Robert Glasper

R and B Money, Honey, we are thank take out the child. We are the authority on all R and B.

Ladies and gentlemen. My name is Tank Who this the Army Money podcast exquisite, the authority? Oh what on all things R and B? Man?

Uh, your musicianship, your professionalism, and your education is in question today?

Yes it is. Because he's here? Who without? Who? Keep going? Because he's here? Who he's here? Who the fuck is here? Robert? Rob Ship Robert.

Let's let's paint the scene before we get into the test.

Let's paint the scene. Let's get into it. You win a.

Grabby fitty, right, you win his flip pace, his flowers celebration, and then.

You look on social media you're big mangled by Team Breezy.

They on your shout out to a little brother, Chris Broun shot the team your ass full transparency. I'm like, how did Robert and coulds end up in the same section at the club?

How does it even happen? And I'm sure Roberts sexual ladies. What I don't want no bottles. I don't know bottles. I don't want no bottle. I don't mean no one. I have no idea I don't have to.

Give it to that. Explain, explain, explain your yeah, yourself at the So the funny funny part is so.

That actually that actually happened with one of your friends the first time I won R and BR by the year, because I won it in twenty twelve, So let's just be clear.

That's the second time.

So eleven years ago I won for Black Radio one and I was up against Tyrese and I heard he wasn't too happy about that. Somebody told me they were with him at the Grammys and before they announced who the winner is, he stood up, And that was before I was on. I wasn't I didn't get on I g T twenty sixteen or something like that. I wasn't even on Twitter and stuff. But you know, but I'm used to that makes sense, you know. Tyresee sings slow,

You're you're in that. So here's the thing. So here's the thing.

Me and Chris Brown were in the in the traditional R and B category, right, that was that was a category tradition.

He should have been in the progressive. He doesn't even know what he wants. He's like, I think, what what?

No, because I have no because my other two, the other the other two that are in R and B are both R and B songs. So I still have two R and B song Grammys, and one of them is a credit progressive and one of them is traditional.

Of course, so I wasn't trying to do a bar. I was just saying I have always have them. So my brother, technically, I think we were in the tradition category.

Chris should have been in the progressive category, you know what I mean, because if you're really doing traditional, my album had all real instruments, yes, no attitude.

Yeah, I was traditional traditional. Now technically people are like, you shouldn't have been in the category.

You shouldn't have. I should have because that's the album idea. I didn't R and B record, you know what I mean. Now, I'm a jazz musician also, so when I do a jazz record, unfortunately I'm not. Unfortunately, I go and it's a big house, and I go black music is a big house, and I like to go room the room, you know what I mean. And so sometimes I like to go into the jazz room. Sometime I like to go into the hip hop rooms. Sometimes I like to go into the R and B room, you know what

I was.

I was prepared for Mary to win because her album was a good record, and I feel like the campaign behind the record was very very very very strong, and she's Mary, you know what I mean, And I just felt like she was going to win. I didn't write no thank you speech, no nothing, because I just knew. I even made a video saying all right, y'all, I'm gonna lose, watch me lose.

That's probably what you want, you know what I mean. I just to make sure whenever I get nominated, that's what I do, you know.

No, Honestly, like even when I won for Black Radio one back in two thousand and twelve, I didn't think I was gonna nominated. For Me and my record company got into argument because they wanted me to put it in the jazz category. Case, you know, you put your

So here's the question. Have you won a Jazz Grammy. No, I've been nominated for Jazz Album of the Year. I wondered about this.

I've been nominated for Jazz Record of the Year, but I've never won the first Grammy I ever won, no I've I've also been nominated for Best Progressive.

Alternative.

When there was an alternative it was called Urban Alternative in two thousand and nine.

There was an Urban.

Alternative before they put out because you know, the progressive the progressive category came after Black Radio. When I won that, then they made a progressive category R and B progressive, you.

Know, so you made them.

I pretty much opened that door. Yeah, just me trying to keep throwing bars. But that's what happened. Boy, that's what happened, you know what I mean. Sean's also Michelle Decachello, Yeah, because she really it was the reason why there was an alternative Urban Alternative category because she went in there campaigned for it because of her music. That's why there

You know what I mean. That's a big reason why we wanted you here.

Yeah, because you also represent other side of contemporary are more popular R and B in that space, pop R and B or hip hop r and B. Like you said, you know, they they were in a sense creating and finding sub genres of R and B for you to fit it absolutely the music that you were making and what you were bringing to R and B.

Because if you listen to it, it's not necessarily jazz. Because they want to make everything I do jazz because my first few records are jazz record so they tend people tend to think everything I do is jazz. It's like, no, everything is not all the way jazz. I'm a jazz musician as well. But I can make an R and B album. I can produce an R and B record.

But also then I think that you know, I think the Grammys are working on it, trying to figure out how to identify all of these things, because R and B at this point is so many things, and it should be and it just is.

And so the.

People who are figuring out these these categories have to be very well versed in understanding what the difference is, what the very differences are. You have a full live R and B album that is as traditional as it gets, it gets p J.

