Muni Long

But it's thing was, we're trying to teach you artists to be able to do it all so that your creativity is in the palm of your hands. You control your own destiny. She's gonna be around for a long time. It's a great use of words. She's making a lot of money. Yeah, bring it on, Bring it Citi. That was amazing introduction. You're doing it. He's really good at that.

You're doing it. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for being good at your craft, taking your craft seriously, perfecting it and and and taking whatever time you've needed in whatever space you've been in to do it the right way. Successfully. Success speaks to it. But as people who actually do it, we hear the difference outside of it being amazingly successful, it is is it is rich in the hours that you've put in. I see what you did working yea't be money. So thank you, um, thank you. Well. First,

I have to tell this story before. I know you didn't ask for it, but uh, this is a full circle moment for me, because I don't know if you remember this. There was a friends and family Grammy party years ago when I first first came to l A before I knew about stylists and makeup and looked very country, right. Um. I come in and I'm overwhelmed. Immediately, it's all these lights.

I'm seeing, you know, people I recognize. I'm like, you know, And I walked to the back and you and you are standing there, and I just remember saying out loud, I don't feel like I'm supposed to be here, and you turned around immediately was like no, you put your hands on my shoulders like you're supposed to be everywhere you are, And I just remember that. That stuck with me forever. That's crazy. And then I spent the rest of the night like joking and laughing, dancing with you guys.

That was my first Hollywood party. Two eight, a long time ago. I remember what I had on. I hadn't like this purple play was very ugly outfit. I was like, nineteen or twenty is very you know, green to know anything, and that was my first experience in Hollywood. Good thing. You're not an asshole, but you know what it is though, it's like, why be that? There's no reason to be.

And You've always been the same every time I see you, even if I'm just like in the corner, you know, being quiet in the room, because I know how to do that. A lot of people don't know how to just Lady Bart, I've been in many rooms. You've always been the same. I just like I enjoy what I do and I want the people around me, whether I know them or not, to have a good time at least in that moment, because all of this can get as you're in this room, can get overwhelming, you know

what I mean. And I learned that from Jamie Fox of always making sure people feel important involved, you know what I mean. And so you know that that's that's something I had to learn, you know what I mean. And that is crazy. Isn't that a trick? That's a trick to stay in around for a long time. Is is that you are kind and you make people feel

warm and they always remember. I mean, I remember that people have to change you sometimes in spite of you know, your gift right, and in spite of the record selling and the records playing and all these people showing. Sometimes it's like, you know what, I actually I like them. Let's get it. A long way goes a long long. I have not always had the best record, chart topping record, the million records sale first we got man, none of that. But I love people. And so if it's if it's

your it's your daughter's birthday, call on FaceTime. I'm sinking happy birthday. You know what I'm saying. If it's if it's your grandma's birthday, I'm gonna give her a lap dance. Like it's all. I mean, listen, I do different things to make sure that this money keeps coming in. Understand saying booked me at okay, I'm just playing anyway. Um. First of all, shout out to you, Thank you for coming through, Thank you for rolling through. I know you are busy. I know this because I know the people

you know and I know your business. I could not miss being a part of this. You know, it's important culturally and that's being part of the girl. Yeah, you're creating a space for R and B to like flourish, and we're gonna keep growing it with your health and so you know what we love to do here is we're about the origin. We're about the beginning. We're about the moment where someone said to you, baby, you got something, or you realize yourself in awakening at a moment like

this could be something. Take us back to Florida. Let's go back to Florida. That's going on back. I don't know. I think I had like a moment. Everybody in my family, my mom is saying, you know, it's very musical household. So I didn't realize that it wasn't normal, you know. Um I think I still have challenges with that sometimes just being like nothing, you know. Uh. But it was always singing. It was like we used to have singing competitions.

I didn't have a choice. I had to sing at the funerals, the weddings, to you know, anthem, at the basketball games, at the whatever. Um My mom used to always volunteer me. You were being prepared for your moment. That's a nice wave. That's a very nice way of looking at it. I used to hate it, Just being honest, I didn't like it. Um. You know, if you're from the South, you know as you come to church on Sunday, you're gonna get that look. As you know what I'm saying,

come on up here. Um. I was very sheltered, so I didn't get to do nothing. I couldn't go like pass the mailbox. It was like you you have the alarm. It's like you do when you open the door. Who is that? Yes? I could not go out the yard, so I didn't go anywhere. I couldn't do nothing. So I was reading. I was in my room with my little Cassio. I was composition note book, writing the songs um. And that's what I did as a kid. And so when I finally did leave or no, what happened was

