QLS Classic: 2016 Roots Picnic Part 2

Courst Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora.

What Up, y'all? It's like It and this week's QLs classic.

Continues from last week Yeah Rooth's Picnic Live in New York.

This aired October twenty six.

Imagine It, Team Supreme hold up in a hotel across the street from the venue. While everybody's performing, theyre run across the street to talk to us. Even Questlove, so make sure you pay attention to.

Hear when he pops in.

Featured in this episode appearances from The Jungle Brothers, Emily Wells, Yuna Daniel Bambada, Marley Freeway, and Easy Mode Breezy from Grits and Biscuits.

Enjoy, y'all, What's up, y'all?

Welcome to a very special edition of West Love Supreme once again. This is a road trip, well not exactly a road trip. We're kind of up the block from Bryant Park in New York City. I'll say that twenty years ago, when the Roots were first formed, we made and cut our teeth on the festival circuit, and festivals are like now a thing in America that back in the early nineties, it was like really unheard of to have different genres together under one roof, like doing a festival.

So many acts played the picnic.

David Byrne, Bu tang Quin, Dangelo, John Mayer, even Alicia Keys, Dave Sappelle, Common of course the Roots were formed as well. Uh we even Adnle Rogers and She's That's a lot.

Of line up. Anyway.

We recorded these special episodes in Quest Love Supreme Live during the Roots Picnic. I was running around quite a bit too. I popped up in the show occasionally when I had a minute, but it was basically rehearsing. But don't worry, Uh, the team Supreme held it down and they really did an amazing job running the show with my absent.

That's right. We got Fante, Boss.

Bill still there, Unpaid Bills there, Sugar Steeds there, Lai is there, and a whole cast of others.

And during this.

Episode you will hear some great interviews with the Jungle Brothers, you and Daniel Marley, the Freeway, the team behind Participar Biscuits party An Emily Wells, and I really hope you enjoyed the show.

This is part two of the Roots Picnic New York edition of Quest Love Supreme.

Once one two y'all.

This is Questlove Supreme only on Pandora Sponte Fontigelo holding it down for the boss Man and our coat leader, Quest Love.

Who is busy working today.

We're broadcasting live from the Roots Picnic in New York, in New York, New York City, the city and the state. We got, uh, we got lovely unpaid Bill Sherman, my Man Sugar, Steve, my Man Scott Yo, Yo, Boss Bill, you know what I'm saying. We're all in here, we're having a good time.

Man.

I cannot say enough how much the brothers that we are honored to have in this building today, how much of an influence that they played on my life, on my musical career. Just god, man, I don't know where to start. Straight out the jungle the album man mess my head up, done by the forces of nature, messed my head up even more. Jesus christ Man, I'm gonna just let these brothers tell their story, lads and women.

Give it up the Jungle Brothers.

Thousand you both and watch sound System State of the Odd.

Come on, man, man, thank you.

First off, let me say okay, me and Mike G. We have been planning to get together for like the past decade. Mike G lives probably like twenty minutes from me. He's we're both North Carolina residents. I'm North Carolina born and raised. He is pretty much he's been there, and we are part of the growing community of rappers in North Carolina. I think special ed, I think so Dot is so that X's and well, I know at one point he was in Greensboro.

I don't know if he's still there. I don't know.

I was on his tail somewhere in Raleigh. I got a good friend down there, he says, Yeah, man, I was just here, you know, as folks live down there, Raleigh, got family down there, so yeah, yeah, yeah, you know Caine is still in Durham.

I believe Drma Raleigh. I believe.

But but yeah, me and Mike g have been Yo. Man, let's get up, let's get dinner, let's do this, and this is the first time I think we've been in the same room. Yeah, I see him more on the road than I do actually in the city we live in. But but now, brothers, thank you'all so much for man, man, I cannot thank you enough. I guess let's just start with well, let's start kind of, let's.

Go before we go back.

Let's like start with one of my favorite records from y'all, which is fitting since the founder and our cut leader actually played on it, bring Uh Off the Raal Deluxe album.

Tell us tell me about that record.

I remember at the time when it came out, it just sounded new. It sounded like it was the Jungle Brothers that I knew in love, but it just sounded like, man, like this is a reinvention like my Boys is back, you know what I mean, talk to us about that and too. It came off of the first single, uh, the How You Want It, which is just like some raw just straight loops. But then y'all came with the Brains and I was like, oh, this is like some cool shit, like wow, So let's talk about that record

He was the masters we had.

Uh.

We had got back together with John Baker at G Street, who was uh real instrumental in our in the first part of our career off of Straight Out the Jungle.

It's funny how that all came together, but he.

Was instrumental on the UK side, on the Europe side for Jungle Brothers went Straight Out the Jungle and Uh, we got together for the Raw Deluxe album, and I want to say we were almost finished. We were probably sixteen some of our songs, but we still needed that that one, you know, really to help I guess capture the soul of the new audience that was out there and somehow the the link, the link came and got us all in the studio. You know what I'm saying,

Writing, that's dope. That's dope, man. To give out our listeners a little backstory at this point in their career. Well, just and if I misspeak, please correct me. First album, Straight out the Jungle hip Hop Classic. This was nineteen eighty seven, Well Warlock Rect eight. I'm sorry, Warlock Records. I was nine years old, a long time ago. But then the second album.

Wasn't born yet. That's real, man, listen.

So second album done by the Force of Nature ninety one eighty nine, eight eighty nine. I remember I was it was probably fifth grade, I think, if I'm not mistaken, that record. So these were like two records that were, I mean really just cemented these brothers as just one of the most kind of forward thinking, forward moving groups

Well, in the place of that record, the Crazy Wisdom record came JJ Remedy year that was also on Warner Brothers at the time. And you know, the time period was I think we were learning. You know, we had just we came off of touring done by the forces of nature. I mean we literally, I mean from straight out to jungle. We literally went from his graduation to touring Europe and then constantly touring. I mean we literally didn't take a break for a very long time, for a really long time.

And for guys, you.

Know we like.

Seventeen eighteen nineteen, I mean it's like who does that?

Who comes out of school? Get your passport? Travel of the world. The Berlin Wall was still up at the time.

Wow, Wow, were doing crazy festivals. We're doing crazy festivals. I mean it was nuts. I mean, who does that? I mean, I'm haul and Brooklyn the Bronx. I mean at that time, the eighties, late eighties, I mean it was unheard of. You know, by the time we got back to the studio to start that third record, it was like, I mean it was it was vomit.

It was like, Yo, look what we brought home.

I mean, we got we got to build with the likes of Bill Liaswell, Bootsy mud Bone, George. I mean, it was just so much. We had so much that, I mean it was hard to interpret. Yeah, from the meters, I mean all the cats. I mean, I mean you're artist, I mean, where your soul comes from. I I mean I have to I have to throw this on you. When that Little Brother album came out, It's like it

Wow. But it's like we so when we came back and we we.

Got to literally rub elbows and tour and do shows with the cast that we were sampling that we were sitting up in the sitting up in the Bronxe River Center listening to the Beach Jazzy and I'm going back and forth and were chilling with them in the tent, drinking bits.

And all of that. And I ain't gonna put us in the studio right after that. Wow, Warner Brothers, they couldn't understand that. And that was for the Crazy the Master.

Yeah, but it wasn't It wasn't originally named the Crazy was the Master. It was I don't think we even had a name to I don't think we had.

Lose the originals or something like that.

Yeah, you know, it was all it was all politics in short. In short, we created a spaceship. We made a spaceship. Warner Brothers ain't know how to fly. They was like, not hold up, we just need four wheels in the steering wheel.

They wanted four wheels in.

The steering wheel. They did the okie doke with the mix.

After we mastered it, they found, you know, they pulled what they felt was you know, relatable to the audience. They put out JB's with the Remedy and.

That was the forty blow Trooper. That was yeah that way, And I liked that record. I mean it was it was funny because J the Remedy was one of those records that for me personally, had I not known the backstory, like I would have been like, Yo, this is dope.

Like had I had, I I remember like reading I.

Want to say it was in the source or something with you guys where y'all were, you know, telling them talking about the process and how disappointing it was and how the stuff y'all going through with the label and everything, And I just remember reading I was like, man, I had no clue, if you know. To me, it sounded like a junk Brothers record, but it was disappointing to hear that it wasn't you guys vision you know what I'm saying. But just for me, I remember for the blow truth came out.

I love that record.

Yeah, I mean it was a there was I think crazy wis the masters it held, I mean it held the whole story. But I think it was just ahead of a lot of people's time. They just wasn't ready. Like I said, we built a spaceship, but they wasn't ready. They weren't even they wouldn't even put out the test for how do you drive a spaceships?

We don't know. Just keep making calls.

You know, that's what it was, you know, all right, so we're gonna go into that. So coming out of Crazy Wism Masters into JB's with the Remedy, this is when you left JA.

It was ninety three, was it was it?

Yeah?

It was. It was probably like.

Coming out of that record, you guys leave Warner Brothers, get with E Street and that brings us to the Rather Lucks album, which brings us to Brain, which was kind of like a reintroduction to you guys.

What year is that? That was nineteen ninety six? Seven? It was ninety seven. It was ninety seven.

Man, everything's almost tweeny years ago, yeah, because I remember that was like my twenty senior year of high school.

I'll say, and y'all about to have y'all thirtieth anniversary.

Yeap next year.

For I mean, that's like thirty years you guys are coming up on what keeps you going?

I mean, thirty is a long fucking time, oh man.

Just you know, the love for the music, that's really the love for the music in the chemistry chemistry too.

Question. I think we friends before music.

You know, we grew up together high school, playing in the parks, going to the jams. I think that really kept us together because a lot of groups money comes in between them and all that kind of stuff. And I think at this point it really don't even matter, you know. I think that we're still friends and that makes a big difference.

Yeah, do you guys feel like y'all were maybe more like better equipped to handle it now than you were when you were younger?

I think so. Yeah, RelA so too.

Yeah, we came along so early, you know where it was those pioneered years where you're just doing something in your circle or in your bedroom and not aware of what's out there. And we got a chance to go out there when no one saw us coming, you know, to fifty two different countries and see people experience hip hop for the first time and still be seventeen eighteen nineteen.

But we still felt like we just stepped out of our bedrooms.

Yet when you talk about like the bedrooms, you know, the Straight Out the Jungle, that was one of the albums that me and The Mirror have talked about as being in like and we mean this like in the best way. Technically it's like one of the worst mixed albums, but that's what makes.

It well, there's a story behind that, Like Straight Out the Jungle.

I used to first of all, that whole album was made off turntables. Wow, So that's not there's no sp twelves, there's no LINN drums, there's no NPC heads, there's no laptop. Of course, that was just straight off the turntables. So it's just straight r particularly Straight Out the Jungle. I would come home from school. I those two records were f from my dance record collection, okay, and I would backs.

I only had one copy of each record.

So the Bill Withers Break and I would play that on one turntable and the Mandrels on the other, and I only had eight bars. Wow, and I love the way those two went together.

I would just play it over and over and over and over, not even get a chance to write to it yet, And I just.

Held that in my head until we finally got into a studio situation. Cause we were in a couple of studio situations where the producers would throw when the drum machine beat at us, and we was like, nah, that's not really the sound we want. But a lot of hip hop records back then was drum machine heavy. And then we got into the studio where there was turntables, and I took that same technique of straight out the the breakbeat and then the groove.

But now we have a tape machine.

So on track one, you play those eight bars punching. On track two, play those eight bars of Bill Withers drums, and you keep doing that till you got five minutes.

And I'm geeking off of that cause.

I was like, Okay, now I got a track machine instead of a cassette, you know, or even just doing it by hand. And then on track three and four you're throwing down the mandrills for five minutes.

Yeah.

So a lot of that stuff was just made on the fly, you know, And that was the process of the whole album, Like behind the Bush, you know.

We had insane the same process.

I saw Sammy's standing there with the record we used for the melody, which was a remaker of Marvin Gaye's What's going On and it was on forty five and we had to tape it to you know, a vinyl and then blend that or over the beat for five minutes, you know, and then go in the booth, and then Mike and I would be in another example of Jim Browski.

Sammy Bold was.

In the control room with the two turntables, Mike and I was in the booth with our rhymes already rehearsed, and he had his mic, I had my mic.

Sometimes we had one mic we shared together.

I'm gonna do because that sounds like yeah, yeah, but what you gotta understand the Jim Browski that was all three of us.

