1 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: Pushkin. Hearing the Fuji's second album, The Score, is the 2 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: first time I remember not just liking music but loving it. 3 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:20,080 Speaker 1: Fuji Law killing Me Softly, Ready or Not would come 4 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: on the radio and I'd get goosebumps. I still get goosebumps. 5 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 1: Here and Lauren Hill sing that hook. There's something absolutely 6 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 1: timeless about the music. Why Cleff created with Lauren and 7 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: Praze as the fujis same as the Beatles, same as 8 00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: Stevie Wonder. That's how high I rate this music. So 9 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 1: when white Cliff Jean pulled up to the studio we 10 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 1: recorded this interview, I was nervous. I mean, I was bugging. 11 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: But lucky for me, Why Cleff is one of the 12 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,440 Speaker 1: coolest people ever. I'll put it like this. Why Cleff 13 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: is supposed to bring his guitar to the interview. Somehow 14 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,159 Speaker 1: the message never got to him. Instead of throwing a 15 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 1: fit or bailing on the interview, he said, just find 16 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: a guitar, I'll play it. I can play any guitar. 17 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: Sure enough, we found the most jankie guitar in a 18 00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: nearby office. It's one of those guitars you'd buy it 19 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: for a kid who says you want to play guitar, 20 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 1: but you're not sure they're gonna stick with it one 21 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 1: of those, but he was happy to play it. This 22 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 1: is the dude who wrote a hit song for Carlos Santana, 23 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: remember Maria Maria. And here he is miraculously tuning this 24 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 1: junkie guitar which he plays during this episode. This is 25 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: Broken Record season three liner notes for the Digital Age. 26 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:29,759 Speaker 1: I'm justin Richmond. Just a quick note here. You can 27 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,119 Speaker 1: listen to all of the music mentioned in this episode 28 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:34,480 Speaker 1: on our playlist, which you can find a link to 29 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: in the show notes. For licensing reasons, each time a 30 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:42,560 Speaker 1: song is referenced in this episode, you'll hear this sound effect. 31 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: All right, enjoy the episode. All right? Even my first instrum, 32 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: what's the person's right, I'll right bass? First, up the 33 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 1: bass man. If I picked up the bass, picked up 34 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: a bass early high school. But first time I played 35 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 1: the bass I was fourteen fourteen. I played the bass. 36 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: First time I played first instrument ever was a trumbone. 37 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 1: You know. I started with the horn instrument because my dad, 38 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: he played like a little bit of saxophone. So I 39 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:21,680 Speaker 1: was digging like some of the horn instruments in the beginning, 40 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,959 Speaker 1: and so you grew up and hate without your mom 41 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 1: and dad to start. So your parents were already in 42 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:32,519 Speaker 1: the States. Yeah, well, my dad, he he gotta work 43 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 1: visa to come preach in America because it was for 44 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: Church of the Nazarene. And at the time he was 45 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: just like a brilliant minister, and it was like, Yo, 46 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: we're gonna get you a visa and we're gonna bring 47 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 1: you to America so you can help bring more Caribbean 48 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,080 Speaker 1: people to the faith. You know what I'm saying, right, 49 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 1: because you know, sometimes being the church is like a 50 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 1: basketball team. They just be recruiting, you know what I mean. 51 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 1: So they like NBA draft picked My daddy and he 52 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 1: came and he left me and hat at one years old. 53 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:12,240 Speaker 1: My mama was pregnant mother, bro, and you know it's 54 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: it's the real immigrant story. He left in search of 55 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 1: a life. And at the time, you know the immigration laws, Bro. 56 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: When your visa done ran out, Bro, there was no joke. Yeah, 57 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: so you have to go back because if your visa 58 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: runs out, you gotta go back. At the time, my 59 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: daddy visa run out and he goes. Luck, man, if 60 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: I go back to the island, right now, I'll never 61 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: get my kids up here. It'll never happen. So he 62 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 1: was like, Yo, this must be a sign of God. 63 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: And dude went underground. Just folks like when you're moving underground, 64 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: it's like you're moving m grant like hardcore, like those 65 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: that understand at the time when you are illegal. What 66 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: used to happen was the factories had these deals, like 67 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:18,239 Speaker 1: the knitting factories. So my dad also was a tailor, 68 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:23,279 Speaker 1: so you know, at night they could bring like two 69 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: three hundred immigrants and they're having you do crazy like 70 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: sweatshop work. You know what I'm saying to you. Oh yeah, 71 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 1: this was America, dog, This this was my daddy. And 72 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 1: my daddy was working and he heard immigration and my 73 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: dad said, bro, he took off like a cheetah man, 74 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: like yeah. So somehow he got my mama up here 75 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: and I'm still there eighty wow. And he had a 76 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 1: they had a Brooklyn and they had a child. And 77 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: so at the time, once again with those Gracian laws, 78 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: you had a children in the United States. Now you 79 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: could apply for citizenship. So you know, that's why I'm 80 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: like real sensitive when it comes to like immigration policy, 81 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 1: like mad sensitive because It's like I could have fallen 82 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:19,720 Speaker 1: like within the depending on what generation, I could have 83 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: been a doctor baby, you know, depends on the generation. 84 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:28,120 Speaker 1: So so he had two kids in Brooklyn and they 85 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 1: they got their citizenship because once you had the kids 86 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:35,800 Speaker 1: in the state at the time, they automatically became Americans. 87 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:38,160 Speaker 1: Then they came to Haiti. Man. I don't know if 88 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:41,160 Speaker 1: anybody you ever seen that movie slum Dog Millionaire. Yeah, 89 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: that's me and my little brother bro. Like we up 90 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 1: in the deep village until you were about like nine too, right, Yeah, 91 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: we lived in a village. So was nine man, dirt 92 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: poor like it's yo. By the time I got to 93 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: the project in Brooklyn, I ain't know what they was 94 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: talking about when they was talking about they were poor, 95 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: because I didn't get it, you know what I mean. 96 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:11,039 Speaker 1: I'm like, yo, So we to to to go to 97 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:14,040 Speaker 1: the bathroom. We usual it's called a ivene, you know, 98 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:17,120 Speaker 1: and the ivene is like it ain't no bathroom. It's 99 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: literally like you go something like they built in the back. 100 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:24,920 Speaker 1: If anybody's seen the movie Slump Dog Millionaire, literally that's 101 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:29,720 Speaker 1: what're using. The bathroom ain't no electricity, you feel me? Like, 102 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:34,040 Speaker 1: so you're relying on candles or a lamp. You know 103 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,239 Speaker 1: what I'm saying. Wow, And then you have what's called 104 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: the oil for the lamp. You know what I mean. 105 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 1: That's right, that's right, bro, the oil. And we live 106 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: right around there was a big cemetery. So literally we 107 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:49,160 Speaker 1: lived our playground, you know how like dudes, you're like, yo, 108 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 1: we you know, we're in the hood. Let's go to 109 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 1: the park. Like we'd be like, yo, let's go to 110 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:56,960 Speaker 1: the cemetery. You know what I'm saying. What were you 111 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 1: doing in the cemetery man playing? Wow? We would kids. Man, 112 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: that was a playground for us, just an open space 113 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:05,919 Speaker 1: to man. Listen, bro, we was having a great time 114 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,840 Speaker 1: in the cemetery. We used to play this game. The 115 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 1: game was called I'm going to America. So bring they 116 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: bring the donkey around and I get in on the 117 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:19,160 Speaker 1: donkey and all the kids crowd around, and you know, 118 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 1: it's mad crayol. You know what I'm saying. It in 119 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:24,120 Speaker 1: English and it's all Crayol at the time, and they're like, Yo, 120 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 1: where you going? And I said, y'all know where I'm going. 