Steven Russell

R and B Money.

We are.

Thank you.

Chi.

We are the authority on all things R.

And B ladies and gentleman. My name is Tank.

This is the R and B Money Podcasts, the authority on all things.

All things R and B real, R and B. Yeah. Wing spreaders, huh, come on fly, come on. Whole whole line dedicated to the name of the group. Yeah, you know, clothing line. You know I'm talking about some steppers. Help me. Steppers call them my nesty. They say birds of a feather. What they do flock together. Okay, I got my brother in the builder, my loved one. We have created magic together.

Yes, we had to get to talk about it all right here on the Army Money podcast. Get up, Yes, that's yeah true.

The legendary, legendary Yeah yeah, West Coasting.

That's a din in the house. I'm reminded of a story you told me. I want.

I want to get on two things first before we paused that. The first story you told me you came in to I forget where you were.

You were like.

Backstage somewhere or something, and uh songs was doing good right, you know, you was popping and you had your shades on, you know, your your your I'm doing this ship shades on. Yeah, and a guy by the name of jel LeVert walked up to you and said, not yet, not yet.

No, he did turn your LIFs down. Listen your light. Yeah, relax, you know.

I feel you, Bro, but one more record at least, Bro, just pace it not this moment. And I respected it. But my feet were off the ground. David Blade, Yeah, where was this? We had a show together, Rude Boys, Men at Large, Jeli Image Awards, Wow, and we were doing the Temptations. And this was the third Oh my god, this was the third album. I had went through my college days with Chuckie and Babyface and everybody, the first two. The third album, I went in and put my work in,

Guy? Right?

And you know, I loved Gerald so much because that's not the only time that Gerald, you know, Joel was like a big brother to me. But I love him and I appreciate that moment so much because we don't know when God in the flesh is talking to you, dealing with you.

Yeah, You're gonna speak to you through something, through somebody.

Yeah, come on, and it's up to you to know his face when you see for sure, you know. And because I like to learn and like to grow. And I was such a big GERLD fan period when he said that, I was able to say, Okay, Steve, I feel what he's saying.

Because I'm.

Anybody else, anybody else, anybody else said it, you probably would not have.

I know you're talking to yes, bro, I'm number one.

I'm number one, as you're telling me this, excuse me, excuse me.

Right now, at least in this second.

Now, everybody everybody wears shades now, but I didn't do that. But everybody wearing sh now. But back then, if you had on some shades.

It was.

You know, I had lines. You know, I'm designed up, made over new grill. You know, I had porcelains in the nineties.

I was the first thing Caniga smiling.

You know, I'm you know, just you know, keeping it real.

Gerald was one of the guys that always pulled my coattail, but he always pushed me forward at the same time. Yeah, you know, I remember we did our Senior Hall second album, I'm Not Suited. We didn't know New Audition was gonna be there, and you know, Gerald was always my.

Round table guy.

You know, I didn't have any brothers and stuff growing up, but Jerald he was the guy I always called just for whatever. So I was real nervous and scared, you know, and he was pumping, Man, man, you're gonna do great man, y'all.

You know, you the ship man, you know whatever.

So I remember after we finished I'm Not suit Bro, he called me crying.

Man, your niggas is great, man, You niggas is great. I told you, I told you, man. He's so passionate. You know, he's so passionate.

He was so happy that we killed it the way we killed it because he's rooting for the under he wants us to kill it, and we killed it, bro, and he called me he was so proud.

I'll never forget that. Wow, Rest in peace, man.

And then another other story. When we first got the building, I was like, man, I was like, what.

Are you doing on the roof right? I'm working with my birds?

I said, what what are you doing here?

Birds? He said, yeah, my pitch and my birds. I said what.

So from him, you know, and we'll get more into that so you can really explain that. But from there is me, and you just began to hang out more and happen more.

You know. He's like, he's like, na, we're nesty. I said, what is a nasty had two eggs?

Mans?

Yeah? You like my master.

So take us back, Take us back, Steve too the very beginning, like where does the star for you?

Where is it?

Like?

You know, okay, I got something, I'm finding something, I'm tapping into something. As this young kid.

I was, I was an only child with my you know, single parent home, my mom and my grandmother. Her mother used to always tell my mother that boy is special my entire life, and because I loved her so much, that meant something to believe whether I knew what it was. I believe that because she said it, and she said it a year after.

