Speaker 1: And money. Well than take vala. We are at all
Speaker 1: things R and B ladies and gentleman. What's going on?
Speaker 1: I am Tank Valentine and this Yeah this the RVY
Speaker 1: Money podcast, baby a glory on all things all, all
Speaker 1: of it, R and B y Yeah, oh man, yeah
Speaker 1: this is rare organic. Yeah, alcalin, alcalin R and B.
Speaker 1: You you getting your fruits and badges? Yeah, you getting
Speaker 1: your fruits and your waters you got Yeah. Very few
Speaker 1: people go from child star, child superstar. You're grown man,
Speaker 1: growing superstar. And this man has done it in all sectors, uh, TV,
Speaker 1: film and music. Ladies and gentlemen, our brother our friends.
Speaker 1: I loved one, Mr Marri Valentine. Thank you for having me,
Speaker 1: Thank you for having me yourself. Man. All is well,
Speaker 1: All is well, and in alignment. Yeah yeah, you're using words. Listen,
Speaker 1: I want to do I want to do a little
Speaker 1: promoting off the top. Let's promote off the top of book. Yes, unbothered. Yes,
Speaker 1: the power of choosing enjoy, the power of choosing joy
Speaker 1: out right now. Yes, indeed, just give me give me
Speaker 1: a couple of bars on that man, how did you
Speaker 1: just what? What what made you take this road? And
Speaker 1: upon completion. How do you feel with all of this,
Speaker 1: have all this good stuff happening around this book? Yeah?
Speaker 1: So you know, UM, my experience you know, with love uh,
Speaker 1: in certain instances have been very public, you know. Um,
Speaker 1: so my life truly inspired this book. You know. Um,
Speaker 1: there is real power and you know, not allowing outside
Speaker 1: forces to you know, cripple your mindset and your perspective. Um.
Speaker 1: Hence the you know drop title Choosing Joy and UM,
Speaker 1: you know, the fans dubbed me unbothered Mr Unbothered. You know,
Speaker 1: they gave me that name, they gave me that title,
Speaker 1: but it truly, uh, you know, gave a name to
Speaker 1: a posture that I felt like I've been holding my
Speaker 1: whole life, you know what I mean. So, UM, it's
Speaker 1: journal prompts in there, it's meditation, it's um affirmation. UM,
Speaker 1: I'm really speaking from my personal experience and going through
Speaker 1: this business and sharing the importance of you know, being
Speaker 1: the master of your destiny, you know, UM, choosing you
Speaker 1: know what's best for you. And because I went through
Speaker 1: the things that I went through, you know, which was
Speaker 1: pretty intense, seeing the value of being able to step
Speaker 1: back and um not allow you know, people to control
Speaker 1: my behavior is a powerful thing, you know. Um. I
Speaker 1: feel like the culture really needs, you know, um, some
Speaker 1: focus on emotional intelligence. You know, we all speak about
Speaker 1: mental health, but it really truly starts with one step,
Speaker 1: you know, and that's you deciding, you know, um to
Speaker 1: be where you will value to be, where you are appreciated,
Speaker 1: UM to you know, um uh be unbothered. Yeah, there
Speaker 1: goes a few bars for your tank. I think that
Speaker 1: My brother Window used to tell me, don't let nobody
Speaker 1: put your emotion. Mm hmmm. Don't let nothing or nobody
Speaker 1: right put you in emotion. And in the beginning, it
Speaker 1: started with you know, oh he's promoted to saying we
Speaker 1: gotta or the people at the radio saying we gotta
Speaker 1: said no, no, we'll move when it's time to move.
Speaker 1: We don't have to react. Well, well, we'll let them
Speaker 1: do what they're gonna do, and then we'll figure out
Speaker 1: what we're gonna do. And then that's what we'll do,
Speaker 1: not based on anything that's going on around us. But
Speaker 1: when when you adopt it into your into your spirit,
Speaker 1: into your everyday movements, it's like the choices you make
Speaker 1: UM dictate how you live your life. You know what
Speaker 1: I mean, so the choice that the underlying choosing joy
Speaker 1: is a real choice that you have to make, you
Speaker 1: have to want to make. They always called me the
Speaker 1: glass half full, because that's how I choose to see
Speaker 1: everything right. There is a reason for this, and within
Speaker 1: this there's growth. There's going to be learning that understand
Speaker 1: something in here for me, even if it's only one
Speaker 1: little thing, I want to grab onto that and make
Speaker 1: that the reason why I'm experiencing whatever this is. So, man,
Speaker 1: I applaud you, Thank you, man, I applaud you, thank you.
Speaker 1: You've seen the congratulations. Yeah. Um, hair your hair, yeah hair,
Speaker 1: it's nice that you just did you for the pot? No? No, no, actually, um, yesterday,
Speaker 1: Um I was on a Black Lady Sketch comedy show.
Speaker 1: Yeah I just did that. Yeah, ball man, aren't they ball? Ye?
Speaker 1: Don't don't? Yeah? Yeah, did you go crazy? No? Of course.
Speaker 1: You know, when you get to be yourself, people don't
Speaker 1: get you. Were get an opportunity in that space, and
Speaker 1: I think I think those ladies for that where we
Speaker 1: get to just change that fun straight up shout out
Speaker 1: to Robbin, Yeah, Scott Robin is we just get to
Speaker 1: let our hair down. Gabrielle get let our hair down
Speaker 1: to have I mean, you let your here there, I'm
Speaker 1: working on mine. I'm growing. I'm growing. It's some stuff
Speaker 1: under here. I don't think. I don't think I ain't
Speaker 1: got you know what I'm saying. I don't think I
Speaker 1: ain't wavy. But all right, so listen, we've known you win.
Speaker 1: But you know, we always treated as if there's somebody
Speaker 1: watching for the first time, straight up, and they want
Speaker 1: to know where did o'marion come from? Where? When was
Speaker 1: the first time somebody said that boy good? When was
Speaker 1: the first time you said in your mind, oh, ship,
Speaker 1: I got something? Yeah, take us back to Inglewood, take
Speaker 1: us back to the woods. Well, well, you know what,
Speaker 1: you know, Inglewood was a special place. And you know,
Speaker 1: when you're from California, you know, back then, gangs didn't
Speaker 1: look like what they look like now, you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying, like gang gang. It didn't look like that.