The way we're doing on stage. We did that in the studio like a band. Like there's no you know, sampling or putting it on tape first and over. There's no overdose, there's no overdubes. It's like, Okay, we're gonna press record, take one the old fashioned way, but in the hip hop context, like we're gonna MC while he's DJing you know what I mean, and then it's like, yeah, let's listen down take two.

You know what I mean, do take two and that's it.

So just to give the listeners some understanding of just this process when they say no over the Generally, when you go into the studio, everything is kind of pre done. So if you're recording over a beat, the beat is already done and it is recorded and laid down, and then the singers of rappers come in on another track and they do you know, they do whatever they do to that prerecorded beat, and so forth and so on. Uh, what these buds were doing was just everything was live in one take.

So yeah, on stage they were doing put that. In the studio we were doing that. So at the end of that, Andre de Borg, the engineer for Salt and Pepper's records, and you know the quality of those records, he pulls up and I remember this in a in an army truck.

With all his outboard geary total like gear ahead.

He pulls up, he comes downstairs in the basement and he looks at the board and it goes, you made a record like this. There's wires everywhere, and he's like he said, before I even mix this record and master it, I have to take.

Apart the whole studio and put it back together again. Wow, look at her face like that, what so trying to make some extra money.

But basically, but basically it was about It's about a vibe, going back to what you you re quest level saying like like, technically this sounds wrong, but the vibe was captured and.

That was the most important thing on Girl, I House you on Straight Out the Jungle on Jimbrowski.

All the background vocals, the whoa, why why baby.

And even bells ringing on my bracelet or tapping on the window or you hit the mic by accident, and the echoes, you know, all that stuff was captured live and that was the vibe and then the engineer just had to work with it make it sound like something.

Yeah, one of the one of the lines I want to make the listeners aware of that is probably definitely kind of seeming that you guys in history uh Q tip from a ward tour her me and the eighty jvs on the promo. Yeah, for those who do not who don't know, uh Q tip from a trip called Quest was on Straight Out the Jungle on a record

Out to the DJ. So yet in that case it was for red Alert.

But you know, all DJs were doing no Chuck chill out had them, you know, every all the DJs at that time. And q Tip was actually you guys actually gave q Tip his start. How did all you guys link up? And what was it that y'all heard in him to make you say, you know what, we'll let we'll let you get on.

This m You used the class, Well, we went to school together. Yea, we were classes. Yeah, we were in the same home room together. Yeah.

Yeah, you know where you meet and then you go out to your classes. We don't have all the same classes, but we were in the same home room together. So the in the what year was this this was.

Uh from eighty four to eighty eight.

If he would come with UH come to school with rhymes and you know we all had a book of rhymes and he'd come to school with rhymes and we just kind of formed like a relationship through that.

Gotcha.

Actually, what actually happened is Mike was m that's my dude, that's my jungle brother.

But he was a great ahead of me.

Ah, and like what I liked to what I loved about him is like he was well known in school, but he still was to himself, stuck with himself, you know, by himself.

And I was the same.

I was well known in school in my grade, but I wasn't in any circles. And we met because brother Jay from x Clan oh man Em linked us up for uh A talent show. M So, long story short, he graduated before me and then I had one more year left, so q tit would be around me, and it was like, I don't know.

Space yeah, f f F for him, you know what I mean?

Cause I wasn't around Mike as much and in school, so he would be around me, and he know I w at th he on the weekends, I'm going to the studio and then he'd hear the records on the way for promos we were doing.

He'd hear on the radio and stuff like that.

So then he'd come around and you know, rap to me and stuff, do lyrics and he'd s you know, like complain that.

People was comparing him to l School j and he was Jane not at the time.

That trip was compared to Yeah, he was.

And he was wrapping, rapping like you know that I need to be now though yeah, no, not that I need no, no, no, no, no, that I need to beat you know, all the big words from the dictionary.

Into a form of a battle rap where you know you're outwitting the person you're battling.

So so I was just like, well.

That is the thing right now, so good, Like if you're on that level, then that's cool. But slowly, but surely he was like embracing what was becoming Jungle Brothers.

Slow down a little bit.

And slowed down a little bit and that and that that was that. That was the era of the Boogie Down productions where he was slowing it down and also rock him where he was torn and the boys down there and it wasn't all a yelling and Mike and I that's how we rapped as well.

We was on some smooth MC ship, you know. That's that's what it was about. You know, we wasn't really battling. We was wasn't battling. We held were trying to get girls.

You know.

It was the smooth spoony G type rap me and Mike Love spoony G.

And one of his first rhymes was like that, you know, so.

Slowly but surely, Jane Nice was coming into his own, not into his own, but coming into the jungle brother vibe and then going away with that and developing into something that couldn't be compared to. And that's when I said, look, come down to the studio and.

Let's do this promo joint.

Wow.

To know that q tit was compared to, that's just amazing, ladies, gentlemen. He just walked out.

I've been here the whole time. I mean when I heard this episode, y'all talked to Smack behind me as Margaret always.

Oh my god, Eli quest Love is back.

Ladies, gentlemen, Okay, so girl, I house you what made y'all go? Because that was I mean, like you're said, that was a very bold direction and it was something that uh, at that time, I didn't know of any other hip hop artists that were that were doing it. It kind of kicked off the hip House movement, which.

That was the first house song I ever heard.

I didn't know same here and that really just kind of you know, there are a lot of imitators.

That came in your way, and but that was still the one that was like.

I think Latifa got it right, but coming to my house that she was dope, But I think was it was it top Terry Yeah, and he did the house did house?

Yeah? What made you guys do that? Like what was that session?

Like, well, obviously did some hours at the at Larry Levan's uh sparede Garage?

Yes, obviously, Oh yeah, I mean I did.

I think My mother was driving cabs when the Paradise Garage was happening and she took.

Me there when I was twelve years old.

She took me there when I was twelve years old, and I got a little taste of that crowd that early, the whole.

You know, you know, the common denominators with all the guests on the show.

To your parents.

My mom was driving cabs like late that night and she was like, you're gonna come with me. I want to show you this place where I get all my rides, And it was it was Paradise.

Garage for the listeners. This was Larry Levaughn, who was a incredible legend, legendary pioneer house. He laid everything open format his best his best.

DJ gig was not playing records.

He played the Wizard of Oz movie once and they said it was the most legendary night. I mean, he's had legendary DJ stories, but him playing Jackson Five's ABC his very last gig at the.

Studio fifty four.

It was defiantly playing ABC for three hours in a row in defiance Tanya Garter's heartbeat. He forced them like they they opposed to it. It was like too slow for them. They hated it, and he forced them. He says, I will, I will play this until y'all give me the respect I dessert And he's single handedly like said, you're gonna dance to some down tempo ninety bpm ship.

So yeah, he's a monster.

That's a good backstory for our house because you said it was a bold move, but we didn't see it that way. Because of the environment here in New York City, the birthplace of hip hop, you still had a strong dance scene, you know, just go high, you know, and downtown punk rock scene. So a lot and a lot of things were crossing together and together those scenes were linked together.

You know, hip hop was.

Still young, so it didn't have what it has now, like its own click boundaries, you know, and with boundaries and rigid formulae structures.

It was a jam. Everything was a jam everywhere.

You could get away with playing the Wizard of Ours and Grand After Flash and get away with playing.

The Clash, you know. So but yeah, it was nothing. It was. It was that's what we're supposed to do. I mean, I was going to clubs.

I was going to clubs carrying records for Red Alert.

We all were playing, we all had a crate. But then I would leave.

That club and go to our house club, like the World or some club with no name, holding the wall and being there till three four in the morning with just househeads, and at least four of the records they were playing was Todd Terry's records, and I could hear Todd Terry. It was a a is a producer from Brooklyn who was making hip hop and really wasn't getting that love and went into making house records and got

So Chicago from the Chicago breaks, they was really the Chicago.

Scene, Fast Freddy, Tyree Cooper. These were the guys that really they were setting it off because they were tired of doing house music, so they started rapping over it.

But we didn't know about them. Uh you see what I'm saying.

So one day we come in the studio at the end of Straight out the Jungle, we get out of school. We go to the studio and the studio that Todd Terry worked in, we worked in, and the engineer, Tony d said, do you guys want to make a house record? We was like, yeah, sure, didn't even think of it as a separate genre from hip hop.

He put the record on and it was Royal House party. People. Now we used to see Royal House at the house, go out and do shows.

Four people who were just dancers who worked on Wall Street, and we were like, y'all don't rap and you go out and do shows and you get five grand. So he put the record on and I was like, yo, I did I swept to that record party people by Royal House. So I said, yeah, let's do it. So we took the took the record, put it on the turnta.

The booth overdubbed the vocals.

Then Mike went in and you know, I guess two hours later the record was done, and then we did some cuts on it, and we felt like we broke it down to a hip hop level. So we and then I remember calling a leics Shahid, and I was like, yo, I put the phone at the speaking I was like.

I was proud. I was like, yo, look at listen to what we just did.

And and Tip was on the phone and you was listening down. And then I took the phone back when the record was over and I said, you heard that? That is the jam and Ali was like, oh wow. He was like, Yo, that sounded like a real house record too.

That was crazy.

I repeat, that sounds like a real record too, you know, like authentic, you know.

And I was like yeah.

And I was like, but you can hear the hip hop in it too, you know, Sammy doing the cut.

Star Wars breakbeat. So it was just like an exciting time.

Now that record was given to the record company, they laughed at it. They said, we're not putting it on the vinyl. What, but we'll put it on the cassette.

Wow. And what did the DJs do?

From Limelight to Studio fifty four to Roseland to the Palladium, to Milky Way to pay Day to Land, what did all the DJs do? They took the cassette and at the end of the night was the last record they.

Played, and they said, red, we need this record on vinyl. We playing it on cassette.

Wow.

So they had to go back and remaster the album and repress Wow, which.

Goes back to G Street because they was the first one to actually take the song and preuss it on the hour original.

Yeah, was like what this is not an album.

It's like, yeah, we won't do the deal if that record is not on the album.

So what was the reception like at the Latin Quarter when they heard, Like, were they open to it? Like could they play that at the Latin Quarter?

Yo? Not at Quarters? It was kind of passed, It was pasted. Yeah, it was yeah, Latin Quarter.

I'm sorry sorry I mentioned Latin Quarter, but that reckon wasn't recorded yet in the Latin Quarter years. Part of me on that, but that audience was still in those other clubs, especially Roseland And what was the.

Club that closed that They closed down a couple of.

Times that we did the final party for and they had a freestyle night. You think about that your question as your question, though I just wanted it was tramps.

No, no, it was it was the.

Rock eighteen team make the dream.

Work the dream Work.

Anyway, that record went down well with.

Hip hop and the dance audience so much so that you had dudes that was like, yo, I hated house music until I heard that.

I didn't like music until I heard that record. But yo, y'all got one.

And then you start seeing those dudes at those clubs, you know, the hardcore dudes that would be listening to m w A be like, Yo, Jungle Brothers is playing here tonight. Ten eighteen were up in here, five thousand packed dudes in their first coach with the bottle of them away. It's like as soon as they go, as soon as that record come on, we're going straight.

That's that's That was the one that old girls girls out.

They caught on. They housed them, no doubt, but question. It was an anomaly and you could see it. You can see that people.

It broke through the whole genre of boundary thing because it became just music.

People just danced to it and jammed to it.

Whether they was like I'm in the hip hop or I'm in the house, they was everybody.

Was together a universal battle song to, like dance battle song to. I always remember seeing people in the club and that must be crazy to see people dance battle into your song like what they.

Do like house shoot, yeah, exactly. It worked like Baltimore places, there you.

Go, there, you go exactly, oh man.

And then we go overseas and we think we're gonna be doing like a hip hop tour, which we did hip hop dates, but then we being.

Like raves raves, they didn't even call them ridiculous, and sometimes they just be like, guys, here's eight thousand dollars, just do this the one.

That's what they because I got it like that.

If we did a whole show of straight out the Jungle, people people.

Will be just waiting for our house. Yeah. Sometimes wow.

So at the same we have that now at the same time we was breaking straight out the Jungle and that new vibe of hip hop, the whole rock chem esque E P M D S vibe of hip hop to a new audience in Berlin.

With the walls.

We were also breaking into the Acid House and we were breaking grounds with.

All the raveheads that were doing the big festival.

Not for nothing you mentioned the wall coming down. I just want to say, y'all did a festival at Wimbley for Mandela like when he first got.

