Questlove Supreme: Organized Noize Part 1

Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeart Radio Supremo.

Role supram Supremo, Role Supremo Roth.

My name is Questlove and I don't flake yea and at yl Yeah.

Right, Supreme Supremo Upbravo Supremo.

My name is Fante and I'm gonna speak my cloud.

Yeah.

Organized taught me.

Yeah, trying to get you out.

My name is Sugar yeah, and I apologize this may get noisy and unorganized.

Well, right, Supreme, it's my ear yeah, and I'm over joy Yeah.

It's like I'm back in college again.

Organized joying, Okay, I Marico yeah, and I'm part one, part one.

Yeah. So Supreme roll down.

So this is Yoda Yeah, and you know I hold it down yeah, organized noise. Yeah, we all in time, come pray.

My name is Sleeper, yeah, and I'm the smoothest. You'll never find another mother that could do this.

In my mind is like we'll probably do that.

Roll sound.

Roll all right, where's my where's my manager? Yeah? He was like, you didn't sign up for this, You did not sign up for this. I'm like, boy, you did not do a good job. You're good, bro.

You made enough classics to sustain Oh no, My probably is gonna reason why I gon'na go viral.

Well, that's a good thing.

In twenty two, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of Quest Love Supreme at l Addition. We are in Atlanta talking to a lot of the greats. What can I say, Ladies and gentlemen, We are here with three gentlemen who have built a movement, a sound, of way of life, literally putting not even a section of the because that's that's just very reductive. But I mean they literally changed the scope of music as we know it

Dogs. Yeah, I won't even talk about us, like listening to a new album like they did what Nigga?

When I heard main stream, I wanted to jump out there, know what it is like you can give loop literally, Yeah, I've never I never had.

A production collective. That just makes me like, damn, why don't I think of that ship?

Seriously, it's this is long time overdue, and you know all the classic lpiece they've been involved in that that they had their hands in from all the entire like Outcast, Cannon, Uh, Goodie Mob, Cannon, Parent Advisory, some cut of Calhoun Joy Vote, Oh god, I totally forgotten the last Awesome great Yes, the names go on, dude and for on the real I don't know if crazy, sexually cool would have been what it was without ladies and gentlemen. It's it's actually happening.

You Man, too much good music listen. So this is rare for us because like I prefer one on one.

Shows where we get the grill people like it's I mean, Steve joke that this looks like peace negotiations.

Happening, right, Like what you did?

I feel like it's beat between Sleepy and Sugar Steve over here.

I want to negotiating my contract.

Yeah no, but this this will be really interesting.

And as I said, we're in Atlanta right now and I'm hoping to get all the edgumacation and all the questions I want to answered about just the sound that you guys have crafted for the last thirty years.

Damn there.

So I guess I'll start, well, I know your lineage runs deep. I know all your lineage runs deep, but especially sleepy, being the sign of the legendary Jimmy Brown Brick, I'll start with you. Can you tell me what your first musical memory was.

I was six years old, right, and it was my first concert I went to and I was with my grandparents and uh.

We get to the concert and uh walk on side the stage.

And my dad don start performing, and uh when I seen them do dads right, my mouth dropped and I look back at my grandmom when I said, this is what I want to do.

Period. I knew I want to do music.

As soon as I saw my dad playing them horns and everybody screaming and going crazy, I was just.

Like, I gotta do this, this is this is what I have to do.

And plus, you know, my mom would buy me Jackson five albums every Christmas right.

You know.

So I was like the six Jackson plus I was in Brick Right and Commodoors and I was in everybody group. So my first experience of music was the greatest era of music to me was the funk era and the disco era. No music has been made more beautiful than that. So that's my whole.

Being, you know what I mean?

No matter what, That's why they called me funk or not, because if they ain't funky, I ain't doing.

I funks with that eschewing dazz and music and ain't gonna hurt nobody. The captain obvious break is do you have a favorite Brick song that isn't a hit or anything?

Yeah? Yep? Fun What of them happy? Happy?

You know what I was gonna say, Damn, I always always say, but I've alway confessed that I'm kind of working on Sultry right. I was like preface with like, I'm not supposed to say this, but no, I'm getting to the seventy seven episodes, and I gotta say, your dad was a charismatic motherfucker even when performing Happy on Soultitery, Like I just.

But they always had the biggest smile it's like we saw him perform. He was just excited and happy to perform for people. And he's always been that way. When he was younger, he had had a band in Savannah that did a couple of records, Jimmy and the Mighty Sensations, that did pretty good. So he's always always loved music till this day.

You know what I mean.

I'm working on the album right now with him. We're doing like an instrument Yeah, instrumental jazz. So he played flute, trombone, ato, sax, every horn you can put in front of him and kill it.

Living from the Mind was also one of my favorite. Yes, sir, that Baseline killed me and uh uh Somerset uh summer telling them White album coming. Yeah, yeah, I know that.

You wait, Brick Trivia, have you heard this tipbit about Prince? Do you know the story? So Prince was such a fan of Brick. What do you know that he wrote get it Up? He wrote that for Brick and they rejected it. We interviewed Mars, I'll do it for you sound effects, sound yeah, Mars, and we I mean we've had damn near I remember at the time or except Terry Lewis Terry Lewis. But yeah, when we asked Mars about him and Prince Craft in the first record, you know,

Man, you just blew me.

Yeah, Prince had wrote get It Up for Brick to be whatever the album is with with the Green where was like, it's like the Green Leaves just for that album.

They rejected it. You gotta talk to your dad about that. What you're doing. Yeah, man, there you go. That's crazy all right. So, Ray, what is your first musical memory?

Me and my brother and sister used to turn the lights off and dance around two flight time, Yes, sir, the airplane land NAS New York state of mind. So early on, I kind of like my father's jazz head. So he he had all of this music which was like everything that we ever heard in hip hop. You feel me, all of this ship that cat sample, that's the ship that I grew up with playing in the house.

Yeah, all three of you are born in Atlanta. I was going, okay, Yeah, I was born and you Where were you born? Im about to say you gotta have me swag boys, I know where are you born? Where?

I was going to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Yes, yes, my mom is from Pittsburgh.

But I grew up before we came to Atlanta.

We came to Atlanta with MANA Jackson when he took over the city, when he became the first black man.

Right.

