Rap Radar Rewind: Steve Stoute (Part 2)

to ticket giveaways, and so much more. Go to Title dot com on their want to respect it so strong, Like you kid, you got you gotta think about the marathon. You gotta think about the biggest, biggest, biggest picture. And I think that's what we did. You didn't want to like sue him or sue him to kill him. That's how you feel, you know. But the perception was that you got paid and then that with that made things

cool somewhat. And you guys have made up fast. But you're saying it took a long process to get it took no, it took years years. There's no trust. By the way, he'll tell you the kind of person he was back then, he wasn't the man he is today, you know. But by the way, young hotheads a lot of energy. Young had a lot of energy. This that in the third and you know what, Blazing New trails changing the world, but didn't affect your relationship with dogs

because I like a song. It affected my relationship and nods definitely, m and what sense I didn't I didn't know who was supporting me. I didn't know who. When you go through that type of thing, you don't know who on your side, who's against you. You know, you gotta you gotta go through that process and like yeah, yeah, yeah, and like that, we went through that and you know, guys, I'm just telling you, man, I don't know how. You know, nobody has to reveal their age but too young. In

five years, you're not even remember who you are today. Man, I don't remember. I ain't for breakfast. I know five years, five years from now. That's just the way growth works. It's like the ship that you were thinking that twelve when you were sixteen. You'd be like, I can't believe I thought that. Like it's just so we thought we knew it all back then, and you think you know it all. That's the problem with majority. You think you know it all. You don't even know ship. You don't

even know what you're talking about. But you have all the words to sound like you know what you're talking about. So was that around the time you and not first separated, like because it seemed like that it wasn't as much as it was great and you guys are in a great place now looking back at everything. There were ups and downs. Right when when did they get like to the point where you guys weren't on the same page and it was time to move in different direction directions

from your advantage points. Oh, I forgot whatever because the perception was that now, all of a sudden, you're doing business with j right like like I was doing. I was doing business with both of them, like I was making nass music. I wanted to move forward. My goal was always to move forward. It wasn't picking ju I'm I'm four. I didn't even know this, okay, but I'm for the culture going forward. I am a champion of

the culture. So I didn't realize and I'm not saying I'm the champion of the culture like everybody running around saying that bullshit. I'm sorry, guys are moving in on my on the real work. It's like ship. If you say, if people start you abusing the word, that's the culture. Man. You're fucking crazy. That's why, like anybody tells me anything like, oh, Steve's a culture of man, shut the funk. Are you crazy? You're crazy? J Nas thinks started what position were you?

Were you still managing Nazi? You had already separated with him when the conflict first started. I was making I wasn't nass manager. I was making his album. I was making that album still maddic, but I wasn't his manager. So I was the executive producer of the album. But I wasn't the manager. But takeover I came out still like all the battle stuff that started, and he was already still do a minutes with JA because that made

not uncomfortable to Yeah, why wouldn't it be? I? And I ain't And I am a very As i've gotten old, I've become better at it. But like I'm a very um, I'm an emotional guy, but in business, I'm very not emotional law And I didn't even think about that, Like that was just and and that's really stupid in hindsight.

But I'm like sneakers, I'm making your record. You guys don't like each other, okay, But the perception was to some people with if you Supposi nonside is that Jay's ambition, of Jay's entrepreneurship, but business acumen was different than someone like Nas. Maybe you have an artist, so does NAS?

Does J end up taking the opportunities that maybe you would have given Nods and Nods would have had if Nas didn't have that My stateful But back then, Nas, we can't show up in time, Remember, I mean, what are you supposed to do? I mean, that's not what he was doing. He wasn't there yet. He's there now huge, but he wasn't there at the time. And like you don't if you really accept people for who they are and let them be who they are and then put

circumstances around them. You see it in sports all the time, like this quarterback ain't mobile. Get a great offensive line, keep him in the pocket so he can throw the ball. You know what I'm saying, except when you are built around it. So at that time, Na's great artist. He that's not what his thing was. He wanted the trappings of the money of the business, but he was his mind wasn't there. He also didn't have that drive. I'm the best, I'm the number one rapper in the game,

and but like, he's not that type of person. But as we found out, he is a dangerous man with a pen. Oh he is. He's super talent. He's his father, he's the real deal. He's saying, somebody we understood him because there was something at Quincy Jones house where oh ship so as father, I'm at Quincy's house and I'm name with Chris Talker one night and Quincy goes and he shows us the fucking reading for the color purple.

