J HOLIDAY - Bed & Breakfast Ramen

Hey, guys, welcome to another episode of Eating While Broke. I'm your host, Coleen Witt, and today we have very special guests, Jay Holidays in the building.

What's what's up?

Yay, thank you, thank you, thank you.

I don't know if you really need an introduction. I'm trying to find some more ways to have fun with some of your hottest singles. Yeah, I like, I have my one good job, but I feel like it's all nothing can compare to that one text I had. I had this group text before when we booked you. I was like, we got Jay Holiday. I had to put it to bed, you know, and took everyone a whole day too to get it. To get it or I think just to respond damn or whatever.

I know.

I was sad. I was like, Yo, someone's gonna someone's gonna time back right away. But I got one ha high and that's all I needed. Yeah, it was awesome.

Right.

If I was your friend, I.

Would be that would have been great.

That would have made a lot of a lot of fun puns in your text.

Yeah, that would have been amazing. I mean, but you know, it's been a while.

Though, it's been a while, and I was like, who can't who would I really like to sit down with? And I was like, Jay Holliday has to be on.

This list, But why is that?

Though I loved it, I played your record one hundred million times. Well, yeah, yeah, I liked it. I liked it. So take me back to what you were eating when you were broke.

Oh man, Well I'm not even gonna necessarily broke, because it was if this milk goes well, it starts in high school, just cooking noodles as a teenager. You know. So this is beef. You know, everybody knows the thing, all famous and noodles. A lot of people love chicken. I don't know.

I love the chicken ra I mean I think I saw beef from and I said, damn, I forgot.

You want to do chicken?

No, no, that is not real beef.

Oh man, But this is beef. So so should I not do the hot dogs because that's red meat.

That's red meat.

It's okay, you sure?

Yeah? I mean sometimes I risk one I'll eat beef and then I'll just get sick.

Because I can leave that out.

All right, tell us the ingredient.

Okay, so I got cabbage here. You know what I'm saying some green onions, that's for last. That we're just gonna top it off with that. That's It's like I was.

I was really respecting the green onions. I don't know how broken was.

No. I mean, this is vegetables. Vegetable is another expensive you know what I mean?

Cabbage and green onions don't really does cabbage count as a vegetable. It's like water, What do you get from it?

I think? So, I mean, well, you know that's not the hitting on the slice hot dogs, beef hot dogs. They could have gotten beating hot dogs. I didn't know that's all good, you know. So yeah, so I'm gonna start on the cabbage because that's gonna take it a little second.

So this is your version of gourmet.

It's just it's sauced up a little bit. I mean, really it was. It was the hot dogs in en Romen, you know. But as I got older then it's like, you know, you know what I'm saying, make it make me feel like I'm actually eating the meal when I'm really broke.

When you really broke. So take me back to high school. What was going on? What kind of home did you grow up in? Two pair, one parent single mom.

My dad died when I was eleven. So that's why I said in high school because when he was alive, he was cooking all the time. My mom cooked, but he was more so the U I guess, the actual chef a family, you know, So we were It wasn't no noodles and stuff like that. But so this high school she working, so you know, I'm always in the kitchen with her, learning how to cook and all that stuff.

So I mean, were you both this was the main cook did Were you guys both learning together after? Nah?

No?

I mean she you know, she came up in the southern family, so she cooked, but my dad was just bet that was more of his like a his therapeutic thing. Okay, after work. He was a mechanic, so that was more uh therapeutic for him, you know what I mean. He was good at it, you know. But yeah, this is just high school, me in my singing groups and my mom's at work, and you know, I want to eat

So okay, so you originally from DC from Washington.

DC, yeah, well the DMV area, cause I moved around. We moved around a lot. Okay, yeah, we moved around a whole lot.

Middle class, poor, rich, rich.

Nah, I would say we was middle class. And then you know, when my dad passed away, it was just my mom. You know, he was in the military, so I got you know, I got benefits being his child. But I mean military benefits once they passed away is not What kind.

Of benefits is the military give I'm.

Going to give you money. I mean they sent they send you money.

Anymore after And did your mom reached got benefits to or no or just as kids?

I don't know.

I don't know how the military.

I never was in my mom's business.

Okay, I know what I got. Okay, Okay, so.

You got a check, Yeah yeah, I got a check.

Okay while you were in high school.

When I went to high school, when I uh, when I applied for college, okay, I applied to more House and Clark, I got into both, decided to go to Clark. Then right before school started, I was like, eh, I got cold feet. Nah, it wasn't even the cold feet. I hated school. Okay, I already hated school. You know what I mean school. I didn't feel like school was teaching me anything. Oh, it was born. I just did it cause my mom wanted me to graduate from high school. So it's like a right.