You make sure you keep him with drawing paper. Do you know this boy can draw?

Because I was with her this summer in Texas and that Marilla, bless her heart. Anyway, it started from that her saying this to me. So fast forward fourteen years old, enter.

In high school.

She passes from an aneurysm before I even become fifteen. So I'm dealing with her not seeing me manifesting anything right. And I was walking on campus when I first got there, and I saw myself homeless actually, and I was older and I was on the street, bro, and it scared the living shit out of me. And from that moment, it was either football or music. Because I grew up I was popular as a dancer in Pasadena.

I was one of the only little kids.

You knew, this little dude, he's always danced, you know. And then I went into Michael Jackson, and I was super popular doing Michael Jackson. I was famous doing Michael Jackson.

Bro.

I was Mike at twelve, and so I already loved the fans. I used to make people happy doing Mike, and I fell in love with that. I fell in love with making people feel good because it made me feel good, you know. And that was all connected with that, seeing myself homeless and wanting to be something for my grandmom and my mom. All that was the moment where it was like, okay, so on, I don't care what it is. It's either football. I was playing football against my mom's will.

I was good.

I got over my fear of defensive back. I got over my fear of hitting. It was over once I knew I was hitting you monster. So anyway, it was either that or singing. And I started giving demo tapes around in the studios in Pasadena. I would record what were you recording on UH eight recorder cassette recorded those great cassette recorders.

Bro, you pressed, You have to press real hard to get it to record.

Playing record. At the same time with the Little Black.

Mic No, I was singing Jermaine Jackson, Dude, what you do when you did?

What you did?

Tell how Jermaine had a hit to it, because you know, sleep you record record he did on Jermaine's name.

Man, that song was us, So you know, yeah, I was passing my sorry, I was passing my demo around and then a guy from school that I knew that played sports and stuff said, hey, man, you got to watch us this weekend.

We on this show called Putting on the Hits and it was a litsen show.

Yeah you know so, and I was like, you won't Putting on the Hit you played basketball. So I watched it.

I went home and they was getting down cooler than now.

I mean bust so I was telling my mom. I was like, I'll go to school these dudes, you know. So anyway, they won week fast forward. He's we got these big talent shows. Back then, it was always huge city talent shows, so we were getting prepared for one of those. The lady who was running the talent show wanted me to get them. At the same time, someone had contacted Putting on the Hits to find out if that group could sing, but they wasn't a singing group.

I need you because how old are you? Guys are fifteen years old.

We're cute freshmans.

We're freshmans, bro.

And of course I just made this decision.

Work.

I had just made the win at all costs.

Here comes Rodney. I need you in the group. So of course, fast forward.

John John was.

In one of my thriller groups when I was doing mic so he came along. He found out I was in the group.

He made he bullied hisself. That's my god, you know.

So you know Alan came shortly thereafter, and you know we rehearsed every day, bro.

So start off with four.

Well it was well, it was it was four because one of the original members was sticking around, our buddy Shane. He was still believing a little but that ran out for him, you know, And that was I had already met Alan uh singing in a park or something. So I remember this guy I can sing. I know, Rodney him and looking at me like, I'm this guy, but I need a singer in the group, you know what I'm saying. So when Shane made space for Alan, boom and that was five.

Of a kind, Bro, what you said, Well, Reggie and Rodney. Reggie and Rodney were the originals, and they were the originals that went on putting on their heads, and Reggie stayed him and Rodney were the two originals that remained from that putting on the hits.

And from there, Man, we rehearsed every day, day in day out. And now that I'm older and i've I've learned some stuff about what life is about. I look back now, like in hard times or when I feel like it's a struggle going on, and I remember rehearsing and not being on the sidewalk.

Bro.

There would come a time in rehearsal that I was on stage in front of thousands of people, and by the time the rehearsal was over, I was back before I got in the eleventh grade. Were signed to Atlantic Records.

Bro, this is about a two year process.

Yes, you know, to get the development, Yes, for us to get our stuff together, but no, we developed. We got signed June second, on a Tuesday in eighty six. Wow, so we still had work to do. But the manifestation from the visualization is real. It's really really real, man, And all of us was on one accord, So it was nothing the universe could do but just move it out of the way. By the time I was in twelfth grade, Mama Citu.

