JoJo • R&B MONEY Podcast • Episode 019

[Music] money [Music] take Valentine we are the authorities on all things r b ladies and gentlemen what's going on I am tank I'm Jay Valentine and this is the r b money podcast The Authority yes yes on all things yeah all things r b oh my God the pull-up is here oh my God y'all have been requesting yeah this you know me me and this young lady go back like a six pack of scoliosis you understand what I'm saying we we're in the same place at the same damn time trying to figure uh r b lives out without further Ado I'm gonna stop talking about it and introduce you be about her hi JoJo [Applause] oh what a warm welcome thank you first of all give me give me some of that cheers to you cheers to r b money thank you so much cheers this man has me drinking at 11 A.M here we go do you awesome I I said yes we are having a morning uh refresher okay we're starting the morning off right um You you chose to dive into the tequila that's pretty dangerous but I'm Gonna Let You rock I understand what I'm saying um I want to start off with this you normally we like to start off at the very beginning which we're going to get to um so first is thank you for coming it's my pleasure anytime this conversation is super important and super needed your your our favorite um but then I want to go I want to go here and then we'll go backwards okay I remember us being in the studio when you were when you were younger much younger and I remember I had this song four on the floor song tank and his around the world tagging his glow stick this I always have I always have glow stick Ambitions always that's just me and I remember going back and forth with you about this song and and it got to the point to where you were in tears because because in transparency I'm saying this white girl can really sing let's take advantage of of all of this the crossover the all of this and all of that and you were saying to me I'm a soul singer I can sing I'm not anything but a singer don't box me in here don't box me in there I just want to sing from my heart and you cried about that that sounds very on brand for me and you fought you fought to be authentically you period Point Blank and we were at odds then I understood it later and I'm proud of you for taking that stance and continuing to just be yourself authentically and unapologetically well thank you for um saying that I really appreciate that and I want to throw right back to you and thank you for just being an example to me being a safe male figure in my life who was so encouraging you you pushed me lovingly yeah and and I always looked up to you and I still do wow and I am very emotional these days I think he's gonna cry too and this is what I come back to you but really you you taught me so much in the studio and just through living your life and the classiness in which you navigated the situation that we were both in with our former label and everything so I just had the utmost respect and I'm sorry if I gave you a hard time with that record because now looking back on it I love that song I love that sample but of course hindsight is 20 20. would it have changed my life we don't we don't know I don't know but right you make dope [ __ ] across the board regardless of genre it's really really cool well yeah thank you and yeah yeah salute to yeah yeah still still yeah um so as we like to do on the r b money podcast we like to go all the way back to the beginning okay we want to go Massachusetts let's go back when the first person said or you first realize oh I got something or or they say to you girl you can really sing so apparently I started singing when I was two that's what my mom that's the story you know I don't remember I can believe it I can barely remember what I did yesterday so but I've been singing for as long as I can remember and my mom and dad were both singers in their own right so my dad was like a Blues Brothers type singer like the blue sheet you know whatever yeah the whole thing I mean that was his like aspiration you know like he would play the harmonica the guitar and he loved he had more of a Soulful uh bluesy expression and then my mom was more operatic uh Church soprano and so both of them I think recognized in me oh like she she has what would we have and then maybe as I got a little bit older maybe three four I would start bringing family if they would come over um or if anybody would come visit I would like take their hands and and like sit them down and be like and sing you know right so I got a good reaction from that and I don't ever remember a time that I wasn't singing that I wasn't performing it was like a very precocious slash annoying thing that I was constantly doing so it wasn't any it wasn't like the parents saying come here Gary I'll sit down watch my kids that's not how I remember it it's me as soon as you walk in the door little JoJo yes hey hey guys yeah I'll show you what I do to gather people what were some of the first songs you were singing as a kid like Winnie the Pooh you know the Barney theme song but then a little later I really did love I was drawn to Seoul so Aretha Franklin and Etta James like I loved her matriarch of the Blues album and uh George Benson was you know it's on Broadway at by the time by the time I was like five years old I think I was singing they say the neon lights up right on Broadway I believe it was about five that is crazy I mean I sounded insane a student a student I sounded so crazy when I look back to videos I'm like why did you let me pursue this I was so bad but I had so much you know he wanted it you really wanted it I really loved it and I felt like it was something that made me special and I think that as an only child and someone who's whose parents are fighting there's a lot of tension in the house I think I needed something that was an escape and that made me feel like people could focus their attention on me so is is your is your Discovery moment like your moment of hey this can go somewhere you know further than work you know this can go past Massachusetts is that does that moment happen in Massachusetts Yes actually so the I saw a newspaper like on the table and it was like the Boston Globe and there was audition section in the back and I saw the kids say the darndest things was auditioning again I was like scouting my own what is that what is that what is that so it's like Bill Cosby yeah really yeah remember the show yeah yeah and it was like just like a kid saying like something so random that makes you laugh and you know what I mean it's just like it's really the [ __ ] that kids say when cameras ain't on right you catch them for the most but that's what I remember that that's that's a perfect description of it so me and my mom loved this show and I saw that they were gonna be coming to Faneuil Hall in Boston I'm like ma can we go to Faneuil Hall I lost my accent right now on today it's back so um she was able to take me you know she was cleaning houses for a living and she was a single mom and we were you know just really getting by but she she did allow somehow take me there and and I got to be on the show so that changed my life because then they invited me back on a second time and flew me and my mom and dad who were like divorced at the time like not [ __ ] with each other but it was so meaningful to me that they could be uh okay with each other for just a few moments to come support me in California we all came together for the first time and and then I did kids say the darnest things again when I was about seven so are you singing on there singing yeah I was doing impersonations I was doing like Cher and Elvis and Aretha Franklin and um other people who I can't think of so it was like a combination of impersonation and just being the little little weird little [ __ ] that I was that's crazy at seven yes yeah you flew to La at seven yes so that was my that's my first time seeing this this place that that I that we all now reside in did that make you say hey I have to be in this place or did I just say you know I know that there's opportunity I know right just it's like I okay I'm supposed to be acting on television I should be on a Nickelodeon show I should do do the thing that like kid stars do because I was already in theater as well I had done like I got my first check from a professional musical in Boston and so coming to La I was like oh this is where the kids who really work are and I really wanted to work um now through therapy and stuff maybe it's because I felt the financial insecurity in my house and I'm like maybe this is something I can do to help wow so now through obviously looking at things from a different lens I'm like why did I want to work so bad so you weren't being pushed by your parents at all I wasn't so no like Mama jar stage parent that's not how I remember it I and she if anything was apprehensive and scared of this this uh assuredness that I had yeah I was so focused I was like yeah I like animals maybe I could be a vet but like I want to be a singer so she was just like where did this come from and what do I do with this right so so you get your check when is the break when is it like you are absolutely discovered and someone is putting paperwork in front of you and your parents and you guys are trying to figure all of this newness out will I ever go to school again [ __ ] is getting real exactly strangely enough I'll just give you the cliff notes of this but when I was like 10 I went to one of those uh summer concerts like that the radio stations put on so Kiss 108 is the pop Station in Boston I met Britney Spears that day I sang My Way Through the security guards like I was like Hey I want to meet Brittany um you know with my mom obviously and and another person I had called in to win the tickets I was very like enterprising in that way so met Britney Spears long story short she and Larry Rudolph tried to sign me to her production deal she was going to start her own thing that was when I was 10. my mom said no you're too young I was like you're trying to ruin my life clearly so at 11 I was being bullied so did you say that yeah I don't remember you're not gonna let me sign this is what you're telling me I was about to say you probably should have said that right Mom you're just trying to ruin meatloaf I could not say that I could not be like she'd be like you're gonna get what you get you're lucky you never know what