Kevin Liles On Protecting Black Art, Using Lyrics In Court, Takeoff And More

You know how much one of those cars? But this one is forty nine dollars. And what is that? It's an adda back. It's an ADDI back. Okay, this is like my new thing that I do and I love. Everybody got their vices and this is just one of the things that I've taken up and become a connoisseur. True, true. Now you know, on a sad day, we want to start with one of the groups that you first signed to me. Man, one of the members Takeoff was killed. Uh, people that don't know. I just want to go back

to what made you first signed Megos? What in the Meagles that made you sign them. Talk about his personality because a lot of people just won't know, you know, but listen, I and you know how I feel when you have a great partners And UM, first of all, my candolences to his family, UM to the Megos and um QC coach and PUM. I know what it is since you know I've been in the bin for forty years to lose an artists and employee, m a family member,

and he was all those things. UM to them H And as I came up here to talk about protecting black art, I still got to talk about protecting us. And I think, UM, we're putting ourselves in a situation where we're not humanizing everyday lives. You know where we Yes, we we are superheroes, but we're still human. And stage names are one thing. But you're somebody's son, give somebody brother, you somebody's aunt, and a life taken too short. You understand.

I literally just went through this with Rock. You know what I mean. And these are not people that I just know or listen to their music. I know them personally, and so UM, I didn't sign me goos. I work with coaching p and to develop a group that became one of the number one groups in the country and now we're sitting here today saddened by another unnecessary loss that's happening far too too much, in my opinion, and

I think it's based on a lot of things. Um, COVID, people coming outside of COVID, lack of education, constant oppression, constant um of the gun law, is not getting passing the right where it's like, there's a whole host of things. But more point, that's somebody's son. It's not hitting them

more man. And you know, I got I got a twenty four year old you're in Uh, it's sad, sad, you know, to your point, there's so many socioeconomic conditions that you know, just lead to crime or lead to putting people in that state of mind with something like that can happen. But you know a lot of people feel like the hip hop, the music you know is has become has either become always been a deaf lifestyle.

What do you say to that? Um, I live it, and UM, I haven't killed anybody, and I consume more hip hop and part of hip hop than most people. But I will tell you that, UM, there's an issue. Um that UM it's it's black on black crime. Because we were taught to be um against each other. I had to be better than you, I had to do more than you. That's not that's hip hop. That's what we've been taught in an oppressive country. That you know, the things that that we shouldn't value. Life um like

it's meant to be valued. And for those of us we're black, white, green, purple, or whatever, club that believe that music kills no gun kills, lack of education, education kills, racism kills, white supremacy kills. Those are the things. And I don't believe hip hop kills people. I believe people kill people. And hip hop provides a lot of opportunities for people too, for the artists, for the people that work with the artists, for people that have anything to do.

I think that it has done a lot for us. Some people will tell you that the hip hop saved their life. Well, hip hop saved my life. I think I'm sitting in a room with people that if it weren't for hip hop, you guys wouldn't be here. You can act like breakfast club would exist without it. But that's good. It's good and bad and everything and that's good. And if you think about it, I think as we talk about the protecting black art, I think we don't

have enough conversations. I commend you Charlemagne and all the conversations we're having around mental health. You know, but think about these massacures that happened. I'm not talking about one person killing another. So I'm thinking somebody thinking it's okay to take a gun and go to a school, it's okay to take a gun and go to a church. That's not hip hop. That's not right. That's that's that's

it's racism. It's it's it's it's things that people have been It's okay now you know, it's okay now to let your racism out to everybody, and it's okay now to go do it because oh, I'm just gonna get locked up. But we've been locked up for four hundred years and we're still still mask in conceration. And you can't put that around a genre of music, you know what I mean. So I guess your differences, Oh, I guess the difference isn't. Uh, this is what we're here

to talk about. Right. Some people would be like, well, other people don't put it in their music. They don't celebrate it, you know, they don't glorify it through the art that they create. Well, what about Johnny Cash? What about the guy who said I shot the sheriff? You know what, you tell your story. So there was a country song and it was lyrics, and they gave it to one group of people and say, he's a country artist,