Was almost number one.

You know what, man, My classmates got to see me on Donnie Simpson after all of those years of saying, oh, we're coming out next month.

So by the time we get to the twelfth grade.

But before that, are you guys already? True? No, five of a con, five of a con.

We're the guys in the twelfth grade, before we before that record comes out.

We're the guys. But our group was the guys, and there was a.

Group called Guy that had a release date before hours a couple of weeks groove me wow, yes, and we had to change our name bro, and we already had to day wait.

So at the same time Teddy and him got Guy, y'all got the Guy.

We were the guys, but y'all signed too, and yeah we were signed the guys.

Wow.

So okay, So and didn't even know about Is there a brainstorming meet? Yes, West Coast, East coast? Is there a brainstorming meeting of like, what are we going to call?

No question? How does that go?

Merlyn Bob rest in peace. He's Sylvie Rome's right hand man, but he was our handler, you know, we were his ships. He got us on the phone and said we need a name now this second. So everybody was scrambling for a second. And you know me, I'm a download guy. So as soon as I got the download Troopers, we had a dance. We were already doing the Truth.

That's us.

You know what I'm saying. We're not a new addition with true, my nigga.

And that's how it happened.

I said, with the True, and everybody at simultaneous like that's it, that's it, and Maryland hung up the phone and then Alan sat there for a couple of seconds and came up with total respect of other people, and that was it.

Wow, number one record. I didn't know that number one record.

After the number one record, we never flopped, bro, we never felt the feeling of a defeat on a charting record.

Give me because I know you yeah, I know you know, I know it.

Give me twelfth grade with a hit record. How is that well floated? I'm sure he was flowing.

All of us know each other like the people that we went to school, which you've been in school with him since second grade, So we know everybody. So you already have built up the people who knew you weren't not gonna make it. You already have that crowd. You have the crowd who's rooting for you, and you got the crowd that know you're gonna do it.

So we had.

Stopped talking about what we were doing well before we got like by the time we got the record deal and all that, we wasn't going to school hoping people believed us anymore.

So we were just.

Regular right when we got on Donnie Simpson's couch, that couch when we came back to school, this is the last week of school, Bro, you got four more days.

You're out video. So when we came back that.

Monday from being on video, so bro, that four days was the best four days of our high We were on the couch, you know.

How big that was. I made the couch, you know.

And then I found out that the elevator wasn't real because I tried to the elevator.

And I'm like, man, I want to get on the elevator.

Right, that's true.

And it was a wonderful experience.

Man.

Was there a particular young lady That's all he wanted to know if you had to go use your flag, was there a particular young lady that you had had your eyes on, and maybe it was maybe it was a little difficult, Maybe it was just a little challenging, you know what I'm saying. But you know what I'm saying, before the couch, but then right after the couch to you know, to get.

Back in retaliation. The reciprocation was.

It was just on a different level where it was like, I've always had my eye on you a lot of it, yeah.

A lot of it. I was a crusher.

I was the quiet guy that you know, I like particular girls. I didn't just like everybody, but I liked that special little thing, you know, And I didn't always match, it didn't always align, you know. But I had a girlfriend during high school. Crystal was my high school sweetheart.

But yeah, I was a flirt.

I was out there and yeah once, uh, that little one bedroom apartment turned into a nice Beverly Hills little retreat. No no, no, yeah right there in Pasaden, in that same one bedroom apartment, so.

He turned it into it for Beverly Hills Retreat.

Okay, yeah, yeah, you know you always.

That one apartment in the hood that got the leather couch. Everybody know about that. Get that bunk bit out of here and bring that water.

It was nice.

And I wasn't. I didn't.

I didn't take advantage of it like.

I could have, but I appreciated.

I did appreciate.

Yeah, Okay, I.

Feel like the people who took advantage of it like they quote unquote should.

Have, they didn't survive. And I didn't do that. Bro, you got a patient, Yes, I did have to patience. I did, man, I did. I mean the entire time. Man, we got on the road.

Man, I used to room with Reggie, and Reggie was a person professional already. This definitely wasn't his first time around touring or none of that.

Bro.

When we got out on the road, he was already max savvy. He already knew. Yeah, he knew and.

Ready.

You know.

You how do you know how to I mean grown? I mean bringing grown women.

I'm like your kids. I was like, I couldn't believe he'd come in the room with somebody.