But then you applied for the colleges to a piece here too.

In the beginning, I think, so, you know, but you know, when you come from a certain place, you're on financial aid. So I'm like, the first time I got drunk was college orientation ever in life? Yeah?

Wow, but I heard college as wild, like I'm a college dropout junior college. Well, I don't even know if that counts.

Yeah, the first time I got drunk was college orientation, and my mom was down the street because my grandmother she lived there from North Carolina, but my grandmother spent a lot of her time down and actually in this area. So my mom's at my grandmother's house and I'm getting drunk for the first time. So I'm thinking to myself, if I'm getting drunk and my mom's down the street, what's gonna happen with my mom going home? You know what I'm saying, I'm about to I'm about to basically

But what do you mean mess the financial aid up?

Because school?

Okay?

You know what I mean. I already didn't like it.

Now when did you realize you wanted to pursue music?

Well, I was going that was gonna be my major.

I was going, Oh, you're going to school for music. Yeah, you should have dropped out. I'm talking about well but teacher.

Rightly, you know what I'm saying.

Like, and I still have student loans.

And then my group was at home.

Okay, so I was leaving them.

I could get a job, we could still pursue our career. I can have some money whatever, you know.

So so you decide to drop out? How to Yeah, yeah, go for it, go for it. You know if you all seem little sick over the next couple of days, I almost gip around it. I'll take a little nibble. So you you end up dropping out of school. But you said you had a group back at home.

Yeah, my singing group. I mean I never went I went to college orientation.

And that trunk during orientation.

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to tell you. Okay, so I deferred for a year. You know, she was like, well you don't have to decide right now. Cool.

But so so you went back to live with her? Yeah, okay, okay. Did she make you get a day job?

Yeah? She said, but you know, you know, you know what the stipulation is.

Yeah, what were the stipulations?

If you drop you gotta get a job if you're not going to go to school right now?

Okay? Did she make you pay bills? I had a car and she was nice.

Remember I'm getting the money for my dad. Okay, so I'm like going a few kids in school like we in the hood.

But how much are they breaking off these military kids? You was a teenager getting like fifteen hundred dollar checks probably around now, no way.

But I mean it wasn't like I was walking around in Jordan's and stuff. My parents were frugal.

So but the money you said was going to you. So what was you spending the money on?

I got a car? Oh, you got my card.

Not you had a cardinal in high school? And clothes yeah, oh yeah, you was flying Okay.

Not even that though, because I had a job. So I'm like, I gotta get back and forth to work.

Okay, but you're a teenager, So what's the next milestone, balling teenager.

I'm gonna move out one of my group, one of my group members was my roommate, and that was I was about nineteen, and uh, yeah, we move out. We're doing the group stuff. We lived together for about a year before and I made the decision to move to Atlanta. Yeah, so we left our jobs. I had two jobs at the time we left our jobs. I had a corporate job and then I had a part time because mind you, I've been working since I graduated. I would start working two months out of high school.

That's how doing what though.

I was a foul clerk at a law firm.

A foul clerk, okay.

At a law firm. So yeah, then we decided to move to Atlanta. And that's where the broke starts.

That's where the started. And was your mom on board with the move? She was supportive.

I mean, it wasn't really her choice. I mean she she my mom's a preacher, so for her, it was kind of like, all right, she knew if I put my mind to it, I'll probably succeed, you know, but you know, she wasn't really too keen on the secondar music.

You played that single for her comfortably?

Yeah? Yeah?

Did you do a pre face? Did you do a preface to it? Like, hey, mom?

Because it was it wasn't overly sexual. I mean it was. I mean, yeah, if you could read and write, but still.

Wasn't overly sexual. I mean it sounded more convinced that you sound like I'm your mom, and this is how you're convinced.

It's that sounded more like a nursery rhyme. You know what I'm saying.

Oh, okay, well, what did your mom think?

She was proud. I think for more so for her it was the fact that I pursued it and I did it, so for her she did. I don't even think it dawned on her what it was about, or you know what I mean. But before until the interview started coming, until the interviews and then you know people, then now the subject matter of the song that talked about.

Then she got a little uncomfortable. Damn. Wait, wait, I don't want to get there yet. Wait tell me how before you get to the top of the mountain. I want to know, like what transpired between you moving to Atlanta being broke before the singles?

Well, so we moved into t A Anthony Anthony Tate, Anthony t A Tate. He he moved us to God.

Yeah, right there, right there, Okay, gotcha than you.

He moved us to Atlanta and basically he was gonna he was gonna get this a deal and we was gonna sign and and you.

Know, the Dreamer and what was the deal?

Like?