she's doing back there you touched my drugs so so that happened she said I'm too young I was being bullied really badly in school and I was in the guidance counselors all the time just crying surprise but at 11 we moved to California uh stayed with a cousin that my mom had for pilot season because we were going to like pursue that that whole thing give them give them give them some context of pilot season so people know Pilots everybody that don't come to La they don't yeah they don't know what that means yeah pilot season is when all the different shows whether they're new or they're coming back for another oh yeah the pilot so new shows are casting and it happens during a certain period of time I don't know when but I think it might be like January yeah and there's like an exodus of of P of kids and people who are coming to La staying at a place like the oak wood or wherever but we were fortunate enough to have a cousin who lived in La Habra so I did musical theater while I was there I was enrolled in a school and I also got um a pilot called Ned's to classified school survival guide which was a show on Nickelodeon that I ended up not it's a long ass I know and um so got that pilot but then did a show called America's most talented kids at the same time lost to a violinist Mario Lopez was hosting the show I think unless that was another Talent thing I did but um lost and ended up meeting James Womack who was a manager at the time he was in the audience and he was like I know you you know I know you lost this one but that means nothing in the scheme of your life like I see a fee I see the potential in you and I want to take you around to some people so I'm like okay I mean my life as soon as soon as you get off stage pretty much yeah he's like you're you really got something so he took me and my mom kind of under his wing and it ended up introducing us to Vincent Herbert who ended up being my executive producer of my first two albums and that's how I was introduced yeah yeah yes so and when is this what year is this oh it's 2003 so I was 12. so you were 12. yes or or at the end of my 11th year so we we went around to a lot of different labels more so I think it was Vincent who was taking us around to different labels and he had a um he had a production company so he was also making the decision of where would he want to bring his production company that I would be signed to so met with a lot of different labels got flooed out to like you know different uh like to Vegas to meet with the Maloofs and to um Alabama to meet with like another business person who was starting something um and then we ended up going with black round which was so signed with them when I was 12 years old and then ended up moving to New Jersey to start working on my first album so you were in La yes when you got signed exactly and then you moved to Jersey why'd you move to Jersey that's a great question that's where that's where their offices were primarily and all this stuff we were we were what what year 2003 we were in New York okay so it's very much in New York another thing that I do think is that the child labor laws are are less on the on the East Coast so I think it would have been really particularly hard for me to even stay at the studio late in La things like that it's just a little more lenient um you know I remember at that time I remember that time I remember because I've known Vince for a really long time and in the music business we all cross paths multiple ways and different times of our our careers and I remember him telling me verbatim I'm putting everything I have behind this little girl it's like what what are you talking about what a thing to say I think I think I might have met you in the studio because this was it was yeah 20023 whatever yeah you said yeah Underdog days yeah yeah absolutely so it's Underdog days and I want to say he brought you by um and he was like Jay because I like I said I'd known him you know for a while he's like Jay everything I said everything you're like that sounds risky but that's what in this business if you're not willing to risk everything you have behind something you should not be in business with it or them or you know I mean whatever it whatever it is whatever the thing is that you're attaching to if it's a if it's a person place or whatever if you're not willing to invest everything that you have into somebody let them go to someone who will yeah that's good yeah because there are so many ups and downs in this business and all we have is our time all we have is our time I get I guess your money you can go throw some money at something and throw it at the wall but like giving somebody your life to to to further their career you have to really see something and he saw it I remember he plowed I don't know what he played me but I was like I've never heard a little girl sing like that at my time this is what I'm this is what I'm saying at that time changed my life changed me gave me a sense of purpose Direction and really helped to crystallize what Jojo who JoJo was and who JoJo is yeah because before then I'd been Joanna he's the one who you know called me Jojo and that's where that came from oh wow so he yeah I mean I I definitely felt that belief and that belief you had it moves mountains it really can and it did yeah I was right there on the verge of getting benched I was getting benched at the time put JoJo in yeah JoJo came in through a touchdown Jesus and they were like you're never getting back so you're who's the guy that Tom priests okay I'm not injured anymore I'm not hurt I can still play you want me to play yikes that's okay I got benched later too um you know it's what I can say about that is that you know I think we have some some maybe dark memories of of that place we were in but you know I always you know I'm always a glass half full yeah and I'm always like let's find the light in this dark situation let's find a thing um okay [Applause] y'all do remember that right no I'm trying to blame for some [ __ ] for Daddy [Laughter] um is that I just what what I always go back to what I always try to stay focused on and pull from that moment is that there would have been no me I feel the same way I feel the same way tank that's that's just how I live in that space I remember when when we put out freaky and it just it wasn't doing it wasn't giving um it just wasn't giving it was back in 2000 it wasn't giving okay I could have had that turn back then no no let's get rid of that turn now nope we're gonna use this not for us brother yes it is and he translates translates um and Jojo and and let's just say this [ __ ] didn't work man I'm saying that too we shot this you know 500 000 video we were cooking and and Barry Hankerson in the midst of it's not working walked over to me and said and said I'm taking over from here now we gotta you gotta hit record I'm gonna make sure you have a hit record I'll take care of you from now on and sure enough sure enough that maybe I deserve dropped and he did not let nothing Fall by the wayside all of it all of it all of it so it was as a powerful man honestly the self um like you alluded to there were dark times and you know things that didn't go the way that we wanted them to but I can't help but look fondly at him for for how I saw him particularly as a pre-teen teenager yeah he was an uncle figure to me I looked up to him absolutely absolutely you know I I was like oh everything's gonna be okay yeah so I I have I have a lot of love for him still um it's in a weird way is that like that's not a weird way do you know what I mean I understand what you're saying I'm in the same boat and it's like you know even like even being you know I kind of I kind of got beside myself and went into a space to where it created a different kind of friction but you know I was owed money you know what I'm saying I was I was hungry my family was hungry right and so you know I I went someplace that I shouldn't have gone but I didn't know what else to do so of course even in that space of 2002 to 2007 where you know like I said I was sitting on that bench you know out of whatever situations that he heard or or or you know whatever made him want to tap back in to be a part of sex loving pain and and make sure that we had a hit record yeah you understand what I'm saying I watched that I watched him make watch I watched him build that record shout out to Eli McCoy as well from three spins to 3 000 plus I watched it going to that office over there off of Laurel Canyon yes we'll go there every other day and just say how we doing we don't need to make these calls don't worry about a tankster we're gonna get it Eli's saying that or Barry saying both yeah Eli's in the room by himself yeah we're gonna we're gonna figure this out don't worry about tankster that was Barry's name for me text it don't worry about texting but so all that to say is um what a place right what a place what uh what a what a way to I guess be Tried by the fire oh that I love that phrase and I think that's the perfect representation of that time yeah so I'll ask you guys as someone from the outside of that because I never I never worked with black ground I don't I didn't only think I know is you know third person yeah but I asked from the business side and time so because from the outside it's like okay the success comes the music is great like your first album we're plotting them out the gate right your first time second I was like double triple like you're doing numbers yeah and obviously then you run into label conflicts but now a new artist may look at that as like oh well if they holding up my music imma just stay on the road or imma just at that point in those years there's no social media yeah yeah so I'm sure that time is different and what you can do and how you can move around but you know I think it's always like it's great to hear both of you guys story of of how you like you said just what you went through at that time but how you're so appreciative of the opportunity because you hear so many artists that are just purely on some they [ __ ] me over and this that and other and nobody did this and if I didn't but I don't see or hear that when I talk to you guys I see and hear both of you saying No this opportunity led me to period I think it's really important to look at various sides of of something and not everything is a hundred percent terrible like I am sitting here