680 A different little sixteen year old, but like, uh, what's 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:13.840 what's the joint? What's the joint? 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:17.000 The song is ten minutes long Luther Vandrus. 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:19.959 Okay long ago as Superstar. 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:23.920 Yeah, that's a ten minute song, and it feels like 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:26.560 two minutes because you just enjoy that shit so much 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:28.520 that it passes quickly. But that song is ten minutes 0:11:28.559 --> 0:11:30.679 long and you wuldn't even you didn't even know it. 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:32.199 But it's about. 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:34.880 The beginning, middle, and end of a story. I used 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:36.720 to listen to music for that. Yeah, and I think 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:38.000 you get that no more? 0:11:38.080 --> 0:11:40.000 Yeah, now, bro, I think we got like it's the 0:11:40.080 --> 0:11:43.240 tail wagging the dog like in that. You know, people 0:11:43.320 --> 0:11:47.120 are making music specifically for streaming services, and so they 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:49.200 know a one minute or one and a half minute 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:53.160 song will naturally be streamed more in five minutes than 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:55.000 a five minute song would be once you know what 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:55.320 I mean. 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:59.040 You know, from a business and commerce standpoint, that's that's 0:11:59.080 --> 0:12:02.520 that's smart at hell. Music art is not supposed to 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:05.120 be inspired by commerce, at least not in my personal opinion. 0:12:05.160 --> 0:12:07.040 That's just supposed to come from the heart somewhere. And 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:09.160 if it's coming from the heart, it might take a 0:12:09.200 --> 0:12:11.160 little longer than a minute to give my point across, 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:13.520 But that means that my song is played on the radio. 0:12:13.600 --> 0:12:17.199 Now damn all right, Well here we are, ladies and gentlemen. 0:12:17.800 --> 0:12:20.440 I learned that lesson with I think really with the 0:12:20.440 --> 0:12:23.200 Old Town Road. I spun it at a party once 0:12:23.240 --> 0:12:25.120 and thought, you know, okay, I'll put it on. 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:27.880 Like back when it was red hot, I would that 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:31.840 would be my first record, my stalling record until I 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:33.319 find out what I really want to play. 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:36.160 And I looked at the thing and. 0:12:36.080 --> 0:12:40.160 It was like two minutes and twenty seven seconds, and 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:43.160 I really whoa like I had to play it twice. 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:46.920 I meant the Billy Ray Cyrus thing stretches it a. 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:47.760 Little bit to like, yeah, a. 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:56.160 Seventeen seconds, but yeah, man, it's it's also maybe that 0:12:56.280 --> 0:13:01.520 this generation doesn't need a lot of time to express itself. 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:04.120 I won't say that doesn't much to say. 0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:06.640 They do have the language. They have the words. 0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:12.600 It's like mean culture, yeah, statement, next statement. 0:13:12.840 --> 0:13:15.000 But they also have new words that we didn't have before. 0:13:15.080 --> 0:13:16.880 Where we used to be taken forever to say a 0:13:16.920 --> 0:13:19.360 gas like trigger, you used to have to think, come on, 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:21.520 that shit didn't exist. You a whole sentence about what 0:13:21.520 --> 0:13:24.000 that ship really was, like like. 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:27.199 Trump, the lingo is gonna change with the times, as 0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:29.559 you know, as long as it's young people, it's alway gonna. 0:13:29.360 --> 0:13:29.760 Be do lingo. 0:13:29.800 --> 0:13:32.040 I ain't mad at that part. Yes, I just wish 0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:35.560 that I wish that everybody would just slow the hell down. 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:37.280 I feel like, you know what I felt why music 0:13:37.360 --> 0:13:40.199 is suffering is because nobody's taking the time to keep 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:42.600 it good. No more like everybody is, as you said, 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:45.000 everybody trying to get their streaming numbers up. And it's 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:47.600 like listen. We'll worry about quality later. Right now, it's 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:49.160 just let's just get it out there. We can get 0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:53.840 these numbers up. That sucks. I just I just hate 0:13:53.840 --> 0:13:54.800 that we in this place now. 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:56.520 Man, I really, it's not all young people. 0:13:56.800 --> 0:13:59.160 That's not that's not everybody understand because there is a 0:13:59.200 --> 0:14:01.400 section of young people that are appreciating the nineties right 0:14:01.400 --> 0:14:04.880 now that are we discovering neo soul and all of 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:06.640 that and making it new against I mean, you know, 0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:09.040 let's just get a baby some love. 0:14:09.760 --> 0:14:11.320 There's always exceptions, you know. 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:15.080 The mass is the mass situation right now is you know, 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:17.040 a song need to be a minute long because I 0:14:17.040 --> 0:14:17.719 got something to do? 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:20.960 What do you have to do? You ain't got trying 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:21.920 to listen to some good music. 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:22.520 I don't get it. 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:25.280 I don't get I used to tell people on the radio, listen, 0:14:25.320 --> 0:14:26.920 if you want to find good music, it's not going 0:14:27.000 --> 0:14:28.400 to be the ship that easily comes to you. 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:29.480 You're gonna have to go find it. 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:31.840 And I'm on the radio telling you that the good 0:14:31.840 --> 0:14:35.920 ship is not what you're easy on the radio. Okay, 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:39.920 we had we we we repeating some things, but I'm sorry, 0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:40.400 go back there. 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:42.600 I feel like I feel like this shows now turning 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:44.560 into the corner of do the right thing. 0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:47.000 There's there's one other element of this that I feel 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:52.440 like might play a very very strong factor. Okay, now, 0:14:52.520 --> 0:14:56.840 I am not anywhere near good enough to say that 0:14:56.920 --> 0:14:59.320 I am a piano player or a guitar player or 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:00.000 a drum player. 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:02.600 I'm good enough to tap around and find what I need. 0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:07.120 Right, But I recall a time where music was kind 0:15:07.200 --> 0:15:10.720 of like a really really exclusive club. You had to 0:15:10.800 --> 0:15:13.720 know what you were doing, you had to be good 0:15:14.080 --> 0:15:16.800 at you had to be good at what you was doing. 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:19.320 Like now, anybody can do it. 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:22.360 Anybody can do it. It's it's the door, it's the 0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:24.600 y m c A. Come on in, y'all's that's where. 0:15:24.600 --> 0:15:26.960 That's where we're at now. So of course, if you 0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:31.160 got just anybody doing whatever, of course things are going 0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:31.600 to suffer. 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:33.120 That the quality is gonna suffer. 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:35.640 There was a point in time where the quality was 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:38.000 up because the cats that was doing it was quality. 0:15:38.640 --> 0:15:41.200 Taking nothing from anybody today, I'm not saying the names. 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:43.240 I'm not doing that for my bashing. I'm just saying 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:47.600 that now I mean to take something to take something 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:50.240 like DJ. You remember when you had to like learn 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:53.440 timing and like like figure out how to mix records 0:15:53.440 --> 0:15:55.600 and now. 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:57.960 You push your button and you got and you're done. 0:15:58.160 --> 0:15:59.400 You're done. You push your button. 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:02.720 Yeah, yeah, I think those tools are just gonna have 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:05.200 to push people to like be creative in a different way, 0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:07.920 because I mean even though, like even with DJing, it's like, 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:10.600 if you have the records, you can give me a 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:13.880 mirror's hard drive right now, and I wouldn't know what 0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:15.280 to do with it, you know what I'm saying, Like 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:17.360 you still have to know how. 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:19.600 To play the records. You know, there's just still skills, 0:16:19.600 --> 0:16:20.920 a skill set that's evolved. 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:24.560 But with now, with technology, in many ways good and bad, 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:26.600 it's leveled the plan field so that the barrier of 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:28.920 entry is pretty much non existent. 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:31.200 Well. No, it's the same thing with with like bro 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:34.600 with with with auto tune for example, Yeah, you got 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:36.280 to know what you're doing with auto tune to make 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:39.520 it do what it do, right, you're gonna be auto 0:16:40.280 --> 0:16:42.480 you go and and and so it's the same thing 0:16:42.480 --> 0:16:42.800 with DJ. 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:43.640 I understand it. 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:46.520 There's a technique to it, but you can't deny that 0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:49.560 back day, before the buttons came, you had to be 0:16:49.600 --> 0:16:51.960 a little bit better at what you was doing. 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:54.400 You know what I'm saying. You had to be good. 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:56.200 You had to be that dude a little bit like 0:16:56.720 --> 0:16:58.920 and the same thing came to playing instruments, the same 0:16:58.920 --> 0:16:59.760 thing came with singing. 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:00.560 You know what I'm saying. 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:02.120 That's that's why we're kind of seeing what we're seeing 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:05.440 right now, is it's not the craft itself. I don't 0:17:05.440 --> 0:17:09.159 feel like it's as respected as it once was. Like 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:12.440 nobody's blood sweating heres to get good at this no more? 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:14.479 You know that means the bottom is going to fall out, right, 0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:15.360 y'all know that, right? 0:17:16.400 --> 0:17:20.720 The bottom fell out, or God willing, somebody comes along 0:17:20.760 --> 0:17:24.280 and saves us. 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:29.960 Do you remember the first album that you purchased with 0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:31.600 your own money? 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:36.160 The first album I purchased with my own money, surprisingly 0:17:36.280 --> 0:17:38.320 was not an R and B album. It was The 0:17:38.400 --> 0:17:43.320 Far Sides Wild Was it the Wild Ride? It was 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:43.800 all right? 