What up, y'all?

This is your main manor Memphis Bleak right here.

Welcome to Rock Solid, a production of iHeart Radio and the Black Effect Network in partnership with my guys over at Drink Champs.

Big with this year Memphis.

Come back at it, niggas, notice the difference.

Just pro president, no Stones.

What it is your boy Memphis bleak back with a new episode of Rock Solid.

And you know if anybody on this show, that mean they rock solid and they my brothers.

And I'm happy to announce I got my real bro just Blaze in the studio being just go black go back like dou.

Bag wavecaps Blurd.

That's how me and my bro go back.

I met this guy nineteen ninety nine or ninety eight going into ninety nine, and it's just been brotherhood since then.

So just appreciate you, my guyoming through.

You already know what it is.

It's just a convo, my brother.

Good seeing you.

When's the last time you wore due rag wavecap?

When I retired, when I took there, when that's when the due rat came off.

That's why a lot of people don't know.

You know, I'm out.

I might have time about to drop some music right And the first call I made, I did a song.

I called Just.

I'm like, Yo, Just.

I know you don't make beats, but I need one.

It's like, send me to joint.

I sent it to him after you sent it back, after I heard everything.

You know, the name of the record is due rag Bleek.

All, mommy, the name of that record is called du rat Bleak because I felt that's.

Where I was when I when I visited, like.

It was the skills of who I was there, But the message is who I am now, you know what I mean.

So it's like you hear me, you hear that young hunger and when you really listen, you're like damn bleak talking that grown up talk.

That's why it's like it's due rag Bleak.

Word up.

So what you've been up to?

Man?

Man family?

I know, man fam definitely fan first.

Man.

You got the beautiful kids out there vacation and every way trying to compete with me, y'all.

We actually just came from Orlando a lot long ago.

But yeah, nah, just family, you know, uh bruh.

My wife and a couple of partners started uh video gameing production studio called Grassline entertainment.

So I helped with that, you know, in terms of getting that up off the ground and you end up and running.

It's a beautiful thing now to see, you know, what they're building, how they're building it, as diverse as the staff is and as many of them as their own.

Yeah, I can't wait till we can announce things work further.

But it's been an amazing past couple of years.

I mean, you know, it's that whole story you know, started in my living room literally right and fast forward three four years later and everything that you hope and work and dream towards is now, you know, happening.

And that's that's the beauty of this business man.

Watching everything come to fluition that you put down on paper and watching it grow is like, that's the best.

It's almost the same as having a child, real talk.

It's like it's a different form of child because yeah, you know it all starts from an idea.

Yes, definitely, and watch it grow.

So just man, let's get into it, y'all.

Don't know, my man just is a tech genius.

Just so y'all know as we recording him, he's recording us just to make sure we ain't fucking up, y'all know what I'm saying.

We got everybody know he got the l glasses.

That's taping everything.

So if you think you're gonna walk by him and think you slipped on it his property and see him he got it on tape.

He got it on the tape.

So out of the video game stuff you told him.

I had a question, what's your top five video games all time?

You are mad your game.

That's a tough one.

I would have to you know, I'm old, right, so I'm gonna go back to the eighties.

Yeah, yeah, that's how come on, Frogger all that zell Do.

I played all that I want to know.

Yeah, street Fighter for sure, of course, and Mortal Kombat.

They kind of almost go hand in there.

Yeah, Street Fighting, Mortal Kombat, Revenge of Shanobi, not just for the game, but for the music.

The music in that game is something that inspired me to create.

That's three I would have.

That's three.

I would have to say call of Duty.

That's right, pop Gun.

I would have to say Call of Duty.

Just as a series, there's some.

That are better than others.

Definitely Blacks Black Eyes, It's the best.

Okay, okay, and I get one more?

Uh, whoa last one?

Hold on, it's gonna come to me.

Yeah, I would have to say, so come, so come, so come.

That's and that like the big old, biggest open world.

So come was Oh so com was like the first online game on a console, first first person shooting on the console.

It's kind of like a I would say, a predecessor to Call of Duty, but it might, but it's it was the first game we could get online and Call of Duty type thing and actually had a head set.

It was August.

You was the first in baseline with all the games Xbox PlayStation.

You know, me and you never had an argument in my life.

You know I had an argument, but you know you yelled at me one time.

What was it one time?

What was it?

You was playing.

Guru and basketball Xbox and I'm like, yo, just I need to beat this nigga, Like, hold on one fucking minute, give me one minute.

They ain't mine of the game.

I'm like, god damn like this.

So I'm like, wait a minute, is that the game?

They don't know how competitive this guy is when they come to that game.

I think it was.

That was just baseline in general.

Yo, The only two people that beat me at anything a baseline.

After I beat going the DJ battle which we're talking, oh yeah, we got to get into that.

And then then he came back.

I forget what we played.

Man, he got me good and you know I slept on hole and what.

The boxing?

Yeah?

Nice?

The boxing, Yo, was nice.

In the box.

Oh my Jesus Christ.

He dragged you to the lakes and totally.

You know I used to do I used to do things that baseline, like play with one hand, like all right, no.

So he's like I could play.

I'm like yeah, he got on the sticks and I was like, yo, Like by the time I figured out that I was being pool.

Shark, it was too late.

It's like that on the pool table too.

You know, is you missed once, you don't get the get together between him and one.

You're not missed.

You missed once, you do not shoot again.

Over rap rap the triangle and rack up that said game.

You know I still got the baseline, No way you got it.

You had all the baseline, all the classic memorabilia for the whole museum.

Yeah.

So now when we did the thing at the at the museum, I had got a call from Dave Mallikpor, who was the dude that built the original Baseline.

So we was talking about something else a few days before that.

I forget what it was.

It's something for the for the cover studio.

And he called me like two days later and he was like, yoh, so all the stuff from Baseline, you know, uh, how much of that do you have or do you have any of it?

I'm like, I have everything.

What do you mean?

I'm like, I literally have everything.

Like he's like, you like the keyboards?