in your Mansion because we are both sitting here because of your tour because yeah because of the platform that we were given yeah if if Barry Vincent Joma whoever Cho didn't choose leave get out as my first single I don't think I would be a record amazing record I would have never because like as you know I considered myself a soul singer so this was very out of my will my wheelhouse I wouldn't have constructed that for myself yeah it literally gave me a foundation in which to build from and and then to follow that up to have the opportunity to for Billy Steinberg to pitch me a record like too little too late and me to be like that's the song I want to be my single and Vincent to be like yeah you're right okay you're learning the you know it just wouldn't have happened so I just think it's important also what what are we doing if we're living with such um one-sided perspective of the world and if we have hate in our heart I still have pain I still have a lot of pain a lot of disappointment a lot of I'm very sensitive to to things to people's like all of that so that's where the tears come that's where the you know the the tension comes from but but I don't want enemies and I don't like if I I just don't see the point of that right do you know what I mean I want to be on good Accord with everybody yeah and to take accountability too for accountability is everything preach preach so as it pertains to the time between my second album and when I turned 18 nobody knows what I was going through in my family life and I'll probably say that for for a book one day yeah because that was more deeply painful than anything that was going on with the label wow and my mom was managing me that was a very interesting experience and so it's not just somebody's fault it's not just this person's fault it's not just my fault things culminate for a perfect storm or a you know things culminate and come together in a unique way yeah and I think it's important to like dissect it all okay I love that yeah I love that listen yeah that's that's that's amazing it's amazing that that you can see it that way I wouldn't be able to be here if I couldn't see it that way yeah it would be so heavy on you too heavy I would have gotten way deeper into depression yeah and beverages exactly whatever drug is available I always like went to the edge because I was sad and depressed I never fell off the edge yeah right and that's only by the grace of God I don't know how to explain it Hallelujah um um so you have them records yeah let's let's start let's talk about the success of it though before you come on please come on I don't mean to cut you off let's talk about the success of that of being 14 years old having a platinum record yeah yeah like who wrote get out so Soul shock and Carlin were the producers and then like he has the word white in his name like Whitey or something I cannot think of the because I wasn't there for the writing of it okay it was already created I was 12 when I recorded people in the comments are going to tell us okay yes they stay trying to correct me okay that's why I was suspended I'm back now everything's gonna be all right but so you're you're 14 years old what do you do when you get a platinum record at 14. is that I just got a pizza and your feet I just got it let us keep diving into in your energy did you know your face your fee goes up because because you didn't know your face I mean I I probably knew it at the time I don't know it now I'm just saying but you know what it was right right what I'm saying your fee goes from let's use what's the girl now that goes from from four thousand to fifteen thousand oh yeah yeah we just heard about that yeah yeah yeah in three weeks oh yeah oh yeah no okay I know you so okay you're going to love it she goes from four thousand a show to 15 20 000 a show in like two weeks yeah like wow it has to call the people and say my fault we made a mistake if you need me to show up so now you were you know 14 and and the money's different how does that affect when you're touching the money effort okay no right the money went into a Coogan account until I was 18 which means that you know it's that from what I understand that was created like around the Shirley Temple time or maybe later but to protect children from being yeah my cooking money got took but yeah yeah yeah go ahead did you get yours 18. I did I didn't get mine yeah tell us a story because serious what wait so you were working as a kid a good blanket yeah yeah I had some Street [ __ ] going on okay so I was I was not in the street the people the people since the people came for mine people came it's like restitution is some [ __ ] yikes yeah my my mom was was handling that and then I had an agent and uh you know that whole thing and business manager so I wasn't really I was not aware I was 13. you were not aware no so were you aware of the difference in uh in just your presence you know what I'm saying because oh yeah as you're as you're starting to do work and and go to these shows go to the mall anymore but then then I realized quite famous now you're off did you ever run into them punk ass kids that was bullying you yeah oh my God I remember yeah you know you know that's what I want to know listen on my 14th birthday leave get out of it I see you security whoop Timmy's up my uncle planned this really great birthday for me my 14th birthday in Foxboro which is where you know the Patriots play Patriots play yeah which is where a lot of my family lives and planned this party at like the VFW I don't know if from the Northeast knows what I'm talking about so um shout out to William McGinnis real quick though that's my big dog so through this 14th birthday and I just remember everybody in the town trying to get in and I was like I came out I remember that there were these girls who were mean to a friend of mine and mean to me like who like put tried to throw me in a locker and like tried to who did throw me in a locker you know who just had me in the guidance counselors and they wanted to be at my birthday and I was like there was a security guard out there and I'm like tell them they can't get in and he was like you can't get in and I was like made me feel Hey listen can't get in can't get in you can't lose slogan can't sit with us that's the new you can't sit with it you can't get in if you're mean hey kids don't be me there should be consequences and repercussions you might be yes your classmate might be Jojo it's giving Karma all right quick Karma yes wow so you felt it that was the highlight of the platinum record and then also you know the TRL you know going to New York like that was such a cool time for me because first of all I was the youngest of my of my peers of that of that like time that that music was being put out and stuff I felt like such an outcast once again kind of like I was in school I just felt like oh where do I fit in because I'm a baby nobody wants to hang out with me because everyone is 18 plus Sierra was coming out around the same time but she was 18. yeah so I felt like so uncool even though people were like oh my God you're so cool I'm like no I'm not I'm so embarrassing you couldn't take full advantage no no no no no so but I did feel that yes I was famous people liked my music that was cool my songs would be playing on the radio and I was like wow okay like everybody who made fun of me [ __ ] off you know look at me I'm at the KISS concert playing it now like that was exciting for me but as far as the money I had no idea and and neither did uh my mom particularly so we we just had extra cheese on the pizza though for sure so we went from being poor to then having money and being like whoa like what do you do you know how to deal with it from not losing your mind because you watch so many kid stars not know how to manage the power that they have now because the breadwinner has power no matter how old you are exactly so did you ever have a moment where you kind of either had to tell yourself oh I'm tripping or somebody had to like grab you by the by the by the arm and say hey you're still 14. oh my my mom would always kind of Pop the my inflated head so you were having moments oh definitely having moments because there was always this threat of even though there was already momentum in my career always the threat from her of I'm gonna tomorrow you're not doing this you know you're taking you out of the industry uh just if she if I didn't do something that she liked so there was that that kind of vibe but then to that I would say I I pay the bills you know we're having that conversation absolutely yeah I keep the lights on here I wonder if my if my son said that too no I can only imagine what I can only imagine squirrel and we did oh [ __ ] yeah and then oh my God do it in Spanish I'm really good um that is incredible you said you had to really like you had to square up I mean later Into My Teenage life yeah again there were a lot of different Dynamics at play so uh that was wrong if I had a child and they tried to do me like definitely react in a different way yeah but everybody's doing the best they can so yeah yeah there was a there was a lot of there was a lot of friction and I definitely had an inflated sense of self because I felt like you you know you're getting to live comfortably because I'm I'm working so maybe that's not the way to look at it but I was like you're driving a Lexus now and yeah and you saw that you saw the difference you saw the difference in your life yeah I realized that it was because of your work because of my work her sacrifice yes her uh yes her absolutely her giving you know her time to to support me is it almost a thing where you just kind of want your voice to matter more not necessarily that you want your voice to be in that Dynamics yeah is it just you like listen I have some takes I have some perspective on this like I should be uh my perspective and my voice should be accepted like look yeah I think it was always that I I kind of wanted um I wanted to work more oh wow yeah so so she she wanted me to be a kid and I didn't want to be a kid got you I already felt like I wasn't already you've always been an Oso yes so when you look back on that do you wish that you would have been a little more of experienced being a teenager and a kid yeah because you can't be any horse like we're grown now yeah I do think that that would have been a good thing for