0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:48.960 Yes, the first one? Yeah, huge, huge far side fan Yeah. 0:17:48.800 --> 0:17:51.360 Yeah, see you're thirteen, okay. 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:53.680 Easily something like that. 0:17:53.720 --> 0:17:56.240 Wow, you know what's where? Uh? 0:17:56.520 --> 0:17:59.240 That album was a hard sell for me in the 0:17:59.480 --> 0:18:04.919 very big I didn't like Your Mama. 0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:06.080 It was cool, But. 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:08.439 Was it the remix that turned you around? Or was 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:09.720 it just no? 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:11.639 When I heard for Better for Worse? 0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:16.399 Ah yeah, oh damn y'all, alright, all right, when I 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:20.240 heard your Mama, I just started corny and I ignored them. 0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:24.760 And well, you know, like when Richard Nichols and AJ 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:29.720 Shine were producers. AJ Shine was like Philadelphia's stretching Barbido, 0:18:30.480 --> 0:18:32.520 and he had a copy of the album and I 0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:35.159 looked at the album cover and it was just the 0:18:35.200 --> 0:18:37.600 craziest thing I ever seen, which is really weird because 0:18:37.600 --> 0:18:40.120 when he put for Better for Worse one, I feel 0:18:40.160 --> 0:18:42.720 like the album cover, that's the that's the soundtrack to 0:18:42.760 --> 0:18:47.680 the album cover Worse. But when I heard those Fender roads, 0:18:49.800 --> 0:18:54.560 like that just totally I don't know, it's just it 0:18:54.720 --> 0:18:58.399 just opened the whole portal. Literally after I heard for 0:18:58.480 --> 0:19:01.040 Better for Worse, I told rich like, we need a 0:19:01.119 --> 0:19:04.119 keyboard player, and he was like, I know this, like 0:19:04.240 --> 0:19:06.399 this guy living in my house named Scott Storch. And 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:10.720 that's how Scott came into the group. Wait, speaking of which, 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:14.479 I'm just realizing I didn't realize that you were the 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:17.160 third writer of Let Me Love You. I've always thought 0:19:17.200 --> 0:19:19.440 that was just Scott and Cam. 0:19:19.520 --> 0:19:22.000 Yeah, shout out to my man, Cam. No, that was me. 0:19:22.400 --> 0:19:24.400 Yes, I was absolutely there for that. 0:19:25.240 --> 0:19:25.640 Ah. 0:19:25.680 --> 0:19:29.800 Man, Yo, man, I've known Cam like I've known Cam 0:19:29.840 --> 0:19:31.880 since I k known Scott since they were like yay Hi, 0:19:32.520 --> 0:19:33.880 I thought Cam wrote those lyrics. 0:19:34.040 --> 0:19:34.159 Yo. 0:19:34.320 --> 0:19:36.960 I was like no, no, no, no, We definitely we 0:19:37.000 --> 0:19:38.520 definitely went back and forth on that. That was. 0:19:38.680 --> 0:19:39.879 That was my first time ever. 0:19:39.760 --> 0:19:42.840 Working with Cam and it was I just remember it 0:19:42.920 --> 0:19:46.639 because I remember it being such an easy situation because 0:19:46.640 --> 0:19:49.600 I worked with other writers since then, and it's egos 0:19:49.640 --> 0:19:51.800 getting away and you know, well I will I'll route 0:19:51.800 --> 0:19:53.400 this much, you know, and all of that stuff gets 0:19:53.400 --> 0:19:55.800 in a way that was not the case when this 0:19:55.920 --> 0:19:57.560 song came to be. I feel like that might be 0:19:57.640 --> 0:19:59.600 why the song this so well, because it was just 0:19:59.640 --> 0:20:01.800 such a uh it was it was like it was 0:20:01.840 --> 0:20:05.120 just love. The whole situation was just love. Nobody was 0:20:05.119 --> 0:20:07.879 was tripping off of who got what percentage, Nobody was 0:20:07.880 --> 0:20:11.639 was trying to do more than they did. Like it 0:20:11.720 --> 0:20:13.560 was just a love situation, you know what I'm saying. 0:20:13.680 --> 0:20:15.480 Shout out to them, man, man, Shout out to Camp, 0:20:15.480 --> 0:20:19.000 Shout out to Scott Storge. That's to a large degree, 0:20:19.040 --> 0:20:22.560 that's where my career started because that was the song 0:20:22.640 --> 0:20:24.960 that that finally got me the attention. You know what 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:27.280 I'm saying. For a long time, I was I was 0:20:27.359 --> 0:20:30.359 dub the little nigga that wrote the Mario song. That 0:20:30.480 --> 0:20:31.280 was that was my name. 0:20:32.800 --> 0:20:36.240 Can you talk about the process of you discovering your voice? 0:20:37.200 --> 0:20:40.680 So, yeah, my sister was born with with just she 0:20:40.680 --> 0:20:43.080 she came out to womb High Sea like just in 0:20:43.160 --> 0:20:46.919 there easy. It takes her, takes nothing. I'd work for 0:20:46.960 --> 0:20:49.520 my a little bit. You know, I knew I could, 0:20:49.560 --> 0:20:51.960 I could hold the note. I wasn't tone death, but 0:20:52.080 --> 0:20:52.960 I wasn't. 0:20:53.200 --> 0:20:53.560 I wasn't. 0:20:53.600 --> 0:20:55.760 I wasn't my sister, you know what I mean. And 0:20:55.760 --> 0:20:59.920 and in our house, you know, the standard became my sister. 0:21:00.240 --> 0:21:02.560 So and so you know, I felt a few not 0:21:02.640 --> 0:21:04.639 just below that. So it took a little minute for 0:21:04.680 --> 0:21:06.879 me to just really really get comfortable with my voice. 0:21:08.040 --> 0:21:10.359 A lot of Michael Jackson, a lot of Stevie Wonder, 0:21:10.400 --> 0:21:12.199 you know what I'm saying. Moms actually put me on 0:21:12.240 --> 0:21:14.800 to both of these gentlemen, uh, and it helped me 0:21:14.840 --> 0:21:18.280 get more more comfortable with just how my voice sounded. 0:21:18.280 --> 0:21:20.840 I used to really not like the sound of my voice. 0:21:20.520 --> 0:21:22.440 Because from what I couldn't do what my sister could 0:21:22.480 --> 0:21:25.080 do technically she had the ad libs. 0:21:24.800 --> 0:21:27.000 And all of that stuff right. 0:21:27.480 --> 0:21:30.000 And then my mom was like my hero, and she 0:21:30.080 --> 0:21:32.520 used to listen to a lot of like, you know, 0:21:32.760 --> 0:21:36.920 husky voiced singers, the Ojys and your Teddy P's and 0:21:36.960 --> 0:21:40.479 you take them all that, and I didn't have that, 0:21:40.560 --> 0:21:42.000 you know what I mean. So I didn't like I 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:46.320 didn't really like singing at first. And then she introduced 0:21:46.359 --> 0:21:49.840 me to uh, to Michael Jackson's Off the Wall, not thriller, 0:21:49.880 --> 0:21:50.440 Off the Wall. 0:21:51.240 --> 0:21:51.400 Uh. 0:21:51.440 --> 0:21:54.640 She introduced me to songs in the kid life. 0:21:54.640 --> 0:21:56.840 She introduced me to to what they just how they 0:21:56.920 --> 0:21:58.560 were doing, what they were doing with their voices, and 0:21:58.560 --> 0:22:00.960 they helped me become more comfortable with my own because 0:22:00.960 --> 0:22:03.520 there was a similar tambre there, kind of that nasally 0:22:03.920 --> 0:22:06.439 high thing, you know what I mean, And it just 0:22:06.440 --> 0:22:09.320 helped me get more comfortable with it, but not comfortable 0:22:09.440 --> 0:22:12.000 enough to sing for people. It was at the height 0:22:12.080 --> 0:22:14.560 of what I was doing. I'm in the tenth grade, 0:22:15.119 --> 0:22:19.040 and if ever I'm upset about something, mad at something, 0:22:19.080 --> 0:22:20.640 whatever the case may be, I got a little red 0:22:20.640 --> 0:22:21.480 notebook under my bed. 0:22:21.480 --> 0:22:23.840 I pull that joint out I'll write a quick. 0:22:23.600 --> 0:22:27.199 Song, sing it to myself, throw a note up back 0:22:27.280 --> 0:22:29.119 under the bed, and gone by my business. Like my 0:22:29.119 --> 0:22:31.480 friends didn't know for a long long time. I didn't 0:22:31.480 --> 0:22:33.080 because it wasn't for them, it was it was for me. 0:22:33.119 --> 0:22:34.480 It was therapy for me, you know what I mean. 0:22:34.960 --> 0:22:37.320 So I went to a performing arts high school for 0:22:37.760 --> 0:22:41.920 visual designers, a drawing paint and whatnot. And every year 0:22:42.359 --> 0:22:44.600 this high school, Las Vegas Academy for Theater, Performing and 0:22:44.680 --> 0:22:47.520 Visual Arts, every year they would do something called pop Concert. 0:22:48.040 --> 0:22:50.480 And this was primarily for the dancers and the choir 0:22:50.600 --> 0:22:51.840 majors and you know the. 0:22:52.040 --> 0:22:53.639 Techie guys that do the lights and all of that. 0:22:53.680 --> 0:22:56.920 It was like a like a like a super glorified 0:22:57.080 --> 0:22:59.840 talent show. Think you know they got smoke machines and 0:23:00.600 --> 0:23:01.720 the biggest thing going on it. 0:23:01.840 --> 0:23:02.000 Yeah. 0:23:02.080 --> 0:23:05.879 Yeah, So of course this is a major deal to 0:23:05.920 --> 0:23:10.800 the whole school. Everybody except the art majors. We were 0:23:10.840 --> 0:23:11.639 kind of left out of that. 0:23:11.640 --> 0:23:13.720 They ain't really there weren't really nothing for us to do. 0:23:13.880 --> 0:23:15.679 You make your back drop now we find we got 0:23:15.720 --> 0:23:18.399 lights the right couls. So we were kind of like 0:23:18.520 --> 0:23:21.320 the grassy old kids, like they wasn't wasn't nobody studding 0:23:21.400 --> 0:23:24.120 us because the whole the rest of the school is. 0:23:24.040 --> 0:23:25.880 On pop concert pop, console, popcorns. 0:23:26.119 --> 0:23:29.440 These kids crying in the cafeteria over choreography, you this 0:23:29.680 --> 0:23:30.720 fucking six. 0:23:31.600 --> 0:23:35.000 Like so it sounds like someone I know. 0:23:35.640 --> 0:23:38.840 So this particularly year, me and me and the grassy 0:23:38.920 --> 0:23:40.639 old kids, we decided, you know what, we're gonna do 0:23:40.680 --> 0:23:42.520 something to just to just kind of take the piss 0:23:42.520 --> 0:23:44.520 out this whole situation, right, so. 0:23:45.280 --> 0:23:48.399 We pulled straws. Of course, I pulled the short straw. 0:23:49.200 --> 0:23:52.680 The plan was to somehow get into the talent show, 0:23:52.720 --> 0:23:54.520 because you had audition to get into the talent show. 0:23:54.520 --> 0:23:56.600 So that was the hard part, get into the talent show. 0:23:56.760 --> 0:23:58.640 And then once you got on stage, turn around moon 0:23:58.720 --> 0:24:00.760 the crowd run off like that was that was what 0:24:00.800 --> 0:24:02.000 we were gonna do. That was our plan. 0:24:03.240 --> 0:24:03.720 I pulled the. 0:24:03.720 --> 0:24:07.240 Short This is a plan. It was. It was kind 0:24:07.240 --> 0:24:09.480 of like just a big fuck you to everything that 0:24:09.720 --> 0:24:12.240 y'all making such a big dollar. No one's getting signed 0:24:12.280 --> 0:24:14.120 from this, this this this talent show. 0:24:14.160 --> 0:24:16.760 Guys, calm down, And that was always saying that to everybody. 0:24:16.760 --> 0:24:19.800 Okay, so how you gonna get on stage? 0:24:20.440 --> 0:24:22.359 You aren't majors were always assholes. 0:24:22.359 --> 0:24:24.800 Man, I'm sorry, completely on purpose. 0:24:25.119 --> 0:24:27.880 We thrived on being an asshole. We did it on purpose. 0:24:29.320 --> 0:24:31.240 But okay. So so I go to the choir the 0:24:31.320 --> 0:24:35.959 choir room to audition. I sang boysmen, end of the row. Uh. 0:24:36.000 --> 0:24:38.080 The choir major instantly asked me, why are you not 0:24:38.160 --> 0:24:39.960 in my class? Because I'm not a singer. He was like, 0:24:40.040 --> 0:24:42.760 yes you are whatever, Yeah, you in? 0:24:42.840 --> 0:24:43.160 All right? 0:24:43.160 --> 0:24:45.639 Cool? Bye, gone, all right, I got in. How'd you 0:24:45.640 --> 0:24:47.200 get in? Don't worry about I got in? All right, cool, 0:24:48.280 --> 0:24:51.760 get there. It's the day of everybody's excited. All my 0:24:51.840 --> 0:24:53.480 own boys are sitting in the front. I don't know 0:24:53.480 --> 0:24:55.439 how the hell they manage that, because it was just 0:24:55.440 --> 0:24:56.760 something that you had to get tickets to. But we 0:24:56.800 --> 0:24:58.760 found our way in, damn it. We always the grassy 0:24:58.800 --> 0:25:01.960 old kids always find a way. Anyways, it's my turn 0:25:02.000 --> 0:25:05.600 to go up. They introduced me, show your love for 0:25:05.680 --> 0:25:09.800 Schaeffer Smith that's my real name, Shafford Schmithson. I walk 0:25:09.840 --> 0:25:12.520 out on stage to no applause, because, mind you, the 0:25:12.640 --> 0:25:15.680 kids at this school know me as the little dude 0:25:15.720 --> 0:25:17.119 with the braids that will draw you a picture if 0:25:17.160 --> 0:25:19.400 you give them ten dollars. Right, this is who I 0:25:19.440 --> 0:25:24.919 was at this. So the music starts and I, I 0:25:24.920 --> 0:25:27.840 can't make this up. The music starts and I look 0:25:27.920 --> 0:25:31.480 up at the crowd, and all of a sudden, nobody's there. 0:25:32.080 --> 0:25:36.080 Everybody's gone. I don't know it just it's just in 0:25:36.160 --> 0:25:38.520 my in my head, everybody's gone. The crowd is gone. 0:25:38.840 --> 0:25:41.800 All I can hear is the song. So I just 0:25:41.800 --> 0:25:45.200 start singing. I sang the whole song, set said to 0:25:45.240 --> 0:25:48.160 one place, eyes closed, sang the whole song, A libs 0:25:48.160 --> 0:25:51.240 and all all of that, all of that song and 0:25:52.280 --> 0:25:53.000 no applause. 0:25:54.320 --> 0:25:56.159 All of a sudden, it was like a I can't it. 0:25:56.040 --> 0:25:59.320 Was slow clap to us, to the roar. 0:26:02.359 --> 0:26:04.199 Because it was it was it was like, where the 0:26:04.240 --> 0:26:05.240 hell did this come again? 0:26:05.720 --> 0:26:07.280 They were shock the nigga with the braves. 