Stokley • R&B MONEY Podcast • Ep.042

[Music] money [Music] take Valentine we are the authorities on all things r b ladies and gentlemen I am tank I'm Jay Valentine and this hmm this is the r b money podcast yes it is the authority the one and only on all things r b uh uh as I go into my into my preacher Cadence I reminded of the time being a youngster Desiring to sing I'm Desiring to have the mechanics to be dazzling amongst the people and there was a man I studied ah come on now it's the man I watched ah my mind [Laughter] there were ingredients that I've stolen from this man that I am not going to give him back I have taken these ingredients and I've gone on to forge a career of my own ladies and gentlemen uh one of my heroes in the building man that's the best I can say get up a stop oh you want it oh you want to sing yo you understand have you heard real estate have you heard me bro let me tell you something man I mean going back to like being in at the Fine Arts building in Howard University you know what I mean and like Howard all right yeah all right they didn't go there though I didn't go there and skip school I would skip school and come up to Howard okay all right and see guys with I see two drum sets two two guys going back and forth two drum sets in the room in the rooms in the basement right the people at the piano going crazy and they're like it it like started there you know what I mean and then bro you came out singing like I had never heard before and it had a texture where it was like Stevie reminiscent but it was completely something new [Music] um and I was a hundred percent enamored with it wow every day wow to church dropped my mom off that's crazy pick up my sister dropped my cousin off at Bowie State every day every day and people like how do you say like that I wouldn't tell everybody for a long time like where'd you get that from okay right I wouldn't tell everybody for a long time and take it back to the church yeah like what did you get because they of course they knew if they knew of John you know what I'm saying they knew I love John they knew a Fred they know I love it yeah they knew um Mitchell Jones they know I love Mitchell Jones they didn't know about that Stokely wow can be mentioned with them first of all it's crazy oh yeah no you you're in a heavy room yeah go ahead no you know come on heavy rule you know um we we what we like to do right I I hated uh I just wanted to start off there and just give you just a perspective on wow just what you mean to me because it's it's it's very real and it's a very big deal you know what I mean so I I want to say thank you I think every time I see you I tell you tell you this but I'm not going to stop telling you okay every time I see you guys man you're vocal I'm gonna say you every time because I just I just think that even for our platform in creating this you know what I mean we want to make sure I said something earlier that that that the guys who are well studied the the even the women who who did this that way like we couldn't skip no steps no not a one like I'm pretty sure you guys record it you record it on two inch oh yeah absolutely you were two inches that's right and then finally the task you gotta go get the tape finally the adac came oh yeah I used to actually cut take that yeah that's right you understand what I'm saying absolutely one one button no no no no that was the real yeah it wasn't no the birth the first the beasts actually sound good we might as well fly the B section that's right are you sure you're going to lunch it's a commitment that's right you're gonna take a lunch to [ __ ] backgrounds right and you could run out of trucks that's right right you can run out you can run out so you have to be amazing right in here it's like your planning's got to be on point you know way before pitch correction I'm gonna let you talk but I'm still celebrating you right now [ __ ] Corrections auto-tune and what's the other one melodyne melodyne right you just gotta do it 10 more times which is a little bit of extra rehearsal there you go a little practice and then there's and then there's there yeah yeah he he came from the era of eight to ten hour rehearsals that's how he grew not by Joyce yeah yeah not by choice man but it made you the man thank you the school of Michael Jackson song would it work you you I've survived absolutely no if you've Thrive brother and right and those are the things those are the differences that are sometimes it's hard to articulate the why but you know when when the rubber meets the road those instincts of of what you've learned and what you've really had to um where you've really been battle tested that's where that that just kicks in and you yeah you float that's right all right stuck this is about you um it's about us first of all Standing Ovation I'm standing up right now Jay Valentine tank thank you for doing this yes people got to know this is an amazing I watch our show it that means the cross-section of people olderness like you are bringing it all together man because this form we need this kind of platform yeah to tell the stories to share you know to pass on you know because this is you know the younger generation it's a different they're they're great everybody's great but there's some information that that's that's missing this is like a bridge yes sir thank you man yes sir that's why that's why we're here that's why we're here absolutely hit a circle um Stokely we like we are historical pod historical right we like to we don't get into the archives of of Stokely like the beginning yeah when was it identified that place that Minnesota yeah yeah Minnesota boy you thought it sold in the beach but it's some cold things too Minnesota baby Minnesota shout out to brother Wendell shout out to brother Wendell Mohammed who's passed on we were riding through Minneapolis one day and it was below zero and I don't know how this is gonna come off but I'm gonna say it again oh man but we were we were riding through Minneapolis and there were ladies of the night um on the street corner wow it fall below walking the walk and talking to talk getting it in and brother when Muhammad said a woman with that kind of dedication wow could run this country that type of dedication it's it's a different kind of uh code oh yeah it's a different kind of different kind of code we were counting before we got out of the car okay on three on three we're gonna get out and just tell them open the door open that is so real that is so real yeah take us back man take us back take us back first found it or it first Foundation oh man it's um it was one of those things with my um my parents 70s both my parents are Educators so we talk about history but that's you know his history teacher um anything to do with black folk you know loving on black folks that kind of whether it be Sports politics you know entertainment Etc and um my mother English all that stuff so I I grew up a little bit different so I had uh my father had all these people around him and when I was like three or four they would go back they started going to Ghana going to Africa back and forth so they'd bring all these things back and they trade clothes and then you know Continental Africans would give them you know stuff back and he had some father had some Bongos on the wall I was about three and uh don't know how I got up and got him off the wall but it was much I still a mystery to me I don't know somehow I got up there started playing their sleep and as my father tells me because I don't really remember it said it sounded like you like somebody knew what they were doing they're playing actual patterns and uh it's like what is that noise they're both sleep you hear that he's like I don't hear anything my mom's like I don't hear nothing and uh it got up it was like wow this dude is in here playing so he had a friend who had this African dance troupe abadenge his brother from Panama and uh he said I you know I don't know him it's that I don't know if this is good or not you let me know he said oh yeah just do this it's good I'll take him with me so three at about three so it actually knows about I was about I was four I was four actually yeah it was four so um because there's a there's a whole thing in the paper local paper at home my first gig was uh First Bank in Minneapolis standing on these steel you know folding chair playing congas with this African dance troop and that was the beginning of it all for me yeah my little dashiki and my little half from yeah Elvis in it yeah so from there man that was just kind of my thing and at that time too there was a lot of groups like that you know I was playing I ended up playing for a lot of poets things like that so that was like a thing you go in the park you see Brothers playing Congress in the park you know that kind of so if they had like a little baby in Love Jones yeah you know that would be you that's pretty much pretty much man revolutionary child you know you say you say congas it that is really Congress but rather than hope you say congas it's really Congress okay so I'm from DC yeah we said Congos oh yes that's right yeah yeah he's saying it I'm like I know what he talking about right in my head I'm like I don't spell that with it I'm looking at the spelling in my head I'm like it is Congress too yeah yeah and it's it's like Congress and Bongos uh infused so it's like Congos yeah Bongos like yeah uh GoGo Mickey on The Congos he kill him yeah yeah yeah yeah we was like congas like where where is you in it so yeah yeah yeah man but that was that was the beginning so I had you know with the abadenge group later on there was another um a group I play with uh instrumental in my development Black Arts Midwest in this place there was a space where they would have all these kids come in the neighborhood and uh it's a place called inner city youth league so they had they had a studio in there they had where they teach like art class so you know was involved in that martial arts everything they had people speaking just teaching all kinds of classes there so it was a place for young kids to go and just kind of get right you know and um later on there's another group uh uchawi dances we played at the Renaissance Festival a lot you know so I pretty much that was all those I call them africanisms was instilled in me very young you know and and the the the percussion side is really developed yeah at this time too for you yeah absolutely so that was that was instilled me very young and I was you know I was halfway homeschooled and didn't know it were you being paid too did you make some money too now my pops my first ever member was 12.75 remember that for that check never forget it and I was like yeah get a whole bunch of candy what account that's like you know how much candy I get with that noise candy yeah cause I didn't get paid for none of my street performance whatever 12.75. what they say Fisherman's Wharf owes me nothing oh my goodness Yeah man so you're playing you're playing Congos congas Congress he's playing all three of those into about what age so that started at four and then um I was let's see 10 11 12. oh you putting in years yeah so that's when I was being a kid playing sports and all this stuff in between of course and uh at the same time there's so many things happening at the at the same time you know you go through life and you go through phases when you're kidding yeah go through Sports and football and basketball and track and all that and um so at the same time I'm listening all these records you know my Dad I'm here you know Malcolm X you're not here Aretha Franklin you're not here Ella Fitzgerald Sarah Von all these different things you know just all the branches of tree of black music you know all these genres that we've created and um I'm like well I putting you know it's just it's in you you hear music and I didn't know that how it's affecting me my uh my aunt was the musical director at church so I didn't I never sang in church I played but so I mean I was you know my ear was pretty good even back then I was like man if so that Spirit just never left and you know how that is it just of course gets in you and that just that whole Spirit of it so all that did anyone know you could sing no two no so the singing came so the singing I was always I was a mimicker that as far as the cat who did it for me was Al Green locally that was yeah yeah it was like 20 different people in one side of one body he's just the cat so I was always mimicking and that kind of thing so but it wasn't until I got to high school and we were talking about your friend who went to high school in Minnesota I don't know if it was we went to Central so um and Central had uh it was something called the Magna arts program so I would liken it to like the LaGuardia uh Performing Arts yeah you know so he had a little bit of everything in there had a studio in there had a uh steel drum Orchestra which that guy ended up being my a great mentor to me rest in peace Cliff Alexis senior and um those things really helped shape me and so what I did I took there were two classes you could take for the um uh studio session one was more engineering and the other uh class was they put you with different people play different genres so the r b dudes would be you know we'll put you with the rock through just so you can kind of expand your mind a little bit so like I didn't want a plastic I want to learn how to actually push buttons on the knobs on the engineering side so then I can record my own stuff yeah and my you know the biggest dream was like I mean I just want to four track a keyboard a little drum machine that was just that was the dream you know what I mean and so that little Tascam 688 got in there and started making just making beats making stuff and it was just like and to be honest with you uh stacking vocals and that kind of that's really what helped me sing I felt like that in high school in high school I felt like I Met Myself for the first time hearing that I was