I said, I had the board, I had the monitors, I had the tape machine.

I had anything that was hung up on the walls like Neills like I literally had.

When we shut down Baseline, you know, everything basically just went into storage, and the most unfortunate part about it was it was stored for years and then right we finally sid all right, let's figre out what we're gonna do with all this.

Right, So the first thing we did, the first way we took out, we got rid of everything that was trash.

Yep.

We had the sow the machine on all this.

Gotta come.

I got a couple of dumpsters, got rid of all of that and just kept the important stuff and we had the plan to come back to following me to start figuring out what the important stuff.

Yes, and we caught a flood.

We had a hurricane twenty twenty.

Yeah, ended up catching about two and a half three feet of water.

Damn.

So we're just like when Dave called me and I told her what happened, I said, listen, we've been trying to figure out what we're going to do because a lot of stuff got water damage, but we don't know the extent of it.

So the deal I made with him, you know, he what was going on with the museum.

Uh, And it was wild that dude that originally built it.

Was the guy run in the museum.

That's dope, man.

I said, listen, I don't want no money out of it.

I don't, you know.

We don't need to.

We don't need to worry about finances.

Just be the rebuild and take care of the stuff exactly.

That's right.

I can turn anything in work in order or as much work in order as possible.

So that's what we're working on that after.

That was the biggest draw at the museum.

Noticed that right everybody as soon as they saw the line baseline, everybody was up in there, like, I got to check it out.

Man.

That studio made classics.

Man, Like, we got a lot of history to talk about it.

Baseline, you brought it up, let's get into it.

But one thing I will say, you know, my wife was like, you know, you're gonna catch feelings when you walk in there.

I'm like, hell yeah yo.

But you know what, it wasn't just the room.

Reconstructed as well as it was in terms of the accuracy, was also everybody there being there inside that same space that we had.

No.

I didn't think that myself when I walked into the museum.

You know, I'm thinking, Okay, they did a you know, a little exhibit for Jane, let's go check it out.

But then when you actually walked through and seen the history, and it's like, wait a minute, we were really there were all of this, We contributed to this.

It's like we this is our exhibit too, you know what I mean.

That's what it made me feel then to be in Brooklyn.

Come on, I walked and rode bikes past that museum my whole life, right, I have something in there with my face on.

It was like, that's a.

Lesson what kind of bike you wrote.

Oh, man, I rode everything mongooses GT performers.

When they came out with the roller neck, I thought I was the nicest dad hit me spin handleballs.

You know what I'm saying.

The pegs all that I wasn't too nice.

But before on your way out, after we do it, you got swing by the crab real quick, all right, I got a.

Of the bikes, yo.

You ain't playing fucking We got the museum of museums man like.

But Joe, listen, I want to start a versus right, a DJ battle because a lot of people don't know you nice on the wheels of stairs.

Listen, I watch my man mat show me what you got beat?

Just off one term, two right right.

Right, just cutting, cutting and everything live.

So just off one term, y'all.

Producers stop playing, y'all.

Y'all, y'all using all this computerized They do it for you because I can make a beat now back then I could.

We gonna get into that.

Too, But you know what it is for me, And I always tell people just like me as a producer, and the way I move as a producer, it's all dictated by learner.

I was a DJ from the time I was right, brother, putting in that work.

Shout out DJ in Vegas.

You know what I'm saying, my God, but God.

For both of us, because you know we both of us grew up in that era where.

You didn't just rap, you didn't just make beat, you didn't just yes, you didn't just be boy.

You did everything right, and then you figure out along your journey, you figure out what best at what you pursue, you know.

And as nice of a DJ as I am, because he's a working DJ, that's what he does.

Yes, he smashes me paused, he gets busy, but yeah, he buzzy every night.

I come out on stage occasionally and still you sit in the studio.

But that's what that's that's how he lived.

That was the first time I seen my male gloul mad it's died away with my man just blaze and he asks for the smoke, He acts for the smoke.

That day he was in there getting busy and we was in there like oh oh good.

And then just like getting on the stalls, there wasn't even a battle, no niggas, just was playing.

And then Google got pissed that just like old Lord, go my turntables.

He's just fine, right, you know what's going on?

And sat down too.

Yeah, like oh they're getting do in there on they DJ scratch battery right now.

Yeah that was ill man that like gurgle get busy on the DJ.

But he can fuck with you.

I know, I told him that to his face.

He can't fuck when my man jus on that.

But you know, not rocking the party now, I don't know if you got go on rocking the party because Goo be out there, Goo be out there DJ and everywhere.

Oh it's smoke see you see you see y'all DJ versus Swiss high laugh me.

Google and chess wa.

We only need one show, say you need more time?

We only need one show.

I don't care about no other than d James.

Just these two at one curtain table.

Well heard it out.

That's it, yo.

But all the history that we did in baseler, like what's your I'm gonna ask you it's a two part question because I gotta know, like besides hole, because we already know, of course, what's your top?

I ain't gonna even say five three beat you ever?

Mean whether for any artist freeway me dipset.

Uh three is paulst three three is hard.

Yeah, you know, you know because so many classics came out of that space.

Who was the most fun to work with?

Like artists wise, like because you worked with a lot of artists.

Man, A lot of people don't know you know what I mean.

You put a lot of work in on a Bad Boy, like you did a lot of mazing.

You know what I'm saying.

Now, you know what I'll say overall, if you gotta, if you look at the story and the history and how it all happened, I have to put PSL member list right, oh man, because you know the record happens so last minute is so unplaned, right, Like we was mixing this is two thousand and three.

What are we mixing?

Was hypnotic?

Probably?

I think we were mixing hypnotic around the corner at battery.

Album's done, you know, like I've mentally moved on did December fourth, and he did the intro.

We physically moved on.

The album is already at the plant, like it's already be a manufactured So why would mixing a hypnotic the homie my brother Jack comes through with the Little Boy, Little Boy Blues record, Like you need to listen to this and At first, I was all right, we'll get to it because we're lit mix.