I mean, listen to this, and Steven Spielberg is using a fucking VHS take camp holding it and I remember looking at uh Whoopie Goldberg goes on, this is the first time I've ever seen this. I think I've ever seen this since then WHOOPI Woger goes on, WHOOPI Goldberg, whoopy this that in the third and she goes, ready you ready, think think Steven Spielberg's talking to Hut and

then she's shooting in himself. He's shooting himself, right, you're ready, You're ready like this thing, and then crying like that. I never seen acting like whoop. She just cried and went right on command. He didn't even say that. He said the scenario like she comes in and starting you got beat by your husband. You couldn't see it, you've seen it, then go cry, wow, that was that was like a fond memory that evening it didn't. We start talking about NAS and I said, oh, lou uh Nas.

He goes man, I played with Nas and Miles NAS's dad and Miles Davis. And he goes off and comes back with a picture and an album of them in Central Pay in the sixties, old Lou Dara. Wow, Like, I'm not bugging out anymore. Nas could do whatever he wants. He comes from music. A Wow, that's crazy. That's why he is like that. He's the real deal. It's still waiting for a NAS album right now. He makes a song with Calicorn's NAS album done, and then he never

gives He doesn't surprise you right now. It's just out no, no, no. The guy is the real deal. He's the real, real, real, real, real deal musician artists. So, as a rap fan, we should appreciate the greateness of NAS and the greatest of jay Z because they're so very solely unique in a sense. Right, you should appreciate them because they changed every a lot of people's lives. M They're icons there are there. They're

the symbols of our generation. In the Breakfast plub, you were saying that, I think you're saying that certain people you feel because they've helped us as business people a certain levels. I'm sitting here, like you know, Charlemagne and envying all these guys like you can't says Kanye puff jns like those type of are you shoot on them? You don't have a fucking job. If you shoot on them except for them, you don't have a job. It's like you remember, Motherfucker's came to you because you have

journalistic ability. We need stars. The stars, aren't the stars are the ones that have given us the life? Because I'm saying that. If I'm saying that, you definitely need to fall in line and understand that. Like, come on, man, no ship on this guy? Go shoot on Kanye West? Are you crazy? You know what? And and and Stiff right now you want to shoot on Kanye West? You know what? He was right when he told fucking sway, look what happened. He's out selling all these motherfuckers with

sneakers as soon as he got the resources. His ship is the hottest ship He's changed the way motherfucker's even wear sneakers. All right, he look what he did with Adidas. They put come on, guys, come on, we're living it. So we're like, are we taking for granted? Kanye West, he's fucked up the way he explains his ship. But when you talk about what he's done, look at Ol. Look with everybody walking around Virgil work with him. Fucking fair of God, they work with him. These are all

his under studies. They did their thing. They've come up under him and they did that. They they've done their thing. But like all that sweatshirt with the thing that that's period, comfortable, period, that's him. That's that man's vision years before everybody. And he went to Adidas and turn that ship around. Look at the Didas stock price when he joined All Star Game when it was in New York. That must have been two or three years ago. You take that moment.

Look at the Didas. That's when he was giving everybody the boost. He was showing up, giving everybody the boost. If you look at the Didas stock price that day to today and Nikes stock price growth percentage wise, it's not even close. He's that good. Are we taking for granted, because he's fucking Kanye and he talks a lot of ship. Forget the music, Forget everything he's done musically, forget doc twisted fantasy being, how did you do that? Yeah? Are

you in fifty good? These days? There was that picture that circulated around internet if you guys at the nick game, and he was like he was a confrontation So it was it was it was, it was confrontational. I mean I think that, um, he's an extremely talented guy, not necessarily at riding rhymes, but like like like Vince McMahon, Vince McMahon, um from wrestling, he's super the understanding how

to create characters, understanding how the whole story looks. Great storyteller. Now, obviously get Richard Trying as a classic album period, top to bottom, ridiculous, undisputed classic period. And as soon as he decided to become an actor and find other ways to express himself outside of just right, and look how big he is like to this day. It like artists.

Sometimes artists don't necessarily have to express themselves through They have to cress himself through painting, through writing, through singing, through the different ways of expression, and it doesn't necessarily mean that because you are considered a rap artist, that you can't find all these different ways of expressing yourself and you're dope. I mean, Will Smith is clearly a better act than he is a rapper. He's still a great artist, right, and LIKEFT is a great storyteller. And

that's the part about him that I respect tremendously. Um, we don't have any problems. Yeah, you've done so much business. I mean the people that don't know, we've never did. We know, we've done business in the beginning and the early beginning. And signed him and did this, and you know, I did not want him to sign uh. I thought that he should sign directly with Aftermath because I didn't want I thought that his image, that guy who got shot nine times and that thing may have gotten diluted