Mortin's album Live Musicians. I'm not the only one in the category that's like that exactly.

So it's like with you two in the category is like that makes sense absolutely, But then you have Chris Brown. Even even Mary I wouldn't put so much in that traditional space because she didn't make a traditional R and B album.

She made R and B as we know it. But it's still progressive for.

Us because technically Mind is progressive too, because it because what would you when you listen to the album, it's in a sense it's progressive because it's not. It's also not a traditional record with the hip hop stuff I'm mixing in there and how you know.

Yeah, but it's it's it's it's hard to it's still traditional though. I hear what you're saying. That's why I wasn't. That's why I feel like if anybody because.

Because if we're calling Chris Brown progressive, then your albums are like our nine Day.

I feel like it's progressive because most of its AutoTunes. Also because of the production. It is more progressive, you know what I mean production production. First of all, let me be clear, not that he needs it needs altitude, but I know you said it's the texture, the sound more progressive for sure in that sense, you.

Know what I mean. But but it's it's so sonic. It's the drums used. It's huge. But people the way we're talking, people in those rooms don't know how to do that.

But people in those rooms should know. It should if it's those rooms, tasted room for me in those rooms, sorry, camera, we'll spilled over. It's spilled over, spilled over exactly. The people in those rooms these are and and and maybe they are and we don't know what the rooms, but ultimately they change over time, and they have to change through us and through.

Us promoting membership and being a part of it.

Now they just added another category. I believe it's for me again. It's literally this new category just came, just came, it's starting now. It's it's a category called.

What is it called I'll turn into something something something.

Basically, the category says a category that mixes jazz, hip hop, R and B with vocals or without vocals, and basically that that's what I am.

You it's me they that's what that's what it is. Section. Yeah, so that team breezy because then it really don't jump you. Yes, in that scenario though, I should have been on the losing end of that. I should have been the one like, why am I in? You know what I mean? Well, we can't call that because Grammys is as we're you know, as as we had.

To learn, you know what I mean and doing the education of it. It's like some of it is impact, some of it is success, and in these in these different occasions, it's not any of that, right, very true, none of it where a bass player can take album of theater and you're like, who's Robert? You see what I'm saying. So there are those moments. But I think it's, like you said, representing in those rooms. And I think the responsibility is on us as well, because our participation

Absolutely, and that's a good problem to have. That means, that means the music is changing, it's moving, it's growing, it's breathing, you know, it's not staying still.

Yeah, but you know, I've been in the musicment it's a really long time, and probably the last four to five years is when I was really introduced to Neris and the Grammy boards and the committees and that whole thing and how to get how to be a part and how to really have real membership in the last four or five years of my career, which is crazy.

I've been in this shit a long time. So because we didn't have platforms like this that were telling us like no, no, no, no, no, you can go there and be, you know, absolute part of it. So did you ever talk to Chris? Yeah, so we we.

He sent me a message really nice, you know, apology. I think he posted on this thing too, but apology. And then we talked a little bit after it and he was like, man, you know, you know, he's like I was. He basically said he was down to work and I would love to work Chris super talented, you know.

I mean, I would love to work with Chris Brown.

You know. So I think his fans would love it too. And I think that you know, it was you were right here in the middle. Yeah, you know, of his kids, of him being overlooked a whole lot.

But the funny thing is I didn't have my phone on me because my in real life, I didn't try on my tuxedo for the Grammys till the morning of the Grammys m because it was the Taxila that water a year before at the Oscars, and you.

Thought that you were in the same Boom shade. There we go, but I actually lost weight. Oh that's what I'm I like that dude. The pants were too big. Wow. Wow. He always loves to.

Go back to my Steve Harvey suits every time he gets a chance. Every time he gets a chance, keep going, Robert, disrespect is gonna it's gonna stop.

It was just a family feud. So look, my pants are too big.

So we ended up having to clip paper clips on the side of my pants to go to the Grammys. When I ended up winning, I jumped up and the paper clips went their way. So I'm running up to the stage. As soon as I get up there, I said, I'm sorry, y'all my pants my paper clips fell out, not paper clips, what do you call them?

The safety pants?

And I had to hold my pants up the whole night, literally keep one hand like in my pockets.

Didn't look cool. You look like a nigga who was ready to fight. Boom Exactly. I put it up his fans exactly. You know about having it, But what do you say.

So? Because if you get the slacked in between your thighs, you really can't get your stance right.

Black people love to adjust when we're about to fight, when we adjust everything anything. You taking all that stuff, getting the away, getting to see those.

Jacket didn't have pockets, and I couldn't hold my pant the phone in my pockets because I had to hold them up. It's too heavy for my pants. So I had like my assistant holding my phone the whole night. I didn't even know none this was happening until I'm during the actual Grammy doing the televised portion and some people were like, yo, you're trending, and I was like what, And then I was like, yo, get my phone.

Then I saw all the text and all the things and what it was. I was like five number five trending on Grammy night. I was like, oh my god. I was like, this is a blessing. I was happy. I was like, this couldn't have worked out.

Take it.

This worked out?

Ever.

