Questlove Supreme: Diamond D

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Supremo role called Supremo, Supremo role called Supremo Sound, Supremo role called Supremo Sound Sound so Premo.

Some say I'm crazy, some say I'm ill. Yeah, fuck you talking about.

Premo Supremo Supremo Sound Supremo.

My name is Fante. I ain't hard to find, Yeah, and I'm not like Sally.

I got a two track.

Mine Supremo ro cal suremo Son, Sure.

Here's a little story, Yeah about Sugar Steve. Yeah, she wanted Diamond, gave her.

The d.

H R Supreme.

It's like no time to rest, It's time to learn from hip hop's finest.

My name is Diamond, my beast, the best. Yeah, I'm down in the A now. Should have put my man quest.

So free, so.

Freemo, so some Supremo roll Son.

So you like the.

Learning a new button every week?

Uh yeah, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of Quest Love Supreme.

I'm your host Quest Love.

You know we're down here in the A in Atlanta doing our first drafts of in person episodes. It's been three years and uh, you know, glad to be with the fan. Spoke to unpaid Bill this morning. He's fine, chill with Grover and Oscar and then on Sesame Street on a Saturday. Wait, today, Saturday, right right now. When I got into uber it is one, I was like, oh, damn, it is Saturday.

Oh it's you go to work. You go to work. It's Saturday. I mean, probably not when they're airing this, but yeah, I'm all yeah, I'm just all messed up.

No more days of play.

I thought it was Thursday. Damn. Okay, it's like that. Anyway. How are you doing.

I'm doing Oh, I am doing great. We're back in the A. I'll barely recognize it. I ain't been here in twenty years.

I love it.

I'm kind of mad because I'm here in the A, but I've yet to go to stroke Ris and probably is that.

Like a new Strokers. I don't even what the hell is that. I'm from the Magic City.

Gentleman.

You know, okay, this is what I'm learning about my Atlanta trip number one. You know, it was sort of a topic of the past, but now I get the feeling that people actually go to the strip clubs here just to eat.

So I heard Magic Cities.

Just everyone behind the cameras was like, ain't like somebody. I was like, nobody, you want to hear Magic It has the best wings ever.

I hear the Diamond got really quiet when we start talking about.

Listen all right yesterday. I know always said this like this is my favorite shows. But any any chance that I get to nerd out on the production techniques that really drew me to hip hop and drew office to hip hop. No matter who you're like, it's it's always a good episode. And so this gentleman has been forced to record with even before his solo career, like the work that he's done. You know, it's this strong city. I don't a strong city at all associated with Aaron Fuchs.

But you know, that's what quest Love Supreme is for. So that's it.

Let's welcome the one and only, finally, finally, Diamond D. Am I allowed to call you Diamond?

Now?

Course? Okay?

Number one plea were allowed? No, no, no no, But here's the deal. I have two versions of the album.

When it was like Diamond stump blumped in here and then there was Diamond, Well.

It was Diamond and psychoch Neurotics. Diamonds Diamond psychoch Neurotics.

So what was the situation with your name? It was there another Diamond d like back in the day.

That I don't know what, I'm not sure, but I think it might have been originally somebody that was signed to Weston Records.

Wow, New York yeah. Yeah, they did Tony Garden their heartbeat, like you.

Know, hot Shot was on that table, but I think somebody had the name.

Yeah, okay, so.

Yeah, well, you know this is my favorite nerd out moment on Quest Love Supreme. So I'm gonna start from the beginning. What was your first musical memory? Time out? Let me go to og style. Where were you born?

I was born in Manhattan, New York hospital.

Wow, I never heard any yeah, get to get to it all right, all right, was raised in the Bronx. Okay, your first musical memory sitting.

In my uncle's room and him just playing music.

He had a large vinyl collection, So I was just sitting in his room like eight nine years old and just listening to and play records.

What was he playing?

Everything? Mostly mostly funk, jazz, soul, you know what I mean? Shouts out to Gary was he was?

He very ridiculous with the collection. Like I've had an older cousin that was that way. But you couldn't touch the wax.

And you know, yeah, definitely fresh, yeah, definitely. You know, you know, you have to hold a record like this with both hands. He's very meticulous about his whinys. And then you know when I came along with the DJ hand, you know, we had to put our hands on the record.

I was gonna say, how okay.

So I've sometimes I try and explain to people the trouble you know, I mean' t ezy now that hip hop is and it's about to be in its fiftieth year for us also take for you know, for granted

Yeah, I got punishment trying to.

You know, like my first introduction in scratching, of course, was you know, grand Master Flash on the wheels of steel and you know, trying to practice on my dad's you know, while he's not looking and see what happens and you get in trouble. But yeah, like how do you discover what that is in in the bronx? And were you like privy to any of those like block parties or anything.

Oh yeah, they would like right outside Noxlain it take it. Growing up with Farvest projects, me Fat Joel fer Ness. We would all see DJs like you.

All were in the same buildings, still the same same complex.

But we would see Gud like Grant with the Theadore mainly theatre, sometime Flash. At that point they were already making records, but we were able to just go downstairs and just see these jams going on in the parks.

What was it?

What was it like seeing Because I'm assuming that you're too young for Harlem World or right, so I'm assuming that you're eleven or twelve year oldag seeing it. So what how does the trickle effect happen to you? Like where tapes the thing instantly or how do you get the information just.

Watching it firsthand? You know you've seen people out there, you know with boxes, you know, recording or whatever. But

So all right, So Chuck d once explained to me the effect of that, because I asked, like, why would like why was that the first record that introduced the

He didn't like the payback. I don't think he liked the idea of paying fifteen ninety.

So typically, I guess back in seventy three seventy four, an album would run three ninety nine. A single album's like three ninety nine, maybe four ninety nine. So when you're paying eleven twelve ninety nine for a double album the first thing, and you know, I'm three years old, but my dad's like, wait a minute, there's only eight songs on this record, and it's a double record, and each song is like a meandering I never knew what

Him just and this is the thing.

