Ari Lennox

I have I have about to pick with you? Start off Normally we like to go all the way back to the beginning, which we're gonna do and start and this is a very flowers oriented is Valentine would tell you pod we get flowers. Really, yeah, all flowers to you. This is this is your praise moment. This is for you to talk your talk for celebration about who you are, what you are, and why you are. Before we get to that, there's lyric in one of your songs. Oh

my god, O hey, were you are talking trash? At the end you say, this is not a rejection, Oh Lord, show erection. You know this this is shady, out of control. Yeah, how are you going to? How are you gonna be out here? Triple beautiful? The oh thanks bad brown and telling a man that he cannot appreciate what God has done. Oh my god. I mean I just felt it was it was giving lust and it wasn't giving pure love. I needed that pure love. All right? On your side.

I'm on her side. Stop thinking. You think with your mind because as your mind and your soul. You got to understand, if you communicate with a woman's mind and her soul, the body will following. From the defense attorney to the prosecut I gotta go. Okay, I started off away, but I have to. I'm a fan. I gotta follow. And she hometown, So whatever you want. Oh ma, thank you, thank you for coming, Thank you for having Thank you. We we really really really appreciate you being here and here.

Um we love your music. Um, thank you got somebody for you to be this nice and just a bright light. You really be throwing some shade that niggas man at it. She's she's she's nice to keep from y'all. Don't want this other y'all don't want this other work. So let me keep it. Let me keep it here for now. Yeah, that is pretty me. Yeah. Listen, let's start at the beginning, right, and I want to start off The moment I like to identify is when did somebody say to you or

say about you that baby right there? Got it? She's special. My grandma Holly, she was like she said, I sounded like an angel. I guess I was singing in the house. I was like three, and she was probably the first supportive, um encouraging person who noticed that I had something going on in my voice. So, yeah, and you're at three, you don't know what's going on. You're just are you emulating something at the time? Are you like a favorite song music in your house at that at that age?

Did you grow up in a musical home? Oh? Well, I didn't grow up in a musical home, but like my parents were always playing like just everything from you know, you know, the Jackson five to Eric Bonet, Alita Adams and Mariah Carey Whitney. So I'm always listening to these legends and watching Apollo with my other grandma. And yeah, I guess that's when we talked about that all the time, really about how parents it's important to play good music

for your kids. Oh my god, it's it's extremely important. You gotta play good music for your kids because the stuff that they're friends gonna music music for your friends, I mean, for your kids so that they can influence. Never exactly, I met someone who told me she never listens to R and B or sold it all. She just only listens to to trap music, which is beautiful. I love trapped. But I was shocked. I don't know. She was so cool, right, nobody listen whoever you are

young ladies stabbing nobody, I don't think. But but yeah, I was shocked, Like I mean, but I feel like, I'm sure that's what she listened to growing up. And yeah, so it's a thing some people just don't listen too. We're trying to change that. We're trying to change to change it's a fight to give that um, to put the good vibration, you know what I'm saying in the mainstream for us. O, my god, talk about it, you know what I mean? So, what was the next step

from there? Was it church? Was it? Was it the choir? Was it the church? Um? Shout out to Mrs Kim, Mrs Kelly, Uh, there are these amazing twins, gorgeous and can sang down. They have this beautiful song called didn't I and Ms Kelly, she was the choir director for the youth and she gave me my first solo and I just did a lot of singing. Heritage Fellowship Church of Christ. Where's that? Where's that church? Rest in Virginia? Are they still there? They still? I think so? Ye,

they're still going. I need to visit. I feel I feel like I might have been there. I've been. I've been to pretty much every church in the DMV. Really. Yeah. I was singing and playing at every church, carrying my keyboards and my aunt, my stand and a choir with my group or a sing solo like I was at every church doing. Wow. Yeah, it was a good It was a good one. What church did you go to? I went to Antioch Baptist Church in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Okay, Patty,

he's still the pastor there? Sounds yeah? Yeah, we were. We were a youth movement, the youth movement exactly that. Well, it's a couple of things here into this, you know. It was it was of course we were following behind John p. K. Anything the New Life did that's what we was on. But we also founded the first Christian fraternities fraternity and sorority, So you know that that that's that's where our kind of youth movement kind of grew and began those moves that do step what is it

like a PG step show. I mean some of the brothers had pledged worldly fraternities before they real quick you gonna catch little boy doing they try to put him in one of the fraternities. I don't think you're gonna let him in the church one, but we don't judge. If you want to be part of a q A, you can't. Moving on, it's going to be good. It's gonna be think about Christian fraternity anyway. So church any singing in high school? Yes, Um, I went to Duke

Ellington School the Arts for a little while. I guess the whole thing. Yeah, they let me in. I don't know why else, and I um, I was always skipping, but it was the school I like the most. I stayed there in the longest there. I was always skipping. Yeah, especially the last year he was cutting at the School of the Arts. Yeah, I just I didn't feel like a star and it I think like I felt kind of like no one really cared. But towards the end,

like my teacher Mr. Bonds, I missed. I think I'm saying his name right, forgive me, sir, but I, um, he was very nice towards the end, like I feel like he started to appreciate it, or like finding out that I could sing, like he saw something in me in the end. But by then I was running from this X who moved on with some girl and they were always being affectionate in school and it just killed me inside. So I just I couldn't be at school to see so I would be at the museums and stuff,

just skipping and riding the train by myself. So the relationship aspect of your music, this started along always sadness, always single, Yeah, always sadness, always single. Yeah, well sadness because of the single right there? Not well yeah, I guess sadness in other ways too, but like, yeah, it's always been at things. It is content, it really is. It's always there is this something that you consistently tap

into when you're writing your records. Um, I'm always thinking about what's going on, and I feel like, yeah, it's always what's ever happening now, Like I go on the studio. Now, well, I guess I wouldn't have much to write about at this point, well if it regards the romance. But yeah, so let's go to Discovery. Okay, Discovery Discovery. So you're out of high school and you're what are you doing?