by the D twelve, the whole shady thing. So like, of course him and that would work. M worked, But I thought that that that his label mates and that he would not be taken seriously. And I was wrong. I was wrong. And you had done business with him obviously in Rosenbergen and yeah, I love Paul love M got M to giving exclusive for the Tan of America book. We know how hard that is, Yes, it is, you know, there's all that stuff. Uh you know, but like there's

there's no problem with mutual respect. We've we we all went through stupid dumb ship. We grew up and learned. We grew up and learned. But I will. I want to make it super clear, man, like I'm blessed to be around the most talented motherfucker's Dr Dre making NAS is coming first, and then I made the Firm album with Dre. Wanna talk about the talented people man? Right? Then fifty and and Jay writing still d r E like that's me man, you know, and then NAS and

then track Mass. It's like this is working all these great talented people and and I've been fortunate and blessed to work with talented people my whole career. So problems and issues always gonna gonna come, but doesn't mean you have real problems. I just still d are you happen? Like because I always always feel I want to hear a version of JA, like laying down the vocals, let me I was in, I was that I was at. It was in Jimmy's office and uh dre plays the

album and Jimmy is like, I don't know. I think we don't have the first single. Pretty good, Jimmy, Well, I am is the best. I don't think we have the first single. What does Eminem think? That's what he said, what does Eminem think? So Dre. I spoke to Dre after the heat and he has a tape of beats, like five beats on the ship and he gives it to me, and I come back to New York and I'm like, I can't believe I have drey beats on me. This is crazy. I'm flying back to New York on

the Red Eyeland. I can't believe this ship, and I show off. I played a shift for Timberland. Timberland is like, oh God, but I'm really asking these guys. I asked Semblan, what beat do you think should be Dre's for a single? Which because you could pick Drey's for a single off the beat five huh five five ridiculous joints. And he liked that one track. And then I played it for Ja. I said, Jimmy, I can get Jay. I'm gonna ask Jay to write it bright and j wrote those ride

he wrote snoop Spot. I couldn't believe he wrote the low Lows and this and that, and then Nig is trying to be the king, but the aces back. It's like this guys these out of This guy's out of bounds. His talent is just out of bounds. He's writing dr dre and sloops puts Snoop had no issues. Split the round as is just like Foxy spit the rhyme as is like when nas Roll getting jiggy with it, will

Smith spit the rhymes. He said Nasle was tight though when he was tight, you know, like I was forcing him to make money, Like why are you forcing to like, well, listen to the hook we just did Men in Black. I know we're gonna saw some units here. This is the big Willie style. So J later down, like did you see J lay it down? And he said you like he cut the vocals DJ Mormal DJ worked for me at the time. UM and DJ was in there

when he was laying it down. He came in, started it, left and then came back and then laid and then laid it down and I got it that night. And then the other thing I did during the exact same time was I gott king after hard Knock Life to make Stand for Eminem and I went and got the beat for Stand. Well, how did that happen? You knew he wanted that beat or he that life. I'm like, this is more, this more because Ty five King is a really talented producer and like he had a UM.

He would record guys in a real telephone booth, old school telephone booths. Was the vocal like yeah in Jersey. And he you know, he had he had a lot of issues, but when you called him at the right time, you would get it. And he had just made a hard knock life and I'm like, fucking go there, DJ, go there, and he came back with a bunch of things, and it was I didn't know who the girl was died. I didn't know who she was. That song had just come out. I thought it was an old joint. Oh yeah,

thank you. I thought it was. I didn't know what that was, but it was just crazy Gatty B two M boom. I was as a as A, as A, as A, as an executive. I would make records man. Yeah. Fortunate for Maxwell had all Kelly writed for him, you know, had Mariah Right shipped for Faith Hill. I love doing, I love I love watching artists um prosper I love watching artists be the best they can be. I love it, you like almost armed them with the tools and then watching and then get out the way. I'm not the

extra guy. That's like part of the reasons why I wasn't doing music videos because I didn't even want anybody to think I was that I was in the way. I didn't want to be in the way. I want to I want to see it for you and then give you the tools for you to be the best you can What do you think you add this missing for these artis like what what? What is it that you add that the baby they need to put them in that position to get the best out of them? What what? What's your action? A lot of it is

trust um resources. A lot of artists are not the greatest business people. They're great at being artists, and they need business people around him that's not trying to rob them steal from him, you know, and always and if I felt like if I was really good at what I do, like I can make more money because of you than off of you, I don't have to take it from you. Like me and what I do plus you and the you allowed me to work with you. I'll get it, you know, I'll get the bag. And

that's how it works. You talk about donuts a lot. Yeah, that's the old school right there, to make the donuts. Get up in the morning time to make the donuts. Um and um, I've been doing that. I'm forty seven, so I've been doing that since I was twenty four. Yeah. Well, one thing with Dre and j you' putting something I g about going to a Laker game or something that he was riding with. Uh fuck yeah, man for saying that.

