Questlove Supreme: Tevin Campbell

Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio, Ladies and gentlemen. What's up?

This is Quest Love another episode of Course Love Supreme. Here with my my crew, my team Supreme in the house.

Uh like you, how are you today? I am doing?

I know you know yo, even waiting today? It was here first. Yeah, my day was here first.

I've been waiting on this one.

Man.

I know how you doing, Steve? How's life? I'm doing great? Life is great.

I love this podcast. I love you and hello.

Hey, you love you too? Absolutely love.

Yeah. Colon man, Colon man, this is one for the record books. Man, listen, I'm good man, I'm good on chilling. I'm really excited about this episode today. This is gonna be a lot of fun.

Yeah.

You know, I was thinking about it this morning and I realized that this podcast is probably the anecdote to my Instagram account, which, of course, you know, my Instagram account could be another person's obituary. It's like, you don't like my Instagram? Is you don't want to be on that Summer Jams screen, Like, well, I be there next? Is he going to be right about me?

You know? Next?

And the life I lived? And you know my death. But you know, Fante actually brought up a point. You know, sometimes we just need to give people their flowers. And I think it's rather I think it's rather apropos that we're taping this episode, especially after what I dubbed the versus Comedy Hour. For real, I honestly feel like if there ever was a paradigm shift or a kind of kind of a sea change and just in the process of of what art is, you could probably say that

It's on Quest Love Supreme.

Indeed, Kavian Campbell is honored to be.

I actually thought this was I don't know why.

I just thought you'd be unobtainable or just not interested in doing it. I don't even know how we started. I think I just you know, shot my shot and d MS is like, yo, yeah you got this.

We got you know, like you sent a text like I got it.

Yeah. I didn't answer. I was just like, here, he's not going to answer this.

First of all, we know each other. We run into each other all the time.

Rights and uh no, I don't usually do interviews and stuff like that.

But you know what, Chris, thank you man, thank you.

I'm really honored.

I'm honored you're a family today.

Bro.

We just talk. We're just talking ship. So let's know, you know, you know.

It's weird.

Okay, So when I was looking up just like your basic information, it's kind of weird how perception is, you know, like throughout the years because like, okay, me sitting in the movie theater watching Graffiti Bridge, like watching you at or just like even on the Freshman Sive like generally just knowing you, like whatever your videos or whatever. I think in my mind from this perspective me as a fifty one year older I would say like probably like twenty almost thirty years older than him.

And it's so weird.

How Like, I know you were born in seventy six, which basically you're just five years younger than me.

But it's so weird.

Like at twenty, I felt you were like like, in my mind, I'm like, oh, he must have been four years old or five years old, even though you're just five years younger than.

Me, because he was living a grown ass life. Remember, we was like, wow, look his life must be awesome.

Yeah.

Man, So it's just weird how like we're actually like closer in age and peer wise.

But I don't know. My perception back when I was twenty was.

Like you were way, way, way young younger than me, which is now is like, okay, you're kind of four or five years younger than me, which is kind of like we're the same age.

No, it did a lot of people say that, But I think that's the power of the childhood started phenomena, you know. I mean, to this day, I get you know, people come to me, they're like, you know, oh you're telling Camell, but you look older, you.

Have great hair, you know, like everyone still to me.

But that's just the way the brain works, you know, like people who are introduced as a child, everybody's going to especially if you made some sort of impact. You know, I was blessed to have made an impact as a kid. People remember that, and so to this day I get that same thing.

So you're not the only one.

Thank you again for doing this for us. Where you talking to us now? From where are you?

I am in New York?

Well, first of all, do you what was your first musical memory in life?

My aunt giving me the Amazing Grace album, the Franklin Madon Grace album on the vinyl.

She gave it to me when I was I think I was.

That was the first album that I listened to continuously.

I think I was maybe eight or nine. She gave it to you.

So her version of Holy Holy is just like, come on, man, what were we talking about?

Well, her version of a Mazing Grace is, Yeah, it's incredible.

I mean though the song was written by Amon, I didn't know that till years after a couple of years ago I learned that.

But anyway, She like, no, yeah, yeah, it does, it does.

What was it like for you to see the film version of that after having lived with it so long? You mean you mean the her Refa's film version. She you know, when she was alive. She they tried to bring it out maybe like you know, like twenty years ago, and because of some sort of contractual dispute, she didn't allow it, so of course she had to pass away.

Were you able to see the documentary or the concert the film.

Which the Amazing Grace the Life? Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, sorry, Yeah. I thought it was beautiful in a point in her life where she was very happy, not that she wasn't happy at any point in her life, but she was glowing, and she was she had this afro and it was just beautiful, man, And you know, seeing her in her element, I think it was.

The most beautiful thing. I think that people were touched by seeing that film because you don't a lot of people don't know that she sat and played that pi piano a lot of the songs that she did, and a lot of songs on an Amazing Grace album to so to see her sitting there in her element, playing at behind her and singing. It's just amazing all the time. So that was.

Most people don't know that she's like just as good as a piano player.

She is sid Yeah, it's important for.

People to see that. So can you tell me about your Where were you born?

I was born in Dallas, Texas a hospital.

Yes, okay, okay, yes, yes, I'm a country boy trying to hide an accident. But it's actually gonna start coming out. This my first class wine. So once I get on the second class of wine.

Well I'm a wine god.

Didn't your episode.

Let me go get my box.

I'm trying to start. No problems, all.

Right, So you grew up in Dallas?

Just in general, what was your you know, your formative years like as far as like how you discovered music and did you discover with that album or were you coming out the womb singing it?

Oh?

No, I was my mom.

I was coming out the woom singing. I was singing since I was three years old. My mom said, I used to go to the speaker and just hold my hair up to the speaker and sort of like just imitating anything that was coming out of speaker.

I was into cars and singing.

I remember when I was little, I used to run my hands on the side of cars, like my hand was a car. That was how infactuated I was with cards and singing was just a part of my I didn't that was just what I knew how to do. I mean, you know, people would give me fifty cents or a dollar, two dollars the same for them.

You know.

That was I didn't think of it as anything particularly special.

It was just something that that was. I just how to do it.

You know.

I could see the effect I had on people, but I grew to love it as I grew older. I didn't really it was just a part of me. It was just something that I could do. I didn't see it as a talent or anything like that.

I was. It was just I was a kid.

How old would you say you were?

When what age do you consider you actually starting your your craft?

Well, it definitely wasn't while I was a kid. It was it was I didn't see it as a craft. I just I was just doing what I knew how to do.

I didn't see it as something. I took it for granted, I was a kid.

So did your mother see it first?

Then?

Is that what happened?

My mom grew up singing also, so yeah she she yeah, she saw it. She saw it for everybody saw it. But like I like, like I said, like, you know, I did talent shows at school and stuff like that. But I didn't walk around like thinking that I was a good I didn't.

I was just singing like it wasn't something special it was. I wasn't. I didn't consider it.

Special, like did everyone know, Like I like, were you waking up at like out of sleep like sing for the people?