My fathers and mother were in Tuskegee, Alabama. So I grew up in Tuskegee pretty much Alabama.

Okay, I got roots there too. Shout out to Mobile, not TEXIV, but Mobile. All right for you, Rico, What's what's your first musical memory?

Oh man, Even with listening to their memories, I was mine is as simple as That's good now. It's the simple ast him music on the radio, because you know what I'm saying, I didn't really hit it. We didn't have a car when I was younger, so I didn't really hit the radio until like Mama was cleaning up or something, or or when I finally just went into that back room we had an extra room, and I just kind of went to digging.

Guo.

Yes, the guest room and all the junk sits in the.

Man finding more than records back there one day back but the records nothing, no.

A bunch of fact.

Yes, yes, money, but like Donald Summer and like the Ring My Bell and all that kind of stuff with some of the records and Iley Brothers. Yeah, I was seeing that stuff as records. But on the radio when she was it was just the energy of house. She would be a different person when the music came on and she turned up loud and she cleaning up. Some people always made that. I always say, you know, I like to play my music when I'm cleaning up. I

You need to feel good what I'm getting this.

Yeah, So my examples of music, and another one at a young age was my first little job when I was like ten years old, just unloading the back of eighteen or like.

A truck or whatever.

They used to play the radio, and I just remember that made it go by. So the music music was always a I didn't never think I could necessarily be able to make it. They never think I would be a part of the business. But I knew how important it was and how much I did, how much it did for me just at that young age, and didn't even know who, didn't know exactly who, none of the artist was. Just knew that at that time being a

So like like.

What he's talking about, like soaking up, sir at the right time. It's the end of the seventies. So we but they still loan it. As far as the albums, I could still see album I still saw eight tracks, you know what I'm saying. I still wrote in cards when we did that, actually had an eight track.

In it, so collect them. Wow.

But your knowledge of a brick is amazing because even when when I found out who his father was or whatever, you just thought about that's ice cube song.

Yes, vasline, that's the song that you got back. That was deep. I was so happy when they did.

How did you feel about like a lot of other artists have sampled before that.

You know, Kid played the Ain't Gonna hurt nobody? You know him? Did he did? It's all good? It was yeah good.

So but when I heard Q on one of the coldest disc records.

Ever all the time, bro my hat like Jenny, So I was, man, that's still one of my favorite Man.

I still play that records and like I'm in the mirror and I'm cute and let me shut up.

So I have a lot of musician friends that are in uh Atlanta, like uh little John Roberts used to live down in Philly. However, there were four musician friends of mine that gave me theory on how.

They got so advanced in their musicianship.

Now, you mentioned you'd be in fifty that you were eight back then, and I know that one of the most crucial points in the timeline in a black person's life in Atlanta history, of course, and if you're eight years old were the Atlanta murders. And what my friends told me was like, basically because their parents were strict, like yo, you ain't going outside, you know, I pick you up for school.

You stay in the house.

And because of that specific late sixties early seventies generation told to stay in the house, they just got more advanced than their music.

Can you explain to.

Us, like how that period affected you guys, Like were you fully aware that many young black kids were getting kidnapped and all those things, and like were your parents like no, you you know.

It was prime time for us. And the fact that I lived in apartments, single parent. Mom she went and she worked, so it was latchkey kid right. So so then I had two little sisters like six and five years younger, like, so it was like and you have to watch them, yeah, and I had to watch them.

So it was almost like I was trained. I was wrong.

Mom had got me ready the knife behind here to whoop over here like pistol over on top of the closet, and yeah, like everything was She treated me as a young adult because she was like, I mean, I don't wanted them white folks doing this, right, So she was scared, so she was like, you can't outrun the because stop thinking that.

Oh, ain't gonna get me. I'm too fas, I promise you police can't get me. Mop I'm dropping fishes one league like she said. She said, she said, dope, you.

Know, and then just trying to get rid of all y'all they trying to just scoop them up. But and she just made me believe that it was something that it actually necessarily was, but it wasn't because it was a lot going on Inland.

It was the bevideo games. Video games that just touched down.

So that's why when I disscovered them, them dollar pieces in that in that back room.

Yes, you want to just go hit the arcade.

And we had an arcade downtown Atlanta and the Omni An Arcade at It's like the arcade is where you first started meeting that.

The people, the people who do music, the people who were eventually was gonna be the people, the dancers, the people who loved New York and knew that we would get shunned for acting that way, but people still would do it, almost to the.

Point where like, I want to be different, you know what I'm saying. Didn't know that being I don't want you don't necessarily want to be copying somebody else.

But that's different that that dudes. You had some dudes that was straight and lit and tell you they was.

So as far as the child murders, we community centers. So like people got a chance to do a boy scout. They was trying to get you to do summer camps that they had at the city. Had put a whole thing together to where they was giving out t shirts. I remember these, these these classic teacher as will say, eighty eighty one, eighty two. And then it kind of let you know that my mama care about me because she made I went to the camp kids who don't go to camp, like, man, this shit, excuse me.

This is free.

In yeah, this is free and so like it's just seemed like and those people was also bringing it to you too as well as far as making sure that you know, be with a friend, stop trying to do stuff by yourself. So so that little fear was kind of how you should have felt as a young adult anyway. But the city was so active about it or whatever as far as no trick or treating you know what I'm saying, like, and eventually grew until y'all can go

It wasn't apparent. It was like eighty eighty one these two.

Years, yeah, because he had numbers.

Nine was when we first started this year, and then eighty was the year was the second year.

That's when everything got like just what we're doing.

That's when I starteding eighty one. When it was it was like I wasn't eve tripping about it. Then by that point point it was like like it was it was more like yeah, we trained, we was trained in or whatever like. But but I do remember saying like like damn, we don't get the freaking.

That they used to be.

Like Halloween used to be cool because everybody show up at school. Didn't we have even a little Halloween. Then they started doing a little carnivals at the school. The community kicked in. I got to say that, like and watching the special that HBO did or whatever, like it was most definitely informative. It most definitely enlightened me on a lot of things that I thought was going on, and it kind of like brought validity to what I knew

That explains why Atlanta is such a mecca for that community as well.

America's democracy lies in the hands of Atlanta or Georgia.

Period. Yeah.

Absolutely, so with all those things are because of the Wayne Williams.

