Musiq Soulchild • R&B MONEY Podcast • Ep.051

[Music] money [Music] take Valentine we are the authorities on all things r b ladies and gentlemen my name is tank I'm Jay Valentine and this is the RB money yeah podcast the authority on all things r b yeah let me tell you something tell them tell them when your name all right your name says what it is what you do what you do who you are who you is yeah yeah you got to live up to that name huh out the gate out the gate you got to have some gift huh I have some confidence and some swag to go along with that name and they better listen And they better listen better listen kept me from going number one sick of this [ __ ] your Nemesis is here the Nemesis is here ladies and gentlemen on the coldest musical entities ever to Grace the planet the universe music Souls [Applause] he's here yeah I'll be telling these stories that he hasn't been here to hit his story yeah yeah you know I had this song called Maybe I Deserve and it was climbing the church it was hard yeah it was hard look like I might have a number one record out the gate out the gate no I'm not out the gate you know we're gonna talk about that it was a spider I was testing none of us do and that's and they said you know we we could climb a little higher yeah we could get to the top of the food chain but it's God by the name of the music Soul Child whose song just won't go nowhere it just won't leave I didn't start off I don't want to talk about it you don't want to talk about it [Music] hang out I love it meanwhile I'm in the Hey listen yeah you killed him with this thank you bro appreciate that kill you listen you killed him with a great song great lyric great Melody nothing no extras no fluff no just it's funny because I I didn't know you know the gravity of what I was doing at the time I thought that that was the I was doing it the best that I could do it you know and I and I didn't accept anything unless like no if I'ma do it I'm gonna do it the best way that I know how to do it and I'm thinking that that's the standard that everybody is is attempting to meet you know I didn't realize that you know later on like no everybody's not putting up that same kind of effort they're not I I didn't know that and and and another none of the pure sense right yes even me as as as a purist I was like I still need some titties you know what I'm saying like in my because I go back like I'm sitting in the in in the house yeah with you know my girl at the time and you know the D'Angelo video comes on yeah the Untitled and you know I was athletic you know yeah a little bit but you know as they start doing more scrolling down this man's body you know my girl at the time goes um excuse me got you yeah yeah can I help you start getting uncomfortable yeah you see you see something on that TV you like yeah you trying to be in there you want to be in there yeah yeah you you want the camera to keep scrolling down is that what you want yeah and shot something that was very strategic how they did that so at that moment I could sing I could write songs I could do all of that but she had never gave me um so I needed to make sure that along with my musicality that you needed now here's the thing about me where I was at that time I was nowhere in that vicinity so I said okay I I know I know that that's that's not where I need to be in the other direction because I ain't got that yeah never had that don't know how to get that so I'm gonna work with what I got and what I got is uh excuse me ma'am uh I'm just mad because like putting all this work in the gym he got his clothes and I was that was baggy too he got no baggy clothes yeah yeah kill him yeah um crazy first of all amazing congrats to that and then part two was you're probably the most intricately methodical oh yeah Dynamic recording artists I got the Michael Jackson disease I've ever worked with everything got to be I'm I'm in there and I'm like this has to be take 26. on this word it's never good enough not they're not a phrase yeah the word not not a far or the verse the word but if you're mute if you're if you understand music then you get it because I when I listen to you I understand the intricacies in just the small movements that you do yeah I catch all of it I'm like right that's stupid that's oh that's that's not right I don't know why today you sang you was on some I feel like I'm just I'm just telling you where you were you could tell me if I'm wrong okay I accuse you of being like Miles Davis on half crazy at the end where you decided to purposely sing minor I like doing that I like forcing miners into majors and Majors into money on purpose yeah because of your musical superiority I feel like you had on the ass they're never going to understand this I will do it anyway you're dumb that's not like a scarf or a time you just kind of hangs if you take it yeah this is Rich yeah and that's and and and I've always admired that about you because you're you're just I do it I do it I do it for the fun I do it because it's available I do it because I hear it I do it because I can't get away from it but at the time you know what you're referring to um I have ran into a lot of traffic a lot of um internal traffic I had never been trained I didn't go through the whole church process I didn't go through the whole artist's development process I didn't go to school for it so there was a lot of uncertainty and insecurity in my abilities even though I had it but I wasn't confident because I didn't get a lot of positive feedback at the time so my thing was you know it got to be perfect you got to be perfect I call it the bully in my brain got to be perfect it got to be perfect and if it's off by a little bit no do it again you know because I was the one and that's a that's residue from being in survival mode just in life so I just applied that to this newfound reality of being a celebrity recording songs that people you know care about and pay money for is like I gotta do a top tier always got to be top tier but my reference was stuff that I didn't fully understand that I didn't understand what that was and we're talking about people that had budgets and time served and points on the board and they seasoned and I'm trying to be green trying to match that it's like bro no you got to get there first you know you're not just gonna get the ball and start dunking on [ __ ] like you gotta you gotta train you know you gotta you got to take the Kobe route like you gotta every day yeah all the time yeah and then you can even hope to be mentioned in the same breath you know so the traffic that I ran into is like oh this is harder than I thought it was you know I was recorded in the studio for maybe a year not even a year not even a year and then the literal next year I'm on I'm on the road I don't know how to sing on stage every day so I'm learning how when you don't prepare if you don't get enough rest if you don't pace yourself I'm learning that in real time you got I'm learning it in real time so that's the vet so I'm developing gun shyness from [ __ ] up that one show and it's like oh what happened I thought I had it you know reaching for stuff that I don't got that I I know I got but I ain't got it tonight so I think I lost it you know and then you know the Bulls are coming and I'm like whoa what's all it is so then that kind of messes with you yeah then when you don't have a person kind of like walking you through that no actually what happened was blah blah blah and it's not a shot to nobody at that time around me I just don't think there was a little awareness that just wasn't it just wasn't there so by the time I got to you guys you know I I didn't know what I wanted because I was so used to people telling me what I was supposed to do and it wasn't matching with what I wanted to do and that wasn't working alongside with I messed up thinking that I'm not good enough wow yeah so I wanted to I want to go back to something that you touched on because we we love to start at the beginning okay you said you didn't have the the the tutelage of the church yeah no you know you said something else the church and I didn't go to school for in the in the schooling where where do you where does it start for you where you say or somebody says bro you you're nice like um you know when people start formulating opinions about about themselves and other people you know you know the younger years when you crack jokes and you aha you got a big head eye and you got big feet your breath stick all that and then the other side is you know so-and-so is good at this so-and-so can fight someone so can run so and so you know he could say you know when that around that age um I give it about what 8 9 10 somewhere around then and then the kids around me I'm thinking you know we sing in tunes and stuff and blah blah and I'm like you know then you do your part and they're like uh like what do you mean uh go okay I can't do that like bro what do you mean Lexi you just do this fun fact um when I graduated Elementary School um it was supposed to be this one kid was music class you know the generic music class was really teaching this none but you know God bless him they had a curriculum that made us feel like we had something going on um uh the whole class was supposed to sing during the graduation the dude that was supposed to uh sing lead we supposed to do uh uh uh Man in the Mirror oh wow okay and the teacher was you know teaching parts or whatever and bro wasn't doing it right now I'm like I'm off to the side I'm supposed to be part of the you know the rest of the singers the choir or whatever and homie was not getting it and it was like really frustrating me it wasn't ain't nothing to do with me yeah and I just yeah and I'm like no that's not how it goes It's supposed to be like this yeah and then the teacher was like you're the new lead I'm like no I'm not you know and plus I'm anti like I don't want to be in the front he was just getting it wrong and it was getting on my nerves so I was just like bro it's supposed to go like this I'm gonna make it hey and he was like he's looking at me like hey son who is you and I'm like the [ __ ] that I know how to do the part and then the teacher was like yeah he does yeah and she was like and you're the new you're the newly in our life so and I do it and I'm like okay this is awkward I never been in the front I never wanted to be in the front you know childhood trauma you want to disappear long story don't need to get into it point is I didn't like being in the front but I was the best person for the job and I just had to open my mouth so there you go and it was such a weird feeling you know it was It was kind of good because I felt like I was getting praised you know for something that I was good at yeah that people up until then was telling me I ain't believe him because I'm like everybody could do this right nah I didn't know like everybody he kind of shows you that everybody couldn't do it he was your first exam basically like oh really really can't wow that's crazy it's not that deep but I didn't understand about some people got a different inner ear situation you know some people are tone deaf like that's a thing they think they're killing and they are but in a different way um I didn't know like some people um they better in the shower and in the car than they are on stage in the studio like I didn't know any of this I'm thinking we're all equal I want to know you know and I guess this is this will be a question for the Creator I guess okay why like hmm why can't everybody hear it why can't everybody at least be in key I think that is I think it's a I think it's a it's a um an equivalent to you won't appreciate the one thing if it wasn't the other thing you know uh hot and cold good information yeah I think that you need there to be people who aren't capable so that the people who are capable can be you know seen and appreciated for their ability so that there's a circle yeah I'm assuming I didn't make the rules articulated yeah that's what helped me to process it then because most of the people talking [ __ ] at the basketball games you can't play [ __ ] basketball and it makes you appreciate the ones that you can't that that can't because you know how to calculate the space in between balance there we go yeah wow at least I think you know I'm glad we're on this side thank you guys for being here with me I get a kick out of people who can't say this is fun to me it's hilarious you are the most listen listen my wife get to hitting these notes let me tell you something humble individual I haven't met in my life when I say I love my wife but [ __ ] but I say she'll go there but you gotta but you gotta support but you gotta support them though cause we love them no no wow what I do with her is I tell that's true those notes are wrong try it again because I love her because guess what sometimes she gets it right yeah no no facts I'm around people they not there we all know this yeah but they'll get that one though you'll be like [Applause] no that's like being at the gym and the kid that takes all the bad shots finally makes the game yeah yeah yeah you know yeah yeah it's gonna be a [ __ ] up day yeah cause that's all they got in them always tell the chair double pump from Heaven always taught us sick of that tank brought somebody to the gym one day today that wasn't my fault it wasn't me he was talking like he could anyway um it's crazy you have to have this graduating uh class moment and I've forgotten about it literally to this moment because it's like a lot of stuff that you forget you know because it get the older you get the pass gets a little hazy but I literally it came full circle in this moment when you asked me that question but yeah I have the same one oh word I was supposed to sing at my Elementary School graduation okay they were like you can sing and I was like I I'm just I just sing yeah yeah right right you like and and the guy in the principal was like he's one of these extra tough principles uh you know what I'm saying I always got to be hard on the kids you know what I'm saying I'm new new to the school okay this is just let's just give me way too much attitude the prince was giving you oh I'll just give me way too much attitude it was it was inherent momentum from feeling like he needed to be that guy for all y'all so that y'all don't play him I said look that's a long story I mean at least you know the the two and the kids thought I was good yeah yeah and he just you know he was going on about something and you know Darrell you need to you know you need to be on time I was like bro Ellen this ain't even my fight find yourself another singer okay all right it's six I don't think I didn't have time for that kind of [ __ ] you on okay all right you understand yeah yeah season fed here bro it's quality vocal here like I said so thank you for confirming not only that my my observation was you know but it happened way back then whatever bro you're the most cockiest kid okay I'm a football player no yeah I know so that's what you feel I know am I wrong though regressive energy hey call it what you want I'm trying to dress it up all right I'm not saying you wrong for it it's just an observation I don't judge it all right cool let's just move let's move on um you don't sing no you do sing six great you you kick a god of his spot I didn't kick him you know you know he's not doing it right okay all right adjustments I just felt like it was disrespectful to the man in America yo to the man in the mirror I felt like it was disrespectful like you're going through it do it right but I didn't know where I got that notion from like who would like found who it was natural it was inherent maybe you haven't seen The Five Heartbeats yeah it was National yeah you got to do it like you do it in the tunnel yeah yeah I mean you know don't don't half-ass do it do it like we did it in the tunnel okay I just didn't I just didn't know why he felt comfortable with [ __ ] it up like I didn't get that like you good with that that's what you gonna go out there with and I'm like again I don't I don't know where I got all that I didn't have that attitude yes your attitude is way more flagrant you had on the ass serious are you serious you told the principal frustrated me how are we different because you were frustrated because he was trash there is a very big difference he's singing all around now I can't fathom going out there all right in such a way it's reflecting on me it's a reflection [Laughter] out of sixth grade out of this graduation what is then the progression to you developing I I couldn't tell you because I thought nothing of it afterwards so after you performed yeah it was just because there was there wasn't a nurturing