Or I think I was thrown into the business so fast that like so early that I didn't really get a chance to understand like talent and alledg I didn't really understand what that meant. I was just doing something that I love to do, right. I didn't think that I was talented because of it at the time. I

That's probably good, that's.

Probably think it was a good thing.

For your first talent show. Do you know what you're saying?

Oh my god, I did Whitney Houston's Greatest Love of All. It was absolutely god awful because it was too high. So I was so I was so nervous and I was shaking the whole time I was singing it, and my coach did pee coaches like, dude, why did you sing it so high?

I was like, I want to do an original key. I was like nine years old, you know, so when you modulate, it's you just I don't know if you called a modulation. Uh, it was. It was horrible. It was horrible.

I wish I know somebody recorded that. But yeah, that was bad. I wasn't good at talent shows or anything like that. I wasn't good at that.

But that was your go to song.

Oh yeah, Whitney.

Whitney was my go to artist when I was growing up, fall into my adulthood, young adulthood and everything.

She was one who would like the three artists that are your north stars as far as like who at least when you're singing that you're gravitating towards them.

Besides Whitney.

When I was.

Younger, I definitely gravitated toward towards the Whitney. Everything I did it was Whitney. I literally idolized the lady, her stage movements and everything it was. She was literally everything to me. But now it changes every.

Couple of years.

I discovered new singers like Patsy Klein to me is one of the best singers. Like her voice moves me more than a lot of other voices that she would think would move me more than hers. You know what I'm saying, like or not? I told my brother Patty Klein she could sing. He was like, she, all right, she ain't doing no risks and nothing. She's just staying in one tone. But it's not It's not all about that. It's about what is behind the boys.

I hear all that. I'm very sensitive to that.

So but Donny Hathaway, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston definitely other three for me?

What is it?

Because I find that as an interesting answer. I actually I like singers who sort of don't come out the gate flexing. I mean nothing against Christina Aguilera, but you know she goes from zero to autobone in like one seconds. You know, whatever is But you know, I just for you though, what is it? Because I often like singers that have that ability, but often hold back what they have because I think that's a gift to to sort of sing it flat and then you know, sort of

Yeah, well, it's not all about what you feel, and it's not about how good they sing. It's about how they interpret a song. Every song is not meant for runs and things like that. So being a great singer is not all about how your voice sounds when you're singing a song. It's about how you're feeling a song and how you're living the song as you're singing a song.

For me, it's like the Mary versus Faith argument, Like Faith is technically like the better singer. And I'm putting that in big quotation marks. But Mary the material Mary, Yeah you feel married?

Yeah?

I would. I would, totally. I would.

I wouldn't say that one is better than the other one, but I would say that Mary is definitely more broad than Faith. It's just like I mean, and I can, like I said before, I can name you various singers that have these amazing voices but display no emotion. I and you know, it's it's not something that you learn, it's something that you embody. And you don't have to actually have went through these songs subject the subject of the song. It's just about how you take it and

You know what I'm saying.

You have to take it and use it in a way that you can understand it.

All right.

So I have a question, now that I know that you live in this area, asking are you you know, are you familiar with the borough of Harlem, specifically a restaurant called Red Rooster. And I'm only specifically asking because if you are a New York resident and you decide to go to Red Rooster on a Sunday, they kind of do something very different up there.

They're now doing something different.

With like a gospel choir, but like the first five years of that restaurant often jazz flout ists.

Bobby Humphrey used to host kind of the Sunday brunch thing, which is kind of.

Cool, but it's also a thing where you know, if you're like knee deep and smothered chicken or something, she'll have a microphone in front of your face, like you know, Dinah Ross like puts you on the spot to sing, reach out and touch someone's hands, and oh god, Bobby Humphrey's like, am I facing it with a microphone? I believe that I heard the story that when you were younger, she's the one that sort of started the ball rolling.

And no, eleven, I didn't. I was eleven. I know where she was.

So what happened was her brother and my mother were good friends. I think they went to work together at the post office. My mom used to work at the post office, Okay, And he knew I could say, so she lived here in New York. And he called her up on the phone and I singing for her on the phone, and I think it was you bring me Joey be the Baker. And she had this club called Sweetwaters in New York, and she flew me out. And I wore this white tuxedo code and this tux and

I was like, that's a mature song.

No, they're not kids. Well that was how he was.

That's the ship.

I was.

I was in front of all these grown people drinking at this and I did.

I thinking you had no idea, no, but I knew.

The songs though.

That's what I meant about saying before, like you know, uh so anyway, yeah, Bobby on free and she shot and she sent that video tape to like numerous record companies and numerous I mean I met everybody, lost it, I met everybody. Kenny Gee was aristed. He gave me a saxophone.

Anyway, Wait, you got you gotta understand the type of show that this is, Like we're less about We're less about like gotcha journalism and more about like the craft of of how your art is.

So we're trying to nerd ship. Yeah, we're kind of into that nerd sort of stuff. So you're you're basically saying that you were eleven at the time, and well, I know you got your deal with twelve, So basically took a year to get that ball rolling.

Yeah, because we met a lot of different people, and Quincy was a lot.

He was the one that got me.

Wait, first of all, why did he give you a saxophone? I don't even I didn't even get the Kenny g Home game.

At least he gave me a saxophone that, you know. I think that's probably when I started to realize, you know, because I knew who he was.

I knew that I knew that song he had a huge hit at the.

Time, and I knew it right, Yeah, yeah, so it was really cool and.

Anyway, yeah so she she she was the reason why.

I I was signed to Quest Warner Bros. I mean, she was the reason why that tape got to Quincy. That was a tape that Quincy actually saw. He was like, yeah, sis, kids, Wow, actually Ben and Medina saw at first. And then.

Of course, so can you walk us through the process or at least what you remember the process of, Like I assume first coming to LA and meeting these people, like, you know, you're meeting all these legends, and I'm certain that you wouldn't know half of them. Who's the first person that made an impression on you? Like, I know who this person is and I can't believe I'm meeting them as opposed to Michael Sarah Vaughn.

Who are you right?

Michael Jackson was the first person that I've met that like I knew who he was, but not even it wasn't even Prince, you know, Prince did really I know who Prince was, but.

I knew who he was, you know, But Michael. Wow, Michael Jackson, you know what I'm saying.

Wow, All right, wait, I got I have a Back on the Block question, and hopefully you go offer just a tiny bit of insight because I don't even think we asked this on the Quincy Jones episode that's never ever coming out. Yes, we talked to We talked to Quincy for four hours in Quinn.

Speaking of the wine.

So well, I'm not going to.

No no, no no, it's not no no, it's not even silatious. It's not even silatious.

But I pretty much I think we all basically know that he was the missing link on Back on the Block as far as not being on the Secret Garden. And you know, I'll be sure told us that you know that Michael was supposed to be on Secret Garden instead, I'll be sure got the spot. Were you at all privy to the situation in eighty eight, eighty nine when he might show up, might not show up? That ugliese sort of kind of share.

I was a kid.

No, I didn't know anything about that none, trust me if I.

Did, I tell you, But I was a kid. I was just in awe of everything.