He's like, yeah, you need to listen to this, so Jack and Jack don't talk a lot.

If he say it twice, you need you know, you need to check it out, all right.

So Ken, I want to say, Ken Lewis was the uh about one of my engineer O G's.

He's mixing and I got the headphones on, head out.

George just hit the floor and I'm like, yo, Ken, stop whatever you're doing right now, turn this home.

So he plays it on the speeches and I'm like and his face perks up, like what am I mixing this?

And I'm like, bro, I don't know.

I don't even know what's happening, right, But I make the be right away run around the corner and we all know that part, you know.

Random Jay at first was like do we need this?

And me and Leon are sitting there like and me lenning Go was sitting there like what do you.

Mean doing you need this?

Right?

So he goes and does it.

And I told that story a million times.

But going back to what I was saying about the game studio right where it's just an idea and it might happen.

It might not, but to watch a country fruition and watch it happen so quickly and for something that was kind of like, I don't even want to call it an afterthought because it just it was just a last minute thing, but something that we did so quickly to kind of become one of his.

Career defining the biggest records.

Is amazing.

I remember when I found out that was you on the intro right.

I remember when you're talking, like, Yo, who was that talking at the beginning where you get that sample from just like and that's.

Me fell all American.

I'm like, yo, it's lying.

He's like, no, that's me talking that and.

A second one.

Yeah, but you're in.

I would have to say that.

I would have to say, you don't know, because a lot of the blueprint records existed like way before, like the records that were I hadn't already been in the stash, Like everybody knows that said a zillion times, Girls Girls, Girls was made with goals, face some money, and me and Hip were holding it for that for the time we would eventually meet.

So a lot of those records were done.

I think you don't know went through so many almost, and I kept getting I would.

There was only two artists I ever heard that record aside from Jay was Peen rest in Peace, Prodigy and Busted right, but they both heard it in the context whorld like I'm skipping.

Remember we used to have the DAT.

Just had to fast forward, so I'm fast forwarded through the DAT.

And they would hear that be like what's that?

And I'm like and it wasn't.

It wasn't that they weren't capable.

I just knew that that record needed to go somewhere super specially needs to be a moment.

And I wasn't necessarily holding it for Jay because remember at the time when I made to beat, Jay wasn't recording like the blueprint happened on the whip.

I just walked in like, yo, anybody got some beats?

I just got four from you, right, So when he walked in unplanned, un announced, like yo, I feel like rapping, I just felt so definitely that one.

I really mean it was kind of the same way I was.

Just about to say, bro, listen that record.

I hated all of y'all.

I hate it all like you was part of dimpset during that record.

You ain't even know, well, I remember that that day.

Funny enough, that day that was the day came was like, yo, to get your dip set chain.

I was like, okay, I never got it, but yeah, that that was another beat that was laid around for a while.

Things.

I loved it musically, I never liked the way that it sounded.

Oh but when they came in then they were like, yo, we need something.

We need it now.

It's just like, what's the hardest, hardest thing that I have right now?

That really meaning you so?

And originally they stomped on that, and it wasn't on it.

Originally it was just Jim and yeah and then and then the thing would nas happened and then they they came right back like the next day.

It's like, no, we focus.

Yeah, no, they stomped on that as a classic.

That's what I was gonna say.

That's one of my favorites.

And you just even explaining what you said, just even with that tape, like even knowing this beat needed to be for a bigger, bigger purpose and all of.

That, right, it wasn't because it wasn't a bigger artist.

It was just bigger purpose.

I tell people all the time, that's the difference between beat makers and producers.

Because a beat maker just giving you a tape that didn't let you shop through all the beats.

He's supposed to do, right, he's seeing you twenty seven beats.

It's like your family only to wrap the one or two.

You're supposed to pick the best two and no, it's.

Also supposed to help with you through the process.

That's a lot of time, a lot of times.

You know, even the records where I didn't do the beat, you still gave directions.

Me and Good produced a lot of those records, those records that were done that baseline, because Induce would just dropped the beat off the lead.

Yeah, Me and Good beat the ones like all right, let's we got these thirty beats from from whatever producer.

Let's take these three focus on.

These three are getting the artists.

This is what we're talking about.

This is how we're talking about it, coaching them through the vocal tapes, pulling, pulling the best of the performance out of them.

So it was really a lot of a lot of times, either either the artists were producing themselves or Me and Good were producing those records.

Yeah, I played a major part.

You remember keeping real Wednesday.

Keeping real.

I think I still might have one of the t shirts.

It's still producers to this day that don't like guys, so this day that like, Yo, you ain't getting no beat, none of y'all beans.

Freeway, Jane.

I don't care what y'all say, how much money, no beats for y'all.

So for those who are aware, keep it real Wednesday.

This is how we was fault and this is how keep it.

Keep it real Wednesday originated.

I won't say the producer, but somebody had left the tape.

M hmm, we'll hope.

And at the time he loved it.

Right.

I came in the next day.

I wasn't dead that day.

This was a This was like a whatever day of the week it was.

I come to next.

I took the day off.

Coming the next day.

He's like, Yo, you might be finished out of here.

You know how old it's trying to tell you somebody else taking your spot, right, So, yeah, you.

Might be finished out of here.

I'm like, wow, He's like such and such just came through with like twenty and ain't crazy.

The tape was still in the DA player in my studio, right yeah, So I played the tape and I'm like, okay, I'm like, this is what it is doing crazy, But I have voiced my opinion.

I just kept it to myself, but I'm listening to the tape like that spot, it is fine, exactly right.

So later on that day, either later when that do the next day, everybody comes in and you play the team, and all the faces in the room was like what it was?

Everything sounds good, loud, that's right, right, and the.

Beats being all the beats was being played loud and able, that's right.

So that's where, you know, everybody realized that.

So the general consensus was all right, from now on, when the producer comes through, he got to play his beats on the bullbox.

If they sound good on the.

Bull box, and they sound good everywhere, everything loud sounds good, and they could guys you up, you had a.