his lyrics. And they took the same lyrics and gave it to another group of people and said, you know what, it's a rap song. Which one did people say offended people the most, the country song. You know what I'm saying. You gave me the country lyrics, and technically it was the country song, right, And so I'll take it a step further. There's been a study five hundred cases where lyrics were used against black and brown people, and since nineteen fifty only four cases have been of lyrics have

been used. Three of them got thrown out and one of them was overturned. Right. And then, even if you listen to heavy metal music, some of the things that they say are rock music. I remember Guns and Roses had that song. I used to love her, but I had to kill her right to come listen. It makes but did the person really kill somebody though? Okay, and ninety percent of the people didn't didn't kill people. Ship they're talking about is entertainment. Listen if you want to

go there. And I'm a person that says, as long as this for everybody, as long as it's justice for everyone, right, I'm cool with it. But I can't I have guys sitting behind prison, I mean in prison right now. Not even they're using this racial biased thing to scare jurors, to scare the judges, to scare the community, to say, hey, they're a rap artists. Hey you know what, they call them king slime. So therefore he's the head of a game.

Well how about this Atlanta. They've been Fulton County, they've been locked up for fomus. Crime is still up, Rapist still up, burglars still up. So what are we talking about? We're talking about lyrics here. Let's talk about because a lot of people would say, yeah, they agree to a certain extent, but then somebody would say, like, you know, if you're a rapper and you commit a crime and then you wrap that crime in your lyrics, you should be prosecuted for it. Okay, if you're a rapper and

you're snitching on yourself. You do. I do believe you should. Actually the lyrics should be able to be talked to the judge and see if they could be used, but not if you can't just do it just to hold somebody. See, that's that's why I agree with that. So that's that's the laws that have been that's the laws that that's the legislation that Newsom signed off on. The legislation that a bowman and um a man Hank Johnson Atlanta is going federally. So these are things, but we got a

lot of work to do right now. Young thug is sitting in prison and he can't be a father to his six kids. He couldn't bury his man. Little kid gonna is sitting can't take kids mother. These are these are pillars in the community. And if you got this thisten to what they're doing, they're taking positive things out of the community. So then you have chaos again. And so this is what If you've never been to Cleveland, n. And you never talked to somebody on Cleveland, N. Then

you you don't know what I'm saying. But I know that in Baltimore because the streets there because people know it. I know people think differently. I know when you did the back to school festival, I know when you do the Christmas thing and Thanksgiving it. I know people think differently, and this is what these kids were doing. Now, I did see something which I didn't understand it, and I

don't know how they're getting away with it. I've seen in the Thud case when the prosecutor said he was reading the lyrics right, and the prosecutors were like yeah, and even says the judge, and I couldn't understand how they were basically saying him fucking. The judge was basically saying, fucking you're that judge. That your time, And of course

the judge held them for longer. But how are they getting away with just using just random lyrics to make it fit for a case They've been They've been getting away with it since inwa They've been getting away with since Iced Tea. I mean, it's this, this is I'm I'm forty years in the business right now, I've been fighting the same fight. But understand, if we let this go, I don't know if we'll have another Spike Lee. If we let this go, I don't know if we have

another Steven Spielberg. I don't know if we have another creative or artists if we let this go. I think the difference with film and music is we know film is entertainment. Film is says this is fiction. We notice is not a real story. But rappers always based their lyrics on being real. Okay, And I have to tell you, um, because uh, maybe America doesn't want to see what's happening in a press place. Is that they maybe they don't

want the news every single day. But I believe that stories are a lot of stories, and movies and games are created from really the call of duty. For those of us who play what there's no wars that ever happened, a simulation of wars that have happened before. Let's talk about um, Tony soprano. Let's talk about scar face. That's what you are all still fictional things. We know, it's not it's not it's not it's what's it's not fictional. With what I'm saying is there was a scar face.

It might not have been named scarface, but there was a big drug dealer that came from somewhere that did it. There was a Tony soprano it might not have been in that pere. There was a wire. I lived it. So these things have happened. It's just that we've been programmed to say that is that, and this is this, and Freddie Merker, you could say you shot a man, that's to watch him down. You can say that, but

you can't say that in your music. That's the issue here is I think we've been programmed in a way to think it's not all creativity. And again I preface this by saying, if you said my name is Kevin and I kicked down your door and robbed you, and I actually went and did that, I think you are snitching on yourself. And here's a point in time when yes, if you committed this crime and then you wrapped about it, then it should be permissible. But it shouldn't be something

that's used. If it's something that's vague and ambiguous, that maybe doesn't apply. But it's just a story that somebody's telling it Like T Grizzly put out his album and he's telling stories, and they could be fiction ol it could be something based on things you know that he saw our experience or I could not you know T said to me because I think it's one of the most creative albums I've heard in a very long time.