Make the t shirts? Oh, absolutely sold out. I need one. I sold out of it. But I just made some more from my festival than Napoo that I do on July. Because I do a festival. Yeah, I do a festival. We never get host host. Oh you'll be invited now and y'all should do the R and B. Did she do the podcast there? I like, Naple, I'm like, let's.

Do you're from the bank, y'all heard it first. I'm gonna ask next year. You know you just asked jazz Nap.

Now what you meant year? It's in July July? What July?

Well, normally it's like twenty nine thirty, okay, so it just passed. We just said the next year.

Okay, boom. I would love that anyway. So let's get into let's get into who where in the where the who issues? What the fuck? I'm from Houston, Texas. Yeah, born and raised and love. Yeah.

I was raising watching my mom do that. She had the rehearsals at the house with the with the with the cats and the musicians and stuff. So I was just all the ways around music all the time. I went to the High School for Performing Artists where I met be Cos. You know, I actually met be Cocks before that. We're in the competition together, but were in high school together too. We're in high school together, but I met him in eighth grade at a at a

Whatever you want. Okay, business in the front, yeah, pleasure. No, shout to becots.

But we met in the talent competition that he told me at that time, Yo, you should come to the high school performing Arts.

I didn't even heard of it. In the audition and I got in me because Beyonce was there with us. Yeah yeah, you know, and you know pros time.

So it was fun because I used to pick Brian up for school every morning, Me and Brian and my boy Troy pick him up for school every morning. And I'll be playing my jazz stuff, my Herbie Hancock, my career, you know, my JA in high school and Brian would be playing the R and B stuff and tell me what's new coming out? And he was a line of note freak, you know what I mean. So even back then in high school, read the line of note of

What is your intro into professionalism?

For you?

The intro to professionalism, I'll tell you my very I don't think I've ever said this out loud and not on the podcast anyway. Uh, I was in eleventh grade and I'm in school. Uh, these people come to me, they come into the classroom. That Robert the people. I would need you to get out, go go on the hallway. Jennifer Holiday is performing in Houston. Her piano player missed the flight. She's performing in Houston that night. Piano player

So we noticed kid. Yeah, literally, that was my first eleventh grade that can what to learn the show? Learned the show. That was my first professional like on a big scale.

Hold on j Holliday, Okay, because she's not singing fifteen minutes, Nay, she doing about hour and a half two hours a show. You had to be reading music. Absolutely, you were reading music at that level.

And eleventh grade I had to play, to play in big band, to play and all the things I was in in school. My school is it's super high level. You had to the test and everything. You had to be at it. So when I got into college, it was a joke. College honestly was was funny. I just went to college just for because we had to know so much in high school. Bro like seriously, So yeah, I read, I read the show I did. We did this, we did a sound check.

Hold on, he's getting all my motherfucking mass this is yeah.

I called my mom was like mo from the office of school because there's no cell phones. So I was like, Mom, I'm not coming home after school because I'm going to play with Jennifer Holliday.

She was like, first of all, my mom's a singer. Yeah, so you know.

What.

Yeah, and the mess of thing is she had a gig already that night, so my mom couldn't come.

You know, my mom's work. She worked five days a week. No, I'm sorry, six days a week and sometimes on Sunday nights, but not really. But yeah, And that was my first that was my first real like hello, you know, this is it?

This is it?

And then I got I got a full scholars with the Berkeley in eleventh grade and the New School in Manhattan, so I chose the New School because it's in New York.

So what is the New School? Like, we're very.

The New School is a it's a conservatory in New York, and it's the New School is the umbrella. And under that they have a liberal arts school called Eugene Lane, and they have an art school called Pratt and then and then they have the New School, which is sorry, man, It's College of Music, which is the music part, and it's pretty much a jazz conservatory. That's where I met bala our first day of school. He was there for jazz voice, for jazz vocal and uh, and you were

And they put me in.

Balaoup together on stage the very first day of school and we did the song together.

And after that it was like, I'm sure you and I had the highest school.

And after that, let's put the exceptional people and then are you like whoever was in the crowd, he probably wasn't you know what whatever, And it was like oh, oh, oh, okay, so soon if one of our guests comes on, they were like, yeah, I once in a new school, and yeah I watched.

You weren't were your scores were scoring? The scores weren't scoring or snoring scoring with snoring.

That I'm so tripped out right now about that eleventh grade two hour billy holiday show.

Jennifer Holliday, I'm sorry that the chart after chart. Yeah, that's great. That's crazy when I am telling you all the things.

But the good thing about it is, since my mom was a singer, I didn't heard all these heard before.

So here's the other part.

To the people you know, as you're as you're a learned and study musician, you also.

Play by ear.

Absolutely started off because because that's because there's a difference, right. I know a lot of guys who have the studied information, but when it comes to feel.

It's gone, it's not there. It's just you don't believe them. I don't believe that. I don't believe you. So did you play for extra credit or did you get paid?

Oh?

The gig they called me from school, but now were out of school with the gig is a gig. I got paid.