I just rolled with all the cover.

I start saying that put the nigga shineing, shout.

Rest in peace. Wow. Crazy, We had a ball man. We had a ball who's.

The first tour? Yeah, oh, the first tour. Maama Sita is going crazy.

We did a ninety city too, by ourselves.

We did a ninety city tour. How many days does it take you all to do ninety cities?

People were crying and everything before it was over with, and airports.

Crying broke down.

Everybody went through hell, I want to go home.

Oh, and we laughed at everybody that we laughed and everybody who went through it, and everybody went through it.

We did a ninety city tour by ourselves.

Every skating rink across the country, every boys club, girls girls club, schools, every every school, everything that you could think of. Truth was there. And that's why we're able to exist today because we were the people. We were eating at people's houses. We were those guys old school though.

That's what you see in the school ray. And we did that.

We did that. That was we We lived that. And people love us for thirty years because they remember when they were four and we were at their house and the neighbors. The whole block was lit because truth was there. No shooting, no fighting, nothing, love. One hundred people on the neighborhood.

Really over here and they really over here because we was hot, were on fire.

But we never did get to experience what a lot of successful groups experienced, like a new addition or Joe to see or boys to men.

We were right on the cusp. You know, why do you think that was energy within the group? Of course? Okay?

And you know universal laws lack attracts like you know, when you get off course with that, you're still attracting, you know, when you lose the appreciation and the abundance that that's bestowed up on you being here, when you lose focus of that, and you allow. They didn't teach us about the ego, right. They told us that the ego was self centered. And if you don't self centered with Jay, who's gonna self center with you? You know, you gotta be self centered in order to be in

So.

Going through beat up by an ego that you don't even know this, there's like being in a ring with somebody that got gloves on and they pounded on it and you don't even know You're in a boxing match.

Bro.

You know, living that kind of life where the egos gas tank is full, the higher self, the soul side, that creative side that was rehearsing and visualizing. Once you get hit records and you make money and now it's turned into work. Now it's turned Now you have family and now you dig steve from truth.

Now you married.

Now you're taking care of a family, youngster.

You know, yes, requirements, yeah right.

Ego is there waiting the whole time because the ego didn't like it when you were famous and feeling good about yourself. So now you feel in a certain kind of way. You feeling this, You've been in TGT. Come on, man, you know how it goes when you're not in alignment. You're not in alignment. There's not a lot of attraction coming your way as a unit and you got three different energies going on in one bubble, it just doesn't happen.

You know.

I knew I was over the edge in that way, but it was for the all. I wasn't walking around talking about Steve Russell, you know, I wasn't saying Steve and true you know, it never turned into that. My focus was always for the body of the entity. But when you're growing and you're getting to know yourself. We

Depression a slave to it. You become a slave to it, you know, so now you're depressed. Was there a spokesman for the group like that?

Within the group that was that everybody was like, you know, the level head and the person and that was having the conversations with you know, multiple members to keep everything together or try to.

Rodney was that guy. But Rodney lost his power when me and Alan became the two guys to make the decisions, and then we were at each other's throat when when the cane and abels started, which I tried to prevent the entire time, because Alan was different. When I found when he lived with me, it was different. And I'm not you know, we all are different, but I'm just saying the energy that we had Alan wasn't that. Alan was much more mature. He wasn't physical on me and you.

You know, how would y'all have individual buses onto it or okay, we wanted it. We wanted I mean, you know it's tough.

Man, but you know, when you lose focus, when you lose energy, when you lose the energy that connects you to manifestation, you have a journey. Now you have to go through these things that you're creating. They didn't tell us that we were creating the picture. They taught us that life happens to us. But you're creating it. You're up there on stage looking good because you create that. You believe in tank, people believe in you. Lack attracts like you know, if you believe you ain't shit in

I'm not gonna play games with you. I'm God. You ain't shit.

Okay, I'm not going to prove myself to you.

You think you broke.

You believe in lack because you don't see money in your pockets. You think that's me. That's the true that you see an empty piece of fabric.

You believe that. Okay.

The grace of God is measured by the grace of you on your motherfucking self.

Mhmm.

God is gonna agree with you as you agree with you, as you love you and believe in you.

He's gonna cheer you on.

Come on, you got it as you see ship that's not there, but you feel good about it anyway. Now he really cheering.