To actually tell stories, he said, Man, I had to watch of me saying it was me that I had to tell. It was a story that because if you can slip up in any kind of way, and it's a saying to you, m Charlemagne, that if guess what, if you say some thing out your mouth, it could be used against you because you said it just because you're a black man or a brown person in America, and we can do that to you, but we won't do it to other people. That's the problem I have.

Think about the insurrection. What if that we with the black people decided to go take over the Capitol. What do you think why we wouldn't be having a conversation about bond, jail, jewelry. No, we dead, be dead sold. To me, I just think it's it's injustice for all. And this is the first time in the history of our business where we put the best signal up and we got cold played. To Megan, to Drake, to Spotify, YouTube, ACLU, to Color, Color of Change. You got so many groups

that said every listen. If you think about it, do you think that uh, you know, you know I gonna say, but I'm gonna say anyway, when you think the companies would support the rhetoric I talk about white supremacy and all these things that is this No, but every universe wanna Sony. Everybody's backing it because enough is enough because as soon it's gonna happen, it's going to affect every industry.

And so I approad them. Kevin, what do you think it's happening in Atlanta in particular, because it feels like Atlanta has really taken this to the next like extreme level. What's happening in Atlanta with their justice? But they attacking rappers in Atlanta? Um, I think it was in New York before then it was La whatever, it's the hottest music band. It's going to happen because it's a way to intimidate and and get racial bias to jurors and

people at the community. I guarantee you right now, if you put one hundred people from Cleveland, ab and said, should young thug is he good for the community or bad for the community, because says he's good for the community. The same thing with Gunna. These guys are doing things that nobody else is doing in that community and ip plad them. Now, what are your thoughts on them? You know, at one time when they were trying to quote unquote banned drill music and ban the negative type of music,

what are your thoughts on things like that? It's it's how I feel about banning any body from having freedom of speech, banning anybody from having an opportunity to say what's going on. Unfortunately, and unfortunately, drill music is driman.

It is happening. It's out there. And you could say, well, and those are the ones that are snitching on themselves, you know, like detailing and I'm not all of them, but a lot of them are detailing exactly what happened, who had happened to in the videos with pictures of their opts and everything else, like listen. I can only say, uh, we should be smarter as a people, um um. I believe that. You know, how can you sit and actually do something and say you did it and really didn't

do it? You know, I just don't believe like that's a smart way to live your life. That's not drill or rap or anything said. A smart way to be a life. Everything ain't for everybody. Now. They were saying that, you know, record labels are are bad for because they're making these records singles. Those are the records that they're going for. They're going for mixed show. And I know

I've seen a clip that was running around. It was Leo Cohen when he was up there, and he was talking about how you know how you should play for I don't even know if we have the clip, but I think in the clip that Leo was talking about how he knows that sometimes rappers talk about things like promoting drugs and promoting violence, but you know, he knows it's wrong, but he still promotes it because it's almost

like they're free you. I don't want to take word for where you're paraphrasing, but it's something along the line. I think. I think that's a little bit of unfair criticism to the executives, but only because artists make the music and you're letting artists be artists, and then you're distributing the art they give y'all, Yeah, I listen again. I remember when we had on ex throw your guns in there, um. But also remember when a publican he

said fight the power, that's right. I also remember also think about, um, what are the artists that I love a little baby? If he did not come from where it came from, it thug didn't say his money, don't do this, that's true, he wouldn't have created the bigger picture. I do believe that Jay in his journey, wouldn't be the contributing citizen and father that he is without going through that journey. I don't believe Malcolm would have been Malcolm. But I don't believe. You go down the list of

people so you can't. You can't say they used to say the same thing about jazz or Nigro spirits or race music. They used to say the same thing. This the ship. We're still fighting today. But how do we continue to fight? Right when I look at it, I look at the judge right in the Gunner case, right, and he was a brother black man, and you know, you hear all the details where you know they say basically they really have no violent information on Gunna, nothing

violent on Gunna. And that the fact that the guy that looks like us that we fight for because we always say we want more people like us. In the course, the more people like us to be police officers, more people like us to be in the judicial system, and the guy that looks like us says, now we're gonna keep him in here. Yeah, you have to understand why it was a rico charge. A Rico charges to get affiliation anybody standing next to be next to the whole thing.

