Rico Love

lights on. They're okay, okay, because when when you talk, when you talk this talk, the lights gotta be all you know there there there are some individuals, right, and when you are working with these individuals, when you are in the presence of these individuals, you just shut the funk up and do what they tell you to do. Because it's rare. But there are those people, and one of them is here today, our brother Mr Rico Love

What out? What up? Listen? It's it's it's very I can count on one hand the people who have vocal produced me, and I can count on an alien hand. What are the three fingers? And then they got four because they counted force the count of threes. The threes, well, I know another alienation. That's why I'm going four by

eight bytes. Yes, alien talk, three binary code micro chips talk. Um, it's it's rare, and and not even just from a vocal production standpoint, but um just an overall understanding and idea of where a song should go, and to be able to sit up under you, pause and and take those notes and instructions word for word, line for line, like I felt great in that space, man, you know what I'm saying. I felt I felt like I felt like I was in school and I was learning something.

And at the end of this, at the end of this semester, I was going to graduate. You know. It's crazy was when I when I started the session with you, after I wrote the song, I was about to step out you and but he said are you going? You said where you going? You're like, nah, no, and then you just let me leave. That was amazing. That was a great, great moment for me. Just so you know,

I mean, it's it's Harvey Mason JR. Oh yeah, you coop When Jay is not poll j Jye Vocal produced me, run the proteols, be watching NBA and on social media all the same. I don't know how he does just the time to say that ain't the chief JQ. Jake, Jake was really dope, and you've done a lot of work together. But in terms of me just getting to where I know I need to go, I know how to get there. But there are just some guys who

just hear things away. I want to hear them and and make things away that I want to make them. And I'm like, whatever you're doing, you want the record to feel like that demo you heard, and then give me that. Give me the suit that you're wearing, give it to me. Just cut a little bit offsides and you know what I'm saying, the tail of the arms, maybe cut the sleeves off. I'd like to show my ship.

But that's like, that's an amazing gift that you have, you know what I'm saying, And so I just wanted to start there and say thank you, um, and give you all the respect and love, you know what I mean. They call it flowers or whatever else they want to call it, but you know that's a respect thing. And you're from the house, yeah, man, from the mill. You know what I'm saying. And I know what kind of guy you are. You don't know, it's in your blood, um. But we always like to go to the beginning, you

know what I'm saying. We like to start at the very beginning of of of where it happened for you, where you felt like or somebody felt like you had something different and something special to off crazy because I started off as a rap artist and a lot of people may have Yeah, yeah, so I started off as a rap artist and I was signed as a rap artist. I should just label us records and you slash slap record.

I remember all part of that. Remember performing for Clive, because that's when you you couldn't just get up straight. I want to you want to see him, and I remember Clive standing up and clapping at a rap performance of mine. So, but yeah, I signed to us you as a rap artist. But I always thought, you know, you have to understand, well, I sure put you on TV with him as a gift in the curse, So I thought I signed with him. He put me on How I'm Living, and he put me on Diary, MTV Diary,

and I was just in the house. He introduces me on Diary, introduces me on b TE How I'm Living. So what happens is your family thinks, oh, he's got a million dollars like he's This is before social media, and this is social media exposed too much, I think, maybe too much of what the business is to way it eliminated the mystique. But that's a whole other conversation. Hope believe we get it into that later. But the family,

my mom, I said, everybody thought is really up. So everybody's just calling we need this, you know, grandmom and everybody. So I remember thinking to myself, Yo, I'm entirely too broke to have a record, dude, this is crazy. Had to deal, Yeah, I had to deal. I hadn't did We had performed for Clive, but we hadn't did the actual deal with Jay Records. We had just did the deal with US Records. So I did that deal. I remember. So I remember going to Usher's office like every day,

just waiting, you know what I mean. I don't know bully Ship, just waiting like where is he? Oh, he's not here today. I'm like wait because I need some money. So these people on my back exactly exactly. So I showed up one day and he said us not here, and I was getting ready to leave and he pulled up. I never forget. He had a box to He had this box to Porsch and he had on a yellow vest. Remember the vest of people were and they were the

polo under it. He had the yellow vests. I never forget, like the cloth and I just remember thinking himself at that time, it just looks so rich, and I just got angry. I'm like, I need some money, man, what's going on? Because so I go there and my set bro, I need some money, like we signed, I I need some bread. He said, all right, listen, come here, come and come in his off and he made a blank CD. Made it, took a blank CD put in the record. He had Terrence Carter burn this CD and he said,

here's a beat. We've been trying to write to this beat for a very long time. We had everybody tried. Nobody can nail the song for this. So what I want you to do is I want you to write a song for me. And his exact words to me, the level of confidence was write a song for me. You'll be good. I'm a cell ten million. So I said, all right, I take the track and I got a tacke. You have a lot of diamonds on it. He said that to me. He said it with in those exact words,

I'm a Shelton million, you know what I mean. So I was like, okay, I took the track. Um sitting in a parking lot of red Zone studios, those don't know the Red Zone. So you understand. I came up in the community of writer's creators, rappers. It was myself in one room. Dream was in another room. Nobody knew him. Carry Holston would be in one of room. Sierra would come down and from high school, drive down and work in the studio. She was signed the Jazz Faye. It

was a whole community of us. I used to run into a little young jock and t like we were all trying to make it in the business. And I sat in Red Zone parking lot because all the studios were booked. Me and the corner boys had a room in the back right. Shout out to the corner boy, and I had a flip phone and I sang to the beat and the beat was, uh, just blaze, You're gonna want me back? And I sang throwback in the phone and saved it on the on the notes, and

I tried to get Pierre mcdual. My brothers shout, I gotta, I gotta give him shift for this. But I tried to get Pierre to do the demo for me. He didn't just didn't have time. So j Q was just walking through the halls and he said, you need, you need somebody to demo something, I'll demo it for you now. Now I'm gonna tell you the truth about everything. I don't like to leave things out. I don't want to

make sure everybody gets their credit. JQ demoed the song, and although he didn't write lyrics on the song, he did an ad lib on the song and said, I wish I could throw it back to the way it used to be. That was the ad lit that he added. And he said to me, I was thinking because he sent me he gave me the CD back after he cut it, and he said, I was thinking, by the way, we couldn't say we had to see me to give

me this. So he said, I was thinking that you should call a song throwback at that time, two thousand and three throwback jerseys, you know, And so I was like, why does genius? So we called a song throwback and heard that them when I played it for us, Terence called a loss is my mark, pits loss my Usher, loss is mine and the rest of just history. He cut that record and it changed my life. That's how

my career started as a songwriter. So even when Usher got rid of his label and moved on to other things. He blessed me with something that nobody could ever take away from me. He he unlocked something in me that I didn't know existed. So I just kept right enofter that. So that's why when people, you know, if you ever been around me here, somebody talk bad about us, it gets really bad for them. I just don't lie. I

just don't allow it. But that's how it should be, you know what I mean, When when somebody gives you those type of opportunities, you have to always stay loyal. You know what I'm saying that. Now you may have your own little personal things, yeah, we go, we go through, but when somebody gives you that type of opportunity to change your life, you gotta go with the And also out of Usher had an R and B group signed to him. One chance incredible, he had one chance on him.