Was it a good deal? Bad deal? Looking back, I always hear the first deals are.

He was what they call a production company, like a social death bad boy. So I mean, for us, we made it, you know, even though that wasn't the major deal. We still was like we're making the right steps. They start getting us in the right rooms, you know, with the right writers and the right producers and stuff.

Like you didn't write that song. You didn't write dream Road and oh Dream wrote it, freaking dream of course Dream wrote it.

Yeah, Dream wrote that. Okay, I should probably take this off because it's still system and that rough. But let me just place that right there. But yeah, so he moves us in the house. We do our all our meetings were sitting in front of the La reads like the Craig Countons and you know heads of ladies, you know, and nobody was signing groups. Nobody wanted nobody wanted a group.

So I'm like, as the lead, as the kind of lead. I know, you're a group, but you were the lead.

Right, Yeah I was. That was what they would call the reason. Yeah, but so yeah, that's done. So yeah, Like it was just do I want to do this. I'm kind of tired of this music. We gotta do all the music because everybody in the in the industry that would sign us heard what we have and need to do new stuff, and I just wasn't you know, we I think at that point I had just kind of ugrued them in the in the mental state of I don't know if I have the energy to be doing all the work for everybody, you.

Know, in the group.

Well, because in a group, everybody plays their part, but I still feel like you're only as expendable as you as you make yourself really in any situation that's in life. But for me, it was just kind of like, oh, man, like I don't know if they want it as bad as I do. I don't have the time to just sit around and just watch them just be on PlayStation or whatever.

I mean, you know, like their passion wasn't as heavy were you.

Also, they felt complacent into being like, well, we just group members, you know what I mean. So for me that was just kind of like what are we all really here for? Yeah, you know what I'm saying. So it went from that to we didn't that meeting didn't happen, and that meeting was supposed to be with so so deafit so that meeting didn't really happen, I mean, it didn't happen, and that choice was made, you know, So right now, I'm about to Soft's package. Okay, but yeah,

And then how did your how did you deal with your band meant members or did they have any negative things to say about you when you guys broke up? Oh you're adding more seasoning to it. Okay, I respect it. This is got the garlic powder and powder. I respect it.

This is very uh high end. Okay, you know what, just just just okay.

I ain't never seen somebody season the season in, but no, I don't think so except for bone Thugs. Bone Thugs went went to town. They was at a miracle whip and mustard and male.

That's something else, that's something else. That's something else.

But but I think they call that the spread.

I don't know what they call that.

That sounds like jail jail house whels. Probably Yeah, oh, it looks legit. It looks good. It looks really good.

I mean, you may may not like it.

You know, I'm telling you just from eyeballing it, it's gonna be salty. Was the last when was the last time you had to.

See I don't use I don't use this particular brand because of the salt. Yeah, oh really, because I mean if you don't have to use the whole pack. But I figured this. You said you want it, I want want that.

I don't want that one I want.

I don't necessarily eat this. But yeah, you know, so that's I had a servant something, but here.

We have those. We have what do you want?

Okay?

A servant something you want like a serving spoom, don't burn yourself.

I turn them off.

There we go. You got this.

I didn't break my noodles, which most people do, so this doesn't happen. Okay, But I guess it's just deciding to give you all of it.

Let me, let me help you out, help me out, because I try, because you should have broke the noodles.

Man. Usually one usually one person would eat this, so it would just go exactly you know what I'm saying.

We had this discuss you got before.

Guys.

Here we go, there we go, there we separated.

I'm so sorry for that. For what I apologize. I'm not a chef though by the way, I think I am, but I'm not. This clearly proves it.

Okay, I got it, I got it. There we go.

All right, so dogs everywhere? You know, you don't even have any hot dogs? And then you're good. You got because you didn't really want. Now and anyway, I give you some want some cabbage?

Yeah, I got some cabbage.

Right, I just want to do Can I do.

The green on anything?

Absolutely? I was gonna yeah, and you should absolutely to your So yeah. So yeah, I'm at the house by myself. And that's where I guess you could say say Holliday was born. That that was the beginning of my actual like real solo journey. So yeah, and I was it was a stand up decision, but it was a hard decision. Yeah, of course than my brothers. And what's funny is we just recently started a conversing again.

So are they like, Yo, let's let's bring the group back. You I'm good.

One of the guys was he was always the uh, the funny man in the group. You know, he's gonna always jump about it. But I know he's dead as serious. But you know what I mean, that's that's my brother.

What do you say when they when they you know he's changed the subject, you'd be like, so.

He's just like, I can't wait till we all hang out again and we just sing like not profect. You know.

They don't ever be like, why don't you have us open for you? Man?

Absolutely not.

They've never said that.

That's never gonna happen.

All right, let's try this. Let's see how salty. Let's see how salty or unsalty. You didn't break these noodles. I didn't the whole the whole noodles is gonna be.

We could just tell you haven't eaten noodles in a while.

What are you talking about? I I do eating.

Because I'm done. I mean, it's good, the brand that it is.

You taste the hot dogs too.

I usually I usually would leave more water in there, but you.

It's delicious. It's fun.

It's true, but no, it gets you through though. It gets you through, you know. And another good one is hash browns with chili and cheese from waffle House, but that's another story.

I haven't been to waffle House yet. Guys, I think I've seen. It's not a.

Crime, but that's how long you're gonna be here, you should go.

I'm gonna go. I'm gonna be here till Sunday. I'm trying to get Ryan to put together the list.

Go to a club, hang out till two o'clock in the morning, get really drunk, go to waffle house, and then, uh, that's the place. That's the only that's the real waffle house experience, you know.

Stacey's also been telling me in Atlanta, you gotta go to the strip clubs. I don't want to go to the strip clubs, but she's like, it's a whole experience here in Atlanta.

It's it. I mean, if you want to.

See that response right there, that's where my head's been living.

It's kind of like, you know, you don't have to and that might not be your cup of tea, so it might just be uncomfortable for you, but it's a it's a time. You know what I mean? Over real, depending on the type person you know? Are you scared of yourself in there?

Scared of myself? What you mean? You know what it is? I don't.

Has been known to change people, change people.

I told every looks that's that tastes right there. She's been trying to get me to go to strip club. I'm like, I'm not. I'm not. I'm not attracted to women. I can tell of a woman's beautiful, but that's as far as it goes.

I'd be like, she's beautiful, but it's a party. It just depends on which one you go to.

No, I'm good.

It's not a necessity.

Though at first I thought she was talking about going on a male strip club. I was like, but I don't want to see a guy in the throng.

Nah, that's that's strip club. It's going to change the whole namic of the night.

Over real.

Yeah, you're in Atlanta, Okay, this ain't no like up North mail review type of strip club.

Wait, they do have male strip clubs there.

They have one. I think it's closed now. I'm not sure because I never went.

So no woman wants to see a guy in the thong. This is never there's like nothing masculine about it, just completely not masculine at all. But but so you're recording this solo album, and what's your thought process? Are you harder on yourself not as hard thinking everything's a hit? Take me to that mindset.

It was new, you know, not being able to look to my left for right and see my group, you know what I mean. And the fact that I made that decision, it's like I can't tell m you know, because some people that leave their group sto't ness fatally prosper, you know, or become successful. But now I just started recording songs. I didn't even know what my sound was gonna because I've been with groups for so long and there's a song on my first album called Fatal that's

I'm tired, and how old were you at this time?

It is.

Well, I was tired of doing that, you know. I was tired of being broke, you know, going from having two jobs to nothing, two jobs, two cause crib to nothing to chasing the dream, you know what I mean. I did back on my Lap, and at this time I was twenty three every time, okay, twenty two, twenty three. Of course when I came out, they said I was twenty one. Of course, total lie. Of course I had learned to do that. But I did back in my lack and I sent it to my manager and my

Found his his voice or his.

Thing, you know what I mean. And from there we just started. I was like, but if I come back down there, bro I need some money.

So that's what I was about to ask, like was you doing it on your own money? At that point or did they send you a check or say, well, what will happened? Oh?

Did who sent me?

When your manager said come come back out here?

Nah? It was just gonna be like I had family in Atlanta, you know, So I went to stay with family for a little bit, like my aunt. My mom is one of eleven. So there's not too many places on the East Coast that I can go that. I ain't got nowhere to stay, you know what I mean. But yes, I stayed with my aunt for a little bit, and uh, I told him, I said, if I came back down now, I gotta get some money, bro, you know. So he got me the gig to reference suffocate. I was referencing it for a mayon.

What do you mean referencing it?

Just singing the song so they can send it to him Dream wrote it so but I guess he didn't want to send his vocalus. His vocals weren't bad or nothing, it was just I guess they wanted to send it with a different voice on it as well. I'm not exactly sure. And my manager just says singing so they can't sell it. Cool. So that's what I did, or at least that's what I thought I was doing, and I got paid two hundred and fifty dollars to do that, so I was all right, cool, I can make money

Signed off that demo, and then the Suffocate went to a Mario's crew and then but you ended up keeping it.

No I get I don't know if you heard it. I don't. I don't know. That was just what I was told that I was referencing it for him, and for whatever reason they he didn't take it or he never got it, or I don't. I'm not sure on that part, And but that comes back and later in the story. It's just I did Suffocate way before I even got signed, before I got my dual.

