QLS Classic: Peanut Butter Wolf

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

What Up It's on pay Bill.

On this week's QLs classic, Peanut Butter Wolf talks about launching the legendary stone Throw Records and released albums by Dave Dilla, Mad Villain, and Madlick, among many others. He also talks about his own career as an artist in DJ This is episode number one twenty seven The Quest Love Supreme and originally aired on March twentieth, twenty nineteen.

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Ro called Suprema Sun Su Suprema roll Ca.

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Can I have a peanut utter?

Supremama Supremo Role My name is Fante.

Yeah, damn damn Mario. Yeah, you gotta say what's up?

Yeah to the homiepot Lario.

Supremo, roll call, Suprema Su Supremo.

Roll called.

My name is Sugar. Yeah, I get around.

Yeah, we're Western Recorders.

Yeah.

Where they made pet sounds.

Wow, Supremo, Supremo, role called Supremo Suprema roll called.

Bills a DJ, yeah, RECONSI devour.

Yeah, it ain't no way in hell. Yeah, I'm spending for twelve hours.

Supreme Supremo, roll call Supremo Supremo roll call.

Yeah.

And Peanut but Yeah the hip hop.

Yeah the roll come Supprima, Supprimo, roll Suprema up PREMI my name.

Is Peanut Butter. Yeah, and I don't wrap.

Yeah.

If I knew I had to do this. Yeah, that's not Supremo.

Roll come Suprema son something Supremo roll Calm Suprema Son Supremo, roll cal Suprema.

Son Supremo roll. Wait, I got it, Steve. You just bodied me with that information. Studio three, it's open. We're going to look at it in a minute when we're done.

Can we just stop the episode now and go.

I've already went in so we can wait. Okay, Yeah, he's already posed this picture on the gram really. Yeah, he's on the Grammar.

So there's always a chat with Sugar episodes.

At work already. They already got it, they got it early.

Check the shirt, baby, check the shirt.

That's amazing, ladies and gentlemen. Uh. This is another episode of Quest Love Supreme Road Trip Edition. Yes, we are live at East West Studios formerly known as United.

For I'm sorry, formerly as Western Recorders. Uh that's when they did Pet Sounds And we're in Sinatra's room where it did My Way in New York, New York. And yeah, something stupid.

And I got it that. Yeah, the vibe of the place.

Sinatra built this place basically, I mean, somebody else designed it, but he paid for it.

So this was this was his h Yeah, this was his spot.

And the other spot too that we were at United, Both of those were his spots.

Did he pick the coaches out there? Because they seem really sinatrash?

All the studios here are basically as they were back in the day, but everything in.

The hallway that seemed like, Yeah, I thought it was going to be an intervention talk.

For a mir or you know, I thought I was setting them up.

That's the real Yeah, Like, I mean, we're here to tell you that you can only have seven jobs. Bro.

That the Pet Sounds room now looks just like it is like it does in all the pictures and documentaries it's incredible.

Wow.

Well different console, but but you know you.

Had to keep that intact.

Yeah.

His podium is right in there where he I think where he conducted from and Sinatra's Yes, Sinatra's podium, that is podium.

Yeah.

Oh I thought you praying over there.

Oh no, I was on.

I was taking with my wife. I was taking, you know, but I don't want to step up there. I didn't want to up.

He wasn't lamping on that. But that podium non podium.

Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, our special guest today and our shall I say, our road trip California edition of course love supreme.

Frank tradition.

Yes, a man just as smooth as, for instance, Albert Sinatra, I will say, you know, initially his entrance into our world was under the guise of indie hip hop. But when all the smoke clears, I should say that probably Stone's Thrower is probably one of the most unique UH boutique creative labels UH in existence, going beyond the boundaries of what underground hip hop was or the stigma of the title underground hip hop. I mean, just a lot of my favorite artists that I listened to UH on

Brother wanted to signist stone throw, Yes for.

Real, that was dream dude.

Please listen to my style like he was chuggy first time I heard that.

Oh yeah, and all the years we've known, Yeah dude, like that was like man, we wanted to but.

Yeah, put out the issue.

Let's name of ladies and gentlemen from Profit to Tuxedo to see Dan archives too, of course. Uh my personal Goo Jay Dilla, uh Kareem Riggins, d J Harrison.

I forgot even freaking Breachestra.

Yeah, break That's kind of how I met you, Yeahestra man.

I forgot break Breakstra Gary Wilson, Gary Wilson's uh Georgie and Montre.

Steve Arrington.

He releases Yeah, yesterday's new twet. Twet go on the question of supreme cricketure. Yeah, uh uh loop pack man, next worries, how do you pronounce next? No worries. I always see that when this man's name, let's just go down to rock Percy p Guilty Simpson. Uh. Profit is So it's so many artists that I just you know, yeah,

Then a few words? One word answers? How many are you going to? I learned that. I learned that from two days ago. This bass player that I'm oh, you've been interested in working with? Yeah, I met him for the first time. It's like it's all like texting up until that point, and texting was all paragraphs and then talking. It's like one word answers.

Can I tell you that it is easier to text than it is to talk?

Is that for me?

No, that's how it's become.

I mean absolutely, it's on the phone anymore, really, and you can edit yourself for texting unless it's.

Your past and you got to text somebody before you talk on the phone. Do you mind if I call you?

You're the queen of that, Like I'll be texting you and you'll just like slit smart liquor bool your way the Kool aid Man.

Yeah, and I'm like, no, I got to think about what I'm saying and whatnot.

Anyway, So what's up man? Also a fellow, well, you know for me to mention ask Vaughn as I've done in past episodes with with Fellow, ask me and Me and uh Me and Wolf were kind of part of this the secret Society of hip Hop Luminaries that. Yeah, we kind of start off all uh earnest in our appreciation of hip hop and in the name of collaboration. But now it's like it's it's who can out emog each other, Yeah, emoji each other.

It's mainly it's mainly Premiere Alchemist.

Like.

Is it no dude when I tell you, yeah, I think that.

The Premiere Like I'm dreading the day if Premiere has an untimely demise and it's up for up to me to write something like notable about his career, like his achievements in his emoji game. Yeah, it's it's far beyond any beat he's ever made in his life.

An Alchemist is damn near.

Like a.

Just Alchemist is the sticker king and.

I want to buy his artwork. Really, we're just it's it's the silliest brotherhood I've ever like.

But I never knew Premiere had that many, like cartoon voices, like I don't know why he's not doing cartoons seriously and hip hop.

I'm literally one second I'm working on an animated series right now that I'm like, wait second away from approach and just have him be all of them.

If all the other characters.

If unpaid, Bill we're here, I tell him to hire one system.

The way he does voice memos on your group text?

Is that what it's It's beyond great Premiere's talent for the cartoon voices. Wow, you I mean like three four in the morning is some next ship. So yeah, Wolf is part of the the the Askbaughn Brotherhood of.

Yes, and I have a lot of friends who are like wishing they were part of it, like other like musician you know, DJ is hip hop. If I could fit more now now it's cool, I like, we can't let t rock maybe our chear rocks quiet anyway, So no, we just sit there like rating.

I never explained the Diplo why we had to kick him out the chat because.

We Diplo left and then he came back and then well.

I kicked him out because it's almost like the trade, like we traded Diplo for uh who joined this late? Like buck Wild? It was someone in that jam.

Oh no, that was a different one.

People in this group.

You can only have twenty five people in.

The chat, So I guess nobody has a droid because y'all are cool.

Well, Jeff, just because.

You don't neither, what's that you don't respect any me.

That said that green having a green box. Somebody take somebody with a dray. If you get in a group chat, I got a joy and they fuck up the whole chat.

Yeah, because they got to have a separate conversation because they can't get they got a difference.

You know, I'm showing my age. I don't even know what that is.

You got an iPhone?

I got an iPhone?

Yeah, you blue box?

If some one would have would a droid text you?

Which is why Jeff had to drop out, because Jess Jeff left iPhone to go to back to. I didn't even know that he betrayed us. So there goes the invite to It was.