But he would take me everywhere with him. It's the craziest thing in the world. Usher would call me and say, get on the plane. I'm gonna get a ticket for you. Just bring an empty bag and the will fly to l A. He was here for American Music Awards and he would just take me shopping while I was like there's like a real little brother. We just always connected. We always have great talks and and I would give

him advice. He would give me advice, you know. He always said, bro, you're so wise, like what you're thinking about this the high level ship and he would just put me on. So we would always hang out. When he did the press run, he did read Just and Kelly and did all those shows. I was with him when he was going to do BT Awards. He would just say, come with me and it would be myself, Keith Thomas, and Usher and we would just hang out

and I'd be like, obviously, I felt so blessed. And later on I realized that, you know, it's something special in in in certain people that stands out and others recognize that. So the gift of recogniz eysing something special and another individual is a gift that I don't think it's enough credit. Because he saw something incredible in me. He helped me learn a bit, and he took me

on tour with him. Mind you. I rapped on Throwback on the original version, but on the album version it didn't make the album, you know what I mean, And it was political. Jada Kiss was going to remix and repackage. But I went on a tour with him, and I would wrap my verse on tour in front of sixteen thousand people every night on tour for two and a

half months. So it was a life changing experience. It was like seeing the world from the lens of a number one superstar in the world, so that I can understand. I think God was just preparing me, like, Yo, we're gonna get you to this level in some capacity. I'm just gonna show you it from here. You know, So

is your is you coming up as a rapper? That's your first You know that that that's your main state, that's what you think you're getting ready, That's what I thought I was gonna you had you ever thought about writing R and never before that point, never to that day. So that day that I wrote that song, I would write hooks for myself. I write a song and write an R and B hook type thing. But I never ever had written a song. And my dad used to tell me all the time, you could sing, why don't

you sing? And I was like, WHOA, I'm not no singer, you know what I mean? Because it was a whole thing about R and B back in the day. It was like that false idea of what an R and B artist was, even though the details and so many R and B artists were contrary to that, you know what I mean. They were the toughest guys in the whole musical community. But I just was like nah. And then I remember, and to skip away ahead, I remember when Drake first came out and I had I had

been done being an artist at that point. I've already been a successful as a writer. And when Drake first came up, my dad called me and said, I told you because singing rapped, you know what I mean? So yeah, yeah, but I was originally a rapper. Wow, So because I'm we're not gonna We're gonna stay here for man, because there's a record that is my favorite song on that project that you wrote that's purely not like I could Okay, I could see a rapper coming in and writing to Throwback.

I can see that, right, great record, But I can see a rapper right now Seduction. Yeah, but that's that's myself and jam and Lewis and Usher of course, but that's still a rapper in the mix writing Sduction like right, like this is just my my opinion, Usher to me was never fully a sex symbol until he had seduction. You think, in my opinion, this is my opinion nicest slow, but Nice and Slow was young. Nice and Slow was young.

Was a nice record, was a nice record and an amazing record, but it was it about fucking no no no, Nice and Slow, about nice and Slow as a love song. Yeah, give me what you got whatever whatever you look at a woman and that. Yeah. I watched Terry Lewis produced that that vocal and he was feeding at lives like that record, bro throwing out your best, get you out of control, baby, And I was like, yeah, to beat, I'm gonna be honest. And I came to that session late.

They had already been deep into the record. They allowed me to add on to that record, you know what I mean to They allowed me in that room to add elements to it. And I think that it's a learning opportunity to be in the room with Terry Lewis producing the vocal and company vocal and you and you learn how to write a song and you almost have to keep up with his float. And if you don't keep up, you really got to get out that room. So I was able to kind of follow follow suit.

But honestly, like I said, when you have something in you, it was kind of like something that was naturally in me because I didn't realize was there. I was always a humongous fan of R and B. Like even as a rap artist, I always listened to mostly R and

B records. I was a student. I studied Luther, I studied, you know, but I even studied like um um James Taylor and just those soul full bluesy folk you know, Jim Crazy, you know, and studying Carol King, and you know, I just always loved great songwriting, the great singing, you know. And I didn't even realize it, didn't even realize it. And so then when it became my opportunity. But I have to take it back one second. I have to

take this all the way back. When I first came to Atlanta to try to make it in music, I was living in Jagged Edges House in Cayl Norman's house, and I remember the house was called the Corner. It was a memorial drive. They called the house to the Corner. That's where the Corner Boys were birth. They called the Corner because that was the house. It was called the corner. Everybody would pull up and it was like pulling up to the corner. The corner boys were birth from the

corner right. So I would sleep on the couch at the corner and Brandon and Brian would come to the studio and I'm not exaggerating at eight in the morning every day and they would write songs till six o'clock, get something to eat, smoke, go back down, write something. And if anybody knows what I mean by Brandon the Brian, that's Jacket as twins from jacketas the legendary. The work

ethic was insane. They never wrote anything down. They went in the booth and they would just right right all day, right all day, some great songs, some not, so it don't matter. Every day they were writing right and after they wrote they would get in the car go to Strokers in Atlanta. They would they would go to strokers, hang out all night, sleep for two or three hours, and go back to the studio. So the work ethic, and then what I was told was that was how

Jermaine worked. Every day, early in the morning, get to the studio, work all night through the week. I was sleep for a few hours and then go back to work. So that was a culture I was I was breeding into. So when I got with Usher the idea of understanding how to formulate a song, I had already been absorbed. There your knee, guys. So when I got my opportunity, it felt natural. It felt in. It felt like, you know, like an instinct in me that I didn't even realize

what was there until it happens. It's like if somebody swings at you and you just automatically, you just instinct, you just know it's there. So I think that that that school of you know, because you weren't signed to jack. I was not signing Jack. I was begging Jackets to sign me, and you were that was a rapper. I wanted them to sign me as a rapper and they always would say they would, but they just never got around to doing it. And then uh Me and Cayl

got into a situation we got we fell out. So then I stopped being able to come over to the corner for a while, but then the corner boys allowed me to come and I would sleep on their couch. You're just gonnach couch, the couch whore straight or so you fresh out of college. At this I was in Are you still in school? I'm still in school. Told catch the bus to Atlanta every weekend from Tallahassee from fam you, So I would catch the bus to Atlanta to every single weekend. So I would on Friday nights,

I didn't go to Cappa lou Al. I've never been to uh Gorilla Thriller And anybody from family knows what I'm talking about. I had never attended any of these events because on the weekends, I was like, I'm going to Atlanta because I gotta make it right. I would always tell everybody this, y'all, I'm not gonna graduate. I'm going to get a deal journalism. But I didn't even get into journalism. I gotta I was in general studies. I had never even made it to journalism yet, because honestly,