121 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 1: I'm going to America. And I said, okay, everybody tell 122 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: me what y'all want, you know, and you know, so 123 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: it's like, yo, bring me back diamonds. Dudes, like, bring 124 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:37,480 Speaker 1: me back food. Not keep in mind while this game 125 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: is going on, we probably ain't eat for like three days, 126 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 1: you feel me? Wow? Yeah? So you know imagination man, 127 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:47,640 Speaker 1: people be like, yo, how did you escape part of you? 128 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: I said, through imagination. So I'm like real sensitive when 129 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 1: people be putting. Uh when in Geo's put they go 130 00:07:56,320 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 1: to these villages and then they film like these kids 131 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: like you could see, like they film Haitian kids, African 132 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:06,240 Speaker 1: kids are and then they come back and they'd be like, yo, 133 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: you know we you know, give us some money for 134 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 1: these kids. And I was one of those post boys. 135 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: I didn't need no money from nobody. It was like 136 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: all I needed was an opportunity. So like the cry 137 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:25,240 Speaker 1: of the villagers, the kids are crying for opportunity, not 138 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 1: for anything else, Like no one really demands a handout. 139 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:32,559 Speaker 1: That's really how we was brought up. So no matter 140 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:36,040 Speaker 1: how crazy it was, we still was happy. You know 141 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 1: what I mean. I mean when you consider that you 142 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: came here you were nine ten, yeah, and you get 143 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:45,600 Speaker 1: you become successful with the fujis like not even that 144 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:48,679 Speaker 1: much later. So it's like it wasn't even succept Like 145 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:53,400 Speaker 1: the real White Cleft story is even crazier. The foojiesus 146 00:08:53,559 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 1: that like the very last chapter of the start of 147 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 1: the White Cleft career, right. Because I came at nine, 148 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:08,960 Speaker 1: I was a hustler by the time I'm fourteen years old, 149 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:16,480 Speaker 1: Bailly fifteen years old, I'm in the studio with Curtis Blow. Yeah, 150 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:20,240 Speaker 1: Curtis Blow when you see him. I was Billy fifteen. 151 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: Curtis Blow was producing my first crew. It was called 152 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 1: Exact Change. So this was like so for me. And 153 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:33,480 Speaker 1: the way that that happened was through our school in 154 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:36,080 Speaker 1: Jersey because we used to go back and forth Brooklyn, 155 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: New Jersey. So in Jersey they had a program where 156 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:42,920 Speaker 1: you can get an internship in the summertime, and we 157 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:47,839 Speaker 1: had got an internship for CBS Records, you feel me, 158 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:50,199 Speaker 1: So it's like you get that summer internship. It was 159 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 1: a program for urban communities. And when I tell you, Bro, 160 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:59,840 Speaker 1: I was rapping and my father never knew what I did. 161 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:04,240 Speaker 1: Like the word rap a hip hop and my daddy's 162 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:10,360 Speaker 1: home Caribbean home church home bro like late eighties, early nineties, 163 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:14,199 Speaker 1: this is like dog, it's forbidden. So you have to understand, 164 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:18,400 Speaker 1: I'm living a double life, Like you know what I mean, 165 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 1: Like when when you be seeing like them dudes, I'd 166 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:24,559 Speaker 1: be watching them old like tapes of like the aretas 167 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,000 Speaker 1: Otis and all of them. And then so when you 168 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:30,320 Speaker 1: in the church, it's still the same thing, like you 169 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 1: got two circuits. Like so they'd be like, yo, you 170 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:36,400 Speaker 1: can't do that kind of music. So literally you're sneaking 171 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:39,760 Speaker 1: to do it without the church knowing. You feel that. 172 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 1: That's how that was my hip hop. And and then 173 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:45,480 Speaker 1: in the church every Sunday is is you're pounding on 174 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,200 Speaker 1: church music. So my dad thought he was strict, but 175 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: we had a manage a manager teacher Slash, and that's 176 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: what helped me get into that program. And then she 177 00:10:55,520 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 1: was like yo, we met Curtis, and I think from 178 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,520 Speaker 1: there he noticed like how I was in the studio 179 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:06,960 Speaker 1: as a kid, because I just always would ask questions 180 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:10,440 Speaker 1: like I'd be like, yo, why does the board move 181 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:13,959 Speaker 1: like that? And then I see like it's a knave 182 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:16,080 Speaker 1: board with all them keys in and I'm like yo, 183 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:18,240 Speaker 1: But my brain was like yo, if you learned to 184 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:21,400 Speaker 1: operate one, you can operate all you feel me. So 185 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:26,520 Speaker 1: then then I met Quincy Jones. This is all dog, 186 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,319 Speaker 1: this is We're not even talking food. Ji's yet, That's 187 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:33,199 Speaker 1: what I'm saying, like the real teenager. I'm a teenager. Look, 188 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:37,520 Speaker 1: Quincy Jones came to a play I did. It was 189 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:41,760 Speaker 1: an off Broadway play. It was called The Twelfth Night, 190 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:45,280 Speaker 1: and we was trying to get this is how crazy 191 00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:49,600 Speaker 1: I was. So Twelfth Nights is Shakespeare. So you have 192 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: these characters move Malvolio, Sebastian, the Duke and all of that. 193 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:56,840 Speaker 1: So it was like, what happens if we take this 194 00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:59,679 Speaker 1: play and we put in an urban setting. So we 195 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:03,040 Speaker 1: Shakespeare and we put it in an urban setting. I 196 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 1: did the entire score for the play, and from the play, 197 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:12,000 Speaker 1: I blew up. Mc light was in the play. Lisa 198 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:14,960 Speaker 1: Carson was in the play. Lauren Hill was in the play. 199 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:21,080 Speaker 1: Darren Madeline was Darren's last name, the big choreographer. Huh Darren, 200 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:24,679 Speaker 1: Darren Hansen, you know Darren. He was a crazy choreographer. 201 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:27,719 Speaker 1: Then he went on to choreograph for in Sync. So 202 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:32,080 Speaker 1: everybody was blowing up playing from Yeah, but as kids 203 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 1: like it was just like you know, it was like 204 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:38,000 Speaker 1: a super talent. So for me, you know, going from 205 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,439 Speaker 1: there and loving the culture. I was a big fan 206 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:47,440 Speaker 1: of rock Kim right, So now now I'm like seventeen. 207 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: My man coming, He say, yo, Rock Kim is shooting 208 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:55,280 Speaker 1: a video in Long Island, and I was like, Yo, 209 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:57,600 Speaker 1: come on, let's go. We're gonna get in the video. 210 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:01,240 Speaker 1: I ain't never mean know Rock Kim. I just was 211 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:03,319 Speaker 1: like a stand you know what I'm saying, like, Yo, 212 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:06,480 Speaker 1: I'm a fan. I gotta get there so I'll never forget. 213 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:09,400 Speaker 1: And my man was like, what's the treatment. I was like, 214 00:13:09,679 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 1: I don't care what the treatment is. We're getting in 215 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: the music video. So we took the train from Jersey. 