Okay, okay, So then what happens next?

Capital signed me off that off the demo. Capital signed me and did.

You get a nice check hell on. Now what was the deal looking like?

Because see my deal was with Music Line, which is that's that was a Tha's company. And you know, I mean production companies basically do deals with with the label, you know, and they're basically doing the deal where it's like we're providing the artists. So I'm signed to Capital, but you're.

Really signed to the production company. Right, Okay, I'm learning how. I think that's how eighty five South is.

Right.

You guys are production companies living all quiet over there. I do that a lot.

But so, yeah, we doing music. I get in with Dark Child We Do Be with Me, which ended up being the first song that we put out with the video. Then it hit, but it didn't quite you know. It was like, oh, there's a new artist on the scene, but let's see what else he can do kind of response, you know. So they was like, Yo, we need a we need a we need a single single. That's how we got Bed.

And then what was your feelings when Bed took off?

I didn't like the song when I first heard it. I mean, I'm not gonna say I didn't like the song. That would be a lie. I liked the song, like I said, dream wrote it, so he also referenced it, and but when the reference was in falsetto, like from top to bot and so while I was trying to record the song, I just was like, I'm not I don't want to sing this whole song in falsetto. That just feels stupid to me. Like not. It was just like,

Okay, So when it does good, where are you? Like? What's your mindset? Are you cocky?

Like?

Absolutely, I'm not gonna say I was cocky? Uh. I mean it's for anybody to sit in this position and sit and lie and don't say they feel a certain kind of way, you know what I mean, like they would be lying.

But tell me how you felt.

I mean I felt good. I felt like I was a shit.

How was you acting? It was you acting like, hey, I'm the shit?

Well see this thing that would be a yes saying and no. Because I'm very knowledgeable and like the industry and contracts and stuff like that. So even in moments that I might act like that, I might act like I'm cocky, or somebody might be like, why you're acting ericant or whatever. I can also back it up on the being knowledgeable. I'm not just the artists and they hated that. They hated that about me. Who's they just

Were you asking questions like where's my checks? At?

No? No, it was just they just never could get over on me. Oh, they never could change me. They never could make me been to their to their will?

What types of things were they asking you to do? That would be like been to your will?

Just if I feel uncomfortable, I feel uncomfortable, you know. And it was small, it was small situations that It's just like, if you treat your artists like you actually care about them, would have been so easy. But when it's like you're making something so small so big. Now now I have to stand on it because now I feel like you're not respecting the act that I'm telling you I'm uncomfortable.

Can you give me an example.

I'm growing up in church, you know, you know, when you go to church, you gotta dress a certain kind of way. And my mom was very much one of those parents until I got you know, maybe seventeen fifteen, sixteen. You know, she wasn't as hard on me about it. But like I was in church clothes all my life. So you know, when they tell me because I sing R and B, I have to dress like this, I don't want to dress like that, not at this moment

What they want you to be? Like a sex symbol type.

I guess if that's what you call it, I don't know, you know, And there's situations that call for that, but I'm not walking around like that every day. Yeah, like my wardrobe can't just slaxing buttons outs like, I get it, But on those moments, I know how to respect the situation.

Did you have a lot of conversations with your mom about your career when you were going through a lot of those.

Things, not that I can not that I can say. She would always ask and I would always tell her to all the positive stuff.

I never you never told her the negatives.

Yeah. I just never wanted her to worry about me. Okay, you know, yeah, you know she's one of them moms. She a praying mama too, So you know, shit, I just felt like I had to call you. I felt it them a spirit, you know. So the minute you tell her something that she's just like, oh, that don't sound too good, then it just it puts worry on her. And you know, I ain't want to do that too.

Okay. So during this point where you're doing extremely well, was there anything outside of the labels trying to package you a certain way that was something that was eye opening to you during that whole rise?

I opened it in which way, cause I mean there.

Could be you could do a negative and a positive way.

I mean something that it's I mean, it's real easy, but it's just like something like so my mom like I me and my mama close, but and she she raised me well you know what I mean. And she always taught me to be a leader, not a follower, and if you get drilled in the hell in the head with that as a kid, you just kind of like, ah, I I hear you, but you know that's what she instilled in me. Yeah, So for me, it was just like, you can't tell me that I have to go left.

Be doing what we tell you, Like we know the system works.

Yeah, we know this, but they're just nine times out of ten they're trying to recreate something that they've already seen instead of just letting artists evolve like they always do.

Do you like? Did you like being an artist? Is it because there was a reason why you stepped away for a little bit, right?

A lot of that was more so just business.

But.

Well, the reason why you stepped away.