the internet. The Internet happened and I started uploading videos of myself singing on YouTube. Um, two thou four, what's the first one? And I developed a following from two thousand four to two thousand and six and blew up on the internet before it was a thing. So did you were you doing it from? Did you understand you start to find an algorithm in a sense. Or did were you just like, uh, I'm just gonna post right now, or did you start having like this is okay, I'm

gona post at two o'clock. You know you could, you could, You could make literally, I like sent an email to YouTube and made my video go viral like it didn't exist. What are you saying? Yes, I sang the dictionary. I sang the first five pages like ard Vark, error A B A b ebba, like literally, and I started getting some traction, a couple hundred thousand views. So I sent an email, went to the bottom where it says like contact of course that you have to dig to find

that now today probably doesn't even exist anymore. But I went found an email and pretended to be my assistant and was like, there's this girl. You know, she's saying the dictionary. You should put it on the front page. And this is back when YouTube used to have ten videos. That was the front page of you, right, I know exactly what you're talking about. And then I woke up the next day it was on there, off that email.

It was that easy back then. Oh yeah, so I didn't you know it wasn't a thing like influencer, viral. That was not a thing. It was just you know, word of mouth, just like we in this room right now, Oh have you seen that video? And then the next room you go and you show that room. You know, That's how things got spread back then. So I started uploading videos and me singing, and people started talking to it. Was it a thing where that response said to you that, you know, well I could be a I could be

RB superstar. I mean, remember I couldn't go outside. You still could. I moved out my parents house and I was nineteen. I graduated high school at seventeen, moved out when I was nineteen. So for those two years two thousand and six, two thousand and four, two thousand and six to two thousand and eight, when I first came out here, for four years, um, the Internet was my friends like I was. I would upload videos and I would literally make friends with the people who would leave comments.

I still talk to some of them today. You really couldn't go outside. So was there a reason for that church? No? I think my mama knew what she was doing when she was younger. I don't know my mom just saying what were they having in the church. No, no, my mama was just very strict, like she was like, you're not about to go outside and bring home no babies and you have her family trick. I've heard this song. I've heard the song. I've heard the song. I heard I heard it. We gotta get into it, but I

heard it. She just was very prospective. And then also my stepdad is a police officer, so it's like you come from the police too. Oh yeah, you're not on that door. You're not knocking on that door. Yeah. I couldn't do it. I couldn't do nothing. They they literally when I went to prom my mom was in the passenger,

my dad was in drivers. They drove me to the door, opened the door, my dad got out, opened the door when they came and picked me up, took me to I Hop, came got me from IHOP, took me in my day home, my day tried to been down to give me a kids. My dad was like, like it was that, I couldn't do nothing, Like I'm with all that very sheltered, so no idea, You're you're just looking for an outlet and some type of connection to the outside world. That was exactly what it was. It was

my little secret thing. I mean, my best friend at the time, he's a he's a twin and so and his brother is a pastor. So it's like he used to come to me be like Priscilla. It's really embarrassing. You know, you're online singing and people would come up to me and be like your friend post videos, you know. It was it was a thing like my own little secret identity, I guess, and my friends didn't like it. This is your friends didn't like it because I was

popular on the internet. Were you making money because YouTube wasn't. No, I had about fifteen million streams. This is just for pure for the love at this point. I mean, nobody knew in two thousand six that the internet so much, so I didn't know what was going to happen to where when I got a deal. I got signed to Capitol Records in two thousand and eight, which is what the internet here. Off the internet, they used to delete

my videos. So I would post something and they would delete it because they couldn't monetize who would deleted YouTube? The label would delete it. Yeah, because they didn't understand it either. Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about because at that time, I had done a new deal right around that same time and the same thing because I got it started off of a street record, and they were like, now we gotta pull this because we can't make money off of you know, they didn't look

at it as a promotional tool. They didn't look at as a promotional tool. It was a season because everything because everything was one on one track minded back then in order for it's no well, I mean now it's like everything contributes to the pop right once they once they started, you know, once they got into the three sixty space, then it became like, okay, all things can

kind of pour into this. But even like when I had the shot to Fire record and we're going into T G T, yeah, we gotta shut that down because the focus has to be not thinking that all of that can add to. But yeah, I'm just saying to understand the time, he just wanted to turn out. Nigga wanted to be in the club. First of all, shout out of christ Brown. We were turning up. Okay, Okay, I was in the clubs. I was trap, trap trapping, right,

I was respected in the trap. You didn't stand what I'm saying I was the older, the older, oldest person in the trap, but I was having a good time. Yeah. Still, I've never had that experience. Still at the club, I could go outside. I don't even know what I'm listen. My friends right now are like, girl, you need to go outside. I'm okay with being at home. So I'm listening. You already know we ship. I went on breakfast club talking about how I had never been an even on vacation.