Yeah, when the first release birthday, Yeah, when they released it from President from Prins Yeah nice, Yeah, yes, us that's a sonic Nana Cherry. Yeah, you two, you two. That was probably the biggest date. That was the biggest ever was at that time?

Yeah?

Wait was was I late for the recording techniques? And yeah we missed the techniques for Straight Out the Jones. So you guys got all the stories. We got the story, all right. That's I have so many people, no, no, no, I just want to make sure that you know, no doubt, no doubt.

That some girlfriends where we right now and then and there in their journey we are.

We talked about Rough Deluxe, we went Straight Out the Jones.

We talked about Crazy Wisdom Mass.

We talked Crazy Wisdom Mass, but I'm sure story.

We didn't talk about how they ended up at the root picnic.

But you know, well because.

But we was here, okay, okay, so we were in Japan, yeah, showing performing on stage.

You already know the story.

Yeah, he's just one person, no, no, everybody else Okay.

Japan, performing on stage.

At the festival Soul Camp.

And Sean g who was tour manager for Jill Scott.

Yeah, and the roots manager and the roots.

Manager was in the audience. And then after the show he told me he was texting.

He showed me the show.

Sean was like, I was watching the show twelve hours behind, like four in the morning.

That's technology is crazy.

I went, I went, I went into the catering to eat, and Sean was like, yo, I was just texting quest Love and telling him, you know the show. You guys got to come to the picnic. And I was like, okay, you know live Leap of Faith, because it's like that was just a week agos two weeks ago. Yeah, you know, we moved, were only in Japan. Made the Work show, that MTV show, then one of the show after that, and then I was still in Japan for two weeks.

After that. I just flew from Japan to Turkey to London to here.

Because you don't live in this country.

Don't live in country. Where are you? Where are you living?

Don't ask me about politics, no clue.

I asked you about the Brexit that's where.

Oh yeah, I'm in Brexit world in London.

Yeah, I live in London, but I've lived in a lot of places, and I just recently been in London for a year.

I've lived in Panama, moving around. But yeah, that's how. That's how we arrived here. Thank you, Sean Cheefe, no doubt, thank you for you're for the jungle. You don't do a long ago. All right, So we're sitting here.

Right now, uh with really one of one of my one of my favorite people ever.

Uh.

You are a one human operating, just walking machine of of of of of talent. I think the first time I saw you in Brooklyn, you were doing h Biggie's. Yes, you did Biggiest Juice and then I I haven't left your side. We've been signed these twins ever since. Welcome to the Court of Supreme Ladies and Gentlemen. Emily Wells, y'all.

The third roop picnic for Emily, right, like how many picnics?

Okay you did, Phil?

Yes, yes, yeah, she's been am I like her. Her and Chill Moody are just like the are our go to always you know, give them.

Because you're cool.

Well you know, but you welcomed me with your love.

Yeah.

I feel like Barry White.

Now wait wait, wow, wait a minute, yes, now, why was it so white?

You?

Wow?

Wait, that's the whitest thing you've ever thought thirty years I've known you.

Wait a minute, I'm assaulted because.

Because when she said it, it filtered to you as a creed.

So but to me, I was going very white with it, Creed, I know. Hey man, it's it's real. We already know Sante is the is the Jedi Master?

No, but yeah you I well, first of all, how was your set?

Uh?

It was really fun playing.

For me.

It's unusual play you know, stage.

In the day and watching people trying to figure out what what does she do?

There's no computer.

Yeah, they always get it in the third or fourth minute. And that's how it was because when I you know, because it takes you for those that don't know, I guess what what is What is your go to device that you do to loop?

Uh?

It's actually it's.

That green device on.

This you're talking about and samplennulas kind of it's kind of like having like a really accessible quick like you know.

Four track, but like plus you know, so when you do that, is there a click track inside of your ears? Because when I watch you do this, you always start off with this kind of long ethereal note. And I'm trying to figure out if you're counting the metronome in your head because you wind up, you loop everything perfect, but it's just such a yello like moldless form of time, but you always seem to catch it.

The strings.

I think they have that sort of femeral thing going on by their very nature.

And I like to get a little and everything just let everything swim. But yeah, I I.

It's a lot of practice for sure, And it's a lot of yeah, just.

Just knowing where my one is, even if not obvious, it's.

A good lesson knowing where you want is one? Where then is it? I wish.

Morning certain members of the roots hespired?

That's good? No, well, okay, so I.

Also have a.

On the stage with Okay, like I put some of my beats in there. I put all sorts of random simples that anything I want, So that really helped me open up your arrangements so I'm not just stuck on these loops.

So if I wanna go to a A B section or.

Whatever, I can just like yeah, I think at one point I you were I don't know if you were playing keyboard with your right hand and the the the SPD drump pad with your left.

Hand and looping and sing.

You know, it's you really have to see it like it's it's it's it's it's next level uh performance.

How long did it take you to to figure that all out?

Oh?

Well, it it took some time. I mean it started really simple. I think I think it really started with.

Strings and the loop pedal for me because violin and never knew how to incorporate that into a set, because I I'm not gonna play like I can.

Schedule in the club, you know what I mean, like oh what ll again? But that's not gonna.

Apply for an an hour and.

So and strings are meant to you know, rub next to each other, so I wanted that's so it kind of started with that, and then oh can.

I just a.

I was.

Stuf like stupid.

I was about to say, you're your own uh tech as well, like what if it. What if the equipment breaks down, then what you just go a cappella?

It can't it has it ever broken down?

I've had, But I don't, really, like I said, on a computers, cause that stuff will break.

Down more than a day.

Really, I was about to say, you're you're you're one of the the sh should I say the Brooklyn elite that don't usually like when those Brooklyn act Brooklyn e acts come on our show, I'll see more MacBook pros on.

Stage and yeah than anything else.

But uh, yeah, I was about to say that you're you're old school and your digital embrace. Sure, sure so kind of like D'Angelo with floppy discs.

Oh so many.

That I love that.

And then yeah, uh it's like you can't even call that analog. It's like what what what what did you call that?

Well, it's yeah, it's I don't care about electronic. It's electronic. It's not analoge. So a, So, how do you apply this? I always wanted to know when when you're recording, uh your music in the studio, how do you apply what you do live on stage to your cause, y, your music is more fleshed out in the studio than it is uh on stage.

To try to bring that feeling of the live thing as it is for anyone into a into a recording studio.

I mean, I I try to make it a mixture of those samples.

And some things are just created in.

The moment, and I wanna take the moment I was writing that song into the record then.

And let it be forever. Some things I wanna reperform over and over again. Locks and lots of layers of strings.

I mean some of my records a viola, violin and many like you know, twenty one layers or what you know.

Whatever, and then try to you can layer that much?

Yeah, well I do it live. I just play it over. I mean it's like this too.

Oh you just uh uh uh you know, to sound fuller, Okay, make it sound.

Really really big and.

Yeah, I but some things are you know, are sampled right into that little pedal. And and as I'm writing the songs and I don't, I don't bring those samples into I kind of treat them as though I couldn't treat those samples like I was taking it off the record or something like that.

I kind of create the loop.

That I would make that I would that you would wanna take off of wan smart cause when I drama do the same thing, I might work.

Your own break. That's dope, exactly.

Make alright, God, so what's your future and t So you just uh released your record?

Uh what three months ago?

Or yeah, well a few months ago, you promise?

Yeah, and I put it out on my own record label.

And yeah, I just just I have I have a next the next and he has the next record. But it's a hard right because it's it's kind of about.

And you mean, what will life be like after November? I've seen the future and boys.

Rough, how do you make That's the question with a lot of artists face.

So I'm it's gonna be great.

Yeah, you know what he's gonna do if he gets he's not gonna get it though.

Yeah, well uh on you know, once again, I thank you for doing the Roots picnic and anytime you you uh do anything with us collaborating whatever, you know, it's a treat. We're probably gonna work on this next roots album together because we've been we've been threatening to do this for for three albums now, so we're gonna make it happen. Em We wells, ladies and gentlemen, I want to go to can we play? Oh we can.

Wake up?

Just seen it the entire room like we can. Glad.

Shout out to Emily and her class.

Thank you man.

Yeah, shout out for her being a trooper.

She on the couch, Oh, thank you.

So happy on the couch.

Of record.

That was and.

The idea. I have this idea in my head. I will make it happy. I loved it so much.

That's what's up. That's good.

Well, we're going to go to Passenger by Emily wells Uh on Quest of Supreme only on Pandora.

We will be right back. We are lots from the roach picnic in y C.

I'm my person, Jo, I'm gonna person. Jin give me the keys. I'm a job, I'm a person. I'm the person if.

You give me the keys.

You know, so.

Poll for its up throat and need it just to go a kiddy, kiddy, say it ain't so.

I'm driving on tomorrow and.

Losing on my rope botom of the wall, and I've just lost the rope.

I had a feeling this myn.

Is so hard.

So tell me, tell me that you know how to make.

It's to give me a a you mad, just sing give me all your bills, your bed siding, just to kill my ls.

Support for Quest Love Supreme and Pandora's provided by boost Mobile.

Boost Mobile where you're at.

This is Quest Love Supreme only on Pandora, Fonte Fontagelo, Sugar, Steve Lovely La, Boss, Bill Scott, motherfucking yea yo.

That was passenger and lactating unpaid unpaid correction, we forgot it.

Unpaid Bill is paid now, but we can still call my here.

It's called continuity, so we gotta exactly.

We were too far in the story to change it about underpaid.

Under Okay, nicknames.

My Maya Rudolph is still talking about the radio show, and she still calls you black Bill and white Bill.

She said, wait, wait, who's some people like? I said, I've had nickname.

She's like the only one that can do that because shepped both sides. But wait, so Boston.

She was the first guest on our show. She still knows, but she was the first lady of She was the first lady question.

She was the first and fell asleep forget it.

She still you know, she could play both.

I was about to give you some love, Boss, because you've been busy the last few days them.

The name of the jam though for yeah you did we did, I don't think we did well.

That was Passenger five minutes fact. Okay, so Liaiah, you were saying, no, I'm just.

Saying that I wanted the bosses about to leave because he got to go on stage the main show, which is tonight, D'Angelo, John Maye.

Mayor, John Mayor, and uh, a friend of mine from Chicago is going to come by as well.

By the time everybody here's this, you know, it'll the show be in the past. So you can go ahead and tell us.

Now, let's keep it a mystery alone.

Alchoh, Michael Jordan, I was going I wish it was going to be out shut off, asshole.

Okay, So I just wanted to say, Kirby Bucket just rest. He's from Minneapolis, Steve doing what he missed, the irony of saying your joke from your joke.

Yes, okay, this is love supreme.

Yeah, So tonight is uh the roots and uh we got common we got uh.

John Mayor, and we got D'Angelo.

The reason why I'm like struggling to remember things is because I mean the way that I do business is I kind of I tend.

To agree to things fourteen.

Months ahead of time, like right now we are planning the Philly Roots Picnic right now eight and with a very monumental record that came out as of this taping. We're now talking to that particular young lady about headlining. Yeah, you just tend to plan things way ahead of time, and so at I don't know for me. Once it was proposed to me that we should do a Roots picnic on steroids and instead of the Roots back in the one act, why don't.

We back like everybody, six of them?

And I was like, yeah, yeah, of course I'll do that.

And then once crunch time comes, you know, man, just the daggers in the stairs of all the Roots family members looking at me, I feel horrible, like all of them are libras, or I guess they're still libras even with the addition of that.

Unspoken the astrological sign.

Yeah, but all of them all their birthdays of this week, so most of them have had to uh not hang with their families and rehearse and wait and rehearse and wait.

And he said they looked like zombie, like they.

Were kung fu zombies. It just it just seems. It just seemed like I was in mood.

But you know, I had a few triple espressos, so I was like normal while everyone else was like that's what you do.

Yeah, but no I don't sleep. Driver.

It's like, no, you don't sleep.

No, I do sleep. But I'm just saying that this this show is packed with a lot of cues and a lot of modulations and tricks and and and you know, I'm hoping that I remember everything. It's going to be a monster show. But I just hope that I remember everything.

I think even if you don't remember, everything will be noneththerwiser. I think the crowd would just be happy. I know, to you, you be like, fuck I missed that. Whatever, But I'm willing to let the small stuff slide.

But just the kind of neurotic nature of the guests that we had, like that are other show.

You know they're gonna want it, like perfect note for note for note.

Yeah, but miss it.