So you know, there's a curious moment on BT where

He's like, no, it's best we not do that.

So I you know, I just generally wanted to know if you.

I mean, I do know that there was a falling out between the two. That's all I know.

I'm just glad you was able to be a kid.

Well it wasn't a normal childhood, but I was. We were able to be uh it's cheefus, it's cheeesus sometimes.

But it was mostly working. So you know that's what.

I did, because you were out of the classroom setting by this time, right, Like as a.

Kid, Yeah, well I went to a private school.

I love the what you said at private school?

All right, I did say that it was private school. I said that very snobby. Why that's the why I went. I went to a private school.

No, it was not like when I moved to l A. I went to a private school and uh, but I was never there.

I was never there, so you weren't able to have like bonding or just like regular.

Bunding friendships and stuff like that.

Walk us through that because we often hear like, hey, we had tutors or whatever. But okay, so you're in school, which I assumed that at the age of twelve, you're kind of in eighth grade, maybe seventh grade or eighth grade. Can you walk us through a daily ritual like do you have to show up at eight in the morning or is it just.

It was very rare that I was in school consistently for like weeks and months.

So uh.

But the school that I attended a lot of celebrity kids went to, so like Rod Stewart's Starter and all the Jackson all the Jackson kids went there, and Rashida and Candada everybody went there. So it was one of those one of those private schools. But I was a kid from Texas. So this is this is new for me.

But I was never there.

But when I was there, I got in trouble and got detention every other day because I never came in uniform. When I came in uniform, my tie wasn't done all the way or my my shirt was untucked. I was always causing problems at that school, but I was allowed to because I was.

I was on.

A lot of stuff.

Yeah.

Yeah, he was just on Fresh Prince last week.

Calm down.

Oh wow, I keep showing that episode. It's really cool though that they keep showing that. That's great.

At the top of this episode, when I was talking about being a seasoned singer at this point, is you know seth Riggs a part of your exercise or I mean I would assume that someone must have suggested, like, okay, you gotta warm your voice up and all that stuff. Did you Were you a student of the great seth Riggs as a vocal trainer?

Oh?

I mean I thought you'd now.

Yeah, I did go to seth Griggs where my voice was changing to the point where I couldn't I could like there was no control, like the puberty part when that hit, So I had to literally do, tell me what you want me to do live and that's when it hit.

So I couldn't hit this.

So you started lowering the key, modulating the key down today.

No, no, we couldn't do that, not when you're not when you're fourteen years old, you can't know the key. You gotta do it, you know. So that's whe I started. Yeah, there's no thing I can do that. Now I'm forty five.

You know, it makes sense to lord the key to that's all right, But when you're fourteen.

No, So I had to go to Seth Griggs for I went for the whole lot like a summer because it was really bad. I had no control over that break, and he taught me how to sort of control it.

After that, There's no I didn't go back to it.

How many so when you're training, how many hours? What's the daily regiment? I mean how many hours? Is it a day or is it just once a week or.

Well, first of all, you go into his office and you do a whole bunch of exercises. So you mean for me at for a show or just.

For you for you and Seth Griggs.

Okay, yeah, you just go in and here you just get your exercises to do for like thirty minutes, you to pay for it hour he do an hour.

He used to charge like two thousand per hour. It was it was ridiculous.

It was something ridiculous. And he used to talk half the time. He used to talk time, and he did that consistently. He was a great He was a great teacher. I learned a lot from him that I used to this day, like warm up exercises and all constant.

For our listeners out there, Michael Jackson's two hour tutorial is still surprisingly still on YouTube, which is basically two hours of hearing Michael Jackson do all the scales.

Yeah no, no, no, no, no no no, like all the like.

That's probably one of the greatest vocal exercise educations that you can get for free.

While it's oh.

Nice and it works, I mean that's all said.

He was.

He was an avid student. The set had a lot of great a lot of great u great clients. But yeah, like I said, yeah that stuff works, man, man, man, man, all that stuff works. All that stuff it works. It's all it's doing is just you know, sort of warming that out.

You know. We were introduced to you via back on the block. But when you were when you were brought out there, did you immediately start working on your debut album or was it just back on the block. Let's see what happens first.

Okay, now you get a record deal or was it just like out the gate, You're going to work on your album and subsequently get introduced from Quincy.

I'm trying to remember thirty years like well I was.

I was twelve years old. I know, I know that.

After the introduction to Prince when being introduced, Bennie Bedinna introduced me to Prince and I did the confiniti bridge round around, round and around. I know that he wanted to be on the first album. I remember that and Warner Brothers, uh, Warner Brothers would oh my god, there's all kinds of crazy stuff.

I'm glad you brought that up.

Everyone knows that I'm a Prince Stan and you know, and also the Prince what I call the Orgers, the Prince dot Orgers is sort of they always side eye me when I start, you know, talking, my my, my, my trash.

Now, I mean, this is the thing.

Everyone knows that he's my north star as far as creativity is concerned.

But you know it.

It's to a lot of prince people that are very honest with themselves. They would also know that that period was a rather questionable period of his life. And I got to hear the p the song that you you demo? Did he demo in the way that you're smiling right now.

I don't even remember. I don't even remember doing that. Where did God tell you?

I don't remember where we were, I don't remember what year that was.

But all I know is that I was in the middle of that.

I was in the middle of that whole thing, and that didn't stop until after I'm.

Ready based on what I can tell, because you know, I heard his I heard his demo, guy, and I heard your version, and you literally followed everything to a t. So I would basically say that if you're working with him, is it just assume that, Okay, do exactly what I do on this track and follow it to it?

Is either coaching you or is it just smell? No, he's not.

It's just me. That's me.

I wasn't very experiment a lot when it came to him.

I kind of sing it like the demo.

The only songs I drifted away from the demo was sort of was can we talk and I'm ready all those songs, uh yeah.

And Tomorrow night at all because it was.

Just that Tomorrow was all me, that was me, because it wasn't it wasn't no that song. So she wrote that literally in the studio.

I was just going to ask, when you got Tomorrow as a fan of Whitney, did you feel like that was kind of like your Whitney song in a way?

Did you feel you remember how you felt as a kid.

I didn't think that then, but I wasn't processed. My brain wasn't processing us to think like that because I was too I was too self conscious in the studio. But I do think that sort of now, like when I listen to Tomorrow on one song, the sort of inspirational songs that I have a couple that.

I do have. I have some more, but they're not on my albums. But anyway, I do think that now.

Well, eventually I assume that you got to meet her, What was it like for you to be or where did you meet her?

The first time I met Whitney Houston, she invited me to her listening party or her after party was some sort of party. But the second time, which is more percival, was when I were It was a hotel called the Riga Royal which is now the London for the contract.

But oh yeah, yal you remember it was her.

And Bobby and I was coming out of my room and stuff and they were coming down the hall and we had this whole long conversation.

She was like, how you do it? I was like I do how you do? We used to do fight and Bobby was there.