like oh that's me so I could just stack and it's just okay wow so not just the singer but learning the process of creating you saw the frequencies all the things you can do you know bouncing you know you got four tracks you do three tracks it was three to the four and then you know all that kind of stuff so it's really that process helped shake me you know what I mean and then it all had all these instruments around and not a you know more of an ear player if I could you know pick stuff on keys or guitar bass any of that kind of stuff um but that's really the thing that really helped shape me with the records and then so it's it was uh it was an amazing time you know and then like I said my mentor but little bit of theory that I have Cliff Alexis I learned off of Steel pan you know and that was just that instrument it just blew my mind I was like wow so you just took like a 55 gallon oil drum cut it in different shapes and size and you're gonna make a cello voice you're gonna make a guitar voice I was gone as you're talking I'm like hearing all of the influences I'm hearing all of it yeah through the instrument through all the things all the instruments and all the places he's been I'm hearing the songs I'm hearing the interludes I'm hearing all of them like because I because a lot of it was going to be wide it was all that stuff and it's you know it just that continues and like man I'm still discovering all that you know the older you get you're like oh that's what that was you know how many instruments are you into at this point well you're in high school uh I mean basically it was of course all the percussion stuff I started I had some piano instruction you know off and on um but that was basically the guitar and stuff and that came later just from dinking around and in the basement you know every band that I played in that was pretty much the youngest guy a lot of a lot most of them you always play drums always played but all the um every man I played with most of the Bands would rehearsing my parents basement so all the instruments were left on her you know so I was like what was that he was playing earlier you know yeah what was that what you know yeah that would just get on the next thing and then the next thing you know I was you know I started picking up different phrases and you know just started expanding my vocabulary because your parents opened up your home to it too I don't know how they did that because it was loud and some of it was wrong right I mean it starts there yes I remember my dad told me one time I was like yeah what was that song Oh ugly music I'm gonna start using that I hear so much ugly music yeah you're playing yeah I know I'm skipping around no no no no no no no no man listen this is your platform is we want to hear your story you're playing in these groups at what point do you discover the voice well in high schools when I discovered but I still didn't really take it that serious like that you know I remember so everybody from men except for Rick from Chicago went through Central High School uh the first person I met there was Homer Odell guitar player and we were both in the studio both in Cliff Alexis still drum class and Homo Dell has just a gift for he's a natural engineer he knows ins and outs and I actually learned more from him than I did in the actual instructor in school you know so and that that whole thing continued through you know to today so um yeah it's just man that was a pivotal point for me just where discovering all of that and actually when I would have uh I would have these little compositions and Homer would be like yo man I never heard anything nobody do anything that good in this school like this like so he was really I was like really you know because you don't know what you're doing you're just moving just exploding whatever's coming you're exploring so I was like well okay I'm Gonna Keep On you know just creating and creating it wasn't until um I don't know later on it was my thing was like I was playing drums and doing a lot of background singing I was fine with that that was great I love harmonizing that kind of thing you know um but how should I go this I'm trying guys so much you guys asked me stuff I hadn't thought about in a minute so yeah um so I have to switch to to the beginnings of infancy stage of men okay so this is After High School trying to figure out what they're gonna do I went to Northern Illinois University just to see if I wanted to go because Cliff Alexis my mentor was going to teach there and I was like okay maybe not I'm going to take one year and you know see what I can do so I was working and that kind of thing so and between that we meant put together we put together a thing and we had I wasn't singing I was playing drums there was this other guy who was paying for the space the rehearsal space that we had and he was saying he couldn't really he wasn't a singer you know but he just you know the whole Prince thing was going on and he had this long weave nothing the rest of it was just afro and that's like all of a sudden it just weaves to anyway another story and he uh he was breathed yeah in the face [Laughter] you mean yeah he was bringing his breed all the way and but he wasn't you know he could scream like Prince and all that thing but something it was some point was like you know what you guys got it I'll just keep paying for the playing uh for the space and you know y'all just keep you know just come back and get me when you you know when y'all make it that kind of thing so oh that's what he said yeah that's what he said and uh it wasn't worth his time I guess I don't know and like well who's going saying we need singing that kind of thing and you know I said well I'll do it you know it's active Fool's pretty athletic that kind of thing and that's where it started and that was like 1900 and I gotta put the 100 on it it's back in the 1900s man 1986 you know so that was the beginning of that was the beginning of you singing Lee that was the beginning of it of secondly that was the first time man so were you singing from the drums no I went up and left the drums uh we got another drummer from high school his name was Kenny young and he's yeah it was the drama I went up front and we just started putting it together man I know how drummers are were you better than him at the we were I was nice then I mean yeah I mean we was coming up together at that time there are Tales of your nights but I I had I had a few different gears just because I wasn't like every other drummer just starting from percussion in the background yeah yeah they would always like where are you pulling that from right what you know what I mean it's like I could name some of the rhythms out there then it's just and everybody just plays it but I'm like I could I know what that is man that's that's my Johnny that's okay whatever that you know like what was that so I had a different it was just yeah yeah better I don't know that's for somebody else to say I don't I don't know it was but it was working he was doing yeah he got the job done and so I went up front and at that time you know it was very you know the whole Prince thing was going on you know how Minneapolis thing it was very competitive so what you see like purple rain that was actually that's real it's a real thing you know you better kicked on us and you know and kick your ass down you know you better sound good so everything was like you had to play and you had to step you call it stepping are they stepping you know what I mean like a little choreography with it so it's like all three things it's like there's no it wasn't a keyboard player it's full performance it was the show and that's where we learned how to put on a fools like you the artistic thing came together because it was always like that age-old argument are you gonna be an artist or an Entertainer you know so I there's a difference yeah there's a difference but I think I was always definitely into the art of it it was like why can't you kind of why are you putting that together you know that's from Showmanship too to keep people's attention you know and um that's where all that came from and in Minnesota it seemed like like a lot of the audiences we never thought we were it's like man we're not doing enough because the response there I think it was just it would go over people's heads we play all this music and [ __ ] and it was just like and we're not doing enough so okay maybe we need to do something visually you know to get some kind of feedback and um we didn't realize that we were doing more than enough until we got outside of the you know we went to going to New York or Chicago oh this is great you know so oh okay so we gotta this actually means something what we're putting together but it actually really worked and really thankful that they didn't give that immediate love back to us because it helped put together the show it helped you know just like develop in a different way you know what I mean and yeah man so all that really was just it was a it was a pivotal moment you know the first the first Mint Condition gig so I had to say so y'all been to the Mall of America yes so I wrote a roller coaster oh there was a place called The Carlton celebrity room and that was our first gig first show and that's where the mall is right now yeah and the Wings of Fire at uh Hooters [Laughter] I'm tired bro I I just remembered because you by the name of spots where I was right the shrimp is nice there the buffalo shrimp yeah I know you though okay Buffalo who is in Virginia it's really nice but yeah so that's where the um the mall sits now that was the first that was my 1986 that was my first singing show with me and that was first men's first outing were you guys called yeah Mint Condition yeah from the rip yeah from the rep yeah we got put the names in there and you know trying to figure out what we want to you know and the group was created in high school first yeah so it had a couple different iterations um but we said you know 1989 was really the the core really got it going you know then uh the guy Kenny the drummer he was in honors another cat from Milwaukee who played bass and who am I forgetting don't kill me now it's been a minute um oh and of course Roger uh Roger troutman's son Roger Lynch he was 13 when I met him amazing well yeah I had Roger Troutman standing in the group yeah Roger Lynch yeah rest in peace he's passed on but yeah he was amazing talent amazing talent so um he went off to do some stuff with his father at some point so we lost him and the two gentlemen coming behind him gonna candy something happened to Kenny too so we lost the drummer you know even often did whatever and Carrie and Jeff Kerry Lewis and Jeff Fallon with the next one they were younger than us by the year two and so when we just get there you know and just Carrie doing some amazing stuff in the studio all coming through the school all coming through that same same part Central wow so there's a lot of talent there a lot of people doing an amazing things so uh that's what we call the core of mint condition as we know it is the world knows it and yeah that was that was the first um how did you feel your for your first time singing lead in front of how many people two 300 people well the first time that first show was there was probably 800 people oh [ __ ] oh you jumped right into the first show it was just whatever we had it was a big room yeah yeah it was a big room I think that and we only played like maybe 10 15 minutes like three songs it was a blur you know I think I was so hyped and there's footage of it this is my curl and everything else I was breed too I had the asymmetrical cutting back yeah all right our outfits was crazy I mean it was we was real breed so we had oh I need the food put myself back there but it is yeah I mean it's it's how we all got here so it's our outfit and it looked like something from Star Trek black and gold had like these uh fringes cut one looked like it was this faux leather the other side was just net for some reason some of us was like yeah let's just go all the way man no draws no no no no no no that's not where I thought this was going I know if it's like I'm just saying Minnesota tonight so I had no I mean it's like we're just going for it trying to trying to find the edge trying to find the ledge I mean everybody at the time was you know Jesse Johnson remember the Jets yeah a lot of people man it was just like and I just remember we started with our it was just back to the audience it was just a thing out there in Minnesota it was just like how far can we push it how far what I mean if you if you think back too this was happening everywhere everybody had like yeah so was there was there pressure in a sense in Minnesota like this is what we own like I'm from Minnesota it's like if you was from California in the 80s you had a cherry curl yeah oh yes yeah yeah yeah Dark Shades in the Raiders everybody had to have curls you know what I mean like so I'm that's that's what that's what I'm saying by then like with being from Minnesota is just like whoa cause you even said it in the first performances it's like are we even doing enough right yeah cause they pushing the limits out here yeah no yeah but that that was more when I said I felt like we wasn't doing enough it just seemed like what we were doing the Applause didn't match and it was like we felt like yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah I think that yeah yeah that's what it was probably like yeah something else the homies said the net pants no I don't even know how just going there and at the time too so um the person who made if you look at the the rude boy how Prince had it it was one of the outfits that he had on was it the controversy album there was a lady who actually made his clothes she used to actually manage this so she sold those uh and that was um that's Andre Anderson Andrew Simone's sister you know Sylvia and uh shout out to Sylvia and uh yeah so it was we were going