BlackBerry for so many years. How many blackberriers there's back in.

The I'm at a comedian last night.

Who he purposely uh got a BlackBerry so that he could stop his writer's block. He's he had to turn it and yeah, he's been working on his book for now four years and he blames his A D D H.

Attention to his iPhone.

So in order to wean himself off of entertainment, Uh, he's gotten rid of his iPhone and won't only do BlackBerry, which takes away his gifts and his memes and you know the time that he wastes.

Your guy, Jack White, Right, I was hearing the thing that he said that he doesn't have a phone or something.

Yeah, but you know eccentric people Kanye don't have one.

Can I do that?

Guys like, can I give her my phone?

I don't know. You could know. You've got too many jobs.

And you like texting, you don't like talking.

So what you're gonna do disappear anyway. So how you doing today? Great water? What'd you do today? You know what? So I visit I'm gonna start backwards because I visited Stone's through headquarters and I was genuinely surprised at how professional the atmosphere was. Really, Like the only thing missing if you if you're a fan of It's always sunny in Philadelphia. Kind of like the music that that like that that sunny happy music that they always use as

I love coming to work right now. Yeah, things are really good.

I miss it.

I want to walk through there again to come back. So how long have you guys been in that uh, that building?

I'm just yeah, yeah, fifteen years. It's like it started kind of we just had one room and then as we kind of expanded, we grabbed another another another, and yeah, so just a little, yeah, just gradual thing.

It's kind of well, that whole neighborhood is a vibe because even your next door.

Years with uh yeah, Adrian Young and Shahied they are studio Well's I think it's Adrian's but maybe yeah, Adrian part I mean is like, yeah, it's called Highland Park, so it's pretty close to downtown.

You guys got studios in that complex or is it office?

We have a studio on ours and then yeah, Adrian's is next door.

Wow, yeah, it's it's official. Man, Like every.

We're opening a record bar, that's yeah.

So we are, yach like the big Are you the biggest indie hip hop situation or indie situation right now?

It's because it sounds huge.

I mean yeah, I mean we're not like like as big as Kendra Lamar's label or any of that, but.

Like, like, y'all are probably the longest last thing I'd say, yeah, you.

Guys would probably neck with Jack White situation with the third Man, Third Man, I think because even his label, his operation in Nashville is sort of similar where yeah, you know, I think it's more about it's less about the artists and more about the the label. So what what what do you What year do you consider the actual first stones Throw release?

Yeah, well, with the name stones Throw was in ninety six. I actually I did.

I was.

I started a label in nineteen ninety and put out like one twelve inch single that flopped, and then at that point I was like, I don't want to do the label thing, and I started working with an MC Charisma and then yeah, yeah he passed away, and then I went back to the label thing. I just you know, didn't want to be an artist anymore at that point, really.

How do you well what discouraged you from continuing.

The artist thing? Yeah, losing my friend.

I didn't.

I didn't want to be on stage with someone else's you know. It was just not really it didn't feel right.

So were you rhyming with DJing?

No, it was DJ did not hear that? Yeah, I did not hear my wrap? No, yeah, no, I DJ'ed and I made all the music back then. I used the in Sonic EPs, which is like a big Rember workstation.

And because you end up putting that record out right, you end up putting the well.

I put out Christmas record after he passed. Yeah, he passed in ninety three. And then we were signed to Hollywood Basics at the time, which was the Disney Diney. Yeah, but it was what it was funking Client though, So fucking client, like, do you know funk Cline or did you know who he was?

I knew I've heard of Dave funking Client, But what was it like? Because also Pharaoh and.

I mean our checks had Mickey Mouse on them, so that seriously they really did we save one? I probably have one?

Yeah?

Yeah, I remember, I said everything they had.

It was Organized liferss Group. Lifers's Group was for a Disney label.

And they made they made a Lifress Group soap on a rope and then I don't somehow it got like it got canned. So then they had all the soap and so they made it an organized Confusion soap on a rope and that didn't make sense.

So that was the promo.

That was the promo for sure, stress you're telling me I have THEE on a rope still go ahead? Sorry, And for our listeners out. The Lifers Group was a group of X cons that formed No No, no, no, no no they were they were in general the niggas was locked up.

Yeah they were.

They could still be in jail for all we know.

Group Life Yeah wait, how did they they recorded in jail? They recorded a jail. I guess they was in the room or whatever.

Did that first?

Well recorded in jail?

Yeah we forgot about Shine Shine Yeah No, Life was group had an actual studio.

I guess they recorded in jail.

And yeah, yeah, yikes, so they had they had There was a video for Lifers Group too, wasn't I.

Can't remember their video in jail, but that's how DJ Shadow got it started. He did a remix for them, and his manager was my manager, so that was kind of the connection. That's why we both ended up on Hollywood Basic Basic Actually, so Charisma is a rapper I worked with, and the guy money Bee from Digital Underground was always playing our tape and he told that labeled Becafusion was refusion, So that was his side project, was Rofusion. So that was my first time traveling out of the country.

Who else was on that tour?

It was me, well, me and Chrisma, this rapper heih S, this West Coast rapper was kind of part of DJ Quick's crew, and then.

FUSI yeah, exactly, yeah, I see what for the for those that don't know and actually for me, like what for you coming into hip hop? Like what was the the experiences the I mean, did you have, like from New York perspective, I know that most people have a park jam and that sort of thing.

But yeah, were you going on roller skatings? I was living in San Jose. There was no hip hop scene really there. I mean the breaked, the breakdancing, I guess a little bit. You were born there, right, No, I moved there when I was six years old though, so damn near born there? And how many years did you till I was twenty five? So first twenty years? Can you explain something to me? Yes, San Jose.

Has a very very unique homeless situation that I've never seen in any other city in the United States. Not because the amount of volume of people that are homeless, m hm, but it's almost like.

Usually whatever whenever venue that we've ever.

Played in San Jose, it's like it's it's college professors and this kind I didn't even.

Notice that drop out. Oh my god, it's but I don't I haven't been to Sands that often, like lately. I mean i've been there. I've been gone since ninety five, I guess, but I go to visit family.

But I just know I needed someone to explain to me, like why is this whole dropout of society? Well started as a professional dropout of society kind.

Of right, But I mean, yeah, I don't know. I was gonna just say that, like the cost of living there just skyrocketed after you know, the Internet boom and stuff like all the I mean the guy that went to high school with me started Yahoo and he was like a billionaire so, and he was like one year older than me, and I was like in his early twenties. I think when he started it.

Were you nice to him in high school?

He was a one year older than me? But yeah, my my stepmom actually worked for him and she said, oh, I asked him about you here, remember you? But you know I wasn't really Yeah, I didn't know.

I'm like that, Okay, So what were your hip hop experience experiences early? Yeah?

I mean I remember going to Chuck E Cheese and they would have break dance contests and stuff there, but it was all you know, it was more like breaking in the quad pop locking. I mean we had the pop locking more on the on the West Coast.

You know.

I love hearing a Chuck E Cheese story that didn't end in violence. The Martin Luther King.

I mean, I just remember walking there as a fifteen year old and then walking home and I ended up not getting home till four in the morning. I thought I was gonna get my ass beat, but like I snuck in and my parents didn't hear me. But I mean Egyptian Lover was the early show that I went to, like that was eighty five. I went to the Fresh Fest stuff like that. But you know, I guess I

So it wasn't like older cousins or an uncle that sort of trickled down the information to you, Like who mentors I'm the older uncle?

Oh, I mean yeah. My parents. My dad was into Sinatra, you know, rest in peace to Sinatra and my father, but my mom was into show tombs. But my my my mom's dad was a jazz bass player. He was an upright bassist and he played. Actually Duke Ellington would come to his dad's restaurant and then he let my grandpa play piano and my grandpa was nine years old and then he just fell in love with jazz after

So but yet you wound up in the same then, yeah, predicament kind of.