Yeah yeah they're missing and like get over yourself, dude, Like I'm paying, I'm playing for eighteen other motherfuckers.

Right, you know what I mean.

But they never understand, they never understand that they never understand that she's witness to this stuff. Howard rehearsals. In your opinion, the first night of rehearsals with D'Angelo was probably that was the most beautiful thing I ever seen, because like common also happened to be rehearsal next door.

That's how you post that on Instagram.

And he had like his room was the epicenter collective of all like neo neo blackatism. We quoted new terms here, it was neo blackatism. Like it was like you know, Jamila of the mew and and and Ava and like all of class, yeah, Robert Glasper like just all the ensigns whining candles set of twenty fifteen sixty and it

How like their whole harmony game.

Is based on you know, like Dave's hold Steeze is like Yo, Voodoo is how I stack my harmonies and all this stuff, and like all these references that even I missed, So just to see, I mean, the collective story is always like, yeah, when I was eight, my older sister got that record, and I grew up on that record. So just to watch them as food grown adults watching D'Angelo do that shit like it was, it was, it was some beautiful.

Well boss, speaking of d Angelo, I just got to call from the officials at Brian Park.

You got to go, Yeah, I gotta go.

I'm sorry, this is not the question of supreme.

So we're so completely happy and honor today to be joined by a young lady that I am a fan of, you know, looking at the photo right now, and she first captured my heart when she put out a record. God, I want to say, was it twenty twelve?

Was it was that.

When life came up?

Yeah?

Christ and two thousand and oh my.

God, it was Oh man, wow, time, keep on slipping into the future. Nah Man, Live your Life. It was a record she put out, produced by Pharrell, and uh, it was just something that was just I was amazed just by the simplicity of it.

It was something that drove.

It was at a you know, very driving beat, very mellow uh you know, keyboard, you know, arrangement and her voice. The thing I liked about it was that it just sounded really pure. It was just not a lot of vocal tricks, not a whole lot of just not a whole lot of a dormant It was just really simple and it cut through and she just sang the song and the lyrically really spoke to me was a you know, live if you really want to, you know, and sess that's something that you know, living is is a choice,

Time to go?

It went really really well, like you know, the crowd was amazing and yeah, it was just kind of like we we drove from yesterday. Oh my god, we were from Rhode Island yesterday. Oh wow, Providence, Rhode Island. So I'm on tour right now, you know. So yeah, we've been on the road, so coming out here is like a like a treat and I've always like, I've been looking forward to perform at the Roots Picnic.

So yeah, I had a lot of fun.

That's dope. What so your show?

I was unfortunate, you know, I wasn't able to see your show because I was stuck over here.

Doing this ship.

Our cult leader of Mirror Thompson had us locked up in here like like hostages. No food, no food we had had and we had to ask for the water we had to ask for.

That's a cushy.

Gig, you know what I'm saying. But not so, I wasn't able to see your show, unfortunately. What does your show for people that you know haven't had the fortune of singing? What is your show like? Do you of course you're singing? Do you playing the instruments?

Like? What is your what's your state show?

Oh?

Well, I sing mostly, you know.

I used to do a lot of acoustic performances, so I used to play a lot of the acoustic guitar and then you know, like I couldn't hire a guitar player, so I play electric guitar on my set. But now that I can finally do that, you know, like I would love to play the guitar my shows. Is just that I just feel like, you know, I'm not like exactly like it's a guitar guitar player. Yeah, I'm not

I never got to do that back home in Malaysia where I'm from.

Yeah, so coming out here was just like going on tour and kind of like just slowly learning how to you know, give a really good performance for the fans.

So yeah, it's sellous.

So Malaysia, Like what is that like in this this what's the city's music scene?

The music scene?

Oh, it's like it's a small country, but it's constantly growing. Like we went from like having singers like just doing ballads and traditional Malay music like I'm Malay, so the traditional music is more kind of like you know, like a cross between like Indonesian and kind of like Thaie and so that the Southeast Asian sound, you know. And

Any of them crossed over as much as you have.

I feel.

No to America.

No, I think you're kind of like the first stop the limo, like you're the one's Charlie Mat. You're Charlie Mat, like thank you.

You know that kind of is putting on.

Do you feel any like in hip hop in you know, America, there is a big the big thing of putting on, you know what I'm saying, Like, you know, I put on for my city, Like so.

Wherever I come from, I'm gonna put on for wherever. Do you feel the need to put on for the LASiS, the whole country? Like I'm Yuna and I'm doing it, but.

Everybody, I mean, you know, I started out in Malaysia, Like I was already doing music for three four years back home before I move out to Los Angeles. Did you when did you come to LA twenty eleven? Around that time?

The time is short.

Yeah, So I started making music like two thousand and seven, two thousand and eight pretty much. So it's it's quite an interesting journey.

You started making music in two thousand and seven, Yeah, that was when you really started.

So writing, Yeah, writing songs and just kind of like producing my own album. Like I didn't want to sign to any labels back home. I don't know, like you know, inside I felt like inside I was just like in my heart, like okay, well I want to be a singer songwriter, but I don't want to be signed. I don't want to sign with any labels because I know if I do that, I'm like kind of like trapped in Malaysia for a long long time. So I didn't want to do that because I knew, like I want

How does a person get because that's I mean, that's pretty amazing. How does a person get from making music starting off making music in two thousand and seven to working with for real Williams who is one of the biggest producers in the three years man, I mean four years.

Man. How does the friend of a.

Friend or like kind of a little bit like that.

I think it's a little bit of kind of like when you work really hard and then you you know, like just meeting the right people, and I guess the mixture of both. Like I got really lucky, you know, like I was in Malaysia just doing my my music thing, and then my management from Los Angeles in deepop my manager Ben found me on my Space music.

Oh yeah, that was that time.

Shout out, where is Tom these days?

So I know our first friend, but yeah, so I don't know, like he hit me up and then emailed me. I didn't. I didn't respond to his emails for a long time because I thought it was a scam. It was just like all these things like I'm not gonna reply to an American dude, you know, like just like fly out to l A, not not doing what to do.

Yeah, so yeah, that's dope.

So when you guys were working on uh on the track the work you did with for real, was that you guys working together in the studio or was it like he did the track and then you came in and did it?

Like how did that come together? Yeah?

I know, I was.

I was in the studio with him. Yeah, so we were that magic.

Yeah we Wow.

I was traveling from Malaysia to Los Angeles and then I took a flight to Miami and then from Miami like took the I remember this like from Miami Airport. We took the taxi and I didn't like shower for three days and just like went to the studio and then I was like, okay, well maybe I get to put some makeup on and I nope. He comes out from his car. I'm just like all right, well to sit high. I'm you know, yeah, I haven't shot in three days.

But he would.

He was really sweet, you know, like we got into the studio, start working and live your life was like the song that kind of just like I was kind of like afraid of moving forward with the music because he made that beat. Like I remember like maybe like we've been in the studio for five days and he was like do you like this? You know, he was working on something and I thought, I legit thought that he was doing that beat for someone else.

And I'm like, oh no, this is dope.

I love it.

And he's like, okay, cool, write on this. I'm like wait what you know, Like how do I do this? But he guided me through it, you know, so it was fun, like it was a learning process, Like I've never worked with a hip hop producer before, so it was it kind of like bought me to be more experimental if you can, you know, like or open to new genres, because back then I was really just doing acoustic. I was in my own bubble, you know.

So yeah, you're doing like when you're creative process, when you're writing, what comes first? Is it melody first? Or is it like lyrics words first? How does that come together?

It depends really like I can. I'm pretty much you know, flexible when it comes to songwriting. I've been doing I've been doing it for a long long time. So it's like either I'm like I come out with lyrics, I write down some words.

Are you one of these people because I'm I do it? Do you keep notes in your phone?

Oh yeah, definitely.

The albums with material in your phone.

I have.

I have like a lot of materials in my phone, like chapters for example my My the new album. Yeah, most of it was just like me writing on my my phone, like my notes.

Yeah for all.

It's like not the only like living legend that you work with. It's weird, this is a short career, but you're working with.

Like great knocking down. It's like David Foster.

You you have to have like twenty years under your So how did that?

How did that happen?

Well, So when I first came out to LA obviously we went to meet up with a lot of an R people, you know, like a lot of labels, like shopping for labels, and we met out with UH and an R from Verth And at the time that was like five years ago. Like the first person that I met was this this lady from from Verve Records and Universal and she was she she was in love with me, you know that she really believed in my career. And uh, back then, like David Foster was not in the picture yet.

So, yeah, did.

You know that you're familiar of like who with who he was like before?

Oh yeah, definitely, he's huge in Malaysia. He would come out, he would come out and like do his own concerts?

Do they go crazy over you? Yet when you go home? Did they yeah, and.

You must get a lot of love too, because like you, you you haven't changed who you are. I'm sure at some point there was some resistance about you being of course the broad Muslim woman that you are, and how you dressed the way you dress, even though you had you funk it up to a level that is.

Like, but was there ever any resistance to you being you?

Oh?

No not.

I mean like I've never faced any like, you know, anything challenging like.

That labels because people always.

Yeah, no, I mean, uh no, not at all. You know what's weird though, I went through that back home in Malaysia because like, yeah, like covering up it was just something like weird, like if you want to be an artist, it's not it's something. That's another reason why I stayed independent for a very long time because Okay, well they're not going to accept me for who I am.

I gotta change. So I'm not going to change.

I'm just going to do my thing. And but coming out here was surprisingly like super easy. Everyone was just like I you know, I was with the Fader label for for a while and they were super sweet, super supportive and really believed in like my my work and my talent and yeah, just like it was just easy for me.

Are you doing anything in the fashion line?

Uh?

Yeah, I am a little bit, a little bit.

I feel like I really want.

You to.

Know it seemed like it would be fit for you. Your newest record, Chapters. You were talking about how this was written. If I'm not mistaken, it was written after the end of a relationship or was it it was inspired by a breakup?

You're like, you're not sure it was?

No, no, no, I just want to I know, I know it was a record, every army record, I know, one of the motherfuckers.

I'm just saying, I just want to make you represent the right record.

It was Chapters, and you were saying that you wanted to write a record. You know, previously you were in a relationship and you were I guess too dependent co dependent on that relationship that you're in, and so you said, you know, I want to write a record that you know, I was single, I'm free, and I want to write something in that state of mind.

Yeah.

What is the difference between those two states of mind in terms of creating from a place of I'm in this relationship and maybe I'm a little to dependent on it versus I'm free and you know, I let that go.

I mean, I guess, like you being a singer, song do you just tend to write like obviously what you know best, you know, like you know what's in your heart. And for me, at the time, I was going through like you know, like a breakup and it was really hard, you know, And but now I'm kind of you know, like I've moved on obviously by the time, like I

That's kind of love.

Let everyone know because I mean, hey, this is Quess Love Supreme and you never know your best love could be listening right now.

So let the people know. You know.

Let what what does the best love look like?

You know, someone who's just like.

Who have the best intentions for you, you know, like who just wants you to be happy inside out, like without expecting anything back. Not that I'm not going to give you anything back, you know, obviously there there will be like it's a two way thing. But someone someone who's just purely like like lovely.

I just want someone lovely, you know.

And yeah, that was that was beautiful.

In here.

Man, Well you to thank you so much for taking time and coming through and chopping it up with us about being lovely.

And and everything.

Ladies, gentlemen, give it up for un on Quest. This is Questlove Supreme. Fine Tivolo like EA unpaid Bill Boss Bill, Hello, Sugar Steve is not Scott Yayo in the building us Quest Love Supreme. Y'all team Supremes in the buildings.

How we go down?

Listen, we are here today this is We're live in New York.

City at the Brouts Picnic.

So if you hear any background noise or whatever, that is the noise from musicians doing what they do getting paid and uh.

From a few times we do actually get goddamn paid. Really on your show, on your show, you know what I'm saying.

But but nah, man, so listen, we're live here and we're here today while with the young man who is by birthright music Royalty, Royalty.

Royalty.

You know what I'm saying, man, I'm not I mean, no, no, no bullshit, no over selling.

I mean, this is is actual facts.

Bro.

Ladies and gentlemen, give it up, big question of supreme ra applause, mister Daniel Marley, y'all give.

You man, Thank you for being here.

Half human, half ninja ninjaja.

Okay.

For tell us tell us about because because the note that we got was that you know you're half human half ninja. You're saying your full ninja like yeah, I mean, of course, okay, tell us about the life of a ninja.