0:26:07.320 --> 0:26:09.240 That'll draw you a picture for ten dollars. This is 0:26:09.280 --> 0:26:11.960 who I was all of a sudden, you know what 0:26:12.000 --> 0:26:15.359 I'm saying. So so that at that moment, suddenly, you know, 0:26:15.400 --> 0:26:17.560 the following days it's girls saying hi in the hall 0:26:17.640 --> 0:26:21.520 and ship that that. I knew all of that. You know, 0:26:21.880 --> 0:26:25.080 A buddy of mine, hey, me and some friends, we 0:26:25.119 --> 0:26:26.560 had a singing group going up. You want to join 0:26:26.600 --> 0:26:31.640 the group. Uh yeah, sure, all right. And then once 0:26:31.680 --> 0:26:33.280 I got into the group and met you know, some 0:26:33.440 --> 0:26:35.400 like minded gentlemen that wanted to do the same thing. 0:26:35.400 --> 0:26:37.800 We sent around creating three four part harmonies and whatnot. 0:26:37.840 --> 0:26:40.439 That's when it That's when it was finally like I 0:26:40.440 --> 0:26:41.920 could I could do this for a living, like I 0:26:41.960 --> 0:26:44.159 could really, Yeah, I could, I could do this. 0:26:44.520 --> 0:26:46.520 So you just left the grass, you old people like 0:26:46.560 --> 0:26:47.800 you just rode out on him like. 0:26:47.840 --> 0:26:49.359 Friends and friends. 0:26:49.359 --> 0:26:51.600 And we was always at but you know, it's it's 0:26:51.640 --> 0:26:53.359 at the same time I'm in the I'm spending a 0:26:53.359 --> 0:26:54.760 little bit more time in the choir room and. 0:26:54.920 --> 0:27:01.720 The little bits ask this question, your class. 0:27:01.320 --> 0:27:04.080 Of ninety eight, nineteen ninety eight. 0:27:04.080 --> 0:27:07.520 So that said, did you go back to your twenty 0:27:07.560 --> 0:27:09.240 three reunion in twenty eighteen? 0:27:12.720 --> 0:27:16.399 Say yes, I did? I did. 0:27:16.440 --> 0:27:17.440 Did you stunt on them? 0:27:18.119 --> 0:27:22.440 I don't. I'm not. I'm not a stunter. If that 0:27:23.400 --> 0:27:25.760 my flex is real light. It's like, you know what 0:27:25.760 --> 0:27:27.760 I'm saying, I'm gonna put this ship on, but not 0:27:27.880 --> 0:27:29.360 say I put this shit on. I'm gonna just wait 0:27:29.359 --> 0:27:31.280 for you to notice that I got that ship on, 0:27:31.400 --> 0:27:33.880 like you know, that's me. That's me, you know, I'm 0:27:33.880 --> 0:27:36.000 not gonna draw attention to the diamonds, but should you 0:27:36.040 --> 0:27:36.520 see them? 0:27:37.119 --> 0:27:37.840 Goddamn you know what? 0:27:38.240 --> 0:27:44.359 That's me right imply everlyam So you know I went 0:27:44.720 --> 0:27:47.240 and mind you the most famous people that was myself. 0:27:48.040 --> 0:27:50.760 Apparently the drummer from the group The Killers went to 0:27:50.800 --> 0:27:54.639 the same high school as me. Yeah, Vega and. 0:27:56.520 --> 0:27:58.320 Seven o two, right and seven o two. 0:27:58.680 --> 0:28:00.600 Seven o two seven oh two on their way out 0:28:00.640 --> 0:28:01.560 as I was on my way here. 0:28:01.640 --> 0:28:02.600 Okay, I just knew, y'all. 0:28:02.640 --> 0:28:03.640 Okay, I just knew. 0:28:03.960 --> 0:28:09.320 Yeah, but uh, she's an actress, beautiful chocolate actress. She 0:28:09.480 --> 0:28:16.720 was on the True Blood show Routina. Yes, we went 0:28:16.760 --> 0:28:19.800 to we went to school together. Yeah, man, yes, old, 0:28:20.800 --> 0:28:21.399 I mean routine. 0:28:21.520 --> 0:28:23.560 You're not old. But you know what I'm saying, Queen Sugar. 0:28:25.520 --> 0:28:29.720 Wow, man, listen, nowadays it is a blessing to ghettols. 0:28:29.800 --> 0:28:32.920 I ain't even trip hell yeah you So. 0:28:32.960 --> 0:28:37.160 The thing is you're saying that your gift of journaling 0:28:37.359 --> 0:28:40.960 or writing poetry was sort of your your stress reliever. 0:28:41.120 --> 0:28:45.720 You're that you let off steam. Did anyone ever hire 0:28:45.720 --> 0:28:49.320 your services as like, uh, you know, quasi here no 0:28:49.480 --> 0:28:53.120 divergiac as right, write. 0:28:52.880 --> 0:28:58.160 Me something all the time, Yes, all the time. Yeah, 0:28:58.160 --> 0:29:00.400 I used to do a lot of that for football players. 0:29:01.200 --> 0:29:02.920 That's the football player at our school, because there was 0:29:02.920 --> 0:29:05.880 no football at our school, but Rancho was down the street. 0:29:06.240 --> 0:29:08.000 And yeah, I know a lot of them guys. Yeah, 0:29:08.000 --> 0:29:12.400 I'll write write poems. Then they getting their girlfriends or yeah, listen, but. 0:29:13.160 --> 0:29:17.600 Okay, ten dollars and dollars dollar got you, I'll let 0:29:17.640 --> 0:29:21.880 you say, you go for it, ten bucks. 0:29:22.200 --> 0:29:23.280 I'll never went hungry. 0:29:23.440 --> 0:29:27.480 I would like to know what your process was then 0:29:28.600 --> 0:29:32.000 as opposed to now, as far as. 0:29:33.320 --> 0:29:34.400 Writing with the song. 0:29:35.200 --> 0:29:39.320 Are you a person that can get an idea of 0:29:39.520 --> 0:29:43.120 just words without melody or knowing what type of song 0:29:43.200 --> 0:29:46.880 it is, or you know, do you have to sit 0:29:47.720 --> 0:29:50.920 and listen to the song or how different is your 0:29:50.920 --> 0:29:57.040 songwriting process high school, post high school versus what you 0:29:57.160 --> 0:29:58.040 do for a living now. 0:29:59.280 --> 0:30:01.920 I can honestly say that when it was, you know, 0:30:01.960 --> 0:30:05.280 back in high school, before before the stakes got high, 0:30:05.760 --> 0:30:08.280 you know, so to speak, there was a there was 0:30:08.920 --> 0:30:12.240 a freedom to my writing that that dwindled over time, 0:30:12.320 --> 0:30:14.120 you know, as as I got into that place where 0:30:14.120 --> 0:30:16.280 it's like, all right, you've had success, now you got 0:30:16.280 --> 0:30:18.680 to do it again. And so now you're overthinking every 0:30:18.760 --> 0:30:21.000 fucking thing you do because it's like, oh, isn't as 0:30:21.000 --> 0:30:25.280 good as that thing. Before that, it was kind of 0:30:25.360 --> 0:30:27.560 just writing whatever came to mind, and it was no 0:30:27.600 --> 0:30:29.960 wrong way, you know. Sometimes it was it was a 0:30:30.040 --> 0:30:32.800 cadence that came to me, no melody, just no words, 0:30:32.800 --> 0:30:37.200 just a cadence now whatever the case. And then sometimes 0:30:37.240 --> 0:30:39.120 it was words I used to so I used to 0:30:39.200 --> 0:30:42.080 uh my training, so to speak. 0:30:42.200 --> 0:30:44.080 But if you want to call it that, I would 0:30:44.120 --> 0:30:44.640 just go. 0:30:44.640 --> 0:30:47.960 Somewhere and look around the room, find a word, a phrase, 0:30:48.320 --> 0:30:50.680 a picture of something, create a story around it, and 0:30:50.680 --> 0:30:53.000 then write a song based on that story, just to 0:30:53.120 --> 0:30:55.280 just to sharpen, you know, just to sharpen the tube. 0:30:55.600 --> 0:30:57.880 So it could be it could be a word, It 0:30:57.880 --> 0:31:01.000 could be you know, somebody sitting with guitar and we 0:31:01.040 --> 0:31:03.920 sit and create melodies that way, and the words over the melodies. 0:31:03.960 --> 0:31:05.720 Like there's no wrong way as long as it got 0:31:05.720 --> 0:31:10.760 to that that thing you feel when you know, like, yeah, 0:31:11.800 --> 0:31:12.920 that thing, you know what I mean. 0:31:13.400 --> 0:31:14.960 I want to thank you for validating me. 0:31:15.840 --> 0:31:17.760 Oh yeah, thank you for. 0:31:17.800 --> 0:31:20.440 Validating me right now. No, because you know. 0:31:21.280 --> 0:31:24.120 I wrote a book on creativity and I was trying 0:31:24.120 --> 0:31:28.000 to give various exercises. Well, the first thing I told 0:31:28.040 --> 0:31:31.880 people is that they have to embrace boredom more because 0:31:32.040 --> 0:31:35.400 when you're silent, when you're bored, when you're still, that's 0:31:35.440 --> 0:31:38.720 when the ideas come to you. And you know, I 0:31:38.800 --> 0:31:42.600 was just suggesting games that you could do, like brand exercises, 0:31:42.640 --> 0:31:48.120 where you know, I think Carly Simon used to randomly 0:31:48.280 --> 0:31:51.440 open a National geographic page and look at one sentence 0:31:51.960 --> 0:31:56.200 and then base a whole song on that. And so 0:31:56.480 --> 0:31:59.280 to hear you say that, yes, I'm glad that you 0:32:00.440 --> 0:32:03.800 validated me, because I don't consider myself a songwriter, but 0:32:03.960 --> 0:32:06.760 I figured that for writing, that's a great exercise to do. 0:32:07.320 --> 0:32:10.920 Oh yeah, yeah. I mean it's because if you don't, 0:32:10.720 --> 0:32:14.120 your songs tend to become stagnant, you know what I mean, 0:32:14.200 --> 0:32:17.800 Like there's there's the okay, there's let's write about love, 0:32:17.840 --> 0:32:19.840 Let's write about sex, Let's write about money, let's write 0:32:19.840 --> 0:32:23.680 about girls. These four things are always gonna, you know, 0:32:23.840 --> 0:32:25.920 flow to the top for the for the younger generation, 0:32:25.960 --> 0:32:27.440 that's just kind of is what it is to be young. 0:32:27.480 --> 0:32:27.920 I get it. 0:32:28.480 --> 0:32:31.960 But if you just focus on those four things, then 0:32:32.320 --> 0:32:34.840 all of a sudden, your songs kind of start sounding alike. 0:32:34.960 --> 0:32:37.840 It's like, all right, well, well you need you need 0:32:37.920 --> 0:32:41.080 new ways to say the same ship, if that makes 0:32:41.120 --> 0:32:43.000 any sense. And the only way to do that is 0:32:43.040 --> 0:32:45.360 to step outside your comfort zone to find a word 0:32:45.400 --> 0:32:48.560 that it's actually difficult write a song about graphight what 0:32:48.800 --> 0:32:49.120 but how? 0:32:49.240 --> 0:32:49.640 Hold on? 0:32:49.760 --> 0:32:51.240 How? What? What? 0:32:51.840 --> 0:32:52.680 How do you sing? 0:32:53.280 --> 0:32:53.440 Yeah? 0:32:53.480 --> 0:32:56.160 Because because you can rap, but singing something. 0:32:56.640 --> 0:32:59.360 Step away from from I love you, so never let 0:32:59.400 --> 0:33:00.560 me go, you know what I mean? 0:33:00.640 --> 0:33:02.720 Like, step away from that and figure out another way 0:33:02.760 --> 0:33:06.080 to say to to get that same that same point across, 0:33:06.080 --> 0:33:09.040 but with different words and different phrases and different melodies 0:33:09.120 --> 0:33:11.760 like I used to I still do. 0:33:11.880 --> 0:33:13.280 I can't lock into one. 0:33:13.120 --> 0:33:16.719 Specific genre of music because you know, if it's if 0:33:16.720 --> 0:33:20.120 it's hip hop, is these these three melodies that every 0:33:20.200 --> 0:33:22.280 hip hop artist is using, right, So that's a very 0:33:22.280 --> 0:33:24.760 small bowl. If it's R and B, you know, it's 0:33:24.800 --> 0:33:27.320 these chords, it's the church chords. It's that type of vibe. 0:33:27.400 --> 0:33:28.200 Okay, that's cool. 0:33:29.240 --> 0:33:30.040 Step outside of that. 0:33:30.080 --> 0:33:32.400 Listen to some country music, listen to them melodies over there, 0:33:32.480 --> 0:33:35.080 step outside. I listened to some some some Hindi music 0:33:35.160 --> 0:33:39.800 or whatever, just melodies that you wouldn't typically go to too, 0:33:39.920 --> 0:33:43.440 and it helps just expand your your your library of sound. 0:33:43.520 --> 0:33:44.040 You know what I'm saying. 0:33:44.080 --> 0:33:45.840 When you sit down and do it, you got more 0:33:45.840 --> 0:33:48.200 ship to play with as opposed to I love you 0:33:48.240 --> 0:33:51.560 so never let me go. And you know the latest 0:33:51.600 --> 0:33:53.640 church song made over with R and B lyrics on it. 0:33:54.080 --> 0:33:59.560 Yeah, I want to ask, what are your tabooed no 0:33:59.760 --> 0:34:01.880 no in songwriting? 0:34:02.240 --> 0:34:04.760 Like, okay, I hate your on my mind all the time. 0:34:08.840 --> 0:34:10.640 Maybe you on my mind. I think about you all 0:34:10.640 --> 0:34:13.479 the time, right. 0:34:13.480 --> 0:34:15.480 Yeah, those those hurt those hurts song. 0:34:17.040 --> 0:34:19.759 It's just so come on, man, like you ain't even 0:34:19.840 --> 0:34:22.719 tried you you phoned you phoned it in the death 0:34:22.920 --> 0:34:25.720 like that's yeah, I hate that. I hate the phone 0:34:25.800 --> 0:34:28.600 in lyric, not nothing mind you, the phone in lyric, 0:34:28.680 --> 0:34:31.120 not the simple lyric, because you can say it simply 0:34:31.480 --> 0:34:34.080 and it's still be clever, it's still have have you know, 0:34:34.120 --> 0:34:35.280 a little kick to it. 0:34:35.320 --> 0:34:36.879 Smokey Robinson's the king of. 0:34:36.800 --> 0:34:39.040 That, the king of I'm gonna just say it, but 0:34:39.120 --> 0:34:40.480 I'm the. 0:34:40.440 --> 0:34:42.600 King of simplicity. 0:34:42.800 --> 0:34:45.440 Yeah, but it's but but still but still fly, oh 0:34:45.600 --> 0:34:48.960 like simple but fly, not just simple for the sake 0:34:48.960 --> 0:34:50.719 of simple. Like I used to have an issue with 0:34:51.520 --> 0:34:54.799 the whole concept of repeating one word over and over 0:34:54.920 --> 0:34:56.799 and over and over and over and over and over. 0:34:57.160 --> 0:34:58.920 It used to it used to bug me, cause it's like, 0:35:00.440 --> 0:35:03.680 why there's so many words. There's so many words? 0:35:03.760 --> 0:35:06.239 You mean rhyming, rhyming words with words, or you mean 0:35:06.520 --> 0:35:09.120 like my my my, my, my my mom, like just 0:35:09.160 --> 0:35:12.400 saying one word baby. 0:35:12.680 --> 0:35:14.880 This is why. That is why I have the utmost 0:35:14.920 --> 0:35:17.480 respect for the Dream, because the Dream found a way 0:35:17.480 --> 0:35:19.160 to do that ship and it don't bug you. I 0:35:19.160 --> 0:35:23.440 don't know how, but it don't. But hey, you know 0:35:23.480 --> 0:35:26.560 what I'm saying. It works for him. Shout out to 0:35:26.600 --> 0:35:28.439 the Dream. How the hell you do that, bro, because 0:35:28.440 --> 0:35:31.920 I'll be trying that. It's like, nah, it's crumble, No, 0:35:32.080 --> 0:35:32.640 this ain't. 0:35:32.480 --> 0:35:33.480 It, This is not it. 0:35:34.080 --> 0:35:37.480 Of your contemporaries, who are the you know, the people 0:35:37.480 --> 0:35:40.799 that you respect the most, and who are your I 0:35:40.800 --> 0:35:45.040 guess you could say you're I'm about to say Mount 0:35:45.080 --> 0:35:47.240 Saint Helen's uh before president? 