Speaker 1: It looked like brotherhood. It looked like being accepted in
Speaker 1: the neighborhood. You know, uh, you know, elders or o
Speaker 1: g s looking after you, you know what I mean. Um,
Speaker 1: so I was just an inner city kid, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean? That love to you know, um, discover things.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. Um, I went to the
Speaker 1: Boys and Girls Club, you know. Um, I would say
Speaker 1: it started for me at UM this um this fine
Speaker 1: art school called LAFA That's where I went to. And
Speaker 1: when I went to Lafa UM for the summer program,
Speaker 1: every day we did something different. You know. We did
Speaker 1: like seven or eight different dance styles. Uh, singing was
Speaker 1: a part of it as well. But that's when I
Speaker 1: booked my first quote unquote gig as a performer, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. Um, I came in the game community. No,
Speaker 1: actually through audition that was happening at the dance studio
Speaker 1: I was at, Yeah, and that's actually where I met
Speaker 1: Ro Road for the first time to you know what
Speaker 1: I mean, on this audition a Road Cliff Um and
Speaker 1: Ed Moore. You know what I'm saying. So before you know,
Speaker 1: I came even into my artistry. You know, I was
Speaker 1: very much just you know, an inner city you know
Speaker 1: kid that just you know, had the biggest mole and
Speaker 1: you know, would try anything. You know what I'm saying. Um,
Speaker 1: that's when I Um, I was thirteen, I booked my
Speaker 1: first commercial, you know what I mean, My Pops commercial,
Speaker 1: which Uh was shot at Dorsey, which is the high
Speaker 1: school my mom went to. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1: When you're from l A, you know, it's it's a
Speaker 1: lot of places, but it's real small too, you know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying. So, um, my mom actually was a
Speaker 1: hair stylus and she worked at a lot of the
Speaker 1: prominent Um you know, she worked at Millennium. She used
Speaker 1: to work at this other shop on Hollywood and Vine
Speaker 1: called Afros of Hollywood. Um so yeah, man, I was
Speaker 1: just an inner city kid, and you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: I just you know, after my pop commercial, you know,
Speaker 1: I got into B two K. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: And okay, so so at the time, um, one of
Speaker 1: the managers was married to my play aunt. So my
Speaker 1: plate on invited me to a New Year's party and
Speaker 1: of course, you know everybody was there. You know this
Speaker 1: house on Cold Facts actually, um right here in the
Speaker 1: valley and everybody would be there is Actually before B
Speaker 1: two K even became who we were, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. We're performed for Destiny Child. Destiny Child is
Speaker 1: to come through Black used to come through seven oh two.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. All of the girls, Yeah,
Speaker 1: before you finished for the white people, Can you explain
Speaker 1: to them with a plate? Okay, I know what you mean.
Speaker 1: I would like for you to explain to them what
Speaker 1: you know your mama home. Let me break it down.
Speaker 1: Let me break it down. So my play on, um
Speaker 1: was actually okay, well I have to take it back
Speaker 1: because my nana, which would be my grandmother, was cool
Speaker 1: with her mother, and you know, they used to run
Speaker 1: this hair salon back in the day right off of Crenshaw. So, um,
Speaker 1: that's how my play on. You know, and my mom
Speaker 1: they were around the same age, so they essentially grew
Speaker 1: up together. So you know, my mom had me at sixteen,
Speaker 1: so she was like a child having a child, So
Speaker 1: they grew up together. I grew up with him. So
Speaker 1: that's how that's my play on. She's not literally blood,
Speaker 1: but you know, she grew up with my mom, so
Speaker 1: that's the play on. It's important. I mean, I could
Speaker 1: start so far back, you know, with this, but really,
Speaker 1: you know, um, the highlight is is that you know,
Speaker 1: I was just one of those type of kids that
Speaker 1: was excited about life. You know, I had no fear virtually,
Speaker 1: I could go anywhere I wanted to go, and you know,
Speaker 1: I wanted to entertain. I wanted to be seen from
Speaker 1: Um jump that you that you just can remember that
Speaker 1: you were just that kid that like I was dancing
Speaker 1: for people when you when you kid that literally, oh
Speaker 1: come downstairs and do the flip. I was that kid.
Speaker 1: And also, um yeah, I was that kid. Oh do
Speaker 1: that dance? Shut up? Oh MARII you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: I was just I had so much energy, so you know,
Speaker 1: it was just bound to happen. And also too, because
Speaker 1: my mom was a hairstylar. She used to uh do
Speaker 1: God's Properties hair. She just a lot of people in yeah,
Speaker 1: in the industry hair. So I would be around that,
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. Um, so yeah, I was
Speaker 1: always like entertaining. I grew up in the entertainment business.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. Shout out to your mom.
Speaker 1: Shout out for really giving you your first platform and
Speaker 1: believing in it because a lot of times people's parents
Speaker 1: they don't and this is something that that happens that
Speaker 1: people don't speak about a lot. A lot of entertainers
Speaker 1: were annoying kids like let's just be real, wait a minute,
Speaker 1: that's that's a hilarious true. So when yeah, that's facts
Speaker 1: work shut that, shut that, shut up. Yeah, yeah, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. So so when I'm paring you,
Speaker 1: he's saying they' worked to make no money, ain't right?
Speaker 1: All these singing, all these damn songs. They're making no money.
Speaker 1: But but shout out to the parents though, for real,
Speaker 1: that that let the kids be creative? Yeah and make noise. Yeah,
Speaker 1: yeah for the neighbors tolerated, ain't tolerated? You know what?
Speaker 1: Because that it's a lot of people's dreams that get
Speaker 1: shut down. That's true because sometimes the parents are the
Speaker 1: surroundings may not even understanding exactly like a lot of
Speaker 1: us are just as bad ass kid that won't shut
Speaker 1: up when in actuality, this is a kid that could
Speaker 1: grow to change lives and and and again back to
Speaker 1: this first generation thing. It's like my parents looking at me,
Speaker 1: sit in my room all day and make beats and
Speaker 1: sing and write songs. You know what I mean. It's
Speaker 1: kind of weird and not eat. Yeah, it's weird. It's weird.
Speaker 1: Did you eat to like? You know, I'm gonna eating
Speaker 1: a second? Do you know what time it is? It's
Speaker 1: a p M. You haven't eaten all day? I still have.
Speaker 1: I just move on my wake up clothes. I'm in
Speaker 1: my drawers, right. But I was so consumed with something.
Speaker 1: I didn't know what it was. I don't know what
Speaker 1: to do with it. I just knew that I had
Speaker 1: to make a beat and I had to write a
Speaker 1: song and I had to sing that. That's all I knew. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I was making noise. I had real amps, you know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, like somebody my mother coming in and
Speaker 1: kicking the door. Hey, hey, my nigga. But they got
Speaker 1: you those amps. They bought them for me. So it
Speaker 1: was like it was like listen. They didn't know how
Speaker 1: to support it, but they also knew not to get
Speaker 1: in the way. Right, he's working on something. I don't
Speaker 1: know what he working on. Something didn't let him do
Speaker 1: he go? Now? His kids be creative? Man, you get
Speaker 1: him to be too, k What is that? What is
Speaker 1: that conversation? Like? How does that conversation go? Easy? Moms
Speaker 1: was like, Yo, do you want to be in a
Speaker 1: group or what? Because you know, we was at the
Speaker 1: New Year's um party and you know the other three
Speaker 1: boys they started dancing and I'm like, oh, they like,
Speaker 1: you know, they're doing their choreography, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: And they're like, go ahead, Oh you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: I sing and then I dance and then I hit
Speaker 1: my back flip and they like, back flip. I got
Speaker 1: to hit the backflip. Now, how do you well? You
Speaker 1: know what. I taught myself how to backflip, So I
Speaker 1: want to say, um, I was well in my double
Speaker 1: hand backhands spring vibe, but I was like maybe fourteen
Speaker 1: when I met there. Yeah, fourteen only try to backflip points. No,
Speaker 1: it didn't go with never did it again? Know I'm good. Yeah.