I mean we live this life. Okay, this bro, because Nina doubles.

That is it's one of those words we can you know, half human also ninja.

But I'm not half no ninja your ninja, okay, because I'm a ninja. You know, I'm very much into martial arts fully. You know, I grew up very into Bruce Lee, into his philosophy, you know, into everything he says, into his trainer as well, and so that that culture of martial arts is is a big deal to me. And and how they live their life and you know Charlie monks and very spiritual folks, and that's pretty much, uh

Yeah, you have a.

Usually just bought a pet I do, like pitbull labrador mixed a little baby named Shain.

Young animal.

Nin you know that's dope.

What what like the principles that they teach in that uh, what if any have you applied that to your music career? Like how do they mirror each other in any way?

Well, mainly being like water, you know as in keeping a flow, you know, never never locking yourself into a corner like this bottle. It's filled with water. The water can't go anywhere else. If you put a hole in here, it's out and it keeps going wherever it wants to go. It just you know, and and always not to be never get phased by things. You know, And that's pretty much one of the main things where if you take that and apply it, it leads you to a lot of other aspects of it as well.

Got you uh, at the beginning of the interview, I, you know, referred to you as being you know, royalty, and that certainly is no you know, no overstatement.

Uh.

He is Daniel, your dad, Ziggy Ziggy Marley, who is of course the sun Uh, legendary Bob Marley. When you talk about being like water and you know you do not want to be restricted. Was there every point in your life where you felt like being a son of such luminaries? Did you almost kind of feel like at times that like, man, I have to do music, like I have no other choice doing anything else?

Well, I have no other choice because this is what I'm good at. It's not really you know, we tried a couple other things. Try to go to school, you know, you know what I'm saying, Like got picked out of that. You know, it wasn't for me. The school thing.

What were you going to for?

I was going to school for music production and music orchestra orchestral music. I was really into classical and I wanted to basically just like take courses in that lane and learn how how that world went. And it just didn't work out.

You know, I didn't. It didn't work out.

I couldn't afford the tuition man financial aid. They won't give me financial aid because of what you said earlier.

They see that fast.

You don't need no financial I'm like, yeah, I'm trying to go to school. Yeah, but life is what it is, you know. I grew up with my mom, so it's a different it's a different thing. So the whole royalty side of it, you know, I look up to my granddad and my old man for what they're doing, what they do, what he's doing right now, what my granddad has done. But like my granddad does not. He never think of hisself in that way. And that's where I take Like, when I talk about music and the whole mission,

So were you raised and where were you?

I was raised in Jamaica. I moved to moved to Miami when I was fifteen. Oh okay, right, So I lived in Florida from fifteen to like i'd say, twenty one, and then I went to La So is.

That where you are now right now? In La Now?

Yeah?

Yeah, man's that's so dope to hear you say about how you know, uh, you know, before you get in the studio you had to wrap the cables up.

Yeah, like learning that.

Yeah, really you got to appreciate all parts of it in order to really be about it. And I'm very passionate about it. So I do want to know how to do it, and I do it a lot. A lot of the things I do is by myself. So I'm home and I you know, I hooked my whole plug up, plug up everything. You know, I break it down when I need to, But I record my self all instruments usually, And that's really where it came from. That teaching of starting from the ground is really what

Who are you? You know? What are you about? Are you good enough?

You know what I'm saying? So totally and so from there, that's what I say.

That's dope, man. Thanks When you start off.

You know when you first started making your early record, First of all, how old were you when you first started recording?

I'd say the first record I recorded, I was I'd say like eighteen, okay, yeah, was.

That what records you did with your dad.

No, I did that when I first got to La. So I was about twenty one when I did that, you know, And that happened right real random, you know what I'm saying, Like, I went to La. He lives in LA. I was in Miami, me and my sister for years and years. I want to let you go check him. He was like, oh, you want to do a song. I'm like, well, yeah, you know what I'm saying, Okay, why not? So then you know, he just asked me to write something down, like, you know, a little fifteen minute.

And that was it.

That was just wow, Yeah, that's dope.

Man.

So like with when you were working with your dad, you know, keeping you know, that spirit of you know how you're saying, just having to kind of work your way up. What was it like for you when when he was that kind of it was definitely kind of like no sign. It was to me, it was like, you know, this is a good time. Let's let's do this right now. It's a good time.

No.

I don't look for validation from family members. I'm really looking for y'all to like my stuff. You know, no, they could like it too, but that's my family. But really it's about the people, you know, the people. It's like, we can't hate him.

Yesterday we had smashing hearts here and they're like the sons of Dwayne Wiggins, Tony. We're saying that Raphael is a dee and are very hard on us.

Yeah, you know, it's not an easy thing when you come from a family of music, right, you know, it's the pressure is applied. You know, you really have to live up to certain things. But I don't put that pressure on myself because I don't even do the same sound like. You know, I'm a different being. I have I have different dreams because of how I grew up, and so the things that I'm looking to do and looking for are a little bit different than that.

What is it that you're looking for? Like, what are your goal?

Respect in music? First? This is a big deal. I feel like a lot of people have to appreciate when someone really is doing it. We have a lot of cats that just do things, but some folks are actually doing it. They live it every day, you know, they want to get better every day. There's not a day that goes by where I'm not practicing something or trying to learn something new. When it comes to the guitar, drums, vocals,

Do you record with when you say you know you're working every day and it's really dope to hear that you record yourself because that's something that I think a lot of artists, maybe a little bit more now they do it because you know, you can actually have a studio at home and get right down. But it's still, you know, you don't see too too many guys that really take the time to learn that stuff. Do you collaborate mainly, you know with a band? Do you you say you play I'll.

Play like our program. Before before I started writing lyrics or singing or rapping, I used to just spell beats so I would make beats using reasons and drum machine, you know, so we just made beats. At first, it was just all producing stuff. So I grew up producing playing piano a bit. I don't know it like that, I really know the drums. I grew up playing the drums, and I picked up the guitar. Like I'd say from this point four years ago, three years ago, because I

So and this is like full songs with vocals and everything on it, Like yeah, like somebody will take the hook, you know what I mean? You know what I'm saying, Like you know, and I mean they'll do it on the same beat, you know, because that's what you could do when you're talking about mixtape stuff, you know. And then I realized, like I have more love for this, so I have to do something that you can't just

You know, it's so much more so that that helped.

That's what happened.

Yeah, Yeah, when you we were I was looking online. We were like trying to find some music and what's the status of everything? Are you working on an album when you just have stuff like on soundclouds?

So right now the album, the album is about i'd say ninety five percent finish. There's a few things I want to record while I'm out here, just to seal it up, but the album is pretty much ready. It's called UNX and the definition at this point is unknown. That's the definition. I feel like we searched the things we don't know in life. That's what we're all, you know, that's what we do. We're like, Yo, we don't know this,

You know?

Am I doing what I'm supposed to be doing and really being connected to yourself to know if you're on the right track?

You know?

So I call it the unknown and it's basically open space of unlimited possibilities. That's what the unknown is.

Was there a moment with where you realize like or I mean, do you still do you maybe kind of oscillate? Do you when you feel like, yo, I'm on the right track, Like, I know this is where I'm posting.

I'm definitely on the right track right now. The music that's coming out, the things I'm talking about and singing are really really powerful to me. And you know, to the close friends around who know it, you know, they give you, they'll give you more insurance, you know, your people, you know. But definitely I'm on the right track for sure. Come in here to play this gigas is the craziest thing, you know, Well is that? Like, I mean true? Yeah,

I heard, Yeah, I was surprised because I didn't because I was walking up and I caught like maybe the last five ten minutes said, because I was we had to come up here to set up. And so I was walking in and I saw it. I was like, well, who's that on? And so I looked at the schedule, I was like, oh that's I was like, oh wow, that's and so you know, I saw you. I was like, man, like, it sounded really dope from here I was. But I had to come up and you know, get to work for us.

But we're coming.

Man, I had to get up so but but but no, man, it's sounds.

Did you was the thing to come upstairs?

Many? Because there was? I'm sure it was like real life.

You're right right, That's why the name thing, you know, I kind of that's why my name is African. You know, by the African name.

You know, you better go straight by to know Daniel Marley at all.

Or yeah, it's my sound. It's me, you know, and you know you get to know me. You know that this this is him.

How did you choose?

That's my name? Like birth name, it's my middle name.

See y'all like Margaret, She's like yeah. Another one.

One of the things I think is dope about uh, the younger generation. You know when you say that your music is not just reggae, you know, it's a mixture of a lot of things.

Uh. The thing about the younger.

Generation, I think is that you guys seem to be open to a lot more indeed, a lot more music. And I think, you know, I have a son that's fifteen, and he listens to everything. And I think largely in part because that generation now like there they can get everything for free, I mean everything they can just go to YouTube and look up whatever genre they want. Did you feel any kind of pushback from anyone.

That you know?

You said, you do the reggae festivals, but this is kind of where you want be. Do you feel me pushback from people felt you should be doing more traditional everybody.

A lot of people, once they first hear about me, they think I should only play reggae. I actually don't play any at all. I have some songs that are out from before, but everything I create it's just what I feel, you know, And I can't really I'm never gonna just feel what somebody else felt and do it, you know. And so this music that's coming out of me right now is how I feel. It is what I feel. I can do a reggae song in ten years. You know, you got people doing reggae songs right now,

And so, yeah, talk to me about some of your hip hop influences. I was reading about you, and I was like, man, like this kid, like really you know nas and you you had like a lot.

Of Yeah, you know, as far as hip hop goes, it's like mainly East Coast for me, you know, Big L Guru, I usually wake up, I wake up, I wake up?

How did you? Okay, okay, just listen. You're how old? How old are you?

Twenty seven?

You're twenty seven? Okay, Big L? How did you?

How that happened? Just based on I love old school rap. I love old school hip hop. For me, music like like Jamaica and hip hop has a great relationship based on the starting of hip hop. You know, cool her coming through right exactly. So with that and and that knowledge is the knowledge I use and take and applied to my music where it's like we can do that. It's all that reggae music is influenced by everything else too.

Why stop?

We live from Bruce Picnic here in New York City, So if you hear any noise, it's just me and the boys getting it all right now, ladies and gentlemen.

I'm so happy. It's funny. Me and his brother know a.

Lot of the same people's ran a lot of the same circles, but this is actually our first time meeting face to face and it's crazy. Uh, this brother is one of the the I would say, the the next school or the of Philly MC's.

You know.

When I was coming up, you know, I was listening to you know, just the Ogs three times, the cool see Steady, you know what I'm saying.

Of course, schooly d of course.

And uh then once I guess college, Uh, this was when you know, the rock took over and really it was Philly that.

Was on the back of Philly.

Yeah, like totally. And you know, and this brother was a cat. I always admired. He always had just really unconventional rhyme schemes, kind of unconventional in the way that he would kind of wrap around his rhymes, like he would start with one bar and then go on that for a little while, but then break off and then go back to another one, kind of like a boomerang kind of thing. And I always thought that was really dope. Yeah, man, And I'm such an honor to happen here with us

How was it? How did it go today?

Oh? Man, I feel great, man, It's wonderful experience. Man, you know, shout out Thereek, you know for bringing me out.

He was on stage.

We just performed did a legendary cipher with all legends. Man, I'm still caught up in a moment right now. It was me, it was Black Thought, it was Smith and Wesson, it was Big Daddy King, it was oh my god, it was Royce five now wow, Pharaoh Munch and we were and were.

Stuck in and we at the end we did it.

We did a cipher to the symphony. Coolie Rat came and Craigey kicked the original verses.

Wow, Okay, I'm.

Over here. I don't know what y'all doing over here. What y'all missed it?

We're over here failing at life. Apparently we don't know what Welcome to quest supream. That's dope, man, that's really dope.

I was happy birthday, Black Thought many and I want to take my hat off to him because the brother really put it together, and he had the most craziest job because he did versus like before before we did the actual cipher. He bought each of us out and we did some of our records and he like actually did a couple verses to each person's record.

And that's hard.

You know, it's hard enough just remembering your own ship, you know what I'm saying.

So because then that man, hats off to that man.

One of the greatest, one of the greatest. Definitely one thing I wanted to wrap about. Man. It was it was interesting. I had was doing some work. This is a couple of years back. Uh, my man, brother I leave. Rom says, yeah. Man and me and him, we actually toured together, the first Little Brother tour that we went on with Hieroglyphics.