there man we need to get her on the podcast yeah that was show us them so she made princess clothes and manage Mint Condition wow you are a legend yeah she was something else just amazing so uh yeah that was that was that was a moment and uh looking back at that footage and I'm like oh what was me on it was you was on what you needed to be on at the time yeah it was yeah it was you guys aren't signing jamming Lewis yet no so check it out they were in the audience at that first show they were there so now first show jamming Lewis in the audience that's right I mean this you talking about who's who in Minneapolis the whole thing and mind you at that time Minneapolis was so hot like people were coming from everywhere you know to be in Minneapolis from La New York they were coming and I'm like wow this is crazy man so yeah they're there and I remember um Sylvia manager at the time had asked Terry um well what do you think you know excuse to everybody no I was like and uh he was like well they need work I was like okay yeah we thought we was I don't know what we thought it was like I said it was a blur to me it was just like I was just so hyped and it's like it was just let's just go out here and do it and that was it you know just leave it alone those notes is gone can't do anything don't think about oh I should have did this is yeah you know that was it so yeah it was it was it was something man so the footage is out there no no don't worry it ain't hard it ain't hard to find he ain't hard to find so how do you get from yeah how do you get from they need work too we should sign them well um so from there um there are a few things that happened I'm still I was always very active playing different bands and one time I was maybe in eight nine different bands one time just love playing yeah you know and playing drums that kind of thing and we're trying to put together demos and that kind of thing it was interrupted in 1988 87 88. I had gotten a call from a friend to do this tour with um open for I was playing for this guy named George Pettis and uh we're gonna be opening for Whitney and it was an expansive it just it's just a huge tour in Europe a Moment of Truth tour and so that took me out for about I don't know three four months whatever it was and um that was an amazing experience just get to really see on that level yeah through the world yeah to see yeah not in the world but just to watch her okay to watch the musicians this was like 87.88 Whitney Houston 87 88 yeah she was all the way up yeah it was it was the Whitney that we yeah knowing love and all of that and it was it was it was amazing you know still thinking about it and I have some vivid memories of you know us and at the end of the tour singing with her that kind of just that damn session kind of thing and so many people that I met you know some people I see on TV that are Executives now I'm like wow people move in this industry I'm like it's amazing to see that but um that was a great experience for me just to see how it's done you know how they're moving how the business and backup because I was always very aware and keen on this like what are they doing okay after you get off stage what do you do how did him you know what I mean that kind of thing so um it was just really really great time so there was that comeback to Minneapolis St Paul and we uh start putting it together put together a demo of four songs uh Pretty Brown Eyes was one of them and that was one of the songs yeah actually all four songs were on the first album but the funny thing is like a lot of Executives who took him in the MCA we took him to you know a lot of different labels and matter of fact we came out here in uh actually I I need to back up this was before the core that you know so with Kenny young and you know Roger Troutman Roger Lynch I should say we actually came out here before it was like it was 86 so the year after graduating in search of a deal and we had these songs and like man this is uh this is good stuff man but they were everybody would ask us well why are you here we're like what do you mean everything's happening back in Minneapolis you know because it was like wow but this is L.A and uh yeah but um you know you probably need to go back home and you know it's like wow so that was kind of crazy so we stayed out here we were in Altadena you know staying with a friend of a friend and um got my wallet stolen and everything just like had to it was oh this is a mess and um so I had to mention that just because uh that trip here we were knocking on a M's doors actually saw jam and Lewis so he Jam um out in the west was it called West it's a place by UCLA called uh what's what what's what is Westwood okay yeah and it was kind of you know how you see somebody in a different place and you're like I know you know yeah yeah so he knew we said hey you know we're out here trying to start your day was like okay yeah cool we just kind of like the little brush off thing but you know he met well but he was just like man uh and then we got home he was like we seen him again it's like I knew I knew y'all I was like I'm sorry you just were out of place it just didn't you know didn't put it together so yeah we're knocking on animals doors seeing Jam in them out here and then so fast forward again back to creating the demo excuse me and we had those four songs and everybody's like well you know we don't hear single we don't hear it we don't hear it that kind of thing so we started sitting pretty brown up yeah and at that the demo is still for me still better than the actual album it's like the thing was like eight minutes long we were all the weight it was just like really really spiritual it was just yeah it was yeah I remember having the lights off and the little rehearsal space and it was just yeah it was a thing and so we uh yeah those four songs were on there man and we decided to put together like a little package and then we invited people invited Prince up somebody from MCA jamming Lewis and we played at First Avenue it said you know the club made famous by Purple Rain Prince and so we did that and we used to start the song Start the show off with pretty brown eyes because it was just one of those things that captured your attention [Music] yeah yeah and uh the parent like a parent concerned about the child who did that right yeah and then it started off and that was um that was it so we did it was a showcase and we were playing the drums then that was oh so that was a gentleman by the name of Michael Bland Prince drummer I'm not gonna make yeah yeah so he was saying he was actually supposed to be a part of the group but you know Prince and ask him at the same time so he went to go do the New Power Generation with Prince yeah there's so many there's so many things that you know some stories who wrote A Pretty Brown Eyes so that was uh we're all in a uh rehearsal session so Lawrence Jeffrey and uh myself yeah yesterday just I started humming no no no no no no no no and just one of those things just kind of the lyrics coming he was really simple and you know just kind of as we kept playing it started adding parts and making it more Dynamic so by the time we got to the studio it was a you know it was almost like you bring it to the stage bringing the stage to the studio yeah you know instead of a lot of times you recording music you know what I mean so I think with recording that is a more honest way from uh in the essence that's what you're trying to capture a moment trying to capture a performance that's where recordings came from I think capturing somebody live right you know and now we do it in a more contrived way we try to perfect a great moment yeah over and over yesterday you know what I mean as my grandma would say ass backwards yeah yeah it's cool but that I mean that's what that's what we do now so I mean that's what we captured and I think that's even we actually went in and did it in the studio it's still captured there was something with that about that song about the vibration of it the notes the chords just the emotion of it and just it transcended you know it was definitely much bigger than us so uh the effect that it still has impacts on really yeah thankful for that you know an amazing impact yeah man every night wow yeah I mean it don't matter where you're at when that record comes on you stop if it comes on while you're listening to the radio yeah you do not change you turn up you turn it's it's one of those it's crazy because somebody's like how do you feel when you that's you know I wish I knew it's gonna sound weird what I sounded like I hear me sometimes you know I can't explain it I wish people I I knew what people hear because I I don't well you should probably look on the internet have you ever seen him trying to sing it that's what they hear but it ain't you I I'm not here it's like I wish I knew what they were hearing when they hear the song free brown eyes challenge coming soon I'll take care of it yeah yeah and you will see yeah and I didn't mean to throw you off from from where you know you were you were talking about the Showcase yes I I definitely I gotta hear the full story of how that you got prince in the house yes what he brought he brought a representative out so he he said um bring the tape back I'd rather see them than here because you know it's definitely about Visual and um I remember at the end of the performance I was walking to my car across the street I see jamming Lewis and they were like hey stop Hey listen great job we'll talk next week I'm like I can't even think anything of it because at that time it was like you know people say stuff and you know I'm just glad that they came out you know and uh about a week or two later we're in flight time studio and in the conference room like you know what do y'all want to do it's like we want to make records and you know we'd like to produce at least half the hours and they're like well you guys can do the whole damn thing if you want and we were like what learn okay yeah but I'm sure they knew what it was coming from a band being in a band yeah we get it we got you and that was the beginning of of the whole were there other offers from that night or were they would only offer Prince as he thought like they were really good but there wasn't you know he had so much going on at the time you know I think uh so we didn't really hear anything back uh MCA I think was more you know they're like wow there were so many groups like that at the time that kind of Minneapolis kind of vibe you know though well I could tell that there's like oh man there were so many people who had that out if you think about the 80s from my perspective at least it was like like when you heard I was listening to fakes talk about the influence the Minneapolis thing and being breeding that kind of you know and just there was a sound you know the oberheim DMX drum machine the keyboard stabs that kind you know all this that was a moment and I think Minneapolis had in my opinion a lot to do with that just how I think you guys I think as it pertains to to the area it was absolutely more so an influx of it but as it pertain to the industry from outside looking in there was no mint condition I had never seen anything like making douche There Was You know I feel like I've seen a lot in this music business yeah I had never seen a mint condition me personally at all that's interesting and I mean still I feel like y'all are 101. yeah to this day I think so it's um when we were coming in you gotta remember it was changing because people were trying to be more cost effective so bands yeah we're on the way out yeah so we're the Oddball out so Jodeci Boyz II Men all the you know yes it was a moment because I remember all these radio station people go to their thing was can we sing for you can we sing for you it was like it was that was the thing because I think it was who was it uh Michael Bivens was telling the story of how a group of somebody's like how did you guys got put on where they sang for you that kind of thing so everybody started doing that you know and but we were like okay we're a band we do they have this whole thing you know yeah so we kind of got caught up in that until we started distancing distancing ourselves away from you know the rest of the pack they're like oh you guys are actually saying but your actual band you're self-contained you know but that's what we saw you know growing up that's what we wanted to be you see how many how players you know Earth Wind yeah etc etc how many members are in the group uh six success yeah yeah so it's myself home Odell Rick Kenshin uh uh Jeffrey Allen and um I'm not beginning because we've already started from myself I need to do six here wait a minute Jeff big homo Dale Lawrence white down myself is that six you know I can't count I'm watching I'm like this I'm gonna interject at some point but wait let me make sure I'm mad yeah is that right yeah Larry Odell Rick and Carrie Lewis yeah of course so so how's the business of that work well the best way to me and for all of us because we've seen you know the great bands and things that broke those bands up it was economics of course we've seen hornbik the Great Horn bands go from 10 to 8 to 5 to 3 and at some point you know just time moves on and it's just you you can't compete with that the economics of life and you know the things that you need and if your [ __ ] ain't hitting you know is yeah that's right so um so the best way to do that in this display yeah and uh I'm like you know what it'll work itself out in jail we just really committed and at that time we were really artists right you know what I mean for architecture you really just really wanted to yeah and everything will take care of itself we just really cared about the music man so you weren't Tyrese no that's my brother I love him you know what it is yeah yeah well you know my market share this with the market share you know my market share man my value in the market no but that's a very unlead singer for sure yeah was that of a musician was like it's it's more communal and not only that that's how I grew up you know I have a parent that was what we did Kwanzaa we used to do all that stuff sure yeah before was popular people start you know what I mean that's when it was like really real we go to these houses and so that was in me still is you know what I mean that's that's you know so it was nothing but again it was I wasn't really thinking about the money that kind of thing it's like well that'll happen yeah you know do what we got to do just create it and they'll come you know and uh we did all right you know and it just to me it started to be a situation where it's like you know show that cats can work together and have build something sustain something you know and had so the younger artists were coming how did you do that it's like when you split it and uh it was not a um not a big thing so um yeah that was you know I know when I tell people they like a Feeling can I get it you know what I mean it's still a bad guy yeah but yeah yeah I mean yeah you know yeah and another poor thing we always say is I played Sports he played Sports yeah there's a difference so right you know what I'm saying that we we understand that very well in terms of getting to the win right yeah and creating the fist there are roles that have to be played absolutely and everybody has to you know staying in your lane you know what I mean although you can equate it to the highway you know that's the kickoff in football right um you stay in your lane right and as long as everybody's running this way that guy can't pick you he doesn't know which way to go because everybody's everybody's covering ground yeah you know what I'm saying but but if this guy starts to slide over here and this guy slides with him and all of a sudden he leaves the outside exposed um that's somebody's going the other way on you man you know what I'm saying and so with team it's like you you yeah that concept it's it's it's okay that somebody one of these 11 players running this Lane I'm happy with either one of them getting that tackle just as long as somebody gets that damn tackle that's right yeah we all went that way we all went that way yeah you know what I'm saying so that you know when we were doing the TGT thing I said man we should we just split it you know what I'm saying and the entire was like my market share you know what I'm saying it was like Fast and Furious as fierces transforming with the Transformers I mean he did have a lot of marketing I think they broke up I mean he had a lot of marketing whatever uh [Music] are you free and as Gemma Lewis we still ain't free you know from that one right so stuff was going let me put out pretty brown eyes and it was it did all right but it started stalling so we decided to do uh we're trying to figure out what to do to bring some attention to really get people to uh pay attention to it and so we went out on this Winnebago tour it's Bare Bones and we decided to do a uh all the hbcus and just go around and we put together contests and you know somebody could like put together a video I think somebody and uh Morgan State might have won I think and that was really pivotal that right there because that really planted a seed and it's been a love affair with the with the DMV specifically ever since you know there's two places where it popped off there in the Bay Area those two spots was what happened yeah yeah to this day yeah to this day to this day and so doing that that really put us on the map and you know doing all these different shows with people and that release that Lit the match right there you know that's what got it going so when you get this record and you you know it's it's legit I I got me a hit record we got a smash what do you buy because I already know listen it's six of y'all in a group when y'all first got your Advance you ain't probably buy nothing because yeah right yeah I was still holding it but then when they hit record with the hit record and now y'all you know the show fee go up the residual yeah might have offered you a publishing deal yeah yeah you got to get something cool it was at the time I remember remember these these uh Isuzu rodeos yeah I had some big wheels so you brush your big one truck yeah pretty much did it you got one too yeah my first car it was a blue ah the black crash bar on the front you didn't know he was really Stokely about it it was really nice wow you ran off on I ran as far as I could I went as far as I could listen let me tell you something about that car that car is a lot of memories man I remember okay yeah I remember I was in that car and I was coming back with my girlfriend at the time and we was gonna go to the movies I was like I need to stop by my house and just grab something real quick because I was kind of staying with her and and I walk in the house and the phone rings me and her walk in the house in front of me I'm like oh she didn't get the phone because the phone was like hello she's like yeah but I'll be looking for a Darrell Babs I was like hey hello who's this uh this is such a such uh Financial we'd uh like to speak with I was like oh yeah he ain't here he said do you do you expect them back soon I was like yeah he'd probably be back soon you know what I'm saying probably back soon okay put the time on but he'll be back he's like he hit me with this okay oh wait I said dead and I was like and she was like hang up and I just hung up the phone right wow you go away yeah right so it's like let's get out of here and walk me outside I was like gone what wow he's like really they was talking to me outside my house taking my car that's hilarious double tier stand PVA okay okay uh PV PV and uh xp80 keyboard oh I'm like what every Church in the city I'm sorry man yeah but that uh that was that was a matter of fact three of us had that car and we just pull up the studios like okay yeah right yeah that was like the Cash Money Brothers yeah we was in there so yeah that was that was the first like purchase like that yeah was it any like normally like you know there's an influx of love for sure but was there any like Unexpected Love Like where maybe like Prince called and said did he like y'all now you guys really did something with that man or or somebody I think what and throughout the years after that um what would happen is you know he's very competitive and you know but he had a lot of love and showed us so much love you know but at the same time let me know what all of his uh other people his band members so I used to play with a lot of them yeah so I would hear certain things like you know uh Jim and Terry think them [ __ ] is Earth been in fire but then I heard I see Prince when he's doing that he had to fight the name then I guess in rehearsal from what I've heard I've been told that um he would do something complimentary or say you know we're gonna do this like man or whatever something I would hear stories I'm like wow but no yeah but he was always you know later on got to hang out started becoming friends and coming a little bit closer he was just he's always just complimentary man it's really a real dude amazing nobody one of the coolest Geniuses to ever do it man yeah you know to see that to blaze that trail and just relentless with his art with his craft you know and uh I mean to the point of you know he didn't have to like when I started doing the solo stuff the latest is probably maybe a couple years a year or two before he passed somewhere around that he's like well when are you gonna do something I was like well I'm I'm been working on it I was like look can I be a part of you I'm like wow yeah and that you know you just bring me what you're working on and we'll figure it out from there and that uh almost happened wow yeah but yeah that was but you know these these you know the cats you know that DNA that musical DNA is in me as well you know and that's uh he'll always be celebrated or something yeah so yeah yeah man welcome to the mint Factory who why did LSU and Chris day yes okay when did Chris Dave come how did that let's go okay let's go there so we were doing black college tour hbcus you know trying to get the song off the charts and um Jelly Bean Johnson was in German for the time at the time he co-produced our first album so but he used to come on the road and play guitar you also play his main guitar crazy and so at the time uh when I mentioned Michael Bland would play with this right drums right but that's right when uh Prince took him in this thing so we had another amazing drama uh Craig Dion frios a friend of us so he was playing with us we were still looking it was kind of like the interim but he was still killing and so uh we're at Howard and jelly bean goes in one of the he comes back to yo I just heard this kid man and went to practice rooms man kill him like really okay so you get his number he's like yeah yeah yeah I got it all that so need to check him out and so fast forward we're at doing the Disneyland Grad nights you know what I mean we do the one in out in Anaheim we do the ones in Florida and so I've been I remember I called Chris uh we were out here in Anaheim and I was like yeah what's up man it's like yeah man I'm trying to get with y'all it's like yeah I think it was this first second you hadn't even graduated like okay so um why don't you do this send me yeah I told him a couple things to send just like some examples of what he could do different tempos different genres but just see how flexible how deep you could go and send me that killing and then I that was it man invited him up and the the musical Love Fest started my brother ever since you know stay with me you know off and on for a long time at my place uh could be to have them on retainer at the time and um so we could just rehearse because that's our thing we just would rehearse and rehearse and rehearse that was one of my feelings yeah I would say even intro let's say interludes of all times thank you man because I was the drummer first yeah and then I started making keys and then I started singing and then no girls really scream when I played drums so unless you take your shirt off you know I was sure there's drummers I was like 135. he still had the chicken on yeah [Laughter] what is good you had us when I say you had us because we had a band I mean we had a band we had a few rival bands that we would play against just with all the choirs and you had every band in DC Maryland Virginia every Church musician in a choke hold until you say wow you kidding me wow man [Laughter] it all makes sense it's funny wow I was like why would they do that it was so unconventional and and and so Cutting Edge it was like the future of wow of of band music it was the like we never heard anything like that before in our lives when we were in a Choco we were we were still all your licks and put them in church songs absolutely absolutely because the girls at church the girls at church wow yeah so y'all I mean y'all changed for me everything um it says everything in between you guys you guys and John P Kee that band structure of just being tight yeah like because I'm a I'm a pocket player with everything that's everything man I'm pocket with everything I'm all about placement like I'm like the right chord and and then if you run and I don't don't do that last note like just stay right there placement placement I learned that from y'all okay and then you go in here was there anyone else that sang on uh yeah Rick thanks and he's saying a lot of something the high stuff and uh we were good with like block harmonies you know just black and the intricate stuff I would get in there and do that but you know we really got good at doing a lot of black stuff and you know after rehearsing rehearsing and doing sure do you get to know you know everybody's left when we just got in there and did the what we did well you know what I mean play to our strengths and you know yeah the stuff that wasn't as strong as let me try to figure out different ways to what type of you know what type of rehearsal schedule were y'all well we used we used to go it was it was a full work day you know I mean a lot of times so we're doing eight hour days pretty much if at least you know take a break but it was fun because it's just because it's shedding too exactly you just yeah you just you just get together y'all just see the instruments and you look up and it's like nine hours later that's you know and that's what we came from like all of that stuff um with me and Chris that was just um oh [ __ ] and just oh what was that what is you know it's so funny because I look at this stuff and how drummers playing now and I look back at the stuff we were doing the basement just messing around I'm like wow it's just how funny how it just evolves evolves but that just came from was just oh let's just put this together and let's do this through these drum calls you know back and forth and I'm going back to my childhood the uh drum and dance all these calls because I'm looking at our dancers and I was kind of saying you know let's try this you know here's what I used to do blah blah blah his Jazz background so he just kind of fuse all that stuff together man so was it was it was it he was a bar behind you or half a bar behind you we mean in the intro what was that how how did y'all do that well there was a lot of counter counter so there's be some stuff we do together Okay and like that gay exactly we play that together and then we he I play like some triplets and he's playing 30 seconds I'm getting technical whatever no no no but you know so and then we decided okay we're gonna pan you to the right I'm gonna be to the left that kind of thing so if you looked at the stage and agrees to you know I have a drum set up there too and we would do like the double drummer thing uh so that was just like it was just natural I'm like I'm a drummer you played drum we gonna play drums gonna be on the record who's gonna be on the show and you know people are going to enjoy it and yeah so it was it was fun man you know just we didn't know you don't know what you're doing sometime it's just you doing you're doing what God gave you right I mean and hopefully people you know you enjoy and hopefully people are are you know with you on it you know so it resonated I'm gonna go blast good for your heart um shout out to Carrie Lewis okay so you came up with that drum pattern that's scary it's scary yeah yeah he's funky man yeah yeah he's funky and we with a lot of things we would take just the samples from just drums to hit the snare like if you listen to you send me swings another Kerry Lewis composition um all of that man was just like just life there yeah and I love intros and Angela let's put this hit it with the major seven just descending yeah you know music music a little bit a little bit I know I know what I like to hear yeah Warren just left here just talking Greek in Japanese like that like you're talking right now another language what that is yeah I just would I like to hear instead like I said that's a little bit of theory that I do know and I'll implement it wherever I think it needs it you know yeah you had no idea y'all was changing the world who knows whoever knows that you know what I mean you do what you do you have a gift you grow it up and your skill set grows and you know one person likes you it's like oh it encourages and you don't know whose life you're changing you know was it a janitor you guys went on we did yeah that was the second album so the Tonys were coming off and we found out we got it was like maybe we had like 10 days to get ready oh what maybe less than that and I was like oh hell okay how much time we got was it velvet Road what was it no this was I don't even know the name of the tour I I don't okay but she had the song like it [Music] that that face um but yeah man we we had a great time that's like okay how much time do we get 30 are perfect because we used to kill like 30 minutes that was a Savage's sweet spot that was a sweet spot because we used to we used to open up for people and that kind of thing so we would have it you know together 30 35 minutes and put together a little killer show and we used to you know with was not good for your heart but the um he used to just come up and just kill him you know do a little bad [ __ ] yeah yeah all of that man yeah yeah get in there get out the way and uh just watch her show every single night we missed one show just if we had another gig or something like that yeah and watch every night every night it was just used to consummate it was professional I mean just to see on that level yeah crazy somebody to do that I'm like okay it's like what the kids have now with Beyonce definitely definitely to be able to watch that level of like you said professionalism absolutely we'll see what it takes yeah I mean you know what I mean it's like it's not it's not a joke then everything has to work it's intentional they're like they mean they mean to do that [ __ ] on purpose yeah you know yeah that's not an accident so yeah that was really a great time to just to see all that man it's like okay so that's more we're taking put in the Arsenal taking that putting in my Arsenal you know because for me this is a musician like I I had the best seat in the house because to be produced by all these gentlemen you know for men it's like it it was that's why I call it mint universities meant you for me because it was like man such I got to see the perspective of each one by the time y'all got to a finished product my God yeah that's what we call the mint factors you take it as far as you can hand it off to the next assembly line kind of thing so these things I was just getting this is just Jewels for me but to me it was still like because it could easily with all these musicians and all of this Talent in this room it could easily go too far right right oh for sure I think that's what I always appreciated about Mint Condition yeah myself because I'm not a musician obviously they say singers or musicians but absolutely I play an instrument yeah right so I appreciated the fact that it was digestible to me because like tank said so many gifted men in his group yeah so much yeah you know knowledge of music that it's Overload at times true it's overloaded times and I never felt like that about mint condition as a band that's good to hear because I mean we would hear sometimes that you know I think I maybe read one article was like a little bit of self-indulgence there and I get it as musicians we can you know we're getting into our thing in our bag and we were always kind of like we're too talented yeah you know it's a bunch of different yeah for sure and um to go over people said you wanted to be relatable but I think we just wanted a healthy balance of like okay something for me and for you yeah you know what I mean because we have to stay interested too this of course we got into it so but we learned the art of you know melodious King rhythm is Queen you know what I mean and yeah you know fusing the two together and we figured out uh we got really good at trying to fuse that we're really one of the best compliments Vigo the Mr Steve Wonder one time we had a show here and he couldn't come he wanted to come but it was for another competing radio station and so he wanted to meet with us later on that night we're like absolutely it's when you see me swing myself and um so we went I remember we were at the the Lamont trolls and waiting there like myself yes all of that they had some good oatmeal too yeah yeah and um 12 30 1am 2 in finally get up like wow you know but I didn't care whenever we would probably sleep late let's go Wonderland Studios and it was just amazing his whole presence he just walked in he was I swear he was floating yeah he's like yeah it looked good to me John I was like wow man this is crazy and he's like yeah I love your voice how did you know I was I was just like this whole thing man you know started me directly to you don't start this I'm telling you yeah I'm telling you it's real he's got something wrong it's real Stevie Wonder can see it's starting again it's right again it is real I mean and that you know because he went we're all kind of loud what happened he can he can hear and based on what he hears those vibrations he came directly to you stuff when he got to and then no one told him anything and it was just like I said how good he made I love your voice and probably when I said that he's so in tune to you know the timber you know what I mean just that quick yeah yeah just blew my mind so we're going to the studio in mind you this whole the whole time I'm just like paralyzed kind of I mean I'm there I'm walking I'm listening to the stories and you know and he starts playing stuff and I just froze he's like oh he's just a little shy but I was I was just you know this is the star was very Boogie on regular I'm like all this stuff is going through my head and I'm like I can't even move you know but he starts talking about you know you guys have are doing something really special it's really hard to be really Musical and make it relatable like you're saying and that was one of the biggest compliments it was like so to me there's been so many people in the industry like him uh we feel like we've got a few Grammys because just to get this that comes back yeah yeah just blow our minds and that that stays with me to this day and like every time I see him it's like the first time again that I meet you know it's like you can never meet Stevie enough time it's magical you don't yeah so that's dope Yeah man so that's really really good so so how do you is it a smooth transition from Mint Condition to just locally it's the funny thing for me was I was expecting a moment where something for me to feel like oh man I really there's a big hole here you know other than missing my brother's faces you know I think everything prepared me for the solo thing you know what I mean I truly with their people that were trying to get you to do a project early early on yeah well the funny thing is you know people always want the opposite when you're in a group they want you to do solo thing you're doing Soul Thing Once you do a bad thing when you know what I mean it's always that you know um but yeah for sure between every album they wanted that you know but I was really focused on that's like I can't always do a solo thing I think right now I was I knew that we meant more together yeah together it was just a bigger thing and then people have there's a bunch of solo you can do that all day you know but I think this was special and then it was bigger than the music to was bigger than us I think what we represented as musicians as black men in an industry that you don't see that a lot no so absolutely no and like you said you guys came out to tell in Tammy at the telling some people would you know cutting back and yeah yeah you know so it was we were defined the eyes and really push them past you know past all these detours and [ __ ] that probably you know somebody else would it just wouldn't happen that way but I just by our sheer will and musicianship and just wanting to just bulldoze through it you know that was the thing but I didn't I think all that the Met University prepared me for these moments that I have right now and gave me everything and even before that and the groups that I've been in and this is the first time where I have really just focused on myself right because I've always been a person who's just like divvy up the time my talent and all that different that kind of thing so you will know the first song you sang on outside of um I think so because it felt to me like me listening to it I think so because I was all like wow just like tank I was a huge fan of main condition yeah and I just remember your voice sticking out I'm like wait that's Stokely yeah wow I think so and I felt like they put you on the perfect part too on that record yeah oh yeah that part just without the brown McKnight yeah wow and I remember hearing the record and I'm like I think that's the first time I heard him outside of outside of the group probably because you hadn't done anything or any other things like that right you're right I had yours I never thought about it that way yeah yeah I love that record too well I love that yeah that was a legendary session that was like are we are the world that was like the black it was oh man if y'all could have been in the room they were so mad so much magic D'Angelo's thing hadn't come out yet and he was previewing you know plant and we were just like oh yeah and come out oh yeah no no no no no no no he just composed that song and you know he was on keys and it was it was amazing it was just that session was crazy that's dope and you hear El Debarge over here and it's like so all this well you guys all there at some point like doing it together we were all there at this that was it what you see the only people who weren't there who was uh who else there was one person who wasn't they phoned theirs in I can't remember but that was the session they brought all the cameras what you see is what that was it so that was that was the magic of it so in between takes and after we're listening it was for a movie uh um was that uh was it Jason's Lyric I I thought yeah I want to say Jason's list I want to say Jason Lee I may be wrong but that song I love the record and it was great to hear you on something different too yeah so I mean I think you're right I think you're right that's that's but that was a an amazing moment you know of a Brotherhood and just you know just all that amazing talent up in the room yeah it's like I wish we would have that more that's like man we need that kind of thing just to you know you were able to and and they were they were able to get everybody that was in it at that point too like right yeah yeah like they got all the top guys I mean if yeah if you look at it it really was it really was that's what was so special what's that is it written by a young Diane that's right yeah yeah yeah he hadn't even come out yet but anyway so he wrote the song by so Brian McKnight didn't write the record with him no Brian I believe he uh was the MD okay okay okay if I'm not mistaken I could be wrong but but yeah because Brian probably could have been so D'Angelo's album's not out yet no he's a new guy he's a new guy new guy with these braids I'm like yeah so I'm gonna put that together I don't know who put it together I got you know a call from it was that we did it at Capitol Records and um yeah I got a call from and probably from my perspective records at the time I'm like all right man let's do it yeah you know showed up and everybody just the camera right it was just you know reminded me of the r b version of that great Harlem Jazz shot you know uh that that picture yeah all the Jazz Grace it was just kind of like a video version of that to me smaller version if you know what we didn't do was get a picture all together we should have you know but I guess we got that on the American Music Awards live video so yeah but that was that was a moment man that just amazing talent and you know the more that I think about it you know because you you're doing stuff and you're moving so you got your head down and your legs is moving and until you look back at A Moment Like This like wow you didn't realize how special it actually was you know so yeah as as I mean as now as you're you know moving the grooving as a solo artist you know get your number one single you know you can on your own you know doing your own thing you know what I'm saying hey congratulations and doing features too yeah yeah because we jumped on with some features that he did after that too though yeah let's not jump yeah yeah let's not jumping come on you and Kelly Price come on now yeah come on man yeah that's a real record geez oh my goodness and brother Warren you know yeah you know it's like you know I guess as The Story Goes he can tell it much better but uh she's