Base should be like, oh yeah, it's nit.

You like, it's not that same, it's not the same energy.

So from there it was all right, you got to play your beats on the bullbox.

And it just so happened that the first time that came about was on a Wednesday, and everybody just happened to be in the lane used to.

Tell every artist, you call your favorite producers.

You call your producers.

Y'all call the producers you're working.

When you call the producers, you're working with fifty different producers in the in the studio, in the lounge, and everybody had a shot, yep.

And so that the outcome was if you played something.

Great something, he got a T shirt, you got, you got the T shirt.

I survived, keep and you might get like the walk, the Walk of Fame, they show you out.

Yeah love yo, he got heat.

But if those who it wasn't no good.

And see the problem was that I used to try to stay out the room then only because obviously, you know, people look at us as the crew, like, so if I'm in the room, they're looking at me like as even if I'm not saying nothing, I'm part of the crew.

Yeah, so I'm still getting the side and I'm getting the extra side out because I'm the producer.

I'm the crew producer, right.

So I used to try to stay out the room, and it was always dam They used to try to get me to come in the room with what you think, and I'm like, I'm not a music guy.

You're the music guy.

What you're thinking, I'm like, I'm not doing it, yo, dari was yo da See That's why I'm that the world get.

To see, you know, this side of the day.

They don't know the side that.

We know that Dan was a genuine good guy for the team because for every single person that put that rocket Fellow chain on their neck, if you walk through them baseline doors, dang was out there swinging for you.

No I will I will say, word up.

When my pops died, I didn't come in you know, I didn't come in the baseline telling any money.

But you know, folks starting to find out just through word of mouth for whatever day, was the first one to come into the room and be like good, you know, and being ready or or willing to talk about it, or wasn't in the space to really talk about it too much to talk because it just happened like the day before.

But he was the first person in the room like, yo, anything you need.

Was a genuine good He just was.

He was just shopped me.

He was the perfect example of what New York was like.

If you like think we grew up in the worst era.

I always tell my son and I tried to tell a lot of kids that I come across, like, y'all got it good, y'all friends, y'all love each other, y'all, y'all, y'all, y'all don't diss each other.

Might support each other.

Like growing up with my friends, if you came out on Eastern you didn't have on new clothes eyes, mom's.

A crack cash Like yo, what no?

How about I just didn't have money to go shopping Like that's more important than this.

But that's that's the difference in I think in the errors there's a lot more concentration and a lot more focused on support.

Yes, mental health, like there was no talk about.

It, No dang dan was that he was that guy that was on your neck if he wasn't fresh, Yo, this one mass nigga, he ain't pop tax nig These dirty ass sneakers telling a lot of dudes today they would not survive that Rockefeller Wave, that camp that we had in basedline.

It's a lot of people are here today that if they walk through them doors, they will leave out with a shell of themselves because it was getting tested bro from state property now.

But beans are then put blood on the wall like they put live in the studio watch like you know what I'm saying.

That's why I can't wait.

To get beans up here, so we could really get into those type of stories.

If you get into those stories, I will come back.

I will come back.

Niggas put Blood on the Wall and base Lines horror movies we filmed in based Lines.

Base Line was a different world.

It wasn't It really was.

But you know, it's so much history that was made there.

Yes, man.

And the thing about it really is, you don't know that you're making it while you're making it.

You don't know you're in the process exactly what you do.

But if you look at just about every great movement, not just in hip hop, but just in general, Like Motown had, hitsvill A, they had their spot, Ye bad Boy had Daddy's House, you know what I mean.

In a host of producers they had, they had they joint m they studio, the crack house.

Yes, you know the spot right.

You know, if you look at Chunk King, you go back to the early eighties, most of the stuff that was coming through death Chail, you know, we're through rush.

It's all happening at Chunk King.

Right, Joe, Chunk King damn.

I remember that almost bought chunk Kin no way when he was Baseline was still around, but it was too busy.

And the thing about chunk King John the guy that owned it, he had the two floors with all the studios.

Then he also had apartments on the same floor.

So the idea was and h would have just moved into the apartments the studio, you know, didn't happen for a number of reasons.

But Chunking almost became like Baseline too to it.

That's crazy, man, chunk King Uh fucking D and D was a classic.

Yeah, it's the same thing.

Even though D and D.

Was a lot of separate entities, they were all connected with or another, right, like between premium and dignity and dignitary crisis on them.

So and the beat minus obviously.

So you know, the studio, it's more than just a studio, it's a it's a creative hub at that point.

But you have all these different energies and all these different entities rather you know, frequent in the place every day that a man yeah lived there, Yeah, it became it becomes a creative hub.

That's right, I lived there.

See state property, dip said everybody worked that night.

So I would come to the studio.

These guys will still be on the couch.

Dad, I'll be waking everybody up.

Google everybody, Google.

Gotta go get his coffee.

He went out to the deli on the corner.

Get his call.

Yeah, go get his coffee, and then we get in the work.

That's one thing I was the daytime morning.

I get to the studio nine o'clock in the morning.

By five o'clock, I was done.

Even before that.

Like the way I the way for me was like for us, or rather, when I say for us, I mean like on the studio side.

So Me, Shane, Dave, we we had to understand and like, all right, bleaks will show up anywhere between nine and ten.

Hole's gonna show up around two.

State property might trickle in throughout the day because they all move independently.

Yeah, Diptt's gonna show up around eight.

Max is gonna call us around eleven o'clock and say he's on, or ten o'clock and say he's on his way, show up at three or four.

Ye pass out on the couch, want to wrap at five.

But the wild thing was is he would be playing to beat on ten and then to Falsburgers.

Go to sleep, right and go to sleep, go to sleep, then wake up with a run.

Yep, that's how we did hypnotic Yo.

Bro.

He turned the lights down in the studio.

Remember he turned the lights down in the studio, had inscense burning, and went to sleep and then woke up and told me, bleek, I got it.

Wrecking Hip nodded.