Even James Brown's musicians himself will say like he was the worst soloist of all time, correct, but one of those guys where even if he's wrong, he's right. So for him to do like all this like crazy solo and and whatnot, just never understood why y'all gravitated to that record.

It's is just to have an instrumental that was fast, to let.

Bee boys go off or yeah, that's all it was.

You know, I'm a little kids, so I'm not really thinking about the musicality of it, but just the effect that I Rick had had when he was played a party, like you know, people would lose their fucking minds, you know, that little one part To touch on what you're saying, I did read with read. Wesley said that James went in there behind their backs and he put that mood

Kids were listening to it, you know, in seventy eight and seventy nine at these parties.

Yeah, I was going to say, we.

We're now an iHeart affiliate and so we're like limited on the times that we could play songs.

But just for that you people know what we're talking about. This is blow your head.

Oh, thank y'all.

So y'all was talking about that public enemy. No, okay, that's exactly like, Okay, we're here now, we here, we here.

Yeah, so you know, but this is also what I want to know.

Do you have any memories because this is kind of the one thing that hip hop pineys really don't talk about. But I mean, I can only put two and two together that if it weren't for the Blackout of seventy seven, we might not have had hip hop culture because I'm just assuming that because of the.

Of the looting estemal, I'm a little kid doing the blackout.

But no, no, no, I'm not saying.

But I have heard stories about a lot of equipment came into possession during the blackout, so you know it might it definitely pushed it along a little bit, right, But I mean it was there before that.

But what I want to know is how, because I'm also aware that as the years and decades go by, maybe revisionist history sets in and stories get exaggerated. But how officially loud were these speakers at these block parties where they like concert level size, where you gouts are satisfied with.

Loud enough where you can hear them three blocks away?

How do you get power of electricity in a park streamline? Believe so someone would have to risk their life climb up the lamp post.

Or a lot of them, a lot of them knew about, you know, equipment, so they would break it to a lamp post, get the power lines and do some ship in the next thing.

Now, Kwame's dad here explain that Kwame Kwami's dad used to tell like, for the longest Kwame's father was still the neighbors gas like he knew how to run a line inside of their.

Inside of their basement or whatever, and.

Just yeahful people.

Exactly if nothing else.

So how old were you when you officially when you considered yourself like all right, I'm gonna get into this music ship.

Like, how old were you? I would say about twelve? About twelve when I asked my mom to buy me some turntables.

Yeah, did you want to DJ? Or yeah? No, I was.

I wanted to be a DJ. I didn't care about ron and I just you know, I was My whole focus was the beats, the breakbeats. I would just go to these these jams to stand by the ropes and try to see album covers, you know, just how they find these little parts with the drums. That's what really like intrigued me. You know, all of these records with these little drum parts. So I was just drum crazy.

When you were a kid, what was the record store that.

Was like the go to the whiz Nobody Whiz. And there was another store on Third Avenue, I remember the name.

But the first break I bought was Shangle Lie really yeah okay, but we called it Paradixes very nice and IRV got it. He mentioned it in documentary. He said he used to cut that as a kid, and I was like, oh, ship, that's crazy. But yeah, that was the first joint I brought my own money. So yeah, yeah, so the slick No, no, no, that's that's Frisco disco. But Daylight so sampled this on something.

Dad ain't damn So in your mind, what was it about it? Because in your mind, wasn't that disco. Wasn't disco off limits?

Or no?

No, no?

A lot of breaks with disco, you know that super sperm with disco, Frisco disco, the Mexican is just begun.

What so whatever kept people dancing long?

That was good enough for you?

I mean you know, yeah, as long as the break was there, all I need is you Tonight by Arthur Price sock Yo. A lot of disco joints. Serone was a disco record. Rocket in the pocket. It's a disco record if ah.

Okay, wait a minute, all right, So would you spend it on thirty three or forty five?

Well, I mean forty five if you want to rhyme into it. But on thirty three it speeds up right, Okay, it's a disco record. Sarna is a disco artist. I didn't know that rocket int sped up. I'm okay.

So I'm one of those people least with the basic breaks, especially with the stuff that's more disco fied, Like I mean, there's two ways to listen to it, and I'm yeah, like the first maybe twenty years of my life, I'm very guilty of needle dropping. Yeah, oh there's a drumming and then right, but then you know those that are really into it, they study the song to figure it.

So, like, what is your process of how much patience do you have?

So when you go and you bend shop and you get coming with four hundred joints or whatever, right, then.

Is it like wine? Do you just let it sit there until you get to it?

Or it all depends on how how much patient do you have to Like, no, they're not gonna sit there too long, But in.

Your mind, is there always a part that's usable and you figure out? Because maybe with Dyla. So Dylan told me he Dyla never made a beat on a Sunday, okay, And he would house clean and do chores or whatever and just have records on and he said, you do about three or four hours or whatever. You know, sometimes he will record some shit and just listen to drive around. So yeah, like, are you one of those people that, like, you'll listen to something over and over again until it hits you or you.

Just nah, I just go through it when I'm near. But when i'm near, I'm focused.

How did you make the transition from you know, DJ in to then making tracks producing wells?

Most producers started off as DJs, But to answer a question, I would say, like around nineteen ninety when me and Premier did law on this first album, The Funky Technician. Well before that, it was a Master Rob I'm not playing well. Well, I didn't produce that, but I bought the record. Ah, Okay, I didn't know how to program. Jazzy J programmed it that say you're Jay loop this part up the clean back for the hook.

Put these guitars in the chorus. Yeah, I didn't know how to work it.

So I got to ask you this question, of course, and you know what I'm about to ask you, Okay, So for me, you know, and outside of New York, you know, I grew up in a three thousand record household, of which you know, truthfully maybe only ten maybe fifteen percent appealed to me, and the rest was just my dad's boring stuff, like I'm not listening to Arthur price Out and the Beatles and all this other stuff.