My dad and me like that's the number one conspiracy theory.

Yes, I'm so, you said, Wayne Williams, because I still say in my mind Walter Clyde Orange of the Commodore.

Had those classes that whatever.

But I never, I never truly felt that it was him, especially with what's happening now so unhinged.

I always felt like it was something else and some other people.

Yeah, I think it was a collective. It was a collective. I think people took advantage of about it. It was like it was happening or whatever. And that's why the things, the numbers, yes, and the things that I'm telling you, all the stuff that was reinforced. It's the reason why we didn't lose more because it was thirty two kids. It was thirty two, it was like thirty one thirty two kids, it was like, I mean.

Well, technically it was more than that.

It has never stopped the word yes, I mean I mean Atlanta's the center for sex trafficking.

Yeah, yep, so it technically has never stopped.

You just don't hear about it being associated with Wayne Williams but abducted missing, that hasn't changed at all.

Yeah.

Yeah, but now though, with the fact that you have people illegal, Like when I was younger, Beefer Highway, it was like it was you know, it was Spanish a little bit. But now like we have completely Atlanta. It's not just a mecca for black people. It's Latinos, it's Asians. We have everybody here working to That's going to say it's working together, but but been work been living together for long enough to when now they know each other, everybody cool.

It's been a good decade for your your like divers diversifying, gentrification.

But back to your question, your question, you said something about it the h did that affect you in No, it's the neglect that made Atlanta artists perfect their crafts and talent shows, high school events. You feel me because there was no outlet, So you had, yeah, you had a bunch of high talent competing against itself without any kind of visualization in terms of everybody else.

So that said, uh, what is your version of Okay, Like I know the history of the Bronx and the Cold Crust Brothers, and so what is Atlanta's first generation.

Hip hop history? Rahim the dream?

Yes, but I'm all independent, but I'm gonna say this though, I'm gonna say this, So SOS band or like what's the group Brick? How you to my brick? Atlanta had a band culture in the seventies. Yes, came toon roles. So when so when the drum machined start kicking in, that's they might have turned down the print song if he had drum drum beats in it because they were such a live just like how the Roots was early on,

I mean, inde is the shoelaces.

We literally mimicked a New York culture and the Miami culture, like from gold teeth to the to the big ear rings. It's really what you see and what you want to see or whatever. So like for me, our most original stuff was us being having an original style of dance or a dress, coming up with our crazy hair when we was wearing perms and binga ways it was really country.

It turned up like like.

We was doing that too year, not the dudes, but yeah, the girls were definitely doing all the dues.

It was the dual player players dry fast.

It sounds like d.

Shouts out. They definitely like also credit.

Jermaine said that, you know, he had to go to New York part of it and live in New York and kind of bring it back. And even with like Chris crossed his first record, like half those breakbeats came from literally from like you know what this but whenever, like mugs would leave the studio after work on Cyprus Hill and like the sounds would still be in there, which is.

Why like, uh, the midnight theme loop is in jump like you too much?

Knowing that he's not telling too much at all, because that's that really makes because the most sense because we three, it's three of us, so it's not just Ray, it's not just me, and it's it's like we all have a certain amount of history. And the way we did because we did like we're gonna spend as much time as you won't talk. We went into New York. We flew me and raced it, fly to New York, like when we got bigger royalty.

Checks or something.

Instead of going to the mall, instead of going about all the new designer stuff, We'll go to New York, get hotel rooms the street he raised, pizza, and go to all the Jewish little stores and buy up everybody, all of them.

We got.

We got some, what he said to day, I got some, not Pete Rock, but he said he said QI it was, but it was more than Q two whoever. He said, Yeah, I was holding these and I was professor president.

You would go to record where we found him. See.

But our discovery of New York as a source right was only because we had like Pilford, Atlanta, Yeah, and the South, because you know, everybody got a record collection.

I was about to say the best records I've ever found were below yeh line.

Absolutely.

But when we first started from my forty five, I'm talking about Carmine and Bleek. About this dude he went in the back. He already identified where the breaks came in at. He had already because all he does was the old man sitting least at those the spots he would hit it.

He's like, yeah, so.

He didn't know kind of money we had. He was like, yeah, you know, I charged like forty or fifty for these. I was like, cool, how many you got? Were dropping bags thousands of dollars, And each time we got a break, we like, that's an original One thing about one thing about hip hop, originality is the most important thing because it inspires and motivates. Yeah, so if you come up with something, even if you didn't do it the best, you just presented it to the world. So somebody else

It looked like they let us in with master p and cash money.

It was like, that's because they fucked up and then fucked with us early on when we would we were a brother. That's why it's called the East Coast because Atlanta's on the East Coast.

It's a DC's on the East Coast.

It's like all of all these places are reminiscent of hip hop, even though we give all the credit to Bronx, give all the credit to New York Brooklyn, because it's deservingly so. Like like we always looked at New York as the father and the Los Angeles as the mother, and we were the child that came from. And that's why he said from neglect, that's where Atlanta came from. The fact that that that neglect was enough to try to figure it out on your own.

Now coming up in the South, like we I tell you all the time, like we had to study everything. So it's like, you know, it wasn't just if you came up in New York. You might have knew what was going on if you lived in Brooklyn, or you might have knew who the hot dude was over here. But in the South, we had to know everything. You had to know all right, this is New York, this is the Midwest, this is this is Texas, this is Houston, Like you know what I mean, and it just made

Know it well. First of all, how did you three meet? Mm hmmm. We met very very sea. Music. Music is why we met. Music is how we met.

There was this girl I was dating at the time, he named Cookie. She knew Rico, she knew T Bars very well. Okay, so and she went T Bars then she was this was t So. I was in the dance group in all of high schools started that was kind of like the bomb we used to go around girls just scream all the stuff. So facts facts. So Cookie told me. Now I don't know how true this is.

Well.

Cookie told me that wanted wanted me to meet Rico, and Rico wanted to meet me. So I was like, cool, So we go. Me and Cookie go over with Tion's house which is in East Point, walk up to his.

Job, tea stuff outcasts came in and.

Then I walk in. You know what I'm saying, and Cook, You're like, yo, Rico, this this pant he was like. So it's like it was it was a dance that we used to do, like stuff the time show and when you ended, you hit your legal roof.