Speaker 1: The front flip though, I can get that, which don't
Speaker 1: mean ship you know what I mean? You know I
Speaker 1: mean it doesn't with no hands, it doesn't mean anything.
Speaker 1: Did you have hands? That's called a dive roll. I'm
Speaker 1: about to show you these these hands in what you're
Speaker 1: doing in my little front flip. Let me come out
Speaker 1: a self taught flippers are damaged individuals. Our bodies are messed.
Speaker 1: Uh yeah. One time I did twenty hands springs in
Speaker 1: the road at Sherman Park on the grass. Oh my lord, going,
Speaker 1: come on, you're still playing for it today? About pick
Speaker 1: your feet? I flipped off of a garage once over
Speaker 1: rotated and landing on my neck. Yeah, I was the
Speaker 1: daredevil too, so if anything, yeah, that was anything. Come
Speaker 1: on like that was that was life though, straight up
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, they got you in the group. It
Speaker 1: just broke his damn neck. You actually stunching my growth.
Speaker 1: Now we're supposed to be six six man. That was real.
Speaker 1: This ship you see this monkey all off the back flip.
Speaker 1: This is out of control. That's crazy. Those pieces six crazy.
Speaker 1: So yeah, now you're in the group. Ye now I'm
Speaker 1: in the group. That's so that's literally your audition. Yeah
Speaker 1: the party, yep, the party, like we got it. We
Speaker 1: got young fellow, we need him. Yep. Come on you
Speaker 1: you want to be in a group. Oh, you want
Speaker 1: to be in a group. And I'm like thinking to myself,
Speaker 1: like Dann, this would be dope. You know. I actually
Speaker 1: was working on, um, you know, some solo stuff. I
Speaker 1: was rapping. I actually did this song called I want
Speaker 1: to be like Puff and I actually got my name
Speaker 1: yeah I want to be like I was rapping. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I started, I started rapping and did you have a wrap? Yeah?
Speaker 1: I actually got my name from I used to be
Speaker 1: in this rap crew with with all adults called the
Speaker 1: Wild Kingdom. And um, there was this dude named Ruckets
Speaker 1: that was in the group and he named me on Marian.
Speaker 1: He was like, your name of Marian. I'm like, oh
Speaker 1: did you what's the science? You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: And Ian king forever. You know what I'm saying, Marian
Speaker 1: came forever. So really it's just going back to your
Speaker 1: rooms at this point, is what you're telling us. Yeah,
Speaker 1: this is where it start, you know what what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: Wait minute, My name wasn't cool. It was just empt hurricane.
Speaker 1: It didn't have the didn't have no kings and queens,
Speaker 1: it didn't have no motherland, no sense of origin, just
Speaker 1: a hurricane. So that's where your name comes from. Yep.
Speaker 1: And then my mom you know, um, the the guy
Speaker 1: that she was with at that time, you know, um,
Speaker 1: he used to like manage producers and stuff like that.
Speaker 1: So early on, you know what I mean, that machines, planning, fat,
Speaker 1: all of that. I was exposed to all that. The planet.
Speaker 1: Come on, think, come on, come on, you know all
Speaker 1: around you as year is this though, Because I'm trying
Speaker 1: to figure out I feel like I met you. I
Speaker 1: met you in ninety. What do you what did you
Speaker 1: do in the group? Did you join the group? It
Speaker 1: was like it was like somewhere around there I met
Speaker 1: you nine. Were you working with Dave Scott? Then we
Speaker 1: played basketball together? Oh wow, I don't remember this. We
Speaker 1: played basketball at a park close to More Park. I think, yeah,
Speaker 1: something like that, because he was telling me that that
Speaker 1: you you were in a group. It was I think
Speaker 1: it was another another somebody else from the groups, like, yeah,
Speaker 1: a dope, I'm working with him, be super dope. And
Speaker 1: I was like, okay, cool, I'm you know, because I
Speaker 1: was just trying to do my artist thing. But I
Speaker 1: was fresh off the tours singing backgrounds with Genuine and
Speaker 1: he was dancing with Genuine and him got rid of club.
Speaker 1: Oh that's crazy. Yeah we played basketball. Wow, that's crazy.
Speaker 1: Before I think it was like a holiday or something
Speaker 1: I was out here for like a Thanksgiving and yeah,
Speaker 1: that's still wow. So now you're the new lead singer, yes,
Speaker 1: the group? And do they have a deal yet? No,
Speaker 1: we don't have a deal. You know, this process up
Speaker 1: leading up to us getting a deal was, you know,
Speaker 1: the schooling in which you know that has been that
Speaker 1: gift that has constantly, you know, give to me, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean, like the drive, like working with
Speaker 1: Dave because you know, I had took some dance classes obviously,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, but I never really worked
Speaker 1: with an individual you know, like Dave, you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying. And he really helped me develop as um
Speaker 1: you know, in that in that space, you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying. So it took like two to two and
Speaker 1: a half three years of us just really being together
Speaker 1: and like, you know, every day, you know, besides us
Speaker 1: being in school. It was like, alright, for the weekend,
Speaker 1: we're going over here, all y'all practice. All right. As
Speaker 1: soon as y'all get up, anybody came through the door,
Speaker 1: was like beach k performed, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: So we really um a lot of work. Yeah, we
Speaker 1: put we we were developed. We were developed, you know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying. So that's it is. It is because
Speaker 1: you guys, you guys, you guys were ready. Yeah. The
Speaker 1: first time I saw you, I was like, yo, yo,
Speaker 1: we did that a gazillion times, you know, like and
Speaker 1: I attribute you know, even my staying power and being
Speaker 1: able to continue to transform our art and having that
Speaker 1: that essence. You know what I mean? That that that
Speaker 1: that eat you know that beginning time for me where
Speaker 1: it was like okay, no, it ain't about getting it perfect,
Speaker 1: It's about doing it over again. Now do it again.
Speaker 1: Now do it again, Now do it again. You know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying. And I feel like you know, um,
Speaker 1: all artists you know have a knack for you know,
Speaker 1: a type of perfection. And you know what I'm saying. Um,
Speaker 1: So yeah, that's what we was doing. Man, we was perfect.