But of course, you know, once.

I hear Nation of Millions and suddenly like I'm like, oh, that's that stuff, that's that stuff. That's now It's like I got to go through all them records and then I discovered like, oh god, this is how they make hip hop. So here's the deal. So I became a

Now, when I heard Are You with Me?

I thought that was like just one of the most craziest things I ever heard in my life, but didn't realize that they just put the need on my record, right you can you can sample. It's so meta, like they sampled a sample of you.

I don't understand that. So when you heard it, what, I flipped the funk out, But you know, it isn't an honor like, oh my god. It was mixed feelings, honestly. But I turned to Jazzy Jay and I said, Yo, these dudes just basically just rhymmed over the instrumental, so you know, but listen, Strong City was distributed by UNI, right, Son of Berserk was sounding UNI. Yeah, but still that's the that's the master how the publishing get worked out.

Let me all right, so let me play the ten seconds I could play.

That's my fucking record.

Meanwhile, I'm dreaming, like, damn, I wonder what part Eric Sadd did, like, because I see the bomb squad just as on some synaesthesia like the way that the guitar stems are. And then I heard what you did and I was like, ah, damn, they just took diamonds join and looft it. So what happened when you heard that?

I went to jazz J.

I pointed it out to him because you know, he had a vested interest in it, and it never went further than that. I don't know what happened. I don't know what happened with that. I don't even know if you know, if we were credited on the publishing side. I just never looked back.

Wow, what was at that time? I've read, Uh, you did an interview, this was years ago. You talked a little bit about Wild Pitch and Stu Fine at the time. What was he like as a businessman? How was how did the Wild Pitch business structure work?

Well, you know Stu Fann, I'm gonna give Stewart's props.

You know, he signed Gang Star, he signed Lord Finess, he signed Laard Professor and Maine source Chill rob G. You know Stu Fahn and his wife Amy Finn, they had a good ear. They had a they had that they.

Had a good ear for good hip hop.

Student never really did anything personally towards me, but being around my man Lord for Neesse and listening to his grumblings. You know, if your man grumbling about, you want to grumble too, you know what I mean. So you know, yeah, I took that shot. I made that one line at him. He didn't really do anything to me, but oh, just listening to Lord for Neess grumble all the time, yo, like that, you know, man but shouts out to stup.

Fine, you know he actually.

I'm checking.

He threw me a pass later on in life on his l L track that I that I that I did.

Anyway, he's still alive. I believe he is.

I'm not sure.

I'm not sure, but well, I Pitch has a legacy straight up. You know, I'm believing I'm leaving off some artists too.

But yeah forty five k well, no, no, no, I mean he he did Gangstars, Bust the Muster move boy.

You know what Stu gave me two men back when Search was working at Wild Pitch. Yeah, Search was like briefly, I guess he signed OC to Wild Pitch.

Correct, correct, I left OC, that's right.

Yeah.

And were a great artists, a lot of great artists.

We were shooting Solid Treatment on my birthday and Search hit me off with two mint copies of Buster move Boy. But I let them ships on a radiator, so it's work.

Wow, shut up, Steve. You gotta take care of your records, damn.

So it's interesting, is Permi It wasn't producing yet.

Yeah, the pre the pre premiere. Thanks, but I was the.

Forty five King fan, so you know he's one of my mentors.

Mentors too, that's my joint.

Okay, before I get you know, I became aware of you even though I knew of you and didn't know of you because cassettes they really weren't putting on credits and all those things. And you know, I primarily brought my joints on cassettes.

But those on the radiators, yes I did. H But can you.

Tell me about the environment of like the record conventions and you know, friendly competition.

Okay, just take me when you just hypothetically walked me through.

Y'all were talking about like vinyl conventions.

So they were set up record conventions and like hotels like Hotel Pennsylvania and the Roosevelt also, So okay, so you find out a record convention is coming, what time do you want to get there? And who's waiting in line already before you get there?

I mean you're liable to see anybody.

You know.

We there seven am, kid Capri Buck Wildlord fess uh with Sean Smith.

Gerrol b Q two. You know Diler was there a few times, Pete Rock your man, Prince B.

I heard, yeah, I heard Prince Bold get there early and yeah, you know, Prince B.

You know why he was winning because he didn't he didn't he didn't negotiate, he didn't haggle. We all negotiating with dealers. Prince B oh eight hundred all right, you know, so they loved him. One of my stuff aside, they loved him. Everybody else was like yo, yo eight how about seven? You know we all in there trying to cut deals.

But Prince B. I give him as props with money.

He was good, right, Okay, So it's it's it's it's friendly competition, but still the wild West, and you guys are paying for gold.

And your mind? Do you already know the dealer you want to go to? Like, how do you without the aid of.

Yeah, well, how do you after going a few times? You pretty much know what dealers you really want to really want to rock with my man John eighty eight keys. He used to be up under John all the time. I forgot my man. What was my man's name, Bleaker Street, Bob black Dude, I remember him. I remember my man Bob from Boston, Me and kicking pre We like Bob from Boston. Bob had he had the officials. I don't know where he was getting these joints from, you know,

But those are good memories, I know, I remember them days.

Whatever I was gonna say without you know, like I'll say the generation after you, which I guess that's where I come to play whatever. But you know, we were always going on these wild goose chases because of the whole biz.

Uh to say it, but you know, searching for these bellis. But what was a real record that was just like you heard about?

And I'm you know, I don't mean like the fake Bellis Mandi Gras shit, but like, what was a real like record that y'all were like you heard about or that sort of thing that you just had to get.

Ivy from digger to digger. But for me, it was The whipp Jenny, the album by Dave Matthews. Okay, Dave Matthews was.

Not Dave Matthews band but James Brown former James Brown former musical Yeah, he.