environment for me with that um you know what I'm saying Your family it wasn't it was a moment it came and went and that was it no musical family nothing I mean indirectly yeah you know um at the time um you know my step that I didn't know that he was you know as musically uh gifted and and engaged as he was because our relationship just wasn't there you know it wasn't until I got older and I started you know really paying attention to the music that he was playing and I started picking up on it you know and I started following that you know I didn't understand what it was he played a whole bunch of stuff it wasn't you know until like you wanna say like 14 15 around that age but prior to that I didn't really think much of it but also it's like too you know you said your stepdad it it definitely wasn't an innate thing a natural thing for you to more or less look for him for from for that or to feel like it was in your system because of him no no right so and you know my mom's talking about she you know she mom sings you know it's a different kind of thing definitely yeah yeah um you know you put a record on you know she's crushing it you know but she's not offended flat foot get in front of a mic and go like right it's not that's not what that is so you know and and you know I have like this built-in radio in my head you know what that is of course and I start learning like everybody ain't got that you know every like at any moment of the day I could be in trouble and just got my ass whooped you know or whatever then I could be going through something this happy ass song happened playing in my head like that's not the time right now I'm trying to be Emo bro like you playing Mama say Mama you know so I couldn't get it I didn't understand what that was and then you get older like oh no you you got you just got that thing you know and I heard miles say it's funny that you brought him up because I saw an interview um that he did one time and somebody asked him like yo you know would you still do music even if nobody cared a page he's like he's like this of course like yeah sure yeah I would I can't get I can't get it out of my head hmm like I have to do it you know what I'm saying so listening to people like that give their take on their experiences with this thing that we all you know caught you know we all came with we all were blessed with um everybody takes you know has different takes but there are parallels in our experiences you know it's on how we choose to process it but that was me like I just knew you know but it was I was so so uncertain of it that I felt that that it was that way for everybody else right that's how like that's how I was anybody that was around me I'd be like you do your part and they looking at me like what part bro when did we sign up to be a group like we didn't I didn't agree to this it's like no you know the partners no they don't they don't I didn't understand it until I got older um so through that indirectly just being so close to music you know always consuming it the way that and I mean not just on the radio I mean cartoons commercials for sure anything you know exactly everything you know put my own little twist I had this one girl you know trying to you know brag and stunt flex and whatever and she was like why you always got to change the song why can't you just sing it as it is I'm like I did it better my way is better you know but I didn't understand that people didn't have because their relationship with the record is is supposed to go a certain way if you do something else with it you're not doing it right you're they're married to the yeah to the moment yeah and I'm like oh y'all don't get it so then by default I found myself in this elated space because I'm like y'all just don't get it so that means that I'm smarter than y'all right I Gotta Be You Gotta Be This is basic and y'all are like you know but I had to learn it that's not cool because they don't necessarily make you better just me you different you know because you can't very well do all of this other stuff that other people could do you don't get it you know on that front so don't be that way so around you know around that time um formidable teenage years I started learning how to humble myself because like just because you good at this one thing right here that's better than most people or whatever it doesn't make you better because when I try my hand in sports you know I I could run fast but that about it you play no Sports no my hand out coordination is trash so did you go to did you go to a musical high school no no because I know obviously you're from Philly and you guys have yeah legendary schools nope grades wasn't good enough oh you have to have good grades in order to go to the magnet so yeah I said you just can't go in there with your talent no first of all nobody knew first not only did my grades weren't good I had it I had a history in the timeline of not being good I was in I was in learning disability for a few years oh he's acting up yeah he's acting up I was a complete fool I didn't care we don't care how good he can sing okay it was do not yeah not him yeah not him he gonna tank the pool no no no we got Geniuses over here we only need this clown when I say we paralleling right now no I know that's why every time I see you I'm like bro hey myself great teacher said if you take him home he'll bring him back I'll pass it I didn't know wow get that [ __ ] wow out of here oh wow I didn't get that I didn't get that I mean it may have a lot to do with the fact that in the specific area where I was raised I don't think that there was a lot of concern for our educational aggression gotcha so we're not gonna get into that you know God bless the city um but yeah I don't think you know it wasn't a priority even the singing thing like yeah you cute or whatever with the singing thing but what that got to do with these grades you know and my grades when I say trash trash but it wasn't because the work was hard I just didn't care it's boring boring we talk about doing this we talk about that I'm not getting no as far as even just restructuring the curriculum yeah because it's not that kids aren't smart it's not that kids can't do the work they aren't interested yeah and you have to and I say this all the time you have to meet people where they are yeah not just adults kids so if I figure out no you write what works for a person yeah and you should have options yeah you should have options to learn how you want to and need to learn need to learn yes and it's worse when like me I had a problem with authority I ain't let nobody telling me nothing I know that's all kids no I had a real problem with people telling me stuff it's so bad even if I was on my way to do it if you told me you changed your mind I bet you ain't never gonna do it yeah I was Patty [ __ ] that was petty back then yeah I was bad again I'm not knowing that that's what I'm doing when you're a kid your brain is not fully developed so you're just all reaction you're just all you're just all reflexes you know what I'm saying no thought ain't no but if someone would have met you where you were and figure out what those interests were yeah you might you might have might have yeah blossomed in that space you're not wrong yeah and I think I think a lot of times you know a lot of our youth especially where we all come from obviously you know we were talking about that before we even started about you know just schools and right the way life is set up for us coming from the inner cities it gets lost on us and there's a lot of kids that get get lost in that shuffle yeah that's why so recently an opportunity presented itself to me um through the Harvey Foundation uh Stephen Marshall Harvey Foundation we're working with this school out in Atlanta um called Utopia Academy where you know uh yeah so um participating with them to help facilitate musical education you know and from a different perspective you know um and I'm and I'm grateful that they you know folded me into that because I love being a part of stuff like that because now I get I get to contribute to um to a a system that I you know I wish I had yeah yeah at least my titties cats are so bright man you will love them oh you will love them and they quick you know and they get it it's so amazing man and you you can tell like yeah yeah I'm just saying um and but I'm saying that to say that if there was more you know initiatives like that to take take it by the reins you know and I think only people like us can do it because we've walked that walk we know where they are and we know what we didn't get that we have the we have the um the vantage point to be able to say no no no no no no this these will be the better options for for these kind of kids like I know but I know you want to run them down the same assembly line but they're they're getting their creatives they're just different they do life different they experience life different it comes to them different and you know the the saying like you can't you can't judge a fish by its ability to fly like it don't make sense because you're going to keep thinking it's a dummy like no treat a fish like a fish give a fish what a fish needs and you will watch them be the best fish that they could be so I want to be able to you know be in close proximity to that not only for you know uh for the uh the program that I'm a part of but just in general like that's always been the undercurrent of everything that I do for people and I've always been you know vocal about that like I always want to inspire people I always want to inspire people I always want to use what I was blessed with to be able to inspire people you know creatively yes musically yes but just in general just as a person because I'm always growing like everybody else and I'm always learning and I'm processing is I'm only recently learning how to unpack my old baggage yeah I don't even know that it was bothering me you know I'm used to pushing through and you know don't be no punk just keep going it's like ah sometimes you got to take a knee and reassess like restarting you know what I'm saying I'm hurt yeah and can nobody come to your help and come to your Aid if you don't say ouch yeah because everybody think you're good yeah you know especially when you become either famous yeah oh they think oh they think are wealthy yeah they think you solid like none because everything is cured you these breasts it the speaking to the you know I was just talking about the curriculums and you know that creative word is just you know it's it's not it's not used enough in trying to understand how to create faculty when it comes to educating creatives yeah and not to take away from the from the person yes because that's something that should be said to that as well very necessary in order to but again there's about that balance thing again yeah I think that if you're gonna if if you're if you're going to be responsible for the education of people that processes information in a specific way it should be you know curated by people who understands that process that's it because otherwise to you you're going to think like it's not resonated it's not getting through so I gotta I gotta push harder okay you're gonna break something you might want to back up you know so or find somebody that that speaks that language so that they can show you how to get in there communicate that yeah yeah that's we I didn't have well same here we didn't have none of that none of that I'm watching as and as you're saying it um I'm watching my my son my son and my daughter's music teacher you know before before she pulls out these you know because a music teacher normally just pulls out the classical books yeah I'm saying we're gonna we're gonna do some some Mozart and some Beethoven and we're gonna start here at middle C right and put your fingers rest them here you know the basics and the first thing she said was well was I what songs do you like hmm and and he was like I like I like Harry Potter and Spider-Man duh she's like okay let's do Harry Potter and Spider-Man so and so she wrote out she charted out yeah with the process of learning yeah man how to play the piano you can't expect these kids to pick up stuff they'll have no context to they don't know why it's important to know the fundamentals I had no give me a reason because what's going to happen is I'm gonna get frustrated that I can't push through and then I'ma realize oh that's why yeah got it kids want to learn how to play Bad and boujee that's it I know I do mama he's getting a little heavy I had it then I'm here all week [Laughter] you got a residency that's great all right so so get me out of high school quick I'm trying to yeah I'm not happy real quick High School never happened oh [ __ ] I made it I made it just just made it through knife and had to repeat I was like yup come on I'm gonna take my exit out of it yeah yeah do you do you finish do you start hitting the the the spots to perform at that place at that time not quite yet not quite yet um you know I'm at the crib you know and the folks is like it's eight other you [ __ ] wait wait you not my priority bro you said what is eight other other so nine yeah I'm the oldest nine okay all right yeah yeah so essentially it was like you you know what the Vibes is you wanna it's your life you're like 15 16 at this point not quite yet I'm like 13 14. okay something like that yeah yeah I'm about 13 14. and so I'm from Philly so Philly has a culture of you know that hustle culture so my stepdad was like okay so if you ain't going to school you're gonna go to work right so he had he had a table you know selling eyes and ends you know and like well it don't even matter now you know uh uh bootleg Contraband amen you know what I'm saying survival that's right I got a lot of my music from you know come on now you know what I'm saying I mean at this point yeah um and you know I would just work the table you know and I'll go out like you can't be at the crib all day doing nothing bro do something you know um and so you were in Pharmaceuticals he completely missed black CDs he completely you said Contraband okay got it no because he hangs out with me man yeah it's okay yeah he thinks everybody comes yeah [Laughter] no man I literally supported it with that's how I got a lot of money I'm sorry Brothers I just got the demeanor like you can handle it I mean I come from that environmental man you don't have a table of drugs no I didn't know how he was working that thing you know what I'm saying pandemic but we thought we talk about we talk about 94 95 like no that's not so you know folks are selling side so you got clue mixtape so then allegedly allegedly out of full feature before you know two weeks before we released allegedly you know alleged allegedly uh I love it so you out you're on the street you're hustling CDs you know and you know that was that that that went for a little while and then you know we're moving around and stuff by the way that's my actual brother right there so you know yeah so he wanted to deny that yeah at any point you could be like that's not true Dandy point which one are you second oldest or no no no he's number four yeah yeah Lee five sorry he's five negative the brawls y'all had in that [ __ ] yeah well I was out the way so it was all them yeah yeah that's a battle Royals that's a whole nother coming out of control that's a whole other conversation and this is it's uh seven boys and two girls oh man so it's me two girls the rest is boys they was out of control no idea that's a that's another conversation for uh for uh for another day that's another conversation for another day uh so we um you know they're going to school and stuff you know I'm saying because they became the new priority in me it's like hey you want to [ __ ] off the rest of this you already know what it like you know and I think they was at their wits end with me anyway because you know I was you've been getting to it I was I was I was an interesting uh child you know again you got I'm not listening to nobody I'm bucking back on Authority I'm hard-headed like I'm a whole new level of hard-headed I was I was I was I had I was sophisticated with my hard-headedness like you want to talk about gas light yeah what are you talking I don't know yeah um so but you gotta understand prior to that you know teen young teenager I had endured a lot of stuff you know what I'm saying that they weren't present for yeah so anyway so at that point I'm like f all this you know I'm listening I'm just listening to me because as far as I'm concerned I'm all I got yeah like for real yeah there's people around nobody paying attention not really there ain't no real eyes on me ain't no real cover on me not from y'all