You know, it was like it just us. Street didn't have any bodyguards anybody around him. It was just us to you having a conversation. I was like fifteen sixteen, and that was the last time that I saw Whitney Houston. It was a second time that I met her. I never knew her personally, like we were never friends or I never called her, talked to her phone anything like that. The only the closest connection I had with her was

He would let her here like tell me much, want me to do and stuff like.

So she never knew, she never knew that you were that she was your hero.

Yes, oh yeah, she knew.

And it was too overwhelming for you to strike a friendship.

I was a kid kid, you know, but she knew, she knew that I freaking loved her. I told her when I saw her, especially that time in the hall. I mean, you know, it was her and Aretha. I could never act normally when I saw these two women. I remember seeing Aretha on Broadway. We were some Broadway show, right, and she she comes with these you know her what she was with and these ten just huge entourage.

Yeah, and she knows me.

I've seen her many times since I was twelve years old. I even came to sing for her. She invited me to sing Always in My Heart, which was one of her favorite songs. She invited me to sing that for her at some event. I think it was a birthday party.

And so I saw her and I couldn't even leave. You know how you do this this thing when.

You call Mariah, but.

You know, you know you listen.

I couldn't even I just I couldn't do that. I couldn't do the cheeks just touched I be She was like, what the hell is wrong with this?

But I was so nervous to even like like, but she could tell.

She could just she knows she ever teached yourself. It's like, how's your mom? How's your mom? She used today she was I digress.

Were you able to bond with a circle of people? Like who would you consider?

You know?

Like?

Okay, So when I came into business, then I became friends with common and we became friends and started hanging Like did you have peers that you regularly hung with?

And no, because I was twelve, so there was nobody else my age, okay doing what I was doing.

In our minds, you were real friends with Tatiana Ali in our teenage mind was like.

No, not really we we we we were friends. Yeah, But you know I hung out a lot with the boys.

Remember the group of the boys.

I can.

Yeah.

We broke a lot of lamps in the hotel rooms and stuff, and me and my brother and the boys used to hang out a lot. So the boys, but I didn't bond with them like we were just so. But the sixteen, seventeen, eighteen nineteen, those years now, I was pretty much a loner, haven't was. There was a lot going on. There was a lot going on. I don't think I even realized how much was going on until a couple of years ago when I actually start

How long, on average does it take you.

To get through a take where you're satisfied with it, and the producers satisfied with it, and all parties involved are satisfied.

That depends. They used to call me one take, Tevin.

Okay, talk your shit.

I'm not I didn't make that up. I did not make that up. I swear to God, that's Babyface gave me that name.

Uh.

I don't remember how many takes I became we talked. It wasn't a lot back then. I just went in and I hated actually being in the studio. I went to be in the streets.

I wouldn't want to play. I wanted to play.

I wanted to go driving around in my car and just be say. You know, it was like work to me. If I had to do it more than three or four times, you know, I was a brad so but with baby Face it was all about the feeling. It wasn't about necessarily the technicalities of it.

But with Narada Michael Walden, it.

Was all about the technicalities and the notes and they can't be sharp and they can't and the feelings, so you got to have both.

So I think Narada really I had the most fun working with him because I worked.

He made me work and I and I didn't warm up really and to this day, I don't warm up until hours after I start singing. So you have to keep singing, you know that. You know I had to learn that about myself too. But Narda was the best heat I had the most nurturing working relationship.

I think with Narda, Okay, can I ask a question?

Is because you know, we've been doing the show for five years and literally no singer or at least singer singers has given me the dream answer that I want to hear. It's like, yes, you know, before I do a song, I sit and do me me met me like three hours and you drink all this tea and like everyone basically says, hey, man, I showed up, I

Just depends on the song. I think if it's you know, if it's something where because I've had takes where you know, you'll write something and then sing it and I'm like, Okay, this sounds cool, but I can do it better, and then you'll come back and do it quote unquote better. But there's just there may be just some vulnerability in the first take because you're just now learning the song, you know what I mean, and you don't know it

Once you overdo it and keep going doing it.

Yeah, yeah, you kind of sing the life out of it, you know what I mean. So a lot of times the first ones, those are the ones, if they may not be the most technically great, they are the ones that are the most honest and may fit the song better. Is that kind of for you, TeV? And is that the same thing? What's similar to?

Yeah?

I think you are right on that, and I think it depicts on the song and actually the singer also, every singer has this whole different way of approaching the song and approaching performances.

So some singers can.

Walk into the studio and give a great performance without you can form it up, you know what I mean.

There are singers that can do that. There's a lot of excuse me, there are a lot of songs that Aretha did that. She did warm up, She just walked in and she just did some people, you know what I'm saying.

She won't go more than two takes, like that's it, And I don't think.

I think that's the way it's always been that she can do that, you know, Uh, some singers can't do that, and she can deliver all the things that need to be in the song in those two takes.

So, but it's definitely those first takes.

Think, and I think if you ask a movie director also, uh, like Frank Sinatra didn't like to doing more than one take on the scene. He liked to just do it, wouldn't take because he felt like that was the most natural and the most real.

Word. He felt like if you did it over and over again, it would lose his magic. Like you said, so, I agree.

Your first album, which is the spelling of your name, was that supposed to be an acronym for something.

T E V I Or were you just spelling it? Or first of all, what you say, I made up. I made up.

Transmitting every vocal immaculately nigga. Twitter, it was like it was somebody. It was on Twitter. This was like Twitter, like years ago. I think it was when you know, I think somebody they tried to like come for you something on Twitter and everybody was just like, nah, fuck that that's seven Campbell, And that was one of the things I fust It went on from I know what.

You're talking about.

Yeah, we had your back though, bro, like we had your back Twitter.

Yes, yes, I was like, oh it was really sad.

I love it.

I love sorry, Fante, let me go, let me go to the other side, because let me go to the other side because I believe you two were kind of the same age.

Or yeah, I'm seventy eight, so yeah we right, yeah, okay, so what was it.

Like seventy eight, I'm seventy six, so you you are.

I am elder man man ship in seventh grade man.

So Fante, as a listener, did that make an impression on you to see someone your age doing that the same way that I saw the Jackson five or Janet Like, oh kids, my age, you know that.

Nah, that's exactly what it was. Yeah, even though like again we were only with two years apart. He was older, but it definitely felt like, uh, you know he felt tell me him. It felt like one of the homies like I went to school with, or like that homie that like sing in church and you just know, Okay, that's a singing homie and like he gonna win every time show, you know what I mean. Like it was it was like that, It's like he got singing homie.

What about us break it down?

Yeah, So that one that was the one like in home room, like because they were playing on the radio like they woul playing at Joan the radio and it was almost like, oh man, that is that Tavin Campbell joint?

And so in home room we were talking about, yo, you hear the joint? Do you have to school like some homework?

Like what yes? Are you getting? Yes? I am yes, but.

But I while we're here while were on the first album, I have to say my favorite one, like my probably like my favorite. If I had to peat one, let it be the same as me. Come on, man, along with you, dude, like alone with you, what we talk about.

So my question for you on that one, bro.