All right, So the whole time he told me he wanted me. When I meet him, he just the ship up. He tried to feish you. But I started laughing because I was like it was funny at me. I was like crazy.

But anyway, so you know, we meet her whatever.

I'm gonna tell this other part.

So we meet her whatever, and uh, I'm like, yeah, we will, you know, he said we'll hang out some day whatever, blah blah blah. So I walked back down with my girl Cookie and which they started fussing.

M hmm. We get around the corner there in all out brawl in the middle of the street.

Wow, who winning. I'm sorry that like this like this she might have been a little yeah, but that's a little fights then because she threw the first took off and Cookie went behind Cookie with Hood and ship.

They get to fight. I'm in the middle of trying to break it up, calls Ryan by. So they fuss at each other and walked their separate ways and I'm just standing there.

I'm like, okay, so.

Walk They just got into the fight b and just and just to go back when he is a.

Crazy way to meet your future straight up.

Not but because like he said, I already knew who he was, because he to be honest, he was a legend, like as far as the like didn't look like it, as far as as far as because he had a little had a little smurf I mean.

Or whatever.

He was kind of like not chubby, but just the way he was. But the boy, the boy could move. I say, the boy could move. The boy was in the number one best group in Atlanta at that time or whatever, and I had just took was taking dance lessons from a member of that group, somebody who was in that group. But they put him out. They put him out because he was no one doing too much. But he talked. He taught me how to dance. But I knew I was never gonna be them. So when I saw him that day, it was more.

Like so like.

But he went from that day, he like he said, he laughed or whatever, but he did see the fact that I had a job and I was kind of I was doing stuff. So so yeah, so he was like he was tired of dancing. I had just learned how he was like wow, two two three year legend. Already he was ready for music. Then he was already starting to do them, like four tracking demos, and I'm just looking.

Like yeah, drum.

So when we talk about your first experience with music, never never thought this would happen, Never thought I would meet somebody that actually made music.

He was showing me.

So now I'm getting money, I'm doing stuff and I'm not selling dope like I really got a job. Just want to stay fresh, just trying to look like I'm just don't live in these apartments right here.

You know what I'm saying. I got a car. You know what I'm saying, I'm living.

I'm saying I'm living like I live in bucket, but I'm living in this point like off helping and the love, you know what I'm saying.

So yeah, but so. But he was the one who.

Was like, yo, this is just local dancing, this is the this is local. And he the one who wanted to start the group. I want to be an artist, and I just I believed in that. I love the fact that he believed in me or nothing. I felt like I could sell it. I felt like I could do it. So I started learning about music. I started like reading whatever you could learn the little especially Vince whatever, Jack the rapper, Whatever's gonna come to town. I'm trying to

From they live. They moved here, they moved him. She lived in Philly now.

But yeah, yeah, Joe Car, Damn man, the things you learned.

That's my family because we just.

I'm a student.

We ain't never seen you over there, you know, because I don't live here. I graduated from Cornership.

Come back where years did you go to Clerk?

Uh?

Were years old?

Ninety? When I was a I went to ninety six to ninety.

Nine Jugie House at over here.

Yeah, but Joe, Joe had a little studio, a nice little bils little studio in his house.

Dog and he used to, let you know, me and Rico go there and work and stuff. Now we used to pay for it. Of course it went on all right.

So one day I'm in the working and Joe tells me, like, yo, I gotta run somewhere.

You're cool, you can stay here.

She's he told me, said, Yo, my boy, Ray gonna come through here and grab something right quick. He won't be nothing but a minute, but you know you'll meet him whatever. I said, Okay, cool. So I'm in there. I'm confused because I don't know what the hell I'm doing. All of a sudden, he the door closed. Ray comes around the corner. He doesn't talk to me at all. All he does is grab his head.

Okay.

So he goes in there and he gets to the keyboard, loads his disc, do all this boom, and when he hit it, my mouth dropped because I'm like, how the fuck you just do? Wait a minute, this just sounded like public Enemy, Like, Bro, how you make this summer?

Go?

With that sampling and all listening. He look at me and I'm looking so Ray, you're the quiet I'm looking. I'm amaze automatic. As soon as I sorry, I said, reed, Bro, I don't mess some nigga. Ain't Ray. We got to have him, I said, he has to be a part of this.

Bro, you don't understand he could teach like he has to be a part cause the way Ray taught me simples. I came from the funk era, where I thought I would have God thought everything right. So when I first started hearing like, you know, a rapping everything I thought in my mind with some stuff. It was original. He came in there with a bag by this big with

Wait a minute, what do you get that? He's like, you know, Ray, it ain't.

I've been recording every time I go over to somebody house, you know what I mean? Because I was playing with these records when I was little. I love music, so I record, and I was a DJ way early, like you know what I mean running seeing him first came out, I was one of my homeboys taught me how to DJ, so I was DJing back spinning, you know, uh sucker sucker mc so. Later on I found out that through my DJ friends that a lot of the records.

That's when we first found this, uh the Breakbeat.

Collection, Ultimate Beats and Breaks, shout out the Breakbeat.

See.

I didn't know, just like Sleepy, I didn't know everything was a sample. First, I thought that these guys incredible, These guys are making this music.

D da da dah.

So I learned how to program based on listening to shit and trying to reprogram on Boss drum Machines or Leasia's drum Machines on nine on ninees.

On five h five, seven or seven, you name them. I then did it. Then I started.

When I found the sample record, I said, oh, these motherfuckers. Yeah, So this is what I didn't figure out. This is what I didn't know. Did the compilation come out before the records were hit or after?

Probably after, okay, because in my mind they came out before.

So I was like, oh, well, then I just need to get the records before they motherfucker come out.

And do it first. So I started digging deep.

Wait, let me, let me just do a quick thirty second tutorial. So basically, for those that two percent of you that have been listening to us for six years that don't know, so basically, you know, we always say that in the in the folklore of break beadology that basically African ben Bata was the collector, like Quhirk was the system, Flash was the technique, and ben Bota was

What's he spinning?

And eventually our homeboy break Be Lou decided to just make a cheat sheet. You know, we could say the Wikipedia of it, or we could say cliff notes of all the essential breakbeas, like the basic four food groups of the meat and potatoes of break beatology of what

Seven you speaking everything.