somebody because it's a lot of situations I shouldn't have been able to walk out of and I'm eternally grateful for that especially thinking about it in hindsight so High School came and went essentially never happened so I didn't have that Social Development gotcha yeah so where I got that from is by hanging around um creative Performing Arts kids and I would just hang out with them after they would you know after school were let out we go to the mall and we just hang around and I would come I would kind of sort of like pick their brain like who's y'all learning school today hey well yeah let's let's sing some tunes guys and they look at me like bro we just got out of school we're not trying to do school again right you know but I wanted to be close to it I wanted to like you know because I didn't get to go to school you know I didn't like I'm I'm moving this way like like out of out of reflexes I'm not it's not like a thought that that's in my head okay I didn't go to school so I didn't get the education so best thing I should do is hang around like I'm not thinking like that it's just it's just I just wanted to be close to the education you know and it was more it wasn't really like you know curriculum-based stuff it was more so mindset you know so I'm getting friends and I'm getting you know perspectives yeah from hanging around them and it's like oh artists just got a different vibe because I would hang out with the non-artists and I would hang out with you know because I had a lot of time in my hands I would hang out you know I hang out with the thugs I hang out with the gigs I hang out with the you know you know with the with the akis you know what I'm saying I would hang out with you know uh my stepdads whoever was outside when you was outside yeah well it was outside when I was outside and I would wait until they were let out and then I'm like cool I'm gonna go hang out with my people yeah you know because now I can speak freely and I don't look like a weirdo like what are you talking about you know that creative crap you know so that's when I started to notice I might be a little special in these streets I might actually have something that I'm I actually like focus and and and and cultivate it and put a lot of energy into making it into something because everybody ain't got it like this was it because being around those creatives right you noticed that I was able to get the contacts well you were able to get the context but you also noticed that I'm better than this here y'all go here y'all go so I wasn't gonna say that but no I mean because I didn't and I didn't I did Brothers in Arms I didn't I didn't on this I didn't basically I'm just being completely honest there was some element of that because you there was some Elementary but it wasn't from but it wasn't from a a like a it wasn't from yeah no it wasn't a competitive thing it was just an observation it was just like they're going to school for it yeah apparently you know their the gifts qualify them of course it's qualified yeah yeah but I just got it I got some momented and I don't have to thank God yeah and now I don't I don't nobody I'm not going to school for this like you said yours wasn't being nurtured right it's just it was just there just got it it was and this is before I'm even understanding how special and how valuable that is yeah and again I'm not getting that positive reinforcement that positive feedback you know what I'm saying so I'm in I'm in the weeds thinking that I need to you know get my weight up and it's like nah you're you're a little further along than than people are not telling you yeah you know yeah and it wasn't until I started recording but I'm fast forwarding so around about like 16 17 or whatever um I'm getting like massive downloads because now I'm like looking for it so my step dad playing a whole bunch of crap at the crib you know all types of stuff a lot of RMB but mostly a lot of soul music you know some jazz some smooth jazz you know um and I used I almost I kind of use that as a springboard to kind of as like a gateway to get into other stuff because of whatever was happening around my time because he's you know he playing stuff from from his time you know you got uh Earth Wind and Fire and you know and all all Heavy band banned him because he played a saxophone he used to be in the band he's telling me his stories about him and his brothers they used to band up and do like little performances and stuff and they you know they was also trying to like basically represent that same element of all of these bands you know and that's that's a whole different process of you know so it's not just focus on you know the song or the singer it's the whole musical production you know and this is what this is how I'm getting my musical education listening to um uh uh what's the name of these some of these Ohio players in in Chicago and Tower and Lakeside all of it yeah you know so all Parliament Funkadelic cracked my head open so much man I can tell George Clinton and then you go back further then you got James Brown and it's like oh crap and it's like and you go back further and then you got uh John Coulter and Charlie Parker Miles Davis it's like yo where was all of this and then when I found Stevie Donny and Marvin that was a wrap for me 80 to 90 of my musical education comes from Donny Hathaway Stevie Wonder Marvin Gaye you could hear it in your music yeah you can hear it absolutely you can hear it you know that I pivoted around those three you know starting from like 15 15 16 today yeah yeah you know those are the go-to's for me for me now it's not to you know not mention you know all the other ones you got Sly and the Family Stone you got you got Michael Jackson you got Prince you got you got you know all the mentionables that everybody mentioned in this film you probably never heard of you know so I'm listening to all of these people and this is where I'm getting all of the vibes from at the same time you got Boyz II Men you got Joe to see you got Brian McKnight yes take six you got all of these people that's coming out at the same time and I'm like which way do I go you know so my mindset was never it was never a clear path it was always you know in conflict because I'm trying to reconcile these two eras yeah you know you got new addition and then you got uh uh um you know a guy you got uh uh uh freaking uh whoever else all of these people that were coming out at the time of course you know you got uh Babyface you know and that whole situation you know and that time like crazy you know songwriting and you know being romantic like I don't know nothing about these romantic streets you know I'm I'm not even getting uh never you know I don't even know how to move in that space at all you know I wasn't getting girls you know I got lazy eye I had a chipped tooth back then I wasn't cute nobody cared you know so I've leaned on what I was good at yeah being creative being the good singer being you know being the nice guy yeah you know and that's how you get just friends but again fast forwarding so great so um what did Babyface say about his writing perspective oh about what about being about oh about writing for everyone this isn't writing for a a space of and not verbatim but what I took from it of the everyday man right because everyday man is just friend yeah everyday man is not the Playboy right but I think it's right rap or sing about it but yeah most of those guys weren't that either right right you came from a very pure place with your music and that's where Babyface came from yeah he was the show I mean yeah that's where I was you know I'm saying now you know respectfully if it leads into stuff then it leads into stuff but that's not what I'm leading with yeah you know what I'm saying so I always wanted to have that in there as well as like yeah we can get into some you know whatever but I need for you to know like I'm actually here because I'm interested in you [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] you know it's always genuine because you know I grew up in a town in an environment where there was no disclaimer yeah it was just traffic you in it or you're not yeah but for me it was like ah I don't know how to move like that you know because it connects with stuff you know in a different way that I had to endure you know people taking advantage people being predatory people manipulating people finessing I didn't want anybody that was in my presence to feel like any of that was happening you know what I'm saying and again I'm not judging it's just my personal perspective and take on life because of my timeline so that ordered my decision making and how I wanted to treat people and wanted to be treated so stuff got hairy at the crib I didn't feel like I could be myself I was misunderstood Nobody seen me nobody was listening to me I wasn't you know getting what I felt like I needed so I dipped and I'm like 17 18. I was almost 18 something like that and now I'm outside outside yeah no safety net yeah nobody's coming figure it out and you know bits and pieces I started you know putting together as far as learning who I was and I would get games sparse game here and there you know and I really wish you know I'm not looking on it you know resentfully necessarily but I will say it would have been dope if I had a consistent solid mentor to kind of like help me navigate just a little notification yeah just a little you feel you know I I appreciate the come up despite that actually you know it would have been nice if I took fewer L's it just would have been because because you inherit side effects you inherit baggage you know from you know it like I should be more confident because if you don't know how to audit that trauma yeah you're kidding yeah and and you figure I should be more confident than I am right now I had to come to the realization to even communicate oh that's my problem hmm you're lacking confidence now I gotta walk that out why are you all that you've accomplished all of this proof why are you lacking confidence why is that it can't be it can't be because you know you don't feel like you're good enough no that's not that's not where is that coming from bro and that's a lot you know that that shutdown had me sit down and work through all of that wow you know and and it's still a process it's still a process um that you know the the the the short version is I I wasn't investing as much in myself as I was in other people you know I was I was giving too much of mine to other people in the world you know and when I was you know uh when I was out there was no one there to give and there's no one here's the thing it's no one's responsibility to do that because you wasn't supposed to give up all of yours anyway that was for you yeah like you're not supposed to give up yours you're supposed to give off you're supposed to give up what you have to give because when you run out you think people Gonna Give You theirs no because they need theirs yeah you have to save some for yourself you have to I didn't no you just said no you're just moving so I'm trying to be the thing that I feel like I never got to the world hoping that that's the way you get it yeah no no no no but ultimately it could have turned out that way for you because of how it turned out yeah you know what I mean with like you said for what you come from or what you've dealt with to be in the place that you are now just in life period and the accomplishments yeah all the things that you've done for yourself right I see what you're saying that turned out so in essence it actually did come back but I wasn't I wasn't able to receive it right yeah that's what you're saying you know what I'm saying I'm saying it actually came back so massive so many folds but you just you just you weren't open to recognize it or receive it that way I had to learn that yeah you know so yeah it's a lot of learning stuff so by the time I got to about 90 eight is when I had developed a reputation for myself in the city for being you know the music ball like everybody knew me as that even before they knew was that your name yeah well it was a title it was like they go to music boy like he always doing something singing or beatboxing doing something I was in somebody's jazz club somewhere like I was always in the scene and nobody everybody didn't know my name but they knew up like you see me yeah I'm I'm everywhere yeah you know even before you even knew who I was so because you know that's what the reputation because people would literally say oh you're the music boy you know y'all just didn't I just see you down South Street be like yeah you know um so I just started going by that name like y'all can call me the music but it's called music you know and the first person I was like oh okay music hey check it out I'm like this [ __ ] just called me music let's go you know and I just went with it you know because who what better what better name what better it's literally my life you know so I just started you know introding it was awkward in the in the beginning it was like hey what's up man like uh uh I'm music music he was like I'm saying it right yeah I'm music and then like oh hey music yeah because you know uh you know my homie said like yeah man you know I'm missing you know you know cool um I remember the first time hearing your name yeah I literally remember the first time somebody said and I said this I was like his name is music yeah it felt like that it felt like that but it felt like that it made you right you don't want to figure it out yeah you're intrigued by whatever it was I was like and actually I thought it was genius bro yeah well I mean thank you and uh so fun fact the queue came from you know you can't can't trademark m-usic no no so you gotta put a K in there a z in there or something yeah you know and then I just decided to go with the cube well it's kind of was annoying when people just music is it music man there you are just in your upper okay here we go no that don't go together you can't just it is it's not it's not your hood word music which actually I couldn't protest in France [Laughter] was there a big break for you in Philly as far as because you know I always hear about the legendary Club you know yeah you know the Sean G's of the world putting together yeah and those things yeah yeah so so what I would I would equate to a big break is just the reputation you know my reputation stock kind of got a little higher because you know I started showing up to like key spots you know and key events and I started getting a reputation in in in in the town the music boy yeah yeah the music ball yeah so but no because you know I was still like a lot of people don't realize I was struggling you know I had a home girl that used to work at a restaurant and she would make tips and we would link up at the end of the day to get a 50 room for the night and I'll just go up the street to the my club wow and it's crazy so were you winning bread at the open mics or was it no no she's going to sing it's just just just shed man just trying to like get better wow just jumping on literally just jumping on stage you know whoever will have me you know because sometimes it's certain nice work with kind of like dedicated to whatever yeah but other nice things I'll just get up there and do whatever sometimes it's good sometimes it's not but you know you figure it out as you're coming up during that time who are the other artists in Philly that are like bubbling with you were you like running in so fun fact I wanted to be in a group and I was selling and we got that earlier when you was making people being your group yeah you can tell I could tell you in rehearse I can tell you in rehearsal you off you off you will so you know but there's that there's that whole you know no low confidence thing because I didn't want to be the front guy plus I like the concept of Harmony you know what I'm saying and plus I thought yeah and plus you know I thought yeah I want to do that yeah about four of us though but we could do three yeah that'll work you know um so at the time you know I'm trying to recruit folks or whatever and you know all the creative folks that I was you know hanging out with was like yo you should get someone so you should get so-and-so I'm like okay like now you don't know so-and-so like nah never heard of them like that you should yo yo you guys you got bro's number like below wow so I was like who is this Bilal guy okay so I got his number so I got his number and I called him I called him up I gotta hear this and uh and my drum paraphrase it because you know timeline is hazy you talk about almost 30 years for sure for sure so I'm calling him up he's hello who's this I'm like hey um is this below yeah who's this