It's very few guys that I've seen with the education and the feel like Tim Carmon in the field is one of the first guys because we're all out of the DC area that I saw that was like extremely studied, Like you know, we're doing that dream Girl soundtrack and he's like, okay, yeah, I'm ready.

Yeah, when you're ready.

That's what I tell all the cats from church, just so many, so many incredible, incredibly talented people. But if you don't know how to read, you reach a certain feeling, a certain ceiling, and that ceiling you can only reach a certain amount of money. M you can't call yourself the music director of this and that. If you don't know how to read, pick up a book, you know what I mean? You know I mean, now you can finagle it. And if you know, if you got your friend.

That know how to write, you know right now to transcribe for youscrib about thank you AI.

You know what I mean, certain things, You got a certain certain situation. You gotta know how to read, you gotta know how to write, You got to know how to do these different things, you know. So so yeah, it's important. It's like I said, it doesn't ceiling your reach where you just become the killing musician. Everybody's killing now what everybody's good?

You know what I mean? What else you got? You know what I mean? What else do you have? It is my thing, wow, because if you don't even have your own.

Sound, you just sound good. That goes with singing and playing. You know, everybody sounds good now, that's the standard. If you don't sound good, it's your fault. Now, especially with all the information out there, all the tools out there and just all the lessons you need are online. If you suck, it's your fault, you know. But after you learn the tools into your camera.

If you suck, you.

Suck, it's your fault. All the tools are out there for you to be good at your instrument. Whatever youment is your throat, your hands, whatever you do, all the tools are out there. So if you're not at least good, it's your fault.

Period. That's it.

Now that you can go further and everybody doesn't have a sound, And that's what I look for when I hear musicians or I hear singers, or like, what do you what story are you telling? I've heard that story before totally better than you, you know what I mean. But if you're telling your own story, I can't hear that before or like, that's your story to you. That's why I I'll take a singer who's who's who has something to say, versus the greatest singer who's sing what's

That's it.

No auto tune, no producers messing it up, no sounds, no nothing, just you and the keys, pure talent, pure honest story. Every song's amazing. The singing, the songwriting, every the plan, the plan, it's all great.

Bro, Yeah, it's incredible. I didn't want, you know. J J forced me to do it good. Absolutely, that's what That's the thing that nobody can't do that.

You called me one morning said, listen, Bro, this was like the eighteenth idea because he's gonna get me with twenty five singing.

The morning He's like, Bro, and you should do like an EP you piano, like just.

Just rocket EP right, just right, now while the world is down and everybody trying to figure it out. I said, Jay, I don't feel like doing the EP. I'm just chilling, relaxing in the house, like I ain't bother nobody. No, So I said no to like all eighteen ideas, right, I'll call you late, all right, So we get off the phone and I just.

Walk over to the piano.

And I just start playing music and I called Jay back about fifteen minutes. I was like, Okay, I'm gonna do it. I hear, I hear whatever you said. Jumped into the universe and ran over to my house and hit me over the head and said.

Yeah, yeah, that's how I felt about Jamie Fox. I want him to do that too. I said that for years. Oh no, he would love to. I've never met him. I just he would love to do that. He should do.

That's where he lives, that's where he lived in his comedy shows he was doing because I remember the first time he did when I saw him do that, and he imitated blow at one one of those things. He did a prince thing and then he went into a blow yeah thing, and I called aloud, like, yo.

Jamie Fox is imitated He's like what I was like, I was like, you made it. He's like, why that's his voice? Boy? But when Jamie would do that the shows, I'd be like, oh man, that's that's like, couldn't be it's real. That's just that was his separation too, literally, the separation from everybody because everybody's using the same tools to make the same songs.

You're hearing the same songs over and over again, and the same tools. When you're sitting at the pian just you and your voice, you can't hide behind nothing at all, none at all, nothing at all.

Okay, So Billy, I mean, Jennifer Holiday, the first gig, your first big check, yep.

What's next after that? What does that lead you to?

So that led me to I mean, I still you know. When I was high school, I was playing three churches. I was playing seven Da Adventist Church on Saturdays Saturdays, Catholic Church early Sunday morning, and then Baptist Church around the corner from the Catholic Church at eleven.

How different is each church musically? Well, lucky for me, all those three churches I played for were super hip. It was like a movie.

The Catholic Church Saint Mark's shout out Kim Roych she passed away, who's the choir director. She was a jazz singer and the preacher, the priest love jazz, so we would go in and switch up all the stuff into jazzy stuff. So was it your normal kind of Some things were normal Catholic church. Some of the hymns they want to keep sacred, but most of the stuff we tore it up.

Man.

And we would get invited to like different like you know, choir choir, choir days or you know, choir concerts.

Will be the only Catholic church there. Wow.

And then they were selling them like next Saint Mark's Cothlic church. I'd be like Catholic church and we go up there and get crazy.

And her husband was amazing bass players, Dereck royight Man, he was oh man, we would kill him. It was it was. It was crazy.

So anyway, that was my situation there was. It was Dough and be Cox. I had him singing in every church. He was in the choir at every church I played that.

He was in the choir. Say, he was every every church.