I mean, I mean, honestly, like when me and Charisma got signed, when we got signed to the major label, I was still in college and my mom was like, you got to you gotta finish school, and you know, I was like, no, I don't, I don't care.

You know, where did you go to college.

I was in San Jose State and I ended up getting my degree in marketing. And my label is like it helps, I know, experience. Yeah, I don't really run my label in a marketing sense so much, I think, or it's like the anti marketing label. But so you're the herb output of maybe A and M operation where you just yeah, I don't know his story.

What was well, you know, Moss, Jerry Moss.

He was the business guy.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean, yeah, I'm real passionate about the creative. I get into arguments with the guys at the label sometimes about that, but yeah, no, I mean I leave the business to them more. And you know, it's the checks and balances I have, like people all like working and so it's I don't know, I feel like my team, I'm really I trust them and stuff.

So were you?

I was, so how many operation? How big is the stones operation?

That?

Like?

Who are the people?

There's like ten, there's like ten to twelve people like in our office. Yeah, we have some interns and then we have like a small operation in Europe and then Japan and.

So you handle the music, and then how many other people you have kind of handling the business?

I guess.

I mean there's like three or four kind of like doing different aspects of marketing. And then yeah, just traditional like you know in our director and GM.

So with y'all stuff like in terms of signing artists or putting records out? Is it just you find something you like it, and it's like, yo, that's where I'm pickheaded. I'm like, I like this, and you guys, if you don't like it, I'm sorry. I mean it's you know, I'm not like a dictator about it. But like they yeah, they're they're pretty cool.

But I mean, honestly, like it's it makes it's so much better when the staff likes it too, because they're working in it, you know. I mean if they're not really if their heart's not into it, then they're not going to work it as hard.

So from my experiences working at a major label, that is very true.

Yeah, and that's why I like the people that I hired. They're really into the same music that I'm into, you know, not necessarily good or bad music, but the same music.

Because promoting Nelly albums, it's wearing on your soul. What kind of alum Nelly? He used to work for Universal back in the day, So like that question, you worked Nelly? Did you work the Ali Heavy Starts album?

Or were you out there? I was?

I was out I was out by he was out by Heavy Starts.

Okay, so starting starting the label, yeah one, Why did you feel it was necessary to.

Start your I mean I never wanted to be a label guy, like, especially when the four thousand and eighty rule, you know, like a company people shady. I'm like, I didn't want to be on that side of it.

But that's why I joined the music business, so I could not be shady.

Right, I mean that was the thing. Like actually the first several years of Stone Strow, I didn't have contracts with any of the artists, and I had a an attorney that was like, are you crazy, Like you know, you got to protect yourself, and I'm like, oh, I'm all on her system. You know. I know if I treat my artists right, they're going to stay with me.

I don't think so though, No, the grass is never green.

You're saying, you don't think people think that way. But I know I've had I have artists leaves and sow for major labels and then yeah, and then they come back, yeah yeah, yeah, all right yeah and they come back. But well, I mean I've always been the artist, I mean the music fan that kind of jumps around and like I'm always trying to discover the next thing. So for me, like my homie that I grew up with. We like he would buy all ten art ten albums by the same artist, and I was always looking for

So well, Yeah, as I say at the top, I think in your specific case, I feel like Stone's Throw, the legacy is almost the star of the operation, as opposed to you know, if you have a particular franchise artist that shines for a while or whatever. But I feel like, like for me, I'm at the I'm at the rate now where if it's a new artist on stones Throw, I trust it because you know, the.

Logo carrier weight more so than the artists.

Yeah, and you and I have similar tastes of music, so you know, I feel good like showing you my music or the music I'm involved in, and I feel like you generally.

Will like it and stuff. But so but in the beginning, did you in ninety six did you imagine that twenty years later it would wind up into the operation.

That never had a twenty year plan. And I don't know if I would have thought it would have been bigger or smaller or if.

Yeah, So when it first started, was it the it was out the trunk, in the in the kitchen we started.

We started like really in the DJ community and the turntable is community specifically, like in the Bay Area in the mid to late nineties, there was a big turntableism thing happening with Cubert and Scratch Pickles. Yeah, the whole scratch Pickles. One of the guys de styles that was in Cubert's group. He was dating my sister when I was the older brother that was a little like upset.

All the noise that was always cut number three.

Straight up.

Yeah. But okay, So what I was going to say, like, well, go ahead, No, no, I'm like trying to lead the interview now, no, no, But like I just remember like DJs would watch the other DJs and it would say stones throw on the on the record, like really big, and that was just something that the design guy like came up with and I didn't really think about it, but people would watch these DJs and they would see the stones throw really big and they go, what is stoneses throw?

You know?

We so we really like we put out the charisma thing that had never come out, and the DJs were all using that and really me being part of that DJ scene like that was my Rolodex was only like battle DJs and beat junkies stuff like that. So I'd send them all the records and they would all support it. And you know, at that time, it was like a vinyl only label. It was before there was iTunes or any streaming or any of that.

So back then, when you're starting a label, how many records would you have to push in order to justify staying in business and not losing money? And because I still feel like it's a very specific small community you have to cater to. Yeah, and if you're you know, handing me two copies and the next act that's in town two copies too, you know.

Yeah, it was all doubles. But I mean that's why we sold so many units too, Like you're selling two copies of every record, and then like the records the pressing plant we used, they would like wear out really quickly. And I didn't even realize that. Like Hubert's records were at RTI and those ones you can scratch and scratch and it never gets messed up. And we were using Raymo and you scratch it like three times and you

That's smart, keep them coming back, all right, I gotta remember that one.

So what was what was the first sold one hundred thousand of the super Breaks or something something crazy like that.

You know, So then to your first official musical release. First of all, what right? What means you decide to to jump just from battle Break material to yeah? I mean, I guess. So.

I was working at a distributor at the time too, and they were doing mostly house music, and I came to the guy and I said, I want to start a hip hop division here. And the company was called TRC. And the guy's like, okay, name ten hip hop releases that you like right now, and I totally froze up. I'm like really bad in interviews, and I named like three, and he's like, you're going to start a hip hop division. I can name ten and I don't even like hip hop.

Were almost part of industry rule forty yeah, I.

Was becoming the forty eight. And then they went under and they went into porn and then I don't know what they do now, but damn.

So what was the first album official album release on Stone Star.

I think, well, hmmm, it was this thing called Fanatic Beats and it was just like a breakbeat record, just instrumental hip hop, but I mean like more yeah yeahs

Yeah, so for at least my perception of what underground hip hop was at the time, What were your feelings of being sort of pegged with every because there was such an uprising, especially with fat beats developing in the York and LA and Braucus and everything. So and how were you able to get elbow room just to in such a crowded space.

Well, I mean the early days, like we didn't get much play on New York radio. I know Premiere did, he played.

Not even with stretching Barbido.

Well, Barbido, yeah, they did. They supported some of our stuff, but I remember like the Quasi model they didn't support and I was like all upset about it, but really, yeah, probably did eventually, I don't know.

Well, I mean there was a period, especially when Stretch

Are you still sitting on those records?

Yeah?

Hell yeah, I'm still sitting on it.

Like I know that any underground and the release between ninety six in two thousand and two, like I just took him because I just go to Rich mcden and be like, all right, give me what I need. Okay, you need two of these and six of these and two of these and which is how I ran? Is it a Lupac thing? Right?

I was gonna say maybe Lupac was the first thing that like probably stretching Barbido and you know, okay.

And how did you meet those guys? How did the Loupac connection.

How did it?

Well, I was listening to college radio and they were playing a Lupac song. So Lupac the label was funded by Madlib's dad, and yeah, Madlub's dad was a soul singer in the sixties. That makes really like good, like sweet soul stuff. I have a story about that too. But well, I mean, I just I was just thinking as I was talking about it. Like I remember I was in a record store with Madlib in the UK and it was like just a lot out. They were playing a lot of old soul and you know, we

Like this guy.

Yeah, I want my dad's reckless.