216 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:20,880 Speaker 1: I took my upright bass, a big gass, upright bass 217 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:25,199 Speaker 1: dog on the train. My man took his drums dog, 218 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,600 Speaker 1: and we get there bro and they got the big 219 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:30,800 Speaker 1: bodyguards at the door. You know, it's like the big 220 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:32,960 Speaker 1: movie scene, you know what I mean, from the hood, 221 00:13:33,559 --> 00:13:36,000 Speaker 1: and dudes like, can I help y'all? And I'm like, 222 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: what you mean, Kim, can you help us? We're the band, 223 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:41,560 Speaker 1: We're here for the video. And he says, go set 224 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:44,679 Speaker 1: up by the pool. So now we set up by 225 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:47,240 Speaker 1: the pool, I set up my upright, my man set 226 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:49,000 Speaker 1: up his drum, and I'm wink. I'm like, yo, just 227 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,280 Speaker 1: go with this till the guard get here. So now 228 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:58,839 Speaker 1: Rock Kim is late, so the director starts to bring 229 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:02,320 Speaker 1: all the girls out and he gotta do these shots 230 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 1: so rock him and they ain't there yet, so guess 231 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 1: who he starts to shoot us. So now if you 232 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:11,120 Speaker 1: go online and you watch Eric B and Rock Kim, 233 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: don't sweat the technique. I'm the kid with the upright 234 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,840 Speaker 1: bass man the technique video. Yes, the kid with the 235 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 1: upright bass That's what I'm telling you. So it's like 236 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:23,400 Speaker 1: that's what I was saying, like, you know, before we 237 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 1: talk about Fuji's I always want kids to understand like 238 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 1: the grind to even get to because it's almost like 239 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:33,440 Speaker 1: you can see the glamor and the lights, but it's 240 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:36,560 Speaker 1: like for a dude, a kid to come from Haiti 241 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 1: and you know, we barely talking about seventeen eighteen. So 242 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:44,560 Speaker 1: so I always tell extras when I go onto videos 243 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 1: and I'm like, yo, don't sleep like yo do the bet, like, 244 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:51,680 Speaker 1: don't think you an extra. And I even was showing 245 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 1: the extras like how you could steal a shot from 246 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:56,520 Speaker 1: the celebrities, you know, because I did it all in 247 00:14:56,560 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 1: that rock Him video. Like you'll see I'll be like, yo, 248 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:04,760 Speaker 1: this is how you still shot one on one extra. 249 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:11,760 Speaker 1: So this was the culture. And then now I'm eighteen 250 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:16,760 Speaker 1: going on nineteen. I always remember this because this was 251 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:21,560 Speaker 1: the day that there was freeing Nelson Mandela. Wow. Right, 252 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 1: And what's crazy about this story? I'm giving like I'm 253 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:28,120 Speaker 1: giving you. It's sort of like when people this will 254 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:31,320 Speaker 1: help people understand like why they love to score so much, 255 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:33,720 Speaker 1: like when they hear why it's so much like heart 256 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:38,560 Speaker 1: into it. So Mandela was getting out of prison just 257 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 1: the day Mandela and I'm in Jersey and my man said, Yo, 258 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:47,360 Speaker 1: there's a label in New York called Easy Street, Big 259 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:52,360 Speaker 1: Beat Records, you know, and they have an instrumental and 260 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,720 Speaker 1: they're looking for somebody to write some music to it 261 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:58,880 Speaker 1: and do some vocals and you know it's paying like 262 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 1: I think like two hundred fifty dollars. So I was like, yo, 263 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:03,800 Speaker 1: a man, you know, that's like a pair of pooma 264 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:06,600 Speaker 1: is the whole outfit, broh. So and you could get 265 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 1: the brush to clean off your pooma, somebody step on it. 266 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:15,600 Speaker 1: So I go and I'm so excited because I know 267 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:19,440 Speaker 1: the story of Nelson Mandela, so I'm inspired that day. 268 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:24,680 Speaker 1: It's house music, and so my first record that I 269 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 1: ever recorded was Bigbie Records, Atlantic and the records called 270 00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: out of the Jungle. Now when you go back to 271 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: listen to this, it's a funny story with it. So 272 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:41,120 Speaker 1: I'm vibing these lyrics, man, because and everything I'm saying, 273 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:44,960 Speaker 1: I'm feeling it because I'm so excited about Mandela out 274 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:49,120 Speaker 1: of prison, and I'm so excited. After I do the vocals, 275 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:53,080 Speaker 1: I just I take the money. I don't sign a 276 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:58,800 Speaker 1: form or nothing. I leave. I'm gone, bro. So when 277 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:04,080 Speaker 1: I'm gone, this record comes out, my man, and it's 278 00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:06,240 Speaker 1: called out of the Jungle. So when you listen to it, 279 00:17:06,320 --> 00:17:09,800 Speaker 1: So it was a time when hip hop and house 280 00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:13,120 Speaker 1: music was on the same level because we always going 281 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:17,240 Speaker 1: to the club and we literally was dancing to both 282 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:19,639 Speaker 1: because it was a big dance culture. So it was 283 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:21,880 Speaker 1: like you were either he was breaking the hip hop 284 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 1: and at the same time, house music was like the Gully, 285 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:28,760 Speaker 1: you know, it was like the gully underground sound, but 286 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:32,560 Speaker 1: it was like forbidden also and it was a little 287 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:36,520 Speaker 1: deeper than hip hop because house. Your parents don't want 288 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:38,600 Speaker 1: you to get involved a house because you know, the 289 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,199 Speaker 1: house is a little deeper. Now you're getting you know, 290 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: that's when the acid starts it. It's a different yeacause 291 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:46,480 Speaker 1: with the hip hop, you know you with the weed, 292 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:49,639 Speaker 1: anything safe, you feel sad at the time. Yeah, you 293 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:55,080 Speaker 1: dip into the house. They're like, yo. So the record 294 00:17:55,119 --> 00:17:58,000 Speaker 1: comes out and it explodes in the underground. It's called 295 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:00,760 Speaker 1: out of the Jungle. Can you pull it up? Do 296 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:03,119 Speaker 1: you have it? Do you have You could pull it? 297 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:04,679 Speaker 1: You could pull it up, And I'm gonna tell you 298 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:10,159 Speaker 1: what's gonna bug you out. So years later, man a 299 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:13,479 Speaker 1: DJ I know called DJ Flex, not Flex from Hot 300 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 1: ninety seven, my other man Flex who plays e DM. 301 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:20,960 Speaker 1: He goes, yo, man, did you have a twin in 302 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:23,040 Speaker 1: the nineties? And I'm gonna tell you why you can't 303 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:24,520 Speaker 1: find the record yet? And I'm gonna tell you how 304 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,040 Speaker 1: you're gonna find it and you're gonna die laughing. He goes, yo, 305 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:29,800 Speaker 1: did you have a twin in the nineties? And I 306 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:34,440 Speaker 1: said no. He said, yo, dog, I'd be spinning this record. 307 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:37,680 Speaker 1: This dude sound just like you, but he not you. 308 00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:43,000 Speaker 1: His name is Africalli. Right, I'm like what he said, Nah, 309 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 1: this dude sound he probably probably from Africa somewhere, but 310 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:50,640 Speaker 1: this dude sound just like you. So if you go 311 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:55,000 Speaker 1: online and you punch up Africalli out of the Jungle. 312 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:58,120 Speaker 1: So I left the studio. Dudes didn't know my name, 313 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:01,320 Speaker 1: and they're like, Yo, this mother fucking sound Africans. So 314 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:04,359 Speaker 1: let's give him a name. Motherfucker's just called me Africalli. 