me as far as like relationally learning how to relate to people in a better way like I missed out on my mom was trying to give you balance she was trying to give me balance um and I hear what you're saying but again a lot of different things I play yeah yeah yeah yeah no no no I I get it because I grew up in the industry I grew up you know singing in really early age and not experiencing much of a childhood and it was we thought we were going to be the Jacksons and yeah it was rehearsal in rehearsal and even if you quit the group you still got to rehearse what like this [ __ ] though this don't make sense because pretty much it was just like you're not quitting you're not quitting and this is what's going to get us out of here so I understand I understand that Dynamic and I and I and I had a moment when we when we were uh when our album was out like I got my record deal when I was 9 or 10. like that and I remember going and Performing and before I even sang my part they started screaming and I was like oh [ __ ] you're like I'm cute they like me I mean something yeah what what you're saying yeah everybody all right everybody you ever you ever heard her a Spanky Johnson right like I had that moment and but obviously I was in a group with my brothers who were five years older than me they were Twins and they just beat me up pretty much after they're like nah you little punk like nah that's not how I go but that kind of kept me you know at least in a space where I didn't lose it yeah and then we just you know our you know our we had some other stuff that went on with our group so it never fully reached its full potential so I don't know how I would have reacted at 10 11 with a platinum so oh my God I can't imagine you know what I mean so I mean that's why I asked right I think it was a kind of a bit of a conflict because people would encounter me or at least I thought I was presenting as people would be like how are you so grounded how are you so down to Earth but then my mom was like you're acting like a little [ __ ] and I'm like wait what's true right am I yeah you know what I'm saying it's very confusing well because it's like your interaction or your con it's always like that like you're in the safe space you know what I'm saying yeah like I keep the lights on here but you know for some reason just clicks when you cross that threshold you turn into the professional yeah yeah you know what I mean you were acting very early yeah you're already yeah yeah you already you already knew how the training and the toodles you already know how to get right in line yeah and and be a pro in whatever space you need to be in I guess yeah yeah so you had the people out here think of you it's like oh little JoJo she's so sweet yeah but even Katie throwing pizzas and [ __ ] who has worked with me forever she used to be a black guy she's my manager and I mean she was like I thought she's like you were a piece of work Joe and I'm like I I'm sure I was I'm sure I was so let's let's move after 18. um we'll have to get into the intricacies of um of of the separation yeah mixtape JoJo mixtape JoJo yeah but let's get into okay now I'm able to breathe are you in La at this time yes so I moved to LA at 19. um I was in Boston from 18 to 19 moved out here and was just in the studio constantly in the studio during the day partying at night it was like my college era you used La as your college area yeah I love that I know doesn't is this such a dangerous I love that such a dangerous thing so glad you're here it's great you're still alive yes me too I really think about that I'm like how am I here this La was college for me too was it was before a young girl that was just way different yeah that's way different yeah I'm I'm grateful that I made it out as unscathed as I did you know it could have been a lot weirder yeah yeah and so what is your process now now that you're you know out of the background situation and you're you're looking for new life in the next move so I was I put started putting out a couple mixtapes and like my Marvin's Room remake and all that stuff during the time where I wasn't out of black ground yet because I was they still owned my voice so I was trying to find ways to put out music but not make money from it so that's what what like at this point is social media is kicking off exactly yeah so that's the whole yeah please give us that that time and what you were doing to stay relevant stay in the space I was just talking with my fans really telling them to a certain extent what I was feeling going through how much I wanted to put out music how much I wanted to it tour or whatever the case was I don't really know why I didn't tour that much then but maybe it's because I didn't have new music to promote um but then I did some little things with with the mixtape so Twitter was a game changer for me YouTube this was all kind of the precipice of that being the huge deal that it is now and I put out my first mixtape through band camp and it happened a ridiculous number of downloads first week which was so encouraging like I was like it gave me you know some some just a sense of purpose again I was like okay this is what I'm meant to do I love this I have an amazing fan base and they're here for this they like what I'm doing so after that continue to release some stuff was able to finally get out of the deal with black round and uh signed immediately to Atlantic started working on an album I was assigned by an executive Aaron bashuk who is the anr there at the time and we started working on on an album there but then as you know you know musical chairs happen and then you know this person leaves and then you try to keep making an album that changes Direction a little bit and so that was my experience with the making of mad love which was my official album like come back after 10 years of not putting out I was 10 years an album from 15 to 25. I didn't realize it was that long and the crazy thing about that is you know who Aaron's first record daddy an art tank yes which one after tank now and never got off of Blackness so what we did now it went to Atlantic this is Aaron's first time Ann Arbor yeah so really it was me and air whoa it's me and Aaron Aaron don't know [ __ ] about Army like no [ __ ] it's my guy I love him to death but at this time at this point like now obviously amazing he's done amazing things at this point young a r young white guy they're like yeah we did the New Deal With Atlantic here's your anr yeah I don't even know how to pronounce this [ __ ] names he's like listen guys got a few records I'll play for you and I really like that I think I feel really good for where I think you can go here we go and we were looking at Aaron like we're gonna turn it down we're going to show you how to do this okay don't worry don't worry you're gonna steal your credit you're gonna get you in our credit just roll just let it happen that process like we just became friends yeah like we just really hung out and cooked up together yeah and that's open open and uh and wanting to learn I I think yes exactly yeah because it's just interesting that both of you guys come from the same scenario and situation go to the same label yes get the same a r that is really strange did you think I was following you are you like this little chicken I don't know what's going on over there the black ground Gita but there's room over here in Atlanta hey man you gotta relax if you can just get on that Railroad come on get on down here this Atlanta Records they got lemonade and biscuits for everybody on this side man Hey listen shout out to shout out to Big Flint flip was like heat that's it he said there's a small window there's a small chance my brother that you could be out of there and over here yes and um and what's what's my guy um from Atlantic um Craig Hammond not correct Mike Kaiser oh not my cousin um uh you rewrite produce sign all the writers and all of that I'm like he's going he's going to be mad that I'm forgetting his name right now oh I can't I can't oh yeah so Mike Karen was the first person to come to me to say you know I think I think you should I think you should come to Atlantic and I was like I don't even know what that means you know what I'm saying and then I'm also saying you shouldn't say that out loud because because these people are dangerous right should we talk right now we should use sign language and you know just I'm gonna just speaking about my path of just going to Atlantic Records and then um showing me um something at that time that I didn't think I was even worthy of you know in saying you know sitting down with with my Karen and then with uh um Craig Cowman and Craig common saying yeah yeah we're gonna do this and we're gonna do it as long as it takes and I was like what you're like yeah we're gonna as long as it takes we're we're in we're in with you as long as it takes yeah that that's what you deserve and that's that's what belief is that's what belief is yeah yeah yeah so does the Atlantic situation are you saying you know people change things move does that become a staying place for you or do you or do you even move again I moved again um so I kind of continued to to move where Aaron moved because Aaron and I were you know so so tight he had such amazing belief in me so as he as his career was on the ascent yeah he was like you should just come with me um so I did right so I did so I had a so went from Atlantic then uh Warner where I mean somewhere else real quick where he made a pit stop didn't end up putting an album out there and then uh to Warner where he became chairman so it was just because I really do believe and this is for any artist that is going to be a part of the major label system having an advocate having a a person there who is your point person who you really speak the same language with who believes in you will go to bat for you that makes a big difference it's also very important obviously for an artist to be self-energizing and to stay you know to be self-sufficient to move the needle forward to keep going like you can't look to a label to tell you what to do necessarily yeah um because that's not how it works in 2022 anymore but to have a person there in the building who believes in you that's why I felt like it was going to be you know important for me to to stay with Aaron so are y'all are you putting out mixtapes as you're moving around still or you stop