But yeah, so his his dad put out the first twelve inch and they didn't have any distribution, and I heard it on the radio and I called the radio DJ and I was like, what is this? I want this for the distributorship, and so I got the number.

I guess was it Northern Solar? Like what kind of music was he?

It was kind of Northern soul, I guess.

Yeah. Okay, So with the Lupac project, which is I'll say, like the first time, I mean, even though, yeah, even though that was why I started to ye, yeah, even though I'm I'm borderline certain that I have been collecting from all those fat beat trips. But my my Lupac story, you know, for all of my like Dyla is god folklore I've ever had. Yeah, I still crack up at the seven days where I finally saw him as a

Get his BT tape.

Oh, I know who you're talking about exactly. And he was just like yo man, and I'm like thinking, like for him to yo Mammy. I was like, yo, I'm in trouble and he's like, yo man, I talked to you yo man, Tylla this other guy la and I thought, oh, man, I fucked up? Who did I did? He read an Okay player post story. I was just like, he'said, dog Man, fucked up. Man. He's like I met my match man. It's just fucking with me. And I was like what He's like dog Man loot pack And I was like who,

Wow and.

D okay, d Angelo what I'm trying to figure out what song were we working on?

This is like the end.

It's like it wasn't ninety eight.

Yeah, so this was I know, the good portion of ninety eight was just waiting for Lauren to come up with whatever songs she was gonna not do not do it. It's not clear.

And we sat there.

I said, yo, man, this My quote was yo, this album is Dyla's kryptonite, Like this is fucking him up. He's just fuck up in the game. And the thing was we didn't get it at the time, like it was just a language. We sat and listened to it twice and resting, he was like, well, this isn't you know, because we were like deep in the Dila funk by then, we're we just don't get And when I ad, I said, so, what elements are in this that's really fucking with you?

Yeah, it's like with ten second ten and a half crazy yeah.

Yeah.

So I mean it took me a while to get to it. But then because I wanted to the thing.

Once I was like, damn, if I can't see what he sees, then I'm so below on yeah the level. So I just kept listening record and kept listening, and then I just became a genuine fan of Matt and anything.

And then you started sending me.

Well, one of one of the artists that I was working with at the time, one of the other rappers, like he didn't understand it either, and he's all, you're signing this, He's signing these sucker m season like he's like he was like, all really like more on the you know, the lyricism stuff, but like they were just more like creating a Yeah, it was a feel. It was a feeling.

The first time we came to when a Little Brother first came to LA, we did like an in store at Stacks in Crito's that used to I don't even think the story is there was a vinyl story.

Yeah I remember still.

Yes, it was out there and uh oh no and wild Shot and they showed us love and that was that was my first time meeting him. And I was like, yo, man, that sound pieces like that was it fucked us up too? Yeah, we were And that was one of the records when we were making it listening that we listened to and it was like, yeah, like this is this is it?

Well, I was going through the demos recently, like the demo versions were all just recorded, you know, the way Madlib wanted it, And then we went into like a bigger studio and they like they've multi tracked everything and mixed it different. And mad Lib is like just kind of the nicest guy, Like he won't speak up for what he wants sometimes, so you never really know what he wants. And at least he was back then. And so the engineer that did Luke Pack, he mixed it

Yeah, so like that.

Cleaned for the twelve hundred maybe, but but after that, like everything was. He would never give people multi tracks. So you know, I was trying to get madly beats to like nas and Q Tip and you know, people of the time and whatever. It couldn't it couldn't happen

Yeah. Every time I've ever done something madly, it's the same. Yeah, and you just know, like whatever it is, which I fuck with because it's like, I mean that works, it works, I mean redo it.

So that's how that's how Mad Villain was recreated or was created, it was not recreated. That's how you know Jalab like pretty much all the quasi model all this stuff.

So describe him as an artist, like what was it that you saw in him that really resonated and screened?

What I saw the most is that I just found myself going back to his music and listening to it over and over, like I had choices of what I could listen to or either whether it's mad Lib or something that's out on a label, or you know, someone else's demo that I'm working with, and I just on my personal time, I was always listening to his stuff and he had so much of it too, And you know, I think that's why we eventually like were like, well, who else do you want to work with besides your

So how did you find Doom and bring him to the fold?

What was the right Yeah, well Doom, I mean yeah, and all we showed that that was Doom the imposter. Well there's a whole other version of the album. I don't know if you ever heard it. But originally Doom wrapped the whole album in like a hype tone and yeah, and then that version leaked, and I don't know if Doom just felt like since it leaked he was going to redo the whole album or if I don't know, but for whatever reason, he like went back and did

Yeah, I remember that.

But that album JLB Quas and several other albums were all done at the same time using one hundred and fifty beats that Madlib had put on three CDs. It was like fifty beats per CD and it was all like thirty second snippets and stuff.

What was his work process like to do it? Because his beats are intricate.

Not.

And they're all done me so quickly. And he used to live with another producer, you know, and that other producer would spend so much time on a track and Madlib would hear through the walls the same song over and over again, and he would get so like frustrated and like you know, like sick of hearing the same song, and so mad libs he just everything is like ten twenty minutes and then onto the next track, onto the next track.

You know.

So when he brought you Quasimoto, like, yeah, what do you.

Do with that?

Well Quasimoto, Yeah, that was like on the back and that wild Child gave me like a loop pack tape, you know, and then Quasimoto happened to be on the back. And then I asked mad Lib about Quasimotive and he's like, oh, you weren't supposed to hear that, like he was embarrassed or like. And then I was like, no, I want to do that, like I love that, like.

You know, Unseen still one of my favorite.

No, that's the one. Yeah, that's it.

And that was that was the cassette. And the engineer didn't want to mix it because he didn't want his name on it.

You know.

It's like like I'll lose business if, you know, if I put my name on this as the engineer. And there's all that hiss and everything.

But so what was he what would he what were they tracking on?

Like what would they was it there was a task three D eight like cassette A track, a track, cassette and a lot of it. Yeah, and then some of it then he bought a digital board. Some of it was on a digital board.

But that's crazy.

So all that stuff was if it's on cassette, Like what do you consider the master tapes? Like this is just sitting in the master bedroom.

Yeah, I don't know where those are anymore. He's I mean, he's got listen, So can.

You explain to our listeners how Dyla and and MATTLB eventually began to collaborate, Like was it just that Dyla stuff was just out there in the first of all?

Like how does how well I met?

I met Dyla through how Shoes. I put out my own record called Peanut Butter Breaks in nineteen ninety four, and it was a break beat album of all my instrumentals, and how Shoes worked at a record store and my number was on the record, so he called it was my pager, and you know, I hit him back and he was buying copies of my record for the record store and he was like, Hey, this guy JD, Like he likes your record and he makes beats too, and

JD.

Everything was and he would play full JD songs over the phone for me and I was like, Okay, that's cool, but you know, you can't really hear you can only hear so much of Yeah. But then he one day while I was still at the distributor, Shoes was like, I'm sitting on all these unreleased JD remixes because the major labels asked him to do remixes and then they

Yeah, that's right.

I was about to ask I might have a couple left, but like if I do, yeah, So what what all was on it?

What were the remixes?

Well?

There was was there, There was yeah, the angelofect effects, the master Ace remix, which master the remix sitting on Chroma.

I never heard that. Yeah, but that that that it's weird because now he has there's four remixes that WU are But that one that's on that green vinyl was that different one from the Sergio Mendez No, no, no, that's I have a sample.

Honestly, I like the remixes on that album, but I didn't none of it really stood out to me other than the D'Angelo that was me and those Dreaming Eyes.

That was the one that really went over our question. I had so how of the all these years, our question the thing we always wondered, Like when we were making a Little Brother record, it was like how did they avoid lawsuits?

Like just in general, I mean like yeah, yeah, we always just paid like yeah.

Which okay, so.

There.

Yeah. I gets so frustrated because the version of the Red that one we're stuck with now. Yeah, because to me, I don't know that feel. I feel like if Dyla uses your ship, it brings you holding, like because there's no artists that Dyla hasn't sampled that I haven't myself went out purchased their whole history. Yeah, And I was like, this feels like a red tape situation where just lawyers are battling, like, how did you guys lose the fight in on the red Yeah?

The original Yeah, I mean they so the artist Chris Williamson, she just she didn't like the lyrical content and that's kind of basically what it was about.

And oh, you said the full version to her.

No, no, it was already out. The record was out. We didn't we didn't clear it ahead of time. Damn No, the record was out.

And she she was like, that's probably the only thing.

So that had to come off vocal version. But she was okay with us still, like controlling the master on the instrumental version, sending it to TV shows and movies all that. No, no one took it, but I mean I would I would say she was cool overall. I mean, you know, compared to like how people can be.

I guess about that was somebody that was just like that.

We don't, my god, I just don't want to say because because there's probably other samples by them that are in our catalog that I don't even know about her, you know, I mean a lot of the art, Yeah, like a lot of the artists that I work with, I'll tell you, like, when we turned the.

I just meant it one particular was more right than Yeah.

I think overall, I think who's the least cool or the people who never made it?

Older?

Yeah, older, the artists who never made it, Like an artist like Stevie Wonder for example. Okay, like we did a mad lib, does Stevie Wonders say? And we we did it as promo only then in Japan, and somebody bootlegged it on vinyl and they were like selling for a hundred dollars. And when we saw that, We're like, we might as well put this out and stuff, and

You know. Actually I did a I did a oh yeah, I did a tribute album to Well we called our sad lib because we didn't want to.

Yeah, yeah did you and.

James we did at way you got a bad Girl girl, Yeah, you got a bad girl?

Or no, uh, little girl blue and and visions and uh yeah, I wanted to be the first meta tribute to a tribute album.

That's funny, and we never got to got to put it out, but yeah, I remember hearing about that, so so that never came went anywhere.

I just I just spent it at my DJ game.

But you guys were playing over the actual Stevie records, right, yeah, well once we you know, well, what.

Mad Live did a lot of times was he would take a whole song and he would filter everything out so it was just the bassline and you can hear a little bit, just kind of like the large professal thing.

Hey, your version of the Meaning of Love is one of the versions. Oh wait, so was that under your uh your numb diplom floor.

Hilaria, that's just Chris Mannic.

What made you want to do it?

Just hearing his song? I mean I just love that song, yeah, the original and then when he heard I mean when I heard yeah mad Lib's version, I just just mess around to see if I could do it, okay, yeah, being a hip hop dj ott.

All right, there's one loop.

So before.

During the Things Fall Apart period, we had like three or four Dill options to work on before we chose what what you guys would know is dynamite. But I was fighting for Dylan had chopped up Steve Kuhon's the Meaning of Love and he would only loop I know not when, I know not why, And.

Like he's done like a hundred beats that, Like I've never wanted that shit to die.

Like I still have the MP three disc that he gave me, and I've tried so many times to figure out ways to you know, is that the.

Only song Steve Kuon sang on because no, no, for the entire album, I don't have the album.

Yeah, Actually, okay, so when I first got my studio, I'll say, like, uh, when did we start? Like was it like two thousand and six, Philly? We were working on game there like two thousand and five. Yeah, so like all the all the Steve Coon beats I mean actually just wound up being released by.

Paul Barman's new album.

So like a lot of my early throwaway demos somehow, like you know, twelve years later wind.

Up born Paul Borman's record.

But I got to hear that. Yeah, So yeah, but your your version you should is that the only official release you've done? Oh?

What's singing on it.

Yeah.

I did a version of Get Thy Baryons that was really That one was not good though.

I remember that. Yeah, Tonaman, just get that?

Barry Yeah, well yeah is it?

Is it seven inch?

Or there was a seven inch yet?

Okay? I did.

I did a cover of Bruce Hack also, that one I liked a little better.

Okay, can I get that?

Do you know Bruce Hack?

No, I'm stop trying to deflect.

Can I get these they get Thy Bearings?

No?

Yeah, you can't get that?

Was it ever sold?

Or there was a seven inch of that one?

Okay?

So but you know, the music arrangement on it was like kind of off key with within itself, and I couldn't figure out how to sing it. And I was like, I promised these guys I would do it, and then yeah, it was a mess. I like, I like off key singing. I mean that, you know, I think like Steve Cohon like, it wasn't necessarily off key, but it sounded so personal on that song on the original, and so that's what made me like want to try to re sing you know something similar to you have.

The entire album that that UH was released on is a classic record. So that, Yeah, got it, You've yet to hear it? No, I never Yeah, like that's the least I know that Ron Card is playing based on that, which explains the more and Mad Live filtered it on right.

And so he's got Steve Cooon he's what a.

Jazz he's aye kind of looks like Larry David.

Yeah, he's like Gary Wilson, Like Gary Wilson wasn't on punishment, so like I imagine Gary Wilson spent just a lot of time in his bedroom.

But yeah, Steve Coohon was like kind of lounge.

E Yeah, lounge singer exactly.

Yeah, singer on the Fender Roads and he just somehow must have had the right monetary situation going on that all these heavy weights like Harvey Mason's on drums, Ron Carter is on bass like his his band was. But the entire album is nothing but like the Meaning of Love is almost like sloppy. Yeah, the Meaning of Love.

Because the other other which what did he use it for?

What did he use it for?

It was just a beat that didn't you know, Oh it wasn't on Like it didn't make it didn't make anything. But I'm still every roots album. I'm just like all right now now now is the time. No more I know not why songs to me, I'm not gonna make it. Yeah.

Were kind of early on it, but I was in the Bay at that time at that time, so I didn't really I don't know their history before I got involved really, but so you just heard it in. But Miles was like a major major hip hop fan and he was more like wild Child in the way that he would go up to artists and like you know, introduce himself and stuff. And the song Ring Ring Ring is actually about him because he gave De La Soul his demo.

Oh wow, that's what.

But I guess, yeah, he was really persistent and then Prince Paul, he asked Prince Paul for Prince Paul's number, and then Prince Paul gave him. Well, they make up a reference in the song where they say Piles and Piles and the Miles because Miles, Wow, what these you learn?

Wait a bite?

Did you ever tell pastas and as one?

I think I've I've asked pass about it. Yeah, I mean Prince Paul told me the story and then Paus confirmed it. Yeah damn.

But the King she's from Philly. The woman at the top about that, yeah, yeah, yeah King, Yeah.

Okay, he still has the same number, but they Yeah, so I guess he asked Prince Paul for Prince Paul's number, and then Prince Paul gave him one of the other guy's number as a joke to you know, mess with the guys and the crew. And then Miles kept calling the other guy and then they were like upset with Paul or you know, like so turn into this thing.

That's the Miles. Wow.

This is like when I found out who old Man Johnson was in Raspberry Ray. I know, I'm like old Jesse Jesse Johnson.

Damn. All right.

Wow.

So we put out that forty five and everyone was really into it, and that's what I remember. That's how you reached out to me, Like that was my first time really talking to you. Was because this break a store forty five and you're like, how did they get the sound hit to sound like that? And I remember, like I was still in the bay at the time, and you called me to go record shopping with you and we went to Groove Merchant that was like in the late nineties.

Yeah, I remember, I don't want that off hip hop side.

Yeah.

Yeah, I ran the funk out of this shit, man.

I love that.

I came with that bonus bone the B side. I asked for it to start with the drums. We did an edit just so would purposely start with the drum break for the DJs, and I talked Miles into doing that.

But yeah, they're talking to me to doing it.

Well, not really not even talk, just I proposed the idea and he was like, oh yeah, that's a good idea.

Oh okay, So yeah side note that box of records. I purchased that Groove Merchant. Yeah still that Groove Merchant.

Since the nineties.

Wow, dog, I just like that box in answerdam why And the thing was the thing is I keep visiting Groove Merchant and they're like, so, quest, what do you want us to do about the twelve boxes downstairs?

Ah, damn, I forgot. I forgot.

Okay, I'll take these ring these up, pay for them.

You don't want to give them an address?

And I just and then once I leave, it's just like I forgot. I don't I think with me the process, the process of buying records, of buying them in the hunt, it's probably experienced because even then and there's a hundred boxes that I'm not opened in.

My My girl like teases me all the time about that. She's like, it would be one thing if you listen to your records, like you don't listen to them, you're always buying more.

Wait, I have that problem too.

You're doing something.

Then now I'm doing something with them. But this is the thing.

The thing that you're doing is actually how Boss Bill got here. At first, I felt like a man, I'm such a fraud, Like I'm actually paying someone to listen to my records for me.

Wait, what are you doing? Well, yeah, what are you talking about them? But that was about as I'm doing a Vinyl barye.

But the thing was when you showed me the office. Yeah, I saw like five smurfs at like with all this vine only.

There's guys going through it and just cleaning it and putting it in categories. And yeah, we made a discogs page for it. So so at the stunt Store headquarters, I'm opening a bar with seven thousand of my records in it from my personal collection. And basically the concept is DJs who come to the bar, they have to use the records that are there. You're not allowed to bring your own records. No computers, oh shit were Yeah, so fucked that.

No.

I used to DJ at a record store in Brooklyn, Brooklyn years ago, and I would only play the records that were in.

Store because it made the record store thing exactly.

It made sense.

It's a challenge too, Yeah, that was always a fun thing. I get there like a half not early start going through the RAAC scene.

What I could play?

Yeah, I love that. Yeah, so people have to come a little earlier, so maybe you want DJ there, but no.

Okay, no, it's sort of like the Mighty Half Hall. Like my fear is that that will be my last scene in Mobile the Blues with den Joe Washington. Yeah, that.

I can't quite hit that note.

That is my fear. Like I tried practicing on real wax and it was almost like I was five years old.

Again, you haven't played with real wax and one I'm scared too, Like, I don't really have to mix in this bar. It's like fifty capacity. It's more just a listening experience and it's got like really good wa speakers and David well, yeah, mix it, that's the vibe. Let the songs play out.

Honestly.

Laryly Vaughan was kind of like that too, Like his mixes wasn't really yeah mixes it.

Yes, yeah. For me.

I used to everything had to be like mix on beat and then and then I started learning mixing on key and on beat and then and now I'm like, yeah, I like switching it around. I don't. I don't even mix on beat all the time anymore. I'm just like, Okay, I've been playing one hundred and two beats permitted for too long, so I'm going to go into one hundred and twenty five and just totally break it, you know,

I just like to start slowly. Yeah.

Usually, yeah, people, that's true. That's that's what people the gig I did yesterday.

Usually with those type of specialty gigs in which it's not a dance gig, it's more like I spent it at a taco spot yep, next door next door to the studio. It's like a small I didn't know. It's an alleyway that can fit maybe one hundred people, but they basically just go outside to eat their tacos, and so I just show up sort of ambush the party. And I figured, Okay, I'm gonna do my greatest challenge. I'm gonna see if I can stay in D minor for the entire four hours. So what's the song in

Goes to to E flat and then mighty mighty.

Once I was in E flat, then I was in Stevie wonder Lance, and then I did a whole bunch of flats.

But yeah, it was but you used the key function on just like I live by that.

Yeah, do you do Camelot?

That's not always right, it isn't I do Camelot.

But then I got correct camelota instead.

Of like A minor or B minor. It'll give you a numbers.

It's so it's easy to figure out which songs have like a complimentary key, because if it's like three A, you can do anything that's three or three A three B.

You can go two A or you can go four A.

Okay, gotcha.

But the problem with that is that if you let the computer decide what the key is, it can throw it off. So take a song like uh, take a song like the Jackson's Different kind of Lady on Going Places, Right, But because the intro is a guitar, it's gonna take those first five notes and think that the entire songs in that key, when actually they go to a whole nother key. So it's yeah, I still have to clean up.

Now, Like why don't people like him? Why don't people book cool CRUSH's so lame to me, like people aren't pooking him. Well, I don't know. I never get to see him in La.

Oh okay, I mean I've been to a few.

I went to one thing in La that he was at and it was poorly promoted and yeah, there was really not that many people there.

Like Coolhirk is coming to a party, I DJ, but I've never like ship. Well, I'll be the change I want to see then, Yeah.

Rich Picnic, Yeah.

From your mouth to years.

No, actually we do. We do like a kind of a small like festival thing in La. We We're gonna do it again next year. And I'd like to have him at it. So what was Hegan's role in the label? Was he the business in or was yeah he was the GM. Yeah, he handled all of the business.

Okay, So what was the not the modus operandi, but what was at least a mission statement for Stone story to be as far as like what our identity is at least back then, what was it like we had to find the the elitist, elite mcs and we're just going to represent Mmm. I don't know.

I think maybe at that time it was so Mad Lib centric. I was really focused on his career a lot. Or yeah, maybe that's not Yeah, how did you there's just so yeah, there's so many albums that could have come out with him, you know.

Yeah, because that's my question was like how because I mean his output was crazy, Yeah, you know as an indie label, how do you stagger?

Y'all? Was like the indie no limits, Like how do you.

Decide like the backpack limits? So like with so much product coming, you know, how do you get all that product in just such a tight kind of pipeline?

Well, Mad Villain and Jalb they were done at the same time, and we wanted to stagger them. You know, we didn't want to put two albums out at the same time. But yeah, that was always a problem.

Do you guys register with R I A as a label?

Do you have to register with r.

I don't even know what's all right?

Icy all happens?

Yeah, I think, how do we register to be like considered for Grammys that we've never been None of our artists have ever been considered.

Remember, yeah, well no, that's nervous, but like, all right, the Recording Industry Associated America, that's who gives you the certification.

But he was asking about the ground and that's just become a member. Why I asked, So now you just asked Jimmy jam Yeah, oh yeah, I could ask him.

Yeah.

Why is he back the president again?

Well?

No, I mean, but he's sort of the involved.

I feel like he's definitely the Ronald McDonald of the I feel like they used him disorder. He's the mascot whenever we bitch or have a problem, everyone just goes.

Remember the Grammys, they had Dame Funk as the poster of the Grammys, Like the posters are all over the place. But he's never been nominated, but they wanted his face for it. You know, it's like, yeah, it's.

Well, give me a nomination, Mayor Hawthorne, Mayor Hawthorn.

So how was it?

How did you.

So, Mayor Hawthorn.

Uh?

This girl know well that is in this group fits in the tantorms. She she was at do over and I was d Jaye and she brought the demo of Mayer and it was basically, yeah, just like two songs. Well, it was confusing because there were some re edits that he did as a DJ as DJ haircut, and then there were some songs that were also that were full songs that he made, you know, from scratch. And so when I first heard it, I thought it was re edit. It's like the just ain't gonna work out.

I thought that.

Yeah. I was like, oh, that's probably a re edit of an old funk song or something. And then when I found out that he was a singer on it, I was like, oh, we got you know, I want to work with you. Yeah, let's let's do this. And yeah, I don't know that was it?

We all did it? Does it? Because he did?

It was the first two albums those were those were the Stone Store, right, the first one, the.

First album was Stone's Throw and verse Yeah, yeah, what Yeah.

The strange arrangement was stone stone Throw. The second how do you do that?

Yeah?

Yeah that was that was a Stone's Throw.

So we shit, I never knew. I thought all of his output were stones.

No, we worked we worked something out with Universal and yeah, they took care of us, and they took care of his career, you know, for a while.

And then yeah, and so now the tuxedo stuff is that you guys, are you doing that? Then?

He yeah, then he came to us with the tuxedo Yeah.

Yeah, how have you handled has it been have you received pressure, I guess to sell out so to speak? Like has it been majors wanting to buy you guys or absorb you into they system?