Speaker 1: I mean we went to go see pretty much all
Speaker 1: the labels. You know what I'm saying. We we we've
Speaker 1: seen l a read. I speak about this in my
Speaker 1: book too. You know, um, that experience of you know,
Speaker 1: being denied, of being told no. And then you know
Speaker 1: that last meeting was with you know, DamID Fishing and
Speaker 1: Polly Anthony over at EPIC and it was like, Yo,
Speaker 1: they had that conversation with us like yo, if y'all
Speaker 1: don't get signed, and you know, like we pretty much
Speaker 1: can't help y'all. You know what I mean. So we
Speaker 1: was fourteen fifteen, you know, years old, dealing with all right,
Speaker 1: you know, if y'all if you're gonna make it or
Speaker 1: not you know what I'm saying, or you're gonna do
Speaker 1: the best performance you'll ever had or not. Y'all want
Speaker 1: this deal or not? And obviously we got the deal
Speaker 1: and then that was it. So every other label turned
Speaker 1: you down? Yeah, yeah, every other label. You know, l
Speaker 1: A Read flew us out. You know, that's the first
Speaker 1: time I've ever been to the fourth season I put
Speaker 1: on the road. Yeah yeah, yep, flew us out. We're like, oh,
Speaker 1: we're signed, We're signed. Oh yeah, l A Read. You
Speaker 1: know what was what was the label called at that time?
Speaker 1: The face? Yeah, they was on fire, you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying. We was like, yeah, we're home, and it
Speaker 1: was like no, sir, no sir. Passed on y'all. So
Speaker 1: at fourteen fifteen, how does that feel? How does that
Speaker 1: feel when you feel like you went in front of
Speaker 1: someone and gave your all, gave your best, You didn't
Speaker 1: do like you said, you didn't practice this a gazillion times,
Speaker 1: and you're like, this is my moment, and then you
Speaker 1: get the phone call or after you perform, you see
Speaker 1: the reaction and you're like, oh, I don't think this
Speaker 1: is it? Like what is that feeling like for you?
Speaker 1: For for a fourteen, fifteen year old kid. Well, you
Speaker 1: know it kind of for me at that time, you
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, it kind of just went in
Speaker 1: one air and went out the other, you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying, just because you know, um, I don't think
Speaker 1: that you know, we focused so much on like, you know, failure,
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. Like, you know, we were
Speaker 1: kind of built in the you know space like all right,
Speaker 1: let's you know, dissect this performance. Now, what could y'all
Speaker 1: have done better? You know what I'm saying, Like what
Speaker 1: you know what I mean? So every performance was kind
Speaker 1: of like that. It wasn't like it was the end
Speaker 1: of the world, you know for us a moment. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was just like okay, whoa, Well they didn't want
Speaker 1: to you know, and you know what I'm saying, not
Speaker 1: really realizing or recognizing that, you know, the business was
Speaker 1: gonna be hinged on the people that were representing us,
Speaker 1: not understanding that as a kid, you know what I'm saying, Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, but knowing like, yo, I'm
Speaker 1: coming here to give him of all. So okay, well
Speaker 1: he didn't take us, that's fine. Well we got one
Speaker 1: more meeting, right, all right, cool, well we're about to Yeah,
Speaker 1: we you know, we was jumping on tables. That's really
Speaker 1: how we got signed, you know what I mean. Like
Speaker 1: when we were performing, we was like at you. You
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, We're jumping off this doing it.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. So that's what essentially I
Speaker 1: feel like I got ideal. But to answer your question,
Speaker 1: I think it just felt like, all right, well whatever,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, let's keep it going like
Speaker 1: that's a that's a great mindset. That's a great mindset
Speaker 1: to not let these things knock you down. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: because you just at the end of the day, it's cliche,
Speaker 1: but it's true. You just need one the right Yes, yeah,
Speaker 1: just just one, that one and y'all got that. Yeah, yep.
Speaker 1: And from that point when you guys get signed to Epic,
Speaker 1: how long until the debut album? Well we uh, we
Speaker 1: immediately started getting into recording, so they fast tracted. Yeah
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, They see TC we win
Speaker 1: and got our diamond chains. Yeah yeah, we didn't got
Speaker 1: the diamond chain and we got the locksmith. You know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying. We went to Jacob You see that
Speaker 1: was the first check knew that. Did you know you
Speaker 1: were blowing it? Now? Did you think this was just oh,
Speaker 1: it's just part of the gave of Steve. Now you
Speaker 1: know what you count your money? Yet? Nah? We were kids, man,
Speaker 1: We're just like, oh, we want that. Okay, here you go, Oh,
Speaker 1: y'all want this? Okay, Well I'm gonna get this. And
Speaker 1: then you know, he likell, I'm gonna get this one
Speaker 1: right here. You know what I'm saying. So, you know,
Speaker 1: just having access to that, we wasn't thinking about like,
Speaker 1: hold up, I need this to stretch. Okay, I need this,
Speaker 1: I need it. You know, Yeah, we didn't. We didn't
Speaker 1: know about Yeah, because you think you're coming out tomorrow.
Speaker 1: You think you think I was coming out to you?
Speaker 1: Got this is itching me. I gotta get I gotta
Speaker 1: get out there. I gotta I have to show right.
Speaker 1: I have to let everybody know. Okay, I'm up, I'm up.
Speaker 1: What's good? I need rims and the chain my name
Speaker 1: on it exactly just in case they don't know who
Speaker 1: I am. So, did you go to Fox Hills immediately
Speaker 1: after you get your chain? No? Actually hit them all.
Speaker 1: We were we were in New York. You know what,
Speaker 1: Jacob was my first my first jeweler, you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying. So you know, we was Yeah, we was
Speaker 1: introduced properly and like all right, y'all boys, go over here,
Speaker 1: and now we're gonna get you all in this outfit.
Speaker 1: We're gonna we're gonna put you all up here right here,
Speaker 1: and then y'all gonna do this and then it was
Speaker 1: like heavy lit and it's funny. H Just to give
Speaker 1: you this little nugget, we we I think we were
Speaker 1: staying at the Hudson Downtown, New York and uh, we
Speaker 1: get on the elevator and who's on the elevator. I
Speaker 1: was about to say, ain't l a read? We were hot,
Speaker 1: we most successful group. We get on the elevator. You know,
Speaker 1: he's like, hey, what's up, guys. He was like, hey,
Speaker 1: congratulations man, y'all doing great. And it was like, oh boom,
Speaker 1: and that was a full circle moment for us. So yeah,
Speaker 1: that was that was that was happening back then and
Speaker 1: continues to happen. You know what I'm saying. All Right,
Speaker 1: so let's let's I want to get to I want
Speaker 1: to get to a song. Okay, I want to get
Speaker 1: to I want to get the guys to be. Okay,
Speaker 1: you're just gonna jump over, I don't mind. We can
Speaker 1: go back to bumpump Okay, all right, that was my joy.