that no so I really started touring again with mad love mad love is where I went back to the touring life and was able to sell that out and really get a sense of oh I love this part of being an artist I'd love to be on tour I love to be busy I learned how challenging it can be to maintain a level of vocal health for sure while you're doing three shows in a row then you have one day off and then you might have two whatever I learned that that schedule doesn't work for me I need to have like two shows maximum then one day off then two shows I can do it like that but that third show if I'm not completely silent like I just you figure out the what works for every particular instrument I agree it gets tricky on that third show so I want to give people my best so I was like let's let's change up the schedule next time so mad love is when I got back into that and then from in between mad love and then my next album good to know um did I do a mixtape I don't remember but after good to know which was in 2020 then I released like an EP uh because I was going through something and I felt like I wanted to share it with people I was going through a series about of depression and anxiety a lot of people were with the pandemic but for me it started before that just what what am I what's next a lot of us feel that way and I wanted to put out this project and see if other people would relate and it made me feel less alone and it was a part of my healing to even share what I was going through in that project which is like the most recent thing I've released so actually I recently saw you uh San Diego yes that was a frustrating show but it meant so much to me that you and Xena were there it was frustrating yeah what happened if you if you if we can get get that inside that that venue was um I was having sound issues I was not feeling my outfit I felt like my my things were showing in a way that I wasn't comfortable with to be in a venue that small where where people are below you and can see up your skirt I really don't like that yeah you were you were you were you were dressed I was dressed I had on the I had on an outfit yeah you had on an outfit but you know it does like JoJo's legs are out back yeah the legs are down and obviously I don't mind you know showing what I want when I want but I just didn't like people being under you under me yeah escalator as you're going hard yeah because they are clearly doing that I love her songs yeah that [ __ ] ain't cool so it was just like the configuration I um so I was like okay never again because you changed and came back yeah just just put on this two-piece jeans yeah but that's but that's also a part of professionalism yes because most people think that and and owning who you are in your career because most people think I just gotta do it and I gotta be out here but asking this and I didn't know what the setup was but then you get out there you realize like oh actually saying cool hey guys I'll be right back right and they'll wait for you absolutely you did the chain smooth I tried thank you because you know we're we're backstage and you know we we just know show you know we can kind of see everything and I'm like and then when you came back and even said it I just thought it was a change right you know what I mean well the genes were wrinkly yeah we didn't notice that it was about you know about comfort and about how you were feeling as you're explaining right now I just felt like it was part of the set yeah so that's how you made it feel until you said it yeah I just had to change guys you know jeans feel better feel safe let's keep going I continue to learn things about myself through through every single day I learned that I need to feel good about what I'm what I'm wearing when I'm on stage I need to feel good about how I prepared preparation is is like integral for me I don't like to just necessarily Wing things and I've learned this through you know crashing and yeah no experience is the best educator it really is yeah so even now you know this many years into my career I'm still like oh okay new thing I've learned about myself you are so many years into your career and I get this question a lot excuse me what keeps you going because as I see you now in 2022 always smiles like you're like you're happy you're like yeah you know what I'm saying like as we spoke earlier everything that I've had to go through to get into this point I'm with it you've accepted it and you've just accepted the light in all of those things what is that thing in 22 that is keeping you keeping you alive keeping you going it's my belief that I've only scratched the shirt the surface of my gift talk that down yeah I used to really think um at a certain point that maybe I'd maybe my voice was on the decline or maybe you know what what more do I have to give I've already reached more than I could have ever imagined as a little girl accomplished like beyond my wildest dreams but I really believe that on the other side of personal freedom is another level of connectedness and when I'm able to show up as my authentic self that will inspire other people to be their authentic selves and I think that that's now my mission is to be the be a vessel for amazing songs take my ego out of it and bring people together just like I did when I was a little girl asking family members and friends and people on the street to listen to me sing yeah I really think that by me connecting to that pure joy that I get from singing that can be hopefully a blessing to somebody else and help them connect with what it is that they were gifted with even if that's just to to be a listener to be part of a community to be present any of that I I know that that's my work moving forward is to to let go to shed those layers like you said the glass half full approach I'm sure you've done work to get to that point yeah and so the Letting Go doesn't always come easy but it's it's a choice sure every day well I think sharing that is the healing and it's not just for you like you said it's for those who get an opportunity to um not even just not even just to see you but to hear you because you know those but those vibrations alone yes are are comforting to some healing to something helpful to some you know what I mean and the stories behind it which is why you know we really wanted you here to first of all and foremost give you flowers on flowers absolutely oh thank you but also to for you to speak you know what I mean to speak that life into everything that you've been through and everything that you're doing moving forward thank you so much I I think that this time where Tick Tock is you know where we're getting our news and our information and where we're um [Laughter] a great equalizer I actually think that um authenticity cuts through more so than anything I think that our attention span is if something feels false we're like cringy weird you know so I think that exactly yeah we just move on to the next until something really hits us and resonates so I actually think that while yes it can be frustrating and we're like oh you know we have to do this stuff you can also really find your community you're absolutely absolutely so I think it's a great time to put the hands the power back in the hands of the artist connect them directly with the community and you can kind of get a sense of what what people like you just give it a try just put it out so are so are you looking at all of those platforms as a way to because obviously like you said Twitter was something that was really important for you when you really needed it early I mean later later on in your career actually in the middle of your career and and it really jump started rediscovery for you so as an artist and a seasoned artist someone who's been around and and done the old school music business at a very young age and now the new age music business how do you go about that like how do you manage what's too much and what's important that you have to like because let's be very clear social media is very important for recording artists it's very important to let them you know get a sense of your personality um tease music maybe jump in a challenge here and there you know what I mean like how how how do you deal with that as someone who is already established and already has a fan base do you are you jumping at every challenge are you just like ah I'm gonna do one here and there like how do you go about that I'm definitely not jumping at every Challenge and and I'm not like oh yeah I'm a bless him with this one I'm just like it has to feel like an extension of me it has to feel like something that I genuinely want to play with or something that I because if it if it comes off forced like the the viewer feels that and I I know that from being on the other side of it when I see other artists who will remain nameless but I I see one in my head right now when they're like slanging their music around and they're like let me shake my ass to this music and let me do a dance to this music and let me blah blah blah and it does not feel like they want to do that it feels like this was a mandate that was put on them as opposed to I think that the way to make social media work for you as opposed to you working for social media is to find how you can be yourself on the app and there's like so many different ways yeah just have fun with it and and I think Tick Tock is more low stakes because it doesn't need to be perfectly curated we used to think Instagram like you have to have like this grid and it needs to be like color coordinated and all that stuff Tick Tock you could just like say stuff and it could take clips of this podcast and you can you know lip sync something or you can tease a song what or you can shake your ass or you can try on an outfit you can do whatever and then you'll find people who like makeup who like travel who like you know plant-based cooking who like uh going to Michael Buble concerts you know like all these different things and I just think it's really nice um so of course we got to do things that we don't like to do but you got to find a way to to enjoy even something that annoys you like when Tick Tock first came and you know my label was like you've got to push your own music this way I'm like oh how yucky you gotta find a way to just like get in it to enjoy yeah get it I know it's easier said than done for for me too but I mean because we come from you