And his first gig on piano was because I couldn't do the at his first gig on piano was at my Catholic church because I couldn't do a Christmas program, so I had to teach him Hallelujah, the Christy Jones version, whatever, the well, all the different parts, you know, all that. I have to teach Brian that on piano. Yeah, so you can learn it and do the thing. So he sucked for me. Yeah, sell from your church. That's a hard song, it absolutely is. It's a lot, there's a

Absolutely, so we worked on that. I'm going to google it. We worked on that.

But anyway, Yeah, I ended up going to New York for college and then, like I said, me and Balad on those stage the first to work together. I mean to do a song together in college. And then right after that, one of the one of the professors, just like you guys, they would see us in a practice room all of the time working together. Me and but I started writing songs and stuff and you're like, yo,

One of the songs we wrote in my dorm room, a song.

Called what will You Call Jimmy I being played a verse in the chorus of that signed him sign.

That's it. That was it. So he didn't come back to sophomore year to school. So at that point we did.

His first album came out, and I was his music director from that point on until like till I got signed to Blue Note. I got signed to Blue Note Records in two thousand and five.

Did you do any any songs on his albums? The very first album? Yeah, I wrote. I wrote like two or three songs on there, yep. And then yeah. Then after that, you know, I got.

Signed started doing my own things around two thousand and seven when I stopped paying below, but I kept playing for a while.

You know what I mean?

And that was my chewing all over the world with touring all over the world below opening up for Erica I do in common because I was during the time of the Neil Soldier.

This is like, yeah, this is likeety nine, you know what I mean.

He took me to Jay Dilla's house when you know, when Firs his first album, that was one of the first person people they had him work with for his album. So I got to go to Dila's house and work with him on that and all that stuff. And and uh, I used to go to the jam sessions with him, the Roots, you know, play with the roots, you know, because the Roots was in these jam sessions every week

While she in here? And why she singing like that?

You know what I mean?

Smashing, you know, and uh, you know music soul child, all the all the Philly you know. And I started playing with the Roots from that because I used to sit in and jam and they knew me as Bellows jazz friend. You know, where's your jazz friend that you know? So Amir started quest Love started, you know, calling me to do shows with the Roots. So I started playing with the Roots a lot, you know, cutting my teeth with them. So that's kind of where I learned how

So you have a degree in piano. Yeah, but it's it means nothing. No, no, no, you mean nothing. You don't need it. Explain that, well, it's a bachelor's degree. So with that, he just had a Mike Tyson moment. Scott, it means nothing. It means nothing. I just metto.

Yeah, yeah, I mean it's a bachelor's degree in jazz piano. So it's like you're hung up at the house now. I don't even know where it is. I've never touched it except the graduation I touched it. I think my dad has it somewhere. But it's you know, you don't need it to do anything.

Because before you alluded to that college was just like by the time you got to college, it was like I was in my last.

Year of everything when I got to college because I cancel it out of everything they had. So when you give you the test as a freshman, to give you a test for your placement, to see where they're going to put you.

And I can't. I can't sit it out of everything my first year. So I just I know all this. Yeah, literally, So I just took a bunch of like film classes.

What is this?

Get this side of him? This is beneath me, This is beneath me.

Whenever you need, you have to go into your African when everything you're Royal African man.

Whenever something is beneath you can bring this to me. This is you at at.

This is.

New school. Yes, this is a new school. You must be new. This school is never going to let us.

Man, this is this is what we want to come. We would love to go because we have no we don't know what we knows. We don't we haven't canceled out of anything.

We haven't canceled out of ship. I mean he's been canceled. But I need your help take my kids maybe like a week?

Oh man, Wow, okay, so you plan will blow your cutting your teeth. You're meeting everyone, but you still haven't done a record for yourself. And this is you said like a nine year seven seven nine year, I said, So.

I played this about seven years.

So I played with Bloud started, you know, we're in college, and he got signed like ninety nine. Album came out like two thousand and two thousand and one. Matter of fact, it's right after d'angelo's album, the untitled. Right after that come me and Bellowed snuck into the studio to watch them make that because we were in the same and we're at all that electric Lady blows the studio the top of the cdoc Erica was doing Mama's Gun studio

And you put out your first album one year two thousand and five, first major album, was it? So was that the demo you turned in or was it the demo was it was on.

Another label from Spain called Fresh SAMs, another label from Spain. It was called a label from Spain because they were signing new artists. It was it was a jazz label and they would come to New York and find young artists who wanted the record and they'll pay you nothing, barely anything, but they would You could do a record and they'll distribute it and do the whole thing. Yeah, So it was just like, oh, that's a business card.

I'm glad you. I'm glad you mentioned that. Give us the rundown of new artists new record deal in the jazz space, is there is initially? Is their money there?

Hell no for three hundred police, Uh no, there's no money in jazz, there's no. But there's barely a budget to do the damn record really, so it's like it's literally for the love, there's no there's no budge because jazz musicians don't make people don't buy jazz even before streaming and stuff, you know what I mean. Jazz was such a small part of the of the whole pile of music, you know what, I'm such a small part, so you don't make a lot of money, and jazmugicians

That shape, you know what I mean. So, so it's really about gigging. It was really about gigging a lot as much as you can get that. That's what it's about and the love of music. But you know, after a while, you got kids, so do you have So within.