Now he's got the pomp.

Come on, tank, it ain't even manifesting you feeling good.

Baby, come on. That's how it works.

But they don't teach us that. So in my experience, I had to learn that the tough way, you know. I had to relearn that I'm a piece of God, having a physical experience, able to create things from thought in the physical manifestation.

We did it.

We did it together, okay, because we have we have to.

We have to give the journey. We got to give the journey, and your journey is amazing. Like we all know that, and we've all been a part of that journey with you. I mean, you know, I remember you told me during our underdog days, which we'll get to, you were like Jay, you know, we never had this

Some things that you needed to you know, have to take care of, and he loved and we've all, you.

Know, we've all had, you know, uh, a piece of each other's journey that brings us here today. So when Troop disbands, what is that like for you? At that moment when you're like, Okay, I gotta figure because how old are you at this point?

You still what? Yeah, late twenties, bro, Well you got to figure out your new life.

It was scary because I grew up an only child and like I tell you, you don't know about the egos, so you don't know that there's this thing recording everything. So for me being an only child and having those brothers, good or bad, indifferent, whatever I had them, you know, and then you have the higher self saying, steve your first. Put yourself first, dear one, you know, put yourself first.

You know.

So my battle was that the entire time of you know, and my mom, she really helped me. She was the one that said, look, son, you got all these songs. You need to focus on you. Let others get your songs to other people. There are people not having problems in the group that need your records.

I never take start placing the records.

Listen when I tell you I was blind, I told you, he go blind you I'm nothing.

Now.

We messed up our record deal. You know it's shit now, and you know you believe that. If you believe it, you're going to experience it.

And I was in it.

And my mom said, son, you got all these records.

Man.

I never sold any of my equipment never. I always knew if I had something to offer, I was okay, right, So at my lowest love, my mom said, you need to leave troop alone. You need to allow troop to breathe without you. You need to you need to give Troop a break and give yourself an opportunity to see what life has for you, as Steve Russell, because you are are you are Steve, you know. And I Randy Jackson used to work at MCA from American. I write a song called I Wonder Why.

I Wonder Why. I Wonder Why, I Why.

Some jodasy sound of song, but it wasn't that. But anyway, he gave me twenty five thousand dollars to do that song on a group he had called Jersey Avenue.

I remember Jersey Avenue.

I produced a record for them bro called I Wonder Why, And that turned everything around.

And I had.

Already prior to that, ran into a guy named Vasill Befford, and I was I was producing for Vasall Bedford and I met this guy, this engineer we hired named Harvey.

Mason, young guy. His dad was this famous drummer.

And me and this guy, Harvey Visas was always gone. You know, he got somebody doing music for him. You know, he come in and polish that's it.

I was gone.

So me and this kid, Harvey Mason, man, we become like two p's in the pods on the writing. You know at first he's just engineering and tripping off of my vocal arrangements and ship.

Like, man, why are you doing that? Man?

You know it's hard science.

He wants the science. So I was like a science project for him because as he's engineering, he's listening to how I'm doing my vocal rams. I'm all laid back because I'm picking up from Allen and everybody I'm around. I'm a part of drill every I got everybody. In my late twenties, I was ready, you know, creatively. So you know he's he's figuring out what I'm doing, and before you know it, we're writing songs together.

I mean bad records, bro.

Just me and him vasales lock us in the studio. It wouldn't give us the key.

Me and Harvey have to shake.

The only way we could stay warm after we get tired is to sleep under the SSL because of the heat that's under the SSL, and me and Harvey in the studio sleep into versad coming.

And this is after you've had record.

This is this is the new journey of Steve becoming a songwriter.

Look camera Steve and tell them how this ship really goes? Man, And if you really love this thing that we're in. What you gotta go through sometimes, what you're willing to go through.

You gotta be willing to go through what you consider being uncomfortable. You gotta be willing to go through with blinders on when they's so foggy you can't you can't see. But you gotta open your motherfucking ears up and keep walking straight.

You gotta.

You gotta keep walking, even if you gotta take little tiny chopping steps.

Just keep your feet moving. You've played sports.

Keep your feet moving, chop your feet, keep walking, keep moving because you're on your way. Everything that is coming against you in perception is there to move you forward. Everything is all good. There's nothing in your journey against you from a lestation. No daddy, no mother, nothing is against you. You're molested. The absent mother, the absent father, all have agreed to do a job for you here

Be robbed in your life.