0:35:48.480 --> 0:35:49.520 Yeah? Who? 0:35:50.160 --> 0:35:50.359 Who? 0:35:50.480 --> 0:35:53.640 Who's the Mount Rushmore of of songwriters? For you? 0:35:54.680 --> 0:35:58.960 Of songwriters? See, that's that's that's an interesting question. I've 0:35:58.960 --> 0:36:02.000 actually never been asked that question before. It's always who's 0:36:02.040 --> 0:36:05.200 just your mount rushmore like a favor like so, so 0:36:05.320 --> 0:36:07.520 if for that question, the question you didn't answer, you 0:36:07.520 --> 0:36:08.839 didn't ask, well. 0:36:08.760 --> 0:36:11.040 Okay, let me let me reask instead of who do 0:36:11.080 --> 0:36:15.799 you respect now? Who writes a song today that you're like, Damn, 0:36:15.840 --> 0:36:16.640 I wish I wrote that? 0:36:17.719 --> 0:36:17.799 Like? 0:36:17.920 --> 0:36:20.000 Is there a song that's like man, I wish I 0:36:20.040 --> 0:36:20.759 had a crack at that? 0:36:20.880 --> 0:36:25.120 Like Damn, I've I've I've heard one or two Drake 0:36:25.200 --> 0:36:28.680 records where the lyric was clever enough to where I'm like, oh, 0:36:28.760 --> 0:36:30.520 I did not think of that. That was that was good? 0:36:30.680 --> 0:36:34.160 That was good? Yeah, that hurt I've heard. 0:36:34.200 --> 0:36:36.400 I've heard one of two records from him. Uh in 0:36:36.480 --> 0:36:37.040 that space. 0:36:37.600 --> 0:36:38.000 I don't know. 0:36:38.080 --> 0:36:39.799 I'm gonna be real honest with you. I don't know 0:36:39.840 --> 0:36:42.719 a lot of the newer newer generation and I don't 0:36:42.719 --> 0:36:46.000 know their names. You know. No no disrespect or anything 0:36:46.040 --> 0:36:49.440 like that, but it's just I have to be I 0:36:49.440 --> 0:36:51.560 have to be enthralled in the record today and take 0:36:51.560 --> 0:36:53.440 it upon myself to go back and be look be 0:36:53.600 --> 0:36:55.879 look at who wrote it, who produced it. And if 0:36:55.920 --> 0:36:57.879 I don't, if I don't feel like that, then I'm 0:36:57.880 --> 0:36:59.000 not I'm not gonna waste the time. 0:36:59.239 --> 0:37:01.719 I'll let it be what it is and keep it moving. 0:37:02.200 --> 0:37:02.840 Are you up up? 0:37:02.880 --> 0:37:05.239 Victoria Money, she's a writer. I really like her. 0:37:06.120 --> 0:37:09.480 Victoria Money, I consider an artist. But yeah, she's a 0:37:09.560 --> 0:37:12.760 she's a. 0:37:12.160 --> 0:37:15.600 Oh she's Arianna she but she's an artist, like you know, 0:37:15.719 --> 0:37:16.680 like he said. 0:37:16.480 --> 0:37:17.680 But yeah, I love her music. 0:37:18.080 --> 0:37:20.520 Yeah, her music is yeah. 0:37:20.600 --> 0:37:22.640 Yeah, shout out to Victoria Money, shout out to shout 0:37:22.640 --> 0:37:23.399 out to the girl her. 0:37:23.719 --> 0:37:29.839 Who's your Mount Rushmore before you as in, that's the 0:37:30.160 --> 0:37:32.680 level of the pending game that I would like. 0:37:33.360 --> 0:37:36.400 My Mount Rushmore, ultimate Mount Rushmore, be an artist writer. 0:37:36.600 --> 0:37:38.880 Hold on because all of these guys kind of embody 0:37:38.920 --> 0:37:42.920 all of that five gentlemen Michael Jackson, Prince Samit Davis Junior, 0:37:42.960 --> 0:37:45.520 Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. 0:37:46.080 --> 0:37:50.280 Said that list like five. Yes, that's a nice. 0:37:50.040 --> 0:37:54.480 Group in Vegas. A group in Vegas. There is the 0:37:54.560 --> 0:37:57.319 rat Pack. I was I. I fell in love with 0:37:57.320 --> 0:37:59.080 the rat Pack. My mom brought it home and of 0:37:59.120 --> 0:38:00.960 course I gravitated. It's the same because he was the 0:38:01.000 --> 0:38:03.880 one that looked like me. So yeah, man, that's what 0:38:03.960 --> 0:38:04.239 it was. 0:38:09.040 --> 0:38:12.600 If you're in a run, what's the process of you 0:38:13.200 --> 0:38:17.719 dealing with it? Do you have other hobbies or other 0:38:18.000 --> 0:38:21.400 other things that you get into. Like sometimes if I 0:38:21.400 --> 0:38:24.880 I'm a great example is whatever the movie or I 0:38:24.920 --> 0:38:27.520 write a book, or I do something else creative, and 0:38:27.600 --> 0:38:30.200 that'll make me miss music. So do you have like 0:38:30.280 --> 0:38:33.440 another pivot that you go to if you're ever in 0:38:33.640 --> 0:38:36.680 a trap of not being able to finish the song? 0:38:37.760 --> 0:38:40.480 I think I think the key word is pivot because 0:38:40.680 --> 0:38:42.680 you kind of have to pivot because if you don't, 0:38:42.920 --> 0:38:48.280 you sit there and force it until paralysis. Yeah, exactly that. So, 0:38:48.280 --> 0:38:50.520 so the thing for me has always been a step 0:38:50.560 --> 0:38:52.680 away from it, you know, as hard as that may 0:38:52.719 --> 0:38:54.839 be sometimes because you know that that whole defeated thing 0:38:55.080 --> 0:38:56.759 starts setting in. It's like damn, I let the song 0:38:56.800 --> 0:38:59.800 beat me. No, you're not defeated. It's not done. Relax, 0:39:00.040 --> 0:39:03.360 you can come back. I'll step away and not normally 0:39:03.360 --> 0:39:06.120 for me, I'll you know, play street fighter. I'm a 0:39:06.200 --> 0:39:09.400 I'm an absolute beast that street fighter. Challenge me anyone 0:39:09.520 --> 0:39:14.880 who's your people, don't need nobody, your body, nobody me? 0:39:15.000 --> 0:39:21.640 Or are you on dragging dragon for you? So I'll 0:39:21.640 --> 0:39:26.279 do that or you know, uh, remember the practice I 0:39:26.320 --> 0:39:27.880 was telling you about where I just look around the 0:39:27.960 --> 0:39:30.960 room and find another word and just just something, something 0:39:30.960 --> 0:39:32.080 to get the wheels turning again. 0:39:32.160 --> 0:39:33.040 That's all I really need. 0:39:33.080 --> 0:39:36.400 And that's and that normally helps. That normally helps. 0:39:37.160 --> 0:39:38.720 See, that's that's how I play word. 0:39:39.400 --> 0:39:43.000 So I guess I should sort of channel on to 0:39:43.160 --> 0:39:47.439 actually writing lyrics because I actually I treat my word 0:39:47.440 --> 0:39:49.880 o game like I'm writing a song. I should have 0:39:49.920 --> 0:39:52.000 been writing songs by this point. 0:39:52.760 --> 0:39:54.560 Tell not as hard as people make it. 0:39:55.120 --> 0:40:00.759 What's the average time that you'll spend writing the song? 0:40:00.840 --> 0:40:00.920 Like? 0:40:00.960 --> 0:40:02.920 How fast does it come to you? 0:40:04.280 --> 0:40:04.799 I like that? 0:40:04.960 --> 0:40:08.360 So what song? To get the longest the right? Yeah, 0:40:08.600 --> 0:40:09.759 to get the longest the right. 0:40:10.640 --> 0:40:15.400 So when I first started getting attention, so to speak, 0:40:15.800 --> 0:40:18.480 I used to prove myself on how fast I could 0:40:18.480 --> 0:40:20.440 write a song. That's kind of where my name. That's 0:40:20.520 --> 0:40:23.200 kind of where the name Neo came from. Dion Evans, 0:40:23.360 --> 0:40:26.120 the Evans main Recipees. He gave me the name because 0:40:26.160 --> 0:40:28.560 he like, we'll talk, give me an hour. I could 0:40:28.560 --> 0:40:32.719 give you seventeen records. Now, mind seventeen records. I didn't 0:40:32.719 --> 0:40:39.000 say seventeen smashes, right, right, say seventeen seventeen records, you know, 0:40:39.080 --> 0:40:41.799 other seventeen you might three of them joints might be something, 0:40:41.840 --> 0:40:45.680 but seventeen records now, So now it's definitely more of 0:40:45.719 --> 0:40:49.040 a quality versus quantity thing. Whereas in that same hour 0:40:49.320 --> 0:40:50.880 that where I could get where I gave you seventeen, 0:40:50.960 --> 0:40:53.239 I'd take that hour to give you two, but it'd 0:40:53.239 --> 0:40:55.640 be two smashes, you know what I mean, two that 0:40:55.760 --> 0:40:57.799 I know, two that I know are going to hit 0:40:57.840 --> 0:41:00.680 the mark because I've just been there with Yeah, because 0:41:00.719 --> 0:41:02.279 I took the time to make sure that I was 0:41:02.280 --> 0:41:05.120 doing what is exactly what I what happened up here. 0:41:05.360 --> 0:41:07.120 That's always been the hardest part for me, because I 0:41:07.120 --> 0:41:08.600 can hear it done up here already. 0:41:08.760 --> 0:41:10.719 I just need to get it out of here and 0:41:10.800 --> 0:41:11.520 into the world. 0:41:11.800 --> 0:41:16.840 And somehow through that process of that transition from my 0:41:16.880 --> 0:41:19.920 mind to the world, shit changes and things happen, and 0:41:19.960 --> 0:41:21.120 all of a sudden, it don't. 0:41:20.920 --> 0:41:22.359 Sound like it sounded in my head no more. 0:41:22.360 --> 0:41:24.840 And now it's like, ah, shit, I felt right, step away, 0:41:25.640 --> 0:41:28.319 be somebody on the street fighter, Ah, come back, fix 0:41:28.400 --> 0:41:28.800 the problem. 0:41:29.560 --> 0:41:30.359 That sound like fine? 0:41:30.400 --> 0:41:33.120 Tap process now yeah, now you have to walk over. 0:41:33.719 --> 0:41:34.879 That's not straight up for real. 0:41:35.480 --> 0:41:37.600 I want to ask you man specifically about your work 0:41:37.920 --> 0:41:41.920 with Stargate because I have like really great chemistry together. 0:41:42.000 --> 0:41:45.319 And I remember we've met on a few occasions, but 0:41:45.320 --> 0:41:48.000 I remember this was probably like god, this is like 0:41:48.080 --> 0:41:52.520 oh seven oh six, but your first album in my 0:41:52.520 --> 0:41:55.400 own words, had just dropped and we was in Atlanta 0:41:55.480 --> 0:41:57.520 and it was a drama. 0:41:57.719 --> 0:42:00.480 Drama was having a party if I feel like it was. 0:42:00.280 --> 0:42:01.440 It was drama. 0:42:01.520 --> 0:42:04.160 But anyway, some part in Atlanta and I saw you. 0:42:04.200 --> 0:42:05.640 I was like, oh man, it's Neo and you were 0:42:05.680 --> 0:42:07.719 like in there. I was surprised that you even there, 0:42:07.719 --> 0:42:09.680 you like had to had all you like super chill. 0:42:10.239 --> 0:42:12.359 I was like, oh wow, like you were like super 0:42:12.440 --> 0:42:14.319 quiet enough, and I just walked Abu. I was like, yo, man, 0:42:14.840 --> 0:42:15.960 Sexy loves the join. 0:42:15.880 --> 0:42:18.040 Off new record, And he was like, Yo, appreciate it. 0:42:18.239 --> 0:42:21.520 You know what I mean, but but I love that 0:42:21.600 --> 0:42:24.239 song man, and you and Stargate like y'all have chemistry, man, 0:42:24.280 --> 0:42:26.759 Like talk about that process of working with them, what 0:42:26.800 --> 0:42:27.160 it's like. 0:42:27.600 --> 0:42:29.839 Well, firstly, I was I was so chill that night 0:42:29.920 --> 0:42:32.920 because I was I was shipping on myself in my 0:42:33.040 --> 0:42:37.200 soul inside because I'm like, oh my god, it's this it's. 0:42:37.080 --> 0:42:37.600 People in here. 0:42:37.600 --> 0:42:38.160 I know that person. 0:42:38.200 --> 0:42:38.960 I know that person too. 0:42:38.960 --> 0:42:43.560 I just calm down, relax, three two four. In my mind, 0:42:43.560 --> 0:42:45.560 this is what happened in my mind. Outside it's like, yeah, 0:42:46.160 --> 0:42:48.759 I've been there, Oh no I was, I was, I 0:42:48.800 --> 0:42:54.040 was losing it. But Stargate, the beauty of Stargate is 0:42:54.600 --> 0:42:58.520 how genuinely humble and just kind of I hate to 0:42:58.640 --> 0:43:01.360 use the term regular because it's there's nothing regular about 0:43:01.640 --> 0:43:04.920 their level of talent. But they're just ordinary people. Like 0:43:05.360 --> 0:43:07.640 you'll never see these cats with the big dumb jewelry. 0:43:07.719 --> 0:43:10.200 You'll never hear yeah Stargate at the top of the joint. 0:43:10.320 --> 0:43:13.160 They don't do that. They let the music speak for itself. 0:43:13.440 --> 0:43:17.279 These cats have figured out simplicity. It's like they came 0:43:17.320 --> 0:43:19.480 along right on time where it was like, you know, again, 0:43:19.520 --> 0:43:21.799 no direspect to anybody, but we got to that place 0:43:21.840 --> 0:43:25.040 where the producer is a celebrity to now right. So 0:43:25.680 --> 0:43:28.600 you you so enthralled and making sure that everybody know 0:43:28.640 --> 0:43:30.719 that this is you, and you do so much to 0:43:30.760 --> 0:43:32.479 the track that you ain't leave a room for the song. 0:43:32.560 --> 0:43:35.000 Now where does the song fit over all of this beautiful, 0:43:35.000 --> 0:43:37.520 amazing shit that you done done on this track? Here 0:43:37.560 --> 0:43:40.200 comes Stargate with listen, We're gonna give you a skeleton 0:43:40.520 --> 0:43:42.359 and let you put the meat on. We're gonna let 0:43:42.360 --> 0:43:46.200 you let the song create the body because that's what 0:43:46.320 --> 0:43:48.239 because technically that's kind of what it's supposed to be. 0:43:48.320 --> 0:43:50.399 It's a marriage between the two. You know what I'm saying. 0:43:50.400 --> 0:43:54.080 It's the foundation that's holding up the structure, that's holding 0:43:54.160 --> 0:43:54.760 up the structure. 0:43:55.040 --> 0:43:57.960 And that's what they do to the point where you know, 0:43:58.040 --> 0:44:00.680 they'll give me like so sick. 0:44:00.719 --> 0:44:04.960 For example, was that that harp and a drum and 0:44:05.000 --> 0:44:06.759 that was it and that's what I wrote to And 0:44:06.800 --> 0:44:08.920 then later on they went back and put the chords 0:44:08.920 --> 0:44:11.799 and like filded up. You know what I'm saying, sexy love, 0:44:11.880 --> 0:44:15.880 same way, doom doom, doom, doom doom that and uh, 0:44:18.080 --> 0:44:21.640 that's it. Wrote the song. They go in later and 0:44:21.640 --> 0:44:23.920 put into the bells and whistles later on because it 0:44:24.000 --> 0:44:27.880 could to make to make the track meld to the song, 0:44:28.080 --> 0:44:29.920 you know what I mean. No, it's like it's like 0:44:30.000 --> 0:44:32.040 cat's what Cat's ain't doing that. It's like, no, I 0:44:32.080 --> 0:44:33.799 got to make sure eybody know this my track. I 0:44:33.840 --> 0:44:36.320 did this damn that song. Yeah whatever the song, I 0:44:36.360 --> 0:44:37.080 did it, all right. 0:44:37.760 --> 0:44:39.040 They're sweedish if. 0:44:40.400 --> 0:44:43.600 There from Norway brothers from Rueigian Mothers. 0:44:43.680 --> 0:44:46.600 Yes, which kind of again speaks to your point quest. 