I'm like, all right, let me hear it.

I'm like, you do, got it.

But he was a genius at that.

I don't know.

He would dream his verses because he would go to sleep with the beat playing wake up, I got it right, which is wild.

When you really think about it.

It's like half his brain was sleep.

Sometimes we'd be like yore, Mac, yes, but then wake up with the verse.

Not wake up and say give me half an hour.

No, wake up with the verse.

I'm ready, put me in the booth, Like what the hell out of hell you wrote the verse in your sleep?

Like okay, beans, we got that talent.

See you make me.

But then it would and then it would just be a cycle that would start a new right.

So like after Mac finished, maybe six seven in the morning.

Now here I come right, It's just right earlier in the morning.

For years, but it was.

And then you know, luckily Baseline was in the garment district.

You could go right downstairs, right around the corner and get a bunch of white tea's.

It came down to what you eventually put that holiday in or whatever.

It was on the corner right.

We had a nice spot during the day, right but that night Baseline block became I remember seeing you out there, all his jewelry, big brakeslet cab yo.

Just it's three o'clock in the morning.

This is when you earn the saw the crews come out that night.

Can in the car.

We didn't going on I was dropping.

It wasn't no, but we didn't.

Back then, we didn't have ubers or car services like cabs used.

To be like where you going, We're not going that way.

Right exactly, So it was you kind of didn't have a choice back there.

I tell you, I got kidnapped by a cab trying to get back to the yo seven in the morning.

This is like two thousand and one.

Seven in the morning.

I had a studio, like everybody just happened to leave early on Saturday.

Saturday was the one that you might get a break, right, because people.

Would go out and yeah, everybody was moving right.

So Saturday, Saturday night, go to the studio.

I mean Saturday night, take a break, go home.

Actually, I'm sorry.

Early Sunday morning, I fell asleep on Saturday because everybody had left.

Yes, Sunday morning, I go go to the crabs finally to live downtown.

Go to the crab shower change and go back down right.

Used to live in the city, there was always a cab stock jump in the cab, real quick jump in the cab.

And I always to say the same thing every time I got in the cab.

Twenty six and six to the corner twenty six and six.

Far left hand corner.

That was that was my routine.

I gave you the same instruction six.

So I get get.

In the cab.

Dude pulls over on twenty six and six on the near right corner.

Now that's that's nothing to argue, right, But I had said to him, I was tiring.

I said, oh, I just said far enough corner.

He's like, no, you said far, He said, you said the right corner.

I said, I'm gonna argue with you.

So I go to my outside pocket all I had, so I wasn't I had to get money and get cash l on that.

All I had was ten dollars over the cab ride is six seventy every day.

Take out the ten.

As I'm taking it out, my inside pocketed rips.

Right.

So now this guy just got to finish argument with me and trying to start the argument.

So I apologize to see my apologies.

Well, you know, Bill Ritt still good, just kind of neat take it back together.

He like, so, yeah, he starts to beefing about that.

He tried he court.

He was like, you have to give me another money, and I don't have another money.

This is all I have.

But there's a Delli right there.

There's a Deli right that we need to do.

Yeah.

I'm like, yo, we could just get taped.

And you know, so my thing was I would have been like, yo, you can keep the ten, you just gotta tape it up.

I mean to change, but now that's your being, now that we're having a problem, you know, that's out the window.

So he come, he comes out to del He says they don't have tape.

I said, I know they have tape.

We eat there every day.

They tape our sandwiches shut right, like, we'll take the package and shut on the sandwige.

So he's like, I'm like, you know what, let's keep this.

Oh no, So he said, you know able to see the police.

I said, okay, remember the precinct was right by the garden, like three blocks up, four blocks.

So we go to the drive.

You to the police shut over the cabin forn of the precinct.

Uh comes out five minutes later.

So the police said they want to see you.

I said, the police, don't saf the police wanted to see.

Me, they'd be outsome exactly.

I'm not walking into a police precinct like, hey, somebody wanted to see me.

So he's like, police said, the would have see I said, bro, I'm knotting out of this car, like we gotta go back to destination was twenty six and six.

That's right now.

We're on thirty fourth and eight.

You you wild exactly.

So then he's like, oh yeah, all right.

It just takes off speeding.

Crosstown gets down there, which one of those up I think first ab goes up.

Yes, it's all the way from eighth down the first and I'm realizing, yo, like he's not going back to the studio breaks up.

First, ab I have my flip from the flip phone and I had.

The no that's where we had the star tak say it was the star tap.

So I call uh my partner at the time, and I'm like yo, and I got one bar, batter you up.

I'm like, yo, I'm being kidnapped by a cab.

She's sleep.

She's like what, I'm being kid And I don't want to call nine one one because I only got one.

I got barely got any bars, like law nine one on.

Yeah, So she.

Calls nine one one.

I tell him what was happening.

Like They're like, sir, Donald, one is not for jokes.

I said, this is not a joke.

I am more.

I was supposed to be taking twenty six and.

Six first avenue.

Now I'm off.

Yeah.

Now this guy's speeding of first Avenue and I'm on fifty ieth.

Now I'm on fifty third.

Now I'm on fifty fifth.

So she realizes what it is.

So a couple minutes later, further two minutes later, sirens is now there's a police blockade like on like seventy seventy something, right, two cars blocking the street, I'm thinking, all right, I'm good.

It turns out they was blocking for something else.

Cab driver pulls over and the one officer who's clearly in charge, I'll see him on his radio.

He comes over.

It tells me to get out the car.

You didn't get out, yeah, But.

I'm like, but but the way he's doing it as if the criminal right, So I'm now I hear the cab driver giving a whole full story to the officer.

Two of the cop cars that was coming up behind they jump out.

They start trying to explain to the main officer he's not going to hear it right, So cab driver gives him a fake story.

They let him go.

Then the officer comes over to the other two officers like, so, what were are trying to say?

They were like, you just let a kidnapp it go, Like this guy was the passenger he called on what we've been chasing it, and you just let the dude go because you ordnatally just assume the black guy.