We kind of we kind of peacefully coexist majors, don't. They don't mess with us at all. Really, I mean sometimes like with No Worries, like you know, and we put out I discovered Anderson Pack at a nightclub that was like you know, fifty people or something, and put out the No Worries thing and then dre heard that and he signed them, you know, to for his solo material and stuff. So Anderson's kind of on both labels.

Damn, how do you even determine which is what? That's an interesting partnership though, because you say he does underground stuff.

With y'all, but like, yeah, I mean yeah, I mean I guess there's different levels of underground too, right, Yeah, so it's not necessarily but the yeah, the thing that we have with him is specifically him and knowledge, and it's kind of a little more soulful musically, I guess, But I mean, well, yeah, even his own personal the Anderson Pack stuff is all over the place too, like yeah, stuff with Kate Tronada and then he has trap beats, and you.

Know, I would think that, you know, at least in the case of Raucus, like Wendy Gold seems just like, yeah, let's just purchase walks and then with Walkers you at least get in the house an r R and you can operate in your own. So no label, no major labels ever came to you just said.

Yeah, you know, actually MCA back when they had first signed JD, I think around yeah, yeah, they came to us back then, and it wasn't really like that interesting to me. Racus actually came to to me like in those early days as well, and flew me out and winding me and stuff. But then I was like, I don't know if I want to be numbered. You know, it's the second priority to them.

And do you find it necessary to quote take it to the next level or for you? Is there a joy in being sort of like the the.

Under the nice I don't con see you on the dog though, Yeah, I mean I just just like I'm just.

Without without getting to the business end of it. Is there a way to really make a good living in the shallow end of the pool?

It? Man got a new mad book right now?

I have like two careers. I have the DJ thing that I still you know, draw money from in the knife stone throw so and which which is good? Because I would get bored if I was just doing one. I mean, you do like several things, you know, you know how that goes well?

Yeah, because you know it ain't nothing going on but the mortgage mortgage. I think you can do it. I think as possible to do it. You just have to.

You have to set your standard of living in a way that allows you to do it like you can't you.

Mean being an artist, are actually being an owner of it?

I mean I think both.

I think pretty much most artists now are kind of running their own show, and I think there's not too many stone throws that are really giving you a chance.

To do that.

So pretty much now everybody's just kind of it's the wild wild West.

Everybodys kind of running their own shop. So say, like an artist, like she's doing an archives and who she's an artist on stewing s throw Okay, so same, she gets lucky enough to get good placement, yes, or you know, Gray's Anatomy or Insecure And then you know, usually in that situation, uh all the streaming services including Pandora, uh you know, they start seeing uh light and their shows are different the population, you know, the popularity glows and

Oh yeah, no, we always like shop our artists to you know, the TV shows and Secure and all that, okay, and yeah, they do have success on it I mean.

But I mean, can it ever be a situation which an artist gets so popular that it almost goes I know that people don't physically, they don't buy.

As yeah, they're not going to buy more vinyl necessarily, but yeah, yeah.

It is it ever problematic for you? Do you ever envision like a date where just like, okay, well.

Is it ever a problem if an artist does well? Yes, thank you?

It's bad for your brand.

If an artist does well.

The brand okay, I was thinking even more.

I don't like how back in how like First Groove, how they say like if you have a.

Hit record that the only thing that's bad for the brand for me is if I put out something that's whack and you know, the whack is just whack to me.

I guess.

Wu Tang Clan went platinum, Tribe went platinum, you know, making music that I love and the roots I think, yeah, yeah, there you go the roots.

Is Matt Villain still the biggest selling record in y'all?

I don't even know. Yeah, maybe Donuts or Mad Villain, I don't know.

So you seriously don't register.

What are I to know if your stuff is going golden platinum or any of those things.

That's a question for Laguire, I can call them.

Yeah.

I mean, I know I'm sounding like an irresponsible business business right now, but it's like, yeah, just the creative I do, and yeah, the business my guys do, and I trust them kind of.

So where you are now?

So now I trust them a lot. I'm saying like kind of like that's their role and that's kind of my role.

So where you stand now with the label, which I actually love the direction that it's going in because you know, like I love electro funking, was it hard stepping away from the kind of the dusty, dirty, dingy sample base reputation that you guys once had and now like I feel like the DMX drum machine is the new calling card and synthesizers and yet like the sound.

Of boogie and then we have some of that for sure. But yeah, I mean, if you listen to the like maybe five or six of the new artists are, they're all different and that's kind of what makes it hard

So man, what's the word on Jerry Paper?

Jerry Paper is my man, that's that's the sound.

That's the joint, that's my fucking record. Yeah yeah, how did where did you find him?

Met?

Like he found us, He found us through Mild High Club. And what was weird to me when I found out was his older brother is a DJ that I DJed with many times. We've shared a magazine to cover together, this guy, DJ Spider, But he's more in the kind of Hollywood kind of like the Vegas scene. You know that you see the Vegas billboards and yeah, Jerry Papers like totally different from that.

But you know, okay, god, yeah, I love I love that record.

Dope well bad bad, not good. Did the music on that with him? So yeah, yeah, but that that's kind of the Gary Wilson vibe, like kind of like kind of lounge vocals. I think, you know, he explained to.

Me how you found Gary Wilson, Like from Gary.

Wilson, I know, I know. I found out about him through this guy who worked at Other Music, and he was like, I, you know, I know what you're in. Do I think you're going to really love this? And usually when people say that their way off. But with Gary, that was like, you know that? Like I basically went in and bought like every copy. Like I found out there was a warehouse in Philly that was sitting on the red version of You Think You Really Know Me?

Our Spottle on South Street, Steve, Philadelphia Record Exchange.

Yeah, yeah, does that still exist now?

That's gone? Yeah?

And other music's gone too.

It's gone. They're doing a documentary on them right now.

Yeah.

Do you sorry for cutting in?

Do you have like a jazz division at Stone's Throw or or do you put out any like besides?

But we don't have a division. I mean Keefer's stuff is kind of you know jazz.

I guess Keefer.

Keeper Sorry, Keeper is in Mind Design's band, and you're gonna go Mind Design, But I know, I know mind She did archives. Now, a lot of these guys yeah, they're just getting their start. But Keeper he's a piano player, and I mean most of it's like he's well, one man band style, but then he has a band for live. But he started in mind Designs group. It was another younger artist. But yeah, most of our roster these days are like in the early early twenties.

Man, one big question I think we haven't asked, how did you get your name?

Yeah?

Oh, Man, such a boring story. Stone s or peanut, but both stories are born No peanut butter Wolf. Yeah, it's just I never tell it well, so I don't want to tell it.

Oh does it have anything to do with peanut, butter or wolf?

I always have a different Yeah, different story for us.

What's today's story?

Today's story? So my girlfriend at the time, we were like nineteen or something, and her brother was like six years old, and we were playing candy Land with him and we turned the lights off and started scaring him, and he said, turn the lights back on. The peanut butter Wolve's gonna get me.

And we were like.

What.

And this kid was super eccentric and he made a whole book about a wolf that was killing chickens and the farmer went and cast a spell on the wolf and turned him into a giant glob of peanut butter. So I still have the book that the kid made, like wow. And I then I started a punk group with my friends and it was everything was all freestyled and I just say punk out of because it was just like, you can't really say what kind of mean is.

Yo. Man, I think what should come next is children's records, Like you gotta grow your own crops because like a lot of fans of Stones Throw, you know, they have kids.

I love Black did a children's record, like right when we first signed him, and I wanted to do something with that. I didn't know. I didn't know the industry, so but we're sitting on that.

Yeah, I forgot Yeah he Stones Yeah, yeah the first.

Yeah, so his first album with Stone so I was really kind of like future soul like Giles Peterson, you know, like and then and then Mayor Hawthorne did well with the retro sound and all was like I can do that, and Allo like did I need a dollar?

You know?

He went in with the band and yeah, that did really well for him.

Ye.

I placed in a lot of like commercials and stuff.

Yeah, it was a theme for yeah America.