We toured. Uh. We did a couple of dates with Brother a Lee in the atmosphere.

And so he was telling me at the time, he was like, Yo, man, I got this new record about to come out with Freeway.

She's gonna be crazy. I was like, well, we didn't take ship. It's gonna be crazy because he don't.

Brother Ali is like the coolest, like most is in like dude ever.

But he was like, yo, it's crazy. He's like I got to join. I was like cool.

And so later out it came out. It was the record, the truth. It was the truth record. It was talk to me about that with you and being with Rom says, I thought it was so dope. How someone like you that was on you know, the rock and like was on like that major major you know label could then fuck with someone like ry Sayers. That's like yo, for those who don't know Rhyme Sayers is like a great experience.

Great experience working with them. Man, you know, they really care about the music. You know, me and Jake put the album together, and it's like a critically claimed album, like everybody let the album. And you know, when a whole rock split up came, I just went back to what I normally do, and that's worked hard, you know what I'm saying.

I was trying whatever I could do.

Like before I did the project with Jake One and rom Sais, I did something called Month of Madness where I dropped a record every day for the whole month. Like I just went hard. Like you know what I'm saying. I'm like, man, I can't go back to doing what I was doing before this, so I gotta go hard. And you know, by the grace of God, I've been able to maintain a successful career throughout the whole time I've been doing it.

So what blessed a transition?

Like, man, going from you know when you say, like once the Rock split up and then saying, Okay, well I got.

To go back to doing what it is I normally do.

What is that transition like going from working like being with the major to then kind of being more independent than having to do things on your own.

What was that a big transition for?

I mean, everybody can't do it, like you know, a lot.

Of people didn't. A lot of people could get.

Fucked up in the head.

But you gotta understand where I'm coming from and the type of person that I am.

Like in the middle of.

Me being super successful, like in the middle of rock the Mic, what we do when them Jonkers getting like five thousand spinds a week. I went to Mecca, I went to Saudi Arabia, made my pilgrimage. I went with like twenty o her brothers. I was sleeping on the floor. I was doing everything everybody else was doing. So just taking that trip in general, just getting here. It takes a lot of patients because we had to switch a couple of flights. We had to wait in the airport

So I'm still here.

Man, you know.

Yeah, I wanted to speak with you. I was this was I mean a couple I was reading on. It might have been on an Okay player, I believe, or I might be an okay player. In terms of your health right now with your kidneys, speak to us a little bit about that, what kind of led to it and how was that changed life.

On September of twenty fifteen, I was diagnosed with in stage renal failure that's kidney fire. So as of right now, I gotta do dialysis three times a week, four hours a day. I'm actually active on a transplant list, so they could call me any time with a new kidney and I gotta go to the hospital and they gonna do the operation. Just like with the Rock break up, Like when it first happened, fucked me up. I got the call from my doctor. It was like, you need

They put two needles in each in my arm. Each time I go.

One needle drains the blood out, putting the machine cleans the blood, and the other needle pumps the blood back in.

It's a four hour process and everything is going good, you know.

So, but what led up to it was in like twenty twelve, eyes diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes with your two of the leading risk factors for kidney failure.

I actually have three risk factors.

One is being African American, the other is high blood pressure.

The other is diabetes.

You know, so anybody out there to have any of those risk factors, just being black is.

A risk factor.

So you need to keyboard with your routine physicals.

Man.

Make sure you see the doctor at least once a year, check get checked up. And you know, because once I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes. I took it serious in the beginning, but just like with everything else, you know, as time passes, you tend to like not pay as much attention to it, Like I was taking my medicine. But then I remember, like when I first got on, when I first got it, I was like, I remember one day I went to go see beans

Also he was eating a cheese steak. I'm like, what you're doing, steak?

Cheese steak.

Like three months later, I was eating cheese steaks.

So you know, it's just about being aware and standing and staying on point and you know, taking care of yourself and keeping up with your routine physical.

That's dope, man.

In terms of like during you know, because I mean being MCS, anyone, not just MCS, but being anyone working in the business will tell you traveling is like the biggest diet killer. Like anything you're trying to do right, being on the road just fucks that up.

Come, I'm gonna tell you some real shit, like when we like with the first tour, first couple of tours with Jay.

Jay was eating crab cakes, fish sticks. I'm not even paying attention.

I'm fucking burgers up steaks, eating whatever I want. Like, man, I'm telling you better eat right, and you know you see what happens. Man, You know you it's more than just rat. You gotta take care of everything. You gotta make sure everything is up the park.

Man. That's how it is with you.

Do you have a family like kids, wife, Yeah, yep.

Yep, everything, family, kids, everything, two kids fifteen and sixteen.

Oh wow, you know so they well.

Aware it was dope children too, winning awards and what Yeah, yeah, you.

Know, brag on your children.

Please my daughter, you know she she women was that like last year of the year before she won the award for for a poem that she made and like she uh, she read the poem like in front of the commissioner and the marror and a bunch of different people in the city, which was real good for me. And she get good, great grades in school, like you know,

Does he like, are your kids because you know, we asked a lot of guests that have kids. You know, I have boys myself. I was fifteen and ten. Do they know like who their dad is or they aware.

They've been they've been aware.

It's not a choice.

You gotta think about what we do.

They was on my lap in that joint, so you know they they already was gone.

We'll see my son. You can't tell him he in a star.

Oh wow?

So he do they like come to you for like your son? You know you say he wants to rap? Does he come to you for advice or does he.

Look at you like he do now? Like he tried to do his thing on his own in the beginning, like you know, he was he was making a look like his homies love his music and everybody like his little friends love his music.

But you know, I know how to do it, and I know you know the.

Route that you gotta take and everything you gotta do. And he tried not to listen to me in the beginning, but now you know he on point.

He learned, He learned. That's dope. Man.

You know, kids think they know everything.

I'm like, man, I'm a whole successful role model and you're talking about you think you know.

More than me. I like that. There's always one good one in one knucklehead. It doesn't matter what there's two, there's always yeah.

Because your daughter is like you got one daughter that's like the cool daughter and then the other one's knucklehead.

That's a great word. What is That's what's up?

Man?

That's up?

So in terms of right now, what what are you working on? What's coming up?

All right now?

You know, I got a new situation on the table that I'm working out, which is gonna be great for me and for hip hop.

So something looks laid.

Something something to look forward to, something I'm very excited about. You know, you know, I just you know, since my situation instead of like hot in what I'm going through, I chose to stand in front of it.

You know.

So I've been doing a lot of work with different kidney foundations. In March tenth, for twenty sixteen, I was a ordered the Patient Advocacy Award by the National Kidney Foundation, which was great for me, you know, at the.

D n C this year.

Yeah, I was at the d n C this year. I just just was at the White House last week.

Wowal Museum African American No.

I was there for the Actually they actually did a health summit, Millennial Outreach Health Summit. It was last Tuesday, you know, so I uh participated in that.

You know.

I just was with uh Michelle when she came to Philly last Wednesday, first name. You know, I was with Bill Clinton Made in America and I performed two days in a row in Maine in America too, which is a huge accomplishment for me. I actually performed Maine America exists for five years. I performed four out of the five years.

For the first announcement of Made in America to Philadelphia, so as it should.

Be, yes, sir.

So you know, I'm just I'm just trying my best to do as much as I can and get act as much as I.

Can, you know.

So that's what I'm That's dope, man, that's dope.

We for y'all.

We appreciate you taking this time to come through man after the performance anytime, and chop it up with us. And I really salute you, just, you know, for everything you've done, and also just for like you said, getting in front of.

You know, that health issue.

You know, I've lost relatives to you know, diabetes and high blood pressure, and we've seen, particularly twenty sixteen, a lot of people going, yeah, rest in peace, fightd out and you know, man, just for you to be out there and to be an advocate for it and bring more awareness to it, and just to really you know, let brothers know. I mean, your health is something that is you know, that's everything.

That's the basis.

Yeah, you know it's important man, you know, because it's so many people is just unaware, you know, and awareness is the key.

Man.

Like if I would have been aware of how serious.

It was when I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes, I couldn't avoid getting getting Kenny Fuller because it was already.

In a world.

But I could have prolonged it, you know, if I would have been more aware of what was going on in my body. So awareness is the key man, you know, and just me being here and being able to perform for the people, and and just them seeing me out here still going hardest motivation. I just want people to know like, even though I have a disease, I have kidney failure, it's not a death sentence. I'm still living

Take care of yourself because when you when you drop that Instagram with you in the hospital on the first day, I.

Don't cry over Instagram. But the teachers was like, while it's free in the hospital.

I'm good, I'm good. God willing not be here for a minute.

That what's up?

We all love you, brother, Thank you, pleasure me and YouTube Yeah sure, yeah for sure, and yo, thanks for coming through. And when you know, whenever you whenever your situation is final, you know that once it's done soon you gotta come back and.

We can talk about I got problem.

Lazy gentlemen, free way get it up. Yes all, it's a lazy.

Gentlemen boys and girls.

Give a big quest love supreme round applause to Easy Moore Breezy, the founders and creators of grits and biscuits.

That's going on part.

In this thing like a chicken wing on the string in the middle of the spring.

Damn right listen, Okay, so okay, So there are three of you in this collective. Easy more Breeze is then able to collective and individually.

It's also.

Erica DJ squib is. Yes, sir, Okay, Erica. I'm gonna start with you because me and you have some some ties, uh in that you had the misfortune of going to North Carolina Anti State University, which is which is a great online college.

I didn't even go to an T I went to another HBCU. But I'm gonna have to square.

My partner like that, you know, appreciate.

Just so you got your associates University of Phoenix.

I was the.

Carolina Central Central College, Central Central College.

I got you go from Central and she's a. She's an They gave degrees then.

Yeah, yeah, all the division is stepping up. Yeah, man, but no, she's a she's a she's an age. I'm an eagle, So I give her a joke a little bit. I actually grew up like right down the street from.

It was too much. It was just like, dude, I'm going to school in my back yard. I can't yet.

I was at every homecoming up until I graduated.

And you were there last year too.

I was the last year I.

Was when the last time you've been.

I haven't been a Central home coming a long time because I'll be working.

I'm always I'm always on tour, and so the one time I'm home and I go, I went to grits and biscuits.

Let me, I wasn't at the homecoming.

I don't even know who's at the game they played against Central?

They did Central only played flag football.

So all right, So all HBCU slander aside Erica. She is a graduate of North Carolina Anti State University. And you were, as I understand it, pretty much the kind of the creator.

Oh no, it wasn't just me. It was definitely a

Okay, so you went to you went to t Out, So where'd you go?

Priview and m University?

Right, that's where that's no. DJ Premier his pops was my dean of science.

That are you serious?

Me?

And it was tight, that's dope, that's dope. Shout out DJ Premier.

I'm working with him on the breaks right now, that's dope. And where'd you go when the fam.

Okay common dropped out of there?

Yep, no.

Fam, Yeah, Fam, I think FAM. That was one of my choices.

Actually it was. I was that you went to Central Central.

What's funny Central my high school counselor, because I went to academic high school but I got real bad grades. And she was like, I said, so what colleges can I get into? And she was like, have you heard a Prairie View?

I feel like that up here. No, seriously, I was.

I was looking at FM and the reason why I wanted to go to FAM at the time it was it was it was the.

Band and it was Luke.

Oh yeah, I was a Loop.

Fan and so kind of cap d coming come on what and so yeah, so as a kind of I guess as a partying gift. So I didn't go to Fan. But my first year at Central, our homecoming show was Luke. He came, he closed, and then they never let him come back.

It was over.

Yeah, like girls dancing, they were stripping and that was okay, just to show you, like how life can come at you fast.

Okay. So this was ninety seven. Jay Z was there. This is jay Z.

He performed at that homecoming show and he was just off of in My Lifetime Volume one. Volume one was out and so just to kind of show you how stuff we changed hip up. At the time, he wasn't even the guy. He was doing his show and it was cool. He brought out Aconnellynlly.

Shut ship down. He bodied it, he did, but put it in your mouth to all of the people, to.

Scott, to people, to to just those just now tuning in, to give you kind of the the lineage of the Southern in a tradition applied.

To a number of black He said, apply.

But back to you can lick it, you can stick it, you can yeah.

Yeah, this was Yeah.

Jay Z was like the guy, but he wasn't the guy. Just then he was becoming the guy. So acon Nelly came in on his set, who was a rapper at the time, had a big hit put it in your mouth and also the B side fucked me for free. Another another another negro spiritual.