Was the problem.

So he gets away.

Officers super apologetic, but he's doing what it is so I can't see his bad.

The other two uh, other two officers was like, yo, we would offer you a ride back, that's all I was going to work.

Specifics they offered.

They were like, yo, you offer you a ride back, you probably want to show up to work in the back.

Walk.

The officer I got it while.

Pulled out a Metro card in the twenty and was like, Yo, this is that cops badge number.

This is the taxis the taxis.

Uh the medallion?

Yeah, He's like, find were you I called?

He said, I follow complaint on both.

Yo, yo, dressed.

You have no idea how the cab world played into the duce life.

I remember when I first got put on with the du say and to go do the party at Lime Marina up top, and they like, yeah, go talk to the homie and I'm like, all right, cool, let's go meet the homie.

Run Li Marina.

It's the dude who represents the cab calling shit, who always hearn the news every time they getting a problem with a cabby.

He like, yeah, the cabby is the man more pay needs security.

So I'm like night cab union representatives.

Yeah, I'm like wow, the night club.

He got locked up for scamming too with the club.

Remember they shut it down and nobody ever it was real quiet.

You know, they ain't quiet for him.

He got them cuffs.

That's what happened.

It was like, Yo, what the hell is the running the cab?

Call is ship and the night nightclub?

He out here getting trip pay ward?

Like one question that I want to know, But somebody because I asked him, like, yo, I got just blades coming through anything people want to know, you know, people always ask the same normal stuff.

Is like one thing that stood out.

Somebody said, Yo, you got to ask just what happened to the original Ja electronic album that they said?

It was all streaming services and somehow got picked down.

It was on streaming for like two days.

I don't know how it ended up there.

Oh that's what help.

For like two days it was there and it wasn't the finished version that I had, because what it was was like j would cut demos because he worked the machines himself.

Right, Jay got one verse on a hundred different records everywhere, So he would shoot me the demos.

I would take him and you.

Know, flesh him out, do overdubs and arrangements, mixing, shoot it back to chev who was his engineer out in Detroit.

It was like a collaborative process then, but you know jameson nomad, right, so he'll be in Detroit for X amount of time, bounce down the n O for X amount of time, then just disappear and go off grit.

And then one time he did that and he popped up in London and we all know, you know, you know what he was doing out in London.

So I go out there, Me and go both go out there, like all right, this is it.

Like we got a core amount of things done, get all the files together, and you know, we started like two The idea was go out there and do like two or three new ideas just to add on to the homework that was already there.

I would would take back home and and X, Y and Z, And then you know, Jay moves on his own time.

So he got some work done.

It was time to follow up.

Couldn't you know?

He could couldn't couldn't couldn't catch him again.

So I think I might be the only person that had like the fully sequenced with the orchestra, the strings and the hordes and everything like all strung together.

I think I might be the only person who has all that.

Then you know he shoulders you now Jess him and him and who had the conversation which which led to him doing the joint album.

And then shortly after the joint album, all of a sudden, like the demos of or the original versions of a bunch of the songs from the original album popped up on streaming, and I was like, it had it had the homie uh, Frank shout out to Frank, it had Frank's artwork.

I'm like, yo, it's it might have been Jay himself, you know.

And then somebody got wind and took it because it was it was literally there for like two days, so I don't I don't know how that came about.

I was a bit frustrated because once something is on the internet, yeah, you can pull it all.

You can pull it from Verda Rich find it exactly so, and it's gonna get, you know, regurgitated and spread.

So pardon.

Even though I don't like not, I don't like having my work put out there without my consent, without my knowledge, or without my stamp of saying it's done.

Part of me wishes that it was the version that I had with the orchestra, just so people could really hear.

The full finish.

Yeah, the finished product.

Man, like they got the half done product.

That's whack man, right.

You know, but it's it's it's that's today and age were living.

Yeah, yo.

Jared Leck is one of my favorite artists.

Bro, like you say, I am from you and Ghoul.

Getting that boy in the studio is like pulling teeth.

But the thing is is once he gets in, he go in.

Yeah, like I remember.

He and we're about to do this thing with me, him and Most point And this is like the exhibit se Era like Cane his last maybe like twenty ten or eleven.

He comes to with Most like it was for a group.

Okay, here's the beats recorded like four joints in one night.

And then I'm like, yo, all right, so what's the follow up?

Like let's get you know, like and but they're both kind of they're both kind of the same in that way where they move on their old time, but you know they move independently with a free spirit.

I don't believe they have Most caught up in the drake drivers.

They put Most.

It's like he never talked how you pop up in this?

Yeah that was interesting because he's not normally he's not one of thessarily by his.

Tongue and he don't be talking, but he's not one to.

Buy his tongue, but he's not one that's generally in the mix, right, So it was just that was I feel like that was a unicorn inciting, you know, like just him speaking his mind that freely about another artist's crazy.

You can't even talk freely today because any any any opinion, if it's not good, it's hate and that's whack man.

The The other thing about it is, though, is that we live in UH a culture now where context as it relates to journalism is uh, it's kind of dead.

Like what amounts to journalism now is clipt sound bites and clips right.

Clip bait, right clickbait.

Mate, you're in the trap.

And then let them let the YouTube was and everybody go crazy.

And but what what really bothers me about it is we know that as a culture.

What bothers me is when UH outlets, actual UH outlets that perpetually actual journalism or purport to perpetually journalism, feed into that.

So they'll do what sit down it if you with somebody four hour, but now they're giving it to you in five minute clips with like a hot take headline and like, and I don't even like, I hate even a perfect example that I hate to bring up, but it is the perfect example.

Is there's just one clip and it makes the rounds every couple of months about how with method mans saying Kanye West, I've seen him at a party given, you know, and performing sexual acts.

Yeah, and it wasn't even the true clip.

No, what it was the funny but the ironic thing was is what meth was speaking or was the fact that he could say something like that and it would be taken out of context, chopped up and then go viral, right, And that's exactly what happens.