So I'm all with that. Inside. Just come to my turn the house up there and it's like too much to try to get inside. I was like, it's fine. I was a kid of that. When I can't get that, you know what you want? No parking? Where's that? I see you all later. I don't get it. I'm chasing cracking. If it's a line outside called me, called me, I'm gonna being a line. But I can't wait till we

get in here. Oh yeah, I just the thought of people and sweat and it just doesn't So when you got when you you know what, you have to throw sweat in there because it beat you know, it's it's a liquid excitement. Uh So you so you you kind

of get out of the house. I guess in a sense, at this point you get signed the capitol and now you're in l A L A. First two years I went crazy because you know what happens like you know, you don't get nothing, and then now all of a sudden, it's like, so I had that did you buy Rams? Because he bought Rams. I bought a lot of stuff in it that I don't have nothing to show for. How about rims? And and I tipped well at the strip club? I did really well. They knew my name.

I would walk into the strip club and Michelle triple X in the building, Michelle triple X and Trish will say that boy is in here, that man is in here, and they carve out a space for me at the front and we lift this offering he had. He had no idea he was being scammed. Yeah. I don't know about strip club culture. I don't know anything. I could no, no, no, no, she got enough money. She's a little offering. Dances and

it's just your times in office. The dances and would make this world go around, whether they be professional or whether they be underground. This is we talk we're talking about, and it is listen. I wrote my first probably honey songs. When I came in l A. What's that one strip club? It's called food. Okay, Now see this is what I do know. L A strip club is not the same as they were. They were different. They had a different vibe. They had LA had a time when there was peanuts

and legs there. These are names of These are names of strips. Peanuts was the strip club that you couldn't get it. You couldn't get into. Men couldn't women. You had to be literally someone to get into. If you're a man, nuts, if you're a man, women, all women. It was a blessed It was a blessed thing only God himself could have curated. All good and perfect things come from the Lord made these women, and he said, what do you say on the seventh day? It is good?

He did, Thank you, Thank you. Somebody to hit it, working, somebody get the organ For two years while in UM, working though and writing well, because so what happened? Um? I got signed to Capitol and I'm just like, you know, doing whatever and assigned to this management company. Long story short, I end up doing this very very pop Katie Perry two point oh song and it went top forty and I went on this whole crazy radio tour UM, and

I'm just happy to be here. Like I had no idea that I had a voice as an artist that I could say no, I wrote the record, you know, so I'm just like, well, of course it's me because I wrote it. UM horrible. The backlash was that when it didn't do what everybody thought it was gonna do, immediately it was like, you know, throw her in the trash, she's no good. One song. So I never got a second single. UM. The album came out, which please don't go look it up. You know they are what it

was my freaking video all the time. I just tried to give him not to the it's just so cringe. It's curringe. It's like, UM, but we'll just you know, fast forward past this part. And so the record didn't do what they thought I was gonna do, and I was faced with having to possibly go back to Florida

and I really didn't want to do that. So UM randomly ended up on tour on the MG tour with a con and I was supposed to be writing in the Akin had like a UM like a attachment to his tour bus that was a studio and so I was supposed to be in there writing but it only worked for like a week and then it was broken. It was supposed to be getting fixed and studios don't be worked. Yeah, I just ended up being his second assistant.

So it's like me and his sister Haadi uh and we were just on tour all summer, and so that summer I decided, yeah, I don't want to go home after this. I want to keep doing this. And um, this is back when p rros were given out advances. So I got an advance from my p r oh, which is like as cat being mine, and I started writing songs and sorry, sorry, you know they're getting left out. They're getting left out to do more of it. People, you know, listen to Brian Michael Cox Evince. He stands

in front of me, shout him up, sitting me personally. Listen. Yeah, I'm not gonna say who I am because you know, highest bidder, go ahead, go ahead. So I get, I get a check, I come out here and I started writing, so immediately I get like, who says Selena Gomez? Um California King be Rihanna, don't wake me up? Chris Brown like my dad yeah, I'm telling the story talk your ship, keep going, keep going, so basically as you do or something, keep going, come on, keep going. So I wrote more

than that. I did, Yeah, I have, you know, but it's because my ratio was so crazy. I will go to the studio. Uh. I was going doing five sessions today, writing at least two songs in every session every day. I was doing it for how long? For about two