But he was really huge in Europe, like he was, you know, playing festivals like really good time slots for like I don't know, fifty thousand people or something. And then in the US he still was kind of unknown because his money offers were so good in Europe. He's like, I don't really need to like do US shows or he Yeah, he just didn't have the demand here.

He'd only stone throw artists to head to the White House.

Uh, Snoop, I don't know, there's there's there there's yeah, maybe though, I mean Snoop did a Snoop did one record stones throw Artist, But where did that name come from? The stone Snoop Dogg. Stone's throw was my mom was my I was asking my mom how to get somewhere and she's like, oh, that's just a Stone's throw away. And I was with Charisma at the time when she said that, and we were kind of making fun of

So that was it. Wow. So how many projects do you think you can personally handle at least are you capable of handling.

The label at a time. I mean, I have the infrastructure to probably do an album every other month or something, you know, But I mean there's yeah, it really depends if it's an artist where they really are gonna promote themselves as well, and that you know, they they wanted to do well and they need more attention from us

It harder for in this era to deal with streaming and distribution and.

Yeah, and I think that's why the Yeah, the label's bigger. We have people for each one of those things now. But yeah, I don't have to deal with that stuff so much.

What are your projections for the future, Like where do you want to see the label go? And well, wait, you guys have offices and yeah, world, so.

Yeah, it's it's just really like I just want to keep having the ability to find stuff that I like.

And how do you approach stuff that you like? Are you always on YouTube looking for like how does work get to you.

About I do the YouTube thing and sound cloud?

Or are people just now coming to you like yo, check the ship or check out my.

Home Now there's a lot of that too, and even just going to shows. I mean, I'm kind of on the front lines as a DJ still, but like, yeah, people slide into my d ms with their music or go down indeed, yeah they'll tag me like oh the Peanut butter Wolf listen.

To this, but you actually listen to it? Well, well no, but.

Yeah there is stuff like yeah, I mean I yeah.

Stuff reached the finish line like a guy like DJ Harrison. I knew because of Yale and Fante, but like, how is it? God?

I don't remember how I found him. But yeah, everyone, every artist has its own story. I think it's different.

What's going on with mad Live because I noticed that they did when him and Freddie did the Pinata album. Yeah, they did themselves. He still work with you, Like, what's y'all's relationship now?

Yeah, well Mad Live. I mean it's kind of a long story, but basically, I know I need to put money on my meter. By the way, where are we at?

Give me some money, some red bottoms my credit card?

Well, mad yes, with mad Live like Egon, and you know, he used to run my label and things weren't creatively working out between Egon and I, and I had to let Egon go, and he basically took Mad Live with him. So he gave Madlib his own deal, his own label, and so mad Live stuff theoretically comes out on that.

Yeah, I'm sorry, I had Oh yeah, I thought I was about to sneeze.

Continue to continue about to sneeze.

Do you do you look at the sun to sneeze or no? Yeah, oh the light? You just look because I read the ten percent of humans can do that?

Or no, I just I you know, I hold my nose and pray that doesn't spray on any of you guys. So future wise, what do you.

It sounds like you said every everybody's mostly in their early twenties, so it sounds like you're set up for a minute a little bit.

Yeah, not future wise, I just meant like the artists that you know you have your eyes on and that sort of thing.

Yeah, I mean there are people that I have my eyes on. What about I think I'll mention them until I signed the.

Until you sign them, okay?

Uh?

As far as like, also you bringing back a lot of our old favorites, like you working with Steve Arrington and right?

And is profit?

Is he old or new profit? So profit is?

I feel like he's an old soul that I just yeah know.

He's like I think he's maybe in his sixties. He did an album in nineteen eighty four that I discovered in the early two thousands, and I guess like in the early eighties that was like when I was buying the most records, well, when I started really buying a lot of records, and I didn't know about that one until the two thousands. But when I heard it, I really was into it. And on the record it just

Is he from the Bay Area?

He's from the Bay Yeah?

Was it a black and white album?

It is? Yeah, dog Yeah, Okay have you heard that? Well, my last trip to.

The record store groove Merchant because he always had copies of it.

Dog. I think that's the most ever paid for a record of an artist I'd never heard of in my life.

How much it was just one of those artists that's worth it. Yeah, they actually bought one, a groove Merchant for six dollars. Like that's when I found it, like in the early two thousand. I'm like, he must have like miss priced a few.

More zeros than that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Like I was like, I don't know, the guy's like a mere trust me, like I know, like how much you want historical?

Like yeah, it's like print sounded like just it's synth funk, but like it's really out there.

Yeah that's profit okay, Yeah, you resigned them.

So we did an album with him and my design like this year.

All right, well you know we think you wait, I have one that's a good Yeah. Have we heard the last of Hilario?

Yes?

I think so. I don't know. I haven't seen him in a while. We fell out, you fell homie, man, we have the picture what they do may Little John and Diplo yep.

Wait and it sounds like a premise to a good joke.

It was.

It was Little John yeah and and yeah. So Diplo hit me up and he's like, hey, I'm coming to your stone Store party and I'm going to bring Little John. You know, I want to introduce some deal.

And I'm like, oh cool.

But I didn't tell him that that I wasn't there, that it was Filario. So it was yeah hard yeah.

Wait, actually, speaking of the one one one last, last, last, last question.

And I have one follow up off, okay, I have one as long as we end with profit, like we can keep going and then back to profit and then that's the end.

No, for your DJ gigs, you using video technology, yeah, to spend How long does it take you to find pristine prime copies?

I don't. I don't go for well, I mean, I at least the ones I've seen you spend there. You're right, You're right, there is a lot of it that is is. But some of it I'll swap the audio out and some of it I'll leave as is.

That's what I was going to ask, like, do you because one of those Michael Jackson gigs you did?

I was like, whoa happy find such a clean copy of this?

Right?

Yeah? That was like some so you'll just that designated day to I added pristine audio on top of the video clip.

I mean, one of the guys I work with like helps me with that because I don't. I wouldn't even I don't know technology anymore.

I see. Okay.

My last question has to do with the twelve hour DJ set. Yes, would you ever do that again?

Yeah?

But I think if I did it again, maybe I would like put more effort into like planning it ahead of time. Like the whole thing with it was it was just an idea, Like it was December twelfth, twenty twelve, I want to do something for twelve, twelve twelve, and I was like, I'll do twelve hours of djay and and then I had all this other stuff going on and I didn't really plan it, and then my dream, what's that doing a twelve hour set?

Hell? Yeah?

And this was where was the it at my vinyl bar? So where we Where was this? I just did in my bedroom and but it was it was for boiler room.

On this but.

Yes you can, it's fine, It's fine, So it's for boiler room. And I was kind of bored after the first few hours. And then I was like, I asked all my friends to like pick records out of out of my room, and then they were just picking the things they were familiar with, and that was like what I realized, like I should have probably just done it all on my own, because I wanted to share stuff that people didn't know, and it turned into something else.

But it was fun though, Yeah, you played a record I bought you. I can see the cover. It was a peanut butter Wolf and it was just like a DJ thing you did, but you had a record on it. Uh, let love be your magic carpet.

Oh, I love that one. I love that.

Yeah, that's a great song.

It was so dope.

Michael White. Michael White, Yeah that was what was Yeah, yeah, yeah, well okay, profit profit Yeah, we love profit.

We love profit. Now, thank you very much for coming on the show.

Christy, Thank you for having me back.

Congratulations on a great label.

Man, No for real for you to make it, have been making it a long yeah.

I mean just I'm just happy. Yeah, it's still like enjoying it. You know, like if I was doing something that I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't do it anymore. So I'm glad that I still like to do it.

It's relies and passion, all right, Ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of Team Supreme, Boston Bill on Paid, Bill Fontigolo. It's Laia and Sugar Steve of the Sugar.

Steve Network, founder of this and curator and ed.

Ya. My name is cost Love and this is Costler Supreme. We will see you on the next go round. Thank you very much. Quests 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.