315 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 1: They just they just gave me a name. Dude just 316 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,199 Speaker 1: turned the brown and traded me like a slave bra 317 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:16,320 Speaker 1: and was like, Yo, this is your name. So yo. 318 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:19,280 Speaker 1: Can you imagine like years later when I blow up 319 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:21,920 Speaker 1: and I see those same people and I'm like they're like, well, 320 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:27,200 Speaker 1: White Cleff, I'm like, no Africa. If you check the 321 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,560 Speaker 1: sleeve on Paradise Presents Africalli's Out of the Jungle, you'll 322 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:34,560 Speaker 1: actually see dedicated to the Freedom of Vandella. We'll be 323 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:41,120 Speaker 1: back with more from White Clef after the break. We're 324 00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:44,119 Speaker 1: back with more from White Cleft. After the Africai incident, 325 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:46,520 Speaker 1: he finally connects with Prize and Lauren Hill to form 326 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:50,159 Speaker 1: the Fujis. So Prize hit me up and Prize, you know, 327 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:53,600 Speaker 1: Prize from Prizes like, uh, we call I used to 328 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:55,159 Speaker 1: you know, like you in the hood and you you 329 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 1: make friends with. So Prize, I had a church band 330 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:00,680 Speaker 1: and remember I telling you in the church, and Prize 331 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:04,000 Speaker 1: wanted to come and be part of our church man. 332 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:06,520 Speaker 1: So he came and was like, Yo, what do you do? 333 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:08,680 Speaker 1: He said he played trumpet, and he pulled the trumpet 334 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:13,000 Speaker 1: out and started playing, was making us laugh. So I 335 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:16,800 Speaker 1: was like, yo, so we connected. So but Prize always 336 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,879 Speaker 1: had a hustle too. He always had a hustle. So 337 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:24,080 Speaker 1: Prize was serious. So Prize hit me up and was like, Yo, 338 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 1: I'm in the studio with two girls and I need 339 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:31,679 Speaker 1: a reggae hook. That's what he told me. So you know, 340 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:35,520 Speaker 1: I'm like, what his prize up to now? Right? So 341 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:40,240 Speaker 1: so I go to the studio and the producers man 342 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:44,399 Speaker 1: our calis beyond from cooling the Gang. He's like the 343 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,399 Speaker 1: mastermind behind cooling the Gang. So everything we hit, I 344 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:50,000 Speaker 1: sell up bray Good all that stuff. He the one 345 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 1: who did that. So I was just amazed to be 346 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:55,160 Speaker 1: in the studio. So I went and then I did 347 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:58,679 Speaker 1: my little vocals and so you know, I was on 348 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:04,440 Speaker 1: my one of my favorite movies. Was the five Heartbeats. Yeah, classic, classic. 349 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:07,639 Speaker 1: So I was on my Eddie Kane ship minus the drugs, 350 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:11,280 Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. Still played the poker and everything, right, 351 00:21:11,359 --> 00:21:13,760 Speaker 1: so you know, I see the pretty girls, you know 352 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: I'm going there and I'm gonna smash this jack. So 353 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:20,879 Speaker 1: I did my part and I came out and and 354 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:23,320 Speaker 1: the girls was like, and you wrote the part? Like yeah, 355 00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:29,879 Speaker 1: of course I improvised. There was a record called The Enforcer. 356 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:36,200 Speaker 1: The Enforcer the worst Fouji record ever, but it was yeah. 357 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:41,080 Speaker 1: So we were going and so Colie Benest like, Yo, 358 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:44,520 Speaker 1: do y'all hear that? I was like, no, he said, Yo, 359 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:47,600 Speaker 1: there's something going on with the four y'all. It was 360 00:21:47,720 --> 00:21:51,760 Speaker 1: four people. It wasn't three. It was Lauren and another 361 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:56,040 Speaker 1: girl named Marcy, and Marcy sounded like Mariah Carey, and 362 00:21:56,080 --> 00:22:00,800 Speaker 1: then Lauren had the Nina Simone vibe, right, So it 363 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:04,320 Speaker 1: was four people and the sonics and the way the 364 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,480 Speaker 1: vocals were sounding. This dude was like, Yo, this sounds 365 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:12,080 Speaker 1: like a group. And so Callise and his mind, who 366 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:14,880 Speaker 1: has created Cooling the Gang. What you think we're gonna 367 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:17,480 Speaker 1: tell this guy? No, I mean, he knows exactly what 368 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:20,200 Speaker 1: it is he got Grammys, he's sitting on it. So 369 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:23,919 Speaker 1: he bought us in to start recording, and then we 370 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:28,119 Speaker 1: started recording what became blunted on reality, not even the 371 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:32,159 Speaker 1: score yet. So while we was but Dude from Cooling 372 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:36,320 Speaker 1: the Gang was the Fuji's first producer and the real 373 00:22:36,359 --> 00:22:40,040 Speaker 1: producer of the Fuji's, the first real producer of the 374 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:43,399 Speaker 1: Fuji's was Kalise Beyond from cool In the Gang, the 375 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:46,960 Speaker 1: Mad one of the like mastermind behind Cooling the Gang, 376 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:50,880 Speaker 1: Jungle Boogie, all of that. He was one of my senses, sadness, 377 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:54,520 Speaker 1: all that, yeah, some yo, some of madness. That's his 378 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:58,560 Speaker 1: whole brain. That's his brain. So you understand now he 379 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:03,480 Speaker 1: takes me in as an understud student because I'm always 380 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:07,199 Speaker 1: asking questions, you feel me? So he's so this is 381 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,640 Speaker 1: this was the birth of the Fuji's. So we struggling. 382 00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:15,080 Speaker 1: So the girl Marcy parents says, look, this this group 383 00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:17,760 Speaker 1: thing ain't gonna work for you. You have to go 384 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:20,639 Speaker 1: to school, Like you have a chance to go to college, 385 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:23,760 Speaker 1: you gotta go. And then she leaves the group and 386 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,160 Speaker 1: then she goes head to college I think in Boston, 387 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:31,040 Speaker 1: and then us three we stayed. We rehearsed every day, 388 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: and we didn't just like rehearse like it was like 389 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:37,000 Speaker 1: we was clear like we wanted to be a band, 390 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:39,840 Speaker 1: not a group. Like we wasn't trying to just have 391 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,440 Speaker 1: mics and then turn. No, we wanted to come out 392 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:44,760 Speaker 1: with the guitar, you had the drums, the base, the 393 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:47,359 Speaker 1: whole put a band together. So every day we would rehearse. 394 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:50,280 Speaker 1: But where did that come from? Because that's like who 395 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:52,480 Speaker 1: else was doing this? Maybe the roots were probably maybe 396 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:56,119 Speaker 1: keep in mind my background was from the church, so 397 00:23:56,400 --> 00:24:00,160 Speaker 1: as a mayastro already I had the idea of saying, 398 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 1: you know, I played, so I was like, Yo, there's 399 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:05,159 Speaker 1: no way we're not gonna play, So we have to 400 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:06,920 Speaker 1: be a band. But like how does it even like 401 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,400 Speaker 1: because like sets a sonic the root. But I mean 402 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:11,320 Speaker 1: like it's not like a real thing to be like 403 00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:15,439 Speaker 1: I'm gonna do when Yeah, but it was a natural 404 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:18,760 Speaker 1: thing for us, like we're not thinking. It's almost like 405 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:23,240 Speaker 1: every record today a kid sings yeah right, and it's 406 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:26,320 Speaker 1: natural to him, like he ain't thinking, he don't even 407 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:30,399 Speaker 1: know like acts these you know, these young little rappers today, 408 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:34,520 Speaker 1: like you'd be like, yo, they are singing naturally, right. 409 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:36,600 Speaker 1: But then you would have a young thug who has 410 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:39,120 Speaker 1: a song called why Cleft Young. Now, when you talk 411 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:41,720 Speaker 1: to him, you'd be like, yeah, that's my guy, like cleft. 412 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:45,000 Speaker 1: He'd be singing, he'd be to them. That's just natural. 413 00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:47,240 Speaker 1: But it's natural because you guys like did it. Yeah. 414 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:50,160 Speaker 1: But what I'm telling you is when we was doing 415 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:52,920 Speaker 1: it in our brain, it was just like the way 416 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:55,600 Speaker 1: the kids are doing it today. So we wasn't thinking 417 00:24:55,720 --> 00:25:00,640 Speaker 1: like somebody can't tell me, oh, if you sing going 418 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:06,680 Speaker 1: to November, you know, or Lauren singing killing me softly? Oh, y'all. 419 00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:10,200 Speaker 1: Now we're more gangster than you, you understand, Like yo, 420 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:13,840 Speaker 1: Like we gangster than you because we are gonna say 421 00:25:14,119 --> 00:25:17,240 Speaker 1: on the record that we're gonna pop you, and then 422 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:18,960 Speaker 1: we're gonna pull a certain gun out on you, and 423 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,000 Speaker 1: then we're gonna put the crack vowels in our hands. 424 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:25,199 Speaker 1: We're gonna know. But then, now, let's check the facts. 425 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:30,439 Speaker 1: I'm from Marlboro Projects in Brooklyn in the late eighties. 426 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:32,679 Speaker 1: You haven't looked up that project. It's one of the 427 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:36,960 Speaker 1: worst projects in the world. So for me, when I 428 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:40,080 Speaker 1: look at authors, it was just natural to us. I 429 00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:42,439 Speaker 1: was like, yo, we all are gonna tell this story. 