Drake draken call, Oh that's right, it happen. That's right, that's right, you're right.

So yeah man, but but yeah, so that was at the time my black college spirits. So so back to back to you guys with grits and biscuits. So you wanted to bring the black college experience to it was that that was where the idea came from, wanting to bring that kind.

Of up here up north.

Yeah, yeah, to a certain extent, like it was, you know, to Erica's point, it was like the bougie dress code, bottle service, sparklers, all that, you know, and if you were if you if you were there with your homeboy, you couldn't get in the club unless you had ten seemingly good looking girls, you know, seemingly unattracted women couldn't get in the club, you know. And then if you did get in and nobody was dancing, they in heels

We don't save it to night.

You know, there's a lot of stress trying to save the world. So when sometimes we need to take a break and get loose, you know, and so we create you know, we created a party we want to go to. And who knew that other folks want to come to it too. And six years fast forward and we sitting here talking to y'all clowns.

One of the things I think is so beautiful about you guys, party man is that, you know, a lot of times hip hop it gets the rep of you know, when you talk about the parties that win the city and you talk about how you know they would be very subtly racist ship that they would do like no ball caps, no like no hoodies, no hoodies, like you know, little shit that It's like, Okay, we know who the fuck y'all talking to.

But you know what I mean.

So, because there's this stigma that hip hop creates ute unquote violence, I would say, I've been to three of you guys parties, and this is a you know, Southern rap part so all the violence inciting rap songs so like a knuck if you buck, or like any club tet a club up, those songs go off and there has never been I've never seen any fight in the parties I've been through. There's never been any kind of foolishness. It's never been Just as you say, it's very much as a come as you are.

I mean, it is a party.

You can walk up in if you just got on your jeans and a T shirt, then you can rock like that. And it's the parties I've been to. There has never been just a more just easy going, just it's very familiar atmosphere and I really appreciate.

You guys for doing that.

When you first started off, What was it like trying to bring that here?

Were in New York or in the North? Was it any difficulty with that?

Erica is okay talk about that because they were trying to go to the different venues and getting no love.

Yeah, no, I think at first it was just people weren't It was they didn't understand the concept. And then we also got the question like, are you guys party promoters in New York?

No?

No, were you guys throwing parties in New York before?

No?

So you know, really it was just like one venue, the guy was like, oh, I like your vibe, you know, we'll give you a shot. And the first party, they asked us before the doors opened, they were like, how many people you are going to show up? And we were like, we hope two hundred.

Now.

The funny thing is the only thing we did to promote was we created a really fly flyer and we sent it out via email and then we announced it at our Bible study.

You announced the party, no I, no I do? Okay, okay, So do we need to give the listeners some context?

Probably?

Okay, Bible study? Do I think to break down what Bible study?

Jesus, We're good, all right, okay.

So in the in the in the South, uh, there is you know, church folks. You know, there's this Saturday night is the club and then Sunday Sunday morning is church. Sunday morning, you pray with all the su you pray with all the rest is that you did the night before. And these audiences very much overlapped. So I mean, so that's I never would have thought of that.

That's genius.

That's almost like that's almost like on Breaking Bad when Jesse went to narcotics and to sell man.

Wow, that is that is you know, did you just compare our guess you know, we ain't gonna tolerate too much. You know, this ship is a genius.

I never would have thought because because seriously, no real most people wouldn't even say like the people that are like qute unquote church folk, they kind of keep that ship to the side.

They don't say that.

So no, don't as many people show up the Bible Study as they do the actual service. So that's interesting too because it's like, why not just you know, put it.

This is what I'm curious, but this is this is very fascinating.

This was it was a Bible study for young people, and so we announced it at the Bible Study and we also, you know, the first party, we said we'd have two hundred people. We were like, we'll do We're gonna do it like old school, like we did in college. We're gonna have first hour five dollars. After that it's ten dollars. We were like, for fun, we made church fans because we were like, we need to have things that represent the South. Had no signage, had no website,

First people in the doorway the manager.

We told that to the manager and the manager was like, yo, if you get two hundred people to hear, that would be amaze.

And we were like, okay, hopefully and then doors open. First people at the party Bible Study yeah, wow, five dollars. And then by the end of the night there were like five hundred people the majority. We did not know when we realized that, and at the end they were asking when's the next one? When's the next one? We had no idea because we only planned for one.

When I used to DJ, my my answer to that question was talk to the manager.

Well, the manager was like, can y'all come back next week? We was like, whoa bro?

Is it tiger? Easy?

So are y'all somebody completely different in the daytime or were y'all somebody still?

Yeah? We all have we all have jobs. This is what are your What are your day jobs? What are you? I work at rock Nation?

Okay, I work at Viacom.

These day jobs are amazing.

And you I'm advertising for talk for and I teached for lots of fell Wow. I teached philosophy at the college in New Rochhale Brooklyn Campus.

Oh okay, I'm an adjunct professor.

What a essence? A marked article?

That's dope?

So so d square is with you as a DJ? Was this your how long? How long you been DJing?

Was this your I was fifteen or sixteen years?

Oh wow?

Okay, to stay out of trouble thanks to so Actually, my brother.

I always got like real brothers.

Like, okay, So I was like messing up in school and I met one of his friends and he taught me how to dj, and I wanted turntables bad. My mom was like, if you get your grades right, if you stopped acting up in school, you can get your turntables. And then my brother taught me how to dj. Once I got my turntable, so it was cool. So where you guys, where were you raised that? Where were all texas and texts?

Oh?

Oh wow, okay, yeah, gotch you got you gotcha.

That's dope.

So in terms of when you first started DJing, what kind of stuff were you first playing?

Like, what was your first I.

Was really in like early on, when I was like fifteen. I was really into like hip hop, hip hop, like sugar Hill Game, Grand Master Flash Run fifteen because my brother Beastie Boys, like Beastie Boys, Lords of the Underground Tribe, day so especially Daylight, so outcast for sure.

So I was the older of the two. Yeah yeah, no, the trickle down effect that we're always talking yeah yeah.

Yeah, the older siblings a lot of times will set the tone and because what ma would be.

Playing it out? Oh yeah, she was Luther Van Draws.

And so my brother was raised in Florida while I was like until I was until I was nine. Then he moved to Texas to go to school. Okay, So from zero to nine it was Luther Van Drass, Anita Baker, Marvin Gaye like throughout the house. And then my brother was like, yo, you should listen to this hip hop thing. And I was like what he put it in? Like he was playing Lords of the Underground Tribe called quest.

I was like, what is this? What is this? From there? Like took off?

It took off and then like Chris Cross was like my favorite.

Oh man, it's not no yo, Okay, Chriss Cross had jams.

No they did.

I missed the No, that's something again that she was so traumatic missing the bus because you were missing because what is you missed the bus? It was you miss it And then you know you got to go in and tell you she gotta take you to Now, I gotta go.

Now, I go put on my house coat and take you to school. My mother wouldn't take me to school.

She'd find a bus and drive around and city.

Look at that bus. They go to your school. I like your mother. That's awesome. That's that's that's the kind of parandim.

Wait where are you from North Carolina?

Yeah, she's a men. I live in the city.

I live in the city now that she was, she's from and she went to school where I was in Greensboro.

So that's that's that's what's up. So this is.

Going on six years and six years? What keep y'all in? This seems to be a recurring thing. Who else were talking to? Guess he was talking about how they kind of kept their day job until it was mom it was a moment another DJ. He was saying that, So when do you, guys, do you ever feel that you will one day say, okay, grits and biscuits one hundred percent, I'm leaving my day job. I'm leaving philosophy these kids.

That is the question.

I don't know the job.

I know, good job, I mean with benefits. Oh I got I got a cavity. I can go handle that.

Yeah, I think I think if like it have to, we we expanded to something beyond grits and biscuits, because you know, to leave your job to just be a party promoter, that's not that's not how was raised.

Real shit, that's really fun. Yeah.

I was surprised because when I found out that you that you still do all this and still do a job. I mean, how do y'all find time for yourself? Like is there any personal time?

Right? She was like, what is that? That's my job?

Is kind of cool with it. They kind of see it as like an add on to like what I do. Gotcha is like you know when we when we throw on parties or doing stuff, it kind of gives me a name or a leverage when I'm talking to artists, like like I know how to sell out a venue because this is what we do with grits and biscuits. I know how to put on the performance because that's

Totally totally what about your Erica?

No, I mean, I definitely think the job I'm in now, I made it very clear from the beginning that this is what I do on the side, so they've been very understand I think, Yeah, I mean, it hasn't been as far as finding balance. I mean, you just have to force yourself to do it, you know, and sometimes it's you know, not going to be able to make every show. I mean, this is kind of a new reality as we continue to grow, and it's something that

And then you know, the other times.

It's just like we are very you know, deliberate and like blocking out time. Like we have a calendar and if someone's like, I am not available for this week, and we don't schedule anything for that week because that person needs their time.

So we y'all might need to give some lessons to quest Love support.

Organization.

They don't have as many jobs, well has a lot of jobs.

I wonder what my employer thinks about what I do here?

Man, Yeah, Okay, Bill Sean works for Sesame Street.

He does.

Yeah, yeah, so he goes from el Mo to put it in your mouth.

So what about you? What about you?

You think you know? Well, I don't. I don't have a full time job. So like I'm a freelance photographer. I'm an adjunct professor. I just teach once a week. I hadn't really worked for anybody since I was twenty four. Twenty yeah, so I realized a long time ago that I don't make a good employee. I don't like people telling me what to do, so I have to figure out on my own. And so like I think, you know, in terms of balance, like these these guys like they

You know.

So if I'm teaching, I teach every Thursday, so you know, if it's a party on Thursday night, we got to get to as soon as I finish class, I want a plane. And it's interesting how like sometimes my students think they figured out a secret, like, oh, we know that you throw parties. I'm like, can we come, Sure, you can come, but just know that your paper on emanual con will be due next Thursday morning. You know what I'm saying, That's what's up.

Sorry, no, what I was just gonna say.

It's interesting because you said I hop on a plane and y'all are on another level. Y'all aren't just party promoters like y'all take this around the country, right, Yeah, And so at this point where of some of the cities that y'all touched with Grits and Briskets.

La, Chicago, d C, Detroit, Philly, Houston, Atlanta. We're going to the Bay Area this year or next year, Charlotte, Greensboro Movement done.

Have you done overseas? Have you been out of the country to.

Go for next for twenty seventeen?

Okay, okay, Yeah, it's one of the things. I think it's dope when I go to the parties I've been to. I've been looking enough to catch the party in a.

Few different cities.

And the guy was he when I was at the show Charlotte, when I saw you guys in Charlotte a couple of weeks ago, and when my homies he was like, Yo, this show is crazy, and I was like, Yo, man, this this is crazy. Chicago House of blue nothing.

And the thing about it is like I was.

Lost my mind in the Yeah, I literally lost it was bad. It was I had to be taking off the I literally lost my mind.

Yeah, I turned into big Brother that moment.

I was yeah, Yeah, that might have been the one you were there.

It might have been.

It might have been.

The party was So they did two nights the House of Blues, and I want to say maybe I was the second night. I can't remember the second night. It was the second night, So this is total. I mean, it was a pandemonium. And the thing that's so interesting about it is that how when you play the records in the South like a Charlotte, like people are having fun, But it seems like the records get an even bigger response.

Outside of the South because all the time, all the time, and all the transplants. Yeah, right, right, right, right right, yes, I mean, I mean the Chicago was retarded.

One particular joint that I want to talk about because I feel that y'all are single handedly responsible for reviving this song. And I wonder if the people who made it, if God, I can't remember the name, but the song Swagsurfing. It was the group's name. Fly Fly Fly Fly, swag Surfing. This was a song that it was. This was a song that came out in the height of what I would kind of call like.

The ring Tone era.

So this is like, oh my god, yeah, oh six right as I dropped an album called The Minstter Show. But right right, perfect timing and terrible time at the same time. But nah, man, it was a guy like shop Boy. It's probably like a rock star. And just like all these records that were at the time, Defour l Laughing Taffy, all those records, and so these were records that were used, I mean in a lot of ways that they sold Ringtones when Ringtones were hot.

I mean that was the thing.

I remember La was telling us like, yo, y'all need a song. We can sell some Ringtones for it. I remember that. But anyway, this song swag Surfing, y'all have like reignited that song. And so swag Surfing for the people who have never been to Biscuits party, that is like the come to Jesus moment of biscuits.

We all come together as a family.