and I'm like oh it's music music what music who I'm like no that's like my name and he asked me some obscure question like do you know the the the first person to ever call music music or why it's called some I don't remember but I'm like who is this philosophical dude I just want to know if you trying to be in a group or not bro like yeah I think but I didn't understand how and I pulled up to his crib whatever you know and you know it he asked me to sing something for him and I I think I picked up Brian McKnight song and he hit me with the okay all right and now I didn't understand like how dope he was that's the thing so that's why I'm looking at him like what's going on man why are you acting like this I'm not understanding who is you yeah yeah you know and I'm not getting it you know I'm like this dude is different you know not in a bad way it's just different like I'm what what's happening right now because I was used to the oh my God you're a dope he didn't give me none of that he came I mean he gave me mine a little bit like okay so we had a few run-ins and it's like we just talked mostly talking you know and then one day we pulled up to this it has like it was like this um I think it was a jazz club it was a jazz theater actually it was a theater it was just a theater and he had a homeboy that played keys or whatever and you know I met him there and his homeboy just started playing keys and bro started singing that was like this dude at this point you hadn't even heard him sing no I've never heard him sing oh yeah and this was the first time like I actually heard him sing I was like what this is why you dissed me I was like what even is this dude man like and just take a however you want to take it like I in my mind I had a thought like this dude got to be trolling everybody he gotta be an angel just messing with everybody because the like I I've never heard a person sound so like his tone was so pure mm-hmm and effortless no extremely just matter of facts I watched him I was like fall and scream like and then bring it right back to a clean false so it's like yeah I'll give you guys a little bit Immaculate I don't I don't really like you want to talk about Elite you want to talk about top tier God's here social ability and from that moment I was like yo yeah yeah you you part of the group I don't think he was interested we never actually talked about it really but I was like oh you definitely you win you we're gonna do all the work I got a whole space for you you know what I'm saying but clearly that never happened and then next thing you know I hear him on records you know he busting Down Records with common and I'm like oh this dude he getting to it and I was you know and I was I was immediately A A you know a supporter of his from day one and that's why when we did the record on my album I literally started out I said hey party people in the place to be this is history in the making music and Below don't say I knew how I I knew how legendary that was yeah and that was just I don't care if anybody else got it that was that was for me and and when that record because I I couldn't I couldn't be in the studio with him because I was in New York doing the video for for the night and he was back at Philly and he was like after I set up a session and whatever and I'm like [ __ ] I really want to be there because I'm you know what I'm saying but he kept he kept calling me doing I was like bro just you know he's like and yeah all right hand me back like so what you want me to I say bro I really don't care what you do bro like just do you like I'm basically saying like you cannot [ __ ] this up there's it's impossible for you to [ __ ] this up I promise you anything you do will be great yeah right so after about that I think it was like the third or fourth call and he he just he stopped calling him like cool I guess he got it because I was distracted you know how videos you ain't got time to be talking to folks like I'm I'm focused I'm trying to figure out excuse me I'm trying to figure out these angles bro I'm awkward I don't know so the end of this video it was a long video shoot and um I got a I don't know how I got it I don't know whether I got a file or something I got something I got something um and uh at the end of the day I went to the hotel car key wasn't working we don't know how that goes and my manager's like it's cool I'll just go back downstairs and get you okay so I'm sitting in front of my door just waiting for him to come back I was like I'm also listen to this this reference you know that old boy did and I'm listening and a song you know for those who don't know a song called um uh don't stop you know uh give it up and down don't stop doing it no I heard my voice on my verse my verse went to hook came or whatever and then I'm just waiting for his verse and I'm saying like he probably I'm sure he did enough or whatever and his part came on now that I got you off the wall I was like oh this is what I wanted this is what I want I'm tweaking in the hallway at two in the morning Nobody's around I'm like yo so I'm you know and I I promise I probably you because he did like a bunch of takes I promise you I probably use every take that he recorded I just I just I I accomplice him yeah you know them but I fit every I try to use every morsel because I I I don't and to this day I don't understand you know I have my theories but I don't understand how he's not mentioned more I don't I don't get it I mean but but but but but but but I I do get it I mean to to say it simply yeah or correctly at a certain point it does become a popularity contest yeah yeah and as far as I can tell I don't think he cares that much and then yeah there's absolutely yeah that yeah so he knows he's he knows he's he's got he knows he's good you know and and that was another thing you know and whenever I would see him I'll be so proud of him you know I'm saying that he's gotten to where you know he's gotten with his crap and he's like it's just crazy I know it sounds like I'm you know but I think you got to give people theirs it's very important that you're doing you speak you speak truthfully and inadequately because it's important for people to get that yeah because we we find ourselves in those spaces where it just happens we got that bully in our brain like I don't know bro I don't know if that's it today he found like it's like come on man like not you today not today bro I don't feel like this today you know we have that weird thing that happens so it's good I think is good that people that understand where you are that can appreciate fully what you do yeah that when they speak on it you know that it's coming from a a not just a genuine place but a place of knowing comes from that place it's come from that place not just oh my God no no like I low-key don't want to because you're up for real in life and I'm trying to be better than you but I think that it's important that it's mentioned yeah you you you're actually that I tell them every time I say that good you're actually not good yeah every time I see him last time I saw him I think I saw him in Chicago oh okay yeah I was like bro and every time I see him I just I just dude I just be so happy to see him because and you know because historically people that are gifted in a specific way tend to be burdened by a lot of stuff you know you see it happen all the time so when I see him and he's flourishing and functioning he's he's doing good like I'll be I'll be grateful yeah you know what I'm saying because I think people like him are really necessary yeah that's very important absolutely anyway so um relax doesn't want to be in the group with you I didn't say that but it just didn't happen okay all right what the [ __ ] he didn't join bro he didn't show it you just uh yeah so you was tracked and he didn't you know he didn't want to join up so get over it at least he didn't kick you out of his apartment oh okay let's hang out man he didn't he did he did um so I used to go to uh we're going back so I used to go to like a lot of you know open my clubs I just go you know I went to jail jail had her own situation called words and sounds I don't know if a lot of people I don't I don't know that a lot of people um uh made the connection that her first album was called words and sounds because she actually had an open mic situation called words and sounds poetry and she was saying wow and I would pull up to her I will make my rounds you know what I'm saying we'll go to herds and I'll go to this other spot and then we'll go to this other spot you know to see you know what was popping and that's how I that was my introduction to learning how to be on stage and perform for people and stuff like that and you know she was one of the ones that kind of helped me break out of the whole low confidence shy [ __ ] you know she you know she did the tight lip you know if you don't get your ass on this stage yeah and I was like okay yeah yeah she got dang yeah yeah all right because you know she clearly saw something to me that I didn't you know and I would get up there and she's like see now don't you feel better I'm like yeah I do actually thank you you know and then I would take that you know and I would go you know whenever I would get you know I would get those nerves you know I would just push through I still get them to this day but I'm able to manage them way better now you know depending on what I'm going through sometimes it's tougher than others but um clearly because I've done a million shows but back then it was tough you know because when you don't have it when it wasn't developed it literally feels like jumping off of a cliff with no parachute yeah you know so I'll get up there shaking and everything you know voice cracking you got to figure it out you get stabilized bro stabilize you got it you know and then I would get my rhythm you know and then it'll be cool a lot of freestyling you know because I handle songs you know and so you aren't doing covers either way my 80d work I don't really like retain a lot of like I know I know how it go but I don't you know how you know a song but you don't know the song but you know the song you can sing along but when you got to sing it cold it's like oh [ __ ] what are the words so you were accidentally mixing the song yeah like you up there yeah yeah you were in deeper waters than what you realize yeah yeah yeah but I had to I had to keep it going because you want to be great yeah yeah all right well go ahead and be great it is yeah so that through that development and then eventually I started um connecting with people who had people who knew people that were connected and then the rest is history met these people connected with my men who became my managers at the time introduced me to my writing partner Carvin Hagan shout out to Carvin Hagins uh shout out to Ivy Legends yeah or Orthodox uh producer that got you just friends and you know um love and 17. so were you recording before that no no that's what I'm saying I didn't start recording until 99. officially well technically I started recording in 98 singing background on the record um when I met car I've had touch of jazz Studios uh for these girls uh the uh group Ares you know yeah you know Aries are you in Canada I know you know I know you know that oh yeah bro yeah what's up with it anyway we going you know um so um bring the working too but touch your Jazz touch your Jazz because most people that are watching this they may not know so Jazzy's Jazzy Justin you know Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for those who don't know um Jesse Jeff is the DJ yeah he has a studio in Philadelphia that was a studio that I started working at and that's where I met Carvin Carvin was working there and um no deal yet no deal you just pulling up to the studio yeah you know because the people who became my managers at the time had a relationship yeah you know because a lot of people don't know the history of a Jazzy Jeff in the r b space right they know him as Jazzy's Jazz Fresh Prince of Bel-Air so they don't really and and we like to give that information we like to give you know I mean and we like to give people their flowers nice and salute them for what they what they've done and what they're doing and their contributions to this thing that that we all love called r b right right you know what I mean like touch of jazz even me being a California Kid I knew exactly what that was okay you know what I mean and to me and you can you can tell me if I'm wrong it was like the birthplace of Neo Soul yeah it's that yeah basically yeah well yeah I mean everybody came through there yeah well Neil at some point technically started with Erica and D'Angelo okay okay but Philly I think as a place as a location became the Hub yeah kind of nurtured and curated that musical offering okay so um I wonder like that's I mean of course it is an epicenter you wonder how epicenters are created in a sense but like but here's the interesting thing it wasn't because that's what we were calling it or doing that's just how we were categorized we were just all doing our thing did it did it did it make you all fall in line in terms of just creatively following in that in that vein no or it is just that's just what y'all was on we were just all on that same Vibe yeah similar similar Vibe right right you know that's just what a lot like everybody's different so a lot like how everybody's on that track Vibe now it's not like there's no meeting got you yeah got you that was just how everything was moving gotcha so everybody was doing their version of what was the popular frequency at the time got you for sure you know so I get that a lot people like you know so when did y'all decide and when did y'all bro like this is not like we didn't like sit around the table and say okay now you you're gonna do this and and you that at least after my knowledge if that happened I wasn't at the meeting I didn't get that I didn't get the email like DC yeah okay that's different yeah so so I started recording basically within the first half of 99 roughly most of the songs I made my first album came from that time period that's it now prior to them I haven't recorded I handle songs I ain't had no manager I had no developmental prices and I have a plan I didn't have no just open mics yeah that was it people knew me but I didn't have I had nothing going on and you walked straight into recording those songs essentially I mean with the help of Carvin and I of course yeah so you're recording those records before you get your record deal right I get a record deal from a phone call well I get an option well I get I get a notification that there's a possibility of a potential record deal through a phone call I'm in Atlanta I'm not thinking nothing of it I'm like I'm you know I need to figure out how to get this money by tomorrow I'm trying to figure out my life so are you even shopping a deal at all no I'm not no you know retrospectively and honey said I'm thinking that's what you know my managers and my people at the time must have been doing but I'm not part of those conversations because it's not it's not first of all I'm not even thinking about getting a deal I'm thinking about getting enough songs burn them on a CD selling myself re-up rinse and repeat that's mine that's ultimately what you come from yeah that's where I come from yeah yeah you like your own stuff now yeah then you know at the end of 99 you know a couple days before you know 2000 I get a call you know from you know my manager at the time and he's like yo you know what I'm saying we need you to come to New York because we got a deal for you on the table I'm like what bro what does that even mean what are you talking about like did you hear me like we got a deal on the table for you Dale on the table I don't know what that means it made a record first where are you now they didn't know I'm not I'm not beholden to nobody I'm moving go wherever I want to go if I want to dip I'm a dip right checking with nobody so I left Philly maybe about that time by like five about five months ago so they're not even for five months I'm not even in Philly they don't even know until about marching to the video on drugs outside outside yeah yeah that was dolo for a long time so they're like nah you gotta come back to Philly dude I'm like all right well give me now mind you how I got down it was Greyhound I never flown day in my life Greyhound so they was like yo we gotta give it I was like all right as long as you give me a Greyhound ticket my Greyhound no no you got to get on a plane you're like I'm not getting on no place I'm not getting no no talking about nah bro no unless you you figure out a way to get cause I ain't got no bread so neither