430 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:46,760 Speaker 1: But what made the Fuji's unique was you had three perspectives, right, 431 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:51,760 Speaker 1: So you had like Lauren that was on that, Nina Simone, 432 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:54,359 Speaker 1: you know that Donnie had the way things like she 433 00:25:54,560 --> 00:26:00,679 Speaker 1: clearly was on that and was on some like black 434 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:04,159 Speaker 1: power vibes like like some you know, she would study 435 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:07,120 Speaker 1: all this stuff like POC like Tupac Loren would study 436 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:11,439 Speaker 1: like she had a clear understanding. If you want to 437 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:15,680 Speaker 1: understand the depth of black history with the Fujis, all 438 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 1: you have to do is go to the first album, 439 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:21,200 Speaker 1: Blooded on Reality and play the first song. It ain't 440 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:23,760 Speaker 1: a song, it's a poem to the clues cut Klan. 441 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:26,880 Speaker 1: So this is the depth of the kind of chord 442 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:29,080 Speaker 1: that you're dealing with. So you had that, Then you 443 00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:33,520 Speaker 1: had Prize, you know who, literally Prize would be listening 444 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:36,880 Speaker 1: to anything that was rock. Prize knew it. So if 445 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,159 Speaker 1: it was Guns n' Roses, if it was Metallica, if 446 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,760 Speaker 1: it was you know, so Prize was moving like a 447 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,239 Speaker 1: punk rock kid, you know what I mean, like and 448 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:47,160 Speaker 1: he had the ear like that. Then you had why Cleff, 449 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:49,400 Speaker 1: you know what I mean, a kid from the village. 450 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:52,400 Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying to you that that somehow 451 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:56,400 Speaker 1: became a weird jazz musician. So you put this kind 452 00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:02,920 Speaker 1: of fusion thing together and it exploded into so so 453 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:06,000 Speaker 1: so to your point, it was natural, like it was 454 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:09,719 Speaker 1: like when people it was like, yo, I remember man 455 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:13,080 Speaker 1: driving my card, you know. And then this is like 456 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:17,840 Speaker 1: New Jersey drive style. So going back and where where 457 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:21,000 Speaker 1: we were racing too a Biggie Smallest concert. Why could 458 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:24,400 Speaker 1: we open en up for Biggie right? So and then 459 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:28,120 Speaker 1: so we're playing with Biggie. We in La. I remember 460 00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:32,920 Speaker 1: we being in La and the show ice Cube. Everybody's there. 461 00:27:33,359 --> 00:27:36,080 Speaker 1: My conception on everyone you could think of his dead. 462 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:40,080 Speaker 1: We get on what it's real. It's love because we 463 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:42,800 Speaker 1: come from that s And then keep in mind, so 464 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:46,120 Speaker 1: I wasn't even really listening to East Coast music, even 465 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:47,960 Speaker 1: though I was in the East Coast. Now, it's another 466 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:52,280 Speaker 1: weird thing about the fujires. I was listening to hieroglyphics 467 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:55,440 Speaker 1: like damn man, Yeah, that was more you know. So 468 00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:58,240 Speaker 1: even when you hear the fujis, the way they rhyme, 469 00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 1: the whole style just sounded different. It was so it 470 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:04,959 Speaker 1: was a combination of all of that that was going on. 471 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:09,000 Speaker 1: So for us, hip hop wasn't just about that versus 472 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:11,880 Speaker 1: like even like like Dayla or Tribe, which are kind 473 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:16,520 Speaker 1: of or jungle brothers, they were more melodic. I could 474 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:18,639 Speaker 1: relate to them like they was doing like what I 475 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:21,639 Speaker 1: was doing, like they were doing it like you could 476 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:25,320 Speaker 1: hear they go from a rhyming to a melody. You 477 00:28:25,359 --> 00:28:27,240 Speaker 1: know what I'm saying to you. And then what was 478 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:29,440 Speaker 1: my man that flip there I go, there I go, 479 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:31,840 Speaker 1: theren I go. It was a hip hop kid who 480 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 1: did that too. He was from out here, I gotta think. 481 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:37,399 Speaker 1: But and then you had sous a mischief, you know, 482 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:41,240 Speaker 1: all of that like so, and in the production, I 483 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 1: found it fascinating because it was a lot of jazz 484 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,239 Speaker 1: samples going on, you know what I mean. So so 485 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:52,800 Speaker 1: once again that that's the core when you from that 486 00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:55,920 Speaker 1: kind of core, you know, because you got two kinds 487 00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:59,680 Speaker 1: of people. You got the public. Who a kid who's 488 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:03,080 Speaker 1: from the hood, from really from the ghetto, from the projects. 489 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:07,280 Speaker 1: When he here ready or not, you think like he's 490 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:09,800 Speaker 1: he already knows the code. When I say now that 491 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 1: I escaped sleepwalk away, those that that he knows, that's 492 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:17,840 Speaker 1: equivalent to a Biggie Smalls record. He know which Biggie record? 493 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:20,000 Speaker 1: He know the talk you know. So at the end 494 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:22,760 Speaker 1: of the day, we was ignoring what everyone was saying 495 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 1: because critics were trashing us, right, remember the blunting reality, 496 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:29,960 Speaker 1: blunting on reality. Even like the respect we should have 497 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:32,760 Speaker 1: got when we did the score. It was like we 498 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:35,680 Speaker 1: was blowing up and it was crazy big. The score 499 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:38,880 Speaker 1: got respect, but the respect that it should have got 500 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:41,880 Speaker 1: it got afterwards, it seems like, though, but it got 501 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:45,200 Speaker 1: more respect weirdly from like the kind of like white 502 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,640 Speaker 1: sort of like the Rolling Stones or like the Village 503 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:50,000 Speaker 1: Voice like or like you know what I mean, like 504 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:54,520 Speaker 1: those type of one trillion quick trillion percent that's right, right, 505 00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:58,120 Speaker 1: but like the source site was, you know, it's like, yeah, 506 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:04,360 Speaker 1: the once again And I came from Haiti, so I didn't. 507 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:08,680 Speaker 1: I didn't When I saw Bob Marley, that's the manager. 508 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:14,360 Speaker 1: The manager's phone is ringing. When I saw manager, he's 509 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:18,480 Speaker 1: a manager. Yo. When I saw Bob Marley, I saw 510 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:22,200 Speaker 1: Rolling Stones. I saw the Beatles. I'm saying like on 511 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:27,000 Speaker 1: VCR tape. I saw Michael Jackson, I saw the Temptations, 512 00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:30,200 Speaker 1: I saw the Fuji's like I was like, we're gonna 513 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:32,800 Speaker 1: be big. So at the end of the day, I 514 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:35,960 Speaker 1: knew that a lot of those editors at the time 515 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,280 Speaker 1: they would not get what we was doing at the time, 516 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:42,000 Speaker 1: but it wasn't really for them, right because now we're 517 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:47,360 Speaker 1: thirty years in right. So imagine when I'm chilling and 518 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:49,960 Speaker 1: a nineteen year old kid comes up to me and 519 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:54,640 Speaker 1: he's reciting every lyric from the Score, the Carnival to 520 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:57,640 Speaker 1: a cleftic even all the way the Sweetest Girl. He's 521 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:00,440 Speaker 1: telling you how he found these records. It just makes 522 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:03,160 Speaker 1: you understand. All you gotta do is keep going, you 523 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:05,600 Speaker 1: know what I mean, Yeah, yeah, yeah, no scores, but 524 00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:07,000 Speaker 1: I mean that, I mean you must hear it all 525 00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:09,240 Speaker 1: the time, the scores, like for a lot of people. 