It's still it still was amazing though that he took Bob James and he was mixing it with a drum pro and he was keeping it on beat for that for the breakdown part still was amazing. It was just that you could possibly do it too if you worked at your crab, right, But but it wasn't gonna be by doing what they did. So it's now just a complete study session. He said, let me see if I can reprogram the same beats with the same drums. Let

So you started studying Okay, years, your students, if you're.

A student, because you studying years years. Yeah, that was years, and you get the eighties.

That's what you like. Yeah, what what's your what's your?

You know, it don't stop.

Maybe maybe it changed, But I'm gonna tell you when it got whack for me, when when the fucking drum machine started going in cameo, When the cameo drum sound, when word was like the sound the sound though, because you got to understand you're coming from a real snare, a snare amplified, a snare distorted until this fucking eighties.

I don't know.

It's kind of princess.

It's funny you mentioned this because even for me, I realized, all right, so I'm studying, uh, the Eisley Brothers, we might do an arny episode. And when it came down on to their ballots, I was like, yo, why doesn't Ernie Eisley ever play the high hat like he'll just play the kick and he'll just do the basic fibers of it. And it just hit me that for a lot of seventies cats, drums are almost just simply a

H I did know what. I didn't know that, but I knew from Jimmy Ivean. We've talked about it because he's had Yeah, he was there, he was recording sounds. He was there recording it sounds and.

We were weaves here man. Yeah.

Out of all the producers being in hip hop, the ones that I truly love himpec, I love Molly Mab, love fucking Larry Smith.

About absolutely.

Head absolutely, the band for Hill, the band for Sugar, heel Bro, those and uh uh, the most incredible mixed sounding records ever. Yeah, Larry Smith, he really brought like R and B kind of sensibility to hip hop, but it was still hip hop and the record sound really big. I mean you listen to like Friends everything now it's still.

Every one love, just crazy everything. Go back to Uh, what's what's the name of his group that he was in.

Curtis Yeah, record with my dad.

I'm still record for you, bro.

I was trying to you know, you know the last question I asked Jay before I've seen him maybe like months before, and the thing that always confused me was he would actually scratch the intro. And the thing was he would scratch it or he would take that same

And then he told me.

That initially for cucucs running, Jay wanted to rhyme to action.

With that intro. So what they wound.

Up doing I think he said that, Uh, the engineer did a did a distortion trick and just turned up the compression so much like when you really you can waiting on the right.

Like, yeah, shout out to engineers everything that's happened.

Ange likes co engineered every classic like from Voodoo to just whatever, like all these classic records. But yeah, I always wanted to know how Jay was able to scratch and he's basically scratching Orange Crushes Action intro. But they compressed it so much that it sounds like the drum machine that they eventually programmed on the d question, you have a class somewhere bro hip hop?

N Y I was made me quit man. No, literally, I stopped n YU to just do the podcast because.

So can I ask a question? You guys said when you were originally starting to dig and because they were wiping the labels, you're where they had to listen.

Yeah initially in the bird days.

Yeah, but you said they would only listen the artists and the year, So you were shopping or digging by year? What about by label?

But they listed everything.

We were just looking the fact that they those were the key the key points. They listed the whole title, publishers, the writers, they were listed everything.

But we would look for the years. First, first, just so we could go.

Would you would you stop at seventy nine maybe eighty one, you know, saying.

No, I get to eighty about eighty eighty.

It depends on the cover to me too, because I'm still I'm still the color. I still like the pictures cover. Like the pictures too. I like the pictures, but the years can help me trust it because I was into focus. Well, because you get some that's where it's at. You can get some hard drums, some pretty riffs or whatever like so like, and then just the jazz you had to listen to even though you didn't want to, you had to because you would you would have missed the whole phase of hip hop.

It was like, like, because I.

Was thinking earlier when we were talking about it, when when they dropped that like when you realize what came from weather and when the trip called Quiest did something they had that that was it many realton it was uh lyrics lyrics. But once you start doing it, once you start leving loving it for that, it didn't matter if you found something first you was.

Like, oh god, they killed they did they killed that? I like how I mean. So it's also about that too like to be so was that inspiration for mainstream? Man, listen, listen, that's just that. Now you gotta go ahead.

I was gonna say, you gotta really appreciate that because we dug so deep, because we appreciated all of these these changes in production style, how it went from a pure James Brown vibe to incorporating melodies and drums and then getting away from them being combined.

Two dope boys.

Know it just hit me right now, dude, the drums from mainstream, seeing drums from fall in Love.

Yes, indeed, yep, yes, even.

Now, I'm like, even now you tell me, you tell me now, I mean what you say, why you say that?

No, no, no, it's it's it's literally the same breaking No, no, that's.

Not about snitching. See, this is the assumption. This is the assumption, is that everything is as it was, meaning that it's lifted as a loop.

I'm sure you shot, but it may have.

Been just sounds programmed in such an order with advance. I mean, you gotta remember, now what let me explain something, mixplaining, let me explain, let me explain something.

I love it.

Larry Smith is his foundation of production is partly because he's in the band, but also because of the technology he's using SSLS. Right, Okay, we started when we got to the music industry, they left us in the room with SSLS.

So this is what we learned how to make old equipment.

And the synthesis is what you got to really appreciate, not necessarily the the the copying. You feel me the ability to be able to make something be something else, Yoda.

And I'm gonna get into the part because because to be honest, you could be right.

I'm not sure.

I'm such a stickler for reverb sounds.

I assumed.

That you guys used iron Butterfly Soldier in our town for the drums dropping them in here.

But I can't speed it up.

But you right, you might be close, might be.

But the key to it, though, the key to it, what I said, is yes, the program because they make stuff our temple or whatever. We might take drums and then program reprogrammed the same loop but end up touching other sounds that make it might change. The high head change is part if it makes it better. But but the greatness or whatever, I'm impressed with, like you, Raphael speak a lot of other people when they talk about mainstream.

I love it because it creative people.

The fact that y'all loved that, and the fact that it wasn't orthodox, It wasn't it was I was it really?

Can I ask? Is based on that? Okay?

And then the thing is I think we had that little rid keyboard that was the magic box, and we discovered that little sound.

We just let that sound go.

But but the main thing is that I think it was also Yeah, that's what I'm about to get to without telling too much, was that it was it was like a cell therapy, you know how.