And the only reason you would use a recal charge in this particular situation is to shake the tree. Yeah, because they don't have Noh, listen, it's to shake the tree. And I have to be honest with you. If you African American, uh in America, if you ain't been around it, seeing it, you ain't black. And that's that's that's the reality of it because we grew up not in places that um people would say are safe places. So I can't say I haven't. I think you're from a certain era.

If you're from a certain era, you definitely was around it. Because you know, our kids aren't around it because we've created a different life for them. Yeah, we've created a different life. But when you say our kids, you're talking about the one percent. I only speak on the fattest part of you, and that is I joke with my kids.

I said, I'm doing it protecting black ard thing I said, we're gonna go to the club later, and my son and my daughter twenty four, twenty two, they all say, well, who's DJ, But my eleven year or eight year old say the country Club. So the reality, yes, we are involvement, but we're still in the percentage of ourself. And UM, I just feel like, um, this this, this is not a moment in time. This is a movement. This is

one of the biggest movements that we had. And I think we gotta be better fathers, better rappers, better human beings, better executives. And I think this is the first sign of you seeing adults um in the room and they come from our culture. I want to go back to something else you said, Kevin, just not just real quick. Why are you twenty year olds don't know the County Club? You've been a millionaire for a long time. What are you talking about? Why do you don't know the country Club? Charlemagne?

I think they know the country Club, but they also know me, and so they Kevin, I want to ask you, since you said better executives, right, what a let's talk about you as an executive with your artist because we've seen you in the courtroom, we've seen you going there taking up of your artists. We see you, you know, with Megan the Stallion, supporting everything that she's doing. We see you with Tea Grizzly at you know, the screenings.

What is the boundary between being an executive and working with these artists, because sometimes people feel like business and what it feels like kind of a friendship sometimes gets mixed up. So what are your rules when it comes to that. I'm them, I'm I'm an artist. I'm somebody who I was an artist, and I know how I want to be treated. But more importantly, every person you talked about just now, I've met their mother and their

father and they said, take care of my baby. And so you know, Megan's my daughter, you know Doug, Gunna, Tea, they're my sons. Uh and you know Jay's my brother. You know what I mean. Plus like you, this is you know a lot of I heard something to come up with what they don't treat this like family. No, I treat my artists like family. That stomach hurt, My stomach hurt. My stomach hurt. That stomach hurt. That's why you see me on the front lines. And I think

we have a responsibility. See that that's the problem where our industry um uh. And they want them to get to reap the rewards, but they don't want to go through the bullshit. So I want to. I want I want to smoke. I want it because I know if I stand next to them, it's going to make them a better person if I helped them get through it.

And that's why it's a different thing than me, and I applaud the executives that of a noun of coming up and understanding that it's not about sitting on the sideline. You got to be a player coach. Can't this be a coaching owner. I've always had a respect for you. I've always had the utmost respect for you. But when I saw you in the courtroom, you know, standing up for a gunna, standing up for thug, standing up for why I sell, my respect went through the roof for

exactly what you just said. Because you know, people will stand next to the artists when they're in reap the benefits of but then when the things go south, they're like, oh, they back away. So I mean you did that with no hesitation. I'll do it because I come from it. But the thing that you guys I know about me. I'm always be on the front line or what's right, and especially the front line of the things that I've been able to change my life in my family's life

with it. And I believe call me an executive activists, father, whatever you want, when I want to call me, I'm gonna been the ark of justice to the right side. Now, you've always been very vocal, and you know Kanye was one of your artists. When you're away deaf Jam, you ever picked up the phone and try to reach out to him and try to have some conversations with him. I spoke to Kanye prior to all of this new stuff going on, UH, and I have to tell you, man, Um,

I'm against racism of all kinds. Um. I'm against uh anti Semitic rhetoric. I'm against discrimination. I'm against us not focusing on us being one human race. And so when you see someone going through what he's going through, you have to allow that moment to I'm sure enough people's talking to him to put him in the place. Kanye's not fighting with the world. He's fighting himself right now.