like I I want something that sounds like men and you know well you the only one you just call him you know that's what happened and then we just kind of uh what they had was they just gave us the piano one and his amazing self um all of that and then the vocals and so Lawrence l put his version of Warren did and you know just made it just it just the record that you hear right now you put all the stuff around it the vocals and yeah but it was the song was written and really really well written Kelly's a beast as we know but the pen game is absolutely somebody said shout outs my dog yeah yeah and Kelly chaos as you navigate as we I guess as we navigate yeah 2023. um not just the business but the musicality um do you do you have feelings about the way you know in terms of how you were able to be musical of course also tasteful back then but you were able to be a different kind of musical in those days versus what do you feel like you can be now I think it's it's wide open as you see as Jay said it is kind of wild west that's the good part of it I think I really do think it's wide open it's a bunch of fusion happening you know like Fusion has always been here but I think it's happening such in a different way you got you know everything's been trapped out for a minute but people are fusing that with so many different other genres you know what I mean um so I think it's wide open you know when people talk about like the r B's like there's no good r b and like that I think if you look at it from the perspective how we used to look at it you're not gonna find it because it's not on radio like that yeah right but there's a lot of incredible people out here absolutely you just gotta go look for this online so yeah the older generation they're they're way more Discovery now it's more important it's out here there's a lot of amazing people so I always tells like no no don't say that there's a lot of people out here I think people don't want to like the the internet has made people lazy for sure I mean that's not even that it's made people like people have always kind of been lazy about everything true they were spoon-fed to us right yeah it was like this is your hit right now right right there can only be one Michael Jackson there's gonna be one Prince there can only be one there can only be one it can only be one right you know I mean where now it's just that you know and I I've said this before even from executive side there were Executives who used to stand in the way of artists who were like the artists they had oh yeah lit like yeah oh you sound like who yeah I make money with that yeah right right you know what I mean like I'm not I'm not signing you or if I do sign you I'm going to tuck you yeah yeah where now Wild West yeah even more yeah it's like wait this kid they definitely sound alike but they just do different music they got different it's a different song you know what I'm saying so now it's it's just more wide open it's more opportunity and not only that it's it's dangerous for an artist because we can grow now that I mean just no telling what that artist who sounded like somebody would have grown them to come we all start out somewhere you know influenced by something with someone you know what I mean you know what I mean you don't got tank oh you're wrong they didn't know I remember when uh pretty brown they couldn't figure is that face is that Stevie is that you know that had the other John Pattersons can we talk about something you know beside this another one similar uh rational City I got all that but you know you would go you know what I mean it's like we all even so it's just speaking to that that's really um that was a horrible thing that used to happen and you were absolutely right they used to happen all the time yeah absolutely so yeah I mean I think it's wide open right now so that's that's the good part you know we're just trying to figure out how to um figure out the business how this works you know because the streaming is different now everything just just the way that the the sum of everything you know financially is different so um but we're gonna get there I think the more that we know that we have to be apart and be engaged in the technology of what we're creating we can't just be the our the day of just being I just went through the music that day's over no no you can't you have to be you know multi-fact and I also think that too we have we can't can't skip the steps because of Technology right and so I think especially for for singers and true performers like it's got to be a Winnebago tour we gotta Vegas yeah yeah you know what I mean and so like we'll do it all the time you know what I'm saying when we were building it was like all right we just gotta go see the people the bag ain't what it's supposed to be you know it's only it's only six seven hundred people that's right but we need those six seven hundred people that's all that's also the cool thing for artists who are established right who continue to make current music is that you're continuing to build your fan base but you're also supplying this this feeling and this music that your your core base already loves and you have someone there to sustain you right while you're building up right you know when when tank and I decided to do business together from the from the artist management side because obviously we were writing and producing together early on but when we decided to do the business side of it together we had those conversations of like so listen bro you can go out here and do shows and that'll make sure that you know the lights don't get cut off for us right while we find this next record um because that's a tougher space to be in honestly especially for r b artists not having you know that catalog and and being able to go perform in these cities right in these states in these countries in these different places around the world and make money yeah you know like you you have the the luxury of what you've done before he has the luxury of what he's done before so it can sustain you until that when we comes to your number one cup so you're gonna be like this yeah this is just a different thing and you know I always in tank as well we we always talk to fellow artists and fellow you know people who've been in this game for a long time and tell them like just don't stop making music right don't stop yeah yeah as he be lying talking about he retired now but like don't stop making music because your fans still want to hear it and the people who haven't heard it they need to hear it yeah right yeah my son needs to hear Stokely no my daughter needs to hear Stokely you know what I mean she you know she needs to grow up on that as well but also current yeah like yes I can play her right the originals and then the stuff that you had before but your voice is still pressed in right you know what I mean and you know you're still making great music thanks man why not it matters it matters yeah it matters and that and that is the way that we keep this thing going in my opinion because you know everybody always wants to have the youth movement yes we should have new artists in the youth movement yeah we gotta have that but as black people especially gotta stop aging ourselves out and we do it to ourselves yeah I'm playing basketball the other day or I'm not playing because I got hurt but I'm at my run with my nephews in them and and it's so funny I remember being the guy like this one young boy that was in the gym every other thing was oh [ __ ] cheating or old [ __ ] old [ __ ] I'm like oh [ __ ] it's kind of working you in here but it's just something about the black community and age and age we like new it's I mean it's like we're too good for us you know it's like we leave everything else to everybody else to document what we do right but we're too busy creating it it's like we're on to the new the next the next the next the next the new you know so we leave ourselves behind you know you're absolutely right it's very uh it's it's frustrating because you see other cultures don't do that I mean you got Mick jaggery on here still come on man yeah we can name someone they treat him a whole another way deal we're talking to Sean about you know about about Boys to Men and and how do you ever figure a Boys to Men would get to a place where they could barely get 700 people in a building that's dumb how is that even possible that you could discard Boys to Men you know what I'm saying I mean with their work ethic and their catalog and all these things back up they've built their way back up to high six figures amen but of course but yes how does that matter right how was that ever allowed to happen nobody else lets that happen to their people yeah yeah they don't let that happen to their people so I think platforms like this man is going to help I really do you know what I mean that's this is the whole thing and then it's like other things that we want to connect to it like you know the festivals and all these things that that unite that bridge the gap between all of us yeah yeah it should be all of us and then it should be who's who's the young people it should be Ari issue it should be and then it should be Chris Brown yeah yeah oh thank you bless you all right thank you it should be all of it you know what I mean where we have we have the kids all the way up to the 60 year olds yeah yeah it's funny because when I and you probably experienced this too when the first time went to Japan foreign it was interesting because it was intergenerational and we're sitting there and I'm looking at the kids their parents the grandparents partying together wow and we could do it you know it absolutely there's something about it's a bigger question a bigger discussion about uh your elders because we're having a problem with others you know in the disrespect this this goes in a whole different area but it it's it's kind of in there with that it's really um we got to get a handle on that man but I think getting the information out and letting it's like weird there's still worthy of it all man people have been here you know our Isley Brothers that's you know to some people are like well that's our Grateful Dead you know what I mean they've been here you're talking about twisting shot with the 50 years 50 something come on man they have that's a career that's that's a disaster um versus some of these kids want to have like you you know your lifetime that's a lifetime yeah you're right yeah it's a lifetime of music oh my goodness man and they have that kind of catalog I mean we can all only wish you know and pray for that that's that's the whole point you know but um as you're talking to as far as preparation with um not just the music the money side of it the performance side of it all that we have to we have to know these these these parts you know the technology yeah the technology moves any industry forward if you don't mention the information we have to share the information amongst each other and that's that's a big reason why you know we're here and why we've done this labor of love yeah yeah you know we were fine doing what we were doing of course of course this actually takes away from some of the stuff I'm sure but this is very important but you're giving back so much this is very important to us watch I mean if you guys don't even see it yet but it's like I've watched this whole I think I'm like this is when you first I was iron B minus okay and first started what did he was saying somebody I mean just no it's not it's you know it's not yeah you gotta you just gotta go where it is you gotta go where it is man there's a lot there's a lot happening yeah there's a lot of talented people and they want the information you know I talked to my my young son she was like look man you don't just want to have a moment I'm trying to prepare you for a career if you so choose to do this like just because you don't have to you know you're going to go through different changes so um but you got to have the information you got to prepare for it yeah just like anything music is one of it's the whole thing about this thing is really interesting like to be a lawyer you have to go past the bar you can enter at any stage in the museum it's crazy this is a horrible thing it's a it's beautiful and horrible you know what I mean sometimes it's ugly ass yeah [Music] formal anything right we talk about that you come fresh out the penitentiary yeah yeah yes yes and get a record deal that's right or find you some Talent that's right that's right and now every executive is doing your phone is on your phone they're like yeah yeah you know uh yeah a pistol starter got this artist that we about to sign and we give them eight million dollars yeah oh my man it works it's crazy yeah that's yeah that's that is uh it's the music business it's the music business the music business real estate but even in real estate you got to take a real estate license yeah you got to get a license you got to get a license you don't have to have a music nothing to do anything nothing especially now yeah you get a computer people thinking oh what's this program oh it does it for you but you know what it really gets I don't know if this you know made my son both talk about this like they have these uh you don't even have to learn chords press this button it does I'm like wow is that good I mean I understand I get it but as they say smartphones made us dumb I tell you like this though here's the crazy part wow it makes it makes some of the playing field even yeah but that's the good part but in the wash oh yeah nothing beats real talent nah man not at all at the end of the day at the end of the day when you look at them when you look at the arenas does it does it translate because it's it's virtual versus reality and you know at some point it's got to cross over when you when you see Beyonce yeah ah yeah you got to put in and I said man the easiest way because you know kids are looking for what's the easiest way the easiest ways to do the work