Speaker 1: I got to be with my favorite. That's my favorite too,
Speaker 1: got to be come on, as you know, as a
Speaker 1: church kid, as a little Steve, as a you know,
Speaker 1: as a singer and a vibe artist. Yah, gots to
Speaker 1: be was a grown man period. Yeah, I knew you
Speaker 1: were serious when I heard that record, because I actually
Speaker 1: I hadn't met you yet. Yeah, I knew you were
Speaker 1: serious at that point. Is that yeah? Yeah, yeah, for sure,
Speaker 1: for sure, going for the heads, going for the number
Speaker 1: one spot. It was such a record for kids to have,
Speaker 1: but like pandemonia, it felt like pandemonia, but it was like,
Speaker 1: oh yeah, it's it's about to turn all away into
Speaker 1: these It was like, listen, digital boys, these grown women
Speaker 1: ain't gonna be able to contain themselves with the vibrations
Speaker 1: that are connected to this guy's the big record. Right,
Speaker 1: come on, this is a problem. Yeah, was it a problem? Yeah? Yeah, listen, listen, listen.
Speaker 1: I want to manage you and that's what come on? Yeah, yea,
Speaker 1: I want to manage you hear me? Yeah, yeah, that's facts,
Speaker 1: that's fact. And we was talking that talk and we
Speaker 1: was walking that walk to yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. Listen.
Speaker 1: I was a young I was a young player out
Speaker 1: here at that time, and y'all was definitely the little valance.
Speaker 1: That's what they're doing. Okay, I like like, how was it? Like? Okay,
Speaker 1: we got bump bump ump, great? Going crazy? Um, you
Speaker 1: got going crazy? How is it? Going back to Inglewood?
Speaker 1: How is it? Man? It's so much love, It's so
Speaker 1: much love, you know what I mean? But all y'all
Speaker 1: wasn't from Inglewood though. Everybody from parts of l a
Speaker 1: um yep, different parts of l a Um No, but
Speaker 1: everybody well not l A. You know, um songs from Compton,
Speaker 1: something from West l A. And then yeah, I guess
Speaker 1: you could say l A. But yeah, going back to Inglewood, man,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean? Because you know, I was
Speaker 1: definitely tied to the soil on like my best friend,
Speaker 1: you know, steal in Inglewood, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: So I would be there all the time until until
Speaker 1: I realized, wait a minute, I'm sitting out here on
Speaker 1: the porch. I need to go back in the house.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, because um, you know there
Speaker 1: was a time you know what I mean, Uh, when
Speaker 1: when l A has just got real violent, you know
Speaker 1: as far as the game culture goes, you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying. So I was going back, but I wasn't,
Speaker 1: you know, like processing that's like, yo, you know, you
Speaker 1: got some shows in a couple of weeks, right and
Speaker 1: you know anybody could come over here and start shooting
Speaker 1: right now. But you know what though, when you grow up, yeah,
Speaker 1: in that element, it takes a minute. It's hard to
Speaker 1: process that you're what you're what you're really growing up in.
Speaker 1: These are the same streets out and ran up in
Speaker 1: the tag and flipped off of that's and they were
Speaker 1: at an age where friends start going different ways like
Speaker 1: that's that that teenage fourteen thirteen, fourteen fifteen is when
Speaker 1: your homeboy. When y'all was tending eleven, y'all was just homies.
Speaker 1: Now he's from a different side of the street, are
Speaker 1: from another block block away, and now in in l A,
Speaker 1: y'all have a whole another culture with the colors what
Speaker 1: I'm saying of like and people don't like most people
Speaker 1: don't realize, like you went to school with Nip. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: high school Joe Pottner growing up, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: So I'm sure he's probably seen and you early on like, yo, damn,
Speaker 1: that's my homie as he jumping off the porch. Though,
Speaker 1: that's facts, that's facts, that's facts, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: So it's just like you're saying, like that experience for
Speaker 1: you being at home, where you seeing you fifteen, sixteen whatever.
Speaker 1: At that point you're like, damn, the homies is really
Speaker 1: out here, active, straight up, straight up and from different sizes. Now,
Speaker 1: that's facts, that's facts. You can't even pick a side.
Speaker 1: You're like, yeah, I might just have to get out
Speaker 1: of here. Yeah, I mean, it definitely was fun though,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. Pulling up you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying. All my whips in the hood, they're like, whoa,
Speaker 1: what is this? You have to do that? What is that?
Speaker 1: I'm like, come on, we out, you know, Yeah, that's
Speaker 1: the first whip. What's the first? What's the first? My
Speaker 1: first whip? I bought myself c O five hundred three TVs.
Speaker 1: Y'all remember how we used to do it? You know,
Speaker 1: did you go to Global Times? I was I was
Speaker 1: a three ten. I was like, over have full sounds,
Speaker 1: you know, swede headline to come on with the crown
Speaker 1: in the headline. You know what I mean. He swayed
Speaker 1: on the seat, you know, he swayed on the floor.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, eighteen eighteen yeah, eighteen out of control? Yeah
Speaker 1: for real? Playing jay Z. Excuse me? What's your name?
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, shot out to my potting to
Speaker 1: Chris Mills and three one all tis all the whips.
Speaker 1: Chris Mills was the coldest to ever. That's facts. That's
Speaker 1: I've never seen nobody flip cars like him ever. That's facts.
Speaker 1: And he was in a different one every day every day.
Speaker 1: That's facts. That guy brou With just the first guy saw,
Speaker 1: first guy ever saw take off his shoes, his snickers,
Speaker 1: put them in the in the lambow trunk which was
Speaker 1: in the front front, and then put on his house shoes.
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, drive to drive his car. Watch him.
Speaker 1: I was like, that's different. Let's try that. You have
Speaker 1: to team Broney yeah, ce L five man and but
Speaker 1: car has always been a part of my journey. You
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. I don't have so many whips.
Speaker 1: I'm saying cars always whips. You know what I'm saying,
Speaker 1: I don't even gotta have nowhere to live, make all
Speaker 1: I care about. I don't care somebody's gonna let me
Speaker 1: spend a night with You don't know where I'm going
Speaker 1: to that town house? Like yeah, yeah, like trying to
Speaker 1: back am I am? I clothed? Hilarious? Yeah so what Yeah?