you give me a Greyhound ticket or you can kiss this deal on the table goodbye so you like even if y'all buy the plane ticket I'm not getting on the plane no no sir no okay all right I I couldn't keep that I couldn't keep that same argument when I had to fly to LA from Philly right or to make to yeah the soundtrack that I was on that that got to build like so I have to like you know so you hop on your Greyhound so I have my Greyhound back to Philly um and what was crazy was I was already in the mood because I had a hard time so it's a little side so I had a hard time getting getting a a job um uh because nobody would hire me because I had locks at the time so you know uh it's very uh uh anti-dark phone it's a different time yeah so why a week or so after I cut my locks off I get a gig and I'm like it's some [ __ ] only for me to quit the job because I couldn't stand being there I was like I just cut my hair for nothing yeah people who have hair that cut your hair you just know like that's a that's a process yeah so I'm already all over the place like I don't know what I'm doing what my life I had a whole image that I had you know in mind I didn't already just like throw that in the trash I don't know if this music thing is going to happen I don't got no money it's just weird it's a music business yeah but this is before the music you know what I'm saying but that is the music business stuff yeah that's it so and I always say this it's almost like somebody somewhere was like okay somebody go down to help this idiot because he don't just just just just break a little just give them something because he don't get it yeah so I get the call blah blah so I'll go back to I go back to Philly oh so here's the thing so the call was like uh you know you got a deal on table I was like Dale okay what does that mean you got a record deal like with a label like yeah we're like oh what label and it was like with Def Jam we could probably you know I think it's it's a good shot you can have a you know have a deal with depth I was like with Russell Simmons they were like no God you don't know nothing no that's what I'm trying to tell you bro I don't know what you're talking about that's the only Def Jam I know Russia Bingo like bingo bingo 99 Bingo yeah I know Russell Simmons and Run DMC thank you that's it that's all I know yeah so they're like bro get back to Philly I'm like all right give me my ticket so I'll go back to Philly I stay with my manager for the night because I was like I'ma just like it's like no you're gonna stay here until we get the news I need to know where you at that artist yeah okay okay I'm clear now yeah yeah yeah yeah so you get two keys to the road you get two keys today yeah cause I'm coming in here and I'm getting you yeah okay so we get to feel when we get to New York I'm sitting in front of Kevin Lyles like why am I here real you're not Russell Simmons I'm not understanding anything Red Man in the corner I'm like what is this red man is in the corner just right I'm more interested I want to talk to you right right no this meeting is about you bro like what are you doing so I'm just green I'm just I'm giving context on how I'm not knowing anything just just to help you out from the first comment that you made why why are you getting directly no no no because you made a comment about how you know I deserve and just friends you know was well this is it's from coming from this guy right right I'm not trying to get in your way I don't even know that I'm in your way all I know is like oh this is what's happening yeah right that's it so you know my bad I was hoping for an apology did you have just a friend yeah when you walked in the door that's what that's what I got it on come on man and that made the Nutty Professor 2 soundtrack yes it did and that's why I had to fly to L.A to make the premiere that's great to walk in and and I you know I don't I felt like they they couldn't put it on the soundtrack because I wasn't an assigned artist so somebody had the right idea well why don't we signed them yeah that's how it goes that's how it goes you know I I wasn't in the building I wasn't you know part of the conversation but you know somebody else I think that you know and I'm just rolling with it because I got something to do with my life last I checked like if I couldn't call nobody up for the night my bed was concrete so it was a different it was a different world yeah so I go from I like to use this analogy and I started using this like it was a Cinderella Story essentially and midnight never came I'm still I'm still lit you know and I I didn't know how to appreciate it at the time because in my mind I'm coming from you know 70s early 80s type process I'm trying to do big budgeted songs it's like bro you just got here let's let's see how this try room try to run ghosts for you you know I'm making plans for my next album and so I swear during the first album yeah yeah the audacity the idea so when you get your deal I always like to ask what did you buy my first night I bought was a house first thing yeah because I was you know like you said you were going for one it was okay it was okay it was okay for having nothing now that wasn't amazing no now tank really is mad at you because he didn't get no outside he is he wasn't able to get no house okay let me rephrase let me rephrase I got an apartment okay it was an apartment it wasn't a house I'm just calling it a house it wasn't a house it was an apartment and it's your first place ever you ever ever ever how old are you at this point I'm 22. 23. 22. 22 years old I I I will I would after my dad because I got my deal if I'm not mistaken in February so I would have been 23 in September how long does it take before just friends comes out oh it was immediate I was immediate so they were already locked and loaded they just needed for the design yeah so they played you on some yeah we might I didn't we might give you a record deal when they already had it and I didn't know it to me it looked like no they was ready it was me that was like I might sign okay who is you I'm right I'll stop by Russell's office maybe later tomorrow and discuss it with him Russell's not here make sure he's not even he's not he's not here he's not even there make sure DMC is there I'd love to them and Redman that guy's cool make sure you have Hey Kevin last can you bring Millie Vanilli next time so record comes out record comes out smash when the thing comes out was was the record to smash from the rip or did it take so a minute so again I'm not paying attention to none of that because none of that is uh it's not even once you have the deal I don't know what any of this means I don't know what Andy I don't know what Smash Hits and charting I don't know what any of this means so you're not talking to anyone else you're not talking to Jill Scott you're not asking them like you know run into each other yeah here and there but no so you kicked my ass and didn't even know no you was kicking it you were a victim of the machine bro so it's like we used to run into each other because I would go earlier in the show you will go later okay all right hey you just you just you quick go warm that thing up you don't know you cut to you walk away damn I'm shaking you all apart that's great and you were you about to start talking about this album and I'm glad you're here bro because I'ma take this moment to tell you oh okay in my opinion um just my opinion okay I like to argue my opinion too but in my opinion you have one of the greatest r b debuts ever ever to me to me got you that album is special got it thank you monsters that album is special and I used to listen to it I'm like [ __ ] this is really good this is really really good and at the time I'm purely I'm just songwriter I'm writing for everybody and doing that whole thing and it's like who's writing these songs there's me and cars I know because I was reading you know what I'm saying like I did I'm reading it I'm reading the information and you know the liner notes and then I meet dreying for that in Philly randomly I'm on a writer's trip I end up meeting Uncle Mark Mark Byers oh okay yeah and at that same night I'm working with dream without I meet Sean from Boyz II Men oh this is when we be this is when that becomes my guy and we become friends but to me Philly Neo Soul Philly neo soul you're my guy for that got you I'm like oh this this is special got you what he's doing is special and it re and I relate to so much of it you know what I mean I could only so I had a I had a personal policy I ain't going to talk about something I don't know about yeah you know so that's why all my songs are coming from a very real place in the sense that I I can identify with it yeah like I couldn't I couldn't do I deserved because I never been in that situation I ain't have a girl to cheat on that's I don't know what them Vibes was I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry my bad I think she cheated on him though sorry my bad my bad my bad I'm sorry sorry that was yeah yeah I got the knives yeah turn yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah I was never a cheater I know you you you you said it in the song yes I cheated on you I got my back but the point that I'm making this you know I wasn't in the gym you know what I'm saying so I couldn't take my shirt off that's still too soon my bad okay so I I had to speak from a place fully clothed wow and politely because that's where I was yeah you know I think it was I think it was extremely pure as you as you as you as you give us the play-by-play of where you were even in your understanding right of what you were now a part of right like when I made my album you know I had been on tour with you know with genuine and with the little yeah right the whole um Superfast yeah um black round yeah black ground I had you know I had been a I had now been immersed in it and been around it and hanging around Barry Hankerson and watching him talk to talk at the place going through you know what I'm saying like I I'd be okay okay you know I've been running around Hollywood you know what I'm saying hitting the PF Changs hey you understand Apple my team should really be a thing that should really be a thing yeah yeah PF Chang's at the Beverly Center you feel me running around with J dub AKA rock star in the band's two-door you know like I had I had so when I was making my music uh-huh you know what I'm saying I had all this I had I had a little bit of Hollywood on right right you know what I'm saying I had some extra no I actually understand but I still had I still was yeah the the perspective was getting a little tainted there was a little perspective momentum from from your standpoint it's like yeah I just got here it's like no it's like I'm just doing music yeah I just got here and I I just work here I'm just doing I don't know what that is doing music I don't even know that it's nothing that I don't know what it is I don't even know that it's a thing so you had a very honest record on there that it could be Taboo in this day and age I'm sure our artist really probably could even make this song today 17. yeah because it was speaking to how a lot of dudes were being victimized being tricked yeah yeah but they're being treated as the villain yeah yeah but how do I know if I don't know right because I'm being I'm being sold a story yeah like I had you know I had to have had the wherewithal to do my due diligence in order to find out right so that I don't get oh I was a young fella too though so it wasn't even that big of a gap the fact right remains in high school I'm a senior I'm a 17 year old senior don't matter a freshman girl lies to me tells me she's 16. until I go pick her up and [ __ ] is looking like it's [ __ ] driving to pick her up is you for real soon as she got in the car I'm like yo what yeah this is so weird because you know you got to go through the little things tell them who you come and get with at this school she went to or whatever and the the guard kind of looked at me weird and I look young yeah but he like [ __ ] you driving yeah yeah right so she get in the car I start asking questions there we go and I just really matter you know what I'm saying but I started asking questions off the rip like yeah that was the point oh oh no that's what crazy are you in oh God I'm a freshman I gotta drop you off I gotta drop you off I'm not gonna leave you here I'm not gonna just leave you right I'm going to at least Drive yeah yeah but I'm never picking you up again yeah this this cannot happen and I was 17 and she was 14. which [Music] he was here with it if [Laughter] my whole perspective has always been to start conversations and just inspire people to just be like wait a minute let me come at this from a different angle you know what I'm saying as opposed to just the same way that everybody do so I my whole life has been always just not necessarily in you know aligned with what was considered the everyday the norm the regular I was always adjacent Lord and I always felt always on the outs on the outside excuse me even when I started releasing records it was still like hmm I don't think that fit like I would hear myself regular this is the radio songs were going in my song will come on it's like you know nothing sounded like and then at the end of that go to another song like yeah you didn't sound like and it happened to it was happening to me as the person and I'm listening like does this fit like y'all sure about that you know I I like it I think it's dope I don't think it's like one of these things and not like the other and people were just rolling with it and because people were rolling with I was like all right cool I ain't gonna say nothing me too they just gonna keep playing it cool you know but I'm not understanding how different what I'm doing is I'm doing it according to and people are rolling with it and I'm like all right bet all right if we all just gonna play along cool yeah I'm rolling with it it worked oh my God yeah it worked bro now you know it wasn't until later if I'm being honest completely honest recently that I learned how to appreciate how everything happened because up until I begin to learn how to appreciate how everything happened I was very creatively frustrated because I felt like I couldn't get off what I wanted to get off hmm you know that happens to people who act in my opinion which I believe you are are really great at what they do sometimes it's you know your Flex is a little too much for the average consumer tank and I have these conversations all the time I mean we we literally you know we ran into the wall on one at one point and you know I mean and we went into the fire of tank wanting to be too talented got you he had a moment you know what I'm saying and as his representation I told him I was like this a dog they ain't gonna get it we're not I'm not gonna listen to you and he wasn't either because it came with him I wrote on the train came to me and I know it and I understand it I get it like on a cellular level it ain't my fault you don't get it it's not my fault you don't get it I know how great this is and I know how much the world will be better for it because that's how I received it so I will be doing it a disservice if I don't at least try we almost went broke not to dismiss your perspective because it's very valid but what this is don't give a [ __ ] about a dollar he did because it's more valuable he did though now what no no it's not this cared reality cared yes because when I stepped out of this and um if if I choose to and it is a choice understand that it is a choice for us if I choose to be concerned about my real life responsibilities then I understand but a lot of us don't choose because we would rather live in this reality because this reality is more priority because it's more valuable this will Outlast everybody but these bills do need to get paid today so we have to make a decision because we can't live in both spaces yeah and that's why a lot of us we suffer on the creative side because we're we've been made to prioritize the logistics so find again there go that balance balance balance balance that's a very tricky elusive slippery thing you know what I'm saying and everybody is not built like that and that's why you know you hear the stories they're just not blessed to find it yeah and and and and and and weren't um uh privileged two of you to be able to communicate to him in a way that could resonate well yeah because it goes back to the teaching yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah and and and being able to articulate to that kind of person so he can't you can't just shout at me you can't just speak you can't threaten me you can't intimidate me it actually has