I was just like, I'm just here. Yeah, I'm just taking liberal arts math, and but I was taking a bus on Friday nights. I would take the bus to Atlanta. Actually a Friday nights, it would be a flight a bus that would take you five or five in the morning. So I say, Saturday morning, I would take a bus to Atlanta for seven hours. Because you had to stop in between all these cities Greyhound bus. I would get

there Saturday, I would work all day. Sunday. I would work all day Sunday night, I would get on the bus, go back to school. I had a three point eight g p A in college. Still I would go back to Atlanta and we go back to tallas See, do my school work, have good time, do the talent shows at Lee Hall, go to the snake pit with a little Steve and do all the little stuff. And then I would get back on the bus every Friday going to Atlanta to make it. People invite me to things,

don't come to this. I'm like, I'm going to Atlanta. Then I found friends who would drive me there. My man and Chad Roper would just drive me every weekend and I would be going to Atlanta to make it. That's all I wanted. So if I had gas money, they'd be like yo. So I got a credit card. They used to give out credit cards on campus too. As soon as you get eighteen. I got a credit card. I maxed out the credit card because I was like, that's my bus trips and money to you know, get

to Atlanta. It was a limit and I think that lasted me a few good good a good little while, and I would go. So let me tell you the crazy part about it. I get back to school one week and they tell me you're no longer registered here, your your financial aid is not was not accepted. And I was like, yes it is, you know, you know, And I called my mom and say, yoh, they're saying

I'm not in Roding school. My mother who I like, my mom is my best friend, but at this time it was a you know, she was a little angry. She said, you're you're playing games. You don't want to go to school, and you think you're you're playing because I am looking at the paper right here. How are you going to tell me? And I'm like Monty saying I'm not in Rolling school. So what I used to do each semester They would have my paperwork not ready, or my money wouldn't all the way be in yet,

but I would still go to class. And you still go to class, and by the time your paper is there, you still caught up. You catch back up. I was told that I could no longer attend classes because my name wasn't on the road. They would take a role if you're named in show up. You couldn't even come in for the class. So I told my mom over there tripping, I went down set in the financial aid office of in the line because he'll be a line for it's like six hours to get to the front

of the line is six hour line. The lines it looks like like players club when when uh when was in line? You know, I don't go to college, but I don't know. It's more like it's more like ebt vibes, like more like food food stamp line by. So I was sitting, I sat in there. I get there. The woman looks on the computer and she says, I'm looking into your name is not here. After six hours and six hours, your name is not here. You're not a student in school. So I go. I was upset, but

I go. I go to Atlanta on that Friday. I want to go to Atlanta. Friday. We get opportunity. The week before I had rapped on this remix that Usher had produced um us. She was doing a remix album. You don't know him then, though I don't know him, you know us. She was doing a remix album. He was looking for new producers to sign. He was not even trying to sign artists. By the way, the Corner Boys end up doing their deal with Red Zone because I told Redson red Zone was looking for a rappers.

Here I went back for Red Zone was looking for a rapper. Tell Us, tell us who who red Zone it? Red Zone, Tricky Stewart, Stewart Stewart brothers. Who did you discovered dreams? You don't did all that? Even by the way, Tricky still that we get still and it's just one of those incredible figures in my life and my career and myself in the Corner Boys. So Tricky and Laney want to sign me as a rap artist. I went down there and I said, I'm not signing to anybody

unless the Corner Boys do my album. They said, well, we're production team, so we only we want to sign you because we want to do y'all. I said, no, Corner Boys gotta do my mom or I'm not doing a deal. So they said, f you, We're gonna sign the Corner Boys. They signed the Corner Boys, you know, did a deal for Peer Music Group. Right, So long story short, that's all cool because it worked. That way's

supposed to work out. So I'm down there The Corner Boys had did a remix to if I Want to, If I want it, I could take you from your man. It was my way out. Corner Boys remix it and I wrapped on it. DJ Rogers Jr. I know. D J Rogers tells Ussher, you need to hear this nigga. You you and he said, he tells the story. He said, I was about to fight everything. Every time. He like, you know, I was about to fight. So he told us you you better sign this kid, so USh you

had a showcase. I had the opportunity to wrap on this song. That opportunity came on a Tuesday. I used to go to Atlanta on a Friday and catch the bus on what day on a Sunday. The opportunity came to rap on the song on a Tuesday in the middle of the week. I rapped on a song. A few weeks later, I get back. I'm out of school and I'm still there and I was able to be invited to a showcase to perform for US f artists he wanted to sign. I worked, I perform, I bust

my ass on the showcase. Then they had an MC battle at the end of it, and it was a kid named Nitty from Chicago, and he and I battled, and respectfully, he didn't win. It was it was, it was. It was a massacre. So plus, you gave me the opportunity. End up signing me. Now after I get signed, and this is gonna make all the Saints around the shout. In five seconds after I get signed, I'm doing my thing.

I'm working. I'm working. I get a call from financial aide department at Family and guess what they said, We are so sorry, Mr Butler. Your name was spelled wrong and a letter was missing and it didn't show up in the computer. I'm gonna tell y'all, sometimes God will just take a letter. Yeah, let me just move that. And that's how I got my whole start. I would have been in school and I would have missed that opportunity. My whole life is different. And I'm gonna tell you

something even further. Every time life gets tricky and weird for me or I went through some incredibly hard times in two thousand, sixteen and seventeen, like terrible times, right. I had to file for bankruptcy, lost my house, went through the most. Everybody turned the back on me. It was ugly for me. But I always think back to God moving a letter out of the way to make sure that I was there and the opportunity was made available. Do you think, um, I'm because as as fellow rap singers, Um,

fellow rap singers, we both rap? Did you rap on the T G T Trise? Did him he better rappers? No? Tresper? Remember what tyres made? The double CD? The R and

B side was fired black Tie? Support you? And um, do you feel like you as a rapper and just just understanding you know, word play and phrasing and all these things made you that much more ready for those moments and those opportunities to put those words together on R and B songs Because I find that I found that writing R and B music was so easy, and it was because to me, everybody laughing at me, but I do come from a rap background, but then coming

from a gospel background where all these things are so intricate and wordy, and then you get over to this space where, especially early in the R and B days, there was a real structure, you know what I mean, And if you knew how to dance within that structure, it was it was light like I was like it was like, Yeah, we're gonna write a song, and I was like, I'm gonna right, We're gonna like pencil it. I didn't do any of that. I was like, the words are coming so fast. I'm just telling the story

word for word. How it goes. Do you feel like your rep I will say that is a science to being melodically meticulous, understanding what a classic progression feels like, and understanding how to place an inspiring melody over a classic progression. Right, inspiring melody, you know when you think about and I miss you like the desert, miss the rain, when you think about I know you want to leave man,

But that's inspiring melody. When you think about Neo so sick, you think about melodically it inspires whatever the subject is and whatever the listeners, it inspires them to feel something. Right, That part of it is not easy. Now, the part that came natural for me was the melodic instinct. But the part that also came much more with much more practice, being as the rapper, was making sure that the lyric was just as captivating. Now, writing rn be melody. If

you have that ability, that's one step of it. But Elton John had an ability to write melodies. He didn't have a lyrical ability, so his partner would write the lyric and John would put the melody to T Bobs. When she wrote I'm Pretty, she wrote it as a poem. Somebody put a melody to it and made an incredible song. So I don't like to use the word easy when it comes to anything with R and B because we

don't get enough credit as it is right. But I will say it's an instinct in R and B writers to be melodic, but it's also an instinct in rappers to make sure that you're saying something. So marriaging marrying the two what I is, what I would believe was be my strong point. When I wrote Sweet Dreams for Beyonce. I remember her looking at me when I said, when it says you can be a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare, either way, I want to wake up from you.