0:44:46.640 --> 0:44:49.880 It's it's different over there because there's a there's a 0:44:49.880 --> 0:44:52.480 different level of respect for the craft over there. Like 0:44:52.560 --> 0:44:54.440 these cats that they will sit on that piano, they 0:44:54.440 --> 0:44:56.440 will get on that guitar, they will get on their drums, 0:44:56.600 --> 0:44:59.160 they playing everything, you know what I'm saying, and and 0:45:00.040 --> 0:45:03.000 it's it's it's fun for them. It's like the fringe 0:45:03.040 --> 0:45:05.799 benefit of it is that you make money, but that 0:45:05.840 --> 0:45:08.120 ain't why you're doing it. You're doing it because, like you, 0:45:08.600 --> 0:45:11.720 when we finished So Sick, Bro, we sent the studio 0:45:11.800 --> 0:45:14.400 listen to that ship ninety times that night, just on 0:45:14.520 --> 0:45:19.600 some yo yo yo, like just just joy, you know 0:45:19.640 --> 0:45:22.080 what I'm saying like that, and then comes out and 0:45:22.120 --> 0:45:23.880 does well, and it's like, all right, cool. But in 0:45:23.920 --> 0:45:26.360 that moment, honestly, even if the song come out and 0:45:26.440 --> 0:45:28.960 not done well, just what we felt when we finished 0:45:28.960 --> 0:45:31.799 that joint was like that, that was it. That's what 0:45:31.840 --> 0:45:35.239 you do it for, not the not the screaming your name, 0:45:35.280 --> 0:45:37.480 and not the money of it. Those are those are 0:45:37.480 --> 0:45:39.840 all fringe benefit. Those should be fringe benefit based on 0:45:39.880 --> 0:45:42.239 the fact that you did something from your soul and 0:45:42.280 --> 0:45:44.480 the world agreed with you. That's how that's supposed to work, 0:45:44.520 --> 0:45:45.440 not the other way around. 0:45:46.120 --> 0:45:48.600 I would like you to talk about, uh the Left 0:45:48.640 --> 0:45:50.759 Eye Show. 0:45:50.800 --> 0:45:57.759 All the cuts. Yeah, so the cut that was that 0:45:57.960 --> 0:45:58.440 was me. 0:45:58.719 --> 0:46:01.719 And remember the guys told you right after that that 0:46:01.800 --> 0:46:04.440 situation with the with the talent show that a friend 0:46:04.440 --> 0:46:05.840 of mine was like, hey, at the singing group. I 0:46:05.840 --> 0:46:07.000 won't know if you wanted to say that was the. 0:46:06.960 --> 0:46:07.960 Group that was us. 0:46:08.239 --> 0:46:10.520 Uh we caught ourselves envy. 0:46:10.360 --> 0:46:12.560 Because we were from Nevada. Yeah, yeah, it was. 0:46:13.320 --> 0:46:15.359 I went into it, but but not a lot. 0:46:16.600 --> 0:46:23.440 Yeah. The cut was after Apollo. We did Apollo, Amateur Night, 0:46:23.520 --> 0:46:27.160 Apollow and things did not go to plan. I'll say 0:46:27.160 --> 0:46:30.360 that what you're saying, uh, well, I mean, well, I 0:46:30.440 --> 0:46:32.719 put it this way. Samman didn't come out Okay, he 0:46:32.800 --> 0:46:34.400 was double he was double dutchy in the corner though 0:46:34.400 --> 0:46:34.920 he was ready. 0:46:35.239 --> 0:46:38.000 What did what did you sing? What did you say? 0:46:38.040 --> 0:46:42.200 We sang? We sang Players in the Hood by Donelle Jones, 0:46:42.640 --> 0:46:44.520 And to this day, every time I see Donnelle Jones, 0:46:44.520 --> 0:46:47.080 I apologize to that man for murdering his song the 0:46:47.120 --> 0:46:51.040 way we did on that stage. It was it was Yeah, 0:46:51.920 --> 0:46:54.919 it was not good. It was not good. But we 0:46:54.920 --> 0:46:56.040 was young and we was cute and there was a 0:46:56.040 --> 0:46:57.720 lot of girls in the audience, so they kept us alive. 0:46:57.840 --> 0:47:01.480 But it had not been for that. He was he 0:47:01.520 --> 0:47:02.520 was in the corner like, am I going? 0:47:03.760 --> 0:47:04.160 Am I going? 0:47:04.920 --> 0:47:05.839 Man? It was bad? 0:47:05.920 --> 0:47:06.439 It was bad. 0:47:06.520 --> 0:47:07.520 So you after that. 0:47:09.239 --> 0:47:11.680 Walk Wait, you gotta walk me through the process? What 0:47:11.800 --> 0:47:12.359 is it to do? 0:47:13.640 --> 0:47:16.440 Like everything, even to the house band, like, what is 0:47:16.480 --> 0:47:19.799 the process when you do uh show time? 0:47:21.600 --> 0:47:25.160 So so basically you you you send them at the. 0:47:25.080 --> 0:47:26.920 Time, you send them, You send them a tape of 0:47:26.960 --> 0:47:29.520 what you do and they say, yeah, we'd love to 0:47:29.560 --> 0:47:32.359 have you. Uh come on down. Mind you. They don't 0:47:32.360 --> 0:47:34.080 pay for you to get there. They just if you 0:47:34.080 --> 0:47:38.120 can make it, come on follow. So you get down there. 0:47:38.239 --> 0:47:40.239 Now what's supposed to happen is you're supposed to come 0:47:40.280 --> 0:47:42.920 down a day early so that you can rehearse your 0:47:42.920 --> 0:47:44.960 song with rap You and the Cruise who it was 0:47:45.000 --> 0:47:46.279 at the time when we was a shout out to 0:47:46.320 --> 0:47:48.080 my man, rape you. I do not blame you, bro. 0:47:48.160 --> 0:47:51.160 That was us. That was our fault. We didn't do that. 0:47:51.320 --> 0:47:54.680 We showed up the day of the show with a 0:47:54.800 --> 0:47:56.640 tape because we thought that they was gonna let us 0:47:56.640 --> 0:47:58.520 play our music off our tape, and it was like, no, 0:47:58.600 --> 0:48:01.000 singers have to use the band. We haven't rehearsed with 0:48:01.040 --> 0:48:06.680 the band. Well while were y'all not here yesterday. Anyway, 0:48:07.440 --> 0:48:09.120 it turns out Rache and the crew didn't even know 0:48:09.200 --> 0:48:11.040 the damn song at the time. They had no idea 0:48:11.080 --> 0:48:12.560 what the song was, so they had to learn the 0:48:12.600 --> 0:48:15.000 song and then had to learn how we wanted to 0:48:15.040 --> 0:48:15.960 come out to the song. 0:48:16.320 --> 0:48:18.239 It was, Yeah, it was. It was completely messed up. 0:48:18.960 --> 0:48:21.920 Oh many lessons learned, so many Lets you've chosen another 0:48:22.000 --> 0:48:24.520 song in hindsight, Oh no. 0:48:24.400 --> 0:48:26.759 No, no, that that had to happen. That had to happen. 0:48:26.840 --> 0:48:28.719 It had to happen exactly the way it did. We 0:48:28.760 --> 0:48:30.760 needed to be knocked down a couple of pigs because 0:48:30.800 --> 0:48:33.360 we we had We had done all that could be 0:48:33.360 --> 0:48:35.880 done in Vegas. We did every talent show one you 0:48:35.920 --> 0:48:37.719 know what I'm saying. We did all that and we 0:48:37.840 --> 0:48:40.040 just we went in there like I should didn't think 0:48:40.080 --> 0:48:44.000 like we really literally walked into place needed that. Oh yeah, yeah, 0:48:44.360 --> 0:48:45.640 oh oh yeah yeah this Vegas. 0:48:45.680 --> 0:48:46.160 Yeah we do that. 0:48:46.280 --> 0:48:53.840 Yeah, No, when ill you after we got off that 0:48:53.920 --> 0:48:56.120 stage and got back to the back. We all ran 0:48:56.160 --> 0:48:58.400 in the bathroom and just stood around and staired at 0:48:58.480 --> 0:49:00.680 each other for like fifteen seconds and all bust out 0:49:00.680 --> 0:49:01.799 crying at the same time. 0:49:04.239 --> 0:49:04.919 It was bad. 0:49:06.840 --> 0:49:09.040 Yeah. So after the Apollo, we was like, man, we 0:49:09.080 --> 0:49:12.160 gotta redeem ourself. We got so you know, uh, shout 0:49:12.160 --> 0:49:14.200 out to my man Corey. Corey was like our manager. 0:49:14.200 --> 0:49:15.279 He was a part of the group, but he was 0:49:15.320 --> 0:49:17.120 the manager. He was the one that was you know, 0:49:17.200 --> 0:49:19.120 he was the one that wasn't afraid to talk to people. 0:49:19.160 --> 0:49:21.000 You know, we ran up on Diddy one time. Hey 0:49:21.080 --> 0:49:21.879 let us sing for you. 0:49:22.360 --> 0:49:23.560 That's Corey. 0:49:23.719 --> 0:49:25.360 But Corey was also the one that could never be 0:49:25.400 --> 0:49:26.960 on time for anything. He was like, hey, did he 0:49:27.000 --> 0:49:30.480 told us be there by eight twelve? Oo shower type situation? 0:49:30.560 --> 0:49:30.680 Now? 0:49:30.719 --> 0:49:32.200 Was that was Corey? 0:49:33.280 --> 0:49:33.839 Where is. 0:49:35.800 --> 0:49:41.200 I don't know where Corey is currently still probably shout 0:49:41.239 --> 0:49:43.400 that after my man Corey Clark, we got to the 0:49:43.440 --> 0:49:47.319 cut uh two days earl right, because he was like, 0:49:47.400 --> 0:49:48.759 is there a band we need to rehearse with it? 0:49:50.080 --> 0:49:52.200 After that, it was like no, no, no, no, no, no, y'all 0:49:52.200 --> 0:49:54.200 got y'all got tape of your music? Yeah, okay, cool? 0:49:54.320 --> 0:49:56.640 We can use to take? Why are we used to take? 0:49:57.080 --> 0:49:58.640 We went in with an original song that we were 0:49:58.640 --> 0:49:59.600 written called pillow Talk. 0:50:00.560 --> 0:50:03.040 I think we did okay. It wasn't terrible. 0:50:03.360 --> 0:50:05.640 It wasn't great by any means, but it wasn't terrible, 0:50:05.960 --> 0:50:07.960 and we wound up losing to a girl that got 0:50:08.000 --> 0:50:08.800 on stage and got. 0:50:08.680 --> 0:50:11.800 Next to Neked and Icy gave her two more points 0:50:11.800 --> 0:50:12.440 than he gave us. 0:50:12.640 --> 0:50:16.279 Yeah, wore to judges other cut. I couldn't remember it. 0:50:16.920 --> 0:50:20.160 No, I think it was it was it was guest judges. 0:50:20.239 --> 0:50:24.399 Everything different every every episode, so I think want to judgesus. 0:50:24.440 --> 0:50:26.160 He literally said it on the show. He was like, 0:50:26.280 --> 0:50:28.000 he was like, you know what, I wasn't really crazy 0:50:28.000 --> 0:50:29.799 about the song, but when she started stripping, I gave 0:50:29.800 --> 0:50:30.239 her a nod. 0:50:30.760 --> 0:50:31.680 Damn, Like. 0:50:34.000 --> 0:50:36.080 Damn, But everything happened for a reason. 0:50:36.600 --> 0:50:40.200 Everything happens for a reason. That was one of the 0:50:40.280 --> 0:50:42.080 last shows that we did as a group before we 0:50:42.120 --> 0:50:44.000 finally decided you know what, let's just. 0:50:44.920 --> 0:50:47.959 Do you remember performing with us out in Vegas. 0:50:48.000 --> 0:50:49.000 When Jay brought me out? 0:50:49.239 --> 0:50:49.440 Was that? 0:50:49.760 --> 0:50:51.120 Yeah? All right? 0:50:51.280 --> 0:50:57.040 So I literally okay, So you know, as president of 0:50:57.120 --> 0:51:01.280 def Jam, you know, by that point I felt comfortable 0:51:01.360 --> 0:51:02.479 enough with Jada, you. 0:51:02.360 --> 0:51:02.920 Know, to. 0:51:04.520 --> 0:51:06.840 Rib him or you know, joke with him, like you know, 0:51:07.000 --> 0:51:10.640 most people just treat him like the King, like the 0:51:10.719 --> 0:51:11.600 good version of Ed. 0:51:11.760 --> 0:51:14.640 I mean, like they don't mix words or whatever. 0:51:14.800 --> 0:51:16.560 But you know, I felt like a little comfortable where 0:51:16.600 --> 0:51:20.680 I just call him up randomly about something and I 0:51:20.719 --> 0:51:23.719 would say that you were one of the artists that 0:51:23.880 --> 0:51:28.040 he always he always advocated for. He always fought for it, 0:51:28.080 --> 0:51:31.640 like he was basically trying to figure out which one 0:51:31.640 --> 0:51:34.560 of you guys that he wanted on the next roots record, 0:51:36.560 --> 0:51:41.520 you know prominently, either like Crissette or you or you know, 0:51:41.680 --> 0:51:45.719 tr like one of And so when he got word 0:51:45.760 --> 0:51:49.040 that you were in town, he's like, all right, keep 0:51:49.040 --> 0:51:52.480 your eye on him, because at that point I was 0:51:52.600 --> 0:51:55.360 not familiar. You know, I have my head under the 0:51:55.400 --> 0:51:59.120 stand when it came to like any music that you know, 0:51:59.239 --> 0:52:03.160 wasn't the music already had my record collection and you 0:52:03.360 --> 0:52:08.359 came out like someone owed you money, Like I didn't realize. 0:52:08.239 --> 0:52:10.600 Oh you didn't know he had it like that talk. 0:52:10.719 --> 0:52:14.520 And the first I wish there was a videotape because 0:52:14.640 --> 0:52:18.000 there's a thing, there's a thing with Jay where he 0:52:18.040 --> 0:52:20.360 turns around real slow like and I hate. 0:52:20.160 --> 0:52:21.160 When that's Smuggie. 0:52:21.200 --> 0:52:24.680 I told you so, look he'll give me. 0:52:24.960 --> 0:52:25.440 He's like. 0:52:27.400 --> 0:52:29.400 Yeah, because it's like the cherry on top. You're like, 0:52:29.440 --> 0:52:30.640 well wait a minute, now. 0:52:31.480 --> 0:52:32.120 You was killing it. 0:52:32.200 --> 0:52:34.880 I was like, oh my god, he's going for James 0:52:34.920 --> 0:52:37.200 Brown Tammy Show levels. 0:52:37.560 --> 0:52:39.960 But I knew the importance of where I was at. 0:52:40.040 --> 0:52:43.279 I'm like, let me get this straight. The roots and 0:52:43.400 --> 0:52:47.200 jay Z and me, oh, show my ass. 0:52:47.719 --> 0:52:51.520 All right, So you leave Envy and then what's the 0:52:51.600 --> 0:52:55.640 process of how do you get the attention of record labels? 0:52:56.360 --> 0:52:58.880 So I left left Envy. But in the while we 0:52:58.880 --> 0:53:02.000 were in and me again shout out to my man Corey, 0:53:02.320 --> 0:53:04.759 you know, constantly moving around trying to trying to get 0:53:04.760 --> 0:53:06.799 things in pop for us. We met this cat who 0:53:06.880 --> 0:53:09.840 had a boy band signed to Hollywood Records, you know 0:53:09.880 --> 0:53:14.359 at the time that was a Disney's with me. Yeah, 0:53:14.560 --> 0:53:17.600 a group by a group called Youngstown. They were they 0:53:17.640 --> 0:53:20.319 were never got huge, huge hues, but they did well enough. 0:53:20.360 --> 0:53:21.800 So it was like it was a concept where it 0:53:21.920 --> 0:53:24.200 was like, write some songs from my group and I'll 0:53:24.200 --> 0:53:26.160 try and I'll help y'all get y'all, help y'all get signed. 0:53:26.200 --> 0:53:28.800 Type of situation. So you know, we wrote the songs, 0:53:29.440 --> 0:53:31.799 was what it was like at this time. I know 0:53:31.840 --> 0:53:33.560 nothing of publishing. I know nothing of any of that. 0:53:33.640 --> 0:53:34.760 I'm just like, we're. 0:53:34.600 --> 0:53:35.000 Gonna get it. 0:53:35.000 --> 0:53:36.560 We're gonna get a deal. Yeah yeah, write a song. 0:53:36.600 --> 0:53:39.719 Whatever. So after I broke up, after the group broke up, 0:53:40.320 --> 0:53:44.160 I basically started being managed by that guy is now 0:53:44.160 --> 0:53:48.080 his name, his names Dubbs. Everybody called him Dubbs, Dubbs Wilson, 0:53:48.480 --> 0:53:51.160 and he was the one that was kind of moving 0:53:51.440 --> 0:53:53.560 moving me around, you know, showing me the different people. 