Was also attached to the d Police trio in some way, shape or form, but he put out an album on People Records. It's the only psychedelic funk album that was on People People Records, So that was like always on my list.

Besides the show is Funky down Here record?

Yeah yeah, okay, but that was James Brown, but this was like an offshoot that is great, which made it even more rare.

See that's that's another one, my my all right, So Christian McBride jazz got basis. His uncle was also James Brown freaking worked at a jazz station and we were in high school together, so we always had Chris had Whipper Jenny and had shows Funky down.

Here other rare albums we put them, George Rms like, this is hard. And that's the thing.

We were never in the mind space of something's on here that we can loop and make it work. And only when I became older, I was like, ah, so many drawings on here.

But yo, can I ask a really maybe dumb, fundamental crate digging question questions?

Okay?

Because I always I couldn't never understood how you set the price point and how you know?

I mean, I know rare issues are rare issues, but how you know that this record is worth this?

Yes?

How do you know?

And especially when you just starting out, how do you? And then there's a learning process.

It comes with years of digging. You know, you just you know, the albums you see often compared the ones you don't.

Okay, But it's also he's okay, so there's.

Maybe I should explain it at the top of the show that what makes diming unique is so the first generation of sampling. Of course, you know you got to this is why I alway shout out Break Be Lou. Break Be Lou basically took the fundamentals, like the easy stuff, funky drummer and piece to president, like beats that you've always heard all your you know life on those early records, like up until the Marley maul Rick Ruben period, so

Yeah, the ball squad e right.

What break Blow would do is basically just make these compilation records, put seven songs on each record, and then you buy that record and then you sample it. Made it easy for dweeps like me, so I didn't have to go spend hours in a good will because I could.

Just cheat and get the Wikipedia version of these joints.

So then you know, Diamond's part of what I call the first wave of Renaissance beat makers, in which it's almost equivalent to So basically there's a collective of producers that are like, yo, we ain't gonna do the Captain Obvice Ship and sample James Brown and Funky Drummer. We're gonna, we're gonna, we're gonna do the hard Ship and go in our parents' record collection and get this old you know,

That you know.

So y'all also made those prices go up too as the years went by, correct, But.

That's right, you know.

But the thing is is that I want to know now, once y'all for me, once they use some ship, Now I'm the next generation after him. So when I got the sound library like life, like, yeah, MANI Alexander's love and have happiness. That's a great example. So after the beat Nuts used that, suddenly that Manti Alexander records seventy five bucks.

And even before that, when tip you on Gangster Bitch, yeah, yeah, it was on the radar.

So for those who know what but what she she set me up for a good value though, So what I'm asking is, we're records super expensive if it hadn't been.

Utilized used yet.

All right, So say like there's a time before let's say in eighty nine Eugene McDaniels, where no one has sampled that record yet before tribe. Are you still paying one hundred and fifty dollars for it? Because after Tribe used it? I mean this is one hundred and fifty.

Bucks to a jazz collector. Yes, if I'm a jazz collector. I'm not concerned what hip hop is doing. It's a it's still a good body of work. It's Vinyl Eugene McDaniel's. He only made a hand for of album, so you know it would still be worth money. It all depends on the individual.

Okay, what's the most you spent on a record and what to use for?

What do you use it for?

Giving your top five most expensive joints, man, I don't even know Quest Whip Virginie that was one of them, Okay, because I.

Was looking, I was looking for that.

I don't know.

I just have no clue what the most expensive. I'm like, how far can't it go? Can be a fifteen thousand dollars?

I mean, look on discogs. Yeah, you know, I think have to be a break beat. It could just be something that's a collective's item.

Yeah, I'll say, well definitely. You know, like quality records are like seventy five.

I'm trying. Maybe there was one.

There's one ridiculous, Like normally if it's mint condition, then it's whatever. Like someone tried to get me, you know, like maybe two hundred four back before they reissued The Sweet Charles.

Okay, and you're one of the first ones, right, you have the first one? That was the break ever talking to you about that? No, not yet, oh man, like for him to shut the fuck up.

Interlew was his favorite joint on stunts, blunts, stunting blunts, so.

Him making.

Drop down and get your ego on the follow up to Hot in Here Nelly's joint, like he was like, that was me trying to do my diamond.

That was like his his always showed me love. But he never told me that story yet.

How did you get signed? Get your deal as an EMC, you know, to make your first record?

I was actually doing a demo deal for an artists they wanted to sign. The artist name was Joe Control. So yeah, I was just just making the Beast for him, like a two demo deal and now ROMed on one of them. So what were you making your tracks on at that time? What were you making your tracks on at that time? I had a CAI nine hundred just

It's on the sampler. How many seconds? Oh plenty?

No, I you know I did my album on that. I may flow Joe on that, I'm the score, punks jump up to get beat down. Anything between ninety two to ninety six. I was still using that.

Wait a minute, you got to answer this question now, I know, like, well, first I want to know it's it safe to say that you were Jazzy Jay's apprentice, like his protege, no doubt, your first generation Zulu that said, please tell me what is the drum machine that he used on suicide.

For busy Bee? That was the SP twelve. No, that's not a stock, Joe, you're trying to tell me that's a stock.

The SP twelve.

Oh that'st be twelve, not the twelve hundred. The twelve with the the floppy. This looked like a like a seven inch dog. I sat there and I watched Jay take Funky Drummer one two three four link link.

K.

I lost my mind, Yo, lost my mom and I just gave it away.

But we know that's basic, right. So your first deal, how you signed, how you were doing the demo deal for Okay for stunts, blunts or Strong City. Well, yeah, I guess to start with Strong City. For Strong City, the m C in the group, his name is Rob.

Rob came to my house and said, yo, I've seen Jazzy Jay and the Projects. I said, nah, you're lying. He said, nah, right over there now, so I go downstairs. Sure enough, Jay had on the first generation Death Jam jackets, the Satin Joints all purple, and we met him. You know, this is this is around the time when this is but after Jazzy j had a song called cold Chilling.