I want you all to talk about it, like tell them like the essence of the swag surf, Like take us there.

Now you yea. And also this he is on the mic, and this is like he is so right, he makes you feel.

So we all have different roles, right and that and uh so this is how we say it. So my reason that was what to play. I know what to say, and Erica knows who to pay right, that is so and so on the the in the parties, my brothers obviously play, you know, spinning the records, and I'm on the mic just to make sure the crowd is where they need to be, creating a certain energy that we

Right, So we we.

Don't care, like we say, we don't care if you bow legg is, slew foot of a pigeon. Told, we don't care if you talk short, gaze, straight, fat ugly, It doesn't matter. Like if you come to have a good time, you in the right place. And so you could be standing next to somebody you don't even know, right, and we ask you to put your arms out and you put your arms around on people and then once my brother drops the track, we start swaying from side

And it's not a request, a demand. Yeah.

Every time, like I've seen, I've seen it, you know, in a few different places, and every every time, the energy is just through the fucking group. And the thing that's so dope about it, man, is like, well, for one thing, white people, our listeners, I need y'all to stop butchering the swag surf. I was watching something on It was some white university. It was a huge they were doing it. They tried the swag surf and it just there was no swag or surf at all.

It was.

It was totally swag, body board, swag kayak but no, it was.

It was so bad. But now you guys have.

Just created a brand that is you know, coming from you know HBCU. I mean we joking, joke, but uh, just to see three of you guys from a fellow HBCUH attendees, just the stuff that y'all are doing, I just applaud you guys man, and just.

Thank out so much.

The party is a great time. If they're ever in your city, go like go. And I was seeing clips. We was in here working, so I couldn't even come out there to get my swagsurf on.

But did.

Yeah, I saw someone g I saw some of the videos was going down. So so now, man, ladies, gentlemen, man, this has been an incredible uh two day affair of quest Love Supreme fantee of myself lovely ea uh boss Bill unpaid Bill Scott yeo up in here.

And also I must it's never gonna not make me laugh.

And also in the background we got Chilling, the mother of this whole movie. We must, I mean, we must shot her out because she has been responsible in many ways for bringing us all together with the like okay player Angela, yeah, how many it's like six e's at the end of that the screen.

She's laughing right now.

You knew, I knew, Like, okay, let me explain it. Okay, So all the people out there and listen were okay. So so you know on social media now, when you get if you're on Twitter and you get like the blue check, that's like you were verified.

Like that's like, okay, you're the fucking man.

Right before the verification, there was Okay Player, and there was the okay that was beside your screen. Now when you got the okay, like I was tay gravy, I'm still take gravy, Okay player, and like.

I'm take gravy.

And it was like, all right, whatever, I'm take gravy. When I became take gravy. Okay, you made it?

What yo?

What?

I still don't know the criteria.

Okay, we can't talk about it as part of our Illuminati package.

But it was part of it. Was we can't you can't speak on none of that.

It was.

It was a part of our Illuminati NDA that we had to sign.

But okay, but but nah man. Shout out to Angie Okay player for bringing us all together. It has been an incredible and fellas, ladies and gents, I start to my left with lovely, what have you learned?

What do we learn this over this two day period? Picnicas work?

That's what I have learned.

I have learned that as much as I like to tease our boss and you know, leader Fearless, Leader re quest.

Love, that nigga works hard.

And I don't know what kind of vitamins you know he takes. But it's good. It's got to be something he's keeping from us.

Cocaine. It's got to be something.

But I wish that he took drugs.

I really don't know what the man is. Superhuman. He's got to be.

Yeah, that's all I'm saying.

And I've learned that I can be in a room with y'all for over eight hours, and especially you know, I paid bill here ship.

You liked it the whole time next to me? Stop, I think that, like what well you said you liked it the whole time.

That and like you were talking about being trapped in a room.

With that sounds bad? Yeah, that sound I'm sure that was like the same thing that Rick James said to that girl. You know what, maybe it's like an episode of Breaking Bad. So I want unpaid bill. What have you learned? Brother? Days? Man, I've had to really surreal fucking days man.

Yeah, okay, so your whole phase updated? Yeah, yes, apparently something went down last night.

I went down last night.

He wasn't.

I you know, Uh, everything is good. That's how you're supposed to do it.

That's how you're supposed to do.

Don't leave me hanging over there. I'm sorry, I didn't see that I was laughing and I closed my eyes that I was supposed to do it.

Can you at least tell your wool story, because it was funny.

Oh my wool story? Okay, all right.

So so the Wu Tank Plan are playing at the Ruth picnic, and so I went to the rehearsal today because I had some time to kill between the end of my whole phase in the beginning of the afternoon exactly if you will, just for just understand time in relation to me, all right. So I got into the WU thing, and I was there, and they were all there.

Meanwhile, two of them.

Are set up a chess board and just start playing chess, like that's what you do during rehearsal. That's what you do during rehearsal, absolutely every time. So and I thought like, oh man, they're gonna get up and like get on stage, because that's what you do in rehearsal. But lo and behold, it got to like Jesus verse and he was playing chess, and he just rapped while he was playing chess. He

They didn't have to get up. Oh and there was a teleprompter because you know, they forgot all that. They thought.

They thought it was the funniest thing ever, because they don't when those kind of words are written on it tell it was very very funny to them.

Wowverybody else shout out to the making chess moves and rap moves at the same time.

Simultaneously happened such a big catalog.

You got the mystery of chess wrapping it was and then and then Steve tried to make a joke about Bobby Fisher, but he called them Bobby Fisher Stein or something like that, and so then the joke fell on his face. That's Steve, Steve screwed up a joke, Yes, Steve not geting jokes man, it's the weed, it's the West that it doesn't it doesn't work for him.

So anyway, Scotty, what did you learn?

Must have learned?

Okay, man, And we're not talking about the QLs after Dark session. The conversations which I missed.

QULS after Dot was so real. It was so real. What makes that its own radio show? Yeah?

Ql S fe Q Talk's like, yeah, who's been offs?

A couple of things.

One, the roots are really creative when they need to stall for time.

Story. Yes, yes, Chappelle loved that five minutes. I'm sure he did. He looked very enthus to be up there.

That forget about.

Oh yeah we had Rosel got fa noise. That was seeing Rosell in a long time. Yeah, shut up, you know, I'm just saying that was one the first time seeing him in a long time.

I see him there was Yeah, you missed it.

Rose showed up.

We know, Oh he was whole fas I know, he was whole phasing, but it was he was old phasing. But Roselle showed up and did his thing.

What else? The biggest thing I learned is that.

I had a really good time spending time with you guys, especially this whole weekend. And what people may or may not know is doing a radio show is really hard, and you guys make it look easy.

So I think you guys all just thank you, thank you, thank you.

I just think three months ago we had no idea dance.

Oh yeah, he can also teach dance. You need to check the QLs instagram seven eight and ship time was impressed you.

You guys will need to check the QLs instagram and see the video of Fonticelo and stepping in the name of Questlove.

In the name of Questlove, people filming it, we have a bunch of together.

There's all kinds of.

Competition on the subject of Fante. Real quick, can I just do another thing I learned. I learned that Fante was in the color.

Purple, right, man, you can tell everybody about that because that was off off Mike.

It was off Mike, Okay, So for the people who care, everybody, everybody, I was an extra in the color Purple uh, long time ago.

What it was.

My uncle at the time, he was the film was shot in North Carolina, and so my uncle at the time was working my uncle Mike shot at my uncle Mike, he was working at ants in Tech which was the county they shot it in Anson County, and so he was working in ants in Tech as like a financial aid advisor, and so they that's where they were having the auditions. So he hits us, he hits my mom.

I was six years old and the girl was nine, and the.

Audition was we had to pretend that we were angry and we were hungry and we wanted a mother whoever to make us some jam. Sandwiches make a jam sound, so you had to act like I'm hungry, I want some jam. Like that was the I remember specifically, that was it. I'm hungry, I want some jam. And so, you know, the girl was older than me, and she was big, and she was fucking like, I mean, she was really scary.

I was scared of shit, but she was really like, give me some jam.

Like she really hadn't ate, like maybe like her wik vouchers hadn't appeared that month, she really might have been hungry.

It was real, so you know what I mean.

So she did her thing or whatever, and I was just like, man, so I did mine, and I was kind of shook. So I remember leaving auditions just thinking like, man, I don't think they're gonna choose me.

Can you like how you did it a little bit? Give me some jam.

I'm hungry.

I wouldn't have gave you the PU. Yeah I wouldn't. Yeah, I would have been I lost it.

So h I thought it was I figured that I had fucking bombed or whatever, and so I just came home. We left, come home one night to my grandmother's house phone rings and and my mother answers it, and I'm in the other room and I hear her just start screaming. But it wasn't like a bad scream. It wasn't like a somebody died scream. It was like a shit we hit the lottery screen. Yeah, she was like happy, and so I came out. I was like, what is it? So she was telling me. She was like, yo, you

Like barber shops always used to have a Jet.

So like I was read like the albums and then see the Beauty of the Week, and then like a few other pages after that. It was like Oprah. She was on the bottom of like top ten influential.

Square in the Black Squares.

She was one of the Black square implorant people. And so I remember seeing her and we met at No Old joke, like we were at the Daily Tray and we met and we met at craft services and uh yeah her, I remember me whoopee. I remember all that stuff. And so it wasn't until afterwards when the movie came out. My mother took me to see it, and it was then I understood this while we shot a fucking.

Movie, like I got it. But uh, yeah, it was a fun experience.

Steven Spielberg at the time, he was married to Amy Irving, and I remember she was breastfeeding and that was the first time I've ever seen that stuff. Yeah, because it's just white women putting their titties out, like.

You just don't see that shular. I mean, I was like, what the fuck? And so I remember my mom.

Like y'all was like, Mama, that woman's got up titt out and she's like, boy, put you don't point at them.

People like it was crazy.

So it was just totally different being like a small southern like kid, you know, small town southern kid being around all these like la people like.

That was of my boy, and your actual careers just jumped off since then.

Yeah, I have since been in Uh what have I been? I've been in the Breaks on v H one. I was also in the gospel production Mama, please don't it's grown by leaps and bounds. But no, man, that was that was my story And I may post some pics. Maybe I'll post some pics on QLs like that a.

Little boy running through the street, running through the sheets that hit Sealy.

Yeah, yeah, they was.

I ran through and tumbled so you can see me. But I'll post I'll send pictures to uh like we can put it up on the QLs Instagram.

That's all I'm saying.

We Uh, boss Bill? What you What have you learned? Man? What have you learned?

This?

I learned that everybody that we talked to today was very intelligent, h had Everybody had their head on straight like that was refreshing.

It was very.

Refreshing because I've talked to a lot of people, you know, in various capacities in the industry, and not.

Everybody is all there. Yeah, but everybody we talked.

To this weekend, I have I have a going to do big things and.

I have hope for the future. Like all the people, like millennials, I think get a very bad rap. And it's just old millenniums, this, millenniums, this, but the young people that we spoke to over this past week, yeah, y'all right with me, particularly like tis just specifically saying like Lean is some bullshit and you know, to hear I've been body to hear Damn Marley talking about you know, you know I write, you know who I am. I'm not gonna try to I want to work my I'm

The ship, y'all.

Yeah, yah yah, gotchas on straight. I'm hopeful, thank you.

Yeah.

Man, Well, y'all, this has been yet another fun field episode of Quest Love Supreme in this two day haul. Good god man, we've been This has been nuts, but we got through it on behalf of myself, Fonticoelo, Lovely Boss, Bill, Unpaid Bill Scott, ya Yo, Sugar Steve, and our absent cult leader Massa Thompson.

Thank you.

I've our slave Motisa, the Motiza Trial.

I heard the Motsasa.

It's not funny, say yeah.

It was real, it was funny. Yeah.

We're gonna rename this podcast, this radio show twelve years of Tompson.

Listen, he's gonna hate this up.

Yeah yeah, he gonna be he'll be cussing all this funk out, but it's all good. Listen on behalf of all of us Team Supreme here at Question of Supreme. Man, thank all of y'all for checking us, and we'll be back next week on Yall.

Another episode of Question Love Supreme with an all new Team Supremes. All yeah, last one A good run, man. Yeah, it's been real.

Yeah yeah, I'll see y'all letting up the blumbing line together Quest Love Supreme only on Pandora.

We'll see y'all next week.

Pe of Course, Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic episode was produced by the team at Pandora. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.