Right, So nowadays every like I see it like most every month, like every most every like three months, it does the rounds every time, you know, and whether it's and it's making the rounds now because Diddy's in the news.

It was making around a few months back because something that was happening with Yay the news.

But it's like every few months that gets situated, which is why like I'm hesitant and I haven't for a long time to even really do much media because without because I know that it's very easy for the context to get.

And they can misconscrew anything.

Today people take they want to make put mean to what you mean?

They like, well, no, you didn't mean that, this is what you mean.

It's like your family.

How are you telling me what I meant?

Right?

Like?

It makes no sense and.

I feel like, uh, it's I don't want to say some generational thing.

But one thing that I've seen happen a lot recently is like an artist will talk about what they meant by a lyric, who meant the meaning behind the song was, and it will be fans and so or if people on social media like, nah, you met this the artist is like I wrote this song as I was going through x Y and Z it's about this and you said, x Y.

You're talking about homie over here there.

The game now is it is very different.

Everybody has a voice now not everybody.

I think everybody has a voice, right yes, And I hate to say this, but not everybody needs to.

Have Some people need to be stripped.

That are the voices, Like you know, some people hurt them.

It's respectfully of what you're doing and I'm I'm doing the same, but like some some people need to fill out an application to buy a podcast kit.

Yes, like you should get proved to have to buy a podcast.

Kit because they think it's just sit there, ask the hot topic questions, make the five minute clip, and then go to the party and take pictures.

We hear now we lit we the popping podcast.

We know all the we got on the team.

That's what they call it.

They drink the tea.

I drink water, man, I don't drink Speaking.

Of which, that's what I was about to say, Like the one dude, this is one guy that went on on the podcast about why we should not drink water.

Only animals drink water.

Humans should not drink water.

We would have said does.

And then he also was talking about how the at weight is actually a.

Frequency that's I seen something about it depolates.

Humans and they become obsessed with it in the tree or something that is old.

Say he should have had.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's a lot of people don't need to please.

Wants to buy the road podcast or kid you know, or the the the who makes the steam deck not the stream deck Logitech, all these Please just make people find an application.

Or charging a monthly subscription.

Yes they will do it, Yes, I bet you no.

And that's The thing is, it's like you know, the the don't get me wrong, Ideally, yes, everyone should be fairly represented to be able to have Yes.

The thing is, ultimately.

What's your message.

The message can't just be hate and negativity.

That's the thing.

People put in negativity in the world.

Then when something negative happens, they shocked.

It's like, yo, bro, all you do is breathe negative negativity.

Yes, won't be surprised when that's what permit.

So exactly, That's why I said this is we don't this is this conversations.

I want to bring people into our world.

I didn't know, like.

Like I was going to ask you to like just watching Yay, come up, man, see where you at like that.

That's my bro, you know what I'm saying.

He from the bottom with us.

So sometimes when I see how the media do him, I feel a little certain way about it, like damn, why they're doing bro like that?

But I know, you just even seeing him go this far as like damn and we was in the stud together.

Like it's you know, it's a hell of a journey to watch yes, going from you know, him barely being able to get out of Chicago, like calling me like, yo, can I crash the crib?

Want to see amount of.

Time while I'm working.

Trying trying to make this happen, because his thing was like I got to be nearby, right, the whole thing would coming to Chicago, go back and forth just wasn't working and it wasn't you know, but to watch and go from that to where it is now, it's it's just controversy and whatnot.

Aside, it's very inspirational to see somebody literally will something in existence.

And bet at all and that against the system.

Like he went totally against the grain and came out a win him man like not many people would not even think of trying.

No.

I remember even after he had like proven himself to the label.

I remember even death Shams still fronting on things and he's.

Like, yo, what more do I need to do?

Do I need to do to show you?

Like this?

This is this, this is where we're at.

I remember Touch the Sky video.

The label wasn't really trying to pay much.

He has some bread, but it wasn't like it is now.

I want to say he spent remember him telling you something like eight hundred thousand had his old pocket like like cleaped out like, yo, I believe in this project in this video that much.

If the label's not gonna.

Do it, I'm gonna do that's right, you.

Know, and came out eight hundred reps like we get to rent the Grand Canyon, you know, get the rocket, get everything you know, get me along, get Pam and get everybody.

You know.

It was like it takes a lot.

It takes a lot to be able to bet on yourself to that degree, yes, you know, and go against the system that's ultimately they're supposed to be there to support you, you know, go against their wishes or their budget or whatever's come out of your pocket.

And it's very inspirational on the same the least.

But well, let's get into the cars man a little bit.

Let's switch gears for great because my man right here started out buying cars, decorating the.

Car and didn't even drive the car.

And now he got lambows that light up like common books that everybody tell me.

You believe, you ain't seen jefs blaze car like you saw Jets Blade's car.

Win drive now Blaine.

So you know, here's the thing.

I'm moved down to New York at a young age, like I moved to New York.

I must have been seventeen eighteen forty, literally forty dollars in my pocket came from Jersey.

I was seventeen, so I'm coming at the age most people will start learning the drive or whatever and getting their license.

I'm living in the city.

Now, you don't need to call or to wing in a prayer a dollar in the dream, So I'm hitting the cell.

And I lived.

I was working at the cutting room or interning, and then eventually working at the cutting room and living in the village.

You know, I was living in an n YU door or wasn't an NYU student, so my whole existence was within four blocks, so it was just studio dorm studio dorms.

And then when I eventually got caught doing the door thing, they banned me from their YU, which is that's a whole other story.

And why are you coming with that degree next week?

Now you going down?

And why blades?

They asked me to speak at YU three times since they made me every time.

Every time I speak it, I'm like, so technically I can get arrested for being here, but because yeah, I'm not supposed to be doing one hundred feet of of anything.

Wow.

So I ended up moving downtown Financial District.

Before it was a cool place to live, but now that's just a six dollar cabro.

So I just it wasn't until I moved, uh, moved out the city.