0:53:54.200 --> 0:53:56.560 I was living with. This cat by the name of Paul. 0:53:56.719 --> 0:54:01.480 Paul the producer. He did uh Teacher Moses' first album. 0:54:01.920 --> 0:54:06.160 Oh yeah, yes. 0:54:04.600 --> 0:54:07.719 Yeah, yeah, I actually met we actually met Teacher. I 0:54:08.080 --> 0:54:11.680 met Teacher through that whole situation. I vocal both vocal producing, 0:54:11.680 --> 0:54:12.800 and arranged that whole first album. 0:54:13.120 --> 0:54:14.200 I didn't I didn't write. 0:54:14.320 --> 0:54:17.720 I didn't know she wrote. She did all the writing herself. 0:54:17.960 --> 0:54:22.600 I was, I was. I was infatuated with record himself. 0:54:23.080 --> 0:54:25.080 I'll just come in and you know, through harmonies here 0:54:25.120 --> 0:54:25.600 and that type. 0:54:26.200 --> 0:54:28.680 Okay, Still, that's dope, That's that's music history. 0:54:28.800 --> 0:54:31.600 Like, what is your patient's level with vocal producing? 0:54:31.680 --> 0:54:33.560 Because I hate it. 0:54:34.760 --> 0:54:39.520 I don't do it anymore. I say that, you see, yeah, 0:54:39.680 --> 0:54:42.600 I'm not so, so shout out to my man's sauce 0:54:42.800 --> 0:54:45.799 U Curtis Wills, and make a sauce of Fumberly of 0:54:45.800 --> 0:54:47.239 the group. Something for the people, you remember, something for 0:54:47.239 --> 0:54:50.239 the people. All right? 0:54:50.560 --> 0:54:54.200 Sauce is my vocal producer, ranger. You know what I'm saying. 0:54:54.560 --> 0:54:57.680 And so if I wrote it, he's normally the one 0:54:57.719 --> 0:54:59.600 that's gonna take it with the artists and and and 0:54:59.680 --> 0:55:02.160 get it, get it recorded properly because he has the 0:55:02.200 --> 0:55:02.840 patience for that. 0:55:03.360 --> 0:55:08.920 I do not see that's what you need, don't all right? 0:55:09.040 --> 0:55:12.360 So can I say or I won't ask for specific 0:55:12.600 --> 0:55:17.399 specific names, but you know, because it's real, Like there's 0:55:17.440 --> 0:55:20.239 certain artists that I hate working with because you got 0:55:20.239 --> 0:55:21.440 a Jedi mind trick them. 0:55:22.480 --> 0:55:24.160 You know, they don't want to do another take. 0:55:24.880 --> 0:55:28.319 So are there artists that you've had that situation with 0:55:28.360 --> 0:55:31.600 where like they catch an attitude or don't want to 0:55:31.600 --> 0:55:33.120 do it the way that you. 0:55:34.320 --> 0:55:38.560 Give you one more take? Yes, your silence is telling 0:55:38.640 --> 0:55:41.520 me everything I've been in. 0:55:41.680 --> 0:55:44.000 So I've been in with people that that people that 0:55:44.120 --> 0:55:47.040 you know, I've been in with people and it's like 0:55:47.200 --> 0:55:51.480 it's either it's either that or they're so antal, like, yo, 0:55:51.560 --> 0:55:53.040 did you hear the breath from the beginning of that? 0:55:53.120 --> 0:55:56.080 Let me just get that breath one more time? No one, 0:55:56.200 --> 0:55:58.640 no one hears, no just the just the on the 0:55:58.719 --> 0:56:00.880 very on the very top. Let me get that. Let 0:56:00.920 --> 0:56:03.520 me get again one more time, No, one more time, 0:56:03.520 --> 0:56:04.719 one more time for the breath. I just gotta get 0:56:04.719 --> 0:56:05.040 the breath. 0:56:05.040 --> 0:56:09.640 That sounds like Beyonce Rihanna Manress took an hour and 0:56:09.680 --> 0:56:10.920 thirty minutes for the breath. 0:56:10.920 --> 0:56:11.560 It's not a word. 0:56:11.600 --> 0:56:13.120 It's just a breath at the top of the word. 0:56:13.760 --> 0:56:15.360 Hour and thirty minutes. 0:56:15.800 --> 0:56:18.680 Wait, I gotta be I gotta ask you. Was it Beyonce? 0:56:19.120 --> 0:56:19.440 It was not? 0:56:19.640 --> 0:56:21.520 Okay, it was not Wait. 0:56:21.480 --> 0:56:26.600 Do you remember do you remember uh uh a bronx 0:56:26.640 --> 0:56:30.120 tail when they had that now you can't leave moment. 0:56:30.440 --> 0:56:31.040 Yeah. 0:56:32.040 --> 0:56:34.840 I had that with her once and never again. 0:56:35.360 --> 0:56:38.680 Like it was about figuring out the ending of a song, 0:56:39.640 --> 0:56:43.520 and I was like, I said the wrong thing. I said, no, no, 0:56:43.560 --> 0:56:45.160 maybe it's too vance. It's cool, we could just do 0:56:45.200 --> 0:56:46.040 with the regular ending. 0:56:46.280 --> 0:56:50.480 We're good challenges and be like. 0:56:52.239 --> 0:56:54.359 And she's like, oh, we're gonna get this right and 0:56:54.440 --> 0:56:56.520 I said, well, it's lunch break now, so we can 0:56:56.600 --> 0:56:58.200 just come back into He says, no, we're gonna do 0:56:58.200 --> 0:57:02.440 it right now. I don't care if it takes three hours. Yeah, 0:57:03.000 --> 0:57:05.240 it was that now you can't leave moments. 0:57:05.320 --> 0:57:09.600 So yeah, that's the that is, That is the Beyonce 0:57:09.719 --> 0:57:11.920 that I'm familiar. But it was but when I when 0:57:11.960 --> 0:57:15.560 I worked with her, I wasn't needed, like I wasn't 0:57:15.600 --> 0:57:18.120 there for a lot of it like she she had it. 0:57:18.120 --> 0:57:20.720 I didn't have to. That was that was one of 0:57:20.760 --> 0:57:22.680 the things that made me fall in love with her 0:57:22.680 --> 0:57:24.800 even more, like I didn't have to feed her no notes. 0:57:25.080 --> 0:57:26.360 I here's the next note. I got it. 0:57:26.400 --> 0:57:32.720 Okay, all right, She's like, I went and got coffee, 0:57:32.800 --> 0:57:35.160 I came back, the song was done. Okay, Well, well 0:57:35.240 --> 0:57:36.920 what y'all got doing today? What y'all doing? 0:57:36.920 --> 0:57:37.480 Because I'm. 0:57:38.840 --> 0:57:41.040 If that's the case, then what's your what's your favorite 0:57:41.080 --> 0:57:43.080 what's your favorite song of hers that you've done? That 0:57:43.160 --> 0:57:45.760 you you come back and heard her finished product and 0:57:45.880 --> 0:57:47.320 was like, oh ship. 0:57:47.480 --> 0:57:49.480 Yeah, thinking one that I deal with her, that I 0:57:49.480 --> 0:57:52.160 didn't fare that way about everything you did because mind 0:57:52.200 --> 0:57:54.960 you so so at this point, at this point, I 0:57:55.000 --> 0:57:57.560 know a little bit about how to sell a record, right, 0:57:57.840 --> 0:58:01.520 I know that you can't sing the record ridiculously well 0:58:01.600 --> 0:58:03.240 because you mess around scared artist offs. 0:58:03.320 --> 0:58:04.760 Right, you have to keep it. 0:58:04.760 --> 0:58:07.400 Kind of middle of the road, just just good enough. 0:58:08.280 --> 0:58:08.520 You know. 0:58:08.880 --> 0:58:10.959 Oh you're talking about making the demo. You're talking about 0:58:10.960 --> 0:58:11.600 making the demo. 0:58:11.880 --> 0:58:17.720 Yeah, okay, yeah, I did not know. Oh yeah no. 0:58:17.800 --> 0:58:19.600 So anything that I did for anybody, I sing the 0:58:19.640 --> 0:58:21.120 demo and send it to them and they and they 0:58:21.240 --> 0:58:23.440 like it, dislike it, whatever it may be. So Beyonce, 0:58:23.640 --> 0:58:27.760 and you do it dry, you do it dry. One 0:58:27.880 --> 0:58:31.080 you know one takedown. I have melody. I have harmony 0:58:31.080 --> 0:58:34.000 ideas here and here and not in stone, but here 0:58:34.320 --> 0:58:36.120 would be a good place for a harmony. Here would 0:58:36.120 --> 0:58:39.160 be a good place. That's all that's always needed when 0:58:39.160 --> 0:58:42.880 I come back. And it's the irreplaceable that you we 0:58:42.960 --> 0:58:47.920 all know in love now, so irreplaceable flaws and all. 0:58:48.880 --> 0:58:49.080 You know what. 0:58:49.080 --> 0:58:54.640 I'm very I'm them on and I'm a bit yes, 0:58:54.800 --> 0:59:00.920 do do that dry? Every everything, all the all of 0:59:00.960 --> 0:59:04.840 that that's heard, that's all heard. I wrote if There's 0:59:04.840 --> 0:59:06.680 a Joint on that same album called if If You 0:59:06.800 --> 0:59:09.760 Let Him Take Me From You another where she just 0:59:10.080 --> 0:59:13.920 went Church on ship, like just yeah, I've never felt 0:59:13.920 --> 0:59:17.360 so useless in a session then a session with Beyonce, 0:59:17.720 --> 0:59:19.320 like I did not need to be there at all. 0:59:20.080 --> 0:59:25.640 Is there a song of yours that vocally you wish 0:59:26.280 --> 0:59:27.880 he could have been there in the room for it, 0:59:28.040 --> 0:59:30.640 just because it wasn't the way that you envisioned it. 0:59:31.200 --> 0:59:35.680 Yes, okay, yes, it just didn't do what it was 0:59:35.680 --> 0:59:42.520 supposed to do. So I love Luke James. Luke James 0:59:42.560 --> 0:59:44.720 is my guy. Luke James has one of the best 0:59:44.800 --> 0:59:45.800 voices that I've heard. 0:59:45.600 --> 0:59:47.520 In a long he do. 0:59:48.000 --> 0:59:51.600 I wrote a song for Luke James and what happened 0:59:51.720 --> 0:59:55.440 was the original the original kid of the song was 0:59:55.680 --> 0:59:58.560 way higher than he was than he sings in his 0:59:58.600 --> 1:00:00.880 regular voice, so they had to drop it down to 1:00:00.920 --> 1:00:03.920 where he sang. And if anybody knows anything about when 1:00:03.960 --> 1:00:06.320 you take a high key song and drop it down, 1:00:07.080 --> 1:00:09.360 it kind of takes a little energy and a little 1:00:09.440 --> 1:00:12.080 energy from the record. So when I heard it back, 1:00:12.640 --> 1:00:16.440 it was like, damn near three notes lower. Then I 1:00:16.520 --> 1:00:18.480 initially gave it to him, and I wasn't there when 1:00:18.520 --> 1:00:18.960 he cut it. 1:00:19.320 --> 1:00:20.640 So I'm like, as. 1:00:20.560 --> 1:00:22.800 Much as I love Luke, this is not no, this 1:00:22.920 --> 1:00:24.560 is not that's not what the song's supposed to be. 1:00:24.600 --> 1:00:26.479 But by that time it was too late. The song 1:00:26.560 --> 1:00:28.440 came out didn't really do anything. 1:00:29.760 --> 1:00:30.080 We didn't. 1:00:30.160 --> 1:00:30.600 I'm sorry. 1:00:30.840 --> 1:00:32.800 I like the shine I did. 1:00:32.840 --> 1:00:33.120 It didn't. 1:00:33.160 --> 1:00:35.400 Yeah, it didn't. It didn't do much of anything but 1:00:35.840 --> 1:00:39.560 taking nothing from Luke again, an amazing singer, just amazing dude. 1:00:39.600 --> 1:00:39.960 Period. 1:00:40.160 --> 1:00:41.640 That was just that was just a moment in time 1:00:41.680 --> 1:00:44.040 where it's like, Ah, if I knew that they were 1:00:44.040 --> 1:00:46.400 gonna drop it down that many, that many keys, I 1:00:46.400 --> 1:00:47.840 would have I would have just been like, nah, do 1:00:48.000 --> 1:00:49.720 let's something else. Let me let me do something that 1:00:49.960 --> 1:00:52.080 makes more sense in the realm of where you like write. 1:00:53.400 --> 1:00:55.200 Yeah, because it just it just took. It just took 1:00:55.280 --> 1:00:57.040 all the all the energy from the record. 1:00:57.120 --> 1:01:00.160 Like, yeah, it happen. 1:01:00.960 --> 1:01:03.120 Like when I first heard Champagne Life, man. 1:01:03.000 --> 1:01:06.280 I was like, yo, dog, that's the one right there, This's. 1:01:06.080 --> 1:01:06.800 Gonna be the one. 1:01:07.240 --> 1:01:12.880 I just wish Champagne Life was You're magnum Opus. That 1:01:12.960 --> 1:01:15.160 is my all time favorite song of yours, And I 1:01:15.240 --> 1:01:18.840 wish that ship would have because I felt it was 1:01:18.840 --> 1:01:22.920 like an anthem there ever was a black Excellence anthem. 1:01:23.160 --> 1:01:26.080 Yes, yes, I mean. 1:01:26.840 --> 1:01:32.160 I've seen it and I wish that song was just 1:01:33.320 --> 1:01:36.920 like way way bigger. Are there songs of yours that 1:01:37.080 --> 1:01:41.439 are not your your, your out the gate hits that 1:01:41.600 --> 1:01:45.440 you you know, wish were bigger singles or that that 1:01:45.680 --> 1:01:46.280 jam worked. 1:01:47.000 --> 1:01:49.760 I'm not a I'm not a dictator, meaning I'm not 1:01:49.800 --> 1:01:51.920 the dude going, you know what, the hell with your opinion? 1:01:52.000 --> 1:01:53.640 Hell with your opinion? I like this song that's a single, 1:01:53.720 --> 1:01:54.080 Levan Long. 1:01:54.120 --> 1:01:56.480 I'm not that dude. Right. There's a small group of 1:01:56.480 --> 1:01:58.560 people that we all get together and we pick what 1:01:58.680 --> 1:02:00.840 song is gonna make the album, what songs gonna be singles, 1:02:00.920 --> 1:02:03.280 you know what I'm saying, And everybody respects everybody's opinion. 1:02:03.480 --> 1:02:05.960 My managers Tango. This is one of the oddest creatures 1:02:06.000 --> 1:02:07.440 on the face of the planet because Tango don't even 1:02:07.480 --> 1:02:10.560 listen to music. Yet Tango can always one that's gonna 1:02:10.640 --> 1:02:13.560 go okay, whatever reason. 1:02:13.360 --> 1:02:15.320 But that's always knows like no, no, no. 1:02:15.880 --> 1:02:17.959 The whole room would be like, hey, he's like, nah, 1:02:18.120 --> 1:02:20.560 trust me be and damn it it to b B. 1:02:20.800 --> 1:02:22.760 I'm telling you it's It's the most frustrating thing in 1:02:22.800 --> 1:02:23.080 the world. 1:02:23.520 --> 1:02:26.920 But so him, just just a small group people that 1:02:27.040 --> 1:02:29.360 I do this with which means that there's been a 1:02:29.400 --> 1:02:31.400 multitude of times wherever songs that I wanted to be 1:02:31.440 --> 1:02:34.560 singles that didn't wind up singles. Mirror from the first. 1:02:34.320 --> 1:02:36.720 Album I wanted to be a single. 1:02:36.760 --> 1:02:38.040 I wanted that to be a single. 1:02:38.240 --> 1:02:40.760 This was before depth Jen realized that I could be sexy. 1:02:40.800 --> 1:02:45.400 They didn't view me as sexy, so it was like, hey, 1:02:45.440 --> 1:02:47.480 it's all good. And you know what, at the time, 1:02:47.520 --> 1:02:49.560 I was priding myself on not being that R and 1:02:49.600 --> 1:02:52.280 B dude, you know what I mean, Like, Okay, if 1:02:52.360 --> 1:02:54.280 I can step on stage you're in a three piece 1:02:54.280 --> 1:02:55.680 suit and get the same screens that. 1:02:55.640 --> 1:02:57.080 You can with your chest out, who win it? 1:02:58.040 --> 1:02:58.240 Yeah? 1:02:58.240 --> 1:02:59.360 All right? Cool? Right? 1:02:59.520 --> 1:03:02.400 So because of that, I guess they was like, you know, 1:03:03.120 --> 1:03:04.520 marror nah nah, when't work? 1:03:04.560 --> 1:03:04.880 All right? 