And when do we get to the point where you're getting this phone call and you're like, who is this again? And what do you want from me? I mean, I just got a job at public storage, and um, I was making ten dollars an hour, and yeah, it was a really good job. Like I knew this was like the highest page job I've ever had, so I knew I wanted to keep it. And um, the president of Dreamville EB he called me and wanted to fly me out to meet Cole in l A. And it was

history from there basically. So we're demos floating around or is it? Like? How how is it that it's that that connection? How does that happen for you? Obviously you're from you from d C? Where you are you in d C at this part? At this point, you know, I'm like deep in the middle of nowhere Maryland, But um, I'm like an hour from d C. So how how how would it a label president here about you? So oh wait, No, during this time, I wasn't in Maryland. I was in Charlotte. But um yeah, he heard about

me through SoundCloud and this. Oh yeah, I was doing a lot of stuff with Dave James and d J G Humble, um eli evening a lot of people are yeah, a lot of people and just throwing music out there. And the guy Internet. Yeah, and this guy named omen Um, he's amazing. He put me on to Cole Well Cold like he told Cold about me. So were you at this time where you're recording before way before the phone call? Are you are you thinking to yourself, Um, one day I'm going to be rich and I'm going to be

famous or are you like you never music? No? I just always just kept doing it, and I was ready to leave it all for this man. But he went to the Middle he went to the military, and so I was forced to kind of like focus on my dreams. But like I really I always want to leave this for love and start a family, Like I don't want to keep doing No, you're not really know We're going to get to that, okay, we sad I don't want to give that much energy to like this. Man. Man, man,

it's like, I want a family. I feel like that is that's true life, that's our true love. Like to have a family is beautiful, it seems so I want that. So for you, this is a moment in time. What the music? Wow, I guess the moment. It never stops nothing. How do you like? It's like, yes, this is great. I'm very grateful for the bands I think in I don't want to skip over getting to the discovery because we're right here and I just want to address it. I think there is so much um, there's so much

gold um. There's so many lessons within your gift, um, within just who you are and what you represent. And I feel like there are so many little girls who look like you try to sing like you, They try to look like you, to try to emulate your movements, to try to emulate your sound, your essence. And because we don't have a lot of real talent, real singers, real things that we grew up on that inspired us.

And so when someone like you comes around, and I definitely understand the matters of the heart for sure, I understand it. You know what I mean? I'm I'm married, So I've i've I've kind of figured mine out. I'm still working on but you know, I feel but it's like there's a there's the other, there's another side to that purpose that is just ongoing. As you keep saying, it just keeps going, like no matter what else I tried to do, I was like, yeah, I'm gonna play football.

I'll be seeing on the field first, I'll be singing the you Can't hold Me. You know, it always grabbed me and brought me back, you know, even when I wanted to quit music, you know what I mean. I'm I'm, I tell this story all the time. I'm at Jamie's house and I'm like, I'm done. This music game isn't about music. It's about all of these other things that I don't want to be part of. And this is two thousand two, this is before social media, before all of this that, you know, And even then, I feel

like that. Then I was like I'm better than him, I'm better, I'm better than her, he's I'm better. And I was like, they won't spend money on me. I got all of this, I do all of that, and they're not feeling I'm gonna just go back home and go to church. And one of the craziest moments of clarity ever in in my musical musical life was Jamie Foxx saying, you can't quit because if if you leave, then what am I gonna do? And I was like, I don't even know what that means. He's like, I

look to you, I listened to you. You inspire me, so who's gonna do that? And his sister, who don't really play no games, like, yeah, you stuff. So I stayed in his house, he made He made me stay at his house, use the studio and all of that until I just figured my life out. But I say all that to bring that back around is that I didn't know who. I didn't know what my true purpose was, because the beauty of what you just said is you

weren't looking for money or fame. There came a point to where I thought that that was the validation and I lost sight of what my true purpose was. And I'm meant to give and inspire. I'm here to serve. And once I was able to accept that, everything else fell into place, and you have so much to give. As I listened to your music like I'm listening to you, I'm working out what you like it. That's it, it's

in here. Now. You got a real gift. You absolutely have a real gift, even from a from a songwriters standpoint to how you think now talking to you and kind of seeing you in your reactions to things, things are making even more sense to me as I've listened to your music, because obviously you know we have the music, and you make your assumptions off of whatever from the music. But then you actually meet the person, You're like, oh,

I get it. It all makes sense, and I think you know yourself Summer walker Um sayssor like it's very pure than you. To me as a consumer, when I listened to you, it feels very honest, you know what I mean? Like you got a lyrical you tell her to come back and get his bow. Wow, due right awesome, But it's so visual. You go, you're gonna get it so she can sign it for she got you. You can't leave here without signing shout out to the end if you want, we're gonna sit it right up here.