the adverse effect absolutely absolutely identify with me find out where I'm at and come get me like he was in terms of artists sensibilities which that's what he's been since he was a kid with record deals he was able to articulate it and I mean well we we was it was a different kind of homie so he was able to tell me okay no cut real cut and dry yeah yeah you know what I'm saying but he was still able to I was able to but the worst he did but the work still had the heat it might have been it might have been efficient but he still had to strategize he still had to come at you he still had to think about it you know yeah yeah because of the relationship I miss each other with a lot of it but it don't always work that out and I didn't get in his way I didn't get his way at all I said cool no because that's good because some people think yeah no you gotta do that no no no you don't and listen it's whatever business people Executives managers we can run down the line of whatever that is and our guys when you're on that side that's the that's the reason why I chose at that moment or a little before that to put my creative music side on hold to to help build his career with him that's that choice yeah you gotta you gotta prioritize and you got to be willing to shift yeah for the greater good I felt like we didn't have enough people on the business side who understood the artist's life because I had been in it I understood that I put out records I been on shows I'd get up at the you know the radio station for that one play at five in the morning so you can make their six and one you know I'd done all those things so I understood him and when he was telling me he's like no bro I'm telling you I want to do I gave him what it looked like um in my opinion and from from the outside and for and what it looked like business-wise yes from the outside you know what I'm saying yes um but out the outside of him outside of him but I understood where he was where he was right so I was like listen I'm rolling with you but I'm giving you a little bit of uh 2020 that I see from from the business side of it of what it what it's going to take for this to work I don't think they'll give it to you right I don't think they'll give you the tools you need to build the house that you want we know so much how valuable this is that we can't fathom why they wouldn't right yeah 100 you understand so it's not that we're not listening to you is really very much this is what everybody is looking for and I have it remember what we think we need like yeah we need this why wouldn't you why wouldn't you give me the but what we don't have is the is the vantage point of they they don't even have the bandwidth to even notice exactly that it's even a thing that it's even there they don't even see that there's food on the table they don't even see it I don't even see it so it takes a person like you to be able to say okay they're not going to give him what he needs because they don't get it and he's not going to listen to them because he knows they don't get it I get it from both sides I get how they're wrong and I get how he's wrong I also get how he's right and they're right so I'm not just going to sit back and let them go to war or am I gonna am I going to uh interject and mediate am I going to facilitate and be like okay I'm gonna need you y'all to give me a minute cool I'm gonna need you just come walk with me real quick yeah so he took a walk right yeah and we walked into my closet and we walked into my closet he looked up in my closet he said we're gonna burn all of this that's good that was good you gotta you got it you got it you gotta you gotta hit him you gotta hit you got to get you got to get straight to it we're gonna burn it yeah might as well and we're gonna start over might as well now we started over yeah we literally start over what 2016 2016. 2016 we started over say what we gonna be where we're gonna be um and whatever we're gonna be let's get to it yeah yeah right now I said [ __ ] we're gonna be this okay he's like well let's go beat that okay yeah that's what we've been ever since um that's dope man like it takes a person who has the discernment and has the information it has a perspective and has the invested interest um the specific invested interest not in yourself mm-hmm but in the outcome yes because that's all that matters yeah what can we make happen we could talk about what I feel like what I think you know what you talk about all that all day what can we make happen because that's the only thing that's going to matter yeah that sounds great that sounds amazing how can we make that happen do you have the resources are you provided with the tools is the Personnel in place is even the clientele absolutely right is there a demand for it are they asking where are you gonna put it cool you did it where you gonna put it yeah is anybody looking for it hmm because it's great how can we get these off no that was amazing best [ __ ] ever happened since sliced Jesus we can't sell nothing what was the point and that's that's the perspective that we need to get in some capacity so that we're going to because once you're and I'm I'm Loosely speaking you know humbly for this space because you know this is the space that I identify with but I know that at some point it has to resonate with us we need a why hmm because that's what got us on this on this uh mission in the first place so we need a why actually technically we need a why not why not do this why not go forward with my idea with my plan it came to me you know how real it is like if you just let me show you it's like cool all of that is cute but like you got responsibilities you got expenses you got kids you got you got a duty so I get that you are special and you were gifted with this privilege but it's only as good as as it's functional so how can we make this functional it may require you to fall back on some things you know just delay it for another time let the opportunity present yourself it probably not even supposed to go how you think it is it may need to go in a different way but it requires you to have this energy and you don't know enough to know like this is not where you're supposed to apply it to this is the energy that you're supposed to have but you're supposed to apply it to something else so maybe you don't need to be the biggest r b star but you need to have the timeline and the energy of the biggest r b start to be the authority on how to curate the conversation about RMB yeah and I think that that's what happened hmm because we're literally talking about our everybody yeah yeah [Applause] so let's get back to the songs too yeah let's go back into the song okay this other song okay of many of many songs so many great songs once again you have time I have time stamps which I know I got time stamps you're about to go yeah I like I said I'm a songwriter I'm you know I'm meeting with all the executives I you know I'm pitching records and doing this whole thing one of my guys like hey bro meet me at a random you know Hotel meet up with him to go grab something to eat um I'm going to pick him up it's my guy he's like I gotta play you something to say okay I can't play your records nah nah I got it I got to play something and he plays me the video I I go back up I go up video okay plays me the video okay so you got the you got the visuals he plays me the video of this little song you have it's called love it's funny and said said person who played this for me was JoJo Brim interesting gotcha he was he was in the thick of it what yeah this is my guy yeah yeah front seat plays me this record and I'm like I'll never write that oh God this is literally my thought got you I'm watching it I'm like [ __ ] again I'm not knowing that this is happening yeah I'm probably some off somewhere like I'm gonna pull this off on stage man yeah that record is different vocally as I've been told yeah so who are who are all the who are all the the players in that record so me and carve idea came from I got tired of writing relationship driven records because again foreign territory for me I can conceive it I can observe it you know and I have my own perspective on it from from the little experiences that I had that weren't really that you know didn't go that far but they were always going to come from that and I just got over it like you know everybody won't talk about smashing everybody will try to get a girl and like that's cool and everything but like there's a whole lot of other stuff going on like like I wanted to I wanted to write songs that spoke to just everyday life devoid of you know trying to get some because that's what my life was my life wasn't filled with trying to get some my life was filled with trying to eat today my life was filled with trying to process this trauma my life was you know trying to manage anxiety and stay away from depression my life was you know making sure uh you know I pay attention to stay on swivel so I don't get caught slipping like that was my life so excuse me if you know talking about chicks is not a priority to me but I get how it sells records because that that was the inherent you know tradition of r b music that's how we communicate you know uh in that in that you know genre of music but I was like but all right well then fine how can we write a love song that's a love song but it's not a love song but it's still a song about love and you know me and Carl was bouncing back and forth ideas and we we settled on well why that what about if we talk what what about if we do a song where we're actually talking to love and it was like oh what does that sound like I don't know let's write it so if love was right here and you were sitting down and love was across the table from you what would you say I don't know um sheesh I'll say a lot of things it's so much like okay well let's start like that love anything and I I yeah but I don't know how and I don't know how oh okay and then we start snowballing from there yeah yeah one thing led to another and you know and we had to put a bow at the end because I wanted to leave it open-ended because I was weird like that but that's what I know let's give folks hope okay for better or worse I still will choose first who's you first you know let's let's give folks hope and you know and we started building from there but it's essentially a therapy session absolutely therapist thought it was the closest thing to gospel yeah a lot of people said sing it in church well fun fun fact a lot of people I don't go to church I wouldn't know that a lot of people a lot of people thought that it was actually uh a gospel song that we turned into a secularism ah I would get that a lot folks would debate with me like I'm not me you got that from somewhere really please I remember Reverend James Cleveland yeah okay Maddie Moss clockwise mississippi mass that was clearly yeah cause you was in the room it was universally no that's a universal song right yeah is but but difficult yeah but what makes us even more interesting is the fact that that was not intentionally the plan it was really focused simply on how do we write a love song that's not a traditional love song but it's about love so we kind of get so as soon as they become that our never intentional right right so I'm I'm I'm I'm making a point to say this that people come to me with this this this this um this notion of of Genius like I fully intended it to turn out that way I didn't know how it was going to turn out I was just expressing myself I wasn't trying to get I was trying to cover what the what the mission was at the moment was to accomplish this but you can't dismiss I'm not dismiss genius I'm not dismissing the the inherent genius in the in the execution absolutely I fully accept that I fully accept that I just don't I guess it's more so with me thing I don't feel comfortable receiving praise for something that I didn't intentionally do because now I feel like I'm getting false credit let me help you out no you're not wrong let me help you out I'm over it now but there was a time where I had a big problem with that got you yeah gotcha I'm over it now I stole your formula oh you did absolutely oh okay I was like you talking too because the only place I had heard like when it came to reverse perspectives was commissioned singing I am here [Music] who's here because I was the most r b gospel song yeah yeah yeah and I heard the first time I ever heard a reverse perspective like I was like and so for the most part we've only heard people talk about love Yeah from you know you know what I'm saying or being in it but never to it yeah and directly those who have faith in you and asking for answers yes because I was because I was dude I was fed up because I was at the point where I'm like yo I think everybody got all of this wrong I think I think we all got it all twisted I don't think we got we all got the same you know assignment here with this love thing because my experience with it I did it felt like like I felt it felt a lot it felt a lot like abuse it didn't feel like love it felt like manipulation it felt like oppression it felt like game it felt like a lot of people use love about to say the the yeah that moniker because you could you used to could get me off of that and I would run by you you would run yeah because I'm just bro freely yes willingly yeah here I am yeah I'm coming let's go that was a whole Care Bear In These Streets yeah trying to love everybody man I didn't get the memo come back no that's not that's not what's happening fam no no no no no no no no no no no no no slow down and I'm like but why they need love it's my duty hey man you got it you gotta cut that out my husband I felt bro I felt like that's what you supposed to do you know and this is coming from a person who've been you know neglected that anybody show up for me so I had to be the hero you know that's I'm sure there's some psychological philosophical conversation that could be had about that but that's part of my baggage that I need to unpack the fact that you could put it in song though that's just that's just special man because a lot of people don't have that outlet right and for you to have that outlet and for you to give us what you've given us in this music thing bro it's great man music saved my life and I'm and I'm indebted to music you know immensely you know and that's why I honor it so much and work so hard because I feel like that's how I pay it back yeah by being a good Steward yeah the best that I can be that you can be yeah that's why I'm it's never I'm never in competition with nobody not because I feel like folks is beneath me is because no my mission is to get better than me I'm always if you check my timeline I'm always in support of everyone I know it was frustrate you know the red carpet because I wouldn't give him a specific like I do I'm here for everybody yeah now I'll tell you the highlights that I'm looking for but I'm here for everybody they wouldn't know the crap out of folks when I would never answer the question you know antagonistically who I got beef with or whatever rather directly on indirect no I'm literally a fan of everybody legit every time I meet people I have to learn how to stop doing that [ __ ] too giving people sometimes people don't know how to receive flowers even when you're giving them to them because they looking at you like you [ __ ] like I'm like okay all right all right never mind then you know but if I could I would not only tell people you know that I support them and I love what they do I would tell them why right because I'm paying attention right I got time for this yeah you know yeah so if I I don't know about anybody else but I found in your face and I'm giving you yours understand that it's connected to a reason right that I got I got I got time to talk with you about it because I want to because I'm like dude do you know what you just did like that's dope that's you know but I know so we gotta learn the hard way you can't be that way everybody because everybody everybody tried a little broken and it's like all right all right all right all right don't get it twisted I'm not devoted of understanding I'm me too bro like I'm just trying to give you yours okay yes sir so so were you the is it true uh-oh not rumor it's not a rumor but somewhat of a rumor but not not a rumor no because what what was that no no listen listen this you listen now I've been listening I've been listening to the music no no seriously though bro there was a rumor of you and Fabulous trading record trade-off yeah is that a real thing so as it was related to me is because I was on devjam and he was on Atlantic which was one was RMV one was yeah Okay Kevin lost had to my not had since left they have to go to Atlantic yeah okay well he went to um uh uh Warner Warner yeah he went to Warner and pulled up on me on the corner somewhere in New York just randomly I'm like hey and he's like hey bro I don't know we somehow find ourselves on the corner in New York and he said how's things over you know over there because uh uh that's what I call it Sean Carter Jay-Z was over there you know he was running [ __ ] over there and you know stuff is cool it was no different for me it's like I'm I'm at a label and I'm doing my job you know so he's like yo how is it okay it's cool you know what I'm saying it's cool and he was like well I mean like what'd you think about you know being over you know over here with me and I'm like I mean that'll work too amen let's go do a job man I just want to do my job yeah literally I don't know what you got me no disrespect oh yeah you weren't invested in that side of it so he was like okay all right well hold that thought I'll get back to you I'm like okay so about a year or two or something like that you know I'm crickets and then he get officially gets back to me and like yo so I think I got it you know I want to bring you over here I want you to be you know on this label you know and you know paraphrasing you know whatever you know what you think and I'm like bet why not you was there from the beginning who better to be with yeah then where's you I mean I'm not miserable over here like I could figure it out over here but later I found out I mean not too far later but later I found out essentially what happened was a conversation was had and they settled on well bro was over there and he's over there I want him over here and I think that he would be a better fit over there so the first ever music trade yeah wow yeah no seriously yeah they're making a trade yeah whoa yeah it was never a confirmed thing yeah so I'm like look when I meet this man yeah people ask him about that truck yeah and so again that's according to the information that was related to me and that's and then when it later came out that you know the confirmation for it I was like oh so it really did go that way oh okay cool that's why yeah that's crazy that's great who you want to betrayed for oh you think what rapper could you have been traded for I'm trying to think man that's your thing man if my time lady Petey Pablo okay anyway so now here's another that's been hard though I love PDP I we used to be on hella Summer Jams nice and I remember being in North Carolina energy bro ccoli and he start playing that song and when I say a zoo yeah yeah real energy performer I'm like I'm next I don't understand why am I next put somebody why don't you put somebody in between us get somebody else to do it he's like now you next look go get some more baby y'all anyway back to the song it's gonna be one of them nice so fun fact about half crazy I actually recorded half crazy in the time that it could have made I just want to sing but carve had the idea that he wouldn't have started to start start the process of getting um songs that we recorded placed all right here it is another thing I don't know about placement I'm thinking whatever you record is yours give it to yourself yeah then it's like I didn't know I didn't know that you could have a career as a writer I didn't know that you could have a career as a background singer I don't know you can have a career I thought you just had to be the lead yeah bro when I started running into people dope people people could sing play right yeah and you're like oh so when your album coming out I'm no I'm not you not putting up you should put up no I'm sick I'm good I'm gonna stay back here yeah songs away now and that would work for me I'm an inside person I ain't an outside person that would work for me you mean I could I could stack my bread I could make my songs and I could people could leave me alone [Laughter] bro no so so but you know not to and here's the thing because I had to learn how to start watching my mouth because you start to run the risk of you know unintentionally being ungrateful so with all of that said and even though I personally felt like that might have worked better for me because of my personality essentially you know there was bigger plans set for me and I'm grateful that I was able to walk in that because I've ultimately been able to be in a position to inspire and bless other people yeah you know so it's just it's my Humanity talking so they don't mind so that song got sent off whole year went by here it is I'm working on my second album and I pulled Carver side like yo whatever happened to that one record and it was like I don't know I'm gonna go I'm gonna go look into it came back like that it ain't doing nothing I was like can I can I get it back because it was actually one of my favorites of all the songs it was my favorite it's like why you want to give that one up like I want this we recorded that in the first basket yeah you out of control bro yeah well I mean we had to tweak it because the song that we submitted you know whoever you know your mind was just somewhere else bro like I don't know creatively you were all you was on some different [ __ ] yeah and then it came out and that be and that became the legacy of six eight records ever ever since then everybody want to give me six eight records wow everybody's like huh you know so I got another song for you okay yeah let me hear it [Laughter] people always want to give you what you've already had so that's how you get crazy that's how you get teach me that's how you get if you leave it's all in six eight I'm like come on man like Alex now here's what's interesting shut up because you know you're gonna make me my new single is coming out sheesh Friday yeah what do you mean yeah yeah and it's called beat up a slow dance you want to guess the time series I chose it myself though cause when it's mid or slow success mid mid okay slow no that's not slow mid right Untitled is slow yeah that's that's yeah that's yeah so this is for your new project that's quartet at the doctor hey boy hit boy yeah let's talk about it yeah because I didn't hear him until you reset it I'm like oh yeah but uh monster I can't even begin man but you know if you know you know so hip boy um whole project you know all the stuff I love that and Magic what I love about it so much is that you know it's it's provided me with an opportunity to start seeing what else is out there for me because prior to now I've been doing my job and proudly willingly you know Caitlyn screamed a couple times but you know I understood the assignment I went along with it and you know I benefited from it and every you know I like to think that people according to what people tell me they have as well and I'm I'm honored to have provided that service however now I feel like I'm in a space where I need to start entertaining other spaces you know to find out you know what else can I do you know um how else can I you know serve you know musically sonically you know um because it's been 20 some odd years and I feel like it's it's time you know to shift a little bit yeah you know actually for me it would be to start you know honing in you know what my OG idea was but I didn't have enough information to execute it effectively so I think the whole timeline was to kind of provide me with education and perspective you know so that now I'm better for it um I met him uh you know social media DMS man they I'll never be on there but when I do go there like I try to make it count and you know uh one message Led to another and next thing you know I'm in La at the studio picking Beats you know did a couple records it was a Vibe shout out to my homeboy Alex wait [Laughter] just happens to be here yeah it's my co-pilot you know I'm saying co-wrote all the joints with me genius genius genius I say it to his face and I say when he's not around you know because it's facts um and as soon as we got there started cooking and you know some time passed you know they had about like three four records maybe four or five something like that didn't think much of it because I'm still not in album mode I'm just doing stuff to stay close to it so that I don't stray away because I'm in a dark place because of real life situations so I I know I know good enough to stay whatever you do don't let go of this line bro yeah yeah stay hold on to this line bro so I made sure that I you know in essence you know analogically speaking if you understand what I mean you know I stay close to it because that's what was helping me you know get through it keep me from the darkness and I was just recording stuff I was just in recording people say yo you're working hard I'm working on songs you know not thinking nothing of it last September my manager was like yo I think I might hey go there I just want the same process again I think I might got a deal on the table for you bro like what do you mean it's available I'ma see what's good but we I think we I think how do you feel about it first of all would you want to do it and I was like yeah let's do it I'm I'm not ready but it's like why not because what else you're gonna do you're gonna wait another year to see if you're ready opportunities don't just move like you don't keep kids go to Walmart and pick up an opportunity like they come when they do you should pray that you have enough discernment to recognize when you should move on something absolutely so thankfully I was in the headspace enough to realize I don't care if you're not ready you ready yeah you ready today go so I told him I was like yeah he said all right cool I mean you already got like these records all you gotta do is you know throw another couple other ones up in there and you know then you got an album yeah yeah all right cool yeah sure yes yeah yes yes okay and even before it was fully Inked I was just I moved with it good faith you have to you just gotta move because everything is is making itself available so do it cut a couple more records you know and started mixing January the late December was it December it was December sorry I started mixing in December because I was planning to have it on in February but you know stuff you know oh don't always go how you want it to go but you know but the out you know the album was almost ready and then it's like and the whole time I'm like this is really already but everybody else around me was ready yeah so I was like bro just lean on that stop trying to steer just roll with it just roll with it and I'm like the whole time you know shut up just let it go it's I know just just let it go it's like bro you just gotta roll just let go just let go let it happen it's good I know I know but it's good it's better than what you've been getting it's better what you've been doing and it's moving in the direction that you want it to go so learn from your past you don't always know what's best and if it's ticking most of the boxes just roll with it man just roll with it it's like okay okay okay okay okay and then when you do that when you let go and you let stuff happen you allow it to show you the why and then when peoples I started getting the feedback like oh got it people do still care like people showing up and saying stuff just off of a mention of it wild and I'm like oh it's because you needed that you needed to give the world a reason to respond to you to let you know oh no we're still here yeah oh got it okay I get it now so it's not about the details it's about it happening and it being attached to you so that people can have a reason to give you yours yeah what's the name of the project victims and villains damn [Laughter] yeah [ __ ] yeah I want to hear it what is that no one here why why why that I want to hear the [ __ ] out of that yeah the title itself damn this is the movie yeah victims and villains yes sex love and pain yeah exactly yeah congratulations even it's funny because we had this same conversation with Mike City Mike City the great the great my city and and you and Mike are very to yourselves Mike city is yeah I haven't seen my city in a minute but my city is broke and Mike city is not looking to be seen he couldn't care less yes he's just I just yeah I just want to do what I do yep yep yep go to my Clipper game yeah and I tell Mike City and and as I will tell you the same thing you are you are so much more needed than you realize yeah apparently like for the universe of this thing oh got it like coming out of coming out of that shell and standing in front of it hmm is the thing that gives the ultimate hope because there are so many people like you I know I know there are so many people that are that are this far from the darkness yep yep and they are they are looking they're looking for an answer a way out some glimmer of hope a light somewhere yeah and ultimately we are called right and that was that was given and that was me like having that that inner speak to be like bro this this is not about you this is not stop trying to bargain with it this is not about you you either gonna do it or you're not if you're gonna do it do it it's big bro yeah and the information is the information is priceless yeah it's it's it's it's it like it not just I mean you can't even sound cliche saying this it's life-saving man yeah no it is like even for me even for you yeah even so that so that it it permeates yeah and I have to I have to honor it and pay it forward and you will you know your frequency will it'll reach out yeah who who is who is intended for who's intended for yeah but you gotta but you gotta you gotta let it be what it is and I Champion it being what it is all the time sometimes to a fault and that's that's to kind of connect a little bit to you know what we were talking about earlier while we get so adamant about the vision it needs to be as it was given to us we can't tamper with it we got it we gotta see it through the whole way now there is something to be said that sometimes the timing may be off yeah I'll give you that the timing may be off but we don't know that that's not how it came to us at this time it's like no it's just do it yeah you know but the thing about you know seeds you know every seed requires a different schedule to bear fruit for sure we want it to happen now because we see the whole thing yeah and we feel like we could do the whole thing today yeah you know yeah it takes a person like you to be like you're not wrong but we got to talk about how to do it where it can work and with that's we don't come with that feature we come with get it done and with with what you have how you are today it takes a person that's in your position to be like I feel you but if we do it that way it's not gonna it's not going to yield the intent the the intended yield is we need to because I have different information I have information that you don't have just like you have information I don't have I have information that you you don't have so now now the relationship now the relationship is important now how much do y'all rock with each other how much are you willing to have confidence in this other person exactly you know and that's why it's important and that's what I'm referring to that I wish that I had you know coming up you know apparently though it needed to go the way that it did for me because that's what that's the way that I need it for me to learn what I needed to learn in the way that I needed to learn it because there was a long stretch of time where I was listening to nobody couldn't tell me nothing not because I thought I knew better it's just that I just wasn't in a in a receptive place you couldn't receive it it just wasn't in a receptive place I had a whole bunch of walls had a whole bunch of walls that had nothing to do with what the immediate topic was it had everything to do with stuff that I wasn't even dealing with yeah they was dealing with me hmm you know I wasn't even aware that it was there and wondering why I couldn't get nowhere yeah yeah wow are we here now yeah we're here now we're here now you want a [ __ ] yeah we uh we I mean you know we celebrate you brother you know that you yeah you I I consider your friend and a brother and a colleague definitely definitely I've always had the utmost um respect for your gift and for you because ever since I've known you it's day one yeah you've been you yep I don't know how to beat nothing else you know what I'm saying it's always it's it's always been solid yeah man majorly solid man so I appreciate you for that as we talk about that oh yeah this guy yeah [Music] oh you waiting on me no oh I hate this guy he's in his below moment right now yeah music top five your top five [Music] top five top five RB singers R&B songs music your music [Music] [Music] [Music] all right top five [Music] [Laughter] music clown bro