So I did not know. I actually lost a bet to this all over this to a friend like years ago, like she she wanted back, here's this thing. Yeah, she totally won. So I did not know. I had the album Casey and Joe George seeing backs on that the INSTI in the credits. Now back to credit.

Okay, well then you're right.

I don't know if you have memories back.

Yeah. They did all the demos for all those songs, so all the that I'll be produced.

Casey and Chose Will did all those demos, which is why I'm singing all those lick, all those ran That's not me.

I'm doing whatever they did on the demo.

Do you still have those demos?

Oh my god, I wish I could.

Always I wish I did.

Maybe maybe Al has them.

He got all the tapes. I thought I thought he was gonna say, just asked me to. I always thought that was a soundtrack, John, but I didn't know that was on.

It was on Boys in the Hood that they decided to put it in.

On the album.

I thought that was interesting what you said, though, because Warner Brothers didn't care about that. They they what they had was a kid that could that had to And I realize it now, I didn't realize it back.

It Uh, that.

Had this voice that was a mature voice that they could sell to a whole bunch of adults. And I was actually and I think it's actually kind of cool that I was being used as like abuse, like all these love songs that Jesus got Babyface and and.

Songs.

No, but he was going through stuff with his wife and at the time, And so I realized now that they were writing and I was singing their.

Expert channeling through you.

Wow.

Yes, because I didn't know anybody any think about that stuff. Come on, tell me what you love to do.

And and then that knowing that we were using it to make out with.

It on mixtapes.

You know, Listen along with You was a staple on my Slow Jam mixtape. Man, listen that record will never really like your work with Alba Man. I gotta say, like that one Goodbye like I love love that song.

Man, I love that stuff too. I think he did a great job.

Like on the first album, it had to be five or six singles, correct, Yeah, I tell me what you want to do?

Uh?

Round and round?

Confused? Gotused one song?

Like, there's at least six singles off this joint. And so who was the ringleader that said Okay, I'm like, I'm what I say goes as far as like your head, is it Benny that's driving the wheels?

Excuse me?

I really was.

No, I'm telling you the truth. I mean, Bennie Medeena was was the Yeah, I mean I'm the one that got to choose the songs. Yeah, they worked me, they sent me everywhere. So yeah, Warner Brothers was responsible for.

On the other side of that question, are there any notable songs that were submitted to you that you passed on that someone else took and did something?

Oh?

No, I can't. I can't.

No, you took not any famous, not anything that you No, No, I take the hits.

I gotta are you? Are you familiar with the Usher story.

With I think that's actually a true story.

I think that I think that's in l a read's book. From my understanding, I think la Reid wanted Sure to have can We Talk? But he wanted me to have can we Talk? And uh, but I had it. You know, I don't even listen. Sure, I love him. I actually just did a gig with him, okay in Atlanta. Yeah, Tyler Perry, so we should.

At the save stage. I love USh, I always have loved USh.

Birth the well that was not why that was?

It was you? That was?

That was my wine you started. It's a cool and it's a luminous over here.

No, but I don't believe that can we can we talk? First of all, it's a great so I'm not saying that it's so well written. And I said this on something else somebody asked me about it. I could never I Got It Bad as one of my favorite R and b mm hmmm ballads.

It always has been.

I could never sing I Got It Bad like Usher, And I don't believe USh you could sing?

Can we talk like I could?

You know as you got it bad?

But that's okay.

I know you ain't being shady.

No, it's it's yeah, you got it bad, you got it bad, You got it you got it bad?

No, I know I.

Wasn't being shaked. I do have a song called there you Go. No, I swear to God, no, no, that son sucks. No, there's nothing compair to know you got it bad. But that was my favorite and it still is one of my favorite RMB songs about that's when I hear it, i'd be like, okay, yeah, no, no, no, but anyway, yeah, And I read the thing he said about the can't We No, it was my song.

Let me have it, I mean, you know, let me have my song. It's my song.

That was your song, your song.

Yeah, that's my song. I'm blessed to have it. It's a it's an amazing song. It it's crazy, it's crazy, it's crazy. It's a beautiful song. And I love it, you know, And I love that it's mine. And I didn't used to be like this. I used to be like, oh, I don't want to hear it, But now I listen to it. I actually will listen to you like, you know what. That's a good thing. I'm actually embracing my my art, you know. So I'm very very blessing on it to have that song in my work.

Question regarding your work with not to Michael Walton because two of the records that I really loved on I'm Ready was Don't Say good Bye Girl and Brown Eye Girl. Like you have any memories of like recording those two?

I really, I really love those records.

Oh thank you. I co wrote bl Hey, you know Nardi is it?

I remember he likes to sit down and just start playing on the piano and he would just he'd just say, start saying whatever comes to mind, Just start saying. That's how he came up with told me which one me to do, That's how we came up with Brown Eye Girl. Don't Say Goodbye Girl was a song that he had written already. Though I loved Don't Say Goodbye Girl.

That's the one for Yeah, I love that song.

That's one of my favorite of my vocal performances. You know, because that's what I mean.

He works. He worked me, man, like I had to work to get those notes.

You know what I'm saying. I didn't hear it.

Yeah, And there's no.

Kind of there's no sort of alterations or anything on that. That's all me getting that out. Like he do it again, do it again? He would stop, he would get your break it again, do it again again and coffee. That's how I got to think to coffee.

But anyway, wait, let me ask you because the Narda Michael that I know because because of his him being Buddhist and everything, is he like that?

Is he like that in the studio or visus.

Like coming down and give me some feeling? Yes, and he gets all the incense and everywhere. Yeah, that's wow.

I think it's the ultimate Jedi mind trick because I know there's a there's another person who's a Buddhist in my life and she has the ability. She'll start here, but somehow she'll.

Calm me down and she'll talk very low and then the next thing I know, and I realized that's a

And I always wanted to know what that.

Was like, it's his spirit, you know what. You just described his whole.

So when you walk to stew that's the that's the vibe that you get, you know, so you don't mind working, but you know what it's It was the coffee for me, and it was just him being and he would record all the sessions, so I knew the Karen was right on me.

So I would literally try to sound my best, you know.

Oh he would like like video like library, you.

Got library, don't say nothing now, So I'm sure he did with that way.

I'm sure he did.

Damn. We definitely give on the shoe.

Man, you gotta get out.

She has some great stories. But he creates an atmosphere and it's due to Tarpan Studios.

It really helps.

Man, when you walk into that atmosphere, you ready to work, and he makes you believe that you can do it better.

You can do it better, do all more time, you can do it better? And did you do it?

Like, at what point in your career as far as your your albums are concerned, where you feel as though as an artist you have ideas that you want to express and production that you want and a certain sound that you want, like, are are they letting you get a word in edge wise or is it still like here work with this person, here with that person?

And I had no interest in anything in that sort. I was too busy trying to figure out life. Yeah, and I had no time to figure out life because I was working, so I didn't care all.

You know. I got to choose the songs. That's it.

I wouldn't sing anything that I didn't like that no one made me sing anything I didn't like. I had to last digs on the songs. But as far as trying to say something or do it please, no, I didn't think of anything.