1:03:04.880 --> 1:03:05.680 Cool U? 1:03:06.320 --> 1:03:10.360 Champagne Life, that whole that whole album, the Libra Scale 1:03:10.440 --> 1:03:14.600 album was just man, it was just so many things 1:03:14.640 --> 1:03:17.080 that went wrong, so many things that went wrong. I 1:03:17.120 --> 1:03:19.280 take I take my I take responsibility for the things 1:03:19.280 --> 1:03:22.760 that went wrong. So the Libri Scale album, which is 1:03:22.960 --> 1:03:26.560 what Champagne Life was on, when we went to when 1:03:26.600 --> 1:03:30.560 I came back from doing the Red Tales movie, and 1:03:30.600 --> 1:03:33.680 then I did another movie called Battle Los Angeles. So 1:03:33.760 --> 1:03:35.680 I so in the process of doing these movies, I'm 1:03:35.680 --> 1:03:38.240 sticking real close to the writers, real close to the directors, 1:03:38.240 --> 1:03:40.200 because like this, I want to I'm learning, Yo, I 1:03:40.200 --> 1:03:41.480 want to learn how to do this. I know I 1:03:41.480 --> 1:03:42.840 can tell a story in three minutes. I want to 1:03:42.840 --> 1:03:44.080 know how to tell a story in two hours. I 1:03:44.160 --> 1:03:47.200 do this right, I guess I'm not asking the right question. 1:03:47.280 --> 1:03:49.480 So I go back to dev Jam and I say 1:03:49.520 --> 1:03:51.280 to them, so for my fourth album, I want to 1:03:51.320 --> 1:03:53.680 do like a thirty minute maybe forty five minute little 1:03:53.680 --> 1:03:56.080 mini movie and let the album be the soundtrack to 1:03:56.120 --> 1:03:58.720 the movie. And they're like, okay, that's that's a pretty dope. 1:03:58.720 --> 1:04:01.840 I daal, okay, bring us a script. Cool. Notice, I said, 1:04:01.960 --> 1:04:05.600 thirty forty five minutes. Right, This is before I learned 1:04:06.000 --> 1:04:08.640 that in the world of screen and script writing a 1:04:08.800 --> 1:04:11.120 page it creates to a minute. I didn't know this. 1:04:12.000 --> 1:04:14.320 So whereas I told them thirty forty five minutes, I 1:04:14.360 --> 1:04:16.280 brought them a script with one hundred and forty five 1:04:16.320 --> 1:04:22.280 pages in it, and they were like, what you what 1:04:22.320 --> 1:04:23.760 we're doing? What you want us to do with this? 1:04:23.840 --> 1:04:26.440 What did this is not thirty minutes? This this hang. 1:04:26.840 --> 1:04:28.680 So I had to then take the one hundred and 1:04:28.680 --> 1:04:31.000 forty five pages and bust it down to thirty pages, 1:04:31.320 --> 1:04:34.600 which took way way long, because again I'm green to this. 1:04:34.920 --> 1:04:36.160 I know what I want to do, I just don't 1:04:36.200 --> 1:04:38.800 know how to do it. So bust it down to thirty. 1:04:39.120 --> 1:04:40.920 By that time, the clock is ticking. We ain't got 1:04:40.920 --> 1:04:42.560 time to shoot no movie. All right, you know what, 1:04:42.600 --> 1:04:45.360 Let's do this, Let's do four, let's do five long 1:04:45.480 --> 1:04:49.320 form music videos. So the video for Champagne Life, video 1:04:49.440 --> 1:04:54.120 for UH one million, the video for for Beautiful Monster. 1:04:54.960 --> 1:04:55.720 Yeah, I just it. 1:04:56.320 --> 1:04:58.840 It didn't It just didn't go the way it was 1:04:58.840 --> 1:04:59.320 supposed to go. 1:04:59.360 --> 1:05:01.600 Man, it just didn't go. Households go. We got three 1:05:01.680 --> 1:05:03.600 videos in de Jen said, we can't give you no 1:05:03.640 --> 1:05:05.640 more damn money. To hell with your to be continued, 1:05:05.800 --> 1:05:07.920 We're not doing it. Champan like was all supposed to 1:05:07.960 --> 1:05:11.360 be the first single, and then we come to Beautiful Monster. 1:05:12.000 --> 1:05:14.280 But then all of a sudden, in the ninth inning, 1:05:14.720 --> 1:05:17.880 everybody switches up and goes, well, no, we think beautiful 1:05:17.880 --> 1:05:20.600 Monster should go first. And I'm like no, because I 1:05:20.640 --> 1:05:23.640 know what beautiful Monster is. Beautiful monsters chasing closer. I 1:05:23.640 --> 1:05:26.600 don't want to do that with the moment. Let that 1:05:26.640 --> 1:05:26.840 be that. 1:05:27.000 --> 1:05:28.920 Let's let's you hear this record. 1:05:28.960 --> 1:05:32.160 Let's go here. Nah nah nah you gotta you got 1:05:32.160 --> 1:05:34.240 an international fan base. Now you gotta feed your fan base? 1:05:34.440 --> 1:05:35.440 Oh international? 1:05:35.560 --> 1:05:37.800 Can I ask? Is this Jay Brown talking? 1:05:37.960 --> 1:05:41.040 Is this La Reid? Like, who's the who's at the drive? 1:05:41.120 --> 1:05:43.840 Who's the will uh deliver? 1:05:44.120 --> 1:05:44.560 All of them? 1:05:44.600 --> 1:05:44.720 Is? 1:05:44.840 --> 1:05:45.040 Yeah? 1:05:45.040 --> 1:05:47.240 Everybody, everybody, everybody got the hand on the wheel, and 1:05:47.560 --> 1:05:50.040 this pushing him at this point, at this point, this 1:05:50.160 --> 1:05:52.000 is the fourth album, This is after you're the gentleman. 1:05:52.080 --> 1:05:55.440 So everybody's hands on at this point, right, so, right, 1:05:56.400 --> 1:05:58.560 and you're you're the gentleman there with so so now 1:05:58.600 --> 1:06:00.800 it's like all right, all right, he's proving. Let's you know, 1:06:00.920 --> 1:06:04.240 let's let's let's pay more attention than we ever had before. 1:06:04.720 --> 1:06:07.760 Almost to a fault because I did to go Beautiful 1:06:07.800 --> 1:06:11.640 Monster first. Michaero managed Beautiful Monster. Did you know what 1:06:11.680 --> 1:06:13.520 it did? It did well overseas, which we knew what 1:06:13.600 --> 1:06:16.160 was gonna do, because that's what it's for. I didn't 1:06:16.160 --> 1:06:18.800 do it over here. And then and then they put 1:06:18.800 --> 1:06:21.040 out Champagne Life, trying to pick trying to clean up 1:06:21.360 --> 1:06:23.920 behind Beautiful Monster. Because Beautiful Monster. They let it rock 1:06:23.920 --> 1:06:25.400 for a little while it wasn't picking up, so they 1:06:25.720 --> 1:06:27.680 all right, we're moving on, moving on to Champagne Life. 1:06:27.840 --> 1:06:32.160 Champagne Life comes out, it's moving, it's moving, it's moving. 1:06:32.640 --> 1:06:33.800 We want to drop another single? 1:06:33.920 --> 1:06:34.880 Why let it know? 1:06:35.120 --> 1:06:37.760 Let Why would you chop the legs off of this 1:06:37.920 --> 1:06:41.400 is going? You got a heat rock with this next one. Okay, 1:06:41.440 --> 1:06:43.000 if it's a heat rock, now it's gonna be a 1:06:43.040 --> 1:06:47.240 heat let it live. They don't want to let it live. 1:06:48.120 --> 1:06:50.400 Chop the legs off of Champagne Life with the next single, 1:06:50.600 --> 1:06:53.280 which did not do well either. Then we went we 1:06:53.400 --> 1:06:56.600 ended ended everything off with one of another, which which 1:06:56.680 --> 1:06:59.720 kind of you know, at the very least level of 1:06:59.760 --> 1:07:01.360 us out, you know, I wouldn't. I wasn't in the 1:07:01.400 --> 1:07:03.800 red after Damn Album. One of the million level was out, 1:07:03.840 --> 1:07:07.880 but it didn't it didn't do what everyone anticipated. Uh yeah, 1:07:07.920 --> 1:07:11.680 I was really really down at them at that period 1:07:11.760 --> 1:07:13.880 of time. I just remember being real sad a lot 1:07:14.360 --> 1:07:17.880 because it just. 1:07:17.040 --> 1:07:18.120 Just so many things went wrong. 1:07:18.160 --> 1:07:19.919 I'm like, there's no way that this is just bad 1:07:19.960 --> 1:07:21.600 of an idea for all of these things to be 1:07:21.680 --> 1:07:24.320 happening like this, and then I'll never forget that year 1:07:25.160 --> 1:07:28.760 I got invited to Princess Grammy party. I mean us 1:07:28.760 --> 1:07:32.200 always used part of his house, so so you know, 1:07:32.240 --> 1:07:33.920 that was silver lining in the dark clouds. So we 1:07:33.960 --> 1:07:36.280 went to the party. I remember we're in in the 1:07:36.320 --> 1:07:38.520 pool house and there's like a like a plexiglast thing 1:07:38.520 --> 1:07:40.520 over the pools, literally standing on the pool. I thought 1:07:40.560 --> 1:07:43.120 that was cool. So he's on the little stage with 1:07:43.200 --> 1:07:47.040 his band rocking out. He sees me, puts his guitar down, 1:07:47.560 --> 1:07:49.640 b lines to me and say what comes to my 1:07:49.680 --> 1:07:50.920 ear and whispers and says. 1:07:51.080 --> 1:07:53.080 Leber Scale was a good album and don't let anybody 1:07:53.080 --> 1:07:53.720 tell you different. 1:07:54.320 --> 1:07:57.320 Wow, but Emir, this is But did you know what 1:07:57.360 --> 1:07:59.280 was with Neo? Did you know what he was whispering 1:07:59.280 --> 1:08:02.720 in everybody's ear? Sorry, this reminds me of all the 1:08:02.760 --> 1:08:04.080 stories that you told me that night. 1:08:04.440 --> 1:08:05.160 That doesn't even do. 1:08:05.440 --> 1:08:06.439 That's kind of what he does. 1:08:06.600 --> 1:08:06.800 You know. 1:08:07.040 --> 1:08:08.800 We had one other encounter where I was I was 1:08:08.880 --> 1:08:10.960 drinking Sivaka and he leaned over to me at the 1:08:11.000 --> 1:08:16.800 party and said, God's bad for you and the party 1:08:16.960 --> 1:08:18.320 that was That was the thing that he did. 1:08:22.880 --> 1:08:24.080 Before we before you rap. 1:08:24.160 --> 1:08:27.320 I just wanted to I always want to know, uh 1:08:27.400 --> 1:08:30.000 the song time look for Sherman Showcase. 1:08:31.080 --> 1:08:31.439 About it. 1:08:31.520 --> 1:08:32.439 Let's talk about it? 1:08:32.520 --> 1:08:35.840 Yeah man, and that's me and my. 1:08:36.160 --> 1:08:37.640 Credit the way, do you know? 1:08:37.880 --> 1:08:39.200 Take no credit? 1:08:39.640 --> 1:08:39.960 You know? 1:08:40.680 --> 1:08:41.720 Yeah, we met. 1:08:41.760 --> 1:08:43.320 We met on set. I think the day that you 1:08:43.520 --> 1:08:46.439 that y'all take. We met because I sang the demo 1:08:46.479 --> 1:08:53.920 on that and like right right now yeah that he 1:08:54.080 --> 1:08:55.840 was like, he was like, yeah, man, you saunded just 1:08:55.880 --> 1:08:59.760 like walk to the Scotty on the joint. But but yeah, 1:08:59.800 --> 1:09:02.200 they yeah, we did that man, And I was like, Yo, 1:09:02.320 --> 1:09:03.920 this is like crazy, how I don't know who the 1:09:03.920 --> 1:09:05.680 fuck they gonna get to sing it? And then I 1:09:05.760 --> 1:09:08.719 guess maybe like a month later, Diallo shout to Diallo. 1:09:09.000 --> 1:09:11.000 He came like, yeah, man, we got Neo to do it. 1:09:11.040 --> 1:09:13.479 I was like, fuck, yeah, that's perfect. So what was 1:09:13.520 --> 1:09:15.360 it like for you? How did that song like come 1:09:15.400 --> 1:09:16.479 to you? Like what did you think? 1:09:16.520 --> 1:09:16.600 Like? 1:09:16.680 --> 1:09:18.040 What was it like on your side? 1:09:18.680 --> 1:09:19.120 Brouh. 1:09:19.400 --> 1:09:22.320 Diallo reached out and sent me, told me about the show, 1:09:22.360 --> 1:09:25.720 the Sherman Showcase Show and asked me if I wanted 1:09:25.720 --> 1:09:27.000 to be a part of it. I'm like, yeah, man, 1:09:27.160 --> 1:09:29.320 I've always want to do funny stuff. I don't never 1:09:29.320 --> 1:09:31.479 get the funny roles. It just for whatever reason, I 1:09:31.520 --> 1:09:33.400 got something funny, all right, I thought I was. I 1:09:33.400 --> 1:09:36.360 guess I'm not anybody. You killed that shit man, Well, well. 1:09:36.240 --> 1:09:38.600 Thank you tell some man the damn casting directors that 1:09:38.600 --> 1:09:39.000 I'm funny. 1:09:39.000 --> 1:09:41.720 It's like, it's funny shit. I don't never get it. 1:09:42.040 --> 1:09:44.880 I'm always always get the music rolls all right, you're 1:09:44.880 --> 1:09:48.720 a starving artist, and then me treating that's what That's 1:09:48.760 --> 1:09:51.240 what I get all the time. So he sent me 1:09:51.280 --> 1:09:53.120 the record. At first I asked, I was like, I 1:09:53.120 --> 1:09:55.000 need to write something. He was like, you can, but 1:09:55.120 --> 1:09:57.439 I have an idea, and then he sent it to him. 1:09:57.479 --> 1:09:59.040 I'm like, oh, I don't need to do none of this. 1:10:00.560 --> 1:10:02.280 That joint like it was a real song, like like 1:10:03.000 --> 1:10:06.400 that's they'll realized that. Like all of us words that 1:10:06.520 --> 1:10:08.360 watched the show. We was like all them songs. 1:10:08.360 --> 1:10:13.160 We were like yo, yeah with an album word. 1:10:13.240 --> 1:10:15.040 But now I'm down to do more now that I 1:10:15.120 --> 1:10:16.080 know you down to do more? 1:10:16.200 --> 1:10:16.400 Wow? 1:10:16.439 --> 1:10:19.240 Because yeah, now that I know that, oh yeah. 1:10:20.320 --> 1:10:23.040 Can we get a Sherman show case to say what's 1:10:23.040 --> 1:10:23.880 taking on so long? 1:10:24.040 --> 1:10:24.240 Yeah? 1:10:24.240 --> 1:10:27.160 But the day that well, it's I mean, you know, 1:10:27.280 --> 1:10:30.759 like everything else COVID pushes back, but the new season 1:10:31.040 --> 1:10:34.960 I believe is coming in the fall. We did the music, 1:10:35.000 --> 1:10:36.320 with all the music and all that has been done, 1:10:36.320 --> 1:10:37.880 but you know, we got pushed back from COVID, but 1:10:38.120 --> 1:10:39.160 the new season is coming. 1:10:39.000 --> 1:10:42.080 This fall though all led me I will happily revived 1:10:42.120 --> 1:10:42.639 the character. 1:10:43.479 --> 1:10:45.880 Yes, okay, did that's what's up? 1:10:45.960 --> 1:10:48.000 Can I ask about self explanatory real quick? 1:10:48.200 --> 1:10:50.800 Yes, yes, yes, I just want to know because back 1:10:50.840 --> 1:10:52.719 to this conversation that we were having in the beginning 1:10:52.760 --> 1:10:56.000 of the show about music and whatnot, I'm curious to 1:10:56.080 --> 1:10:58.720 how you continue in the legacy on this album and 1:10:58.800 --> 1:11:00.720 while still keeping it fresh. 1:11:00.760 --> 1:11:04.880 Okay, So so this album I started decidum in twenty eighteen, 1:11:05.640 --> 1:11:08.600 and then you know, of course COVID, pandemic, quarantine and 1:11:08.600 --> 1:11:10.040 all of that stuff hit and just threw a monkey 1:11:10.120 --> 1:11:13.840 rinch and everybody's situation that happens. So a good half 1:11:13.840 --> 1:11:15.640 of this album I had, I wound up having to 1:11:15.720 --> 1:11:17.840 kind of do over, you know, because it's like, are 1:11:17.920 --> 1:11:19.720 you work with a producer in twenty eighteen you do 1:11:19.760 --> 1:11:21.439 a song as all r Yeah, it's for the album. 