And the best position that I think we need to do for him is to provide love and guidance, and the love and guidance has to come from different places. It doesn't come from turning people down, you know, it comes from helping them understand where they are in life and helping them get to the right. Because Kanye has helped more people than he's hurt. I think the rhetoric is wrong and what he's trying to accomplish is a better way of accomplishment. And everything doesn't have to be

for the media. Things should be able to happen behind closed doors. And you guys know, we've moved a lot of things that you guys have not even heard about because we have the relationships on all sides. I want to go back to protect black God thing. How much of the focus is being put on the artists to not record records about their criminal activity, I don't. I don't think. Um if if I knew an artist was a criminal, a drug deal a murderer, I think that's

a different conversation. But if I if I, if I'm with an artist and he's around certain things and that's that's his environment, broken, he poor, and he's prolific, I want to help him change the narrative of his family and his life. And I also want to have the conversations that I have with a lot of the ogs that we have to do better and we have to be in their life, um not move out of their life constantly and check them sometimes, but also listen to

him and so that that is. You know when I when I turned fifty, I said, I want to listen, I want to learn, I want to lead, and I want to love. And if it don't fall in those things, I'm just not about it. Do you ever teach? Of course you teach, but I'm talking about like you do come from that era of Public Enemy, You do come from the era of socially conscious music. Do you ever tell these artists like, hey man, you might want to try to do a bigger picture. Look how many records

Kendrick's so old? Look what j Cole is doing? You have you ever done that? I never say emulate, always say tell your truth. And I believe that. Uh. You know if I would have went to Public Enemy and told Chuck your right, fight the power or n W a right, No, no, you could these things. These are moments in time that a record was written. But if Marvin write what's going on that that don't come from a space of being told what to do. And I don't believe my job is to tell him what to do.

My job has provide them by the means and the education and the resources to tell their truth. And that's what I promote it tell your truth. And if your truth is what you saw, what you did, how it was, just tell your truth because those things are the things that are gonna bring and change people's lives. What we didn't ask how is stuck and gonna doing? Like? How are they doing? I mean you speak to them daily, I'm sure how are they doing? How was they mental?

How are they holding up? How how would they feeling? Because they you know, they see it from a different side. Uh, don't don't, please, don't take this the wrong way. But um, I can't normalize jail. I can't normalize right yo, not talking to your kids, your mother's sick, not being able to take us something. I can't normalize how you feel? How would you feel behind it? I know how I feel. And if I couldn't talk to my kids, I couldn't be.

My father's suffering through funnel little with dementia, hasn't talking two years. I can't be there for his last day, my one of my biggest I'm gonna come out a little keep passed. I can't be at the funeral, I know I would feel so I will never normalize that those four walls and that's that hold too many black and brown people, uh, for racists and white supremacy and all the things that the oppression that's been put on myself. People,

how's your man in jail? He's in jail like he was twenty twenty three and one that he was down for twenty three he couldn't come out. So I'm trying to change that for him and all that. Yeah, listen, as we don't if you know, if the people don't know, we don't and if we don't even know how how people don't even know how to fight, like how to stand up, like how they competition, how could they be a part of it? You know? Yeah, I think one of the things that we have to do, if the

midterms coming up next week, we have to vote. We have to get out and put people in the places that understand who we are, why we are, and the things that we need. You know, we have laws that are still in place for hundreds of years ago that they think they should work in twenty twenty two. My cell phone from ten years ago don't work the same way my new cell phone work. So why should we change these laws for what we are right now for for twenty two and beyond. And I just look at um,

what can you do today? I think you need to go and make noise about this, this racist act, because it's not only affecting Listen, how about this in New York that's awarded somebody for the Malcolm X thirty six billion dollars. Listen, this is not about lyrics. This is not about rapmeo. This is about a racist system, justicism that's put there to put more brown and black people in jail. So this is bigger. This is about you

getting out and vote. This is about passing legislation and pushing your congressman, your senators, your mayors, your governors to help us protect black art. And I'm not talking about music, guys, I'm talking about your art, your art, your art. I'm about to protect us, protect us, but we also got to protect us from us. We gotta protect ourselves. We gotta protect ourselves. So you think gonna will get out next time on bail because I know we've been hopeful

