R and B Money. We are Jake Valati. We are the authority on all R and B.
Ladies and gentlemen. My name is Tank.
This the R and B Money. We're gonna call this Bay Area Audition.
Yeah you know you don't you know, listen in honor of the R and B.
You know, I moved my call around a little bit. You know what I say.
I want this to be an authentic You know what I'm saying.
You know, I'm finna pass it over, you know, for the first time. My brother, you know, know, the Silky one himself.
You know what I'm saying.
It's the lovender himself, Jake Valentine, the Valentine you do.
Today we got somebody really special. We got a young fellow that's really from the claw.
Yeah, late night, late night, you fella.
You know I mean not that that that past midnight, that that not that one am, but that he's come to bless us with his presence today, you know what I mean? And in all his you know they said I'm light skinned. He a different type of las.
Yeah, you know what I mean. You know, he got he got it laid down.
He can take it out and show you the Lord Jesus. Yeah, hell to have straight from Oakland, California, Adria and Mars.
Yeah the podcast having me baby that you're having me. Man, you're saying I'm the light skinned one. But bro, you still look like you'll go to Filmo, put a wig on a pig and make a gig though.
You know what I'm talking about is that how we started.
Yes to edition.
We have to see your collar can't be a pop right now because it's always up.
If if be Nod would tell you anything what I'm saying, cool, I'll tell you send them in Milwaukee. It's Milwaukee. It's finest brother.
Thank you, man, thank you.
I mean, we know we have a good time off caramel, so you know we skip all the formalities. Man, just get right to men. We appreciate you brother for being here with us, for being family and just you know, we just wanted to make sure you get an opportunity, you know, to talk your talk and tell your story because you know, for us it's all necessary, all of it.
You know what I'm saying.
And the gift that you have to have a place, yeah, to dwell and be comfortable and come and express themselves.
And that's what this place is.
I feel real R and B.
No. The extra level to that is just taking the shirt off and just having a vest.
There you go, you know what I'm saying.
And then that's when you get to your Joe to see.
I'm talking about.
Yeah, listen, it's gonna be a lot of pivot this episode.
I don't notice it.
You know, it's gonna be a whole lot of a lot of goal.
Keep game.
You know, we always you know, we always like to go to the beginning, you know what I mean, because you know, so many people, so many people want to get started. Yeah, you know, so many people have the talent, so many people, you know, have all of these all of the things that come along with what you're born with and what's in you, but don't know how to get there. Right, Let's start with when you found out you was born with it, when you knew you had it, or when somebody told you that.
I mean, that was that was young man, you know, that was I was like before middle school, real knee high, you know what I mean. I mean once I once I hit a note and the and the chicks start, you feel me acting up. It was like, oh, this is a thing, you know, what I mean this is, this is a feeling. And then after that, man, I think it was it had to be Bro one hundred percent genuine Bro dropped And at that point, you know what I'm saying, Drip had to drop. You feel me?
Excuse me, but you feel me. That's that's kind of like what set the tone because I'm like, oh, this nigga looked like me. You know what I'm saying, like you feel this.
He's the class.
Way, but you feel me.
But it was it was at that point, man like in the way it was affecting people because it went from the girls my age to the teachers, you know what I'm saying, and then and and the adults and ship. That's that's like, man, they pulling me out of out of class and ship to come you know what I mean, singing or whatever, you know. And my mom got pissed me one time.
Man.
It was a p t A meeting.
Man.
I got up there and you know what I mean, saying some jodousy you know what I'm saying, A yeah, I was singing at the PTA meetings, bro, you know, for the for the parents.
You know, it's a lot of cases, right, there's a lot of cases right now coming on me. There's another we don't just saying. You know, you know, sometimes the teachers can't help themselves.
It'd be like that, it'd be like that, you know what I'm kids, man, But no, man, it was uh at that point, man, it was just the way I felt though, the way I felt like doing it. You know what I'm saying. How you affect you know, affect people, I mean, change their moods, you know what i mean, change they change attitudes and stuff like that. So, I
mean that's when I knew young, you know. And I think my mom she she peeped at early too, that it was something that was that was in my flesh, you know what I mean, that it was gonna happen one way or another. So she jumped on it.
Man.
She kept me in so many programs and ship to where it's like at this point now so versatile, you know, and and it's not just R and B for me, you know what I'm saying, like training classical and jazz and all these other genres and shit. And I think at that point it was it was something not I know, I just had to take it serious, man, you know what I mean, I wanted to be a true representation. You know. It started out for the family, but then you know, a group of like the Bay you.
Know what I'm saying.
Yeah, So in her in her support of view, Yeah, did did she have any avenues or new people in terms of trying to get you to that space? Or was just like it was.
All about figuring out, figuring it out, you know what I'm saying. Like she was she was at a space where you know what I mean, She's in the newspapers, she's you know, looking up shit, you know, trying to figure out. She was really just trying to do anything that would keep me off the streets, you know what I mean, because you know how it is in the town Oakland, Brough. It's easy to get distracted, It's easy to fall into the shit, you know. So she just wanted to keep me busy.
So she did her own research.
Yeah, Yeah, And I went to What changed it all was when I went to Oakland School for the Arts that's in downtown, you know what I mean. And at that point they had just had their first year, so it was only ninth and tenth grade, you know, so when I came, it was only two years there, man, so I had time to be noticed and be and
really honed in. You know what I'm saying. You had all these all these people from around the world that was coming in, whether it was acting, vocal, h illustrations, whatever it is, like they was coming in and really going in with us. You know. So man, for four years, five eight to five thirty, every day you feel me music and vocal and.
Oh so when you so when you first went there, it was nineteen tenth, but you.
But by every year it's stocked on. Yeah. So even like you know, uh, the Klanis and Zendayas and stuff started to come in as they started to build their their network and everything like their network. So every year we stacked on another grade, you know what I'm saying, And until it got once they got twelfth grade, then they started to bring in middle school and all that. You know. So I mean, like I said, it was
right in the heart of downtown man. You know, like we was in the We was in the parking lot of the Fox, you know what I mean, rocking like that.
Man.
So that was where it all kicked off for me, like her keeping me in the realm of just artistry, just all day round, artists all day, whether it was dancers, singers, actors. You feel me. Like if I went to Skyline, Brad, I had like eight kids. You know what I'm saying about eleven braid. You feel me. It's it just it would have been too much.
You can know the Skyline. But I've been up to Skyline.
I've been up to Skyland. You know I got into enough trouble going up to Skyline. You feel me.
But what Skyline give me?
To give me the it's the place in Oakland where and I'm from San Francisco, so it was a whole nother travel for me. Like, it's the place in Oakland where you will find what you're looking. When you're looking for everything, you will find with you everything.
They are there.
You want problems, go there, you want a bad one, you want go there.
There.
It's that school. You know what I mean?
That's school.