years straighten every day every single day. From y'all say, y'all really want this ship, y'all say you're working home, M do the math two souls in five sessions a day, every single tree sixty working times too a working every day every day not working, and then I wanna come home. I was so broke that I would put the tissue in like the fruit from the fruit bow in my backpack and come home at the studio. Yeah, but I

know what I'm saying. That's how I was grocery shopping at the studio, at the studio, and I did that for two years, living at the oak Woods over So you hadn't done a publishing deal at all, Yes, I had. So you had a publishing deal, and you had done a deal with the p r O two. I had a publishing deal and a record deal that we're together. Never do that. Come on, come on, give me the the information,

Give the information fast. First of all, I've been doing this in two thousand and eight, so that just lets you know. I've been doing this for long enough to have like renegotiated my deals several times. But my first deal was horrible, and I had a production company and my my production company's lawyer made more money than me on my first deal. Most people do, Yeah, most people do. I mean you know, you don't know any better. Um,

so yeah, that was I have. I've been renting out of money, like renting out of money in the first six months. So tell me this in all transparency. Did you read the contract? Yeah, but I don't know lawyers are giving because some people don't. Some people you read it to understand it. I read it, yeah, but also I read it at two am and the Kinks. You show me where the money part? That just just highlight the money part. The production company dud sitting there, like,

let me know. If you want me to explain something, you know what I'm saying. It's like, clearly you know that I can't understand this and I don't know that you know that. I'm just excited. Um, so you know, hey, it was nineteen. But we like we like to we like to paint that full picture. We like people to

have an understanding of how these things work. And hopefully the Priscilla that's coming, the money that's coming, sees this and says, you know what, I'm not gonna sign it at two am, wake up tomorrow because in hindsight, right to me today now understands that I would not be here if it wasn't out those moments. And I think, honestly, to be real, there's unknown, unknown things that you have

no clue that you don't know. There's things that you know you don't know, and there's things you know you know most times when you're nineteen, like I'm still learning every day how the music business works and how and the if when you know like which is basically like until a situation happens, you don't understand how it can apply to you. So there's just certain things that time and experience cannot You can't cheat it, you know. And also I'm not condoning it. It's wrong to take advantage

of people. But you have to look at it like now on the other side of it, doing what we did independently and being owning the label and paying for everything and hiring people. I understand the business side when I pay for something you did, I'm right out on it. Yes, I do. Yeah, And you want to know what the r I is. You want to know what your return of investment is, and you want to put yourself in a more advantageous spot when you're willing to put up

your money. And then you understand where the labels are coming from. But the thing that is lost is the human factor, and people start looking at you as product and not living, breathing, you know, essence, And that's the problem. It's like we never want to make people feel like you know, a common struggle that as black people, we understand you want what I can offer you, but you don't want me m so we don't want to keep doing that. That's the pattern that I would like I

would like to break. I refused to sign people if I can't really take care of them, you can't really

invest in them heartedly. I think that, you know, I think that the sensitivity part in that aspect kind of went out the window when there were no longer creatives in charge, because creatives have a certain sensitivity two two artists, two producers, as two writers, as the human beings that they are, and how personal this is to them, because this is I mean, we operated from a business standpoint, because we know the business now, but in in in reality, this is personal. This is what I have to do.

I was born designed to do this, and anybody trying to take this away from me in any way shap performed. We have a problem. It does begin to feel a little invasive, like you know, you're trying to get in between me and source. Like you know, I was reading this book I believe it's called It's either it's called The Secretive Secrets or The Magic in Your Mind, but it's the same author you l s Anderson and uh. It talks about your talent in a way that really

resonated with me. It says that the talent is God and his opportunity. You using your talent is God's opportunity to shine through you. So it's like when other people try to manage that, you're trying to control God, you know, and you can't do that. That's why it feels so wrong. It's like I'm channeling I'm just freeing, you know, free flowing whatever you know. Sometimes don't even make it to my brain. It just comes out of my mouth. Um, and you come in trying to tell me what to

do with it. I don't even know what's about to happen. How can you tell me what to do with this that I'm just the vessel for you know, it's weird. Um. And I don't think people really respect what we do, like the gift because it is a gift. It's like they don't respe acted another. There's not enough reverence for it, because if there were, you wouldn't judge, Like I don't judge people's expression. I might not like it, but you know,

who am I to say that it's whack? Right? But I think that it goes into the position that you play in it because we all understand as creatives that we can't do the business of it by ourselves. We can create, we can make the song, we can sing the song, we can produce whatever, all of those parts, but to actually do the business side of it and help it become I and I use the word help very very strongly because that that is what we do need in our business. We do need people's help. We

do need business minds. We need their help. We don't always need their opinions and all the other things that go into that, but we need their help to get it to where we we ultimately wanted to be. And I think what happens is what comes along with that help is if I can give my opinion, they feel more, they feel more vested, they feel more like they were a part of it. Then just I just grabbed it with something you already had and I did a little bit.