and it's been what four times now, right, yeah? Yeah. The I am hopeful that UM the judge will look at these past six months and see that these guys are not the reason crime is what it is in Atlanta. I'm hopeful that um now the lead prosecutors left and they got they're regrouping, they're trying to push the case back. Right now, I'm hoping that UM the judge or see through this whole lyric thing and allow them to have a fair trial. That the thing is, I don't I

don't mind going to trial. I don't mind because I think the guys that I know, that's not what they do, you know what I mean. But I don't mind going to trial. But I'm what I mind is the racial bias that's happening because of the music and how the guys look. So do I think he's going to get out?

I pray, Angela. I pray every day. I pray every day for God to have an understanding and to give the understanding to the judge and even the prosecutor, because I don't think this is even worth They're going to trial for Godda. I wonder if the fact that you have like all of these different reco cases happening in Atlanta is hurting the wire Sel case because you do have a whole other group who were actually rapping about

home invasion and stuff. So sometimes when you hear it, you just feel like it's all blurred if you're just listening, you know, in the public. Yeah. Again, but our justice system shouldn't be blurred, and that this is the this

is the problem. This is And so if you think about the actions that are being taken, and you think about this this one area, we're gonna clean Atlanta, not not not not in my my my account, it was a lot of a lot of things that we need to do where it's not locking up entrepreneurs, not locking

up record labels. Again, anybody who commits a crime, I think they should be given a free trial also, but I think if they're rapping about it, they snitching on it on themselves, and those those lyrics should be presented to the judgs be used evidence. But you can't just say because I'm I'm want to go to war like Russia, that I want to go to war in Atlanta. Like No, it's just that it makes no sense. What they're saying,

So I don't believe that. I do want to also to what changed in hip hop, because it's not like, you know, gang affiliation is new the hip hop, So why all of a sudden now it's like, okay, now this leads to ricos where the number one music in the world. When you're number one, it's so many things go at you, and so so many things are heightened right now. I don't believe we're be able to pass the legislation that we passed if we want the number

one music in the world. I think you would have people scared to even come on with the movement if you want the number one music in the world. But it's no denying who we are. While we are, you have to address the issues right now, and we're in the position where we can hold people accountable. You know, back when I was young, cav I couldn't. I couldn't say I was trying to come up. Now, I don't care. What are you gonna do say due to me. I

care about my people. I've always cared about my people, and I care about to a point right now where I don't mind being on the front line and taking whatever it takes to get our people to understand that all we want is a free an opportunity to be judged like everybody else and not be persecuted because the color of our skin or the lyrics that we wrap you. Um, I heard that You're which is so it's like full circle, right,

your executive producing the Milli Vanilli biopic. I heard that. Yeah, I mean you know, I want to I want to make sure that you get the story right. You know I got I got I protect I gotta protect that black art, black art. Even if he didn't sing, I gotta protect that black art. You wrote a song that million. Can you break this down for people who don't know I was sixteen telling this story idea? Yeah, I was sixteen in love, wrote a record, put it out, sold

one hundred thousand copies. You know it's true. Yeah, Gary knows too. Two years later, I'm watching MTV and somebody video comes on. I never made a video and it was Milli Vanilli and it's sold eighteen million copies. It's the only reason I'm in I would have still wanted to if I would have made it, I still would have probably want to be in the music business. The

only reason I've got into the business of music. It's because I never wanted that to happen to another artist, because it changed a life in a lot of way, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that opportunity. So how did that come about? Because I don't know, a lot of people are too young to remember, but milliev Nilly was a joke for a long time and they blew up. But then it became like this big joke because actually taken his own life. Yep. Was it

because of that? Was because because actually couldn't he couldn't handle what was going on. But you have to say, I'm put it into perspective. They sold eighteen million copies of one single. They were the biggest group at the at that time, they were the biggest, the biggest group. You couldn't tell him anything. They would It was sex, drugs, rock and roll, all the things that you want to talk about. And when that's taken away from you and people and you know you're trying, but you got caught

up in the in the system and the hype. Um, some people can't deal with it the same way. And so again I wish they would have took my call back then. Because they didn't take my car and that stole my song because I might have been able to help get through it. How did you so you end up having to take them to court to get paid in all that? Take them to court? Man, Yeah, decide. That's why I learned the business like I know it now, you know, because I had to take seventeen years old.