Yeah, sure, and that's what it would have been at You feel me. But you know she she made sure man, she kept me focused. Man I was. I was in so many Young Musicians programs at U see Berkeley's and things like that. Bro I didnd no time to really kick it. So a lot of my early years was all about if this is what you're gonna do, you're gonna do it twenty four to seven. You no, No, I'm the youngest though, you know, so you figure, you know,
you to focus. Yeah, the focus was able to be directly on me, like everybody was gone doing their thing, you feel me. So it was like, okay, we want to we need to see something out of you. You know what I'm saying. Any mistakes that was made early on, it's like I'm getting the butt of at Like you can't go hang out because we know what happens when when when you know what I'm saying, we let our kids go hang out, you feel me. So it just
kept me focused. Man. So now when I when I think about it, doing this, having this career, man, and being in this field, it's always say, man, it's perfect for me, you know what I mean. Like it's the long hours you foree me, the early mornings, late nights, you feel me, the instant travel, the changes, the audibles, all of that, Like it's all it's all part of what I grew up doing. And really this school prepared you for absolutely. I'll never I'll never shit on them
for that, man, always say. It was probably like the beginning of it all, Like you know, we get to school, man, you think you finna go. You know what I'm saying, regular ass day man, they're like, hey, check it out. You you, you, you, and you y'all. Come on, we got to go to LA. We got to go get this money. You know what I'm saying, because it was it wasn't like tuition base. It wasn't tuition based. It wasn't like you're paying to go there's a charter school.
So they got to get their money out of the city. You know what I'm saying. They got to get their money off of like donations and sponsorships. So we got to go over here. We gotta sell it. So you and you come on.
What I'm saying for these people today, yeah you feel me.
And next thing you know, you come out and they got a bag and we ain't have to do no homework and forget that test. Don't worry you passed. You know what I'm saying.
That said he early music, business, business, football scholarship.
To me learned I learned early on. I learned early on, bro, it is how much you're worth. You know what I'm saying, what how much? How much can you show out like when the show turned, when the light come on, like what you about to do? You know what I'm saying. And when you show out that time and they see all we can depend on it, it's like we calling
your number every time, you know what I'm saying. So I went from the newbie there that was like you know, you ain't getting no solos because it Yordy and ship like that. It's like, nah, put him in you know, it's all these singers and in me because he had he had value value to it, you know what I'm saying, Because I gave I gave it ship, bro, you know what I'm saying. It was like I wanted to be the best. I wanted to be up there with the best you feel me doing me? So that's always been
the goal for me, Ship even today. You know what I'm saying. I want to be the best version of me you feel me in this game.
It's just about being like having some sort of early upbringing in this kind of thought process in order to truly truly be.
Prepared for for it not to be a shock.
For sure, when you get thrown into that fire, you know, what I'm saying, because that's a lot of what happens to artists, you know, when when when they when they when.
They take a real hit.
They aren't prepared for any of that because the ship looks cool on the outside, but the ship that's really going on on the undercurrent like nasty, like the music and all the ship that you actually see. Yeah, that's that's fifteen percent of it. That other eighty.
Five let me tell you.
Just trying to get to the state.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. You gotta love this shit, man.
You you have no clo you have no choice.
You have to love it. And if you don't, you either you're either gonna love it or you're gonna are you gonna regret?
It has to be an obsession, yeah, period. It has to be an obsession.
For sure, because there there are there's nothing pre set.
Yeah, yes, nothing guaranteed at all.
There's no there's no yeah, nothing.
That obsession has to get you over that heel most of the time, not even something you people are like, oh, you know some of the time, you just gotta go no, no, no, no, no, no, all of the time, all the time, because you have to be able to meet those those moments. Yeah, when it's your moment, like you said you want, you were like I need it for I need it?
Yeah, I want it. I want It's like you know, you you're playing ball, like, don't get a niggave rock who don't want the ball the last shot?
So were they setting y'all up? Obviously they were preparing you guys creatively?
Yeah, but were they also Are there business classes at this school too?
No?
At this point, it was pure creation. It was pure creative space. You know what I'm saying. I think that that was the only thing that was lacking. So for me coming into this business, this this this industry. For me, that was college for me. I didn't go to college, you know what I'm saying. I looked at it like, you know, I got I got accepted to Berkeley College of Music, Boston, you know what I'm saying, UCLA, all
these dope as schools and shit. You know, I auditioned for that in eleventh grade and got accepted so at a scholarship. But for me, it was like Mom, if I go there, it's gonna be ugly, Like you're finna let me out on my own after all these years of like straight booked up, busy all day, every day, weekends, all of that. You know what I'm saying, Like I'm gonna let loose, you know. But coming into this industry, though, man, that's when you know, I found out the real shit,
you know what I'm saying. And I told myself, Like when I was about to sign my first deal, like, you know, there was you know, usually you know, you had that voice, that voice of God or whatever that is for you that you know what I'm saying, you're listening to, like hold on, don't do that. You know, wait, hold on, you know what I'm saying. When it was trying to sign that deal, bro, it was silent, you know what I mean. So it was just me and
my thoughts and my feeling. And I remember telling myself, bro, look, if I want to be a doctor, I'm gonna spend twelve years in school. If I want to be a lawyer, i'ma spend twelve years in school. I'm like, look this contract, say five years, it's college. Whatever I learned at this point is what I learned. Whether it worked, whether whether I win or lose on this, it's gonna be a lesson and I'm gonna keep going anyway, you know what
I'm saying. So I signed it, you know, and I look at myself today like, man, that's the best thing I could have did was go through that shit, you know what I mean, have a record and find out what it means to not be on the publishing of it, you know what I'm saying. To find out what it means to not make royalties on that one, you know what I'm saying, Like to find out like that show money you feel me, the difference between that and that
long back end money and all that. You know what I'm saying, Like the networking, you feel me, allow too many people to do it for you, you know what I'm saying. So going through that and experiencing it man, and being able to be here like and still be able to push man, still be able to work, man, and still hold the weight. You know what I'm saying.
It's like, Yeah, I did exactly what I was supposed to do, and I went through that ship and learn what I needed to so I can come back now on my p's and q's.
You know, was your first deal a major deal or did you do?
Yeah, so you didn't go through the production deal the indie deals. No, straight to a major straight Yeah, that was a Universe Republican L seven.
Wow, first deal, first deal, straight to it.
So what's so that process for you? How did that go?
Because it's like you just you just yeah, how did you get there?
So Yancey Richardson you feel me, you'll know your friend of our Yeah, you feel you feel me. He had a group at the time, Hamilton Park. Yeah, Park and my boys, you know what I mean. And uh, I was seeing them because because they're one of the producers beat Rock, who was from from the Bay, he went out there to work on a lot of their music. So we were hearing a lot of this Hamilton Park thing. And then that a Bee got her deal with Yance. So now both of those deals were at Atlantic in Atlantic.
So now in my position, you know what I'm saying, being from the band looking at this and seeing Nedda and all that, like, oh ship, like I ain't I ain't heard it of like this, like she going in, she killing, like's going crazy, like it's moving. So when I got the call, it's like, man, young young man, we want to bring you out here and work on some music. So I'm like, say less, I didn't even tell my parents till it was like the day before.
I leave this one.
She had to be like twenty two Oka, you know what I mean. So I'm like, I'm out. You know what I'm saying. I got a flight in six hours.
So you get it out, get it out.
Gone, think about playing, Think about what y'all told me on the playe.
Yeah, yeah, exactly, gotta go, you feel me? And yeah, man, I flew out and I remember my pops telling me, like, man, stop telling people that you that you're going out there for thirty days. You might go out there and come back tomorrow. It might be all bad. I'm like, man, you not you understand even if it's all bad, I ain't coming back. I ain't coming back. Claire.
So you were Atlanta or Atlanta? Yeah?
So y yans flew me out. Man to Atlanta, he was in I was in the basement for like I got out there. Man, it was supposed to be thirty days. We work on a record a day, you know, we get a demo and we go, you know, shoot it to some labels, you know, the usual. Man, that shit turned into five years that I lived in Atlanta. You know what I'm saying, and through that time, Bro, I remember it was times. You know, I respect Yance for his his motives, like how he how he would work
because you know, you could tell men you're in the basement. Man, you're not seeing daylight. You know what I'm saying. All you doing is recording and all day long you feel me. It was like boot camp. You feel me and for you it's like you're not seeing nothing. So you're gonna get weird. You You're finla be like, man, I'm not
doing this. I'm ready to go, you know. And then he'll be like, man, come come take a ride, and then we'll go pull up the tree sound and Tank will come outside and get in the car and listen to some music. You know, is this Tank sitting up here in the front seat listening and shit like, wow, all right, we can go a little longer, keep going.
Let's keep going, you.
Know what I'm saying. So but we we did. We did a bunch of records. Man, Jane Hancock. We had Jane come out, man and super crazy, right, Jane came out man. The crazy part is we had other writers that he had originally that were known wrote for Chris Brown, writing for Trey Soon's righting for all these people. We couldn't find the sound though, We couldn't find the blend you feel me. But when Jane came out, that's when it locked because it was like, yeah, you're talking about
this Bay area. You know what I'm saying. It's like it has to be with them. Yeah, me and Jane was righting there, you know what I'm saying. So that's what kind of that's what threw everybody off, Like, oh shit. So at that point, man, we just was doing records all day long, every day, man. And and then we went to when we were ready, we went to uh to Republic. We hollowed that couch K coach K stepped in man, pulled some strings, pulled some plays, man, and
and made a shape. You know what I'm saying. We walked up there, man, I'm thinking we got to go sell it to the Universal.
Man.
They're like, no, no, no, no, we want you off. No, you know what I'm saying. So we get up there, man, and they're like, no, it's good. I'm ready to jump up.
And I'm ready to get to the table.
Yeah exactly. She's like, you know, Wendy Ghostly, sit down, It's all good. You know. They threw the deal at us man, and from there bro like you know, we did the seven days a week, you know, we did the way we had waiting out man, and that that kind of kicked it off and opened up a fan base, especially in the Bay Area because I was gone, hadn't been back in like three years. So we started dropping and then they pulled ultimate play with that two Am.
You know what I mean that that came our way. Man. It took me forever to record it because I didn't I didn't like it. You know what I'm saying. It was so outside of what I felt. I was on like the same you know what I'm saying, I'm trying to I'm trying to, like, really do this. I'm like again, I'm listening to the tank and and all that. I'm like, I'm trying to do no two Am. I'm trying to sing you feel me. But you know, they convinced me to finally do it, man, and I think you did it,
Uh Krishan, Uh Kyle and my boy aunt Franks. Yeah, so they all they all pinned that, and they pulled up on me in Atlanta because I was I was avoiding it every time I was out here Dan avoiding. We get to the studio, I'm like, we're done. Times up, you know what I'm saying. We can't do that one.
With that song, with that song, you're running from it.
I'm running down me. And finally I get a call like at like one in the morning from Yeah. It's like I need you to you know the usual ship, I need you to come to studio right now record we record this record, like we record the record by like come on. So we drive from from Panola Road all the way to Snellville. You know, I'm saying, pull up. These niggas are standing outside like in a line like I'm finna get jumped, like, look, you got to record this record, like we need you to record this record.
So I did it, man and ship bro it might had to be like two three weeks. Man, that shit was out, Like I don't even remember the process.
Was it out with Sage on it?
No, So at first it came out by itself, and then they pulled the play to get Sage on it. And then when Sage jumped on it, it just took that way like you feel me, it was gone. So I mean at that point, it was like, shit, whether I like it or not, let's go singing rest of my life. You know, that ship just just you know what I'm saying. We just put up a live just do a live performance thing out that I did. Man, shit went viral and shit, I'm like the song is
what it is. Man, you know what I'm saying. It might not have been my cup of tea because I felt like you had Tie Dollar signed paranoid out, you had Chris Brown. These holes ain't loyal like a Marion supposed to be, like this is the sound.
They were trying to make you fit into that outfitting of.
The algorithm exactly.
And that's a tough and that's a tough that's a tough space for an artists.
For pure especially artists.
Yeah, you know what I mean. That's that's it really is.
It's a tough space where you have to ask yourself, do I want this ship to take care of me?
Yeah, for sure? Or do I just want to be you know, in this.
Creative nigga walking around with the motherfucking wisdom things in sense? Yeah, saving rooms Listen, I know some very talented yeah niggas walking around.
Saving room for surell.
Yeah, they got they used they use black soap.
Yeah, okay, they held up on all the earth niggas been before the Panoramic.
Two AM came out twenty fourteen. I got dropped twenty sixteen.
So yes, you put out seven days a week and that's the only project you put out.
I put out seven days a week twenty thirteen, and it led to that led to the deal, and then with that because we used those records to get the deal, okay, and then from there it went to two AM. But with seven days a week, they had to go back because they didn't believe in seven days a week. There was like, we don't focus on the waiting and all of that. So we put it again. We put it out in the streets. We started in the bay and
then we started flooding Atlanta and all that. And then at that that point the label had to go back and get everything cleared because we were I mean, we was putting it together.
Bro.
We had Ross verses from other songs a capella that we was putting on there, so people was thinking that Ross had jumped on the record, and really, you feel me, yeah, I mean, I mean, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're saying the finesse like it was finessing. So I mean it was an ultimate play for people to be like, okay, cool. So when we had to go back and revamp, it was like you can only we only were able to take three or four of those records and actually put
them out, you know, and put them up. So that's when they went back and started, you know, fucking with us. And then we did Week after Next in between two Am. So to us, that was how we keep We kept ourselves afloat and I'm not going to depend on the label because They're not going to push this. So they didn't like Week after Next either, And to me, that
changed a lot of music. That changed the sound because right before that was right before bryceon Tiler and the Tory Lanez and all them started coming out, it was a lot of that type of music that we were doing. We were underground doing that, you know what I'm saying. So to hear we were calling it, we were calling it ratchet soul, you know what I'm saying. Like, we kept saying Ratchett, so this is ratchets, so ratches so and next thing I know, it trapsoul drops and.
It's that it's that. It's that and you could either like be hella mad or be like all right on to the next I guess shit, you know.
And that's just kind of like throughout that throughout all that period of time between twenty thirteen to twenty seventeen was a hard a hard look at what the business is and experience what that really was. And that was the time where you figure out, Man, is this am I really finna do this? Like is this for me? Or you know what I'm saying, do I need to
go get a nine to five? And I'm like, yeah, fuck that, I ain't clocking in on nobody time, Like I'm gonna just figure this out, you know what i mean. So from there, just like a lot of independent projects like GMFU, you know what I'm saying. And then you know, at that point, for me, I needed to take an extra step back, man, because I started to feel like I'm depending on too many people, you know what I'm saying, Like I'm depending on other people to talk for me.
I'm depending on other people to come in here and pin records that will keep you in the algorithm or you know, produce or whatever. And again you're falling into that play where it's like I'm getting records, but he has this record, she got this record, he got this I'm sick of this shit. I'm sick of like, you know what I'm saying, don't give me nothing that you didn't give a thousand other people. So for me, I
had to take a step back from everything. So I took a step back from management, took a step back from just the business itself, you know what I mean, to like go into my own realm and be like, what is publishing? What is what is? What is these mechanicals? What is?
Like?
How how many? How many ways can I get paid off my music? Because I've only been getting paid off one way, you know what I'm saying, Like I've only been getting that show money. But when your record slows down, that slows down completely, you know what I'm saying. So there's no back end that's coming in. You know what I mean, There's no because again you're a newbie, so you kind of like just think, hey man, I'm just
trying to get it. So whatever y'all need to take, y'all take that, and we're gonna we're gonna coast off that. We're gonna take that and build off of that. You know. I mean, it's a catch twenty two because at the same time you learn the hard way. But shit, I have success based around those you know what I mean, That that whole play two am you know whatever. Where it's like today, I can still walk in someplace and
they're like, oh, yeah, that's mister Twem. That's put that shit on right now, that's him, you know what I mean. So you I was able to build a fan base off of this time with the label, and again, like I said when I first started, it's gonna be college, you know what I mean? And once I go through it, you know what I mean, I need to come out smarter, I need to come out better, you know. So that's when the direction changed. I took I took my time, and ended up meeting my boy sonny Bee, you know
what I'm saying. And from there that's where shit really got got crazy because I was able to take those experiences and also take the time of stepping back and clearing my head and figuring out, like, all right, man, everything that I was taught that you know, this machine teaches you how you have to run and how you have to move. I got to get out of that. I gotta I gotta throw all that shit away and create this.
Then you also did some acting.
Yeah, yeah too in between that been blessed to do it. You know what I'm saying. We did the Bobby the Bar story. You know, I got to you know what I'm saying, lace front.
Player to yah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I had yeah, you know what I'm saying. So it was it was real cool. We met James years ago, you know what you feel me? They all was, they all was on that ship, you know. But it was cool, man. It was something that we was talking about for a lot a long time. Actually, Like I had the script three years before it came out, and at first it was a different director. They were going in,
they was, they was talking about it all. You know, I'm talking about I'm on a plane in New York and by the end of the script, I'm up ship. Like through the script though, Wow, this is crazy. And then I think that, you know, because it was TV one, is like, we got to scale this back. We can't, we can't show all of this. We got to figure out a way how do we present this, you know for the masses to the lifetime. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. So we you know, we we you know,
switched up some things and ship. But at the same time, brother to be able to go into that, man, I remember, like, you know, my pops is an actor, you know what
I'm saying. Yeah, my pops came up with Denzel, with del Roy and all of them like great friends with with a lot of them, you know what I'm saying, and went to act, you know what i mean, one of the only it was only about three or four black actors that were able to be in the school at that time, because just in that time, it was like that, like you feel me, you know, a lot of them weren't actually in the school. They were a part of the side program that had to do it.
But you know, like Denzel, my Popsdale Roy, like like that, they were a part of the actual program. So he was an actor, man, But he had hell the kids from the bay, you know, from the town, and a lot of kids, you feel me. So he had to make a decision, man, like either I'm going to push and probably lose the family and have some wild kids running out here going crazy, or I'm I'm gonna sit
this down. I'm gonna do something else, you know, and still very successful, was able to start his own business. Man put a lot of people in position, give a lot of jobs to a lot of black people, you know what I'm saying. But because of that, Man, I went to him. I was like, Man, I got this opportunity for this role. I need you to work with me. You know, started working with a man and my dad is tough like so he's like, you sure you want to do this because you're not really You're not really
that good right now. Like I'm not feeling that about to embarrass it. I'm not feeling this.
What do you do.
Right I don't know what you're going on, you know what I'm saying.
They got anything from me? Man, I can make shine. I think I could put the family on you know what I'm saying.
You know, but but he worked for me, Man. He gave me you know what I mean, he did. He did you know that experience? Man put it in on me. Man, and we worked for like a couple of hours.
Man.
I remember, I'm trying to like, you know, I got it. I got a tough scene, Like I got a scene where it's like the climax of the movie, you know what I'm saying, where you find out what was really going on, you know, And for me, I'm thinking, you know, I gotta be crying. So I'm in the I'm in the bathroom trying to method act minds off, you know what I'm saying, And finally I'm tearing up. I'm running upstairs like look, look, look I got the tears.
It's time.
It's tough.
First time.
Do it.
Now he's doing. Now, He's like like, man, wipe your face, just back up like he like man. But he started breaking it down to me. He started, he started really explaining to me these these you know what I mean, Like, you're not supposed to be acting like you know what I mean. Put me in, Put me in. He put me in a position to realize, like, Okay, you got an older brother. Think about a time where you you know what I'm saying.
I was pissed at your brother. You know what I'm saying, And yeah, yeah, you didn't go through what this nigga went through. But you still didn't been through a time where you can we looked at your brother, somebody you look up to Liken, you know what I'm saying. So you had to find the relatability of it, relate to it, you know what I'm saying, and not act but react.
So man, we started working it, man, And that's one thing about my pops, Like he's tough as ship, but when he says it's good, I'm like, oh, I'm good. I'm been there, you know. And I remember my mom was there and she was reading and she just I'm just not feeling him. He's not doing it, you know, he's not pushing it. So we finally figured it out and we ran, and we ran. It was actually a blooperd because Moms was reading the part for us too, and she's over here crying. She can't even you know
what I'm saying. She can't even finish the line because she's like, I'm sorry, it's just you know. So we was like, we got I said, we're gonna send them that, We're gonna send them the blue Bird, you know what I mean. And two days later, man, they hit me back like we yeah, you got you the part? You got so yeah, man, So that was the start of Hi, Man, I got the I got the whole bug for for acting at that point, man, you know, and just just
seeing set life and seeing the difference. Man, I mean even with acting to that money come a lot faster.
Man, it's.
Once you get it. Yeah, you feel like nine. You feel like like you like a wire right right. Here's your money. See you tomorrow.
See tomorrow, and we'll do this all over again. We'll just we'll do this.
All over again. Your side are here grooming. They're waiting on you. And there breakfast, breakfast, bring you. We'll bring it to you.
We gotta trailer.
Uh wardrobe is coming over. They're just gonna do a quick fitting for some things you put on the other door.
Out here fighting over motherfucker fruit basket.
I'm trying where my water feling is that I'm not going to promote.
You won't see water on the rider. You don't see it.
I flew three thousand miles this my motherfucking watermelon.
Stopped playing with me, man, stop ship.
Yeah, and I don't like when where the blue cheese at?
What the blue all red eminem stuff like it's going on, no green eminems.
Listen once once I've seen it. Once an artist moves over to the acting sign, it's hard.
To get him to come back.
I'll be even foxing about like Fox. I'm telling you we need to get this one. He says, No, I feel you we should get it. I'm gonna call you back.
I'm gonna call you back down exactly.
Hey, Jamie Fox starting a new film over New Zealand, just gonna come.
They said the thing the wire.
I'm sorry for real.
Money, real I said, no problem.
You know what it is, though, it's like.
You know, and in everything that you're saying, man, you know what I mean, It's like, I don't. I've never believed in the play. I've never had a plan baby period. Yeah, yeah, there's not. There's nothing. I can't think of one other thing that I was as good at as I was doing music.
But you're here, you're here.
She got something about she got caught in the mail, something about that you didn't exactly, you haven't let the package caught the mail before.
Nice clothes, nice clothes.
You I want to go with nice clothes off.
Yeah, but I mean, like anything I did, honestly, you know, I tried. I tried all kind of shit.
Man.
I wanted to hoop, you know what I'm saying. I wanted to I wanted to run track. I was fast, all kind of ship but every time I tried to do something, man, it was like God kept leading it back there. And I mean like abruptly, like up your hamstrings fucked up. You can't do that no more. You know what I'm saying. Or you know what I'm saying, Up you done broke your female ain't no more basketball, bro.
I would go from I would think I'm getting ready to you know, really go somewhere. You know in this basketball term, I go up for a full dump bang out. Yeah. Yeah, I come down, step on somebody footing twists.
Yeah, I'm like I'll be quiet ver.
So yeah, I'll be back every times that quick, every time, every time.
Bruh.
So it was like for me, I always said that like, man, I put too many Man, how many hours did I not? I'm watching my peers, my homies and ship. They kicking it. They chilling, you know what I'm saying. They calling me like, bro, we're kicking it this weekend. No, I'm I have two recitals to do today. I gotta go do this. I got that. I'm in this. I'm building the house with my pop. Like they're not letting me leave. So unless y'all want to come hang out with me and do
what I have to do. You know what I'm saying, pick up a hammer or some shit. Then that's the only way we kicking it. So for me, it was like, bro, I did not sacrifice all of these years and all of this time to not do it, to not see it through you feel me. So even in my family, you know, I see I've seen it before, Like moments was like, you know, the people that love you, that are that are that are supporting you, but they're not
in the field. They don't see the little winds that tell you keep going, indicators like, they don't see that. They only see what comes out. So they're like, how
are you? So these are the same people who were putting me in these programs, same people who was making me do you know what I'm saying, keeping me out the streets doing this, that are now that are at that point saying you don't want to get a nine to five Like you don't want to not because that's not what you that's not the setup you gave me. The setup you gave me was this is it. This is what I'm going to be doing for the rest of my Even a commercial came out one time, but
I swear. I said that, like, what if everything you've been through, everything you've done in your life led you up to what you do today. And when I heard that, I'm like, that's that has to be me, that has to be my life. You feel me? And for me it was like, no, it wasn't about no time frame. A lot of motherfuckers start to think that the date put the date is bigger than the destination. You feel me,
and it's really about the destination. It don't matter when you get there, your me or how you got there. You got there, get there, you know what I'm saying. You just got to get there. And for me, that that was That's what it was man. And today now I'm in a position where you know, I was always so scared to claim independency, Like I was like, no, you got to be on a label, because that's what again, the machine convinces you, like if you talk about independent,
all people ain't gonna want to fuck with you. Man, You ain't you ain't you keep that Universal Republic name up there as long as you can. Like no, Man, today it's like I'm we independent, my whole team, the brodies, Man, we we do everything. You know what I'm saying, film, our own videos, concepts. You know what I'm saying, songwriting and producing, and there is no more Ever, somebody has a record that I recorded that never happened again. That's done.
You know what I'm saying, because it's it's all. It's it's us putting it all into it. You know what I'm saying. It's like you'll never hear agent is signed to someone.
What's the name of the label? Now Broody that's in it.
Yeah.
We got Sonny Bee. We got Sonny you know what I'm saying, crazy songwriter, singer. You know what I'm saying. We got my boy momo director. We got my man hell of Frames, Carl. We call him special K. You know what I'm saying, because this man is a He's a beast. You know what I'm saying with that camera man. You know, we got Sharene being supreme. She here. You know what I'm saying. With all our finances and all of that, you feel you know what I'm talking about.
You know you got mister. You know what I'm saying. By life, you feel me. You know what I'm talking about. You know what I'm saying. So you know it's and and again it's there's there's more as that that have been stacking on, man, but it's just us building that network or coming together. Like, Man, it's really a group of creatives, men that have all been through their own level of shit in the industry, you know, but it didn't kill them, It didn't knock them, you know what
I'm saying. It was like, no, you just got to be around the right situation, the right people that believe you know what I'm saying. And for the past two years, man, we didn't. Probably we took a step back, man and just did nothing but recording, writing, recording, producing. Like it's a lot of music that has come out since then, since twenty twenty. It's a lot of music and we're listening to it and it's like, okay, keep doing what we're doing. I mean, we were all about cultivating this
R and BA sound. I mean that it was about taking a step away from R and B. Like I love Mario you feel Me, I love Eric Bellinger, I love I love I love all of these artists that are R and B artists, you know what I'm saying. And I'm taking my step away from that, Like now I'm gonna do something that you guys can't do. You guys can't be R and B A. You know what I'm saying, You're not from the Bay. It's just facts,
you know what I'm saying. So everything in the so how we talk on these lyrics and you know what I'm saying. We say like watch out for you just missing you know what I'm saying, Like you said, this is bib City, you know what I'm saying. So it's like we're bringing these concepts that are from our hometown. You know what I'm saying. We we and records talking about going Stewie on an R and B level. Though you know what I'm saying, you're taking high feet productions
and you putting this Bay Area lyricism on it. But at the same time, you're using these melody driven you know what I'm saying, You're making it about the melodies that is R and B. You know what I'm saying, That a tank can still sing it, you feel me. But at the same time, you know what I'm saying, because we're the only place in the world brand you notice, like in the Bay you you got DJs that was
blending Keep the Sneak forty two short. You know what I'm saying, Like I'm in the building and I'm feeling myself. You feel me, and then all of a sudden, m Mario coming on. You still still, You're still going dumb You feel me? Like it was the only place in the world where they were blending music like that. This music is a product of that. This music is a product of the hiphi era. And just at that time, all we're doing is we're putting uh, we're putting a
name on it. You r and bab bro. What I'm saying, she ruf the trouble, y'all, she ride on. You feel.
Young.
Now we're coming and now we're coming in, and let's take that and let's build off of that.
Absolutely, you know what I'm saying.
Let's build off that you're saying, go dumb dog.
And at the end of the day, it was and you and I had this conversation some years back. To a certain degree, we live on our own island. Yeah, for sure, we always have. And it's something that the industry as a whole just kind of comes and picks from, you know, take pieces.
Of it, you know, move it and run around with it. And it's and you know that's fine because we've allowed that.
Yeah, but standing in front of it, you're going to take a different type of chance, especially if you're going to do it through a major label. And that was the conversation I have with you when you were still on Republic. I'm like, listen, I went through this. They don't get it. They'll never get it because they're not they're not there, and because we're so.
Like, we're so.
Hardcore about what's the bay and what ain't the bay that we don't fully let people in. So they come, they get a piece, and they get the fuck on because at some point it's going to be somebody that be like that nigga ain't from here.
Let's get it.
And instead of fully embracing, you know people that you know, like listen, when Drake came and did.
He showed nothing beloved.
But there were people there that felt the way for sure, instead of fully embracing I remember what Fab had to go through by fucking with Drake and people be like.
Fab, why are you in?
Fab?
It's like, bro, like this is help and what.
We're doing it's just putting a light on on on exactly on our region and what we do like we should embrace.
This well, I mean on top of that, you know, we're one of those places where it's like man, everybody is is trying to be the man themselves individually. It's like, man, I gotta you winning man again, winning man. My shit harder than his, you know what I'm saying, Rather than everybody coming together. You go to Atlanta, how I learned it like you go to one studio bro with You're going there with Jazzy faith Bright and is going to walk in there and and fucking around, you know what
I'm saying. But out here in the Bay, it was always like to each his own, Yeah, to each his own. So for us, it was about to me, it was like looking at what you the foundation like that you laid out and people that before us laid out with this R and BA shit. It was more about like it's not about am coming back after two years and dropping music. We got a hundred us new records that we didne worked on just in silence, like we're not putting nothing out until we got a hundred records that
we love. That's like this hundred, this hundred one is so much better than this first one. It's crazy and the first one. We love it, you know what I'm saying. But you know, we looked at it like it had to be bigger than me, than me coming back out like I'm back or I'm trying to do you know. No, it's a Bay movement. This is about us bringing the Bay together. So we're going and where we're saying, nah,
like let's stop all that shit. It ain't about stock That ain't the Bay or this man, come on, like all of us put in on this this movement. When is the last time that R and B that we had a seat at the R and B table in the Bay area? And that's what that was the conversation that me and Sonny B had kicking it off, was that what is not happening right now? Like what's not
out right now? Like, wh when is the last time that we were able to say R and B had a seat, that we had a seat at the R and B table in the Bay area, You know what I'm saying. And that was us saying, this next two years is the answer. This next two years is saying, oh, they doing it right now. Because we've always been innovative.
We've always been a part of the business, but we never even even like I was gonna say, Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony InVogue where they you know, they were really and then obviously you move into the keaches of Kailine's her. But still we don't have as you would say, a seat. A seat is something different a see it is when a seat is when you're when it's multiple artists coming through it like you guys are doing. It's exactly a true collaborative process.
A machine and a machine, you know what I mean.
Like Atlanta has their seat and it's had their seat because it's so many of them have come through it.
Detroit, you know what I mean.
Like you know, we can go down the line and talk about different places and even La you know what I mean, where you talk about Brandy and Immature and shit ray J and you know what I mean, and Ti Dollar Sign and it's just so many of them and you look up and you know and you say, damn, a lot of them came from the same same.
Thing, you know.
And with the Bay, we've we've never been able to have that. It's always been just you know, individuals every couple of years, you know what I mean, Like what it was when It was me early on when I was just putting out the records, there was no one for me to truly collaborate with because everybody was doing rap. Everybody was rapping, and everybody was off doing their own thing, and there was it was just no way to truly bring it together.
And I think that with all of the with all of that tension and term what's going on between artists trying to fight to get to the spotlight that's out there, you leave room for motherfuckers to come in and take shit. You know what I'm saying. It's like we're so distracted fighting each other that motherfucker's coming in like, oh well I'll take that. I'm gonna take that. And now and now all of a sudden, Hella You don't know that
Hella can started in the bay. You don't know. Now all of a sudden, now you're saying that food slaps it doesn't you know what I'm saying, Like, stop taking that ship, stop saying that.
We just listen, We just let me say that broad he understands the difference between smack and Okay, there you go.
It was just funny because we was literally having this conversation.
Yeah, so it's like it's it's like people coming in and they able to take that the push and pe thing like I don't know what that I don't even know what that is like pushing p No, I'm keeping it pee, you know what I'm saying, Like the the the lingos that we have and how we are, how we love, how we fight, how we feel, how we deal, you know what I'm saying. Like it's always like you said, been on his own island. But for me now, our mission, you know, me and the Brody's has always been about
man at this point. Now bring everybody in on this hand for you to rock with us, to rock with us, it's got to be on back.
A lot of information.
My brother.
Warming up, he's warming up ship.
You got a lot of information, a lot of R and B information, And it's R n B thing is it's it's it's spans generation, spans now, universe. Right now.
We'd have to figure out am.
Top F.
Your top five, my top fire, top F.
Your top five.
Else you'll talk.
You yes, yeah, take your time, your time, top five five?
Who oh, Adrian Marseilles.
So we're talking top of R and bay. Okay, well we're talking talking.
Okay, R and Bay represent represent R and B. Lello your top five R and B singers the it or Live.
Okay to five R and B singers. I'm gonna go with I'm gonna go with Mike, Mike, m J start writer. You know what I'm saying. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. We got m J, got Prince. You know what I'm saying. Because you know what I'm saying. You can call it what you want to call it. That's that's R and B.
I'm saying, we're going to call it.
Let's see.
Uh.
I gotta say for me again, I gotta say g Bro, you want Bro, that's.
Listen, that's his. You know what else?
That's his?
Do your something?
My pony?
Can baby?
Baby?
Gotta say g.
He asked the question, didn't answer the questions himself to yes, Do you want to ride the pony?
Can I baby?
Baby?
Yeah?
Yeah?
Oh yeah, we say oh yeah, Oh gotta say. Gotta say stokely.
You gotta gotta say stokely, Bro, You gotta say stoke.
You gotta say stokely.
Bro.
Come on the condition you have the.
Clock, you better you better know something about some stokely If you have.
We said, we said, we got Stokely, got g we got got my Prince, and I think baby face, Bro, say baby face because I mean, bro, this this is the birthed a lot of this ship out here. You know what I'm saying, Like all these songs, you know what I mean, We're not here, We're not here with exactly. That's definitely my top five.
It's the feeling of the texture.
Yeah, King, Yeah, Yeah, I like you.
I like your attitude.
Okay, your top five R and B songs.
Okay, so anxious.
Listen you know you talking to g wis background.
Yeah, I started YouTube.
I do all that.
I'm gonna say where I want to be, what will be? That's that's what a master. A master that album from top to bottom, the master. That's that top to bottom where I want to be. Oh, diamonds and diamonds and.
Pearls for sure, bro, Yeah.
You feel me? Come on, diamonds and pros. And if I say diamonds and pros, I gotta say butterflies. Got to say butterflies, m J. You feel me? Pretty brown eyes bro?
Because Stokely Yeah really then yeah, listen, I love how the top five they connect, they connect they connect with the artist, and it's just you know.
What it is, bro, it's music that really raised us. Bro for real, man, for they really raise Like when we have Stokely here, I'm looking at him like, and I've messed Stokely many times and always give him flowers. But every time I see him, I'm like, Bro, you're stokely.
Still still.
For real?
I mean, thank I got I got you. Go on YouTube right now. I'm gonna tell you how to find it. You know what I'm saying. I tell you how to find You know what I'm saying because it was it was, you know, back in the day. But we got some baby, it's been a while. Yeah, sleep around like we're singing all.
That because I don't sleep around because.
I don't see.
I love to stop playing with flying motherfucker on that.
Value to be.
Exactly.
Come on now, mo, man, everybody can't get this.
You know what I mean.
I'm saying, Bru raised on this, raised on this, bro, raised.
On it all. Right, here we go your R and b voul try all right. So like artists, Okay, there's the vocal of the artists, the styling of the artists, the performance style of the artists and the heart of the artists.
Out of all the artists that you.
Love, who were you going to take the vocal from to make your perfect R and b artists?
Why not put it out there If you haven't heard, Welcome to the MIT Factory.
You feel me straight up and down?
You all right? Who are you getting the performance style from?
I gotta split it up, so I gotta go MJ and Bobby Brown. Bro you gotta go MJ and Bobby Brown.
Michael, yeah, now, And Michael was already savage though on some hean you Mike on the Hennessy.
Yeah, no, Chaser, you're gonna have Mike humping the stay exactly. Come on, and you ain't never seen Mike. He gonna have a different Michael. It ain't gonna be a hip.
No, that's gonna be full boull.
Body gonnav leve take before you do it.
Come on, come on, man, come on, walk, come on.
You exactly exactly Michael and Bobby that's mean.
Yeah. The styling of the artists, what they're putting on? Who got that?
Mm hmm. Styling though, I say, we're talking about styling. I say usher, clean, yeah, clean, you know what I'm saying, like to.
It, right to it.
But but but a chameleon like Usher can go fashionable, he can, he can go Nigga with it.
You know what I'm saying.
He didn't. He's invented himself so many, so many times and so many cases throughout his his album.
He hasn't.
He hasn't limited himself to any type of expectations exactly. You know, he's really broadened his space to where it's like, oh, that's no matter where you're.
Seeing him exactly. And if if not Usher, then I had to say Prince, you know what I'm saying, because Prince wasn't afraid to just kind of go all out. Man. You know what I'm saying, Horse, you know what I'm saying, Like I was gonna say, I can't, I can't do it. You feel me? That ain't my bast but is thick thick you know small? You know what I'm saying.
That's like, yeah, give me.
Up, let me go, let me go, let me do, let me let me out, let me.
Out and no, let it get the bucking man, sh let it.
Damn.
Is he gonna stay on?
I hope he.
I want to believe he would get off at the point.
That's what I believe about.
My feel like Princeville just hopping to be on his feet.
I feel like you just get off. Enough is enough?
Yeah, somebody get me down. Somebody come getting me down on this motherfucker now.
Get off his nag.
That's hell funny.
The heart of the artists.
You face, you face man.
You know what I'm saying, ain't what how how how much? How much more heart do you need? Like he he yeah, he pumped it into music.
You know what I'm saying, r and Bay, you're doing the brother.
I appreciate that. Okay, We're not We're not done.
You ain't getting out of here without it.
Fine, Fine, Fine, I.
Ain't saying no niggs. Ain't saying no names. I ain't saying no names, saying no niggas.
Where you was what you did? I ain't saying no.
Wow, yeah wow.
We got a very very very important segment of this show. And that's what you know. We close this thing out with, and it's.
Called I ain't saying on that where Adrian Marcel tell us a story it's funny or fucked up, A funny and fucked up. The only rule is you can't say the name, got it. You can say your name because you're him and you you got it.
It's your story.
I can't so I can't say the name of who it is. But can I say the names of the people of other people?
No?
No, yeah, you can't. Nobody.
So it's just me.
Yeah, okay, okay, scot no no, yes, ma'am's and no man here, got it? Okay, no names, I got you, So we don't okay. Right now, Right now, my young player partner keeping his r and big thing alive, Adrian Marcel is gonna tell y'all story without saying no no names.
Mm hm.
So I'm in Atlanta. Yeah, I like when I find that strict. So I'm in Atlanta. I'm in Atlanta one one, one fine day, man, you know, and uh we're going to this person's house, you know who's staying in Atlanta at this time. They have a fat, fat crib, you know, and uh so I get them. I'm supposed to work with them for about a week.
You know.
It's actually good that I don't get to say this name. Uh So, get to work with them for about a week.
Man.
I go up in the studio. Man, I'm waiting there and they're telling me. They're like, look, you know, they'll be up here in a minute, but right now they're playing basketball, and they're gonna be playing basketball for the next four hours. Let them wait, let them So, so, you know, I'm in I'm in here, right and it's me a couple of management stuff like that, and some reps of theirs, and uh, they're playing me some records that were supposedly put together for me, you know, for
these sessions' time. Yeah, exactly, So they're playing these records for me, you know, and this and the guy he keeps doing this one dance he keeps you know.
And the lights, the lights he keeps name through the whole through the whole time he's in front of me. He's like you feel that, No, he's hitting it like he's in it too, like Knees has been.
You know what I'm saying. He's in it, you know what I'm saying, you know, And and the lights are dim. So for me, it's sucking me up because it's like, hold on, it's a lot of guys in here, you know what I'm saying. It's like a sausage fast going on right now. And you're doing the Nayna in front of me, so let me hop up and turn these lights on first. You know what I'm saying, Let's let's let's get let's get some light in here. You know what I'm saying, Let's see who's Let's see.
Whee, who's where?
Yes, let's see where the hell all of y'all are at number one, so you know they're planning. They're playing the records for me, and I'm listening to it. I'm like, I can't sing this. I can't. I can't sing this, like you know, number one, This this song is about You're talking about being naked on one and just it's not really like a metaphor, it's just being naked. I'm like, I don't want to talk about that. And then there's
another record they're talking about some certain things. I'm like, I can't say that because if I go back to my hood, they're gonna eat me up for that. They're gonna tear me up. I can't do it. So I can see it's pissing them off. Like the nay name wasn't working, so you know, it can't sell me with the nay names. So usually I guess that works. That's
like top tier. Yeah, And so I'm like, well, look how about we take a break, you know what I'm saying, And let's go down and go see the basketball game. You know what I'm saying, Like, let's go find out. I like basketball. Let's get out of here, Let's get out, Let's get up. Let's get out of here though, right, So we go down to the court, man, and you know, this is cussing everybody out.
Pass me the fucking ball, bitch, Like, like, who's this stitch ass nigga shooting?
As soon as you get this as soon as I get down there, he's cussing everyone out. Pass me the fucking ball. He got to shoot. If anybody shoot, who's the light skinned nigga?
Just shot the ball?
Get him off the court. So, I mean, he cussing everybody else. You look up, you're trying to play. Hell no, I don't want to play this game with you, like, you know what I'm saying. I don't play like that, you know. So I'm sitting there and I'm watching this whole thing, and in the midst of all of this, you know, I get a moment to have a conversation with this person. Now I opened for this person, uh,
maybe a month ago, a month earlier. But they don't they don't realize that I didn't forget what happened during that show. They came probably about an hour late, so they didn't see the show, you know. And then when they were there, they didn't want to do a meet and greet, so I did. And when everybody still came for the meet and greet, they came and bombarded me out the section to to you know what I'm saying,
to come to the meeting. You know what I'm saying, Like the security guards bumping me out the way, like you know what I'm saying, Like I'm trying to get a picture with the nigga. I'm like, no, I'm trying to finish the pictures that but I'm supposed to be doing, you know, but I'm gonna give it to you, bruh. You know what I'm saying. It's all you. So fast
forward to this time. He's sitting here talking, you know, and the guy told me before, you know, when you meet him, you just make sure you tell him how much you love his music. You know, make sure you tell him like how great they are, and you know, really sell it, really sell it. So you know, I'm like, hey, love your music for years, you know, and a big fan opened up. Yeah yeah, yeah, I seen you seen you opened up for me. I've seen the show.
It was good. It's good.
You're a lie motherfucker you you know that. But I'm sitting there like, yeah, fish out, you know what I'm saying. So he tells me, yeah, yea, we're gonna get upstairs. We gonna do some work. You know what I'm saying. I'll be up there in a minute.
You know.
Boom, So go ahead back up there and wait, you know, we get back up there. Needless to say, that was Monday. I didn't see him again throughout that rest of that whole time. So I just recorded a bunch of music that had nothing to do with him or anybody else in his studio though in his studio, I used his engineers and his studio to go ahead and record.
He never showed up. He never came from the basketball court.
Came from the basketball court never. And there were people there. There were kids. There was like, like, uh like basketball players there, and they were like, I mean, he was almost looking like they were trying to try out for the team.
You know what.
I'm saying, like, people, already what you got? All right, we'll see what you got. We're gonna work on that. Jay, Like the fuck is going on here? All right, we're done. Let me get up out of here, you know what I'm saying. So it was definitely a time meeting someone that I looked up to and getting to know them for real, for real and uh yeah, lesson learned.
Man.
After that, I stopped idolizing and just like, hey, niggas is niggas.
Man, what's the same to make your heroes?
You not to meet your heroes?
Man?
Yeah.
So and then some other ship happened since then, so yeah, it makes sense.
You know what, We're not gonna try to put that.
Ship.
Don't even fit, don't even fit me.
I've tried.
I felt like the right time, the right time.
Everybody else was doing sometime. My arms so long, Yeah, than just.
Do ship to make his kids uncomfortable?
Stop stop, there you go, you're so corny.
There you go.
You that's like you know, you know about it? Ask about me?
Google how you get in it?
Bro? You you you're you're building Yeah, and and and and that's the right thing. And it's beautiful that you know, like we said, these valleys, you know we we It's it's it's easy to you know, to desire to press on and to have the have the fire burning and all these things when you out the mountaintop right. But it's but but it's when the light is not so lit. You understand what I'm saying. It's when you say, man,
we got drop what were about to do? It's at those moments that you figure out what you are, you know what I'm saying, and what's really in you?
Straight up?
You really gotta.
Love this ship.
To do what you're doing, to do what you all are trying to do well, to do what you all are doing and going to do more of, you gotta love this ship. And that's what That's the gem that I hope everybody takes from from this, is that you love it so much that you're willing to carve out the piece that is yours and build that motherfucker from the ground up. If you want to come see me, we'll be right over here.
Right over here, period.
Come on see me. Man.
We ain't bother nobody, just a little ruta.
Where it ain't.
I tell you, at this episode.
Where they can figure it out.
Yeah, we so you brother, your family, you always like you know, you always got a home, you always got brothers, you always got support over here. You know that.
Appreciate that real ship.
But you want to reiterate that, make sure they know that. Yeah, you know you got family, you got you have structure, you got foundation, you got fucker's riding for you and around with you.
Come on, you know what I'm saying, And I mean a lot though coming from grapes man, y'all, y'all some great whites out here. Man, for real, For what y'all? Did you know what I'm saying? We following none of that. I'm like I said, going back to the YouTube days. Man, you know what I'm saying, going back on seeing don't you do it? Don't you.
Leave it alone?
Leave it alone?
Man?
Just know what you know what I'm saying. But yeah, bro, Like I said, man, just you know even even how you how you how you've done your thing. Man, you know what I'm saying, like from top to bottom, being able to watch that. You know what I'm saying, being from the same soil, bro, Like you know what I mean, that's that's that's kind of like being the motto for a lot of this. You know what I mean is the ones before us. You know what I'm saying, y'all
laid foundations out man, you know what I mean. And like I said, we were coming in now just giving it, giving it our version. You know what I mean of it. I appreciate that because we there is no there is no this without without that.
Yeah, you got our appreciation. Like you said, you made that phone call.
Yeah, it made this work exactly absolutely in the instant too. You know what I'm saying. That's when you know, because like you said, man, going through that, going through the valleys where you know you had them times where nobody answering the phone, Bro, nobody's picking up, nobody's calling you. You know, they asking you for your ID at the door. You know what I'm saying again, you feel me like two a m what nigga? What was your ID? You feel me?
Security?
That worked for me?
You feel me?
Wait a minute, we don't have to go find him, man, so he can apologize.
Once we started together. To every other episode, I bring it there there you go. Yeah, I'm gonna say, we gotta find bro.
Just go ahead back.
You know what, that's my nigga to I was just doing my job.
The head.
Yeah, he made me wait for Jamie to get to the club.
Oh oh my god. But see it beat them things and then moments where you see you feel me. Let me keep working, Let me keep doing what I'm doing that he ain't feeling that. He ain't feeling that, Nigga.
When I say it was dry dry, I live in a rancho google manga.
Listen, that's the ship is about.
I tell everybody it's all this is par for the course, nigga, repossessions, foreclosure, straight you know what I'm saying. All this is par for the course.
If you love this ship, the sacrifice is immense straight up.
Yeah.
Things suffer on the account of greatness.
They have to. It's an greatness is an imbalance, say that as he says, obsession.
It's an imbalance.
It's not natural, which is why most people can't understand it, which is why a lot of people hate it.
Hate lebron Lebronry, just.
Hate Floyd.
How do you how do you hate great mm hmm when your mission on your on your quest to be great, enjoy the imbalance.
Straight up, straight up.
Talk to that man.
You gotta.
Yeah, I'm stealing that that that fire.
Thank you again. Brother.
We can't thank you enough. Man. You know we love y'all. We we we we're glad we hear you.
Celebrate this.
Ladies and gentlemen.
My name is I'm Jay Valentine.
This has been the R and B Money Podcast, the authority of R and B. As you brought it in, you close it out.
This thing right here, special moments. Man, this is the reintroduction, like this is the music business. Don't get confused. You see people one day, you will see us again because we keep going, We keep this thing rocking.
We bring this thing to life.
Music is something that you cannot just put your hands on and tell somebody that it's one thing.
It's all things.
But find your way in this shit, find your way to make your mark.
Our young brother then came here and he didn't gave y'all real independent gang, real independent game. Where we're really taking this R and B thing now, shout out to all the artists, pay attention, watch this path. I promise you you will see this in a whole nother space in a couple of years, whole nother space, and.
You be damn you watched them going to R and B Money podcasts straight up. Now you're talking about this catalog is worth what this thing is really about? Man, That's what this R and B thing and this R and B thing. It's me and my young brother are both from the stayer from home. We have stood in front of them. We're gonna continue to stand in rot and play up. So I'm gonna need y'all to put.
You'all hands together, A yeah, yeah, R and B Money.
R and B Money is a production of the Black Effect podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Don't forget to subscribe to and rate our show, and you can connect with us on social media at Jay Valentine and at the Real Tank. For the extended episode, subscribe to YouTube dot com, forward slash R and B Money