If you have abusive father, abusive mother, you fall in love with that and the agony because that you have an ego, you have this flesh that loves pain, it loves the long and I wish I was like Tank. Oh I wish I could get in shape. Oh I wish. See, that's the ego and the flesh. Get your ass on the floor and do it right. That's the choices that you have to make. But you have to know that everything is all good. And that's very tough when you're sleeping in your car and tomorrow you don't know what

You get what I'm trying to say.

Because when I was working with you guys before, before Tank, right at the beginning of the Underdogs, was when I had moved back from Rialto. This is me from my mom's motivation. Now I'm back, Harvey, Harvey came. I forgot to tell you I'm writing songs. After I did that song from Randy Jackson, I'm stealing this. My mom had some apartments. She did right by what I gave her. She has these apartments, so she has some stuff set up. Come on, man in the hood. In Rialto in the Hood,

Mom's on my team. Wow, come get to this apartment. We sprayed this motherfucker down, you know, spread down to get up in here.

It ain't gonna be that long. This was mom, bro, and you know, and now it was over. It felt like this was I'm in Rialto. How the fuck did I get in Rialto? But the god side, my god self was so appreciative. I was so appreciative of that apartment. Man, my first wife. No, nigga, you done fell off my nigga.

This ain't hurt.

Saying, but this is the reality feeling. Yeah, I'm finna move to Compton. I'm going to move back with my mom. I'm out of here right. I'm focused on having something to offer. I just proved to myself from that placement that I'm okay. I still got some breath in me. So I'm focused. I'm writing. I'm writing.

Steve's Harvey Mace. What a man, What a man you still were? Rodney. Uh, you know, I'm kind of we leave. I'm out of that.

But I met this guy we're going to create this writing team. Damon Winning picked his guy, so I'm picking my guy. I know you like writing by yourself, but I think this would be great for your career.

I think this would be good for us. Bro.

Just come and check us out and see if you want to vibe with us.

Right underdogs.

Jay Valentine's the main writer, already got a smash.

I like them.

I'm coming in will murder. That's my guy right there.

They don't even realize we know each other. Yeah, they have no idea when he's baby. Yeah.

When he said he got ja, I said, okay, Jay, he's growing right.

So we love them. These guys we.

Love They were our group.

Man, we love them so much.

So just the thought of that was a And I'm a super positive dude anyway. You know, I'm not a hater. I was blessed not to be envious. I don't have envy me, so it's always good with me.

So that was perfect.

When he said, Jay Valentine's like, oh shit, you know, so.

That was the.

Universe obliging my willingness to still have.

Not belief.

Belief is whack, faith enough to still persevere creatively when there's nothing to be creative for. So it seems egotistically, what.

Are you doing this for? No, but you're in reality, you're the hood buddy.

Now to remind you the ego and make you kill somebody and then say you never do that. No, the ego is the worst part of it, I'm telling you, man. And there needs to be more conversation, especially amongst us getting of age, separating ourselves, especially when we deal with our women, man, introducing them to that part of themselves that they believe is them. When you're feeling off, that ain't you baby?

You know?

And once we stop claiming the egos thoughts and the egos feelings, your journey is a little easier because you know how you want to feel in every moment when

We can do anyway.

It doesn't matter even if you don't get it this time, it doesn't matter, right, the ego is.

Going to be trying to convince you.

No, Jay, Man, we might Man, shit, we could get this man, and you know how like say, ay, tank Man, just come do the show, bro, And I know this ain't your fee, but man, you know it's a lot of people gonna be there. We're gonna have some promoters there. It's gonna be some This guy is supposed to be there. And your ego is saying, now you've already made a standard from the higher self and loving self, I'm not going lower than this.

The ego. Oh man, the people gonna be there.

Man.

You know, man, you might get another opportunit needed out of this one, you know, pulling you to challenge yourself, you know. And we need to people need to have those conversations about ego because you have thoughts and feelings that are manifesting, especially now that everything is changing energetically.

Is more than ever. You need to know and be solid on.

Your relationship with your ego because the decisions that you're making now in this time, we can't afford to make egotistical and I don't mean arrogant I'm saying egotistical perceived decisions that trick yourself and witchcraft yourself to stay in that box of not knowing anything. You know, the ego is always unsafe and insecure, and it always wants.