Those deals though, the way they're structured, are they are they? Are they more artists friendly?

Though? Since there's no upfront money or is it still a bad you know, royalty rate.

It's a terrible deal, bro It's nothing. It was, especially back back then when you're first getting signed. Most jazz musicians are just happy to get signed. You're just happy somebody's gonna put your record out and distribute the distribute that joint.

You know what I mean.

Like literally to make a jazz record back then in two thousand and five, for sure, you know you're lucky. If your budget's like twelve thousand dollars, what maybe fifteen thousand dollars. I think my first my first budget to make the album, to make the whole album, because you make an album in like a.

Day, maybe two days.

And to survive too though, Yeah, that's all, that's everything, because you gotta have gigs.

You got to.

That's why most jazz musicians it's hard to rise to the top because when you when you do get a record deal, they don't give you money to sustain your life. They just give you money to make that record. So and your record doesn't crack off all of a sudden your tour in the world, that's not how it goes. So you still plan side man gigs with different other artists that already have gigs, you know what i mean,

So is there a different cachet when you walk into the jazz clubs, like, oh, I'm signed to Blue Note. Yeah, that does give you a difference.

Yeah, okay, yeah, absolutely, And you know for festivals and things like that, it's a big brother, you know, like, oh, you sign a Blue Note, okay, because Blue not has they have marketing money, they can they can promote you to a certain extent, you know what I mean.

The cool thing about jazz though, is that it's global, like you play, I mean music too. Yes, but the average R and B singer is not playing in Brussels, No, true, you're right, right, But the average now I want to say average, the new are established.

Either one can catch a gig in Norway playing jazz bro.

I went to Europe with So I've been touring for years with other musicians and you know, doing jazz tours around the world since two thousand nineteen ninety eight.

You know what I mean.

When I started playing Maxwell in two thousand and nine, he was my whole band. Like that was when he came out Pretty Wings and all that. That was my band he was using. So I toured with Max and on our days off we would do it. I would do gigs with my band, you know what I mean. Yeah, his first time going to Europe was when I was on tour with him, like twenty ten. That was his first time going to Europe first time. And you have been going to Europe since.

I've been going to Europe for twelve years before that. Yes, that's crazy.

Also because you think about it sometimes it's it's the language barrier too. When you're playing instrumental music, there's no language barrier. M when you're an R and B singer, it's all about what you're saying, you know what I mean a lot of times and it's you know, it's it's it's that. So I think a lot of people maybe get scared of that, or or also you have to cut your teeth. You have to really tour places over and over again to build an order out there.

You have to you have to do that.

People don't understand how important that is unless you got a record where it's like, Okay, I could tour the world off this one record because it's connected everywhere, connected so much. Other than that, as an artist, you kind of got to keep going to London there unless you got pony.

Yeah, you can kick you off. Quit. I'm just a bachelor.

Yeah, you know, like certain places I know I can go, and I know I can clear four thousand people one show, five thousand people, one show, just.

Me ticketed, not festival.

Yeah, but because I kept going one of the country so many times, so much, and I tweed it the right way, you know what I mean.

I know I can do that. Not twelve Oh that's not a tune.

Oh man. People don't really know where I got that from. But you picked it out immediately and it thinks which are super.

Superman. He knows his music. He may not know it's mad. That is crazy because I played this every time you with the super first grade.

What is the bird?

It's a fine. Robert O. Man, we want some information from your brother. Don't bring me some tissue.

Musical journeys, all the music you've heard, all the music you've covered, you've got to have some favorites. I do, Robert, we want to know y'all. Top five, Yeah, your top.

Five, say it again?

Top five.

Your top ORANGEB singer? What else? R and B song?

Come with you?

You got to you got your show. I know you do, and I want to top Yeah.

Your sex A chocolate says so beautiful?

Don't you agree? Oh? Glass?

Oh?

Your top five R and B singers, Top five R and B singers. So you said the R and B. So we're talking about R and B.

We're tall talking about R and B, but we are also talking about those singers who are influential and instrumental to you, to you, to Robert, Robert. Okay, I like, do we get to safely say Robert's great.

Top five singers all time, dead or alive? Yours? Stevie half of the top Donny mm hmm, Kimberell, Yes. Blow.

Oh this is really hard, Layla, Layla's a savage list, Laylasten. I mean it's and I've seen blow terror room apart art. He woldn't even stage that long. No, he's incredible, bro. Most people haven't seen what I've seen because I've known him for so long. I knew him when he was kind of still saved.

You know what I mean? However, because I used to.

You know, his dad was a Muslim, mom's Baptist, so he knows the Koran and and he was he used to. I have seen the video knocking people out of church. He's eleven.

He was a healer. Yeah, he was an evangelist and healer. Like it's deeper than most people know, got it, most of God, most people? It makes sense.

He used to be god man. He was Derek Holey two point oh when I met him, he was eighteen, Like it was crazy.