Ship man I had. I lived in l a for six months and I can't fucking stand like living Tell them Steve, I just couldn't. I don't know why. I just didn't like living there. I had a Lawrenz tad and just talk. These guys are my friends, but I just could not stand living in anything. I have to live there. When I was going back and forth, when I was running in the Scope black music and Scope black music that sounds so crazy, Black music that was like cool? Let say that like that? What do you

on the head of black music? What nigga? Who? Um? And so I'm up there and I got four seats on the floor and the knicks of playing the Lakers, and I'm like, Dre, hop, let's go to the game. I think I was going to give the other seat to Fred Durst. He was hot at the time. I forgot who. Anyhow, we go to the game and m Drake eat to me, drops off the car at the building. I was staying in the Wilshire Corridor at least his car and I got like a lemo probably was white. Well,

I know, um. When we get in the Lemo and we go to the game and Dre starts playing beats in the car again, this is original Drey beats, original Dray beats. Now this is me, j and Dre in the car m and Jays listened to the beats doing his rain Man and then he spits the intro two h the Dynasty. The only the only problems that ms. I think his arms like, it's the only songs I've ever read was the Arms and Arms never read the

Book of Krawn. Something we don't have to say. And it was just like, oh God, he said that he had laid it down, yet it wasn't. And he started spitting these rhymes and you've seen this is the best feeling, man, this ship, Andre said at the end of when when Jake killed that ship, he's just man, that's my R and B ship. Wow, hen't have to get up veracious on this ship that he had to be like and that's just my R and B ship because he couldn't even he was just so vicious. By the way, that's

one of Jay's best rhyme. That's ever one of the best intros of all time. Arguably, it's not arguing how many classic albums at jay Z is the big debate. It's one of the biggest debates and whether let me tell you one that's not there's not even there's nothing to debate about. American Gangster is a classic. Disputes that he doesn't care what you gotta said these cameras, Man, did you did you think that in real life at the time that year, I can't believe those rhymes and

we was at accession. You know what, doesn't think it was a classic? Yeah, he doesn't think it's a classic. I think you and you're wrong. That is a classic, not definitely classic. I'm gonna make a shirt and his his his rhymes on it are just so you know

what's funny though ridiculous. Here's what reminds me of I just feel like to another generation, he found a way to do a modern version of reasonable doubt, the same way that some kids still matic is better than allmatic because it was a modern day version of the same

kind of principle. Some people generation nomadic. Yeah, okay, there's younger generica still madics bettermatic, and they think that all this, all this young generation version of this that in the third no, no, listen, he said he thinks still madic is better nomadic. This ship is called aumatic stumatic part automatic part two. Okay, it all mad you like the first of all? How could it be better when the whole ship is referenced off of the original scriptures because

the rhymes are better. He's advanced, which is that's how I look at a g compared to reasonable. The same thing. I didn't say, stillmatics a classic and allmatic is a classic. I am not saying that American Gangster is better than reasonable doubt. You said, jay Z classics, Like, that's all I said. Sodic can never be better than automatic, is what he's saying. That's no, I'm not I'm saying. I'm saying Hey, it's not in the cane you made, it

was written. I still don't understand how American American Gangster. American Gangster is not um better than reasonable doubt, But American Gangster is a classic. So how many did we have? Print? You're giving him a G. That's real? At least I might count seven that as you're going to seven out after with you think the Dinosting is a classic. No? Oh, I know he likes Volume one recently, No anniversary. I don't think the album has to be flawless to be

a classic. Like you can have a floor you have you have different standards, bro, Like this is a good bottle of one. It's not a classic. We're talking about liquor run. The Black album is a classic album. The Black Class. You have to think about it. Giving reasonable doubt, giving reasonable doubt in blueprint right at least right, and you're getting them a G. Oh you were that rare breathe that thinks a G is the greatest j album? No r D reasonable doubt blueprint? How many we have?