You to feel you've ub a lot of musical excellence in your times, been around the world, and a yah yah.

You know you you you've you've been on the charts, while other people on the charts are waiting to be number one, I mean, big artists. You just said it so mean. Now we want to get into the mind of little Steve and figure out your.

Top five, your top five, top five, your top five all be singer. What's up.

Me, so, Steve?

Don't a little drouth bar, little drut little top top top.

Yeah, yes, lusty time FU love you, baby Steve. Okay, nasty, I can pull that off. Who is your top five R and B singers?

My first and favorite influence singer Damn Johnny Wilder from Heat Wave m is one of my favorite all time. I just love him man, rest in peace. Wow, I just love him. Man. Charlie Wilson, his voice steal it's hard to it's hard to. Charlie is good man, Charlie, and I can't say Charlie without saying Stevie because Charlie is a Stevie child, you know, So I gotta give props to Stevie. It's one of my favorites. Michael Jackson is a Stevie child, so it's hard. You know, that's

And now we're gonna move on, so our top top That was unfair, bro, Yeah that was called.

Now we're gonna move on to our top R and B songs. We'll stick top five. Okay, this will be five.

Damn, that's not fair.

This will be five. This will be okay. Five songs at the top.

Yeah, damn, man, five songs always and for everybody. She's out of my life. Michael Jackson, Superstar, Luther Vandros, Lady in My Life by Michael Jackson is definitely one of my favorite songs, I would say, and Holy Spirited by kimberrell Man that's one of my that's.

Definitely one of my top five songs. I love.

I got one more.

Oh that's fine, But Lady in my Life he said, she's out of my Lady.

So Mike got two of my life my life songs. But my Heartbreak Hotel.

Is one of my favorites songs. So we'll be we're going to do now and the song.

I'll take that an extra record. What we're gonna do right now is we're gonna do what we like to call a vultron. You're going to build your perfect R and B artists, and we're going to figure out who you get the vocal from, who you get the performance style from, who you get the drip from, and then who you get the passion from the heart of the artists. So let's start with the vocal. Who are you getting the vocal from to build your arm B artist?

One vocal Chris Brown. Chris Brown, Chris Brown, the universal radio vocal has a missed yet performance style on stage. Who you get do I have to just one person only? That's it. Yes, I can't combine one.

You know what combined. No, little Steve can combine. We've let somebody combine. Little Steve can combine.

Okay, you give me.

Prerogative Bobby Brown on the Awards when he was actually floating on the air monster.

And he was in his highest energy. You get King of R and B. Give me the King of R and B.

Bobby Brown performing style with of course, Michael Jackson.

I want to be the greatest. It's going to be Michael king of everything, all things. Yeah, you have to Michael, Bobby Brown.

Bobby Brown's attitude over Michael's attitude. When Bobby is doing prerogative with them two niggas and he's got hard. When he's got hard and he's spinning around and you don't know where he's gonna land at it, he's you know, he was a different am I trip it not at all. Bobby was different. Bobby was a different dude, Bro. Bobby Brown was an untouchable.

That that's great, you know from truth got the memo. You know we tried the email.

You but no, man, that's that's energy.

I think Bobby's energy is peaking. You get what I'm saying, I know what you're saying. Yeah, I take that, Michael, and Bobby.

Is not to ship on Usher because Usher came after Bobby and did very well with his thing.

Bobby though.

Yeah, Okay, Okay, I watched, We watched Bobby give New Edition everything they needed on that hard by himself.

By himself himself. So you get what I'm saying, Okay.

The styling of the artists, styling don't put on them.

When artists put that ship on the you.

New Audition in BBD, the young and the professional. I'll take the swag of to me. I envy New Audition swag. I always have their the most swagged out niggas in the industry to me, So I have to give it the swag of New Dish BBD with the street ship.

Yeah, they have the perfect blend, perfect New Audition in BBD both and kill. It literally changed the look yes of music.

Yeah, everybody looked like them. All the boy bands after them look like New additions, all the hip hop artists looked like BBD.

It did it.

Yeah, So I have to give them that because what other swag is there in between that for the artists we're building?

Yeah, yeah, you know the passion of the artists, the heart of the artists.