I mean, besides like the radio shows where they would do like a summer jams or powerhouse or you come and just do your two joints, Like did you ever have an actual touring experience at least similar to the one like when you did Round and Round on our Sinio Princess band, What's your backup?

And that shit was perfect to me?

But like, how often did you really get to go out on the road with a band and tour and that sort of thing? Did that happen at all? Was just like spot dates?

Yeah, I know that that didn't happen a lot. So my mom didn't didn't allow a lot of that stuff.

She because I was already traveling doing.

You have an option to say no, I don't want to tour, because I would figure, like in the nineties, you got a tour, right, because.

Mama had that option.

My mom was she didn't play. I went on one tour with Boys to Man and Babyface. I opened up for that tour and that was for I think three weeks, and that was on.

My Christmas break, and that's it. My mom didn't allow.

But I was working so much already, I don't that's why. I think that's probably why she didn't allow it. I was always traveling promoting the album.

But that's the money, right, Touring is like the money though really right?

Oh okay, it wasn't the same as it was now. I mean, I don't think I mean it.

No, I can't think of Vidy and plus I was one of the only kids doing it.

But I think the boy groups went on tour, so maybe like the New Kids on the Blox.

And New Addition, they probably went onto it.

But so it would have been hard to pair you with someone.

Yeah, exactly, that. Yeah, but iway was one of that because.

With Tracy Spencer and Brandy, like Spencer would.

Have been good yeah, Marian or something.

Oh wow, that's pretty cool thought.

Someone told me that she does like, uh, like spot commercials where like I mean, you don't know that that's the mom in the supermarket or that sort of thing.

I believe that that's like her lane, Like she's done.

A bunch of we did assume they all knew each other, right a mirror.

I'm like, so timing you knew Tracy, right, Yeah, But I really think that my mom.

I know, my mom was very protective with me when I was When I was a kid in the business, she didn't you can ask anybody, you know, she didn't.

She was very protective. So I was that she couldn't stop me from being a.

Pest, but when it came to like like just working and she had to make sure who was gonna be around me. And I had these people from Warner Broths, Karen Baker and Jean Shelton. It was always the ones that would travel with me. When she was with me, you know, she was very protective for me. So I think that's probably a lot of the reasons why I didn't go out on tour, I.

Would explain no hip hop collaborations.

I got questions about Back to the World because to me, that was such a shift, at least working with the hit Man and whatnot. Can you talk about that experience with.

Working actually the world.

Yeah, that was a confusing time of my life because I didn't really understand what was going on with the whole Warner brother situation. I didn't understand why why Back to the World wasn't It was sort of like they sort of like just forgot about me.

But it's like you had all the pieces in place, at least I know, Chucky did stuff on it, and.

Like the hit Man Stevie j I don't you know. And I don't know what Puff's role is as far as like.

He was there, I'm not gonna he was.

He was there, was there, and Puffy's great, we both scorpios, and he was there and then and you know, he wasn't there, and then he was there again.

So let's just put it that way. But that wasn't that wasn't it.

It was there was just a shift in the whole Warner Brothers makeup. So Bo Austin Hanks, Van ray Ereris, all those guys left left. Yeah, Ditri was not on Black music anymore. It wasn't no me anymore. It was on some other thing. And so, I mean, and I didn't understand it at the time. Understand it now it's a business, but at the time I did not understand it. So that was sort of a weird time for me. And so I showed up at the photo session for that album with twists.

And twists and they were like, what the hell did you do?

I was like, yeah, I got twist. Yeah, just just rebelling, you know, being mad. So yeah, that was that was not a good.

Time for me.

My favorite record on that album was the I don't know if it was a single, but could it be, like that's still thank you?

That's the one record too.

Do you remember recording you have any memories of it with work?

Remember its being in the studio with resigned because he wrote all that stuff, He wrote all this stuff.

Did you work with Keith Crouch as well or he.

Was on that album?

Jazz okay jazz?

Yes, it was a great It was fun recording it. I had a great time recording the album. It was just.

When they were trying to prepare him for the release of the album. I was trying to rebel against one and brother.

In hindsight, did you feel as though like you just wanted to break because you've basically been doing this since you were twelve, like without any breaks or whatsoever.

Maybe that's what it was subconsciously, Maybe I wanted to break. I don't know.

Maybe that's because there were three years between Ready and Back to the World, Like, what was what we were you.

Doing in that? What was that?

I love? It ain't nothing wrong with I had.

I graduated high school in ninety five, okay, and I think we started probably recordingated ninety six. I'm Ready came out in ninety three, yeah, right, so.

Oh and then we got the Goofy movie that was ninety five, and I.

Did a lot of stuff in between us, a lot of soundtracks and a lot of stuff I did it between that.

Hey, Joe, we're forgetting something. We're forgetting something. What is it? Dude? Can you please talk about Black Men United? Yeah? Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah.

We would have staled ourselves.

There was always that one moment when the interviews over, We're kicking ourselves because we forgot to ask something, and I was like, I know we're forgetting something.

You know.

Hell yeah, yeah he's on the first you sunk leadoff or no, let's go.

Man, Yeah you would know. I mean yeah, I just remember the video shoot again being the past, and I showed up at the video shoot. I think I got into the argument with somebody and I left the video shoot. That's why you see me in the booth on the video by myself, not with everybody else.

I know there's another accident after the fact, yep. But yeah it was bad.

How old were you? How old town?

How were you? I don't know what was that?

Well you were? It came out in ninety five.

Four, it was eighteen nineteen. Such a bread. That was such a bread.

But that's a great song. That's a great song. I liked the live performance better than I liked the record. But the live performance were all on stage.

So you guys did at the American Music Awards, And did you do it on our Sinio as well?

I don't think so.

I remember the American Music Awards.

Yeah, yeah, I could be wrong about our Senior though.

But okay, well I know I've seen it once.

So it was the thing where they just sort of gathered all the people on that song at different places and they did their parts.

And it wasn't like I left.

Yeah I was. I was something else.

I left.

I got into with somebody because I was late, and I just left.

You got into it with somebody because you was late, You got it?

Yeah, I was.

It wasn't so I was right. Oh, I'm playing D. I'm playing D. Don't don't kick man.

But somewhere there's that elder who's been watching you from the jump and they're like, yeah, that stage, it's Heaven's life.

Wasn't my favorite. He was a little bit of an asshole.

There's somewhere I had angels watching over me. I'm telling you that much.

But I was.

I was a kid.

I had to I had a lot of authority. So yeah, you know when you give kids to authority sometimes, So wait.

To that question.

It's interesting because you were you were one of the first of an era in that way. So do do the other young guys who kind of followed in your footsteps? Does anybody ever go do you know what?

Let me call Tevin. I know he been through this.

I hope they don't. I don't have anything.

You ain't got nothing for him.

I have nothing for you have to sort of go through life, your whole life, and learn.

From unless I'm under a rock somewhere, it's not like.

You know.

Of course you came right right before social media was.

Even the thing.

Lucky for you.

Yeah, thank god. I lucky for my childhood on social media.

Yeah, I mean, you know, it's crazy, you know, the nineties and stuff that we did back in the night.