Speaker 1: So now with the sixth, with all of the success,
Speaker 1: what is the inspiration or or what in fact makes
Speaker 1: you decide I'm going solo? Is solo before you guys said,
Speaker 1: it's solo a thing that's like in the beginning, right,
Speaker 1: It's solo a thing like let's get these solo projects
Speaker 1: off and then let's get back to business or what
Speaker 1: Solo a thing where I'm like running course? Right? So, um,
Speaker 1: it was like it was two phases from my personal
Speaker 1: perspective and experience, you know. And one was that we
Speaker 1: all were doing separate UM covers for the Pandemonium album,
Speaker 1: and you know, we all kind of felt away, you know,
Speaker 1: different about that. You know what I'm saying, Oh, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna have my cover or you're gonna have your cover,
Speaker 1: or we're all gonna have covers. It's little you know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, Oh, I'm about to go solo. You
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. Um, that was kind of the conversation,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. But it was it was
Speaker 1: all It was all supported, you know, up until the
Speaker 1: time that the group separated. And that was for me.
Speaker 1: It was not initially my plan to be a solo artist,
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, because I was already a
Speaker 1: solo artist. You know what I'm saying. I already was
Speaker 1: developing myself in music, you know what i mean. So
Speaker 1: once I got in the group, it was a conscious
Speaker 1: decision that it was something that it was, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm I'm a part of this is zick. You know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying. Yeah, you know, but right up until
Speaker 1: you know, it was like a lot of the business
Speaker 1: was super convoluted, you know, Um, people had to pick
Speaker 1: size you know. The boys was basically you know, like
Speaker 1: on the other side, you know what i mean. And
Speaker 1: it was like You're coming with us, and I'm like,
Speaker 1: oh I am, and I'm like, okay, well I roll
Speaker 1: with y'all, So I guess I gotta go back with y'all,
Speaker 1: you know what i mean. Literally in the car, you know,
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, um, and then it kind of just
Speaker 1: unfolded from there, you know what I mean. We went
Speaker 1: through a lot of I guess, uh unnecessary you know,
Speaker 1: tumultuous things because it was people in the middle, you know,
Speaker 1: really kind of architecting, you know, are our differences, you
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, and putting putting them against us,
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. So you know, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: and I mean like yo, as soon as as soon
Speaker 1: as as soon it was like, you know, we had
Speaker 1: the situation that separated us. That was pretty much like yo,
Speaker 1: oh was going with us, y'all do whatever y'all want
Speaker 1: to do, you know, which in hindsight, I didn't know
Speaker 1: what created in my city towards me, you know, from them,
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. And then I'm like in
Speaker 1: the studio and then I'm hearing these niggas is on
Speaker 1: you know what i mean, the radio station, and they
Speaker 1: this in me. So now I'm like, y'all niggas, you
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, I'm going again on my ship,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. Um. And that's why you know,
Speaker 1: not to go super fast forward. But that's why the
Speaker 1: millennium tour was so special, you know what I'm saying, um,
Speaker 1: because in hindsight, it was a lot of people in
Speaker 1: the middle of of conversations that you know, we should
Speaker 1: have had, you know what I'm saying, We should you know,
Speaker 1: dealt with you know what I mean. But we were kids,
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, So we didn't know how
Speaker 1: to articulate, like, Yo, what's up? You know what I'm saying, Whip. No,
Speaker 1: we didn't. And and you know, I I would say
Speaker 1: that like my experience is with the group, it was
Speaker 1: almost like it was really a lot of outside voices
Speaker 1: controlling what was going on in the inside. But you know,
Speaker 1: in the inside, it was up to us, you know,
Speaker 1: to have that bond, you know what I mean. So
Speaker 1: we didn't know how to be responsible, you know, with
Speaker 1: each other, you know what I mean. It's like you
Speaker 1: gotta bro, you know what I mean. But in hindsight,
Speaker 1: it's like your bro lives in a separate household, so
Speaker 1: his values and the way that he deals with things
Speaker 1: is completely different from your growing up in your experiences,
Speaker 1: and if you don't get an opportunity to reconcile that,
Speaker 1: you know, that's what essentially created the you know, um,
Speaker 1: the you know, the head butting and you know the
Speaker 1: disrespect and you know all of that. You know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying. Um, So yeah, I think, like you know,
Speaker 1: it's difficult to backtrack in those type of situations when
Speaker 1: so much, when so much has happened to lead up
Speaker 1: to Yeah, the bad energy it was because it's like
Speaker 1: as you say, with the with the with the architects
Speaker 1: saying that we're trying to that have their own agenda
Speaker 1: and needed to do whatever they needed to do to
Speaker 1: make sure that things happen their way. You know what
Speaker 1: I mean? It created so much distance to where without
Speaker 1: those conversations, without that communication and without that understanding, that
Speaker 1: that distance was filled up with so much hate, negativity,
Speaker 1: back and forth and things that nobody knew if they
Speaker 1: really meant. But I gotta say something back or I
Speaker 1: gotta feel something back. You know what I'm saying? What
Speaker 1: what they say? But what do you say? What? And
Speaker 1: and not one, not at one time did were you
Speaker 1: able to? Because here's here's what happens. When you watched
Speaker 1: The Godfather and the Godfather is talking to Michael, and
Speaker 1: he says, whoever comes to you and tells you about
Speaker 1: the meeting. He's the trader. So many times I'd oftend
Speaker 1: whoever the person is coming to you saying, they were
Speaker 1: saying yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah right right yeah, well yeah,
Speaker 1: is more than likely helping to orchestrate or continue to
Speaker 1: orchestrate the division. Yeah between you, between you and or
Speaker 1: between them, and like yeah, I don't wanna rock with
Speaker 1: you like that? Like that got you though? Yeah whatever
Speaker 1: that Yeah, And you know, that's been a large part
Speaker 1: of my experience, even in maturing in business, you know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, like, you know, just other agendas, you
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, and things being convoluted and not
Speaker 1: communicated properly, and you know, no real space to have
Speaker 1: those important conversations, you know what I'm saying. And then
Speaker 1: in hindsight, you know, being a man now and having
Speaker 1: a child and seeing you know, my son and then realizing,
Speaker 1: you know, when kids are young, how it's really like,
Speaker 1: you know, your responsibility to make sure that you have
Speaker 1: that environment for them to feel safe and for to
Speaker 1: be protected and to learn you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: And yeah, man, that's largely been my you know experience,
Speaker 1: and that's why I've always you know, continue to just
Speaker 1: take responsibility for myself and you know my endeavors and
Speaker 1: what I say and what I do. You know that
Speaker 1: is important to me because not always have I had
Speaker 1: the opportunity to set the records strate you know what
Speaker 1: I'm saying. And also too, you know, just just looking
Speaker 1: at my journey, you know what I mean, I'm like one.
Speaker 1: I'm I'm I'm the only artist other than Beyonce. You know.
Speaker 1: Um that is like Michael Jackson, that comes from a group,
Speaker 1: a shared space, a shared experience on stage. You know,
Speaker 1: that's different from being a solo artist or deciding that
Speaker 1: I my solo act. This is all about me, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean? So um, you know, I feel
Speaker 1: like my experience is unique in that way, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean, Like where I come from, you know,
Speaker 1: the group, and now I even share the stage with
Speaker 1: my dancers, and it's a different experience for me as
Speaker 1: a solo artist. And I love you, but I'm not
Speaker 1: gonna let you forget Bobby Brown. Okay, you're gonna have
Speaker 1: to mention but but but you gotta mention but but Bobby.