just needed music and also the mystery was such a big thing it was a thing and you could just show up and show people what it is what it is you know what I'm saying you just show up in the city like I told you I was nice right and now it's like now that the labels have done away with sending artists and all of these different things that we used to have now they don't do that anymore no not as much you don't have to no because you can promote your phone yeah I I tend to feel like and I and I I really wanted to know that from you from an r b sense because obviously we deal with people saying that r b is dying or it's a dying genre or whatever the [ __ ] they want to say it's pretty alive to me but but what I do say that I I wish that more r b artists would get in front of it and get in front of the music and get in front of their personalities because what you know what what I what I feel like I found with my parents generation and when they were trying to push out Jazz um Jazz took on a very elitist oh that's a great point you know Persona of oh I'm just too you know what I mean like they would they were not clearing samples and just all this other stuff that helped him kind of get phased out wow and I personally would hate for that to happen to r b that's why tank and I have even done this done this podcast because we're like listen we got to stand in front of what this r b thing is and we got to show people that we actually got personalities and we're willing to you know have to talk to human resources about some of the [ __ ] we we're gonna say you know what I mean but I like I said I'm so passionate about r b music that I I would you know I I would push artists to just at least give these things a try instead of just being like ah well when they when I when I go show up and I do my my shows they already know what state they already know they know what it is right no some people don't I think that is such an amazing point and comparison that you just made as well because history has a way of you know we can learn from history and I love history actually so that was that really excited me and I love jazz so I think that's really great great point because there is a sense I I think from my vantage point of this you know coolness over everything sometimes in r d yeah yeah and I think that that can be sometimes to the detriment of letting fans in yes um yes because you want to keep up a facade I don't think the facade works anymore no I think that people want gift still works your gift Works still works but they actually like that oh hey man this artist is kind of funny or goofy or yes don't take themselves that serious like one of the things that made me fall in love with Ari Lennox is her personality oh she's great is her getting on IG live and just being in bed and being bored like summer Walker exactly this like it's I mean I know more about summer Walker than I've ever known about an artist and I'm like oh who's she you know what you know whatever because that song could be about yeah what she said exactly so we buy into that and um it's not a new thing necessarily but you don't have to wait for the biopic anymore yeah exactly it's playing out right in front of us all right well um at r b money podcast um we like to get into your R bind okay yes your your r b makeup all right um a DNA we would like to know this is it gets it gets interesting right here top five r b artists of all times that note was crazy that was very crazy I'm gonna say something in this top five y'all are gonna agree with me but the internet's gonna be mad at me okay okay okay I love that okay parameters oh what no no time frame no r b in general yours oh my God okay don't look back for help no no I wanted to see if he he knows I'm gonna say Okay um top five r b artists okay where do I begin do I have to put them in order no no no it's yours whatever yours okay great no order and no prep yep it's no this was no crap this is never prepped guys Jasmine Sullivan come on come on absolutely love wow Usher um Bobby Brown I hate myself for this but R Kelly listen listen it has eight I mean I I hate myself for it coming out no you cannot you understand just yes I know you know we understand um where do I go from there I'm going to go to for me personally Musiq Soulchild and then I'm gonna go no no no that was four that was four that's what Jasmine or Jackson you're right you're right that smells like my hands um Anita Baker oh you ended it crazy yeah I love it crazy I used to watch the music in the studio sing perfect go over one line for about an hour and a half oh that makes me feel less crazy okay and I was like I was like bro you did like 30 minutes ago he just it just needed to be placed this is not auto-tune this is not none of that he was in with Warren Campbell when I saw him do that this this line I was like hey that was you know what I'm I'ma leave because this line needs to be placed perfectly I'm I'm just a millisecond off I'm just so here's a sign send me tone two he's he was just he was just that much of a technician people don't really listen to what music was doing vocally on those records They just enjoy his records and have a good time because they felt so I'm gonna go back and and dissect that go back and listen to what he was doing right so that's crazy but then Anita Baker is you know Jesus I mean she is probably my biggest vocal inspiration right now she is like my my Pinnacle she's the one I Look to right now she's just incredible incredible okay all right let's keep going let's keep going your top five R B songs hmm okay oh my yeah I'm really really bad at being on the spot so I'm gonna do my best um let's let's say something from Jodeci let's say like uh come and talk to me yeah I really wanna meet me okay so are we doing a remix okay so it's Jodeci Let's go okay I'm gonna say Cisco incomplete wow great [ __ ] race song that's a great record great song is that the one Montel Jordan wrote incomplete was fire was that the Lisa Robinson I don't remember the video I think Lisa we might have been enough yeah I just remembered Down song when he when he walked over yeah don't you do this again that's great song we waiting on YouTube Cisco that's a great guy so much come back flip your ass into the chair yeah great second song okay third song I'm gonna go with um one in a million Aaliyah life changer yes life changer life changer um I'm gonna I want to go to a different era so let me go more toward like [Music] um I'm gonna say I'll say caught up in the rapture that's better yeah you better got him in the rapture oh my God I just man I grew up on those albums that voice right there it's synonymous with my child like they said it your mama didn't clean the house good if you didn't grow up to Anita Baker that means your mama didn't know how to clean your house okay okay and I'm gonna say that I I think a new um a modern classic is uh pick up your feelings Jasmine come on come on come on pick up your feelings I think it's so good I love the tempo of it I think it moves it moves it's yeah I felt away when I first heard I was like she said that's what she wanted us to do then pick up yeah that's exactly what I heard she talking to me I'm working out to this album like this who is she talking to she's mean but it was so aggressive the way she was saying and she didn't she didn't um she didn't scale it down or dumb it down or or anything she was like yeah I'm gifted watch this yes gift on display gift on full decision yeah what a bold choice for the album title too as well I thought it was so and she's like don't even call this an album I'm like what she's like this is just a EP anyway to me it's perfectionist she's always been in this kind of shy space like that well where I think that I think that we've moved or we were in a space where being talented was very tough very frowned upon to be really talented yeah because everything is you know it's hard for people to take enough time to understand even what that is their ears aren't even tuned to you know there's a frequency that auto-tune and the computer has hypnotized everybody with at this point you know what I mean everybody can't sing to the Black Keys they can sing yeah man yeah seriously just stay right in here when you start going up there doing that people oh I gotta change the settings in the auto tune now golden chromatic and add the E yeah it's kind of funny but but it's like she she I I can't speak from having that conversation with her but I just remember being even in 2002 where I was like I'm a singer yes and these these songs are these people that are working they're not singers like this is a child won't right y'all on this if y'all know this I don't want to be a part of I'm a singer even all the way down to I did I did the uh I did what challenge I just do was it with uh uh the fortunate challenge and I just you know I I did this oh God I need to check that out I need to see what you did dipped and dodged into some stuff and and people and there were people that said that's horrible he can't he can't even sing about you about tank and I was like we are living in some wow but you could definitely sing that's that's not true or Fair that's not true again just just the videos I was dancing in didn't work but that doesn't mean I want to see you do the genuine dance yeah where you at G you don't want this work with me oh man anyway um but that's just you know where we are and I feel like I feel like she was you know just just me speculating her trying to find her her find room to be talented she found it and I don't even think I don't think she realizes what she's done for the creatives I hope she does she got her [ __ ] off she's she's freed a lot of creatives she's created an under an overground Railroad for people to feel like oh I can sing I can actually write some dope [ __ ] and sing some dope [ __ ] and it go crazy cool I remember listening to that album I was on one of my solo Journeys in Sedona and I was taking a walk in the red rocks and I was digesting this album and weeping at the freedom that I heard from her as an artist and just being so inspired and just like so happy for her yeah me and me too so he I didn't know what the album was gonna do and and all that it's done yeah is phenomenal but it was an accomplishment enough to have done it yeah and I was just like wow this is so great all right we're not done okay we're gonna [ __ ] you