Yeahs are crazy? Reasonable? That's the best album is made. Man, m Come on, I like blueper Come on to listen to the rhymes. Listen to the rhymes? How do you rhyme? Like? I think you know it bugs me out that it bugs me out, Like I'll listen to the rhymes. I'm like, like when I listened to the Evils, I'm like, how the fuck did you do that? How did you say and put those words together? How did you do that

with dead presidents? How do you like? To me? Man, it's like looking at a young basketball player like young Kobe Bryant, like, right, not when he was young missing shots, buck Wallan, but when he first had maximum athleticism plus understood the game. And that's what reasonable doubt feels like to me, like the verbal athleticism, Like I think it's how are you saying these things? And you know what, that's probably what the thing about me that's older is

that I that lyrics to me? Are I pay attention to those? But is that the thing that people Again, it's almost purest like when people viewed you like the Q tips of the world, you do you as this person who's like pushing commercialism, right, but you and in the core saying a lot of hip hop purist principles in a sense that that almost bothers you of today's music because it doesn't have that. You're not here for the mumble wrap. Basically, well, you you put me in

that conversation just now. I didn't say that. What I said was I appreciate lyrics and those things of classics. We're not we're not. You're not asking me. I think it's unfit and fortunate that these guys growing up in today's society, all they have is it's the singles driven business, right and in a single business driven business you're in, you gotta get attention, and you know what, that forces you to do things that not aren't necessarily respectful of

a body of work. Back then, we appreciated albums, so of course everybody worked hard, even wrapping is that weren't that great? We're working on making great albums. You're doing everything when you're going, but right now you're putting out a record. You're put out a record you're you're trying to get you're trying to get something that catches. They're incentivized to do that. Back then, they were incentivized to make great albums. The society and culture is gonna go

where it's incentivized. You're incentivized to do this twenty years ago, you'll be writing for the sauce because you would have been incentivized to do that. That's true, that's all. It's not. He didn stunt on me. I'll tell you a story about the source Texic style thing. And I kind of regret this because this was kind of very much of

a cheat code. What happened was we were getting this m J fifty cover and then I remember we end up doing a sidebar where basically, you know, the whole thing they were trying to paint was that Eminem is bad for the culture and like he's gonna bluh. So the whole thing was somehow I don't remember high because again I'm young. You might remember more than me, Steve, but you might remember more than me. I had to meet with Steve and Steve was helping me get quotes

for the sidebar of the piece. And with Steve was was flawssed because he was like, you know, you come in. He's the commissioner. He's always the commissioner. He's like watch this, and he kiss on the phone and he calls Ja, like just co calls Ja, gets a quote and that's you know, Jay, how do you feel about Eminem is Jimminem bad for the culture. Look at stop Space and James like, nah, ja gets this quote blah blah. He's like, okay, cool.

He hangs up, but he's like, now watch this and he calls NAS and he has to say that your NAS. What do you think of Eminem's bad for He gets like, no one could do that, No one could do that, right, No, And I regret that because that was dope journalism. But that was that shouldn't have used Steve Stout to get that. That was the cheek code. But you know, I felt like a certain point, you know everything remember now you remember I don't remember. I remember I was doing it.

Paul Rosenberg. It was like a favorite for Paul. I was I was up doing Paul of favorite wasn't about um, but she was kind of been a little because you were cool with Benzino and those guys. Certain point like houses, helping up with houses and all that house. It brought your house. But I would say I think also part of why he ran up on me was because he was at the office because he knew the NAS cover

was coming with the Burnt issue. And I think Stuard's camp has sort of leaked that out that that was coming. That's what I had heard. No, No, it was a little tight at you and I was like, no, no, bro, I didn't know. And they thought NAS was just gonna hold a burning source, not Exxel on the source, that it was just a full scale attack on the source and not the state of the game. So basically the whole source Exxel thing. People don't notice Steve Style was

somewhat involved in it. What was you at the game? I felt like you also have relationship with Benzino at the time, Like, just for clarity, we haven't spoken. We're gonna listen. The thing that I knew Dave May's extremely well, and Dave May's was a friend Dave May's. What rayven Zeno had over Dave May's, that's a movie all within itself. Like the fact that that whole thing went into the toilet bowl bankrupt, whatever happened to it between Dave May's

and Ray. I would love Ray. Between Dave Mayson ben Zino, I would love to figure out how that took place. I sold my house ben Zino, Like Ray, I really liked him, but then he bugged out. He bugged out, But you know what money young and money is a concoction to bug out. New money bug you bug out, and like in the time you'd be like, yo, you're bugging out, but you never when you look back on it,

you're like, of course money and bugged out. So then you got almost like but we took it real personally, Yeah, yeah, yeah, everything was personal. But when I look back on it, I'm like, you know what, fucking hello coo J man, all that money at seventeen ship and he's not bugged out. That's fucking dope, you know. And you see guys like like Bobby Brown, like why wouldn't he That's gonna happen. Man, young being drugs, you get fucked up, like guys are

getting money with no instructions. Of course, Like that's gonna happen. So what you're gonna do like make them a bad person as a result of it. Not at the time when you're young, you're like, yeah, I think it's crazy, But when you look back on it in life, like funk it was twenty four years old, was the biggest star, the thing whatever, whatever, like he did crazy ship. No fucking of course. Of course, you gotta have a sense of empathy, and with that it's actually called damon dash.