You talked about the dude rag like when the nick got come pick up all this ship, Like don't forget that too. Okay, shout out to Lemmens because he helped me with that line. I think he was joking at first, but I was like, nah, we need to keep that, Like, I love it. That's what songwriting is about. Baby Face told me that years ago, you have to have something that they remember that sticks out. Yeah, out of all the things, that's the thing I bring up that I

just love people. Uh, I don't know. Having people being able to relate is like awesome, like fun with that, you know. So, yeah, you're extremely relatable. Thanks. Alright, So phone call, you get the phone call. We need we need you to fly out here and see one of the coldest You fly here and see cold Yeah, what is going through your mind? Absolutely not, Absolutely I do that. Hell no, I just got this job. I can't lose this. Yeah, I can't lose this job. I hate flying. Um No,

I'm terrified. And and I knew, like, oh, this is really a problem, this is my life could change. But I was literally sitting there like telling myself no, and I but I got drunk and I did it. I got so drunk and I just never stopped alcohol. Alcohol on the alcohol. There was no actual person who was the battery, like girl, you tripping it was the juice. I believe he kind of calmly was just like, yeah,

you know, just come tomorrow. Like it was so like literally got the call and like, yeah, like literally tomorrow, Like I think that's what it was. Um it was insanely fast, and um I really had no time to even think about it or to really discover myself. But I definitely was like I don't think I can. I just got this job. But he was he wasn't really trying to hear it, like you know, like he saw the future he did. Yeah, I didn't know what the hell.

I'm all. I feel like i'm music or in that way, I'm kind of the most present in my life, like I never think about what I could be, I guess and this ship, I'm just very present. But I'm so not that way in other aspects of my life, like I e like my anxiety and anxious nature, but like um, with music, I never I'm never really thinking of like or what I could be, or like how big I

could get or something. Of course it'd be nice to have that, but I'm not thinking about it like as I'm Yeah, no, like where every day I'm not thinking I would like more money. But I played a lottery every week every No, that's right that they will, they will. They get my awesome. I've been playing since the DMV. Have you ever won big? Never? Damn, I don't think so. Does this? Does Ja Cole? Does the name Ja Cole?

When you hear this, when you get there and you're standing there, it's like they go, J Coole right there and I'm right here? Does it? It doesn't like your mind doesn't of course. I was like, oh my god, excited, like it's J Cole in real life. Um. I immediately we get to work. I think we started doing a song to some beat um that was being made and it was cool and never saw a light of the day, thank god. But this other song I did stop uck and um it was the song called FaceTime on my

first album, and it was crazy. How like that first meeting we made a really incredible song. Organic? Yeah, very organic. You're just writing a demo for someone? Oh my god, Yes I was, Actually I was. It was for Rihanna. I forgot. Yeah. I think we were in there right, we were writing for Rihanna. But um, you know, I don't think she I don't know if she ever even heard it, but um, yeah, FaceTime, Yeah it did. This

is how it goes. Like a lot a lot of people in our industry, they don't take those chances when someone says I need you to come and help someone else's career and you know, further their career. A lot of time, especially artists that are writers, like I might give away my biggest record are I'm like, you know what I mean. We I want to say that because

we are all we're all songwriters. We fall in love with the music and sometimes you'll leave the studio and you're like, damn, I probably could have kept that one. You know, you have those moments, especially when you're strictly a songwriter. You know, Like I've had moments where I was strictly that's just what I was. I was a hired gun called j to write some songs, and I definitely had some moments where I'm riding home and I'm like, man, I hope that nigger don't sing this the way. Maybe

I keep it. You just have those moments, man I wrote that about such and such. Yeah, but it makes it makes those opportunities where you were Now you can create a fun people to understand that. Just take the opportunity. You have a full career off going to l a flying, don't like flying to write for another artist. This song ends up on your album. Yeah, it's a great song. Thank you, thank you for what I mean. So it's like, that's that's just how this ship works. If you take

those opportunities. You have to learn that. Wow. Really I was taking to the Davante approach, this publishing companies for his damn self publishing, and all my music was for me, really for me. No one's going to sing it like me. Yeah it's me, it's mine. Yeah, that's but that's kind of true though it should always Wow broke right then I got sat on the bench. So when I got bitch, you know, no money. And so Jamie Foxx was the first person to start stealing on my song. Yeah, I

think I need that. When I said I was, it was damn kind of his. It was kind of his. I was forced into what I was, sitting on the bench. They wouldn't put me out. I would put my music out. Um, Jamie was giving me an opportunity to find my way back, just writing, producing in his space, running to Damon Thomas hanging out with Tyrese with how you're gonna act like that? It's going crazy and Damon Thomas, you know it gives me to Hollywood. I'm like that sound crazy like this

you wrote that. So I'm just and they're like you should come, should come work with us? Wow, Like I don't like giving away my songs, my sauceman down to my last go up to underdogs, meet this guy, um and first records we do are oh for Marion um And I'm trying to First of all, I'm obsessed with that album. Obsessed, went crazy, insane. That is my favorite. Oh my god, like literally ran that album into the ground, Like I love the whole album especially I'm trying to Yes,

I love this is super full circle. Were you a part of I'm trying to background? He sings the backgrounds and I sing the backgrounds. I'm fan girl, y'all are amazing. Oh my god, like that that was literally you could tell with that project UM like group like people like people came together. That was a gorgeous, soulful cohesive. Was the weekend. It's a great moment. Yeah, it was like a star weekend. What it was just happening in a weekend. We'll we'll give you a quick story. We'll get a

quick story. No, no, So All Star Weekend in l A. Maybe two thousand three three one of those. I'm sure somebody in the comments so be like it was two okay, okay, you google it. But somewhere around that time, and they had the Grammys and All Star Weekend in l A that same weekend, and Um, the Underdogs was a collective.