Nobody never really steps away from music because they just want to step away from music. Sometimes it's just the right situations aren't presenting themselves, or you know, some some artists make it bad for themselves.

Some artists what.

They make get bad for themselves. You know. So it just it depends on why people Steparwight. But for me, it was just I was signed to Death Jane for two and a half years, and you know, you can't you can force the label to move, but if they don't really care, like if they're like, we're not gonna lose anything, they're not gonna move, they'd rather let you go.

Then did they let you go or did.

You not asked to be released? Yeah? And that was that was with Death Jane. Well I did that with Capital and Death Cham But okay.

Were you at Deaf Jam when Jay was running it.

I think I came. I got signed right before he took over. But that was where that breakdown happened. You know what I'm saying. La Re signed me and then La Re left and then came in and Jay. So you know, people that run those labels, they have their go to people that they already have in mind that they yeah, yeah, like I'm I'm up against Rihanna, Rianna, Neo Dream, Kanye, like all these people were already on this label. Yeah, you know, but you know they were

So what made you say I want to get released?

Oh so you know during that time, I'm doing mixtapes and stuff like that just to let people hear stuff like I'm still working. You know, I'm on Depth Jam. But they'll get to me eventually. I never nah, I never said anything bad about Death Cham. But yeah, so when I would put stuff out, you and G kept blocking my songs because I'm technically with Universal Music. So I'm like, dang, well, but why were.

They block and old because you got released?

Because I'm not supposed to be putting our music. This is because it's not coming through death Cham. Well, this is before I got released, but I don't. I can release whatever I want to, you know what I'm saying, as long as I fulfill my commitment as far as albums and stuff with the label if they if the label asked me for an album, I need to have an album ready.

Yeah.

But there also the flip side to that, which a lot of artists don't do, is if I have an album ready and I said I have an album ready, the label is supposed to move on that too. That it's a two way street. That's how it's supposed to be.

So if they don't release the album, you could still put out music.

You should be allowed to do that.

But but you it just depends when you when you did it? Did YOUMG? You said, UMG block blocked them? What do you mean by that? I mean.

Technically property of UMG? Who blocked own? Who owns death Chair distribution? Dislike? Might be like YouTube and stuff like that. It is before YouTube there was a a monetization of YouTube. This is when you're just like, I listen to my stuff, go to my YouTube channel. People wasn't really making money off YouTube at that time, but they was. I mean and it's fair. They had the right to do that.

But when you say blocking, I don't understand what did they block distribution?

Did they know they could they could have? So your song can't be played in a public form that because now YouTube is like, well we can't go against Universal. We're not trying to end up in a lawsuit because of that. It's it's a whole long stretch of So were.

You at least doing shows to to make money during all of this? Like how are you eating.

At this point? So, I mean before all of this, when things at a high point, you know, I mean, which we skipped over a lot of that, but I mean it's like being on an Archaelly tour, going on tour with Keisha call doing this the total Trade songs, Like I did all those tours. But when things around the Death Jam time, it's like I'm still only known for my first album, but I had two albums out, you know, so you know, the shows slowed down, and you know, I mean that just happens.

What was like a highlight during your career where you were like you it was a definite highlight where you were like I've arrived.

When I did Jay Leno.

Why particularly Jay Leno.

I mean, because back then it was just like that was the thing to do. I was one of the you know, probably last people to perform because I was only like the last season. But and then I got a chance to do our sing in Hall. But yeah, those moments were being nominated for Grammy. I mean there's a list of things, like it's not just one, things that I never asked for. I thought that I would accomplish. Like my dream was to just drop a song. I mean, dropped a song myself on the radio.

So surpassed that. And how was it listening to it on the radio?

I mean as well as you can imagine, I will, That's the thing. At this point, I've heard sung listen to that song. I couldn't even get put a number on how many times. But it's there's always going to be something special when you hit yourself on the radio. You know, it's just like y'all playing me it no matter how old it is, how knew it is, it's it's just a because the city's listening to that.

So coming or whatever. Yeah, So coming from being a preacher's kid and then getting into the industry, which is definitely not I would say, preachers, preacher kids, supportive, what kind of center center is lifestyle?

Things?

Did you do you the contrary to what you were raised? There certain lines that you crossed.

It was a lot of weeds smoking, It was a lot of alcohol drinking, and a lot of extracurricular activities. Yeah, what they was what they would consider the world of fornication and saying yeah, I mean it's it's the industry. Man, if you're not rooted a certain kind of way, it can get you. They can get you.

Can you give examples of how it could get you.