Michael Michael Jackson. You can't get more passionate than that.

You know you heard that cry.

Have you ever heard of a cappella track of Michael's?

Hurt your feelings, Hurt your feelings.

It's so much shit going on in the vocals. His passion is unbeat You know. I sang baby Face some demos for Baby baby Faces when he was submitting to the Invincible album. I sang his demos from Michael and those I worked harder singing those two songs than anything I ever sang in my life.

Yeah, yeah, because we know you got some legendary stories.

Yeah, she got you. I ain't saying no nicks. I ain't saying no names. I ain't saying no names. Ain't saying no names. Where was.

Did?

Don't see she saying no like that ship run? So right now.

We got a segment of the show it's called I ain't saying no names. Well, you tell us a story funny or fucked up? Are funny and fucked up about the travels of Little Steve Russell of TRUP The only rule you just can't say the names you can't say who was involved in it, not their name, but you know, maybe the occupation of it. I mean, even you can you can give some you know you you you've been a big stepper for a long time. You definitely dance.

I ain't saying no names.

Oh wow, and this is a moment that means something to me or just something. Okay, Well, being a kid that always admired singers and the music business and stuff and wanted to be in that world once I once I got hits and was traveling, I found out that there were certain members of my peer community that liked me like I you know, like I admired them as a fan or whatever.

You know. I had fans amongst people that I admired. M yeah, you know.

And I was fortunate at one time in my life too become really good friends with somebody that I admired, a whole whole lot of very famous singer, you know, female singer, and.

I had to share the unselfish.

With her, you know, I had an introduce her to the unselfish lumber incorporated, you know, incorporating.

I'm just kidding.

We used to say that back in the day.

But anyway, no, I was.

It's not exciting for everybody else, but for me, it was very exciting for me to be able to experience, uh, intimate relationship with somebody that I watched on TV and admired like a mog that's really liked him too. She ended up liking a little Steve Back mistake. Fool you baby down now, I'm just I'm just acting silly. But yeah, you know, I've had, I've had I've had an opportunity to experience some pretty neat things man. In my experience of touring and stuff. Man, I was I was the guy.

You know. So that was just my good down, you know. You know, it just happened to be somebody that was just on the level.

Man.

Yes, I love oh Man, I level lumber Lane, oh Man.

And it was everything that you could dream it to be.

When they see you, they seen y'all.

Yeah, say my name, say my name, beautiful, man. I wish I could say the name.

Cast some ship. Listen.

Steve had to say, when I've heard him say it at least fifty eleven hundred times, you lucky.

I ain't your type. Lucky, I ain't your time. I used to wait because we used to have, We used to always have.

You know, I have some things around, you know what I'm saying, just helping to create some wall paper, some garness.

I would say, like a lot of time to eighty percent of the time, it was to make people make him laugh.

I'm gonna be the one.

I could look in his eyes and then tell when it's a real stuff out of town.

You know, we be talking and we get into those conversations and he just be like, and Steve is one of those guys he's gonna compliment like, he's not gonna hold punch of just who you bad?

You're lucky, I ain't your type.

I mean, man, he be, he be, He throw that line out there, wait for fish the hook, and all of a sudden, you hear how you know.

You need a man?

Go?

Yeah, you need some real in your life. You frustrated. I'm mad with you.

Ship.

This is oh man. You guys listen, my brother, my nasty man. We love you.

Man, y'all know that we miss you, brother. That man, we got a lot close close the distance. Man, we definitely need you know what I'm saying too much to not do more. Yeah, definitely for sure.

This is your house and I love it. Man. I'm such a fan of the show. Man.

I'm happy to be a part of it, the history of it, you know, because what you guys are doing is trend setting on some R and B ship and it's awesome. And I like how you allow it to just be a real uh platform.

You know.

It ain't sugarcoated to please or please a certain thing, you know, And I love that about what you guys are doing. Man, thanks for having men cool. We love you, brother, I love you to us too.

I love you too.

Yeah, man, listen, my name is Tank, I'm Jay Valentine and this is the Army Money podcast, the authority on all things R and B. And I can't say it no better than this has been my nexte. I love on one of the greatest. Thank you, Little Steve.

Yeah. Yeah. 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 Jay Valentine and at the Real Tank. For the extended episode, subscribe to YouTube dot com or slash r and b Money