It was we were like transformers. Literally it was five to ten, I would say anywhere between that five to ten, like really established songwriters producers who all came together and we formed like Votron, and we just wrote songs and produced songs for people, and we ended up everybody was kind of when the l a, I'm going to go out thing that we can and it ended up being tanked myself, Eric Dawkins and Antonio Dickens, Dixon Dixon, Um, Antonio Dixon, and we were like, we got records. Let's

just because oh was waiting in the lobby. See this is a different I'm gonna give you. I'm gonna give you a little context of how the music business used to be. It's a little different now. But for the underdogs. We had had so much success as writers and producers that they would labels would literally just send their artists there and have them wait in the lobby and be paying. Yeah yeah, wait, why yes, because they were waiting to

get their turn in the studio. I can name the biggest of the biggest artists who I will not who said in that lobby for hours, and we used to figure out ways to entertain them. What j would do is pull out the dice, oh and take these artists money. These artists were the girls were not there. Marion had just done a weekend two k's two K shows by himself because he was a solo artist, and they got a honey with him. Had to take it. Um no. I took that, and I told him before we start,

I said, oh, don't do this. You don't know him. You don't know him like I know him. You're not from this place. He had that. Oh my god, it's amazing. But you know they would have that. They would have been waiting. It might be four or five artists. Yeah, wow, all paying a studio right day? You I mean, I turned it into that. But they were waiting to get in these rooms and get sessions going and we just took a liking to Oh. Oh, it's just I don't know have you met him yet. I feel like he

is a great guy. We talked once in online. Yeah it was a great guy, amazing spirit. And one day this food driving on the freeway comes up with oh what literally he's driving escort y. Yeah, that's amazing, the windows down like this want this? Okay, alright, But that was my last because I looked at Oh and I said, I said, he's trying to cross over, very tough space, to cross over from a boy to a man. Y'all did the hardest thing. And I said, you need a

song called Oh my God. That song was hot. He is. It's vain, I said, but it's a response. How do we get every a column response? We need everybody to know your name and know the effect that you have on women. It has to be completely associated with your name. That's the last track I actually produced on the NPC before I switched off the computer and logic all that stuff. But that was the last one, and I was like, I got one. But to me, it was nothing vain

about that song. He still adamantly was trying to please her, absolutely, But think about this though, like you want, Like Jenie, I used to do it all the time. He used to always put g in everything. He still always trying to find a way to throw a G in. You know what I'm saying. Whatever song he was singing, right, so you know you sing that about me and so oh. I think we were consciously trying to make sure that you know his name because he was coming from a

group that separate him unless he is oh than the loco. Oh, that's always oh sing oh and Oh, it's gonna give it to you. You know what I'm saying. He might have had like he was doing something turned into he was spinning with it. That's that's took it too far. When you come from a dancing world, when you come from a dancing the world like myself, Like when you dance. You know what I'm saying, You try you try to try to make this guy dancer. Now he's a dancer.

This is the thing I danced in my first video, Monster Dances. You know what I'm saying. But it seems like it's a correlation between me dancing and the song is not working. Why I stopping That's the only reason I stopped dancing. But I can dance start again. I want to see, I do. I do want to see. It's not going to do this to do this for your flavors, you know, but I didn't think you'd really do it. Have you written any records for anyone else? Never?

I did a session, um with someone really amazing. I won't say her name because I don't know if it's weird to say I don't. I don't know if it would, but I did a session with her, and um, yeah that was cool. That was really cool. It was my first time. I think that was my first time outside of this song I thought was for Rihanna. Yeah right, I think sure, Yeah, I think you should write for more people. I don't know. No, you're not ready to get away. I'm not when it's not even that I

take him like I would love. I don't know if I have, I've lost I think my passion for writing. Honestly, I don't really know what else to say at this point. I am I gonna talk about I think that's when writing for other people becomes becomes special, because it's like, you know, let me tell me your story, story down what I'm saying, like, give me, let's let's just hang out for a day. Let's hit the moll, let's go grab some food, and let's just talk and chop and build.

And you know, I'm in a I'm in a session with UH with Kate Michelle and my dog, right and so we're in the session and we you know, we we got it in and we just we just get to talking trash like Cay Michelle just you know, she's prediculous. So we just we just go at it. But I'm like, so, I said, I saw you another online other day, just talk you. I don't know why you be online talking crazy. I'm telling her when I was doing the same thing. And She's like this, na funk that, you know what

I'm saying, Like he had the write one. I was the right one that motherucker tried to write one. I said, oh, Ship, you've got yeah, bla blast on Twitter and I'm gonna blast back. I said, yeah, yeah yeah. And that became like that was exciting game. It's like a game, like a puzzle piece. All this is beautiful. It's psychology too, it's and and it's getting it out. The worst things you can do is just had it breathing inside of you and you just never like, let me, let keeping

the gift to yourself, keep the gift to you. I'll stop the world, stop thinking about going to school for psychology, and this could be a way to well, I mean music for me, it's completely therapeutic. Yeah, maybe you know what I mean. Like my my my wife is always looking for certain emotions out of me, are certain responses out of me, um, and they're not available. Because I

put it all in my music. I'm able to meet her at a at a better place because I just, I just I do all the sparring and all the screaming, and you know all that I put that in my music. So therefore, when I find me get to talk to her, it's I'm in this place. That's good. Let her. But I think I think as he's saying, I think you have a lot to offer in that space, which is

an awesome space. You know what I mean to um, to further the legacy of who you are, because I well, I know this is no excuse for me and comparison to you and you and so many other legends. I've been writing like all my life, I've wrote this mixtape. There was a mixtape I did way back in the day called five Finger Discount. Then there was Areography, and then there was Shad but Her Baby, and these were

all the things that I wrote myself. And then by the time Shape Butter Baby happened, I feel like I was just after after that, I was just burnt the funk out, like thin and you gotta plaque off that record. Yeah, let's cues. Yeah, this this same music that's just living somewhere. And then I slip everyone under a bush music is living worldwide, millions of people mothers. What goes in what goes into the thinking when you're writing a record like Shape by the Baby for you, like, what was what