know um we're building an r b Voltron um Okay so it goes vocals Style performance style and passion all right so let's start with the vocal to make your r b Voltron who are you who are you grabbing the vocal from one person once I mean if it's a male period always tank is the best male vocalist out there crazy wow so you know what you know what since I'm I'm back off sabbatical we gonna cheers to tank then and he look at this guy I'm not gonna cry I'm gonna cry wow make him cry but because 2022 is the time of the woman I'm gonna choose a lady good yes yes and I'm going to choose Jasmine which I'll take okay start there I'll take it start there vocal from Jasmine Sullivan easy so I'm trying to get this thing background we'll gladly do give me a piano too so I can play extra keys Jasmine tank will sing background I will sing backgrounds and play Keys just let me know whenever you're going out um let's go with The Styling who do you want your artist to look like dress aesthetically yeah we're gonna put the drip on yeah [Music] damn who don't want them to look like Beyonce come on yeah custom yeah everything special everything special everything oh wait do I want them to look like Beyonce or Solange I don't know because both are custom special very fresh I think Salon I think Solange is very she's she has this Earth earthy thing too that's very organic yeah that I think and I know the bees want to get me but I think B might have gotten from her I think they're both inspired by each other in some way shape because I felt like Solange was in my mind out of out of their whole thing she was the first like earthy one who was just like grounded in in these neutral tones and and in these Linens and in this just comfortable comfortable space that wasn't overdone or over anything you know what I'm saying like I feel like she was there so I mean you you pick which one ever one you want I mean they're all you're kind of wanting to say okay you know what I'm just gonna say okay so voice of Jasmine Sullivan aesthetic of Solange it's a lot wow I love that um performance style whose stage presence do you want to give your Voltron um Bobby Brown there's no arguments that's no argument to what Bobby Brown [Laughter] one man yeah she's aggressive listen I mean we've I mean I was you know back there you know my first concert was you know the the new edition in the Heartbreak tour come on Boston boys where one man was given new addition everything they needed by himself with two other dancers he was giving them everything they needed I was like oh my God he is an animal he's an animal man a Manimal a Manimal he was a Manimal he was only about 18. maybe at that time aggressive yeah I'm telling you guys New England is different it is it is this is not big up um I agree okay last one passion who do you want to get the heart from yeah hmm I said what I said that was passion I said it's the next level it's next level you feel it it almost is painful first note you feel it absolutely I just really really love her wow special special talent wow special everybody just said that so like off you said I'm horrible I'm depressed don't worry she thinks she got off easy oh yeah we got a very important segment of the show it's called I ain't saying no names will you tell us a story funny or [ __ ] up oh God the Only Rule is you don't say anything and it can be funny and [ __ ] up because usually most things that's [ __ ] up is kind of funny so all you got to do is just not say their names so this is Jojo's I ain't saying no names with no prep no prep hmm can you give me an example have you have you told one have you told me did you tell her when I was suspended I don't think so oh no way I don't think I told one can you start please to make me just a little more comfortable this has never happened yeah I like it in the history I ain't saying no names like this is has never happened um I ain't saying no names all right so you're trying to put the pressure on me this is yes while you think of yours I see what's going on yeah I see what's going on um [Music] no names um this is funny I was I was I was beefing with this with this this one guy like real beef um and start over basketball beef and I felt like this person wasn't being fair you know and we're supposed to be you know it's about common ground you know we're both artists you know we're supposed to play the game fair you know I'm saying none of us play professionally but the game is at least supposedly played right and this person didn't want to play the game the right way and so since since he didn't want to play the game the right way I decided I didn't want to play the right game the game the right went with it and it got aggressive it went into you know name calling I'm a very nice guy but I had been pushed into that other other place okay where now your [ __ ] ass [ __ ] everybody you with they [ __ ] too who want it let's get it all during the game so the game is over the game ends I I win my team wins and as they leave they're still [ __ ] ass [ __ ] cut two we go to the city that this person's from and someone who's with me was like man you know such and such would love to just you know they love you they're big fans they started things got weird or such and such you know got kicked off you know the wrong kind of way but you know they would just love you to come out the gym hang out and and just hoop with them and I'm like [ __ ] them [ __ ] ass [ __ ] you know what I'm saying I'm there so it takes a little little finessing a little convincing to get me to go I'm like you know what I'll go [ __ ] it whatever and so when I get to the gym it's just me and the guy who I was with and it's him and you know it's him and all you know his all his guys his goons he's he's you know in his City and I'm expecting you know I'm expecting some static you know what I'm saying I'm I'm All prepared in my mind to swing first I'm prepared but you know what I'm saying I'm like it it it it sounded like a Piece call but I'm gonna prepare myself just in case you gotta get active is what it is you know what I'm saying and it's only two of us we may take the L but I'm ready to take that so we walk in the gym and as soon as we walk in the gym this person is like sees me look at cause he's like come on man you come on you know I love you man come on man we can't be like this and as he goes to give me the embrace he starts tickling me [Laughter] where right here yeah just like you know right in here okay now the only problem with that is that I'm really ticklish so I'm trying to tell him to stop and he's tickling me and I try to finally fight him off and we dap it up and we hug it out and we get back cool and we proceed to play basketball for the next three hours no beef super cool but he he tickled me um back into being kind of being his friend want a squash of beef tickle your opponent some of the squash so listen foreign I hope you're ready for yours I'm not because what I'ma tell him is he not gonna disrespect my segment by telling a story that he told on somebody else's podcast first of all no it is whatever I know who it was so and I'm not gonna let my segment so disrespected I didn't try anything first of all where's Human Resources when I meet him he's right there first of all I'm not business [ __ ] man I'm not even on it's not even me it's her I was giving her time to get herself together so I told a quick story he told before stand still my story this is my truth and just omitted the name it's my truth hey guys I'm gonna have to plead the fifth here I'm gonna plead the fifth because I am going to be writing a book and I want to save all my stories you're gonna be the first person you started it you started JoJo came here today but let's start this and ran out oh I ain't standing on that I never expected she ran out I never tried I expected she ran off on the plug damn participate he ran off on the plug [ __ ] everyone is participating she's gonna she gonna tell all of her stories in one book um she can't say no you're right it's not possible it's fine no pressure okay oh God this is horrible I feel really bad about this but since we're not naming no names I guess I just feel like this is this is messy like I don't like telling other people's stuff I just feel sad I don't like telling my own stuff necessarily but somebody let me know that they were taking time off from making music because they got full from neck to ankle uh surgery meaning like sucked everywhere out and that they were wrapped like a mummy and um this was someone that I would never expect to have um gone under the knife let alone to like and that which I thought was kind of extreme you know what I'm saying and I'm saying telling you this tidbit to just say you never know what [ __ ] is out here doing for real because even if it looked natural you just don't know so my mind was blown and and my I was just like I sometimes I feel quite naive to what people actually do to like look a certain way and then I'm like Oh my like you you when when they see you snatched in a little while it's not just because you were in the gym for the last three months or whatever it's because you you were wrapped like a mummy you got it all this is yeah I'm definitely showing up somewhere and seeing somebody rap like a mommy yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah see I I just I'm naive dude I yeah I experienced the first before it was a wave before it was not away before it was a thing before it was even like I don't even know it was possible um I uh that had met a girl in the city that she lived in and then we had just been in contact just doing this phone stuff and then when she came to LA I would met up with her again and I was like I don't I don't remember that being like let me touch it and you know as you go through the process of unveiling it he's like where does where did you where did you get this yeah did you get this in those maybe it was October I honestly because it wasn't a thing at that time we're so early in the 2000s that I couldn't wrap my mind around how this was possible yeah yeah I saw something in the gym yesterday that really defied all Logic for me as far as proportion on a human being I just I just want here's what I want and I think that maybe maybe I want too much I want if you're gonna get extra cake at it I want it to match your thigh right that's what I want I want it to sit within the circumference