And she was like, because if you know Beyonce, she's a lyric person. She's not gonna sing no fluff. And so when I think about songs i've written it, and I think about the time I take to make sure that the words line up. Even when I teach, I always tell people if you can't read it like a sentence and it makes sense trash. It gotta from start to finish you have You should be able to read it like a novel. It should be that well put together. It should be the detail, and you gotta inspire something

to people. You have to say the thing that's most commonly said. A hit record is saying the thing that's most commonly said in a way that's never been said before. Because I have to do the work for you. If you're if you're dating a girl and you really don't know what to say to her, I'm that's my job. All you does player the song. That's why we said mixtape and I was coming up and you're just sending a girl just dedicate. I want to dedicate this song to Blah blah blah, because I don't know how to

say this. He said it for me. So if your songs don't do that, don't speak to people, speak for people. It's really a cheat. So when I think about easier, I don't know if it's easier. I think that I definitely lyrically required myself to to be at a certain standard because I start off as a rapper. M hm, you should a whole bunch of bars. But that's that that is ultimately why you are who you are, right because you've you're also well studied, and there are a

lot of talented people. But we're not always well studied, you know, we're just talented. And a lot of those just talented people come and go, yeah, you know. It's it's it starts off with with with who with who you know? We know, that's how you you know, you name the people who got you to the places. But then it then it turns into what you know. What you know, and what you know determines who knows you because they used to think it was who you know.

Then I learned it was what you know. And then I realized that the gift of knowing much makes other people interested in knowing who you are and inquiring about you. So the thing that I like what you said was a lot of people don't stick around because they don't study and they're not well versed. But the greatest part about being well versed is they are values, and a person who understands and as a student can make it

through the valley. I watched for Rells work in the room across from me, and it was a drought for for Rell, and I was on fire five years in a row, nothing but hit six years, just nothing but hits NonStop. Farrell was working across the hall diligently and he came in there and he played me Happy and he played me the whole Despicable Me soundtrack and I said, you need some help, Nope, I just wanted to play it.

Want to show you, show you right, because we're always we being creatives right and being as competitive as we were or we are we were at one point. At one point it was NonStop turning lights on on the radio. That's all you heard. Times will always shift. You have to understand you're you're never gonna be that guy at all times. But and a lot of people they think that they can. You know you, you'll see people taunting you and saying things like get back and you ain't

did nothing, blah blah blah. And you even though you know, we're still working, we're still very active. But when you're not working at that valume, sometimes people can believe that you don't matter as much of the business. But I'm gonna tell you about being well versed. When you're a student, you can always figure out a pocket and when you get that pocket. He did happy, he did, lucky, he did, blurred lines, he did his album that came like he

was he got because he understands it. He's not a fluke. The type of records and the amount of records, a lot of people could not do a versus. They wouldn't have the ability to to be able to be blessed enough to say I could literally do a versus. That's tough. People think that that's a thing. I see them throwing around names like such and such and do it versus, and I'll be like, yeah, you don't right, you don't know, you don't have That's a real long time to go

back and forth. And it's not because you know. I'm just it's because I understand, and I'm musical enough to be a student and understand how to the ebbs and flow of the business and understand how to talk the language of the p when the culture, understanding how to listen and be quiet. And what I'm learning now is I've listened to so many I've listened to so many songs that I've written recently, and I'm thinking to myself,

versus versus. The melody is not young enough, and that's when you've got to be smart enough to know where collaboration comes into play. Because I looked at nothing sounds dated or cheesy, but I was thinking, like, this sounds really good, it sounds classic. But if I just young this thing up a little bit, if I get some little nineteen year old to come in here and this fun with this verse, that's the creative brilliance and understanding

the collaboration what it means. So I think that a lot of us stick around the way, but it still exists. I still do scores and movies. I just did pop Smoke, Enjoy Yourself at this City, girls work, just this Romeo Santos and justin timber Lake Sin Finn number one in every Spanish country in the world. Still we still active, we still making music. We're still relevant to the to the culture. But it's not because Nick. I'm just Kanye did not make all those great albums because he was

just the dopest. He was smiled all this great album because he consistently was able to collaborate. He was not afraid. Drake does not consistently do it because he's sitting in the room with just him and forty He's smart enough to say, you you, you just come in the room, was ill work? And and tell me where I'm wrong at, tell me what I'm missing, tell me when I sound like the old thing, and when I need to sound like the new thing. And people have lost sight of

what that collaboration looks like, what it means. Jay Z says, all right, I like young Chris, I like this whole Philly energy. I'm gonna go and I'm gonna borrow from that, but I'm gonna still be jay Z. And somebody would say, well he stoked, okay, if he stole it, then they would be able to do it. What he did was uh Pincy Jones said, the thief stills the genius balls Jenius is able to say a lot. A little bit of this resonates with me, a little bit, this resonation

with me, But this is me. I'm I'm gonna take a piece of that influence, this piece of that influence. How remember Jaden Smith did an interview and he said, if I have to live in the world where I can't borrow from anybody or poppy off anything, why the fund do I even want to hear it? It's like bringing me a plate of food and saying that's just smell it looking, take it away. It's here for us to borrow from sampling music, sampling track, It's here for

us to do that. If you're not prepared to understand how beautiful that feels, to be able to take something that was this, take something this is incomplete now when you take it away. If I just take a piece of a Tank song and a piece of JA Valentine song, each one of those things now because they're just pieces, are incomplete. But if I add who I am to that, then I just made a whole new, complete concept and the idea that's familiar to you because you're familiar with

these two people. It feels what do I know that? What does it feel? Why do I know this? Because they were able to borrow from incredible things and make something new, that's it. It's like taking a drum loop. The drum loop, You're just taking a drum loop, So what are you gonna add to it? A breakbeat? What am I going to add to it? Because if not, I'm just taking a breakbeat. But collaboration comes in my method of approaching what what what happens after that break?

Bet Sun I want to go back UM as a UM, as a member of the hive of the UM. I'm wear yellow UM yeah, yeah your custom. I want to represent the Yeah on the rack I wanted Yeah, not a These are special hangers, special hangers. These come on in a bag, zip up bag. Yeah. Man, you gotta walk out the store like that. Yeah, y'all too much.

UM the experience with Beyonce in in the studio because you know, as we get to hear, you know, the byproduct of of what we assume is just perfect from let me sun up to sundown, you know what I mean, and eventually it gets there. But what is that process like with her? I'm gonna say this, and I want to say this to every new artist, to say this to every up and coming act. You just got a record deal. He got a little buzz, you know, because now you can't get a deal without a buzz. So

you know, you just got a little buzz going. You getting a little attention. You show up two hours late to the studio. You high, you know what I mean? You got eight friends with you. You don't look make eye contact with the producer that you're coming to work, where you just kind of like what's up? You know, I want you to understand that. Beyonce walks in the studio and she greets everybody and she says, how are you?

And then she'll ask you a question about something and you'll say that and the next time you see her, I'm on later two months later and she'll say, how was that thing that you told me about? And you're like, you remember that, right? Beyonce walks the studio and she is professional, and she asked questions and she inquires and she It was the most professional experience that I've experienced with a superstar ever. And I also would like to say that she allowed me to produce her vocal, which

which surprised me, and she allowed and trusted me. When she realized that I knew what I was doing, she was like it was a certain level of comfort, like do your thing, like you know what I mean? And she let me rock. And the craziest story is the second day that we were supposed to work, we work. One day. I wrote a song called save the Hero, which is on the Sastra Fist album, and she got emotional when she heard it and she's sang it right, Who's there to save the Hero? Who's say, who's there

to save the girl after she saves the world? That's the lyric. So um, she came and the next day she had to shoot an American Express commercial with Ellen, so she had to leave it, go to l A and then come back to Miami and circle around. By the way, she came to Miami to work with me, she understood that that's where I was comfortable. So she came to me and a lot of people are stuck

in their ways and say, you gotta doing this. She understood even though on Beyonce he's comfortable to get Yeah, I'm gonna get the best out of him where he's comfortable. And then so she left. It just so happened that Jay was coming on tour with Mary J. Blige. So she came in and her plane had to circle around for like two and a half hours or some some craziness. Her flight was delayed for a long time because it

was a bad storm in Miami. Uh. While I was waiting, I wrote a song about the house, like some song that I thought was just brilliant about it's a metaphor by the house, and and I thought it was each room is going to represent everybody has a Yeah. I started myself like this it's gonna be like it exactly, and the stairs talking to me and you know, oh, by the way, I did right, paid this house and that ship was good though you have already paid this house, Brandy,

that was a good one. Now. But I wrote this song about the house that I thought was like this is it like Grammy, Grammy anyone? So I was like, all right, cool. Then I said, okay, she's she's not here because of flame. Let me just all write another song. So Wayne Wilkins and Jim Johnson played this loop boom boom, and all her was turn of Light song. That's why I keep hearing. Okay, let's go. So I wrote sweet

Dreams and before she showed up. So she walks in, and when she walks in this time, she's in full Beyonce apparel, diamonds, studied every hair done, make everything. He was just looking like Jesus Christ, respectfully home. So she says, I really don't have time to work. And then let's what I'm talking about, character, I don't have time to record. I wanted to come because I was late. I wanted to make sure you saw my face. I'm sorry our

playing circled around. I couldn't make it, but I wanted to make sure I came personally, so you because you guys have been waiting here for hours and I want to come and I class act. By the way, this is the all time most winning this Grammy Award winning artists of all time, and she's a class act. She walks in. She says that, and I say, Beyonce, I would love to play you a song that I just wrote.

And I played her the House song and she's like, nice, cool, And I said, why, I just wrote this other one before you got here, but it's I just finished it literally the mix. It ain't even all the way there, but I would love to play you that. And she kind of like, yeah, I have to go, but all right, and I played her Sweet Dreams. She looked at Angie. Angie is her cousin assistant at the time, and she said,

how much time we got ange? She said, we probably got twenty minutes, but you know, we got escorts, so we get there to the American Airlines, stating, she took her heels off, and she stook her earrings off, and she cut Sweet Dreams. In fifteen minutes, she cut free dreams of fifteen minutes and I'm gonna tell you what happened back and listen to that guy. I'm gonna tell you what changed my life. She my voice was saying,

turn of lights on. So when she stepped out the booth, she said, oh wait, I didn't do the turn of lights on her sick. She says, it's better enough because I am going to be a hord. Do you understand you better? And she went and she said, turning the lights on under set. You've had records that just have have no no, no, I have absolutely half. But we got to talk about the past too. Yeah, we got we have to know. No. Reason why I say have

is because we still have them right. And what people say to me that I really kind of cringe when they say I used to love that song. Why tell me right though, because that's a song, right I want. I want to know that to us because I still love it and you still love it. When I listen to Stevie Wonder, I don't say I used to love that song. When I listen to Burn, but I don't say I used to love when the song comes out. Still, and we go particular about how we say things you

know what I mean. So that's what we have them. You know what I mean? That still lies, They still existing now past when when it comes to music, when it comes to me, it's a gift, alright if it keeps giving. Yeah, Tank has his piano. Did y'all tune that it sounds better to? There? Can you even tune this thing? Top five? You're top five, re equos top five. I don't know what notes hev your top your top five be so be honest, he makes it makes sense.

You know, you know you got somebody so so bad you want to put in your top file A yeah, yeah you reco loves talk fine, no get ready songs songs Okay. By the way, first of all, no matter what you people feel, Prince's ours. He belongs to us, even a conversation because I had this come yeah, man, all right, not here Prince R and B King Diamond's imperiled by Prince Base Easy Human Nature by Michael Jackson. I gotta follow it up? Yes, yes, you get it. Come on with it. Number three. I'm gonna go with

so Sick by Neosens. Number four, I'm gonna go with Sexual Healing by Marvin Gay Calling up get up, Get up, Get up? Who's he talking to us? Make not tonight? Land was next to dare you whisper? Number five, number five, mm hmm. I'm gonna go with sorry, I have to do it. You got a bad boss. You when you're on the phone, hang up in your call right all

right back, called right back. And then if we go, if we go down the list, I'm gonna say, because we gotta go all the time, I'm gonna go to my number like seven, because just randomly, because this came to mind, jump down. I know this sounds crazy, but when dream goes, I'm in love with your baby, and I want you to know then I'm looked though your bad Come on, man, I was just doing a three

part you just know what it is that record. Come on, she rocking that thing that was just to me, and she rocking that thing that was just he was just like his attitude keeps. He got he got gotta jail, jail. That's a great top five, great top You can't ready with your ship, you know, clip for I had to make sure that you know that song just I don't know what every time I started thinking about the top of this whole company, I'm like, damn, that song is

so special to me. Yeah you know. Okay, alright, your top five R and B artists. Yeah, Usher Ship, Okay, let's get Beyonce, Let's get there, luth Vangil, why not, Brandy, Tank Milwaukee, do look at Milwaukee right here. Just get honest to show up to the give it to the Tank. I'm gonna tell you why. It's a group called Rain and those guys grew up with those guys and they had a record deal or they were signed to J Jacket. They came back to them and they sang this song.

B J would sing this song when we turn out the lights, the two of us. No, no, not, that's the Joe. He would say, um no, it was the song star with beings, bunch lonliness. But as soon as I see you, the feelings of being blues gone, visions of your lovely face of gone. And Tank wrote that song for them five years ago. I was in high school.

They came back with that demo you remember Rain, you don't read y b J. Mario and Tim and they yeah you Tim Canniball and they and they came back and they played that song and I listened to that song everything I remember because I used to get really emotional, by the way, like if I heard the album when I but when I was trying to make it, I was a kid um. Like instance, the album emotional about

Carl Thomas. When I first heard it, I cried, not because it was so much, because I thought, if this is what I have to make to make it in the business, I'm never gonna make. That's how so I remember hearing that song and I got emotions like I'm fucked, bro, And I don't even I was a rapper, but I just thought, if things have to be on this level. That's how songs used to affect me. Used to get sad as sleep. I used to get in the bed then want to get out of bed because I'd be like,

what the funk am I gonna do? This is all I want to do. And if this nick is making ship like that, I gotta make stuff like this to make it. I'm fucked. Yeah. So that's why I gotta go on my number five, because we got history. It's just gotta finish business. Let's do a voltron. Okay, let's make your Let's make your Let's make your r and b artists, your elite R and B artist. We want to see who are you gonna pull the vocal from? Who are you gonna pull the performance style from? Who

are gonna pull the styling from? And you're gonna pull uh, the passion from? So what artists are you getting the vocal from. I gotta get the vocal from Sam Cooke ship and it's close because it's Donnie had the way of Sam Cooke. But I gotta go Sam Cooked because just a you know what he was like to it, you know what I mean? So the stalling performance performance style from I gotta go with Usher. I don't know if anybody's been a Vegas because Michael was an incredible

showman and credible performer. But I don't think had to win, you know what I mean? Ushers has the wind to perform for three hours. I think Michael was so slim and so you know, I'm going to stay out of this. Yeah, I mean, I don't know. I don't feel not not I'm not trying to say to sing the songs. So he sounded great, but I just think Michael Usher just had more has more wind to me in a three

hour performance. This is your vote, Troy. I'm staying you disagree, all right, all right, so I'm gonna go because that's that's okay. You do realize that Michael Jackson will perform his songs anywhere from five to ten bpms fast. Yes, that's true, that's very true. Yeah, you know, I just I don't play about the Michaels, Michael Jordan's, Mike Tyson, Michael Jackson, Michael Corleon. I just don't play. I don't play about the Michaels. That's fair, that's fair. You gotta

you got, you got. I can accept when i'm but I'm still gonna go with us performances styling the style of that artist, what they're putting on, they're putting on mm hmmm, staling. Let's say, I'm gonna go with and this is this is my wild carkay, okay, the Five Heart Beats, they didn't imagine aary, imagine a group. Yeah, but when Flash joined the group, the whole style it turned out they was definitely fly. They look rich, look very rich. So I gotta go imagine a group with

that one with the look appealing. Yeah that you wan't want people spot ye dang, where did he still had that fear? They ripped that. They ripped it, brother dripped sleeves off he had on the depiction of that was so crazy. No, Robert, you shout out to Robert Man genius because he's not He's not a singer. He's not an R and B guy like obviously the R B

guy an amazing series. Acted his ass off the greatest, by the way, By the way, the writing at the end when he said, when when Eddie Kane saying I feel like whole were precious, she said she did not know what I saw. No, So yeah, yeah, incredible the passion of that artist. Who are you getting the heart from jarill LeVert easily? We've had to garill Leverts in the passion section for sure. Yeah. And you can't go wrong with you can't go wrong with ever any state,

any level. Yeah. Yeah, vocally yeah, fly fly, come on bear. Yeah. Remember that episode Martin was on The Varnel Hill Show and he slid across That's all He's gonna do it because his daddy exactly in the suit I watched this daddy. Yeah, and I'm just making a joke. At a hundred seven years old on front of the stage, he was reading rolled across the stage of the sweating out his suit, give him full, all of it all. You know, I'm

like this, he is still getting to it. I used to watch my show every now he come talk to me to say, you know what, I gotta apologize again because that Michael Ship was out of pocket. It was out of pocket because I'm thinking about Jackson five. He's been fucking conditioning since he was sucking two and a half. I mean, if Michael Jackson takes a break, is because he feels he like I need everybody to go watch the Dancing Machine performance. Just go watch the Dancing Machine perform.

Is that a hand? Yeah, I'm apologize. I apologize Michael and all of the I'll tell them. I know. So why while we're here, we got another selection? You won't give him a selection. You want to give him selection? What speed you're gonna play? Okay, I'm gonna play the fast speed. I ain't saying I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying no name. He was you win what you did? Don't say Ship, I ain't saying no name. Story funnier, fucked up man,

are funny and fucked up, Funny and fucked up. The only rule is you can't say no names. Yeah, man, so this is Rico. Actually, are you ready? This is Rico loves Division One. Turner lights on the motivation man himself. Huh there goes my baby, they thought, but they don't know. They couldn't know. They couldn't know. I ain't saying no names. Oh man, I ain't saying no names. But when I was young, I'm I'm eliminate. I was on tour with ushers,

so that eliminates him because I'm not saying their names. Right. Yeah. So I'm on tour and somebody I really loved and admire what was hanging out with me were back. We're hanging out, and uh I met a young lady, beautiful, probably one of the most beautiful guys I ever met in my life. I'm thinking to myself, you know what, And for some reason it's particularly even and Sky, very popular, very well. It comes to guy just hanging out with me. So he's like, yo, this vibeing with me, right, So

I'm just like, all right, cool. We we're hanging out, and uh I met this young lady who I thought to myself easily going to be my my girlfriend. You know, first day, mita, this is it, This is it for me, This is all I need in my life. She was that beautiful and I'm just like thinking, like manny fie man. But Homeway he's around me, and I'm just thinking, oh, he must be this makes me look cooler because you know what I mean, make me make me look a

lot cooler because I'm hanging with Homeway. So I uh, I say, yo, I'm gonna go step out in the second how let my man, because I gotta jump on stage, you know, because I'm on the cheop to I gonna perform. And I really really really like this girl. I'm thinking to myself, this is it's gonna be it for me in a lot pinkies, that type of energy walking Yeah yeah man. And uh not only not only was this man ravishing her when I returned, but he locked the door. Yeah,

he locked the door. And he must have been experienced sexually because she because because because she was she was doing she's doing vocal exorcisey. I thought maybe they were they were doing At first, I thought like maybe he's training their vocus. I was like, they're doing vocal exorcise for sure. Y. Yeah. And then uh, and you said it wasn't that long. It was quick. Quick. I go up there and do the verse. I come back. I'm like, I'm you know, I'm not thinking. Maybe she's so oft

from the side of the stage I gave you. I made a spot for her on the side of that did all access lambing lamb. Yeah, yeah, I took that lambing back. She came out of there. Yeah, so well, yeah, he was ravishing her, ravishing Rick rude. Yeah, yeah, it was, it was, it was, it was. Yeah. They had a time and then she walked out. She commenced, acting like she was gonna hang with me for the rest of the Yeah, this happened. What's happened? This happened? Did you

let her hang out? I did? She was bad, she was helping. He's a lover. He's a lover, not a harm Oh my god, Drake said it best new to me, new to me? Oh yeah, man, that was great. Happened, that was real? He said he must have been experienced. Actually he definitely, he definitely knew his way around this

way around the dressing room. Respectfully, I don't think it was Yeah, he was quick too, And I'm like, and now I realized he just really I'm thinking he's making me look like that nigga, Like, you know, I'm blah black and I'm just like, I'm all night and I'm sitting there, but I'm on you think it's you. You miss what I'm telling her, Like, Yo, get on this side of the stage right here when I get out, you know, I'm blah blah blah, get on the stage.

I don't really see it, but I'm not a tripping because I just killed it and I'm just like, oh, this is a great performance. This is good. You know, I go back. I'm like, you know, where's you know, go to who dressing room? Yeah, annihilating, annihilating this young lady. You're respectfully and safely. But it was just sae. Yeah, yeah, it was. It was. It was a It was a learning experience, learning, absolute learning. Next yea exactly. I still hung out with a Pinkies. No more like the Pinkies.

Was that I got standards ship. Listen, listen, I know you gotta go. It's a very important thing. I need you to give our audience a little bit of the rundown of the Recording Academy, the Grammys, and the Black Music coalition. How that collective, I'm sorry, how that all goes together, and the part that you're playing in that, and how important that is to up and coming and

current established, established creative in this business. So I'm the vice chairman of the Recording Academy's board the Trustees, so um, and I'm also the chairman of the Black Music Collective. I always love watching the grand I always felt like this was music's biggest night. Not to sound like cliche, but I just felt like, this is this is it, This is super Bowl for us, This is the thing

that we can say wow. And a while ago I became a member and I was joined, and I started understanding what it means and how you vote and how this operates. And I I used to be as angry with the Recording Academy as everybody else, until I realized that these are things. The issues inside the Recording Academy are things that can be fixed. It's just about us coming together. Right. If everyone decides that we're gonna walk away from the race, we don't. We don't harm or

hurt the rest of the people in the race. We don't run as fast as us. We helped him. They benefit from our absence and participating in certain elements of it. People often say like, we should fight for our seats at the table, and I'm telling you we should not fight for our seats at the table. I'm telling you that my ancestors built the table. Their influences, their music, their soul, their energy created this table. Every artist that that's done great numbers and great things can always say

there's a black artist that influenced them. This is a fact. So I'm not fighting for a seat. I'm claiming an inheritance that is let belongs to me, that's old to me. So when I'm in the sign of Recording Academy and I'm fighting to make sure that we raise awareness for black voting members. When I'm chairing a BMC, we're honoring this year. This week we honor Sylvia Own, Little Wayne, Missy Elliot, and Dr Dre. Little Wayne speech, he cried

because we gave him the Global Impact Award. We didn't give him an award for a song, we didn't give him an award for an album. We said that you globally have impacted the world, your style, your energy, who you are, and that it's the awareness that I want to raise a lot of people say the Grammy's and NAT and I always ask them how does the Grammy's work? Every person that says fun the Grammys, I say, how

does it work? M I heard people saying, well, this year they I know they ain't gonna to hell win this year, but next year it's because they blow the politics to day. And I'm like, there's a voting body. And if we make up of this streaming the best streaming music, but we only make two of the voting membership, how do we expect to be recognized when it's time to vote. So what I encourage us all to do

is make sure that we've become voting members. Now. I don't know when this is gonna air, but I will say this February is when you can start submitting to be a voting member. You go to grammy dot com. You're clicking that top left corner tab is gonna come down in the middle is gonna say membership. Click on that membership. You get two people to co sign you, to give you letters to to to speak up for you. Right. They don't have to be established artists, they could be anybody.

It helps if you know somebody inside the Academy, but if they, if you don't, it's okay, And then be active in the music business. Currently, every rapper, every R and B artist, who has friends in the business, who have an engineer, who has producers, all of those people should be voting members. When you're a phenomination or your peers of phenomination, people y'all like in support, they should be able to lean on you and say, hey, vote for me. Make sure you vote for me, because other

races and other cultures are doing that. I do believe in the power of what the Recording Academy can do for you. Look at the stream spike for Harry Styles after winning the Album of the Year. All right, let's say anti even if the streams for the weekend even went crazy the day of the Grammys, Right, it's an opportunity with the opportunity that's given when you're on that stage, and when you win, it means so much for your

career for the rest of your life. Your Grammy Award winning right or even Grammy nominated, it's for the rest of your career. And what it does for us is the people and make sure that we're represented on music's highest stage as we should. And I think that people say to us, we should make our own Grammys. They don't treat us right. Let's make our own Grammys. And it's like, as black people, we've been having to make our own thing after building their thing for too long.

I'm not making another one. I made this one, My people made this one, and I want to be represented properly, and I'm gonna fight to make sure I am. And look at the changes that have been made. Look at that stage, look at that front, that whole, Lizzo winning to Perform, Look at Samara Joy winning Best New Artists. Think about Beyonce breaking the record on television. Think about last year when you've got Bruno Marza Innocent Pact getting on stage winning. What when you got Demles getting on

stage on television on the telecast winning the WARLD. We got John Baptiques winning Best New Out, Best Album of the Year. Think about all these things to change. Our faces are being seen, our energy is being felt, but we just gotta keep pushing. We have to keep pushing. And by the way, I'm not saying this because I think the Grammys have gotten it right. I don't want you guys to think that I'm like I went to

the Grammys, and it's just a new No. They have not always gotten it right, but they are hungry and starving to get it right. When I'm in the board rooms, I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm around a lot of people that don't look like me, and I'm expecting resistance when I say that this and this, this, and I'm not getting it. Bro, I'm being very honest with you, and I would say it. They're white people in that room. That says Rico, tell us what needs to happen? We

all right, you closer to it. What needs to happen? Can we sit down with blah blah blah. You think they will come, You think they'll show up? And I asked artists a lot to show up. Let's talk about it. What don't you like, Let's fix it, Let's figure out how to do it, because a lot of a lot has changed. Now, a complete change is not gonna happen

all at once. But if we become voting members, people from the outside looking in, the people in the comment section, they're always gonna have their whole conspiracy theories about whatever exists. But for those of us who are actually in the business, and I don't mean major label. You don't have to be major recording artists to be a voting member. Now you just have to meet the release requirements. You meet

those released requirements and you're active. You get in front of that membership board and you will be a member. You vote every time it comes up. We sit on social media all day. Grab that phone when the voting comes up, and you vote for the people that you agree and believe should win, and you'll be a voice for the people who aren't getting a visibility. P J. Morton has four Grammys, My Man j I independently, my Man j I v just one Best Spoken Word Album

and he was on the Tennessee State University album. So I look at those things that I say to myself, these are people who don't have national recognition, number one records. Robert Glass there in those room, and they're gonna be tough, even with the whole situation where they were like, why is Chris Brown and Robert glassber in the same category?