were your thoughts with that record? I was literally my friend Elite. He's amazing, an amazing person, amazing producer, and we're always kind of like playing in the studio. We're not it doesn't feel like work. So I think I was playing Sims, either playing Sims probably on the side. Probably SIMS was around since three computer game and uh

sour Patches, probably somewhere around eating sour batches. And I think I literally was doing my hair on the couch with Shade Butter Like I was literally doing my hair, um and it just happened. And then my friend or manager, Maddie Um for many years or many years back, like he would just jokingly call me like a shade butter baby before I would get on stage. And so I feel like all of it kind of like matched in that studio moment, like that, were you really leaving shade

butter on niggas on purpose? Not on purpose? Not on purpose? But I mean it's just like, yeah, literally right here, she even wrote a song. I've never thought about this, but this is how I mean when we really pillows are out there, I mean purpose yeah, damn, I've never thought about it, but I yeah, I destroyed so many pillows just naturally, naturally because of the oils in my hair.

You know, there's all kinds of oils in there, is castor oil, there's olive oil, shave butter sometimes and yeah, stroied a lot of pillows, yeah, but not not noters need it bad. I need it bad. But it's not always a romantic thing. It's just you, yeah, the pillow cases as though, because it's like all these oils and sens it's like you get the reminisce when you know, damn, yeah, yourself, man, She won't call me back. You wat that pillow brother, even if she won't call you, but wash it out,

you're not coming back. Just watch it out, get over. I don't. I just never thought of that. Never. That's what the music does. What the music does, it travels, It travels all of those songs and yours. Like I said earlier, your songs are so vivid. Yeah, thank you. That's a that that is a talent in itself. Thank you. Like we appreciate the songwriter, thank you. The vocal is

one thing. Yes, you're in a great vocal. Thank you songwriter, because that's that's the thought process that is like, Okay, if I say it this way, it could hit you know a little bit, But if I said this way, it could sting. Yeah, I think I'm a wrecked person. So I've really sing like how I talk and how I communicate with people. And sometimes that can be too much. Sometimes it's you know, just right. But yeah, if yeah,

that's a thing. But it should be unapologetic for it should be exactly how you feel it and how you see it. Because as the art is consumed by consumers, you aren't necessarily creating for them. You are just you are creating first for you, like you're just singing it, writing it, producing it the way you feel it. They're not in the room when you're doing that. And you know what I'm saying, it's not a gallery of people like no, no, no, change the lyrics or you know

what I'm saying, I'm singing it better. No, that's all you. It's a painter on his east. So just all this color will work right. Maybe maybe we'll throw some trees right here, because some throw some trees in here and you guys see and you can go fishing right in here this bottom. But they're not involved in that process, and so it should be exactly how you feel it. And they have to decide if the art it's for them or not. Yes, they do, Butax, you know what

it feels like. I don't think you know. I don't think you know how big you are. I don't think you know how influential you. I don't think you know you know. I think you have a self worth for sure, Yes you have that. I don't think you have the full perspective maybe aloof for sure of like what you are, Yeah, thank you, Yeah, it's I don't know what that like when you were talking about the beautiful girl that like that looked like me, that are inspired when they're listening

to this music. When I was saying those things, I

literally wasn't thinking about that part. That's literally my favorite part, Like seeing young people are like just people, just black women that funk with what I'm doing, women that funk with what I'm doing, and it's it's everything to me, And that is the exciting part seeing like, um, when I got my transcripts at Theodore Roosevelt UM, the school that I graduated from because duke go intown and graduate from there, I got I got, yeah, I got kicked out.

Do you meet them in football? My god, get me in trouble? Wow? That's amazing. Congrats though, great way to say whatever, because I'm waiting here what you're talking about football? Our Bundy ship. But it was it was great though. I went there to pick up my transcripts and this I um, this beautiful girl, she had locked. She was gorgeous and she was like are you. I was like hi, and we had this beautiful moment and it was just

it was unmatched. Like that was like I was surprised at someone so young, like you're in high school and you you funk with me like I was shocked. I'd be shocked a lot. Yeah, I'll be shocked, and I think and I've been taking um this, it's been weird. It's been like ten days over ten days, i haven't been on the internet, and I've been kind of like forced to be outside, but um more and more like I'm like more outside but um, yeah, I realized that

is a thing that needs to happen. I've been sheltered, sheltered in the internet world and kind of like, um, a slave to it, like really just addicted to it. And so I feel like I'm finally waking up and experiencing real life and real human connections. You know, there's nothing like really getting to know people for who they really are and they really are and they really are and they really are, they really are. When we met people, like we actually met people. You know what I'm saying.

You met, you sat down, your dance, you had a drink, you know what I'm saying. You come over the house, you know what I'm saying, and try to avoid their mom and when you're running in like it was real interaction. So getting comfortable with a person was way different. You know what I'm saying to you. You didn't have to weed out a whole budget, you know what I'm saying. And it's something if you knew somebody on the block they had to. They had the four one one on them.

I need that, you know what I'm saying, d M about them, and I'm done with that. You've done to connect and be comfortable and have those maybe intimate moments, you know what I'm saying, without having this this this this extra thought about motive and all of these other things that go along with it, so you can meet

a shady person in real life. Sure, it's just literally people are cat fishing in different ways, like they're sometimes they're literally not who they say, but literally I've seen people have completely different persona online and I would ask the person like, why don't you show the world who you really are? And you know, for whatever reason, they refuse to people. So many people are living a lie, And it's just I'd rather meet people in real life

as they are. And I feel like the only way you can really do that is take your time, like literally get to know people like I can't. I just can't afford anymore shady experiences. So I've really I'm guarded. I'm guarded a bit more. Arts tell you so trifling. You know, it's crazy about that. It wasn't. I was so mesmerized, but you know, in hindsight, it wasn't. It was not It was not all of that. But I was so the moment. It was the moment. It was a moment. It was a moment, it was a good time.

And then after that it wasn't that great. I was not great. That's how it normally is, though, Yeah, it's normally you were like, what was that? Yeah? What the fun was that? I really really Yeah, I romanticized, but it's always hard when you're in it, you know what I mean, to to consider outside of it, like you just don't. You're just in it and you're going along for the ride. So in your mind you're going to process it was because you wanted. Yeah, you know what

I'm saying. Damn. Yeah, And I'm realizing it's it's clear, Yeah, it's all of it. It's I'm falling. I'm mesmerized by all of it. How fine the person is, you know, their soul, their energy, like all of these things, you know, and you're a lover. Yeah, I can tell you're a hopeless romantic cure. I'm tired. I don't want to be I don't think you're even don't think you're going to be able to change it. I think you can fight it as long as you want, but you are. I'm changing.

I'm changing for the better. You're not going to do But why Okay, here's that question though, why is it? Why is it better to not be that? Why not hopeless romance? Because it's literally it's it's toxic, it's you're just so hopeful, it's too much hope, too much bright eyed, naive, and it's it's said, it's so damn I love Disney, but so damn Disney's I'm tired of being this little Cinderella. You can be, I don't want to be together. I think I think that na she wasn't given it nobody.

I think that you can be strong and still be if she was. I'm trying to get out of the Cinderella probably the other day of having fun and that's beautiful, and that's beautiful. You can still be strong, trying to give and hopeful. Yes, I mean hopeless, hopeless. You can hope, well, we can say hopeless romantic, but you can still be strong and hopeful at the same time. You can because because I think that I'm a glass is half full kind of guy. Anybody that knows me will tell you that,

wow I am. I am searching for the light in the dark situation, and no matter how small or dim that light is, I'm going to rest on that light. That's what I was supposed to get out of this, and that's what I move on with. And so it keeps me from one area. I'm so positive. I don't want to be anymore like that. You don't want to be positive the outlook, and it hasn't served me. I feel like if I approach a relationship not attached to any outcome, I think I'd be better off. I'm so

it's bad for an anxious person. Listen, I would say, you know, I would say, make the audit and whatever you feel like the adjustments need to be, you make them and see how that works. But I think ultimately your true self and being your true self, it's what's going to pay off in the end. Now, somebody's going to appreciate that a sweet, little freaking something, hey, listen, might might be the little guy that you pay attention at doing a little. Guys might treat you right. Yeah,

what I got, sisters. I like him, he like you so much, he's so nice to you. I've given I've given that though anyway, I've been open. I think I've been too open, and now it's time to like, Okay, there's enough of that, like I've been too to like, I really feel like it's I've been so lenient, even with my standards, ridiculously so and um but now it's like hell Na, like there's a there's a list now,

like and I'm wavering you mad ag, you're checking red flags. Yeah, and I'm sure they've got some cameras trying to catch you somewhere with somebody. So you know, nobody's thinking. Nobody's thinking about you. Look at Ann and uh no, no, the Dwarf number eighth. This is this is on topic. They're they're all Disney, They're all Disney. All right. Um, well, yeah, it's a different time. But as we talk about times, as we get into times, and you are timeless, thank you,

you are too. We wanna thank you. We want to get some information from you about your time here, okay, on this planet and the music that you've heard, and how resonates with you? Okay, what are your top five R and B artists? Male or female? Oh my god? What the fun? Yes? But do you hear? I feel no pressure. No, it's you, it's yours. Just I'm not going to do five. No, I'm not gonna do five. Just we're gonna we're gonna lock the doors. Were ready to church when it's it's funny. I can't decide. I

can't decide. I don't. I'm indecisive. When's your birthday? March on the aries? Okay, when's your birthday? Capricorn? Capricorn? You run the whole thing, whole thing. I don't know how that? No idea to five? July night? July night? Oh a cancer? Oh and I like us, like us? Top five? My brother is a Capricorn. Um top five? Just all right, I'm gonna just all right. Mariah carry Um, Mini, Riperton, Aretha Franklin, why not, Um, Whitney, Houston, Fitzgerald. I can't

do this though, No, no, you're not done. No, no not. That's all you get. You get five. That's a powerful five. But what about guys? You win? Females? That's fine, that's fine, all right, that'll be cold because I don't make music for dudes either, think about Oh my god, I should I should? No, No, we're done, yours next five this first of all, this is you. You don't have to because hes gonna tell a story he told on another podcast. That's crazy crazy. He recycling for us. I just tell

my truth, and they happened. I just happened to tell them a lot. What happened? Sorry, Yeah, amazing, amazing, Top five, amazing, top five. I know you wanted to give us a dub. You probably gonna fight us later more. It's it's fine, it's fine, but your five is amazing. Top five R and B songs that soundtrack? What's your sound track? I don't know. Okay, between the house to you know, making love, to put on your shape butter, to make you know what already was like love. I've never been to see

it to see yeah. No, I've never made love to Joe to see Wow. Every everybody in the room said, wow, that's crazy. I don't even know how you do. I don't even know how to do that without and just like that down go crazy. Wait, I'm slow, what's that? Listen? You're top R and B songs right now, let's go all right? Um, Dion Ferris hopeless? Um, can't you see total um Jesus with Kesha? I almost messed up her name. Yeah, this is so hard. Why are you doing? You're almost there?

I'm not almost there? Almost that? Okay, um y'all this is hard shit man? How did how Uh nobody's supposed to be here? How did you get here? Uh? Massive? These are all songs that start hearing it in my head. Oh grape Vine, Brownstone, Greg, Um, what am I on? Four? You got one more to though? Oh lord? Um, y'all, this is not unfair. This is unfair. This is evil what you're doing at M R and B. Oh my god. Okay my last one resentment Beyonce. You gotta have a

few recording Yeah, strong list. We're all girls again. It's fine. So what we're starting to get the message power, We're starting You ain't ship's starting to get the message. Know, I love Maybe we should do it together? No, I love you. You're gonna take all women. I got it. I hate Mary. Jake says Mary, let's go to our taking women, Mary, Mary, Mary, I need twenty okay Mary, Um okay, my favorite Mary song. Um that song child, he said, it's your child, And yeah, I like that one.

You a little more that Sorry, it gets expensive. I know you've got some bags right with you. No, it's not that everything. It's interesting. When I started singing cut you fellas would be lying on the ground if I stopped before we even get to the next thing. Though, this has to this conversation has to happen. Okay, on it? Oh, yeah, on it. I love Jasmine a lot. On it. In my opinion, is the female win. We wait, very aggressive, very straight to the point room record, and a lot

of women don't make songs like that. So for y'all to make that record, it felt like it was hard. It was always stopped. Wait what No, it was hard getting Jasmine too to be freaky because she's she's she don't want to be she don't want to get nasty. And I said, come on, you have to. She wanted to change it a little bit. I said, no, spit on it, sit on it, and I had I had to just gently say it has to be this way

like it. It has to be this way, like you know, you can't change it, you can't do this like we have a great hype. That's amazing. Women need a friend, like, oh my god, I don't know if you have a friend, but you need a friend. I wanna keep your man, talk about you a friend like her home girl. It has to be this way, yes, but it wasn't. It wasn't vile. No, it wasn't on it than a esay no, because you hear keep going yeah, yes, we don't want to drive, we don't want to dry bites, okay whatever. Yeah,

it was about yeah, yeah, you're right. It was you receive You received the message from different people differently. Right. The vessel is very important in terms of the transfer of information, and so when you sang that, it felt right, thank you. It didn't feel like why is she sicking that? It felt like hallelujah, halle hallelujah. The fact that y'all was right because you can get that off sometimes on something I'm just gonna get freaky and it's just gonna

be whatever it is. But to actually be singing it put vibrato. Yeah, it is a heritage fellowship. It had so much soul and spit because for me, for I mean, I think for us as a collective, like sex is not just sex right for I then talk about everybody in this room. Is what we do sexist, it's making it's spiritual. Yeah, it has to be a certain spiritual tone connected to in order to that for that to be a proper connection. If we are in exchanging souls,

we're not doing this the right way. We're not intertwined, right, We're not doing it the right way. Yeah, okay, I'm sorry. And if you're not, only you're not doing it right. Shout out to Jasmine Sellivan that amazing, amazing record things you know, some of your system off that. Thank you so much. I love doing it. I love it so much from my favorite songs. And shout out to Cardiac

he produced it produced when it's beautiful. Wow, damn you're connected. Yeah, you make some sexy songs, Tank and you sound it's church sex. Yes, it really is sex. The church's church section church sex for sure. Sex for sure. It's it's sneaking in, sticking in the basement or somewhere on the pews at the church. Yeah, sometimes you got to wait. You did that before. What I want to get from you. I was in the I was listen, man, who is you doing? I don't want to talk about church market

the basement. You know what I'm saying. Listen, when you are in church all the time, this is where this is where you lived in church. Biggest freaks in the house. So it's my house. I'm his house. The church is the building where all the houses congregated. But okay, come on, come on, past come on listen. I remember someone took me to a church time ago, right, and I'm watching I'm watching the mannarisms of the pastor, and in my head, I don't say this out loud, but I'm going it

is giving. This is what I'm feeling, right. It is because I want to say he said, I know that I may not know. I don't know Blonians. Yeah, and um, we're building an R and B votron. Okay, so we need to know who you're getting the vocals from, who you're getting the performance style from, who you're getting the styling from, and who you're getting the passion from the heart of the artist. So let's start at the beginning. The voice. Who you getting the vocals from to build

your R and B artist? Oh, I'm creating from scratch, Oh my god, vocal who's folk? Easy bank, Who's focal. Maybe Etta James, maybe so stirring. I want that growl, so stirring that Rice. Rice has been thrown on sha Yeah, she like a growling singing like Fantasia, Oh my gosh, anointed, like chilling, American's idol, American idol. You talk about crying, Oh my god, for no reason. She just nerves everything. She was the best singers ever, She's everything. Okay, who

are you getting the performance style from? Well? One day, I would like to really get comfortable. I always imagine myself or sorry, the person this is a person is the person that we're creating. Okay, it has nothing to do with me then, all right, so um prince, Yeah you just see the perfect stand. Yeah yeah, always, I feel like he's just all He's commands that stage such a start, he commends in every facet and I don't

even I don't even know what this's on purpose. I just think he just did whatever the funk came to his mind. This is how I feel. There should be no back to these chains and did it? Man? Yeah? Yeah, yes, what did they call chap? Chaps? Man? I don't know. I'm gonna I'm gonna sit on this horse, asshole Nick did he do that? I know that Furst was sticking the ship out of the he was sitting on a horse naked prints. Here we go. Who are you getting the styling from styling? Um? Do you want your artists

to look like wow? Oh, look like or dressed like that ship? I dressed like like you know, well the style. I really like Kyle, Rihanna and Kylie dress. I think they're Kylie Jenner and Rihanna. I think they're some of the fliest women ever. I don't know or to me, I just fun with their stuff. I want to dress like that. It never really works out that way, but I want what I want to But how I wanted

to look. I guess she's a girl. Um, I want her to look like um me, I guess okay, maybe that's okay now sorry me with like forcey hair, that would be cool, Yes, beautiful kinky afro hair. Who are you getting the passion from the heart of this artist? Passion? What do you mean in terms of delivery? Delivery? How you feel it? Phil? Who makes me feel? Which one of all the artists you've named? Who are you going

to take the emotion from fantasia? Yeah? Because like us oh my god, I wish everybody, yes, that woman is annointed. She's a preacher saying, and I purposely I wouldn't go out and watch her performer. I couldn't. I couldn't take that every night. I couldn't. I couldn't dedicate my life to the Lord I do. When I'm on stage with Jasmine, I'm I'm a fan, so I'm so mesmerized. I damn never forget what the fun I'm here. I'm chills. I've

never felt that was someone before on stage. Literally, she gives me so much chills just being that close to her and hearing her. It's crazy monsters. People with that kind of vocal will definitely derail any intentions that you went out through. It happened to me with oh my God, oh my god. It was supposed to be a duet. It wasn't quite an it was Melana Adams. And it wasn't that I didn't know what to do. I just couldn't do anything. Yeah, I couldn't do anything. I was

standing there like, yeah, I'm gonna change my life. Like the building, the entire built that was wild when I experienced this is online if the entire when I say building was shaking. Yeah, she's everything. It's like it's like that. It's like, oh my god, not even close. It's like that, Yeah, I need I need this, I need this from my soul. Um. We got we got one more thing for you women. Yeah, we got. We gotta a little part of the show. It's a it's ain't saying on that. Oh my lord,

what the hell the story? What the is this? Yeah, yeah, that's exactly what it is. Funnier fucked up are funny and funny and fucked up either one. Just a story and it's just you just don't include no that sames in it. Just of your travels, of my travels, you know what I mean. When you were just like when you you know, you literally was just saying like yo, that was wow, this ship. I can't believe this ship.

Oh my god, of my travels, y'all. I don't know, because it could be before the industry, could be in the industry, could be whatever. But it's just you know, a story that you just don't you don't put you know, you put nobody else name in it, say no names, look at you and while you're telling the story, but tell that story about me. You ain't saying no names. I mean, it's bad. I shouldn't tell this. Okay, so bad, it's good. Oh it's not good. I can't even tell

you the whole thing. I just can't say no names, just say you know names. It's this guy. He says something so mean to me at a festival once, with a smile on his face, and I was like, did you really just say that? And he was just like, yeah, I just said that. Can't even tell you what he said, because it was the worst thing anyone's ever said to me, one of the worst things. And I was I walked away and I was like, I can't say it. I'm

embarrassed because it's it's so bad, it's terrible. It was so mean and it wasn't true, it was it was just it was so sad. Um was there, right? Um? So I leave and I told my friend, you know what, I'm gonna fight him. She was like, she was like no, and she would not let me out the door. I've superhuman strength, pushed her out the way, went out the stairs to find him, didn't see him, and went outside to find him. Didn't see him. Then I catch him in the hallway and three piece of yeah, and his

friend was so shocked. He he was about to square up right, he was work by girls. It happened so fast, but I needed to do piece. That's what the security said. I don't remember much. Are you black? Pretty much? But I know I landed on the space. You know what. Yeah, that might be the unexpected, that might be one of the best. Really understand those names because it's so unexpected, so funny. Look how you're telling so it's really yeah, I just had to tell them what you did and

tell them what you did. Yeah, it was that's amazing. Really No, no, no, I'm not No, no, I don't want to create this delusion that I'm an amazing fighter. I don't want people to come up to you just you just had a great moment and it should be celebrated. It's a beautiful Mari three piece, But I don't want to be fighting. People know you're gonna been gonna take this nickname the three piece. The three piece is security right. Security is prevention right, And so when they hear three piece,

they're gonna know I am not a fighter. I am not a violent person in a relationship. This is not like I'm not going around punching mabu. This this was just disrespect. It was it was just it was like this it felt like a reality show, like it was unreal what he said to me. It was like, I'm so nice. Why are you being me? I like how you came to the decision though, Yeah, I'm going to fight him. Yeah, I was sure I should fight him. I was sure I should. You proceed to get to

it is. That is admirable because disrespect has to be met with. You gonna learn to respect me. I always doesn't always, but some people need to know he did because that was wild. Some people need to know. We believe in that A three piece Linux we are. We are elated that you stopped by to give us a little bit of your time, a little bit of your energy, um, a little bit of your gift insight, where you've been, where you're going. This was beautiful and we encourage you.

Thank you with with all that you have and with all that you can keep going. Please keep going. Will I'm gonna stop being We're gonna keep supporting Strange. Thank you. I'm gonna be in the comments. Yeah, he gonna definitely be in the college. I'm working on it. You work with you and you anytime do this available. I would love that time of the day, already thinking about the next project. Right, that's expensive. That looks ex vocals. What

you have you can't saying you can't get on that. Yeah, what we're doing, don't play with no vocals that I'm sorry for accident. That's fine. Fine, A couple, got a couple more here, you're a couple more. Wow, that looks like a very This is the place where you get sing. Yeah. Yeah, I would love that and enjoy yourself. So anytime we are available to you, and because you too, Okay, I'm serious, No, I need y'all. I mentioned it on my live and I'm serious. I love that. But the music is insane.

Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Tank and this has been the R and B Money Podcast with the amazing R Money. R and B Money is a production of the Black Effect podcast Network. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the R Heart Radio Apple Apple Podcast, or wherever you're listening to your favorite shows. Don't forget to subscribe to and rate our show, and you can connect with us on social media via at R and B Money podcast or at the Real Tank or at ja Valentine