In the spot right, cold rock stuff. Yes, yes, that's the rush. Yeah, he just talked right, that's so, you know, he helped. He helped.

He actually helped put death Jam on the map along with It's yours. And I believe he didn't need to. I believe he did. Yeah, I need to beat you know. But anyway, we go over there, we meet him to come to find out he's friends. He's friends with a female and the Projects, and he gave us his number and we we went to see him a few weeks later and just developed a relationship and then he eventually signed us. Okay, yeah, but that's how it happened. You know,

And then from there, how did from that situation, how did you make it to you know, Mercury the being you know?

Okay, so.

After the Ultimore Force came out, didn't really blow up, but you know, we made some noise regionally.

Man, they used to play that record in North Carolina.

Yeah, like they bro it was a show they used to have on no kind of anti It was the Black college in Greensboro where I grew up, called the full Moon Block Party, and they would play I'm Not Playing And I didn't find out that was, you know you till like years later.

I was like, what the fuck?

But I used to love that record, man, I was like nine, and yeah, you know, that's the first records to in corporate the blues, you know what I mean?

And I used to cut doubles of that the beginning.

I'll be king. I finally going through my grandfather's records. He had one just like maybe like eighty four, right, so my first year of high school. But I'm at this point, I'm still I'm looking. I'm actively looking for beats. And I said, oh shit, this is nice, and then maybe a year later with another one.

But I used to cut it.

So when we got through with Jack J, I said, Yo, we're gonna we're gonna flip this right here, because you know, nobody really fucking with the blue and you know it's it's a it's a funky beat. But that's how I got signed this Strong City, how I got signed to for the stunts blunts I was doing. I was doing a demo for somebody iron doing it mm hmm. So about a month later they call us down there. So I'm like, okay, I'm about to get a check with

Yeah he was.

He was a big shot over at Priority. He signed special at all those groups over there.

Brian Chen.

I thought it was a little harsh to the m seed that I was doing the demo for, but I think they might have just broken up with some money or something. But yeah, I actually deal just kind of fell in my lap. But Brian's he liked the music and he liked what I was rhyming, you know what I was rhyming.

So and you really didn't have any intentions of ry like being an m C.

No, it was just something I did.

But around this time, I'm around Lord Finess almost every day. I'm around Grand Poopa Maxwell because he was signed a Strong City also in the group, calling masses of ceremonies.

So that's right, Sexy cracked out. So I'm around these.

Dudes, and you know, it's just rubbing off on me, even though my thing is DJing and still making beats. But I knew how to rhyme. And one of the first demos I recorded was Best Kept Secret. And then when they heard that, they said, okay, we're gonna do an.

Album on you. How long did it take for you to make that record? How on stuff? Blunts? Y? Yeah? Uh?

About eight months? Yeah, about eight months?

And at that time were they with samples and stuff? Was it was it just you know, wild wild West shit, just whatever? Or how did y'all handle it?

It's just a collection of records that.

In terms of clearances, like clearance samples, was they.

Well I didn't care about that.

That was a label's job, you know at that you know, back then you just turn turn it in, give them the names, you know, the names you want to give them that far.

But what I want to know is were you conscious at least.

To avoid ultimate beats and breaks or definitely because what the party didn't get out was, you know again, like the reason why you're part of the Way and the renaissance guys is you know there's Premiere, yourself, Frish Professor.

That's after stuffs blunts, Ali and Tip after stuff blunts.

Right.

But I just meant when we're talking about the what I consider the people that went outside the circle, what I call the Ivy League circle of sampling, where you guys are now acquiring records that aren't easily available.

That's what stands you guys apart.

But back then, was it just a general rule like no, no more ultimate beats and breaks, no easy James Brown shit, like I gotta find some shit that no one has and make some shit out that.

I don't know if it was general, but amongst that core group of diggers, we had already progressed. And you know, me living in the Bronx a lot, Like you said, a lot of the beats that Lou was putting on them records we already knew about, right, you know what I mean? So well, fuck what you heard I said. People will always say, hey, like the way you make beats, he doesn't use beats.

That wasn't a jab at loud. That was just me being honest.

Yeah, I guess know, but but it pushed, it pushed the envelope further. Correct, So in your mind, who of.

The initial.

Renaissance crew and I'm talking Pete, I'm talking Premiere, Chipping Ali large professor, Like, who did you consider.

Like real nice with theirs? Like I got it? Well, Like did anyone ever flipped the question? Well?

I got to start with Prince Paul for his work on Daylight Sol's first album, which really showed me because at that point it was a lot of James Brown as you know Quest, but that Dayly album in eighty nine, it opened, it opened the doors for me. Like, you know, there's so much other stuff out here that I knew about but really wasn't on my radar.

So I got to shout out Prince Paul.

Of course, Trip Court Quest their first albums, Jungle brothers. All these albums influenced me out of the members you just named, obviously Pete Rock's first album, you.

Know what I mean, and the work that me and showbiz was doing. So you know, you just take all of that in and.

Then has there ever been a moment where and again, like you know, I'm listening to it like I don't have a deal yet, so anything you guys are doing are like, oh, man, this man from Heaven. But I know that there comes a time where like a man, I had that record, I should have used it first or whatever, Like has there ever been that moment of.

Like, ah, they got to it before I did, or Yes, it's been times like that. I know, record I've used joints that people ran behind me and used.

It was bigger than when I did it New York ship Buster.

Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, that's one example.

Yeah, that's one example. But I consider that an on man's joint, Like if years.

He told me that's what it was, I was definitely that.

Yeah, just the two of us chub Rock.

Yeah.

DJ Scratch said when he when he did that, he had never heard I went from mine before what.

He said, he was on the road. D Jane from the Hit Squad in ninety two and Stunts. Blunt wasn't on his radar. I couldn't call I couldn't call dude a liar, you know, trumb trub Rock. He used the Albi King joint after me. That's effects. They want effects. I used that for law for Neess first. Ah wow, I mean I can go on and on.

Yeah, I forgot about that one. Yeah.

I think in general, a lot of a lot of people when they create, Like I think there are people that are creators and then people are listeners, right Like I'm a listener, so I'll absorb it. But yeah, oftentimes I'll meet creators that aren't hipto. But that's in all parts of music, you know, Yes, you know. I would ask the revolution, like was Prince sitting around like damn, I gotta beat Thriller and like that sort of thing,

My joint off the record my favorite joint off Stars Blunts was Check one two.

That was like, yeah, that's my favorite joint too, really yeah, just the feel of it.

Yeah, And like I always the thing I always liked about you because you know, I think with producers, I think there's something about producers that rhyme that y'all have an understanding of just really using y'all voices as an instrument and like complimenting a beat rather than just I'm gonna bar you the fuck up, you know what I mean, Like you Pete Deyler resting peace, like you know, y'all

That album, those were good times. Yeah, we were all in the studio together.

I wrote it on the spot, you know, and Quincy had that album out Back on the Block, you know, so it was a cultural reference, you know, a pop cultural reference. Yeah, I mean, shit, it's crazy. Those a lot of good memories. You know, back when we all we were.

Just all forming. We already we already we had already known each other for years. We all grew up with each other.

But around that time we were was like, yo, you know, we can all come to ever try to form, you know, and make a statement, you know, and then I would definitely say d I t C definitely pushed the culture forward as far as you know, trying to dig for music that wasn't touched already. Well, just trying to stand apart.

I'll say, the first time I was really aware of your existence, like for real, of course is in a lot of us. It was a show business on the low in theory? Correct, How did that come?

How did that? That's crazy?

You know I went there to play beats for Tip had chopped just to play. Yeah, I went, you know, I went there. I chopped up to Jimi Hendrix joining. He was really feeling it and he knew I had a deal and Poolba Pooba was on the track originally and the label felt he says some things he shouldn't have said, and Tips say your Pool, you know, I really want you on here, but the label wants you to you know, change first up, okay, and you know Pool by ninety one ninety two, Pool Boy was like.

I ain't changing shit.

Couldn't tell them anything, right, you know what I mean?

Now, the gods it's a Doctor X and Jamal, they like, shit, we want to be on this fucking record.

You know, we love trip.

So while I'm near tips like yo, you want to be on the joint, I'm like, hell, yeah, you know what I mean?

And I wrote it on the spot.

That's a that's a notable. I mean, even though it's not a debut, right, but for a lot of us, we feel like that was.

Like conceded my album. So it was like an alley open.

It was a great set up. It was a great sep. You know what, kids, Uncle, it's time for the return of.

Yeah.

Oh yes, you thought I was gonna have Dyan. You thought we was gonna have him on the show and and not do a round a bit.

You guessed it.

It's been a minute, all right.

So I do this to every beat maker that I respect, in which you know, again I'm adhering to the rule.

I know.

It's like I feel like there's like forty two warriors in the already cleared with Jake. He knows what time it is. We good, all right?

So one, I'm gonna upgrade the game because Fante always insists on playing even though I'm no. I'm gonna let you win this too, because I've uped the game. This is what happens when you're when you're on a in quarantine and COVID, you think of new ways to do.

So I'm the bit you can't guess it here? Is that the idea all of you in all right. So what I'm gonna do is, I'm going to play a list of Captain Obvious songs of which I've isolated a specific part to see if you can identify the sample. I think.

I think you're up for this. This one's very easy and I'm allowed. I will allow to clues because you know, yeah, I need it, all right? Sample number one? What is this sample? And I've detuned it to throw you off. Let me know when you need a clue.

I don't even know what d tuning means. So oh that's a uh, it's a it's I don't want to I know, I don't want to say it. If you know I know what it is. It's a it's a say it it's uh.

It's walking by?

Right?

Yeah?

What nice?

Nice? Nice? Here we go de tuned number two.

Oh, I got that.

What it was used to say it? If you know it's it.

I'm not right.

I'm not right.

I was like, is a ball involved? No, okay, sounds like boss. I don't know why I thought that song.

I don't know what that is.

Okay, let me love it.

All okay, now press constructions the messenger used on n w WA's I ain't doing all right that that was a little advanced.

I'm sorry. Number three, h.

H nothing a piece.

I don't know what that is.

H Oh, that's a that's ah, it's scarface. Use it for money in the power?

I don't.

I don't know the original break.

Yeah, I love serename Barry Damn.

Maybe I made this a little to it Manning.

Yeah, yeah, you see.

I gotta throw off the smell first, man. I want to come out of the captain. I like, all right, here we go. Number four?

Is that?

Uh?

I hear the end of that's there?

It's a good old time funk delic.

Yeah, yeah, don't say nothing. That's the fucking delic.

Yes, good old music, good old music music.

Yes you're correct that magic Tones first, right by the magic Tones.

All right, Yes you're right, boy. I just found that forty five. I was like both on westbound right, and that's even better. Yes, that is even better. And I gotta talk to you about your forty five game.

All right? This is number five that James Brown.

No, oh, that's a Bill Withers. Uh oh no, it's a Harlem.

Close yeah, use me, I don't all right, let me not de tune it to throw you out.

Could everybody get a fair chance sometimes, you know, I.

Mean you know, of course, I just.

Two.

I think you could do number six. I don't know this one. That bongo's not Steve. You don't know this.

Oh it's jazz. No, okay, it's not anything.

I have no idea, said maybe Staples.

Oh crazy Eddie Kendricks. The little snippets like yeah, that's why he won't he won't play two seconds.

Well, I'm only allowed to play two seconds, so that's like a half of a second.

I think.

All right. See now I feel bad for this next one because it's only the reverb, but all right, I won't he tuned this one.

See every song I hear is I think it's Brenda Russell.

I mean no, no, no, no, that's what. H oh that ain't no.

I have no idea what this is. I know different.

Really, I don't know that one good one, the first one to do that.

That's her records, her record.

I know that. Shout out to Slim Robbie, right, that's right, so the Kings.

I would say that when Miles Davis is ex wife Betty Davis, she signed the Island Records in seventy seven to make a fourth record that was supposed to make her a star of it because she's so headstrong and producing right in her own joints. He dropped her, and then Chris Chris Blackwell, and then you know she just fade into obscurity.

But basically.

Slim Robbie had brought Grace to his attention and instead he signed Grace Jones to Island Records and.

Was supposed to Betty Davis's record.

I mean not, I don't know for I mean, Chris definitely had visions on what he wanted her to do, but like part of her story was like I write and I control. She got the Commodore as the record like I didn't realize, like it was heard songs for the commodoors that got them to deal with Motown. They offer her a deal and she's like, do I own my publisher and they're like, nope. She wrote that Harlem song that I used for the Chambers Brothers, and like

And I won't detune it. Number games freaking me out. Yes, there's two events. Let's go, let's let's see. Oh that's uh.

Yeah, that's eug McDaniel's Freedom and Death Dance. All right, this is one that all of you should know. And I am de two ing because I feel like it's Captain Obvious.

Slid Stone close, but.

No, I'm out.

The airport.

Oh is that one, two, three, four or five? Yeah? Yeah?

I could tell your eyes like you that you kind of knew where it was. All right, I will go home and retool my game.

Damnit.

It was fun. Anybody won this outside of Fante, any of our guests.

Fante always beats them all, just I think just Blaze was the closest and Pete Peeple was pretty good. One was well, I was unfair to people. I was doing like high hats with people before I peteknew him to that was crazy.

I was gonna ask you about your second album because that was the one for me, Like, I mean that was like my album. It was you know, I was I think like sixteen that came out and by of all your singles, man, the Hiatus bro like talk about putting out that album at the time, this is ninety seven. Well yeah, so this is like the head this is like bad Boy, you know, like all the what radio was. So how did you figure out kind of your lane in the midst of all that.

Well, the plan was to just you know, still still do Diamond D, but.

Just have you know, to have a little more radio accessible joints comparing stunts blunting hip hop. So uh, I did the joint with UH with Veronica Cream and Sunshine. She was signing Mercury Records at the time. But yeah, good memories the Hiatus. A lot of people thought that I that I sampled Swahili.

Land for that. Jean showed me that record was bro. But it's not that.

You know, hey, me and Dylan, we both we both influenced each other. You know, Dyla went on Dyla has going on record to say I was one of his influences. You know, the same with Pete, the same with Premiere. You know, we all influenced each other. But that was not Swahili Land. You know, those who know where the sample came from your no, but yeah, and you know the album. What I learned was in the process of recording that album was you know, we all we all

I think they had I think only they had. It was scratched over.

There at that time there, you know what I mean, there were really uh we remember I told you that we got the contract that Mercury, So yeah, Brian and we signed.

We even went to the Jingle Jangle. We went to the Legal Jangle video shoot that Friday. They took us out to dinner and we're like, yo, we're gonna be down with Black Sheep and everything. And this is the first time I'm hear in jingle Jangle and that the way the piano.

Just dropped down. Shit. We was like, yo, we made it, We made it.

And we get the We get the contract. And because they misspelled meaning to Rikan Malik's names, that clinical era, right, but crucial era, because I guess when three or more people in the party are misspelled, they have to give you a new contract. Kenyata's assistant forgot to FedEx Us Thursday to Friday the new contracts. So they were like, all right, look, we'll sit it Saturday delivery, you'll get it Monday.

You'll be cool.

And they gave Wendy Goldstein enough time to land a plane and we Horse and Pony Show.

We didn't think we was going to sign to this ship, so.

We just asked for the world and she gave it to us and we were like, okay, we're going to get and literally that's what happened.

I got that.

That might have been a better move anyway, in hindsight, I'm still here.

I wanted to ask you two specific records to your favorite records and your catalog for me, Pharaoh munch uh Shine.

Ah right right right, people don't. People don't mention that record.

Man.

They mentioned the Light more. Oh well yeah, I mean you tall it light, but yeah, like Shine, that was the one.

Yeah. Yo.

March was like, yo, you got got something for me?

D I was like yeah.

So you know, I sent them like two joints and I was one of them. I didn't really make it necessarily with him in mind, but I knew something like that that's bouncy, the way the baseline bounces off the keys and the xylophones, that he might like it, you know, And that's that's one of my favorite joints that I ever produced.

Nah that Joe, I love that record, that one and also as well, Oh my god, I lost it. What the score, but uh, it's a recent it's magic Evan hell Evan l.

Right, it sounds like nat lists but it's not.

Yes, yeah, talk about that.

Man?

Was that just you just send it to them?

Like how did that come come together?

Yeah?

I just you know, I just sent them the joint and.

You know the step Brothers that was Alchemists in Evidence and they were like yeah, we we we want we want to touch this one up. And once once they laid the vocals, I added the uh you know the oh man, what's the name of that group? It's magic right right, right, Well, what's the name of that what's the name of the group? That's feel feels? But I knew, but that's when it came together. Dude, Yeah, that's crazy.

We got to talk to score though, I mean, we gotta like the score.

I gotta kind of mention something.

Even though there was like a little friendly there was a little occasional friendly jabin between the two groups groups. The roots of the fujis oh okay, But you know it's weird because in this age, in this age of misinformation, you know, you hear something and you think and you act on things without verifying first, Like mad people getting our ears like, yo, man, I heard the Fuji system, but everybody was in our ears the day that the

Whatever.

Oh that's from one of the earlier records.

I know that, So shout out to Salam Remy for putting me on the heat. But it was after the fact, and so we might have made a song called.

What they Do.

So that's I never and ironically they is the twenty sixth anniversary of Hiladelph Half life.

Somebody to remind me, Yeah, yeah, dude, yeah, but talk about what.

When has have you ever played a beat for an artist that they fronted on that you had to give another artist that?

Yeah?

Hell yeah, like who should have gotten what?

I'm not going to name names, but no, no, no, no, but it happens. You know, somebody passed on something to somebody.

You know. It's just like it's just like women, right, was one man's trash, next man's treasure?

Right, you know what I mean?

Just like man?

Yeah? Right yeah, yeah, definitely that too. That to downtown damn dude. Yeah, before we wrap, I gotta talk dude for me. Let's do it for me.

Man.

First of all, can you on on streaming? I can't find Grown Man Talk nowhere?

Uh yeah, it's not on there.

And that to me, you got to put it on there, you must.

Yeah, And I feel always like the fifty ways.

No time will heal you?

Like no, no, no, no, just the whole joint like us right right right right, but hitting like just that whole joint because it came to mixtape. Yeah, but it's so unexpected and I wasn't expecting it, right And but for you, why do you because even with the review, like you're still after a while, like after album number five, number six. Most cats might just phone it in and be like, all right, you'll give me seven thousand for

Like in your mind?

Are you like, yo, I'm gonna fuck somebody up with this in the way I play, like even the way you did the joint with pass On review with the Flying High.

Commodore's joint right right.

That killed me, man, because I didn't even think about that shit, but like, how long have you had that in your pocket Flying High?

Yes?

Oh wow, it's always been back here. I just never really got to it.

And then when I when I when I approached pause, he said, yo, send me a joint. I say, you know what, I'm gonna flip that. I'm gonna flip something that I can hear daylight soul on. And that's definitely I can hear daylight on. And you know, as soon as he heard it, he sent me the verse back maybe like forty eight hours later.

Just like once a year, somebody will loop something that's just like it's not a loop, it's just different parts.

But just that, just like, why not think about this ship? Oh man, I wouldn't.

I gotta ask you Edog busted and alcoholics the next level?

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, bas talk about what I forgot about that. But somebody brought that up to my attention not too long ago, I guess because Edog's version didn't really do what it's supposed to do. I changed the drums up, right, I changed the drums up and the licks picked it up from there.

You know, I'm I'm gonna tell you something else that that y'all might not know. There's a song. There's a song bys called Petty People. You know that song? No, it's on a Wild Cowboys album.

I got it.

Pulls up real quick play quick second. I made two beats on this day. That was one of them, and the score was the other.

Wow.

Yes, I cut the same drums.

And this is for the people in the Rule where I went to school, like this.

Right right?

Oh yeah, that is it is wow. But also.

Speaking of veto g Man the streets of the ghetto jor man, Oh I was crazy. But this is this is what I want to ask you, because that specifically, how are you like, what is your micro chopping game into because there will be some joints.

That will fluctuate, uh speed wise.

As far as looping, I happen to know that the source of that sample is one of them things where I can't loop it perfectly. And my chopping game wasn't good enough for it. You know, it wasn't like we had able to to just stretch it on or whatever. But like, how aggressive are you to force something to work? Because that's definitely one of them joints because it wasn't the looping part. This is the fact when you got to add drums and everything on top of it, then

I mean, if I can loop, if I can loop it, well, if I can create a loop, I'll be able to put the drums under it.

You know, that's the easy part.

It sounds easy to just the regular the ear, but knowing the frustration of there's some records in which you might find that magic four bar loop and then they might fluctuate or whatever, and unless you're good at micro chopping, you might be asked that that that.

Loop right there, that was just a two bar loop, and the drummer was pretty on point for that. But they are awesome, the awesome joints were the drums a little off and you have to really like go in between.

Right, you know, and do what you do.

I feel, Yeah, you came to Atlanta, you know, and there's a slew of New Yorkers that have migrated down south, a lot of them in North Carolina and whatnot?

What is it like? What is it about this city that attracted you to come here?

And do you find I didn't come in for the music.

I came here because, you know, I looked at what three hundred thousand would get you in New York, and I looked at with three hundred thousand would get you down here.

I didn't come down.

Here everybody's first motivation for I didn't.

Come down here for the music. I was already coming down here doing a lot of work with Dallas, Austin Joy, Shades of Lingo, Illegal Me and Eric Sermon so I know I was already down here, but the house did crumb snatches, right, crumb snatches I had. I had a nice house and not far from Livingston, New Jersey, nice spot.

I sould at.

No.

And just just what she was, what you were able to get for your money back then, is what really led me to come down here.

How long have you been down here? Since two thousand and nine? She's been down here for a minute.

Yeah, you're from the So do you feel like a stranger in a strange land based on what you do for a living man?

Well? You know what? All right?

They don't you know, boom back does not thrive down here.

There is a boom but yeah, I was gonna say, is there So when you do your forty five sets and all that stuff, I don't really.

I don't only do them here. I travel and do them.

You know.

I have done forty five sets here obviously, But just as far as being an artist, you know, you know, I'm still basically, you know, a boom back artist for lack of better words. So you know, if you're a boom back artist, you know you live on serious XM. You gotta just be comfortable with that, you know, what I mean. You know, it's just it's just real talk. And it doesn't matter if you live in Atlanta on any other southern city or West coast platform, right, it's

You know, just you know, stereotypes are just that I feel.

But you know, it's a good balance for me to be down here because I know I'm up in New York almost every month anyway, I know, for the past ten years.

Well, brother man, Yo, thank you. We we finally made this joint happen. And you know, I'm just I'm happy we finally got to come and give you flowers and nerd out on on on your history and your catalog. Man, I appreciate having me Diamond deladies and gentlemen. Of course Love Supreme all right, so on behalf of Sugar Steve like fon Tickeolo and unpaid Bill.

This is Quest Love and the Immortal Diamond d. We'll see you on the next go around on the Quest Love Supreme. Peace. Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.