Speaker 1: But Bobby still was in a closer error than than Mike.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying like his error was still closer,
Speaker 1: you know, I mean he directly influenced you know, Bobby.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, Like, you know, we were
Speaker 1: come in generations, you know, at least two or three
Speaker 1: down generations. You know what I'm saying. Yeah, yeah, for sure,
Speaker 1: you show, you gotta mention, you know, you gotta miss
Speaker 1: your boy there he might trap like I had to
Speaker 1: break up a fight between by I don't want that
Speaker 1: to No. We we we we definitely, we definitely. But
Speaker 1: I mean even his experience was a little bit different.
Speaker 1: You know, he was in the group, and then that's true,
Speaker 1: that's true, that's true. Well, yeah, I don't know the
Speaker 1: full story. I don't know the full story. We couldn't
Speaker 1: let Bobby go. We thought he was a major talent.
Speaker 1: Felt like we felt like we could do something with
Speaker 1: this kid. He was a special kid, and we gave
Speaker 1: him an opportunity to go solo. So so because of
Speaker 1: that experience, you know what I mean, Like my me,
Speaker 1: me stepping into being a solo artist was completely different
Speaker 1: from you know, Bobby and my and my um and
Speaker 1: my personal uh you know experience, you know what I'm saying,
Speaker 1: Like b two K you know, not up until you
Speaker 1: know the docu and this last fifteen year you know,
Speaker 1: reunion that things feel like, Okay, it's not undone. You
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. Okay, you know we can perform.
Speaker 1: This is this is about us. This is not about
Speaker 1: you know, any outside business people. It's up to us,
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. And that was something that
Speaker 1: you know, Um, I feel like, you know, it was
Speaker 1: unique to me, you know what I mean, because uh,
Speaker 1: you know, I guess you know, justin you know, it's
Speaker 1: one too, justin this one too, now that I'm thinking
Speaker 1: about it, justin this one too. Um. But yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: stepping in the solo start you know into that. It
Speaker 1: wasn't planned, you know, it wasn't something that I remember.
Speaker 1: I remember like obviously we were first. Yeah, I remember
Speaker 1: just us building our bond and me seeing you hurt
Speaker 1: like you were hurt by that. If I can say that,
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. Of course, like a lot
Speaker 1: of people think that it's just like, oh, you know,
Speaker 1: he got a new deal and now he's just he
Speaker 1: forgot about it. He up and and no. But it's
Speaker 1: like it's a brotherhood connected to the there are you know,
Speaker 1: they're family bonds there, you know. I mean, there's just
Speaker 1: it's more than just music. And I remember just meeting you,
Speaker 1: right I think ship it felt like it was right there. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was. It was right there, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: And and us having those conversations and you just really
Speaker 1: being like like, I'm here, but it's my dogs though,
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, Like, it's my guys, and
Speaker 1: now I gotta do this album. And literally it was
Speaker 1: like you just got thrown into it, fact facts, facts quick,
Speaker 1: and from us, from the from the creative side, from
Speaker 1: the writing and producing side, uh with with with us
Speaker 1: and the other dogs. It was more so like, okay,
Speaker 1: how do we help this young fellow man, you know,
Speaker 1: moving to this new space to this And the craziest
Speaker 1: thing that you probably don't know what Nickas didn't have
Speaker 1: no records for you. Okay, No, I didn't know that
Speaker 1: y'all made them right there. Yeah, But it wasn't like
Speaker 1: it wasn't even no real prep for you. Because I
Speaker 1: think now looking back on it, since all that was
Speaker 1: happening so fast, you got thrown into the sessions that
Speaker 1: we were already doing. There were already projects that we
Speaker 1: were working on that, the building the machine of the
Speaker 1: Underdogs was working on and then it was just like damn, there,
Speaker 1: marian is coming almost on some favorite ship y'all know,
Speaker 1: the young fellow right from the group. Like it was
Speaker 1: that and the craziest thing, bro, you know, twenty years
Speaker 1: later we can have a full conversation. Is Nikkas wasn't
Speaker 1: trying to do record for you? That's crazy. You're looking
Speaker 1: at the two niggas who were who end up doing them.
Speaker 1: That's facts on the All Star we can we talked
Speaker 1: about it before, you know what I mean, on some
Speaker 1: on some prior podcast, we didn't. We didn't go in
Speaker 1: depth because we knew you were coming, so we would
Speaker 1: have the real conversation with you here. Now that's amazing,
Speaker 1: And you know what, that makes sense. That makes sense
Speaker 1: because I was there when the Underdogs broke up. I remember, Okay,
Speaker 1: I remember the niggas was about to fight. Yeah yeah,
Speaker 1: I remember, and you know I got a little Roger
Speaker 1: come on, Mr Rogers, this is come on, my nigh
Speaker 1: come because because because Mario was coming, yeah yeah yeah,
Speaker 1: And you don't understand what working for you, working on
Speaker 1: your project did for me at that time. Um, that
Speaker 1: was your Oh was my first sign of freedom, of
Speaker 1: being free, being back able to create, not being bogged
Speaker 1: down with with with the pressures and the you know,
Speaker 1: I was going through a thing. I could not make songs,
Speaker 1: I could not make a beat. Nothing was landing. And
Speaker 1: one day I had to be honest with myself. I said,
Speaker 1: this isn't working for me. I'm out. That's what came
Speaker 1: from it. The same day we knocked that wall down together. Yeah, sir,
Speaker 1: that's gonna be the same garling. It's going through lady singing, Oh,
Speaker 1: come on up next, same on me. I'm glad so
Speaker 1: you can say oh the mon oh in the night
Speaker 1: saying on me, come on this. This is this that's
Speaker 1: represents so much. I was free. Yeah, these guys made
Speaker 1: me at the studio and we was like on the weekend,
Speaker 1: it was just us dark empty, Tony Dixon, Eric Dawkins,
Speaker 1: tank and that's facts. He was like, listen, listen, this
Speaker 1: is this is it. We just then it was then
Speaker 1: it was yeah, yeah, he was just like the day, Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's nothing that Jack. It's like, hey, I was still around.
Speaker 1: I was stealing around, my long around. I was still
Speaker 1: see from being the reason we turned out this way,
Speaker 1: act like I don't want to be with you, man,
Speaker 1: Why don't won Come on? It was down, it was
Speaker 1: going down. I was back in my bag. Come on,
Speaker 1: come on. I was not in my bag before then.
Speaker 1: I was hurting before then. And that was those sessions.
Speaker 1: Working with you, working with Jay, working with Tony, and
Speaker 1: working with Eric that one weekend put me on a wave.