But three weeks ago and I said, you look, man, you know what, I realized what you were trying to do. In fact, you were right. Everything, Yes, everything you fought for was right. You were right. The major labels was trying to take advantage of artists. They were trying to steal. You was letting having it. You went about it crazy in a loud, ridiculous way, and you threw you knew hip hop was international, You knew the clothing and the culture was international. You knew it. You knew it, and

you believed it. Now, the way you articulated it may have rubbed people the wrong way, pasted a lot of people off. Didn't mean that you were wrong. Kanye the same ship in a different way. He wasn't wrong. He what he told Sway, Sway is a good guy. He should have talked to Sway like that and they're friends. He was right, Swaye. How did Sway of the answers about clothing lines? Fun? The Sway know about clothing lines? I mean, Sway is a smart guy, but the fun

do you know about clothing lines? That's what I'm saying. Like, so, that's what he was saying. What made you reach out today? You personally called him like because I think about all that man, you you you you don't no, No, I don't care about that part. You the truth? Man, like you just start You're sitting around like, man, this guy is He was right. I don't like him because he was young and the way he handled it. A lot of people were young and handled it the wrong way.

They didn't mean they were wrong. He was right. So how did damn receive that about time? You didn't care? You got to say, Yeah, I gotta wanted to say it like I'm saying, like like I said, let me saying that he's talented. He's talented. She you know coming off that first album, look, man, you made a classic album. Congratulations. Now you gotta follow it up. He didn't do it. You couldn't follow that up. It wasn't easy. But but if you would to take coming off of that first album,

Power followed it up. That articulation of his art followed it up. You know, Candy Shop didn't, but Power did, like and like, That's what great artists it needs to sometimes you need to find their lane. That's what I'm saying.

Like in the time, everybody gets personal and it's a it's a setting, and you know, maybe I shouldn't be so harsh with my point of view, like I've I've been through ship, but I really do expect the best from the best, and I'm not kind of Vince Lombardi, Bill Prussels kind of like kind of coach kind of guy like, and it rubs people the wrong way. I think that's why me and Jay have been good friends for so long. I come down very like, what the fund did you say? What? You know? He does that

to himself. He managed infice of with DJ Clue. What was that? That was early? That was that was there? DJ Clue signed, except that he wasn't signed. Then they don't fucking say six months go by and there's no contract on Clue Clue asked me to help him with his Rocket Feller deal. I said, fine, I was at at Sony at the time, because you know him from him helping you back in the day. It was he was my assistant. So now he's DJ Clue and my and my younger brother was his manager. So like that's

the whole ship. So this guy goes and say, Steve, like they want to have a meeting with me, but I don't want to sign with him no more, and like he's gotten bigger, but they want to still sign him to the terms the six months Pride, but they have no deal. So whatever Clue tells them like I'm gonna sign them or whatever he said to get them to move forward. I don't know what he said. But all I got was a phone call from Jay. And in the phone call was why are you gonna make?

The phone call was sucked up, sting out. I said, you guys should come up to my office. It was night. Why are you gonna white? It was whatever. So he come to my office, nine thirty at night, six seven guys coming to the office. I'm there walking around with no fucking shoes on, you know. And they walk in and like nobody everybody's ice crell tight, like you know, we'll fuck you up, not but pray everything. I got a gun on me, Like why the funk would he have all of us in their office? And then like

is this him by himself? What's wrong with him? Something? They're waiting for the other thing to drop, but there really is nothing to drop. It's me And I said, look, guys, I don't even funk with anybody unless they're about big houses. And I just went like this big houses starts crying, laughing and literally that's how Yeah. I'm like, I don't even I don't guys, I'm not even having this comp

station if it's not about big houses. And that was you remember at the time, like you know, we just a reference with like money, like the funk are we talking about? Small house is a big house? It is like they started laughing and Clue they got the ship and Clue got a deal and the thing came out and you know, the professional pros these confrontational type of situations. Though, why do you think that is? I don't know, But you know what I'm I I walk with God. I'm

not afraid. I'm not afraid of what's right. If I do what's right, I don't care. I walk into projects I'm looking for no os. I'll say what I think it's the truth. I don't care. I'll tell the true. I I say with what I believe, and like whatever the outcome is, the outcome is. That's how I feel about it. Speaking outcome back to the firm thing, like there was so much hype on that, like I mean, I think that was the first time I actually met you. Like they Mace had us all come by and like