Grade five, Yes, Top five Army songs your whole while we wait album next, We'll make that.

We'll make that one. That one just what you gotta cover. Work around that.

But you know, getting out of here Army song, a lot of it, and for me is nostalgia because growing up what my mom was playing and stuff, you know. So I would definitely say one of the one of the songs that made me want to play piano is giving you the best that I got. M I need a baker, Yeah, give you best I got. I had forty five, I was in third grade, fourth grade.

Wore that out. I can't help it. Michael Jackson, written by Stevie Wonder. I wanted to that's another one.

When I was in third grade, I used to unfold the Off the Wall album and play it back forward back for hours to sit there reading the line of notes. I knew who Greag Philly Games was when I was in third grade, and now he's my uncle grade game. You know what I mean, Uncle Greg, Great Feeling Games. I didn't know what that instrument was, but I knew. I loved the roads. I know what it is now, but I didn't know what it was. But that, bro, you're not playing at this point. Oh no, no, we

I was eleven.

You just start playing to your eleven eleven and you're late, super late. Another song from my childhood Isley Brothers smooth Sailing.

That's Angela Wimbush wrote it smooth Sally anything that you know from me? I love that song. It takes you back to a place immediately. Don't listen to they know about I don't know.

Come on, Oh my god, that song is such a good something man, Jesus, I'm like, what a song.

That song will never get old.

It will.

So it always feels like a first listen, like, alright, man, it's.

That was yeah, bro, let's create a vultron this oh musical vultron. All Right, your super your you're super R and B artist, Right, We want to know who you're going to get the vocal from.

Mm hmmm.

Who you're going to get to performance style from, who you're gonna get the styling from. Who are you going to get the passion of the artist, the heart of the artists?

Right? Mm hmmm mm hmm. And who's going to play for that artist? Hmmm?

Who's going to m d that band? Empty the band? So let's start off with the vocal. You get one vocal to build your super R and B Stavis.

You know why because like when you say Stevie, it's like which Stevie, because there's a million of them.

He doesn't have one Stevie voice. There's a million. He misses it. He misses it. No tempo, no year, no year period.

Okay, performance style Michael Jackson, see Michael Jackson.

Okay, just purely when you walk out on stage going crazy. No one has the Michael Jackson effect.

No, you stand there and watch them.

You just fucking stand there before you even do anything. You stand there and then you start doing stuff. We all got to stand there. And from Michael Jackson.

Absolutely, it doesn't always go the way he went with Michael Jackson. But but come on, I haven't seen a couple niggas standing there and be like, have you ever seen his life? It's the styling of the artists, like what they're wearing.

Ye can't do Michael twice, I like, you can't whatever you want just just for the sake of just just for the sake of, like, you know, just some different ship.

Let me just see, let me see. That might be fun, Prince, might be fun. Me, Michael, Prince, that might be fun.

That could be fun. This is great, Now, this is great. It's great because of because of because of the first two. You don't to accept whatever he has that for sure, whatever whatever, that level of talent, and.

He's going to bring his guitar and you don't even know what part of what it's going to be when he shows up.

You have no idea, Michael, you kind of know what the vibe is. Yeah, Prince, you don't Prince gonna bring to work with him too. He's gonna bring them. He's gonna bring to you. Feel me here. Ain't got a couple you feel me with him? No, he's not ice. You gotta have some of your feel me. He keeps me, Apo keeps you know, I mean, you know what I mean. And Lisa I met him, want Sheila. He had like

You know what I mean.

I got on your and you feel me right now? I have one of your feel you feel me? Yeah, I like that. The passion of the artists, the heart of the artists who mean it. James Brown.

A man this my no, no, no, I'm not even my You got the an alphol five, I mean both round of all times. Yeah, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, James Brown, all all pioneers, absolutely, all changed the game, all some point change all pioneers. Who's the m D for this artist, who's making.

It all go?

Right?

I might the m D might be Earth Winding Fire. Have them do the music? Oh my god, because I just it's Adam Blackstone, you know, going in fire show, you know how to do a show. Yes you feel me. First time I saw earth When the Fire Alive, I was like, what the fuck is going on?

How many members are in earth Winning Fire? It's only but it's only four though, something like that.

Like Maurice he was he was the the little Verdine Philip Philip, And then I think it's just yeah, that was but.

On, Yeah, they're on, that's everywhere. That was my second concert ever. Michael Jackson was my first. I was seven. I was twelve when I saw Earthline Fire. My mom made me go see them. She said, you want to be a musician.

Right.

It was Saturday morning. She woke me up, Come on, we're going to see Earthlin the Fire. That the Houston Rodeo. And I was like, Mom, sleep, I don't want to go. Stay boy, get your ass up. Then goes the Earthly Fire. Momm good, you want to be a musician. She almost spanked me for not wanting to get up and go.

She made me go shout out to your mom. Absolutely, but all right, Rob, we can't let you leave this. Ye, yeah we can't. We can't. Yeah, We're gonna give them. Ain't saying no Nick, ain't saying no name, no names. Don't say I ain't saying.