Speaker 1: And the crazy thing is bro and I don't think
Speaker 1: we've ever told you this. Ultimately, that was our first
Speaker 1: sessions together. Those are our first records writing together. Because
Speaker 1: you know, I think you know the original Underdogs were
Speaker 1: Damon Harvey and me. No, I don't think I knew
Speaker 1: that we started together. I made up to name. First
Speaker 1: record is Tyrese. I liked them girls, first ever underdog record,
Speaker 1: and I left. I left the first time. They didn't
Speaker 1: want to make me a partner, which now I understand
Speaker 1: as I got older what I meant to them at
Speaker 1: that stage. All I really brought with sweat equity, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. I'm kid, I'm like eighteen nineteen
Speaker 1: years old when when we make up the Underdogs and
Speaker 1: when I came back, Damon had called me and we
Speaker 1: just wanted me to come by the studio. At this point,
Speaker 1: I went done in singing, I got cracking, I'm doing
Speaker 1: my ship and this nig is there and this is
Speaker 1: all literally in the same week or two to come
Speaker 1: on to you show up. So those were the first
Speaker 1: records that Tank and I worked on together. Wow, that's crazy,
Speaker 1: yo album. It seemed like it wasn't that long ago though,
Speaker 1: because I remember being in the studio, you know, even
Speaker 1: with just you and I. It was some sessions where
Speaker 1: it just was me and you. You know what I'm saying,
Speaker 1: recording records, you know what I'm saying. And I remember
Speaker 1: coming to see you in the back room, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean, like, Yo, hold up, let me go
Speaker 1: see this, because it was just like we can click. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we clicked, you know, I mean we laughed about it. Man.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you remember. And then you remember
Speaker 1: like we shot Dice yeah yeah, yeah, yeah me and
Speaker 1: you're a little roddy. Yeah. I kept telling you not
Speaker 1: to shoot. I told you, yeah, yeah. I was like, no, not,
Speaker 1: I feel fast. It's like that's what I do, not
Speaker 1: I said, let me get that. But no, no, this
Speaker 1: is a wild ship and were all young niggas at
Speaker 1: the time, but I think you're like eighteen eighteen years old.
Speaker 1: I'm making me maybe twenty one whatever, and you just
Speaker 1: came from doing the B two K shows by yourself?
Speaker 1: Can you flost me? Lost me? Just it was it
Speaker 1: was like, it was like, how did He was like, yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, because we saw about shooting Dice. I was like,
Speaker 1: you got I was a niggy. What you got on
Speaker 1: you Nike sho you like, I don't really got no cash,
Speaker 1: but you know I got this and the check was
Speaker 1: for a honey bum. I said, nigga, your money good?
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah. I was acting up back then. Oh
Speaker 1: your money is good? Nick Cashers right here? Yeah yeah,
Speaker 1: oh my good list Yeah I was. I respected it
Speaker 1: with a snapper and he still rolled them. Don't do
Speaker 1: this with him. I don't know how he does it,
Speaker 1: but he always wins. Yeah. R listen. It was this
Speaker 1: funny ass picture. I gotta find it. I want to
Speaker 1: computer somewhere because we have been shooting Dice all night
Speaker 1: and got late. You just left and you left a
Speaker 1: couple of your rings. Oh I put them motherfucker's around
Speaker 1: like a uh like an ox chord, like like an
Speaker 1: ox cord and wrote on the sign, I want my
Speaker 1: fifteen thousand and two dance moves. Oh my goodness, Oh
Speaker 1: you'll never see a ring again. I need to see that.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna send this. I gotta find it. Here's a
Speaker 1: part that that was really awesome to me. Um And
Speaker 1: within your artistry Rural to me at that time was
Speaker 1: like god dancer. It was like he was like I
Speaker 1: just thought he was the best thing since since she's
Speaker 1: and you know what I'm saying, since the Patty Meil.
Speaker 1: I was like that, you're you're different. And I tried
Speaker 1: to do his choreography. I don't know if you, I
Speaker 1: don't know. Everybody told you choreographph that video, the freaky video,
Speaker 1: don't look that up, don't look like that. But I did.
Speaker 1: I did well. I did well. The song didn't work,
Speaker 1: but I did well. Something about me dancing the songs
Speaker 1: don't really anyway, So he's not you. Um And And
Speaker 1: I used to always watch ro Road do choreography, and
Speaker 1: I would always watch the dancers due to choreography, and
Speaker 1: I'd be like, it just didn't it didn't catch, it
Speaker 1: didn't match, it didn't And then I saw you doing
Speaker 1: ro Roast choreography, and I said, he's row row. Yeah, definitely,
Speaker 1: Like I don't know how you was one of my
Speaker 1: blands morphed into that, but I haven't seen You were
Speaker 1: the first. You were the you were the you. You.
Speaker 1: You did it the most you. You. You absorbed the
Speaker 1: style of the most there. With Jacob Latimore, who really
Speaker 1: shout JA, I was like Jacob, he's he's tough, but
Speaker 1: you were the first person I've ever seen be able
Speaker 1: to absorb that style, like like Nuance for Nuance, it
Speaker 1: wasn't just the moves. You got a sauce. Yeah, you
Speaker 1: gotta yeah, got a sauce. Because because I used to listen,
Speaker 1: we used to I'm from record playing to the Underdogs.
Speaker 1: I used to watch you give Mr Chris Brown a
Speaker 1: lot of business. Chris is so competitive, like he was like, fuck, hey,
Speaker 1: when you do that? He and Din he could work
Speaker 1: on it. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. And did
Speaker 1: he come back with more for you? Yeah? That was
Speaker 1: a time. That was the time that I was watching
Speaker 1: two Titans, and especially at Record Plane, y'all was in
Speaker 1: the hallway about a hour. That's true. It's crazy, that's true,
Speaker 1: that's true. And that was earning, sharpening iron like in
Speaker 1: those moments, Gabe put Chris on a mission. You know
Speaker 1: that that put Chris on a mission, Like I'm going
Speaker 1: to get him. Yeah, I'm gonna get him. It wasn't
Speaker 1: about nobody else. And I'm like, we'll ask him personally,
Speaker 1: did anybody else make you mad? You made him mad?
Speaker 1: Shout out to CB. I just saw some interview that
Speaker 1: he did and he was, you know, definitely complimented me
Speaker 1: about my dads and my journey. So salute to see.
Speaker 1: B R and b Money is a production of the
Speaker 1: Black Effects podcast Network, but more podcasts from I Heart
Speaker 1: Radio visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Don't get to
Speaker 1: subscribe to and rate our show, and you can connect
Speaker 1: with us on social media at Jay Valentine and at
Speaker 1: the Real Tank. For the extended episode, subscribe to YouTube
Speaker 1: dot com, forward slash R and B Money