Oh, man, just getting caught up into that life, that fast life, the drugs or or whatever you know, or just the fame it self. You know, fame is addicting. I don't necessarily care for it, but that's just because I'm also I'm an introvert, which don't really work well with what I do. But I know how to treat my fans, you know, I'm very respectful to them. But yeah, you can you can get lost in this and and most of these people are not your friends, you know,

It's funny. I've worked like different jobs. I've worked regular jobs and I've been in the industry, and I always say, like, when I work a regular job, I walk away with real friends. In the industry, it's kind of it's interesting, like you could work with a team for ten years and walk away and those people are really your friends anymore.

It's weird.

I'd be like, we're for each other, and it's like, oh I exited.

Yeah, that's the sad thing. And that's across industries, but.

With no Like I feel like if I worked at Walmart, I walk away with more friends than if I was in the industry. I feel like if I walk away from the industry, then I don't walk away with the.

Friendships because this industry and entertainment it's about being better than the other person. It's it's stopped being about how good and the quality of whatever it is is I don't know why, but I and I'm appreciative, especially like platforms like this where people can have real conversations because a lot of it's just becapping, just too much going on, you know, and it's people will use you and be your friend, they will befriend you for what they need from you.

Yeah. Sometimes I think like when it comes to the industry, there's not enough meat on the bone, so it's like a doggy dog world. And maybe that's why there's no like real authenticity, authenticity in the friendships here.

I mean, but there are some here, There are some here. There are some very great relationships, but those are like one and few in between.

You know.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I work with Nick Cannon for a very long time, and when I first started working with him, a lot of the things the way he moved didn't make sense. But then like by the tenth year, I was like, yo, like this dude is paying attention to everything in the room, like without looking, you know, And I started to like see, like there's like an extra

Absolutely right. God couldn't set it better myself. Yeah, I mean it's so many times I could tell you that I have a better relation and you would think it's different. I mean, I have some very good relationships, especially like in the male R and B because that you know, they think that we don't know each other, we don't get along or we don't talk because we all sing R and B. But like you'd be surprised, we all

There's definitely doggy dog.

And you know, I want that money. I want that back. I mean, my mother raised me, uh, don't praise money, I mean, which is probably horrible when you're thinking about generational wealth, you know what I mean, because you kind.

Of have to, well, generational wealth is likes I would say it does starts somewhere, but I like generational wealth because yeah, I feel like it's somebody gotta do it, someone's gotta Yeah, I guess started somewhere, I guess. But I will say this in the testament to the industry is that I will say that it's a male dominated space, but shout out to the women because I do feel like the women of the industry definitely stick together a little bit better. I don't see as much hater raid

The thing though, and because it's like where's the line of hate versus opinion? Now, you know what I'm saying, because like I can call any opinion you hating. Yeah, so it's like when are you really hating? And when is it still opinion? Because I feel like people are allowed to their opinion, but then it's and so we're.

We're in a cancel culture age, so everyone's scared to give an opinion and then and then they scared to give an opinion. But the second like you give an opinion, you a hater.

I mean, it's happened to me multiple I was just called.

The hater in the previous episode.

To day but my brother. But yeah, it's I mean, so I just I literally stopped having an opinion about you.

Oh it's really yeah, I mean because it's it's exhausting.

It's exhausting. Like when you're talking to people and you're giving them your opinion, I mean they may agree with you, they may not. When it's a world of people, that's just like if you're not on that the big opinion of the mask, they don't want to hear that, you know what I'm saying, Like nobody wants to take accountability or actually be told something is messed up.

Yeah, Okay, yeah, I guess. I guess. So are you out of the music industry in totality? Like when when are we going to hear something new?

No?

I mean I predominantly do more touring than anything I've been recently on. This just touris R and B Kickback Tour. When Young Fly Entertainment that it's like an it's like a never ending tour. It's just well just be bouncing

That's after experiencing like how the labels handled you. Do you handle your artists with like I know what works and what doesn't? Or do you listen to him a little bit more because you got to see both sides.

I tell them the truth. I'll keep it fresh, like I just I put them up on game, you know what I mean. Incorporate your company, come out being signed to yourself that way, so.

You're like looking out for him while doing business with him.

Yeah, I mean, because it's you don't have to take all of an artist's money, you know what I mean, Like if you believe that this artist is going to do well, you know what I mean, Like if you think your artist is only going to make one hundred thousand dollars, then I can see how you might think ten percent is why would I want ten percent? No, we want fifty percent. Like you, just artists stay more. They stay more themselves and create and evolve better when

But so let's talk money for a second. So when you were at your peak of peaks, were you making a lot of money or was it like a similar TLC type situation where you weren't making as much as big as you were, Because I'm always curious about that now, especially in the world of likes.

I was speaking good money. I mean I still make good money, but I mean I was obviously a different time. But I know I've never been in the three sixty though, so I don't know what it feels like to not get certain things that just are old to artists.

Yeah, so like you get all your touring money, you get all.

Yeah, I will label will never get my tour money.

Okay, that's a great deal.

Yeah, yeah, I've never been in I didn't even sign a three sixty when I signed the death job.

Okay, but I think that's right around the time when they started dropping those, wasn't it.

They was they were starting to come in quick. They was covering there quick. For sure. They was just hitting everybody with three sixties. But yeah, so, I mean then it was you gotta think coming and that comes from my mom, like I said, was one of eleven. They had a lot of you know, they didn't get a chance to build any kind of wealth growing up, so there was nothing to pass down to any you know

I mean that's just were you able to invest any of it into something outside.

Of the absolutely not. I mean, yeah, that's crazy.

I'd be like generational or whenever I think generational wealth, I think real estate. You know. I think it was bow Wow's mom that took a lot of his money and put it in real estate. When he was very early off, you didn't get to do you didn't get to do any.

Of that or but I see when you have certain tools, like your your access to things never in you know what I mean. So I'm just not so like I've I've done movies, you know what I mean. We don't. I don't talk about a lot of interviews, but yeah, like I was in a recent movie from maybe a year two though. So I'm just I'm focused on other things. But now being able to have the mindset of everything, everybody's good now, and it's sad that sometimes it takes

So if you're the production company, there's no need for distribution, So there's no need to do any partnerships with labels.

Now, right, I mean, if nobody's ever going to get Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Chris Brown, us you're big not being signed to a major label. You don't think it's not.

Gonna happen, even with the way social.

Media can happen, even with the control everything.

Really, I didn't know that. Why do you think that because they control that much even even though these indepen but the independent you don't even have to Who cares about being that big anyways? All that is the money at the end of the day.

Yeah, I mean, if you're a million then no, you don't need.

To Like who wants to be Beyonce can't go into freaking mall.

But the point is to spend other people's money.

Yeah, you know, that's always been the you know, but that's what I'm saying. Like, as an independent, if you went independent without the labels, you're gonna make way more money.

Now, Oh no, absolutely. But when I say some of these labels are so greedy. They they like to think, all right, let's just get this deal. They it's like stocks and stocks for them.

So if you had any advice for anybody, you would you would be still be anti label. Nah.

I mean every every situation that everybody gets a different deal, you just got to make sure that you negotiate the right deal. You know, I've been in some great deals, but between playing catch up with family and going through different things with labels. You know you certain things slip through the cracks, you know what I mean. That's just how it be for some people. A lot of artists should be overwhelming sometimes.

What advice would you give to anyone trying to get into the game at this stage? And do you think you could give it?

But what I said, don't do it now I'm playing.

It's hard to tell you you sounded hell is serious?

No, it's just just know what you're getting into. That's all I can say. And that's in any part of life. But just know what you're getting into. Just know it's a dirty game. No, know your stuff, know your business, or get some people around your team around you that know it. You know, so you're not being taken advantage of. Or it's so many different levels and avenues and streams that people don't even think about because people don't think big. Think big.

Given an example of different streams.

I'm just like, why didn't anybody in my circle capitalize on certain mattresses or the sleep number bed or or Cadillac or you know what I'm saying. My album was called Back of My Lack, Like, why that's not my area of business.

So I don't know, I see what you're saying. Yeah big, think big, but know your stuff.

You know what I'm saying, know your stuff.

Damn did you think You didn't even think that, not once when you were doing at the time. But now you look.

Back, like, damn the way people making money now? You know, it's so easy now, especially with social media and the Internet. And so that's you.

Know, one of things easier with social media or harder with social media.

Depends on if you wanted the people that gotta buy running.

Your page about running page?

Yeah, I mean it. Everything can be bought, simple as that. I can, I can buy. I can spend the money to make my page look a certain way. And then now I'm coming across your timeline and you don't even know how mm hmm.

Look at the social social media girl there. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

You gotta you got you gotta spend money to make money.

Okay, Well, where can people keep up with j Holiday? Everything you got going on my Instagram?

Really Instagram King Holiday? Dot about say dot com k j I King J Holiday? Or you can go to Facebook Facebook, you know, bad page.

Jay Holiday and then you stay touring.

Yeah, I'm always I'm always on the road and like I said, I'm working on my artists. He'll be out very soon.

You know.

We got some photo shoot stuff and all that.

So oh nice. Well, I'm glad you came by and blessed me. But a good meal. It's good. I'm gonna finish it, guys. I don't want I don't want to eat all into.

No, it's good. Mhmm, Okay, that's good.

All right, guys. Thank you for tuning into another episode of Eating While Broke.

Peace.

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