your top five [Laughter] top five R B singers [Music] I mean well you know I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna lean into it and just get one two and three out the way okay Donnie Stevie Marvin love that get that out ah which leaves me with two hmm is it cheating if I say all three of those are one you can really do what you want to do if you want to make them one you can make them one we have somebody come on the Pod and do like eight names so it's just disrespecting the whole format of what I'm trying to do I'm not technically working on eight names too yeah so I'm not trying to disrespect leeway you're you're strategically curated format do your thing man all right so do you think yeah I'm just gonna because I think it's an unfair thing to kind of like so I'm just gonna count them as one that you know how you cheat you just yeah just three and one like yeah all right so that leaves me with four yes all right that's how you just going along with it he really hot please never understand how this goes just sing they're gonna come over here and tell me how to run my shop your top nine I don't know it might be something to that right yeah I like to you know put this up put us in the pressure cooker it's too many man so so and the reason why is because that's from a certain era so boom all right I gotta get some women up there now Chaka Khan um it might be a hot take because I don't I don't know whether she's fully go there it's your top five Sade yeah yeah hell yeah you're a mess all day no I met her I would love to though I met her once we got you it's great um she really talked to me this years I said hi Jamie was hogging all the hogging Sade got you I was like Jamie can I talk to you oh no no God is Oscar and I mean you do that in Oscar he doesn't have an Oscar come on finish your top nine that's already three mm-hmm that's technically five but whatever [Laughter] all right all right because because here's what makes it hard because I want to go from then to today and it's not enough space to cover all of that there's never enough space oh so you know okay you know the struggling still don't care that's how you feel right now like if you just had to just right now yeah all right let me retract that and start over and do it right all right Stevie Wonder Chaka Khan hmm Bilal Jasmine Sullivan hmm it hurt a little bit a little bit a little bit bro this is hard yeah you can give [ __ ] no I care no he's like yeah it's hard go I know I gotta pick one I know I know why is you laughing we're not editing I can see the meme y'all gotta edit this this is ridiculous we gotta keep most so most so most of the episode is just gonna be dead air like no that's not fair I see the meme in my head it's all beeps they can't help me um you're wow you're rolling okay this is great um [Music] Brandy hmm I was worth the wait that's where I landed on so many but that's the one I just said I can't stop I mean I I can't wait I gotta just pick you can't be mad there yeah that's great all right top five r b songs oh cause that's easy because we're not there yeah right army songs top five R B songs [Music] there is no way that I'm gonna so this is not my top five this is just my top now there's no way that top now of whatever I can grab top five now yeah you give these statements as if it it makes it easier it really doesn't it doesn't look easier just buy more time you buy it I'm trying to yeah because if you extrapolate you know you hold the one the time signatures as well okay really too soon the convenience oh I forgot about her okay anyway um Sweet Love Anita Baker Jesus Christ yes sir I love and I love it oh Overjoyed Stevie Wonder [Music] I had to sing the hook the fun yeah this title I do the same thing yeah Soul Sister below special record hmm lions tigers and bears uh Jasmine hmm they don't know John B thick all-time records all time yeah all-time record wow yeah I don't know that's what I can find right now that's great just he's right here yesterday it's great oh he was yeah word that's what's up he's finishing the song we did together oh word what he's my guy I need to hear that yes he brought a Vibe I said yeah I need to be on that brother yeah that's crazy um okay okay okay you definitely hold the record for for the most time okay bro don't do that you acting like this was easy no no you just but you say that like it's like I just I just got to this class you tell me it's a pop quiz I ain't crack the book over here I know but I just I just feel like the way the way you went through the time was great and we're gonna use that I really I really feel like he's trolling me but no no no I'm telling you the truth we're gonna use that time they told me all right here we go here we go hmm we're making a Voltron okay all right so we want to build your R B singer we want to know who you're going to get the vocal from who you're going to get the performance style from who you're going to get the styling from and who you're going to get the passion of the artist from so let's start with the vocal to build your R B artist who are you grabbing the vocal from okay uh that's a new question the vocal there's so many factors just one but no because you got different things it can't nope nobody has all of them so it's like just vocally just one that you would want to hear on your R B artist Marvin Donnie Stevie uh [Applause] yeah I guess it would be one of them you want the first three-headed monster no no okay that's called the gliac in Zelda We're not gonna get it sorry nervy sorry sorry that went crazy sorry sorry that's pretty impressive sorry if it's a three-headed dragon that's actually at not the point move on all the Zelda has know what I'm talking about um I'm just I'm just gonna save myself and say Stevie Wonder hmm I'm just gonna save myself no no I know but I just feel like it's I feel like it's a it's a it's not a cop-out all right cool no it's not a [ __ ] cop because because I mean it because I that's why he's in my top that's a silly vocal yeah that's Up Tempo and balance yeah yeah and I had to pick that's why I say so many things but when you think about him it's like so many people yeah all right performance style hmm on stage get into it performance so it's not just performance it's also energy right and to help you the vocal doesn't have to match with the performance style got it it doesn't like just because you pick Stevie doesn't mean you can't pick shade as a performance style you see what I'm saying if you can Toby I know he's not r b I know he's not all right Toby great energy great performance style Toby five the whole thing you got it styling low-key Toby uh um Andre Stacks I know I'm going hip-hop for r b I know but that's I'm A hip-hop so artist so it's like what you want for me put the shoulder pads on yeah you're being an army artist right yeah but you can draw from anyway The Passion of the artist oh Loki Andre uh it's crazy because I feel like I answered that one with my last two you feel like you wanna you can repeat one if you want to go we used to access passion let me know what that is but yeah yeah I I do actually yeah I can't think of another artist that was more passionate and has been documented to be so [Music] just overall as an artist if I had an artist when we're building I would want them to be as passionate as he was in his hay you know I think at this point where he's at now he's probably a little discouraged um I can't speak for him whatever I just think in the game you know which is probably why he's not really putting out like that collection of it just yeah um but yeah when we saw him in his prime yeah nice I like it nice I like it I like it I like it and there's a lot of hip-hop in there we talk about an R B artist I mean you know we we know we know at one point okay you know well you know slow down there trying to have a whole nother conversation we ain't got time for that speaking for one rapper don't think MCA hurricane you know hurricane hustle company that's a that's a whole that's a hustle of a different color are we back at the piano we back we back apparently [Music] hey hey Little Blues in there we're gonna talk about the blue jazz in them hey yes sir come on piano man I don't think people give you yours on these Keys bro enough well you're not gonna talk about that go I ain't saying no news [Music] okay special segment special specials I don't no hold on hold on hold on hold on we know Bill you know we know you know and we already know you have hard times with names we need a good story baby okay funny [ __ ] up or funny and [ __ ] up got you the travels of music We Know music travels music not only on Greyhound anymore okay really bro not anymore you've been places and some [ __ ] didn't happen yeah yeah yeah yeah we would like for you to come here today on today tell us about it without saying No Name yes I can't think of one right now come on music Soul Child gotta be able to tell us a story without saying a name so right now okay right now Crocodile Dundee over here right now this at the r b money podcast this is music Soul Child yeah lean into it the love man himself if y'all not familiar I ain't saying no names yeah yeah okay uh my I ain't saying no names is one also one day I did a show at House of Blues very early in my career I was still bubbling up can't place the year but it was brought to my attention that a certain artist can I say what they were yeah absolutely a certain artist participated in my show in the audience and um uh they pronouns they were such a huge fan of mine I guess in the moment that they were willing to find their way backstage and wait for me to come out of my dressing room after the show and sit on the floor now that means absolutely nothing because you don't know who I'm talking about however if I could say the name it would that would be a big deal that they were sitting on the floor waiting for me to come out of my dressing room I guess just to meet me and say what's up and so forth did they meet you yeah I think I think we met no I think we met did I did I meet them yeah I met them talked yeah there's a hazy and um to know who they are now would be really oh really really yeah slow for the ball yeah okay all right now you can exercise so it wasn't funny or [ __ ] up it was a low-key Flex yeah something like that yeah yeah yeah you allowed to flex on the R B Money probably I see yeah I know because you reflect sound down and I didn't realize at the time how big of a flex it was because you know I'm not thinking like that yeah but in hindsight uh yeah one could you know stretch some biceps on that one yeah so the moral of the story is yeah if you do good mm-hmm they're away free yeah wave come on now even on the floor even on the floor even on the floor what did I sign up for yeah yeah you know he'll have somebody sit on the floor with me probably yeah I'm gonna give you some of that I'm gonna give me some I'm gonna give you some of that I don't know if anybody a prominent yeah you know a prominence yeah that has set on the floor yeah that's flexible that's flexible and not not not in being work withable not in the yoga sense okay you know but flexible to let you know that there are levels to flow weight the levels to flow weight yeah low weight flow weight flow weight yeah I like I like this stuff I like it I like it um you you you what you call them a polite pimp okay it was like it was a humble Flex polite he's a word Smith hmm great personality yeah do what I can yeah yeah yeah I like your style y'all trying to gas me up no no no no no you've been doing what you've been doing I was early I told you I stole your style right because when you wrote from when you wrote to love I was like okay I need to write from different perspectives like that was genius got you how do I snatch that so I took a dollar bill and I said it said you know the uh the stands the music stands when they have them in the boots yeah I set them I set the dollar bill on the music stand and I looked at the dollar bill I'm like where have you been um and the dollar bill told me it wasn't the Holy Spirit it was definitely the dollar dollar bill the dollar bill told me that it had just got from the strip club of course it had just left the strip club that has dope so so I proceeded to document and sing um the dollar bills journey to you to me from the strip club his you know his journeys from from the air to the floor to the thumb yeah if she picked it up from the floor to the trash probably why she was waiting for music okay I don't think which is not my story I don't know I don't think you could shoot the same dollars have passed through all of our pockets they have different dollars bigger Longer better dollars yeah yeah if you have used your formula quite a few times I'm just letting you know you got you great formula um again my brother in closing you are necessary thank you absolutely necessary and you know we we can I speak for my brother when I say we we're excited to hear I can't wait to hear what's up anyway bro I can't wait for y'all to hear it victims and Felons yeah I'm the the premise is you know sometimes um you think you're the victim when you if you give it a minute you can find out that you're actually the villain and then there are also times at least from the outside you can look at a situation and think that you know who the villain is when actually the person you think is the villain is actually the victim so it's intended to inspire the conversation of assessing and being more aware of what role do you play in any circumstance at any given time um projecting it from a relationship an intimate romantic relationship perspective but it's applicable if you could project that out to any circumstance so I pray that it serves productively um and it helps people to gain a better perspective to make better decisions and choose better options so victims and villains produced by Hit Boy available March 10th first single out um beat of a slow dance and that comes out February twenty fourth hmm and yeah wow we're getting this we're getting this started and following his album drop in imma drop my new album okay please detail called buffed and okay all right and then shake it down here because from outside looking in you can see somebody who's buffed but you don't know if they're in shape yeah and then preach and then you can see somebody who's in shape but they're may not necessarily be buffed first single it's not steroids thank you brother thank you for your time man um those were those were not easy no I didn't know where it intended to be okay sorry no but you but you know why it's not easy is because you have so much information yeah and I have so much respect for so many people so it's it's well you've been influenced by so much yeah you know what I mean so you've you've you've been grabbing pieces along the way yeah yeah yeah you know of so many great artists so many great songwriters so many great producers so it's like it's a bunch of information to sort through yeah real time yeah real time so um thank you congratulations on the new album we'll be supporting that r b money we'll be promoting that thank you I'll be promoting that thank you I'll be listening to it thank you man I'll be looking you know to see more of you on the road thank you thank you you know we always find ourselves on yeah on somebody's show yeah doing something again yeah and then we figure out how to you know how to do more of it on purpose man yeah yeah yeah yeah and and right away uh shout out to the uh solo Soul Tour I'm currently on with Kevin leticy yeah excited congratulations [Music] I'm sorry what get to it yay get to it when I'm in when I'm in a ferris wheel okay I I think about us sit down I haven't closed you out [Laughter] you just gotta let him go man Loving You Girl oh getting along the Greyhound wow I think wow think about us Loving You Girl ladies and gentlemen my name is tank stupid and this is the Army money podcast the authority on all things r b and one of the coolest one of the truest to it um one of my absolute favorites man has just been in the building man I got so much love respect in that direction for you brother thank you this is Musiq Soulchild [Applause] oh yeah R B Money

Channel: R&B Money Podcast

Views: 258,464

Keywords: Tank, jvalentine, r&b, money, podcast, music, entertainment, 90s, 2000s, hits, playlist, slowjams, r&bmoney, rnbmoney, r&b money podcast, r&b money, r & b money podcast, r and b money, tank podcast, j valentine, rnb money, tank, r&b podcast, tank r&b money, r and b podcast, rb money, r&b money tank, tank and j valentine, r & b money, j valentine podcast, tank j valentine, j valentine tank

Id: OSdR4K1ZWo4

Length: 175min 10sec (10510 seconds)

Published: Sat May 20 2023