526 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:11,040 Speaker 1: I mean that was That's one of the first music 527 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:15,840 Speaker 1: outside of like you know, I probably like maybe Summertime, 528 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:19,600 Speaker 1: Fresh Prince of Jazzy Jeff, Yeah, the Fresh Prince of 529 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:21,120 Speaker 1: Jazzy Jeff or something like that. But I mean, it 530 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:23,320 Speaker 1: feel like the Score is like the first music that 531 00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:25,440 Speaker 1: I'm really cognizant of in my life. Like it was 532 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:27,520 Speaker 1: like just on repeat in my mom's car, Like just 533 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:30,640 Speaker 1: like all those hits, Man all those and it feels 534 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:31,920 Speaker 1: like every record on there could have been a hit. 535 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:34,760 Speaker 1: This really was only like four or five singles, but 536 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:37,400 Speaker 1: feels like every when you listen to we couldn't even 537 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:39,600 Speaker 1: put them out. We couldn't even put singles out no more. 538 00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:42,960 Speaker 1: The label is like man like y'all could literally put 539 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:44,920 Speaker 1: a single out for each one of these songs. You 540 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:47,120 Speaker 1: know what, But I want to back up a little bit. 541 00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:50,600 Speaker 1: I mean, so what were you playing at the time, 542 00:31:50,680 --> 00:31:52,600 Speaker 1: Like you like you play like you say you go 543 00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:55,040 Speaker 1: now without a guitar, Like I just saw you tune 544 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:57,720 Speaker 1: like the worst guitar you probably you know, you probably 545 00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:00,840 Speaker 1: played in a while. Like what was it you were 546 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:03,440 Speaker 1: listening to before you got with the Fujis that you 547 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:06,520 Speaker 1: felt like you could kind of merge with what Prize 548 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:09,120 Speaker 1: and Lauren were doing? Like, well, I came up. I 549 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:11,800 Speaker 1: mean my brother we was in the hood. There was 550 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:17,400 Speaker 1: listening to like Pink, Floyd uh Sting, Synchronicity, the Police, 551 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:22,080 Speaker 1: Michael Hedges. That was my little brothers. Like one of 552 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:24,360 Speaker 1: my brothers was into that. So he would give me 553 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,120 Speaker 1: the music and now I would share the music back 554 00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:29,920 Speaker 1: with him. You know, I was listening to like the 555 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:33,560 Speaker 1: loneliest monk like Miles Davis are Blakey the way the 556 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:35,920 Speaker 1: drum all row and then I would give him some 557 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:37,720 Speaker 1: of that music. You know what I'm saying, that's what 558 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:40,920 Speaker 1: you're listening. Yeah, all that and then and then uh 559 00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:44,080 Speaker 1: and of course hip hop. We all my other brother 560 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,280 Speaker 1: Literally we would sneak because we had to hit the 561 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:49,960 Speaker 1: cassette and let it run, you see what I'm saying, 562 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:52,640 Speaker 1: and then get the tape and then listen back to 563 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:54,920 Speaker 1: that like the next day. So the ill thing is 564 00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:57,760 Speaker 1: like if you know the Red Alert show, someone's taping 565 00:32:57,800 --> 00:32:59,920 Speaker 1: it because you can't listen into it at the house. 566 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:03,400 Speaker 1: And then you leave, Man, you're throwing your headphones. You 567 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:06,760 Speaker 1: hit that Sony walk man bro and it was heaven. 568 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:11,200 Speaker 1: So for me, very eclectic at a young age, I 569 00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:14,200 Speaker 1: loved back and they always used this. I was weird 570 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:20,040 Speaker 1: because I would watch movies so like I'm a movie buff, 571 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:23,320 Speaker 1: you know. My dad like would have VCR and different things. 572 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:27,520 Speaker 1: But they would see me watching films silently and then 573 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:31,400 Speaker 1: so like Once upon a Time in America classic and 574 00:33:31,800 --> 00:33:34,160 Speaker 1: like before The Godfather the original, and then I would 575 00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:38,720 Speaker 1: watch it but silent with no voice or whatever it said. Yo, 576 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:41,680 Speaker 1: what's you're doing? And I'm like, Yo, I could hear 577 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:44,800 Speaker 1: the score. I could hear the music that's supposed to 578 00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:48,239 Speaker 1: be on this. So then when I go back and 579 00:33:48,240 --> 00:33:50,120 Speaker 1: watch it, I put it on and match it with 580 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:52,840 Speaker 1: to see if what's in my head you feel what 581 00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:55,440 Speaker 1: I'm saying to you? You test yourself kind of like that. Yeah. Yeah, 582 00:33:55,440 --> 00:33:59,080 Speaker 1: And then it was crazy because years later, the first 583 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:02,360 Speaker 1: person who gave me my shot at scoring a movie 584 00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:07,000 Speaker 1: is Brian Grazier, big, big producer, like he did like 585 00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:10,680 Speaker 1: some of the biggest movies ever in Hollywood. But he 586 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:13,080 Speaker 1: was like they was like, yo, did this kid ever 587 00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:15,799 Speaker 1: score anything? He said, no, but he's gonna score this one. 588 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:19,640 Speaker 1: And and you know what. The movie was Life Eddie 589 00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:23,640 Speaker 1: Murphy and mart Lawrence. Yeah. I did the score for that. Amazing. Yeah, 590 00:34:23,680 --> 00:34:25,440 Speaker 1: it was your first movie. That was my first score. 591 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:29,520 Speaker 1: Then from there I did Hotel Rwanda the theme song 592 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:31,879 Speaker 1: for that. So people started saying, Yo, this this cat. 593 00:34:32,200 --> 00:34:35,000 Speaker 1: So the scoring is another life for me, Like I 594 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:37,920 Speaker 1: love I love that kind of stuff that I guess 595 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:41,240 Speaker 1: that's that discipline from like the jazz and the classical background, 596 00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:43,080 Speaker 1: you know. So like, but what were you like, what 597 00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:44,759 Speaker 1: like what were you playing on guitar at the time 598 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:46,640 Speaker 1: that you felt like you could turn into like I 599 00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:47,879 Speaker 1: don't know if you could, kid you if you could 600 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:49,799 Speaker 1: play something like that? Was an example, like a riff 601 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:51,440 Speaker 1: that you were playing that you would hear that be 602 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:53,400 Speaker 1: like I could hear this, being like I could I 603 00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:57,360 Speaker 1: could turn this into something with the fujis So anyone 604 00:34:57,400 --> 00:35:00,800 Speaker 1: who's listening the way that I the guitar as a 605 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:05,000 Speaker 1: very annoythodox style. I consider myself a hip hop guitarist 606 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:09,080 Speaker 1: because when I play, you literally can hear diffusion of 607 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:12,840 Speaker 1: the drum inside your head and at the same time. 608 00:35:13,239 --> 00:35:16,640 Speaker 1: But what made me crazy was I was a battle 609 00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:20,360 Speaker 1: rapper and it used to throw people off because I 610 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:25,319 Speaker 1: would play instruments so they would underestimate bars because they 611 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:28,600 Speaker 1: would see the guitar in my hand. We're back with 612 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:35,480 Speaker 1: more from White Cleft. After the break, We're back with 613 00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:38,000 Speaker 1: more White Clef. What were you listening to like in 614 00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:41,600 Speaker 1: Haiti and Haiti? You know we have the music of 615 00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:44,000 Speaker 1: the village, you know what I mean? Like you come up. 616 00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:47,640 Speaker 1: I guess that's why I learned how to you know, 617 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:49,640 Speaker 1: like you see how I pick up an instrument and 618 00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:53,719 Speaker 1: just the acoustic you know you're singing with the village. 619 00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:58,040 Speaker 1: The ladies. You know, they got their hair tied down, 620 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:03,879 Speaker 1: they just and white. They're praying. Sometimes they're dressed in red. 621 00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:09,759 Speaker 1: You know, they're worshiping, and they singing these songs, bro s, 622 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:15,839 Speaker 1: these hems. It's like it's very spiritual and very very 623 00:36:16,719 --> 00:36:20,799 Speaker 1: like put you in trans vibe makes you feel a 624 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:25,759 Speaker 1: certain way. And I guess the same vibe I heard 625 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:28,439 Speaker 1: them singing when I was like seven or eight years 626 00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:32,080 Speaker 1: later when I went to Lagos in Africa, samet vibe. Man, 627 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:36,319 Speaker 1: it's like just the music of the village. Man, would 628 00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:38,719 Speaker 1: you getting like Funk records some of the states or 629 00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:42,160 Speaker 1: like records? Nothing? I never heard no R and B, 630 00:36:42,760 --> 00:36:44,960 Speaker 1: No nothing. The person who put me up on like 631 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:47,680 Speaker 1: R and B like like, say, yo, you ever heard 632 00:36:47,719 --> 00:36:50,640 Speaker 1: Nina someone? I was like, No, that was Lauren. She's 633 00:36:50,640 --> 00:36:53,279 Speaker 1: like check this out, you know. Then I heard Nina 634 00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:57,279 Speaker 1: smone you ever heard four times? No? What's that? You 635 00:36:57,320 --> 00:36:59,200 Speaker 1: know what I mean? Like I haven't heard of that. 636 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:05,480 Speaker 1: I was more like into like Theloneious Monk, like Miles 637 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:07,319 Speaker 1: Davis and that side of it. You know what I'm 638 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:10,200 Speaker 1: saying to you. But she put me up on that 639 00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:13,960 Speaker 1: and Haiti. It was like just listening to folks like 640 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:18,400 Speaker 1: we call it. I've seen roots music Africana, you know 641 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:21,759 Speaker 1: what I mean, the core like till today. Like when 642 00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:24,160 Speaker 1: I hear that, I could run through a brick wall 643 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:27,040 Speaker 1: and won't get hurt, you know what I'm saying. And 644 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:29,480 Speaker 1: were you playing along of that stuff too as a kid, singing, 645 