And people like to be able to say no, no, no, no, no, you know what I told him to turn this word and that word or you know what I mean, I helped them create this. Father's failure is an orphan. If I could make a list of all the people who made hours an hour successful, I'm finding out new names. I'm like, that's so crazy. But then you know my verg on mine and I'm like, well, maybe you did do something, and thank you, but I know what I did, and I know, like you know, I mean another I

have a knowledge of all the time. It's like, okay, if I plant the seed, I harvested the fruit that the seed came from my planet, the seed I till the soil, I watered it, I fertilized it. I went out there intended to feel. I can't take get away from the sun that the sun shined on it, like helped it grow. And I can't take away from the rain and the clouds that they rained. You know, I'm not gonna take that from you. But if I didn't put it down there, you know what I mean. So

it's kind of like that. It's like it all works together, it's all symbiosis. I'm not mad, but it do be kind of be corny sometimes, like you didn't help me, didn't help It's a form of currency for them. Yeah, yeah, it's a form of currency to be able to you know, when you are the conversation, to be able to be

a part of that conversation. It's so frustrating, though, man, because it's like, like you said, I've been doing this since two thousand, begging literally begging people like please, like I'm telling you, just let me just give me a shot. You know, I got these songs, and I wasn't ready. I didn't have the vision that I have now. Um, but I've seen people help people with less of cour

so I just didn't understand why why not me? Like, you know, it took for me to step outside, go find people who weren't even working in the business anymore. And she's like, hey, would you come back and like help me out, Like let's start, let's do this thing together. January started the label my husband, two old friends of mine. We're shot. He knows, like I mean, I know him

since I was seventeen. I had to go outside the business to find help because for ten years, every time I would get the balls to try to make a pro jack, I write these songs and I get a phone called, oh blank, artists wants the song? Why are you blaming my records? So you didn't they weren't You weren't even sending them out for people to get them that work on your stuff on you don't have to gas.

But also there's the part that people really don't know is that the producer, for some reason, has the right to move your records without the writer's Well, I'll say this, they don't really have the right. What they have is the piece the master. There's a copyright. There's a copyright which is the top line, and the writer is not a part of the master. The artist is, so the masters was being sold. So that's where the powalyzed. That's what the producer has. But they don't have permission to

take my song. You don't they technically do well if you have some I'll say this as as a songwriter, you don't have the nuts to go and tell a list artist, yeah, you pay for that beat, I'm taking my song and I'm something else with it. You don't have the nuts to do that because if you do that, you will never get called again. And the peanut is some so scraps what you're making that you just be

happy to get a chicken wing, you know. But technically, no, no, no, no no. If he gets full technically you're absolutely right. You don't have technical you didn't have. Everybody has to be in line because think about it. I think about it though, if I, if I, if you say, if you say, like he what does he owe? He owes you? Your he owes you? You're publishing right, okay? If he to take away payment, you gotta pay me nothing. If you get a sync license, don't you gotta get it cleared,

don't you? What's the split? Who's gonna prove the split? You approve of my split. You don't have a mution to do that. It gets tricky, it does, but in more time and more times more more times than not, a producer has moved the song without a writer even knowing it, way more so than a writer moving a song, I think, without a producer. And this is also you know, psychology comes into play here because most of the time, I'll say it this way, there aren't a lot of

female producers. It's a lot of female songwriters. There's male songwriters too, but there's a lot of female songwriters that dynamic plays apart. And I think it's also how you identify it because you take somebody like Ms Elliott, she's but she ain't recording on your ste but when Elliott steps in the room, she's automatically a producer. But she also had the protection of her co writers to make sure that she could be established like that. It's it's

a partnership. Well it was her. It was also her success and her under understanding the power imbalance or balance and creating. Like think about this, like we always talk about how do you make a record? Who's singing the record from top to bottom and making it what it is? Right? And so some producers. Some beat makers aren't producers most beat makers, right, and then someone like money Along comes in and takes that beat and turns it into an entire song from top to bottom where you line for