we're gonna go meet Mission the Steve. You worked at Double XL and The Source, The Source from ninety eight. I was a music editor. So when the Firm came out. You remember also you had to split the cover with Jay z And that's because Jay and Dan came up to the Source and put them under pressure because the firm was getting the cover because you guys were in a better relationship with David at the time. So the holy do were you there when the whole thing turned

when the magazine just started doing crazy Benzino ship? No, I was against him. I caused that craziness. I was six. But were you there when the other guys when his when the partners from the Source pulled out? No, No, I wasn't that check then that I was there, that was the first regime. But Ray wasn't involved. That's Ray bugged out when I was off about ninety eight. Before that, you've seen a lot of sexual harassment of them coming back. No,

but I remember go meet conversions. He started, he was getting a haircut, and you started playing these firm Records, and I remember they gave me the thing of the US be a ship shot single on those fucking firm bills, and I was like, this is terrible. This is like fucking square bills. This isn't I was so irritated and I had to give it a shot shot single. And I was so the purest in me and the young twenty six year old music oether was all that pressure

on the should have played you phone top? Yeah, yeah, exactly. You maga brought in nature? Why stout? Why? I don't know. Talk about that firm record. I like it, But first of all, let's talk about me taking Azy who was signed the e M I a record company at the time. Then NAS was on Columbia Foxy, who's on Deaf Jam and signing them all to Interscope. You know, everybody wants to know, why are you and Jimmy Ivan so tight? Why does it like I did that? That's how we

launched Aftermath. That was the first album released on Aftermath. Why did those labels let them sign? Also because because I told that's the type of ship that I do, This type of ship I do. Bro we gotta we we you know, well, um, we gotta do we gotta do this, we gotta get So was it about the idea that Dre and Nas needed to join forces to make this kind of big talk. Masses produced half that album, but it was it was Rapp's first super group in a sense, right, the Firm like you to talk about

like the whole of it. Nas had this idea and Fox he would write, She'd write like themes. She would really right, like as a young girl. She'd write these themes like Scarlett or Harra comes through with the blah kick frames on and and she'd write these things and it would be like themes. And then they'd write these rhymes against it. It was crazy, it was really really it was. It was a great It was a great process.

And we we sat down and um we we recorded a lot of in Miami Stefan Studio and we were recording Will Smith's album at the same time down there. It was great time, you know what I made. I wish I had pictures of all that ship, you know, recording Will Smith on one flaw the Firm mom here you know other ship. It was just then it became like a thing, well of a sudden, like it sounds like a very old it was a long time ago. Um, I think a lot of it is still relevant today,

like just the learnings from it. Definitely, Nori was you know, Nori was a relentless motherfucker trying to get in. I wanted to get on. We were giving him. He was just hanging around the basket. You're like a guy who gets like a Dennis Rodman. Dennis Rodman's the Dennis Rodman. But when you can sign on that when you disappointed that record, wasn't that like super faminal? Yeah, a little better.

But now you know what's funny about those records. I feel like even the area we were like hyper critical of us critics, be that those of you this classics firms, I was using a classic. Well, no, it's not somewhat it's like a cult class. It's a cult class. You guys are reading really nice. Yeah. First of all, you really like commercial records, which is pretty small. No. No,

I just said that's cool. That's cool. Um, commercial records to me have to work really hard lyrically to get me there, to make me ignore the fact that you kinda once you put the singing hook and you know you're gonna get to the finish line. But to me, you gotta, like I pay attention to the lyrics even on those things, Like you can't just be writing some bullshit just because you're trying to make a radio record.

You gotta really go all out. Um and like when you listen to big pimping, like Jay didn't take no motherfucking lines off, no lines off, and that was a smash. That's why I think I like hard Licked Life so much is because he had commercial records and the street records became uh, commercial hits, and it's really hard, by the way, that's the hardest thing to do. You know, nobody ever wants to ask somebody to go you know, guys cannot make. Very few records fall into this space.

Fucking hardest fun in commercial. Same time, those Quiet Storm favorites, the Benjamin's hard to make. They come around. They're like miracles. It's like you got you did what, Like you made the rhymes do that and yeah you got that shipped off what. Those are very very, very very tough songs.

In fact, if that that's a category that everybody wants to get into and everything, it's extremely difficult to get into to make those songs where it's hard it's fun and it's pop. Ye you play shook ones right now and it works and so that classics but that popular, Like you know, it's hard who had the better rhymes of renegade? You know the thing that's that that that I don't know why Earth said that Renegade existed. Eminem made Renegade. People don't realize that, Yeah, those verses already

laid in. People don't realize that no one even knows that it exists, though you can find you still find it online. Henry had the song. It was a record for Royce and he took it and he put over on it. I don't I don't know if Eminem, if Jay's versus better something time times Jay would do things like he'd rap on these records with other artists and he would make it like a song in which they kind of like they worked in tandem with each other.