1:11:21.640 --> 1:11:23.639 You didn't pay him yet, and then and y'all ain't 1:11:23.680 --> 1:11:25.840 spoke and then you call him in twenty twenty two 1:11:25.880 --> 1:11:26.240 and he's like. 1:11:26.240 --> 1:11:31.519 What, oh, bro, so are you like that happens like that? 1:11:31.640 --> 1:11:34.040 So good? So so we had we had to reduce 1:11:34.040 --> 1:11:38.920 some stuff. But overall this album is it's definitely me 1:11:39.160 --> 1:11:41.280 as me. I mean I called itself explanatory because I 1:11:41.280 --> 1:11:43.000 feel like I've been here damn in twenty years. You 1:11:43.040 --> 1:11:45.519 really need an explanation to a Neil record at twin 1:11:46.320 --> 1:11:47.479 Not really, not. 1:11:47.520 --> 1:11:49.360 Really, not really you understand what it is. 1:11:49.800 --> 1:11:53.720 But on top of that, this is this is me 1:11:54.360 --> 1:11:57.519 acknowledging what's going on right now. I can never become it. 1:11:57.600 --> 1:12:00.120 I'm forty two, let alone. I can never become it. 1:12:00.160 --> 1:12:02.640 But I could acknowledge it, you know, I can acknowledge it. 1:12:02.680 --> 1:12:04.519 I can acknowledge the parts of it that I dig, 1:12:05.080 --> 1:12:07.559 you know, so so Uh there's one song in particular, 1:12:07.600 --> 1:12:09.400 so actually the first song on the on the album, 1:12:09.800 --> 1:12:11.599 uh Cat from the Newer Generation. 1:12:11.680 --> 1:12:13.720 His name is a France If you ever heard the 1:12:13.800 --> 1:12:15.680 name before, look him up. 1:12:17.000 --> 1:12:19.679 Yeah he got some. He got some to the point 1:12:19.720 --> 1:12:21.960 where I let him feature on the album. The name 1:12:21.960 --> 1:12:24.000 of the Join is landlowd is is quality the record, 1:12:24.200 --> 1:12:28.479 but it doesn't sound like typical Neo, it's more the song. 1:12:28.640 --> 1:12:31.839 The song leans a little bit more towards his generation, 1:12:31.960 --> 1:12:34.160 and I'm just kind of you know, uncle on the 1:12:34.160 --> 1:12:37.120 side of the thing. But I'm never I'm never the 1:12:37.160 --> 1:12:39.040 cat that's gonna jump on the record and not be me. 1:12:39.280 --> 1:12:40.160 I can that that. 1:12:40.160 --> 1:12:40.760 That could never. 1:12:40.840 --> 1:12:41.519 I can't do that. 1:12:41.840 --> 1:12:47.040 So even if it sounds a little more uh contemporary 1:12:47.080 --> 1:12:51.799 than than than normal, it's just me acknowledging the changes 1:12:51.840 --> 1:12:53.680 and the evolutions that have happened in R and B. Well, 1:12:53.720 --> 1:12:55.360 at the same time, I'm gonna still give my bridges. 1:12:55.360 --> 1:12:57.479 I'ma still give my three four five par harmonies where 1:12:57.479 --> 1:12:59.360 I I can get him in there. All of that 1:12:59.479 --> 1:13:01.960 is going to be on this album as well. It's 1:13:02.000 --> 1:13:04.479 it's just me celebrating the fact that I get to 1:13:04.520 --> 1:13:05.840 do music for a living smoke. 1:13:05.920 --> 1:13:07.439 That's That's pretty much what this album is. 1:13:07.840 --> 1:13:08.599 That's dope, man. 1:13:08.840 --> 1:13:10.240 Oh and I be able to tell you too, man 1:13:10.320 --> 1:13:13.400 like good man, I love that. God, yeah, I thought 1:13:13.400 --> 1:13:16.960 that was so dope, Like y'all up, how does. 1:13:16.800 --> 1:13:18.519 It feel like? That was? Yeah? 1:13:18.560 --> 1:13:21.200 That was That was another one that I felt like 1:13:21.280 --> 1:13:23.640 should have got way more attention than it did. But 1:13:23.800 --> 1:13:26.519 you know, I can't. I can't tell people what to do. 1:13:26.840 --> 1:13:29.680 And she's got her own, like you'd be creating anthems 1:13:29.680 --> 1:13:32.160 for the fellas and the ladies. It's kind of amazing 1:13:32.200 --> 1:13:35.160 and like progressive to think progressively in a way that's 1:13:35.280 --> 1:13:35.880 kind of dope. 1:13:36.080 --> 1:13:38.240 It's misindependent. I know that. But I like to say 1:13:38.240 --> 1:13:38.880 she got her own. 1:13:39.320 --> 1:13:39.519 Yeah. 1:13:39.560 --> 1:13:41.559 Yeah, black people, I like we. 1:13:41.479 --> 1:13:44.439 Say she got her own. 1:13:43.520 --> 1:13:47.760 Oh, I want to see you. You're seeing working with her? 1:13:47.960 --> 1:13:49.360 We gotta yeah, I gotta her. 1:13:49.439 --> 1:13:49.880 Yeah see it. 1:13:49.920 --> 1:13:51.320 Man, she's like an amazing writer. 1:13:51.439 --> 1:13:52.960 Love to talk about work with her. 1:13:53.520 --> 1:13:56.559 Yeahn man. So so she wrote the hook to let 1:13:56.560 --> 1:13:59.280 Me Love You and I Love you you learn to 1:13:59.360 --> 1:14:02.240 Love Yourself. Funniest thing I was like, because I heard 1:14:02.240 --> 1:14:03.760 that lyric, I'm like, yo, where did you come up 1:14:03.760 --> 1:14:05.840 with that? And she said, oh my aa meeting, that's 1:14:05.880 --> 1:14:09.280 what they said, We're gonna love you to love yourself. 1:14:09.320 --> 1:14:16.240 I'm like, y'all for that time. The realest person alive 1:14:16.600 --> 1:14:20.360 I remember that is actually that session. We were sitting 1:14:20.360 --> 1:14:22.280 in the back we said west Lake Studios on Santa 1:14:22.320 --> 1:14:24.840 Monica and we were sitting in the back room off 1:14:24.880 --> 1:14:27.400 of the A room, and uh, I was looking at 1:14:27.439 --> 1:14:29.839 the tattoos on her arm. She has pictures of dogs, 1:14:30.000 --> 1:14:31.960 but it looked like a four year old drew a 1:14:32.000 --> 1:14:33.720 dog and it's just a bunch of them, like all 1:14:33.760 --> 1:14:37.840 over her arm. I'm like, what is anyway? I'm I'm 1:14:38.080 --> 1:14:40.240 sitting there because I'm I'm in awe of her, because 1:14:40.280 --> 1:14:43.640 mind you, I'm I'm zero seven, you know what I'm saying, Like, 1:14:43.720 --> 1:14:48.599 I'm from there. I finally to work with her, so 1:14:48.640 --> 1:14:51.720 I'm geeking out and I'm like, yo, I'm sorry. You're 1:14:51.760 --> 1:14:53.519 just supposed to be way bigger than you are. And 1:14:53.600 --> 1:14:55.559 she was like, yeah, but I don't want it. I 1:14:55.560 --> 1:14:57.479 want to go to Taco Bell. And I'm like what, 1:14:58.280 --> 1:14:59.559 She's like, I want to go to Taco Bell. I 1:14:59.560 --> 1:15:01.400 want to be able to go to Taco Bell and 1:15:01.439 --> 1:15:03.639 get a taco if I feel like, if I get any. 1:15:03.439 --> 1:15:05.599 Bigger and people don't know, I can't go to Taco Bell. 1:15:05.680 --> 1:15:08.120 I'm like that there's a lot of damn sense. So 1:15:08.200 --> 1:15:09.680 I guess we got to figure out a way for 1:15:09.840 --> 1:15:12.040 your music to get the recognition in love would you 1:15:12.160 --> 1:15:13.320 being able to still go to Taco Bell? 1:15:13.400 --> 1:15:13.840 She's like. 1:15:15.280 --> 1:15:19.000 Publishing, she said, I'm working on it, and the next thing, 1:15:19.040 --> 1:15:22.120 you know, he comes up with the video with little 1:15:22.160 --> 1:15:25.000 Maddie dancing, and and half the world don't know what's 1:15:25.000 --> 1:15:27.080 see it look like, yet the whole world loves of music. 1:15:27.120 --> 1:15:29.479 I'm like, she figured it out, and it's just victory. 1:15:29.520 --> 1:15:31.800 Stories like that just just make my heart smile, man, 1:15:31.840 --> 1:15:35.080 because because I just remember sitting there with her, like, 1:15:35.439 --> 1:15:36.840 how are we gonna get you the Taco Bell? 1:15:36.920 --> 1:15:38.439 They need to hear this music, but we need we 1:15:38.520 --> 1:15:39.559 got to get you to Taco Bell. 1:15:40.160 --> 1:15:40.960 How are we gonna do this? 1:15:41.240 --> 1:15:42.400 She did it, she figured it out. 1:15:42.479 --> 1:15:45.800 Now, Now I have one question, because I was one 1:15:45.920 --> 1:15:49.280 day old, I didn't realize that you wrote Mac Wilds's 1:15:49.360 --> 1:15:55.080 own it. Yeah, man, I still spend that to this day. 1:15:55.680 --> 1:15:59.639 Songs that you wish you would have kept for yourself, not. 1:15:59.640 --> 1:16:00.519 When they do well. 1:16:00.880 --> 1:16:01.559 You know what I'm saying. 1:16:01.560 --> 1:16:03.760 I look at it like if it came out and 1:16:03.800 --> 1:16:05.840 it was a hit on it came out clearly that's 1:16:05.840 --> 1:16:08.760 where it was supposed to be. Now when it come 1:16:08.800 --> 1:16:10.519 out in it don't do well, I'm like, well, damn, 1:16:10.960 --> 1:16:11.720 that's all you was gonna do. 1:16:11.720 --> 1:16:12.519 I should have kept it. 1:16:12.560 --> 1:16:16.439 I could have did better than another Another question, because 1:16:16.479 --> 1:16:19.639 you were one of the staff writers of the Empire series. 1:16:20.400 --> 1:16:24.120 How much how much pressure was that, Like at the 1:16:24.160 --> 1:16:26.280 top of the season or I would imagine even the 1:16:26.280 --> 1:16:30.960 summer before, it's like you gotta have like whatever fifteen 1:16:31.000 --> 1:16:33.639 songs or whatever, Like what's the division of labor? 1:16:33.720 --> 1:16:36.720 Where like how do they assign those songs to get 1:16:36.760 --> 1:16:37.240 done for it? 1:16:37.479 --> 1:16:40.880 Because every episode of Empire had at least like six 1:16:40.920 --> 1:16:45.920 to seven ready made, like real sounding songs, not just 1:16:46.080 --> 1:16:48.960 like you know whatever they would just play on the 1:16:48.960 --> 1:16:53.560 background of a different world, but like really fully produced 1:16:53.880 --> 1:16:56.960 no no, no Gordon gartreel songs. But how much how 1:16:57.080 --> 1:17:00.000 much pressure was that? Like was this this stuff inside 1:17:00.240 --> 1:17:03.080 your your cannon that you had in the back already 1:17:03.200 --> 1:17:05.840 or were you like custom making these songs on the spot. 1:17:06.200 --> 1:17:08.839 Well, I didn't. I didn't come in until the following season, 1:17:08.840 --> 1:17:11.000 the first first season that none of that was me. 1:17:11.040 --> 1:17:13.280 I didn't. I didn't none of that second season is 1:17:13.280 --> 1:17:17.120 when they when they when they pulled me, And it 1:17:17.200 --> 1:17:20.000 was honestly a really painless process. 1:17:20.000 --> 1:17:20.160 Bro. 1:17:20.240 --> 1:17:22.240 They they and I don't know if it was just 1:17:22.280 --> 1:17:25.840 because it was me, but they was basically like, well, 1:17:25.840 --> 1:17:27.120 what what you got for us? 1:17:27.640 --> 1:17:28.040 What do you need? 1:17:28.080 --> 1:17:29.120 What you got? Oh? 1:17:29.120 --> 1:17:31.160 Well, damn all right, well, well let me look into 1:17:31.400 --> 1:17:31.600 you know. 1:17:31.640 --> 1:17:33.200 And then I got to meet Jesse, I got to 1:17:33.240 --> 1:17:35.639 meet you know, yeah, and and I got to meet 1:17:35.640 --> 1:17:38.040 Surrey and all of them and like kind of really 1:17:38.080 --> 1:17:40.640 developed kind of a friendship with them to where it's like, 1:17:40.640 --> 1:17:42.280 all right, I know how to write a song for you. Now, 1:17:42.280 --> 1:17:43.960 I know what your voice does. Now I know I 1:17:44.000 --> 1:17:45.680 know what works. What doesn't you know what I mean? 1:17:45.720 --> 1:17:48.720 So they they really rolled out the red carpet for me. 1:17:48.760 --> 1:17:51.000 It made it very easy for me to produce anything 1:17:51.040 --> 1:17:52.240 that I needed to produce for the show. 1:17:52.400 --> 1:17:56.559 Definitely did sweet Well, I want to thank you for 1:17:57.120 --> 1:18:00.200 you know, doing the show with us, and you know. 1:18:00.080 --> 1:18:02.120 Thank you for thank you for the records, thank you 1:18:02.160 --> 1:18:03.160 for the records, thank you. 1:18:03.080 --> 1:18:05.160 For thank you for the Bridges. 1:18:06.240 --> 1:18:08.719 Put it up, especially the Bridges. 1:18:09.080 --> 1:18:12.160 And you should audition, maybe start auditioning for like some 1:18:12.240 --> 1:18:13.160 romantic comedies. 1:18:13.240 --> 1:18:14.920 I see like a maybe. 1:18:14.640 --> 1:18:16.760 Starting out as like a sidekick situation and being the 1:18:16.760 --> 1:18:17.760 funny funny if you want to do. 1:18:18.000 --> 1:18:19.839 I just I see that. I see that for you. 1:18:19.840 --> 1:18:21.679 You're doing it. 1:18:22.120 --> 1:18:25.240 No no no no no no no no. I feel 1:18:25.360 --> 1:18:28.000 I don't want to do I won't say I don't 1:18:28.000 --> 1:18:29.519 want to do a romantic comedy because if the rag 1:18:29.560 --> 1:18:31.760 will come on, I'm gonna do it. But I want 1:18:31.840 --> 1:18:36.840 to be I'm gonna play a paraplegic white man who 1:18:37.200 --> 1:18:38.240 just realized. 1:18:37.960 --> 1:18:41.800 Kind of going there just the MoMA is black. 1:18:43.760 --> 1:18:45.760 I want to do something that's so not me. 1:18:45.840 --> 1:18:48.639 You want to, Lieutenant, then come on, man, I'm trying 1:18:48.640 --> 1:18:50.559 to tell you I want to be something that's so 1:18:50.760 --> 1:18:53.120 not me that when people learn this meeting. 1:18:53.040 --> 1:18:53.759 Oh what damn? 1:18:54.160 --> 1:18:56.960 I said, Okay, that's what I want to do. 1:18:57.000 --> 1:18:58.960 I understand that what I want to do. I understand 1:18:59.080 --> 1:19:00.840 you went real far to the left left. 1:19:00.880 --> 1:19:07.640 I need that. I need a German chef, got shipwrecked 1:19:07.680 --> 1:19:10.599 in Africa, have to learn how to make. 1:19:10.680 --> 1:19:12.320 A Sherman Showcase Season three. 1:19:14.120 --> 1:19:16.200 Familyte Did you hear that? 1:19:17.080 --> 1:19:20.120 Come on, he's gonna write He's going to write that 1:19:20.240 --> 1:19:22.800 song for you. I can tell it all right. So 1:19:23.080 --> 1:19:24.519 I'm ready. I'm gonna be having light. 1:19:24.479 --> 1:19:27.160 Here and fan take Alot and Sugar Steve, and I'm 1:19:27.280 --> 1:19:30.519 paid Bill and uh Lieutenant Dan over here. 1:19:33.360 --> 1:19:37.360 This is quest Love Supreme. Thank you Neil for doing this, 1:19:37.439 --> 1:19:40.360 and we'll see you on the next round. That's what's. 1:19:46.960 --> 1:19:56.320 H West Love Supreme is a production of iHeart Radio. 1:19:59.800 --> 1:20:03.120 We one more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 1:20:03.360 --> 1:20:06.400 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.