line with the artists and this. Don't do it that way, make it like this. Can you drop the beat out and put that here? Okay? Yeah? If you could just make the base do something really crazy right here when we get to the bridges, and now you've pre produced the song, which I think more songwriters as they start coming to the table and sitting down at that front desk need to be mindful of well, I'm just going

to speak from my seat. Is that doing all of that and doing all the backgrounds and arranging and vocal producing, and the artist leaves all my vocals on and I'm not getting a sound exchange all these things right? The issue, my issue is that I did not have the support of my co writers to make sure that when the business goes down, because they're not calling me, they're calling you producer. When the business goes down, you make sure I'm straight business affairs telling me I'm not a producer

even though I produced. That was my struggle, like that It happened to me so many times where I would wake up and I'm gonna have a top ten song on iTunes and didn't even know it just happened. It just happened. We're not gonna talk about it. Literally woke up. My name is in the credits. So in that, like you said, because at the at the space you at, now, how for you personally? How do you get in front

of it? I just stop. I'm not going to allow myself to be taking advantage of that way anymore, meaning you won't do any writing friends, now, I'm not because if this is my superpower, why am I sharing my superpower with people who don't respect me, who don't care about me, who um are essentially you know, the villains in my story? Why am I going to keep complaining about it? Just stop showing up. Just use the superpower for people who are willing to bar in to me.

And I've all I've ever wanted was to be respected and to like enjoy my gift. So I would say, why not create you're super team with your superpower? Yeah, that's in the process, that's you know what I mean, instead of you know, because I would personally because I'm yes, you're my friend. I've known you for years. But I'm also a fan of what you do as an artist

but also as a songwriter. So to hear you say I'm just gonna stop, that's disheartening to me to you mean, you know what I mean, because I'm a songwriter too. We're all songwriters when we stop doing those things. Like I've had people tell me this when it comes to me and being an artist, they're like, well, nigga, you don't want to sing. I feel that way about songwriters too. Well, just it's just raw, you know, from my heart. There are a lot of people who have been in my

story over the years. Not one person has made sure that I was protected. But now you're the protector. Yes, so if it continues, it's my fault. I'm not blaming anybody. I'm not mad at anybody, but there are people who are in position. You don't have a publishing deal. I had lawyers, I had managers. Yeah, you know, it can't be mad at that's a business. But I'm a human. Absolutely. First, I have PTSD. I'm not gonna lie you have. You definitely have it. But I think you know people who

are are damaged in such a way. Only really have two options. They can either either repeat the cycle and find a better way to do things because you've earned we've earned your spot. Now you've earned your spot, like we've we can we can go down the list of our own experiences or other people's experiences of that first bad contract, that first whatever, these these situations, somebody saying they wrote a song, you don't even remember them being in the room with you. You know what, It's just,

it gets tricky. We've we've seen it all. And what we understand is that our talent kept us here, our gift kept us here. Are you know, um our personalities and just like you said, you've been you starting off this episode the way you did. I would have never expected you to say that. I never expect you to say that, and it just it already. It was just a good feeling for us even to be that person or to be one of the people there that made

you feel welcome. So we look at it like, Okay, when we get our shot, mm hmm, we will do it differently. And I feel like you're at the space now for sure, Well you can do it differently. There's a responsibility that comes along with that and it's gonna be and I'm gonna tell you because we deal with it some headaches that come along with trying to do right and help people out and because some people they don't get it. Not even if they don't get it,

some people like getting beat on. Yeah, unfortunately, just I just had this conversation last night. I had I had a moment yesterday morning where I was like, am I really ready to accept that I don't have to have drama? Am I ready to accept that I could live a soft life and have like luxury and like have success. And I'll be like I just am I? Am I really okay? With're not feeling guilty that I bust my

ass and did it? And like because I had some people literally quit like two months before my song gole up quit? Am I okay with that? Like you know what I'm saying, Like I really am okay, Like I'm fine. You know, I don't have any grudges um, And it's like I'm breaking this cycle of you hurt me, you did me wrong because I did tell those stories like wanting somebody to just be like dang, you know, pat me on the back. But now it's like, well, what

is the next ten years look like for me. And it started with me just deciding to invest in myself. And then you know, I'm still before we started filming, I said, I'm recal I'm still recalibrating to what life means now after you know, the song blew up in six days. It only took six days. It took me about ten seconds of listening to Mike J sing it because I was completely and listen, we'll tell the story, but I was completely in the dark. I'm it goes from me going on Mike J's page and him singing,

and I'm like, what the fuck is that? Maybe ten second? I mean what I called him, I'm like, hey, nigga, what the fund is this? Like? Heard this record? This is money? Long? Wait wait what sore? Like yes, thinking like no, fucking that's a reaction that because everyone knew you are, I mean from from our within our industry,

