Checking In w/ BJ the Chicago Kid

Welcome to Checking In with Michelle Williams, a production of iHeartRadio and The Black Effect.

Okay, so I.

Love when I get to speak to somebody that was from home.

Well they're from Chicago, I'm from Rockbert.

But this soul is absolutely incredible, very talented, very gifted. I just love his voice. I love the tone of his voice. I love the vocal choices he makes. I love his music. And we've known each other for a very very long time, probably twenty plus years, and I'm really excited to have bj the Chicago kid. He's checking in, y'all. You know, there are many times I get to have folks on my podcast where we've actually talked on the phone.

We've been at each other's presence.

We have enjoyed great Chicago times together. We have the same mutual friends and family. Y'all probably already recognized who he is just by his distinct speaking voice, and I am excited to have a Grammy nominated singer songwriter. We've got to hear his voice some of everywhere. But I was so excited when he finally came out with solo music.

Y'all, let's give it up.

BJ the Chicago Kid. One of the greatest vocalists on our planet.

He's checking you.

Thank you here, I got you on the side of things.

Listen, how have you been?

Amazing? Amazing, amazing, amazing.

Yes, Lord, I love to see it.

You look good, Thank you, thank you. I just wrapped up a work. I'm tired, but I'm good.

Come on, are you in La or where you at right now?

Yeah? I'm in La Okay, all.

Right, So y'all he really is the Chicago kid, born and raised in Chicago, got his start singing in Chicago in the church. Don't get into a stee He comes from a very amazing musical family.

All right, Thank you, Aaron Sledge.

Y'all.

Just it's something in y'all, something right here in y'all. Y'all can't see my girl, but it's something right here between the chin, before you get down to us, before you get to the stern them. Something resides on the inside there.

I take that. I take that. I take that.

Yeah, shout out to my brothers Aaron and Scooter. Man, that's pretty much where I get it from. Anything they touched growing up that was interesting. I touched it to Are you the baby?

Are you the baby?

Yeah? Yeah, boy, yeah yeah yeah yeah. I'm the youngest.

I love y'all in. Scooter, by the way, is awesome.

As far as percussion, is he into production now or has he?

He's always been into it?

Uh?

He?

Scooter does everything. Scooter sing to scooterul whistle like I sing?

Right?

Yeah, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, So y'all could whistle Rodney so good, y'all. This is whole whistling thing, y'all. I can't whistle.

I don't have not like they can me either. They too cold. They like next level, top top tier. I'm like, they need mad control.

It's mad control.

They need to have like a whistle, cortet or something, I don't know, something.

Yeah, they sick with it, you know. Yeah. Scooter is into everything. But I the singing bug, I kind of never left alone out of.

All the things that they touched before me just as a kid, playing drums was the first love.

But yeah, singing never stopped to me.

Playing drums for me was almost like basketball as a kid. When you played basketball in the backyard, you like, I can make it to the NBA.

Come over, you get out there. You can see all this competition.

You're like, man, I don't even think I want to play. I don't got the marble mentality in this. I got the marble mentality in this. So this is what this is where my marble mentality is.

Yeah, music, the confidence you know it is. I'm sorry, you know, some of the best come out of the Midwest. Some of your vocalists are musicians and athletes come out of the Midwest.

Do you think it's something in the water.

I do, because a lot of musicians can sing sing, sing, sing, sing for real, for real.

You don't catch that a lot.

Some musicians just amazing that that craft and spreading that craft maybe to another instrument. But in the Midwest you mess around and catch a drummer that can like s a g like saying saying. So I think it is something in the water. Honestly, you know to a certain level and to a certain degree that the competitiveness makes us better, the healthiness of the competitiveness. Back back home, shedding and practicing runs all the stuff that youb just

Sharp, you know.

So to those of y'all that don't know, tell them what shedding is, they'd be like, well, I got shed skin hair, what is shit?

Okay? Okay.