But anyway, sorry, all right, I got to ask, did you crash your car or something?

Oh? Yeah, I crashed it plenty times. Me me can crash several cars.

Oh wow, what was your first car? Since you were a car person, what was your car fleet?

Like?

What was your scars?

Like?

What was my first car?

Yeah, because you love them so much too.

I only had a couple of cars. It was the big Long Mercedings.

Oh, the West African Join the S five.

Hundred back then it was ninety two after Long Grade.

Yeah, and.

We call them Nigerian Benzies.

Yeah, they're coming to America, America, Joff Joe fo All right, my god, y'all.

Will bringing back some crazy memories right now.

Turned myself riding around that John, I did some drunk driving and all that stuff, like I did bad things. I did bad crash.

They are so lucky.

Oh they I'm only asking because like I just generally never just it wasn't like you. I don't think that you were in that Britney Spears Lane. Were sort of like, man, I don't think he's gonna make it.

He came sort of thing.

Yeah, it wasn't like train wreck. I don't remember it.

Well, she's white.

When you when you were white and in the business, I didn't have to worry about paparazzi and stuff like that.

That's not something that I don't know how. I'm not trying to be racist.

Or anything like that, but this is the one benefits where beings versus white.

Yeah, don't worry.

Damn Steve, you're you're really on the twelve four right now.

Yeah, he's the one they went to the grocery store. Listen, go ahead.

Yeah, I was gonna say this is probably the rare situation where being black benefits you, and the fact that if you were white, you will probably have been on the globes whatnot as far as the mentor is concerned, Like, who would you say, was there anyone that could get through to you, like as far as being a mentor a quincy figure or whatever.

At that time though.

Listening to Miss Rond or your mama, yep.

And then when I didn't, I fell on my ass hard too, So my mom was pretty much on a person like getch to me.

That's kind of the lesson that I'm learning now, Like oftentimes the universe of life will present a situation to you in which you can either heed the call or continuous, you know, sort of be hard headed. And oftentimes people only learn the lessons when they hit.

A rock rock rock bottom.

And it felt like the Hairspray period of time too, was a turnaround, Like I felt like Hairspray was a whole lifting, like it was a.

Well I had.

I have.

I've had many turnarounds, but most of them I didn't listen And too, why didn't pay attention.

To I mean, you see what's happening with mainly with younger rappers or whatever.

But I mean, first of all, do you think that you're even in a space in life from which you could actually like mentor someone to be like yo, like.

I was you in the situation, And nah, I don't really believe in that.

I really don't because you everybody's excuse me. Life is different, everybody, every experience is different. And if you ask me my advice on something, I'll give it to you. But I don't believe in mentoring. I never believed in that.

I know, I know.

That's where I just don't believe in it. I just don't believe.

It's just fascinating because you come from so many mentors in a way, so people perceive mentors.

Well even their words that the even advice that I got from them didn't work. Until you have to understand life in your own way. I don't care what advice someone gives you, you know, you know what I'm saying, Like, you have to go through life in.

Your own way and understand stuff your own way. That's what I realized.

I don't know, you gotta learn, You got to learn on your own.

Yeah, I mean, there are things that I remember my great aunt saying when I was little.

You know, you know.

When I used to talk back to my mom, she used to say, and I used to tell her what she annoys me. She used to say that there were things after you died, there are worst things that that could happen to you. If you talk to you, mom, I'll never forget that. Like she's saying, you're gonna burn in hell, and you keep talking.

To you back to your words, I'm like, you ain't get no whoopings. That's what that was.

Like, Little things like that, You're the last album it was. It was self titled, but I remember reading a review of that one, and I think the original title was Dandylion, So was that the title album? Probably?

Probably?

Another way I really loved that song. Like another way was I thought that was really gonna go up. You know what I'm saying, I don't.

I don't like I don't like it at all.

I I.

Don't hate it.

But it was a point in my life where I did not care about the album. I didn't care about any I did not care about that. I didn't care about that. I didn't care about that. There's a couple of songs that I like, but that whole period was just just confusion.

Damn. I got a question about the Cocoa song.

Oh, that's a lovely song. I liked that song. I like that.

I was going to say I went to school with one of the songwriters on that song. But did you like, did Susan Charles just submit that song to you or I.

Don't remember how it happened. I mean I remember going down to Darryl Simmons studio and we recorded it being me and Coco okay, and it was a lot of fun. But I don't remember how I was submitted. I'm shoot submitted through Warner Brothers or something like that. But it's a beautiful song. I love that song.

Yeah, Susette is the young lady. I went to school with her in elementary.

But she was the young lady who replaced Vanessa Williams when she had to give.

Up a crown for Miss America.

Oh wow, Oh first place was Miss Jersey, who was also a black woman.

Dang untold stories.

Wow she was. She was best friends with my sister doing so, you know, I kind of grew up with Susette and I know that she did some songwriting.

Whatever, Keavin, do you do you mind talking about the Broadway thing and like what made you make that transition into theater?

Don't?

I don't mind talking about it now. Someone just got a call Quest.

They were trying to find me, and they called Quest Records and they finally located me and they asked me to come out and read for this part. So it was Matt Lynz, who was the assistant director. His partner recommended me for the part of Seaweed. He was like, where's Tevin Campbell And they found me. Wow, And I came out and I auditioned in front of all the people, the directors and everybody, and then I walked out and they didn't call me back in and told me we

So it was a lot of fun. Yeah, So I played Seaweed for like six years on the Broadway on the theater stage.

All right, can you answer something for me Australia. And I keep trying to tell people this that you know, I come from Philadelphia, which was you know, at one point, you know they held the torch for a certain type of soul music.

Okay, I'll say it, Neil sol I don't see neo soul as a four letter word, but oftentimes, like you know, on social media, whatever, just the amount of soul singers that I see in Australia is staggering. So Ruwan one of my managers when I was DJ and during the pandemic, he's kind of like my DJ manager, tech guy. He's from Australia, and he explained to me that's similar to the UK. You know, like we live in America where basically corporate radio controls the music that you're listening to.

Cool, this is not cool this.

And so as a result, rue explained to me, because I was trying to it's like suddenly out of nowhere to start hearing like music that I would have gravitated towards but by these Australian musicians. I mean you see it, No Hiatus, Coyote and all that. But Rue was basically explaining to me that on mainstream radio, you know, Eric Abadu got equal time you know to Justin Timberlake or Christina Aguilera or whatever, like it wasn't like pop radios here and black radios here, Like.

They don't got black radio in Australia.

Right, No, But that's the thing, and that's why a festival there's there's a there's a soul festival that's almost like three times the size of Coachella, in which the lineup is basically like the roots picnic on steroids. Like every time you see the lineup, I think it's a gag or like not true, it'll be like Maxwell DiAngelo, you know as WV that like imagine seeing that sort of lineup. But just with every black actor you ever loved.

And I my old thing was, when you were living down there, did you notice a love for black music or even your catalog that you weren't finding in the States at all?

Well yeah, yeah, and both on the radio and from the cast I was working with.