you are you. You had already established yourself as such a force and had so many great records that it was already like oh yeah, but no, I hadn't heard it, you know what I mean it and me calling you and being like, listen, you got something. This this is whatever you do with it. You got it. It's special in ten seconds. It's crazy too, because at that particular moment,

we were fatigued. I'm so fatigued. We have been doing it for two years, and we were just like, you need another deposit how much I was trying to decide if we were going to go to radio, and it was just like, so, you were funding all of this through your songwriting? Yes, did the money you've made song right for? He said for? You said so a decade? A decade though, for like ten straight years though, because you're putting out you were putting out projects. In those times.

There was only one year that I didn't have any placements, but I had a hit song every year for like nine years. God was making sure you was all right, yeah, it's it's definitely more champagne. I'm sure they got some more. Tank keeps some champagne she keeping in the row. Record. People understand that that's not normal. That is not normal. That is not normal, that's not normal drinking. And I definitely feel less to be able to say that because,

like you know, even I still haven't celebrating ceting. I know, you know, how about R and B. So I I want to what you really do, see what you really are. In this new segment called Top five, we're gonna have theme music soon. I can't afford it right now, we're still getting that your top five R and B artists male or female from any time. Oh it's my guy. I love about man. I'm gonna say Faith, Yeah, I had that cassette. I had to cassette my X to

talk about. Other people bought me the cassette. It's a gift to keep going Heliah m M. I don't even do that to me. M. And this might cause some up for because a lot of people and not consider it R and B. But Destiny's Child. Why wouldn't they because they're I mean selling girls group of all times? Right I am I saying this correctly. My favorite from my Novelce the R and B album is destiny Fulfilled. Look over there so proud. Like listen, one of my

friends that thinks he is beyont loves um. Yeah so that so I said what I say, uh Faith, Aliyah, Destiny's Child. I'm gonna say Whitney. Great way to round it out. YEA love Whitney, okid me. I love that you said of someone writing is crazy I love that you play list full of vibe just mastered. He mastered his vibe early mocked in. He's really like an incredible song right now. I didn't get it for a long time because we were you know, we're rivals, were all

on the same shows together. You know what I'm saying. And I'm taking my shirt off and doing the most and he's not. You know what I'm saying, But his song is still getting great reactionally, What is going on? What is he doing? Why is it working? And I just had to stop and really listen to what he was doing, and I was like, uh, you nice, da nice? He nice. He just got the captions before it was a thing. Yet you know stupid and yes he's nice. Shout out to my brother. Um, okay, here we're coming

to five? Is still here? Top five R and B songs at your best? The version contagious, Me and my sister sing that everything everything what I've seen a multiple parts. Have you seen have you seen that? The little white man and the black ladies singing it at like a gas stations, acting it out and everything. I'm not gonna say what they own, they own something. It's definitely been to okay, okay, so it's contagious. Um and I didn't know that was heard that shut? Yes shut. Don't you

see too, man, it's talking m contagious. Yes, okay, at your best contagious. I'm gonna say butterflies, m amazing record. Michael shout out to Marsha Masha. I'm gonna say officially missing you, m M Yeah. And one last one. You don't have to call wow. I don't know what it is about that song, but every time that song comes can say that I have to be in the car. I was I gonna say superstar, but I just you know I'm into jams right now? Have you been? Have you been to the show? Yeah? You gotta go up.

He's turning up. This is this is this is homework team. Take her to the show. Isn't it about to be over? No? You are going to the Usher show. Sit on the couches in the middle or the section right above the couches. Sound guy, he's mixing right there above you. That's what it sound is. Well, we are going to Vegas next week. I think this week. I don't think they're I don't

think they're there right now, are they not? I don't think they're but you got alright you yeah, we got get up on you now, Okay, we're the phone police. We're gonna okay, so that's that's okay. And to build R and B voltron Okay, we're gonna build your the best R and B singer you can build from the vocals, from the performance style, to the styling to the passion of the artists. Who are you getting the vocals from to build your R and B artist? Who am I

going to take? Who the least singer? Who is the least Kelly Price? Yeah? Yeah, you're trying to whoop a nigga taking Kelly's vocals for sure, because you knows how to stack. She knows how to stack. If you even just talked to Kelly Price. Um No, I did work with her though before. She's so smart. She's very, very tuned into her gift. Like I've watched her lead background singers into a special place that they weren't at until she started talking and leading them, and it just got

special real fast. I don't know why. I just want to scream out, Kelly take this home. But okay, keep going. Okay, we got the vocal from Kelly Price, good Lord Almney Okay. Performance style on stage vocals is Kelly Price, the performances Janet mm hmm. Nobody, she's talk about talking about it, she's it. They're gonna stab you in the car. Fiance came from somewhere. Yeah, so Jeri Prize with Janet okay um styling. What you want the artist to look like?