00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:31,799 Speaker 1: singing along? Yeah, you're singing along and you're doing like 646 00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:34,879 Speaker 1: these crazy harmonies along with it. You know what I mean. 647 00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:37,120 Speaker 1: You're treating them. It's more like really using the voice 648 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:39,680 Speaker 1: as an instrument. You were. Your voice is an instrument, 649 00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:42,320 Speaker 1: but your voice is a warrior, like you know what 650 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:44,600 Speaker 1: I'm saying to you. So in my village, you know, 651 00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:47,200 Speaker 1: if you come in, we can announce you. You know 652 00:37:47,239 --> 00:37:50,040 Speaker 1: how Pavarotti projects. You know what I'm saying to you. 653 00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:55,440 Speaker 1: So you could be a mile away and I'm like, 654 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:57,600 Speaker 1: like you are going to hear me. You know what 655 00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:01,120 Speaker 1: I'm saying. It's like the call little while like it's 656 00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:05,200 Speaker 1: really yo, these Africans is coming for real, Like so 657 00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:07,799 Speaker 1: so all of that kind of stuff is real, you 658 00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:10,040 Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. All of that is instilled in me, 659 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:13,400 Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, you just put out a 660 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:16,080 Speaker 1: record in twenty seventeen. It was the first time in 661 00:38:17,400 --> 00:38:21,920 Speaker 1: eight years, You've done something nine years? Yeah, and did 662 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,000 Speaker 1: you come? Did you? Did you put something out again? 663 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:25,960 Speaker 1: Because you started feeling like maybe things. I finally caught 664 00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:28,440 Speaker 1: up to what I was doing. Well. I after I 665 00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:32,520 Speaker 1: did Hipstone Live for Shakira. I mean that broke every 666 00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:37,040 Speaker 1: record possible to mankind. So a hundred million records were 667 00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:42,480 Speaker 1: for work and once again here we go. My brain 668 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:45,560 Speaker 1: is just different. I was like, I'm not gonna leave 669 00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:52,040 Speaker 1: this earth, and knowing that I got this opportunity through 670 00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:56,399 Speaker 1: the guards and then in the next lifetime they're gonna 671 00:38:56,440 --> 00:39:00,239 Speaker 1: be like, yo, what did you really do with it? Yeah? Yeah, man, 672 00:39:00,239 --> 00:39:02,160 Speaker 1: you know, y'all got me out this village, you know, 673 00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:06,680 Speaker 1: and I doesn't you know, helped everybody out y'all. Y'all 674 00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:08,680 Speaker 1: never heard of Beyonce? Yeah, I gave her a first 675 00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:11,400 Speaker 1: say yeah, you heard of Whitney Houston. They look at 676 00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:13,880 Speaker 1: me like, dog, really, what did you do with your life? 677 00:39:14,200 --> 00:39:16,600 Speaker 1: So at the end of the day, I went back 678 00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:19,440 Speaker 1: to my land. Man, I went back to Haiti, and 679 00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:22,760 Speaker 1: I ran because I wanted to become president of my country. 680 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:29,520 Speaker 1: So I have a very militant side about me, and 681 00:39:29,719 --> 00:39:32,400 Speaker 1: it's the realest side when it comes to ye cleft 682 00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:36,200 Speaker 1: like Barb Marley, it's real for me. So if anybody 683 00:39:36,239 --> 00:39:39,600 Speaker 1: go online, I mean you could see from assassination plot 684 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:42,719 Speaker 1: to on down, it's real where I come from. But 685 00:39:43,239 --> 00:39:47,880 Speaker 1: the idea of a guy saying, you know, I'm gonna 686 00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:53,239 Speaker 1: go back to my country, you could see, like when 687 00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:55,960 Speaker 1: you leave in the space of music, in the politics, 688 00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:58,240 Speaker 1: how vicious it gets. You know what I'm saying to you. 689 00:39:58,239 --> 00:40:01,120 Speaker 1: You go from being loved overnight, they just turned you 690 00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:03,440 Speaker 1: into a minute you know, if you notice they just 691 00:40:03,600 --> 00:40:06,880 Speaker 1: parted Marcus Garvey, you know what I'm saying to you, 692 00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:09,640 Speaker 1: after they'd done set up and framed up so many 693 00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:11,920 Speaker 1: of us, you know. So I felt like I was 694 00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:15,320 Speaker 1: a patsy caught up in a biggest situation in Haiti 695 00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:20,000 Speaker 1: where real people was trying to steal billions and billions 696 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:22,319 Speaker 1: of dollars. And now when you look back at it, 697 00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:24,960 Speaker 1: where did all that money really go to? So at 698 00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:27,719 Speaker 1: the end of the day, I ran for president because 699 00:40:27,719 --> 00:40:30,239 Speaker 1: I wanted to change all that. They took me out 700 00:40:30,280 --> 00:40:33,520 Speaker 1: the race. I made my man become the president and 701 00:40:33,560 --> 00:40:36,239 Speaker 1: then after that, I left the country and I went 702 00:40:36,280 --> 00:40:38,760 Speaker 1: to Sweden, and I was spending time with a VICI 703 00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:42,399 Speaker 1: and and me and a Vici'd be like, yo, why 704 00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:43,960 Speaker 1: did you go to Sweden. I'm like, Yo, that's just 705 00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:47,000 Speaker 1: one of them places I just feel good at. And 706 00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:50,320 Speaker 1: then our children, and I was just getting my mind 707 00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:54,520 Speaker 1: back because the music had changed. It went from hardware 708 00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:57,600 Speaker 1: to software. So I liked the record Wake Me Up, 709 00:40:57,640 --> 00:40:59,359 Speaker 1: and I like what Tim was doing. So I went 710 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:01,560 Speaker 1: and spent some time time and when I got back 711 00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:04,520 Speaker 1: there was a small label called Heads Music, or all 712 00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:08,279 Speaker 1: female label. That's the CEO right there, Madeline Nelson. I 713 00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:12,799 Speaker 1: loved what they was doing with artist development because it 714 00:41:12,840 --> 00:41:17,839 Speaker 1: looked like there wasn't chasing the check right because as 715 00:41:17,880 --> 00:41:24,719 Speaker 1: a producer, think as a football coach, right, like, you 716 00:41:24,719 --> 00:41:27,040 Speaker 1: could be a great coach, but when the players are 717 00:41:27,040 --> 00:41:31,320 Speaker 1: in rhythm, that's a different kind of game. So every 718 00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:35,040 Speaker 1: great coach with rings for them to get excited, you 719 00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:37,520 Speaker 1: have to get these players with rhythm. So when I 720 00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:39,920 Speaker 1: saw what Heads was doing, and then you know, they came. 721 00:41:40,080 --> 00:41:43,960 Speaker 1: She came and was like, yo, Cleff, we want you 722 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:46,960 Speaker 1: to partner up with our label and we want you 723 00:41:47,120 --> 00:41:49,920 Speaker 1: to do the same thing you did for Lauren, for Beyonce, 724 00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:53,600 Speaker 1: for all of them. But we have a slew of 725 00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:57,879 Speaker 1: kids that arranged from eighteen to like twenty five, twenty six. 726 00:41:58,560 --> 00:42:02,480 Speaker 1: I was like, you'll bring them in, and these kids 727 00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:05,720 Speaker 1: just gave me that energy. And of course it's natural. 728 00:42:06,160 --> 00:42:09,200 Speaker 1: Quincy Jones ain't do Michael Jackson until he was fifty four. 729 00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:12,200 Speaker 1: I'm forty nine, So all I could do is tell 730 00:42:12,239 --> 00:42:15,360 Speaker 1: you that I'm just getting started. So when I came back, 731 00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:21,200 Speaker 1: the first record I did right coming back was a 732 00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:26,160 Speaker 1: record called Hendricks Record. Man. It was a tribute to Hendricks. 733 00:42:26,280 --> 00:42:28,520 Speaker 1: And then I wanted to tell myself, was that a 734 00:42:28,520 --> 00:42:31,480 Speaker 1: big influence? Like yeah, Jimmy Hendricks was a big influence, 735 00:42:31,520 --> 00:42:34,919 Speaker 1: like hey Joe and all of that coming up. So 736 00:42:35,440 --> 00:42:37,640 Speaker 1: the record when I said, yo, when my cousin got 737 00:42:37,640 --> 00:42:40,360 Speaker 1: his first tech, I was playing Jimmy Hendricks in the basement. 738 00:42:40,640 --> 00:42:44,200 Speaker 1: So I wanted to reintroduce myself right to now a 739 00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:49,680 Speaker 1: kid that was nineteen that is in that frequency. And 740 00:42:49,800 --> 00:42:55,160 Speaker 1: then it's so crazy because that record literally reinvented me 741 00:42:55,239 --> 00:42:58,040 Speaker 1: to like the kids kids, you know, and to them, 742 00:42:58,080 --> 00:42:59,640 Speaker 1: they was like yo. Then they went back and listen 743 00:42:59,680 --> 00:43:01,600 Speaker 1: to gone to November. What was he talking about and 744 00:43:01,640 --> 00:43:05,840 Speaker 1: all of that. So once again, I don't do music 745 00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:08,319 Speaker 1: just because I want to do music. I don't know 746 00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:12,040 Speaker 1: what that is. I gotta feel it. So I felt 747 00:43:12,080 --> 00:43:16,480 Speaker 1: it and I got the bug back. So with this 748 00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:20,319 Speaker 1: new project that I'm putting out, the new epiphanies that 749 00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:22,480 Speaker 1: I have, White Cleff goes back to White Cleff goes 750 00:43:22,520 --> 00:43:26,120 Speaker 1: back to school. So when you hear Value one, like 751 00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:29,560 Speaker 1: the first record we have put out was Bye Bye 752 00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:33,000 Speaker 1: and then Bye, there's a poet that comes at the end. 753 00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:36,160 Speaker 1: He goes to NYU And I put this right after 754 00:43:36,200 --> 00:43:39,480 Speaker 1: I did my DNA test. Hold on, we should say 755 00:43:39,480 --> 00:43:42,080 Speaker 1: though real quick. I mean, so, White Cleff goes back 756 00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:44,600 Speaker 1: to school. So when you put out