of your hips that's what I want I I want you to not look like an ant that's that's just all I want I don't want you to not do anything to help you feel good about yourself whatever you feel like you want to do and need to do you want to look like an aunt I don't think they do I think what happens is they wake up and they and they now they look like an ant and they have to decide if they're going to accept the ant life or not because you can you can see it on a diagram that's one thing but once things start to happening and and once the surgery is over and once like is there's always a difference there's always oh this is a little bit more than what what I what I thought it was right oh yeah this is this is and what do you do oh to go down trust me afterwards right out of after about six months it'll go back to and sometimes it just it stays it stays and you know outside of it being unsafe it becomes a little unsavory and first I want to tell women you are amazing how God Made You amen but if you feel the need for enhancements I just feel like there should be um there should be a level of proportion my OCD makes me count everything proportionately I have to have enough slices of cheese to go with the right amount of crackers all right there has to be enough cheese on the Beyond Burger to go with the bun or I have to take the rest of that bun off I only need bun to go with the burger it can't be excellent I don't even know what that has to do with this you know what yeah it's just what it's just how I look at things yeah I say do what you do that just don't mean I'm gonna date you and I want to say as a female as a woman there is so much pressure to look a certain way to from who from it could be from us I'm not saying it's from from men no no I'm just saying like I think social media I think that uh media in general the the images the messages that we're bombarded with can be really hard to not be influenced by that so I really feel with uh and by the way that the person who I didn't name looks fantastic and looks natural but it was my my naive would say that was like oh clutches pearls like really I just didn't know so that was my first time experiencing that do you think that we in entertainment have to do a better job of recognizing and acknowledging um Beauty in its natural state and we we have to do that in everything we we we push everything we are the driving force and culture music right everything starts with us yeah if we're going to be violent it's going to be because of the music if we're going to be peaceful it's going to be because of the music music used to stop Wars yeah now it's starting them so everything comes from from the music the music absolutely we make songs about Natural Women it'll be more natural women we make songs about imma get this down for you it's gonna be more women trying to get those things done so it's it's also the music being made it's also the music being pushed yeah so similar to what you said I don't know if we were on camera before that but the executives do decide what the narrative is is going to be yes you go major the major is what we hear the most so if we're talking about what's going on in hip-hop what's going on culturally that influences across cultures um then that is kind of like the powers that be that are still pushing a certain yes right so I don't know whose fault it is necessarily that we are as like consumer driven or like into material items and looking a certain way and all that stuff but it definitely is very pervasive I mean I think that to go to to speak to the machine the machine really thrives off thrives off of the demand and so once the machine sees that there's a demand or a reaction to a certain thing then that machine is going to figure out how to over serve to get the most not out of that and as long as as long as the community continues to buy in they will continue to Super serve I think it's just a two-parter it's a two-parter because like it goes back to like when we first heard when we first heard [ __ ] in a song and we was like but then he was at the club and and you saw all the girls in the club saying [ __ ] it was like oh like it's okay now so it works so we can use and from there it just became Super Service where now it's just like vicious it's commonplace it's not even a I mean and for for women in other communities it's we use it as a term of endearment which is you know exactly so um and I think that insecurity is there's so much money to be made off of our insecurity as women so there's industries that thrive off of our insecurity so I think that they they keep you know this oh you could be a little smaller in the waist you could be a little bigger here you could be a little Slimmer here why don't you get you know all these different things there there's industries that are predicated on us not loving ourselves as we are so I think that's really important to keep in mind too I'm not saying that I'm uh transcended it because I absolutely haven't I definitely do all the lasers all the things I'm trying to you know keep sipping from the Fountain of Youth so it's well you look good thank you you look natural thank you so um we at the Army money podcast love you however you want to be however you want to be represented we love you we love how God Made You and however doctor God made the doctor too listen God made the doctor God made this but God gave the doctor free will [Laughter] it's all God made it's all God man you know what I'm saying you can't take God out of anything um listen ladies and gentlemen um this has been a very special r b money podcast for us because you are very special and dear to us um that's a fact you know that for sure and we just want to make sure the world knows that you have a home in my heart blank um we've we've seen so many uh so many of the same things together at the same time we've been fighting at the same time we've been rejoicing at the same time crying at the same time and laughing at the same time as well um I just I just commend you and salute you on continuing and that's it continuing thank you to do what you do continue loving what you do continue being an inspiration um Beacon of Hope light for everyone who wants to not even just do what you do but even just be you be like you like continue thank you for your lit being a living example being like the way you live I'm saying is an example the way you have moved the way you've uh just thank you for being who you are and I'm very very honored to be a part of this Renaissance that the genre is is going through and to see it happen to be a fan of music and then to just you know be be a part of it all so very very grateful I don't take that lightly I know uh what it means and it's just I really think that we're in an amazing time to be making music I feel very very lucky yeah well ladies and gentlemen um yeah any last words JV nothing you know what yes yes one last thing when is the Brandy and JoJo when is this going to happen because I don't know if you remember a few years back years back Studio I think I had been in a session with brandy and I mentioned your name and then I saw you after and I mentioned her name and then I went on Twitter and I said I'm going to make a friend again he's like one of the one things I haven't brought to life and I feel like a bit of a failure it's not over it's not over I am I'm waiting on over call it out you know what needed we have talked about it we are in communication and we're we're you know I think that is we got to do it as my brother Ray J would say that is my one wish come on now yeah and listen here's another cool thing right as you are so dope as you are you're still like you're you still have this openness of and willingness to wanting to receive new information like when we went in the studio and thank you for accepting the call um to do somebody else that song is Amazing first of all you went crazy killed it I was just I was just following your attention but but we get in the studio and you're like walk me through it give me give me the vibe give me the give it to me like line by like just give me the essence yeah and I was like okay because I was just content you know I remember us walking through it line by line and within us kind of collaborating on what the essence was going to be you just went off into this place they just took it up like that song what people say about that song and your performance on this song on that song still you're still upset with me I mean I'm upset with you that we don't have a visual for this yeah I think it's super [ __ ] dumb so it's such a good song man I thought there was going to be like an eloquent word for this [ __ ] dumb shoot the video dumbass yeah we should we're going to shoot a video to somebody else okay [ __ ] it why not do whatever we want to do people love the song we do whatever the [ __ ] we want to do people love this we're gonna make a video to somebody else all right you we are we doing that send me a treatment what do you mean I don't believe you oh [ __ ] you don't believe me first you told a remix story to me on my segment now you giving her [ __ ] about the somebody else tell me okay you're not gonna pound me I can't even get a pound cause your ass ain't such a video we are going to shoot a video to somebody else that is my word to the Creator JoJo will not come on my podcast and and and use the word dumb it was a moment that so when you asked me to to be on that song I'm like Uncle text her really you know it was it was so exciting that we were we were finally gonna do a record together first of all and it was it was it was it was a fan favorite yes and sometimes trying to get you know get the partners to believe that the fan favorite should have a visual and all these things yeah totally you know it's a tough sale but but I'll shoot it myself I'll spend my own money don't charge me a lot for glam listen did you do you did your own makeup today right you look amazing so Joseph can do her makeup all right good [ __ ] yeah ladies and gentlemen I am tank I'm Jay Valance and this has been the r b money podcast with our dog our family member our loved one give it up for Jojo thank you so much me you guys finally finally

Channel: R&B Money Podcast

Views: 192,634

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Id: JG3816Ra58g

Length: 105min 41sec (6341 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 08 2022