that's it I told my daughter that yeah I just told her that a couple mornings I said listen we can do all the cool stuff you want to do just do the work yep there's nothing daddy grew up with without because we that was just you know it's not a financial situation it's what it was I say but you're in a privileged position to where you don't have to yeah you can have all the fun you want if you do the work do you find because of that what you have that it's a little tricky to navigate is just from you know you want something better but then obviously they have a lot of things that you didn't you know so it's I have a balance I have a wife [Laughter] that's great so my wife is is my balance okay you know what I mean because I would absolutely do too much my mind's as well in certain areas yeah so that's definitely got to have that but I it is it is a constant balance like yeah I want to keep but you're not gonna learn the value of work and having something you know for yourself you know what I mean that's really important I think that's what the kids they want it now everything they just see it right now yeah you want that but you don't want what that person went through yeah you don't appreciate anything you haven't worked for absolutely absolutely that's that's just how it goes yeah that's why I always feel like you talked about that too I I don't play the lottery um I don't know what I would do with Lottery money that's a weird tank plays a lottery outside that's why we talk about that and we laugh about that he thinks he's going to win because he speaks Spanish he's like I speak Spanish so I gotta win the lottery don't I got a better chance of winning lottery no but seriously seriously I always feel like if I won the lottery I would probably do some [ __ ] [ __ ] because I wouldn't appreciate you didn't expect it it's like you didn't work for you know what I mean my money that I'd be earned yes yeah take your time it means something it means something like I went I had do you know what I had to do for this one you know I mean yeah wait a long time to get here yeah man all right that's real you know why are you here we wanna we want to get into your mind oh boy [Music] your top five oh Lord top five don't do it [Music] top five [Music] bye -by-side [Music] Dead or Alive top five R B singers dead or alive yeah yeah you know y'all the new meme of the two r b [ __ ] trying to outstand each other yeah you know exactly what I'm talking about too when it got like this the comedian did that yeah [Applause] [Laughter] oh man oh Lord this is Owen people come on man this is in the moment right now just because whoever I can't think of there's no yeah um man no top five R B singers I gotta say you know who I loved and got a chance to hang out with them in tourism uh Gerald Levert come on Gerald Joe Levert is definitely interesting I've spent some time and he's just yeah the teddy bear the teddy bear roll around on the ground but he's he can and why I say that too just because I've seen him perform so much and he what it's like he's always consistent you know I was I've never seen him Miss no and I remember one time backstage he was doing something we had a show together or something he's like oh man I'm tired man let me go on here roll around on the ground and he just hit it I was like oh wow that's yeah I mean he was yeah uh so yeah Gerald uh you got to put Stevie in there yeah yeah you know um you did so much Luther's another one yeah tone placement articulation I mean just classic vocal classic vocal you know tuxedo vocal toxic um there's a vocalist that it's not really r b but it was very much like you talk about tone I'm just gonna say I like the Carpenters they're like pop Barbie you know it was yeah if that's kind of like maybe a side a subtitle it's like a garnish yeah look nice yeah did you call them cilantro tastes good A lot of people don't like cilantro yes but yeah I you know if you listen to that I mean what they do pieces in there that are like oh man just great oh gotcha yeah I mean yeah Karen carpet drum or two you know she plays drums I didn't know that yes yeah there's some old footage out um who else so I said Stevie Carmen's and uh Gerald Levert who else man so there's two more there's no score you did you did US you did them one more one more no he only has one more yeah one more [Music] um I will have to go with um oh man how do you even young Michael no and I love thrilling no no no no no no no you get what I'm saying nothing wrong okay you know yeah that was what we grew up on that's that was the influence that was just so how how young was Michael when he sang right right whose Soul was that yeah who do that he's too young to do that note like that like what are you what you've been through he thought he pouting with his note he don't know about pounds like you've been in a relationship before and it was no Pro Tools it wasn't no Pro twos come on yeah yeah yeah that's tough right now with technology I feel like he I feel like for lack of better term he dumbed it down as he got older he he made it he made it fully digested well no and I want to go a step further he abandoned being a singer to become a stylist hmm okay I could see okay to create a style of singing Because had he just been a singer he'd been a great singer but everybody's a singer there are very few people who are stylists who actually create something so unique that if anybody else does it it's like you're trying to be like Michael Jackson there's no way right yeah everyone really good at this huh yeah right yeah right and they're pretty pretty flawless I do nice [ __ ] sometimes I can't count one for them you can count enough you absolutely right though absolutely right yeah and it was the genius in him yeah to do that like to be to to as a purist of a completely abandoned being one of the best singers out yeah I mean arguably Michael Jackson and Stevie one of the best kid singers of all time are you kidding me right yeah I can't I can't okay 14 singing like that so I tell him yeah she was already grown I mean yeah yeah come on there's another one yeah yeah that's a that's a different that's a different League that they all are in for sure but they all they all stay true to their vocal Mike Mike he veered off I mean he's an alien though I mean you have to figure I mean just his upbringing just the time that he was born everything there's nobody like that ever I just want to know why I wish I man I pray because that that is like the day we were supposed to go see him um that's when all this and and kid invited Jamie to go out there we were rehearsing with Jamie is supposed to go out there and I was like I hope I get to ask him why like why yeah yeah yeah so much passion in that man and percussion very much very much do that because I remember I remember Virginia while I was singing it was with no TGT and Harvey was in there and he was like yeah just just ad living oh yeah oh yeah and and Jehovah was like what is that and so he stopped he's like he's like man like what makes you do that and and genuine didn't get it he's like man that's just what I say man what you saying like he thought he was he was this I said I said no no I said Gee he's like a never enamored by it by the fact that you have your own ad-lib yeah like that nobody else he's like Harvey was like what made you do that what made you create that like I love that and I was like I was like he's our stylist I was like that's why we need that's why I was like when I was when I was in with Harvey and we were formulating the background structure I said I said genuine has to lead because he's our stylist in the group he's the guy that's going to make us recognizable right right right you understand what I'm saying like you're a stylist yeah you got to have your what they call a Sonic eye clip Sonic icons yeah sonic icon thank you oh I just stole that yeah yeah yeah this is yeah Stokley's Sonic icons that's an award yeah yeah yeah right yeah that's an award yeah did you you will receive first and then you give to the beginning Wow Mike I want to say his his intention even like with his steps sometimes they weren't hard but he you know just that just his intention was like he commanded your attention at all at all time that passion yeah so and he had when he was a kid so that it very influential so I had definitely had to say him that's that's you say young Mike too you yeah really yeah you went there I got to say too as far as uh Beyonce I love all stuff she's done something the way her voice is now after the kids because you know when the voice after lemonade Beyonce got different yeah man the tone of it yeah you know it's just so much it's more seasoned it's more seasoned and I think you know you she was she was she was she's a pristine and curated artist you know what I mean it's so amazing with a lot of big artists it's like things are protected and things are like you know this just you know let's keep it here you know what I'm saying it's very and I think that lemonade album she let us in yeah absolutely and let her hair down that's right yeah yeah you can feel that you could you could feel it all the other stuff was great too because we knew when she was younger like I remember hanging out with uh I don't know where we were Prince matter of fact you're like she was still on the come-up kind of like we're talking about something I just remember him saying yeah then you hear that Beyonce I remember just that so you know that's gonna be something special you know what I mean he's like wait a minute that Beyonce and I think people I have this argument all the time like I've I'm like you guys don't know the half of what Beyonce is capable of I I get that she got way more in her bag oh you don't you know it you know it you know because because we know the instrument we can hear her that's right let's build it correctly that's right it's because if she really let loose when she did that out of James come on I said y'all now you're gonna get a glimpse just a taste with this one okay here we go before we go there before we go yeah Stokely um Super Saiyan of vocals this is you are yes to me to him to the world of us when you see I won't get you in trouble a bit when you see a top 200 list and you don't see your name and I know I know you a humble guy man I know I know this I know this man no no this man you're a humble guy that don't piss you off if I got something on it that I think it's deserving but I I realize that it's not you know the game I know so it has to me it has nothing to do with my art and whatever because I yeah there's songs I'm like okay not song or singers yeah oh the list of oh I didn't know when they do these make these lists of who was it uh no no um Rolling Stone Rolling Stone oh when they do those top 200 best singers list like who's making the list we don't know we don't know a YouTuber I don't know yeah I'm just asking when you hear about these listen yeah like then you think to yourself like this person can't I'll sing me to be honest I don't really take those lists too serious you know it's just all right man because I don't I mean if you're mad for you but yeah I appreciate that it's like but no I'm sure I'd be like well you know obviously this is you know I don't know what somebody else will listen to to say you know uh yeah this he don't even qualify for the lesson of because there's uh no singer made that list hmm singer didn't make that list right I didn't see the news really somebody from the cloth did not make that list and if you are not of the cloth you are not qualified to make that list yeah this is not baseball this is not baseball you don't get in off the off the uh writers right right right right yeah no the the the the the the people the players got to vote you in right right all right so here we go yes wow your top five R B songs no Lord I don't know I don't know no songs man yes you do yes you do you got it you gang of them too so you got you something you got your history Al Green's still in love okay quick quick because that was you know vocally that uh and my stuff will be kind of all over the place tisk of the task at Ella Fitzgerald wow yeah he's one of my favorite um house not a home Luther yeah just we know what that does come on um man I'm drawing that boy do I go with that um listen that's only two songs back there again I'm going back to my um I've been getting the name of the um it's on the Dancing Machine album I'll go with something else because I need to give you all a title how about um for me I do like uh Prince's beautiful ones yeah there's something the emotion in that this is took me somewhere still um would it be oh man I don't know man I gotta let me now you Mick kept me on the on the spot here I don't know one more so I need this one song this one song um pretty brown eyes man yeah I was waiting yeah I was waiting you know no that's weird even though I'm saying it I'll take it it's not even though I sang it you know what I mean I'm gonna I'm gonna invite you just saying I'm gonna invite you to a doo-wop Fly Guy go around the country and do some of the craziest r b parties I don't want to be all night R B all night for five hours whoa and you will see what that record what that record does yes wall to wall every time every time wow it don't miss how I come in tank how does someone come in what are y'all doing down there oh Lord you better go to bed shut up oh my goodness hey oh Lord [ __ ] I was I was going to say another song that that's not out it's on my latest thing called but it's actually one of my favorites right now it actually is got verbalized with snoops on it just talking [ __ ] whatever but I I just it reminds me of like The Dramatics or something like that like did it like more in 1970s style that is like I mean when I put it it's just now again I can like take myself out of it and be like man I really like this record yeah like I mean so yeah it's really it's not a new sand cover so if you ain't checked it out I'm gonna be the next single actually yeah and I've been telling him it's like no I like I really like this song yeah you know go what you feel yeah yeah we got next we're gonna do r b Voltron okay so I need to know who you're going to get the vocal from who you're going to get the performance style from Who Are You Gonna Get The Styling from you know you're gonna get the passion of the artist from so let's start with the vocal who's vocal are you Snapchat y'all are rough yeah yeah damn trenches I love it it's a zombie okay yeah yeah okay so the vocal that's the first one first one God dang man I can't do a hybrid because you know oh man okay you Stokely man we let you you know we you can live if you want to do a hybrid if you wanna if you want to blend exactly brother like we're not we're not arguing with you about no singing I'm gonna I'll just say just so I can cover all of it uh uh Stevie van Stevie van Ross [Laughter] [Laughter] this album Damn You album principalities that's the vocal yeah it's that's great hybrid you know if you get the tone you get all the other stuff and musicality yeah who are you getting the the performance style from on stage what they do on stage [Music] okay that's a good question my answer is um oh God talking um [Music] I'm gonna have to go with uh uh uh say I'm taking a y'all can edit this and everything just like take it too long uh Prince Davis Prince and Sammy Davis hmm he's really making a hybrid Voltron think about it because you talk you talk about performance mm-hmm you know what Prince did he's a great Sammy Davis is the template he's he's the blueprint one for everyone trumpet drums Vibes piano comedian dancing yeah everything yeah yeah what more come on he's the first Jamie Foxx it's the first time right did it all he did everything at a high level at a high level I mean a long time yeah the actor I forget you know just all of that you know so but knew how to to entertain yeah you talk to get just so and then Prince being the modern day version of that yeah so I think both things are coming styling that show drip who got that dashiki on man you told us when you came from uh Washington be killing it yeah yeah you'd be coming yeah um you know if I I don't know that's that's a really tough one because I like so many I'm pretty eclectic you know I could drip with some with a suit or something funky some extra asymmetrical cut or some kind of afrofuturism kind you know what I mean that's a that's a tough when you get the drip from whatever I got on it's got the half so I got to have some AF ones probably just to probably um I'm just gonna go with a classic and again like I gotta go with it you're from Minnesota huh I'm expecting something Wild [Laughter] yeah I mean that's that's like there are parts of that that I do like some stuff I probably wouldn't [ __ ] with but you know um actually I just sidebar one time we asked something we got done doing the uh with Prince a uh the call my name on the musicology album and we went to Tony and watched The Jamie Foxx thing it was like oh this is Oscar after we did the video and uh went to some club and he the French was like yeah such and such and he's when he used to wear these little lit up shoes and everything yeah and so I'm like uh he's like uh yeah man yeah man you have to get you some of these shoes I was like only you can wear them man you said this like that yeah he just like and he just cracking let's have the Heelys on well yeah like the LA the little L.A games I said only you can wear them that's you they look right on you anything different looks right on Prince you know how to you wear it you know how Cena's like he owns it you own it you know some people yeah okay you can wear it I don't think I thought that was funny so yeah some stuff I I you know right I get it yeah I love the fact I what I do love about him is his his ability to just like he was Fearless with it he wore his art I like the idea of that you know and no matter what people say it's like are you looking up you know it's been wearing some questionable stuff not really crazy but like we used to change my hair when I grew it out and all that stuff um I I don't know what person that would be I guess he would be in some ways yeah but then I I have the the um just classic side like a Sammy Davis as well I do like that suits just well tailored you know when you talk about r b you talk about like how James Brown is like they had a certain way certain air about them you know suits suited up yeah so uh so maybe maybe I'll say James Brown because I think he embodied a lot of that a lot of the pride he mixed all of it he mixed up even even things that Prince true yeah eventually yeah so yeah yeah yeah James Brown was yeah he was out there with it yeah for sure who are you getting the passion from so um I gotta go back to Mike again when I think about intention and passion and just everything we talked about this like feeling it you can see it in his face intense that you know what I mean why he was singing where Dad lives yeah you know so he fired a [ __ ] while he was singing with ad libs what are you gonna do and what are you going to do what are you going to do it's time to go [Music] so yeah that would be the passion because I I still when you think about him you talk about styling that was what made all that this stuff is attack nobody attacked music no with that kind of passion you know I don't care how small the part was or the dance move which is like the way he did it was intense that's that's what I love about it so I mean I would yeah Mike that's incredible that's incredible but before we get to this before we get to this we got a shout out Minnesota all right we got to shout y'all out bro like because I I really believe that it's they don't put enough light on how much talent has come out of Minnesota yeah from obviously all you know it starts with The Prince and the time and you know Jimmy and Terry yeah mint condition but then next yeah my guys like yeah like yeah I guess it was a breeding ground man and there's so many people that you know we cut our teeth some of these little different clubs and things like that it's just like so many amazing people I went to I haven't been out in a while another night when I would hang out with Robert Glasper and that took him to this club like used to play I'm like man I ain't seen them and just there's a lady there that sound just like fresh off she's been this way for years like Shaka um just off just ridiculous you know but I mean so many people like that that have really yeah helped shape me and so many other musicians and you know people like IRL and you know it's yeah it's amazing no no no he's from uh Houston but he was had a show yeah yeah no I just wanted to shout y'all out man I appreciate that thank you man you know I mean the light don't get shined on on Minnesota in my opinion thank you man uh but we got a very important uh segment of the show oh yeah come on come on warm up The Piano Guys [Music] what you did and what you mean so in this segment as you've seen on this show because you watch the show yes you can tell us a story funnier [ __ ] up about something that happened to you you know during your time in this business not not only thing Ain't No [ __ ] ain't no names everything else though I mean listen you can you can you can identify things and people you just can't say that name it must remain nameless story funny or [ __ ] up or funny and [ __ ] up I I don't know some stuff is funny to me I have a weird sense of humor yeah you may not be funny somebody else but in the moment this is the Legends the legend Stokely Mint Condition Minnesota Zone I ain't saying No Name oh man uh I I wasn't prepared for you know I've watched the show and I should have known this was coming all right they want to have something together um this I'm trying to think of something Dynamic you know because I've had so many great cameras you've had some great moments the camera's a digital yeah yeah segment was wacky are they gonna be on you if you don't give us something I know that's what I know but I know then give us nothing uh we know Prince stole one of his girls oh man um tried um we you know how you get to it there's still this this um competitiveness with you know certain people especially if you don't know them and you know they I think folks there's an air about them if they don't know you yeah you know or they think they haven't you I would have an heir or something like that and uh this gentleman we were on tour with where I had a couple shows with and um meant back mint days we just got the vibe that it was just real they're just being real kind of [ __ ] up you know like not giving there on doing the sound check and winning we're just waiting and it was like a theater I'm just waiting you know kind of thing and the thing about us is like the more [ __ ] up you treat us he'd be like okay this one that's two we just you know we just counting it up like okay just oh this is good this is good and so um you could see that this dude was just he's seen us out there you know waiting for the sound check right and he's pretty much dumb just waiting just sitting around talking sitting down and uh would start up some music it's like uh well who's next who's coming up and he knew we're sitting right there in front of him he's like yeah I don't know man let me do another song it's like really okay door is about to open you know that kind of thing and uh so what if at some point he just like oh whatever okay just get the other band up no we'd had some hits out at this point so put the other band up we just took that like okay yeah he sent all this over to Mike over to Mike yeah so we Amplified oh yeah then it was Amplified but uh to us we're like okay you know and at that point we were so rehearsed we rehearsed everything we rehearsed like sometimes we're gonna do this that sound check and we've just tied as a drum I would do one little thing we just like it would stop over you know Dynamics would go up and down all kind of stuff and so we did something like that that we've rehearsed and then that pretty much changed the energy in the room you know and I I just I was like I thought that was interesting because after that all that [ __ ] came off all that artificial posturing yeah yeah you know all that's like you know so it was [ __ ] up to me but it's you know you may not think but it was I remember that like but again no names uh some of the men fellas probably no I'm sure sometimes you gotta it's you gotta show improve yes like is it you think oh yeah right right it ain't [ __ ] sweet you don't know right right yeah somebody didn't tell you and that's kind of where I was then because it's like we were younger and hungry just like okay and had that you know we're going for the edge you know we had the next [ __ ] on man was that I said I was hoping that y'all burnt though oh yeah yeah but like okay we ain't going for the edge like that no more but putting it inside the music and so you know anybody was coming like that just okay all right I've been there and it's just you know it's just like okay listen you got your song is harder than mine right now yeah it's okay don't think that I'm not him right right and we didn't we didn't care about like wreck we could not have anything because my heart thing was like we just gonna get you off of what we do performing today that's it you can know not know who I am and I still try to perform like that to this day it's like even if you don't know it's like you know I don't care if it's five people ten people you know 50 people you got to get they came here they paid their money yeah yeah that's the kind of you know you know thing you gotta have you know going forward I call it you're gonna remember the night you played the Titans um mm-hmm of course I like that mm-hmm I don't care what it I don't care what's going on yeah yeah I mean that's the other part too about being a musician and being in a band um it's just too many cheat codes too many cheat codes like like y'all alone leave them alone but then I got the singer yeah it's just not cool y'all can't all sing it's not cool no no it's not cool um Stokely my brother man we gotta say thank you bro and we got to say thank you you know not just you know not just in this moment man but for all the work that you've put in uh thank you you have you have been absolutely an inspiration you have been study material wow to all of us becoming who we are you know what I mean thank you brother opportunities and to be in this business man as long as we have bro I'm telling you like you've you've helped you've helped us do that oh thank you you know what I'm saying every time I've met you every time I've been able to shake your hand and share energy with you share space with you it's always been amazing energy and you know I I learned that from genuine and from genuine and and it continues through guys like you that continues to remind me that that is the right way to be that that is that is correct and that's how we're going to keep doing it absolutely that thank you for having me this is amazing until y'all keep doing what you're doing man this is really more amazing than what y'all know it's like you're gonna start seeing residuals not money but I mean this is bigger than money that's what Charlie don't yeah and so and that whatever I got man I'm giving everybody out here and just we gonna keep shine y'all keep doing what you're doing you inspired me you know I see you out on the road doing stuff man hear your records and just everything y'all are doing man it's you know it's this is this is RB money baby yeah hey but then oh man this is the only money podcast the authority on all things r b and in the building we've had someone there special to our hearts man the amazing the incomparable Stokely R B Money

Channel: R&B Money Podcast

Views: 158,514

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: adN8TwMcu7I

Length: 138min 10sec (8290 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 18 2023