Like he wasn't he would play to the guy like he wasn't he wasn't spitting like jay Z. He was trying to make the better rap, better, make the better thing with Eminem and like they would so it wasn't like he wasn't trying to kill the record already existed, if the record of the recordar it existed, If James point was to i'mombody this guy in the record, that's

what he would have did. He was trying to make the song, but didn't eat to change that, eat to change that because he said, you got murdered on your own ship. Like that changed the way. Now even now today people view me because like, oh, that person have the best verse. That person, but because people would still know. People started doing that since a symphony put according you ask and you played just yeah when and it was

like who was on that record? The g rap but g wrap g rap That was the argument back then, like who's that g rapper thing? And g rap came in my voice is prices a hard fine? It's vincent price? You count sheet with g rap rocks to Mike like he g rap ship was so dope. I wish I could remember that rhyme. He would he would never and he was just like bang bang bang. And then Kane

came in with the smooth ship. But like everybody was saying it since back then then, you know, oh he was doing um you know he they'd get on those ciphers and then they female rappers too, I don't he should. Yeah, it's like you can't even he like, everybody's taking these things away too seriously. So it's always been like that. It's not that might have been a jap towards Foxy at that point, but why would he say female rappers too book because I had to be on top and

everybody's yeah, like why would you do that? And I think probably five three to win there was ship like that. You could if you listen to those records now you'd be like, yo, he's thinkings just said that. Isn't that the auto wrap though? That the subliminal, subliminal, the battle, the whole thing is definitely, uh, you know, part of the art form. It's what makes it special. But sometimes

you get it, like the whole nas pocketing. Things get real though, like the MTV Awards that night, Like you was there when they had a conversation, right yeah, well and it didn't get real. What got real was the respect you I'm telling you man, Like everybody, I don't want to say the media make blows out of proportion, but when you see the ship in real life, the guys, the real guys, when they confront each other, it's respect. Respect, winds.

It's not like when Pocket Nas ran up on each other when they confront when they there was a confrontation, it was just like they can fuck you. It's a no. It was like, yeah, you're the king in New York, bro, and we got Death Row East, and it's that's the problem. Like you're as king of New York. You got these niggers from your neighborhood shipping on us. We're doing death Row East and we're here right now, so and and

and that starts the conversation. It's not like treating him like ship if I was sure if it was, if it wasn't, not as if it was somebody else, you know, Mike Geronimo or somebody. He knows it's not treating him. He's treating him like motherfucking king, like a pair like. That's mutual respect. And that's and it's always that, it's always that, it's always gonna be that. That's the best part of the whole thing. The mutual respect. That is

bigger than like the war and the fighting. And you know, could have happened that night they were in New York. They had a lot of guys, everybody new Nas coming up. There was the worst stude to deal with. Nobody wants to be around those guys. Too many guys on stage, too many guys who stage, too many guys doing too many things. You know, it would have been a very

ugly thing, but nothing happened. That's why we can tell the story in life and that pushes culture forward, right, and that's what you guys do here at rap Radar. I'm really happy for you, man, like I really wanted to do this with you because, like you know, whatever you promote or whatever, that's cool. I don't mind sharing my stories with you. I respect you. I respect everything that you've done in your career and what and you have the right to ask me any question that you

want because I believe you understand the answer. You can respect the time period, and you can put it in context. And you, obviously is a young man, have grown up loving the art for him, and you guys work with one of the because obviously you respect him. And that's how it all happened. And as long as we keep doing this, we'll keep educating the people out there. It helps hip and that's our job. At the end of the day, we gotta feed our families. But that really

is our job. We should never ever forget that, do not let that get lost and bullshit that and still do that. You can do good and do good simultaneously. That's what I stand for. That's why I started United Masters, That's why I'm here today. That's what I've done my entire career, and I'm gonna continue to do that. Before we get out of United Masters, artists are gonna be

hitting you up. They want to get on Like, is it about getting new artists evolved or do you see existing artists that existing artists existing artists I want to work with getting new artists involved. Um, putting advertising and music together at scale, at a scale like big boom, Um, that's what I want to do, and like we're gonna crawl,

walk and run and get there. We got definitely got money, you know, um, And we have um the know how and the will to work hard and putting together a team of people who want to fight their good fight and you still do it. That's what it is. Thank you the commissioner. You stout, Yeah, wrap right up podcast, Your sucking