So in the musicians world, in terminology, shedding is when musicians come together and just get it out. They just get it out. They get it out, they learn from each other. A lot of the stuff is instinct, so they try things they probably have always started off but never done. A lot of times you have a younger musicians here recording it to study and to capture the moment. It's just a room full of iron shopping and iron. Whether it's for now, whether it's for later, whether it's

Of the what you did there Pineapple now later twenty twelve.

I take that, I take that, I take that.

Yeah, It's just it's just an incredible time of musicians exploring without songs that can keep them chained to a certain style.

Of play. You could just kind of be you. That's what shedding is to, all right.

So that being said, you can shed in someone's garage at a church because it be called in Chicago, so we ain't gonna be shedding, all right. So lots of times sheds would happen in church. Now this is before social media, before you can put your phone. Now, y'all, y'all can just google put in church and shedding, and you'll be able to find some of the best who get together.

I haven't even seen musicians and singing shed after a funeral, you know, because unfortunately everybody come together. Let's just buy about for a minute, you know what I mean.

And so at night that night they get they get together whatever spot that they normally it is the best place for musicians to gather.

And they pay.

Tribute to musicians all the time. It's just one of the dopest things that you can kind of get. And honestly, it doesn't last because these musicians soon spread out to get the plans for all people all around the world. Some become producers, some become artists. But the evolution begins. So to have this magical moment with all these guys together.

It makes it really, really, really special.

Speaking of evolution, you went from Chicago to LA and if y'all stick with me, I'm going somewhere here. How was that transition for you to say, I'm gonna take a chance and I'm gonna move out my comfort zone and go to LA for real?

For real?

I had a chance to move to New York or LA. That was my choices, right, My soul, my heart, my being, my style.

Would have been in New York.

I was just pointing over.

Yeah, yeah, but La.

I knew more people musically that could teach me things, help me advance and evolves world musically. I didn't have that many people in New York that I knew, percy that was really serious, that could really help me. And knowing that I wanted to help myself more than they wanted to help me, Like I had to drive, I just wanted to be around the right people that I could learn from in advance, meet new people, network, you know that type of thing.

And LA is the place for me.

Yeah, And that that was why because you mentioned a lot of external things. You got the look, you got the vibe, you got to this and as y'all if y'all can see him now.

He's definitely given me New York. He's definitely given me Brooklyn.

Right.

Yeah, so.

That is so good and so y'all, I will never forget you. Were one of the singers that were singing for some background vocals for incredible artists, and there were tons of us me and cluded saying one day he's going to do something solo.

Now, if I'm not mistaken.

Back in twenty twelve, it was considered a mixtape or an EP. When you drive Pineapple now, laters, it's like twenty twelve was that?

Yeah, it was twenty twelve. Pineapple was considered an album. To me, Okay, we paid, we paid for them beats. There was all original beats, pay producers, pay for the studio time, like we did everything. They had this physical CD, y wably could.

Yeah, I still got.

What's crazy is when I moved into my new house, I went through a box and I found a bunch of old stuff and I was like, Yo, this is crazy. So it was just so good just to hold a real authentic copy from that time. Yeah, man, but yeah, the Pineapple is considered an album for sure.

Y'all have to get it because I want you to understand the musical journey, and it definitely paid homage to where he comes from, his parents, his family, his church relationships. I even think, you, what do I feel like you? Was there something at the shrine in Chicago? Was there a shrine in Chicago?

And I thank you?

Yeah, that's when I announced it. I was signed to Motown. My dad there, my family was there.

Yeah.

Yeah, you have an incredible memory.

Y'all because I love BJ like I'm a I'm a I'm a fan.

I'm a fan. And so even when when y'all sometimes people reach out and say, hey, my client's got an album coming out. So I just saw the subject line BJ the Chicago kid. I said, yes, I didn't even read what you got.

What's going on?

It could have been like he owed eighty million dollars in child support.

If I owe eighty that means I must have made come on, somebody.

Three he met five hundred million.

But no, man, I appreciate that. It's always been love, man, But go ahead, go ahead, you know.

And so you got in my mind in twenty sixteen, you got eleven, twenty three, and I know all of those albums, and I'm excited about what's about to drop. So, y'all, I'm excited because his album comes out this week.

It's called Gravy.

All right, we're gonna get into all that because I like Gravy and I don't know. I just want to make sure that he talking about the same I'm talking about. I don't know, because a different.

Time talking about it.

Yeah, we had different times. We different times too, terms and times.

I remember a song that you demoed. I can't say the title. I shouldn't say. I can't say the title. But it was amazing, y'all. It was a really sexy song. I knew I couldn't sing it.

Wait a minute, I'll be honest.

I gave the song to be and I was like, at that time, y'all, that's how long he and I know each other. At that time, I was like, this might be too sexy for her, y'all. That's how sexy the song.

Was.

So so, I think you also had a song about you know, she wants me to stay tonight.

But I got church in the yeah, yeah, which is such a duality as so many of us who were raised in church. Yeah, I want to do this.

But now, because you were raised in church, the automatic thing would probably would have been for you to go gospel.

Yeah. I mean, it's the most unguessable having to do things. You know what I'm saying.

You didn't have to guess if somebody looked at me back then and somebody oh yeah for sure.

Yeah yeah, And what made you say, Hey, I'm gonna just know I love Jesus, but I can be a light in the R and B industry too.

Yeah, I think number one, I think I really believe when preachers or pastors or ministers go on dates with their wife, they don't always play Kirrt Franklin. You know, there has to be a balance, a healthy balance. A healthy balance is kind of what allowed me to say yes to doing what I'm doing now, and you got me here now. Just I just.

Promised myself to have a message.

Don't just be too like what we used to call buck remember, don't be too bucked, you know what I'm saying. I try to have a little fun with it, but always always legal with messages that can help them out in life. Not just relationships that can help male listeners become better men, help the female listeners. Really just try to be the best that they can be and give them more confidence, tell them that they're beautiful, and help

But my family has been incredibly supportive.

They never condemned me, and honestly, the type of tough skin that I have, I can't give a damn what they said. Not my family, but anybody else. My family the only people out there about these people, and they say, well they you know they go. I never met they in my life and if I ever met they, you probably got problems. They probably gonna catch these hands because.

I never met him. They bullied everybody. Everybody's scared today. So good.

I know.

Yeah, ain't been smoked weed. It wasn't no secret. Yeah, I mean it has been in him.

He has been himself.

I was gonna say, like mom was a choir director, and you know my mom know I smoke weed.

I mean nothing.

We are very honest in our family, and we like uh, we also hold each other account and responsible so long as everything is respected. Many they except me for who I am. They understand that times are change it and it's actually more.

Healing than it is doing. Damn it, you know what I'm saying.

Absolutely, And by the way, with the whole thing about smoking weed, it was a joke. By the way, it took me a long time because I grew I grew up in a thing where you know, if somebody smokes cigarettes and you you almost looked down on them. But I was like, I know a lot of functional, amazing people with good heart that partake in the greenery. Now there is an extract of it that has helped my anxiety.

In an amazing way.

So I have no no, no judgment.

I have no judgment. I think when you see people.

From gospel to secular, secular to gospel, there just seems to be so much controversy.

But y'all, he just spoke to the controversy. He said, who was they?

I don't care about they as long as my family and I are good and we love each other and my friends are supportive, and I'm very excited about your new album. I feel like you took a little break. There was even a period of time where I didn't see you.

On social media a lot.

Yeah, I feel like my spirit was like, you know, he's just taking time. He's taking time.

You know.

Yeah, if you don't live now, you ain't got nothing right about it. You definitely got no place to sing from. I think Quarantine was the time that I was in the studio a lot. Like I would say, right before Quarantine, I I've damned it locked myself in there just so I can get it out. I feel like I was making some of the best music of my life. Got the call from YETI that he was ready to pretty much move forward with the Gravy Project and he wanted to do that and mephis at our Green studio.

I'm like, all right, how dope is that? That? That was That's the first question on my rundown.

But I was like, I can't lead with that because I want we know each other, so I wasn't going to just go right into so tell me about your new album. Like, no, I agree in Memphis you are very, very soulful, but not It's like he BJ's not gonna have the suit and tie on serenading or or now he can he can croon the hell out like you can croon now, don't he can.

That?

You can do that? You can do y'all. He'll croon and You'll be pregnant And man, now.

Listen, did you choose the studio depending on the flavor of what you wanted with the recording or how does that Did that make a difference in the music?

Absolutely not, honestly, all that credit goals to Yetti. Yet he beats he picked the studio he I didn't even know. I thought he wanted to do it here in La to be totally honest with you, But we end up doing it in mephis at Al Green Studio, which is across the street from the projects.

You know what I'm saying. Everything A Green was giving us.

Everything he gave us was really trill like he it was tested there, I'm sure you know what I'm saying. So that feeling was very authentic working there. I feel like the respect and the respect level and the quality of music that was made in that place, we wanted to respect and leave some for the next person. Yeah, we didn't want to mess up the train, like like you can tell being there that some magic was made.

But it was It was like singing in the museum. Yo. It was so cold. It was dope. It was dope. It was dope.

And not only was it where magic was made, but artists came there as their authentic self, with their struggle, with their pain.

With their joy in never met each other before for real too. For Gravy, I heard of the indications, but I never met them. They never met Charlie. Charlie never met YETI. So a lot of us got there getting to know each other through these songs.

Come on, eating, eating.

Together, vibing together, talking together, you know, finding out who got kids, who, how many brothers, sisters you got, you know those questions. You really get to know people being in there those late hours in those studios. Man, that pretty much it brought us together for sure.

See the thing about not having a physical CD, you could actually turn and read the credits. But y'all, for those of y'all, for those of y'all that are on streaming music platforms, I go to a song Liquor Store in the Sky, which is on his Gravy album that is coming out within days. Okay, you go to the tap the thing that says view full lyrics that will give you the credits of producers and writers. So I'm looking at Aaron Frazer, Blake, Brain Booker Jones, Brian James, Le, Charlie Burrow.

Yeah, Charlie started off Biggs throwing the sky like hands down.

I think they was out there eating wings or something, and.

Charlie picked up that big old Gibson that looked like a Cadillac and started playing that.

Bloom boom blond boom dun.

I was like, I don't want no wings either, No, no, no, you know what I.

Was about to say.

I was about to say, where them wings?

Is that?

So I could get some of that inspiration where the wings?

They was eating the wings, But Charlie was just still like, I think that mother was just sitting on him. Cluse, I think for real, for real. That's probably the third time he played that.

Man.

He's like, man, I love that song so much. I just keep playing it randomly sometimes. So while they was eating wings, he was playing that, and I heard him playing that, and I walked in there and it just began to be the first song we did after eating those wings, and.

My my mind, I had that song title in my phone.

Honestly, like producers got sounds in the computer and on their hard drive. I got song titles and themes and phrases all in my phone and my notes, just from

Store in the sky over here. This is it. So that's.

BJ don't don't record nothing no more and not tell me I want to be there.

I want to all right.

I want to eat the wings and all of that stuff. And so you've got someone else, dear to my heart, Corey Henry. We have the same management. He's on forgotten your name and the King himself. Did he come to Memphis or did he have to send his stuff in?

I wanted him to come to mephis so bad. But he we actually okay. So when we were in Memphis, we traveled foot we were gone for seven days, but we were in the studio for five. Within that five days, we did pretty much like seventeen songs. We came back to LA with those seventeen we added strings and hums in La, tweaked the songs a little bit more, went back to Memphis to put the other layer of strings and horns, went back to LA, added a few songs, added the other touches like Corey.

So in LA.

When we came back to La, Corey Henry, We've been out a big studio and we had everything from a class to the Oregon to the Fender Rose like everything that Corey Henry specialized in, and he came in and just kind of like gave us everything we need on each song that we felt we needed him for. Corey is like, I mean, away from his talent, as a person, man, he's an incredible guy.

Man.

I mean, you wouldn't think you would find good people like this in the music industry because of the stories and the stigmas of this game and of this industry.

But Corey is definitely one of the real ones.

Man. Anytime I call him if he's available, my dog rock with me and I do the same for him in return us together, we've been having a lot of fun in the studio, lady outside of Gravy too.

Wow, he came and knocked it out.

Yeah, well, y'all, it's I'm excited about this album, Gravy. Now, you gotta tell us how the title come about? Or is this something we need to discover? Do we need to discover it through the music? You can tell us that, No, I'm with you.

I think me explaining it helps you even welcome the world of Gravy even.

Better and tighter. So Gravy is the reason why I walked away. I walked out. I talked the way I talk. It's the great Granddaddy of sauce. You know what I'm saying.

When theiggad be like, yeah, I got the sauce, just a great started with Gravy, got it. It's that thing that my great grandfather that he was working his his his his whole life just to elevate his.

Hit, his wage.

I think we all have people that when we were younger, we saw people that just did certain things the way we loved it and the way we wish we could have done. And when we got older and maybe financially was able to buy that pair of shoes or something like that jacket, or have a car similar, whatever that thing was that make you feel closer connected to that espirace you had as a kid.

That's that gravy, but you taking.

It, you translated it and evolved into something that's very translatable and it's complementable. That's that gravy. Gravy is that new s h I t all right. So it's the soul. It's soul music. It's purely the essence of dope, man, the essence of being great when you got on your favorite dress. It's that feeling every day when you got on sweatstoe.

You know what I'm saying. It's that same yeah, because okay, and to let us talk about physical gravy.

It's mother's It covers, it's seasonings, and you want it on a little bit of everything almost And if you get on somebody these poster.

It's gravy. Baby, come on, baby now now, now, b J.

I left a little bit of space without interjecting, because I said, this is a freaking interlude.

Give it.

We don't give you that.

We're gonna give you this sound. Because even as you were speaking, I heard melody I heard almost sounded like you was tuning up a little bit in the pool pit.

Yo.

You know it's so real man, y'all, y'all gotta see the way gravy lit him up.

And the way honestly did we did it in Memphis, Mephis you know, Southern, huggable, warm.

Loving that plate. You're gonna love it when you get it. You know, it's why not gravy, you know?

Why not? So all I could think of is like smothered chicken.

Like I don't want unless unless it's like biscuits and gravy. I don't want my gravy too light skin. There's a certain gravy that it's gotta be right right here.

I'm in my kitchen. Wait, let me sell you some Let me sell you something, Let me sell you something real quick.

Uh.

I just want to show them something that allows them to understand.

Uh huh.

You got to keep it brown, baby, you gotta keep it brown. You gotta have gravy, baby, you gotta.

You got to have it.

And you put that gravy on that piece of meat of your choice, and then it and you put them on some rice.

Or put it.

Get a ladle and put that thing on some mashed potatoes. Now this is not the Food Network.

Okay, but you but you get the world. But you get the world with dwelling in you know what I'm saying.

I'm hype so so so you said, gravy is in you, not on you?

Can it be can it be learned? Can it be taught? Can it be given? Or it's something you're born with it?

I think you're definitely born with it. But the language is still understandable to somebody that wasn't born with it. That's what makes them able to compliment it.

Yeah, yes, it was just.

Such a stupid thing. They wouldn't even be able to recognize it to compliment it. But you definitely got to be born with ita.

Come on, come on, what's the thing?

The thing?

Maybe she's born with it. Maybe it's mabeling like.

Now that grave, it's that gravy. Another collab another collaboration. So y'all we got caught up talked about gravy'all wanted to talk about the song that you have with Cold Cole Jones. Now I could be I believe I call myself knowing a lot of your catalogs spend the night. Was that kind of a even though it's still soulful, but was that kind of a sonically different for you to do because I've heard I've heard some people consider it dance music.

It's more it's it's more simpler for me to do. Actually, it's more easier to do my natural style that Gravey ben Bruins since I was a kid. That's why it's so easy for me to do my style. But this style is more simpler, more direct, more straight to the point. It's more it's a more popular sound. So that more popular sound is broadening the right places to reach a

It sort of speak.

This is more of a collaborative effort of us having fun putting that experience of going to Mephis and the different faces and talents and gifts that came and like donated this stuff and they talented and gifts to this project. I mean, even the people that didn't go to Memphis. It's just to me it just came to be a real labor of love because it took time.

It took time for sure. We recorded this during quarantine where we know.

How long it was gonna be, you know, just just the whole not knowing the unknown of everything.

We knew he was least gonna be making some music that was a part of our happiness through that time.

Yeah, you said something that I feel like a lot of us are scared to do. We feel like we know our recipe and we are not going to venture out or bend or waiver out of what we know. Sonically. This is what I am known for. But I heard you say you called somebody that you trust that maybe it might have you venture out and do another song. But I feel like this is still gonna this is all gonna mesh well with your.

Catalog period when you do your.

Live shows, it ain't gonna sound you know what I'm trying to say.

It's gonna make sense.

It all makes yeah, And I never I never wanted my catalog at the end of the day. Imagine if all of our catalogs were it was one wall, but everything was on this one wall. I would not want my one water to look the same. I wanted to look beautiful. I wanted to tell my story even in the framing. I wanted to be a beautiful piece of work. Some of it is tears. Some of its tears of joy. Some of it is pure celebration. Some of it is missing my friends that I wish could Seei's not quitting

Learnning new stuff. Yeah, so this is this process has been pretty dope.

And you've always you're always a student, which comes out even just as you're speaking. It's so passionate and I just from even personally like you've experienced some laws.

You've been through a lot.

Jay, You've been through a lot, and you know, I'm excited and encouraged that you continue to push through and do what you were born to do, which is to do music. You remind me of even like someone like PJ. Morton who felt like there was a time where he was questioned or even forced to almost change his sound. Did you ever go through that whereas somebody's like, you know, if you work with so and so, you know you might get a little more success. You know, if you

There are there are people that suggest things that aren't suitable for me all the time, knowing who you are, trusting who you are, wanting to be better than who you are, to not settle in your talent and in your place, to still do things to keep the iron sharp. I think all of that is a part of understanding what to do and having the right people around you to trust to do so things. It's just it all kind of coincides. But yeah, people always have a plan

Gravey should always be on your planet.

BJ.

We got to give you the audio from this entire interview because you've said so many nuggets and I thank you for your time. I'm excited about Gravy. It's already ready, y'all. Listen on my phone like it's already. You see that check mark, That means because I got it, and I already got the way you get, Oh, you get faux songs right now if you go, just don't press play, but actually download the album.

Hit the arrow, hit that green arrow, Hit that green arrow.

Every every streaming site has that green era, hit the hit that Arrow.

And so.

Because people feel like because they play it, that means no, that's not a purchase.

You just it's a stream and we thank God, we thank God for you. It's not a purchase.

So we went and we thank God for you.

But it's not.

It's not a purchase, and you have showed through the years why it's worth the purchase. Right and before we get going, you know, checking in was birth out of my mental health journey, and it was a way to bring people in that I know and love to talk about everything you've got going on, but also to check in with you.

B J.

I mentioned that you know you've had some loss that maybe you don't speak publicly of. If I'm not mistaken, you lost your father that was a big loss for you. Did it did it impact how you make music?

Did you fall into heavy grief at all? Did it paralyze you?

All that?

All of that, You don't really start grieving to after the funeral when it's somebody that close to you. Ain't seeing seeing seeing the body being at the church for real, for real, depending how close the person was to you, you not person at the funeral because you're too close. Your brain is just doing too much. Everybody wants to say hello, blah blah blah, just the things that happen at the funeral. But yeah, the grief didn't start to

Yes, you couldn't be being so.

Far, being so far. Yeah, I'll tell you a small, fast, deep story. It's quick, but it's so.

My dad taught me about music shaving in the bathroom as he used to do his night job. He was a bouncer for I mean clubs, the bulls, all type of crazy stuff. Muhammad, Ali, Oprah Winfree, all these people. But as he was as he was shaved he would. It was a radio that never if you took that radio at the bathroom, it was a real serious problem in the house. Nobody takes the bathroom the radio out

Stephanie Mill was, who Philis Hymen was.

I mean, just certain people that we know something we've forgotten because there's so many greats that have come way before us. But my daddy taught me about this thing as he did that. So the fast forward this long story of me coming to La my dad finally tells us he has cancer.

That living in Las.

Vegas at the time, and he and our relationship began to change a little bit for the better. We began to talk a lot more. Certain things I would do just to kind of like help. But whether whether it was the B twelve shots help it's cancer, because the pills didn't feel like nothing, but the shot made him feel at least a little bit better for himself. He told me one day, he said I called him and he didn't answer, so he called me back and he said, man shaved and took a nap. Then you call me,

They said a lot to me.

And I was leaving for Japan within about seven days from this time. So this particular, let's say, if that was on a Tuesday. That Saturday was my brother's wife's birthday party. So at her party, I was like, y'all, I don't feel comfortable going to Japan without seeing him, and I think we should all go see him together, and we end up going.

It was just so crazy of mex Yo.

Antenna's always working, because that shave told me everything. My brothers went and have got it because they wasn't in that bathroom when he was teaching me about these artists.

Why he was shaving. You know in the.

Movie when you see them shoot, when they shoot the man at the beginning, but they showed a tattoo on his hand, remember that tattoo. This is yes, life is like that. That shit ain't for nothing. It is not for nothing. I told my brothers, we need to go see him. We went to see him. I had to go to New York.

The next day. I went to New York.

They flew me back to Vegas from New York instead of la and my brothers and then were already there.

They kind of like chill with him.

My dad was just laying there and kind of like just vibing, chilling, just in his zone, like almost going back to sleep.

But that was our last time seeing him alive.

How long ago was this?

Again, My dad's been going four years now.

Four years.

If I wouldn't have paid attention to that conversation about his shave, remembering how he taught me to do what I'm doing.

Just having that and my intenda is being up.

I just thank God because the situation and my grieving could have been way worse without that goodbye, without that time with him. So y'all keep your antennas up. One plus one should always make too. If it doesn't, it's something that you probably can. Yeah, And those type of things kind of help my my my downtime not be under the ground, you know. And I think it's been a process, and yes, I definitely had a time where I was losing it.

Yet you shared with us, you know, moments of your grief. And by the way, everybody public figures do not have to grieve publicly for you to know that they're grieving. Okay, and thank you for the times and what you did share with us.

Hey man, it's difficult for sure, tough.

So my dad's my dad's birthday comes is like it's like a two days after your album drops, right, and so my daddy loved music.

And and not to cut you off, my dad's funeral was on his birthday like like some type of weird mafia movie.

It was so freaky, it was.

It was I couldn't I couldn't hand them marriage, I couldn't put it all together. It was too much. His funeral was on his birthday. Never seen that everyone life, which is what.

Day is his birthday to the first so really he just had a birthday. So we want to say to you, good sir, thank you, thank you for the lessons and thank you for what you taught BJ.

Thank you for what you taught all your children.

They learned so much, and thank you for sharing that in the way that you've shared it so.

Real, so raw, so that other listeners can know.

Like, everybody's grief is different, the intensities, the levels, And it's not that it just gets easier just after time.

It just seems like you just begin to accept.

You have to grieve positivety, You have to positivity grief. Negative grief only makes more problems. Okay, yeah, negative grief only makes more problems. Sometimes you want to be by yourself, be by yourself, and you want to be around somebody.

Try your best to just be around.

The the right people that can help support you and lift you back to an amazing place in the amazing mental space.

Because there was a time I didn't want to do nothing.

I had more questions when my dad died than when he was alive, finding out who I am, why I do this, why I am the way I am, why I respond like this. Yeah, a lot of these things are traits that I got from my dad. So yeah, for those that have their parents, ask those questions, man, how did you meet mom?

Again?

If you already know the story, asks again, get those details, because man, we always want to know more about ourselves, and a lot of it comes from where we come from.

Well, unless you're in a place where you can constantly observe your parents day by day. Sometimes the best way to know yourself is to ask the one who created you. Right, your mom and daddy got together, did what they had to do and created you. But ultimately God is the ultimate, like you know, So in order for me to know myself while while my mam is still alive, I should said, definitely, ask the ones that got together to create you.

Yeah, that's yeah, because I think after why that story gonna change. The older they get, they're gonna some things might slip the mind or those details that you know.

I think the.

Older they get, Like my daddy would say.

Man, that would make it a good story. That's make it fun.

He I was like daddy.

I was like daddy, Mama said a cuss word. He said, Man, don't let your mama fool you.

I said, I don't want to know.

Yeah, they're surprising, they're surprised. You don't want to know. We didn't discover none of the stuff that we've been doing. I thought we were slick doing when we were younger. No, we wasn't. We weren't the starters of that.

We were not.

They knew they did it. Yeah, yeah, we ain't begin that.

The original gravy, the original gravy carriers are our parents. I am so thankful you came on here. Is there anything you want to share?

You've been an open book and I sure appreciate it all day.

Man, it feels good to remind them that we are human, because we, by default, we're not.

I get it, I understand it. I get it.

I'm not I didn't make it, but I understand. I might not agree with it, but I understand. But it feels good to remind them that we're human, that we cried, that we bleed, that we heard, that we smiled, that we laughed just like them. I think that makes the music even more better, you know what I'm saying. Yeah, I would love to dedicate a song to you from Gravy, right, so gif you get a chance. Listen to a song called never Change. That song for me to you. Never change. Man,

So excited. I'm finna go learn how to make gravy. I know how I wanted to taste. I don't want no lumps.

I needed to be smooth. Amen.

Yeah yeah, yeah, all right.

Maybe next time we get you guys, we make we make chicken rites and gravy and a green vetch yourself.

It's a calm bread. Yeah, showing what to do.

The family likes my college greens. I can make some greens, for sure. I can bring some.

I'm into that. I'm into that. Bring that.

Say less everybody. We love you, BJ. We are so excited for you. Keep pushing, keep going.

You never change as well because it's working for you, all right.

Love you man, Thank.

You, Love you too.

I'm so much ooo.

You know.

I just love being able to have conversations that just flow with people that I am fond of, people that I am.

A fan of. I'm a fan of BJ the Chicago Kid, a fan of his music.

A fan before he became a solo artist. A fan while he was singing background vocals for Mary Mary Usher, marriy J.

But the list goes on. Gosh, I just remember him. So my folks, my family, my siblings, we would drive.

Up to Chicago to hear, you know, some amazing musicians, choirs and singers, and BJ.

The Chicago Kid was right there.

So it's so good to talk to him as a fan of his music. Like I said, back from twenty twelve when he first dropped his first album, and I'm excited, I'm actually gonna go back and just listen to everything. BJ the Chicago Kid. Thank y'all so much for tuning. In twenty twelve, the album was titled Pineapple Now Laters, So I'm gonna just listen to all things BEJ the Chicago Kid for the rest of the day and make sure y'all go get his album titled Gray Bay.

All right, love y'all soul so much again. I can't do what I do without y'all. All right.

Bye.

Checking In with Michelle Williams is a production of iHeartRadio and The Black Effect. For more podcasts from ihet Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,