So the girl that played the lead Park, who was like twenty, I don't know, six twenty five.

She started singing good Times by Retha Franklin.

I literally almost had hers breakdown because I never heard of white girl singing good Times by Rutha Franklin literally, and she had this amazing voice.

She could really sing. She knew all of the oldies.

And so we were riding around they would be playing stuff that I had never heard in America by these artists, these R and B artists that I had never heard, and that kind of surprised me. And it wasn't You're right, they don't have black station white stations. They just kind of blade it all together. But they have a huge appreciation for us, right.

I was just trying to understand Australia as a content anyway, Like do they have black people outside of the natives Aboriginal people?

Yeah?

I'm like, is they they have the concept of black America and where these lyrics come from and all of these things, or is it just like white people listening to us so old.

They they have more of a concept of us than we do of ourselves. Because let me tell you something about Australia, and you speak to anyone over there. They can do an American accent easy. You can speak to an eight year old and they can do an American accent because they study.

Us, right, that's an American accents telling it.

What I'm saying is they know our culture. They know our culture.

They know they can tell you about hip hop and you I'm telling you it's some hip hopsters over there.

They that true like music.

I lived there for two years. I'm telling you it's like that. Now. Not all of the white people are like that in Australia, but I was. I was surprised by the knowledge.

I was surprised by the knowledge that some of these people that I have met had a black music past and present.

Wow, so they're better students than the Japanese.

Like there was a point where I'll say, like in ninety six ninety seven, where pre ferg EPs or group like the Jurassic Five, or even like.

Ben Ben Harper, Ben Harm. I mean selling out like yank Can you imagine?

Like literally the first thing was like I call my boys up, like yo, man, we're we are actually open up for the Dieraxic five and we're playing like a Yankee Stadium type of venue, Like we couldn't believe like that was the big industry that basically like underground black acts get treated like gods over there.

That's what I'm saying.

We couldn't, we couldn't fathom it, and simply because they're really wasn't in apartheid with radio yet you know, like they all got equal billing, which is like imagine like listen to smells like teen Spirit and then like a second lady, they're playing like chicken grease like an album cut, not like, oh, here's the single, but it's just it's crazy like that over there.

This culture is definitely too Yeah, it's cool. I'm glad y'all liked it.

I just didn't love it was as much many black people to you know, enjoy their culture.

Okay, good stuff.

There's some black people over there over there, but they don't live in the same area as as that. You know, it depends on where you go. You go to Melbourne, you get their African stead there.

I also say this much, most most of the underground, like hip hopper is like you know, I can name I mean, I can't rattle off names right now, but I'll say a good ten to twenty of them have made their homes in.

Australia now, which is just like.

You know, basically like America, just there's there's almost no future here if you're trying to make a living or make a splash as far as culture is concerned.

I'm listening. I'm like, you know, ro versus way. God, motherfuckers think a difference. So I'm listening in places to go.

So where they regular, where they regulate a woman's body more than they regulate guns.

And that's what we're doing. It is my god, it's insane, you know, for you.

To have this illustrious career and you're like, in your your thirtieth year, what are your top five seven Campbell's songs as far as like songs that you like and don't give me that every song's my kid.

Like I'll give you. I'll give you some good songs.

Because you're appreciating them now, said I do.

I appreciate my work now more than I ever have. Okay, so I'm gonna give you some real answers.

I love.

I know my Redeemer lived. I did that on the Hammle's Sosiah soundtrack. Heard it, No, never heard that. I can we talk? I like my vocal performance on there. I think it's one of the best.

Holy Night, all right, holy Night. I like a perfect World from the first album.

It's just it's I love it. Trying to think of a really good one.

Then I listened to Weekly, Oh yeah, Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Yeah, tomorrow, definitely.

Yeah, that's one of the gains.

I enjoy listening to that because I sound totally different, and it's when I its my first record. This is so cute, you know, like you know, I will never ever sounds like that ever again, and it's the first one. So yeah, that's really special to me.

I like that one.

So for you in your your future, is there are there any other bucket list things that you would like it to accomplish?

Return to the stage. I returned to the theatrical stage. Are there any be our way with performances? Are you ever going to return to the stage.

I would love to go back to Broadway, but I really I.

Wouldn't be happy until I wanted Grammy. So it all it takes is one song to win a Grammy, so I really do. I'm working on that album and I really really want to release another album.

I just need a Grammy. I'll be happy when I went with my Grammy. I would love to act. I would love to do film and team. I've always wanted to do that.

Yeah, how was Queen Sugar Man? You did the Queen Sugar for.

How I wasn't I should have? I need to do it again because I was like not ready to catch up?

What season.

Years ago?

No it wasn't.

No it wasn't. I didn't get the season four yet. I'm still years ago.

But no acting.

And I would like to write a book when I'm like sixty. I would like to write a book. I wanted to do a podcast and talk about the pros and cons of childhood starting.

But okay, so what's on?

A whole bunch of childhood form and childhood stars are there?

But that network.

I really would like to do, like an album like Barry Manilow did, like classic songs.

I've always wanted to do an album like that because I love classic songs like Frank Sinatra songs and stuff like that.

But I'm just thinking out loud, have.

You been saying a feature requests happen?

Because I feel like a lot of these young kids they have to hit you up for the for the Tevin sound like they've.

Been You've been saying no, You've been saying no, I have.

Been saying no. But nobody asked me nothing like that.

Man, I can't believe to.

Call them. I don't believe.

I'm like with all of this, you know everybody.

You know what.

That's the question I avoid the most because I hate when I'm asked that question. Like people always be like anybody that you like.

I didn't have that no, no, no no, And I never asked that, but I was just ask in general, is there anyone that's made a record in the last ten years?

Is something that like really touched you? Like, Okay, I like that record or that song, or.

I like Jazzmine Sullivan. When I heard her, uh that makes sense Hotels really sort of.

Talk about it.

It was interesting how she just.

Put her whole life, that story into the hour, because that's kind of what I want to do with my story that I'm trying to tell. And I think I was very pressed at how she did that and made it relatable and made it enjoyable and entertaining at.

The same time.

Oh so Jasmine can make the call and you would say yes, okay.

Oh, and I love her voice.

You know, I think she's great saying I think we have an end of Jasmine, do we I think we got a little something some song.

I think we haven't endo her.

I like Lord too. I think she's very talented. I heard her songwriting and the way she tells stories the album. That album influenced me. I think it was her last album that she released. So those two albums, I think really got me thinking how I want to write my album because it's not gonna be.

Can we talk? It's not gonna be. I'm ready.

I kind of want to tell my story in a way that everybody can relate to, though, so I don't want to stir people too far away from the formula. But I do have a story to tell, you know, I have story is to tell. I can't just think about love.

So this this has been a long time coming.

I think at first like two years ago, and I'm so glad that we finally got to have this conversation.

All right, Well on.

Behalf of you know Sugar, Steve Unpaid, Bill like yeah and front Tikolo.

This is Quest Love. Another great episode of quts Love. We will see you good people on the next go round. Quest Loove Supreme c LA. Thank You Must 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.