Finally, then you started putting.

Then it was like I gotta get I gotta move around.

So I learned to drive in three cars.

I got a Tesler, like before people really know what Tesla's were.

Of course, a little B M W I three, the little box joint like a little.

Electric smog electric joint and lavigating.

Yo, you hear.

That's how I learned to drug.

And he had an Avalanche brand Avalanche.

Member, my my mayor, Ralph rest in peace.

He decorated the coffee because he did my car, and I was like, yo, but we did your car.

Yeah.

He had some type of bone marrow cans.

Okay he passed with that.

Yeah, and yo, I swear around here, but no, that was Ralph truck.

That was Ralph truck.

Doors going up and your truck after after that?

Yeah, and you never drove it.

I probably saw the truck the day he got it back.

Now that was it.

Never saw the truck and.

You know you know, but you know who used to who would not remembro had somebody under him pause, Romero had somebody under him that was doing some driving.

I forget who.

Yeah he had a little I forgot his name, but I know you're talking about.

He was like one of his little students coming back.

So he was driving me fucking good, like year or two, but he was.

He was whipping my car like it was a sports car.

Yeah, you had slats, you had them skinnies on that.

Yeah, I had like twenty fours or twenty six times.

So eventually I was like, yeah we kick.

Yes it was you was hurting them.

But knew I was so crazy.

I remember, I remember the truck we did.

It was you want to cover with us?

No, we did the magazine that young gun me and the young Guns.

I did a different one too.

I did him with Dame I think and kill the rider assumed that my truck was Dave's and they ran with it.

You lieing.

I remember reading the article like you was hurting them, boy, like yo, this is my yepes was hurting them.

He like, bleak, I need who did this truck?

My truck?

I'm like, yo, my dude's gonna lace you.

You had to.

System light up in the whole back.

We used to put that pressure on these streets.

Yeah, but no, so like from there like that car sat forever.

We still got it.

We use it as like a work truck.

Now, no way, man, that's crazy.

FO you keep everything.

Man, Yo, when I want to go down memory lane, I'm coming to just Craig.

You know, I still got still throwback Jerseys.

I found him in storage, Like, but I was clearing out storage for the baseline.

Yeah, I finally found the box that had them all in there.

I found the Saint Paul Jersey a top.

I was like, Yo, that's crazy man, all of us.

You know what it was?

I had like seven stories you just around the city.

And then finally but I moved out the city.

I just put everything in one of the year that was basically the size of an apartment.

I ain't going.

I ain't go to it for like six years.

I just kept hate it.

I was like, you know what, let's consolidate.

But it's been a while ride through history, Like I've been finding your masters.

I know you got so much trying to release music from everybody, man, all of what we need.

To do a secret a secret album.

Home signed off on this man like, listen, they're gonna assume me, fuck it, take me to come because we were Jess.

We put out this secret album, this secret album.

All right, but tell them about your not so secret album.

What's the thing you're working on now?

Oh?

Man, just I gotta, I gotta.

I think I got a classic man like my first one under my belt.

I believe because I'm giving away.

I felt like I wanted.

To do this.

My boy Cheech told me, your bleep, you need to make an album again, and I'm like, if I make an album, I want.

To come back against some type of message.

So I don't want to just give the young guys like I'm in the club popping bibles, tolding straps and running around fucking bitches like them, because it's.

Not the life.

It's not the life you live, and it's not the life that's reality.

And on top of that, I think the way you would communicate that, just the language and the delivery has changed so much.

There's kids that can say those things in ways that people will relate to.

In terms of language.

Now, yes, we.

Would speak, we don't even speak on those terms exactly it wouldn't go over well.

I think, you know, taking the approach of like this is where I'm at now as a as a legacy artist, as a veteran artist, that's kind of the approach, the only approach.

You really can't take it for yourself.

It speaks about yourself.

Because that whole generation has aged with us, that's right, and we're giving them the mistakes I made.

Like you know, everything wasn't perfect.

No from the Rockefeller Veil.

Everybody think we all had this marvelous, rich, superstar life.

They don't think read dealt with falls and dings what we felt like.

Damn why us, you know what I'm saying.

So I think on this album, I showed a little bit more vulnerability on this project, even more than what I did with my main project.

Right like, just to have you on their knife, wonder hit maker.

Buck Wild sent me a joints little that I'm back in the nineties.

Who let smoke with me?

Now?

So I'm ready man, Like it's good man, I'm about to shoot your video.

I hopefully this summer, you know it's in the streets with that for sure, But like before we go, I want to let y'all know you let them know where they could find you.

You better check my man out on fresh pair.

He shot his own pie with the fresh sneaks on y'all headtop your sir, either j man, he watched some sneakers.

He only wore the carpet.

That if they left the carpet he got to take them off.

That's ain't no shit's one hundred thousand.

You know, we have to show fresh pair of Shout out to up Rocks and my co host Caddy.

Custom short of it is how you watch a late night talk show and the host will have Q right and that that's kind of those few cards the talking points dictate the flow the conversation.

We do the same, but we build a custom sneaker around the artists journey and their their career and their life, and all the details are all the shoe, and we basically just point out the details on the shoe.

You know, sometimes they're blatant, sometimes they're very subtle, like it might just be a color rating arrangement.

But we use that the shoe as the basis for a great conversation.

And we've been super fortunate and blessed to have some great artists on there.

Yourself included ice q t I Game, Redman's uh Jabra has done it LP from one of the Jewels.

It's it's it's been great, you know.

Yeah, So we're gearing up now to really get in the season two.

Season one did very well.

Season so now and yeah please tune it.

New episode is dropping every show.

That's right, you already know, man, this has been another classic episode of rock Solid.

My brother is way more than rock slid.

That's my brother Drud.

You see him, you see me, You violate him, You violate me, and I'm the one.

I'm gonna come looking for you.

It's another one.

Know what it is rock Solid.

For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows at And you can follow me on any social media platform under the name Memphis Bleach.

You see anybody fraud in, flag him.