You have to understand it. There are rooms put together for people to debate on how these things go and try to understand, and they're they're trying to figure things out and they have to make adjustments. But then sometimes you gotta understand if you're not in that room and knowing what they were up against. What if they were trying to put glass for in the best jazz and he was like, well, it's not a jazz record, and

jazz say, we don't think it's jazz. And what if you're trying to put them in this category and they say it doesn't work this way. You never know that the situation either way. If they are changes that need to be made and things you don't agree with, staying on the outside is not gonna answer it. The problem is going to be solved if we get involved. And I have such a uh a voice in the building and they respected my voice. Think about this as a black man. I served as a governor in a Florida

chapter for one term. I was elected to the Trustee National Board of Trustees after one term. After one term serving as a trustee, I'm not a vice chairman of a recording academy. Does that mean? That means that these people heard me, they felt my energy, and they trusted that I've had the best interests of the Recording Academy. And every day I speak up for African Americans, for people of color, for women, and they do not bat an eye. I don't get resistance. I don't get people saying, man,

I don't. I go in there and we fight and we make things happen, and change has to happen over time. I just think that people should recognize all the change that is happening, understand that. I understand that there's a lot more change that needs to happen. But I need you all to come so as the chair of the BMC, and I'm gonna end here has a chair to BMC.

My goal is to make sure that we have traveled this country, do many outreach events, reach out to the executives, independent artists, independent uh A, and if you want to be a manager, if you want to study in music in some way, we want to reach out our hands to you and build a relationship with you. And we want to make sure that the voting body reflects the music that's being created and being produced, that the people that vote look like us and understand where we come

from and can and can relate to us. Jasmine Sullivan getting on that stage last year on television, it's major. That's an incredible look for a soul artist who has never had a pop hit, who's had hits, record strong records, but didn't cross her music over. She didn't. She didn't compromise who she was as a creative in order to

get a Grammy or to sell a million records. She got up on that stage and one that has to show you that the ties are churning and things are changing, and I want to be a part of that change. But I also want you to be a part of that change with me. And I want you to be a part of that change with me, and I want us to be able to speak up, because either way,

we're gonna speak up, right. Either way, we're gonna talk about what we don't like, right, absolutely, Why don't we talk ship from from the inside and say, let's change it. And if I feel like I'm in that place, and I give you guys my word, if I ever felt like I was in that space and I felt like nobody was respecting the change that I wanted to see, I would be out. I would walk away from it. But that's not what I'm seeing, that's not what I'm feeling.

I'm feeling a lot of love and a lot of people who are just expressing and admitting to the certain ignorances that they may have about our culture. But they all recognize the influence that we've had on the world. And if they didn't, I wouldn't be involved because you already know what type of time. I'm always on. I'm on. I'm always about us, I'm always about the culture. Hey man cho love no man um. Thank you, Thank you guys, thank you for being here, and now we appreciate you.

Thank you for that. Thank you. Listen. I'm and you got me excited. Ready between you, I want to chair, let's uh, let's talk. But I mean the key thing you said is that let's let's be the change. Let's get in here. And because the doors aren't closed to us. Yeah, and I think that's the part that that we all missed. I think the doors are open to its available. This is available. So I really want to get in here

and do something. The R and B Money podcast family, the R and B Money family, we're getting involved absolutely, and we support the BMC. So I suggest we do an event here here in l A. We invite all musicians, all music creatives. We make it a whole BMC R and B Money collaboration we do something very sexy and fly, and we bring people together and then we pick out the top two or three incredibly talented artists who are

on them on the verge we're coming up. We allowed them to perform, we talk to them and we educate them about the process and what the Recording Academy represents and how we invest in artists and how we make sure we protect artists with our Music Cares program, how we protect artists with our advocacy work. Believe it or not, the music the Grammys is a nonprofit organization. This is not They're not making a ton of money and banking money.

We're giving money every year to music creators who need it. If a person is got a bad heart and they don't have insurance, but they do music full time, they come to Music Cares and we're gonna take care of them. So when you say the Grammys, you're saying funk. All the millions of dollars we've donated to helping other people without acting anything in return and without turning anybody away. So that show that we do is great. When you see us at the BMC Honors with our Texas and

we're looking fly and y'all showing up for that. That's great that everybody who showed up. I'm asking you to do the work. Everybody begged me for tickets for BMC this year. Everybody's trying to be on the list next year already. All I'm saying is show up for the for the artists, and show for ourselves as black creatives, and make sure that we do the work. It's something I'm super passionate about. This is nothing you can fake

the time that we've spent doing and stuff. It's genuine because I'm an artist and I'm a creative, and I believe in creatives, and I believe in developing the teaching and growing and holding my hand out there. And by the way, they support me. So let's do that. Let's do it. Let's create the R and R and B Money BMC Collaboration event, and we bring people there and

we educate them on the Recording Academy. We have a dialogue like this, and we allow artists to come up and perform and and and give the voting members and the opportunity to see them. Imagine if you're in a room full of Grammy voting members and you perform and They're like, I remember you. So now when your name shows up on that ballot, people are like, oh, I remember, surely she was at the joint. I like her album. Let me check this out, let me vote for her.

That's that's that's a sample. Let's do that. Let's make sure we make it. You already know how we get out. Yea, let's do it. Let's we're in. Let's make that happen. Great goose help us. Mr Yeah, um man, amazing creative, amazing human being. Um you know you you like a brother man. So um loving to hear the mountaintops and the valley loads and more mountaintops and more valley lows.

You know what I'm saying, It's life. It's life, man, and and and I think that people really need to hear that and know that it's okay to go through that. It's fine. Yeah, it's another day. Jay always say this is like the lottery, right, and doing music is like the lot of lottery. You can write you one song, be broke yesterday and to mom change really say tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, but tomorrow tom So we thank you for everything, man,

and that that is a big thank you man. That encompasses the entire university, food and what you are Ladies, gentle My money was Tank. I'm Jay Valentine and this is the Money Podcast, the authority on All Things are and being here and um we go. Love Man R and Baby Money. R and B Money is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit 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 Ja Valentine and at the Real Tank. For the extended episode, subscribe to YouTube dot com, forward Slash, R and B Money