You know, we got that dump that bounce before the bounce come in, we got like a quarter like don't so it's like we have a half of rip.

So like it's like a six bar loop like like like rolling. Like the way we cut it off mainstream was that with a straight beat. You're right, it was. It was giving you a it was flipping a different part. But I couldn't figure out how to do that weird beat to that at that point in my career, so I had.

To go easy to keep it down the middle. But the music go crazy, all right.

So now what we know as the Dungeons Studios before you guys get a budget before Elie and whatnot. Like, I'm certain that you guys are creating a workspace in some sort of environment or you know, you called it the dungeon.

What is the equipment there and who's there?

I mean because just based on the videos, I'm assuming that it's almost like the Southern Wu Tang where it's like twelve of y'all, just like.

The dungeon was my mother's basement, unfinished basement, the wooden steps, go down the steps.

Ray was Yoda. He is the cook up. He'd wake up and get on the drum machine.

And it was an MPC from the time MPC came out, and we had one before we even moved over there, like from the very first MPC we had one or whatever. So and the problem was it was an unfinished basement, so it was dusty. So he used to load the three point five floppy.

Yes, yeah he did. So sometimes we have to be concerned it stop about losing things.

As soon as I know DiAngelo's That's why we laughed when we hear floppy. He's still using them.

Shit, the Angelo is still it is still nineteen ninety seven with him, and he doesn't one to move.

No, no, but it's almost.

A good it's a good sound though it's an analog texture. I mean, it's some things you do for a sound or whatever, like the SP twelve, Like that's what I'm saying. The other drum machine that we didn't mess with that much because the past was it was stick. Once we figured out, we midted that to the MPC and programming from the MPC.

But get get the texture Legion eight O eight, so you would filter the SB twelve and then just midia through the.

Yeah program program in SB two. I mean, like you get your examples edited in the SB twelve right then, since since literally every every SB twelve the buttons get stuck so you can't read program, so you just made it a min Once we learned MIDI for real, with like oh I can control this drum machine with this drum machine or whatever because they had MIDI. So once we start doing that, like Waterfalls had the SB twelve, I'm on it. Ludicrous Saturdays used SP twelve and I

Because on your basement, on your steps, on the wood.

Steps, the woods steps, you would see them down the steps. But it was like it was almost like going down to you know, Ray on the drum machine and you and it was already known, you not really talking the Ray. And all all you can do is is like is appreciate this music box.

So they're all writing, They all right there, and the person that finishes first day on that song, oh.

They're all writing.

And he changed whenever he finished what he's doing for that for that sequence, he changed the beat, and everybody, everybody turned the page and try to remember when you go back to get back on it.

But you'll keep writing over a new beat. So now your styles are.

Changing because now you were just writing with a certain thought process. Now that thought press has been enhanced by the beat changing.

It's like the plant based version of drink Champs right now.

It also reminds me of like bo I mean you watch the boot tang so.

Yeah so, and then then digging in the crazy the fact that Ray would start so early, some people would be you would get a chance, just the knowledge of like you hear you'll hear it. He'll sample it now, he's chopping it up. Now, he messing it up. Now he fitted program something to it. But but he might

You know what I'm saying.

I grabbed that, Like Sleepy does it all the time, like you gotta go yeah, just you know, because he has his own sound. That's what's cold about Sleepy, Like like like most artists get confused around Ray because he's gonna go.

From waterfalls to sell therapy. We diverse.

So the fact that he might be digging on some crazy all a sudden, he might go into something that's in my mind. I'm the business person, like, that's not for you.

That's gonna be what I don't. You're the traffic cop.

Yes, but I don't determine it, like I don't say it in front of nobody. I said, I said, he was.

Like, we can use that.

Yeah, we trust each other.

Like, I'm not gonna tell the artists then, because because the Invo songs, Coolbries Songries was killing it cool, That's what it was.

It was only the It wasn't drum that little. It wasn't even lie of drums.

It was it was it was a it was a beat redhead, a beat on and it was that like you said, it was that Koobries was writing to that hold on Him.

Don't let Go. That's the song we're talking about.

Yeah.

But but when it got beautiful, I think I think we called it John John John.

We called John I happened to be we called in for that. So the night that.

He tracked that, I believe we were at the tabernacle because he told me the tabernacle right, because when I saw a little later that that night, he told me that he just did it like two days before or whatever.

And so that's how I think that this tabernacle not existed on wait wait.

And I'm also glad you told this story because I always felt like you were secretly judging me, like you and James and kiss my ass, James Poison. I feel like I wanted to explain to you because the way we were. You notice that I always I use my computer, but I always put it through the that SB twelve hundred I got, and I never used that SP twelve hundred. Yes, the reason is there's a new version of me. There's

They should just have an SP twelve plug in.

They kind of got one like m PC. But you just don't believe it.

I'm saying too, it's not some things you just want to like like that eight. Like what I'm willing to do is to try to say up with the sounds digitally again.

But that but the quality.

I gotta be honest, Legohn, how it sound really changed America? Like like that that clean eight away the DJ. It was Robert the DJ, the DJ.

And I once thought that little John Roberts was a little John Yo, he's really revolutionist. Because the thing was, I knew DJ drama back when he was backpack, dramatic, dramatic, and when trying to convince me that this guy Gangster Grills.

Is dramatic, I'm like here.

Until I seen him, I was like, holy ship, you really did like so I did want At one point I did think that little John Roberts was revolutionizing dance culture in Atlanta.

And then I realized there was two of them.

So what what kind of MPC was it?

Oh?

Wow?

I mean for your your weapon of choice.

Original studio, the original studio downstairs, the bignkey one, the first, the first, very first clank one.

We started on the first one and then graduated with each one.

Do you feel like there's a different sound between the different models?

They are?

They are like okay, now some people, three thousand, two thousand was the second one right now?

Three thousand one second, Well, that's the that's that's the one. Three thousand three thousand was the one that they started using two effects. The three thousand the one they start using the effects. They start using the little where they could like you can make a sample, you can hide a sample. That's they start thou they started doing that. The two thousand was the was the bounce box, but anything you did was bouncing or whatever.

So it does have difference. Does all of them have a different sound?

But what what gives it? The bounce the quantizing?

Yes, yes, good job.

Well, to be specific to the drum machines, when they changed them around, they kept putting the fucking click the tap button on different sides. So if you started on the first one, you tap with your left or whatever, and if you start then other one, you tap what you're right, So it made people be biased to the drum machine left handed, you know, like that right.

And it seems like the three thousand is like the one, right.

Three thousand is the one if you're dyling now.

And the thing is that Rogerlin didn't It has his name, but Rogerlin had nothing to do with the two thousand. It's almost like the yeasy adeed situation where they have a name but that sort of thing.

So really the last thing that he did.

He did the NBC sixty, the NBC sixty two, and then he did the three thousand, and then NBC sixty came and like here's a boot, you know, and my sucker asked fell for the two thousand because it's for left handed people.

So all right, rapid five? All right, yeah, it's rapid five. Okay, socks and which doctor of swat healing ritual?

Okay that far?

Look man, we look, bro, we ain't got time, Bros got to look man.

That probably to me.

That and Kool Breeze album like Ghetto Camera Bro, those records. I've heard parts of the story. What happened with those two records in the Interscope deals.

And Interscope situation was it was a good deal, but it was just bigger than what we was used to or whenever we had more power or whatever. So like and the artists, you know what I'm saying. We by that time, we as a company. We wouldn't produce. We was production company, but we were a label, and the artists had more responsibility or whatever, Like we was making your music, but we wouldn't holding your hand to make sure you went on your shows.

To make sure you did in stores.

Yes, we did that without cast, but they were seventeen years old. Eighteen years old. It was more about do you even have a bank card? You know what I'm saying. I don't want to leave you out there. But by the time we got the Goodie Mob, y'all grown. Yes, And not to diflect, but I did what I want. I've been wanting to say this. The quest because how did you feel when you first met because the first two a Goodie Mob was with the Roots and with the Fujis.

Oh, now that was already dramatic.

No, it wasn't.

Because we first met Goodie Mob, like my first introduction to I mean, besides seeing outcasts on te people in real life. We our very first trip to Atlanta. We went to this radio station and I remember that, so I didn't go to the radio station that night, but I listened and basically all of Goodie Mob and the Roots like freestyled for twenty minutes. It was on YouTube for the longest, Like it was like a legendary moment.

I remember when it came on BT.

And it was the jury is up in the air, because we were like at the all right, so here's my thing, here's all right. What it happened was no, no, no, no. Where I was, I was dirty dungeon. Hip hop has to be filthy, like the first Jungle Brothers record, the first Wu Tang record. And when the Chronic came out, I told you, and Dre laughs his ass off. I hated the Chronic for like twenty years because it just sounded to pristine too.

Yeah, it was too. It was like, wait, I thought we were against this. I thought we didn't want to sound like afternoon radio to me.

Then suddenly hip hop just sounded clean and big and right. But I didn't come from like club culture where ship had to kick. I wanted this ship to like that, right, And I was just like, I don't know, man, like it's too clean. And and then I got in cosmic Kev's car and he played the main Ingredient remix version, and when the drums kicked.

In, like, let me could cut you off because you've been dropping these motherfucking gems.

I didn't know what I'm thinking about the producer main Ingredient.

We literally played played it with the piano and had sleep becoming singing.

Yeah, you got to say, it's like, it's cool. Yeah, that's what we did. But that ain't what.

I thought it was. Listened to it, right, I'm it's that, but it ain't that.

I grew up with Shame on the World as a record, so I instantly knew.

So maybe didn't guess what somebody else came behind us and did and did that young This is what they did. When I heard that Youngster's record.

I liked it because I like the Yeah, I actually liked the beat of the seven was real.

Cool to me. Oh damn, it was mad props. I didn't even know that.

No, no, at a moment where I didn't even think of that ship. No, no, no, But when Cosmic Kav is like Philly swamp Master flex and that's hard.

When he used to.

Have his like mixtapes out like I'd be in the car and when he put it on the way them drums, it was like a hard version of friends.

You know what I mean?

And you are so good.

Joke, Yeah, I mean it was. It was a hard version of friends.

Like like if I were drumming, that's what you're saying.

If I were, Yeah, well here's the thing, Like I wasn't.

Even though I'm immersed in hip hop and all that ship, like I'm still trying to figure out, hey, how can I recreate these breaks?

I would have been a perfect supplement to that ship.

So when he did that, then that's when that was my Kaiser Sosa Coffee Drop reveal moment of I was like, oh, ship, there, this is a problem.

Then I was like, y'all really did earn those four and a half mics? Yes? Yeah?

The fact we were rased one day and the boy the easy issue like all right, let's go, and I wouldn't. I would like try to read the review before I see what the mics are. And I saw half and I was like wait, it's a Leve review. They wouldn't do no three and a half live review two three yo foro and a half, Like, we stopped rehearsal and I immediately went to rextas like, yo, I gotta get this.

Ship, hey man. So it's so monumental what you're saying now. Because to even back that up, I remember when La read because it was important to him to call me in every Tuesday, every day, every once a week when radio reports come out. He just wanted me. He was excited, but he knew it wasn't his. He was excited, but he knew this is y'all. Y'all need to be excited.

And he said that too. He was on the show four weeks ago.

Yeah, yeah, and he definitely said that even like he didn't know the world like he could instantly.

Have saved hip. He didn't really know whatever y'all say.

Absolutely, but but but he started he started felt, you know, like I owe you to teach you. And he was like, yo, if this market plays your record, it's probably gonna trigger these markets around it. So so shout out to the bay because that's who really jumped.

That's who and that broke y'all.

Absolutely absolutely, And that makes sense.

That makes sense because.

Yes, they played the original one. They played the original one Vegas, every other market New York when we had our peak, I'm looking at New York.

I'm like, I said, they still.

Ain't and he said look at me and said they just yeah. He said, they're just not They're not really fucking with it. But I said, that's all you had to say. We went and soon as soon as he let me know. Soon as he said they didn't like, I said, they don't want to hear all that music ship, then okay, cool, let's break it down. Let's just break it down. Let we was already gold at that point.

You had such a crazy momentum, especially with Outcasts as your main trojan horse, to literally change the narrative of how the world thought Southern hip hop was. This is what I gotta know. As a lead single, Yes, a song being eighty bpms in twenty twenty two, twenty fifteen, whatever, like say, the second half of the arts between twenty ten and twenty twenty is normal, But in nineteen ninety.