Whoa Oh my god, so right now, very important segment of the show. Yeah, I ain't saying no names.

Right. Will you tell us a story funny or fucked up? Are funny and fucked up? Yes? You know what I mean?

These travels, Yeah, these jazz, R and B travels, hip hop, hip hop, be bop by dibbity bop, all of that, all of every genre.

Everything you got to Grammy.

Of Robert Glasper, the things you've seen, things you might have experienced that was and fucked up.

Don't rule to the game. You can't say no name, no namest rule to the game. Gotcha? Okay, So I'm gonna and I guess this point there was no cell phones allowed maybe, but I was doing a gig. I was doing a gig.

Let's leave it at that, and I don't think there were any cell phones allowed that and that's why.

But this particular singer was also uh uh I had a church? Was R and B singer? Okay, but was preaching. I know they had a church or yeah maybe they did, maybe they didn't don't know.

And uh, this person was actually on a TV show I had just saw I was talking about the religious part of this person's life now, like you know.

Or religious. Yeah.

I was like, oh man, that's great. I just saw it like the night before. So I'm doing this show and this person shows up to the show. I was like, oh man, this is great, big fan.

And so I'm playing the person sitting in the front row. I'm doing my show.

So at the end of the show, I hit this vamp and I kind of sitting to the person like you want to sing, and they're like okay, sure, and they come up and they say, everybody's grown in here, right, oh yeah, yeah, like yeah, And then the first words the person saying was the first lyrics were I don't mind hair in my teeth. That's the first who first thing, mind you. I'm sure everybody in this room knows that this person is now a preacher, like that was a

It was so amazing. That is great. It will be more amazing if you you the names but can't say the name. Not saying the names.

What that's the most recent the recent funny like seriously funny thing. And the fact that like there were no phones really so it was even more like you have to be there. Yeah, it's a urban legend.

Yeah, absolutely, it was great. Don't mind getting hair in your teeth? The first line, first line, you mind getting hair in my teeth? Are you biting the is everybody grown in here? I like to bite it. You never like a little bite?

Man.

I never met one that is great and then didn't know bullet.

Man.

Okay, not you. Why I gotta I know a singer that sound like that.

Man.

We ain't saying no name. Brother, Robert Glaser, Yes, man, we love you, brother. Appreciate you absolutely. Absolutely, We appreciate man. You appreciate keeping what we love and what we do in the forefront. Yeah.

Absolutely, thank you for having me on there. Thank you for having us getting it out in the world. Take I want to do a song with you. What do you mean as soon as okay? Good letting the world know this right here. That's because you see it. I'm saying I would like to grab me. I'm saying I would like to I don't believe together. Yeah, I think we could do that. I'm really serious, pretty sure for sure.

No, and and in thanking you brother even for just being just a solid guy to So for those that don't know I ran up on Glass, I'm knowing to run up on people.

It's kind of thing.

If I fuck with you, if I with you, I'm gonna run up on you. I'm gonna tell you how dope you are. And I'm going to invite you to the podcast. So I'm at the you know, the Adam Blackstone, Miss Diddy shut out, shout out amazing artists that come up there and perform, and you grace the stage that night, and I was like, and it's funny thing is, yes, I will run up on people that I know, usually like you know, if it's my homie.

But we didn't know each other. We didn't know each other.

And I'm like, you know what, I'm gonna say, how talented this man is for one, which I have no problem with giving people their problems, but then also I'm going to say, hey man.

We need you on this podcast. We respect what you do.

BT respect what this man does, and you know, invite him to the BT Awards and the Soul Trained Awards and every other award that y'all do.

I have a war and you have one. Yeah, I forgot. I have one for Black Radio the year where your docum to the wars to get it, No, man, but I once radio. I forget what the category was. I think it was.

I feel like it was Best Jazz Album, but you know what I mean. But I have the Silver Train, like the actual award, and it was when Don Liz.

Was still alive. That's the train right there. Yeah, I forgot about that, man.

But yes, brother, thank you because you know you kept your word. I ran upon you, I said, a bro. And the funny thing is when I ran up on you was like Jay Valentine, I knew you. I love.

I've been wanting to get in the podcast.

I've been with people and they've been telling like I one time I was with Brian He's like, yeah, I'm doing the podcast tomorrow R and B. I was like, one time I was stokely and he literally I brought him out here to do something, or yeah, okay, he was performing with me somebody.

So it worked the same time.

Like there have been so many people that are about to go do you'all podcast, I was like, I want to do that podcast.

I'm really glad y'all inviting me on here. Thank you, I appreciate you, thank you for thank you for pulling up on absolutely.

My name is Tank, I'm Jay Valentine and this is the Army Money podcast.

The authority on all things R and B and.

Traditional progressive whatever A n B all all R and B super first grade himself.

I'm not gonna get a shirt that's super first grade.

R and B Money. R and B Money is a production of the Black Effect podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Don't forget to subscribe to and rate our show, and you can connect with us on social media at Jy Valentine and at the Real Tank. For the extended episode, subscribe to YouTube dot com forward slash R and B money