the last record, 757 00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:47,600 Speaker 1: the Carnival three twenty seventeen, you went around to different 758 00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:51,520 Speaker 1: schools to talk to I guess as you saying, reintroduce 759 00:43:51,560 --> 00:43:55,040 Speaker 1: yourself to young folks, college age kids, the young artists 760 00:43:55,560 --> 00:43:58,360 Speaker 1: and and and you started collaborating with some of these kids, 761 00:43:58,400 --> 00:44:01,960 Speaker 1: collaborating with them and made a record with like I 762 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:03,760 Speaker 1: don't know how dinfferent kids with it's like what fifteen 763 00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:07,280 Speaker 1: tracks on them. Yeah. Yeah, the tour was going great success, 764 00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:09,359 Speaker 1: but I was like, Yo, we need to go into 765 00:44:09,440 --> 00:44:12,319 Speaker 1: the schools. I want to do like this Battle of 766 00:44:12,360 --> 00:44:16,879 Speaker 1: the Bands, but with no no reality show, no TV, no, 767 00:44:17,040 --> 00:44:20,520 Speaker 1: just let's do it with the music programs and let 768 00:44:20,520 --> 00:44:23,120 Speaker 1: me just see the kids. Like when I was in 769 00:44:23,200 --> 00:44:26,240 Speaker 1: college and I was in the dorm informed a little 770 00:44:26,239 --> 00:44:27,839 Speaker 1: band and came out. I was like, this is where 771 00:44:27,840 --> 00:44:30,600 Speaker 1: the magic's gonna come. So I was just looking for 772 00:44:30,640 --> 00:44:35,879 Speaker 1: the talent and from there as a producer, now what 773 00:44:35,920 --> 00:44:39,359 Speaker 1: I'm doing is now when you listen to Wild Clef 774 00:44:39,480 --> 00:44:44,680 Speaker 1: Goes Back to School, you might everybody you hear on there, 775 00:44:45,239 --> 00:44:49,279 Speaker 1: You're gonna be like, is this nah that ain't a dell? 776 00:44:49,840 --> 00:44:51,640 Speaker 1: Who is it? You know what I'm saying to you? 777 00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:54,000 Speaker 1: Literally gonna be You're gonna be like, yo, it's this 778 00:44:54,080 --> 00:44:58,719 Speaker 1: most nah that ain't most deafl you know it's And 779 00:44:58,760 --> 00:45:02,120 Speaker 1: then you're gonna have these moments all the time. And 780 00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:06,120 Speaker 1: those are the moments that as a producer that I 781 00:45:06,200 --> 00:45:09,960 Speaker 1: love best. Now let's go to the score. Seventy percent 782 00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:13,000 Speaker 1: of the people on the score blew up from the score. 783 00:45:13,160 --> 00:45:17,000 Speaker 1: Nobody knew who they were. The outsiders, A con was 784 00:45:17,040 --> 00:45:21,560 Speaker 1: on the score. Omega goes on and on. So why 785 00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:26,360 Speaker 1: Cleff goes back to school. I'm bringing you my curation 786 00:45:27,160 --> 00:45:29,640 Speaker 1: of the future. So at the end of the day, 787 00:45:30,160 --> 00:45:33,520 Speaker 1: I want when people listen to this, if you remember 788 00:45:33,560 --> 00:45:39,120 Speaker 1: who Ericabadou was, Piers a twenty year old. She's twenty 789 00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:44,440 Speaker 1: years old, but she sounds like Ericabadou. She ain't trying 790 00:45:44,440 --> 00:45:47,799 Speaker 1: to be Ericabado, but she was influenced by Ericabadou the 791 00:45:47,880 --> 00:45:50,880 Speaker 1: same way they say, I sound like Barb Marley. I 792 00:45:50,920 --> 00:45:54,399 Speaker 1: ain't ever meet Barb Marley, but I was influenced by 793 00:45:54,440 --> 00:45:56,759 Speaker 1: Barb Marley. And how did it work with most of 794 00:45:56,760 --> 00:45:58,560 Speaker 1: the kids. It wasn't like you wrote a track that 795 00:45:58,560 --> 00:46:01,040 Speaker 1: they kind of added to. Did they write the true 796 00:46:01,040 --> 00:46:03,200 Speaker 1: I mean? Or was it? Was it like a true collaboration? 797 00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:07,680 Speaker 1: You sit down and yeah, I did it the same 798 00:46:07,719 --> 00:46:11,200 Speaker 1: way I produced everyone else. Mary Jay Whitney, you I 799 00:46:11,239 --> 00:46:15,520 Speaker 1: didn't approach it different. So I have a vision, I 800 00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:20,480 Speaker 1: have a song, and let's talk about something. You have chords, 801 00:46:20,480 --> 00:46:22,279 Speaker 1: and yeah, I have chords, I have a beat. I 802 00:46:22,280 --> 00:46:25,160 Speaker 1: have a So we could take one song here. Let's 803 00:46:25,200 --> 00:46:29,520 Speaker 1: do a song called Faded Butterfly. The topics Faded Butterfly, 804 00:46:29,719 --> 00:46:33,120 Speaker 1: get the guitar, catch a vibe so faded. Butterfly is 805 00:46:33,160 --> 00:46:35,680 Speaker 1: just she ods, you know what I'm saying. So, how 806 00:46:35,680 --> 00:46:38,560 Speaker 1: are we gonna write the perspective of she just had 807 00:46:38,600 --> 00:46:40,319 Speaker 1: too much of the lean and she had to go, 808 00:46:40,520 --> 00:46:42,799 Speaker 1: you know what I mean? And then so what does 809 00:46:42,840 --> 00:46:45,799 Speaker 1: the party night feel like that night in college? You know? 810 00:46:46,400 --> 00:46:52,880 Speaker 1: So I ain't gonna write that verse He or she 811 00:46:53,080 --> 00:46:56,000 Speaker 1: knows what they want to say. It's them, you see 812 00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:58,279 Speaker 1: what I'm saying. Now, I'm going to paint this this 813 00:46:58,520 --> 00:47:01,439 Speaker 1: sonics picture around it to make you want to play 814 00:47:01,520 --> 00:47:05,319 Speaker 1: over and over again. So for me, I come up 815 00:47:05,320 --> 00:47:08,680 Speaker 1: with the vibes, but it's so ill. The most interesting 816 00:47:08,719 --> 00:47:11,080 Speaker 1: thing about why Cleft goes back to School is if 817 00:47:11,080 --> 00:47:14,560 Speaker 1: I do a beat, I put a hook and I 818 00:47:14,719 --> 00:47:19,160 Speaker 1: say send back sixteen bars. Yo. Man, the stuff the 819 00:47:19,280 --> 00:47:24,120 Speaker 1: kids are saying, bra, it's almost like a completely new language. 820 00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:25,920 Speaker 1: But are you writing it the same way as you 821 00:47:25,960 --> 00:47:29,360 Speaker 1: would before? I mean, are you? So? The whole idea 822 00:47:29,440 --> 00:47:34,160 Speaker 1: with this I wanted to be like electronics, software driven 823 00:47:34,960 --> 00:47:37,759 Speaker 1: against the acoustic. So what I did was I was 824 00:47:38,600 --> 00:47:42,800 Speaker 1: experimenting with a lot of software, a lot of software plugins. 825 00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:45,040 Speaker 1: Do that, you see what I'm saying? Because I wanted 826 00:47:45,080 --> 00:47:48,000 Speaker 1: it to be about the why Cleft goes back to school. 827 00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:51,000 Speaker 1: This is what I've learned. Each track you could see 828 00:47:51,040 --> 00:47:53,080 Speaker 1: what I've learned and where we're taking it, you know, 829 00:47:53,160 --> 00:47:59,960 Speaker 1: and then with each student. You know. But the guitar 830 00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:03,359 Speaker 1: our record, though you know it's coming, do you want 831 00:48:03,360 --> 00:48:04,920 Speaker 1: to you want to try to play some of some 832 00:48:05,000 --> 00:48:11,799 Speaker 1: of it? Like I always say, man so so if 833 00:48:11,840 --> 00:48:14,840 Speaker 1: anybody didn't get the so White Cleft goes back to school, 834 00:48:15,400 --> 00:48:17,040 Speaker 1: I would just show up at the school and I 835 00:48:17,360 --> 00:48:18,920 Speaker 1: catch a vibe with the kids. You know what I'm 836 00:48:18,920 --> 00:48:24,120 Speaker 1: saying to you. Donald Trump, he won the COMPETI shun, 837 00:48:26,080 --> 00:48:31,560 Speaker 1: Hilary Clinton. She put up a compete, T shun. I 838 00:48:31,800 --> 00:48:35,319 Speaker 1: was smoking weed with Bernie Sanders. He should have one. 839 00:48:35,440 --> 00:48:39,759 Speaker 1: Need compete, t shun. Y'all should have voted for me. Yeah, 840 00:48:41,560 --> 00:48:48,320 Speaker 1: vote for me. Yeah, White Cleft for president. Oh high 841 00:48:48,480 --> 00:48:53,520 Speaker 1: word to Day Chappelle. If I was president, I'll get 842 00:48:53,600 --> 00:48:58,520 Speaker 1: elected on Friday. Assassin Day did don't shut the day 843 00:49:00,080 --> 00:49:06,960 Speaker 1: every dawn Sunday. Then on Monday, everybody goes back to 844 00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:14,359 Speaker 1: working like nothing happened. It's just an ordered every day. 845 00:49:15,680 --> 00:49:17,759 Speaker 1: But I could be the president, and then you could 846 00:49:17,760 --> 00:49:20,160 Speaker 1: be the president and then she could be the president. 847 00:49:21,120 --> 00:49:27,520 Speaker 1: If I was presidentee, if I go, who's the preside? Yeah, 848 00:49:28,760 --> 00:49:32,719 Speaker 1: A man say he gonna build the wall, have Mexico 849 00:49:33,040 --> 00:49:37,320 Speaker 1: pay for it. All. I called up my Mexican friends. 850 00:49:37,880 --> 00:49:40,359 Speaker 1: They said, white cleft, we ain't gonna pay for ship. 851 00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:46,800 Speaker 1: There's a riot every week and the people on the street, 852 00:49:47,960 --> 00:49:50,960 Speaker 1: everyone is living on the edge. You could be the 853 00:49:51,120 --> 00:49:57,319 Speaker 1: next If I was presidentee, I'll get elected on Friday. 854 00:49:58,239 --> 00:50:03,400 Speaker 1: That's that's a nigga. Shut the day every dawn Sunday. 855 00:50:05,160 --> 00:50:12,640 Speaker 1: Then on mondayybody going back to working like nothing happening. 856 00:50:14,120 --> 00:50:18,680 Speaker 1: It's just in all and every day. Vote for me. Yeah, 857 00:50:18,800 --> 00:50:24,319 Speaker 1: I vote for me. Yeah, white cleft up president day. 858 00:50:27,239 --> 00:50:30,520 Speaker 1: So what I'm excited about is that I could just 859 00:50:30,760 --> 00:50:33,239 Speaker 1: be cleft, you know what I'm saying to you, and 860 00:50:34,160 --> 00:50:37,040 Speaker 1: I could absorb a lot of that material. It's almost 861 00:50:37,120 --> 00:50:40,239 Speaker 1: like when you open arms, you get so much materials. 862 00:50:40,360 --> 00:50:43,640 Speaker 1: So in the next three to four years, I know 863 00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:49,600 Speaker 1: exactly where I'm going. And it's like the truth reinvention 864 00:50:49,840 --> 00:50:53,279 Speaker 1: I learned it's from Michael Jackson, is not about you 865 00:50:53,400 --> 00:50:57,239 Speaker 1: reinvent yourself. You can't when people be like yo, they 866 00:50:57,360 --> 00:51:01,279 Speaker 1: reinvented themselves. No, the general ration has to reinvent you. 867 00:51:02,239 --> 00:51:04,320 Speaker 1: And in order for them to reinvent you, they have 868 00:51:04,480 --> 00:51:05,960 Speaker 1: to feel you, and they got to just feel like 869 00:51:06,040 --> 00:51:08,680 Speaker 1: you come in like raw, like this is who I am, 870 00:51:08,800 --> 00:51:11,279 Speaker 1: Like I'm not trying to be. You accept me for 871 00:51:11,320 --> 00:51:13,480 Speaker 1: who I am, you know what I mean. So that's 872 00:51:13,520 --> 00:51:18,239 Speaker 1: the kind of love. That's why I'm excited. Man. Thanks 873 00:51:18,280 --> 00:51:20,120 Speaker 1: to Watch with John for coming through Broken Record. We 874 00:51:20,200 --> 00:51:22,840 Speaker 1: really appreciate it. Man, Here's a lot going on, including 875 00:51:22,840 --> 00:51:25,560 Speaker 1: an animated series based on his childhood and Haiti coming 876 00:51:25,600 --> 00:51:28,719 Speaker 1: to Netflix soon. Follow him on Twitter at wyclef to 877 00:51:28,760 --> 00:51:30,920 Speaker 1: stay up to date, and you can check out some 878 00:51:31,000 --> 00:51:32,720 Speaker 1: of this music that we put together in a playlist 879 00:51:32,800 --> 00:51:35,799 Speaker 1: at broken Record podcast dot com. And while you're there, 880 00:51:35,880 --> 00:51:39,279 Speaker 1: sign up for a behind the scenes newsletter. Broken Record 881 00:51:39,400 --> 00:51:41,680 Speaker 1: is produced with help from Jason Gambrell and Mea Lobelle. 882 00:51:41,800 --> 00:51:44,120 Speaker 1: Our theme music is like Kenny Beats. Stay tuned for 883 00:51:44,200 --> 00:51:53,200 Speaker 1: next week's episode with Rex Orange County Court a vibe. Man, 884 00:51:53,920 --> 00:51:56,120 Speaker 1: you sure y'all recorded this? I just felt like I 885 00:51:56,200 --> 00:51:57,880 Speaker 1: was having a conversation with my cousin