Eighteen years old, they just stole your song that you put out that you sold copies and was like, what was your what was your name? Back then? It was crime genius, Crime genius song. That's why you want to protect black art now you know what it was? Um? Um, my record was out in Germany and you know I toured and on tour with Rob Base and um crime Genius.

I was, you know, big, and they heard in the club and um the guy just went and remade the song, put two people on it and never thought nobody would fight it. You know. I'm just a kid from Baltimore, you know. And really, if I didn't have the resources and I didn't have the will, you know how many people UH cheated on and and and stolen from and they just don't have the means, the means or the will or even because that's a fight, did it? Oh? All that calls you to fight that seven you know

what I mean? No, man, they took us all. They they don't want to give it back. Seven million dollars. Seven million dollars. And when did you have that kind of money back age? You really was a crime genius the wire, you know you listen to God, Guys, Here's

here's what I want to say. Uh, everything, everything, if every everybody, But more importantly, UM, when you're on the side of right, you have friends, you have family, you have lawyers that work uh in a sense of the set of the case, you know, and all those kinds of things. And I was just sing, um, I was so loved in the city and loved by my family that um, we were willing to clear my name and

and and get what's right from my mind. That's still to this day, I'm able to sit back and collect checks, and when I'm not here, my kids will be collecting checks from from the record. And and that's why I want to be honest with you. It is why I fight uh for us, because I never want that to happen. And I'll always protect black art. No I think I

think to protect black art campaign is great. The only pushback guy have is literally those guys who commit crimes and then go actually wrap in detail about the crime they committed. That's just ridiculous. And we and we are on the same page about that. And when I saying those those lyrics, if they can prove ABCD, I'm with presented to the judge. But but for the prosecutors to say, because they called you king slime, you're the leader of a gang, I'm not with that, y'all. I'm with you, right,

I know with that. Here's a leader. Here's a leader. He's a leader of young stoner life. Regular you know what I mean, I'm regular, But yeah, here's a leader, you know. And I'm sorry. He's come up in a place where that the people has been oppressed and you know, people have been in and out his life in a way, and he's still learning how to be a man. This is like it goes back to cbfore. Remember C Before.

Like C Before was literally a movie Chris Rock made about rappers who you know, started emulating the game in their music, just their music, just because they knew that's what would sell. Yeah, but but do you see what you that said that it was. It was a true story, just wasn't dead story. It just wasn't dead story. So all I'm saying is like artists, art man and I want to protect it. And if we don't get these let the legislations passed, if we don't get out of

congressman and sentatives on on on our page. I don't know if there's gonna be another Spike Lee. He might not be to make that movie. I don't know if you're gonna end up Stephen King might make that novel. I mean, it's it's interesting you say that because I remember I had Making Good on my talk show last season and she she said that. Now I was like, no,

I didn't even true. She was basically saying like, I gotta watch what character I play because nowadays people think that's really me, and I'm like, really as an actress, and this is this is listen, and this is the issue. This is the you that we have that yes, what you do and what you say is part of you, no matter if you're acting or not not acting. But if you're black and brown, it's definitely who you are.

They're gonna say this who they will not treat, treat, they treat Denzil different than they create Russell Crowe sure it because of color and skin. And how can people follow you and help you and get more information to the course that you're running. I think it's a hashtag protect Black Art and you can go online and change dot org and look at the petition. I think we over seventy thousand people right now. And then, like I said,

go out and vote. Make sure your legislators, your congressmen and senators know and your governors and hold them accountable. You know, let's let's hold them accountable for more than just saying Okay, we're doing this for this person. After this person, we got to hold them account to put laws and that help us govern our country and govern even our poor communities in a better way. All right, well, Kevil allows, Uh, what does the gene is? What is it? Crime? Genius? Genius?

I'll do that, but trying to implicate him, No, don't, No, I was not a crime. I was not a crime genius. I was KG and I was in a group called Newmark. You have a lot of ladies and gentlemen. Og. We appreciate you, bro, God bless you guys. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning,