Brooke Valentine

drunk night. Um just sound good, you know what I mean? I think that, Uh, at first it was just Valentine. Everybody would call me Valentine's like, oh, she's so she's so lovable and loving and whatever, like a little Valentine, you know. And my Southern hospitality in l A was like really like Valentine's Day card, you know. And Brooke is is my name? My mom named me Brooke. My

name is Nicole Brook Nicole. Yeah, but listen, that actually reversed though, because Nicole is usually ninety five percent of black girl's middle name in the hood. True, very true. If I mean we're do the calls at like if ain't on the calls in here then something that, you know what I mean. So definitely the black girl middle middle name had to keep you Valentine. Yeah, and it just it just worked out. It just sounds good, rolled

off the tongue. You know. I had did a little showcase and they asked me what my name was, and I tried it out on him and it was like, oh, that's amazing. I was like, okay, that's it. When I met Jay and he said his name was Ja Valentine, I was imry, Wow, that's an R and B name. Okay, here I am. Yeah. My story, my story ain't like you know what, it's not okay, it's not about it. You know. I had to change my okay yeah yeah,

not run on, not run on. We're gonna get him one day and then I want to be here for that. You gotta hear that. So what we like to do is we really like to we really like to start from the beginning you, but we like to act like we're just meeting you for the first right, right. We need the the historian, we need the journey, we need the journey all of this. She started, like, where did the inspiration start? Where did the understanding of I have a gift, I can do this, start people watching gets

a girlfriend. But but you know, how did how did we? And then coming from Houston to l A, what was the inspiration behind that voyage and all the way to now to where you do a bunch of stuff your multimedia at this point, Okay, hello, she poses for the picture, so so let's see. Okay, let's start. Um in Houston, Texas of course, Um, I came from a family that were they wasn't really about the music. It was like,

that's a not even a dream. They just they it was just something that did exists to my family, no one, no one had ever done it ever, you know what I mean. It was a major joke. I feel like when I watched What's a Little Movie for the kids, Koko like, don't sing, that is not gonna work. So it was my grandmother that would actually like entertain this idea that I had. Remember, in the heat of the night, in the heat, um, I was eleven once I actually

started singing out loud. You know, I would sing privately and you know, by myself all the time. So Ronnie Levin, I was singing in the heat of the night, when it was you know, coming on, and my grandmother was like. My grandmother was like, what's what's going on? She really sang that thing, you know, and I was like, really you like that? So time passed and then she called

me up one time to sing in church. I was like, oh my god, like she was like, no, you can do this, may be trust me, you can do this. Went up there his eyes on a sparrow. Everybody to death. Okay, Sunday after, Sunday after, and so now you belong to the church, right. But it's a little church. It's about ten people at the church. It's my grandmother's you know, it's my good No, it was a store from for real, like y'all my grandmother's church. So they didn't even tell

her she was the mother of the church. And it was y'all know, Houston is um Nigeria and Houston have come together in such a way. So it was a Nigerian church. Oh yes, oh for sure. And then every woman and my family ran off and married a Nigerian man. So this was a major part of me, you know what I mean, I thought I was Nigerian for the longest time I had. Oh yeah, it was a thing. I was told I had to marry a Nigerian man. We had to put my mom in this seat for

her like that. To y'all, it was like, you go out there and you find you a nice Nigerian Okay, all right, she said, or a light skin with good hair. Ho, it's up to you, you know, because the baby got to have good hair. Don't bring on that hair, baby. So it's Nigerian church. I'm singing for my grandmother, my mom, and everybody just thinks it's hilarious, like ha ha, she's singing Mrs a Joke or whatever. So because of that energy, I started hiding it. I met Um back then they

called him Deja the Great Um. He was connected to a Dino and Chisanne from Agetown and I met him and he was, you know, very he was in the music industry already, so that was something new for me, Like, wow, you really be at the studio, like you press a button and didn't your voice come out the thing? And like that was amazing to me. So at this point, I am of fourteen, fourteen fifteen maybe, so I'm going to the studio with him. I'm catching the vibe. They

laughing at me because I'm young. They you know, laughing at me, and she young. I don't know what, you know, she thinks she could sing or whatever. So I made the decision to lie up a little bit. All right, well I'm seventeen then cool. That didn't work. Ran across some homies from Wrap a Lot Records. They was like saying something sunk. Something that was like, I wanna do some hooks. So I don't know what that means. Look, they say, we're gonna send you a taxi. What no,

uber back then we're gonna send you a taxi? They send me a taxi. I ended up at wrapping our record singing hooks for everybody. It was a work for higher arm involved the little papers I was signed, and they give me a hundred dollars work for high hundred dollars, work for high hundred dollars. They told me I can stack. I say stack? Can't you good at stack? And I was like, I don't know what. I don't know what I'm doing it here, but it's working. Coming home with money.

My mom mad, She's like, what's going on? I just want to know what she was selling? That's my uncle Legit said, ain't no way anybody paying this little girl to sing anything. Real dude. He was like, it's no way. So my mom, her best friend jumped on that bandwagon. My auntie. Everybody was like, it's no way that this happened, Like let me see. But I'm like, y'all come to the studio, like come check me out. They was like thin that she they you know what my uncle did say,

were turning ran off to be a prostitute. He did, you know, he did say that. I'm still man say it ain't no way. Okay. At the family functions, everybody looking at me like, you know, I was really out there singing. You know. That's what started my relationship with Scarface, and I ended up doing a record with Scarface and Pimpsy and you know, like they remember the little young brook that was. They called me Skittles our butter, Skittles Butter.

Those were my two uh you know names around the hood. They remember. I would come in there. They that's what they say. She stacked like butter. And I was like, oh, I like that. We just from with that, right. It always got something to do with pancakes, right, So it's butter our skittles. Depending on if you was close to the family with skittles. If you met me, you know, around the studio it was butter and my mom had enough. Um she was like, no more wrapper lot. So I

stopped going up there. I stopped doing hoogs. I remember J Prince coming in the studio one time and he's like, look, girl, what's your name? I was like butter and he was like, go home. He was like, who, who's idea was this? He was sold, like, who's idea was it? What's going on? I was like, no, for real? She could sing like that's her on this record and this record. He was like, oh you sound good. He said, did you have to come back in a couple of years. He was like,

I don't feel comfortable with this. Oh yeah. He came. He was so so well spoken, just I felt like he was in the darkness and the shadow and I never really saw him, but I heard him. He said a little girl. He asked me what my name was, and I told him. He still said little girl. Go home. He had his driver take me home. So after that, I'm frustrated. I'm like, man, I thought I was on my whales about to get the deal, and I was

venting to the ASA at the time. That was his name about it, and um, he was like, I'm gonna start a girl group. I'm gonna put you in it. So cool. That's when I did my first girl group. It was called Best Kept Secret. I'm sure that's on my Wikipedia or something like that. Best Kept Secret be Kiss And it was two other young ladies from around the way, and we, uh didn't work out. How long

were you in the roup? That group that, Yeah, I'm not that group last for a hot second because the guy that was in charge, you know, he treated us all like we was his girlfriend. So that that it was jealousy and envy and then things just and how was how long did you do your verse? And how why was you at the CD and that? And I was like, okay, this ain't gonna work. They we just started falling out the group and getting mad, you know, like like I can't even tell y'all what happened. Everybody

always asked me why that little group broke up. Y'all have some potential. I don't know, Okay, so they run off. I'm on my own. He's like, don't worry, you know, everything's gonna work out for you. And I'm like cool, So I'm just waiting. My mom kicked me out. One day we were at the studio. Um, I remember a friend getting up and looking out the window. It's like she was like, I'm gonna run to the store. So she got up and she looked out the window and then she just backed up and sat down. She was

just looking nervous. I was like, yo, what's up. And she was like, UM, I ain't going to the stone anywhere. And I'm like, what's what's wrong? Like we all in the hoods, it's like if somebody dad i't there, You're going to let down. And she's like, no, ain't nobody dad out there. Your mom out there, and like what you're talking about? Yeah? Mine drop never told my mom, never came to the studio, never wanted like they just thought it was funny. I looked outside. My mom didn't

take my clothes off, the dress or drawer. The whole dresser was out there, the whole dress to dressers, the dog, my dog tied to the dress of my little snake, had a dog of a snake. All my stuff out there. She trashed bag the rest of my stuff and she's standing out there. She says, say she fake, you know what, san figure it out, you want to be at the studio, live at the studio. I'll never forget that line. That was probably one of my first loving hip hop moments

right there out there. And she had her best friend, William, and he was like m M. My Auntie was like you a little nasty, and I was like I was still a virgin. I was like you guys, no, seriously, like I'll be singing and like, people, do you think do you think it was the church background? Probably the church background, um, the lack of goals and dreams and we my whole they're still in the hood. Ja, they

still don't know what I'm saying. I'm saying that the side of it, were they thinking that it's something bad more so than it's like, Okay, I get it being a pipe dream, that's that's one thing, right, But it being like if you think you're gonna be at the studio, like the studio thing and this thing, and like you said, and your uncle feeling like prostitution. You know what I'm saying, Like all of these things going, I'm wondering if a part of that is the church where it's like you're

taught I could see that from a second music. Second music that you know, obviously we all call R and B being this devil's music true because if I was at the church at Bible and church practice. That's why I just wanted that, because because I didn't think about that being from that place, you know what I'm saying. Like, I didn't start doing army music until ninety six. That was two years out of high school. So I was

I was the Bible toten little kid. Little he got a selection, you have to bring it back to the room. So you know, like it's and it's funny that you that that you had that interaction with your parents. My parents were, We're as supportive as they could be because they didn't understand it either. But I had a minister actually tell me who my friend brother tell me, I hope you fail. Wow, so that you can see that

this is not God. Oh my gosh, we left, no we have I was like, no, no, He literally said to me in front of the church, Oh, I hope you failed. It was the pet of you can come back to God. Did they have like a going away

party for you when you're going on tours? Because I was still going you know, after my ninety seven tour with Ginuine and all of that, I was still you know, going back on my church and all of that stuff, and um, you know, I think that kind of began the separation of me kind of being in the building, you know what I'm saying, Because the building and the things that happened in that building, that's a bad taste

to me, you know what I'm saying. So I've think the torment I had that you experienced from your mom, you know, outside of him, I actually had more of it internally, you know what I'm saying, in terms of understanding if this is where I was supposed to be, and if this was the devil and if this was it took me a minute to come to terms where I had been blessed by the only person who could bless me, you know what I'm saying, to be able to write and sing my songs and travel the world

and share my experiences through melody and through musicianship people connecting that I didn't. I didn't understand that this was this was nothing but right, and it took a minute for me to get it. So I know you down South too, like I was on the East coast Man were down south. They don't. They don't play about could be working. You're supposed to be working, bringing back, bringing money home, taking care from which I was, no, you need to just go work a regular job. Something you

can see. You need to check stuff, you know what I mean. So, so the interesting part for me to hear both of your story of what R and B music was to your family is the polar opposite, right, because in my family it was the way to save us. So it's very interesting to hear the perspective of this is going to destroy you. All I heard was this is what's going to take you somewhere you've never been. This is what's going to take us out of here.

Did that make you rebel from it? Or see I was gonna say that feel like if I grew up like that, I would be like, well, I'm it was. It was forced. It was forced to find me early on that you know, yeah, you have to like my father would say, you can quit the group, but you still got to practice. How does not make sense? But it wasn't supposed to make sense. It was like, because you want to you want the reward for your work, right,

So it's like you want to hoot. If you shoot a whole bunch of jumpers in practice, you want to get in the game. And she was with jumpers. You just don't want to shoot him just to be harmonies. So for us, you know, coming coming from where I came from, For me, I was in a space where, like you said, I kind of rebelled against it a little bit because it started so early in my childhood where literally, you know, we're street performing when I was five.

So that's why I always asked, you know what I mean, Yeah, I don't want to say. But then I realized two very early on that me being a child actually gave us we were all kids because they were they were five. My brothers were five years older than me. But if I'm five, their ten, it's something about the little little one. So I was like, anything I do, it gets a reaction, right, So then I started realizing, like, oh, there's a different

light on me. I'm gonna need some more money. Really early on, I'm Michael right right, I need a different type of everybody got like regular bikes. I need the mongols, you know what I'm saying. Like, but the reverse, like I said, the opposite for you guys. It's always interesting to hear that that side of it because for me, like I said, it was, it was something that was pushed on us earlier. This is going to change your life, our lives. It's going to get us out a different

that's a different pressure. But you know here now only wouldn't want to do with my life is different. My father was right, he saw something, you know what I mean. Then I appreciate it for it, you know what I mean? Definitely, And I wonder if I would have come from the church, like like how you guys grew up in church saying we were talking about pimps, like literally the old pim because I thought they could sing. We are vocal coaches. They're like, yeah, I'm calling this blue magic baby. Am

I going to sing the del fine? But I get it though, I get it, I get it. And it's always like I said, it's it's just really interesting to hear that side of it. Studio dressing dog in your snake outside and your mama given you and whatever. William William William Williams doing that too. I got cash, but that's another stuff they're giving you that all of that. My auntie like so I'm like, well, let me just

gather my thing. You know, I did run out there and mom please, and you know, I'll never forget begging for their blessing at that time, like in the most desperate point of my life, about to turn sixteen, Like I mean days away from my sixteen birthday. So so you have been putting some time because you yeah, thats a lot of time in Houston where the circles this big, and you know, I probably had about ten hooks that

was circulating at that time. Of course it wasn't on name on it, but it was like, you know, I can go back and listen to it, like is that me on there with the Yeah, that's my hot note, you know what I mean? So got kicked out days at the time, was like they call him London Now. He was like, you can you stay with me? He was freaked out. He was like, listen, I know I said, I'm gonna start the girl group and I was gonna help you. But I got girlfriends and you're not about

to blow up my spotty. Let me know that. I knew that already. He was like, I got a whole life and you know this ain't gonna work. So I couch hopped for for a while, and his mom end up moving to Texas from California ironically, and she let me ren a room for seven hundred for a little while. I did go back home and try to work things all with my mom. That lasted all of seventeen hours, because soon it was as soon as it was time for me to like, Okay, Mom, I want to go

to the studio or you know, do something. Mind you, I'm working. I have a job at the mall and I'm running the money back home for my sister and brother, like whatever, y'all need. Let me know, I'm doing my mall job. But when I leave my mall job, if I go to school and do my mall job, I want to go to studio, you guys, and I'm gonna be home by nine, like give me a break. But they didn't know that. Yeah, and wh I was trying

to studio. The problem was starting when I would get home at my mom was live it like see I told you, and I'm like, Mama, you sometimes you don't get it done. You know she didn't get it, so um, I know I switched names on y'all, but he switched his name shoot Dave's a slash London moved to California and let me. I was staying with the mama, ringing the room, and he was like, sending pictures back. You'll remember,

we have to print. You don't remember you have to take the pictures and you have to wait to get them. You have to mel him out. He was sending me pictures of California, saying, man, is this is? I say? I called him and said, let me tell you something. I patient you know what I'm saying. I hit the two way and I said, let me tell you something. You gotta come get me. You gotta get me out of here. This is not gonna work for me. I just felt. I was like, I didn't know what I

was talking about, didn't have anybody. My whole family was like, don't call me. Yeah, even the younger ones. My younger cousins didn't even understand what was going on. They didn't have a choice. They grew up not liking me because of their parents saying she fast, so she ran off or whatever. It was like like, damn, they're like black Amish for sure, for sure. So luckily this man got me a ticket to California. Okay, I get there. I never forget he had an apartment in the Avalon and

Willie Hills. I've never seen nothing like it. I was like, this crazy. That's the first place I went to when I got When I left l A X, I'm like, yo, this is crazy, you know what I mean? I was a target across the street, like I made it so now across the made And I got to back up a little bit though, because before I left and really I'm on a plane to go to um California. I went to visit Atlanta, and I did my noontime. I did my noontime time, okay. And I got the call

from Dessey's child when they broke up. I could have been fairer. I got the call, like, yo, it's auditioned right now. I could have been y'all know damn well, y'all know me. I got the call. I got the call when Desse's child broke up. I got the call when Day was trying to replace Mila in seven oh two, and I would be the girl that everybody would call to like and I'm like, you know what, I love seven oh two, Like I can't do that, you know,

even though I didn't even know that. Yeah right, remember you know actually some meetings you know you're too smart, you don't imagine, and they're like, we don't want you. I'm so do I have to pay back the budget that they've already right, I'm not like my solo rights? Are you talking to? You? Got too much that that? Yeah? No, So I did my noontime time. I was I went through the you know, skipped over the Destiny Child thing and all the other stuff. Another group, y'all a tr

Terry Ross, Terry Ross hit up London. Was like, y'all, I got the girl group just lost my least singer. I heard you got a girl Now I'm in that group. I think they called it Sir Jane, a girl named Dina, and Shira and Tunisha. So we was in noontime working. That's when I met j Q. Okay, j Q, I don't da. I don't know Jake. We want to get Jake you on the phone. I don't know. I was just living. I was in a whirlwind, you know what

I mean. I was like I made it l like, oh yeah, this is this is my journey to l a kind of you know what I mean. It's like at this point I'm gone. I'm out of Houston. Ain't going back, Okay, No, mhmm. I'm like nobody's checking on you. No. No, I didn't speak to anybody in my family for like three years straight. I'm gonna tell Win, oh yeah, sixteen out get out of here with the dog and the snake. It's like, anybody want to buy child and a Cobra because I don't have anywhere to live. So yeah, I'm in.

I'm in a t l with with me working with Jazz Faye and um Um tr Teddy Bishop, working with Teddy Jay Austin. Yeah, everybody like they was. You know, that's the first time I was told. You know, I remember um Teddy was like, yo, you and Aliyah sounds so much alike in the booth is crazy to me. And I was like sad you were there. You were there because they wrote all of our songs, all of our son j Q. Too Hot to Go Home. I'll never forget that song. That song got me in trouble,

too gotten, too hot to just go home. Donnie is the first person that made me hate the studio. Donnie will make you record a verse a hundred times in a row. He'm gonna keep them all and I will do what I do when y'all go home. An hour later after singing that same verse, I hated that song. But any comp comp comping um Jazz Faye, I did my first like crazy little distract record. You know, I was feeling myself. Anyway, long story short, we did a

bunch of meetings with the group. Didn't the meetings. Nobody was trying to sign us. So that's when it's like, it's not like that. You woke up. Keep it funky as you look back now, right, Jesus, just keep on. Yeah, it was something missing. It was something missing because y'all know we had the records. That's very play the records and took the records. That's very political in my mind. That just said. I remember sitting in a meeting like

everybody looked good. Yeah, it was everybody get down. Everybody group was getting knocked down. Everybody was getting by the same guy except me. I came in like, oh, y'all, it's something going on. What y'all doing? Okay, but I love y'all. Uh, So we went to it was it was it was a listen week, ladies. If y'all listening to this. We can talk about this, call me, d n me. We can set we can come right back here. That's a whole lot of seats and we can figure

out the entanglements that that broke up the group. Okay, But I remember sitting in the meeting like, come on, y'all, like, y'all, we gotta remember knowing you need to walk into the room and captivate you know what I mean, walk to the room. And but that was me being a Southern bill like, how y'all doing? Yeah, I sing and you know, and they would kind of be like m hmm. You know, I don't know if it was the l A on them,

you know, it was the l A girls. They had the fresh press and I was in there with the country girls. You know, I don't know. But I went through a situation in that group where they kind of said they wanted to sign me after the meeting, and I was like, oh, that was my first encounter with that. That was E and I at the time. Oh no, it was just straight capital at the time. That freaked me out. I didn't take the deal. I was like, no, that's not wrong, that's not loyalty. You know, I think,

you know, I come from Houston. I'm like, no, you don't do that. You stick with your gang. They came in there with them. I'm not turn the deal down. So group just dissolved. I don't even I want to ask Terry what happened? Why? Why we keep going? You know, I don't know. So it was right. I ended up in another group with Mila j In, Miyoko, Um Jane. You know y'all, y'all know what everybody don't know. So it's jen A, Miyoko, and Jamila. That's the three sisters. Um.

This is as soon as I um arrived. When I arrived in l A for the first time, Like what, I so not mind you? When he got me a ticket to l A. I thought I was coming to visit, you know. I'm like, it's no way I'm gonna stay like I think I'm coming to visit. I'm gonna try it out now in my mind, I'm gonna do everything I can to stay here, you know what I mean. But it's like, okay, come see what it's like. I met Mila j and um Miyoko and Mama Tina at Friday's my first soon as I got off the plane. Um,

that was exciting. They just took me in like mom. Matina was really a mother to me. That was the first time in a long time that I was like, oh my god, Like she get me hughed, like baby, you need to try this condition on your hair, you're looking a little dry, and I was like, okay. We end up getting swept back to a t L we I think they called us remix to do some meetings um we and back to a t l as a group, the three of us UM. I remember us staying in

hotels with the boys, um immature. Janet was there were just like you know, a little a little unit. We would all be just we would all have one floor at the hotel or the motel or whatever. Were said, let me not talk too big. You know, we had the money yet, and we were just thugging it out recording songs. I thought the songs was great, some of them are on YouTube somewhere. And we did a couple of meetings and it just just really really didn't go. Remix, Yeah,

really didn't go. Those are my hearts though, like from that group, I really have relationships still to this day. We still see each other, you know what I mean, And it's Oh my god, Mama, te me look like them, my girls. I love them like what they were for me when I first came to l A. Nobody you know can replace that. They really took me in as I was their sister. Period. Um they're brothers, brothers too. Um, so I didn't really go anywhere. We did do a meeting.

Um I did hear something about them need to sign me. I can't do that again, this is not this is not it. We did. I think we did a we did a showcase. We performed. Um. I wasn't much of a dancer at the time, and they was going crazy and I was like, what are these counsel? I think we opened right because they were going in you like, we gotta compete with Sierra. Let's go you know what I mean, the precess That's what she wasn't see everything. It was just precess then. And I remember we opened

for Jagged Edge and uh it was Max Goose. Max Goose was standing on the side of the station. I'm telling on you. Max. Remember he was like, you the next Sadena. You're the next Sadena. And I was like really, and I'm dancing. Yeah, he told me that. Max told me I was the Nex Sadena and we're performing on what you're doing what I'm saying. I was just dancing,

you know. I was like, listen, when you lose the counter eight, get your friends just going to back that contest immediately, and everybody forgot that I wasn't doing what everybody else is doing. Okay, see the work. What was you doing some background? Okay, because I've been on shows with what her with genuine guine introduced me. Okay, oh my god. So yes, Max Goose is like, you you, I'm gonna give you a record that I'm gonna sign you or whatever. And I'm like, oh my god, just

happing at a kid, you know. So I'm like it kind of discouraged me from the industry because I'm I, you know, people just trying to split you up. I just felt like it was gonna make me look crazy that here I am coming into these mind you, the groups are already a group, lost the lead singer. I'm coming in as the lead singer, and now, you know, and I never wanted to get a deal based off of I went to a meeting with somebody else and stole their deal or whatever. So that discouraged me when

I'm now. I'm I'm still in California, just chilling. Um. I heard about a showcase. Shout out to the days of the showcases, you know what I mean, showcase. I heard about a showcase, um London, and I ran across these kids on the street. I was a kid too at the time, but ran across these kids on the street just playing with buckets. They was just play was a band. It was like, we're a band, we do our thing. And they were sold up to me and I was like, yo, it's a showcase coming up. Y'all

want to perform together? And they was like, alright, cool, So we did that perform. It was this little hole in the wall spot No a C. I went in there. I had on some I still I think I still got some pictures to this day. I had on some mess that I found various places, hair colorful. Um had my own band win in there, went crazy the band on the street. Okay, I had my own. I had my own. I went in thereat Huh, they had just

they had whatever. You know what if I walked in there and I saw some young kids performing and the kid with the bucket and it was a spoon and a fork and it was whatever. They had all kinds of stuff. They was making noise within and I said, Janet, Jason said give me a beat, and I was like, it worked for Janet, so I'm gonna say it. I said that I sung like three songs. I mind you, I'm in California. I'm from Houston. Where they danced and they clapped and they participate. I was done with my

last song. I was like, and they was looking at you like we're looking at you silent. I was like, my god, me looking at them, that's what it was to back in the day, and nobody showed no emotion. I was like, what yo. So I got off. I got off the stage and I think Pete Farmer was there, Pete Farmer, Pete Farmer, and I forgot the other guy that was there, and I walked out into the hall and I remember Pete just kind of looking like, oh, I think it went well. I'm not sure, you know.

And I had met Pete before, but it was just I didn't know what he do. I didn't understand the music industry in these positions. I didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, or what if you were lying to me, I don't know. So I walked out in the hall and sure enough I turned around. I'm like in tears, and these two guys walked up and it was Master Letic and Josh Josh Deutsch, and he said, we're gonna sign you. You're gonna make

you a big You're gonna be a big star. And I was like what it was like, you gonna take the card, the card, come to this address, we're gonna meet with you. Went to the address. There was Capital, the big building. I was like, oh my god, this is real. This is a real thing. That's a real thing. I am. Let's see a team. So now I'm just yep, a team because yeah, when uh, when girl Fight finally hit, I was actually no, no, no, let me think I had to be nineteen when I actually went there and everything.

So but then I might be off on it might like people don't understand by that time, you have been in multiple groups. Three kicked out your house saying hooks for a hunted, Yeah, that's the new ship. Took hooks for a hunted. Um, I'm sure you don't have a dog in the stare dog in the snake? No more dog in the stay gone, big boy, I loved you. Sorry whoever took care of my dog? Right? Like people really think that they just one day you decided to sing, the next day you got a record, or the next

day you got a song on the radio. And fighting, fighting, fighting, little light skin and this is this is not what I call myself, light skinned girl with good hair, fighting all the fighting somebody every day I felt like, why do you want to what was wrong with y'all? Jeez? Everywhere I go, some girl want to fight me. I'm like, all right, I gotta And then that that started to fight. Things started back home because I was the oldest cousin,

the oldest sister. So anytime somebody to pick on my little sister brother pushed them over, I gotta go out there and represent for the entire family that you can't continue to do this. So I'm out there like, oh she did, I gotta kill her because I don't. She's gonna push over everybody else in the fish. She beat me up, then I'm about to get laughed at, you know what I mean. I'm the oldest, so it's just

a fight. I'm just fighting for my life. I'm fighting London's girlfriends because he still got he didn't came to l A and he got set. So mind you, he's he's getting he's getting ready to send me back to Houston because in his mind he's like, no, he had a one bedroom at the Avalon. He like, I remember sitting in the living room like, well, by, okay, how you doing, girl, I've heard so much about you. Yes, girl, alright,

let me turn the TV up. Just I'll remember, you know, I remember, so, you know, and that's that's coming from home to you know, to watching him do his thing. So they right there, they did it right there, demodeal right there, demo deal with Virgin Records, Master Aletic and Josh Dewey. Two later, um started Downtown Records. I was we are at the same time when the when the

girl fight come up? I think so all two thousand five, No, it was later earlier, okay and one okay, all right, interesting because I feel like that's my noon time days. I remember when you came to the Bay and he was like, yeah, it's this new girl. She kidding to you. Oh god, I don't know. I was a couple of times and I was like, is that you man? I was like, well, I mean I mean easy. It seems easy to me, you know. But I got my deal, um demo deal. They sent me to Sweden to work

with Bloodshine in a bunt. Immediately I'm freaked out. I gotta get a passport of They put some money in. I had seventy six dollars when I sawed my deal, seventy two dollars and something said because I pawned a ring that I had, that's how I had. Oh my god, bro Broke had nothing like I pawned the ring had seventy two dollars. I remember sitting there with the seventy two dollars and my cell phone. It was forty two dollars, and I'm like, I gotta I gotta eat and I

gotta pay the cell phone bill. So I paid the cell phone bill. I went to the grocery store and I got to celest pizzas y'all know what I'm saying. Little dollar and some noodles, and I was like, oh my god, I don't know, like how does music stuff work? And I don't know what I'm gonna do. And I went to I guess I overdraft or whatever. So I went to the A T M. Like, let me see

how bad the damage is. I don't know what happened between me walking from that grocery store and every anybody that knows that part of Wooding Hills with a grocery store to the bank is literally right there. I walked from the grocery store to humh to the A T M hum about a coffee bean and all of that, and booms in my account. I was Mama, uncle, let me tell you what you do. You slept on me. I got oh and didn't get hit by nobody, still got my dignity and pray hello, so money, I was like, oh,

put the celest pizzas back right. I was tripping so oh, oh my god, that would be right there. So go to go to Sweden. I guess I did a good job with my demo deal. Came back with great songs. They liked them. They were all rock and roll, though I have to say that it was rock and roll songs. It was pop rock. I did pop rock music at my showcase. It was all pop rock music that I was doing. That's what I was into. When you not

signed to a production company. I was signed to Subliminal, but that was literally me in London, so we just was that. So he wasn't doing the record, he was doing the records. And I did have R and B records, but my showcase with the band that I pulled off the street, all they knew were pop rock records. So I would just sing over what they knew. So I got my deal the moment they saw me. That's what I was doing. I wasn't doing my R and B stuff. I wasn't doing anything from remix or surgeon, you know

what I mean. It was that's what they saw. So for a lot of people that don't know the story that explains how my first album, Chain Letter, went the way it went. It was so like what is this? You know what I mean? You had a girl fight, and then you had a rock record, and then you had a pop record. It was like what But they didn't know, Like I kind of not on purpose because I didn't know any better, set myself up for that. Immediately. They sent me to Sweden to work with blushin a bunt,

you know what I mean. So when I came back and I had meetings with them, they was like this little ghett old girl. It was like when I did the big round table meeting, they were like I remember them like whispering to each other and talking about my hair.

And at the time, yeah, they hired Chocca. They hired Chocca, who was you know with J and B. Now Chocca and she came on and she was like, yeah, they hired me to get you together and figure you out, like because they we don't know what to do with you, you know. And a lot came with that. You know. I was told I was too light skinned to do get told music, and you know, I needed to tan. So I started tanning every day. I was burning myself up. So now people think that I bleached and I'm like, no,

now I'm just regular. I was in the tan beid probably three times a week, trying to be brown enough to be as ghetto as I was telling you that. Yeah, it was like yeah, right away they told me I was I needed to tan. They was like, tanning is the new thing. You see a shanty like she's you know, toasted, And I'm like, okay, well she is. You know what I mean, I guess you know. And um, they told me a couple of things and they needed to drop like twenty seven pounds. I'll never forget the twenty seven.

I was like, okay, because I liked my you know in Houston. In Houston, you know, you had a little It was okay, they have a little chunk I did that, dropped the weight or whatever. And then um, I came back and I don't know who had the meeting about me going to Atlanta to work with Little John, but it was like, we let's see what she does over there, you know, after Sweden. Yeah, after I did those records. So actually, hold on stop, I just skipped apart, you

gotta it's been a while. I'm old. I went to Atlanta first, and I work with Tricky. I work with Tricky first. I work with Tricky and dream Um first, and um, we did a couple of records and I think that was like maybe we don't know this girl, you know, because we were in there talking crazy, you know, with those records, and um, it was just just really ghetto, okay, really nice, really colorful and ghetto. And then it was like maybe we should put her. We're hearing about this

new guy named little call itself Little John. Let's let's see what she does. And I was supposed to go to Atlanta to work for him, got to ad and he wasn't there, so I don't know nothing about that. I'm like, what you mean he's not here because I'm here because y'all see me here. He's like, now I'm in Florida. I'm in Miami. Ain't I waited on templing for five days? So you feel me, you feel me. That's how it goes. That's just how it goes. He said, I understand that you in a t L. But I'm

in Miami. I'm on the boat. What I do? I get it. I got on the plane and I went to Miami, like where are you at? You know? And I got called the company like, hey, I don't know what y'all talking about, but I'm just in a hotel in a t L. And he said he's in Miami. So they said, all right, let's get her to Miami. I get there. He's on the boat. He's on the boat. I'm on the boat in London. I don't care. Me like at this point, people like me and London have

a son together. So that's that that. You don't ladies, just handle your busy, mixed the business with the pleasure. Okay, now drink to that. You just don't do it I thank God for my son, but jeez, did I complicate my life? That was way later. So at this point, you know, it's like, what can I do to control this girl? Because you know, I'm out here and you know, I'm um something to talk about this new little you know, a little new little chick you know that's doing her things.

So a couple of looks, you know, rappers are asking about me and you know, stuff like that. This is before Instagram too. Oh yeah, just when you got a real phone called inquiry. Oh yeah, you got you got the girl, the little girl that works at the desk at the company, like someone you know, someone sos in another room and he wanted to know. You know, I'm like, oh he did, Okay, all right, you know, it's all of that. It's like, oh, Bobby Valentino is another room

he wants to know. I'm like, okay, I guess you know, it's just like whatever. So it's all of that. So we we're on the boat and little John is giving me a hard time. He is just like, what's gonna make me want to work with you? Why? I'm like, wow, like I need some audition. I didn't know. I thought it was just gonna work together. I didn't know. I had to come out there and prove to him that I was good enough to work with him. So first of all, he was not trying to get in the

studio with me. He's like, we're gonna be on this boat until you show me something. Come on a little. So I'm on the boat. Um, I'm just walking around, just taking into sights. Uh, I'm walking trying to find a bathroom. It's a big boat. The door flies open, pit and they're doing his thing. I was like, this is my first time really seeing porno in real life. So this is what the three looks like. This is why I didn't. I didn't know that I was gonna

find this out today, you know what I mean. The girl come out, she's like, you cut it in my hair, and I'm like, this is I didn't and I'm a fan of your work. I didn't mean to meet you. And then hey, guys, carry on all right, you know, like y'all know, I'm fresh out. I'm the country bumping like, oh yeah, crime mobs on the boat. Um, Scrappy's on the boat. You know, It's just it's it's a good time. So and they all looking at me, like why should we let you in? You know what I mean? So

I go upstairs. I'm now I'm looking for my person, like he really leave me? Like my security not here like you had. You had a label. Not on the boat though, just u We had security because London was crazy. And that's that's that's his that's his interview. That's his interview. We had security everywhere we win. You security, He had security, but I was with him, so you know, yeah, yeah, we had security everywhere we win, you know what I mean? Yeah?

It was it was Your life was gab, you know, all the girlfriends, all the girlfriend you know what I mean. So I'm upstairs, I'm like, yo, anybody like what's up? So I get up there. I'm looking a little John who was like your boy in the bathroom and I'm like okay, I'm like, which way is the bathroom? He's like right there, open the door. They're busting down. Little John's assisted in him going crazy in the bathroom. I'm like,

this canvy life. So I just she had her hair, she had like want of a little sharp buzz cuts. I'm like, dam I can't pull her hair. I just aren't choking her out. Like, let's just go because I don't want to. Like at this point, I'm up against the wall. I want a record. I want a record. Tomin and Prince says, eyeballed me, like they want to fight. Scrappy, don't like me. I saw people's peters. I don't know what's going like when I don't just I had enough,

Like I don't. I don't know what's going on. I'm out of my element, you know what I mean. I just just started, you know, so everybody clapping. I get my record, I get my Who would have thought that all I had to He turned that boat around and we went straight to the studio. Straight to the studio. He started making the beat and it was like, come on, do something, go start writing girl fight whatever I was and that was the vibe, that was the energy, you know what I mean. So we did the record and

he was he gave me such a hard time. He was like, um, and I'm like, you should you know, you know, little Southern girls, we got all the confidence in the world, Like, all right, so you're gonna jump on it. He's like, that's a whole another check, you know what I mean. He was like, nah. So I'm like dang, that's crazy, son, And I know everything right. Everybody know how he used to work, so this is not you know, you're doing interviews like it's certain things

you say and certain things you don't say. Everybody knew that there was porn on like six different flash screens in a mattress for you to go sing behind. That's how he worked period. Everybody knew. I know everybody was. It wasn't a secret. It wasn't a secret location. Everybody was walking in and out. I'm just in there, like, yo, this is this is crazy. I would have definitely got kicked out from my mom. And if they knew this part of it, it's like, what's wrong with Get behind

the mattress and do the rough. I'm like, all right, okay, I look at it. So I go do the rough. He's like, something ain't right about the sound. I don't know if it's the A C or whatever. We gotta go to a real Stowe studio and do it. So we book another studio. I go in there, I do the vocals, you know, clean or whatever, and I leave and we go eat and I come back and I have been blessed. He heard the record. He loved it. He jumped on it. He jumped on the record. He

went in there. He what you know what I'm saying? That happened, go back to California, played the record for the company. They're all excited. I can feel the energy of my life about to change. Like y'all really like this record because a lot more where they came from. I'm like, can I beat myself? You know what I mean? Because I can do this? So time pass. I don't hear anything. I don't hear anything. I remember signing papers giving away all my publishing. I remember sitting in the

clk M saying, signing some long paper. That's it. So many other people was in the studio that wasn't there when I wrote the song. But okay, I didn't understand it, you know what I mean. And I signed the paper because I'm like, I was told, if you want to be a big star, you need to start the paper. I was like, really, it's like, how much do I get? You know? I say, I see fifty, and I'll see you a six, and you know, I see all these

big numbers and I got five some five. I don't know what this means, but don't see not the entire record London role with me, and we did take like a B section from a song that we did when we worked with Tricky and a T. And I think that's when it got tricky because now you got, oh that was inspired by a beat I made. And then and they started fighting, and I'll tell you girl, fight went into the black list because of this. It's I don't I ain't seen the dime I've gotten paid from

other things, but that publishing that was a joke. It was so many people fighting over the guitar player. It was just so much stuff. I just remember hearing all these and I don't know what's true, but I remember hearing a lot of story. You ain't seeing no money because so and so, um, you know. I didn't like. Yeah, it was all of that, and I signed for my father. I said, what's the problem, guys, I should be the

one fighting. So I remember that day. I remember sitting in the Mercedes a little bit little Mercedes signing over and I remember feeling like, dang, this this kind of this don't feel good, you know what, I mean to like work that hard? And then five just didn't seem good. Just it seemed like a good number. When you saw other you know, big numbers up there. So did that. I was kind of down, kind of forgot about it.

It was quiet calling a record company, couldn't get them on the phone, like hey guys, you know, hey, you know, am I still gonna be a big star. So I was like, let me just let me take a take a back seat. So I was gonna go to Houston, and I heard I needed to rub elbows with the the DJs in Houston. It was like, you need to go home to where you came from, and you know what I mean, make sure it's yeah, make sure it's cool out there. So we land. We're in a car.

I'm riding a car. My song come on, and I'm like, I'm irritated with Londons. I'm like, you keep playing the song over and over again, like we heard now. I'm irritated, Like it just needs to be on the radio. He was like, it's on the radio. It's on the radio. And I hear it right and I big boy comes in. I'm like hold on, Like my cheeks are like wait, wait, wait, wait wait, is that big Boy from Outcasts on my song? Like is this really happened? I'm screaming about to lose

my mind, lost my voice. No, I did not know Big Boy was gonna be on the record until I heard it on the radio. Like I was worrying getting shopped down, this whole thing. Big Boy and Little John is on my first single, and I'm back home in Houston, really nice and it's on the radio. I go to the radio station. They loved me. They're like, yeah, we remember, you know, you was at rap a lot and blah blah blah, and we didn't know who you were. And man, I heard you on this song and all of that stuff.

And then it's just like it just you know, it just goes from there. But I mean, it just out of nowhere. And they said, they said the record league, they wasn't prepared. We didn't have art for it. I had to go. They rushed me to work with Jonathan to get pictures. Yeah, Jonathan, Man, it was putting you with all everybody. Yeah, that's the one thing of this story. Oh yeah, I was. I was to work with the real people. Like they put you in a spot. Oh yeah,

I can only imagine what your budget was. Um, you definitely didn't recoup. Let me get him this publish immediately put me with Chris Robinson to shoot the video good Boy at L Down, got all the permans to shut it down a freeway. Everything just went crazy. I know, we spent a million dollars on the video, and back then I was like, are you really had to give it to him myself? I'm on there, I'm like, y'all, good point. I wanted to know how much money was

being spent. Right, you know we have of our show. I don't know if you're ready for it. Oh gosh, you know, I think I got my take a deep breath for real quick. Yeah you listen, you just said that terrible but with some names attached. So yes, but this story has to okay. So the segment is called I ain't saying on that right, and it's something about you y'all loving hip hops. Man, you'll like the same names man shout out to hit maker. Young birds just

could not tell a story. No, he couldn't pull it off. He had to, he said, I got to it. So it's not okay. So those are the rules of the game, mhmm of the segment to not say any names and tell us a funny are funked up story? Industry related industry people, and you could say enough for people made. You know, they can try to figure some out. But it's card I ain't saying on that. Oh my lord is terrible. Okay, give us Oh Lord, I got so many Can I tell a two part story real fast?

I know women could be long. I ain't saying no names, but it's a certain female. She really tall, she got real short hair. She looked banging for her age. I walked into the I would say the apartment that I was sharing with my baby daddy at the time when she was in a bid. But Nikki, that's the one part. I ain't saying no names. But there's another female. She was in a movie that we all love. This movie has a lot of sequels to it. It's a one to three folk Okay, she real cute. She got a

bootook cuty with a booty. Um she was I was saying, I don't want to say she was dating the guy that I was with at the time. She was blowing him off because I heard she was good at that. Um. I don't even think they got to the point of actual you know. The meeting in the green was just kind of like when you get down there and do what I heard you was good for. But that's just my side of the story. Girl. You can come to the couch and tell it because you know who you are.

You know who you are, sis, because you still be telling your jacked up side of the story you're talking about I'll be trying to jump you, and you know I don't be trying to jump you when I see you. How am I trying to jump you? When I see you? When it's just me by myself. When you're trying to jump somebody, that means it's several people. It just beat me running up on you, girl. Okay, So anyway, so just not a run up. I walked swiftly, Hey girl, Hey girl, And she's like, brook, I always trying to

jump me? Would she see me? I'm not trying to jump it's just me, and I make sure I'll tell my girl stand back right there. But anyway, this young lady was at a beauty shop getting her hair done by celebrity hairstylis. I ain't gonna say no names because she do all of our hair, and she was talking mad noise. She was like, I don't know who she thinks she is. She'd just be coming up in the studio because the dude I was talking to it was both talking to. He had a studio at the time.

She's like, she's just be coming up in a studio like she owned it. She's gonna have to run meet and keys. She gonna have to run meet and keys. So I'm like, So they called me and they tell me I'm riding in the car. I got my son in the bag. I'm like, good, baby boy, all right, call my mama, My mama, Mama, you you're good, You're done at the nail shop. She's like, yeah, I'm gonna drop the kid off to you. I need to handle something right, gree Mama. She said, okay, I'll take drop

my son off. This one, I knew I was certified crazy and had to get out the relationship. I found out where she was. She was in the studio at the time. I say, this the door. This is the this is the keys to the door that you speak of that I had to run. I just drove my car into the studio because now I don't nobody need no keys, and I gave it. Here's the key to the door, just the doors under the car. And they're sitting there. They're sitting there looking at me crazy like

I'm crazy. You know what. I ain't gonna call you that because I don't know no more. Now we don't have to talk about this door no more. We're gonna worry about this door and who's got the kid who walking through this door? Like they own no more the doors. We will try to know Ho ho by that bus stop. Just you know, y'all know range rovers they really built

for it. Took they built for it because what I drove outing with vehicles, drove outing with home and got the baby milk and everything, Like, what kind of tore that door? I think that's a great way to Yeah, um, they are old. If you want to talk, she's steal shouts out. That's don't down, it's that's I'm gonna get out of here. Um okay, I'm just out of This is Bruce Beutam and this is been R. B. Money