Six, elevators.

And the thing was you know, I asked even off campus Grill, dre and and and Big Boy about this, But I since y'all create, how like that was such a risk y'all could have just played it safe and just kind of fit in.

What did it follow?

Though? No? But I can tell you this for a fan.

Meaning that what do we do before that?

It was the single?

I mean, what we do before that?

What do we do before that? Hip hop wise?

I mean it was good. In my it was so.

So because they broke the ground with pianos and the this this.

Wane with with with self therapy.

It was easy for the cast to pick up.

It was so different. I promise you that that's a real story behind it. Give it to me, the real story. The music golownin about this.

This is the actual This is the actual bees needs this what happened? Antonio read? At this point, we were in a contract negotiation. We were trying to bring our label. We wanted to be a label.

We want to out here to sign us Red Clay Records.

So if you look at the original versions of Elevators, it's say Red Clay Records. We end up leaving. But so when so we was in a little bit more control. Big and Dre's they first single they produced, right, they produced, They produced it. They produced the first single they produced.

They came to Big Boy, came up with this incredible hook, and we produced it in the sense.

Of we put derebl on it. We made sound like a big song, so they want to put it out. I looked at it as a setup record.

This is a little street.

It's gonna be the street Red Streets sing and they read them like, nah, you gotta give me a up Temple, we gotta maybe you got you gotta do you know, all the bases of the food group gotta come. This is our first single moment at l and someone said, it's a fact at Alien. Throw your hands in the air like that. Why I ended up being second. It was supposed to be. It was gonna was gonna go.

Right, I'm saying we powerful a little bit. Fuck it, We're gonna leak it.

Right, took off, ship took off. Let's go sh it took off beyond anybody's job. So we took we we leaked it.

I wonder how y'all leaked it back then? Did you leak it to a DJ?

Yes, we went straight to Grey Street it yet it was it was actually make sure it was probably people like eighty nine point three. It was ninety one on the college. It was a college stations because back then we had been schooled in the fact that that's the only way hip hop is gonna be hurdy. First, mainstream radio wasn't an option. It wasn't even option. It when something you thought was gonna happen. So at least we get there. It was just a real to make a

Yeah, shifted, man, this is my thing. Way how can racist think? Have you ever studied?

Has somebody the pictures.

Quest A spots out? It's not listen, it's cool. I like this ship.

I literally, I'm literally on a producers spread of like just thirty dweebs who.

Sit and just all we do, just sit in when I know when I found So Fresh, So Clean, I was like, get then that's not a sample.

But I know we know that. What what am I?

All right?

All right? The record? We never heard the record? This is we titles.

I appreciate how the universe worked. Yes, you tune into the frequency.

On that when we really and truly didn't never like everything else, I mean on God, we never like like like that was literally like us producing like my ear. I mean like like like sleepy I had a road sleepy playing a melody, he playing a melody, and me programming a beat that fitted the melody or whatever, and we actually created a breakbeat, like like we created a break beat. And then years later somebody say, that's a jazz recordar sounds just like so pressed, So clean. I said,

I never heard the record, but maybe it played when I was dreaming one night, because I swear to god, I went to Rico house.

I said, I got this ideal. Man. He's like, well, I'm like.

I said, I'm just saying I sat down and read I got a couple like that.

But Barry got a couple like that. But something sounds like all the time.

It literally happens all the temple. You subconscious, what thing, what thing?

You can say for a fact, there eighty eight keys, and I gotta say it felt good to his fingers, the movement. So that's why. Again that sounds like, but they ain't stay there though.

It goes.

Sound nothing like that, don't sound nothing.

We're not okay, no no, no, no, we're.

Not even we're not in that whole got the journal, but we are scientists, and just it means that how it gets built.

Wait, let me let me just.

What.

I can't wait, that's what they simple.

That was just what they say. Listen to it. Listen to it, right, but everything else right now, it's not like.

That's just the to me, this whoever it is DJ premiere, if it's you know, all the great ones. That's why organized noise is respected and is a part of this this class of people. You know what I'm saying, because you spend time. But now they've given they've given the kids so much technology to what they got the notes on the board for him, they're showing. So the music sounds cleaner but very musical, but people don't respect.

It as much. It's not as creative because because.

We have to do a lot more, we have to like speed things up a little slow it down to get it into.

Because you only have a little bit of sampling time, like ten and a half seconds.

Can I ask speed it up to? Yeah? How does how does your cousin feel about?

Like does he look at you guys like you guys are like like as Future ever asked, Like, no.

Man, Future, do some sh it on my record? Or yes he did? He did. He did that and I hated it because I mean I hated it. I loved it.

I love the thought of doing it, but the fact that like he wanted to do it because he wanted the song that sounded like back in the day, and that's cool, but we.

Want a song that sounds like right now.

So let's evolve, Let's come together and do something that's not just some old sound and ship but some new sound and ship with the old, with the with the familion.

Can you'll just do both? Yeah, that's what That's what what.

I what happened anyway?

Right? I mean you are well.

I got a whole I got a whole album on him anyway, but I want to do wherever I got him wrapping over everything. Future, I got f man Future. It's my cousin if I want it, and if we wanted to, Yeah, futures like like like we wanted to, we could with what's working for him or whatever. Is Like, it's maybe not because the song we did, he did some Andre three thousand, did Somerey three thousand rhyming.

Under whatever, and it was dope. I just think that, to be honest, it was just it sounds. It was. It was dope.

But me and Ray had a version that we had kind of like made it a little more futuristic, and it was stupid and they and they didn't they didn't want to use that one.

So I've been mad since.

Yeah, what's up, everybody? This is Fante Fonte The Love for Quest, Love Supreme. This interview was so meaningful for me, and I'm sure I can tell whether you listened along or watching this on YouTube. I was losing my mind and just geeking out the entire time. We're pausing this two part discussion here for now, but please make sure you come back for part two for the quest Love Supremes Atlanta sit down with the Gods Organized Noise.

We continue to speak about outcasts.

Learn one of the biggest R and B hits began as a beat for a Dungeon Family MC and also did a deep dive into summer their best works.

This was This was amazing.

Check it out, Quls Fontello.

Yeah, What's 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.