Mm hmm. Sierra but Cierra Wilson mm hmm. Okay, I see what you see what you did there? Yeah? I see what you like? What you did there? Very fly, very fly, very very refined. Okay, he still do a leg if let's still do a little leg if you need to see it because it's in shape lay exclusive pieces. Well that is good. The money is long, money is long. Yeah, I see what you did see? I see who are you getting the passion from the heart of the arts? Did he yeah? Yeah, not wrong you talking about don't

get to get to it? He got different type passion Kelly Voice, Janet performing Stage Presents, Cierra Wilson styling. Did he's passion? Listen, I'm gonna tell you something he wants something, can't get it going after get it period and everybody ryand you might as well, get on board. I like what you did. Then that's a function. I like what you did that, ain't it though? You got through that, You got through that, but you know we hit it up. Yeah.

This segments are saying the names very important. The story can either be funny, are fucked up. Are funny and fucked up. The only rule is you can't say no names. Get your ship off. Okay, get your off, um, introduce it. This is money loans. I ain't saying the names. Okay. Well, this particular person uh grew up Levin superhero to me, and so when I met them, uh, highly disappointed, highly disappointed.

This person really just wanted me for my songs. I wanted to, you know, get the mentor like you know, I'm like, yeah, several runnings where we just did not jail. At one point, you know, I walk into this room and they started screaming, you're a fake bit like Wiling, and I'm just like, everybody knows who this person is. So it's very embarrassing. So I just tend to stay away every time I see this person outside. Stay away.

So fast forward to this Grammy party, we have similar team. Um. Without saying too much because it will give it away, but we have a similar team. We're at this place and I feel these eyes. I feel like I'm being stared at. I'm standing in my circle, I'm talking and I look sure enough grilling me, Ice grilling me just so are kind of like how you know, behind the person that I was talking to, And I'm like, is this really happening? You know what? So I'll do it again,

look sang thing, Ice grilling me. And that's how the night went, you know. You score from here to here. Literally, I'm moving around the room and I keep feeling the eyes until it got to a place where you know, there's some people in this business or in the world really who just cannot stand not being recognized like that. Don't you know who I am? Energy, It's very much that it was like, Okay, well, I followed you around this whole party. You're not going to acknowledge me, even

though I'm looking at you dead in your eyes. Now I'm going to stand right in front of you, you know, and I'm not going to speak to you. I'm gonna say nothing to you. I'm just gonna look at you. And yeah, it was very, very very awkward. I didn't say nothing either. I was just like, this cannot be real. All night stare off. The entire party literally followed me around the first floor. I go upstairs, follow up me chair like yeah, and this is one of my heroes.

This business will do that to you sometimes. Very disappointing. So now I just don't even want to meet nobody. No, I just I don't go to meet Remember how nice that guy was when you met him? There a people like yeah, but I mean I feel like you met me, like you know what I'm saying. You you offered your energy first. People like you know what I mean a lot of people like us. Like imagine if I would have went up to you and like and you was like not right now, then I would have had off

totally different story would have been the same energy. Okay, but you're you're you. You know what I'm saying. Everybody's not like that. Be open to people being like us Na Champ, I'm good. We're gonna make sure we outside when you are outside, we help. We're gonna start making sure we outside of you outside are outside. And they started staring with yeah, very awkward. Well, listen, you are

doing a thing. You are you are living out a real dream and and not just yours, all the people UM that are connected to that are cheering for you, that are being inspired by you, by you, UM that will eventually want to not even just buy a ticket, but want to beat you at some point. You are You are living a dream. You are a living dream. And we salute you. We give you flowers, we give you ammunition, we give you encouragement, we give your brotherhood

anything you need. We we we got you. We got you. Thank you for having me on. Now, Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Tanker, I'm Jay Valentine, and this has been the arm by Money podcast, the authority on all things R. We're gonna have some fun, Ladies and gentlemen, Money, Long and Money, R and B Money is a production

of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio VI is it the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows, don't forget to subscribe to and rate our show and you can connect with us on social media at Jay Valentine and at the Real tank For the extended episode, subscribe to YouTube dot com, forward Slash, R and B Money